Johns Hopkins has to replace both starting short-stick defensive midfielders – one due to unforeseen circumstances.
Tim Donovan graduated last spring, and Phil Castronova suffered a season-ending knee injury. Inside Lacrosse reported in November that the sophomore played in a flag football tournament in Charlottesville, Va.
Senior Marshall Burkhart is slated to start at one spot, and junior Matt Leighty (a converted long-stick midfielder), sophomore James Malm and freshman Nikhon Schuler (a converted defenseman) are competing to join Burkhart.
"We're unproven there," coach Dave Pietramala said during a media event Wednesday that gathered the head coaches at Johns Hopkins, Loyola, Towson and UMBC at Loyola's Ridley Athletic Complex. "So when you look at our team, I don't look at it as a weakness as much as I would say that there are couple areas that we need to prove ourselves in."
While Donovan was a steady presence, Castronova provided athleticism and quickness, registering four goals, three assists and 42 groundballs. But Pietramala said the team can't afford to stew over Castronova's absence.
"When you lose a good player, it always impacts you. But that's why other people are there and they step up and they do the job," he said. "We're a system-oriented defense, so it's never based on one individual. Obviously, different individuals bring different skills to the table. Phil was someone who brought us a little bit in the transition game, and we may need to find that elsewhere. … You never want to lose a kid, but the way we play defense you hope is conducive to having an injury or two and being able to input someone else into the system."