We had a great season this past year because each UD Lacrosse Student Athlete and their Families made the commitment to our group effort. We went undefeated in our division, winning the Central Collegiate Lacrosse (CCLA) Championship.
Our student athletes kept their humility, played together, and executed collectively as a team. We were invited to the Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA) National Tournament from May 11th through the 17th in Denver, CO, enjoying six days of lacrosse. We lost an exciting hard fought encounter in the finals hosted at Dick’s Sporting Goods Stadium, on a live broadcast televised by the Fox College Sports network. These events will be something our players will always treasure. The friends they made, they will keep for life. The UD Alumni were in force in the stands, shouting and providing support to our Flyers.
Presently, lacrosse at the University of Dayton is a non-sponsored Sport. Our players and our Parents “step up” financially. We play top-notch ball, and are competitive with the NCAA DIII teams we play. UD Lacrosse was seeded #1 out of 198 colleges, because we think, act, study, socialize, and play as a team. No one is special. Good players win games, great team players win Championships. Every UD player gives their best effort when they step on the field for their teammates.
Our Student Team President, Zach Burke and our Captains decided we would dedicate our season to the memory of a recent UD lacrosse graduate, Evan Witty. The link http://cambodiashope.org/home/evan.php, presents a tribute to Evan that appears on the Cambodia's Hope web site. Evan loved his time at UD and we believe it instilled in him the sense of service that he felt so deeply. He recently died while volunteering and supporting the needy in Cambodia. Our Players wore a “W” on the back of their helmets in support of the Witty family. His younger brother, Elliot is a Face-Off-Specialist playing for our team. We played every game with honor, humbleness, and relentless tenacity - as our sacrifice to the Witty family and out of respect for each other. We are blessed to have had Evan touch many of our players, and just maybe --- this tribute helped us have the wonderful season we enjoyed.
Head Coach; University of Dayton Men’s Lacrosse; Charlie Mark
If beating the 6th-ranked MCLA Division 2 team is quite a challenge, then beating that team twice in a season, with the second victory earning a championship trophy, is even more impressive. But that’s what this University of Dayton lacrosse team has been this season – impressive. The Flyers finished the conference tournament undefeated at 10-0 after defeating No. 7 Grand Valley State 18-15 and No. 6 Davenport University to become the 2009 CCLA Champions. The team earned an automatic bid to the MCLA National Tournament in Denver and a No. 1 overall seed. Resilient would be another term to describe the Flyers as no matter what challenges have faced them this season, they have pulled through, and the 2009 CCLA Championship Tournament shows the heart this team has.
In the semifinal game against defending CCLA champions GVSU, Dayton fell behind 8-3, only to regain composure and the lead on strong play from freshman Christian Furbay and senior Alex Urban. Faceoffs rolled in favor of GVSU early and Lakers attackman Cameron Holding managed to get his hands free around the cage, but the Flyers locked down on defense, led by sophomore Tim Hartnett, allowing the offense to rattle off 6 straight goals. After trading goals throughout the second half, Dayton pulled ahead on another run of unanswered goals to find itself in the championship game once more, and against a foe they saw earlier in the year.
Earlier in March, the Flyers defeated Davenport on a rainy day at home on NCR Field, and the Panthers showed up for the second meeting with revenge in mind. They scored three goals in the first minute and a half, putting the nation's top team down early. Again the Flyers were in an early hole until Furbay and company, in this case freshman Sean Hartnett, responded with another strong scoring outburst to post a 10-6 lead over the Panthers. The score didn’t change for much of the second half, but an unfortunate own-goal off an errant shot dropped into the Dayton net and started the scoring again. Goals by junior Patrick Weinandy and sophomore Ryan Arling decided the game at a final score of 14-10. Freshman goalie Ben Domyancic had two great games for the Flyers, making clutch saves and executing face break clears, often by advancing the ball himself.
Dayton claimed its second CCLA championship in three years and earned a third-straight appearance in the national tournament. Follow the Flyers in Denver May 12-16 on Twitter and at www.MCLA.us
Congratulations to the following Flyers for their CCLA conference awards: (1st Team) Alex Urban, Alex Walter, Kevin Bell, Brian Downey, Stephen Hurst (2nd Team) Patrick Weinandy (Honorable Mention) Dan Delagrange, Matt Dowd, Alex Reynolds.
