High standards molded lacrosse star Jake McAndrew into Seneca Valley Hall of Fame inductee
Playing under the weight of high standards was something Jake McAndrew encountered at Mercyhurst University, but he was ready for it.
“Coming from Seneca Valley, the culture of hard work and playing lacrosse not just to play, but always trying to win championships, that's what lacrosse is at Mercyhurst,” he said. “I was used to it.”
A 2010 graduate of Seneca Valley, McAndrew started at midfield/attack all four years for the Lakers, helping them to the 2011 NCAA Division II title. In his other three seasons on the team, Mercyhurst reached at least the Elite 8.
The success in college followed a decorated high school career, one that saw McAndrew score 126 goals and earn All-Conference honors three times. It had its roots in the formation of SV's first youth team in 2002.
"I was in the fourth grade then and was into it immediately," McAndrew said. "From that point on, it was all lacrosse all the time."
McAndrew was inducted into the SV Sports Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2024.
His enthusiasm for the sport led to countless hours of playing and honing his skills in practice. Many of his teammates at Seneca Valley followed the same path.
"We had a really good team all four years," McAndrew said. "My senior year, we were ranked in the top 25 nationally, which was very rare at the time for a team from western Pennsylvania.
"We felt that we weren't just playing for ourselves, we were helping to build the program. There was just one youth team at Seneca when I was a kid, but while I was in high school, the youth program exploded with so many kids playing."
He led the Raiders in goals and assists during his junior and senior seasons, was named Western PA Scholastic Lacrosse Association Player of the Year in 2010 and was tabbed as a U.S. Lacrosse High School All-American.
While playing club lacrosse, McAndrew traveled up and down the east coast, and it was there that he attracted interest from colleges. He had offers from a number of Division II and III schools, but his decision to attend Mercyhurst was an easy one.
"My grandfather was a professor there and my dad went there," he said. "It was kind of a family legacy type of thing.
"I have to thank my parents, Marc and Michelle. "All the driving and time they put in for me, they are 100% the reason I had the success I did."
McAndrew now lives in Frederick, Md. He owns a software company that earns government and federal contracts. He coaches a travel lacrosse team and referred to Baltimore, which lies less than 50 miles to the east, as "the Mecca of lacrosse."
McAndrew and his wife, Jaymee, have two sons — Jax (3) and Finn (1).
