After a pair of tough losses to start the season, the Washington and Lee Men’s Lacrosse team is looking to resume working towards its goal: to make a run in the NCAA tournament.

The Generals are currently 4-2, the two losses coming from Christopher Newport University and Franklin and Marshall College.

“We lost to CNU to start the season and overall just didn’t come out well [in that game],” said captain Colin Fraser, ‘15.

The Generals rebounded, however, with a strong performance last Wednesday against Mary Washington College.

“It was good to bounce back after the tough game against Franklin and Marshall,” said Fraser. “We lost to them last year so we had a bit of a chip on our shoulder.”

Last year, the Generals put together a solid 11-6 campaign.  But the season was cut short when they fell to Lynchburg College in the ODAC tournament semi-finals and did not receive an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament.

This year, Fraser said his team does not want to rely on the NCAA tournament selection committee to earn a bid to the national tournament.  Instead, they want to ensure a bid by winning the ODAC tournament.

“Two years ago we got an at-large bid, but we learned we can’t rely on that,” Fraser said. “Losing in ODACs reinforced the importance of every game; every year is a new year and we want to run the table at ODACs.”

The ODAC is perennially one of the strongest lacrosse conferences in the nation, said Fraser.  Currently, both W&L and Lynchburg are ranked in the top 15 teams in the country (W&L at 15 and Lynchburg at 10).  Roanoke College and Hampton-Sydney College are both traditionally strong programs as well, according to Fraser.

Co-Captain Cameron Dabir, ‘15, said that he and his teammates have no plans to forget that loss to Lynchburg from last season.

“We have seven or eight big team goals posted in our locker room and the background is a picture of the scoreboard from [the Lynchburg] game,” Dabir said.  “It’s a big motivator for us.”

For both Dabir and Fraser, this season marks their last chance to make a deep run in the NCAA tournament.

“Our entire class realizes that lacrosse and W&L are almost over for us,”

Dabir said.  “We want to cherish every game and practice and put everything out there.”

But after the senior players graduate, Dabir said that the future looks bright for the men’s lacrosse team.

“The freshmen especially are really strong [this year],” Dabir said. “They’re good players and they push the upperclassmen everyday.  Guys like Kyle Gifford, Bobby Doyle and Jason Myers have all been huge for us.”

The Generals will look to continue their run towards ODACs and NCAAs next Wednesday when they host Sewanee University under the lights of Wilson Turf at 7 p.m.