MCLA Hall of Fame Cal Goalie Rob Warner – LGR Episode 118

When I was a freshman at Cal I switched from middie to goalie. We didn’t have a dedicated goalie coach so pretty much everything I learned about the position was from the starter – Rob Warner.

And what a great mentor to learn from. Rob could ball.

His freshman year he lead the Cal Bears to an MCLA national championship. They won the game in OT and Rob had not one but 2 OT saves and started the fast break that ended up winning the game.

He was a 3x All-American selection and in 2019 he was elected into the MCLA hall of fame.

Cal won the WCLL conference tournament in 1998 and 2000 with Warner receiving tournament MVP honors at the conclusion of both events.

During this time the top MCLA teams in the conference included BYU (and their goalie Coach T), Sonoma State, Simon Fraser,  Colorado, and Colorado St.

Warner still holds the record for most saves in a tournament game when he turned away 31 Brigham Young shots in the quarterfinals of the ’99 tourney. I still remember this game vividly. Incredible performance!

I don’t think I had spoken to Rob since I graduated from Cal in 2003 so it was great to catch up and tell some stories and talk shop about lacrosse goalie for awhile.

Interview With Rob Warner YouTube

#tbt
1998 USILA National Championship in St. Louis… Cal vs. BYU… All-American goalie Rob Warner with two huge OT saves, leading to a Kevin Moon assist to JP Harbour for the dunk. Postgame commentary w/ Jeff Wiley.#gobears #lacrosse #weloveouralumni pic.twitter.com/PIDTcV3cOE

— Cal Men’s Lacrosse (@CalBearsLax) November 5, 2020