Chapman Lacrosse is run by Athletics at Chapman (Not Rec Sports) Compete in the Southwestern Lacrosse Conference within the MCLA (mcla.us) 7,650 Undergrad Students at Chapman 2,350 Graduate Students at Chapman We practice and play games in our beautiful stadium on campus. Commitment is the same as a DIII program. 4 coaches & ~ 40 players SLC Champions '08, '09, '11, '16, '18, '19 MCLA National Champions '16 MCLA National Tourney Finalist '08, '09, '16, '17, '18, '21 MCLA National Final Four '08, '09, '10, '14, '15, '16, '17, '18, '19, '21 MCLA National Quarterfinals '08, '09, '10, '11, '12, '14, '15, '16, '17, '18, '19, '21 MCLA National Tourney '03, '08, '09, '10, '11, '12, '13, '14, '15, '16, '17, '18, '19, '21

Coach Dallas Hartley finished his second year as head coach of the Chapman Panthers in the 2014 season with a 16-6 record, 6-0 in the SLC, and a bid to the MCLA National Championship Final Four. The Panthers saw great contribution from their freshman class that totaled 85 points this season. 2 of those points were from the true freshman 1st team All-American Nicky Mullen. Becoming an All-American his first year in the MCLA is an outstanding honor. The Panthers have been lingering around an MCLA National Championship for years, and 2015 could be Chapman’s time for a title with a very strong freshman class coming in to compliment their great class from 2014.

What positive surprises did you see from your team this season?

We committed to playing and rotating more players and 3 lines at midfield this season and it served us well in terms of depth and a more up and down style of play. I also thought our Freshmen played really well and filled needed roles for us to make a run in the latter part of the season and overcome a slow start.

How did your season stack up against your expectations going into the season?

I think we were preseason ranked #4 and finished in the Semis of the MCLA tournament so outside expectations were met. Our expectation is to win the SLC and the MCLA so we are still working on that process.

Where did your team improve the most during the season and which player’s took a step forward in their game?

Our team improved at the F.O. with 2 freshmen taking most of the draws with Simon Jenkin and Wyatt Miller. We thought we’d be a good defensive team with a lot of returners, but we started slow and got better over time as Warren Nielsen our goalie had another great year and our defense settled in. Two juniors really led the way for us this year on defense with Zach Dutra and Brenton Croteau alongside Sr. Zach Nichelman and Freshman 1st Team All MCLA Nicky Mullen who really improved throughout the season. At attack, Timmy Andrews, Mikey Marchand, and Tyler Ankarlo had solid senior seasons and we had a few freshmen that really impressed with Wesley Greason and Regan Kelly. The strength of our team was our overall midfield depth. AJ Rafter, Keaton Gianotti, and Dave Apruzzese had strong campaigns and formed a formidable offensive and defensive punch. Chris Hermann, Connor Reilly, Colin Laviola, and Simon Jenkin added great depth and offensive and defensive play that carried our team.

Where can next year’s team improve in order to reach your ultimate goal for the season?

Our team was a true team in a sense that we didn’t really have any superstars, just a lot of good players. We can improve everywhere. We will have a new goalie, and a few new attackmen, but the core of our team comes back and we will be very good again. We need to continue to improve at the F.O. and working for good shots and finishing shots on the offensive side of the ball.

Which incoming players are you most excited about and how do they fit with the type of team you are building?

We lost some key offensive players to injury last season that hurt our overall point production including Steve Koressel, Greg Colosimo, and Wesley Greason so getting them back will help our overall talent and depth. This year’s freshman class was stacked and they got valuable experience so we expect a lot out of them next season as well. Our incoming freshman class is very strong, especially at the midfield with the 2-way types that we like to play. I could see 3 or 4 of them like Benji Whitmore, Blake Lee, Kevin Leake, and Nevin Masri contributing strong minutes early and often.