Weekend Watch: Taking on the Top Dog
by Jac Coyne
| Lacrosse Magazine Online Staff | Coyne Archive |
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| Kyle McGrath and the Bullets aren't usually the lower
ranked team, so it will be a different role for No. 3 Gettysburg -
and No. 6 BYU in the MCLA - when they face the biggest bullies on
the block Saturday. © Kevin P. Tucker |
A pair of highly-ranked, national title contenders will take to
the field against the No. 1 squad in their respective divisions on
Saturday, and both coaches are trying their best to approach the
contest just as they would any other.
"I think at this point of the year and with what our goals are, we
have to treat this as a normal game," said Hank Janczyk, head coach
of No. 3 Gettysburg, which will be taking on No. 1 Cortland in a
rematch of the 2009 national championship game in Massapequa,
N.Y.
"I think Cortland can give you special problems with the way they
ride and some of the things they do on defense. I think we have to
be smart on attack and be wise in the way we play them and keep
improving. I think we're getting better each game and this will be
the telltale sign of where we are at this point."
Three-quarters of the way across the country, Matt Schneck and his
No. 6 Brigham Young team awaits a visit from top-ranked Michigan on
Saturday evening - a game available live via
webcast.
"It is so early that we've been approaching this like any other
game," said Schneck. "We're practicing the same number of days,
lifting weights and conditioning the same way, and doing our same
pre-game rituals. With the exception of a little additional
run-through we did with a couple of the guys, it's been practice as
usual."
Probably because of the difference in the length of their tenure -
Janczyk is in the midst of his 23rd season with the
Bullets, Schneck is in his first with the Cougars - one coach is
able to hide the true impact of this game better than the
other.
Janczyk rolls out a lot of coaching platitudes - "We've got a long
way to go" - but if you listen carefully you can catch an
occasional pitch of excitement in his voice. How can you not,
right? No matter how long you've been around, there is always an
adrenaline boost when you're taking a crack at the biggest bully on
the block.
Hoping to expose a little of that competitive spirit, I asked
Janczyk in a circuitous manner whether the final score even
mattered considering how good Cortland is looking. After a pause,
he responded.
"At Gettysburg we get good players who want to play the best
teams," he said, coolly.
Whereas I had to lightly prod Janczyk to find the true emotions,
Schneck verbally conceded that the desire to take down the
Wolverines is bubbling just below the surface.
"The returners on the field have one goal, and one goal only, and
that's to beat Michigan," said Schneck. "For the guys who have been
around the program, especially the seniors, the last time they beat
Michigan was their freshman year. In 2008, we lost in the national
semis. In 2009, we lost to them at Michigan. We have a couple of
guys out there who want their chance to turn the tables."
What makes both of these games compelling is the two hunters -
Gettysburg and BYU - are usually playing the role of hunted. While
they're still searching for a national championship, the Bullets
are the higher-ranked team in nine out of every ten games they
play. A win over BYU, owner of three titles, is typically
considered one of the two or three biggest feathers in an MCLA's
team's hat.
The role reversals make these games two of the biggest on the
weekend in any division, even if the coaches don't necessarily want
to admit it.
Pressure Zone
Kathy Brown,
Defense, Washington & Lee
Playing No. 1 and defending national champion Franklin &
Marshall is all about dealing with pressure. Brown and the rest of
the Generals' defense will be under siege for much of the game, but
if they keep their poise, this game isn't unwinnable. The Dips lost
a lot of scoring from '09 and there will undoubtedly be some
growing pains in these early contests. Brown will have the
opportunity to make an impact.
Britt Cone, LSM, Brigham
Young
It's Cone's second appearance in the Pressure Zone. His
challenge is clear: he must be the tip of the spear in attacking
Michigan's efficient 10-man ride. Arizona State coach Chris Malone
knew he was going to get the full ride and the Sun Devils still
turned the ball over at a high rate. Cone has to not only show the
poise of a senior in the face of the 20 and 10-second count, but
also use his athleticism to win some one-on-one battles and make
life easier for the Cougar transition game.
John Goodrich,
Goalie, Florida State
The junior has been sublime in the Seminoles' 7-0 start to
the season, but he'll be dealing with a whole different animal when
FSU travels to the other side of the country to face No. 2 Chapman
on Sunday. Connor Martin, Madison Fiore and Andrew Clayton will be
shooting from all angles and distances, keeping Goodrich on his
toes. The ‘Noles should be able to score goals, it'll be
keeping the Panthers with one less that will be the key. Enter
Goodrich.
Mike Gurenlian, Middie,
Cabrini
The Cavaliers' game against Roanoke is likely to be one of
the more entertaining games of the weekend with the over/under
hovering around 33. If Cabrini is going to pull out the win,
however, they'll need to keep it well below that, and that's where
Gurenlian comes in. The Cav's primary face-off man needs to win a
majority of the draws against a Roanoke crew that is operating at a
65 percent clip from the X. Cabrini needs to dictate the pace of
this game, and it must have possession to do that.
