During his first two seasons playing for Drexel’s men’s lacrosse team, Ben McIntosh didn’t sniff the starting lineup or score as many goals as desired.
Instead of sulking about his marginal role, he strived to make a bigger impact for a Dragon program on the rise.
Mission accomplished.
The proof is in McIntosh’s eye-popping junior season, a 38-goal eruption last spring that seemingly came out of nowhere and established the senior from western Canada as one of the best college midfielders in the nation.
“We just have to break down the door.” — Ben McIntosh
“I wouldn’t say ‘discouraging’ is the right word to describe my first two seasons,” McIntosh says, “but it definitely motivates you to work harder so you can be on the field more to help your team.”
McIntosh netted only four goals as a freshman and 10 as a sophomore before breaking out last year in a season in which he led Drexel in goals and also produced 18 assists.
His 38 goals were seven shy of Drexel’s single-season record; his 56 points were the second-most for the Dragons last year behind Robert Church, a longtime friend who’s also from British Columbia. He finished 20th in the nation in goals per game and 25th in points per contest.
As a result, McIntosh was named a First Team All-Colonial Athletic Association selection and a United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association Honorable Mention All-American.
“For whatever reason, things weren’t clicking for him early in his career,” Drexel coach Brian Voelker says. “It’s a credit to Ben to keep plugging away, to keep working hard and doing everything he needed to do. It all came together for him last year.”
McIntosh’s emergence helped Drexel finish 11-4 for its best record since 2008.
The Dragons fell to Towson in the semifinals of the CAA playoffs.
“Last year he shot the ball incredibly well,” Voelker says. “He’s got great instincts and is just a really talented offensive player. He’s good at ground balls; sometimes we’ll have him face off for us. He’s one of the most complete midfielders in the country. Not only is he one of our best players, he’s a leader.
“Hopefully he’ll get some votes for preseason player of the year in the league,” Voelker adds. “He’s that talented.”
One of seven Canadian players on Drexel’s roster, McIntosh’s route from Coquitlam, British Columbia, to Philadelphia included a three-year stop at Western Reserve Academy in Ohio.
By choosing Drexel over several other schools that recruited him, McIntosh followed in the footsteps of his older brother Garrett McIntosh and Church, former Dragons from British Columbia who graduated last year.
“A lot of the Canadian players are seeing that coming to the United States is a great way to get a good education,” says McIntosh, an international business major and a CAA commissioner’s academic award recipient. “I really liked the team, I liked the campus and I like the coaches. I had my brother Garrett here and Church is one of my best friends from home. Drexel was a pretty easy decision.”
After graduation, McIntosh hopes to continue his career at the professional level. He has already been selected by the Denver Outlaws in the Major League Lacrosse draft.
But right now he’s got his sights set on guiding Drexel to a CAA crown and automatic berth in the NCAA tournament, which would be a first for Drexel.
“We’ve been knocking on the door for five, six years now, so we just have to break down the door and get it done this year,” McIntosh says.