After placing fourth in the Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association, or MCLA, National Tournament last season, Northeastern men’s lacrosse said goodbye to 20 seniors. Most programs would call for a rebuild year. The Huskies however, called for a rematch.

“We’re constantly striving for more. We want to get to that next round of the MCLA tournament,” said Andy Warren, a third-year business administration major, co-president of the team and midfielder. “Last year was a big breakthrough where we won our first game [in the tournament], and we made it to the second round, but how about we make it to the third and fourth rounds and go win?”

Last year was the closest the Northeastern men’s lacrosse team came to the national championship in over 20 years. The returning Huskies hope to go back and finish the job. Despite losing key starters and leaders, the returners plan to bring their 30 new players up to speed and onto the same page with the same ambitions they had last year: bring home that trophy.

The Huskies were ranked first in the Continental Lacrosse Conference, or CLC,  preseason poll and 15th in the national preseason coaches poll.

“The ranking’s good,” said head coach Tom Duca, who is in his 11th season with Northeastern. “I know the guys this year are going to have to understand that that is based on what last year’s team did, and they’re going to have to make a name for themselves.”

Brady Daylor, a third-year data science and mathematics combined major and co-president who plays midfield, wishes to continue the legacy. 

“We want to act as a bridge between the old guys leaving and the new guys coming in to maintain that consistent culture of winning, hard work and showing up for the team,” he said.

Two new transfers to the team are already showing promise. TJ Pikul, a second-year business administration major and offensive midfielder, and Matt Moore, a third-year political science and anthropology double major and attackman, both transferred to Northeastern from the NCAA Division III level at Catholic University of America.

“They’re definitely trying to create the same sense of urgency, even though we have a lot of young guys, we wanna win now,” Moore said. “It’s not like ‘Oh, this is a rebuild year,’ or anything like that. We’re locked and loaded and ready to go.”

During the season, the Huskies practice on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, sometimes finishing as late as 10:30 p.m. Out of season, they usually end practice at midnight. This is all on top of balancing student life, schoolwork and co-op.

An opportunity unique to Northeastern, co-op allows students to spend a semester getting real work experience. Unfortunately for the lacrosse team, this has posed an issue. Although it practices at night — after a traditional co-op shift ends — those with co-ops out of state are forced to miss entire seasons of lacrosse.

This was the case for Paddy Judge, one of the team’s top point producers from last year, who took a co-op in Miami this semester.

“The season was so great, and those were some of my best friends in school. You really form a bond with them,” said Judge, a third-year international business major and attackman who scored 65 points last season. “It’s pretty disappointing, having to choose co-op over having a fun experience like that, but of course, I know it’s the right choice.”

Frequent roster changes have always been inevitable for Northeastern lacrosse due to co-op. The player you have one season may be gone the next, making it difficult to build on strategies and skills as a team. However, Duca sees the bright side. 

“Having those guys come in who have already worked co-ops already have a sense of being on a team, even though it’s in the business world or whatnot,” Duca said. “That definitely translates to athletics, and they understand what needs to be done.”

Northeastern also faces challenges with field scheduling, an issue most lacrosse programs in the nation view as a given. The Huskies are only able to practice two to three times a week because they share Carter Playground with other club sports and the city. Rather than feeling underpracticed, the team feels it gives them a competitive edge players have titled “controlled chaos.”

“It’s about catching a team off guard and surprising them,” Warren said. “We are going to come at a team with all we got, and it’s gonna be fast. We’re gonna play hard.”

The Huskies will travel to California to play their first game against the University of California, Berkeley Feb. 14 and fly to compete in Florida the following weekend. Trips across the country are a seasonal occurrence that not only bring higher levels of competition but lifelong memories for club team members.

Returning starting defenseman Ryan Skolnick, a second-year business administration and economics double major, said his favorite memories on the team were cemented on a trip to Texas last year, when the team had to play in the rain. Scoring goals and sliding across the wet grass alongside his best friends is a feeling and moment he carries with him in his leadership style.

“I think that’s one of my goals for the season: to make sure that everyone is working really hard, but still having a great time,” Skolnick said. “Understanding that this is still a club sport and that we’re here to win, but we’re also here to have fun as well.”

One common denominator that the team takes pride in is its camaraderie. Whether it’s the trips or the late-night practices, the team has made it a priority to have fun together.

“It was very welcoming, and the team is just full of great guys who made the transition very seamless,” Pikul said. “Here, I have a lot more fun.”

Duca says he never has to worry about the “off-the-field stuff” because of how naturally connected the team is. This connectivity, combined with consistency, attitude and the effort demanded, is all he considers necessary for success.

“This didn’t help us get into the school, and this isn’t going to put us anywhere after school,” Skolnick said. “It’s just a bunch of guys who all love lacrosse, but come from everywhere, and it’s great to see all these guys together just having a good time and playing the game we love.”