March 30, 2005
The Wednesday National Notebook takes a look at college lacrosse being played beyond Division I.
Bates' Wild Turnaround
At this time last year the Bates College men's lacrosse team defeated an up-and-coming Wesleyan team, 13-9. Little did the Bobcats know that would be the last game they would win in 2004.
The next day Bates lost a heartbreaking 11-10 game to Springfield College at home. That set back began an eight-game losing streak, which included four one-goal losses, as the 2-9 Bobcats ended the year with a loud thud.
"If you are fortunate enough to win your one-goal games, that can be one of your most gratifying years," said Bates coach Peter Lasagna. "If you don't then it is frustrating."
It was one heck of a frustrating season for Coach Lasagna.
A year later things have completely turned around and Bates is one of the hottest teams in Division III. The Bobcats are off to one of their best starts in recent memory with an unblemished 6-0 record. For the first time in Lasagna's five years tenure at Bates the Bobcats are ranked in the USILA Top 20, checking in at No. 16. The addition of Bates gives the NESCAC conference a quarter of the teams in the poll.
"It is fun to be playing well," said Lasagna.
The Bobcats emergence on the national scene is due to their 13-6 road victory over then No. 6 Wesleyan this past Saturday. Bates outscored Wesleyan 6-0 in the first and third quarters combined and led 9-2 after three quarters of play. The Bobcats offense has been very balanced this season and it showed against Wesleyan as seven different players score the first seven goals. Bates scored 13 goals on 24 shots and the defense held All-American attackman Glenn Adams to two goals and an assist. Junior goalie Paul Kazarian made 10 saves in the victory.
"I think a lot of it in these [conference] games is who gets off to a quick start. We were fortunate early and our goalie made some big saves," said Lasagna. "We just played with a lot of energy for the whole game."
Bates hopes to ride this momentum into its three-game homestand beginning this Saturday against Williams. From there Bates faces one of the toughest 12-day stretches in Division III lacrosse as they face No. 12 Amherst, No. 4 Tufts, Bowdoin and No. 7 Middlebury and, if they qualify for it, a semifinal game in the NESCAC Tournament.
"This league is brutal," said Lasagna. "What some people outside of this league don't know is that every team is capable of beating every one."
Gettysburg's Firing Squad
Last week, in a driving rain storm the 13th-ranked Gettysburg Bullets attack looked as if they were playing catch on a sunny afternoon in May. The Bullets were unfazed by the rain, which caused major flooding in Southern Pennsylvania and the frigid mid-30 temperature as they hosted then No. 3 Middlebury.
The Bullets (4-2) jumped out to a 4-0 first quarter lead and never looked back as they drubbed the Panthers with an 18-6 beating.
"I thought early in the game they handled the conditions a lot better then we did," said Middlebury coach Erin Quinn. "If you looked at how their attack handled the ball they were more confident. You wouldn't have guessed the conditions were poor."
Middlebury showed some life in the second quarter pulling to within three, 7-4 going into halftime but got blitzed in the second half as Gettysburg ran off 11 unanswered goals.
"I was surprised," said Gettysburg coach Hank Janczyk after the win. "Middlebury is a class team. It is really great to beat somebody like them. I just can't believe that we would score 18 goals on them."
The offensive tandem the Bullets are relying on are junior attackmen Chase Stewart and Brian Pryor. The two of them connected on two goals and combined to score 10 points against the Panthers. For the season Stewart leads the team with 14 goals and eight assists. Stewart was a third-team All-American last season as he scored a team-high 45 goals for the Bullets. Pryor is finally seeing major playing time since coming to Gettysburg. In two seasons Pryor had only accumulated 13 points. In six games this season the Dallas, Texas native has 12 goals and 10 assists, tying Stewart for the team lead in points.
Next up for the Bullets is a mid-week game against Muhlenberg before traveling down to Maryland's Eastern Shore to face No. 1 Salisbury this Saturday.
"It's always a battle, and one of our two big rivalries along with Washington College," said Salisbury coach Jim Berkman of Gettysburg. "We don't know what to expect. To dominate the game the way they did in the third quarter, it's always a concern."
Line of the Week
4 goals, 3 assists
Linda Ackerman - Senior Attack
Salisbury University
The senior scored four goals and three assists to lead the Sea Gulls over top-ranked Middlebury 12-10 in Florida. The win snapped the Panthers' 55-game winning streak and propelled Salisbury to the No. 1 ranking in Division III for the first time ever. The Sea Gulls are the first team not named Middlebury, Amherst or The College of New Jersey to hold the top spot in more then a decade.
From the Sidelines
In a rematch of the 2004 NJCAA National Championship game last week Herkimer defeated defending national champion Essex 12-6. Last May the Knights beat Herkimer 17-16 in overtime.
Wednesday National Notebook Archives
3-23-05: Limestone's Home Away From Home
3-16-05: Colorado State Exacts Revenge Over UCSB
3-09-05: Gannon Ready To Make Run
3-02-05: Young Generals Make Statement
