Ryan Sposito shines in return to Ithaca

There are some moments in sports that you could not script better — stories that seem too good to be true. Ithaca High School alum Ryan Sposito was the subject of one on April 16, when he and the nationally 16th-ranked Army West Point men’s lacrosse team traveled to Ithaca to play 14th-ranked Cornell University.

Prior to his return to Ithaca, Sposito had tallied one goal during his first two and a half years at Army. However, when he was back in familiar territory, Sposito found the back of the net three times to help Army defeat Cornell 17-10. What made it even more special is that he did it in front of his grandfather, legendary Cornell men’s lacrosse coach Richie Moran, who unfortunately died Sunday at the age of 85. The following interview with Sposito was conducted prior to Moran’s death.

“It was a surreal experience for me, coming back and seeing my family all in the stands and my grandpa up in the press box watching over,” Sposito said. “It was an awesome experience. Schoellkopf [Field] was a place where I grew up — first being a ball boy at all the Cornell games and watching all the Cornell games and having a couple of games with Ithaca High School there and practicing there. It felt like home to me.”

Moran regularly attended Sposito’s games in high school, whether it was basketball or lacrosse. To play like he did in front of his grandfather and having his support meant a lot to him.

“It was very meaningful,” Sposito said. “I tried not to worry about it too much. But with my performance, I got to just show out on Saturday. What’s funny is I called him on Friday and said, ‘Grandpa, who are you rooting for?’ He said, ‘Army — blood runs thicker than water.’ So, that was funny. When I saw him after the game, he was wearing Army colors. I was like, ‘Wow, 29 years at Cornell and you’re going to switch over.’ It meant a lot. Just seeing him after the game and talking with everybody, some of his former players, it was just awesome.”

More important than results on the field to Sposito is his growth as a person. That was one of the main lessons he learned from Moran.

“My grandpa has meant everything to me through my sports career and just growing up,” Sposito said. “His support and mentorship have really guided me along, and it was a major deciding factor for me coming to West Point and just being the best version of myself. Lacrosse is secondary to that. It’s about becoming a better man with my grandpa, and that’s what he’s taught me to be.”

It was a long process to get to the point of earning regular playing time for Sposito. He did not see any varsity action in his sophomore year and was on the scout team for three weeks in March, missing three games. Sposito worked his way back up just in time to return home to Ithaca.

“I came back in the Colgate game (April 9) and saw a bit of time,” Sposito said. “I felt good with myself and felt good with all of my teammates. Cornell was the next weekend, and there I was on the second line playing very good minutes. Like I said, I just felt like I was at home and I was very confident and comfortable where I was playing and who I was playing with.”

Before the game against Cornell, Army had a walkthrough practice at Sposito’s old stomping grounds, Ithaca’s Joe Moresco Stadium. He got to reconnect with former coaches there that have produced so much college-level talent over the years.

“I think that has to do with how we play the game with a gritty mindset, being upstate and playing through all the weather — all the travel teams that have combined together and put together a lot of great high school players in the summer, where we can play together and stand out for our coaches,” Sposito said of the lacrosse talent from Ithaca. “Section IV was a great section, and winning the Section IV Championship and going to play teams in Syracuse, that’s even better competition. We have a great support base for lacrosse.”

That gritty mindset helped Sposito work his way into the lineup for the game of his life, a hat trick in his hometown. After suffering a tough loss to Navy in the game following the Cornell victory, Sposito and Army West Point will wrap up the regular season with an important matchup against 15th-ranked Boston University on the road.

Send questions, comments and story ideas to editorial@VizellaMedia.com.