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Making Sense: Moravian Seeks Support

by Jac Coyne | Lacrosse Magazine Online Staff | Coyne Archive | Twitter

All of the same visceral emotions are there. There’s the sense of anger, betrayal, frustration, abandonment and, ultimately, hopelessness.

But unlike the Butler men’s lacrosse saga that played out during the spring of 2006, the impending cancellation of the men’s and women’s lacrosse programs at Moravian College has been treated like a footnote.

When it’s a Division I team that caves, like Butler, it’s big news because that level of our sport grows at a glacial pace. If one team is eliminated at the D-I echelon it means there is a significant percentage lopped off the “face of the sport.”

Read: the sky is falling.

When a D-III program gets the ax? Pffft. Those guys are a dime a dozen.

Right?

Just because these Moravian kids play simply for the love of the game and not a scholarship or the limelight doesn’t mean the loss of an opportunity to express themselves hurts any less. You don’t have to be one of the best players in the country or have the best record to get angry when the rug is jerked out from underneath you.

Like anyone in the same situation, the initial urge for the Moravian players was undoubtedly to demonize the institution and the decision-makers who made the choice to kill lacrosse at Moravian. It’s easy. But no school president, board of trustees or athletic director wants to chop sports.

Doing that shines a bright, and unwanted, spotlight on the fact that these same people collectively did not have the vision to see there were budgetary problems ahead or the strategic planning to handle the situation when it did arise.

And, sadly, the Moravian administration who allowed this to happen will probably be joined by other schools that will have to make some very tough fiscal choices.

Just like the homebuilders and home buyers who were caught with their pants down when the market corrected itself after the “funny money” era of the last two decades, colleges and universities were mesmerized by their own bloated endowments. Moravian, for example, just built a shiny, new $27M dorm last year, but now can’t find the change in the couch cushions to sponsor men’s and women’s lacrosse.

Those endowments don’t look quite so big anymore – Harvard alone lost $8 billion in 2008, according to the Wall Street Journal – and the $40,848 annual tuition hit at Moravian, which is standard fare for most private, liberal arts colleges, is looking a lot more imposing for families than the local state university up the road. 

These financial times do not absolve the head honchos at Moravian of the blame, and I’m guessing some of them would agree they, like most of us, did not see the economic issues we’re currently dealing with racing towards them. As such, I don’t think they would begrudge the Moravian men’s and women’s lacrosse players if they lashed out at their school and its caretakers for allowing this to happen.

But a funny thing is going to happen at Moravian.

Instead of expressing their anger – which is very real – in an unproductive, immature manner that would be emotionally cathartic, the players are trying to take the high road. They want to demonstrate in a constructive fashion how important lacrosse is to them and to their school by inviting as many lacrosse fans as possible to show up at their home game on their Bethlehem, Pa., campus this Saturday (April 10) at 4 p.m.

By attracting a large crowd, the players want to show the Moravian powers-that-be that lacrosse is not some niche sport easily thrown on the ash heap of the school’s money woes, but rather the fastest growing sport in our country. They want to illustrate that they are an important thread in the institution’s fabric and to lose them is to unravel a permanent connection with an ever-growing lacrosse community.

When lacrosse fans do show up to support one of their soon-to-be cancelled brothers and sisters – the Moravian players are hoping for 2,000 in total – it will undoubtedly be a bittersweet moment for the school’s administration.

They will see a group of young men and women acting with a mature, clear-headed, professional demeanor when trying to problem solve; attributes the school certainly played a large role in teaching them. But then the administrators will remember that it was they who forced these players to act in such an inspiring way, and it was they who forced these future alums to take that irrevocable first step down the path of being perpetually dissatisfied with the opportunities their alma mater provided them.

Hopefully, the irony will spur Moravian College board of trustees to take the appropriate action, and not be lost amidst the bean counting.

Game Balls
Jamie Albert, Middie, Keene State
The junior scored seven goals and set up two others, guiding Keene State over Eastern Conn. in a Little East showdown, 20-14. The game was a rematch of last year’s conference championship game – also won by the Owls – and sets Keene State up as the favorite to return to the dance.

Steve Dachille, Attack, Conn. College
Dachille’s fifth goal of the game against Bowdoin proved to be the most important. The senior skipped a low shot into the Polar Bear net in overtime, lifting the Camels to an 8-7 victory. The win was the first for Conn. College over Bowdoin since 1999 and improved the Camels to 8-0 on the season and 4-0 in the NESCAC.

Emmett Jones, Attack, Denison
Jones scored four of his six goals against Ohio Wesleyan in the last 17 minutes of the game, helping the Big Red rally from an 11-9 deficit to record the 16-13 win. Jones also chipped in with an assist in a victory that pretty much wraps up a Pool B NCAA tournament berth.

Kathleen Notos, Midfield, College of New Jersey
The rest of WD3 shivered when they saw the box score of TCNJ’s win over Gettsyburg and realized that Sharon Pfluger has another stud midfield to complement Ali Jaeger and Leigh Mitchell. Notos scored five goals, including a natural hat trick during a five minute span late in the first half to give TCNJ a four-goal lead it would never lose.

