Loyola Maryland's starting midfield of sophomores Brian Sherlock and Romar Dennis and junior Tyler Albrecht has combined for 50 goals and 22 assists. The second line of freshmen Jay Drapeau and Johnny Giuffreda and sophomore Mike Perkins has totaled three goals and one assist.
Based on productivity, it's natural that the first midfield would get a significant brunt of the playing time. But coach Charley Toomey said he plans to give the second unit more runs when the Greyhounds (5-5 overall and 3-2 in the Patriot League) host No. 18 Navy (7-3, 5-1) on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. at Ridley Athletic Complex in Baltimore.
"I think the one thing we're open to doing is getting that second midfield on the field a little bit earlier and hopefully, that might rest the first midfield," Toomey said Thursday afternoon. "And they deserve that opportunity. That's something we're going to try to manage in the game a little bit and get them an opportunity to get out there and make a play early for us."
Toomey pointed out that Drapeau scored a goal in Saturday's 11-4 loss to Colgate and and the second midfield was on the field when junior attackman Zach Herreweyers scored. So the second line can contribute, and Toomey is confident it can play well when given the opportunity.
In addition to playing offense, Albrecht and Sherlock have run back on defense and lined up on the wings on faceoffs. Add all that together, and Toomey acknowledged that the coaches could be over-taxing the starting midfield.
"I feel like the amount of minutes we're asking them to play is a challenge for them and for anybody," he said. "So I think it's really us looking at game film and [asking,] 'How can we give these guys a better opportunity?' That's really the one answer we've continued to come up with. We've just got to manage their minutes and give them maybe a little bit extra rest and get them back out there when they're at full speed."