In the fall of 1999, the WJU lacrosse team was formed by First-Year Head Coach Bear Davis. Davis came from Marietta College where he served as the lacrosse graduate assistant. In the spring of 2000, the team fielded 22 players for the first season with a 13-game varsity schedule. The Cardinals won two games with a squad made up of first-year college players. The team was led by senior Nick Cioffi who anchored the defense and served as captain. Benji Beasley, who served as co-captain, added good leadership for the young team. Freshman Jeremy Johnson led the team in scoring with 30 goals and nine assists.

The 2001 campaign showed the Cardinals turning the corner by marking a 6-9 record. After a 0-6 start to the season, the Cards went 6-3 in the last nine games. Co-captains Jeff Bresnahan, a senior defenseman, and Beasley, a junior midfielder, were selected by the team to lead the '01 season. Freshman goal tender Nick Asmo led the team in saves with 62. Johnson led the team in scoring with 36 goals and 11 assists and 46 total points. Beasley led the team in assists with 16. Freshman Kevin Tait chalked up a record 31 goals and 10 assists in his first year.

The lacrosse team reached many milestones in the 2002 season. The Cardinals posted a 10-5 winning season with four wins coming from teams they lost to in the first two seasons. Leading the defense was sophomore captain Nick Williams. Beasley and Johnson anchored the mid field. Tait, also a captain, was in the fourth position on the attack. Attackman Tim Parker (14 goals, 13 assists) and midfielder Brian Schmoldt (17 goals, three assists) led the freshmen in scoring. Johnson led the team for the third consecutive year in scoring with 34 goals and 12 assists. Beasley reached a milestone in his career, handing out 50 assists. Beasley graduated in 2002 as the all-time assist leader for the young Cardinal lacrosse program.

Similar to the 2001 season, the Cardinals finished strong. The team posted a 7-1 mark in the last eight games of the season. The only loss came from the Limestone College, the 2002 national champions. The Cardinals lost to the Saints 14-10 and the WJU goals were the most scored on the Saints by an Division II team in 2002. Johnson scored four goals in the game. The team defeated St. Andrews College 11-6. The win marked the first win over a playoff and nationally-ranked opponent. The Cards defeated the Knights in the second game of the season while on the road. Johnson again tallied four goals and had two assists in the big win over the Knights. Williams held 2001 All-American Mike McCarthy to one goal and one assist. The 2002 season set the standard for the Jesuit lacrosse program.

Records in 2002: Jeremy Johnson scored 100 career goals in a 9-8 victory over Wittenberg The Cardinals held 11 teams to single digit scoring The team scored double digits 10 times and won 10 games The team-leading number of ground balls was 53 Nick Asmo had 157 total saves The Cardinal goalies combined for a 62 percent in saves The average score of lacrosse games was 11-7 in favor of the Cardinals.