In 2024, Washington and Lee men’s lacrosse had one of its best seasons ever. The Generals went undefeated in conference play and reached the Final Four in the NCAA tournament after a historic 16-15 overtime win against No. 1 Salisbury University.
This year, they’re back and stronger than ever. The Generals were ranked preseason No. 4 by the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association and top five in the country in every other poll.
USA Lacrosse Magazine recognized seven Generals in their preseason All-American honors, including Elliot Cohen, ’26, Hillis Burns, ’25, Chris Datz ’26, Matthew Ezzell, ’25, Jack Elliot, ’25, James Haley, ’26, and Tyler Spano, ’27.
However, players said they aren’t letting the rankings get to their heads.
“The expectations other people set for us are nice, but never our focus,” said Datz, team captain and junior defenseman. “All that matters to us is what we believe and what we can control, and that’s working hard every single day towards the goals we establish for ourselves.”
“Every team that we play is gonna be coming for us, so we gotta be ready for that,” said defenseman Gabe Reiter, ’28. “That’s how we practice, that’s how we play, and we’re the hunters now.”
The Generals beat rival York College 12-10 in their first game of the season, with contributions coming from players in every class. Datz led the defense with five ground balls and two turnovers, while goalie Nick DeCain, ’27, stopped 17 of 27 shots to lift the Generals over the Spartans. On the other side of the field, Elliot and an attacker James Meyer, ’28, both tallied three points with two goals and one assist each.
After the game, Generals head coach Gene McCabe said he is confident in his outlook on the season.
“I think the sky’s the limit for our guys this season,” said McCabe. “We have a really focused, talented group this year, and if we keep putting in the work something special is gonna happen.”
The lacrosse team has steadily improved over the last several seasons. In 2021, they lost in the second round of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference tournament and missed the NCAA tournament. Since then, they’ve won five NCAA tournament games and have established themselves as a force on the east coast.
“It’s a huge honor to be a captain this year with a team that I’ve grown so close with and has been getting better and better every year,” said Datz. “We know we’re capable of amazing things, but we also know it won’t be easy.”
The Generals will face a big test in their next matchup against No. 5 ranked Christopher Newport University, a college lacrosse powerhouse, on Feb. 19 at Wilson Field.
“I think last year I heard people call our success a Cinderella story,” said starting faceoff specialist Spano. “But, as we like to joke on the team, it’s no Cinderella story anymore. We’ve got something to prove.”
