Kyle Karaska

Position:
Close Defense
Height:
6-2
Weight:
215
Class:
Senior
Hometown:
Groton, Mass.
High School:
Bishop Guertin (N.H.)

2016 - Senior: Team Captain ... NEILA All-Region Second Team ... All-CAA First Team ... Senior CLASS Award nominee ... Preseason NEILA All-Region Second Team ... Preseason All-CAA Team ... Led all Minutemen with 21 caused turnovers for an average of 1.6 per game ... Also collected 22 groundballs ... Closed the year emphatically with eight groundballs and as many caused turnovers during the last three games (2.7 per contest) ... Had at least one caused turnover in 10 games and a groundball in 11 ... Scooped up two groundballs and caused a turnover at Army West Point (2/12) ... Added another groundball against No. 11 Ohio State (2/20) ... Picked up one caused turnover and a groundball against No. 14 Harvard (2/27) ... Caused four turnovers and grabbed three groundballs during the 11-3 win over Hartford (3/1) ... Added another caused turnover at No. 7 Brown (3/5) ... Caused a pair of turnovers against No. 15 Albany (3/8) ... Totaled three caused turnovers and as many groundballs during the win over No. 10 North Carolina (3/12) ... Caused one turnover and grabbed a groundballs at Delaware (4/2) ... Provided three caused turnovers and a pair of groundballs at Fairfield (4/16) ... Went for a pair of caused turnovers and as many groundballs against Hofstra (4/23) ... Spearheaded the defensive effort in his final game with four groundballs and three caused turnovers at Drexel (4/29).

2015 - Junior: NEILA All-Region First Team ... All-CAA First Team ... NEILA Preseason All-New England Second Team ... Preseason All-CAA Team ... Started at close defense in all 15 games ... Recorded 25 groundballs and 18 caused turnovers, both of which went as the top performances on the defense ... Had multiple groundballs in eight games and more than one caused turnover in five contests ... Provided three groundballs and a caused turnover against No. 20 Army (2/7) ... Tallied a pair of groundballs at No. 6 North Carolina (2/14) ... Recorded a career-best four caused turnovers at No. 12 Harvard (2/21) ... Caused a pair of turnovers versus Brown (2/28) ... Picked up a groundball and caused a turnover at No. 16 Albany (3/7) ... Had three groundballs and as many caused turnovers in the win over Penn State (3/14) ... Notched another three-GB performance in the win at Hofstra (3/21) ... Produced a pair of caused turnovers and two groundballs at No. 18 Towson (3/28) ... Earned three groundballs with a caused turnover against Fairfield (4/4) ... Collected three groundballs during the 12-9 win over Drexel (4/18) ... Created a turnover against Delaware (4/24) and collected two groundballs ... Caused three Fairfield turnovers and picked up a groundball during the 9-8 upset victory over the No. T19 Stags during the CAA Championship Semifinal Round (4/30).

2014 - Sophomore: All-CAA Second Team ... Earned single-season career-highs with 20 groundballs and nine caused turnovers while starting each of the 13 games played in 2014 ... Picked up a groundball while starting on close defense at Army on Feb. 8 ... Grabbed one groundball against No. 14 Ohio State (2/16) ... Caused two turnovers and scooped up a groundball against Harvard (2/22) ... Assisted on one goal, picked up four groundballs and caused two turnovers during the win at Brown on March 1 ... Nabbed a pair of groundballs during the win over Providence (3/11) ... Notched two groundballs when UMass won at No. 5 Penn State (3/15) ... Caused a Hartford turnover and secured one groundball during the victory over Hartford (3/22) ... Picked up three groundballs and caused a turnover against Towson (4/5) ... Added two groundballs and as many caused turnovers against No. 12 Hofstra (4/19) ... Secured one caused turnover at Delaware (4/25).

2013 - Freshman: Was called into action due to an injury to James Fahey and made 13 starts among 14 appearances on the year as a close defenseman ... Scooped up 13 groundballs and caused a pair of turnovers on the year alongside veteran close defense starters and seniors Ryan Hollenbaugh and Jake Smith ... Took four penalties totaling three minutes and 30 seconds ... Made his first appearance as a Minuteman during the 12-11 come-from-behind victory No. 4 North Carolina (2/16) as the UMass defense held the Tar Heels scoreless in the final quarter ... Started on close defense at Harvard on Feb. 23, earning single-game career-highs with four groundballs scooped up and two turnovers caused in the Minutemen victory over the Crimson ... Had a pair of groundballs at Albany (3/5) ... Earned one groundball at Saint Joseph's (3/30) ... Totaled three groundballs as Massachusetts defeated No. 20 Hofstra, 9-8 on the road at Shuart Stadium on April 20 in a come-from-behind effort ... Ended his freshman season with a groundball at No. 9 Penn State during the CAA Tournament Semifinal Round (5/1).

Before UMass: Letterwinning defenseman at Bishop Guertin in Nashua N.H., under coach Chris Cameron ... Was named a United States Lacrosse (USL) High School All-American in 2012 ... Also was a member of the football team at Bishop Guertin.

Personal: Full name is Kyle Albert Karaska ... Son of Mark and Francine Karaska ... Brother of Emily and Rachel ... Is majoring in environmental science.

Career Highs
Assists: 1, at Brown (March 1, 2014)
Points: 1, at Brown (March 1, 2014)
Groundballs: 4, 2x, last at Brown (March 1, 2014)
Caused Turnovers: 4, at #12 Hartford (Feb. 21, 2015)