MCLA Tourney Rewind: The Dynasty Dilemma
by Jac Coyne |
Lacrosse Magazine Online Staff | Coyne
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| Now that Dave Reinhard (above) and Michigan have won
three in a row, is it a good thing or a bad thing for the
MCLA? © Marc Piscotty |
Meet the new bosses. Same as the old bosses.
The 200 or so MCLA teams played out the entire 2010 season only to
find that absolutely nothing has changed since last May. Michigan
and St. Thomas are the premier programs in Division I and II,
respectively, and, now that it’s over, it almost seemed
predestined.
Did anyone really think these two teams weren’t winning it
all this year?
There were several poseurs who, at different points during the
season, made us believe the MCLA tournament wasn’t an
eventuality.
I got sucked into the Colorado State resurgence, but the Rams
couldn’t handle a cold, rainy night against a bunch of
Canadians. Arizona State had all the tools, but was unable
to navigate a 10-man ride. A Chapman victory is simply
not to be. In the junior circuit, Dayton forgot to tell
Westminster that the CCLA rules all, Davenport can’t hold a
lead against the North Stars, and Utah Valley isn’t used to
the pressure.
So are the MCLA dynastic sensibilities good for the association or
a hindrance?
One of the lures of watching sports is the unpredictable nature of
it. When it does become predictable, like Michigan and St.
Thomas’ success over the past couple of seasons, the
championships become less compelling. There is always the hope that
someone can pull the upset, but in the end there is a deflation
when fate isn’t altered.
But that’s more from a media/fans perspective. If we’re
talking about it from the general MCLA perspective, these dynasties
are a good thing.
While it may be frustrating for those teams in pursuit, Michigan
and St. Thomas have raised the bar for the rest of the league.
Teams now know that they aren’t going to luck their way into
winning a national championship. They’ll have to prepare
diligently and perform at the highest level for four games if they
want to wear the ring.
“I think you could see it this year: what we’ve done
has really brought up some of the other top programs,” said
Michigan coach John Paul. “They know the benchmark they have
to reach to compete with us and obviously some of them are doing
that. Is it good for the league if Michigan, or any team, is doing
this for 10 or 12 years? No. But for now, at this stage, yeah, I
think it’s good for the MCLA.”
This year’s Michigan victory stings a bit more for the rest
of the MCLA than the previous two because this was probably the
least talented of the three Wolverine championship squads. Instead
of rolling out the best players in every game, Michigan had to
settle for executing the best system and out-working the
opposition.
The same is not true of St. Thomas. None of the teams the Tommies
faced had the talent to compete, so their victory is easier to
swallow. If, however, St. Thomas does it again next year it will be
demoralizing, especially considering the number of premium players
(Michalski, Sadder, Soukop, Larson, etc.) who are graduating.
The MCLA certainly isn’t quite as interesting as it would be
if there were multiple title winners over the past three years, but
at this point we have to believe the raising of the bar will
eventually be fortuitous for the league in the future.
The Devils Watch and Learn
When the final horn sounded on Arizona State’s 12-11
loss to Michigan, the Sun Devil players briefly huddled up around
coach Chris Malone and then stood around as the Wolverines went
through the throes of their celebration. Winged helmets were thrown
in the air. Michigan players were kissing the trophy. Gatorade
baths. Cutting the nets. Team photos.
And the ASU players just stood there and watched uncomfortably.
It wasn’t that they wanted to. They were told to.
“I want them to sit down here and watch what is going on,
because we’ll be back,” said Chris Malone, who was also
out on the field watching Michigan revel in the win.
It wasn’t meant as a punishment, but rather a way to motivate
a team that returns all but two players next year. Considering how
proud Malone is of his team, it was far from being a punitive
measure.
“After the game was over, I told the guys to hold their heads
high,” said Malone. “They had done something that an
ASU team had never done. A lot of MCLA teams have never done what
they’ve done. This team changed the culture of the program.
The day we stepped on the field in the fall, the program
changed.”
