Each week, The Baltimore Sun will publish a Q&A with a college lacrosse player or coach. This week's guest is Notre Dame attackman Mikey Wynne. The freshman, who resides in Sykesville and graduated from St. Paul's, leads the No. 1 Fighting Irish in goals with 26 and ranks third in points with 28. He ranks 13th in Division I in goals per game at 2.9 and third in shooting percentage at 52.0 percent.
How does it feel to play for the top-ranked team in the country?
I would just say humbling. We go out there and compete against top-10 competition, but we also practice every day against one of the best defenses. Playing with and against those guys makes you up your game constantly. So it's definitely nice.
Is there a lot of pressure being No. 1?
I don't think so. The way Coach [Kevin Corrigan] tells us, every day you look to improve. It's not about winning a Saturday game on a Tuesday. It's about winning Tuesday on Tuesday. So you go out there and compete every day and do what you can do to get better each and every day. Why be pressured when you know that you're prepared and you know what you have to do?
From playing for St. Paul's a year ago to playing for the Fighting Irish, do you ever pinch yourself?
I never really have the time to kind of take it all in. But it's a little weird thinking, 'These were the guys I was watching when I was growing up.' Just seeing [junior attackman] Matt Kavanagh and [senior attackman] Conor Doyle last year and now to be able to play with those guys and compete every Saturday with them is definitely crazy.
Did you ever envision leading the team in goals and ranking third in points in your first year of collegiate lacrosse?
I've always had confidence in myself, but playing around those guys has really helped me. At the beginning of the year, I wasn't too sure what my role was going to be, and then I met with Coach and he kind of said, 'Hey, we have the dodgers. We don't need you to dodge or anything like that this year. We just need you to play an off-ball role and finish it when it comes your way.' When I was told that, I knew I'd have an opportunity to score some goals and put it in the back of the net for the team. When he explained everything to me, that's when I realized I could help the team out.
Was it difficult giving up the ball after being an initiator at St. Paul's?
Definitely. That was one of the biggest changes I had to make last fall. Coach will tell you that at the beginning of the year, I was trying to do too much. ... I was trying to make all of these big plays when all I really had to do with all of the great guys surrounding me was lock in a role and do that to the best of my ability. Now that I've done that, I feel that the offense is coming to me more as opposed to earlier when I was trying to do too much.
Has playing on a roster with eight other Baltimore area players been a comforting experience for you?
That was awesome. When I first got here, I was locker mates with Conor Doyle [a Towson resident and Gilman graduate], and one of the first things we talked about was home and everything that is so familiar to us. It's actually pretty funny because every NFL Sunday, all of the Baltimore guys get together and we all go to Buffalo Wild Wings and watch the games together to cheer on the Ravens. That was so cool because that's one of my favorite things to do. I don't think there are many more crazier fans than me because I'm obsessed with the Ravens. I love them so much. Being able to share the games with guys and being able to celebrate when the team scores is nicer than sitting in a dorm room in Indiana and watching it by yourself.
So all of the Baltimore players are Ravens fans?
[Freshman midfielder John] Travisano [Jr., an Ellicott City resident and Howard graduate] is an Eagles fan. Who would've thought that? I don't know why that is. But the vast majority, yeah.