Coming to a winning program was easy - but becoming one of Limestone College's all-time best field lacrosse players took a little more effort for box product Riley Loewen.
The 6-1 Burnaby lefthander became Limestone's all-time goal scoring leader last week with 162 career tallies following three markers in a 12-6 victory over Queens University of Charlotte in an NCAA Division II Conference Carolinas matchup at home in Gaffney, South Carolina on March 30.
Not bad for a young man who had just one season in the field game under his belt before making his freshman debut at Limestone in 2010.
"I'm still learning every day, even though I'm a senior," Loewen told the NOW in a long-distance call on Tuesday.
Loewen earned a scholarship to Limestone on a recommendation by former Limestone Saints midfielder Jackson Decker, who played with the Burnaby sniper on the junior A Lakers box team at the time.
It was a gamble that paid off in dividends for the two-time NCAA national champions.
Loewen is a two-time second team All-American and all-conference scholar athlete at the small private college. He currently holds five other all-time pro-gram records at Limestone and shares in another five career and single-season marks.
Loewen's 231 total points are currently third best all-time, but with at least four more games still to play, he is within shooting range of Limestone alumnus Nick Carlson, whose 159 goals he surpassed last week to set the program's new goal record.
Carlson, also a lefty and a product of the West Coast, currently plays pro in the National Lacrosse League with Colorado.
But Loewen has yet to accomplish what Carlson won - a national title. The Nanaimo product shared in both of Limestone's two national banners in 2000 and '02. Loewen went to his first national championship game last season with Limestone but the Saints lost 11-10 to Dowling in an unforgettable final.
"I want to win a championship with this team, but it's nice to be in the record book," admitted Loewen. "I remember (the national final) more than any other game. Things happened that didn't happen at any other time of the season. It wasn't really our day."
Loewen started in 11 of Limestone's 13 games as a freshman. The following year, he potted 54 goals up front - the sixth most in program history.
This season, Loewen currently leads the C onference Carolinas with 32 goals and is second in total points with 52.
Loewen is currently fourth in the nation with 4.73 points per game and fifth in the NCAA with just under three goals an outing.
Not surprisingly, third-year Limestone head coach J.B. Clarke likes Loewen's consistency.
"He's Steady Eddie. He shows up every day with his hard hat and lunch pail. He's so good near the goal," Clarke said.
But Clarke was not convinced that Loewen's nifty stick in close quarters would necessarily translate to the strategy of the more open field game.
"At first, we didn't think he was a good perimetre shooter. But he's always trying to get better. He's amazing," said Clarke. "He's turned into a good room-and-time shooter. It's a dramatic change and he's developing a right hand."
Clarke was also impressed with Loewen's "remarkable coachability".
"I asked him to try this new way and the next three times he had the ball he tried it," said Clarke. "But his ability in the classroom is every bit as good as his work ethic and ability on the field."
Clarke added Loewen will "almost certainly" be nominated nationally as an academic All-American this season.
But first on the agenda is a third Div. II title for the No. 3 nationally-ranked Saints, Loewen said.
"I think we have to build off last year - everything was perfect. What we did last year, we have to learn from that," he said.
