February 08, 2024 | SPORTS | By Veronica Bianco
Colorado College is the western-most NCAA Division III men’s lacrosse team in the country. Despite their distance from the east coast, where the sport is notably more popular, they’ve managed to make three consecutive appearances in the NCAA tournament, losing twice to the eventual national champion (Salisbury in 2023 and RIT in 2021).
They had been competing in the Heartland Conference, primarily based in Indiana, as one of only three SCAC school-sponsored men’s lacrosse. They were forced out after the 2023 season (during which they went undefeated in the conference and finished on top) after NCAA policy changed such that conferences only needed six members rather than seven to retain an automatic qualifier into the NCAA tournament.
Now, CC Men’s Lacrosse is one of a small handful of teams without the safety net of a stable conference. Head coach Mike Horowitz, who has been in charge since fall 2021, says that even though the path to the NCAAs has changed, the goal of making it remains the same.
“We want to be the number one team in the region,” he says, “If we do that, it would be hard to keep us out of the tournament.” Horowitz wants his guys to play fun, energetic lacrosse. “There’s a sign in the locker room that says ‘Relentless,’” he says, “We want to be on the front foot, press, and be aggressive.”
CC embodied those characteristics in their scrimmage versus CU Boulder’s club team at the end of January, winning handily and taking some good risks in the process. Regardless, Horowitz says there’s still work to be done.
The team was supposed to scrimmage CSU’s club team on Feb. 3, but it was called off after two quarters due to snow.
The Tigers have a tough slate of opponents ahead of them, including Christopher Newport University, who reached the NCAA semifinals last year, losing to Salisbury, the eventual champions, just as CC had a few rounds prior.
The team has five road trips this season: they’ll travel to Illinois, Missouri, Texas, Louisiana, Virginia, and Grand Junction, CO, to face in-state foe Colorado Mesa University. They’ll play at Washburn five times, and Horowitz hopes that the team’s punchy play style will get people to come out and support.
Horowitz says the whole team is going to be standout this year but that there are a few specific players to watch for: Jake Moshang ‘27, Michael Ruffenach ‘26, Andrew Tan ‘25, and captain CC Jeffers ‘24.
He says that Jeffers, who is a transition midfielder, has brought both leadership and skill to the group: “His leadership has been fantastic and his ability to make plays in between the lines has been awesome,” Horowitz says.
Tan’s versatility has made him a valuable asset to the group. He’s been playing both midfield and attack, and Horowitz says that his fearlessness in the attack has been crucial.
Horowitz praised Ruffenach’s athleticism and ability to cover players on an island without needing support, which he says is one of the hardest things to do in lacrosse. “His ability to pick up ground balls and create offense out of the defensive end has been great,” Horowitz says.
First-year Moshang came in as a short stick midfielder knowing that the coaching staff had plans to convert him to a long pole (which is about three feet longer than a standard lacrosse stick) defender. Horowitz says that the change has been a fantastic one. “You would never know that he’s been playing as a defenseman for just a few months.”
Moshang, who also played hockey in high school in Pennsylvania, says, “It’s definitely very different, but it’s enjoyable. Hockey definitely helps a lot.”
Moshang thinks that the group has a lot of potential. “I’m excited to turn some heads,” he says, “We’re definitely a really tight-knit knit group of guys. We have a really good squad and we’re ready to go out there every day and I’m just really excited.”
Horowitz says that the team is focused on winning a spot in the NCAA tournament, which is difficult for an independent school. “You don’t do that, especially as an independent if you’re not 100% focused on what’s in front of you,” he says, “If we do the little things right and we focus on one goal at a time, then we’ll be in a position to achieve what we want.”