(Inside Lacrosse Photo: Zach Babo)

The year 2019 is here. For several programs, that brings promise of a turnaround from 2018’s results. Whether 2018 was just plagued by bad luck, injuries or correctable issues, the teams below should be much better in '19. Here are several teams that finished 2018 below .500 but are looking to increase their output in the new year.

Army (5-8)

Things went off the rails for Army in 2018, with the Knights losing their last six games. But the defense is consistently good, and it returns Johnny Surdick to lead a unit that finished No. 6 in adjusted efficiency. It’s hard to expect a military academy to repeat its mistakes; it’s more likely the Black Knights will play as they did against UMass, Rutgers and Syracuse to start the year.

Brown (6-9)

The Bears were on the precipice of a successful 2018, but one- and two-goal losses to the likes of Quinnipiac, Rutgers, Harvard, UMass and Providence show the thin margin of error in college lacrosse. There was also a litany of illnesses and injuries that led to the first losing season since 2012. Look for Luke McCaleb, who attended Marine Corps officer candidate school in the summer, to be a leader who gets it back on track.

Colgate (7-8)

There are too many good offensive pieces for the Raiders to go sub-.500 again. Sam Cleveland is a beast, plus junior midfielder Griffin Brown, sophomore Mike Hawkins and others make the team dangerous. And, you have the potential bump of a new head coach in Matt Karweck. The Raiders were respectable in their losing stretches in 2018 — close games with Navy, Loyola, Bucknell and others — and beat Cornell in February.

Delaware (6-8)

The Blue Hen players are now familiar with the expectations of coach Ben DeLuca, who enters his second year. Delaware took Towson to the brink in the CAA Tournament a season ago and hung in with UMass in early April. Charlie Kitchen is one of the best attackmen in the CAA, plus there’s a standout goalie in Matt DeLuca. Throw in depth at midfield, and their success will come down to the intangibles — health and chemistry.

Today was inspiring.



We broke ground on the Whitney Athletic Center and a renovated Delaware Stadium.



GAME CHANGING. #BlueHens pic.twitter.com/rjj9R9UOes — #BlueHens (@UDBlueHens) December 18, 2018

High Point (6-8)

The Panthers’ opening run in 2018 was deadly against some of the best competition in the country. The second half of the season was a bit more indicative of High Point lacrosse. And, with a young team led by a core of sophomores, it’s a group that’s only going to get better. Asher Nolting had one of the better freshman seasons in the nation, and on the other end the Panthers have one more year of Tim Troutner in net.

Hobart (4-10)

The Statesmen had their worst year since 2012 and ended on a five-game skid. A closer look reveals some close finishes — four one-goal losses— that could have gone Hobart’s way. In Face-Off Yearbook, coach Greg Raymond describes his team as having “a lot of aggression.” It’s a large freshman class, plus there are four 30-plus goal-scorers back, including senior attackman Chris Aslanian. Hobart has been one of the NEC’s more consistent teams, so expect several wins to come from a much better conference record than 1-5.

Marquette (6-8)

The Golden Eagles followed an early season win against Ohio State with a three-game skid, and it continued to be up and down the rest of 2018. There was a near-win against Notre Dame and a Big East Tournament appearance, but that didn’t manifest itself in Marquette’s normal playoff heroics. In addition to most of the starters returning — including the entire close defense and every significant point-scorer — the return of Tanner Thomson, plus the transfer of Andrew Romagnoli (Delaware) will add spark to the offense. Losses at face-off and goalie will need to be filled.

Towson (7-8)

The fall saw the culture return to Towson’s standards under coach Shawn Nadelen. The offense, which slogged with new faces last year, appeared much-improved and polished in the fall. Face-off specialist Alex Woodall and others have made transformational changes in the weight room. And, there’s a defense with stars led by the best shortstick d-middie in the country and a few other potential All-Americans.

UMBC (5-8)

The Retrievers had a lot to be happy about with their 2018 season, even if the record doesn’t jump off the page. Knocking off Albany on a Friday night in Catonsville showed the potential and their ability to be a contender in the America East. It’s arguably the best defense in the country, even if there isn’t the star power. And think of this alternate reality: UMBC was up on Towson late in early March, but then the Tigers came back after UMBC’s bench was called with a foul. What would have been the impact on the season if UMBC got that big early win?