CANTON, New York (WWNY) – It’s been quite a start to the 2024 college lacrosse season for the St. Lawrence Men; a start that has seen them win their first 10 games and a start that has them ranked in the top 5 nationally.
The Saints improved to 10-0 on Saturday, beating 8th ranked Union 12-6 in Canton. It’s the team’s 3rd win over a ranked opponent this season.
Coach Mike Mahoney, who is in his 26th season at the helm of the Saints Lacrosse program, is pleased with his team’s start and their approach so far this season.
”I think the guys have just kind of taken it one game at a time, one game at a time, frankly with our practice preparations. We’re at the point where we don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves here. I think that they’ve really approached it the right way and that’s kind of our motto here moving forward is continuing to take it that one day at a time here and prepare for each opportunity as it comes along,” said Mahoney.
Leading the way for the Saints has been senior attack Judge Murphy, who has scored 37 goals and dished out 19 assists in 10 games this season.
The captain says the key to the team’s success this season has been the attention to detail and extra work the team has put in, not only before but during the season.
”Like I said, just the buy-in from the guys. Guys getting extra reps outside of practice, staying after practice, extra film sessions. Just guys enjoying being around each other, too, is a really special thing. We just spent 11 days on the road traveling on a bus and hotels. Those bonds built off the field are very crucial for the success on the field for the guys,” said Judge Murphy.
The Saints have won in a number of ways this season coming out on top in high-scoring games, low-scoring games, and winning overtime games.
Senior defender and captain Tripp Clark feels that’s a direct result of how balanced the Saints are in each and every aspect.
”We have an amazing offense, we have an amazing coaching staff and support staff. Our defense has been very strong this year. We don’t have necessarily one strength. Our faceoff has been amazing so far this year and I think as long as everyone buys in and does their job that will directly translate to on the field and success,” said Tripp Clark.
The road doesn’t get any easier for the Saints with 6 games left in the regular season.
Their final 2 contests are against 2nd-ranked RPI and 3rd-ranked RIT but Mahoney says games with Vassar, Middlebury, Ithaca, and Clarkson will be just as tough and ones his team will need to be at the top of their game.
”We’ve just gotta keep our approach consistent and try to have your best day. Even when you’re having a really good day, playing the teams that we do we know that they’re gonna be some tough battles. That’s what makes it fun. Our guys wanna play great teams, they want to challenge themselves and we pride ourselves on that,” said Mahoney.
The Saints are in action again on Saturday when they host Vassar in a noon start.
Another team off to a solid start this season is the SUNY Potsdam Men’s Lacrosse team.
Coach Rick Berkman’s squad is 6-3 this season, 1-1 in league play.
Despite losing their last 2 games, including a tough 5-4 OT loss to SUNY Oswego on Saturday, Berkman is excited about a young and talented roster that includes a number of local players.
”We’ve got some really good impact players locally. Drew Costello from Ogdensburg is our number one faceoff guy and he’s doing great. I’m expecting big things from him. We’ve also got some other local kids. Tommy Storrin from Brasher is in the starting lineup right now. The Cree brothers are both starting. They’re from Salmon River and they’re doing really well. Right now our starting goalie is Saka Thompson from Salmon River,” said Berkman.
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