When people associate Loyola with sports, lacrosse is usually the first sport that comes to mind—for a good reason. Both of Loyola’s lacrosse teams have been great over the years, and going into the 2022 season, expectations for both teams remain high.

Coming off a run to the quarterfinals last season, Loyola’s men’s lacrosse team is eager to prove that last year’s run was no fluke. The team returns key contributors such as attackmen Kevin Lindley and Aidan Olmstead, long pole Ryan McNulty, goalie Sam Shafer, and face-off specialist Bailey Savio.

Last year’s team stood at a crossroads with a 5-5 record, but a late-season 4-game win streak propelled the team to the NCAA tournament. After upsetting Denver in the first round, Loyola took a highly touted Duke team to overtime before falling short.

The men’s team starts its 2022 campaign with three tough games against Maryland, Johns Hopkins, and Rutgers, with later tough matchups against Duke, Army, Georgetown, and Lehigh later in the season.

The men’s lacrosse team has the roster and coaching staff to have a special season, and if they perform up to expectations and play favorably, anything can happen during this season.

On the women’s side, the team is coming into the 2022 season with high expectations. USA Lax Magazine described Loyola’s team as being “loaded” with talent, and coach Jen Adams will have to maximize that talent this season.

Only three starters graduated from last year’s team, yet there remains an influx of talent across the board. Led by attacker Livy Rosenzweig and defender Katie Detweiler, Loyola has star power at the top. Other key contributors include midfielders Sam Fiedler, Jillian Wilson, and Ellie Kluegel, and attacker Emily Wills.

Coach Adams has said that with the former talent returning, they will have to improve their overall consistency game-by-game, and this will certainly have to be the case as the Greyhounds will once again navigate a difficult schedule.

The women’s team lost to Syracuse in last year’s NCAA Tournament, but this year’s group is primed to make a run as a championship contender.

Both lacrosse teams begin regular-season action in February, and once they hit the field, the entire Loyola community will be cheering them on!

Featured Imagine courtesy of Julia D’Agostino via Flickr Creative Commons