Yesterday, I released the first installment of a preseason and premature poll for the 2010 season, publishing the teams ranked from Nos. 15 to 11. Wednesday will feature Nos. 10 to 6 and Thursday, Nos. 5 to 1.

Unless there are confirmed reports about certain players planning to use fifth years of eligibility, this space will assume that seniors in 2009 will not be back next season. Unannounced fifth-year seniors and potential transfers will affect the rankings that come out next February, but here are the teams that I think will fall between Nos. 15 and 11.

Continue reading "Review & preview: Premature 2010 poll Part 2" »

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Categories: Loyola, Review & preview
        

In addition to scheduling a regular-season contest against Towson for the first time since April 12, 1997, the Midshipmen agreed to renew a series with Loyola. The two programs have not played against each other since a playoff game on May 15, 1993 and a regular-season contest on April 3, 1943.

The Greyhounds will replace Navy’s game against Ohio State in the middle of February, and Midshipmen coach Richie Meade joked that it only took him 10 years to figure out that a trip to Baltimore is more economically feasible and less physically taxing than visiting Columbus, Ohio.

"Loyola is right down the block," he said. "It made a lot of sense. I think we’re a good game for them, and they’re certainly a good game for us. I think the games will draw great crowds, and I think there will be a lot of local interest. They will be big games. We play in some big games, but we need to play in more big games. I think that helps you."

Posted by Edward Lee at 1:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Loyola, Navy
        

With Ohio State, Denver, Air Force, Quinnipiac and Bellarmine migrating from the Great Western Lacrosse League, playing in the Eastern College Athletic Conference figures to be a boon for the Greyhounds in terms of inflating their air miles.

But unlike his East Coast counterparts, Loyola coach Charley Toomey said he has asked his administration to schedule a home game against Denver and an away game against Air Force (or vice versa) and a home game against Ohio State and an away game against Bellarmine (or vice versa).

"I just think these conference games are too doggone important to try to play two of them in one weekend," he said. "… You’re dealing with travel, you’re dealing with the altitude. For me, those games are too doggone important to take lightly."

There will be no conference tournament in 2010, but the league is expected to discuss implementing a four-team tourney in 2011 and beyond. The dilemma for the Greyhounds is that the final weekend of the regular season is usually reserved for their annual tilt with Johns Hopkins.

Continue reading "Loyola taking to the skies next season" »

Posted by Edward Lee at 3:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Loyola
        

The Major Lacrosse League held its annual college draft Wednesday night, and fair number of players with connections to the Baltimore area were selected. The first player from Baltimore to be drafted was North Carolina face-off specialist and Boys’ Latin graduate Shane Walterhoefer, who was taken by the Denver Outlaws with the seventh overall pick in the first round.

In the second round, the Washington Bayhawks selected Loyola long-stick midfielder P.T. Ricci with the 11^th overall pick and Denver drafted Johns Hopkins midfielder Brian Christopher at No. 14.

In the third round, Notre Dame attackman and Dulaney graduate Ryan Hoff went to the Chicago Machine at No. 17, Johns Hopkins defenseman Michael Evans to Washington at No. 18, and UMBC midfielder Peet Poillon to the Boston Cannons at No. 20. The Outlaws took Loyola attackman Shane Koppens at No. 21 before the Bayhawks selected Maryland midfielders Jeff Reynolds and Dan Groot at Nos. 23 and 26, respectively.

In the fourth round, North Carolina midfielder and Severna Park graduate Ben Hunt went to Washington at No. 28 and Denver drafted UMBC midfielder Alex Hopmann and UMBC goalkeeper Jeremy Blevins at Nos. 35 and 36, respectively.

In the fifth and final round, the Bayhawks took Salisbury midfielder Kylor Berkman with the 38^th overall pick, and the Outlaws selected Cornell midfielder and Boys’ Latin graduate Rocco Romero at No. 41.

Syracuse, which became the first school to win back-to-back national championships since Princeton won three straight between 1996 and 1998, had the most players drafted with midfielders Dan Hardy and Matt Abbott, attackman Kenny Nims and defenseman Sid Smith taken in the first round. Nims was the first overall pick by Chicago.

UMBC, Cornell and Virginia were next with three players each.

