Chicago, Ill - When winter refuses to cooperate in Chicago, Illinois Tech men's lacrosse looks south to jump start its season. Head coach Dan Sharbaugh isn't new to this routine—he's embraced it. "We go to Nashville to start the season every year because of the weather, to try and get out and guarantee ourselves two games in mid-February, which obviously we can't really do here in Chicago," Sharbaugh said.

Early practices have been anything but predictable, with shifting schedules and limited field time. Yet the team has found a way forward. "The early part's been a little chaotic just weather-wise, lots of moving parts, not as frequently on the field as we would love to be, but we're making it work," he said.

Despite the challenges, Sharbaugh sees an opportunity in the fresh start. With a strong core of returners and emerging leaders, he's watching the group evolve in real time. "We have a lot of returning pieces, some really good young guys, some older guys who are stepping into more leadership roles, and so it's been interesting and fun to watch the dynamics change after graduating the class we did last year, who I think shouldered a lot of the leadership role previous seasons."

Building from the Back

If there's a defining trait for this year's team, it's defense. Sharbaugh has made it clear that the identity of Illinois Tech lacrosse will be built from the back end forward. "The identity is definitely going to be built from the defensive end forward," he said. "We have a lot of depth at defense. We return all three starting defensemen, our top two long stick midfield players and a handful of defensive midfielders and faceoff guys."

That continuity provides a foundation he plans to lean on early. "I think that's going to be the experience portion early on," Sharbaugh said. "We're going to try to allow them a lot of freedom to push in transition, obviously rely on them on the defensive end of the field to get some stops, but I do think that's going to be kind of the fundamental strength of our team."

There's still a key question to answer in the crease after graduating standout goalie Kyle Johnson. "We did graduate our goalie, but I think there's some good options there," Sharbaugh said. "It's been a competitive spring in that position."

Offensively, the team faces the challenge of replacing significant production. "We graduated our two all-time leading scorers last year," he said. "Just finding replacements for them, a couple of freshmen filling in some roles nicely, but then also a couple other guys who are kind of shuffling around on the offensive end in some different areas of the field."

Several veterans are stepping into expanded responsibilities. "Diego Sosa, Alex Stocker, kind of being asked to do some different things than they have in the past," Sharbaugh said. "And Connor Montgomery, probably the biggest midfield returner that we have just from a standpoint of creating offense and the consistency that he brings to that position."

Daily Gains, Long-Term Goals

For Sharbaugh and his staff, success isn't defined by a single number or milestone—it's about steady progress. "Nothing specific," he said when asked about season goals. "We kind of just focus on the daily improvement. I think all the goals that you could set only happen if you're consistently getting better on a day to day basis."

That mindset has shaped the team's approach this offseason. "We definitely made that the priority, less about specific benchmarks and more about if we're improving every day and we can focus every day at every practice, at every rep, it should get us to where we want to be long term," he said.

The larger vision remains clear: compete in the conference playoffs and push deeper than before. "Back in the conference playoffs, hopefully advancing this year and getting back to where we were a few years ago in the conference championship game," Sharbaugh said. "However the main focus is less about long-term goals and more about just what are we doing on a daily basis."

Looking Ahead

As Illinois Tech prepares to open the season in Nashville, Sharbaugh's excitement is straightforward—and contagious. "I'm just excited to get finally out on the field playing this weekend," he said. "It will be great."

With returning experience on defense, emerging leaders on offense, and a coaching staff committed to daily growth, the Scarlet Hawks are poised to make noise in the conference once again. For Sharbaugh, it's not about bold predictions—it's about building something sustainable, one practice at a time."