Weekend Watch: Hebert’s Wake-up Call
by Jac Coyne | Lacrosse Magazine Online Staff | Coyne Archive | Twitter
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| Always a natural in between the pipes, it took
Stevenson goalie Geoff Hebert two years to find the maturity and
drive he needed to come up with the total package. © Dan Putz |
Geoff Hebert thought his coach was just putting him on.
It was prior to the York game in 2008, Hebert’s sophomore
year, when Stevenson coach Paul Cantabene told his prodigal
goaltender that he would be the third-string goalie for this game.
Hebert didn’t believe it for a minute. He knew he was at
least the second best goalie on the team, if not netminder 1-A, so
the former Dulaney product just brushed it off.
“He would always say I was the third-string goalie and I
always thought he was joking,” admitted Hebert. “I
thought I was backing up the starter and he put in a couple of guys
ahead of me and I said, ‘Man, I guess I am the third
string.’ That was a little bit of a wake-up call.”
Hebert’s ability has always been a constant.
He has the rare blend of technical skill and a natural ease in the
crease. Hebert’s inability to combine that talent with the
necessary dedication forced Cantabene to send him a message.
“He didn’t have the drive or the maturity in order to
be a starting goalie for a Top 10 team,” said Cantabene.
“When you’re in goal for a Top 10 team, the maturity
level has to be there so the guys in front of you respect you and
play hard for you. You have to have the mental capability to call
out the defenses and save the ball at the same time. He
wasn’t quite there, but he should have been."
Like a lot of immature young men who arrive at college, Hebert was
enjoying all of the non-academic fruits that only institutions of
higher education can offer. While he liked playing lacrosse, it was
just one of his outlets.
“The first two years I was having a good time – too
good of a time probably – and my parents and coach were
asking me, ‘What are you doing? What do you want out of your
college career? Because right now you’re not getting much out
of it.’ I kind of sat on that for a little bit."
Even though he had been demoted to third string and was
directionless in both his academic and lacrosse career, Hebert
finally put himself back on course after getting a dose of
reality.
Working at a summer lacrosse camp in between his sophomore and
junior year, Hebert tore the meniscus in his knee. It was a serious
injury that frightened Hebert, almost scaring him straight in a
way.
“It kind of kick-started my work ethic,” said Hebert.
“I had to rehab and get back to where I needed to be, so I
was getting in shape. It really made me want to play a lot more. It
was weird.”
“His work ethic changed,” confirmed Cantabene.
“He worked hard on and off the field, in the weight room.
When he came back for his junior year, all of a sudden it was,
‘Wow, he is a totally different player.’ He really took
the bull by the horns and took over.”
In his first year as the full-time starting keeper, Hebert finished
with a 16-2 record, a 7.04 goals against average and a save
percentage hovering just below 60 percent as Stevenson advanced all
the way to the NCAA semifinals.
After two tumultuous years, he had found his game and himself.
“If you’re going to get anything out of something, you
have to put the work in,” said Hebert. “I finally put
the work in and I was able to succeed a little bit.”
But the challenges were not over.
With Stevenson boasting a perfect 3-0 record to start this season,
Hebert was warming up for the game against Western New England
College when a shot caught his thumb awkwardly, breaking it.
Undaunted, and unwilling to give up any of his final season in net,
Hebert braced the injury and returned to the field.
Three games later in the waning minutes of a win over Lynchburg,
Hebert suffered a broken hand on a shot that forced him to sit for
nearly a month and miss eight games, including the Mustangs’
16-10 loss to conference rival Salisbury.
Although the frustration level was maddening, Hebert kept his body
in shape and his mind sharp during the hiatus and was back in the
cage two days after he was cleared, making 17 saves to lift
Stevenson to a 16-3 victory over St. Mary’s and earning a
second chance at Salisbury on Saturday in the CAC championship
game.