Posted by Edward Lee at 11:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Johns Hopkins, Loyola, Maryland, Salisbury, UMBC
        

Here’s the third installment of a new series that checks in with the seven Division I programs in the state to give a glimpse into the past and a look into the future. Next Monday, we’ll take a look at the teams that qualified for the NCAA tournament. Today, we take a spin with Loyola.

Continue reading "Review & preview: Loyola" »

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Categories: Loyola, Review & preview
        

The All-American teams for Division I have been released and the area’s lone representative on the first team is Johns Hopkins senior defenseman Michael Evans. Evans is joined by fellow defensemen Ken Clausen of Virginia (his second selection) and Matt Moyer of Cornell.

Cornell midfielder Max Seibald makes his third consecutive appearance on the first team, joining a group that includes Matt Abbott of Syracuse, Shamel Bratton of Virginia and Mark Kovler of Princeton.

The attackmen are Billy Bitter of North Carolina, Brandon Corp of Colgate, Ned Crotty of Duke, Danny Glading of Virginia and Kenny Nims of Syracuse. The goalie is Jordan Burke of Brown.

Continue reading "Division I All-American teams announced" »

Posted by Edward Lee at 12:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Johns Hopkins, Loyola, Maryland, Navy, UMBC
        

Check in Friday for "Three things to watch" on all four games involving area teams. Until then, here’s a Q&A with ESPN analyst and 2006 Tewaaraton Trophy winner Matt Ward on the omission of Loyola, easiest and toughest paths to the Final Four and possible first-round upsets.

Continue reading "ESPN's Matt Ward on the NCAA tournament field" »

Posted by Edward Lee at 12:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Johns Hopkins, Loyola, Maryland, Navy, UMBC
        

CBS College Sports analyst and former Syracuse All-American midfielder Paul Carcaterra helped me out with a feature in Thursday’s paper on Navy junior attackman Tim Paul, who is expected to play in the Midshipmen’s first-round NCAA tournament game against No. 3 seed Duke despite a sprained left ankle. He also took the time to discuss Loyola’s absence, easiest and toughest paths to the Final Four and possible first-round upsets.

Continue reading "CBS College Sports' Paul Carcaterra evaluates the NCAA tournament field" »

Posted by Edward Lee at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Johns Hopkins, Loyola, Maryland, Navy, UMBC
        

The Greyhounds placed a league-high six players on the All-Eastern College Athletic Conference teams, and senior long-stick midfielder P.T. Ricci was named Defensive Player of the Year and freshman midfielder Mike Sawyer earned Rookie of the Year.

Ricci, an ECAC first-team honoree for the second consecutive season, routinely shadowed opponents’ most potent offensive midfielders, but he also chipped in two goals and five assists. He led the nation in caused turnovers with 51 and ranked second by averaging 6.36 groundballs per game. He finished the season with 91 groundballs, which ranks fifth on the school’s single-season list. His career totals include 232 groundballs and 115 caused turnovers.

Ricci was joined on the first team by teammate Shane Koppens, the 2008 conference Offensive Player of the Year. Despite missing the first two games of the year, the senior attackman led Loyola for the second straight year with 41 points on 22 goals and a team-high 19 assists. Koppens ranks fourth on the program’s all-time assists list with 80 and eighth on the career points list with 151.

Sawyer heads the second team after ranking fourth on the team in scoring with nine goals and four assists in 12 games. He was ECAC Rookie of the Week twice and is the second consecutive Greyhound to be named ECAC Rookie of the Year after goalie Jake Hagelin collected the award in 2008.

Loyola also put junior attackman Cooper MacDonnell, junior defenseman Steve Layne and junior face-off specialist John Schiavone on the second team.

"This is obviously very exciting to have six players be named All-ECAC and I think that it’s a testament to how well our team has worked together this season," said coach Charley Toomey, 22-6 against conference opponents during his tenure.

Posted by Edward Lee at 10:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Loyola
        

ESPN analyst and former Johns Hopkins midfielder Mark Dixon was kind enough to talk to me about some topics I am working on, and the conversation naturally turned to the NCAA tournament’s 16-team field. The following is a Q&A with Dixon that touches on Loyola’s absence, the easiest and toughest paths to the final four and possible first-round upsets.