Mark Ringeling, Attack, Washington & Jefferson
The sophomore scored 90 seconds into the second overtime period, lifting W&J to a 9-8 victory over Fontbonne. Ringeling finished the contest with a game-high four goals, helping the Presidents push over the .500 mark to 5-4.

Sewall Robinson, Attack, Kenyon
The Lords are 7-0 – the best start in the 39-year history of the program – and the sophomore was instrumental, scoring five goals in Kenyon’s 16-5 rout of Mt. St. Joseph. Robinson didn’t have a point coming into the game.

Wade Winebrenner, Goalie, SCAD
In a key game in SELC-II between Kennesaw State and Savannah School of Art & Design, Winebrenner made 20 saves to blunt Kennesaw’s offense and give the Bees a 9-6 victory. The win gives SCAD a strong resume for an at-large bid if they need it.

Games on Tap
Here are some of the intriguing midweek match-ups. It’s a relatively mundane slate of games as teams are coming down the conference home stretch.

W: No. 12 Tufts (5-2) at No. 11 Babson (8-2), 4:30 p.m., Tuesday
Babo is an interesting team this year. They have the ability to beat Union and Middlebury but can also have the lapses that caused the loss to Endicott. The Beavers will have to be on their game against a high-powered Tufts team or they’ll get run off the field. Playing in the relatively weak NEWMAC, this will be Babson’s last test before the NCAA tournament.

Haverford (5-5) at Ursinus (8-1), 4 p.m., Wednesday
The Black Squirrels are currently running seventh in the nine-team Centennial – a stunning situation considering the preseason expectations – and have run out losses to take. Every game is an elimination game for Haverford just to make the conference tourney (and even that’s not assured), so a midweek loss to a talented Ursinus club and that’s all she wrote.

Union (6-1) at Hamilton (6-1), 4 p.m., Wednesday
The race for the four slots in the Liberty League tournament is going to be entertaining and this game should be a wild one. Despite its solid record, Hamilton would be 0-2 in the league if they lose to the Dutchmen with only four games remaining. Union has aspirations of keeping its at-large hopes alive and the SOS bump from the Continentals would come in handy.

W: No. 19 Catholic (4-5) at No. 17 Washington & Lee (8-4), 4:30 p.m., Wednesday
Catholic’s gritty attempt at making the tournament without its star player continues against the Generals. The back-to-back wins over Williams and Mary Washington last week was a huge accomplishments and now W&L remains as the last ranked opponent on the schedule. The Generals are the odds-on favorites to win the ODAC, but a win over Catholic would be a nice at-large resume builder, if necessary.

Colby (5-3) at Bowdoin (3-5), 7 p.m., Wednesday
These two teams are heading in opposite directions. After a solid start, Bowdoin has stumbled of late, even coughing up a five-goal lead against Conn. College on Saturday. Five of the eight games for the White Mules so far have been decided by one goal, but now Colby is winning them, including the last three. The Polar Bears hold the head-to-head tiebreaker against Wesleyan for the No. 8 spot in the NESCAC tourney, but with Middlebury, Tufts and Williams still to play, picking up a second conference win would be critical.

No. 8 Roanoke (10-2) at No. 13 Washington & Lee (9-3), 7 p.m., Wednesday
This is one of the signature rivalries in MD3, and the winner of this game will keep a solid Pool C resume while the loser will have to sweat things out. The Maroons have had trouble with strong defenses, so the Generals are in a good spot, but W&L may not be able to score enough goals to reward its defense.

No. 6 Minnesota-Duluth at No. 3 Colorado State, 7 p.m. MDT, Friday
This is a lead-in game to the clash between No. 1 Michigan and soon-to-be No. 2 Colorado State on Sunday and a bit of a trap game for the Rams. Not only are the Bulldogs capable of beating them, but CSU will undoubtedly have visions of Wolverines dancing in their heads. We’ll get an idea of how business-like this State team is if they can ignore Sunday’s distraction and take care of UMD.

The Power Fives
Men's Division III
1. Salisbury (12-0) – And that win was on the road.
2. Tufts (7-0) – The Skidmore and Colby victories away from home look more impressive now.
3. Gettysburg (10-1) – The Bullets get a bump from the Gulls.
4. Conn. College (8-0) – It’s easy to marginalize the Camels, but what more can they do?
5. Stevenson (10-1) – April 24 can’t come soon enough for the Mustangs.

Women's Division III
1. Salisbury (13-0) – TCNJ is the last obstacle between the Gulls and another perfect regular season.
2. Trinity (7-0) – I’m starting to think the Chickens are national title contenders.
3. TCNJ (7-0) – The Lions were in control of Gettysburg from the start. Big one this weekend.
4. Hamilton (8-0) – Continentals have smooth sailing in front of them.
5. Franklin & Marshall (7-1) – Gettysburg is looking like less and less of a threat in the Centennial.

MCLA Division I
1. Michigan (9-0) – Wolverines outscore their conference opponents 48-6 this weekend. Fun.
2. Colorado State (10-0) – Michigan tilt next Sunday is officially the “Game of the Century.”
3. Michigan State (6-1) – Directional Michigan schools await this week.
4. Chapman (10-1) – The Panthers seemed bored this season. The Duck loss is a good thing.
5. Florida State (9-2) – The Sun Devils were here until Sunday night. ‘Noles stick around.

