Why Mason Woodward and Marquette Were the Perfect Match

MILWAUKEE —  It started out as a bit of an experiment.

Just months prior, Mason Woodward was one of the first calls Andrew Stimmel made when he took the Marquette head coaching job, working to assure he retained one of the top prospects to previously commit to Joe Amplo. Then Stimmel saw flashes of brilliance from the young defender through the first few practices of the year, a glimpse of the potential the top-100 recruit possessed.

So when the Golden Eagles traveled south to battle High Point in a fall scrimmage on Oct. 26, 2020, Stimmel decided to orchestrate a challenge. He sent Woodward out on an island against future Premier Lacrosse League All-Star Asher Nolting.

“We all kind of knew about Asher and how good he was,” Stimmel said. “It was a collective opinion in Division I lacrosse that this guy wasn’t just going to make the league but was going to be a legitimate attackman. So, let’s just put Mason on Asher and see what happens if we don’t really provide him much help.”

A quarter into the contest, Stimmel saw all he needed to see. Woodward more than held his own, possessing a poise that has been a mainstay in his game in the years since.

“It’s definitely a gift,” Marquette defensive coordinator Jake Richard said. “There’s things that you can develop, things you can get better at. But he’s just gifted.”

Five seasons later, Woodward is a multi-time All-American selection, a four-year team captain and one of the best players in Marquette’s short history. He already possesses the program record for career ground balls, surpassing Liam Byrnes on Feb. 9 against Lindenwood.

And when his Marquette career comes to an end this spring, he’ll likely be back on the same playing field as Nolting in the PLL.

“When you see defensemen now, just like a lot of other sports, there’s this categorical specialization,” Stimmel said. “This guy’s a cover guy. This guy’s an off-ball guy. This guy’s more of an LSM. Those guys all fit into those boxes. That’s where Mason is so unique. You project him to the next level, he just can do all that stuff, and he does all that stuff for us.”

SOPHOMORE YEAR OF HIGH SCHOOL HIT, and Woodward was starting to get nervous. His teammates on his club team in Maryland were starting to commit to college, but his offers were slim.

He decided to go to work.

“I sent a ton of emails out to people,” Woodward said. “I obviously sent them to the big-name schools that everyone would love to go to.”

On his lengthy list was one of the sport’s newer programs, Marquette, which Woodward had some familiarity with through his friend, Brian Connolly. Connolly’s brother, Brendon, suited up for the Golden Eagles from 2016 to 2019, enjoying a pair of Big East championships during that period.

In the end, Marquette was the only school to respond to Woodward’s inquiry.

On the other side of that email was Richard, who played alongside Connolly on those championship-winning squads before transitioning to coaching duties. He sat with teammate BJ Grill as the pair were enthralled by what they saw.

“We were watching this kid’s tape, and that gift just seemed obvious to us,” Richard said. “We were like, ‘If we could get this guy to Marquette, that would be a huge win. That would be an absolute steal. Let’s try to get him before anybody else does.’”

In the early years of Marquette’s program, the Golden Eagles built a culture of doing more with less. No players arrived with star-studded resumes. Few — even future pros like Richard, Grill and Byrnes — had another Division I option.

There was no lacrosse locker room at that time, nor an indoor facility. Given Wisconsin weather, that meant long road trips out west for the first few months of the season. And yet, Marquette won its first conference title in just its fourth year of play and repeated a spring later.

Woodward was attracted to that hard-nosed mindset, as well as the brotherhood it fostered. Two chilly visits to Milwaukee in the middle of the winter, and he was sold.

“I thought not having a locker room, not having a super long tradition was pretty cool,” Woodward said. “You’re here to play lacrosse and go to school, not all the fancy things.”

AS RICHARD PUTS IT, “You watch a Marquette game, there’s one guy who never stops.”

“He’s diving in front of shots, he’s going after every ground ball, he’s consistent with his fundamentals and how we do things, from the start of the game until the finish, every game,” Richard said.

Most importantly, Woodward stays at his own pace — never letting opponents speed him up or slow him down. His tremendous steadiness allows teammates to play more aggressively and covers up for deficiencies when they occur.

“Coaches talk all the time about having players that are coaches on the field, and he is that,” Richard said. “He really values the position of developing younger guys, taking ownership of the unit during the game. When we have a young kid who is learning, I know that Mason is going to get to him before I do, and I’ll come in when I’m needed.”

Richard has been with the program from the start, seen all the players to don blue and gold. In his eyes, Woodward is inarguably the cream of the crop. And given the current climate, it’s easy for a player of that talent to possess wandering eyes.

Both Richard and Stimmel would understand if Woodward tested the waters. He could start on teams with national championship aspirations, step right into the spotlight. But ask Woodward, and he tells you he never really gave it much thought. He goes back to the importance of relationships, a main lesson instilled in him at Marquette.

“The guys in my class, my three roommates, and you could just go down the list of all the guys on the team that have kept me here,” Woodward said. “The relationships I have built with them are pretty special, plus the belief that we can do something special this year. I wouldn’t really want to win the Big East, win a national championship with anybody else.”

The accolades haven’t changed him. You can still find him playing cards with the freshmen on bus rides home.

“He does it all because he loves the guys around him,” Richard said. “It’s unconditional. It’s not, ‘I only love it when we win.’ It’s, ‘I love it, period.’”

For Woodward and Marquette to accomplish lofty goals, it will take a turnaround in the second half of the season. The Golden Eagles are 4-6 and 0-1 in conference play after slipping at St. John’s last week. They visit seventh-ranked Georgetown on Saturday. The Hoyas are five-time defending Big East champions.

“There’s definitely a little bit of pressure, and that’s not anything the coaches or the alumni put on us,” Woodward said. “You just kind of put it on yourself to maintain that culture of excellence after winning those championships.”

Marquette was close last season, falling by a lone goal in season-closing contests against Georgetown, Villanova and Denver. Could the Golden Eagles flip the script this season and finally return to glory?

Richard wants it for Woodward.

“I hope he gets the opportunity to celebrate in the locker room with the teammates that he loves at the place that he loves,” Richard said. “Because he deserves it.”