THE REPORTER

National Champions At Last!

WC Beats Nazareth For NCAA D-III Title

_After 21 attempts in
26 years to bring home
the national crown only to console themselves with second or third place honors each time, the Washington College men's lacrosse team are bridesmaids no more. In a rematch against two-time national champion Nazareth College at Rutgers University Stadium on May 24th, the Shoremen handed the Golden Flyers a sound defeat, 16-10. There was no sudden death overtime this year, their third face-off for the championship against Nazareth in as many years.

"It was a great day for Washington College and Washington College lacrosse, Coach John Haus, his coaching staff and the team," remarked Bryan Matthews '75, the College's Athletic Director and a member of the first lacrosse team that vied for an NCAA championship in 1972. "But it also was a great day for everyone who's ever been involved in Washington College lacrosse, and that goes back a long way and includes a lot of people. This win affects all those people who have tried before. We all felt great joy in winning the big one."

It was an especially sweet win, considering that the

As the final horn blows, John Haus is unrestrained in his delight at winning his first national crown as Head Coach. Photo: Geoff Anderson '72

Shoremen were vying with Nazareth for the title for the third consecutive year. Both previous games were lost by one goal in sudden death overtime. In the history of Washington College lacrosse, 13 attempts have been made at the championship title.

"It's something I've waited for all my life," said senior Andy Taibl, who defended Washington's goal. "I came to Washington College knowing I'd be in a game with a chance to do this. I'm happy for this program, the faculty, teachers and coaches. They've been waiting for this a long time."

The Shoremen, who finished the season at 14-4 overall, survived a scare by Nazareth in the third quarter, when the Golden Flyers erased a 6-4 halftime deficit to go ahead 9-8 with 7:00 remaining in the period. From

The "Boys of May" came home as champions, with the trophy to prove it. The team celebrates their 16-10 triumph over defending champ Nazareth College with grins and cheers all around. Photo: Trisha Mcgee '81

that point, Washington used an eight-goal scoring run to shut down Nazareth and win the school's first NCAA Division III tournament title in men's lacrosse.

"This was a veteran group that took a little longer to come together as a team, but they played the last four games like true champions," said Head Coach John Haus. "After our face-off man, Greg Tomasso, was hurt, Nazareth scored on three fast breaks and we had to regroup a bit. The most important thing was that our

Summer 1998 / Washington College Magazine