Weekend Watch: Brothers in the Backyard
by Jac Coyne | Lacrosse Magazine Online Staff | Coyne
Archive | Twitter
|
| Whether it's the Stevenson attack, bolstered by Richie
Ford (above), or the Salisbury midfield, the Gulls and Mustangs are
similar in many ways. That's why you know it's going to come down
to the little things on Saturday. © Kevin P. Tucker |
There will be timeouts called sometime on Saturday during the
game between Stevenson and Salisbury, but there won’t be a
whole lot of talking going on. These breaks will simply be an
opportunity to catch a breather, maybe grab a little water, and nod
along to a confidence-boosting talk.
There will be no need to go over strategy, however.
These two teams are the equivalent of brothers playing in the
backyard – they know all of their opponent’s moves,
it’s just a question of who got the better night’s
sleep, who had the more balanced breakfast and, to lean on a tired
cliché, who wants it more.
“The timeouts are just settling things down,” confirmed
Stevenson coach Paul Cantabene. “Each game gets more intense
than the last one and more is on the line. There is such a big
rivalry building up that sometimes you just have to calm your team
down a little bit or get them up. Those timeouts are not
reinventing the wheel. It’s more mental.”
Jim Berkman, Salisbury’s head man, wouldn’t divulge
what will be spoken about – if anything – in his
mid-contest huddles, but it sure won’t be about the game
plan.
“We played them three times last year and I’ve got
every one of their game tapes sitting in my office,” said
Berkman. “I’ve seen every game they’ve played
this year. I know who their new guys are and what they do. There
aren’t going to be any surprises on Saturday.”
Like brothers getting muddy behind the house, Stevenson and
Salisbury antagonize each other due to a blend of fierce
competition and grudging respect. They are members of the same
conference, they are ranked No. 1 (Stevenson) and No. 2
(Salisbury), and, like siblings, they are seemingly operating in
their own universe right now.
“We’re similar about how we go about our
business,” said Cantabene. “Both teams are eager to
win, and we get after each other’s team and want to perform
better on game day.”
The similarities extend a little further. Both teams like to play
fast and each program has a signature offensive unit –
Stevenson’s attack of Steve Kazimer, Jimmy Dailey and Richie
Ford and Salisbury’s midfield of Sam Bradman, Mike Von
Kamecke and Shawn Zordani – combined with an unheralded
defensive corps.
Getting to a more fundamental level, both of these programs have
above average players; players that could probably compete at a
higher NCAA level but have chosen to pursue a title with the Gulls
or Mustangs.
As Berkman succinctly said about these two title contenders,
“Nobody wins a Division III championship with Division III
players.”
Like two kids striving to get bragging rights at the dinner table,
the two coaches and programs have spent extensive time not only
trying to expose each other’s weaknesses, but examining their
own.
According to Berkman, Salisbury’s Achilles’ heel lies
with a small, yellow flag.
“Just like any other big game this year we want to limit our
time in the box,” said Berkman. “That’s what a
good team has to do against another good team. Last year, in both
of the third quarter runs by Stevenson, they had a couple of man-up
goals and we had some not very smart penalties.”
Illustrating Berkman’s point, the Gulls drew three flags in
their lone win against Stevenson last year and 15 combined
penalties in the two losses. In huge wins against Gettysburg (two
minutes) and Cortland (3:30) so far this season, Salisbury has kept
the hankies in the official’s pockets for the most part.
The key for Stevenson will be the continued stellar play of junior
Ray Witte at the face-off X. Injured for much of last year with a
severe ankle sprain when not playing in the shadow of All-American
Greg Furshman, Witte has been running at a 65 percent clip so far
this spring.
“Now is his time to shine and he has done a great job of
facing the entire year,” said Cantabene, who knows a thing or
two about taking face-offs. “He stays low, starts transition,
and gets the ball more times than not. I think that’s why
we’ve been winning games as big as we have. That will be a
huge part of the game because Ryan Finch [63%] is a very good
face-off guy, as well.”
When you’ve got your figurative sibling in your sites, you
utilize every advantage that it takes to pick up the victory. And
even if you don’t win the match-up today, all is not
lost.
Like brothers in the backyard, they know they’ll be meeting
again real soon.
Pressure Zone
The players who need to make an impact this weekend
for their team to be victorious.
Kaitlan Biondi, Defense, Allegheny
The Gators can score goals. They’re currently averaging a
shade over 15 markers per outing, yet Allegheny is only 3-3. Why?
