Lacrosse
Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensiv ...
has been played in
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
since the 19th century. There are many respected amateur programs at the club, college, and high school level, as well as several respected past and present professional teams in the
National Lacrosse League
The National Lacrosse League (NLL) is a men's professional box lacrosse league in North America. The league is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The NLL currently has fifteen teams: ten in the United States and five in Canada. The N ...
(NLL) and
Major League Lacrosse
Major League Lacrosse (MLL) was a men's field lacrosse league in the United States. The league's inaugural season was in 2001. Teams played anywhere from ten to 16 games in a summertime regular season. This was followed by a four-team playoff ...
(MLL).
College lacrosse in Pennsylvania
College lacrosse beginnings
The first lacrosse team in North America was the
Montreal Lacrosse Club
The Montreal Lacrosse Club was a lacrosse club in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Club is notable in the history of lacrosse as it was responsible for establishing the first set of written rules of the game.
The Club was established in 1856 by the ...
, established in Montreal, Quebec, Canada by dentist,
Dr. William George Beers. A demonstration of lacrosse was given by the
Caughnawaga Indians in Montreal in 1834, which resulted in growing interest by Canadian settlers. By the 1850s, Beers codified the game by adding rules and structure. Beers also petitioned for lacrosse to be named Canada's national sport, which led to the formation of the National Lacrosse Association. Montreal Lacrosse Club created the first set of written rules of the game of lacrosse. In 1860, Beers wrote up the codes, rules of the game, reducing the length of games and limiting the number of players to 12 per side. The first game played under these new rules was at
Upper Canada College
Upper Canada College (UCC) is an elite, all-boys, private school in Toronto, Ontario, operating under the International Baccalaureate program. The college is widely described as the country's most prestigious preparatory school, and has produce ...
in 1867, where Upper Canada lost to the Toronto Cricket Club 3–1.
Intercollegiate lacrosse in the United States can trace its roots to 1877 when
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, th ...
beat
Manhattan College two to zero. Also in 1877, the Boston Lacrosse Club started up at Harvard, though a true varsity team at Harvard was not established until 1880. In 1879, the United States Amateur Lacrosse Association was formed b
John R. Flannery, a well-known Canadian club playerto coordinate the efforts of private, amateur lacrosse clubs in several Northeast cities, including one club that formed in
Bradford, Pennsylvania
Bradford is a city in McKean County, Pennsylvania. It is located close to the border with New York state and approximately south of Buffalo, New York. Bradford is the principal city in the Bradford, PA Micropolitan Statistical Area. The popul ...
. Flannery had grown up in Canada, been a member of the
Montreal Shamrocks
The Montreal Shamrocks were an amateur, later professional, and then amateur again men's ice hockey club in existence from 1886 to 1924, based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They were spun off from the Montreal Shamrocks lacrosse club. Starting off ...
Lacrosse Club, and subsequently moved to the United States where he played for a number of amateur east coast clubs. In 1878 he organized a game billed as the National Championship between Union Lacrosse Club and Ravenswood Lacrosse Club of New York City. Encouraged by the turnout of some 40,000 spectators, Flannery set about organizing the disparate lacrosse clubs into a cohesive organization. Ravenswood Lacrosse Club with John Flannery went on to influence lacrosse at several other colleges, playing a well-publicized game against New York University in 1879.
In 1881, the first true varsity level intercollegiate lacrosse tournament was held, with Harvard defeating Princeton in the final, 3–0. This series led to the formation of a league in 1882, known as the
Inter-Collegiate Lacrosse Association (the ICLA, later the ILA), which included New York University, Columbia, Princeton and Harvard. At the same time, Flannery's United States Amateur Lacrosse Association comprised eleven college and club teams, but by 1886 the number of clubs had risen to greater than 40. College organizations, including a varsity team at
Lehigh University
Lehigh University (LU) is a private research university in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The university was established in 1865 by businessman Asa Packer and was originally affiliated with the Epi ...
, soon were seeking admittance to the ILA. Lehigh fielded its first varsity squad in 1885, with the
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...
, and
Lafayette College
Lafayette College is a private liberal arts college in Easton, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1826 by James Madison Porter and other citizens in Easton, the college first held classes in 1832. The founders voted to name the college after General Laf ...
at the club level, following suit in 1890. Lehigh and
Swarthmore were accepted as members in the ILA in 1888 and 1891, respectively.
The first tournament for lacrosse supremacy during this period was known as the Oelrichs Cup, sponsored by
Hermann Oelrichs
Hermann Oelrichs (June 8, 1850 – September 1, 1906), was an American businessman, multimillionaire, and agent of Norddeutsche Lloyd shipping.
Early life
Oelrichs was born on June 8, 1850 in Baltimore, Maryland. He was the son of German-born ...
