Jeremy Winston’s fourth-quarter goal for Jacksonville in an 11-8 loss to Johns Hopkins on February 5 carried more significance than his previous 55 career goals.

The Dolphins graduate student midfielder was playing his first game since his father, Dennis, died suddenly and shockingly from an infection January 18.

“I’ve been thinking about my father all the time since he passed away,” Winston said. “I was thinking about him before the game. I was thinking about him after the game, during the game. To score that goal, it definitely meant a lot to me.”

Normally Dennis Winston and his wife of 26 years, Tanyss, would have been watching their son play, either making the drive from their home in Dallas or watching from home on TV or streaming. Winston’s parents had always made time to support him and his older sister, Sydney, who danced at Point Park University in Pittsburgh.

“That was the first time that he wasn’t physically able to watch me play,” Winston said. “That’s what I was thinking about before, during and after the game. It was tough to play that game with my circumstance. I wasn’t sure I was going to play. But then I went back to my team, and what would I do without my team? The way my dad would tell me would be, ‘They need you, so get out there and play.’”

The Jacksonville men’s lacrosse team has always been a special place for Winston. His teammates’ support has proved more important to him in his time of grief. Winston raised concern among teammates when he missed a practice after flying home in a rush to be with his dying father. His phone was flooded with texts and calls worried about him. It wasn’t like Winston to ever miss anything with the team. When head coach John Galloway shared the sad news at practice, Winston received even more messages. The concern didn’t stop during the two weeks he was away to help support his mother and sister, and it went both ways.

“I was just being checked on by the guys,” Winston said. “I was asking the players and the coaches how practice was going. As much as I was there for my mom and sister and grieving the loss of my father, I was eager to get back and be with the boys. As I mentioned to someone a couple days ago, lacrosse is my medicine.”

Playing has given him a lift, especially being a part of groundbreaking wins like Sunday’s 14-12 upset of then-No. 3 Duke — a program-defining win if there ever was one. Winston had a goal in Jacksonville’s first-ever win over a top-3 team to improve to 1-1 heading into Tuesday’s game against Mercer.

“I want this to be the most successful team I’ve been a part of at Jacksonville,” Winston said. “I want to win as many games as possible. I want to see my teammates succeed. I want to see us go as far as we can. I know we have the talent.  We have the competition. We have the speed and the skill. And we have the focus. We’re just really ready to execute as much as we can. That would make my father proud.”

Galloway and his staff, as well as more than a dozen players and alumni, attended the funeral for Winston’s father on January 30. They heard stories of Dennis Winston, who played college football and worked in juvenile corrections while also being licensed as a pastor and serving his community in countless ways. Dennis Winston was pastor at Beckley Community Church in the Oak Cliff section of Dallas, and his example was a strong influence on his son’s personality.

“Treating people how you want to be treated, that’s what I’ve been taught my whole life,” Winston said. “That’s just something that makes me who I am.”

Dennis Winston had moved to the church in 2015 when his son was a sophomore at Parish Episcopal High and had been actively working to build up the historic church that his wife had grown up in. Tanyss Winston is hopeful to continue his work with the church that is now collecting donations in his honor at www.beckleycommunitychurch.org. He died the day after Martin Luther King Jr. Day and one day before Jeremy Winston celebrated his 23rd birthday.

“You see why Jeremy is the man he is today and how he takes care of his mother and sister during this time. It’s a direct credit to Mr. Winston and the values he instilled in Jeremy,” Galloway said. “It was pretty special to hear those stories from so many different people he worked with and family members and church members that shared the same thing.”

Galloway was also impressed with the poise in which Winston spoke at the funeral about his father. He has been blown away by his ability to deal with the tragic loss.

“He came back with a really resound focus,” Galloway said. “I don’t know how he’s bearing it all. I’ve told him several times, at some point it’s going to hit him. And that’s the beauty of sports. When that happens, we have to be there for him. He’s been every bit of the leader that he was before the last few weeks. We have this incredible admiration for how he’s handled it.”

Winston was elected a captain before the season with 55 of his 60 teammates selecting him. He has been a building block for the program since he was the first high school commit for Galloway when he took over at Jacksonville. Winston was also an all-state running back and ran track for Parish Episcopal, and Galloway believes he could have played college football. But Jacksonville offered him the chance to succeed in lacrosse and in the classroom.

“As a freshman, he scores four goals against Ohio State,” Galloway recalled. “I think that was his coming-out party. He really has been a leader for us since he got on campus. He carries himself well above his years. He got that from his dad. He takes great responsibility and the burden of taking care of business, and he did it in the classroom — he’s a 3.0-plus GPA, and he’s getting his master’s. If you told me that when we were recruiting him out of high school, I wouldn’t have believed it, but he’s taken care of business on and off the field.”

Dennis Winston was tough on his two children, but his support and love of them was unquestionable. He had never played lacrosse, but he volunteered with Bridge Lacrosse, an organization that offered Winston and others in North Texas the chance to play the sport in a non-traditional area. Duke’s Nakeie Montgomery, a childhood teammate, has reached out with support from Durham, N.C. Winston loved learning the new sport, and it became his passion. His parents came along for the ride.

“They just wanted me to follow my dreams, and they wanted me to work hard while I’m following my dreams,” Winston said. “As long as I’m working hard and doing what I’m supposed to do, my parents never had a problem with any kind of sport that I was playing.”

No one was happier than his father when Winston was selected 74th overall by the Halifax Thunderbirds in the 2021 NLL Entry Level Draft.

“I remember calling him 10 minutes after I was drafted to tell him the news, and he was super pumped. He was super excited,” Winston said. “I’m sure he would have wanted me to try for the NFL one day, but I’m happy that he was able to see me go up on the board and see my name be called. I know he’s shining down on that right now.”

Dennis Winston can be proud of his son’s future ahead. Winston intends to continue playing lacrosse professionally following graduation and is interested in a career in marketing and pharmaceutical, medical device and technology sales.

When Winston returned to his team, he found his teammates had kept his chair in the front of the team room empty waiting for him. He had 60 letters of support waiting in his locker.

“I read all of them when I got home from practice,” Winston said. “They’re all meaningful. I’m never going to throw any of them away. I’m going to put them in a big box because they mean a lot to me.”

His teammates and coaches have admired the way that Winston has handled himself in the face of extreme adversity. Without a full week of practice, he returned to lead the Dolphins and contributed a goal and strong midfield play in their season opener. The pain of the loss of his father is still there, but Winston is doing well thanks to an abundance of support.

He is still grieving, but he is not alone.

“It’s just a reminder of why we do what we do,” Galloway said. “The games are important, but Jeremy has taught me more than I’ve probably taught him over the last five years. I’m really thankful to have him in our program, and I would stand shoulder to shoulder with that guy anywhere.”