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On the field of play, the resilience necessary to overcome adversity is often paramount to success.
Indeed, athletes and coaches frequently cite having grit as an essential component of overcoming competitive obstacles.
Grit, or having the mental toughness to keep focused on the task at hand after experiencing adversity, is a concept popularized by University of Pennsylvania professor, Dr. Angela Duckworth in her bestselling book, “Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance”.
In professional football, Detroit Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell embraced the concept of grit in order to change his teams culture. In fact, Campbell referred to the Lions mentality as “313 Grit”.
After Campbell instilled a “Grit City” mentality, the Detroit Lions went from 3-13 in 2021 to one of the best teams in the NFL as they compiled a 15-2 record in 2024.
Just like the Detroit Lions in the “313”, the NDCL Lions Boys Lacrosse Team has demonstrated a grit mentality in the “440” over the past few seasons.
Going from 2-13 in 2023, the Lions have now started the 2025 season at 7-4 and have won four games in a row.
In their victory over the West Geauga Wolverines at West Geauga High School on April 9, they demonstrated “440 Grit” in a 7-6 triumph.
After defeating their opponent, Lions’ senior Luke Miller viewed the comeback as a demonstration of grit.
“(My teammates and I), we had a great comeback and we really showed the grit that we have on this team,” said Miller.
Miller noted that the Lions came into the game ready and excited to compete.
Their enthusiasm was shown early as the Lions opened up a first half advantage on two goals by Miller and another by senior Jacob Begovic.
The Wolverines added a first half goal by sophomore Lincoln Nye and the Lions went into halftime leading 3-1.
After intermission, Miller said that the Lions were caught by surprise as the Wolverines dominated the third quarter.
The Wolverines quickly scored three straight goals, two by Nye and one by Zack Metz, as they took a 4-3 lead with 4:26 left in the quarter.
“(After halftime) we were in shambles,” Miller said.
Miller attributed the Lions third quarter difficulties to thinking too much.
“We were in our own heads, we did not know what to do,” Miller added.
Leading by one goal entering the fourth quarter, the Wolverines extended their lead to 5-3 on Metz’s second goal of the game.
At this point, Miller said that a crucial timeout was called by NDCL Head Coach Joe Muscatello.
Stressing the need to refocus, Coach Muscatello emphasized the importance of taking control of the situation.
“(Coach Muscatello) told us to keep our heads in the game, don’t get down on ourselves and go out there and do what we know we can do,” said senior Sal Leccese.
The timeout allowed the Lions to regroup and get their mentality back to focusing on the task at hand, Miller recounted.
“(After the timeout), we regathered ourselves, defense got recollected, (Jacob) Ferencak (Lions senior goalie) made some great saves, and we had some good fast breaks, some good clears and a few great shots and that’s all we needed to get back on top,” Miller said.
The remainder of the contest was a roller coaster of emotions, with both teams giving it their all.
With renewed focus, the Lions quickly recorded goals by sophomore Carmen Cirino and senior Patrick O’Brien to even the match at 5-5.
But the Wolverines countered, taking a 6-5 lead when senior Aidan Weir found the back of the net with 5:36 left in the fourth quarter.
Not to be deterred, Miller responded with his third goal of the game to tie the score at 6-6.
In discussing Miller’s excellent game, Coach Muscatello said that Luke is very difficult to stop because of his excellent accuracy on net.
“His shot is always accurate, and so that makes it really tough to stop him,” Coach Muscatello said. “If he gets five, six shots a game, he’s going to get at least half of those in.”
Tied at 6-6 with less than five minutes to go, the pressure mounted for both teams.
With the Lions’ Miller already with three goals, and the Wolverines’ Nye also with a hat trick, both defenses had their hands full in trying to stop both players in the final minutes.
The game winning goal, though, belonged to Lions’ senior Sal Leccese as he found the back of the net with 1:59 left in the game to give his team a 7-6 victory.
“(On the game winning goal) my teammate Luke Miller gets the ball on the break and he finds me on the wing,” Leccese said. “(And) I just let it fly, bottom corner.”
Added Miller, “We came running down, I saw Sal to my right.”
“I just had to draw the one guy to me. The second he came to me, I gave it to Sal.”
“Great shot!” in the 440.
After defeating the Wolverines, the Lions improved their record to 7-4 with a 7-6 victory over the Saint Vincent St. Mary Fighting Irish.
