Here is the opening installment of a series taking a look at each of the eight Division III programs in the state according to their order of finish from last season. The Sun's men's lacrosse preview is set to be published Friday. This is St. Mary's turn.
Overview: The 2013 and 2014 seasons could not have ended more differently for the Seahawks. After upsetting 10-time national champion Salisbury for the CAC tournament championship and earning the automatic bid for their first NCAA tournament appearance two years ago, they went 7-10 overall and 3-4 in the league before getting bounced from the opening round of the conference tournament by Frostburg State last season. It was a blow to the midsection for a program that had become accustomed to challenging Salisbury for CAC supremacy, but St. Mary's now knows that the competition for a shot at the Sea Gulls has become crowded with the likes of York, Mary Washington, Christopher Newport and Frostburg State joining the fray.
Reason for optimism: For the second consecutive year, the offense graduated its top attackman. Patrick Mull, who left after recording 19 goals and 37 assists in the 2013 season, was followed by Ben Love, who posted 33 goals and eight assists in 2014.
But the Seahawks welcome back five senior midfielders, including three starters in Matt Tarrant (19, 11), Will Lerch (16, 9) and Eric Simon (16, 2). Nate Babcock (11, 6) and Tim Perugini (6, 3) round out the senior group, and sophomore Greg Louzon and junior Matt Carney are vying for time on the second midfield.
Coach Chris Hasbrouck said the team is leaning on the midfield to help lead the way on offense.
"These guys are battle-tested, they've played against all of the big-time opponents, they've been in big games and won those games, and they've been in big games that were very, very tight and lost those games," he said. "I've watched their maturation process, and I think that's a group that we need to be able to rely on, that they're going to go out and produce for us to be successful. I feel very, very strongly that they will."
Reason for pessimism: The goalkeeping carousel is spinning once again for St. Mary's. Moving from Stu Wheeler in 2012 to Scott Marsh in 2013 to Zach Blewett in 2014, the program is searching for another starter.
Junior Joey Casey is trying to fill that role. The Mount Saint Joseph graduate made five starts in 2013 before giving way to Marsh, but he appears to have a slight edge over sophomore Max Alderman, a Calvert Hall graduate.
Hasbrouck said Casey has to prove that he can make the routine saves as often as he makes the spectacular ones.
"We just need to hope that he stays consistent," Hasbrouck said. "That was the thing the last couple years. Our keepers were very, very consistent and that allowed us to be in games. Casey can make the spectacular save. He's a had a great preseason, but we just need to make sure that he's making the constant save – that 14- to 16-yard shot that you just need your goalie eyeing and zeroing in on. Max Alderman had probably earned our backup goalie position and suffered what I would say was the most severe concussion you could suffer and missed more than half of the season. So it's great to have him back. He sees the ball very well. He plays very similar to Scott March from two years ago. … I think he's got all of the tools necessary."
Keep an eye on: Whoever earns the start in goal for the season opener will have the good fortune to be surrounded by a deep defense.
The unit returns four experienced defensemen in senior Grant Lowenfeld (15 ground balls and seven caused turnovers), junior Phil Cappello (21 GB, 9 CT) and sophomores Mike Freiji (14 GB, 11 CT) and Javier Flores (19 GB, 6 CT), two long-stick midfielders in senior Colin Brown (24 GB, 11 CT) and sophomore Jack Patrican (4 GB, 2 CT), and a pair of short-stick defensive midfielders in juniors Austin Tolland (12 GB, 2 CT) and Steve Adams (9 GB, 4 CT).
Hasbrouck said the defense will be a huge comfort for the goalie and the rest of the Seahawks.
"Going into my seventh year now, this is without a doubt the most athletic we've been at the defensive end," he said. "We may not have that cornerstone defender like Justin Harty was. I don't want to say he's a once-in-a-lifetime kid, but was a pretty special player. I think overall, we have an excellent amount of depth and athleticism. … They need to get cohesive as a unit. I think that's the main thing. That group working together will go a long way to determining our success at the defensive end of the field."
What he said: Senior Reese Cassard appears to have the inside track over junior Teddy Secor in the race to become the team's primary faceoff specialist. That would seem to be an upset considering that Secor led St. Mary's in faceoff wins (100), attempts (190) and percentage (52.6), but Hasbrouck has been impressed that Cassard (37.8 percent) has worked hard in the offseason.
"When you bring a guy in, you never know how they're going to develop, how long it's going to take, what they're going to do," Hasbrouck said. "Reese clearly made between his sophomore and junior year a commitment to the weight room, and it's taken a little bit of a longer time for that to come to fruition. That's what we're really looking at. He's done very, very well, had a really good fall. He's worked to develop his overall game, which – with the teams we play – you have to able to handle the stick and make good decisions with the ball, and that's where Reese has kind of come to the forefront for us."