GENEVA — In 2024, when Craig McDonald traveled to Geneva for the first time as the head coach of Robert Morris University men’s lacrosse, he noted it was a business trip.

It’s a similar story two years later. But with his parents in attendance and his brother Kevin wearing HWS apparel as the school’s equipment manager, perhaps it’s more appropriate to call it a family business trip, even though he had to cut his visit a bit short Friday night.

“I wish I had more time,” McDonald said of his recent trip to Geneva. “I was a little sick on the way here, so I had to cut (a visit) short last night. I was out seeing my family and seeing my parents. So we’ll say hello but we gotta try and get the boys home at a reasonable hour.

The Colonials won a wild, 8-7 game in overtime over the Statesmen. It was the program’s second 8-7 overtime win in a row, their fourth overall win, and McDonald’s first win as a collegiate head coach in his hometown.

He noted nothing but bragging right were on the line between him and Kevin.

“We have a great relationship,” McDonald said of his brother. “A lot of support from his end and me to him as well and just a lot of love there.”

Since his visit in 2024, McDonald — a Geneva Sports Hall of Famer — has had two more years at the helm of RMU men’s lacrosse. Now in his fifth year, he is still wowed by how much he learns from each game and each day as head coach.

“I still learn every single day,” McDonald said. “I try to tell our guys that. I’m not going to say that I know everything or pretend to. I’m learning and growing everyday and I want to try to challenge myself and surround myself with people who are going to help do that.”

After losing 15-10 in that 2024 game to the Statesmen, McDonald righted the ship and steered RMU to the Atlantic Sun championship, marking the program’s third consecutive appearance. Six Colonials earned all-conference honors, including a league-high three players named to the All-Freshman Team.

The program left the ASUN and joined the Northeast Conference at the beginning of 2025, Hobart’s old conference. McDonald led the team to the NEC regular-season title with a 6-1 record, a tournament championship, and a berth in the NCAA tournament.

It wasn’t just a banner year for the program as a whole. McDonald oversaw a program-record 10 players earn all-conference honors, including NEC Player of the Year Bo Columbus and NEC Offensive Player of the Year David Burr. The Colonials also tied the program’s second-longest winning streak, ripping off six consecutive victories from March 15 to April 19. Additionally, RMU went a perfect 7-0 at home during the regular season, marking the most home wins in a single season at Joe Walton Stadium since 2009.

Since joining RMU on Sept. 20, 2021, it has been a constant education for McDonald. While molding the program a consistent fixture in the Division I NCAA tournament, it’s been the little things that matter the most throughout the season. An example? Not mentally imploding after Hobart shut out RMU’s offense in the entire second half last Saturday.

“You can’t get too high with the highs or too low with the lows,” McDonald said. “You have to find your median and that’s something that we always want to look at ourselves in the mirror and to look at each other in the locker room and know we gave our best. We had the right attitude about being together and fighting for each other.”

As he noted, it was a business trip for he and the Colonials. But, he always is going to make time for dinner with his parents. Though he would love to stay for more time with old friends, family and a slice of pizza from Cam’s downtown, he has his own family roots down in Pittsburgh with his wife, Maggie, their two sons, Conor and Cian, and daughter, Scotland.

“As nice as it is for me to be home, it’s not about me,” McDonald said. “It’s about the team and it’s about the guys and that’s what it’ll always be.”

Like many from Geneva before him, McDonald has used the foundation of being raised in Geneva to help navigate life outside of the Finger Lakes. With a pedigree like his after just five seasons at RMU, it is clear that program has their man for the foreseeable future.