The Bellevue Wolverines lacrosse team brought home some coveted hardware from one of the biggest lacrosse tournaments the United States has to offer.

Bellevue captured a team title after defeating Wantagh 6-4 in the championship game of the 2015 National Lacrosse Invitational at Ward Melville on June 21 in Long Island, New York. Bellevue Head Coach John Baumman said the Wolverines were the lone team from Washington who competed in the 38-team tourney.

“We brought the big trophy home on the plane. I think nobody expected us to do that, so that felt pretty good for us,” Baumann said. “It showed everybody that we are legitimately a national force.”

The tournament title took away some of the sting of Bellevue’s 11-8 loss in the state championship game against the Mercer Island Islanders on May 31 in Tukwila.  Bellevue finished the 2015 regular season with an overall record of 18-5. The Wolverines had just three seniors on the roster.

“We set out to win that state championship. Losing that game was hard but this was a really cool rebound. It came sooner than I expected I guess you could say,” he said.

Baumman said the key to victory in the championship contest was time of possession.

“We played intense the whole time and we controlled the ball. They can’t score if they don’t have the ball and we did a phenomenal job of possessing the ball and not playing chaotic. It worked out pretty well,” Baumman said.

The Wolverines showed off their skills in front of a bevy of college coaches in attendance at the National Lacrosse Invitational.

“There were more than 60 colleges there,” he said. “That is very important for us because now kids on our team are getting looked at by schools across the nation.”