Club Sports: Lacrosse team competes at national tournament

Despite not advancing beyond the first round of the Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association… Despite not advancing beyond the first round of the Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association National Championships in Greenville, S.C., last week, the members of Pitt’s men’s lacrosse team ended the season knowing that they accomplished what they had set out to do.

After narrowly missing out on the MCLA National Tournament each of the past few years, the team decided to set two goals for this season when it convened in the fall: winning its conference — the Central Collegiate Lacrosse Association — championship and earning Pitt’s first-ever bid to the national tournament.

The pursuit of both goals entered its final stage once classes finished at the end of April.

First, the team had the CCLA Championships, which took place the first weekend in May. Since Pitt’s classes end earlier than most other schools’, players stayed on campus after the end of the semester to continue practices.

In the semifinals, Pitt dispatched Ohio for the second time this season, 18-13.

The victory meant Pitt would face Michigan State in the final. The teams’ first meeting was a 17-16 overtime thriller won by Michigan State.

The second meeting had greater stakes, with the winner set to earn an automatic bid to the MCLA National Tournament. Unfortunately for the Panthers, they were unable to force an equally competitive rematch, as the Spartans rolled to a 15-4 victory.

Not securing the automatic bid meant that the team had to hope it would receive one of the six at-large spots in the 16-team MCLA Tournament.

Senior captain Nick Ruff had confidence that the Panthers would make the tournament, citing that the selection criteria focuses on nonconference results, willingness to travel and a variation of the Ratings Percentage Index.

He also said not having made the tournament before means there’s always a little doubt in the back of one’s mind.

“You always kind of see the same teams going to nationals every year,” Ruff said. “[And you think,] maybe they’ll give [the at-large bid] to a team that’s usually there.”

What seed the team would receive was also a cause for worry.

After the one-sided game against Michigan State, Ruff said the team feared it would receive a No. 16 seed.

But to its surprise, Pitt received the No. 10 seed, meaning the selection committee factored in the entire season — which, for the Panthers, included three nonconference top-25 wins — rather than focusing on just one result.

“I don’t know if it was shocking, but we expected to be seeded a little lower,” Ruff said. “It was nice to see that we got seeded in the middle of the pack, and [that] there’s a nice amount of respect out there for our team.”

The Panthers received an at-large bid, but their hopes of winning the MCLA National Championship in their first opportunity to play in the tournament ended in the first round.

Pitt lost to No. 7-seed University of California-Santa Barbara 13-9, but the trip to Greenville didn’t end in defeat, as the Panthers recorded an overtime win against University of California-Berkeley 9-8 in a consolation game.

Even though they lost, David Franklin, an MCLA beat writer for Inside Lacrosse, said qualifying for nationals was a huge accomplishment for the Panthers.

“This was a coming-out party for Pitt,” Franklin said.

Franklin explained how in the MCLA universe there are two main groups of teams that compose the top tier of collegiate club lacrosse: teams such as Colorado State and Brigham Young that traditionally have had success at the national tournament, and lesser-known teams that have recently started to establish themselves nationally.

“These kids [at Pitt] obviously knew that this year was theirs to really get into this tournament,” Franklin said. “This was the year that this group of kids really came together in order to accomplish a certain goal.”

Rising junior Max Carlson agreed.

“Everyone just cared about [improving] more than … in the past, and it showed on the field.”

According to Franklin, Pitt, which achieved a top-25 ranking for the first time in program history by finishing the season ranked 10th, is now an upcoming program. Observations from Carlson illustrate this change.

“We didn’t usually hang with the best teams in years past,” Carlson said. “It was definitely sweet to be [at nationals] and for other teams to realize we’re an up-and-coming club program that’s going to play.”

Senior goalie Chris Gorham is confident that the returning players will continue the progress that he, Ruff and the other seniors started.

“I have no doubt that they will carry on this push forward,” Gorham said. “I don’t think it’s going to drop off. I think it’s just going to keep climbing.”

While the team didn’t win the CCLA, Ruff says reaching the MCLAs and winning a game means the season was a great success.

“It’s the icing on the cake,” Ruff said. “It’s nice that we can check off that last goal on the list.”

Carlson is confident about the program’s future after a campaign full of accomplishments.

“We’re all looking forward to next year,” he said. “All of us expect to go further.”