, and first offered up in a tournament format in 1881. Oelrichs was the first president of the United States National Amateur Lacrosse Association, a precursor to the USILA, and he was a member of the New York Lacrosse Club. The Oelrichs Cup was played for much of the 1880s, played mostly by amateur non-scholastic clubs though Princeton did field a tournament team. Arnold K. Reese as part of a powerful Baltimore lacrosse club, won the Oelrichs Cup in 1890. At this time also, Reese had been the main force behind starting up varsity lacrosse at Lehigh. Reese's efforts would lead to Lehigh being one of the early college lacrosse powers. Reese played for Lehigh from 1888 to 1891, winning an ILA title in 1890.
Development of USILA
In 1898 another league, the Inter-University Lacrosse League (IULL) was formed playing with slightly different rules, with Harvard, Columbia and Cornell as charter members. Many of the member teams of both the ILA and IULL joined, dropped out or rejoined at various times over the years. In December 1905, representatives from all the colleges in the two leagues met in New York and formed the United States Inter-Collegiate Lacrosse League, the USICLL initially, soon to be known as the USILL. The colleges entering into this association were Columbia, Cornell, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Lehigh, Pennsylvania, Stevens and Swarthmore. The USILL acted as the governing body for lacrosse in the United States until it was replaced by the
USILA The United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association is an association of member institutions and organizations with college lacrosse programs at all levels of competition, including the three NCAA divisions and non-NCAA schools, at both the vars ...
in 1926.
During the first 40 years of organized varsity college lacrosse, known alternately as the ICLA, ILA, USICLL, USILL and USILA, two Pennsylvania schools, Lehigh and Swarthmore fielded dominant teams. The two teams were voted
National Champions
National champions are corporations which are technically private businesses but due to governmental policy are ceded a dominant position in a national economy. In this system, these large organizations are expected not only to seek profit but als ...
of college lacrosse a combined fourteen (14) seasons.
Glenn "Pop" Warner, the Hall of Fame football coach at the
Carlisle Indian School
The United States Indian Industrial School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, generally known as Carlisle Indian Industrial School, was the flagship Indian boarding school in the United States from 1879 through 1918. It took over the historic Carlisle B ...
(PA) from 1899 to 1903, substituted lacrosse for baseball during the spring season because he said, "Lacrosse is a developer of health and strength. It is a game that spectators rave over once they understand it." It is also likely that lacrosse, a contact sport, helped prepare his football players for the fall season. By 1920, the USILL had expanded to include teams from
Syracuse,
Rutgers
Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and w ...
,
Penn State and, encouraged by
Pop Warner
Glenn Scobey Warner (April 5, 1871 – September 7, 1954), most commonly known as Pop Warner, was an American college football coach at various institutions who is responsible for several key aspects of the modern game. Included among his inn ...
, even considered adding a varsity team at the University of Pittsburgh. In 1920, college lacrosse realigned their association, adding a Southern Division, which included powerful teams from Lehigh, Penn and Swarthmore along with traditional Maryland power Johns Hopkins. The
United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association The United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association is an association of member institutions and organizations with college lacrosse programs at all levels of competition, including the three NCAA divisions and non-NCAA schools, at both the varsi ...
(USILA), the organization still in existence today, officially was formed in November 1925.
As of 1942, the association had only 23 member colleges at that time. The members of the U.S. Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association for the 1942 season were:
City College of New York,
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...
,
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native ...
,
Drexel Institute of Technology
Drexel University is a private research university with its main campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Drexel's undergraduate school was founded in 1891 by Anthony J. Drexel, a financier and philanthropist. Founded as Drexel Institute of Art, Sc ...
,
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
,
Hobart College,
Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consi ...
,
Lafayette College
Lafayette College is a private liberal arts college in Easton, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1826 by James Madison Porter and other citizens in Easton, the college first held classes in 1832. The founders voted to name the college after General Laf ...
,
Loyola College,
University of Maryland
The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...
,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...
,
Penn State College,
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...
,
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...
,
Rutgers University
Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...
,
Stevens Institute of Technology
Stevens Institute of Technology is a private research university in Hoboken, New Jersey. Founded in 1870, it is one of the oldest technological universities in the United States and was the first college in America solely dedicated to mechanical ...
,
Swarthmore College,
Syracuse University,
Union College
Union College is a private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the state of New York, after Columbia Co ...
,
United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...
,
United States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...
and
Yale University
Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...
.
College lacrosse development in Pennsylvania
Lehigh fielded its first varsity squad in 1885, with the University of Pennsylvania and Lafayette College at the club level following suit in 1890. Penn played intermittently upon starting up lacrosse and so lists 1900 as their first official season of varsity lacrosse. Penn State played its first intercollegiate game against Penn in 1913. In 1917, Lehigh which had gone undefeated for two straight seasons and had won the Southern division that season, won the USILL championship by defeating Penn in overtime 5 to 4 at
Franklin Field
Franklin Field is a sports stadium in Philadelphia, United States, at the eastern edge of the University of Pennsylvania's campus. It is the home stadium for the Penn Relays, and the University of Pennsylvania's stadium for American football, foo ...
in a title matchup. Lehigh had beaten Cornell, the Northern division champions, the prior season to capture a share of the USILL national lacrosse title.
