Feburary 4, 2022 | SPORTS | By Tia Vierling | Photo by Anil Jergens
With its first scrimmage on Saturday, Jan. 29, the Colorado College Men’s Lacrosse team is taking the field by storm with high hopes for the upcoming season. After making it to the NCAA Elite Eight in their last season with a 13-4 overall record, the Tigers are hungry for more.
Quinn Guevara ’23 shared a defenseman’s perspective on the team and his thoughts on last year’s squad.
“Last year we were all pretty excited about where we were,” Guevara said. “Making it to the quarter-finals … we were there, from a talent perspective, to compete.”
Guevara maintains optimism about the upcoming season, too. This year, the team is going to “go out there and win the national championship,” he said.
His faith in the team is reflected in their ranking going into the season. The team currently holds the No. 7 ranking in the NIKE/USA Lacrosse Division III Preseason Top 20 Poll — a strong standing for the program. Five opponents in the Tigers’ upcoming schedule are ranked in the top 15; the season may present a challenge, but one the team is prepared to meet.
The team’s ranks are shifting just as the pre-season ranking has. Guevara is the only returning starter from the defense, but he emphasized that he is “super confident [about the new defense defenseman],” saying they “know the defense inside and out.”
As for the rest of the field, Guevara noted the team is returning its entire offense. He posited that both the midfield and goalie positions are points of strength for the squad.
There might not be much change to the starting lineup from the team’s stellar last season, but there’s one shining new face in the mix: Head Coach Mike Horowitz.
Former Head Coach Sean Woods resigned from CC last August to take the same position at Amherst College. Horowitz comes from a stint with Saint Joseph’s University’s Division I program to replace him.
“He does a phenomenal job of keeping us all accountable,” Guevara said of the new coach.
Horowitz is coming in as the program’s 10th head coach and has big expectations to live up to as he takes control of a team that already seems destined for success.
Looking forward to a standout season means Guevara — and the rest of the team — is looking for some CC student support.
“We don’t have a lot of home games this year, but we’re preseason ranked number seven in the country… if people could make it out to those games, that would be great.”
This spring, the CC Men’s Lacrosse games should present an excellent opportunity for students to show their school spirit. Not only are games a chance for students to cheer on their classmates, but also a chance to support a team that has the potential to win the NCAA Tournament.
Colorado College’s Men’s Lacrosse hosts their next home game at Washburn Field against Swarthmore College on Thursday, March 10, at 4 p.m.