PHILADELPHIA — A few years ago, a close friend of mine and assistant lacrosse coach, the late Terry Kimball, used to marvel at Jay Carlson, currently a senior attackman at the University of Maryland. Kimball had seen Carlson play in the recreation leagues for years and admired Carlson for having a "nose" for scoring goals. Kimball also liked his scrappy attitude.
Both were on display Saturday at the Division I semifinals here at Lincoln Financial Field.
Carlson likes to score what some call "garbage" goals, but I don't like that term. A goal is a goal, regardless if it's an over-the-shoulder shot or a rebound. If Carlson scores "garbage" goals, then he might be the best trash collector in University of Maryland history. He now has 90 career goals, three of those coming Saturday in Maryland's 12-11 win over Hopkins.
One goal came off a rebound of another shot that hit a pipe and came right back to Carlson near the top of the crease. Another goal came after Hopkins goalie Eric Schneider made a save and as the ball bounced out of his stick, Carlson snatched it out of the air and deposited it for a goal. Those were vintage Carlson goals.
He isn't going to impress you with a lot of flair. He doesn't carry the ball well and isn't a great feeder, but he does cut, move and find the holes in defenses. He is a good crease attackman, and one of the scrappiest players in college lacrosse. In the four years he has been at Maryland, he has been benched two or three times but always finds his way back into the starting lineup.
Those "garbage" goals hurt other teams.
"That's just something I've always done since I was younger," said Carlson, from St. Paul's. "If it's a ground ball, I'm going to hunt the ground ball. After a shot, I'm going to hunt the ball find those rebounds. And I know a lot of times other teams think it's a frustrating goal to give up, but it's always been still one of my favorites. It counts as much as a 15¿yard shot, so I'll take what I can get."
mike.preston@baltsun.com