Swarthmore won four national titles in the early years of lacrosse
Baltimore Hall of Famer, Philip E. Lamb led Swarthmore to consecutive titles in 1904 and 1905, "in the days when Swarthmore and Johns Hopkins were the perennial national champs", according to Lamb's Hall of Fame entry. Also, in 1940 Penn State attempted a college box lacrosse league playing top universities including Yale. An appropriately named College Division dominated lacrosse in the early 1950s, consisting of some 20 undergraduate schools from Rensselaer Polytechnic, Army, Virginia, Navy, Hofstra, Yale, Baltimore University, Maryland, Delaware, Drexel, Princeton, Duke, Washington College, Washington and Lee, Johns Hopkins, Loyola, and Western Maryland as well as two club teams from Mount Washington and Maryland Lacrosse Club. Drexel represented Pennsylvania schools well in 1952 reaching as high as number six in the standings. In the latter part of the 1950s with some 60 colleges playing lacrosse, schools were divided into three divisions. While the 'A Division' included traditional national powers Navy and Johns Hopkins, the 'B Division' and 'C Division' consisted of several potent Pennsylvania universities including Penn, Swarthmore, Penn State, Lehigh, Dickinson, Drexel and Lafayette.
:
1954 College Division -- Final National Rankings ''
(Pennsylvania schools in italics)''
:A Division
(
Cyrus Miller Division)
:*
Navy
:* Army
:* Duke
:* Maryland
:* Princeton
:* Johns Hopkins
:* Virginia
:* Yale
:* Rensselaer Polytechnic
Institute
:B Division
(
Laurie Cox Division)
:*
Syracuse
:*
Washington College
:* Hofstra
:* Harvard
:* ''
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...
''
:* Rutgers
:* Cornell
:* Baltimore
:* ''
Swarthmore College''
:* Loyola
:* Hobart
:* Dartmouth
:* ''
Pennsylvania State University''
:* Williams
:* ''
University of Delaware
The University of Delaware (colloquially UD or Delaware) is a public land-grant research university located in Newark, Delaware. UD is the largest university in Delaware. It offers three associate's programs, 148 bachelor's programs, 121 ma ...
''
:C Division
Roy Taylor Division)
:*
Union
:* New Hampshire
:* Stevens Tech
:* Amherst
:* ''
Lehigh University
Lehigh University (LU) is a private research university in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The university was established in 1865 by businessman Asa Packer and was originally affiliated with the Epi ...
''
:* Oberlin
:* MIT
:* Adelphi
:* CCNY
:* Cortland State
:* Tufts
:* Hamilton
:* ''
Dickinson College''
:* ''
Lafayette College
Lafayette College is a private liberal arts college in Easton, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1826 by James Madison Porter and other citizens in Easton, the college first held classes in 1832. The founders voted to name the college after General Laf ...
''
:* Worcester Poly
University level national titles, post-season NCAA play
In total, Lehigh University has won eleven national titles under various
pre-NCAA United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association formats for national championships, while Swarthmore University has won five titles.
More recently under the NCAA tournament format in place since 1971, Pennsylvania based universities have participated in many
NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship tournaments including Bucknell (2), Cabrini (16), Drexel (1), Franklin & Marshall (5), Gettysburg (25), Lehigh (2), Kutztown (1), Messiah College (2), Penn (12), Penn State (4), Swarthmore (1), Widener (6) and Villanova (2).
In the
1988 NCAA tournament, Penn led by Tony Seaman and Chris Flynn were the first Pennsylvania school to reach the semi-finals, losing by one goal to the Gait Brothers led
Syracuse Orange
The Syracuse Orange are the athletic teams that represent Syracuse University. The school is a member of NCAA Division I and the Atlantic Coast Conference. Until 2013, Syracuse was a member of the Big East Conference.
The school's mascot is Ott ...
, which is as far as any Pennsylvania based Division I school has advanced in tournament play. In all, Penn reached the NCAAs six times in the 1980s, including a quarterfinal appearance in 1987.
For the first time in 2011, a Pennsylvania university or college won the
NCAA Division II National Title when Mercyhurst defeated Adelphi 9 to 8. Mercyhurst also played in the 2007 Division II national finals, losing a close contest to LeMoyne 6 to 5. Mercyhurst has been to three Division II finals.
