There was never much doubt where William Goers was headed to play college lacrosse. The Chester, Md., native was always on board at Navy.

He grew up in the Midshipmen lacrosse program and literally inside Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. No, really. His father, Mark Goers, has been part of the program for 24 years, the last 20 as director of lacrosse operations.

“My dad taught me how to work all the switches to turn the lights on and off in the stadium, and during games, I used to run stats down from the press box to the coaches,” Goers said matter-of-factly, like everyone grew up hanging out with nationally prominent lacrosse teams and with full access to games and practices.

But Goers also added the “want to” that defined a drive which still fuels him and his game as a freshman on another quality Midshipmen squad. He was named to Inside Lacrosse’s Early Season Top-30 Impact Freshmen List along with teammate Jack Ponzio of Ronkonkoma, N.Y. Both rank among national freshman scoring leaders and each had cracked the 20-point scoring mark through just eight games this spring.

“[Goers] has been a pleasant surprise for us,” sixth-year head coach Joe Amplo said. “He has been blessed with just a great lacrosse upbringing. He has always had this lacrosse IQ, and we saw a path for him, maybe in the future to make an impact. But he really worked on his body and put on maybe 20 to 25 pounds and got taller. Nature took over.”

With increased size and the accompanying confidence, Goers started taking over, too. He earned a starting spot five games into his first college lacrosse season soon after a four-goal, two-assist showing at Towson. That was following two goals and two assists against Iona in his second college game. In fact, through his first 11 games, Goers had a goal and/or assist in each contest and led the team with 15 assists and 28 total points.

All the while, amplifying Amplo’s offense.

“He gives us a legitimate threat at the attack position, and the times we’ve brought him out of the box at midfield, he has been impactful,” the coach said. “He has been fairly consistent — some freshman mistakes, but for the most part the kind [of player] we can lean on.”

That’s the star to which Goers has always steered.

He used to walk over from nearby St. Mary’s High School in Annapolis to join his father at Navy’s practices, and he absorbed the game like a sponge. Once he hit that growth spurt, the little lax field rat was more shipshape. Goers grew 5 inches up to nearly 6-foot-4 and put on 25 pounds up to 196 under the tutelage of Navy strength and conditioning coach Tim Murray.

Goers is still filling out a lanky frame, but he’s also filling up those stat sheets he once delivered up and down the stadium steps for Navy sports information directors Scott Strasemeier and Stacie Michaud.

“I’ve been coming to practices here since I was 6 years old,” he said. “My dad and being around the program so long have really helped me.”

Goers has been living this moment in his head for years, but there’s more to it than just showing up. At Navy, it’s even more sink or swim than at other schools for first-year student-athletes. Forget just stepping in as starter as a freshman on a winning Division I program in the thick of the race for the Patriot League crown. Think about all that goes into being a plebe at the Naval Academy: the long hours, rigorous academics and the daily military discipline.

Goers wanted it all, never really even considering other schools. He not only visualized playing for and attending Navy, he worked full speed ahead to make it happen.

Goers made a point of seeking out some of the Academy’s greats like Sam Jones, T.J. Hanzsche and Greyson Torain, stalwarts he had watched. Goers had a list of questions for each that extended beyond lacrosse to exceling as a student-athlete and fulfilling the Naval Academy mission to be a better Midshipman and classmate.

It’s on-brand for a kid who used to come into his dad’s office, sidle up to the computer and spend hours watching YouTube videos of lacrosse players and highlight lax moves. Then he’d go out on the field and practice what he had seen.

Mark Goers laughs at the memory.

“You just knew how much he loved the game, you knew the hours he spent working on it,” he said.

“I’ve enjoyed every season here,” continued the elder Goers, a Towson Hall of Fame player himself. “But this season has been so exciting, and I’ve got the best seat in the house. William grew up here. He idolized the players here. This is his home field.”

Amplo and the Goers family wanted to make sure the move to Midshipman passed muster.

“We developed a relationship outside the recruiting window just because his dad works in the office next to me,” Amplo said. “We had the comfort and when it came down the recruiting it was making sure this is what he wanted to do and not what he thought he should do.”

“Tough conversations” with the younger Goers convinced Amplo, and Goers never had a doubt, well, except the day he got his head shaved at the Academy.

The crew cut will grow back, and his game is also sprouting. The Patriot League named him Rookie of the Week in mid-February after his six points against Towson, the most by any Navy freshmen since Sam Jones — Goers’ favorite former Mid — in a 2011 game.

Goers and Ponzio are both on a scoring pace that could have them flirting with the 30-point level, something only 15 other Navy first-year players have done. That’s not the only thing Goers has going for him as he settles in on his personal field of dreams.

“I’ve seen tremendous growth in him as a human being in the short term,” Amplo said. “I know he has a long way to go, but I know if he continues to evolve the way he has here in his time at the Academy, he’s going to leave here as one of the most impactful people this program has ever seen.”

There are already high standards in the family. Father Mark was an All-American at Towson and set national faceoff records. Grandfather Philip played basketball at Wittenberg. Uncle Matt was a four-year letterwinner for Ohio State lacrosse. His grandmother, “Kapa,” ran track with Wilma Rudolph.

Goers knew he was destined to make a mark somewhere in athletics. He ran cross country in high school. His stamina is a strength as his body continues to fill out. It’s just another tool for success in lacrosse, his true passion all the way back to those Navy practices when he was 6 years old.

Goers has gone from turning on the lights for the Mids to practice to turning them out on opponents with key plays, just another part of being in the right place at the right time.