Yale Wins NCAA Men’s National Lacrosse Title
After 47 years, Yale has ended the NCAA Division I men’s lacrosse season as the best team in the country.
I don’t remember much about our lacrosse team. Were we much of a contender?
The Bulldogs’ 17th win of the season ended nearly a half-century of waiting as Yale managed to take down a powerhouse in Duke, topping the Blue Devils 13-11 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts to win the 2018 NCAA Division I Men’s Lacrosse Championship.
We were very good and finished in a three way tie for Ivy champs, as I recall. Derek Huntington at midfield and Capt. Bill Evans stood out and made All-American.
McGuire, Arras, Wells, Laughlin, Connell and I also played that spring. Corrigan was a supremely intelligent coach, put up with the young athlete (like me), and accepted the amateur values of our program. He also knew how to say the right thing to each of us. Derek told me he asked Chief how he could be better. Derek was actually awkward and slow. Chief said, accept no compromise, demand more of yourself. Derek’s stumble fake made him an all-American.
But even Jimmy McGuire might accept it was about Wells and Evans and our defense. Midfields were all “short” sticks (though I liked to cut mine as long as I could and still clear the butt into my armpit when passing). The second middies, Arras (also a hell of a goalie), Connell and Laughlin just continued where Derek, Jimmy and I left off. Like this 2018 team, there was no drop off, just fresh strength.
We like to believe that the ride and the defense we mastered in 1969 lives in the current teams. Thanks, Chief. It sure won the day this year.
Does anyone remember the Bobby Levin ground ball incident in a practice during the spring trip sophmore year?
Don’t remember Bob Levin’s ground ball incident but do remember an incident during a game: Believe it was against Penn. Bob had the ball and was near midfield heading towards the Penn goal. A Penn player threw a body check at the back of Bob’s legs. Bob stumbled for a couple of steps and then continued on. The Penn player had to be helped from the field. Bob was tough on both the football and lacrosse fields.
Most memorable game: Senior year against Princeton who was ranked 7th in the nation and heavily favored. Prior to the game, Coach Corrigan coaching his last season for Yale gave an emotional speech about not wanting to lose a wager and give up his tie to the Princeton coach in his final game against that team. The Coach was in tears and many of the rest of us were as well. Anyway we charged out of the locker room determined to beat Princeton and have Coach keep his tie. Everyone played their best and the lax gods were with us that day. Near the end of the game we had a slight lead and were freezing the ball which was passed to Derek Huntington who was maybe 30 yards from the goal. Derek unexpectedly unleashed a behind the back shot which scored and demolished any hope Princeton had of winning the game. Derek, Bill Evans, Phil Laughlin and Jim McGuire all played out of their minds that day. Jon Mills who had been outstanding all season was injured in a previous game and passed his stick and his midfield position onto me for the final two games of the season. Based on momentum from that game, we went on to defeat a good Harvard team in Cambridge 8-6 and ended up sharing the Ivy League title with Brown.