Craig Lange, Attack,
Geneseo
The Blue Knights rolled to a nice win over Union, but Lange
was a non-factor. An All-American candidate, Lange scored one goal
on six shots and turned the ball over a game-high six times.
There's no doubt Lange was the focus of the Dutchmen's defensive
plan, but if Geneseo is to get to where it wants to go, the junior
must produce regardless of the schemes he sees. You can bet
Nazareth knows all about Lange and has something special ready for
him.
Matt Miller,
Goalie, Washington College
The 6-foot-4, 260-pound rookie has aced his first two tests.
In wins over Goucher and Elizabethtown, Miller has posted a 4.69
GAA and 71.9 save percentage. The pace will raise a level this
weekend when the Shoremen travel to Lexington to face No. 10
Washington & Lee. This game could very well dictate the
direction of the WAC season, so yeah, the pressure is on.
Kate Robinson, Middie,
Catholic
Hey, if you're going to accept the Preseason Player of the
Year award, you've got to deal with the pressure. Robinson, who
opened the season with a five-goal, two-assist performance in a
17-10 win over St. Mary's, will have to at least match that mark
when the Cardinals face No. 2 Salisbury on Saturday. The Gulls have
seen enough of Robinson over the last three years to know what to
expect, so Robbie better be ready.
Slides & Rides
Wesleyan Starts
Its Engines
Bates officially kicked off the NESCAC season with a
semi-surprising win over Keene State on Wednesday, but one of the
league's tournament contenders will matriculate its season this
weekend when Wesleyan hosts Salve Regina on Saturday at 1 p.m. At
first glance, this might appear to be a rebuilding year for the
Cardinals with three starting poles, two starting middies and two
starting attackmen graduating last year.
Don't bank on it, according to Wesleyan coach John Raba.
"It's going to be a different look for Wesleyan, there's no
question about that, but I'm excited," said Raba, who won the
NESCAC crown last spring. "I think we're to the point where we
expect to play at a high level and it looks like it on the field.
We're not as reliant as we were on a Russ Follansbee, who was a key
for us for so long. We have a lot more guys contributing
offensively and that may make us a little more dangerous.
"And it's hard to replace a Spike Malangone, who was the best
player we've ever had here, but two of the [defensive] replacements
are seniors and guys who have played a ton of lacrosse for us. With
our system, there won't be as much of a gap for those guys like
there would be if we put freshmen in there."
It's a good thing that the Cardinals appear to be ahead of the
curve because after their warm-ups with Salve Regina and Maritime
on Wednesday, Wesleyan hosts long-time nemesis Bowdoin in the
conference opener next Saturday.
Enjoy the Ride
One of the signatures of Michigan is the Wolverines'
effective 10-man ride. I've talked to several coaches who say they
have the magic potion to solving it, only to fall victim to it.
Matt Schneck, BYU's coach, knows that what seems so easy in
practice doesn't always carry over to game day.
"I know well enough from my days of playing football against Air
Force and their wishbone, it didn't matter how well the scout team
ran the wishbone, they were never going to be able to run the
wishbone as well as the Air Force does it," said Schneck, who
lettered three years for the Cougars on the gridiron. "Michigan's
ride is the same way. They do such an exceptional job that we won't
be able to replicate it in practice, so we are trying to teach our
guys to recognize things."
Scheduling is
Everything
I asked Gettysburg's Hank Janczyk what was the difference
between this year and last year at this point in the season. For
the Bullets coach it was the schedule. Gettysburg opened with
Messiah, Hampden-Sydney and Goucher this spring - slightly lighter
fare than 2009's opening run of Sydney, Stevenson and Cortland.
"Playing Stevenson early on kind of surprised us," said Janczyk. "I
had no idea how good they really were. I was trying to play them
and Cortland back-to-back and that was tough. I think the schedule
[this year] is a good one, but we're just not playing two Top 5
teams back-to-back early in the season."
Welcome Back
Returning to the field for the first time since the program
was suspended last year because of inappropriate off-field player
behavior, the Curry (Mass.) men's team won its season opener. The
win in itself was something, but the fact that it came against
Mount Ida, a tournament team from 2009, must be heartening for
Steve Batchelor and the Colonels.
In the first annual - and aptly named - Frostbite Classic, Curry
rallied from a 4-1 halftime deficit to take the 7-6 triumph. Evan
Hammersley scored Curry's game-winner with 1:28 left in the contest
for the 1-0 start to the season. Curry will be hard-pressed to get
past the Commonwealth Coast quarterfinals, but this win removes a
little of the bad taste from the 2009 campaign.
NOTES: Raba said he feels bad for the Hamilton
athletic director. The Wesleyan coach said Hamilton has submitted
seven different versions of a schedule for next year when the
Continentals join the NESCAC and there is always a conflict with
one team. "It's just a nightmare job to come into as your first big
task," said Raba...keep a close eye on the Catholic-Salisbury and
W&L-F&M games this weekend because they are likely previews
of NCAA quarterfinal contests...if you are looking for some NESCAC
women's action, you'll have to settle for Wesleyan for a while. The
Cardinals play four games in six days before the rest of conference
opens on March 13.
