Last year, York men’s lacrosse coach Brandon Childs was named USILA Division III Coach of the Year, leading the Spartans to their fourth NCAA tournament appearance and a second trip to the quarterfinals. Now in 2019, York and Childs have returned to that stage. The Spartans host Cabrini on Wednesday evening.

But Childs doesn’t want the credit. A massive chunk of that, he insists, goes to the senior class.

“They’re just incredibly reliable,” Childs said. “They trust me, and I trust them. That’s probably the root of our relationship. They’re allowed to be themselves around me, and I’m allowed to be me around them. It generates all this trust and creates a lot of fond memories and fond feelings. We’re all just us.”
 

York leans on its veteran players. Attackmen Thomas Pfeiffer, Hunter Davis and Brendan McGrath have combined for 216 points so far this season. Brad Casale, a midfielder, has 31 points himself. Then on defense, the leaders are J.D. Beck and Kevin Witchey.

They are part of a senior class that has compiled a 73-13 record in four seasons.

“They’re so, so consistent, and it helps this time of year, because teams go on runs and there are momentum shifts,” Childs said. “You only get so many timeouts as a coach to talk to your guys, so you have to leave it in the hands of the players. All of them have allowed for a calming influence on game day, because of the dependability with which they play.”

To get past Cabrini, home to the nation’s No. 3-ranked defense (6.14 goals per game), York will need every ounce of that senior leadership. It also won’t matter much, Childs said, that the Spartans beat the Cavaliers 11-7 back on March 22.

Step in Pfeiffer, the team’s leading scorer with 85 points and who Childs called the most “even-keeled” person he’s ever met.

“The comparison I’ve always used is Tim Duncan,” Childs said. “He’s not Russell Westbrook or James Harden, but he’s going to give you 20 points and 10 rebounds every single game. He just has this competitiveness that you don’t realize is there because of how cool, calm and collected he is. His presence — he’s not a yeller or screamer, but when he says something, our guys hear it.”

On defense, Childs had similar praise for Witchey.

“He was a quarterback in high school football,” Childs said. “He just says what needs to be done and communicates that on the field.”

There’s also historical significance with the Cabrini game, because it could vault York to its first-ever national semifinal. The program, founded in 2000, has made the quarterfinals now on three occasions, but lost prior matchups to RIT and Gettysburg.

Childs said his players probably don’t even know that fact, and it won’t change much with how he approaches what lies ahead.

“I’m not any more motivated because we’ve never made it to the final four than I was to win the first game of the season back on February 9th,” Childs said. “I would be lying to you if I said I wasn’t aware of it, but it doesn’t change anything for us with the project here.”