Weekend Watch: Are Changes Coming?
by Jac Coyne | Lacrosse Magazine Online Staff | Coyne Archive | Twitter
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| Brewster Knowlton was one positive outcome in
WNEC's opening game setback to Cortland last year. It's a good
bet both teams will be making some changes during Saturday's
game. © Richard Orr |
When Steve Beville, head coach at Cortland, thinks about the
difference between the first game of the season against Western New
England and the second meeting between the two schools in the
NCAA quarterfinals, his answer is succinct.
"I'll give you two words: Brewster Knowlton," said Beville. "That
was a massive difference from the first game to the next."
Knowlton, WNEC's sophomore goalie, did not play in the first game
on Feb. 28, which ended up being a convincing, 15-7 triumph for
Cortland. A rookie at the time, Knowlton took a back seat to an
upperclassman at that point of the season.
By the time the two teams suited up again on May 13, Knowlton had
established himself as not only WNEC's full-time netminder, but one
of the rising stars among the national goalie ranks. He made 17
saves against the Red Dragons to keep the game tight until Cortland
escaped with the 6-5 win.
It's because of the advent of Knowlton, and several other young
starters, that Bears' coach John Klepacki can look back and take
something positive from the opening day beat-down he took last
year.
"It was an eye-opener," said Klepacki of the eight-goal loss.
"There were some critical places we made changes - in the goal, we
changed the defensive schemes up, and the personnel. It was the
best for the team when we made those changes. We said, ‘Hey,
we have to give these kids a shot.' Kids who were competing at a
couple of positions, especially Brewster in goal, really got better
from that."
It's not easy to diminish the roles of upperclassmen, but the best
programs play the best players. Sometimes that means sitting a kid
who has been waiting his turn for a couple of years. It's an
agonizing decision for coaches, but a necessary one. When Klepacki
and his staff analyzyed the game film, the necessary tweaks became
clear.
The key deficiency was in goal, especially the ability to create
transition off of a save.
"That was the big thing: the other guy struggled at making some
saves, but also in some of the swing aspects," said Klepacki. "We
had a busted clear here and a busted clear there. Giving extra
opportunities; that's what turns a close game into a game that's
not close. Brewster makes good decision on the clear."
As productive as the season-opening loss was for WNEC last year,
Cortland could be facing the same type of change - win or lose -
after this year's rematch, which is scheduled for 1 p.m. on
Saturday at Cortland. Beville has a tiny senior class on this
year's team and a host of players who have the talent to crack the
starting line-up, so this first game may act as much as
an evaluation period as an opener.
In addition to finding the right on-field pieces, Beville will be
searching for leaders. Last year's national championship team was
indisputably led by Luke Lemon and Joey Morgan and, as Beville
says, "You don't graduate guys like Lemon and Morgan, who were the
heart and the soul of the team, and not feel the effects of
that."
So while Beville will certainly be keeping a close eye on the
scoreboard, he'll also be looking for guys ready to
handle an expanded leadership role.
"We'll really find out once the game starts," said Beville. "We
only have five seniors and those five guys have done a great job
throughout the fall and preseason keeping things on track and
keeping everyone focused. We'll see. Every year is its own
adventure."
What will further necessitate swift alterations to either the
Cortland or WNEC line-up is the gauntlet both teams are about to
run.
In addition to opening with No. 1 Cortland, the Golden
Bears travel to No. 2 Stevenson on March 7 for the second
game of the season. The Red Dragons play No. 3 Gettysburg (March 6)
and No. 4 Salisbury (March 10) after their date with No. 8
WNEC.
With that kind of schedule, clinging to an ineffective starting
rotation will lead to an ugly matriculation into the 2010 season.
Regardless, neither coach has any buyer's remorse about the slate
they've put together.
"We have no problem with opening up with the No. 1 and No. 2 teams
in the country," said Klepacki. "They are the standard we want to
compete against."
"You have to play a tough schedule," added Beville. "Your strength
of schedule is the No. 1 factor in playoff seedings and end-of-year
regional rankings. We didn't hesitate to take these games."
One of the subplots of Saturday's game will be seeing how each
coach handles his personnel changes after the whistle blows.
There will undoubtedly be alterations for both teams. That's
fine with Klepacki, especially if it produces another Brewster
Knowlton.
"We think he is turning into the heart and soul of the team," he
said. "I'll go anywhere with him."
Pressure Zone
Players who must make an impact this weekend
Shane Crosset,
Defense, Cortland
The junior is likely to get the starting nod on defense,
filling the former shoes of Red
Dragon legend Luke Lemon. If one assumes every goal will be
hotly contested like the last time the two teams met in the
tournament, then Crosset must leave any pre-game jitters or
butterflies in the locker room. Cortland is going to need him sharp
from the start.
