<p>Men's Lacrosse: 10 Burning Questions for '08</p>
<p>January 22, 2008
Inside Lacrosse Staff</p>
<p>Did the new face-off rules give any team an advantage over the rest of the field?</p>
<p>Under the NCAA¹s new face-off rule, if a violation occurs before the whistle, the offending player must leave the field immediately. The referee gives possession to the other team and starts play, creating a 6-5 offensive advantage until the other team can get their substitute on. Ideally, this will create more offense and stop the face-off violations that many fans and spectators thought plagued last year¹s playoffs.</p>
<p>So, what does this mean for overall coaching strategy? Obviously, if a team has an athletic two-way player like Stephen Peyser or Drew Thompson then it should be an immediate advantage. If he wins the face-off or the other team jumps, he can push the ball and not be a liability on offense. If the other team gets possession, he can simply drop back on defense.</p>
<p>There are other questions that have emerged since the introduction of the rule, though.</p>
<p>Would it be advantageous to put a defensive midfielder at attack, so when the players are released, the d-middie could sprint straight into the fray, substituting the third attackman from the sideline upon possession? Will there be more two-man shortstick face-off lineups to take advantage of the fastbreaks? If referees show that they are reluctant to call the new rule in tight situations, do coaches allow their FOGO to jump early? What happens when a team doesn¹t have a longstick midfielder who can handle the ball?</p>
<p>Expect some coaches, especially those from mid-tier teams looking for an edge, to experiment with the rule. But as one coach said: ³Most coaches are typically conservative. They¹re more interested in not giving up goals rather than scoring goals.²</p>
<p>How big a role will Canadians play this year in DI lacrosse ?</p>
<p>Everywhere you turned last season, a Canadian scorer was making a spectacular play in an important game. Merrick Thomson¹s five goals on Delaware. Cornell shooter David Mitchell¹s four goals against Syracuse. UMBC attackman Cayle Ratcliffe¹s rumble to the cage against Maryland in the Retrievers¹ NCAA 1st Round upset. No doubt, the gang from up north put together some together star performances.</p>
<p>Of course, Duke¹s Zack Greer scored the biggest goal by a Canadian in ¹07, powering a goal past Cornell¹s Matt McMonagle in the waning seconds of the NCAA semifinals and he headlines the returning Canadian class. Lucky for him Matt Danowski also returns, taking pressure off the Ontario native to create more on offense.</p>
<p>Junior Garrett Billings is next on the Canadian returnee list. He racked up 43 points last year, but could be the third attack option on a veteran Cavs¹ unit that has senior Ben Rubeor and junior Danny Glading back.</p>
<p>Could the best Canadian be a freshman? Denver hopes so. Jamie Lincoln, from St. Catharines, Ontario, dropped 63 goals in 21 games last year in the British Columbia Junior ³A² leagues. He¹ll play midfield and support fellow Canadians, attackmen Ilija Gajic and Cliff Smith.</p>
<p>Which conferences will showcase the most compelling action this year?</p>
<p>While lacrosse still has some hills to climb before it reaches the conference prestige of collegiate football, inter-league rivalries are increasingly important for a team¹s NCAA ambitions.</p>
<p>That Automatic Qualifier is a hefty prize, and teams will battle for it. Look at Albany¹s showdowns with UMBC in America East, which have taken on an epic quality in recent years. UMass has built a rivalry with Georgetown through the ECAC. The Ivy League continues to improve with Dartmouth, Brown and Penn nipping at Princeton and Cornell¹s heels.</p>
<p>This year? Expect the best battles in the Colonial Athletic Conference and the Patriot League. Four teams are expected to be in the hunt in the CAA, with Delaware coming off their championship weekend appearance, Towson reloaded offensively, Hofstra ready to go after losing six one-loss games and Drexel returning six preseason all-conference starters. Expect some barnburners this year between these teams.</p>
<p>Navy has traditionally dominated the Patriot League, but graduation gutted their offense. That leaves room for upstart programs Bucknell, with sophomore attackman Austin Winter and Tim Brandau, and Colgate, which returns senior middie Matt Lalli and junior attackman Brand Corp.</p>
<p>The GWLL should also be competitive. Notre Dame is the early favorite with their offensive depth, but Denver and Ohio State have steadily improved their rosters.</p>
<p>Can the two teams of the ¹90s, Princeton and Syracuse, return to the Championship Weekend?</p>
<p>Back in the 90s and early 00s, if you were Joe Average sports fan, you might have thought that Princeton and Syracuse were the only teams playing Division I lacrosse. The Tigers and Orange dominated the game from 1992 until 2004, combining to win 11 of 13 championships.</p>