Recent NCAA play
Among recent highlights at the university level, the Penn State Nittany Lions men's team in 2019 was 16 and 2, was seeded number one in the 2019 NCAA tournament, becoming the first ever Pennsylvania team to get the number one NCAA seeding in Men's lacrosse and the second Pennsylvania team to make men's lacrosse Division I Final Four. Also in 2019. Grant Ament set the Division I single season record for assists in a season with 95 assists. In 2005, Penn State was named to the NCAA tournament after reaching number eleven in the national rankings. In 2006 Penn upset #3 Cornell on their way to getting an at-large berth in the
NCAA tournament.
Gettysburg has had success in Division III, regularly appearing in the top five national rankings and reaching the NCAA title games in 2001, 2002 and 2009. Philadelphia has hosted six
NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship tournament in Divisions I, II & III at
Franklin Field
Franklin Field is a sports stadium in Philadelphia, United States, at the eastern edge of the University of Pennsylvania's campus. It is the home stadium for the Penn Relays, and the University of Pennsylvania's stadium for American football, foo ...
and
Lincoln Financial Field
Lincoln Financial Field is an American football stadium located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It serves as the home stadium of the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL) and the Temple Owls football team of Temple University. ...
. In 2009, Villanova defeated Towson in the conference finals to gain the team's first ever NCAA tournament bid. In 2009 Chris Bates head coach for ten years at Drexel took the top job at Princeton.
In 2007, Drexel upset number one ranked and defending National Champion Virginia, 11 to 10, scoring the game-winning goal with three seconds remaining. In 2010, Lafayette won their first six games including consecutive upsets over Navy and Bucknell reaching a national ranking of number eight.
In 2011, for the first time, three Pennsylvania schools were represented in the
16 team NCAA tournament. Penn and Villanova were selected as at-large tournament picks. Bucknell made the tournament by virtue of an automatic qualifier, winning the Patriot league tournament, they took eventual champion Virginia to overtime before losing their first-round game. In 2012 Lehigh was seeded number seven in the
NCAA tournament, the first seeded Pennsylvania team since Penn was seeded number four in 1988, they took Maryland to late in their first-round game losing on a Terp goal with just six seconds left. Lehigh also won the Patriot League title in 2013, earning an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, where they lost to UNC. In 2014, Drexel played in their first NCAA tournament and also become the first Pennsylvania Division I school to win an NCAA tournament game since Penn reached the Final Four in 1988. Penn State has received NCAA tournament seedings, in 2017 they were the number seven seed and in 2013 Penn State received the number eight seed in the tournament.
Men's university lacrosse titles
:
NCAA or USILA National Titles - 19
:* Lehigh - 1890, 1893, 1895, 1896, 1897, 1914, 1916, 1917, 1920, 1921 USILA Champions, 1959 USILA Class C Division III National Co-Champion - (11)
:* Swarthmore - 1900, 1904, 1905, 1910 USILA Champions, 1953 USILA Division II National Champion - (5)
:* Dickinson - 1958 USILA Class C Division III National Co-Champion - (1)
:* Mercyhurst - 2011 NCAA Division II Champions - (1)
:* Cabrini - 2019 NCAA Division III Champions - (1)
Women's university level
Women's lacrosse
Women's lacrosse (or girls' lacrosse), sometimes shortened to lax, is a sport with twelve players on the field at a time (including the goalkeeper). Originally played by indigenous peoples of the Americas, the modern women's game was introduce ...
started up in Scotland at
St Leonards School
St Leonards School is an independent boarding and day school for pupils aged 4–19 in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland. Founded in 1877 as St Andrews School for Girls Company, it adopted the St Leonards name upon moving to its current premises, the ...
in the 1890s, but was not introduced into the United States until 1926 at The
Bryn Mawr School in Baltimore. The United States Women's Lacrosse Association was established in 1931. Penn State started up a women's program in 1965 and
Lock Haven University
Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania (LHU) is a public university in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania. It is part of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. The main campus consists of and the branch campus covers . It offers 69 undergradua ...
in 1969. And in 1971 the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women was founded to govern collegiate women's athletics in the United States and to administer national championships.
The most successful programs have been
Temple University
Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then calle ...
and Penn State in both
the AIAW and NCAA Division I,
West Chester University
West Chester University (also known as West Chester, WCU, or WCUPA, and officially as West Chester University of Pennsylvania) is a public research university in and around West Chester, Pennsylvania. The university is accredited by the Middle ...
in Division II, as well as
Ursinus College
Ursinus College is a private liberal arts college in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1869 and occupies a 170-acre campus.
History
19th century
In 1867, members of the German Reformed Church began plans to establish a college wh ...
and
Franklin & Marshall in Division III. Pennsylvania colleges and universities have won a combined 17 USWLA, AIAW and NCAA women's lacrosse national titles.
