Jack Kaley Handicaps the Division II Championship
by Paul Ohanian |
Special to Lacrosse Magazine Online
If there's one thing certain about Sunday's NCAA Division II men's
lacrosse national championship game, it's that the two best teams
from the 2009 season are playing. No dispute. Top-ranked Le Moyne
and No. 2 C.W. Post deserve to be in the final.
Anchored by a stellar defense, Le Moyne captured its ninth
Northeast-10 Conference title and returns to the national
championship game for the fourth straight season. The Dolphins
(16-0) are the nation's only undefeated team and will be trying to
secure their fourth NCAA crown under coach Dan Sheehan's
leadership.
C.W. Post (14-1) emerged as the champion of the East Coast
Conference, finishing undefeated in league play, and suffered its
only setback of the year by a narrow 6-5 count against Le Moyne on
March 21 in the Carrier Dome. The Pioneers enter Sunday's game with
the nation's top-ranked offense, averaging 15.5 goals per game.
On paper, the matchup seems to boil down to Le Moyne's top-ranked
defense against Post's potent offense. But that may be an
over-simplified analysis of a game that features 16 players,
combined from the two teams, who earned All-America honors this
week. Both teams have talent at every position.
To breakdown the matchups further, we solicited the help of Jack
Kaley, head coach of defending national champion (for a few more
days) NYIT. Kaley's squad beat Le Moyne in last year's final, and
dropped a 16-12 decision against Post this year.
"This will be a battle of wills to see which team will dictate the
tempo they prefer," said Kaley. "Le Moyne wants a controlled tempo
on both offense and defense, while I think Post will try to speed
up the game."
Kaley highlighted four factors that could further help decide the
outcome:
1. The obvious matchup: Le Moyne's defense vs. C.W. Post's
offense.
For Le Moyne, it all starts with junior defenseman Drew Bezek, a
first team All-American who always checks the opponent's top
offensive player. Despite being named the division's defenseman of
the year, Kaley thought he deserved better.
"He shut down everybody he faced," Kaley said. "Defensive guys
never get the national player of the year award, but he deserved
it."
Bezek's assignment Sunday will be first team All-American
attackman and national player of the year Greg Cerar. The senior
led the Pioneers with 44 goals and 34 assists this year.
"He's the quarterback and the key guy you have to stop," Kaley
said.
C.W. Post's Dave Loftus, a classic finisher who netted 43 goals,
is the primary beneficiary of Cerar's offensive creativity. The
emergence of Nicholas Coric (24g, 19a) as a third attackman has
further fueled Post's offensive efficiency.
"Cerar and Loftus are a good 1-2 punch, but Coric could be the key
on Sunday," Kaley said. "I think Post will need to be aggressive
and attack the cage."
Le Moyne's offense, with three sophomore starters on attack, has a
tendency to get overlooked, but Sheehan notes that the unit, led by
first team All-American Jack Harmatuk (32g, 17a) has developed well
over the course of the season.
"We were not short on talent, we just needed some game
experience," he said. "I think shooting with confidence was a
problem early on, but we've corrected that now."
2. The faceoff and midfield battle
Both teams are excellent on draws, with Le Moyne's Brian Griffin
and Post's Michael Cama earning All-America recognition for their
efforts. Cama earned the first team nod and claimed the specialist
of the year award after leading the nation with a .692 percentage.
Griffin has won .600 of his 210 faceoff attempts.
"This is definitely a matchup to watch," Kaley said. "Cama has
emerged as a dominant player this year. It will be a bit of a chess
match back and forth."
Senior Matt Dimler (28g, 8a) and sophomore Mike Messina (19g, 7a)
headline the Post midfield, but Kaley believes that Le Moyne's
midfield unit may be a bit more explosive.
Versatile Brian Welch (26g, 21a) and Matt Chadderdon (35g, 5a) are
both dangerous scoring threats who finished as the Dolphins'
second- and third-leading point producers.
"I think Le Moyne might have a little bit of an edge in the
midfield because they have a lot of quality depth," Kaley said.
"Post will pressure the ball and try to create turnovers. Can Le
Moyne capitalize on opportunities when they beat that
pressure?"
3. The environment
Le Moyne is not new to the championship stage and the environment
of an NFL stadium, while Post is making its first trip to the final
since 2000.
"It's all about having fun," said Le Moyne's Sheehan. "This is an
experience that [the players] may never have again. But at the same
time, we try not to make the preparation any different than the
previous games."
Kaley cautions that teams can't afford to get too caught up in the
big-time surroundings.
"This is a big deal and teams have to be careful to handle it
properly," he said. "You let your kids enjoy the hoopla of the
event, but there's a fine line. You have to find the happy
medium."
"Once you take the field, it's like any other game," said C.W.
Post head coach John Jez.
4. Motivation
Le Moyne is driven by the chance to complete an undefeated season
and capture the title that slipped through its grasp last year.
Sheehan is quick to note that this year's team is different from
the senior-driven squad that lost to NYIT in last year's final, but
many of the key players are the same (Bezek, Doug McIver, Tim
MacLean). Kaley doesn't dismiss the motivational angle quite as
quickly.
"You can't tell me that losing in the final last year doesn't make
them hungrier this year," he said.
On the other side, C.W. Post has a chance to avenge its only loss
of the year by beating the Dolphins on Sunday. How much does the
sting of that one-goal loss in March, or the fact that they've lost
seven straight against Le Moyne, push the Pioneers?
"Each team has gotten a lot better," said Jez. "The players are a
little more seasoned. It's like playing a new team now."
In the final analysis, Kaley returns full circle to his thoughts
about the tempo and pace of the game. We leave the last word to
him.
"If it's a game in the single digits, I probably favor Le Moyne,"
he said. "But if we get into double-digits, like 14-12, I like C.W.
Post."
