By Mike Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor
It was obvious during his time at Walpole High School that Conor Foley, a 200-point scorer in both lacrosse and ice hockey, was a supreme athlete. After winning Bay State Conference Co-MVP honors as a junior, Foley committed to play at UMass Lowell.
Often times, freshman athletes take a back seat during their underclass years of college in order to develop and learn the team’s systems. This was not the case for Foley, who immediately made an impact for the Riverhawks (3-4). In Lowell’s season-opening 10-9 win against Quinnipiac, Foley netted the first goal of the 2020 season for the Riverhawks before adding an assist on the man-up late in the game. Foley’s debut performance was enough to earn him American East Rookie of the Week honors.
Foley later went on to put together back-to-back seven-point performances against Siena (16-15 win) and UMass (11-9 defeat). Against Siena, Foley scored three goals and added four assists, including the go-ahead goal with 3:26 to play. Though the season lasted just seven games due to COVID-19, Foley finished the year with six multi-point games and recorded at least a point in all seven of Lowell’s contests. The business major Foley finished the year with 10 goals and 13 assists.
Recently, SB Nation’s College Crosse released its list of the top freshmen in NCAA Division I lacrosse from the seven-game 2020 season. Foley received honorable mention with his more-than-impressive 23-point stat-line.
Had the remainder of the season not been cancelled, Conor Foley very well could have earned himself American East rookie of the year, as well as All-Conference honors. When college lacrosse returns in the spring of 2021, expect to see this young man from Walpole’s name soaking up the headlines for the Lowell Riverhawks. It's going to be special to watch.
For funny and incisive sports analysis as well as game highlights, follow Mike Flanagan on his personal Twitter and Instagram @flano0.