Continue reading "ESPN's Dixon on NCAA tournament field" »

Posted by Edward Lee at 4:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Johns Hopkins, Loyola, Maryland, Navy, UMBC
        

Just talked to Tim Pavlechko, who chairs the selection committee for the NCAA tournament, and he laid out the panel’s process for selecting Brown over Loyola for the ninth and final at-large bid.

Essentially, both teams had impressive records. Although the Greyhounds’ strength of schedule was superior to Brown’s (No. 3 for Loyola compared to No. 32 for the Bears, according to laxpower.com), the gap in their RPIs wasn’t as dramatic (No. 9 for the Greyhounds compared to No. 12 for Brown, according to the NCAA).

The clincher was that the Bears had wins against two tournament teams in Cornell and Massachusetts, while Loyola did not.

"Loyola played a very strong schedule. They had a great year," Pavlechko said. "But they had some losses. They lost to a common opponent – UMass – with Brown. There are some of those other quality wins as you mentioned. There was a quality win [against Cornell] that wasn’t on Loyola’s resume. I’m not saying that’s the ultimate thing. It was the total breadth of work, scope of the season, and all the selection tools of trying to differentiate teams for that last slot."

Continue reading "A conversation with selection committee chair Tim Pavlechko " »

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Categories: Loyola
        

The No. 18 Greyhounds have to wait until Sunday to learn of their postseason fate, but they certainly feel as if they’ve done enough to warrant an invitation to their third consecutive NCAA Tournament, which begins Saturday.

"We should be in this tournament," senior attackman Shane Koppens said. "We have the record, we have the strength of schedule. You never know what can happen though. I don’t know what the [selection] committee does to choose who makes it or who doesn’t. We’re going to be praying they choose us to play somebody. I don’t care who it is. We can play anybody. Just praying that they give us a shot."

Loyola is thought to be competing with No. 5 Brown (12-3) and No. 13 Maryland (9-6) for one of two coveted at-large bids.

The Terps have won just three of their last seven games and have the lowest RPI of the three (No. 14), but they have beaten two teams ranked in the top 10 in RPI in Duke (No. 2) and North Carolina (No. 8). The Bears’ RPI is just slightly better (No. 12) and they missed out on a chance to win the Ivy League title and the automatic qualifier, but they beat Cornell (No. 10).

Continue reading "Postscript from Loyola at Johns Hopkins" »

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Categories: Johns Hopkins, Loyola, Postscript
        

The Charles Street rivalry is renewed with significant ramifications at stake depending on the outcome.

Here are a few game developments that could help determine the result:

Continue reading "Loyola at Johns Hopkins: Three things to watch" »

Posted by Edward Lee at 11:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Johns Hopkins, Loyola, Three things to watch
        

If anything, the No. 10 Pride’s shocking 9-7 loss Wednesday night to a Villanova squad that Hofstra had whipped, 10-3, just five days ago has narrowed the possibility of both the No. 13 Terps and the No. 18 Greyhounds making the 16-team NCAA tournament.

Despite the setback in the Colonial Athletic Association tournament semifinal, the Pride are 11-3, have a Rating Percentage Index of five, and boast quality wins against No. 5 Brown, No. 7 Princeton and No. 17 Massachusetts.

So in addition to either Towson or Villanova getting the automatic qualifier for winning the CAA tournament championship Saturday night, Hofstra is virtually assured of an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. That means that either Maryland or Loyola will not get one of the remaining eight at-large cards.

The Terps and Greyhounds present interesting cases for an invitation. Loyola’s RPI of nine is superior to Maryland’s RPI of 14, and the Greyhounds (9-4) have no bad losses on their resume, dropping one-goal decisions to No. 1 Syracuse and No. 3 Notre Dame and two-goal contests to No. 2 Duke and Massachusetts.

The Terps (8-6) have lost four of their last six games, but they have two quality wins against Duke and No. 8 North Carolina. The Blue Devils have a RPI of two, while the Tar Heels have a RPI of eight.

Continue reading "Hofstra's loss is no gain for Loyola, Maryland" »

Posted by Edward Lee at 11:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Loyola, Maryland
        

Two Loyola players earned weekly awards from the Eastern College Athletic Conference.

Loyola junior attackman Collin Finnerty shared Offensive Player of the Week honors with Penn State sophomore midfielder Chris Hogan. Finnerty matched a career high with four goals – all in the first quarter – in the No. 18 Greyhounds’ 16-7 win against Hobart.