Obviously, the program needed to change in the wake of the hazing
incident that cost the team the 2009 season, but the fact that they
were able to channel the frustration of the past 15 months into a
run to the cusp of a national championship is a testament to how
far the Sun Devils have come.
“Yes, we did lose a year, but the guys on the team are now
here to play lacrosse,” said Malone. “When I got here,
that wasn’t the case for everybody on the roster. Tyler
Westfall and Justin Krider, two of our captains and two guys who
came back, have a lot to be proud about because they changed the
course of this program in five years.”
If the script plays out, it will be some other team watching the
Devils celebrate in Denver in 2011.
A Proud Father
As I was sitting in one corner of the stands at halftime
of the semifinal game between Michigan and Chapman, a gentleman
approached me and asked how I pronounced my name. “Is it
Jayse or Jack,” he asked, sounding out the potential
phonetics of my first name. When I told him it was the latter, he
proffered his hand and said, “I’m Connor Martin’s
dad.” We spoke for maybe five minutes or so (and he did tell
me his first name, which I’ve blanked on), but it was fun to
listen to a father who has unwavering pride in his son.
It’s somewhat odd, but in the past three years since
I’ve been covering the MCLA, I’ve never had the
opportunity to interview Connor. I’ve read things about him
and viewed some of his performance art, but we just never crossed
paths. After speaking with his father, I really didn’t need
to. I know Connor is on the right track because his old man
didn’t talk about all of his son’s accomplishments on
the lacrosse field, which are many. Rather, he talked about how
proud he was that Connor had graduated in four years.
Connor never won an MCLA national championship during his stretch
at Chapman, but he has a good education and a proud father, which
will carry him a lot further in life.
The Humanity of the MCLA
Standing in the tunnel of Dick’s Sporting Goods Park
awaiting an interview from a St. Thomas player, I happened to be
stationed between the Davenport and Simon Fraser locker rooms.
Davenport had just lost to St. Thomas (again) in the Division II
semifinals and its haven was quiet while the Fraser players, who
were about to play their Division I semifinal with Arizona State,
were lined up with the door ajar awaiting the official word that
they could walk down to the field.
Suddenly, the Davenport door swung open.
Charging out of the Panthers’ locker room was a player,
undeniably one of the five Canadians on the Davenport roster, his
jersey off, shouting at the Simon Fraser players.
“Alright, here we go now boys, eh? Show ‘em how’s
it’s done. Let’s go now, boys. Here we go.”
It came out of his mouth machine-gun fast, but it was completely
understood by its target audience. Like a string of red-clad
bobble-head dolls, the Simon Fraser players quietly nodded their
heads in unison as the Davenport player continued his rant, hands
clapping.
It wasn’t awkward at all. There was a connection. In this
case, it was a Canadian thing, but it was just one of the many of
the non-lacrosse elements on display at the MCLA championships.
Kevin Perkins, the head coach of the Utah Valley team that faced
St. Thomas in the Division II championship game, is a tightly wound
guy. When I interviewed Perkins, there was no extemporaneous
chatter; it was question asked, question answered. It’s just
his nature.
During the second half of the D-II championship game, UVU senior
defenseman Skyler Bentley got spun around on a dodge and collapsed
in a heap behind the goal. It looked bad. When the whistle blew, it
wasn’t the trainer who was first on the scene, it was Perkins
after a full sprint from the sidelines. He kneeled down on both
knees over his player in a primitive protective posture. The steely
attitude reserved for the media was replaced by an almost parental
concern. It was Perkins who leant a shoulder to Bentley as he
limped off the field.
The semifinal game between Chapman and Michigan was a
slaughterhouse. The players went at each other hard, exemplified by
the match-up between First Team All-Americans Harry Freid and
Connor Martin. Caught in a combination of chess match and medieval
joust for 60 minutes, the combatants were visibly gassed at the end
of the game.
As the teams made their way toward the locker rooms at the
conclusion of the game, the two players crossed paths. Freid threw
his left arm around Martin’s shoulders and, after a couple of
private words between the two players, Martin casually placed his
hand on Freid’s head. It was the equivalent of two prize
fighters tapping gloves after a title bout, a perfect coda on a
grueling game.
