Not one of the 33 young men on the Saint Ignatius prep lacrosse team was alive the last time the Wildcats played in the A bracket of the Midwest Scholastic Lacrosse Coaches Association (MSLCA) Tournament.

For the first time since 1996, the Lax Cats will have the chance to win the MSLCA Tournament. 

The Wildcats will open the tournament against St. Xavier on Friday at 3:30 pm at Fortress Obetz in Columbus. The contest is the first of two the Lax Cats need to win to capture the program's first MSLCA title.

Head Coach Gary Cintron's squad has enjoyed an opportunity to rest and recuperate since finishing off the regular season with a 16-4 win over Massillon Jackson last Wednesday. The Senior Night triumph bolstered the team's record to 11-5. 

The Bombers and Wildcats met earlier this year, also at Fortress Obetz outside of Columbus. The contest required overtime after a thrilling regulation. St. Xavier managed to pull out a victory in extra time, 12-11. 

History does not favor the Lax Cats vs. the Bombers. All-time, the Cats have an 0-5 record against St. Xavier. The first matchup occurred on March 28, 2004, resulting in a 12-4 Bombers win. This season's contest is the closest the Cats have come to beating the boys from Cincinnati. 

Should the Wildcats win, the men of Ohio City would face the winner of a dynamite Archbishop Moeller–Upper Arlington matchup. The Lax Cats have yet to play the Crusaders this year, but fell narrowly to the Bears in Columbus, 8-7, on March 24. 

If the Wildcats lose, they will battle the loser of the UA-Moeller contest. Either way, the second game will occur on Saturday at a time to be determined. 

On a side note, the fact that all four teams in the A bracket hail from Ohio says something about the high-quality nature of lacrosse in the Buckeye State. 

The Lax Cats' last appearance in the MSCLA A bracket, occurring in 1996, resulted in a third-place finish. Thomas Worthington beat Saint Ignatius, 12-6, before the Lax Cats beat Brother Rice in the consolation game, 9-5. 

The A bracket also called the Cats in 1994 and 1995. The Wildcats finished fourth in 1994, losing to Upper Arlington and Detroit Country Day. In 1995, Wildcats fell to Moeller, 8-2, in the first game before downing Upper Arlington, 11-8.

In 2017, the Lax Cats played in the B bracket. The squad lost to Western Reserve Academy in the first round, 10-3, before defeating Mount Lebanon, 10-6, in the consolation contest.