Completed Event: Men's Lacrosse at Virginia on March 23, 2026 , Loss , 7, to, 18
Final
Men's Lacrosse
at Virginia
7
18
Spotlight on Men's Lacrosse - Nick Bonacci
6/12/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
When Nick Bonacci was being recruited to play lacrosse at Dartmouth a few years back he already knew about the quality of an Ivy League education, about the level of play in the conference and something about the school.
What he didn't know was that he'd already had a relatively close encounter with his future college.
As a middle school and high school student the Big Green's senior tri-captain had enjoyed ski trips from his Crofton, Md., home to New England with a youth group. “It's funny,” he recalled with a grin, “the first time I came up here with my parents as a freshman we went to West Lebanon to get sheets and all that stuff, and when I saw the Fireside Inn I said, ?I recognize that place!' It was where I stayed for three years and I'd had absolutely no idea. We'd come up for five days and go skiing at Killington and Sugarbush and we were this close to Dartmouth and I never knew it.”
Given what Bonacci has accomplished on the field and contributed to the Dartmouth and Upper Valley community over his four years, lacrosse Coach Bill Wilson might want to leave a few recruiting brochures on the magazine racks at area motels in winters to come.
Among other things Bonacci has:
? been a member of the All-Ivy League first team for two years running, earning the distinction in unanimous fashion this spring.
? closed out his career in fifth place on the Big Green's career points list with 158
? taken over fourth place on the career assists list with 80
? been a Rufus Choate Scholar with a GPA in the top five percent of undergraduates
? been an Academic All-Ivy honoree
? parlayed his economics degree into a two-year analyst position with Morgan Stanley in New York City.
Not bad for a kid who wasn't all that excited about lacrosse when he followed his older brother into the sport as a fourth-grader.
“I had tried T-ball and hated it, so my dad said to try lacrosse and I didn't really want to,” he said. “I was pretty miserable in the beginning, but my second year I got a most-improved award from my team and I've been playing ever since.”
Recruited by then-coach Rick Sowell, Bonacci was a pretty fair housewarming gift for Wilson. The whippet-quick, 5-foot-9 attackman started eight of 12 games for the new coach his freshman year, leading his classmates with five goals and six assists. One year later he was second on the team in scoring with 19 goals and 20 assists while earning All-Ivy honorable mention. That spring he also enjoyed what would be the most memorable game of his Dartmouth lacrosse career.
“The Maryland win my sophomore year was unbelievable,” he said. “Some of the best friends I made with Dartmouth lacrosse were seniors then and it was just great to play the No. 3 team in the country, battle them for 60 minutes, and come up with a win down in Florida. That's the best spring break trip I've had.”
Bonacci broke the Dartmouth single-season record with 34 assists last year and this spring scored the gamewinner with 8:18 remaining to help the Big Green secure a 7-6 victory over No. 9 Notre Dame, a highlight in what proved to be a hard-luck year.
“It was a pretty frustrating season with some one-goal losses to ranked teams,” Bonacci admitted. “Part of having such a young team with so few seniors and juniors is you just don't have the experience to win all the close games that you should.”
For all his accomplishments on the turf, Bonacci's days in Hanover can't be defined simply by sports or even academics. A Special Olympics volunteer, he also served an important role in the life of a 10-year-old boy named Tyler.
“I was his mentor for almost three years,” said Bonacci. “I started with him at Thetford (Vt.) Elementary. When he moved to Claremont (N.H.) I made him my Little Brother so we could stay involved. I don't get to see him as much as I want, especially in season, but when we get together we go putt-putting, go-karting or whatever.
“He's doing a lot better now, which is great. He's had some real positive changes in the past year. I even got him a (lacrosse) stick. We'll see if he picks it up.”
If this little brother turns out anything like the last one, it will be well worth it. (Bruce Wood)
Nick Bonacci's recruiting trip to Dartmouth was made possible by the generosity of the Dartmouth Class of 1943 and Charles E. Vieth '79 through the Athletic Sponsor Program.
Players Mentioned
A
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