Hartford Hawks men's lacrosse

Last updated
Hartford Hawks men's lacrosse
Hartford Athletics wordmark.svg
Founded1979 (varsity), 1973 (club)
University University of Hartford
Head coachRyan Martin (8th season)
Stadium Al-Marzook Field at Alumni Stadium
(capacity: 2,500)
Location West Hartford, Connecticut
Conference Conference of New England
Nickname Hawks
ColorsScarlet and white [1]
   
NCAA Tournament appearances
2011, 2016
Conference Tournament championships
2011, 2016
Conference regular season championships
2000, 2003

The Hartford Hawks men's lacrosse team represents the University of Hartford in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III men's lacrosse. Hartford currently competes in the Conference of New England (CNE) and plays its home games at Al-Marzook Field at Alumni Stadium in West Hartford, Connecticut.

Contents

Hartford had been an NCAA Division I member before starting a transition to Division III after the 2022 season. It had been a member of the America East Conference, and before that the Northeast Conference. The Hawks played the first season of their transition in spring 2023 as a Division I independent before joining CNE (then known as the Commonwealth Coast Conference) in July 2023.

History

1973–1992

Hartford men's lacrosse was established as a club sport in 1973 until it became a varsity program in 1979.

In 1985, Hartford hired John Herbert as head coach for the team's inaugural season in Division 1. Hartford competed as an independent until joining the Northeast Conference in 1993. As an independent team, Hartford had an overall record of 36–58.

1993–2003

In 1993, first-year head coach Jack McGetrick replaced Rob Quinn and led the team to its first winning season in eight years. In 1997, the Hartford Hawks joined the America East Conference. In 2000, the Hawks completed a 14–2 record and earned the NEC regular season title after completing a 4–1 conference record. In 2003, McGetrick once again led the Hawks to a regular season title after finishing the season with a 9–8 record and a 4–1 conference record. After 11 seasons with the Hawks, McGetrick stepped down from his head coaching duties finishing as the winningest lacrosse coach in the programs history. BlackJack returned in 2004 to coach his alumni to victory one last time over the current squad. A feat never accomplished and most likely never repeated. The game was played on the muddy practice field behind the 5’s so the lacrosse team didn’t ruin the field used by the university’s crown jewel soccer team. [2]

2004–2005

Andy Towers replaced McGetrick as head coach for the 2004 season and led the Hawks to an unsuccessful 0–14 record. The following season, now under the helm of Bill Warder, ended in a disappointing 2–12 record. [3]

2006–2016

In 2006, Peter Lawrence became head coach of the Hawks. In 2011, coming off seven straight losing seasons; the Hawks, led by Lawrence, would win their first conference tournament. [4] Hartford also made their first NCAA tournament appearance in 2011 but lost in the first round to the second-seeded Cornell, 12–5. [5] In 2016, the Hawks lost 14–9 against Quinnipiac in a play-in game in the 2016 NCAA tournament. [6] Following the 2016 season, Peter Lawrence resigned as head coach of Hartford after 11 seasons. [7]

2017–present

After the departure of long time head coach Peter Lawrence; Hartford promoted assistant coach Ryan Martin to head coach. [8] In his first season as head coach, Martin led the Hawks to a 6–8 overall record. [9]

Division III

On May 6, 2021, the University of Hartford Board of Regents voted to drop its athletic department to Division III. The drop was set to take place no later than September 1, 2025. [10] The school ultimately started its transition in July 2022 and started Division III competition in July 2023, with full D-III membership to follow in the 2026–27 school year.

