Loyola waiting on MacDonnell
No. 10 Loyola’s bid to knock off No. 4 Notre Dame in the finale of the Face-Off Classic at M&T Bank Stadium on Saturday could hinge on the availability of Cooper MacDonnell.
The senior attackman is nursing a sore right shoulder that he injured in the Greyhounds’ 11-5 victory over Quinnipiac last Saturday. MacDonnell did not travel with the team, which beat Bellarmine, 14-8, on Wednesday, and he is considered questionable for Saturday’s contest.
"We were hopeful that he might be able to take the field against Bellarmine, but he was unable to do that," coach Charley Toomey said. "… He is absolutely day-to-day. We’ll see. He’s rehabbing and icing, and again, it’s day-to-day."
Toomey said he is not concerned that MacDonnell’s injury is of the season-ending variety, saying that the "worst-case scenario" is that MacDonnell – who is tied with senior attackman Collin Finnerty for the team lead in points with nine – could miss the next two weeks.
If MacDonnell cannot play Saturday, freshman Patrick Fanshaw will likely start in his place. Fanshaw, a Glyndon native and Calvert Hall graduate, scored three goals in his first career start on Wednesday.
Toomey said he hopes that the offense will get off to a better start than it did on Wednesday when the unit scored just three goals in the first half against Bellarmine.
"We missed him in the first half," Toomey said of MacDonnell. "It took us a little while to get going, but it happened so early in the Quinnipiac game that we actually have now played a game and three-quarters without him under our belts. Pat has come in and done a terrific job. I think this is where your leadership in [junior attackman] Matt Langan and [senior attackman] Collin Finnerty steps up to help the freshman, and that’s what they’ve been doing."