Temple won championships in 1984 and 1988; Penn State in 1978, 1979, 1980, 1987 and 1989; West Chester in 2002 and 2008; Ursinus in 1986, 1989 and 1990; and Franklin & Marshall in 2007 and 2009. The
Penn State Nittany Lions (women) in 1978, 1979 and 1980 went 45-1-3, won the first 3 national collegiate (USWLA) championships in the sport of women's lacrosse, defeating Maryland, Massachusetts and Maryland, respectively, under head coach Gillian Rattray.
Marsha Florio of Penn State and Gail Cummings of Temple are currently the 3rd and 4th all-time highest scoring Division I players with 380 and 378 career points, respectively. Stephanie Kienle and Katelyn Martin both of West Chester are the 1st and 2nd highest all-time scoring Division II players with 390 and 376 career points, respectively.
In 2009 Franklin & Marshall won the Division III national title defeating Salisbury 11 to 10. In 2011 Gettysburg won the Division III national title defeating Bowdoin 16 to 5. Gettysburg won the title again in 2017.
Women's university lacrosse titles
::
NCAA, USWLA or AIAW Titles - 19
:* Penn State - 1978, 1979, 1980 USWLA Champions, 1987, 1989 NCAA Division I Champions (5)
:* Temple - 1982 AIAW Division I Champions, 1984, 1988 NCAA Division I Champions (3)
:* Millersville State – 1982 AIAW Division III Champions (1)
:* Ursinus – 1986, 1989, 1990 NCAA Division III Champions (3)
:* West Chester – 2002, 2008 NCAA Division II Champions (2)
:* Franklin & Marshall – 2007, 2009 NCAA Division III Champions (2)
:* Gettysburg – 2011, 2017, 2018 NCAA Division III Champions (3)
High school
*
see also, List of Historic Pennsylvania High School, Prep Champions'
*
see also, PhillyLacrosse.com List of all-time Pennsylvania boys’ state champions'
Lacrosse development at the private
preparatory school or public high school level in Pennsylvania by the mid-1950s had progressed more slowly than at the collegiate level. At that time,
Lower Merion High School
Lower Merion High School is a public high school in Ardmore, a community in Philadelphia's Main Line suburbs. It is one of two high schools in the Lower Merion School District; the other one is Harriton High School. Lower Merion serves both Lo ...
and
Swarthmore High School
Swarthmore High School was a four-year public high school in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania serving the Boroughs of Swarthmore and Rutledge.
History
Swarthmore established its own independent school district when Swarthmore Borough incorporated in 18 ...
were among only a handful of Pennsylvania schools offering varsity lacrosse as a spring sport at the high school level, usually playing against college level junior varsity squads.
But by 1965, a state high school championship system had been put in place.
The Hill School
The Hill School (commonly known as The Hill) is a coeducational preparatory boarding school located on a campus in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, about northwest of Philadelphia. The Hill is part of the Ten Schools Admissions Organization (TSAO). ...
was named the first Pennsylvania prep statewide champion of what became known as the
Avery Blake
Avery Felton Blake Sr. (April 8, 1907 – August 25, 1975) was an American college lacrosse player and coach. He served as the head lacrosse coach at his alma mater, Swarthmore College from 1931 to 1959. Blake also served as president of the Uni ...
Memorial Trophy. Since 2001, with the expansion of lacrosse programs at high schools throughout the state, a new format, the Keystone Cup, has been played where three state sectional champions meet to determine the statewide champion.
In 1973,
Sewickley Academy hosted western Pennsylvania's first high lacrosse championship tournament featuring teams from Philadelphia, Detroit and Annapolis.
Peet Poillon along with his father started up the lacrosse program at
Seneca Valley High School
Seneca Valley High School (SVHS) is a U.S. public high school (grades 9-12) in Germantown, Maryland. It is part of the Montgomery County Public Schools system. Its enrollment for the 2019–2020 school year was 1,226 students. The new building ...
in western Pennsylvania in 2001, with Poillon also scoring 410 career goals. In 2009, Emily Garrity of
Strath Haven High School broke the career scoring record for women with 695 total points.
Pennsylvania high schools with the most state lacrosse titles include Lower Merion (7), Ridley (6), Haverford School (5), and Penn Charter (5). In 2008, LaSalle College High won the state title and was ranked fourth in the nation, the highest national ranking of a Pennsylvania prep school up to then. Haverford School regularly appears in the top 15 nationally, and plays recognized programs such as The
Gilman and
Lawrenceville Schools. Three schools have repeated as champion for three straight years,
Harriton High School from 1970 to 1972, Penn Charter from 1974 to 1976 and Ridley from 2001 to 2003. In the 2009 state finals, LaSalle won its second consecutive title in defeating
Conestoga High School in its first appearance in the state finals, 7 to 3. LaSalle ended the year ranked 4th in a national poll for the second straight season, while Conestoga finished the year ranked 12th.
