Washington kicks off season in right direction
Washington College quickly distanced itself from a 2010 season of inner turmoil, injuries and unmet expectations with a 7-6 overtime win against Goucher in the season opener for both teams last Saturday.
For a team that went 4-10 last spring, the victory over an NCAA tournament participant last year was a significant step forward for the Shoremen.
“I think it’s a huge win for us,” coach Jeff Shirk said Monday. “I think it’s a big confidence builder. I think it’s huge in us taking the steps to get back on track. I know that going into the game and watching film, we had our concerns because Goucher is a talented team, and they returned most of their talent from last year. … So it was one of those things where we weren’t real sure going into it. And then we found out, ‘Hey, we can hang with a very good team.’ So I think it was a big win.”
Washington trailed by three goals with 3:47 left in the third quarter before tying the score with 9:59 left in the regulation. Senior midfielder Doug Herdegen’s goal 1:25 into overtime capped an emotional rally that brought out the team’s newly-instilled determination.
“I knew that they had it in them, and we’ve really kind of been shoving it down their throats, too,” Shirk said. “It’s more about how hard you work and work ethic and how you’re going to have to stick with it. We’ve been really pushing that, and so I know that they’ve gotten that a lot, but Saturday was when I saw it click. … We made our mistakes, and there are things that we did in that game that we need to correct if we’re going to win the next one. But the guys played hard, they stuck together, and they just kept at it. I think it was a good learning experience to where it validated what we had been talking about to them.”
The Shoremen still have a long road ahead of them. They have regular-season contests against Salisbury, ranked No. 3 in the latest United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association poll, and No. 17 Cabrini and a schedule against Centennial Conference foes that includes No. 8 Haverford, No. 12 Gettysburg and No. 16 Dickinson.
Still, Shirk is hopeful that team can use Saturday’s win as a springboard.
“No one plays a perfect game, but you can still come out on top if you stick to it and you stick to what you do well,” he said. “I do think this will help set the tone and get guys excited about our philosophy of playing hard and sticking together, and at the end of the day, that’s going to allow us to have a chance to win it.”
