Nov. 19, 2007
by Matt DaSilva, Lacrosse Magazine Online Staff
In an era when sports records are tainted (here's to you, Barry Bonds), Joe Vasta had his erased, recovered and restored, only in time for Duke's Matt Danowski to perhaps render it moot by the turn of 2008.
Vasta, the NCAA's all-time leading scorer for two decades now, is a FedEx pilot who resides in Overland Park, Kan., and plays sparingly for a masters club known as the Kansas City Flying Monkey. He played attack for the Air Force men's lacrosse team from 1983 to 1986 against mostly inconspicuous competition, racking up a Division I-record 343 points on a near-even split of 173 goals and 170 assists.
"When I was a freshman and sophomore, I was taking it to the cage all the time. That's just inherent in an attackman. I was pumping in a lot of goals and it was fun," said Vasta, who played high school lacrosse in Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y. "But people catch onto your routine. Sophomore year going into junior year, I would get double- and triple-teams. Guys came out of nowhere to hammer me. Instinctively, I had to learn how to dump the ball and find the open man, so my assist numbers went up dramatically.
"I thought, 'Oh man, why can't I put it in the cage anymore?' But [then-Falcons] Coach [Scott Petosa] told me an assist is just as good as a goal for your team."
The NCAA began tracking statistics for men's and women's lacrosse in 1996. It published its first record book in 2006 based on these statistics and those submitted by member institutions, according to Jennifer Rodgers, the NCAA's assistant director of statistics.
"Unfortunately, the original researchers did not hear from every school," including Air Force, Rodgers said in an e-mail.
Thus, Vasta's record vanished. The 2006 NCAA record book listed Tim Nelson, a three-time All-American attackman at N.C. State and Syracuse, as the standard bearer with 320 career points. Though their careers overlapped - Nelson played from 1982 to 1985 - Vasta's accomplishments were comparatively obscure.
Nelson led Syracuse to an NCAA championship in 1983. Air Force that year was 6-6, with all six of its wins against non-Division I schools in Colorado.
"I know Timmy," Vasta said. "He went to high school right next to me in New York. He went to Yorktown; I went to Croton."
After graduating from Air Force in 1986, Vasta remained off the radar - literally. He spent 13 years as an F-16 fighter and T-38 instructor pilot, including combat time patrolling Iraq's no-fly zone. He left active duty in 1998 and flew passenger jets for Northwest Airlines until 2005. The wavering commercial airline industry led Vasta to call in a favor from a few "lacrosse buds" that helped him to his current occupation as an international pilot for FedEx.
When the 2006 NCAA lacrosse record book came out, Ken Wessels, a former Falcons goalkeeper who currently works at the Pentagon, notified the NCAA of its error, Vasta said.
"I took over before the [2007] edition and Vasta's record was passed along to me," Rodgers confirmed. "All of the records are updated based on our research, historical records (in the case of men's lacrosse, our department started tracking statistics in 1996) and information provided by our member institutions. In order for a record to be changed, we verify the information with the school. Often, we'll hear about something from a fan or relative or the student-athlete, and then we confirm this through either our records or the sports information office at the school."
Thus, Vasta's record is restored - for now.
Danowski, the reigning NCAA Player of the Year and one of five fifth-year players accepting an extra year of eligibility at Duke in 2008, has 256 career points. It was incorrectly reported in this space, based on the 2006 record book, that Danowski was 65 points shy of becoming the NCAA's all-time leading scorer in Division I.
The record remains within reach for Danowski, who has averaged 94 points in his last two full seasons, but it will be closer to call. He'll need 88. Recovering from foot surgery this fall for a torn lisfranc ligament, and being the focus of opposing defenses, Danowski has his work cut out for him.
But he'll have one significant rooter in his pursuit.
"I think Matt is a phenomenal player. I watched him play last year during the final four. He did a fantastic job, especially with all the opposing teams really zeroing in on him," Vasta said. "I want to wish Matt all of the best of luck in his final season. He and his teammates have been through a tremendous amount of scrutiny and they have shown true character in bouncing back with an impressive '07 season.
"With good health and that New York mental toughness (Danowski is originally from Farmingdale, N.Y.), I think Matt will have a great chance of breaking my record. I'll be watching weekly to see his progress through the season."
As for Vasta, 44, he is content as a Flying Monkey and trying to breed lacrosse in a nontraditional region. He moved from Westchester County, N.Y., to the Kansas City area, where his wife is originally from, two years ago. They have two children, including a daughter, 13-year-old Madison, who plays lacrosse now after Vasta lobbied for the sport to be added among recreational offerings for middle-school girls in 2007-08. The preexisting Kansas City Girls Lacrosse Club, established by Cory Samaras in 2007, fields the area's lone high school team and participates in the Missouri State Lacrosse Association (MSLA).
While recruiting girls grades 5-9 for the middle school team, Vasta was approached by parents.
"How do you know lacrosse?" they have asked.
Vasta's response: "Eh, I played a little in college."
Contact Matt DaSilva at mdasilva@uslacrosse.org.
