(Photo: Katherine Fitzgerald/WCSN)
(Video: Troy Lynch/WCSN)
Even with all of the chaos in the past few months, No. 5 Arizona State Lacrosse is going into the 2016 season with high hopes, this time led by long-time assistant coach Todd MacRobbie.
With former head coach Joseph Thon, the team finished last season with a 13-4 overall record, good for second in the Southwestern Lacrosse Conference and a quarterfinal finish at the MCLA national tournament. Despite a solid year, the program felt it was best to move on without Thon.
This season, ASU’s squad will be led by a new but familiar face in MacRobbie. Being an offensive-minded player when he dawned Maroon and Gold back in the 1993-1996 seasons, MacRobbie was a member of the 1995 WCLL Championship team and was a two-time WCLL All-Star selection.
When he came back as an assistant coach under Chris Malone, to much surprise, he specialized in defense. Under Joe Thon’s one-year tenure, he was switched to an offensive assistant, representing his versatility from a coaching perspective.
“It was a pretty easy transition for me, it wasn’t something I hadn’t done before,” MacRobbie said. “The on-the-field transition was pretty fluid.”
ASU averaged 12.65 points per game with MacRobbie as the offensive coordinator for the 2015 season and during the three seasons as a defensive coordinator the team had a 5.95 goals against average.
“I was able to learn from coach Malone at the college level,” MacRobbie said. “Being a head lacrosse coach in a high school for 14 years and running a program for just as many years, as well as coaching high school football, all those things, I think they translate pretty well.”
The Sun Devils are chalk-full of veterans who know and trust MacRobbie to lead them back to their old successful ways. Being a part of Arizona State’s winning tradition for so long, MacRobbie understands what it takes to compete at a high level.
“There’s never really a time where we doubt the things that our coaching staff tells us,” senior midfielder Adam Beauchamp said. “We know they have the experience and the years and a lot of stuff under their belt. When they say something, we all definitely listen up.”
Throughout his tenure as assistant coach, MacRobbie helped lead the Sun Devils to three conference championships and a 77-19 overall record. He also coached in four National Final Fours and two National Championship games.
“He’s been around the game more than most of us have been alive,” freshman defender Cedric Peppers said. “He definitely knows the ins-and-outs of lacrosse. I think he’s exactly what we need to take us to the next level.”
With all the changes that Arizona State has encountered in the offseason, the pressure is on MacRobbie to make the team even more successful than they have been in the past.
“Expectations are always high,” MacRobbie said. “The ultimate goal is to win that last game of the season.”
If you would like to contact Eliav you can reach him at @eliavgabay or at egabay@asu.edu