“It’s great to see a kid who early on kind of figured
out what we were teaching him and why, and turning himself into a
good player on the field and a good person off it,” said
Cantabene. “I couldn’t be happier for Geoff and how his
career has panned out. He hasn’t received a lot of honors,
but I hope he will this year. Either way, I think Geoff is a better
person and he’s happier than he was before.”
He’s happier, but there is still one thing that would pay
off his whole lacrosse career.
“We don’t have a trophy yet,” he said.
“We’ve won some big games but we’ve also lost
some, as well. I’m just trying to help our team make the next
step."
Regardless of whether Stevenson gets its hardware, Hebert will walk
away from his college lacrosse career with something that will help
him for the rest of his life.
Pressure Zone
The players who must make a difference for their teams
this weekend.
Craig Bunker, Midfield, Colby
He’s been such a huge presence for the White Mules on
the face-off – he’s currently sporting a ridiculous
75.8 winning percentage (172-of-227) – and Bunker will have
to keep this up if Colby wants to hand Conn. College its first
blemish on Saturday. In addition to the pride of reining in the
Camels, a win would help the White Mules dig out from their current
No. 7 seed in the NESCAC tourney. You’d also have to think a
monster game for Bunker would move him up another All-American
team.
Evan Douglass, Defense, Stevenson
One of the big turning points in the first meeting between
Salisbury and Stevenson was when Douglass was driven away from the
field in an ambulance six minutes into the game because of a
bruised lung. It would be presumptuous to say his absence somehow
changed the outcome of the game, but his sustained presence could
be pivotal in slowing down Sam Bradman and the rest of the Gull
offense, giving the Mustangs a chance.
Chad Frost, Attack, Utah Valley
Utah Valley is ranked No. 4 in MCLA Division II and they
will be facing off against Utah, ranked No. 17 in Division I, but I
don’t think this game is that much of a mismatch for the
Wolverines. And if Frost, who currently has 34 goals and 38 assists
in 14 games, can deliver for UVU, there’s definitely a chance
for the upset. I think Utah Valley is a serious threat to win the
Division II championships and Frost is a player of the year
candidate. A win here would strengthen those beliefs.
Dean Hall, Goalie,
Michigan State
Hall is one of the premier goalies in the MCLA and
he’ll have to play like it against the two-time defending
champs. The senior has never beaten the Wolverines in his career,
and if the Spartans pick up the win it will because of an
All-American performance by Hall. He is currently saving 62 percent
of the shots he’s facing, but he’ll probably have to
amp that up to near 70 percent if State is to unseat the
champs.
Blake Hargest, Attack, Franklin & Marshall
The loss to Gettysburg on Wednesday means it’s
unlikely the Dips will get to host a regional, but a loss to TCNJ
on Friday night and F&M will undoubtedly have a brutal NCAA
draw. The burden to making sure this doesn’t happen falls on
Hargest. The Diplomat offense managed just nine shots on goal
against Gettysburg, making the Bullet goalie make two saves in the
8-7 loss. F&M will likely need to triple that number if it
wants to hang around with the high-flying Lions. So whether
it’s by scoring the goals herself (she has 36 this season) or
assisting on others (32), Hargest needs to be the catalyst.
Lily Nguyen, Goalie, Middlebury
Well, this is it. The Panthers are out of the Pool C
(at-large) mix, but now they must show a sign of life and prove
they can be a threat in the NESCAC tournament by defeating Tufts on
Saturday. Nguyen will be the last line of defense against a Jumbo
squad that loves to run-and-gun. The Panthers will get their goals,
but the sophomore will need to make a couple of stops maybe she
shouldn’t have.
Slides & Rides
- One of the reasons I cover the small schools is because
of the heartwarming stories that pop up all the time. Perhaps my
favorite story of the year happened last weekend. As the captains
met for the coin toss prior to the Muhlenberg-Moravian
non-conference game, Muhlenberg captains Ari Jacobson, Matthew
Schroeder and Sean Delaney presented the Moravian captains with a
book of letters written by each of the Muhlenberg players imploring
the Moravian athletic department to keep its lacrosse programs,
which are scheduled to be disbanded at the conclusion of the
season.
