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US Lacrosse College Notebook
Feb. 28, 2003
Knight Time: Rutgers Starts
2-0
During the preseason, Rutgers
men's lacrosse coach Jim Stagnitta wasn't offering much in
the way of predictions. After going 2-12 with a very young team
in his first year at Rutgers, all he would commit to was a simple
“we're better.”
He began to find out just how much better when the Scarlet Knights
upset Towson
(ranked 10th by Lacrosse Magazine) 10-9
in overtime on Feb. 23. After beating Manhattan
7-3 three days later, the Scarlet Knights had already equaled last
season's win total.
“It's important to have positive reinforcement for the time
and effort you're putting in,” said Stagnitta. “The players
obviously buy into what you're doing, but you need to have victories
to legitimize everything you've done and your approach.”
Two newcomers have played major roles in Rutgers' early season
success. Junior attackman Delby Powless, who came to Rutgers
from Herkimer County Community College, leads the team with six
goals, including the game-winner against Towson. Freshman goalie
Greg Havalchak, from Corning East (N.Y.) has made 31 saves
while allowing just 12 goals.
Just as important has been the continued development of the core
group of returnees to the team. Senior Ken Springer had three
goals in the win over Towson. Junior Matt Apel leads the
team with seven points on two goals and five assists and sophomore
Leif Blomquist has six points. Junior Joe Duncan leads
the defense.
“Our approach was that if we were going to be good sooner
rather than later, we couldn't just do it through recruiting,”
said Stagnitta. “Our first thing was to commit to the kids
in the program who had had three coaches in three years. The guys
that played last year, a number have improved dramatically.”
Next up for Rutgers is Delaware
in a key early-season tester in Piscataway on Saturday. The Blue
Hens edged the Knights 12-10 last season and come into the game
with a 1-1 record after a 9-6 loss at Loyola last weekend. Down
the road for Rutgers are numerous additional challenges. The second
half of the schedule includes four NCAA quarterfinalists from last
season—Princeton,
Syracuse, Georgetown
and Massachusetts. Despite
a tough first year, Stagnitta wasn't looking to soften the schedule.
“If we aspire to play at that level, then we have to play
the best teams in the country.”
Around the Country
Immediate Splash
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges
opened some eyes with a 10-9 double-overtime loss to 19th-ranked
Bates on Feb 21. The California
women's team was playing its first varsity game and almost pulled
off a shocker. The Athenas, coached by Dana Latona, the NCAA
Division III MVP in 2000 for The College
of New Jersey, picked up their first victory by defeating Redlands
8-6 on Wednesday. The CMS roster features players from 14 states
and one player from Thailand.
Division III Men Scoring Big Victories
Two games stand out from last weekend's Division III men's slate.
Greensboro
beat Division II Wingate
10-4 at home Saturday. Goalie Corey Reina stopped 19 shots
and the Pride shut out the Bulldogs on even-strength situations.
All four Wingate goals game with a man advantage. Nick Harness
and Matt Perry scored two goals each to lead Greensboro.
In a more conventional shutout, Salisbury
blanked Catholic, 23-0,
in a Capital Athletic Conference game Sunday. Freshman Dan Boyer
made quite the impression in his first collegiate game. He scored
nine goals (two shy of the Sea Gulls' single-game record, set in
1976 by current Maryland coach
Dave Cottle) on only 10 shots. Three goalies combined to
pitch the shutout, which was Salisbury's sixth in program history
and first since an 11-0 win over Mary
Washington in 1997.
Wild, Wild West in US Lacrosse WDIA
The Western Women's Lacrosse League
has emerged as the premier conference of the US
Lacrosse Women's Division Intercollegiate Associates. The league's
South Division features three of the top five teams in the first
US Lacrosse WDIA poll of the regular season, including top-ranked
and unbeaten UCLA (6-0). The Bruins have already knocked off division
rivals No. 3 and two-time defending national champion Cal Poly San
Luis Obispo and No. 5 UC Santa Barbara, as the three teams begin
battling for just two spots in the WWLL tournament. While Cal Poly
has reigned supreme in St. Louis each of the last two years, UCLA
has been the ultimate thorn in the side of the Mustangs, winning
three of their last four head-to-head matchups, including a 9-8
decision in the 2002 WWLL finals. Despite the win, the Bruins were
not invited to the IA National Championship. UCLA visits Cal Poly
Saturday. The Mustangs are 7-1 in the WWLL and handed UC Santa Barbara
(5-2) its second of two losses.
In the WWLL North Division, No. 18 Santa Clara (4-0) takes on UC
Davis (2-0) Saturday before meeting up with Cal Poly on March 8.
Bouncing Back
Colorado, which played in three straight US
Lacrosse Men's Division Intercollegiate Associates national
championship tournaments from 1999 to 2001 before missing out on
last year's tourney, looks like it is ready to bounce back. The
Buffaloes opened the season with a tight 11-10 loss to last year's
national runner-up, Colorado State, and then defeated NCAA Division
III Colorado College 9-8 on Wednesday.
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