St. Joe’s men’s lacrosse team ‘wanted one more week together.’ It will get just that in the NCAA Tournament.

When the St. Joseph’s men’s lacrosse team had its preseason meeting, one of the goals discussed was bringing home an Atlantic 10 championship.

With a regular-season conference winning streak spanning four seasons and with their three leading scorers, Levi Anderson, Matt Bohmer, and Carter Page, returning for one more ride, the Hawks seemed to have all the tools they needed.

St. Joe’s defended its regular-season conference title in its second season in the Atlantic 10. And on Saturday, it beat Richmond, 17-13, in the conference title game to solidify its place atop the A-10.

Bohmer described the feeling as “surreal.”

“I think it’s a showcase of all the hard work we put in and how close this team is,” Bohmer said. “At the end of the day, we really just wanted one more week together.”

» READ MORE: St. Joe’s wins its first A-10 men’s lacrosse title; Villanova men, Drexel women fall in conference finals

The Hawks (12-3) got just that. They’ll take a trip to Charlottesville, Va., to face No. 5 Virginia (10-5) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday (noon, ESPNU).

The teams have met twice, in 2015 and 2016, and the Hawks lost both times.

But without much recent crossover, they’re heading to the film room to prepare.

“I’ve got a lot of work to do to figure them out and see what they’ve been doing over the last few weeks,” coach Taylor Wray said.

But even as St. Joe’s begins to size up its opponent, the strategy won’t waver.

“The recipe for success doesn’t change no matter who you play,” Wray said. “If you believe in what you’re doing and you believe in your systems, then you’ve got to go out there and execute on them. We need to be ourselves at an incredibly sharp level, and that’s all we can do.”

» READ MORE: Matt Bohmer broke the St. Joe’s lacrosse record for goals. Another milestone is coming up.

Anderson set an example of what playing at “an incredibly sharp level” can look like with seven goals and two assists against Richmond. He was one goal shy of tying his own program record for goals in a game, which he set against St. John’s last season. His 11-goal, three-assist weekend earned him Most Outstanding Player honors for the tournament.

“I’m putting a lot of work, a lot of time into the craft of lacrosse, and I’ve got a great coaching staff kind of molding me along the way, pushing us every day,” Anderson said. “It hasn’t gotten easier. It’s just working harder, so I’m definitely very happy.”

Following his A-10 performance over the weekend, Anderson on Tuesday was picked by the California Redwoods in the third round of the Premier Lacrosse League draft.

But for now, the focus is on extending the Hawks’ 12-game winning streak, a program record and the longest active streak in the country.

The program records, national recognition, and the Hawks’ second trip to the NCAA Tournament in three seasons are an indicator of the program’s trajectory, something Wray, who’s in his 13th season at St. Joe’s, credits to the university.

“We’re a nationally competitive lacrosse program, and our school and university cares about the sport. They support us well, and that gives the opportunity to be in this position,” Wray said. “We’ve had tremendous players that have certainly helped along the way, but it all comes back to the university.”

» READ MORE: Retiring St. Joe’s golf coach Bob Lynch gets a memorable send-off after 35 years leading the program

But for this team specifically, Bohmer said it all comes down to its process and relying on that to continue moving forward.

“It’s about what got us here. What I’m most proud about this team is how we responded after going 0-3 to start the year,” Bohmer said. “This team has showed no quit, and I think it’s a testament to not only the coaching staff, but the guys in the locker room and their collective belief and what we’re doing here on Hawk Hill.”

Last time the Hawks reached the NCAA Tournament, in 2022 after winning the Northeast Conference championship, their run ended with an 18-16 loss to Yale in the first round. Anderson believes that experience will help fuel the team this time, in its second-ever NCAA Tournament berth.

“We have a strong locker room, [a] tight-knit group,” Anderson said. “We are all best friends, and we are all ready to go to work for each other.

“The NCAA Tournament can be quite daunting at times, but just breathing that air and understanding just the role we’ve been in, in the past and what we can do as a team definitely helps us with overall confidence. At this level, anybody can win. So we’re excited. We’re going to come out swinging.”