MORRISTOWN, N.J. — Pat Laconi is small in size, carries a short stick — and accomplished big things.

The son of 1976 Butler graduate and 2003 Butler County Hall of Fame inductee Ron Laconi, Pat was a starting short stick defensive midfielder in men's lacrosse for NCAA Division I champion Loyola (Md.) this spring.

Laconi tallied three assists and was one of only four sophomore starters for the Greyhounds, who finished 18-1 this year. Their lone loss was an overtime decision to Johns Hopkins.

Laconi was the lone freshman starter on last year's team, which finished 7-6 and missed the playoffs.

“When Pat was recruited by Loyola, they told him if he worked hard and stayed with it, he might be a starter by his junior year,” Ron Laconi said. “He didn't want to settle for that.

“When Pat sets his mind to something, he gets it done. He's always been that way.”

Laconi stands 5-foot-9 and weighs 185 pounds, a relatively small size for lacrosse. Yet he was a high school All-American at Morristown (N.J.) High School, tallied 50 goals and 35 assists his senior year and was one of the top scorers in the state.

A midfielder in high school, he agreed to try a defensive position his freshman year at Loyola because “we had a shortage there and I wanted to get on the field,” Pat said.

Next year, he may move back to offense and play more of a scoring role. For now, he's a national champion.

And for the Laconi family, that's living a dream.

“My family took me to the NCAA Final Four in lacrosse for years,” Pat recalled. “My goal was always to play in that event one day.”

“To be able to see him realize that goal and to be in the stands watching his team win the national championship meant more to me than anything I accomplished when I played sports,” Ron Laconi said.

That's saying something.

Ron Laconi scored 801 points for Butler's varsity boys basketball team and was No. 2 on the Golden Tornado's career scoring list at the time he graduated. He played offensive and defensive back in football and intercepted 12 passes during his football career at Indiana (Pa.) University.

When Pat was a toddler, the Laconi family moved to New Jersey. A heavy lacrosse area, the region quickly lured Pat Laconi to the game.

“I grew up playing baseball because my dad played baseball,” Pat said. “My older brother, Jeff, started playing lacrosse and that's how I became exposed to it.

“I enjoy the contact. I stopped playing football before my junior year because I broke some ribs that wound up lacerating a kidney.”

Had Laconi lost that kidney, his days of contact sports — including lacrosse — would have been over.

But he kept it — and had a decision to make.

“There were 20 voice-mail messages on my phone from prospective colleges,” Pat said. “While I was laying in a hospital bed, my dad said I had to start dealing with them.

“At first, I thought ... 'now?' But I was grateful to still have the opportunity.”

Pat Laconi is majoring in business resources. During the national championship game — a 9-3 win over Maryland — he wore the initials J.H. on his helmet. That was to honor the late father (Jim) of a good friend, Matt Hersh, who played for the Terrapins.

“That's the type of kid he is ... I am a proud parent of a remarkable young man,” Ron Laconi said.

Pat is just as grateful for his father's influence on his sporting career.

“I know my toughness and determination to get better comes from him,” Pat said. “I was always challenged physically as a player because of my size. Dad let me know I had to work hard for it every day to compete with them.

“He challenges me, still, to be the best player I can possibly be.”

Now that Loyola (Md.) is at the top, Laconi aims to help keep it there.

“Win it all again,” he said of next year's goal. “We'll begin the season ranked No. 1. That's going to be a lot different from No. 21, which is where we were this year.

“Now we have what everyone wants. That's only going to make it tougher.”