Mickey-Miles Felton, Head
Coach, Arizona
Michigan runs a clean, respectful program, but I've got a
suspicion the Wolverines - and their defensive coordinator, Ken
Broschart - would like to euthanize the LaxCats quickly and with
purpose. Broschart was the former head coach at UA before being let
go three years ago, and while I don't think he would ever admit to
getting caught up in the revenge motivator, I don't think it would
break his heart to put one on the ‘Cats. As a result, Felton
must do something interesting to keep this close. Arizona can't run
with Michigan, so they'll have to level the playing field by
throwing up a zone or taking the air out of the ball. Good
luck.
Joe Heney, Attack,
Springfield
The Pride is in every game - that's just the way they
operate - but it always seems like they are one or two goals short
of winning. That's where Heney must step in. The senior opened the
season with a seven-point (5g, 2a) performance against Gordon and
he needs to keep that train running against Naz. Springfield has
guys who can score - Austin Orsini and Kyle Louer, to name two -
but Heney needs to play the role of big-time playmaker, converting
on opportunities and drawing slides for his teammates.
Joe Banno, Goalie,
Haverford
The Black Squirrels were blitzed by Cabrini last year and Banno needs
to make sure that doesn't happen again. As a rookie, Banno did stop
17 shots, but the 15 he let past him were more than enough for the
Cavs to cruise. With a full season under his belt, including
tourney experience, Banno should be better prepared for the college
game and will be expected to slow down the high-powered Cabrini
attack.
Slides & Rides
Here We Go
Again
Ah, the old "running up the score" debate - a timeless
classic. It's actually been a couple of years since this tired
subject has reared its head, but after Roanoke's 30-2 victory over
Randolph on Wednesday, it's gained traction again.
I'll start off my assessment by recounting a conversation I had
with Roanoke coach Bill Pilat in 2007. It was a couple of weeks
after the Maroons were destroyed by Salisbury, 28-4, in the fourth
game of the season. The Gulls crushed ‘Noke, so I asked Pilat
about his thoughts on how that game went and he said (and I'm
paraphrasing), "That game showed we need to get better."
No complaints about the score. No whining about pouring it on, even
though that loss was 10-times more embarrassing than Randolph's
setback because the Maroons were actually a tournament team that
year. Roanoke did get better, and only lost 15-9 to that same
juggernaut Salisbury (23-0) team in the tourney. So Roanoke
can take it as well as they give it (although they haven't played
the Gulls since).
In addition, it doesn't take much digging into the box score to see
the Maroons took their foot off the gas. They scored 18 goals in
the first quarter, and averaged four for each of the remaining
periods. Roanoke could have scored 72, and finished with 30 -
that's pretty humane if you ask me.
When these kinds of things come up - and they always do - I think
about a quote from Sharon Pfluger, the head coach at TCNJ, who has
more national championships than any coach, in any lacrosse
division. "We show our respect to our opponents by working as hard
as we can," she said. It's not a greenlight to drop the hammer on
every opponent - and TCNJ has done its share of that - but it
justifies a coach's decision to let his/her team reach its maximum
potential.
From my chair, Bill Pilat, as a coach, has an obligation to allow
his players to reach their potential, to teach them to be
upstanding young men, respect their opponent, and honor the game.
There is nothing about the Randolph score that leads me to believe
he has failed in that obligation.
Milestones
A pair of SELC coaches have reached the 100-win plateau this
year. Bill Harkins, the head coach at Florida State, and Ken Lovic,
the head man at Georgia Tech, each achieved the feat this season.
Congrats to both. In addition, it was announced that this will be
Lovic's last year as the coach of the Ramblin' Wreck after coaching
the program for 14 years. Happy trails.
Ace of Clubs
It seems the MCLA, or at least the MCLA the Lax Mag, has
found a high profile follower. In a recent airing of Ace
of Cakes, Duff Goldman, the host of the Food Network show, was
sporting a sweatshirt that was produced by the MCLA the Lax Mag guys. Not sure what that
means for either the cake-maker or the magazine, but it sure is
sweet. (Did you see what I did there?)
NOTES: The Drew women are breaking out an old
D-III women's lacrosse trick: the double-header. The Rangers will
Montclair State at 1 p.m. on Saturday and follow that up with a 4
p.m. tilt against start-up program St. Elizabeth. Gettysburg was
the last team I remember employing this tactic, which is smart if
you understand that the size of the permitted schedule is based on
dates, not games. Montclair should make Drew work, but the Rangers
should get the sweep...we're finally officially into the lower-tier
lacrosse season now. There are 42 men's D-III games from Friday
through Sunday, 27 women's D-III games, and 112 MCLA D-I and D-II
contests. That's 181 total contests. Busy weekend for this guy.
