Friday's entry is the fifth of a series taking a look at each of the seven Division I programs in this state according to their order of finish from last season. The Sun's men's lacrosse preview is slated to be published on Friday, Feb. 6. This is Loyola Maryland's turn.
Overview: The Greyhounds lost just once in 15 games in the 2014 regular season and earned the No. 3 seed in the NCAA tournament. But all that went for naught when they were stunned by unseeded Albany in the opening round of the tournament. It was a sudden and disappointing end for a team that became the first in Patriot League history to go 8-0 and captured the tournament championship. But Loyola is still the favorite in the conference after the being picked to finish first in the league's preseason poll, and the players and coaches are eager to remind observers that the Greyhounds won the 2012 national title.
Reason for optimism: The graduation of a combined 97 goals and 78 assists from attackmen Justin Ward and Brian Schultz and midfielders Matt Sawyer and Kevin Ryan would seem to suggest that an offense that ranked sixth in Division I at 12.9 goals per game will take a large step backward.
Replacing those four players – three of whom were starters – is a huge task, but the one thing that Loyola will do is stick with its run-and-gun philosophy. Even with a new offensive coordinator in former Maryland coach Ryan Moran and a plethora of newcomers, Greyhounds coach Charley Toomey said there is no plan to slow the offense down.
"There are things that Loyola has been successful in doing for years, pushing early offense and playing quickly in certain opportunities, and I think Ryan has enjoyed that philosophy," Toomey said. "We're willing to chuck the ball around in a small window, and it's going to go out-of-bounds right now. But I think we have to continue to play that way. One, it's because that's the way we recruited these kids to play. We think it's a style that is a fun style to recruit to. Two, I think it's the right way to play the game, especially with the timer-ons and shot clocks that are coming into play. I think we want to be ahead of the curve. We don't want to slow it down in an invert set. I think it's a fun way to play offensively and defensively."
Reason for pessimism: The losses on defense are just as pronounced as the ones on offense.
The Greyhounds graduated defenseman and Tewaaraton Award finalist Joe Fletcher and goalkeeper Jack Runkel. They also lost the services of senior starting defenseman David Manning, who tore meniscus in his knee in the fall and is not expected to return until the midpoint of the season.
The biggest concern, however, is finding two starting short-stick defensive midfielders. Replacing second-team All American Pat Laconi (11 goals, three assists, 31 ground balls and 34 caused turnovers) and Kyle Duffy (30 GB, 4 CT) may fall to senior Mike Kutzer, sophomore Dan Simonetti or freshman Jared Mintzlaff.
"That's probably the biggest work in progress for us," he said. "There are a lot of new faces down there. … With the nuances of how we want to play defense, as much as it is learning the defense, it's learning our transition game offensively. Those guys are learning it, but that's where I'm saying that hopefully, we're going to continue to get better month to month."
Keep an eye on: Jack Runkel was one of three goalies in the country to rank in the top five in both goals-against average and save percentage. (Army's Sam Somers and Bryant's Gunnar Waldt were the others.)
Loyola is in the process of trying to find someone to replace Runkel, who set career bests in goals-against average (7.20) and save percentage (.611). Senior Pat McEnerney, sophomore Sam Beazell and freshman Grant Limone are vying for the starting role, but Toomey said the competition is too close to call before the team's season opener against Virginia on Feb. 7.
"I would that right now, it's a race," he said. "It's a race to Virginia with the idea that the guy who wins the Virginia game needs to win the next week of practice to [start against] Penn State [on Feb. 14]. We've got to settle in. We recognize that. It's tough on them, and it's tough on our defense, but until somebody really steps up and grabs it, I'm just not prepared to name a starter. I would say that Pat McEnerney and Grant Limone are playing pretty well right now. Sam Beazell is coming along. I would say he's playing a little more consistently. If I had my druthers, I would start a senior. I would like to see that. I would really like to see him win that job. But I'm not going to just give anybody a job. Anybody that has played for me knows that. You've got to earn it, and every day, we put a depth chart out front of our locker room and it can change day to day and that position has changed day to day. So we need some more consistency there and once we feel like we've got that guy, we're going to run with him."
What he said: The Greyhounds lost their field general in Ward, whose 53 assists ranked second in the nation only to Albany senior attackman and co-Tewaaraton Award winner Lyle Thompson's 77 helpers.
Finding a playmaker in Ward's mold would seem to be a critical piece of the puzzle, but Toomey said the object this spring is to distribute that burden amongst the six offensive players on the field.
"I'm hoping we don't put any pressure on any one guy to be like Justin," he said. "I'm hoping that we can share the ball and really be dangerous in different areas of the field. I think for us to be successful, that's the way we have to play. I imagine that teams are going to say, 'OK, we know [senior attackman] Nikko [Pontrello],' and if we're putting the ball in his stick and allowing teams to say, 'Let's take him out of the game,' then we're probably in trouble. We've got to dodge hard, throw again, and whoever's stick it ends up in, he's got to be ready to play lacrosse. And I think that's what Ryan has done a terrific job of, making sure that these kids are sharing the ball and knowing that when your opportunity is there, you make the most of it."