Sophomore goalkeeper Jake Hagelin made eight saves and surrendered just five goals to the Statesmen. The reigning ECAC Rookie of the Year split the Defensive Player of the Week award with Georgetown senior defenseman Steve Bauer.

UMBC’s Ryan Smith was named by the America East as the league’s Player of the Week. The senior attackman posted seven points on four goals and three assists in the No. 11 Retrievers’ 18-5 victory over Vermont to help the school clinch a share of the regular-season championship for the fifth consecutive season.

In Division III news, Salisbury senior midfielder Kylor Berkman collected Capital Athletic Conference’s Player of the Week honors for registering four goals and one assist in the No. 5 Sea Gulls’ 12-11 victory over Washington. Berkman was recently named the conference’s Player of the Year for the second consecutive season.

Posted by Edward Lee at 2:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Loyola, Salisbury, UMBC
        

During halftime of the Syracuse-Massachusetts contest Saturday, former Syracuse All-America midfielder and current CBS college sports analyst Paul Carcaterra offered his take on the projected 16-team field for the NCAA tournament.

That field underwent some changes Monday after Navy beat Bucknell for the Patriot League tournament crown and automatic qualifier. During an extensive conversation that I have broken up into two posts, Carcaterra thinks Bucknell is out and a local school is the most immediate beneficiary.

"I think that opens the door for Maryland as that last at-large bid," Carcaterra said. "I don’t think there are too many of those other bubble teams. I don’t think you can say with a straight face that Georgetown has a shot because Loyola beat them head to head. There aren’t too many others that are on the fence."

Continue reading "Paul Carcaterra's take on the NCAA tournament field" »

Posted by Edward Lee at 2:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Johns Hopkins, Loyola, Maryland, Navy, UMBC
        

The winner of the Eastern College Athletic Conference's automatic qualifier for the NCAA Tournament won't be determined until after No. 18 Massachusetts plays Rutgers, but if you think the Greyhounds are sitting around and twiddling their thumbs, guess again.

No. 19 Loyola (6-1 in the ECAC) would win the automatic qualifier if the Minutemen (5-1) lose on Saturday, but the Greyhounds are gearing up for another installment in their rivalry with No. 8 Johns Hopkins on Saturday. And as far as coach Charley Toomey is concerned, that game is just as important as a conference tournament final.

"That is our conference championship," Toomey said. "It’s certainly a way to play your way into the tournament. Playing Johns Hopkins at the end of the year is a great opportunity for us. So we’ll let Rutgers play UMass and let the league play its way out. We know we’re sitting at 6-1 [in the ECAC], and it’s a great opportunity on Saturday to put a good number in front of our record for the committee to look at."

Continue reading "The wait begins for Loyola" »

Posted by Edward Lee at 11:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Loyola
        

The Midshipmen put a Patriot League-high seven players on the All-Conference first and second teams earlier this week.

Senior defenseman Andy Tormey, senior defensive midfielder Geoff Leone and junior midfielder Patrick Moran (Severn) were named to the first team. Leone and Moran earned their second consecutive appearances on the first team, while Tormey made his debut.

Junior attackman Tim Paul (Loyola), junior midfielder Joe Lennon (Loyola), junior faceoff specialist Frankie Coppola and junior defenseman Jaren Woeppel were placed on the second team. Paul and Woeppel are two-time second-team honorees, while Lennon and Coppola are making their first appearance.

Continue reading "Awards rundown for Navy and Loyola" »

Posted by Edward Lee at 3:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Loyola, Navy
        

When queried earlier in the season about what appeared to be the team's inability to settle on either sophomore Jake Hagelin or senior Alex Peaty as the starting goalkeeper, Greyhounds coach Charley Toomey would -- without fail -- point out that the defense had to give either goalie a chance to succeed.

Toomey and Hagelin got that wish Saturday in No. 19 Loyola's 12-7 rout of the visiting Stags. Fairfield took just 29 shots (16 were on net) and was shut out for a span of 21 minutes, 29 seconds in the second half -- during which the Greyhounds turned a slim 7-5 lead into a 12-5 advantage.

