UMBC men’s lacrosse junior Brian Tregoning recently chatted with PressBox about shifting from midfield to attack last spring, the player he looked up to early in his college career and more. The 6-foot, 190-pound attackman posted 22 goals and 10 assists for the Retrievers in 2022. Tregoning is a native of Silver Spring, Md., and graduate of Our Lady of Good Counsel.
PressBox: How did you become interested in lacrosse?
Brian Tregoning: No special, crazy story for me. Like a lot of kids I was hanging out with growing up, I played every sport imaginable. A couple of my buddies from the neighborhood wanted to try out lacrosse, so I figured why not? I gave it a try. I started playing I think when I was in second or third grade. I just loved it from the start. It was something different than basketball or football. A lot of people weren’t playing at the time, so I was excited to do something new and try something different. I kind of got the hang of it pretty quick, so just accelerated from there.
PB: Who influenced your game growing up?
BT: Just growing up, I watched a lot of Matt Rambo and the Stanwicks definitely, for sure. Watching college when you were younger it was surreal watching all those players. College lacrosse was amazing to watch back then, the atmosphere. I know he played at Albany, a little bit of a rival, but Lyle Thompson was also one player that I loved to watch, just his creativity. It was crazy to watch him play. … Dan Murray was my club coach and my high school coach. He also owned a gym. I started working out when I was a freshman at his gym, and I went there every day. We grew a pretty strong bond on and off the field. He helped me out tremendously — getting bigger, getting faster, getting stronger. Off the field, he was a great coach for me and someone that I definitely looked up to.
PB: What are your favorite memories from your days at Good Counsel?
BT: Lacrosse-wise, it definitely was my sophomore year. It was early in the year. That was my first year on varsity because freshman year I was on JV. I was starting on attack. It was probably my third or fourth game starting. We were playing Paul VI. It was an early March game. They were nationally ranked. We beat them at home. It was good for the team and for myself as well because it kind of just gave me confidence for the rest of the year to know that I belonged at the varsity level and I was good enough to compete with kids in the state and all over the place.
PB: Why did you choose to go to UMBC?
BT: For a couple reasons. One was definitely the proximity to my house. I think I’m about a 30-minute drive from UMBC. I wanted to give my family the opportunity and make it easiest on them to come see me play throughout college. Travel’s real easy for them. My grandparents, they always come watch me play. I’ve got a lot of friends and family that come to the games and it gives me a little edge. It gives me the satisfaction as well that I have a lot of people that are supporting me. No matter what I do, they’re always going to support me. They’re always going to love me. It gives you some confidence that I need. When they’re in attendance, I just think I can do anything. Another thing I would say definitely recruited me here is kind of like a blue-collar, gritty blueprint that [head coach Ryan Moran] definitely instilled in us. I wasn’t a highly recruited guy. I think I have gotten better based off a lot of hard work. When Coach Moran told me about the blueprint, he believes that he recruits guys that are gritty, who work hard, who show up every day just wanting to work hard. I think that that kind of drew me in. I was like, “I want to be around guys that do the same, that have the same work ethic.” I think I found that here.
PB: What’s your favorite memory at UMBC so far?
BT: The first one that comes to mind is the four-overtime game my freshman year against Stony Brook. That was a long and grueling game. When we scored the game-winner in the fourth overtime, it was just sigh of relief that we finished the job. I think another one that definitely comes to mind is the America East tournament last year. The semifinal game against Binghamton was a big one for us. They had beaten us by four goals in the regular season. To beat them was a big confidence boost going into the championship. The championship game was another big one for me. I was able to score three that game. I think that game really allowed me to believe in myself even more. I have the confidence but it’s like, “All right, I think I’m one of the best players in the conference.”
PB: What precipitated your move to attack last year after playing midfield prior to that?
BT: We started off in the conference 0-2 with losses to Binghamton and Vermont. That [third league game] against Albany was make or break for the season. I remember it like it was yesterday. We were in the stretching lines and [volunteer assistant coach Nick] Griffin came up to me and was like, “We’re thinking about moving you to attack.” I was like, “I’m cool with that, Coach. Wherever you guys need me to play, that’s where I’m going to play.” I think it was more the mentality [that] I just wanted to do anything for the team. If you need me to play offense, I’ll play offense. I’ll play anywhere. I think it’s just the fact that we just want to win so much. We’re going to listen to the coaching staff. They know what’s best for us, how to utilize our strengths and go from there. I honestly give a lot of credit to Coach Moran and the coaching staff for realizing to make that move.
PB: What’s your favorite thing about Baltimore?
BT: I would say being a Baltimore guy my whole life — cheering for the Ravens my whole life, big Ravens fan — being so close to the city, just going in and watching the Ravens games, watching the Ravens play, 10-15 minute drive to the stadium. Being so close and being a Ravens fan my whole life, just being faithful to the Ravens has been fun, especially when they win. You feel the sense of Baltimore is just happy.
PB: What’s your favorite thing about UMBC?
BT: I would say the size. I wasn’t looking to go to a large school. I think that the size of the school was beneficial to me. You kind of form more of a bond with your teammates because those are the main guys that you’re hanging out with. I think class size is a lot better. You’re not having 200-, 300-person lectures. It’s like 40, 50 people. You’re sitting up front with the professor. He sees you, you see him. Learning for me, that is what’s worked for me and just getting to know the professors.
PB: Who’s your best friend on the team and what’s a story that underscores your friendship?
BT: My best friend on this team would probably be Dane Armstrong, faceoff guy, No. 11. I think the thing that really bonded us was we both came in as freshmen in [the fall of] 2020, so that was the COVID year. We weren’t really allowed to hang out with a lot of guys on the team. It was really just the freshmen in the dorms that we could hang out with, and he was my suitemate. We just hung out a lot. Those are the only guys we could hang out with, so I think that year more importantly was when we strengthened our bond, grew really close to how we are now.
PB: Who did you look up to when you first got to UMBC?
BT: I would say [former attackman] Trevor Patschorke. He was a senior when I was a freshman. He was a guy who battled through a couple injuries. He was a hard-working kid. He was just an open book. He would always come up to me, especially freshman year spring, preseason. He’d come up to me and ask if I had any questions about the offense. If I did, he’d give me anything that I’d want to know. He’d always check in on me. As a freshman, that’s tough, especially during the COVID year. We couldn’t hang out as a team a lot. He was just one of those guys that always checked on me, always asked how my family was doing, asked if I needed anything. He always was just there for me. I think as a freshman it was less trying to understand the offense. It was more checking on me mentally and making sure my mental health is where it needed to be as a freshman.
PB: What advice do you have for younger players who are in the recruiting process?
BT: I would say just put your head down and work hard. If you’re not ranked, it’s not the end of the world. I think a lot of people have potential in high school, and I think the one thing that sets people apart is how much they want it and how hard they work. I always thought I was a lot better than what the rankings said in high school and I wanted to prove it to people. That’s what I try to do every day. … Believing in yourself mainly, just having some confidence that you belong on the collegiate level if you’re looking to get recruited.
PB: What are your goals for after lacrosse?
BT: I’ve been thinking about that more than the other years. The end doesn’t seem like it’s ever going to come, but it’s coming. Right now I’m a little unsure. I plan on definitely finishing my degree once I graduate. I think I want to go into a business-related field — not sure of what yet, but I’m looking to get an internship this summer, try to rule out some things or figure out what I want to do, kind of use some trial and error. We’ll just have to see.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of UMBC Athletics
Issue 279: February/March 2023
Originally published Feb. 15, 2023