At halftime was ending at the St. Thomas-Davenport semifinal game,
the teams were ready to play, but the field wasn’t. Because
it was pouring rain, the grounds crew had placed a
4’x8’ plywood panel over the crease area to protect it
from the elements, but it was still there as the second
half whistle was about to sound. With no other option,
the players decided to move it. St. Thomas goalie Tom Thone placed
his gloves and stick on the ground, digging his fingers under the
plank.
When it appeared that no one was going to pick up the other side of
the plywood, Davenport attackman Jordy Sayers put aside his stick
and gloves and grabbed the board. In the middle of the national
semifinals, two players as different as oil and water – or,
in this case, goalie and attackman – united to allow the
game to commence.
Prior to his quarterfinal game with Chapman, Minnesota-Duluth head
coach Rob Graff was stalking his sidelines. Usually I’ll go
over and say hello prior to a game, but the look on Graff’s
face when I caught his eye was to wait until later. His jaw was
clenched and his body was visibly tense as the Bulldogs were about
to play their most important game of the year.
Behind Graff, near the bench, was a three-year-old boy wearing a
helmet and decked out in a miniature Paul Rabil Hopkins replica
jersey. The child scooped up a ball and approached Graff.
“Look, Daddy,” the boy said, proudly holding the stick
up with the ball in the pocket. For maybe three seconds, the strain
and anticipation of the game drained from Graff’s face as he
briefly switched from MCLA head coach to Dad. “Good job,
Kevin,” said Graff with a smile to his youngest boy, who had
made the trip to Denver. And then the scowl returned.
With the national championship game just an hour or so away, there
on the second level railing shooting the breeze was Michigan coach
John Paul and Arizona State skipper Chris Malone. They were talking
about everything except lacrosse, but they were entirely at ease,
laughing and joking just minutes before they participated in the
most important game of the MCLA season.
These were all just reminders for me that lacrosse is the vehicle
that brings us all together, but at the end of the day it’s
really humanity that is the tie that binds. This blend is one of
the reasons I enjoy covering the sport.
The Report Card
The Dick’s
Sporting Goods Park Field – Grade: A
After the snow on Tuesday, the hard rain on Thursday, and
the hail and heavy rains on Friday, I thought the pristine turf at
Dick’s Sporting Goods Park was going to be a dog track by the
time everything finished up on Saturday evening. It was a testament
to the surface and those you care for it that the field held up as
well as could be expected under the circumstances.
The grounds crew diligently protected the crease area during warm
up times and the rest of the surface weathered the various storms
in good shape. There was some slipping by the players, but it
occurred far less than I would have expected considering the six
games of abuse it took in 48 hour. The fickleness of mid-May
weather in Denver might make the MCLA think about moving the
tournament in 2012, but it most certainly won’t be because of
the venue.
St. Thomas’ Home White Uniforms
– Grade: D-
Silver numbers on a white uni? Really? Who came up with that
stroke of genius? It was nearly impossible to make out the numbers
when you were standing at the game-side table, never mind up in the
press box. I was honestly able to make out a couple of the players
somewhat consistently because of their cleats (I had Joe Costello
pegged because it looked like his cleats had spats), but the
numbers were useless. Sometimes contrast is good.
Fox College Sports Television Coverage –
Grade: A
I admittedly did not watch a whole lot of the game on
television, but I did watch plenty on the big screen at DSG Park,
especially replays. The production quality, especially the tight
camera work, blew away the weekly ESPN lacrosse coverage. Instead
of the simple, half-field wide shots that we’ve become
used to, FCS had multiple-angle tight shots on the action and the
production flowed very nicely between vantage points.
The man responsible for the production, and FSC covering the MCLA
in the first place, is Ethan Ritz. I met Ethan last year briefly,
but he’s kind of a shadowy figure during game days, and
judging by the quality of his work it’s because he’s
working hard. From what I understand, Ritz was a former MCLA player
at Tennessee and has both a passion for the MCLA and televised
sporting events (I heard, anecdotally, that he does work with NFL
Films), and what fans watch on championship weekend is the blending
of those two interests. He is obviously a tremendous asset to the
association, along with his crew.
