June 12, 2008

by Clare Lochary, Lacrosse Magazine Online Staff

In the midst of the oppressive heat wave that's currently afflicting the greater Baltimore area, it's hard to keep your cool. But the Loyola College women's lacrosse team did a particularly poor job of it when confronted with the chance to have a living legend for a coach.

While Jen Adams - Tewaaraton winner, all-time NCAA scoring leader, All-World player, undisputed lacrosse superstar - was doing a series of round-robin interviews for the Greyhounds' vacancy, she met with a few players. After she left the room and closed the door, but not before she was out of earshot, the girls burst into Beatlemania-style screams.

"Jen Adams is a little bit like Michael Jordan to a certain age group of kids," said Loyola athletic director Joe Boylan, who hired Adams as the Greyhounds eighth women's lacrosse coach last week.

Adams' arrival at Evergreen indicates a seriousness about reviving a traditional power that has languished in recent years. Under Adams' predecessor, Kerri O'Day, Loyola posted a 51-49 record in six seasons, including an 0-2 NCAA tournament mark. In an increasingly competitive field, some schools might have allowed a culture of failure to fester.

But Loyola would not go gently into that good night.

"I really felt like this was a great fit for me, where I could make a difference. I think they really want to be successful," said Adams. "They want to get back to where they're competing for a national championship. I don't think that's too far off."

As a legendary player and accomplished associate head coach alongside Cathy Reese at Denver and Maryland, Adams was perpetually a theoretical candidate for every high-profile coaching job that opened up. Other programs had come calling in the past, but Loyola felt right. The school's balance of athletics and academics appealed, as did the chance to stay in the Baltimore area while growing professionally.

"It was very difficult, obviously, to leave Maryland and Cathy. We worked really seamlessly together. It became very comfortable to me," said Adams, of her five-year coaching partnership with Reese.

"I'm challenging myself to do something that is less familiar for me. I think I can grow a lot on the job."

Loyola is doing plenty to help her out. The school has plans to build a 6,000-seat stadium for lacrosse and soccer, and Boylan did not hesitate to approach the board of directors to get the resources to lure Adams to Evergreen.

"Too often I think people turn away from something that is good for them. We value women's lacrosse. It's one of our most important sports. We don't have to spend the $1.8 million for a football coach. But this sport, I think we can still compete," said Boylan. "We had one chance to get it right. I asked her point blank what she wanted. That was an institutional decision."

It's easy to get hyperbolic about what a highly touted new coach can do for a program, but the 2009 Greyhounds have reason to be optimistic. Rookie Meg Steffe struggled in goal (.436) and will miss graduating All-American defender Kristen Stone, but should return stronger after starting all 16 games. The team returns its top three leading scorers - Grace Gavin (38g, 14a), Abby Rehfuss (35g, 15a) and Kate Filipelli (23g, 13a) - all of whom were freshmen in 2008.

The Loyola offense will almost certainly blossom under Adams' care. In her first year as associate head coach at Maryland, the Terps scored 287 goals, the most the team had scored since 2001, when Adams was a senior. In 2008, Maryland upped its total to 315 goals.

Additionally, Adams' superstar status should help lure blue chip recruits to Evergreen. Players bewitched by the idea of a budding program like Cincinnati, Louisville or even Florida might make a more traditional choice for the chance to play - and to win - for one of the sport's greats.