The 2023 Loyola Men’s lacrosse season can’t come soon enough for the players, staff, and fans of the team. Last season’s heartbreak to Army in the Patriot League Semifinal left a bad taste in the mouth of returning players who felt they gave it their all but fell just short.
Returning attackmen Davis Lindsey ‘24 said, “Our expectations going into this year is first having a better season than last year. We would play a good game and just weren’t able to finish in the 4th.”
This year, the men’s team is focusing on the basics during fall training as well as bonding the players together through a retreat, which head coach Charley Toomey said “is the single most important thing we do to help our freshman connect with the coaches and upperclassmen in the fall.”
Charley Toomey enters his 18th season with the Greyhounds. Toomey has made a name for himself as a college lacrosse coach, bringing Loyola to its first NCAA Division 1 Championship in 2012 and developing Loyola’s resilient defensive group.
Toomey and the Greyhounds are currently laying the framework and focusing on achieving the goals they have set. This is how they have had success in past seasons and it is the strategy they will continue to use this season.
“Our goals are always the same,” Toomey said. “We want to compete for a Patriot League Championship and [we] feel we have the talent to be able to do so.”
Fall training, or what they call “fall ball” in the lacrosse world, is currently underway for the men’s team. The Greyhounds also get a chance to scrimmage a few teams and focus on repetition during this time period. This will give the team a good indication as to what needs to be fixed before they get into their spring games.
Najee Taylor ‘23 has been playing lacrosse since he was young and was recruited from powerhouse high school Loyola Academy in Wilmette, Illinois. Taylor has been rehabbing an injury coming into this season, so his experience during the fall has been different from those of his teammates.
“My fall has consisted of rehabbing and trying to get back as soon as possible,” Taylor said. “A lot of my time just involves watching film.”
Davis Lindsey is another player who is now in a leadership role as an upperclassman and is considered a key piece of the Greyhounds’ offense. Lindsey is from Huntersville, North Carolina. Lindsey hails from The Christ School, where he is the school’s all-time leader in points. Lindsey was a huge contributor for the Greyhounds’ last season putting up 28 points as a sophomore. Now, Lindsey feels that the upperclassmen have bonded with the underclassmen not just to check a box, but because they genuinely care about creating relationships. His goal is to exceed the expectations that their team set last season. All of the players on the team have been building true connections with each other, which helps them get through the struggles and obstacles of pre-season.
“The upperclassmen are doing well with our freshmen,” Lindsey said. “Even last year wasn’t normal with Covid, so I can absolutely say this is the closest team I’ve been a part of.”
Loyola’s spring schedule hasn’t been released yet but you can stay up-to-date by following the team’s official webpage.
Featured Image Courtesy of Hilton Carroll
