Stevenson men’s lacrosse graduate student Matt Wilson recently chatted with PressBox about pursuing a master’s degree in Crime Scene Investigation, what he wants to do after school and more. The 6-foot, 225-pound defenseman picked up 52 ground balls and caused 30 turnovers for the Mustangs in 2022. Wilson is a native of Voorhees, N.J., and graduate of Eastern Regional High School.
PressBox: How did you become interested in lacrosse?
Matt Wilson: I played soccer, baseball, basketball growing up. I didn’t even touch a lacrosse stick until probably my freshman year of high school. I actually got hurt my freshman year, so I didn’t start actually playing until sophomore year. But all my friends growing up, they all played lacrosse and were like, “I think you’d be pretty good at it. You should try it out.” Just kind of stuck with it, ran with it and now I’m six years into college playing, so it was kind of crazy how that happened.
PB: Who were the big influences on your game growing up?
MW: Tucker Durkin, Nicky Polanco and Brodie Merrill. … At high school, [coaches Steve Picot and Shane Flannery] really helped me, getting me from just picking up a stick to where I am today. And then Bill Keane with the South Jersey Shamrocks gave me the keys to get to Stevenson, so kind of helped with the recruiting and everything. [Andrew Husenica] actually just recently passed away, but he was my freshman year coach. He was pivotal in making me love lacrosse and helping me throughout high school.
PB: Why did you choose to go to Stevenson?
MW: Honestly, I wasn’t really getting a crazy amount of looks out of high school. When I stepped on to campus and met [head coach Paul Cantabene and assistant Tim Puls] I felt like this was the place for me. The facilities were top-notch and only got better as I was at school. The fact that it’s a small school and the teachers actually know who you are, you’re not just a number, and high-level lacrosse, it was all I was really looking for and I felt Stevenson was for me.
PB: What’s your favorite memory so far at Stevenson?
MW: Probably either winning the MAC [Commonwealth] championship in 2019 or beating Kean in the first round of the NCAA playoffs my senior year.
PB: Is there an art to picking up a ground ball? Did someone along the way teach you how to do that?
MW: Honestly, it was kind of just getting in the middle of the scrap and just putting my head down and getting my stick in there. Shane Flannery from high school really helped at honing in my stick and how to use my body to box people out and get a ball in your stick and be confident with it. But honestly, I’m a bigger guy so I kind of just throw my body into the scrap and just hope I get the ball. It seemed to work out last year.
PB: What’s your favorite thing about Stevenson University?
MW: Right now, I’m in a master’s program and it’s been awesome so far. I can just go to class but not actually go to class because it’s online. The teachers have been awesome to work with. I haven’t had a problem with a single teacher yet. Just the fact that Stevenson has given me so much for so long, it’s been awesome to work with them.
PB: You are pursuing a master’s degree in Crime Scene Investigation. What does that entail?
MW: I graduated in 2021 with a bachelor’s degree in environmental science. When it came time to figure out what I [was] going to do with my fifth year … Coach was like, “I recommend you get into a master’s program.” I didn’t want to do biology or something that I did in undergrad. I wanted to find a master’s program that mixed somewhat with my undergrad and picked Crime Scene Investigation. It’s been working out phenomenally so far. It turned out I picked one of the only ones that was a two-year program, so that’s why I’m back for a sixth — so I can finish school up and get a chance to play.
PB: What do you want to do after school?
MW: Right now, it’s … working in a crime lab as a forensic investigator — so basically the TV show kind of thing. A crime happens, you go to the scene and then you collect all the evidence, process it and hand it to the next person. Or what one of my family friends does, he’s pretty much an environmental police officer — like a game warden, something along that line.
PB: What’s your favorite crime show?
MW: Probably “Hawaii Five-0” or “Law & Order SVU.”
PB: What’s the most realistic show?
MW: If I had to pick realistically, I would say “The First 48,” maybe.
PB: What’s your favorite thing about Owings Mills?
MW: The taco truck on Reisterstown Road right next to my house and school.
PB: Who’s your best friend on the team and what’s a story that underscores your friendship?
MW: I’ve got so many. Probably if I had to pick one, I would say Shane O’Donoghue. He’s No. 37. He’s been my roommate for the last three years. Basically, I needed another roommate. My one roommate, Jake Doster, we needed two more roommates so we just asked two kids on the team to live with us. Turned out, Shane was one of them. We just clicked right away. He’s an Eagles fan, Philly fan — same with our other roommate, Jesse [Brown]. Shane and I just clicked right away. We became really good friends and have had so many memories together, been through so many things together and I can’t wait for that kid to be in my wedding and hopefully the same for him.
PB: Who’s a player you looked up to when you first got to Stevenson?
MW: Definitely Dom DeFazio. He pretty much just was like, “I see good things in you. Hope you can stay on the path,” and took me under his wing. Still to this day he’s a coach with us, so he’s always looking out for me. But definitely, definitely Dom.
PB: What advice do you have for younger players who are in the recruiting process?
MW: Probably put your ego away. You’re at the top of where you are currently. You’re a big fish in a small pond in high school, and then the second you get to college you’re a very small fish in a very big pond. Work your tail off. Hard work pays off. When you finally pick the school that you want to go to, make sure you’re triple-sure about it — no doubts in your mind when you pick a school. Just run with it. Take whatever they give you and run with it.
Photo Credit: Sabina Moran/SKM Photography