2012 Season Review

By Tom Mudrak for KSU Lax

The 2012 campaign turned out to be a successful season for the KSU men's lacrosse team. The Owls finished the year with a 9-4 record; won the SELC Southwest Division, placed 2nd at the SELC tournament, and had five players earn places on SELC All-Conference teams.

The Owls played the toughest schedule in program history and held their own against some of the nation’s best. The team split their MCLA D-I matchups, beating Georgia Tech 9-2 and dropping to the University of Georgia 13-3. The team went 1-4 in the month of February before hitting a 5 game winning streak to end the regular season. The team went 1-0 in true road games and 2-0 in neutral site games, which included consecutive wins against ranked teams Missouri State and North Dakota State in the St. Louis Invitational.

The Owls swept the SELC Southwest Division for the second year in row, defending their 2011 Division Championship and earning a second straight 1 seed in the SELC Tournament. After beating Palm Beach Atlantic and Florida Gulf Coast in the first two rounds of the SELC Tournament, the Owls dropped a 3 goal decision to SELC Northeast Division Champion Elon University.

This season also presented a first for the Owls, in the form of nationally televised games. Both games in St. Louis were streamed live on Laxx.tv and are available to watch on YouTube (#22 Missouri State and #11 North Dakota State).

The Owls went 4-4 against ranked teams this season. As the Owls collect more talent, the expectations keeps rising for the program. The team has been ranked in the Top 25 in the Nike/IL poll throughout the 2012 season, climbing as high as 18.

Individually, the Owls placed five players on all-conference teams. Senior Andrew Congleton was named Second Team All Conference at midfield alongside junior defenseman Tom Mudrak who earned an All-Conference award for the third consecutive year. Juniors Casey Newton, Justin Griffith, and Alex Gavilla all earned Honorable Mention All-Conference recognition.

Unfortunately, the Owls lose three seniors this year; including offensive leader Andrew Congleton, defensive anchor Roary Keown, and starting goalie Andrew Flood. The Owls would like to thank all 3 for the impacts that they made on the field over their time at KSU.