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COLCHESTER, Vt. (WCAX) – Cooper Wilson is heading down the home stretch of a storied career with the St. Mike’s men’s lacrosse program.
“I really didn’t know really where I was going,” Wilson, a senior faceoff specialist for the Purple Knights said. “But my mome actually took me here, she recommended the school. My coaches from high school recommended the school.”
“We had another couple Niskayuna kids on the roster, and we saw him play and liked his game,” added St. Mike’s head coach Alex Smith. “We reached out to his club coach who was also his high school coach, and kinda knew right away he’d be a good fit for us.”
Wilson leaned on his former high school teammates when he first arrived in Vermont: Dan Brownell, Spencer Scardino, and Drew Collins showed him the ropes.
“Having people that I already knew here was super helpful,” Wilson said. “They kinda just did a good job of just showing me around the school, getting me implemented before I got here.”
“Cooper’s mom works at Niskayuna High School,” Collins, a 2023 St. Mike’s grad said. “She taught me my senior year. She had me in study halls and whatnot throughout. But it’s just a tight knit community.”
“The Niskayuna guys, they’re tough, they know how to play the game,” Smith said. “And they really care about each other.”
That’s because the Niskayuna alumni all share a special bond around the number 26.
“We wear 26 for the tragic loss of a man named Eric Klosterman, who passed away in 1994,” Wilson said.
“It’s something that means a lot to everyone in Niskayuna that touches a lacrosse stick,” Collins added. “‘26 Win’ is what we say when we break down every huddle. It’s a number that nobody could wear in high school, so it’s one of those traditions where when you get to college, you want to scrap and claw for that number.”
“It’s super important,” Wilson said. “It’s like really special to me and also the players that come out of that program. It’s kind of like a verbal representation of the family and the community that we’ve all built there.”
Collins wore the number for his final two seasons at St. Mike’s, but when he graduated, it was obvious who would take up the mantle.
“I knew I really wanted it going into college,” Wilson said. “Knowing that he had it, it was just one of those special moments.”
“Having guys in different grades coming from Niskayuna High School playing at St. Michael’s kinda lets it trickle down into that region as well,” Collins said of the number and its meaning. “So now Cooper is a senior, I’m sure he’s had a positive influence on his underclassmen teammates.”
“Having a former Niskayuna team member pass the number down to me was really special and important to me,” Wilson said.
And Wilson has thrived since taking up the 26 mantle: the senior faceoff specialist has set program records for career faceoff wins and ground balls, and he entered the weekend sporting a faceoff percentage north of 60%.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Wilson said. “I’ve pretty much been going up against a lot of elite faceoff guys the past three years, and now going into my senior year, I was coming in with a little bit more confidence.”
“Faceoff guys are among the top three important guys on your team at any given year,” Smith said. “So for him to not only be really good at getting us the ball but this year evolve into someone who can score a little bit for us, it’s been massive.”
“Definitely working with my other teammates, Noah Poirier and Nate Carr, they’ve helped me a lot and the coaches have helped me a lot, and we’ll just keep it rolling from there.”
Wilson and the Purple Knights return to action Saturday when they host Assumption.