Here is the third installment of a series that checks in with the seven Division I programs in the state to give a glimpse into the past and the future. Teams are scheduled to appear according to the chronological order in which their seasons ended. Tuesday's visit was with UMBC. Wednesday's visit is with Mount St. Mary's.
REVIEW
The good: Every team begins a season aiming for a berth in a league tournament. But that priority cut close to the heart for the Mountaineers, who had ended the 2014 campaign with a 1-15 overall record and a 1-5 mark in the Northeast Conference. That low moment made the program's journey to the No. 4 seed in the league tournament this past spring especially delightful. Facing a must-win scenario in its regular-season finale at Hobart – coach Tom Gravante's alma mater – Mount St. Mary's earned a 10-8 victory and a spot in the conference playoffs.
"When we met with returning players one-on-one, the goal was to make the playoffs in 2015," Gravante said. "So I'm very happy and proud of these young men, especially the 12 young men we graduated this year, for fulfilling their goal and leading this team to a solid season. They had our ups and downs, but when their backs were to the wall, they responded up in Hobart. They fulfilled their goal."
** As mentioned above, the program struggled through the 2014 season, and the frustration of that campaign could have extended into this spring. But this year's group bonded positively in the offseason and preseason, and Gravante attributed the change in the locker room to the attitudes of the 12-member senior class.
"Right from the start, the culture was different in terms of the leadership with our three senior captains and the nine other seniors," he said. "They led by example and really made sure that the team stayed on board from start to finish. That was the difference. Even the underclassmen saw the difference, and that's what it takes to win. It starts from the inside and works its way out and downhill to the younger players. They made sure that everybody was on board and that people were paying attention and holding each other accountable. I was really pleased with the culture."
** After surrendering 12.0 goals per game in 2014, the defense chopped that average down to 8.9 in 2015. The unit relied on the emergence of freshman goalkeeper Matt Vierheller (13th in Division I in goals-against average at 8.36 and eighth in save percentage at .569), the health of three senior starters on close defense, and the unit's maturation under defensive coordinator and associate head coach Tim McIntee.
"I think it starts with a team having a goalie that can make saves -- the saves he needs to make and some saves maybe he shouldn't," Gravante said. "I think we had that in Matt Vierheller. And couple that with three senior defensemen who never got hurt. Nick Firman, Alex Stefkovich and Kyle O'Brien never missed a game, and we were very lucky in some sense that those three young men never got hurt. We also had Coach McIntee on board, who has a wealth of experience behind him as a 15-year head coach at Manhattan and two years as a defensive coordinator at Dartmouth. He was part of the puzzle that we needed to implement."
The bad: The offense made a small improvement from averaging 5.7 goals in 2014 to 7.3 this past spring. That might seem like progress, but the Mountaineers ranked sixth out of seven NEC teams in scoring, and last in assists (44) and man-up offense (20.5 percent, converting nine of 44 chances). Gravante had higher aspirations for an offense that was a year older and a year wiser from last season would have been more productive.
"Offensively, we were very inconsistent and I had hoped that with a group of sophomores who had played as freshmen, we would have a pretty good foundation to work on over the summer and come back as a better, stronger group of young men," he said. "I don't think they really met my expectation. That's where we had some ups and downs where we continued to make some of the same mistakes later in the season rather than earlier in the season. If your team doesn't grow and they don't limit their mistakes -- turnovers, bad shots or overall decision-making -- it's going to be tough to win."
** Staying with the offense, Mount St. Mary's relied heavily on junior midfielder Justin Gosnell (21 goals and six assists), sophomore attackman Bubba Johnson (17 G, 8 A), senior attackman Mark Hojnoski (15 G, 4 A) and junior midfielder Evan Gormley (15 G, 2 A). But the team went through four different players as the third attackman and five different players as the third midfielder. The instability on attack and midfield affected the chemistry among the starting six.
"It was difficult and frustrating because there's the trust factor in terms of what we did based on their output in practice from week to week," Gravante said. "Mike Moynihan, the freshman, we brought him here in January, and he started out very promising, but we lost his confidence and then we had to rebuild him back in practice. While that was happening, we had other guys step in for us. But even with them, it was inconsistent in terms of their play. We have to be patient and just watch and wait in terms of how kids respond in practice and what kind of effort they're bringing."
** The Mountaineers' only winning streak of the season occurred in a one-week stretch spanning the end of March and beginning of April when they defeated Sacred Heart on March 28 and Bucknell on April 4. The victory over the Bison was notably gratifying as they are perennial contenders in the Patriot League. But Mount St. Mary's couldn't extend that momentum and lost three straight contests -- beginning with a 10-7 setback at Robert Morris, which finished sixth in the NEC. Gravante said the team missed an opportunity to parlay the good vibes from the win against Bucknell into greater success.
"That was the big-win factor where a team gets a big win and then faces a team that they should beat and they lose," he said. "I told them that this Bucknell team was very beatable. Practices were good, we had them believing, and we won. But unfortunately, inconsistency came back to haunt us."
Personnel changes: The most pressing issue for the team is replacing the trio of starting close defensemen in O'Brien (33 ground balls and 28 caused turnovers), Firman (41 GB, 14 CT) and Stefkovich (21 GB, 13 CT). But Gravante is confident that the defense has a stable of young, unproven players who could fill the void.
"Some of them saw some time -- [freshmen] Danny Barber, Zach Buhl," Gravante said. "You didn't see [freshman] Spenser Urban because we redshirted him, but he's very good. The senior who has a year of eligibility and didn't see any time is Brooks Johnson. … Coach McIntee is very, very pleased with the freshman class and the ability he saw from them."
** Although listed as a senior, Hojnoski has another year of eligibility and plans to return. Clayton Wainer made the most starts as the team's third midfielder, and the team will have to replace his production of six goals and three assists. While considering options among junior-college transfers and incoming freshmen, Gravante is optimistic about two players already on the roster.
"We have a young man who has a lot of promise, but you didn't see him a lot this year because he got concussed," Gravante said. "His name is [sophomore] Matt Yates, and he's got some real good ability. … Matt Yates has the ability to step in. [Sophomore] Michael Pascali, we used him more as a D-middie this year, but he did see some offense because he's a very good athlete. He just has to work on his stick skills and his ability to get to the cage over the summer. We have some horses in the stable. It's a matter of how they develop over the summer."
** The faceoff unit appeared to lose its top two specialists in Nick Haley (52.2 percent on 120 of 230 and 62 GB) and Mike Celmer (38.6 percent on 22 of 57 and 9 GB), but Celmer has another year of eligibility. Celmer has won 52.5 percent (85 of 162) of his draws in his career, and his experience is a significant relief for Gravante.
"That's a good start because he was a solid No. 2 faceoff man and he pushed Nick," Gravante said. "… I feel much better about that. I was a little nervous to tell you the truth, but when this came up, that made things a lot easier."
Forecast for 2016: Cloudy. Qualifying for the 2015 NEC tournament helped make amends for the 2014 season, but the program has had loftier ambitions in the past. Then again, the Mountaineers lack the rosters of those years and barring a significant influx of talent via junior-college transfers and freshmen, they will face another uphill battle. The offense still lacks an offensive quarterback and the defense will miss the veteran leadership and presence of that trio of defensemen. Mount St. Mary's still figures to play a role in determining how the league will shake out next spring, but losses to Wagner and Robert Morris are reminders that the team has some ground to regain.