If you want to know what a Tewaaraton winner looks like, ask Marc Van Arsdale. Long respected as one of the top offensive coaching minds in the sport, Van Arsdale added a fourth Tewaaraton winner to his resume when Loyola attackman Pat Spencer earned the honor last night.
Van Arsdale, Loyola’s offensive coordinator, previously coached at Virginia where he mentored three Tewaaraton winners — Chris Rotelli (2003), Matt Ward (2006) and Steele Stanwick (2011).
So, what makes Spencer different?
“I was thinking about that today,” Van Arsdale said after Thursday’s award ceremony at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C. “I would say the fact that he’s able to combine some of the best traits of all of them. The athletic ability, the high IQ, the extreme competitiveness. I think of the other guys I’ve coached — Rotelli being so competitive, high motor, Pat’s got that. He’s got Steele’s IQ and stick skills and ability to raise the level of play of everybody around him. Matt Ward just wanted the ball when it mattered and Pat’s like that. He’s about as complete a package as you could have.”
Spencer’s 2019 season was something to remember. He broke his own school and Patriot League record with 114 points as a senior, his last season culminating in a six-goal, five-assist performance against Penn State in the Greyhounds’ 21-14 NCAA quarterfinal loss.
It capped a remarkable career in which he became the NCAA’s Division I men’s all-time assist leader with 231 and had 380 overall points to finish No. 2 behind two-time Tewaaraton winner Lyle Thompson of Albany.
How good was he on his way out?
“I’ll tell you what, he might have been our most improved player, even as good as he was the previous two years,” Van Arsdale said.
“It’s really incredible watching him handle the success that he’s had,” said Loyola head coach Charley Toomey, who led the Greyhounds to the 2012 NCAA championship and took his team to the NCAA tournament for the 10th time this season. “When he got here, I thought the bar was pretty high. He’s kept it there and even raised it.”
Spencer wowed the lacrosse world with gaudy numbers and highlight plays, but that’s just a glimpse of what those closest to him get to see on a regular basis.
“My jaw hits the ground in practice,” Toomey said. “I say it all the time, it’s the things that people don’t see that we see as a staff. Everybody this year was afforded a couple of SportsCenter highlights. We see that three times a week. You don’t even say anything. You just look at the other coaches and roll your eyes, it’s Pat making a play. The creativity that he has within his own game is amazing, the athleticism. Now we’re looking forward to watching it on the basketball court.”
Spencer, a first-round pick in both Major League Lacrosse and the Premier Lacrosse League, has opted to put his professional lacrosse career on hold to pursue his dream of playing college basketball. One of his potential options is staying right at home and using his final year of NCAA eligibility playing at Loyola. His younger brother, Cam, will be a freshman on Loyola’s basketball team this winter.
“Fingers are crossed,” Toomey smiled. “There’s one thing that Loyola can offer that no one else can — a chance to play with your brother.”