It was an opportunity that couldn’t have come at a better time for Blake Lori.
The then-junior midfielder was coming off a season at Robert Morris that featured a NCAA Tournament berth and an ASUN Conference tournament championship. Appearing in 13 games and causing eight turnovers, Blake played a big role in helping the Colonials to their third national tournament appearance ever.
But there was something bigger waiting for him in Milwaukee — family.
Blake’s big brother, Bo, had accepted a job to become an assistant coach and the offensive coordinator for Marquette men’s lacrosse just a year earlier.
“The year after my first year coaching at Marquette, we had like four or five players at his position graduate,” Bo said. “Certainly the thought of Blake coming was exciting, but there was also a need that needed to be filled from just a personnel perspective.”
After the season was over, Blake reached out to Bo about the possibility of transferring to Marquette to play lacrosse.
“I asked Blake to put some film together to show our staff,” Bo said. “I knew what he could do and knew that he could really help us.”
Once Bo was able to show his brother’s film to the rest of the staff at Marquette, they were immediately on board with the idea.
Blake appeared in 13 games for the Golden Eagles in 2023, picking up four ground balls. He’s already appeared in 10 games for Marquette this season, and even picked up an assist in an eventual 20-12 loss to then-No. 13 Michigan in Naples, Florida earlier in the year.
However, the on-field action is just a fraction of what the Lori brothers are going to remember about their two seasons together at Marquette.
“As much as I love getting to be able to cross coach to Blake, just being able to live life together is my favorite part about it, ” Bo said. “Blake and I are five years apart. So, we never were in the same place at the same time.
“When he got to high school, I was off to college, when I was graduating from college, he was kind of getting to college, so we’ve just never, since we were kids, never really done life together.”
Blake and Bo Lori grew up in Hudson, Ohio, which is a town of about 23,000 people 30 minutes outside of Cleveland. In addition to lacrosse, both played hockey up until they went to college.
Their father, Mark, played Division I hockey at Northeastern and Bowling Green State before going on to play professionally for four years.
While Mark acknowledged that it would’ve been neat to see his sons continue to play hockey, he said that it’s been fun to watch them continue to march to the beat of their own drum.
“Because I didn’t really know anything, and now just a little bit about lacrosse, it’s been fun to see them do their own thing,” Mark said. “They’re not doing my thing; they’re doing their thing.”
In high school, Bo set the bar high for his younger brother, being named a two-time US Lacrosse All-American and winning a state championship with Hudson High School in 2013. He earned a scholarship to continue playing lacrosse at Ohio State University after high school.
“It was really motivating for me, watching him in high school,” Blake said. “He got there (Ohio State) because he worked hard, I saw that every day. I was just like, ‘I wanna be like him, I wanna go D1 like him.’ That really motivated me.”
Before joining Marquette’s coaching staff, Bo was an assistant coach at the Virginia for three years. For the better part of Blake’s time at Robert Morris, Bo was only able to see highlights of his brother’s games through social media or videos sent to him by their father.
“It’s been special to watch his career with my own two eyes versus having to watch through Twitter or Hudl,” Bo said.
Blake is set to graduate this spring with a business degree. Although their time together at Marquette is coming to an end, Bo said that it would be impossible to quantify what the past two years have meant to the Lori family.
“I’m just trying to soak it in,” Bo said. “You almost want time to stop a little bit. My parents have been lacrosse parents for so long and now this is their final year at it.
“Getting to coach Blake over the past two years, having him here. Thinking about him not being at practice every day next year is super sad to think about, it’s been such a blast.”
Tricia, Bo and Blake’s mother, said she will always remember her sons supporting each other.
“As a mom, to have them be there for each other has been really comforting for me,” Tricia said. “Seeing them together and seeing them work towards a common goal has been a really special thing for me.”
As the clock ticks down on the 2024 season for the Golden Eagles, the Lori brothers will soak in what’s left of an opportunity that won’t be soon forgotten.
“It’s not something we take for granted by any means, and we are going to enjoy every minute we get of it for the rest of the season,” Bo said.
This story was written by Matthew Baltz. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter/X @MatthewBaltzMU.
