By Nathan Soloman, Sports Assignment Editor After a convincing 11-6 victory over Siena on Saturday, the St. Bonaventure University’s men’s lacrosse team is on their way to the program’s inaugural MAAC tournament as the number six seed. Winners of three of the last four games, the Bonnies head into Friday’s match-up against Detroit Mercy with…
MLAX edges out Canisius in nail biter
Published on April 15, 2021 in SPORTS by Sports Staff
By Nathan Soloman, Sports Assignment Editor Sunday’s men’s lacrosse victory over the Canisius Golden Griffins was a bittersweet one for coach Randy Mearns and his squad. Not just that it was their first victory over the Golden Griffins in program history, but it was also Mearns’ first since leaving Canisius for St. Bonaventure. Mearns spent 19 seasons as the Golden Griffins’ head coach prior to taking the job with the Bonnies in 2017. “It’s great,” Mearns said. “I was just more excited for our guys to actually get on the other side of the equation again.”
Fri Mar 12 2021 | Patrick Stevens | College
PHOTO COURTESY OF ST. BONAVENTURE MEN S LACROSSE
Austin Blumbergs had three goals and three assists in the Bonnies first-ever Division I win.
Randy Mearns could see the difference Sunday morning. In his third season as coach of St. Bonaventure’s start-up program, there was a buoyancy flowing from his still-young roster reflective of a major milestone.
A day earlier, the Bonnies beat Quinnipiac 13-6.
“It was quite apparent,” Mearns said. “You could kind of tell a little bit of that weight had been lifted off the shoulders. There was a little more confidence in the guys just because we actually won a game at the Division I level.”
Photo Courtesy Scott Eddy/St. Bonaventure Athletics)
The Bonnies made history on Saturday, topping Quinnipiac 13-6 in their season opener on the strength of three goals and three assists from sophomore Austin Blumbergs, two-and-three from freshman Jake Rosa and 14 saves and five groundballs from goalie Brett Dobson.
But when is the “first win in program history” not the first win in program history?
When the program is actually reborn from a five-year stint as a varsity sport from 1989-93, which is exactly the case for St. Bonaventure.
“I’ve waited 27 years for this,” says Jeremy Mattoon, a former player at St. Bonaventure and now the director of the MDX-R club team. “The alumni are big supporters of the program and an important part of the rebirth. We’d like to connect the godfathers and the new kids. We’re super excited for the kids in the program now. We just don’t want to forget that we were there.”
Wednesday January 20th, 2021 3:45pm
St. Bonaventure’s 2021 schedule is the latest unveiled, the second in the MAAC after the league approved its scheduling plan for the season.
The Bonnies’ home-and-away opponent is Detroit Mercy, playing the Titans back-to-back to start the season, with the first not counting against the league standings.
MLAX | @MAACSports Men s Lacrosse Schedule Released; @BonniesMLAX To Host 5 Home Games in Conference-Only Slate Every game counts and we are excited to get started, coach Randy Mearns said in a news release. It s been nearly a year since we faced an opponent and almost two years since we faced a MAAC opponent. Our guys are counting the days to once again get the equipment on and compete.