By Emma Deo
Top to bottom, Plattsburgh men’s lacrosse has one goal – bringing back a winning culture.
The Cardinals sat atop of the SUNYAC rankings in the not-so-distant past, bringing home the 2017 championship. In the past five seasons, the team has won just three conference games and is now under the guidance of their third head coach in that span. Zachary Nedbalski will now lead the Cardinals for the 2025 season.
“We wanted someone that had head coaching experience, and he built a program from the ground up,” Athletic director Mike Howard said.
Nedbalski spent a decade of his career coaching at Methodist University, where he amassed a 77-74 record and earned conference Coach of the Year honors twice.
“You can never predict how long or short someone will be there, but he seems like a guy that is really committed to being at Plattsburgh for the long haul,” Howard said.
Darry Thornton, who coached the Cardinals in 2023 and 2024, will now lead the Augustana College men’s lacrosse team, as announced by the Augustana athletic department.
With so many coaches rotating through Plattsburgh’s program, the upperclassmen have experienced unique bonding opportunities.
“I think the coaching change brings us closer together. Now we all have to stay closer and help him adjust,” said Anthony Faber, graduate student attacker.
This change could be the spark the team needs to secure conference wins again.
“We want to start winning again. Bring back that winning culture. That’s the main goal,” Faber said.
Last year, the team had a 4-12 (0-7) record. The Cardinals ended the season with an eight-game losing streak, with their last win being an 11-7 decision over Johnson and Wales University on March 20. After such a season, the change in leadership did not come as a total surprise to the team.
“We all knew the coaching change was in the cards, just based on team performance and not winning a SUNYAC game,” Faber said.
While this change gives the team an opportunity to come together and rebuild the success the program was founded on, the repeated turnover has presented issues for the team.
“He [Nedbalski] wants to be here for a while and that’s what we want as a team. When I leave here, I want to make sure that the guys coming in have that culture and have a coach that wants to stay,” Faber said.
Bringing a tradition of success back will not happen overnight, but the athletic department, coaching staff and players are devoted to starting the process now.
“We won the championship in 2017 — you don’t expect necessarily to do that this year — but we are very committed to having our men’s lacrosse program back enjoying the success that we were a few years ago. I don’t want there to be any doubt about that,” Howard said.
This culture also extends off the field. Aside from offense and defense, Nedbalski prioritizes his players as students and young men.
“Some of my greatest moments — even though we’ve been to multiple conference championships and won a conference championship at my previous school — is seeing my guys walk across the stage in four years,” Nedbalski said.
