Box Score By Chris McManes
WASHINGTON – The Catholic University men's lacrosse program moved from club to varsity status in 1998. The team made steady progress through the years but was never quite able to make the jump to the championship level.
It has now.
Recording their biggest victory ever, the Cardinals won 5-4 at Scranton (Pa.) on Saturday to win the Landmark Conference championship and earn the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Pairings will be announced Sunday night.
Junior goalkeeper Harrison Holak recorded 19 saves, and Victor Licata scored the winning goal early in the fourth quarter to pace CUA, which became the first No. 4 seed to capture the conference crown.
Holak, who had 10 saves in the Cards' 11-10 victory at top-seeded Elizabethtown (Pa.) on Wednesday, was chosen tournament MVP.
Cardinal Coach Brooks Singer, the only head coach in the team's 18-year varsity history, said his club had something to prove since it was picked to finish seventh in the preseason.
"And as the fourth seed in the tournament, we knew this wouldn't be an easy road," Singer said. "We had to earn every victory; that was our focus all year.
"Our hard work has paid off."
Tim Keith, the Cards' leading scorer, produced two goals for CUA (11-5) and assisted on another. Liam Clancy had one goal, and Licata tallied twice on four shots. His game winner was unassisted.
"We were very patient on offense, especially near the end of the game," Singer said on the happy bus ride back to campus. "We waited for the right matchup and were able to set up a solid shot for Victor after a great pick by Connor Bruno."
The Cards, winners of five of their last six games, still had 10:46 on the clock before they could toss their gloves and stick in jubilation.
The Royals' (10-8) final chance to tie the contest came with about six seconds left when Nick Mullery secured a ground ball near midfield and passed to an open Anthony Lombardo on the perimeter. His shot hit the post, and CUA defenseman Coleman Walsh III retrieved the loose ball as time expired.
"Our defense played terrific and really stepped up today," Singer said. "We made a few adjustments after going down 3-1, and we executed our game plan well. Harrison stepped up in a big way, and we're proud he was named MVP."
The Cards had to defeat Goucher on April 18 to qualify for the four-team Landmark Tournament. Their 10-8 victory represented an important milestone as CUA had never beaten the Gophers in 20 previous meetings. Following a regular-season-ending loss at Susquehanna, the Cardinals headed to Elizabethtown and promptly fell behind, 8-2, at halftime.
CUA, however, found the twine nine times in the second half to emerge victorious. Keith posted three goals and two helpers in the win. The Cardinals are 7-2 on the road this season.
Scranton, which got single goals from Will Mahle, Andrew Marone, Mullery and Alec Mikrut, led 3-2 at intermission. Keith tied it at the 13:12 mark of the third quarter, and Licata – selected first-team All-Landmark – put the Cards up by one less than a minute later. Mahle's goal off a Mikrut assist tied the game at 4 with 13:51 to play.
Licata's 24th goal of the season a shade over three minutes later was the biggest score in Cardinal men's lacrosse history. It helped them overcome deficits in shots (41-22), ground balls (38-29) and faceoffs (10-3). The Cards scored on the only extra-man opportunity of the game (Clancy) and had 16 clears to the Royals' six.
"We played this game and the semifinal as a true team," Singer said. "The guys bought in that they're so much more effective playing together as one. I'm extremely proud of them."
Building a Program
CUA finished 1-12 in 1998, 4-10 the next year and 6-7 in 2000. It lost its first 29 Capital Athletic Conference games before breaking through with an 11-5 victory over York (Pa.) on March 13, 2004. In their first year in the Landmark (2008), the Cardinals finished 7-9 and 2-4 in the league.
CUA won a school-record 12 games in 2010 and posted its first winning campaign in league play (4-2). The season culminated in its only other Landmark title game, and two years later, Singer began his first year as full-time head coach.
The Cardinals suffered a tragic loss when All-American attackman Brendan Englert died on April 25, 2013 from injuries suffered in an automobile accident. Many of his teammates are still playing for CUA.
"Our players have been through a lot the last few seasons," Singer said. "Losing Brendan was extremely hard. But they battled back and put their hearts into this team. They worked harder than ever before in the preseason and in practices.
"We played a tough schedule, and while playing in such a competitive conference, we wouldn't give up this season. That's how they were able to execute so well to win these big games."
Chris McManes (mick-maynz) was CUA's sports information director from 1998-2001.
