Colorado State lacrosse has a long tradition of success, from their record-high six Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association national championships to the outstanding alumni who have passed through the program. The winning tradition that started in the late ’90s and early 2000s still remains despite a season that didn’t go the way the team planned.

After an eight-win season in 2024 that saw the Rams defeat longtime rival Colorado for the first time in 10 years, CSU hoped to punch their ticket for a chance to add a seventh MCLA national championship by winning their conference or getting selected as a at-large bid to the National Championships. CSU increased their chances of making this happen by entering the conference tournament with seven wins and as the No. 3 seed in the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Conference.

Unfortunately for the Rams, their season was cut short in the RMLC Division I Tournament  by rival Utah Valley in an 18-14 loss April 25 in Bozeman, Montana. CSU was also not selected as an at-large bid to head to the National Championships held in Round Rock, Texas.

“Lacrosse is a game of runs,” head coach Ryan MacDonald said when explaining what happened in the game against UVU. “Our game plan had been working, but we just didn’t capitalize on some mistakes that happened in the third quarter.”

Utah Valley went 11-3 during the 2025 season and boasts one of the more talented and deep rosters the MCLA has to offer. UVU entered the last week of the season ranked as the No. 5 team in the MCLA and tallied wins against two top-15 teams in Florida State and San Diego State.

“Going toe-to-toe with them is a feat that we can be proud of,” MacDonald said. “It comes down to making sure we are dialed in on all aspects of the game, and in this one, I think we were. Time just ran out without us on top.”

Even though the team maintains aspirations of winning a national championship, this season was not a failure.

The Rams offense produced over 142 assists on 166 goals in 2025. That assist margin increased by 44 total assists from the previous year. MacDonald took on the role of co-offensive coordinator this season, and that was a large reason why the Rams were able to see more success in finding their teammates to create scoring opportunities. 

“He just let us be ourselves,” sophomore midfielder Kevin Carson said. “He gave us only two offensive sets that he wanted to see us in, and then it was up to us as players to get the ball around and find the right opportunities. That trust we built from the year prior into this year really helped because we were so comfortable with each other.”

 Not only did the team’s assists increase from 2024 to 2025, but the overall save percentage improved by 3.2% while facing 31 more shots. This defensive improvement was led by goalie Charlie Bibaud. Bibaud played in all 13 games this season, stopping 197 shots and boasting a 55.8% save percentage between the pipes.

“I was really trying to communicate more effectively and get the defense looking good in front of me, as well as staying in as good of shape as I can.” Bibaud said. 

Winning the RMLC is always the Rams main priority, but being part of a team provides opportunities for lifelong relationships. That is one of the things MacDonald values the most about his role. 

“From the first game to the last, we came together as a family,” MacDonald said. “If you looked at the first game of the season, you would say we’re going to have a really tough season if we kept playing the way we did. We were at each other’s throats — (we had) no composure. To see where we were from the first game to the last, the team achieved the greatness on and off the field, and the seniors really left it better than they found it.”

MacDonald, who was a successful midfielder for the Rams from 2005-08, came back to his alma mater in 2017 as a volunteer offensive coordinator. In 2018, MacDonald was offered the role of head coach.

“It’s my alma mater,” MacDonald said at practice March 28. “I love this place. I love Fort Collins. It’s special to my heart.”

Since then, the Rams have found more success, especially in the last two seasons. The Rams have made the RMLC conference tournament five out of the eight years MacDonald has been head coach. Two of the three years the Rams didn’t make the conference tournament was due to COVID-19 cancellations.

Under MacDonald, the Rams have exhibited three core values: family, hard work and greatness. These values are passed down from each class to the next, but the graduating class of 2025 has made an impact on CSU lacrosse that will be worthwhile.

“We’re in a really good spot culturewise,” MacDonald said. “Graduating 15 seniors is tough, but they’ve paved the way for the next crop of guys that are coming up to pick up where they left off.”

Carson has learned from the seniors and alumni before him and looks to lead the Rams in 2026, continuing the tradition of winning.

Carson flourished in this new free-flowing offense in his sophomore season at CSU. During the 2025 season, Carson finished with 10 more goals than he scored during his first-year campaign with the Rams, totaling 25 total goals, which ranked him No. 3 on the team. Carson also tallied five more assists in the 2025 season than he did in 2024, resulting in 17 assists, which also earned him third-place honors.

“After getting that freshman year under my belt, I just brought that confidence into this season as well as having a strong trust within our offense since that was our second year playing together.” Carson said.

Winning conference tournaments and national championships is ingrained in the DNA of CSU players and coaches. But this winning mentality and tradition can’t come to light without a strong culture — something the the Rams do not lack.

“It’s important to make sure that the seniors stay connected to the program so that these new players aren’t just names to the program, (so) that they can be faces as well,” MacDonald said. “Because that is what makes a cohesive family. The faces are going to change each year, but the culture that is instilled in them will remain the same.”

That lasting culture is what has brought the Rams so much success throughout the history of the program.

Since 1964, the culture instilled by former Rams is based on winning, hard work and family. Even though winning is at the forefront of every athlete’s brain, creating memories and lifelong relationships is something that may be even more important in the long run.

“When guys graduate and they become alumni themselves, they share the short stories with me when they come back about how I helped them in their lives or how I helped them graduate or become better men,” MacDonald said. “Hearing those stories and seeing where they’re at in their lives, that is something that money can’t pay for.”

Reach Brandon Vetromila at sports@collegian.com or on Twitter @RMCollegianSpts.