Matt Vinc is a busy man. When we spoke late Wednesday night, I had just caught him coming in the door from his six-year-old son Bodie’s field lacrosse game (they won, 8-4). Bodie, who as of yet has not showed interest in being a goaltender like his dad, also plays box lacrosse, and his sister, eight-year-old Lily, plays soccer and dances. Before shuffling his kids around to their evening activities, Vinc spends his days teaching and coaching high school lacrosse.
And yet somewhere in all that madness, the 42-year-old still found time last weekend to win his SIXTH NLL championship as the Buffalo Bandits defeated the Saskatchewan Rush to claim their third consecutive title. But for Vinc, the team’s rockstar goaltender, the three-peat wasn’t a new experience.
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Vinc was also part of the Rochester Knighthawks team that claimed the first three-peat in League history, from 2012-2014. This makes him the only player to three-peat twice, in addition to his eight Goaltender of the Year awards. Let’s not forget about his four consecutive Mann Cup Canadian championships in summer lacrosse and four wins with Team Canada in international play. I don’t know how you could argue that he’s not the greatest goaltender in lacrosse. See a nearly complete list of his accomplishments here.
“It’s pretty crazy and it almost doesn’t seem real. It takes a lot of people to win in any league,” Vinc admitted. “You need a great ownership. Great coaching staff. Great people on your team, great teammates and a great fan base. I’m fortunate that I’ve had the opportunity to play for some of the best teams whether summer or winter lacrosse. You just feel privileged to have that opportunity.”
Make that SIX championships for Matt Vinc, and TWO Three-Peats 😱 @NLLBandits pic.twitter.com/ezkkXDx8bv
— NLL (@NLL) May 24, 2025
Fortunate, sure, but also dedicated. Vinc may be the oldest player in the NLL but he’s in perhaps the best shape of his life and is playing the best lacrosse of his life. I didn’t even want to broach the subject on everyone’s minds, an NLL without Vinc, but knew I had to. In fact, we had the same conversation two championships ago.
“I don’t know,” he said frankly. “Time will tell. You’re just trying to make the right decision. Not only for myself, but for my family… I haven’t made a decision yet. I’m just trying to make the right one. It’s very difficult because my life is lacrosse. What’s the right approach to my future?”
Lacrosse is a passion that Vinc shares with his family. Of course his wife, Lisa, and their kids were in attendance last weekend. His mom and his oldest brother Jason were in the crowd, and their middle brother Eric was on the bench with him as the Bandits’ goaltending coach.
“I have a really close relationship with my family. My oldest brother paints my helmets, and then Eric has been kind of my coach since I was in midget lacrosse. My daughter’s eight, and she’s starting to get it, my son’s six years old and just to see their faces and know what kind of impact it has on them… it’s truly special when you get to share that with your wife and your kids. Especially as I’ve gotten a little bit older.”
But Vinc’s Bandits teammates are his family too, so there are even more people to think about when considering retirement. Do they want to go for a fourth consecutive championship and cement their dynasty? Why stop there?
Dawson and Vinc
One of Vinc’s closest friends on the team is Paul Dawson, an 18-year veteran defender who smashed the regular season blocked shots record with 53. Like Vinc, the 39-year-old hasn’t made a decision about the future yet.
“I got a third kid coming in July,” Dawson said. “I think once it settles after the parade and we can close the chapter on this season and on this championship, I’ll have a conversation with Chugger (Bandits’ GM Steve Dietrich) and there’s gotta be interest from Buffalo to bring me back… I feel good. I still feel like I can play, but there’s obviously a multitude of factors that that go into it with life and kids and stuff like that so right now I don’t have an answer one way or the other.”
Vinc and Dawson have played together off and on their whole lives. Dawson was a Knighthawk in 2013 and 2014 for two championships and joined the Bandits for their 2024 run. They also won the 2022 Mann Cup together, and gold at the 2015 World Indoor Lacrosse Championship. They know each other’s families well.
“He’s the ultimate competitor,” Dawson praised. “Obviously, he takes his craft super seriously on and off the floor. He’s got notes on shooters. He’s got notes on plays and goals that go in on him. He is the best of all time, there’s no if ands or buts, but it’s all through hard work. He applies his craft meticulously.”
