UMD Lacrosse Aims to Bring Home First Ever National Title

The Bulldogs will open the tourney Monday against Bridgewater State.

DULUTH, Minn. – One team that has flown under the radar this spring is the UMD men’s lacrosse team. The Bulldogs captured their first conference title since 2015 and their 19th in the past 24 years. But if you wanted to chat with them before they leave for the Division II national tournament, you’ll have to be up very early.

The team have been practicing at Malosky Stadium all season at six o’clock in the morning and most of the time the weather isn’t great. But the team feels like that kind of routine adds to their grit that has been a big part of the team’s identity.

“For us to be able to do that, on top of school, some guys are working jobs and doing conditioning groups every couple of days, that constant grind every week has been something that we want to close off the season with. We want to look at that and say that made a difference and helped us get to that national championship game,” said attackman Luke Hannan.

UMD is looking to improve on their finish from last season which saw them reach the national semi–finals. They come into the tourney as the #1 overall seed and a confidence level that has reached an all time high.

“Scouting always plays a big role in any sport you play. You want to know your opponent. Fortunately for us, a lot of the teams we’ll facing at nationals we’ve played before a few times this season so we’re familiar with their play style. It comes down to us just coming out and playing our game and playing our hardest. We know if we’re on the same page and we’re all firing on the right cylinders, no one can touch us,” defenseman Noah Olson said.

The Bulldogs will open the tourney Monday against Bridgewater State. All the games will take place in Salt Lake City, Utah.