As the Connecticut College Men’s Lacrosse Team continues to be recognized at the national level for their outstanding performance this season, individual Camels are also garnering honors. After notching his 100th career goal and posting two five-goal performances in one week, senior Steve Dachille was named NESCAC Player of the Week on Monday, April 5.
Dachille’s impressive goal-finding ability was highlighted during games against Keene St. on March 30 and Bowdoin College on April 3. Despite being pressured by tough defenders, he managed to score five goals in each game, even netting the game-winner in overtime play against the Bowdoin Polar Bears.
More recently, Dachille scored four goals in the match-up against Williams College on Wednesday, April 7, leading the Camels to their fourth-straight one-goal victory. Following the game, Dachille earned national honors as he was named Inside Lacrosse/Nike National Division III Player of the Week.
Connecticut College Head Men’s Lacrosse Coach, Dave Cornell, is extremely proud of how his team is doing this season and is happy to have Dachille leading the team as one of the captains. “Steve is a tremendous leader for our team and he is finding ways to score,” Cornell expressed on the Athletics website. “He’s being locked off a lot this year but he’s smart and is manufacturing opportunities for himself in other ways.”
Dachille has launched himself into fifth place on the program’s all-time scoring list with over 110 total goals scored after the Williams game. He leads the Camels this season with 29 goals and four assists for a total of 31 points. In addition he has amassed 18 ground balls so far this season.
This past Saturday, the Camels hosted Bates College, who despite having an opposite record from the Camels of 0-5 going into the game, is underrated this season and is still one of Conn’s top rivals in men’s lacrosse. NESCAC games are so exciting because anything can happen, with the victors only being decided in the last minutes of many games. However, the fierce competition between Conn and Bates is one rivalry within the league that is especially hair-raising. The match-ups between these two teams have been especially noteworthy in past seasons as both sides fiercely debate the outcomes until the final seconds.
Saturday’s match-up was no exception. While Conn never lost the lead during the game, Bates put up a fight in the third quarter and it seemed as though they had the fire for a comeback. Conn, however, knew going into the game that they had to shut down the Bobcats’ explosive offense, and the Camel defense was able to hold on to seize a 13-8 victory.
With the win against Bates, Connecticut College remains undefeated (10-0 overall, 6-0 in NESCAC) and holds its first place standing in the NESCAC rankings.
Connecticut College is currently ranked eighth in the latest United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) Division III National Poll. The Camels are one of only two NESCAC teams ranked within the top 10; only Tufts stands above them at #6, while Middlebury, who the Camels already defeated, is ranked #12.