Because they tend to let up a lot more goals. Take, for instance,
their spring break trip when they scored 17 against Western Conn.
and 14 versus Southern Maine and lost both. So Biondi, the senior
leader of the Gators’ defense, needs to tighten things up
this week or Wooster, the reigning NCAC champion, will give
Allegheny another high-scoring loss.
Justin Blackmore, Attack, Oregon
If Blackmore wants to be an All-American, he has to prove it this
weekend. The Oregon defense has been solid all year, but the once
high-powered offense, led by Blackmore, has fizzled in winnable
games against Michigan and Michigan State. The senior amassed two
goals and one assist against these top programs – less than
All-American numbers. Blackmore can put himself, and his team, back
on the map if he put up some big offensive numbers against No. 2
Chapman and No. 4 Arizona State.
Jack Curtis, Attack, Endicott
Eric Hagarty and the rest of the Gull defense have been playing
solidly all season and have yet to allow an opponent to crack
double-digits. Still, Endicott is just a .500 team after losses by
scores of 7-6, 8-3, 9-7, and 7-5. Can’t blame the defense for
those finals. Fortunately, the Gulls O showed a sign of life
against Williams, and Curtis was the key, scoring a goal and
setting up five others. He’ll need to do that again and hope
it rubs off on his offensive teammates for Endicott to upend
Commonwealth Coast Conference bully WNEC.
Chase Delano, Attack, Middlebury
Missy Foote and the Panthers learned the hard way that they
couldn’t run-and-gun with the White Mules and despite the
fact that Kate Sheridan has graduated, it’s unlikely
they’ll try again this time. Delano was masterful last spring
in the NCAA tournament when she spearheaded a methodical approach
while scoring six goals, leading Midd to a 9-3 upset of Colby in
Waterville. If Delano can quarterback her squad again and resist
the temptation to constantly attack the goal, Middlebury should be
in good shape.
Dan Dickson, Attack, Illinois
The Fighting Illini are a two-trick pony on offense right now with
Dickson (18g, 7a) and Scott Pfiffner (15g, 9a) accounting for 53
percent of Illinois’ points after six games. Having go-to
guys can be nice at times, but it also makes a team predictable
– not a good thing. Dickson, and to some degree Pfiffner, are
going to see a lot of attention (the next leading scorer has five
markers), but they’ll have to play quicker than the slide if
the Illini want to spring the upset.
Kristen Krammer, Goalie, Gettysburg
During the Bullets loss to Middlebury, Krammer watched the Panthers
slow down the pace and maximize their scoring chances. It worked,
mostly because Middlebury waited out the Gettysburg defense and
only attacked when they had Krammer in a bad spot. As such, the
senior only made five saves while allowing 10 goals. Well,
she’s going to see a whole different look on Saturday because
TCNJ would like nothing better than to run with the Bullets. This
means Krammer will see plenty of shots and must stop more than the
50.9 percent she’s blocking to this point.
Conor Malangone, Attack, Wesleyan
It’s go time for the Cardinals. If we’re to
expect anything out of Wesleyan other than a quick flame-out in the
first round of the NESCAC tournament – if it even makes the
league tourney – it must show us something this week against
Tufts. And sometimes it’s one guy who has to stand up and
make the difference. Enter Malangone. The Cardinals defense is a
shell of what it used to be, so Wes needs goals to make sure they
are in it at the end. Malangone is literally a pure scorer (he has
17 goals and no assists) and he’ll need a handful against the
Jumbos. If not, Wesleyan will be playing Amherst on April 24 for
the privilege of being the No. 8 seed.
Ricky Scheetz,
Middie, Ohio Wesleyan
Scheetz is not a dominant face-off man – he’s
currently running a smidge over 50 percent (64-of-122) – but
against Denison he can not only bolster his numbers, but prove to
be the different for the Bishops. The Big Red are susceptible at
the face-off X, and showed it when they were dominated by Wooster
in their stunning loss last week. There’s no reason to
believe that if OWU snags 60 percent of draws they won’t win
this game.
David Thomas, Goalie, Central Florida
I think David Drehoff and the Knights’ offense will
score enough goals to keep Central Florida competitive against
Florida, so this one will ride with Thomas. The senior has been
solid so far, racking up a 58.6 save percentage (the MCLA does not
keep GAA stats) and an 8-2 record, but he needs his best game of
the season on Friday night.
Slides & Rides
- Now that we know Geoff Hebert, Stevenson’s
starting goalie, is on the shelf until later on this month, you
might think that would be a huge advantage for Salisbury. Well,
just remember who you are talking to. “We won a national
championship with a third-string goalie,” said Salisbury
coach Jim Berkman, referring to the 2008 title game when Nick
Fiorentino stepped into the starting keeper role after some
off-field contretemps by the first and second-stringers. “He
was excellent for a third-string goalie, just as Stevenson’s
second and third-string goalies are.”
