After a rough stretch in the middle of the season, Stevenson midfielder Tony Rossi seems to have rediscovered his shooting touch recently.
Rossi, a senior from Towson who graduated from Calvert Hall, had gone five games without scoring a goal. He did record eight assists over that span, but Rossi had scored 62 goals in two seasons for the Mustangs.
In his last four contests, Rossi has posted five goals and three assists, including a three-goal, one-assist effort in No. 7 Stevenson's 12-5 victory over Eastern in the first round of the NCAA Division III tournament Wednesday night.
"I just think he's shooting the ball a little better lately," coach Paul Cantabene said Thursday morning. "Before, he was playing really well, but he was just missing some of his shots. I think he's got a lot more confidence now that the balls are falling more for him. He's going hard, and he's making himself a tough cover, and he's someone that you really have to be accountable for now. I think he's just making the right decisions, which has really helped his confidence."
With 14 goals this season, Rossi appears to be hard-pressed to match his career low of 26 in 2011. But Cantabene said he hasn't noticed Rossi wilting in the spotlight of outside scrutiny.
"Obviously as a season goes on, you want your seniors to get better, but we don't put any more pressure on Tony than we always do," he said. "I think he just got better and better, and he knew he had to play better for us to be successful. I think once he's relaxed a little bit, he's started to play much better."
An improving Rossi could be significant for the Mustangs (16-4) because opponents would have to decide between assigning their long-stick midfielders to either Rossi or senior midfielder Colin Dabney (31 goals and six assists).
"It's much more dangerous because he's more accountable now," Cantabene said. "You've got to slide to him. You've got to go to him, and when you have to go to Tony, that opens up everybody else. It makes their job easier. When he's being that dangerous, it really helps our offense tremendously."