“We’re at similar stages in our in our life, him with young children,” Vinc said. “He’s a great overall team player whether that’s on the floor or in the locker room. He’s going to do whatever it takes to win and I really respect everything that he brings to the game.”
“I don’t think I could’ve done any of this without Paul Dawson the last couple years and what he meant to our team, you know blocking shots, doing and saying all the little things at the right time.”
Dawson revealed the pair shared a moment at the bench during the final TV timeout before the Bandits secured the NLL Cup.
“We both lost our dads. He lost his dad a lot younger than I did, but we just had a little moment talking about how they never met, but they’re probably sharing a drink looking and down on us, which was pretty touching and emotional. And then just the last second when you know you’re going to win, there’s obviously jubilation and you’re super happy and then you get into pile-on. I said to Matt like even though there is no doubt that he’s the greatest all the time, it’s just another game in his story that he proved that he is the greatest of all time. I’m so proud of him for what he’s done for me and for every organization he’s played for.”
Vinc’s dad John, born in 1948, passed away at age 48. Vinc honours him by wearing that number.
Vinc and Dawson were a standout tandem this season. Dawson sacrificed his body every game to prevent shots from getting to his netminder, blocking 15 shots in the playoffs. He started his career as a goaltender so that should answer your question as to why he’s willing to turn black and blue every week.
The human brick wall! 🧱
Paul Dawson has set the new single-season NLL blocked shot record! #LetsGoBandits | @NLL pic.twitter.com/WvfWY883Xj
— Buffalo Bandits (@NLLBandits) April 20, 2025
“I had some good bruises,” Dawson chuckled. “I got a good collection of target marks on the legs and stuff like that but it what it is. It doesn’t really bug me, and you know bruises only last for so long and winning the championship? This makes it all worthwhile.”
The NLL only began recording blocked shots in 2022, so Vinc believes that Dawson probably set that record years ago.
“I have so much trust that he’s gonna stay in that lane and not only block the shot but make the save,” Vinc praised. “He’s not just standing there; he’s moving to the ball. Everybody knows that he was a goalie for a long time growing up and you know he’s gonna sacrifice his body. That stat line isn’t necessarily fair for Paul because he’s been doing this since he came into the league. He did it for us all those runs in Rochester.”
“Anytime I block a shot it means it’s not a reset and or an extra possession for the offensive team, so anything I can do to make life easier I try to do,” Dawson said.
The shot blocks were a huge part of the Bandits’ three-peat and a huge part of the Knighthawks’ streak as well. Things change in lacrosse; offensive players keep finding new ways to score and players like Vinc and Dawson keep finding new ways to stop them. Things change in life, and that’s what makes every championship special.
“I’m in two different stages of my life,” explained Vinc. “In Rochester, I’d just met my wife, going through ‘12, ‘13, ’14, Lisa and I had just started dating and now I have two kids and they’re a big part of the games and the environment in Buffalo. I celebrated in Rochester with my mom, my brothers and my girlfriend, and now it’s all it’s about celebrating with even more members of the family, nieces and nephews and obviously Lily and Bodie, my two children. It’s extra special.”
“We were at a different point in our lives then,” Dawson agreed. “Either engaged or just married and now in Buffalo we’re elder statesmen with wives and kids. Rochester we were younger and now Buffalo is kinda the same because we’re both at the tail ends of our careers. We can enjoy it more with our families and friends.”
I asked Vinc, who I have known and admired since he came to the MSL’s Peterborough Lakers in 2014, out of all his championship wins in any league, which one would be the favourite, and he responded by telling me he felt like I was making him choose his favourite child.
“They’re all special,” he said simply. “I look at my Junior A ones in Saint Catharines. Those are special because it was in my hometown. Winning the first one in Rochester was a totally different feeling. Winning the Mann Cup, I feel very privileged. I’m gonna look back on them all and look at the moments; I don’t know if there’s going to be a favourite, but I think maybe the last one. When you think about the last one, being able to spend that with my family and my kids.”