Michigan’s Sideline
Entourage – Grade: B
There were several times during the semifinals and finals
where I looked at the non-playing personnel on the end of the
Michigan bench – by my count, there were 19 in blue sweat
suits during the Chapman game – and said, “Give me a
break.” I heard several people in the press box talk about
limiting the number of people on a team’s sideline in the
wake of the Wolverines entourage. So I told Michigan coach John
Paul that I thought it was excessive. He said that 11 of the
blue-clad individuals were injured or redshirted players, and I
responded that the NCAA makes non-dressed players sit in the
stands.
“The tournament is a reward for all the players,” said
Paul. “That rule is in place in the NCAA to limit NCAA
tournament costs, where teams are subsidized. We're on our own
here. No way I'm telling some kid who is injured but paid
$3,500 in dues that he has to sit in the stands.”
It’s a pretty good point. I’ll give Michigan a pass on
this, although I still think the mouth-guard tackle box is too
much.
Attendance Figures
– Grade: D
I’m not sure what is wrong, but the current approach
to drawing local fans to for the semifinals and finals of the MCLA
tournament isn’t working. Even with LaxFest, a huge youth
lacrosse carnival that took place at the DSG complex prior to the
two championship games, I’d say 90 percent of the attendance
was either from MCLA teams that were already eliminated earlier in
the week or parents of the teams playing.
It’s frustrating, and I’m not assigning this grade to
anyone in particular. The MCLA works on a limited budget and
doesn’t have the resources to hire someone who can beat the
bushes and increase attendance. They have to rely on lacrosse
junkies wanting to see a good product and, as of
now, they just aren’t making the trip. I think a portion
of the summer MCLA meetings should be used to brainstorm about ways
to make the tournament more attractive to area lacrosse fans.
Slides & Rides
- One of the few moments of the tournament that brought
everyone to their feet was when Chapman LSM Matt Walrath went
coast-to-coast and scored a goal in the semifinals against
Michigan, and then quickly scored again five seconds later after
taking the face-off. It was an impressive display, but that kind of
huge effort is what the Stevens Tech transfer has been doing all
year for Chapman, and why he was named the Panther’s MVP at
their banquet.
- The consensus was that Arizona State's Eric Nelson had the best
postseason mustache at the MCLA tournament. I'd have to say
Michigan's Harry Freid came in dead last in that endeavor. Just
awful.
- Is the Michigan program going varsity anytime soon? I don’t
know, but I do know the UM athletic director and his wife attended
the team’s award banquet prior to nationals.
- I met up with Dave Zazzaro – he of “Competing the
Z” fame this year in my MD3 pick ‘em contest –
out in Denver. The former Colorado College coach relayed a story to
me about his recruitment of Joe Hrusovsky, a freshman for Michigan
this year, out of Lake Forest, Illinois. Zazzaro said he really
wanted Hrusovsky to come to Colorado Springs, but in the end, the
player went to Ann Arbor, where his older brother, Anthony, also
plays.
A week or so after being informed that Joe chose Michigan, Zazzaro
received a package from the Hrusovskys. It was four deep-dish
pizzas from a famous Windy City pizzeria. Even though they were a
consolation prize, Zazzaro said they were the best pies he’s
ever had. The moral of the story? Recruit Chicagoland players
– it’s win-win.
- Look for the MCLA coaching fraternity to gain a little more
star-power in the coming weeks. Former Duke standout Zach Greer
and/or former Maryland and current U.S. team member Joe Cinosky are
considered front runners for the vacant University of Minnesota
job. Both are members of the NLL’s Minnesota Swarm.
- What’s your definition of awkward? Well, try this on for
size. Michigan was waiting to fly back to Detroit on Sunday
afternoon and the players were lounging in the gate area prior to
boarding. A little bit later, who comes walking up to the same
gate? The Michigan State team. And because Michigan had arrived
earlier for the Southwest Airlines flight, they boarded first. When
Sparty walked on the plane, all that was remaining were middle
seats between Wolverine players. Now
that's awkward.