Loyola was especially tough against the Stags' top three scorers of freshman midfielder Brent Adams, senior midfielder Chris Ajemian and freshman attackman John Snellman. Senior long-stick midfielder P.T. Ricci didn't surrender a point to Adams, who entered the contest as Fairfield's most productive player with 23 points on 13 goals and 10 assists, until he scored with 1:04 left in the fourth quarter.

Snellman, who led the team in goals with 14, scored just once and added an assist as junior Steve Layne didn't seem affected by giving up six inches and 30 pounds to the 6-foot-3, 220-pound Snellman. Ajemian scored twice, but one was on an extra-man opportunity.

While predicting that Adams would develop into a dangerous player, Ricci said the game plan entailed forcing the midfielder to get rid of the ball. "We shut him down in the first half and caused them to do a lot of inverts," said Ricci, who recorded a game-high four caused turnovers and six groundballs. "I think that really took away from what he could do because if I took him away on his first few dodges, they would go to someone else."

Other notes:

Continue reading "Postcript from Fairfield at Loyola" »

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Categories: Loyola, Postscript
        

The No. 19 Greyhounds are just a half-game behind No. 13 Massachusetts in the race for the Eastern College Athletic Conference championship and automatic qualifier to the NCAA tournament. Here are a few things Loyola must do against the Stags to stay in contention.

Continue reading "Fairfield at Loyola: Three things to watch" »

Posted by Edward Lee at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Loyola, Three things to watch
        

The Tewaaraton Foundation, which awards the Tewaaraton Trophy to the country’s best lacrosse player, has announced the finalists, and only two with Baltimore-area connections are among the pool of 21.

UMBC’s Jeremy Blevins is one of four goalkeepers, joining Brown’s Jordan Burke, Massachusetts’ Doc Schneider and Notre Dame’s Scott Rodgers. Loyola’s Shane Koppens is one of 10 attackmen, joining Virginia’s Garrett Billings and Danny Glading, Bryant’s Zack Greer, Colgate’s Brandon Corp, Duke’s Ned Crotty, Hofstra’s Jay Card, North Carolina’s Billy Bitter, Princeton’s Jack McBride and Syracuse’s Kenny Nims.

The midfielders are Cornell’s John Glynn and Max Seibald, Syracuse’s Matt Abbott and Dan Hardy, Princeton’s Mark Kovler and Virginia’s Shamel Bratton. The only defenseman on the list is Virginia’s Mike Timms.

In other news, UMBC swept America East honors as Peet Poillon and Justin Radebaugh were named the league’s Player and Rookie of the Week, respectively. Poillon scored four goals in the No. 7 Retrievers’ 15-7 win against No. 17 Albany on Saturday. The four goals tied a career and season high, which the senior midfielder has notched three times this year. Radebaugh, a freshman faceoff specialist, recorded season highs with 16 faceoff wins (out of 24) and 10 groundballs. He also posted his first career point, an assist.

Navy’s Tommy Phelan earned Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Week accolades for the second consecutive week after making 16 saves in the No. 11 Midshipmen’s 8-4 victory over Army. The senior produced his third straight game of at least 15 saves.

Posted by Edward Lee at 11:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Loyola, Navy, UMBC
        

A lot of attention has been devoted to Saturday’s Smartlink Days of Rivals, which features Army against No. 12 Navy at 11:30 a.m. and No. 11 Johns Hopkins against No. 15 Maryland at about 2 p.m.

But there are some critical games involving other local teams Saturday.

* Since UMBC joined the America East conference in 2004, the Retrievers and Albany have split the league titles with UMBC winning in 2006 and 2008. The two schools will tangle Saturday, and with both teams undefeated (2-0) in conference play, the winner will likely sit in the driver’s seat to host the season-ending league tournament. The No. 7 Retrievers are just 1-2 when playing the Great Danes on their home turf, but UMBC boasts one of the most prolific midfields in Peet Poillon, Kyle Wimer and Alex Hopmann. No. 17 Albany is hopeful that senior attackman Corey Small will play for the first time since undergoing leg surgery last month.