<p>Since 2004, however, it¹s been a tough go for both teams. Princeton hasn¹t made a Championship Weekend since their surprise loss to Navy at M&T Bank Stadium that spring. Syracuse missed the final four for the first time in over 20 years in ¹05, then after a return in ¹06 they missed out on the entire tournament last year.</p>
<p>So, what does ¹08 entail? Championship Weekend is all about realizing potential, and both teams are strong on paper in one aspect of the game, while questions remain about other areas.</p>
<p>For Cuse the problem has been their defense, which let up 11.38 goals per game last season. Recognizing that a new vision was needed, the Syracuse coaching staff shuffled their responsibilities and handed former director of operations Lelan Rogers the defensive reins. Desko and longtime assistant coach Roy Simmons III will handle the offense. With Pat Perritt returning and a veteran lineup of scorers back, the onus will be on Rogers and his unit. </p>
<p>Princeton finished as DI¹s No. 1 defense last year, but ranked 20th in offense scoring 9.38 goals per game. The pressure will be on their young scorers to perform.</p>
<p>Luckily, there¹s no consensus on the Ivy League¹s premier team, so if the Tigers stay competitive they should be post-season bound.</p>
<p>What's the impact of the offseason's coaching moves?</p>
<p>In the wake of the Duke scandal in ¹06, former Blue Devils assistant Kevin Cassesse was literally the only man keeping the entire program afloat as the interim head coach. He shifted back to assistant coach under John Danowski, but left for the top job at Lehigh last summer.</p>
<p>With Cassesse gone, the last connection between Duke¹s staff and coach Mike Pressler¹s tenure has been cut. Top to bottom, this is now coach Danowski¹s team. New assistant Ron Caputo served under Danowski at Hofstra from ¹04-¹06 and will know how to implement Danowski¹s offensive philosophy, which relies on his players to make more in-game decisions. Cassesse also took his recruiting credentials with him, but since Duke pulled players mainly from Long Island, Danowski¹s historic ties to the area should help.</p>
<p>The departure of current Harvard head coach John Tillman and new assistant Kevin Warne also left coaching holes at Navy and UMBC, respectively. Tillman served as Navy¹s offensive assistant during his tenure. Former Butler coach Stan Ross filled his vacancy, but his duties will be on the defensive end of the field. That puts the pressure on coach Richie Meade, who will work with a mostly unproven offense.</p>
<p>Warne spearheaded UMBC¹s defense and recruiting, but new Retrievers assistant Pat Tracy performed the same duties at Dartmouth. Don¹t expect too much of a drop off.</p>
<p>Bruce Bickford
What team will pull an Albany¹ and skyrocket up the DI polls?</p>
<p>The most likely candidate this spring would be Drexel, but there are a few other dark horses at the lower end of the top-25 that could make noise this spring.</p>
<p>Last year, the Dragons shocked everybody with a one-goal season opening in
over then-No. 4 Virginia in Charlottesville. They lost just five games *
two by more than three goals - falling just short of the NCAA tournament with an 11-7 loss to Delaware in the CAA semifinals.</p>
<p>A year later, much of the same cast returns, including attacker Andrew Chapman, one of the top-5 returning goal scorers in DI. With Chapman (42g, 11a), Colin Ambler (22, 13), Ron Garling (18,6) and Jon Van Houten (14, 14) leading the offense and Bruce Bickford anchoring the back line, the Dragons will put a scare into any of the six ranked teams on their schedule. Drexel also has a favorable schedule for putting up a solid start, going from that Virginia showdown until a March 15th tilt at Albany for their second ranked opponent.</p>
<p>Three other squads that have what it takes to make some noise are No. 17 Bucknell, No. 21 Colgate and No. 25 Denver. The Bison have plenty of talent on their youthful roster, while Brandon Corp and Matt Lalli scored a combined 99 points last year for the Red Raiders. Denver has been known for years as a budding hotbed for lacrosse, and this Pioneers squad has what it takes to surprise a few teams along the way.</p>
<p>What¹s the impact of the Duke fifth-year guys?</p>
<p>On paper, the talent that Duke returns puts them right up there with any team in the country, but there are two concerns: injuries and chemistry.</p>
<p>Danowski, O'Hara and McDevitt all had surgery during the offseason, with Danowski questionable for Blue Devils¹ first games but the other two expected to be at or near top form.</p>
<p>Once they are healthy, the secondary concern is who will be expected to lead the team: the group of seniors returning for one final season, or the group of now-seniors that suddenly has five returnees still above them.</p>
