Men's Lacrosse Team Archive

Lacrosse was first played at Swarthmore in 1891. The College has fielded teams consistently since 1897, building a truly outstanding tradition in the game.

From 1900 to 1912 Swarthmore teams were consistently among the best in the country, winning the Intercollegiate Championships in 1900, 1904, and 1905, while losing only one game to Johns Hopkins (which was the champion) in several other seasons.

Another fine era of lacrosse began in 1931 when Avery Blake, a 1928 graduate of Swarthmore and one of the six alumni in the Lacrosse Hall of Fame, returned to the College as its coach. For the next 29 years he turned out strong, capable teams that posted an overall record of 180-107-2. The 1940 team was undefeated, and the 1941 team lost only to Johns Hopkins, the eventual national champion.

Blake's teams performed very well in the post-World War II era as well. Swarthmore won or shared league championships in 1947, '48, '50, '51, '52, '53, '57, and '59. During the 1953 season Orville Wright '54 set two national marks: 72 assists in a season and 14 assists in a game (still school records) to lead the squad to a 9-1 record.

During the 1960s the Garnet captured four consecutive league championships. In 1964, the team won the Penn-Del League title then entered the newly organized Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) and posted league championships in 1965, '66, and '67.

Swarthmore returned to excellence in the 1980s, winning MAC crowns in 1982, '84, and '85. The '84 and '85 squads share the College record for wins in a season with 11 and the '84 squad participated in the NCAA Division III Tournament.

The 2000 team, after posting its best record since 1985, was selected to participate in the ECAC Southern Championship. Swarthmore returned to the ECAC Championship in 2003 after finishing with an 8-7 record. The 2005 team hopes to repeat that success while playing a challenging schedule that includes several top-20 teams.