For two years, Southwestern men's lacrosse has continued to build its program while searching for the light at the end of the pandemic tunnel. 

In 2020, the pandemic cut short Southwestern's best start in program history, terminating arguably the Pirates' most balanced team on paper. Last season, attackman Zac Asbury finished leaving his name atop almost every offensive statistical category in Southwestern's record books. Still, the rest of the line-up was so questionable from week to week the team had to move players out of position just to fill line-ups. 

"If we can play a normal season with the depth we have, I like our odds in every game we play this year because these guys are a special group," Southwestern head men's lacrosse coach Bill Bowman says. "With the senior class we have leading them, this team can do wonderful things." 

A regular season isn't the only thing the Pirates have to look forward to. Southwestern men's lacrosse joins the Heartland Collegiate Lacrosse Conference, where the Pirates will have their first opportunity to compete for an automatic qualifier to the NCAA Tournament. 

"The fact that we have a conference tournament is pretty exciting," says Bowman. 

Though this conference tournament will be the first time Southwestern competes in a conference with more than four teams, Bowman and assistant men's lacrosse coach Mike Markland will lean heavily on an accomplished group of seniors with big-game experience.

The senior class includes two First Team All-SCAC players in Tyler Santos and Jack Doloszycki, four Second Team All-SCAC players in Aidan Gildea, Jake Hessinger, Matt Minnick, and Nick Doxey, and Hudson Bearden, a faceoff man who led the nation in win percentage last year to earn SCAC Specialist of the Year honors. 

Southwestern graduated Asbury, the program's all-time leading points scorer, but the Pirates aren't lacking in talent. Bowman is hoping a well-balanced offense from his seasoned attack and midfield lines will lead to plenty of shots finding the back of the net. Tyler Johnson (T.J.) and Cody Foster are potent weapons at the midfield line who will help initiate the offense for the Pirates. 

"T.J. just has that talent, and he's really starting to see he can create offense for himself and others," Bowman says. "Cody is just a competitor who loves the game of lacrosse and plays at a level that raises everyone else's." 

Doxey and Matt Caldwell return on the attack line as deadly goal-scorers who both shot at least 40 percent last season. Doxey provides a wealth of knowledge and poise, while Caldwell will be looking to have a breakout year from the lefty spot. Their decision-making should take pressure off the skilled newcomers the Pirates have coming in.

The offense will be fed an abundance of possessions with Bearden's dominance at the faceoff X expected to continue, working alongside his trusty wingmen Santos, Minnick, Doloszycki, and Gildea. 

"I have never seen someone prepare and focus the way Hudson does," says Bowman. "There is no one that understands the faceoff game and how to gain those possessions better than him."

Those extra offensive possessions are crucial for taking the pressure off a defense that features Hessinger and reigning SCAC Defensive Player of the Year, Will Thompson. The duo has little to fear from opposing attackmen. 

"They're big, strong, and athletic. They can handle anybody," Bowman emphasizes. 

The Pirates will count on their fiery defensive coordinator, Mike Markland, to ensure the defense is ready for anything an offense will throw at them. It will also be up to Markland to decide who will step in the cage as the Pirates goaltender. 

The goaltender position was volatile in 2021. COVID ravaged the position, leaving midfielder Blake Sitterly to volunteer his time in the cage when the Pirates had no other options. Though Sitterly outperformed expectations, Bowman is happy to have him back at his natural position. This season, Southwestern will have options at keeper in freshman Carter Woods, transfer Jonah Heaton, and junior Nate Blair. 

There are surprises in every season, but Bowman and Markland hope this season will resemble one of normalcy instead of scrambling to figure out who will be in the line-up the day before the team travels to a road game. 

"It could be a good year for us," Bowman believes. "We have a lot of quality and depth at all positions. If we run our offense the right way, we'll make it very hard for teams to game plan against us."

In 2021, on different days and different weeks, everyone stepped up when their number was called, raising each returner to veteran status. With more experience and talent than ever, this group is hoping to put the chaos of the past two years behind them with the goal of an automatic qualifier in the near future.