Pat from Towson wrote me, asking:

How is the goalie situation at Hopkins shaping up? They have some big shoes to fill. I hear they have a transfer from Carolina that is pretty good. Any thoughts?

The Hopkins keeper will have big shoes to fill. But so do most Hopkins goalies and it’s never really fair to hold these guys up to the level of the past greats, right off the bat. Some of Jesse Schwartzman's biggest saves are indelibly etched in our national memory, so it’s hard to imagine that the Hop won’t miss him. But its just as hard to forget the almost universal criticism he got early on, before he was “great,” which makes me reluctant to critique the next guy in any material way.

Goalies at the Hop don’t have the chance to prove their true worth until the end of the season anyway. They always have good goalies and the lineage of Hall of Fame keepers at Homewood Field isn't defined by regular-season accomplishment. When making the playoffs is a forgone conclusion and a championship is expected, it’s hard to be a hero in the cage during the regular season.You can be the goat with a loss or two, but heroes at Hopkins are made in the postseason, and Jesse certainly was one.

The University of North Carolina transfer you speak of is Trey Sheain of Boys’ Latin fame. He played quite brilliantly at times while at UNC but did not play his senior season, while still graduating. He is an MBA candidate at Hopkins’ Carey School of Business. Here’s a first, I think. Trey takes a full load of classes at night (MBA classes, not typical college classes), while working during the day in the financial field and playing lacrosse for the top college team.

I am impressed. He did not play in 2006 but he’s a mature, smart guy who is capable of stepping in any time and playing for a team at the top, and he might be the absolutely perfect backup goalie in a national championship effort. While he is more experienced than his younger counterpart, the Hopkins' scheme and team culture is different than that at UNC, he’s been out a year, has a huge life load and he’d have to take the starting role from last year’s No. 2.

Mike Gvozden is the Hopkins' starter. The two will be competitive in a Dave
Pietramala-controlled practice environment and I suppose anything can happen, but investment has already been made in Gvozden and he will return on that investment for a longer time.

Gvozden is from Severna Park, where it rained championships while he was there. He owned my Dulaney Lions. He played in some games last year and was good in the fall, but it’s those practices against the Hopkins' offense day after day last year that have everyone confident in him.

He is an extremely engaged kid. He’s Carcaterraesque (after the great Hopkins keeper Brian Carcaterra) in a few ways, but especially as a student of the game. He’s a lax rat who, I’ve heard, dreamed of playing at the Hop (didn’t we all?) since he was a kid. He’s a good bet. They are both great stories.

While Jesse was a talker and could be seen shouting out commands and field positions to his D unit, the commander of that Hopkins D is Eric Zerrlaut, the fifth-year senior. The whole unit, which will be the nation's best in 2008, returns from last year with Matt Bocklet, Michael Evans, all three D-middies and a surprise for any coaches not already cowering. In 2006, the hot defender at Hopkins was Matt Drenan. They played all of last year and won the championship with their best D-man off the field. People may have forgotten about him, but not for long. Can you think of another returning national championship defensive unit where players faced pressure for their jobs?

This is a starting four with Bocklet at the long pole. Most of Hopkins' opponents this spring will be lucky to see the keeper and will see very little net. But we won’t know if the Hopkins keeper can fill Jesse’s shoes until they’re planted in the turf at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass., site of this year's championships.