From 2019-23, the scariest sight in the league was the 6-foot-5 frame wielding a 6-foot pole and a teal, scale-sequenced jersey, roaming the area from arc-to-arc like the Loch Ness Monster.
Five-time Brodie Merrill Long-Stick Midfielder of the Year and MVP of the 2018 World Games, Michael Ehrhardt, was a game-changer in the middle of the field. From defense to offense, Ehrhardt’s impact on the game was felt for 48 minutes every game.
When Ehrhardt announced his retirement on April 2, 2024, opponents exhaled. And the Whipsnakes began their search for the next Michael Ehrhardt.
That search, of course, seemed impossible. There was no way to replace the five-time first-team All-Pro or even to replicate his game. His size, frame, and knack for changing games in a single play are not something found easily.
The 6-foot-5, 220-pounder finished his ten-year pro career with 44 goals and 21 two-pointers — tied for 11th in league history — setting the standard for two-way LSMs across the league.
Colin Squires has not been the next Michael Ehrhardt. He’s just been the first Colin Squires.
The Whipsnakes drafted Squires with the No. 23 overall pick in the 2021 College Draft. After steadily growing into his role during his first two seasons, and earned his first All-Star selection in 2023.
But in 2024, following Ehrhardt’s retirement, Squires fully stepped into the spotlight. Elevated to the starting long-stick midfielder role, he logged a career-best 39 ground balls and five caused turnovers, helping anchor a Maryland defense that powered the Whipsnakes to their fourth league championship appearance under head coach Jim Stagnitta.
“I don’t really care much about the starting, as long as the team has success, I’m happy to play whatever role is needed,” Squires said. “That’s certainly changed over the years. Obviously, with Mike retiring, I’ve been able to play more minutes. But team success comes first.”
Still, his teammates and coaches recognize the critical role Squires has played in maintaining the Whipsnakes’ defensive standard.
While Squires played under and learned from Ehrhardt over his first few seasons in the league, he plays the LSM position in a completely different fashion.
Ironically, not all LSMs are elite defenders. Some teams prize offensive production from their long poles as much as they do defense which Ehrhardt helped popularize with his ability to push transition and finish plays.
But Maryland operates differently. Under Stagnitta, the Whipsnakes have prioritized lockdown defense over highlight goals from their poles. That’s why despite his athleticism, Squires rarely crosses the midfield line.
“Squires is not supposed to shoot, like that’s a rule. When he does, it has to go in,” Stagnitta said in 2023.
At 6-foot-2 and 190 pounds, Squires gives up significant size compared to Ehrhardt, but that contrast has shaped his game. While Ehrhardt relied on his imposing frame and straight-line speed to generate offense, Squires has leaned into his technique and lacrosse IQ, developing into arguably the league’s best cover LSM over the past two seasons.
Opponents shot 10.7% when Squires was the closest defender in 2024. Only Beau Pederson (7.3%) was better among players who defended 25+ shots.
Playing alongside three-time defensive player of the year Matt Dunn, two-time champion Tim Muller, and formerly Ehrhardt, Squires has been a key component to the Whipsnakes’ success not only on defense, but on faceoffs as well.
“He is so underrated and underappreciated,” said Stagnitta. “The kid can play defense and he can pick up ground balls. And I think if you ask Joe Nardella, he’s going to tell you how much he respects and loves having Colin Squires on the wings.”
Nardella, the Whipsnakes’ veteran faceoff specialist, echoed that sentiment.
“I don’t know many guys who get to spend five years with the back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back LSM of the Year,” Nardella said. “Colin Squires got to play under him and learn from him, and now he’s that guy for us.”
Squires recently played a key role in helping Joe Nardella become the fastest faceoff specialist in professional lacrosse history to reach 1,500 wins, a remarkable milestone made possible in part by Squires’ relentless drive to excel in any role he’s asked to play.
“He’s just a really smart player,” Nardella added. “He’s super intuitive. He picks up on things, and I think he sees the faceoff through a different lens than most other guys — because he really wants me to succeed.”
In 2024, the Whipsnakes led the league in faceoff percentage at 62.1%. This season, they rank second at 58.6%, continuing a level of consistency Squires has helped maintain following the Ehrhardt era, when Maryland finished in the league’s top three in faceoff percentage every year from 2019 to 2022.
For Squires, Ehrhardt’s legacy is something he doesn’t take lightly.
“He’s the greatest LSM ever — just in the way he carries himself on the field and off the field, always playing with a passion for the game,” Squires said. “He always played with a passion for the game. He was a really high-energy player who was not only incredibly disruptive on the field, but also a great leader.”
“It was great getting to have him as a leader, and to be able to play behind somebody like that was really, really special,” he continued.
But Squires is slowly carving out his own place in Whipsnakes’ history, with a quiet, team-first mindset and relentless consistency.
He was relatively unknown until his senior year at Denver in 2021, when he earned Big East Defensive Player of the Year honors and was named a USILA Third-Team All-American. But Jim Stagnitta saw his passion for the game early, and once again, turned a late-round draft pick into an emerging star for the Whipsnakes.
“The team culture starts with Stagnitta, who, in my opinion, is one of the best GMs in the league,” Squires said. “He manufactures rosters to be highly successful, even without the top draft picks every single year.”
Since taking over in 2019, Stagnitta has led the Whipsnakes to four of the league’s six championship games (2019, 2020, 2021, 2024) and two titles — all while never winning Coach of the Year with the Whipsnakes.
“The goal is always a championship, right?” Squires said. “Coach Stagnitta does a good job and sets high expectations for the team as a whole, and you as an individual, and they’ll hold you to those high expectations.”
“He’s a little bit underrated,” Squires added. “Never won Coach of the Year [with the Whipsnakes] — and he’s won two championships.”
But then again, that just seems to be how the Whipsnakes operate. Under the radar, relentlessly competitive, and continuously building from within.
Squires doesn’t need to be the next Ehrhardt. He’s doing just fine being himself.
