May 21, 2008

by Clare Lochary, Lacrosse Magazine Online Staff

John Danowski and Dave Pietramala have quite the mutual admiration society. During Monday's NCAA men's lacrosse championship teleconference, they lavished each other's programs with praise.

"Just playing Hopkins any time is special. If you can play Hopkins in summer league, it would be special. Hopkins stands for everything that's great about our sport," said Danowski, whose Blue Devils will meet the Blue Jays for the second time this year and the fourth time in postseason play on Saturday in the NCAA Division I semifinals.

In turn, Pietramala thinks that Danowski's Blue Devils are the best team he's ever seen.

"There have been a lot of great attacks, but in my time as a head coach, I don't think we've faced a more dynamic attack than this one right here," said Pietramala.

Of course, everyone is unfailingly gracious during these calls. All of the coaches are happy to be going to the big dance, respect their opponents and love their own guys. Just once it would be fun if someone said, "I hate my team, especially the seniors. I'm really going to be white-knuckling it through one more excruciating week with these jerks."

The one point of disagreement between Dino and Petro was who should be feeling the pressure Saturday.

"We go into the game with no pressure on us," said Pietramala. "At that time [when the team was 3-5], very few people thought we would even be in the playoffs. The pressure's not on us. Duke's the one who's feeling pressure."

But neither the typical expectations heaped upon the top seed nor Duke's extraordinary backstory trouble Danowski's players. The five fifth-year seniors see the 2008 season as an extra opportunity to do something they love, not an overwrought last chance to avenge past wrongs.

"I see a more healthy attitude, and the guys know that they're fortunate. So I think there's a looseness," said Danowski. "They understand how fragile a season is. It can be taken away."

That perspective, plus the nation's top-ranked offense (15.5 goals per game), gives the Blue Devils an edge heading into the semifinals.

But Hopkins will never be the classic, scrappy underdog. The senior class is 10-0 in front of crowds of 10,000 or more, and Petro is the best strategist in the business. If you are one of the privileged few ESPNU subscribers who watched Duke's 21-10 quarterfinal blowout Sunday against Ohio State, you might have caught a quick cutaway shot to Pietramala and assistant coach Bobby Benson in the booth. Benson was (rightfully) yawning and rubbing his face with exhaustion; Petro was staring at the field like a cobra ready to strike.

"You know when you play Hopkins, Dave Pietramala is going to come up with something. Something that's awesome," said Danowski.

Amusing Audibles

Danowski and Pietramala weren't the only ones to share a few bon mots with reporters on Monday. The Divisions I, II and III coaches shared their thoughts on everything from goalies to gas prices.

Foxborough fever:

"We're not like Hollywood, where we can bring in 20,000 extras and throw them up in the stands screaming and yelling at every possession...The one nice thing is, obviously, we have 12 seniors and actually eight juniors. So we have a lot of guys that have been in that arena for both years."

- Cortland head coach Steve Beville, on playing in front of record crowds during championship weekend.

"Probably the most enjoyable time or the most memorable moment is actually when there's not a single person in the stadium. When you walk out there for your first practice and your kids run through the tunnel, you know, you absolutely have to take a couple of minutes and just let the kids absorb the surroundings."

- Le Moyne head coach Dan Sheehan, on playing in NFL stadiums.

"I think it helps, playing the Face-Off Classic in a similar venue in a professional football stadium. Just playing the Carrier Dome helps. It can get very loud in a covered stadium."

- Syracause head coach John Desko, on preparing his team for playing on championship weekend.

"I think the quarterfinal is the hardest game. If you look at all the games at certain points, all the teams were sloppy at times. That's some nerves. If you don't win, you're so close. If you win, you're there."

- Pietramala on nerves in front of big crowds. Hopkins committed 22 turnovers in its 10-4 quarterfinal win over Navy.

The eternal Maryland vs. New York question:

"We're very similar schools and, you know, similar size. Both have outstanding traditions in lacrosse and in athletics, in general. You know, it's kind of the-North-versus-the-South thing. You know, it's the state-university-versus-the-state-university thing. So, you know, I think, the kids come from similar backgrounds, so it's developed into a great rivalry, and we're expecting a real battle on Sunday from them."

- Salisbury head coach Jim Berkman, whose Sea Gulls will meet Cortland for the third straight time in the Division III NCAA championship.

Salisbury's goalie situation:

"When things have happened, whether injury or unfortunate circumstances, there's always been some guys waiting in the wings to answer the bell and, you know, I think that will be the case with the goalie position on Sunday...Nick is going to coach with me next year and, you know, he's always in here watching film, always asking questions, how to do things better. He's a tremendous leader in the cage. He gets us into some of our slide packages a lot better, because he's such a greater communicator and he knows the game so well."

- Berkman on fifth-year senior goalie Nick Fiorentino, who got his second career start against Gettysburg in the D-III semifinals after starting goalie Zachary Krissoff and back-up goalie Riley Clark were arrested for vandalism May 16. Fiorentino had eight saves in the 11-10, double-OT win over the Bullets.

Recruiting realities:

"There's an awful lot of time that goes into the recruiting process and, you know, our sport's a lot different than most other sports, and only having 55 in that area of Division I schools...Coach Desko and Coach Starsia, Coach Danowski, they can't take everybody. Their freshman classes, there are typically 10 to 15 kids, and there are certainly more than 500 very, very good lacrosse players...The Division II level, we benefit from having a little bit of scholarship money, and that certainly helps. You know, as with gas prices, I haven't seen college tuition going down anywhere."

- Sheehan on building a dominant Division II program.

Growing the game:

"Hey, if you really wanted to do a shot for New England lacrosse, why didn't you let Bryant win the other day?"

- Syracuse Post-Standard reporter David Rahme to Sheehan, regarding the Dolphins' 11-2 semifinal win over the Rhode Island-based Bulldogs.

How things change:

"The [regular season] Syracuse game was [Ben Rubeor's] first game back, and even though he did some things for us in that first game, I don't think he was able to assert himself the way he has been more recently...For some kids when they sort of see their first light in terms of playing, it kind of triggers their quality, their performance in practice and things like that - the quality and effort in practice. And I think for [Garrett Ince], that also happened."

- Virginia coach Dom Starsia, on how his semifinal match-up against Syracuse will differ from the team's 14-13 overtime win on March 1.

"Quinzani, a year ago we were putting a short stick on him, and now we're trying to figure out how to stop him."

- Pietramala on Duke attacker Max Quinzani, who scored three goals in the Blue Devils' 17-6 rout of the Blue Jays on April 5.

How things stay the same:

"I'm not patting us on the back, but you know, getting an opportunity to watch Syracuse and Virginia be up and down field and get after each other the way that they traditionally do is a good way to introduce someone to the game."

- Starsia, on the NCAA championship weekend's New England debut