Catamount Men’s Lacrosse Undefeated Start to the 2018 Season

“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different outcome”. These are words the University of Vermont (UVM) men’s lacrosse team lives by in order to withhold the prestige of their program.

Their 2018 spring season started off strong with three consecutive wins 3-0 record, making way for a promising year. Their years past have not been as strong as their start to this spring season.

UVM men’s lacrosse hasn’t had this much success since their 2016 season when their team made it to the America East Championship for the first time in program history. They were dipping their toes into unknown territory on a National scale.

Following the 2016 season, the head coach of the UVM men’s lacrosse team, Ryan Curtis, abruptly stepped down. Former assistant coach at University of North Carolina Chapel Hill (UNC) took his place for the Vermont Catamounts.

During the 2017 season, Fiefs was eager to pick up where the team where Curtis left off. Despite the team’s high expectations, they ended the 2017 season 5-8, and disappointment settled amongst the program.

After an anticlimactic 2017 season, the Catamounts are off to a 3-0 start to the 2018 season, showing lots of promise for the future. Elliott Mitchell, a junior midfielder, said, “in the time that I’ve been on the team, the commitment level has never been so high,” said Mitchell. “Everyone is all in and we know how much potential we have to be successful.”

A notable change to the dynamic of this year’s team is the return of senior midfielder, Ian McKay. McKay received 3rd team All-American honors and was named America East Offensive Player of the Year back in 2016. However, McKay’s 2017 season was put on pause when he needed surgery for a nagging foot injury.

With McKay back in the 2018 lineup, it will surely open up a lot of opportunities for the Vermont offense. The redshirt senior is off to a hot start with eight goals and three assists for a combined 11 points in the first three games of the 2018 season.

“I’m really excited for the season. I think we have a really good group of guys that are invested in our team’s systems and goals,” said McKay. “We also have a really good core group of guys who have a lot of playing experience,” McKay said when asked about how he feels coming into the 2018 season.

McKay isn’t the only returning player to this Vermont team. The starting defense is mostly upperclassmen, including James Leary, Warren Jeffrey and Graham Bocklet. These upperclassmen are strong players, setting the bar for their freshmen.

In the past, the UVM men’s lacrosse program has never been as strict as it is now. It took the program many years to build up a reputable team. The UVM Catamounts have enforced hard work and tough love, contributing to the successes in their season thus far.

Ferris Garrel, a dedicated fan of the men’s lacrosse team, said “Seeing the team grow from an outside perspective over the last three years I’ve been at UVM is so cool,” said Garrel. “The dynamic of the team has completely changed and you can see it in their demeanors when they take the field to play.”

The Catamounts are changing their habits and putting UVM men’s lacrosse on the map. Hopefully this hard work and dedication will trail blaze their way to Nationals once again this season.