In 2011, for the first time a Pennsylvania prep school, the Haverford School Fords were named National High School lacrosse champions. The Fords topped the national polls in both the Laxpower.com and
Inside Lacrosse
Inside Lacrosse is a lacrosse media entity and ESPN affiliate. It includes many parts including a news website, an 11 times annual magazine, online video streaming, internet forums and an ESPN television show. The company is currently headquarter ...
rankings, while repeat Pennsylvania Public champions Conestoga finished third and fourth nationally, respectively.
Haverford was again voted high school/prep national champions in 2015.
:High School National Titles - 2
:* The Haverford School - 2011, 2015 voted National Prep/High School Champions
Professional
In 1974, the
original Philadelphia Wings became the first professional lacrosse team to operate out of Pennsylvania. The team included popular Philadelphia Flyer player
Doug Favell
Douglas Robert Favell (born April 5, 1945) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender and former box lacrosse player. Favell played in the National Hockey League for the Philadelphia Flyers, Toronto Maple Leafs and Colorado Rockies.
...
, and the well-known
Gene Hart announcing games for the team, as well as Canadian star John Grant Sr., father of
John Grant, Jr. The Wings drew crowds of over 10,000 at the
Spectrum
A spectrum (plural ''spectra'' or ''spectrums'') is a condition that is not limited to a specific set of values but can vary, without gaps, across a continuum. The word was first used scientifically in optics to describe the rainbow of colors ...
and reached the league finals in 1974. The team folded along with
the original NLL in 1975.
In 1985, a box lacrosse USA/Canada Superseries, an eight-game series, was played at the Spectrum in Philadelphia. This series revitalized interest in box lacrosse and was a precursor to the Major Indoor Lacrosse League and National Lacrosse League.
The
Philadelphia Wings, one of the original NLL franchises was started up again in 1987 by among others
Mike French, was subsequently disbanded, and had the most championships of any NLL team with six. Early on the Wings made an effort to connect with the local community by drafting local talent including Scott Growney from
Harriton High School,
J.R. Castle from
William Penn Charter School
William Penn Charter School (commonly known as Penn Charter or simply PC) is an independent school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1689 at the urging of William Penn as the "Public Grammar School" and chartered in 1689 to be op ...
, Mark Moschella and Scott Carruthers from Drexel, Chris Flynn from Penn, and
Tony Resch from Penn Charter. Strong fan support was evident even in the Wings initial season, where the team averaged over 10,000 fans for their home games in 1987. Lacrosse Hall of Famers
Gary Gait
Gary Charles Gait (born April 5, 1967) is a Canadian retired Hall of Fame professional lacrosse player and currently the head coach of the men’s lacrosse team at Syracuse University, where he played the sport collegiately. On January 24, 2017, ...
,
Paul Gait
Paul may refer to:
*Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name)
* Paul (surname), a list of people
People
Christianity
*Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...
,
Tom Marechek
Tom "Hollywood" Marechek (born August 25, 1968 in Victoria, British Columbia) is a retired professional lacrosse player.
College career
Marechek played college lacrosse at Syracuse University where he teamed with Paul and Gary Gait to form one o ...
and
Dallas Eliuk
Dallas Eliuk (born November 4, 1964 in Vancouver, British Columbia) is a former goaltender and assistant coach in the National Lacrosse League. Upon his retirement from play, Eliuk coached one season with the Portland LumberJax and two with the ...
are among the notable players who have been a part of the club.
The
Pittsburgh Bulls
The Pittsburgh Bulls were a member of the Major Indoor Lacrosse League from 1990 to 1993.They were based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The National Lacrosse League would return to Pittsburgh in 2000 with the Pittsburgh CrosseFire, but the team woul ...
played in the NLL from 1990 to 1993 including players
Dave Pietramala and Kevin Bilger, and the
Pittsburgh CrosseFire
The Pittsburgh CrosseFire were a member of the National Lacrosse League during the 2000 NLL season. They were based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The franchise started out as the Baltimore Thunder before moving to Pittsburgh. After a single season ...
played a single season in 2000 until they relocated to become the
Colorado Mammoth
The Colorado Mammoth are a box lacrosse team playing in the National Lacrosse League. The Mammoth have played at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado, since the 2003 season. They are owned by Stan Kroenke, who is also the owner of the Colorado Avala ...
. In 2004, the
Philadelphia Barrage
The Philadelphia Barrage were a field lacrosse team that are based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and member of Major League Lacrosse. They were the Bridgeport Barrage from 2001 to 2003 at The Ballpark at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport, Connecticut. T ...
of
Major League Lacrosse
Major League Lacrosse (MLL) was a men's field lacrosse league in the United States. The league's inaugural season was in 2001. Teams played anywhere from ten to 16 games in a summertime regular season. This was followed by a four-team playoff ...
moved from Bridgeport and played until 2008 when they folded along with three other teams. In five years of operation, the Barrage won three league championships. The team played its home games at
United Sports Training Center
United Sports (formerly known as United Sports Training Center) is a multiple-use sports complex located in West Bradford Township, Pennsylvania. The indoor venue consists of one boarded court, two boarded turf fields, and a large field house. In ...
in
West Bradford Township, Pennsylvania
West Bradford Township is a township in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 12,376 at the 2010 census.
