For senior midfielder Connor Campbell, his time spent with the lacrosse team is defined by the relationships he made with his teammates.
“The number one take away from these four years is the culture that has been built with the guys,” Campbell said. “I have been able to grow close with all of them over the past few years.”
Throughout Campbell’s almost-four full years at Marquette, he has shown himself to be a team player. Head coach Andrew Stimmel commented on how Campbell’s selflessness reflected just how important the team was to him.
“Campbell would come every day and focus on priorities that would make the team better and the roles he would need to take individually in order for the team’s success,” Stimmel said.
Campbell first showed interest in lacrosse in fourth grade and showcased his talent from that point forward. In high school, he was awarded the Most Valuable Offensive Player during three consecutive seasons: his sophomore, junior and senior campaigns.
When Campbell continued his lacrosse career at Marquette, Stimmel said he had to fight through injuries for the majority of his career. But that didn’t stop him from being involved with the team.
“He set aside his personal issues and selflessly fulfilled every role to make the team better,” Stimmel said. “He has done an incredible job on the squad and has been a great example of what an excellent teammate looks like. We are all proud of the teammate and competitor Connor is.”
Those injuries didn’t stop him from making memories, either. One of Campbell’s favorite moments while playing for the Golden Eagles came his first year at MU at the BIG EAST Championship Tournament in Providence, Rhode Island. That year, the men’s lacrosse team was named the 2017 BIG EAST Conference Champion.
“This moment was very special not only because of the championship title we received, but for the whole weekend we spent together in Providence,” Campbell said. “We were all able to grow as a team and experience Providence together.”
As for this being his final season playing lacrosse at Marquette, he knew that these fun, rewarding memories would soon come to an end, but he did not expect the ending to be so sudden.
Campbell said he wishes he could have had more time with his teammates this season.
With an opportunity to have more time with his teammates and play one more season of lacrosse in the spring of 2021 due to the NCAA eligibility extension, Campbell said he is not planning to come back.
“I am going to work on getting a job,” Campbell said.
Although Campbell’s time playing lacrosse may be over, he has aspirations to continue his involvement in different ways.
“I hope to be able to help coach a lacrosse team someday,” Campbell said. “Maybe for the team I played for while I was in high school.”
This story was written by Molly Gretzlock. She can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @MollyGretzlock.
