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The NEC announced the addition of men's lacrosse as its 23rd sponsored sport on May 15, 2008. The six team lineup of Bryant, Mount St. Mary's, Quinnipiac, Robert Morris, Sacred Heart and Wagner played a partial league schedule in 2010. RMU's Trevor Moore was selected as the first NEC Player of the Year. In 2011, the NEC's inaugural champion was crowned as Mount St. Mary's defeated Quinnipiac in the title game, 14-9. RMU's Trevor Moore was named NEC Player of the Year in each of the first two seasons of league competition (2010-11). Bryant won its first NEC title in any sport in 2012 and finished the season ranked 19th in the nation. RMU's Kiel Matisz, the 2012 NEC Player of the Year, was also named a third team USILA All-American. Bryant repeated again in 2013 as Kevin Massa was named both NEC Player of the Year and a USILA third team All-American. The Bulldogs ended the year ranked 20th nationally. Hobart and Saint Joseph's joined the NEC as associate members in men's lacrosse for the 2014 season. SJU won the NEC regular season in its first year in the conference, but Bryant captured the tourney crown for the third straight year. Bryant would go on to shock #2 Syracuse in the NCAA Tournament and advance to the quarterfinals. The Bulldogs made it four in a row in 2015 as Kevin Massa ended his Bryant career as a three-time NEC Player of the Year and three-time USILA All-American. Massa finished as a seven-time NCAA record holder, including career marks for faceoffs won (1,117), faceoffs taken (1,638), ground balls (753) and ground balls per game (9.92). Hobart captured its first NEC title in 2016. Bryant won its fifth championship in six years, denying Hobart a chance to repeat with a 5-4 win in 2017. The Bulldogs went on to win the second NCAA Tournament game in league annals with a 10-7 win over Monmouth. Ranked in the top-20 all season, Robert Morris won its first NEC title in 2018, rallying in the second half against Saint Joseph's, then netting the game winner in OT from Tyson Gibson. The Colonials rebounded from a 1-7 start to win their last eight games and repeat as NEC champs in 2019 with an 11-10 win over Hobart. Bryant improved to 6-0 in NEC title games with a 16-10 win over top-seeded Saint Joseph's. The finally broke through with their first NEC title in 2022 with a 14-7 victory over Hobart.
After a two-year hiatus, NEC men's lacrosse returned in 2025. After sharing the regular season crown with Le Moyne, it was Robert Morris that stood tall in the postseason. The Colonials pulled off a dramatic overtime win over LIU in the semis, then rolled past Detroit Mercy, 17-8, in the final to bring a third title back to Moon Township.
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