The Flyers (#2) defeated the visiting Panthers (#5) 13-8 after a 6-1 run sealed the victory late in the second half March 29 at NCR Field. Late game heroics from freshman goalie Ben Domyancic and the Flyer attack put the game out of question in the fourth quarter. Domyancic made his first career start while the attack lineup was back to true form after missing senior Alex Walter in the game Saturday against John Carroll University. Walter finished with 5 points and 10 groundballs while Christian Furbay led the team with 5 goals.
Wind and light rain throughout the day made the game a sloppy but exciting one, albeit miserable for shivering fans on the sidelines. On Sunday, NCR Field defined the word “muddy.” Balance and ball control became deciding factors in what amounted to a battle for both teams, against each other and the weather. Dayton capitalized on numerous unsettled and ground ball situations, including a stifling ride, to maintain control of the ball, and second half dominance at the face-off X from Junior Kevin Bell and Sophomore Elliot Witty changed the momentum of the game.
The Flyers jumped out to 3-0 lead in the first quarter, but successful man-up plays by the visiting team helped tie the game. The teams traded goals until Davenport took a 6-4 advantage in the third quarter. The Flyers fought to regain the lead at 8-7 on a goal by Christian Furbay and the team never looked back.
On the defensive end, senior Brent Higgins continued strong play from the previous day, executing clears and playing excellent short-stick defense while freshmen defensemen Matt Dowd had 7 ground balls and Austin Birner had 6 to keep the Davenport offense out of its rhythm.
The Flyers defeated John Carroll University 10-6 the previous day. With the weekend’s results, Dayton’s record increased to 6-0. The next game is scheduled for April 18 at 6:00 p.m. at home against Grove City.
The Flyers, in their first two games of the season, brought two wins out of Atlanta as they beat #8 Emory and #14 SCAD, both from the SELC Conference. 
With only three full-field practices under its belt, the team was excited to play a tough Emory squad in its first outdoor lacrosse of the year. The Flyers, led by captains Alex Walter and Alex Urban, never trailed in the game. However, Emory would not give up. The Eagles continued to fight and even pulled the game within two goals late in the game. After a huge goal by Senior attackman Kyle Grefer, the Flyers were able to get the 12-11 win after Emory snuck in a goal with two seconds left in the game.
After working out some winter kinks against Emory, the Flyers soared past the SCAD Bees 10-6. Sophomore captain John Morrow put up 3 goals and 2 assists, as the Flyers closed an undefeated weekend in the South. Goalie Alex Reynolds had a tremendous weekend, holding together the Flyer defense and making a number of key saves. After two weeks of practice, the team will face Taylor on March 7th in Indiana.
With the degree of competition and hard-fought success on the road, the Dayton Flyers earned the CollegeLAX team of the week.
See article CollegeLAX.us
Starting the season with a trip to Atlanta, the Flyers will hope to beat two tough teams in Emory and SCAD and get some valuable competition in its longest trip of the year.
With new additions to the CCLA-2 in Eastern Michigan and Davenport, the Flyers will have to watch out for some teams looking to make a name for themselves. After three away games of conference play, the Flyers will finish the season with three consecutive home games. The Flyers, with a tough schedule, will have to earn the trip to the national championship tournament in Denver.
The Flyers must not get too confident with the success they have had these past two years, and they must always remember that champions are made when the bleachers are empty.
With a talented new class of freshmen, the Dayton Flyers are hoping to fill some key positions. After a home opening blowout against John Carroll and a successful round-robin tournament in St. Louis, the Flyers took on Ohio State at home winning 13-8. 
After the game against the Buckeyes, Captain Zach Burke had these words to say: "We look good, we really do. With our talent and numbers, we should be able to make a good run for a CCLA Championship and perhaps a final victory in Denver." With stellar play from freshmen Attackman Christian Furbay and Defenseman Matt Dowd, the Flyers look to improve upon last year's success.
The Flyers will take on the Missouri Baptist Spartans and the Cincinnati Bearcats at home this weekend, looking to tack on two more wins in the fall season.