COLLEGE PREVIEW 2013 NCAA DIVISION I MEN TOP 20
2012 RECORD: 18-1 (6-0 ECAC) COACH: CHARLEY TOOMEY (8TH YEAR)
LOYOLA GREYHOUNDS 1
Loyola’s enemy is comfort. Its ally, composure. Winning the school’s fi rst NCAA Division I championship in any sport made the Greyhounds the chatter of Charles Street, an unfamiliar feeling
for the Jesuit school in Baltimore. It opened the door for complacency to set in. And with all but three starters returning from last year’s title-winning team, expectations have never been higher. Loyola will rank atop every preseason poll. In the media frenzy that followed this Cinderella story all the way to Foxborough, much was made of Loyola’s perceived lack of respect, a team embodied by its high-intensity rope unit. But coach Charley Toomey said the Greyhounds never got too high or low emotionally — an underrated factor in their success. “Being even-keeled, we hope that’s the trait of this team again,” he said. “But until you get into battle, until you get into the day-to-day grind, that book has yet to be written.” Looking for a new protagonist? Meet junior defenseman Joe Fletcher, whom senior All-American long-stick midfi elder Scott Ratliff called “the hardest worker on the team, incredibly humble and a cool customer.” Fletcher quietly developed into an elite on-ball defender. In the 2012 season-opener, Delaware’s Grant Kaleikau “barely sniffed it” Ratliff said, “and then Joe emerged as
Feb 16 at Delaware Feb 19 at Towson Feb 23 Maryland Feb 26 UMBC Mar 2 Bellarmine Mar 8 at Duke Mar 16 vs. Air Force* Mar 20 at Georgetown Mar 23 at Michigan Mar 30 at Ohio State Apr 6 Fairfi eld Apr 13 Denver Apr 20 at Hobart Apr 27 at Johns Hopkins * at Sports Authority Field, Denver
maybe the best straight cover defenseman in the country. We saw it all season. It just took the rest of the country a little longer to notice.”
Senior attackman and Tewaaraton Award fi nalist Mike Sawyer played against Fletcher in spring practices. “We pretty much played to a stalemate every time,” Sawyer said. “He’s got a lanky look, and kind of awkward hunched over. But as soon as you start dodging him, you realize he’s one of the smartest players out there.” Toomey praised Fletcher’s “asking before acting” mentality, and his 3.79 GPA in the classroom. At 6-foot-2 and 180 pounds, Fletcher isn’t daunting physically, but his footwork honed playing basketball at West Genesee (N.Y.) High put him in good position. He has a knack for getting his stick in lanes and knocking down passes.
Fletcher is at his best when the ball hits the carpet. Loyola even has a slogan for his handiwork. “If it’s a one-on-one ground ball, you’re not winning it — not if Fletch is around,” Toomey said. “You just got Fletched.” There’s nothing comfortable about that.
— Matt Forman 30 LACROSSE MAGAZINE February 2013 >>
Joe Fletcher
RIVAL COACHES SAY “The addition of [offensive coordinator] Dave Metzbower may be the best recruit of the year… Can they play with the edge they played with last year when nobody believed in them?... Runkel, he’s a guy that on his end-of-career tombstone, it’s going to say: ‘I just did my job, and I won a lot of games.’”
TOP RETURNER A Mike Sawyer (Sr.) A Tewaaraton fi nalist, Sawyer makes goalies squirm anytime he gets his hands free (see page 86). Born in Syracuse and raised in North Carolina, he has one of the hardest right-handed shots in college lacrosse. Sawyer won’t have lefty Eric Lusby at his side, but he should still get about 10 shots a game.
X-FACTOR M Josh Hawkins (Sr.) Hawkins is a physical, cross- checking ball hawk, master of the one-man clear and a transition threat. With NCAA rules changes putting a premium on two-way middies, he could see more time on the offensive end. He embodies Loyola’s feared rope unit and its swagger.
Following Eric Lusby’s 15 minutes of fame, sophomore
attackman Nikko Pontrello is the next man up on
PROJECTED STARTERS
A Mike Sawyer (Sr.)* G: 52 A: 10
A Justin Ward (Jr.)* G: 12 A: 31
A Nikko Pontrello (So.) G: 4
A: 6
M Davis Butts (Sr.)* G: 21 A: 14
M Sean O’Sullivan (Sr.)* G: 16 A: 11
M Chris Layne (Sr.)* G: 11 A: 14
FO Blake Burkhart (So.) FO%: 54.0 GB: 18 (at Rutgers)
LSM Scott Ratliff (Sr.)* GB: 88 CT: 37
D Joe Fletcher (Jr.)* GB: 41 CT: 26
D Reid Acton (Sr.)* GB: 44 CT: 20
D T.J. Harris (Sr.) GB: 0 CT: 1
G Jack Runkel (Jr.)* GAA: 7.30 SV%: 55.6 *returning starters
TELLING NUMBER 4.84
to UMass. Not only did the Greyhounds win 18 games last year, they won fairly easily. A Publication of US Lacrosse
Loyola’s 2012 scoring margin, second only
©BILL DANIELEWSKI (JF) ©LOYOLA (JR); ©JOHN STROHSACKER (EL)
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