* Despite Georgetown’s troubles this season, Loyola coach Charley Toomey has consistently held to his theory that the road to the Eastern College Athletic Conference title runs through the Hoyas. The No. 19 Greyhounds are the reigning league champions and with a 3-1 record in the ECAC, they are a half-game behind current leader Massachusetts (3-0 in the conference). But Loyola is 0-3 at Georgetown, which has won seven ECAC championships since the league was formed in 2000. The Hoyas, who upset then-No. 20 Fairfield last Saturday to improve to 1-2 in the conference, would love to play spoiler again. The Greyhounds could use another big outing from attackman Shane Koppens, who has posted six goals and four assists in his past two games against Georgetown.

Continue reading "Pivotal weekend matchups" »

Posted by Edward Lee at 9:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Loyola, Mount St. Mary's, Towson, UMBC
        

Jeremy Blevins, a senior goalkeeper for No. 7 UMBC, was named the America East Player of the Week for his performance last week.

In the Retrievers' wins against Towson on Tuesday night and Binghamton on Saturday night, Blevins surrendered just four goals in each game. He made 11 saves against the Tigers and 10 saves against Binghamton. Blevins scooped up a career-best and UMBC season-high eight groundballs against Towson.

Mike Sawyer, a freshman midfielder for No. 19 Loyola, was selected as the Eastern College Athletic Conference Rookie of the Week for scoring a career-high four goals in the Greyhounds' 12-9 victory over Rutgers on Saturday.

With eight goals this season, Sawyer is tied with senior Jimmy Daly for most goals by a Loyola midfielder. Sawyer was named Rookie of the Week on March 16 after posting three goals and one assist in wins over Bryant and St. John's.

Posted by Edward Lee at 3:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Loyola, UMBC
        

Both Loyola and Navy are staying the course and going with the goalies who started in their respective cages last Saturday.

Senior Alex Peaty will start for the No. 19 Greyhounds in Saturday’s game against Rutgers. Even though he was tagged with the 14-13 loss to No. 2 Syracuse, Peaty made 10 saves, seven of which came in the second half and allowed Loyola to enjoy a four-goal lead early in the fourth quarter.

"Coming away from that second half against Syracuse, I thought that Alex made some very good saves that allowed us to stay in the game," Greyhounds coach Charley Toomey said. "That was the decision. He didn’t do anything in that game that would warrant going back to [sophomore] Jake [Hagelin]. We’re going to give him the start against Rutgers."

The No. 15 Midshipmen will give senior Tommy Phelan his second consecutive start after he made 15 saves in a 10-8 victory over Georgetown. Phelan, who will try to contain No. 9 Maryland’s offense, impressed Navy coach Richie Meade with his performance and exuberance.

"He just came in and gave us a lift and did a great job," Meade said. "He stopped the ball. I thought he was very vocal in terms of helping the guy on the ball and communication-wise. He played very well."

Posted by Edward Lee at 10:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Loyola, Navy
        

While the No. 19 Greyhounds’ goalie dilemma involving Jake Hagelin and Alex Peaty will be a significant story line Saturday, here are a few more factors that could help determine the final outcome.

1) Although Loyola has allowed a modest 8.4 goals per game, the unit has not faced an offensive juggernaut like the one the No. 2 Orange brings to town. Syracuse is averaging 14.1 goals per contest, which ranks second in the nation behind No. 1 Virginia’s unit (14.2). While mindful of the Orange’s offense, Greyhounds coach Charley Toomey pointed out that a good portion of Syracuse’s success is rooted in the team’s ability to score goals and maintain momentum by going on runs. The Orange has recorded a 3-0 run in each of its seven games this season and bursts of 6-0 in five contests. "One thing that Syracuse thrives on is three- and four-goal runs," Toomey said. "You don’t want to get into an up-and-down when you’re playing from behind."

Continue reading "Syracuse at Loyola: Three things to watch" »

Posted by Edward Lee at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Loyola, Three things to watch
        

This season, Loyola coach Charley Toomey has not budged from his assertion that sophomore Jake Hagelin has earned the right to start over senior Alex Peaty in the net.

Today, Toomey acknowledged that the line that separated Hagelin and Peaty may not be as clear as it was before, and the fourth-year coach is uncertain whom will start against No. 2 Syracuse on Saturday.

"We haven’t made that decision yet," Toomey said. "We’ve watched some film, and the one thing I would say about both of these guys is they’ve played against Syracuse, and they both have played in big situations. [Their teammates] will tell you that we have a tremendous amount of confidence in both of them. What we’ve got to do is we’ve got to figure over the next three days which goalie gives us the best opportunity not only in the type of shots that they’re going to see from Syracuse but also in managing the game."