MCLA Division II
1. St. Thomas (5-0) – There’s only one game of consequence remaining for the Tommies.
2. Davenport (9-1) – Still in a holding pattern until GVSU on April 15.
3. Dayton (6-1) – I wonder what the tie-breaker rules are in the CCLA.
4. Westminster (6-3) – All the heavy lifting is over for the Griffins until the RMLC tourney.
5. St. John’s (6-2) – Utah Valley is knocking on the door of the Power Fives.

Slides & Rides
- One of the aspects of Moravian’s decision to kill their lacrosse programs is the impact it will have on the Landmark Conference. The league was right at the seven-team limit needed for the NCAA AQ, so unless there is a team added to the conference here in the next couple of months, it looks like the six other Landmark men’s schools will get kicked back into Pool B. On the women’s side, Moravian’s departure puts the league at five teams, two away from being a Pool A league. One humble suggestion: the Landmark consider adding Washington & Jefferson and St. Vincent as associate members in both men’s and women’s lacrosse to get them both to the AQ baseline.

- This week’s Making Sense is somewhat abbreviated because of the presence of my in-laws at the house for Easter until mid-Monday. We should be back on track for a late Sunday posting next week.

MD3 Notes
- Good story and in-game blog by LMO’s Matt DaSilva on the Salisbury-Stevenson game, touching on all of the many subplots in the game, including Gulls’ coach Jim Berkman using ‘rambunctious’ to describe his goalie. My favorite part: Stevenson coach Paul Cantabene illustrating his displeasure with the officiating by sarcastically suggesting we eliminate face-offs from the game.

- The only thing that seems to be holding true in the NESCAC so far is that Tufts is solid and Bates will struggle. Every other team has had a mildly surprising start, including Conn. College’s undefeated record. Perhaps more impressive about the Camels’ record is their resiliency, which they put on display in a come-for-behind win at Bowdoin. The Polar Bears, Wesleyan, Williams, Colby and Trinity have shown the potential to beat or lose to any other team in the conference. Makes for interesting results, but we’ll see if it has a detrimental impact on the league’s recent ability to snag two at-large berths.

- For the second time in as many meetings in Lancaster, Pa., Franklin & Marshall and Muhlenberg battled into triple overtime. The Dips took this meeting, 7-6, while the Mules won the 2008 installment…St. John Fisher (9-0) is still perfect with an 11-9 win over Hartwick…made a comment in my Weekend Watch about how Ohio Wesleyan might not be afraid to take a couple of penalties considering Dension was 1-for-18 coming into the game on EMO. Well, the Battling Bishops put the Big Red on the extra man nine times and Denison converted six of them. Go figure.

WD3 Notes
- University of New England’s Danielle Cate's nine tallies against Salve Regina on Thursday broke the school's single-game goal record of eight, which had been shared by 2002 graduate Hope Lavigne and 2008 graduate Ashley MacDonald. Cate followed that up with six more in a win over Southern Maine on Saturday. The Nor’Easters are now 6-1 to start the year.

- The Kenyon women set the school record for most consecutive wins to start a season in the school’s 39-year history when the Lords won their seventh against Mount St. Joseph’s on Saturday…Trinity beat Union to further their undefeated start to the year…Middlebury has the win over Gettysburg, but they’ve already been beaten three times…Greensboro’s Ashley Nolan set the school record for assists (10) and points (11) in a 24-3 win over North Carolina Wesleyan…St. John Fisher started the season with so much promise, but after a one-goal loss to Ithaca, the Cardinals are now 1-6…keep an eye on Brockport State in the SUNYAC. The Golden Eagles are 6-1 with Cortland coming up this Saturday…congrats to Rivier (N.H.), which picked up its first-ever win with an 18-6 decision over St. Joseph’s (Conn.).

MCLA Notes
- So what does the weekend’s action in the Pacific Northwest that featured Oregon beating Chapman, Chapman beating Simon Fraser, Simon Fraser beating Arizona State, and Arizona State beating Oregon tell me? First, that the nationals are going to be very exciting. Second, I’m still not sure about Oregon and Arizona State. I was hoping one of the two teams would use this weekend to make a statement. I suppose they each did, but not in a way that makes me think any more of them. Third, there’s a small sign of life out of Simon Fraser.

- One of my good friends, who was in my wife’s residency class at Travis Air Force Base, is a Grove City College (Pa.) graduate and I emailed him the latest Division II poll showing his alma mater at No. 8 in the country. His response: “Can't believe the GCC Wolverines are good at something. Actually, they were just starting out when I was there as a club team but they were beating some pretty good competition back then as well. I have never been more proud.”

As expected, Colorado State dispatched Colorado, 13-6, in a contest that lost much of the luster it had when the schedules were announced…Illinois gave Michigan State a run before losing by two. The Illini are definitely a threat in the GRLC…speaking of the GRLC, Lindenwood can put the Wisconsin myth to bed on Friday when the Lions host the Badgers in St. Charles.