Last year, Ursinus hit rock bottom – or at least close to it.

The Bears went 3-11 for their worst record since 2006. It came as no surprise, therefore, when the program was picked eighth out of nine teams in the Centennial Conference preseason poll. Add in the fact that Jamie Steele stepped down as coach last summer, and the situation looked even worse.

But here Ursinus stands, 4-0 early into the 2019 season and drawing reviews such as “legit,” “the real deal” and “not a joke” from Division III coaches who spoke to US Lacrosse Magazine.

First-year head coach Gary Mercadante, a former assistant for the Bears, is hoping his guys keep tuning out the noise.

“The biggest telling point for me was we were coming off our first national ranking, and that Monday practice was always going to be an interesting one,” Mercadante said. “It could either have been, 'Ok they're complacent and we'll have a bad practice and they're thinking we've made it,' or we play just as hard the week before when we were a nobody. Our guys, through now, have practiced every day like they're still the underdog and like they don't have that ranking.”

This run has included wins over Stevenson, Cortland and Christopher Newport — clubs around the NCAA tournament field — plus an overtime defeat of Mary Washington.

The attack trio of Bobby McClure, Hakan Atillasoy and Peter DeSimone jump of the page with their combined 54 points. However, Mercadante said the defense is the backbone of this 2019 group, as led by goalkeeper and senior Nick Kirk. Mercadante also credited the job defensive coordinator Corey Shaffer has done in reshaping how Ursinus approaches the game.

“The guys, especially the D, went into those games focusing on each other and not thinking about it as a ranked game,” Mercadante said. “It's thinking about playing Ursinus lacrosse. That's very new for them. It's helped them put aside the rankings and who we're competing against. It's more here's what we need to do to win the game, let's get it done.”

Asked to put a finger on what’s changed most, Mercadante returned to “complacency” as an issue before he arrived. This club made the 2015 NCAA tournament and made back-to-back Centennial Conference finals in ‘15 and ‘16. But, according to Mercadante few people were on the same page last season. It seemed, he said, like players assumed a postseason run was a given.

“There were a lot of guys going in a lot of different directions,” Mercadante said. “So our biggest thing when we came in was meeting with the guys and making it clear that we need to get going in the same direction, which starts with great leadership.”

To prove this national spotlight isn’t a flash in the pan, Ursinus must soon navigate a tricky Centennial Conference stage. As of late, that space has been dominated by Gettysburg, Dickinson and Franklin & Marshall.

But maybe, just maybe, there’s another contender in town.

“As quickly as we've gotten this ranking, we know it can disappear in a heartbeat and won't mean anything,” Mercadante said. “We can’t lose sight of that.”

Tufts’ new crease attackman

Tufts, winners of three national championships this decade, is no stranger to having elite crease attackmen.

During those titles, it was Zach Richman, Sean Kirwan and Chris Schoenhut, in key roles. Last year, it was Andrew Seiter, who exploded for 50 goals and 15 assists.

Now, with Seiter graduated, the mantle has been passed down to sophomore Max Waldbaum. He had 12 goals across Tufts’ opening weekend, as the Jumbos went 2-0 during a New York swing at Hamilton and SUNY Cortland. In Tuesday night’s 19-6 win over Keene State, the sophomore recorded another three goals.

“Max is just not trying to do too much right now,” Tufts coach Casey D’Annolfo said. “The ball goes into his stick and he has really good finishing ability. He's also deceptively quick for a guy who's [6-foot-2 and] 220 pounds.”

However, this crease role wasn’t one Waldbaum anticipated when he arrived in Medford, Mass.

Tufts recruited him as an off-ball attackman, and he appeared in just two games a freshman. Waldbaum had infectious mononucleosis (mono) and missed a month, smack in the middle of Tufts’ season. He was also stuck behind a starting unit that featured Seiter, Danny Murphy and Ben Connelly — the latter two All-Americans.