When I pressed Berkman about how they’ve changed their
scouting report with Hebert out and Andrew Harrington in, he gave
me the really inside scoop. “One’s left-handed and
one’s right-handed,” said Berkman, with a chuckle.
- In all of the haste to tab Skidmore or Union as the heir apparent
to St. Lawrence’s spot atop the men’s Liberty League,
RPI was lost in the shuffle. After edging Skidmore on Wednesday,
10-9, the Engineers are now 7-1 heading into this weekend’s
game against Hamilton. RPI’s only loss was a 4-3 overtime
affair against a solid Montclair State team on the road, so the
Engineers are going to be a handful in the Liberty tournament. The
key to Rensselaer’s success appears to be goalie James
Manchester, who has a 5.28 GAA and a 62.6 save percentage. And just
file this away: RPI has a big chip in its stack with the
early-season win over RIT that they may be able to cash in on
Selection Sunday if they need it.
- There are always two sides to every story, so I won’t try
to figure out the plotline of Pete Stevenson’s dismissal from
his coaching position at University of Colorado. I am, however,
perplexed by the statement issued by Kristopher Schoech, the club
sports manager at Colorado, and his insistence on twice using the
word “terminated” in the official release.
It may seem like semantics, but words carry weight whether we want
them to or not, and "terminated" is heavy. From afar, it appears
like an unnecessary kick in the pants to Stevenson on his way out
the door. If Schoech and the university were trying to send a
strong message to Stevenson with that kind of verbiage, it very
well may have worked, but to a third party it makes the institution
appear amateurish.
- Speaking of coaching changes, Chris Swanenburg, a former All-Ivy
goalie for Yale and the only coach in the three-year history of the
Christopher Newport men’s program, was relieved of his
duties. CNU athletic director C.J. Woollum was brief during a
conversation with Melinda Waldrop of the Newport News Daily
Press. “The bottom line is he’s just not with
us any longer, and Todd Boward’s taking over,” said
Woollum. Boward was an assistant for the Captains.
- Personally, I think Washington & Lee women play the type of
schedule that should earn it an at at-large berth even if it
finishes with a 13-5 or 12-6 record and a runner-up finish in the
ODAC, but the Generals went a long way in making sure that
isn’t an issue with their victory on Monday over conference
nemesis Roanoke. Paced by a hat trick from Meredith Freeman,
W&L won, 9-7, all but guaranteeing the ODAC title game will be
in Lexington on May 1. With a little Liberty Hall Fields magic, the
Generals are in prime position to revisit the NCAA tourney.
- Here’s a quick trivia question. Can you name the two
schools sponsoring NCAA Division III lacrosse that have undefeated
men’s and women’s teams? Salisbury probably pops into
your head pretty quickly, but you might have to think about the
other one for a little bit. The answer: Hamilton. The Continental
men improved to 6-0 on Wednesday with a comfortable, 12-3 win over
Oneonta while the No. 3 Hamilton ladies are 6-0, as well. With the
Hamilton men facing RPI on Saturday and the Salisbury men facing
Stevenson, this trivia question might have a short shelf-life, so
I’m glad I got it in now. Thanks to Hamilton sports
information director Jim Taylor for that little nugget.
- More Trivia! Can you name the only other school in all of NCAA
lacrosse that has both of its programs unblemished? Answer at the
end…
- During its past two national championship runs, Michigan has had
a couple of close shaves in the playoffs, but pretty smooth sailing
during the regular season. So far this season, however, the
Wolverines have escaped with a pair of one-goal victories,
including an overtime decision against No. 9 Oregon. What gives?
Could it be that the rest of the MCLA is catching up with Big
Blue?
“There are teams in the MCLA that can beat us, and we know
that,” said Michigan coach John Paul. “I prefer to
view the close shaves as successes. We'd rather not be in that
position, but so far we've been able to survive them.”
In actuality, it might just be a case of the Wolverines
getting…well…bored.
“The goal is certainly to build a team that nobody else can
challenge, but eventually that gets a little boring, doesn't
it? We get excited for competitive games, and while we want to
win every one of them, we wish we had more of them,” said
Paul. “We're trying to keep the team hungry. We're
working hard, but keeping the sense of urgency and desperation that
got us to where we are is a little more challenging.”
Michigan plays Western Michigan (4-2) and Central Michigan (1-4)
this weekend.
