While No. 7 Stevenson is riding a six-game winning streak to the top seed and home-field advantage in the Commonwealth Conference tournament, starting midfielders Tony Rossi and Billy Burgoyne have encountered a rough patch in their journey.
Rossi, a senior from Towson who graduated from Calvert Hall, has posted eight assists in five games, but has not scored a goal over the same span. Burgoyne, also a senior, has scored just twice on 12 shots in his last three contests.
But coach Paul Cantabene said both starters are playing within the confines of the team's offensive system.
"I actually think that Tony's playing really well," he said Thursday. "His shots aren't going, but he garners so much attention. So many people go to him, and so he's being more of a facilitator this year. He's doing a great job of getting the ball to other people like [senior midfielder Colin] Dabney and Billy and [junior attackmen Pat] Candon and [Stephen] Banick and Matt Tompkins. And Billy's just letting the opportunities come to him. He's not forcing it, and I think he's playing all right. I think he's shooting the ball better now than he was earlier in the year."
Rossi, who has scored nine goals for the Mustangs (12-4 overall and 7-0 league), would need to score 18 goals to avoid tying his career low of 26 set back in 2011. But with 18 assists, he is just five helpers away from eclipsing his previous career best of 22 established last season.
Cantabene said Rossi has always had the ability to be a facilitator.
"Tony's been pretty much an unselfish player, and I think he's going to blow up here pretty soon," Cantabene said. "He's going to have that big goal-scoring game. I think he's just doing his thing, and he's going to make the most of his opportunities. The biggest thing for us offensively is we've got to play together and we need each other. Whoever has a big day will have a big day, but we can't force things. I think once we force things, that's when we struggle a little bit. We've just got to keep playing and take what the opposing teams give us."
Cantabene could promote sophomore Kyle D'Onofrio, a Baldwin resident and Fallston graduate who has registered 20 goals and four assists, from the second line to the starting midfield. But Cantabene prefers keeping D'Onofrio with juniors Dylan Muti (six goals and four assists) and Alex Hardwick (4, 2).
"Kyle's had a great year," Cantabene said. "We really like the way he's developed, and he's a tough matchup for anybody to guard, and he's playing well. So he definitely deserves time to get in there [with the first unit], but him and Muti and Hardwick have also added depth to our midfield. So instead of just having three scorers, we have six in the midfield, and that's really helping us."