Upper Arlington men’s lacrosse is now enjoying its 35th season of play, and though the program has gained steady acceptance with the locals, its jump to a legitimate recruiting stop for college coaches began in the mid-90s when players like Chris Dusseau came in. Now an attorney specializing in business litigation and commercial law for the Columbus firm of Carlisle, Patchen and Murphy, Dusseau was the leading scorer on two state lacrosse championship teams and two out of three water polo state title teams at UA before becoming an All-American attack for Notre Dame. Chris traces his success all the way back to middle school. “UA is a dynasty of great lacrosse among a group of dedicated people,” Dusseau said. “Teddy (Wolford) is the man, but sometimes lost in the shuffle are those two guys at the middle school (Brett Diehl and Dan Hendrickson). That’s where I learned the fundamentals of the game. They give Teddy such great people to work with.”

"Chris was a pioneer, our first big light, on the road map of colleges that started to recognize UA lacrosse," said Hastings Head Coach Dan Hendrickson. "He was the "Wayne Gretzy of lacrosse...always in the right place at the right time."

Dusseau also points to the development of the Upper Arlington Lacrosse Association as a major force in growing the game. “The community is so dedicated to the sport. My best friends in the world are guys I grew up playing lacrosse with in Upper Arlington.” Dusseau is from the class of 1995 at UA and, along with teammates Mark Mollmann, Mike Maier and Ben Focht, was part of a group who proved Midwest players could not only play but excel at the next level. “No one wanted to talk to a guy from Ohio back then,” Chris recalls. All four started as freshman at the next level—Dusseau at Notre Dame, Mollmann as a face-off specialist at Duke, Maier at North Carolina and Focht as a long-stick middie at Butler.

Dusseau was noticed by Notre Dame while playing for UA at the Midwest Tournament in Hudson when the event
might have drawn only coaches from Ohio State, Ohio Wesleyan and Denison. Recruiters from nearly 25
schools can now be seen annually at the event. His high school coach remembers the 6-2, 195-pound multi-sport star. “He was an absolute finisher,” says UA Head Coach Ted Wolford. “He had tremendous body control and a hesitation move.” Dusseau said he preferred the goalie to make the first move so he would twirl, leap, fake or just pause in heavy traffic until he had the keeper at his mercy. “I wasn’t really fast enough to play lacrosse, but my role was to score,” Dusseau said.

He fulfilled that role at Notre Dame quite well. “Notre Dame was one place I didn’t want to go,” Dusseau said. His brother and father also graduated from Notre Dame. The Irish eventually won out, and it proved to be the right decision as Dusseau left South Bend as the school’s 2nd all-time leading goal scorer. Shortly thereafter another talented trio left the fertile fields of UA. Chris’ younger brother Steve, Bryan England and Mark Koontz reinforced the value of UA and Ohio-bred lacrosse players when they impressed at the Top 205 recruiting camp. According to Chris, “They had never seen anything like those guys. The athleticism was amazing. It was a wake-up call.” Steve Dusseau was the nation’s top high school recruit and lived up to the hype as a three-time All-American attack at Georgetown, runner-up for the Tewaaraton Trophy, the lacrosse Heisman, and later played on the 2003 U.S. World Team. The precedent of sending players to major college rosters was set, and it has not waned since that era.
Following his days at Notre Dame, Chris Dusseau played and coached in England for two years. Living in the lacrosse hotbed of Manchester, Dusseau was part of the English Lacrosse Association, the ministry of sport, and taught the game to elementary kids while also playing on a club team there.

After graduation from the University of Oregon Law School, Dusseau returned to Central Ohio where he stays close to the program. He attended the April 14th game against Detroit Jesuit and is busy coaching in UALA. Watch out for the Georgetown team in the 3rd and 4th grade league. “I guess it’s all come full circle,” Dusseau said. The 30-year old former Golden Bear captain is now training the future of UA lacrosse.