History
There are three federal historic districts ( Marshallton, Trimbleville, and Northbrook) on the National ...
.
The NLL once again awarded Philadelphia an NLL franchise for 2018, with this new franchise not associated to the prior Philadelphia franchise, and once more adopting the name Wings.
The
Premier Lacrosse League
Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) is an American professional field lacrosse league, composed of 8 teams. The league's inaugural season debuted on June 1, 2019, and included a 14-week tour-based schedule taking place in 12 major-market cities. The le ...
(PLL), a field lacrosse league that started play in 2019, held its first championship game at Talen Energy Stadium, now known as
Subaru Park, in Chester. The league uses a unique tour-based model, in which all teams (with the exception of those given bye weeks) play at a single venue over a weekend. After the 2020 season, MLL and PLL merged, with the merged league operating under the PLL branding.
:NLL or MLL Titles - 9
:* Wings - 1989, 1990, 1994, 1995, 1998, 2001 NLL Champions (6)
:* Barrage - 2004, 2006, 2007 MLL Champions (3)
Notable Pennsylvania lacrosse programs
Today, the national governing body of lacrosse is
US Lacrosse
USA Lacrosse is the national governing body of men and women's lacrosse in the United States. It provides a leadership role in virtually every aspect of the game and has more than 450,000 members throughout the United States, and offers programs ...
. US Lacrosse services the state of Pennsylvania through three local chapters: the Pittsburgh chapter, the Central Pennsylvania Lacrosse chapter and the Philadelphia Lacrosse Association. All three maintain th
Pennsylvania Lacrosse Hall of Fame which honors the great players, coaches, officials and promoters who have made significant contributions to the game at the professional, college and high school levels in Pennsylvania.
College
Pennsylvania based College Lacrosse programs have combined for 38 national lacrosse titles, in Men's and Women's lacrosse, Divisions I, II and III, as well as pre-NCAA titles.
The latest National Champion winners among Pennsylvania universities were Cabrini winning the
2019 NCAA Division III men's title, Mercyhurst with the
2011 NCAA Division II men's title and Gettysburg with the
2018 NCAA Division III women's title.
Lock Haven University
Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania (LHU) is a public university in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania. It is part of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. The main campus consists of and the branch campus covers . It offers 69 undergradua ...
reached the women's Division II finals in 2014 and 2015, losing a close match in 2015, 5–4.
Combined men's and women's stats, through 2019.
High school
*
Carlisle Area High School (
Carlisle, Pennsylvania)
*
Conestoga High School (
Tredyffrin Township, Pennsylvania
Tredyffrin Township ( ) is a township located in eastern Chester County, Pennsylvania. The population was 29,332 at the 2010 census.
Settled in the late 17th century, Tredyffrin is bounded by Delaware and Montgomery counties. It includes on ...
)
*
Episcopal Academy
The Episcopal Academy, founded in 1785, is a private, co-educational school for grades Pre-K through 12 based in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania. Prior to 2008, the main campus was located in Merion Station and the satellite campus was located in D ...
(
Newtown Square, Pennsylvania
Newtown Township is a township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. Prior to 1789 it was part of Chester County. The population was 12,216 as of the 2010 census, and was 19,705 as of 2017.
History
The first mention of the township was in 1684, ...
)
*
Friends' Central School
Friends' Central School (FCS) is a Quaker school which educates students from nursery through grade 12. It is located in Wynnewood, a community in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania in Greater Philadelphia.
The school was founded in 1845 in ...
(
Wynnewood, Pennsylvania
Wynnewood is a suburban unincorporated community, located west of Philadelphia, straddling Lower Merion Township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania and Haverford Township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania.
The community was named in 1691 for Dr. ...
)
*
Germantown Academy
Germantown Academy, informally known as GA and originally known as the Union School, is the oldest nonsectarian day school in the United States. The school was founded on December 6, 1759, by a group of prominent Germantown citizens in the Gree ...
(
Fort Washington, Pennsylvania
Fort Washington is a census-designated place and suburb of Philadelphia in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 5,446 at the 2010 census.
History
Prior to the Revolutionary War
the Fort Washington area was settle ...
)
*
Haverford School
, motto_translation =
, address = 450 Lancaster Avenue
, location =
, region =
, city = Haverford
, county =
, state = Pennsylvania
, ...
