The Taylor University lacrosse team had one of the program’s best seasons, finishing 7-8 (2-5) and qualifying for the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) Tournament for just the second time in program history.
Taylor started off the year with a tough neutral site loss to No. 2 Webber International 20-7. Not all was lost as WHAC Newcomer of the Year, freshman attackman Henry Cooper started his exceptional season notching all of Taylor’s seven goals, unassisted.
After the loss to Webber, Taylor would go on to win five of their next six, beating Missouri Baptist, Columbia and St. Ambrose, outscoring them 40-21 before losing to #RV Benedictine 10-8. They would go on to defeat Midland 14-2 and #RV Mount Vernon Nazarene 11-7. This stretch concluded Taylor’s out of conference schedule. They then had to prepare for the brutal WHAC slate.
Taylor hit a four game skid where they lost to No. 7 Lawerence Tech, No. 4 Indiana Tech, No. 8 Aquinas and No. 7 Concordia (Lawrence Tech and Concordia were both ranked No. 7 in separate weeks). Taylor got a taste of their own medicine, getting outscored 66-38.
If Taylor was going to qualify for the WHAC Tournament, they needed to win at least two of their next three. On Senior Day, they mollywhopped Siena Heights 19-8, led by sophomore attackman Will Saxby who logged six goals and one assist. Sophomore attackman Jackson Dale also added three goals and two assists.
Saxby more than doubled his scoring totals from his freshman season, finishing with 39 goals and 13 assists in his 15 starts, good enough for second on the team in both goals and points, while tying for first in shot percentage with a 35.5 percent rate.
“I played a lot looser this year,” Saxby said. “ Last year I was playing with a lot of upperclassmen and I had to find my way to fit in and I was really overthinking. But now I’m in a system where I can be a lot more free.”
After Saxby’s stellar performance against Siena Heights, he put on another goal scoring display on the road against Michigan-Dearborn where he scored five goals with three assists. Sophomore face-off man Dave Celesti stole the show, however, winning 15 of 22 faceoffs. Taylor won the game 15-11 and clinched their spot in the WHAC Tournament.
Last season, Celesti was the second face-off man behind Carlton Best (‘24). Celesti only took 68 faceoffs, winning 25 of them last season. This year, he took 337, winning 152 of them, good for 45.1% on the year.
“I think a big improvement this year was team face-off wins,” Celesti said. “Our wings coming in and making plays was a big improvement for sure.”
Another player who took a leap this season was sophomore goalie Ben Harrell. Not only was Harrell voted as the WHAC Defensive Player of the Week one time this past season, he also earned the NAIA Defensive Player of the Week award after his standout performances against Columbia and St. Ambrose.
The St. Ambrose game was by far Harrell’s best performance as he only allowed one goal and saved 16 of 17 shots.
“I think all of the credit goes to the defense,” Harrell said. “At the end of the day I have to attribute my success to the guys in front of me.”
Taylor had a rough end to the year, dropping their final game of the regular season to No. 5 Madonna 21-6, then would go on to lose to the eventual WHAC champions, No. 7 Concordia in the WHAC Tournament Quarterfinals 15-9. Concordia took home their first WHAC crown in their final year of play.
After that loss, all eyes are turned on next season which looks to be promising as Taylor is returning nearly the entire roster for the next season. The Trojans will be returning 23 out of 27 players and eight of 10 starters for the 2026 year.
