Stevenson preview
This entry is the sixth in a series taking a look at each of the seven Division III programs in this state according to their order of finish from last season. The Sun’s lacrosse preview is slated to be published on Thursday, Feb. 17. Today is Stevenson’s turn.
Overview: For the second year in a row, the Mustangs advanced to the NCAA Tournament semifinals, but they are still searching for their first trip to the national title game. Stevenson did prevent rival Salisbury from capturing that school’s 16th consecutive Capital Athletic Conference Tournament crown. Adding more to the trophy case is an objective, but are the Mustangs poised to take the next step in the program’s ongoing development? They’ll certainly try.
Reason for optimism: A defense that surrendered just 7.9 goals per contest last spring returns all three starting defensemen in seniors Evan Douglass, Ian Hart and Eric Schell. Add Virginia transfer Kyle Menendez and sophomore Kyle Fendlay and it’s easy to see why coach Paul Cantabene is quietly optimistic about the unit. “We’ve gone from being a team that was pretty much three-guys deep to being five-guys deep on close defense,” he said. “… So we think we’re pretty solid at the defensive end of the field. We feel like this is the best we’ve been defensively.”
Reason for pessimism: The aforementioned defense will be asked to hold the fort while junior goalkeeper Ian Bolland finds his footing in the net. The first-year starter filled in for Geoff Hebert when he was broke the pinkie finger on his left hand, but the bulk of the defensive responsibilities now falls on him. “[Sophomore] Pete Wesselman, who was also in contention for us, is going to back him up, but Ian’s done a great job of working really hard over the summer and this fall,” Cantabene said. “He’s really picked up his game, and he’s a lot different than Geoff was last year. Geoff was a kind of in-the-goal guy, but Ian’s very good out of the goal – picking up groundballs, clearing, carrying the ball for us a little bit. So he gives us a different dynamic that we’ve never had.”
Keep an eye on: A factor in the Mustangs boasting the third-most prolific offense in Division III was the play of face-off specialist Ray Witte, who won almost 63 percent of face-offs and scooped up 168 groundballs. The senior’s continued progression could make the offense dangerous again. He’s a difference-maker,” Cantabene said. “In the way he can handle the ball and shoot the ball, you’ve got to account for him. So he gives other teams some really tough match-ups. And he’s playing really well right now.”
What he said: The midfield returns seniors Sean Calabrese (23 goals and nine assists) and Kyle Moffitt (43, 9), and freshman Tony Rossi is the leading candidate to join them on the first line. But Cantabene is hoping for increased production from that unit to relieve some of the pressure on senior attackmen Richie Ford (57, 35) and Jimmy Dailey (44, 37). “Last year, we were smoke-and-mirrors a lot,” Cantabene said. “We had two pretty good ones and then we kind of filled it in. this year, we’re about eight midfielders deep. They’re big, athletic guys. We have four midfielders that are over 6-1, 6-2 and can run. And then you return Moffitt and Calabrese, and that really helps. It’s a pretty dynamic duo.”
