Waiting for Geoff
Stevenson, the No. 3 team in the most recent United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association Division III poll, has been humming along nicely. That humming would likely be a lot louder if Geoff Hebert was in the lineup.
The senior goalkeeper has not played since breaking the pinkie finger on his left hand in the Mustangs' 12-9 victory over then-No. 18 Lynchburg on March 20. The Lutherville native and Dulaney graduate was perfect in seven starts, registering a 6.91 goals-against average and a .631 saves percentage.
Coach Paul Cantabene said the team is hopeful that Hebert can return in the near future.
"Geoff’s week by week," he said. "We’re not sure yet. He’s waiting to see the doctor in another day or two. We’re just waiting to hear what the doctor has to say, to make sure that it’s healing. We don’t want to go in there and then all of a sudden, it’s one shot, and he hurts it again. The health of the kid is the most important here."
Senior Andrew Harrington replaced Hebert, going 4-1 in five starts. But he surrendered 16 goals and made nine saves in a six-goal loss to then-No. 2 Salisbury on April 3 and was outplayed by Sea Gulls junior goalie Johnny Rodriguez (15 saves).
That's when the Stevenson coaches decided to make a change in the cage.
"We thought Andrew wasn’t being as consistent as we needed," Cantabene said. "We thought he really struggled in our Salisbury game. We thought he should’ve had a bunch of the balls that went in, and that was a big difference in the game considering that their goalie had 10 saves in the second half and we only had one. So we decided to make a change and give the other guys a chance to see how they do, and I thought they played pretty well."
After the loss to Salisbury, Harrington was replaced by freshman Pete Wesselman and then sophomore Ian Bolland, who has won the Mustangs' last two contests. Bolland's play has impressed Cantabene.
"Ian’s a short-memory guy," he said. "He makes one bad play, and it’s right out. He’s able to focus and get back in. He’s very athletic outside the cage, and he has a very good outlet pass. Ian also has the ability to make the big save, which I think Andrew at times lacked. So I think he’s done a great job being consistent, and he was a big reason why we beat St. Mary’s [on April 13]. He played really well."
