LAKEWOOD >> It’s been nearly a year since Erie lacrosse coach Nick Mandia and the Tigers grabbed the one thing left in the program’s rise to power: a state championship.

Following their first year on the varsity lacrosse scene in 2019, the ultimate prize had never been far from reach for Mandia’s group, which, in turn, made the shortfalls all the more painful. But in 2024, beating Northfield in the 4A finals, the top of the mountain came just in time to send the program’s two most prominent players, Liam Connors and Charlie O’Brien, into the high school sunset, as winners.

Now, in 2025, the roster has been shuffled. Their star power, in many spots on the field, has been substituted by unrealized potential. For all the changes, though, Mandia’s expectation for success, nor his fiery intensity on the sidelines, hasn’t dimmed.

“I’m not sure my expectations or standards are going to change for this program,” said Mandia, whose team showed both fight and inexperience in its 7-6, double-overtime loss to Lakewood on Friday night. “Our roster is different. Our bench isn’t as deep as it has been. We graduated quite a bit of talent but we still have very capable individuals on this team. The brand of lacrosse that we have to play now is just a little different. We have to be grittier.”

On a warm night at Trailblazer Stadium in Lakewood, Erie’s second straight loss wasn’t for a lack of will. Mandia’s team battled for loose balls and the backline made play after play to put its offense in position to win things in sudden-death overtime. But a series of turnovers eventually spilled over, and Lakewood finally took advantage, winning on Lukas Gonzales’ winner with 1:36 left in the second extra frame.

Like he has in the past, Mandia said his team will use it as a lesson going forward.

“It’s a different year but it’s a year where we can still see success,” he said. “We got to clean up some of the pieces that are holding us back.”

Six different players scored in the loss for Erie (5-3). After dropping Wednesday’s game to Mountain Range — a performance Mandia called “one of the poorest played games in program history — the Tigers responded with a strong opening quarter against Lakewood and a 3-1 lead.

By the end, the offense hadn’t done enough.

Drake Chivukula scored the team’s final goal of the game with 7:17 left in the third quarter to go up 6-5. It held there until the final minute of regulation when Lakewood finally answered. The visiting Tigers then had multiple opportunities to win things in OT, thanks in part to its backline, and goalie Luke Foley, who made a big save minutes before Gonzales’ walk-off.

“It’s a younger team, so we’re trying to learn and find our way with a new group of guys,” said senior midfielder Cooper Riley, the only first-team all-state player who returned for Erie this spring. As for his expanded role in 2025 — “last year I was looking up to the older guys, who were solid dudes. Now I have guys looking up to me.”

Erie, which came into the night ranked inside CHSAA Class 5A’s top 10, is at No. 16 Chatfield on Monday. Another opportunity to grow, it says.

“Today was a major stride from the loss to Mountain Range,” Mandia said. “There was an attachment to the outcome and there was unity. While this didn’t end in a win, I think we got better because of that first loss. And we’ll continue to improve from this one.”