The dilemma began during the then-No. 16 Greyhounds’ 8-6 loss to unranked Massachusetts last Saturday. Hagelin surrendered six goals and made just three saves in 42 minutes of play. Hagelin was replaced by Peaty, who allowed just two goals and registered five saves.

Toomey even went as far as to venture that he might emulate Maryland’s Dave Cottle and Princeton’s Bill Tierney and rotate his goalies.

"Quite honestly, we might see a platoon," Toomey said. "That’s something that I’m not against either. My challenge as a coach right now is, whoever we put in there, defensively, we’ve got to give him a chance to see the ball from 10 or 15 feet. That’s been our focus."

Posted by Edward Lee at 2:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Loyola
        

The Greyhounds collected two Eastern College Athletic Conference weekly awards when Shane Koppens was named Offensive Player of the Week and Mike Sawyer earned co-Rookie of the Week recognition.

Koppens, a fifth-year attackman, registered nine points on three goals and a career-high six assists in a 15-11 victory over Bryant on Tuesday. The showing was a first for a Loyola player since Gavin Prout posted nine points (six goals and three assists) in a 16-12 win against Hofstra on March 4, 2000. Koppens' six assists in a single game are a Division I-high this season. He also added two goals and two assists in a 10-7 victory over No. 19 St. John's on Saturday.

Sawyer started both games in the midfield and recorded three goals, one assist and five groundballs. He shares co-Rookie of the Week honors with Penn State's Jack Forster.

In addition, senior long-stick midfielder P.T. Ricci was named to the Conference Honor Roll. He collected one goal, two assists, 22 groundballs and 11 caused turnovers last week.

Posted by Edward Lee at 5:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Loyola
        

Sophomore goalkeeper Jake Hagelin will start in the net when the No. 18 Greyhounds play host to No. 19 St. John's on Saturday.

That might not qualify as news considering that Hagelin had started all six games this season and that coach Charley Toomey stated earlier in the season that Hagelin earned the role over senior Alex Peaty. But that was before Hagelin made just one save and surrendered six goals in the first half of Tuesday's contest against Bryant.

Still, Toomey affirmed earlier this evening Hagelin would start over Peaty, who replaced Hagelin after halftime and registered two saves in Loyola's 15-11 victory on Tuesday.

"We're going to start Jake Hagelin. He's our guy," Toomey said. "I felt like in both goalies' cases, we didn't give either of them a chance to really be great goaltenders. All the shots they had to see were six yards and in. We have to give both of those guys a better opportunity to see shots."

When asked if the decision was difficult to make, Toomey said no.

"I feel -- as I've said many times -- that we do have two very good goalies," he said. "If things aren't going in a direction we'd like to see -- whether it's the defense letting us down or in the goal -- I feel we have another guy who can come in and give us a spark and be a stopper. Again, it wasn't something that Jake did as much as it was the defense. But I felt like you don't lose your job when it's out of your control like that. We just weren't able to give the kid a fair shot in goal."

Hagelin and the rest of the Greyhounds must play well against a Red Storm team that is 4-0 overall and beat Georgetown to get to 1-0 in the Eastern College Athletic Conference. One factor in Loyola's favor: the Greyhounds are 11-0 at home against ECAC opponents under Toomey.

"For us, I think it's a real shot in the arm to get this game at home, where traditionally we have been very tough," Toomey said. "We need to come home and defend the home turf, especially in-league. That's where our guys have excelled, and I'm going to count on them to do that this Saturday."

Posted by Edward Lee at 8:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Loyola
        

Just in case people forgot how good Shane Koppens is, the senior attackman for No. 19 Loyola scored three goals in an 8-7 win against Eastern College Athletic Conference foe Penn State on Saturday. It was his first contest of the season after serving a two-game suspension as part of gaining a fifth year of eligibility.

Koppens' tally with 3:55 left in the fourth quarter capped the fifth hat trick of his career and proved to be the winning goal for the Greyhounds (2-1 overall and 1-0 in the ECAC), who are tied with St. John's for the conference lead.

"He didn't waste much time getting into the mix," Loyola coach Charley Toomey marveled. "He's a kid who -- as I've always said -- is going to have the ball go through his stick every time down [the field]. He's our offensive leader, he's our decision maker. I think he really cherishes that role and embraces it. He just makes people around him better."

