Trace Hogan has not been a member of the Massachusetts men’s lacrosse team for long, but his blazing start has given a clear spark to the UMass (3-1) attack. Hogan has registered 11 goals and seven assists across his first four games in Amherst.
The Jupiter, Florida native initially made the move north in 2021 when he committed to Merrimack College. He spent the first three years of his career playing for the school located in North Andover, Massachusetts. Hogan scored 36 goals and assisted 46 during his time with the Warriors. In just two weeks with the Minutemen, he has already scored nearly one-third of his previous career total.
Hogan’s transfer to UMass ahead of the 2025 campaign can largely be credited to Associate Head Coach Kyle Smith. Smith was formerly on Merrimack’s coaching staff and recruited Hogan to his first school. After the Warriors parted ways with long-time head coach Mike Morgan, Hogan hit the portal. Smith was one of the first people to reach out, and the rest is history.
“I’ve always looked at [UMass], its history [and] Coach Cannella, it’s a place I want to be,” Hogan said. “Their culture and the way they do things here is what I wanted to be a part of.”
The senior was integrated into the team the second he stepped foot on campus. He has been a member of the Gorillas for just a morsel of time, but it was immediately evident that he was a perfect fit.
“The guys were super welcoming, they welcomed me with open arms,” Hogan said. “The team is so tight here that I already feel like I have 47 best friends from the first week I was here. It’s like a home away from home for me.”
On Saturday afternoon, the transfer terrorized NJIT with a hat trick during a dominant 12-4 victory. The Highlanders (0-2) challenged a goal that was ruled out with one minute left in the first quarter, thanks to the would-be NJIT scorer’s entrance of the crease. Just 10 seconds after the referee’s decision to uphold the call, Hogan stepped in from the left side and rifled a low shot into the net to shift all the momentum.
Just before halftime, the midfielder showcased his quick footwork as he deployed a body feint to send his defender the wrong way. When the next defender approached him, he stopped on a dime to change directions and snuck his shot through the wickets of the goalie. The hat trick was completed just before the starters got pulled from the contest, in the fashion of a bounced finish from way downtown.
“It’s just been all about the team, the guys that give me looks,” Hogan said. “Just being in the right spot, giving my all to the guys around me. Then also for me, just moving the ball and trusting I’m going to get it back.”
Hogan’s hat trick comes on the back of one goal against Dartmouth and a monstrous double hat trick versus Quinnipiac. The six-goal performance was the best of his college career, by a long shot. His 11 goals are complemented by fellow starting attackers Robbie Granara’s 10 and Aiden Drunsic’s five. Hogan has helped Granara, a freshman out of Reading, Massachusetts, kickstart his college career.
“Just kind of staying in [Granara’s] head, keeping him positive,” Hogan said of helping Granara’s development as a player. “Things sometimes go your way, sometimes don’t, but it’s all about the positivity and the mindset. And then just practice how you play, we practice every single day out there, so it’s the same stuff.”
The Minutemen began their season with four home games on Garber Field, which will now be offset by four consecutive away games, ranging from venues in Vermont to New Jersey. UMass has now won three straight games after dropping the opener against a ranked Army. Next up is Albany on Saturday, March 1, with a scheduled faceoff time of 12 p.m.
“[We need] the same mindset, the same attitude that we’ve had here at home,” Hogan said. “We’re going and being road warriors now. It’s a tight group, we’re going to continue to stay tight and build off that. Then, just do it on the road, do it at somebody else’s home.”
Cameron Pellegrino can be reached at [email protected] and followed on X @cam_pellegrino.
