The Top Gun Fighting Clams pride ourselves on not only being one of the most competitive club programs, but also one of the very best at college placement, with an emphasis on placement at elite academic institutions with competitive lacrosse.
In the past decade (2010-2019) we have had 439 total college commitments. Each commitment has its own story to tell. To honor those committed players who succeeded at the highest level, we decided to put on our thinking caps, use the time we now have, and engage in a round table discussion of sorts which resulted in the compilation of an All-Decade team.
We've done this not only to tip our caps and honor our very best, but also to reassure all our program members.
Throughout the past decade, we saw the emergence of competing clubs that have emerged as household names. I remember distinctly the challenge Laxachusetts posed, as they emerged at the very early part of the decade, and because of the club's south shore roots, we saw a significant reduction in our south shore numbers (especially in Duxbury, which, interestingly was the epicenter of the formation of both the Laxachusetts and Clam clubs). The Clam 2012 class was the most affected by the new adversary, but still, we managed in that class to place players in a list of schools ranging from Hopkins to Dartmouth to Duke. In 2013, I remember vividly the emergence of 3d New England. They came into the region very aggressively, and I remember having to defend our turf and almost re-recruit a number of our players (including our top two defensemen) from the pursuit they faced. The back half of the decade has seen the emergence of other clubs carving out their niches, and though this may ring hollow, we genuinely do hope all of our competitors emerge from this stronger.
Looking back has provided me the reassurance that comes from having endured and overcome challenges faced by increased competition, and now, in hindsight, I can see with clarity that each new competitor made us better at what we do, because it forced us to respond. Respond we did.
Increased competition was one of a number of challenges we faced in the past decade. The current challenge is a new one, and is indeed one no New England club has faced. But the response it requires is similar to the response needed to overcome any other hurdles.
In the Clam program, our overall number of committed players has continued to climb, in a manner that shows a clear upward trend. We are proud not only of our 26 players on our DI All-Decade first and second teams, or the 24 names for our DII/DIII first and second teams, nor even our 439 committed players in the decade. No, we are proud of every Clam that has made us who we are in the past decade, including those relatively few who have chosen to go on to play club lacrosse or to forego college lacrosse. All made who we are today, a club whose excellence and commitment to our players and parents will endure.
DI Second Team
A – Will Walker – (Clam Class 2011): The crafty attackman finished his career at Harvard notching 91 goals and 21 assists for 112 points in 60 games for the scarlet and white. As a sophomore, Walker's 35 goals were instrumental in helping the Crimson secure an NCAA Tournament bid and 10 wins (tied for a decade high).
A – Sam Cleveland – (Clam Class 2015): Coach Cleveland started every game of his college career and was named to the 2018 All-Patriot League Second Team and 2018 and 2019 Patriot League Academic Honor Roll. He finished his career with 64 goals and 80 assists in 56 collegiate games, and finished 4th in program history in assists.
A – Jordan Greenfield – (Clam Class 2010): After leading Fairfield in scoring in 2013 (34g,8a) Greenfield moved on to upstart Marquette in 2015. Despite playing just one season at Marquette, Greenfield ranked in MU's career top 10 in eight offensive statistical categories after recording 57 points, including 36 goals in 2015. He finished his career with
M – Lukas Buckley – (Clam Class 2015): After redshirting his first year on campus, Buckley played in 55 games over the last four seasons for the Buckeyes. The OSU Captain finished his career with 29 goals and 21 assists, and was a four-time Ohio State Scholar-Athlete, two-time Academic All-Big Ten selection and two-time Big Ten Distinguished Scholar (3.70 GPA or better).
M – Matt Manown – (Clam Class 2016): Tough as nails, Manown was named a Captain for the Black Knights in their 2020 campaign. In 2019 Matt earned Second Team All-Patriot league honors, while also helping Army to a 13-5 record and a Patriot League Championship. He has 32g, 27a, 49 ground balls and 15 caused turnovers in 52 career games played.
M – Will McCarthy – (Clam Class 2016): McCarthy was an instant contributor for the Mercer Bears, playing in 47 career games and ending his career with 42 goals and 25 assists. In 2020 Will was on track to a career year, as he was two points shy (22 points) of a career best through only 7 games played. The Mercer Bears were 6-1 and likely on their way to a program record for wins in 2020.
LSM – Matt Ryan – (Clam Class 2013): The Harvard Captain played in 52 career games for the Crimson, and helped Harvard to an Ivy League Championship and NCAA Tournament bid in 2014. Ryan ended his career with 7 goals, 3 assists, 98 ground balls and 52 caused turnovers.
SSDM – Parker McKee – (Clam Class 2014): A four year starter and senior Captain for the Wolverines, McKee was a workhorse for Michigan over his 52 game career. The Nobles product finished with 3 goals, 8 assists, 51 ground balls and 20 caused turnovers. He was also named a BIG 10 sportsmanship honoree in 2018.
D – Chris Coady – (Clam Class 2012): A physical specimen, Chris was a two sport athlete at Duke as a linebacker for the Football team as well. For the lacrosse team he won two national titles while playing in 37 career games with 12 starts. Chris finished his career with 27 ground balls and 10 caused turnovers.
D – Pat Hart – (Clam Class 2010): Pat played in 51 games while attending West Point including 8 starts in his sophomore campaign. In his final two seasons, Pat started 26 games with the Black Knights. A towering figure was one of the key cogs for a stout Army defensive unit which was one of the tops in the country during his tenure. Pat was a captain in his final year and was selected as a USILA North/South Senior All-Star.
D – Max Gustafson – (Clam Class 2014): A captain his senior year, Max played in a total of 57 games throughout his playing career at Brown while starting every game his Junior and Senior years. Max finished his Bears career with 43 ground balls and 18 caused turnovers. He was later selected by the Dallas Rattlers of the MLL in the 2019 Supplemental Draft.
G – Josh Kirson – (Clam Class 2016): The redshirt junior had his 2020 season cut short and was on pace for a career best season (94 saves and 58% save percentage before the cancellation). Though his career is not complete, Kirson has amassed 275 saves, a 52% career save percentage and a 9.95 goals against average with 15 career wins.
On their way to an All-Decade Selection:
A – Joe Manown – (Clam Class 2016) (Duke)
A – George Prince – (Clam Class 2017) (Dartmouth)
A – Logan Liljeberg – (Clam Class 2018) (Sacred Heart)
A – Pat Daly – (Clam Class 2018) (Villanova)
M – Will Abbott – (Clam Class 2018)
M – Jake Tellers – (Clam Class 2019)
D – Max Fields – (Clam Class 2018)
G – Danny Hincks – (Clam Class 2018)
G – Nick DiMuccio – (Clam Class 2018)
Winter CELL Championship 2020