“I thoroughly enjoyed returning to Stevens for the 125th anniversary. Specifically, seeing friends I haven’t seen in a while,” Jared De Nigris ’99 said. “It was also great to see how far the Lacrosse program has come in the past 10 years, from the amenities to the talent on the team.”

Mr. Steffen, who is now compiling a three-disc DVD set about the history of Stevens Men’s Lacrosse, hopes players will organize a Lacrosse Alumni Day each year, if only to get together informally and swap stories about their stick moves.

“To all the X-stick men, as we call them, give support to the lacrosse cause at Stevens. It’s a good cause,” he said. “I enjoyed seeing the people I had played with. The Athletics Department did a great job, down to the last detail. It was a very memorable day.”

As the Stevens Ducks charged onto DeBaun Field, ready to battle the Ithaca Bombers, the crowd filled the stands and cheered wildly. Doc Ardrey ’60 enjoyed his view, as he sat with his Sigma Nu buddies, including Ed Jaekle ’58, Clive Van Orden ’57 and Art Bendelius ’58, who all believed “we could take those kids on the field,” he said. “If you’re in my shoes, days like this are what it’s all about,” Men’s Lacrosse Coach Byron Collins said before the game. “We have a bunch of alumni back, and we have a chance to do something really special tonight.” Stevens took an early lead, with a 3-0 start, but Ithaca tied the game at 5-5 early in the second quarter. Both teams battled neck-and-neck throughout the remaining quarters, and with 20 seconds left, the score was 11-10, with Stevens just one goal behind. The Ducks rallied to try to make a goal as the clocked ticked down. The crowd stood to its feet and chanted “Let’s go Stevens.” But it wasn’t enough; Ithaca held onto its lead and won the heart-pounding game. “Well, it was a good one, a good game,” one guy said as he made his way from DeBaun Field and headed to his car. “They’re all good games,” another guy said, patting him on the shoulder and smiling. “They all are.”

 

Former players share their favorite LAX memories

Personally, the best in-game moment had to be beating Stockton my senior year (1999). I scored the game winner with less than 10 seconds on an assist from Tim Mullin ... but overall it’s the people and friends that I have met and the camaraderie of just being part of a team. We all had a great time on and off the field. Jared De Nigris ’99 Traveling to Delaware in the spring of 1962 to play a strong University of Delaware team. Coach Seymour had been alerted to the fact that Delaware had an outstanding senior attackman. So “Buzz” devised a novel defense to limit his impact. Matt Malinowski was assigned the task of shadowing the attackman, while the remaining five Stevens defenders played zone. The strategy partially worked; the senior attackman was shut out. However, we quickly learned that Delaware had an equally talented sophomore attackman, Osborne, who killed us by scoring at will against the zone. We were soundly beaten 18-5. When I tried to “assist” Buzz with his coaching strategy during a break in the game, he firmly told me to shut up, just play the goal, and let him coach. Dick Magee ’63 One of my favorite lacrosse stories (among many) was being a part of the team, when in 1953, we won the Ron Taylor Cup as the top small college team in the nation. Also, I fondly remember “Buzz” Seymour relating his favorite story about me. It was when I took a shot and the ball got caught in the goalie’s mask and I got penalized for trying to knock it loose with my stick while he was in the crease. Robert Murphy ’54 An accidental breakfast with Casey Stengel, Yogi Berra and Bill Skowron in April '57. We were in Beantown overnight for the MIT game next day, and the Yanks were staying at the same hotel in prep for Opening Day vs. the Sox. I believe we won and they lost. Doc Ardrey ’60 My sophomore season we had probably the biggest single season turnaround in the history of the Stevens lacrosse program. We were beating teams by 10 goals who had beaten us by 20 the year before. The entire year was spent enacting revenge. Joe DiPompeo ’98 My favorite lacrosse memory came during my freshman year. The team was in the NCAA tournament for the 4th year in a row and the previous three, they were not able to win, often getting blown out. The senior class, which included Matt Cannon, was 0-3 at the time. We received a home game in the first round of the tournament against Springfield College, #9 in the country at the time. The stands were packed, it was a great atmosphere and we were able to get that great senior class their first win in the NCAA tournament. The game and the win marked the true turning point of the program. Just three years before when Coach Collins took over, they were something like 3-11. In a short four seasons we had turned it around, beaten a Top 10 team and advanced to the National Quarterfinals. Even as a freshman, I knew I was part of something very special. That year and that team gave me some of my best lifelong friends and some memories to go with it. Mark J. Bielicky ’07

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