Recollections of the 1966 Season

Colorado Trip - The team took a bus from the Circle to Chicago where they boarded a train to Denver. From Denver they took another bus to Colorado Springs, home of Colorado College. In a practice prior to the first game, Senior midfielder Stan Kaminski dislocated his shoulder, which would keep him out of all of the games on the trip. On April 9, Notre Dame defeated a good Colorado College team 8 to 6. Veteran Cliff (the Stork) Lennon had 4 goals with single goals coming from middies Dixie John Walker, Bob Morin and Gary Clancy and attack men Larry DeFrance. Following the game, the team bussed to the Air Force Academy, where the accommodations upgraded from mats on the gym floor (Colorado College) to the Visiting Officer's Quarters. The Notre Dame team was given a tour of the Academy and dinner with the Corps of Cadets in their dining hall. The lacrosse game, on April 12, went ND's way with a 8 to 5 win. Duncan MacIntosh had a big game with 4 goals while Bob Morin contributed 2. Cliff Lennon and Pete (Mouse) Sillari were each credited with 2 assists. At the University of Denver, the rumor around campus was that the Notre Dame Lacrosse team was loaded with talent from the highly ranked Notre Dame Football team, including All-American Nick Eddy. Whether it was the erroneous rumor or just interest in their team, the Denver U football stadium was nearly full for the lacrosse game. Notre Dame again prevailed, going ahead 8-0 by halftime and coasting to an 11-5 win. Cliff Lennon got his second 4 goal game of the trip; midfielders Duncan MacIntosh and Bob Morin tossed in two goals each while Sillari and Lennon had a couple assists each. The final game of the trip was at the University of Colorado in Boulder. The team stayed at the Boulderado Hotel, one of the highlights of the trip. Notre Dame made it a clean sweep of the state of Colorado by beating the Buffaloes 13 to 8. Duncan MacIntosh put on a clinic with 5 goals and 1 assist; Cliff Lennon tallied points of his own (3 goals, 3 assists) and Pete Sillari set an Irish record with six assists. Bill Joseph was huge in goal in the four wins.

Notre Dame continued their winning ways with and 8 to 4 decision over the Chicago Lacrosse Club. Duncan MacIntosh had his second straight five goal game with Pete Sillari assisting on two. Chicago was led by former Irish star "Tuna" Driscoll. The road trip into Ohio started on an ominous note when the team bus broke down in Ohio. With a B-team game scheduled that afternoon at Denison against the Denison freshman, ND was left with no choice but to hitch-hike to the game. Imagine 30 stickmen with their gear trying to get rides to Newark, Ohio. Without a quorum at game time, the contest was postponed until the next day. In a driving rainstorm, the B-team prevailed in overtime, 4 to 3. That afternoon at Gambier, Ohio, Kenyon ended the Notre Dame winning streak 9 to 4. The Irish got single goals from Dan Carson, Pete Sillari, Larry DeFrance and Cliff Lennon. The Irish stickmen hit the road again the following weekend for a re-match with the Chicago Lacrosse Club in Evanston. Attackmen Cliff Lennon and Larry DeFrance led the victorious Irish with two goals each in a 6 to 5 win. The game was played in an unseasonably cold (30°) drizzle. As was the custom, the game was followed by a "reception" at the home of one of the Chicago players, with a good time had by all. Again on the road, ND travelled to East Lansing for a meeting with Michigan State. The Irish were hitting on all cylinders in a 10 to 1 win; Duncan MacIntosh led the way with 4 goals. Notre Dame closed out their most successful season on a down note by dropping a 9 to 7 decision to Bowling Green at home on the Stephan Center field. It was the high scoring trio of Duncan MacIntosh, Cliff Lennon and Bob Morin leading the Irish with two goals each. The final record was 7 wins, 3 losses and 1 tie with the undefeated swing through Colorado as the season highlight.

Closing out their careers were all time greats Cliff "the Stork" Lennon, Bill "the Camel" Joseph who set single-season (245/ 77%) and career (657/ 74%) records for saves and save percentage and Pete "the Mouse" Sillari, who set single-season (22) and career (34) records for assists. Other veterans playing their last game included Larry DeFrance, Norm Findley and Stan "Ski" Kaminski.