For the group of five seniors that have been with the program since day one, the results this season are why they stuck with the team through its building years.
Through their first two seasons in 2010 and 2011, the Cardinals went 11-21 before earning a 9-6 season in just the third year of the program’s existence.
This year, the team ended their regular season 12-5 and earned an at-large bid for the NCAA tournament for the first time in program history.
The Cards will face Adrian College, who they beat earlier this season at home 13-7.
“Making the tournament has been our goal since day one and making it a reality this year has made these past four years that much sweeter,” said midfielder Juan Contreras.
Four years of hard work and sacrifices have paid off for the senior class who knew sticking together over the years would pay off.
“Getting to play from day one was key,” defender Mike Spatafore said.
Goalie Adam Hatchard, who has started 62 of the 64 games the Cardinals have ever played, said it was a rough start.
“We saw improvements from the very beginning and knew the rough start was only temporary, and we could only get better,” Hatchard said.
Midfielder Graham Shippy seemed to know from their first day on campus that this group would stay together for all four years.
“As a group, we go way back, and it has only made this journey that much better,” Shippy said.
“We were all new to the school at the same time and we spent so much time together that if one of us were to quit, then it wouldn’t have been the same,” he said.
For these five, it’s been a lot of hard work and dedication that has been put into building this program and yet the future still seems uncertain to some.
“It’s hard to tell now what our impact on the program may be,” midfielder Jake Ritzenthaler said.
“Down the road, being able to say we helped to start a winning program will mean something big,” he said.
Of course, this is just the beginning of what the senior class sees as a long and storied history of Otterbein lacrosse.
Hatchard said he believes that in five years, they will be major competitors in Ohio, and with the improved turf field their training and performance will only get better.
“We will be tournament qualifiers every year down the road especially with it becoming an OAC sport,” Spatafore said.
Over four years, the group of five seniors have developed a lot of great memories. One of their favorite memories was from their overtime victory of Fontbonne University in 2010, the team’s second victory.
In that game, former Cardinal, Adam McGrath scored his fourth and final goal of the game with 29 seconds left in overtime.
“Obviously making the NCAA tournament is the best way to end our careers and the ultimate memory,” Contreras said. “This will be something we will never forget.”
