Harford Community College defends NJCAA men’s lacrosse national title, beating CCBC Essex, 16-6

Underneath each Harford Community College men’s lacrosse player’s jersey and pads is a white, nylon T-shirt. It’s a simple reminder. Emblazoned across the chest in royal blue is one word and a deafening period: “Good.”

In recent weeks it has become the Fighting Owls’ mantra and a guiding light through the postseason, which they capped Sunday night with a 16-6 win over CCBC Essex for their second straight National Junior College Athletic Association national championship at the Harford Sports Complex.

HCC coach Aaron Verardi introduced the slogan two weeks ago after a regular-season loss to CCBC Essex — their only blemish this year — and the ensuing seeding that ranked his group No. 3 and CCBC Essex No. 1. Oh, they were seeded below expectations? It’s raining during the game? The officials missed a few calls?

“Good,” they say.

“It’s basically dealing with adversity,” said midfielder Kohl Wesner, who was named the championship’s Most Outstanding Player. “When bad things happen, obviously our first instinct is to pout about it or complain. We just say good. It’s all about how you respond.”

“We weren’t thrilled with the seeding we got for this tournament,” Verardi said. “We felt we got slighted a little bit, to be honest. We are basically looking at every adversity as a good thing. Our mindset shifted to, ‘We don’t expect things to go our way.'”

From both the Fighting Owls’ late-April loss to the Knights — which Wesner felt helped in the long run — and a slow start in Sunday’s game, HCC’s ability to deal with adversity made all the difference.

CCBC Essex jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the game’s opening minutes. It wasn’t until near the 13-minute mark of the second quarter that HCC grabbed the lead it would not relinquish. Cayden Collins flipped the ball forward from behind the cage to a diving Blane Dail, netting his second of four goals.

The two sides of a heated, at times hostile, rivalry traded goals through the third period. Harford hung on to a three-to-four-goal lead in that time. Then the Fighting Owls blew the contest open with seven straight goals. Wesner had two of his four in that span, jet-planing up the field after the first and Steph Curry-shimmying after the other.

“We were on our home field, on our guest sideline,” Wesner said. “We just played with an edge today and I think we wanted it a little bit more than they did.”

What Verardi has built with this program has been nothing short of masterful.

This championship campaign was his 10th season as coach and his 12th with the program. It was a slow yet prosperous build. Downing Nassau in the final last year was HCC’s first championship appearance. It was also the fourth consecutive Final Four appearance. Verardi was then recognized as NJCAA Coaches Association Coach of the Year and honored by the Intercollegiate Men’s Lacrosse Coaches Association as the Scott Livie Junior College Coach of the Year.

Verardi watched his team Sunday evening let their helmets, sticks and pads rain over their home turf when the clock struck triple zeros. He shared embraces with each of them. He helped them cut out pieces of the net. He sighed gratefully and watched his team share in the collective joy of a yearlong dream realized.

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“I feel like everything we did throughout the course of the year was right on point,” Verardi said. “We lost that game a couple weeks ago and that was the first loss we’ve had in a while. The way our guys responded to that, it showed a lot of their character. … Sometimes a loss like that can throw you off and make you wonder if you’re doing things the right way.”

Harford responded. Then, and in the weeks that followed. Because within the culture of accountability that he has built in Bel Air, this team welcomes adversity with open arms.

The sun set and it was time for the trophy presentation. Harford lined up on the near side of the field, their eye black showing underneath NJCAA-presented hats. By the celebration’s end, the only thing covering their “Good.” tees were earned championship ones.

Women’s Lacrosse Invitational

The HCC women were left behind in the semifinals after a 22-8 loss on Saturday to Onondaga of New York, the eventual champions.

Onondaga faced little opposition in its title pursuit. The Lazers built an 8-0 lead after the first quarter, eventually routing Monroe CC, 19-4. Olivia Lockwood won the National Invitational Offensive Most Outstanding Player Award for her combined 12 goals in two days.

The Owls finished their season a ghastly 1-8. That comes on the heels of a winless campaign a year ago, after two banner seasons in 2019 and 2022 — the program’s only two titles.

It was announced in March that the Bel Air campus with a 1,400-seat stadium is set to host the men’s lacrosse championship and women’s invitational tournament weekend for the next four years.

“Harford Community College is honored to be called the home of the NJCAA Men’s Lacrosse Championship and Women’s Lacrosse Invitational through 2028,” said Ed Liesch, HCC’s Athletic Director. “Our focus is to provide the student-athletes, teams, and fans with a memorable tournament experience. Through our partnership with the Maryland Sports Commission and Visit Harford, we want to create an atmosphere that will bring back lacrosse fans for a very long time.”