Here is the third installment of a series that checks in with the eight Division III programs in the state to give a glimpse into the past and the future. Teams are scheduled to appear in the chronological order in which their seasons ended. Thursday's visit was with Frostburg State. Friday's visit is with Hood.
REVIEW
The good: The Blazers' offensive production of 8.9 goals per game is the highest since the program began in 2005. They also converted a program-best 36.5 percent of their man-up opportunities (19-of-52). The offensive improvement has been a three-year process since Brad Barber succeeded Jeremy Mattoon as head coach after the 2013 campaign, and Barber was delighted to see the unit's progress under assistant coach Mike Russo.
"We're continuing to get deeper on the offensive end," Barber said. "We're just going to keep recruiting blue-collar guys, guys that work hard. We ran the same system that we've been using a few years back. I told you it was going to take some time after we took over. We needed to adjust the offense and put in a more suitable college-style one, and it's starting to pay off. Guys are starting to really understand it, guys are sharing the rock, and we're playing really good lacrosse when we run the system."
**Dating back to last spring, John Hoffman had been groomed as the next goalkeeper to succeed Joseph McCulloh (9.98 goals-against average and a .537 save percentage), and the junior fared decently in his first year as a full-time starter. Although his 10.55 goals-against average was higher than McCulloh's, Hoffman's .556 save percentage was better, and he eased any worries about his command of the position.
"He was fantastic," Barber said. "That was a question mark going into the season, but we knew he'd be able to answer the call. He came in and did a great job. Joey McCulloh, who was our former standout goalie, is his coach. So those two work really well off of each other. They have a great relationship, and John has worked really hard between the pipes for the team to assume that role as our starting goalie."
**Among a number of freshmen who made immediate contributions for Hood, Grayson Zubradt stood out the brightest. The midfielder paced the offense in goals (35) and points (40), becoming the first player in school history to reach those marks in the same season. Zubradt, who shared Middle Atlantic Conference Commonwealth Rookie of the Year honors with Widener goalkeeper Matt Horton, may have surprised some with his accelerated acclimation to college lacrosse, but don't count Barber among that group.
"For us, the question mark is always, how is this high school athlete's playing style going to transfer over to a college team?" he said. "You could tell that when Grayson came in, he was just a naturally gifted athlete. We saw that when we were recruiting him. We followed him for months. So we had a good idea of what he could bring to the table as an athlete. He's going to have a heck of a career here."
The bad: The Blazers' win total dropped from six in 2015 to five this past spring, and their MAC Commonwealth record dipped from 2-6 to 1-7. Starting five new players on offense and defense required an adjustment period, but Barber refused to use that as a crutch. Instead, he said the plan is to use this year as a launching point for greater success in the future.
"You always want to take that next step forward, and wins and losses are the same thing," Barber said. "You want to win more than you did the year before, and you want to reach the conference tournament and compete for a conference championship. We're going to do that. Each year, we have the goal of making that conference tournament and competing for a conference championship. But in my eyes, was it disappointing? Yes. But like I said, we had a lot of good growth outside of the wins and losses, and that should make us better in the upcoming year."
**As well as Hoffman played in the cage, the defense surrendered 10.7 goals per game, marking the most since the 2013 squad gave up an average of 10.9 goals. The unit did start a pair of freshman defenseman in Keller Falkenstein (28 ground balls and 19 caused turnovers) and Eamon Mulligan (14 GB, 12 CT) and added a rookie short-stick defensive midfielder in Joe Carroll (11 GB, 4 CT). Hood's youth showed, but Barber seemed to willing to sacrifice a few goals on the defensive end to supplement an offense that ran a little faster than those from previous years.
"We graduated some senior defensemen last year, and the guys had to learn how to play together," he said. "But we always wanted to become more of a transition, run-and-gun team, which means more turnovers because you're going to play a more fast-paced game and you're going to see a few more goals scored. So the style of play was a little bit different, but we also had brand-new players trying to figure out how to play well together."
**The Blazers made incremental progress in two departments. They reduced their average turnover rate from 23.8 to 21.3 and raised their clearing percentage from 75.1 percent (277-of-369) to 75.2 (255-of-339). Still, Barber wants to become more adept in moving the ball from defense to offense, which in turn should reduce the number of giveaways that opponents can take advantage of.
"Our clearing game struggled a little bit from time to time," he said. "We just need to continue to improve on that. We noticed that was a weakness of ours during the season, and we spent a lot of time on it. It's not where I would like it to be, but we're getting there."
PREVIEW
Personnel changes: Hood lost just one starter to graduation, but Tucker Palmer registered 37 ground balls and 13 caused turnovers as the team's most polished defenseman. Junior Weston Bimstefer, who posted 22 ground balls and 19 caused turnovers in 10 starts before being replaced by Falkenstein, appears poised to rejoin Falkenstein and Mulligan as starters, and sophomore James McNeill and freshman Eli Nicholson (Perry Hall) could earn playing time. But Barber is always looking for more bodies on defense.
"We've just got to continue to develop some of the younger players who didn't play as much underneath [Palmer]," Barber said. "We have a few good poles coming in, and we've got to see how they progress in the fall. But we have a lot of good returners who didn't play a lot of minutes but are right on the cusp of being a college defenseman."
**The defense also bade farewell to long-stick midfielder Jared Bileski, who compiled 18 ground balls and eight caused turnovers while splitting the starter's workload with junior Dan Burkhart (5 GB, 5 CT). Sophomore Charlie Suarez (15 GB, 3 CT) backed up the duo and figures to get more playing time. Barber also has high hopes for freshman Ian Wittler (Perry Hall).
"Ian Wittler was a converted LSM who played some D-middie because we got some injuries at that position," Barber said. "So we'll be looking to move him back to LSM or close based on what we see this fall."
**Tai Foster was not a starter, but his value may have been almost as important. After leading last year's team in goals (18) and tying for first in points (25), the Hawaii native gave way to some of his teammates and played on the second midfield. He accumulated just seven goals and one assist, but he used his 6-foot-1, 207-pound to gain an advantage against his opponents, and Barber said the offense will miss that physicality that Foster brought to the field.
"Tai was a great athlete," he said. "He was the one a lot of teams respected. He was blue collar. Came from Hawaii, was a hard worker. He just put his shoulder down and made an impact. He was a big kid who drew a lot of respect for his size. He really developed in his four years and became a player that teams had to game-plan for."
Forecast for 2017: Stormy. Hood has planted the seeds for optimism for next spring. The ability of the five freshman starters to make a quick impact could accelerate the team's learning curve and raise the bar for future classes. And the loss of just one starter means that Barber will welcome back an experienced squad that understands the rigors of competition and may play even quicker. But the Blazers are still chasing their rivals in the Middle Atlantic Conference Commonwealth, losing six of their league contests by an average of 8.7 goals. A significant reversal is not out of the realm of possibility for any program, but Hood faces an uphill climb to competitiveness for a coveted berth in the league tournament.