I have played in lot of lacrosse games, but this was the slowest fourth quarter I had ever played in.

Time literally seemed to stand still.

The Syracuse defense doggedly chased our attack, and their offense peppered our defense with well placed shots. The game seemed like it would never end. After what felt like an eternity, I looked up and watched as the final seconds ran off of the clock – we had beaten Syracuse. It was the first time a Colgate lacrosse team had beaten Syracuse in over 30 years. A euphoric wave rushed over our team. My teammates rushed the field in celebration.




I was lured to Colgate in the fall of my senior year of high school by the prospect of being a part of a championship team. Winning a championship proved more difficult than it I thought as my first two years were clouded by our marginal records. Heading into my junior year, our program still lacked a marquee win or a top 20 ranking to build off of. The 2006 Raiders would have to develop the championship program from scratch.

For a team without a long history of success, the hardest part of becoming a contender is believing in yourself. To beat a great opponent, every player must believe that it can be done. For our team this happened in the first half of our schedule in 2006. In our third game of that year we flew out to Colorado to play the University of Denver. It was an extremely exciting trip for our team. Colgate is a very small school and we were used to taking the bus to play other local schools. The excitement quickly came to an end as we were blown out. Our team was devastated by the disastrous loss, and I was concerned the loss to Denver would lower team morale and hang over us all season. We could ill-afford any uncertainty in our ability as our annual battle against the Midshipmen was around the corner.

I am not sure exactly what changed between the loss at Denver and the game against Navy a week later. We were the same team, with the same coaches, and the same plays. Yet in the week leading up to the game, I could feel something was different about the team. We believed in ourselves. My parents had driven in from Michigan for the game and I remember telling them the night before the game that we were going to win. We had a simple game plan which we executed to a T in our 6-3 victory. Our plan was to possess the ball on offense, take away transition, and cover the crease on defense. Our offense controlled the ball and only took smart shots, thus limiting Navy’s time of possession.

The game turned on a single defensive play. We were man down in a very close game in the third quarter. Navy worked the ball around and had what looked like a clear shot from 12 yards. I thought that Navy would score because their shooters rarely miss. At the last moment, Colgate defenseman EJ Atamian ran from the other side of the play to drive in front of the shot. The would-be-goal ricocheted off of his helmet and out of bounds. Peter Whitcomb then sprinted after the ball and dove toward the sideline, beating the Navy player, and thus securing our possession of the ball. After that amazing sequence, our confidence soared. We went on to win.

We beat every Patriot League opponent that year with the exception of Army, who beat us once in the regular season and once in the league tournament. The tournament loss was especially gut-wrenching. We had earned the right to host the tournament by winning the Patriot League regular season crown. We were up late in the fourth quarter and playing an excellent game in front of a large and spirited Colgate crowd. However, the tide turned in Army’s favor as they mounted an improbable comeback and beat us on our own field. Unlike the Denver defeat, we were unable to regroup after the second loss to Army. In our next game, Syracuse beat us on Senior day by 9 goals to end our 2006 season.

Even with those losses to end the season, we finished ’06 at a very respectable 11-4. Everyone on campus seemed proud of us. We were congratulated on a great year and yet our team did not accept these losses. I think our team’s refusal to accept losing was the main difference between my first two and last two years. Coach Nagle even improved the strength of our schedule in 2007, and we accepted the challenge.

Cornell was our first big test of ’07, but after playing a good first quarter, we fell apart. It was a difficult loss to take. It would have been very easy to let doubt creep in. Up until that point, we had only beaten one highly ranked team—Navy—in the last four years. After losing to Cornell, we then lost three straight to Penn State, Albany, and Navy. We were really on the ropes—our record stood at a subsidiary 4-4. With ninth ranked Army up next, I do not believe that many would have predicted a Colgate victory. While it would have been easy to fold, we instead focused on our formula for success; hard practices, excellent scouting, and believing in victory. Our simple and conservative game plan—take good shots on offense and protect the crease on defense—worked not only in the win over Army, but also in 5 games following. We even beat Bucknell twice in one week (one regular season and one playoff game) toward the end of the year.

We were riding a six game winning streak and were set once again to play Navy in Annapolis in the Patriot League final. They had already beaten us once in Marine Corps Stadium earlier in the year. I thought we were poised to rectify our Patriot League Championship disappointment of 2006. Going into the fourth quarter we were down only one, 9-8. Yet we were outscored 6-1 in the final quarter and we lost 15-9. I remember feeling dejected as we had to watch as Navy receive the Patriot League Championship trophy for the fourth straight year. Although Navy had won the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, we still had a chance for an at-large bid if we beat Syracuse in our last game. Our experiences in the last two years forged a work ethic and team camaraderie which enabled us to beat Syracuse. After the game our athletic director came into the locker room to congratulate us and Mrs. Nagle even baked us cookies for the short bus ride home. We were peaking at playoff time and everything seemed to be going our way.

Coach Nagle scheduled a team meeting on Sunday night so we could find out as a team who we would play in the NCAA tournament. We thought with an 11-5 record, playing against difficult competition, and quality wins over Bucknell (twice) and Syracuse, that we would be offered an at-large bid. The speaker phone in the conference room wasn’t working, which only served to enhance our nervousness. Because of the technical difficulties, Coach Nagle went outside to call so that we could find out who we would play.

When he came back, I immediately knew that we did not make it in. When he told us, the room fell silent. We were stunned. I waited a few minutes, then left to walk back to my apartment. Before we heard the bad news, I remember Colin Hulme saying that it was eerie not knowing if the seniors had already played our last game. I agreed, although in a way it was a blessing. We went out on top. We enjoyed our Syracuse win and the team banquet which followed. Had we known that we were not going to make the tournament, the win and the banquet would not have been as enjoyable.

I can’t say we “should have made it” because we lost 5 games. It was no one’s fault but our own. Yet we would have relished the opportunity to prove ourselves in the NCAA tournament.

We never did win a championship at Colgate despite victories over Syracuse, Navy, Army, and Bucknell. In that aspect I fell short of the goal which I set out to accomplish over four years ago. However, I won much more than a championship at Colgate. Through the difficult climb into national contention, I forged unbreakable friendships with my teammates and learned invaluable lesions in work ethic and resiliency.

I wish Colgate lacrosse the absolute best in ’08. I will miss not being on the team, but I know they are capable of winning the Patriot League and making a run in the playoffs.