(
Haverford, Pennsylvania
Haverford is an unincorporated community located in both Haverford Township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States, and Lower Merion Township in Montgomery County, approximately west of Philadelphia. The Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) ope ...
)
*
La Salle College High School
, motto_translation = Character and Knowledge
, location = 8605 Cheltenham Avenue
, city = Wyndmoor
, county = ( Montgomery County)
, state = Pennsylvania
, zipcode ...
(
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
)
*
Lower Merion High School
Lower Merion High School is a public high school in Ardmore, a community in Philadelphia's Main Line suburbs. It is one of two high schools in the Lower Merion School District; the other one is Harriton High School. Lower Merion serves both Lo ...
(
Lower Merion, Pennsylvania
Lower Merion Township is a township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It is part of the Philadelphia Main Line. The township's name originates with the county of Merioneth in north Wales. Merioneth is an English-language transcription of the ...
)
*
Malvern Preparatory School
, motto_translation = Truth, Unity, Love
, address = 418 South Warren Avenue
, location =
, region =
, city = Malvern
, county =
, state ...
(
Malvern, Pennsylvania
Malvern is a borough in Chester County, Pennsylvania. It is west of Philadelphia. The population was 3,419 at the 2020 census. The borough is bordered by Paoli Pike on the south, Sugartown Road on the west, Willistown Township on the east, an ...
)
*
Mt. Lebanon High School (
Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania)
*
North Allegheny High School (
Wexford, Pennsylvania
Wexford is an unincorporated community in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. The area known as Wexford is split among multiple municipalities, including Franklin Park, McCandless Township, Pine Township, and Marshall Township. It i ...
)
*
Penn Charter
William Penn Charter School (commonly known as Penn Charter or simply PC) is an independent school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1689 at the urging of William Penn as the "Public Grammar School" and chartered in 1689 to be op ...
(
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
)
*
Penncrest High School (
Media, Pennsylvania
Media is a borough in and the county seat of Delaware County, Pennsylvania. It is located about west of Philadelphia, the sixth most populous city in the nation with 1.6 million residents as 2020. It is part of the Delaware Valley metropolita ...
)
*
Ridley High School (
Ridley, Pennsylvania
Ridley Township is a township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. The population was 30,768 at the 2010 census. Ridley Township contains the census designated places of Folsom and Woodlyn along with the unincorporated communities of Crum Lynne a ...
)
*
Sewickley Academy (
Sewickley, Pennsylvania
Sewickley is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, west northwest of Pittsburgh along the Ohio River. It is a residential suburb of Pittsburgh. The population was 3,827 according to the 2010 census. The Sewickley Bridge crosses the Ohio ...
)
*
Springfield High School (
Springfield, Pennsylvania)
*
Spring-Ford High School (
Collegeville, Pennsylvania)
*
The Hill School
The Hill School (commonly known as The Hill) is a coeducational preparatory boarding school located on a campus in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, about northwest of Philadelphia. The Hill is part of the Ten Schools Admissions Organization (TSAO). ...
(
Pottstown, Pennsylvania)
*
Upper Merion Area High School (
King of Prussia, Pennsylvania
King of Prussia (also referred to as KOP) is a census-designated place in Upper Merion Township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 22,028. The community took its unusual name in the 18th ...
)
*
Upper Saint Clair High School (
Upper St. Clair Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
Upper St. Clair is a township with home rule status in southern Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, situated about 8 miles (13 km) south of Downtown Pittsburgh. It is known for being an affluent suburb with a nationally recognized school distr ...
)
Notable college players and coaches from Pennsylvania
The players noted below are those players from the Pennsylvania prep and high school system, who have performed notably in college men's or women's lacrosse. Among the criteria for notability include a player elected to the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame, a player elected to the Pennsylvania Lacrosse Hall of Fame, a player who played a significant role on a national championship team, as well as players who achieved significant statistical measurements at the college level.
: = in National Lacrosse Hall of Fame
: = won NCAA/USWLA National Title
: Notable players from Pennsylvania - Sources
Notable college teams from Pennsylvania
The teams noted below are for universities based in Pennsylvania, who have performed notably in NCAA men's or women's lacrosse.
: = Won NCAA/USWLA Title
: = National Title Finalist
: Notable College teams from Pennsylvania - Sources
See also
*
History of lacrosse
Lacrosse has its origins in a tribal game played by eastern Woodlands Native Americans and by some Plains Indians tribes in what is now the United States of America and Canada. The game was extensively modified by European settlers to create its ...
*
List of the oldest lacrosse teams
*
NCAA Division I men's lacrosse records
*
Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association
The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association, Inc., also known by its acronymn PIAA, is one of the governing bodies of high school and middle school athletics for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in the United States.
The PIAA's main ...
*
United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association Champions
External links
Bucknell Bisons 1996 Schedule at NCAA.orgPointstreak History of Lacrosse
References
{{Reflist, 30em