Fourth-year Michael Muldoon is the lacrosse version of a walking bucket. He’s scored 67 goals in only 34 career games, scoring at least once in 29 of those games. He’s been a huge part of the men’s lacrosse team, jumping out to an 11–2 record this season. Muldoon is also a Biology major and Chemistry minor with an interest in physical therapy sparked by an injury he sustained in high school. 

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. 

When did you first get into lacrosse?

I started playing lacrosse in third grade. I was living in Nazareth, PA at the time. So that’s how I got introduced to the sport. 

You’ve scored a lot of goals in your career, including 31 this year. When did you discover that you had an eye for the net?

I’ve been an offensive player ever since I started playing lacrosse. I played midfield when I first started out and realized the offensive side suited me as a player better. I actually moved down to attack for most of my career and just recently switched back to midfield this past season to fill gaps that we had. Coach Polack, who’s been here for a couple of years, saw the way I play is more conducive to playing from in front of the net — for attack, you’re operating more behind the net. 

Can you speak to what Coach Polack and the rest of the staff have done in their time here?

Everything Coach Polack does is for the purpose of making us a winning program. He’s super motivated. He’s young. So are Coach O’Neill and Coach Mumford. They’re all young guys who are super motivated to bring up Oberlin men’s lacrosse. It’s just the way they conduct themselves. It’s very much just having an emphasis on everything that we do on and off the field. They try to create a very competitive but fun atmosphere on the practice field, which I think has been really helpful in terms of us being able to progress on the lacrosse field.

What’s been the best part about playing lacrosse at Oberlin?

When I was first looking here, I was really excited at the opportunity to be able to grow a program because that’s the situation I was in when I was living back in Pennsylvania. It was a new program and it was really exciting to be there from the beginning to watch it grow. I saw a similarity to Oberlin. Just having the opportunity to bring this program up to where I think we can be. I think that was probably one of the most rewarding things so far seeing how far this program has come since my first year. Stepping on campus as an Oberlin men’s lacrosse player, you’re immediately surrounded by 35 of your best friends. All you have to do is be a part of the team and you’re accepted. You don’t have to do anything special. To have that closely knit community is really awesome.

What does your team aim to accomplish the rest of the season?

We’re definitely trying to make the playoffs for the first time. We have a few more conference games that we have to take care of, but the goal is to make the North Coast Atlantic Conference tournament. Once we get there, we’ll build off of that and try to go as far as we possibly can.

What are your interests and hobbies outside of lacrosse?

I really like golf. When I was a first-year, one of the seniors had started on a club golf team here. It’s been kind of slow since COVID-19, trying to get that back up and running, but golf is a big hobby of mine. Also, at home this past summer, I got my real estate license. I’ve been working with my mom, who’s a real estate agent in New Jersey, and have grown my appreciation for the real real estate market. Helping out with that is something I like to do when I’m back at home. 

What are your plans after graduation?

I’m planning on going to physical therapy school. I actually injured my knee during my junior and senior year of high school and had to do a lot of physical therapy to rehab that. Before that experience, I knew I wanted to do something in the medical field, but wasn’t exactly sure what. After going through that experience and being in a physical therapy office, I realized that it was something that I would really like to pursue as a career.