The first lacrosse team in St. Lawrence history to play in the NCAA tournament, the 1979 Saint team was the last Division III team standing in what was then the NCAA College Division Championship, dropping a hard-fought 16-13 decision to eventual champion Adelphi.
The 17-6 Saints set a record for wins in a season and opened their NCAA run with a 14-12 win over Ohio Wesleyan on Weeks Field. They then upset Hobart, 12-11 in the NCAA quarterfinals, handing that team its last NCAA tournament defeat before it went on to win ten consecutive NCAA Division III championships.
The 1979 team included three All Americans including Midfielder of the Year Bill Simunek and a total of nine players on the team went on to earn All America honors at least once in their career. Head coach Don Leet was named 1979 USILA Coach of the Year and the 1979 team included two of the leading scorers in program history in seniors Fran Shields (270 points) and Pete Mackenzie (260 points) and the second-leading midfield scorer in Simunek (125 points).