Loyola coach Charley Toomey said he still hasn't made up his mind on who will succeed Jake Hagelin as the starting goalkeeper, but junior Michael Bonitatibus will open Saturday's scrimmage against 2011 national runner-up Maryland in the net.
Toomey said promising sophomore Jack Runkel will start in the Feb. 11 scrimmage against Harvard, but the coaches are interested to see how Bonitatibus performs against the potent Terps.
"We're still trying to figure that one out," Toomey said. "… We've got a junior competing with a sophomore, and day to day, it kind of changes in terms of who's going to get those first reps. So we're trying to figure out if it's Jack Runkel or if it's Michael Bonitatibus that will be between the pipes."
One player Greyhounds fans won't see Saturday is Josh Hawkins. The junior short-stick defensive midfielder who ranked second on the team in groundballs (53) last season is dealing with an undisclosed injury that has prevented him from practicing.
But Toomey said he is not concerned that the injury is of the season-ending variety.
"I would anticipate that he's going to be back for the Harvard scrimmage," Toomey said. "We're hopeful of that, but that's not something that we're going to mess around with. We're going to rely on our trainers. I'm seeing him out there rehabbing it, running on the sideline. The trainers have been pushing him hard, and I know he's been chomping at the bit to get out there."
Toomey said Hawkins' absence will give the staff a chance to watch sophomore Kyle Duffy work with sophomore Pat Laconi. Another option is sophomore attackman Matt Sawyer, who is making the transition to defensive midfielder.