TOP 5 FOR 2014 1. LE MOYNE
The defense will take a hit, but the backline is never a concern for the Dolphins. Midfielder Andrew Chadderdon will anchor an offense that should be capable enough if they stay healthy.
2. MERCYHURST
Jake McAndrew and Brady Heseltine will score goals, but the Lakers will have to find a feeder to replace Brian Scheetz. The defense will be in capabale hands, led by Andrew Wagner.
3. LIU POST
The Pioneers were extremely young last year, but still received a tourney invite. If it can bump up its faceoff numbers, Post should be a serious contender.
The Adelphi defense will need veterans like Tyler FeliceJennings.
4. ADELPHI
Faceoff man Greg Puskuldjian will always keep the Panthers in games, but the big offseason task will be to find a goalie after the graduation of Eric Janssen and Aidan Bennardo.
5. NYIT
The Bears graduate just three seniors — with goalie Joe Fallon being the biggest loss — but studs like Luke Miller and Danny McDermott return. NYIT needs to bump up its roster numbers, however.
During the week before the championship, Sheehan tried to enjoy the moment.
Since that last-second miracle against Mercyhurst six years ago, Le Moyne lost successive national titles in 2008, 2009, and 2010. The snake-bitten Dolphins didn’t make the NCAA playoffs in 2011 and fell in the semis in 2012. Even as the Division II tournament expanded from four to eight teams, Le Moyne dropped two mid-season games to Merrimack and Adelphi that put the Dolphins’ backs against the wall for the rest of the season.
“In the world that we live in, in Division II, you lose one game and all of a sudden you start looking in the rear view mirror. You lose two and all of a sudden you know everybody’s schedule from there on out.” Le Moyne coach Dan Sheehan said. Moreover, during the 2012 NCAA semifinal against Limestone, Le Moyne goaltender Jeff White, a 2012 first- team All-American and Goalie of the Year, didn’t make a single save. While Limestone only took 15 shots that day and almost every goal was scored right on the doorstep, White still described the game to a local paper this year as the worst of his career.
But Le Moyne stayed the course.
“The turning point [of the season] was the couple weeks of practice after the Adelphi loss. Coach Sheehan put us through some great practices and had us running a lot,” Le Moyne defenseman Alex Cameron-Carter said. “He was telling us ‘It’s not over yet. The last time [Le Moyne had two losses during the regular season] we won a national championship.” The team bought in, winning its final nine games including an uncharacteristically high-scoring 16-13 barnburner against Adelphi in the NCAA semifinals.
A Publication of US Lacrosse
“I caught myself a couple of times this weekend trying not to be the grumpy old guy that’s been here before, and realizing I’ve got a bunch of 18, 19, 20-year-old kids,” he said. “We had a GoPro camera on a helmet, and if you would have told me a couple years ago that I would allow something like that to happen, I would have told you you were crazy.” Mercyhurst provided a stiff test. The undefeated Lakers showed resiliency by winning six one-goal games throughout the season.
While Le Moyne wanted to control the pace of play and make the game more of a grinding, six-on-six affair, faceoff specialist Kam Bumpus sustained a hand injury that made him unable to clamp the ball. The Dolphins only won 8 of 25 faceoffs. But Le Moyne stayed disciplined and took advantage in other ways. Defensive middies used fast transition to create unsettled situations. Veteran attackmen Nate Frechette and Tyler Prevost finished and fed around the crease. Cameron-Carter locked down Mercyhurst quarterback Brian Scheetz while White stared down the Lakers’ cadre of Canadian scorers. “We’ve kind of built this program on our defense, and you’ve got to let your kids make plays, and I think down the stretch [we were able] to get to Brian Scheetz’s hands with Alex Cameron-Carter and Jeff [stood] tall in the goal,” Sheehan said. “We’ve got a bunch of kids whose lacrosse IQ is pretty high and who work real hard Monday through Friday.” Ultimately, White played the hero, answering any questions about his big-game prowess on lacrosse’s biggest stage. “Things don’t get to Jeff, but he hears things and uses them as motivation,” Cameron-Carter said. “He didn’t sit there and think it was his fault last year. He knows it’s a team defense. In the end, he wanted to step up and make a difference and he did.”
White, who played as a freshman in the 2010 title game
added: “When you come to Le Moyne, you expect to win a national championship. It felt great to finally win one, especially because it’s been so long.” LM
July 2013 >> LACROSSE MAGAZINE 55
©LEE WEISSMAN
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