REVIEW

The good: The Blazers set 17 new schools records, including number of goals scored (136), number of assists posted (82) and number of groundballs collected (728). Perhaps their most significant number was six, which was how many wins their registered this season. "I think they took a lot of steps forward," coach Curt Foxx said. "We played 17 games, and out of those 17 games, we were competitive in 14 of them, which is a huge step forward for our team. If you look back at the year before, we were only competitive in three out of our 13 games. So we took a huge step forward, and that’s awesome." … The number of victories has changed expectations surrounding the team, according to Foxx, and many of those changes have been internal. "I would say that we’ve done a lot of things to change the team’s culture," he said. "We talked a lot about commitment, accountability, work ethic, discipline. They’ve got to do their homework, they’ve got to do wallwork, they’ve got to get in the weight room, they’ve got to condition themselves, they’ve got to get out there and shoot, they’ve got to be physically fit, and they’ve got to be committed to each other." … Among a plethora of individual performances, the play of Hector Montoya was perhaps the most surprising. The sophomore won 44.5 percent of his face-offs (157-of-353) after winning just 39.9 percent (134-of-336) last season. Montoya’s improvement on restarts gave the offense more possessions and scoring opportunities. "Hector Montoya got a lot better at facing off this year," Foxx said.

The bad: The offense was responsible for many of Hood’s records, but the unit had its share of hiccups as well. Foxx said the offense sometimes fell into a rut of holding onto the ball and trying to attack opponents on an individual basis, thereby becoming one-dimensional. "I think we need to move the ball better on offense," he said. "When we move the ball fast, we get good looks. When we hold onto it and force things, it makes it too easy [for the opposing defense]. … I’m looking for my guys to do a lot of shooting and a lot of stickwork, a lot of wallwork so that when they come in, they can do what we’re asking them to do on offense." … Foxx said the defense needs to flex its muscles and force opposing attackmen and midfielders to make plays to beat the unit. Foxx pointed out that video of Stevenson junior attackman Jimmy Dailey running through the Blazers defense is posted on Youtube. "There’s ways to stop that. Taking good body position and being physical," Foxx said. "I think we need to get a lot more physical on defense.

PREVIEW

Personnel changes: The two major losses are on defense. Starter Jeff Balinsky compiled 27 groundballs and 10 caused turnovers and fellow defenseman Jeff Tarleton was even better with 39 groundballs and 24 caused turnovers. A pair of junior long-stick midfielders in George Mineff (58 groundballs and 28 caused turnovers) and Daniel Rocker (41 groundballs and 20 caused turnovers) might be candidates to shift to close defense or freshman Travis Kline (17 groundballs and seven caused turnovers) could earn a promotion. … The team’s top seven scorers return, including three starters in sophomore attackmen Corey Roberts (24 goals and five assists) and Scott Thompson (16, 1) and junior midfielder Domonique Shorter (21, 16). But Foxx said veterans and newcomers will be evaluated equally to find the best offensive players. "We’re looking for a lot of our recruits to step up and produce just because we’ve got to do something better on offense," he said. "We are going to be extremely competitive in practice, and it’s going to be much harder for people to step onto the field for us."

Forecast for 2011: Clearing. The Blazers made tremendous strides and an incoming class of 18 recruits should make practices even more competitive. The offense should be a year wiser and a year stronger and could be asked to carry the team until the defense finds cohesion. Hood is still looking for its first victory in the Capital Athletic Conference, which boasts a pair of national powerhouses in Salisbury and Stevenson. But the Blazers are getting closer: they lost to Marymount by only two goals on April 13.