Lenoir-Rhyne hadn’t beaten Limestone is six previous tries, but the Bears entered last Saturday’s matchup with the defending Division II champions with confidence. Whether it was the steady defense or an offense that had potential with Eric Dickinson and freshman Myles Moffat, something was different about this time.

Then, Moffat scored just 15 seconds into the game. It was the boost in confidence the Bears needed. Lenoir-Rhyne thought they could beat Limestone, but now they knew it was possible.

“Our guys were like ‘Oh OK,’” coach Greg Paradine said of the reaction after the goal. “Our guys started to believe and played aggressively throughout. It was just making the next play.”

Paradine’s team never trailed against the team that had won three of the past four Division II national championships. Lenoir-Rhyne used a powerful offense to pull away from Limestone 17-13 and send shockwaves through the Division II men’s lacrosse world just two weeks into the season.

It was the biggest win in school history — Paradine took over the program for its first season in 2011. He said his team found out what it took to win the important games, which will come in handy in the Bears’ tough 2018 slate.

“It just shows what you need to compete and how hard you have to play,” he said. “Our guys did all the little things. If you play with that kind of energy and enthusiasm all game, you’re going to be hard to beat all year long.”

Lenoir-Rhyne players wore No. 46 decals on their helmets throughout the game — a nod to former school athletics director Neil McGeachy, who passed away the day before the Limestone game. The team dedicated its game to McGeachy, making the win feel even sweeter.

McGeachy, who graduated from Lenoir-Rhyne in 1965, spent 15 years as the director of athletics at his alma mater from 2002-2016 — after serving as Duke basketball head coach in 1973-1974. 

Funeral service for Neill McGeachy will be held on Tuesday, February 13th at St. Andrews Lutheran Church at 2 pm.

A reception following the service will be held at Moretz Mills. pic.twitter.com/1XovIOFq6z

— LR Athletics (@BearsSports) February 10, 2018

During his time in the athletics department, McGeachy was responsible for founding the men’s and women’s lacrosse teams at Lenoir-Rhyne. He initially hired Paradine in 2009 to coach both teams, although the coach suggested that might not have been a great idea.

“Once we started and he saw [the differences between] men’s and women’s lacrosse, he was like ‘Yeah, I understand what you’re talking about now,’” Paradine joked.

When Paradine in his class of 30 freshmen for the first men’s lacrosse team, McGeachy met with parents to deliver a promise that he’d build the program from the ground up. McGeachy, according to Paradine, was always available to for the coaches and players and he cared about Lenoir-Rhyne more than most.

When Paradine’s program won its first South Atlantic Conference tournament, McGeachy was in the locker room with tears in his eyes.

“He was the godfather of lacrosse around here,” Paradine said. “He was an LR guy. He was a big-time guy, but he was an LR guy.”

So when the Bears took the field last Saturday — many of whom had relationships with McGeachy during their time at Lenoir-Rhyne — he was on their mind. McGeachy got to watch the Bears program climb from 4-10 in 2011 to an NCAA tournament berth last season.

He passed away a day before the biggest win in the program’s young history. Maybe he was there to witness it. after all.

“I don’t know if it was a coincidence that we were finally able to knock off Limestone,” Paradine said. “It was a special day for us.”