- Something to keep an eye on in the Denison-Ohio Wesleyan
match-up: don’t be surprised if the Battling Bishops get a
little physical with the Big Red. Not only does OWU naturally take
a lot of penalties – they currently have nearly three times
the penalty minutes as their opponents – but they’ll be
going against a Denison team that is currently operating at a
1-for-18 EMO clip. If your opponent can’t cash in, why
wouldn’t play a little rough, right?
- I now know that Bowdoin coach Tom McCabe feels Conn. College is
quicker than his team. How do I know this? Here’s an excerpt
from a release that I received on Thursday:
"BRUNSWICK, Maine - The Bowdoin
College Athletic Department has announced a pair of schedule
changes for Saturday, April 3. The Bowdoin
College men's lacrosse team will host
Connecticut College on the natural turf of
Pickard Field on Saturday."
Bowdoin is playing the old “grass card” on the
Camels, hoping for a small advantage that could play a significant
difference in the game (if only mental). In McCabe’s defense,
he has always preferred to play on a natural surface when possible
and the Pickard Field that I remember is now a parking lot next to
the new hockey rink, but I still have a hard time believing the
Brunswick sod will be in optimum condition on April 3. I like this
kind of stuff, however. The NESCAC season is officially afoot.
MD3 Snipes: Good
for Endicott. I put a fork in the Gulls last week after they lost
to Gordon and they bounced back by handing a good Williams team a
14-9 setback. Remember, the Ephs only gave up nine to
Roanoke…congrats to Wells (N.Y.) for notching the first win
in program history, a 12-7 victory over Penn State-Abington on
Sunday…I don’t want to sound too glib because I know
the Golden Knights are hurting, but Clarkson is the best 0-8 team
in the country. The schedule looks a lot stiffer now than it did in
the preseason and of the three games they probably should have won,
two were lost in overtime and another by two goals. But I’m
not even going to look at the schedule and still call it right
now: Clarkson wins this weekend.
WD3 Snipes: Ferrum
(Va.) might not be known as a D-III power, but it has a victory
over a D-II program on its resume now. Emily Guenthner scored with
4:23 left in the game to give the Panthers an 11-10 victory over
Lees-McRae out of Conference Carolinas…speaking of the USA
South, Greensboro junior Layne Woodward set the school record for
draw controls in a season with 95. Last year, she set the record
with 93, which also led the nation in the category…gritty
win for No. 19 Catholic over No. 14 Williams, 7-6 on Tuesday.
I’d have guessed the Cardinals would have folded with the
season-ending injury to Kate Robinson and a brutal schedule, but
they’re not rolling over. The quest to get to the .500 mark
(which will guarantee a Pool B berth) will be a struggle, but
I’ll bet you Megan McDonogh and her kids pull it
off…and if they do, McDonogh better get some coach of the
year votes…how about Alvernia and their 6-2 record? The MAC
has a little punch this year…Oberlin scored 24 goals against
Agnes Scott, the most the Yeowomen have scored in a
decade…Muhlenberg had their 31-game non-conference win
streak snapped by Drew. It always stinks to get recognized after
the fact, but a belated congrats to the Mules for the solid
run.
MCLA Snipes:
I’m going to go ahead and call it: Loyola Marymount is an
at-large entrant in the MCLA tourney. At this point, the worst case
scenario I envision is a 12-5 record, and considering the schedule
the Lions have played and who they’ve beat, that should be
enough…the Lone Star Alliance is the MCLA punching bag, and
Sam Houston State has been a target. The likely representative to
the D-II tournament out of the LSA, SHS showed they might not be as
much of a pushover as some think after knocking off D-I Texas
A&M, 12-7. A&M has already defeated a strong Tennessee
squad and lost by a goal to both Southern Cal and
Lindenwood…speaking of USC, the Trojans are 6-2 with a
recent win over Claremont. No. 2 Chapman and No. 15 UCSB are up
next…there was a comment at the bottom of my Making Sense
column from last week complaining about the omission of BYU
from my Power Fives. I’ll admit it: BYU went way off my radar
after losing to Michigan and Chapman. That might be a little
unfair, but because of their schedule the Cougars are off the grid
until April 24 when they play No. 3 Colorado State.
Trivia answer: Charles William Post.
NOTE: My in-laws are in town for the Easter weekend, meaning
I’ll be washing my mother-in-laws feet for three days. Hence,
my Making Sense column will be delayed on Monday, likely until the
late afternoon. Thanks to everyone who reads it, and I’ll get
back to the usual schedule next week.