Annual record

SeasonCoachOverallConferenceStandingPostseason
Allan Wilson (Independent)(1979–1984)
1979Allan Wilson 0–8
1980Allan Wilson 4–6
1981Allan Wilson 1–9
1982Allan Wilson 3–6
1983Allan Wilson 2–6
1984Allan Wilson 4–4
Allan Wilson:14–39
John Herbert (Independent)(1985–1986)
Division I
1985John Herbert 5–6
1986John Herbert 7–5
John Herbert:12–11
Gus Mazzocca (Independent)(1987–1989)
1987Gus Mazzocca 1–8
1988Gus Mazzocca 4–7
1989Gus Mazzocca 4–9
Gus Mazzocca:9–24
Rob Quinn (Independent)(1990–1992)
1990Rob Quinn 7–7
1991Rob Quinn 3–8
1992Rob Quinn 5–80–4
Rob Quinn:15–230–4
Jack McGetrick (Northeast Conference/America East Conference)(1993–2003)
1993Jack McGetrick 7–61–3
1994Jack McGetrick 3–101–3
1995Jack McGetrick 8–62–3
1996Jack McGetrick 9–62–3
1997Jack McGetrick 11–35–1
1998Jack McGetrick 3–111–4
1999Jack McGetrick 8–70–5
2000Jack McGetrick 14–24–1
2001Jack McGetrick 6–81–4
2002Jack McGetrick 9–74–1
2003Jack McGetrick 9–84–1
Jack McGetrick:87–74
Andy Towers (America East)(2004–2004)
2004Andy Towers 0–140–6
Andy Towers:0–140–6
Bill Warder (America East)(2005–2005)
2005Bill Warder 2–120–6
Bill Warder:2–120–6
Peter Lawrence (America East)(2006–2016)
2006Peter Lawrence 3–120–56th
2007Peter Lawrence 2–131–4T–5th
2008Peter Lawrence 0–130–56th
2009Peter Lawrence 2–111–4
2010Peter Lawrence 4–101–4
2011Peter Lawrence 11–73–2T–2nd NCAA First Round
2012Peter Lawrence 6–93–2
2013Peter Lawrence 7–74–1T–2nd
2014Peter Lawrence 6–92–3
2015Peter Lawrence 7–83–34th
2016Peter Lawrence 11–73–34th NCAA First Round
Peter Lawrence:59–10621–36
Ryan Martin (America East)(2017–present)
2017Ryan Martin 6–82–45th
2018Ryan Martin 3–100–57th
2019Ryan Martin 4–112–4T–4th
2020Ryan Martin 3–30–0††
2021Ryan Martin 2–52–55th
2022
Ryan Martin (Division I Independent)(2023–2023)
2023Ryan Martin 5–0
Division III
Ryan Martin (Commonwealth Coast Conference)(2024–2024)
2024Ryan Martin 6–74–4
Ryan Martin (Conference of New England)(2025–present)
2025Ryan Martin 10–76–2T–1st
Ryan Martin:22–394–13
Total:220–342

      National champion        Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion        Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion      Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

†NCAA canceled 2020 collegiate activities due to the COVID-19 virus.

References

  1. ↑ University of Hartford Brand Identity Guide . Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  2. ↑ "FORMER HARTFORD LACROSSE COACH JACK MCGETRICK PASSES AWAY ON SATURDAY". Hartford Hawks. 9 October 2010. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
  3. ↑ "Andrew Towers". dartmouthsports.com. Dartmouth Big Green. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
  4. ↑ "Compitello's Last-Second Goal Gives Hartford 2011 Men's Lacrosse Title". America East. 7 May 2011. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
  5. ↑ "HAWKS' FLIGHT ENDS AT CORNELL WITH 12–5 LOSS TO BIG RED". Hartford Hawks. 14 May 2011. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
  6. ↑ "Hawks Defeated by Quinnipiac in NCAA Preliminary Round". Hartford Hawks. 11 May 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
  7. ↑ "Lawrence Steps Down as Head Men's Lacrosse Coach". Hartford Hawks. 13 May 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
  8. ↑ "Ryan Martin Promoted to Head Men's Lacrosse Coach". Hartford Hawks. 2 June 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
  9. ↑ "Hartford Drops Season Finale to No. 7 UAlbany". Hartford Hawks. 29 April 2017. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
  10. ↑ "University of Hartford Votes to Drop Athletic Department to Division III". Sports Illustrated . May 6, 2021. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
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