Men’s Lacrosse Rocks New Hardware, Look to Defend the MAAC Title – The Quadrangle

By, Kyla Guilfoil, Managing Editor & Sporting activities Editor 

The Manhattan College or university men’s lacrosse team been given their championship rings and noticed their banner hung final thirty day period in Draddy Gymnasium in honor of their 2022 MAAC Championship gain.

The Jaspers took the title for the initial time in 20 a long time final spring, beating St. Bonaventure University with a rating of 8-7.

Justin Malpica, who is back for a fifth yr this time, scored a hat trick for the Jaspers in the match and was named MVP, GoJaspers documented.

On the way to the championship match, Kyle Gucwa, a senior this period, scored the semi-final activity-winner in overtime from Marist. Liam Walshe, who is also again for a fifth 12 months this period, scored a prior 8 ambitions in that semi-remaining, according to GoJaspers.

With Malpica, Gucwa and Walshe returning to the industry along with their workforce this spring, the Jaspers are celebrating their acquire past 12 months and wanting forward to defending the title.

John Odierna, who enters the 2023 year as head coach after seven several years as an assistant coach with the squad, was basically the 1 who developed the honorary rings for his profitable crew.

“It was like a week soon after I grew to become the head coach, that was 1 of my initially duties,” Odierna advised The Quadrangle. “You know, it was a neat challenge. I hardly ever thought when I got into this occupation that I’d be developing a championship ring, I’d hoped to have a couple of, but I  under no circumstances considered I’d be the 1 creating it.”

Gucwa instructed The Quadrangle that getting the December ceremony to honor the spring win was a wonderful way to wrap up the year.

“It was superior to stop the full season, and just end 2022 in common, which was for the complete method a genuinely very good yr,” Gucwa mentioned. “It felt fantastic to be equipped to go on to what we have this 12 months simply because we’re really psyched for what we have. We have a good crew this yr.”

When speaking about the future time, Odierna stated, “If it ain’t broke, never broke it.”

As an essential member of the coaching staff for the gain previous year, Odierna stated he will be keeping on to points the workforce has been setting up more than the very last quite a few many years.

 “I was definitely lucky to be there each individual step of the way, to help get us to this issue and my hope for this 12 months is to type of continue to keep it shifting in the exact same way,” Odierna said.

However, as the new period comes and a new team of freshmen be part of the squad, Odierna acknowledges that not all will be the very same.

1 of the most critical issues, Odierna reported, is to make positive the gamers are involved.

“We undoubtedly want to be a participant-led business,” Odierna explained. “I want these men to come to feel like they are stakeholders in their final result.”

Gucwa claimed the gain very last time is a great encounter to have underneath their belts, but it does not ensure anything this calendar year.

“[The win] aided give us a good deal of self-assurance, but it doesn’t enable us earn this calendar year,” Gucwa stated. “It absolutely helps us recognize what it took to win and that we can apply that to all the new fellas that arrived in as freshman, so no matter if that be the challenging work they place in off the area, how we have ourselves off the subject just as human beings and all of that so we know the formulation takes to go far.”

Odierna claimed the 2022 and 2023 championships are “mutually exclusive”, agreeing that the squad has to occur into the new year with the similar grit and willpower they held very last year.

Odierna explained that the 2022 get had appear collectively by way of many factors, of which shifted coming into this year. For the duration of the 2021 time, Odierna explained that the staff didn’t understand how good they have been right up until they started out playing.

The crew kept profitable, and ended up stunned to obtain on their own as the No. 1 seed in the playoffs. Suddenly, they discovered themselves as the host of the championship sport.

“Going from not staying in the playoffs to all of a unexpected web hosting the championship is a very large leap,” Odierna said. “You know, normally you get in, then you lose that very first playoff video game, then you master how to earn that just one, then you get to the championship, and you will learn how to reduce that one particular then you gain the subsequent 1. We sort of skipped the step there.”

Coming into the 2022 year, the group experienced experienced a championship match and knew that they wanted to thrust even further to snag a whole title win–and they did just that.

Now, as reigning champions, the Jaspers will require to find out how to “handle achievement,” Odierna advised The Quadrangle.

“Manhattan lacrosse is not heading to shock anybody this 12 months,” Odierna said. “That’s our problem as a application, is ‘can we make this the common each 12 months?’”