Koppens' presence benefited junior attackman Cooper MacDonnell, who also scored three goals. Prior to Saturday, MacDonnell, who led the team in goals with 22 last season, had found the net just twice. But Toomey refused to buy into an early-season slump as an explanation for MacDonnell's slow start.

"I don't know that he was ever out of the groove other than he was taking on the [opposing] team's best defender," Toomey said. "Now with Shane Koppens coming back into the mix, you've got to make some decisions. I think it all goes hand-in-hand. Shane takes a lot of pressure off of Cooper as well as [junior attackman] Collin [Finnerty]. So now, you've really got make some decisions as to how you want to guard Loyola's attack."

As the reigning ECAC champions, the Greyhounds have a one-game lead on No. 20 Georgetown, which lost to St. John's last Saturday and had captured six titles prior to last season. Just don't tell Toomey that.

"It's such a long season, and there are so many games to be played that you just can't look up right now," he said. "You've got to continue to take care of your own business. In fact, I wouldn't even say Loyola's in first place. I would say St. John's is. They're 3-0 [overall], and we're 2-1. I think you've got to give St. John's a lot of credit for doing what they've done so far."

Posted by Edward Lee at 12:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Loyola
        

I'm a few hours late, but just found an e-mail announcing that Loyola's Collin Finnerty has been named the Eastern College Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week.

The junior attackman from Garden City, N.Y., recorded his second straight four-goal, one-assist performance in the No. 16 Greyhounds' 11-8 victory over No. 20 Towson on Saturday. Finnerty leads the ECAC with 10 points on eight goals and two assists.

"Collin has really been playing with a lot of confidence lately, and that's showing in his performance," Loyola coach Charley Toomey told the team's Web site. "When he gets his hands set to shoot, he is certainly very tough to defend."

Former Gilman star and current Georgetown junior defenseman Barney Ehrmann shared Defensive Player of the Week honors with Fairfield freshman goalkeeper Charlie Cipriano. Ehrmann helped the No. 17 Hoyas upend No. 3 Maryland, 13-10, on Saturday by surrendering zero goals and zero points to Terps junior attackman Will Yeatman.

Posted by Edward Lee at 9:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Loyola
        

If there was any doubt about whom should be the starting goalkeeper for No. 16 Loyola, Jake Hagelin put those questions to rest with his performance Saturday.

The sophomore made 15 saves in the Greyhounds' season-opening 10-9 loss to No. 14 Notre Dame. Hagelin was especially tough in the second quarter when he faced 12 shots, turned away five, and helped Loyola claw its way back to a 6-6 tie at halftime.

Coach Charley Toomey knew he faced a tough decision when senior Alex Peaty returned to the team in the fall. Peaty had been the starting goalie in 2007, recording a .547 save percentage and a 10.00 goals-against average (GAA). But when Peaty took some time off last spring, Hagelin stepped in as a freshman and posted a .575 percentage and 8.10 GAA.

While insisting that he would not be opposed to getting Peaty some time in the net, Toomey said the job is Hagelin's to lose. "What I saw in that game was a kid making a lot of saves early on in that game and playing very consistently throughout the game," Toomey said. "I just had a hard time looking to [Peaty on] the sidelines and saying, ‘OK, it’s your turn.’ I feel like we’ve got two very good goaltenders, and I don’t want anybody looking over their shoulders this season. Right now, it’s Jake’s job, and Alex knows that he’s ready to step in at any time when he’s called on."

Another bright spot in the defeat was the emergence of junior midfielder John Schiavone, who replaced Tim McDermott as the team's faceoff specialist. McDermott ranked ninth in the country last season, winning 58.6 percent (109 of 186) of his faceoffs.

Schiavone appears to a worthy successor. He won 14 of 20 faceoffs (60 percent) against the Fighting Irish and might have shocked everyone, including Toomey.

"It’s kind of hard to look at somebody and say, ‘He’s going to go 14 of 20 at the X.’ We thought we could [win] 55 percent," Toomey said. "That’s our goal going into any game. This obviously was a special effort, and you’d obviously like to have that type of effort every weekend, but you can’t expect it."

Posted by Edward Lee at 2:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Loyola