Brick Wall Between the Pipes
Photo by Dan Loh.
by Tony Moore
When you’re finishing anything in life, you want to go out on a high note. And Patrick Scarborough ’24 (economics) and his lacrosse teammates finished his final season as a Red Devil with a 17-3 record while winning the Centennial Conference championship and making their way through the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament.
It only gets a little higher than that, and it’s the kind of success that’s not easy to ignore.
“When I think of my fondest memories as a Red Devil, it has to be the ability to host and win the past three Centennial Conference championships on Biddle Field,” says Scarborough, the team’s goalie, noting that he hopes to use his extra year of eligibility to continue playing as he pursues an MBA. “It was amazing to see all of our fellow students come out to our games and support us, and it has really given us a leg up on the competition.”
Lacrosse is in Scarborough’s blood, as his father played the sport at Washington College and Towson University. The younger Scarborough first picked up the stick at age 5.
“I was always drawn to lacrosse from a very young age, and I can still vividly remember playing catch in the backyard with my dad,” he says. “It was easy to fall in love with the game. The fast-paced nature and creativity that goes along with playing in game or just messing around with your friends makes the sport so special.”
Scarborough made the switch from defense to goalie in eighth grade, when the coach was looking for someone to guard the net a day before the season began.
“I raised my hand, not fully knowing what I was getting myself into,” says Dickinson’s starting 2024 goalie, who played 17 of 18 games this season. “There were definitely some growing pains with the position, as I was not used to getting hit by a hard rubber ball. But I quickly learned to love the position and the pressure that comes along with it.”
Scarborough has always handled that pressure well, with his years as a Red Devil coming to a close with a 22-3 record in games in which he played. He ranked second in the Centennial Conference for goals-against average (9.37), fourth for save percentage (.537) and fifth for saves per game (10.85). In 2024, Scarborough was the team’s anchor on the way to a 15-2 regular-season record, with 12 games in which he made double-digit stops, topping out at 16 in an overtime win over St. Mary’s College in March. Over his two CC tournament games this season, he totaled 18 saves (and he had 37 across four postseason games). He also scored two goals in the conference-opening win over Muhlenberg College, a school record for a goalie.
“Coach [Dave] Webster has always emphasized that, no matter your position or where you are on the depth chart, everyone on our team makes an impact and contributes to our overall success,” says Scarborough, who notes that Dickinson always pushed him to be his best. “Dickinson does an amazing job preparing its students for life after college but also challenges its students to strive beyond their education."
Read more from the summer 2024 issue of Dickinson Magazine.
TAKE THE NEXT STEPS
Published August 26, 2024