<p>This may not be as big of an issue this spring, as Zach Greer and the rest of Duke¹s 2008 graduating class have been granted an extra year of eligibility as well, but what about in 2009, when there are two full classes entering their final years in Durham?</p>
<p>Another big question surrounds the NCAA and Duke career record books. According to Duke¹s sports information office, the NCAA has ruled that the statistics from the abbreviated 2006 season will be treated as a medical redshirt situation, giving star players like Danowski and Greer an extra eight games towards their already stellar career numbers.</p>
<p>What¹s the impact of the offseason¹s transfers?</p>
<p>Injuries, folding programs, the need for a fresh start, this year¹s transfers had a number of reasons to change uniforms. Three of the biggest head north from Durham, as Peter Lamade, Reade Seligmann and Colin Finnerty move on to Virginia, Brown and Loyola, respectively.</p>
<p>Lamade should hit the ground running with the Cavaliers, joining their first line with freshman blue-chippers Shamel and Rhamel Bratton and feeding All America attackmen Danny Glading and Ben Rubeor.</p>
<p>Seligmann provides the Bears with a big, powerful midfielder to build around after going from 2-11 in ¹06 to 7-7 last year under first-year coach Lars Tiffany. Finnerty is a tall, athletic attacker that should become a primary target of Greyhound feeder Shane Koppens. The biggest question mark surrounding the exonerated former Blue Devils is the fact that neither has played a regular-season game in nearly two years.</p>
<p>Towson¹s Blake Best is coming off a knee injury that cost him his senior year at Lehigh, but the Maryland native should step right in as a primary ballcarrier and dodger for Tony Seaman¹s Tigers after last year¹s medical redshirt.</p>
<p>A former Butler Bulldog, Cliff Smith, should give Denver¹s attack a big boost, while Sid Smith¹s move from Onondaga CC to Syracuse will give the Orange defense a shot in the arm after they allowed 11.38 goals per game last year.</p>
<p>What are the early season implications of the Konica-Minolta Face-Off Classic?</p>
<p>Unlike the inaugural Classic, where the teams were preseason ranked Nos. 1-4 in the land, each team has different circumstances surrounding its March 1st date at Ravens Stadium.</p>
<p>For No. 11 Syracuse and No. 8 Princeton, the Classic is the start of a brutal stretch of early-season games. The Orange face No. 3 Virginia, No. 4 Georgetown and No. 1 Hopkins in a row after starting with Villanova and No. 23 Army. Tierney¹s Tigers follow their showdown with the defending champs by taking on No. 19 Hofstra and No. 12 Albany.</p>
<p>A win in Baltimore would be a huge momentum boost for either, but would be particularly sweet for Desko and co., who could go a long way towards reassuring their fans that things are back on track after last year¹s 5-8 aberration.</p>
<p>Virginia¹s heralded freshman class has a comparatively light first half, facing just four top-20 teams in its first eight games and none in the top-10 before Princeton. It¹s a definite possibility that UVA could be undefeated going into a murderous four-game stretch against Hopkins, Carolina and Duke near the end of its season.</p>
<p>For the defending national champion Blue Jays, the Tigers are just one of 12 pre-season top-20 teams on their plate this spring. Though a loss wouldn¹t be ideal, Hopkins could afford a few stumbles and still easily make it into the tournament, just like last year¹s four-loss squad.</p>
<p>Who will be the fifth player at the Tewaaraton dinner?</p>
<p>Assuming that the four returning finalists from last year all put up comparable numbers, the fifth slot in 2008 has several worthy candidates that would love to join Danowski, Rabil, Rubeor and Seibald at Washington D.C.¹s University Club on May 29th.</p>
<p>Three obvious choices would be the No. 2 options for Duke, Hopkins and Virginia, who would be the Man at any team in the country save their prolific teammates.</p>
<p>Zach Greer showed his value last season with the game-winning score in the final four against Cornell, where he flicked a Peter Lamade pass home for one of his school and ACC-record 67 goals. Stephen Peyser is a big (6-foot-2, 220 lbs.), athletic middie that compliments Rabil in Hopkins¹ attack and has the added dimension of being great with ground balls and faceoffs. Dan Glading is a savvy playmaker on attack for Virginia and wil
benefit from having Rubeor on his side and a talented, athletic midfield feeing the offense.</p>
<p>Though not blessed with the glitter of offensive statistics, Princeton goalie Alex Hewit could find himself at the table if he leads the Tigers to the top of the rankings. Georgetown¹s pint-sized attacker Brendan Cannon is another possibility, while Albany¹s Jordan Levine could take graduated teammate Franke Resetarits¹ spot at the banquet if the Danes repeat their ¹07 success.</p>