As his role transitioned, the time away allowed Waldbaum to watch and learn from Seiter, becoming what D’Annolfo called his “heir apparent.” Waldaum and Seiter became quite close, the latter helping all fall before moving to Florida for flight school.

“Andrew gave me a lot of knowledge that he learned over his years here,” Waldbaum said. “I'm extremely grateful and thankful that he was able to stay and pour even more into the program even though he had already graduated.”

The seamless transition, D’Annolfo said, is partially because of Waldbaum’s box lacrosse background. Growing up in cold Denver, Colo., winters, Waldbaum was no stranger to playing indoors.

Those similarities stretched into talks D’Annolfo had with the Yale coaching staff, particularly as it relates to similar roles and styles between Matt Gaudet and Waldbaum. Gaudet was named Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Championship Weekend during Yale’s 2018 national title win.

“Box, the whole tight spaces and tight windows, it helps you develop your stick skills and decision making and finishing abilities,” Waldbaum said. “That's been extremely helpful to my success.”

Carrying momentum forward won’t be easy, though. Waldbaum, largely an unknown commodity heading into 2019, won’t sneak up on anybody, though it helps that defenses have to play a game of “pick your poison” with Tufts’ attack.

Still, having a new weapon like Waldbaum only makes this NESCAC program richer.

“I think the great thing about Max is he never tries to do too much,” D’Annolfo said. “He's a team guy, he works his butt off. If he continues to progress the way that he is, he could definitely be an All-American before it's all said and done.”

Wesleyan Filling Gaps From Title Team

Fresh off the program’s first-ever national championship, Wesleyan head coach John Raba had some problem solving to do this offseason.

How, exactly, would he replace someone like Harry Stanton, the program’s all-time leader in goals (224)? What about defensemen like Jake Cresta and Andres Rodriguez? Or midfielders such as Eric Meyreles and Jake Cresta?

From the Cardinals’ 14-12 win over Williams last Saturday, the early answer is falling back on guys who know the system.

“We replace those guys with guys who were seniors and have been around,” Raba said. “We're fortunate we can do that. The expectation is you're going to develop during your time here and when the call comes, step up. These guys have been doing that so far.”

Specifically, it’s Colin Uyeki slotting onto attack, with a bigger role also coming Scott Irwin’s way in midfield. The seniors started a combined two games the past two years, then each recorded three points vs. Williams. On defense, junior Thomas Clejan and sophomore Sam Lefante both started.

As Raba put it, these older players understand what it means to play for Wesleyan.

“For a coach, I always feel like they have the right of refusal — that's the best way I can say it,” Raba said. “You're going to get the opportunity first and you someone might take your spot if you don't step up and show it's yours.”

That’s not to say underclassmen won’t find time, Raba said. Look no further than attackman Ronan Jacoby, the reigning NESCAC Rookie of the Year who had 80 points last year.

Since NESCACs don’t begin official practices until mid-February, it can impact a freshman’s early chances.

“With our league rules, it's very difficult to come in as a freshman and shine right away,” Raba said. “It's really only our second, third week of working with these guys. It takes time to understand our language – the way we talk and coach. It takes a while to get that.

“The advantage is the upperclassmen have an understanding of what we're trying to do,” Raba continued. “ … If you can have someone who has experience and has been around the program, you feel a lot better about it. He's seen some things, he has a lot of reps at the college level at a good tempo.”

As the Cardinals take shape, there’s also the elephant in the room: They’ve never before had to defend a national championship.

That comes with its own ups and downs, Raba said, adding that it’s unlikely Wesleyan goes undefeated. Those are realities he can live with as long as the collective keeps the right mindset and develops.

“It's great to have the positive exposure and thoughts about your team out there, but we still have to walk the walk and perform each week,” Raba said. “It's focusing on our day-to-day, game-by-game mentality. That's what we've always done and it's the same thing with this group. We take nothing for granted and have to go out and compete.”