“We all wrote why we value being lacrosse players,”
said Jacobson. “Athletics have been a big part of all of our
academic experiences, and I know it’s helped me in the
classroom. It’s a shame they are getting rid of the
program.”
It is indeed a shame that Moravian is making this decision. It is
in stark contrast to the behavior of the Mule players and their
poignant effort. It makes me proud to be associated with the sport.
My hat is off to the Muhlenberg players and coaches. They get
it.
- The ride finally ended for the St. John Fisher men on Wednesday
with a 14-10 setback to Empire 8 rival Nazareth. It was a great run
for the No. 10 Cardinals and the players should be extremely proud
of their accomplishment. Since Naz has established itself as the
presumptive favorite in the E8 now, we have to shoot Fisher’s
schedule through the prism of Pool C and see how they stack up.
Assuming that Fisher wins its last four games – and it should
with Alfred, Medaille, Utica and Elmira remaining – and
advances to the league title game before losing, that would put the
Cardinals at 17-2 with all but one of the games coming against
regional opponents. Is it enough? We’ll have to see how the
rest of the field plays out, but Ithaca’s omission in
’09 with a 14-2 mark against slightly better competition
sticks in my mind.
- Keep an eye on the Christopher Newport women and where they get
seeded in the NCAA tournament. The Captains punched their ticket to
the tourney last Saturday with a comfortable, 19-9 victory over
Greensboro in the USA South championship game – CNU’s
fifth straight. But Christopher Newport also followed that up with
an impressive, 20-14 victory over Roanoke, which went to the NCAAs
last year as the AQ out of the ODAC. With games against St.
Mary’s and Washington & Lee left, the Captains may have
built themselves up a strong enough strength of schedule (they
played Salisbury, Mary Washington & Lynchburg earlier this
year) to avoid being dealt to a No. 1 seed in the first round of
the tournament.
- I hope to have conference tournament clearinghouses for all three
of my divisions up on Friday or early Saturday. Look for them in my
archive section and I’ll be sure to include them in all of my
stories.
MD3 Notes –
I’ll be keeping my eye on Salisbury’s Sam Bradman this
weekend. He will obviously be the focus of the Stevenson defense,
but if delivers like he has been all season, I’m not sure if
I can find a better player of the year candidate. He’ll be on
the same field as his biggest competition – Stevenson’s
Steve Kazimer – which should highlight any
disparity…while all of the top teams have a POY candidate,
Cabrini’s Casey Grugan and Conn. College’s Steve
Dachille are the other two that stand out at this point.
WD3 Notes –
Speaking of Christopher Newport, Congrats to Kaitlin Quigley for
breaking the single-season goals record. She hit the 64-goal mark
with four against Roanoke…FDU-Florham’s junior Lindsey
Parent who scored the 100th goals of her
career…also, congrats to RIT senior Eileen Hennigan who
because the Tigers all-time leading goal scorer.
MCLA Notes –
As much as I’ve been pushing for the MCLA to publish its
selection criteria for the good of its membership, it’s kind
of fun having absolutely no guidelines to go by when trying to
determine who will be the at-large selections… Huge long
weekend in the RMLC, especially for Brigham Young and Colorado. No.
4 BYU faces No. 3 Colorado State on Saturday and then travels to
No. 12 Colorado on Monday. The first game features jockeying for
seedings in the national tournament – both squads are locks
– while the second one is imperative for Colorado if the
Buffs harbor any aspirations of sneaking into the tourney without
the AQ…keep an eye on the SELC-II tournament. It will hold
the key to a lot of the at-large bids to Denver…I was
thinking about the player of the year race. Joe Costello is still
the favorite in D-II, but who’s tops in D-I? Is it
conventional picks like Chapman’s Connor Martin, BYU’s
Eliot Grow or Michigan’s Trevor Yealy, or is there a dark
horse, like Central Florida’s David Drehoff? A lot of it will
probably be decided in Denver.
