The Marquette men’s lacrosse team may be 0-3 on the season, but for redshirt first-year Devon Cowan, things are beginning to look up.
The attacker has come out on fire offensively, as he is leading the team in nearly every offensive category statistically with 21 shots, 14 shots on goal, 12 points and nine goals.
Cowan’s love of the game dates back to his younger years of playing lacrosse, which has helped him learn important life lessons as he has gotten older, along with being coached by his dad, Shay.
“My dad obviously played (lacrosse in college) and I grew up with a stick in my hand, but I wouldn’t say officially until third grade that I got into lacrosse,” Cowan said. “(My dad and I) had some arguments along the way but he was always pushing me to be my best and he knew of the potential that I had … because of him I’m able to be the player that I am today.”
After a strong high school career at the Hun School of Princeton,which consisted of being a four-year starter and two-time team captain, Cowan was ready to see where his collegiate years would take him.
“The recruiting process was crazy,” Cowan said, also saying that “me and my dad laugh because the last college they actually visited was Marquette, and something about Milwaukee and the people in it just did it for me.”
After Cowan made his decision to join the Golden Eagles, many things seemed uncertain for the team, as former head coach Joe Amplo stepped down shortly before Cowan’s first season started.
With the program on the search for a new head coach, a familiar face seemed to be the perfect candidate for the job. Former Marquette defensive coordinator Andrew Stimmel was acquired from Yale to lead the Golden Eagles in 2020.
Cowan spoke very highly of Stimmel when asked about his leadership.
“Coach Stimmel is the man,” Cowan said. “He does so much for us, (and is) always hyping us up.”
One of the more touching things that Cowan described about coach Stimmel is that if “you take lacrosse (out of the situation), you’d want to be his friend”
When it came time to participate in the greatly awaited 2020 season, the COVID-19 pandemic had caused Stimmel and Cowan’s rookie campaign to be cut short, as the team only played seven games and finished the shortened season with a record of 3-4.
While the season resulted in an undesired conclusion, there was a silver-lining that came out of the experience for Cowan. In his first game as a Golden Eagle against Cleveland State, Cowan scored five points, including a hat trick, and he also set a record for the most points scored as a first-year in their collegiate debut in Marquette history.
“The transition was pretty smooth, I played at the highest level my entire life … it was kind of the same thing I had always done.” Cowan said.
When it came to preparing for an offseason that would last more than a year, Cowan said he lived by a quote that coach Stimmel would constantly tell the team that entailed that the players should take the process “one day at a time, one week at a time.”
This season, Cowan is making more of an effort to “help the new guys” and “help them be comfortable with this new team” as he later stressed the famous saying that “you’re only as strong as your weakest link.”
When asked about the links that make up the 2021 Golden Eagle lacrosse team, Cowan had nothing but high praises for fellow attackmen Griffin Flemming as well as new transfer Morgan Macko.
“(Macko) has been a huge presence and it takes a lot of pressure off (our teammates) because he’s also finishing the ball and doing really well out there,” Cowan said.
Macko was a three-year starter at Bellarmine University in Louisville, Kentucky and registered 94 points over the course of his 45-game stint with the Knights. Cowan also had great words to say about team captain Griffin Flemming, another member of the dangerous Golden Eagle attack line.
“He’s given everything he’s got, we are firing on all cylinders, and it’s really special to see what this attack line will be able to do throughout the rest of the season,” Cowan said.
As for Cowan, the team will continue to rally around the redshirt first-year star who has made a convincing case as to why you should never judge a team by their record.
This story was written by Jack Lewandowski. He can be reached at jack.lewandowski@marquette,edu or on Twitter @JackLewMU.
