Dunwoody Trades Bat for Lacrosse Stick with Success

Despite his lacrosse genes, Matt Dunwoody grew up playing baseball.

His mother, pleading for her son to play a sport she would more enjoy watching, nudged him to pick up a lacrosse stick when he was in eighth grade. 

"The baseball team I was on at the time was terrible, and she was tired of going to my games. She suggested I play lacrosse, and I was just like, 'OK, Mom,'" Dunwoody said.

Despite a late start in the sport, Dunwoody put in the work to secure a spot on the University of Tampa men's lacrosse roster for next season.

But for those who saw him in his early lacrosse days, a Division II program's interest is unsurprising. Dunwoody quickly discovered he had a natural ability for the sport his father had played at the collegiate level. He became hooked, practicing almost daily with his best friend Pat Goulding around the neighborhood.

"I never got sick of it," Dunwoody said. "That's when I realized it was what I wanted to do through my high school career instead of baseball."

At 6'5", 205 pounds, it is difficult to miss the defenseman who wears No. 19, as his father and sister Elizabeth, who now plays for the University of Florida, did before him. His younger sister Katherine, a rising junior on the , also bears the family number.

Coach Rory Whipple, who started the Tampa program last year, said Matt Dunwoody's size caught his eye first.

"I definitely noticed his size right away, and then you get that long stick in his hands and it really gives him a lot of reach," Whipple said. "And he moves really well for his size."

Always the kid who was towering over his teammates, Dunwoody was type-cast to the defensive end of the field when he first began playing. Though thrown into the role, he found he loved its physicality and never sought to play offense.

"I thought the long pole was pretty cool, so I figured why not stick with it? On defense you can hit kids, and it's a lot more physical than being the kid trying to score," he said.

Grif Barhight, head coach of the Oakton High varsity boys lacrosse team, has seen the three-year starter grow from relying on his size to developing good game sense and stick skills to become a fierce defenseman deserving of his two consecutive selections to the All-Concorde District first team and 2012 selection to the All-Northern Region second team. 

"He tries to dictate where the offense is going to go to play to his own strengths," Barhight said. "He's great at preparing week in and week out for the players he'll be facing."

As his abilities on the field matured, so did his leadership skills, Barhight said. 

"He really took control of the defense and not just in play, but in the way he managed the guys going after a goal or getting them to keep calm and regroup," he said. 

When Dunwoody committed to Tampa, he did so without the program having played its first season. After he committed, he saw Whipple — the all-time winningest coach in DII lacrosse — lead the team to first place in the Deep South Conference.

"My sister was in the same situation. She got recruited by the University of Florida, and it was their first year, too. Now they're like number 3 in the nation. So I figured why not go to a school in the same way as my sister?" Dunwoody said. "Who would not want to go to Tampa? You get Florida weather, it's a good school, a really nice campus with great sports facilities, the coaches are really nice guys. After I visited, I knew I had to go there."

Whipple is just as eager to get him down to Florida, where he is certain Dunwoody will see some playing time as a freshman to learn from Tampa's standout senior defensemen.

"I think he has a natural ability to be a team leader with his willingness to be vocal on the field and take charge on defense," Whipple said. "I'm just excited to see him play. He's one of our top recruits, so I'm excited to get him on campus."

To read about other local athletes who have committed to college programs, click here.

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