Bryant prepared to take next step
By Fluto Shinzawa, Globe Staff
When Bryant University men's lacrosse coach Mike Pressler breaks
down Le Moyne, the Bulldogs' opponent tomorrow in the Division 2
NCAA Tournament semifinals, he makes one thing clear.
"They're the best team in Division 2. Week in and week out,"
Pressler said of the top-ranked team and defending national
champion. "Nobody has touched them in the last two or three years.
They're very talented. From top to bottom, they're the best
team."
But there is one asterisk to Pressler's declaration. Bryant took
down Le Moyne May 4, claiming the Northeast-10 championship with a
5-4 upset.
Le Moyne, which had won all 14 of its games prior to the showdown
against Bryant, took a 4-2 lead into the fourth quarter. But Bryant
came alive late in the match, with junior Matt McKeefrey kicking
off the rally to make it 4-3. Freshman Gary Crowley tied the score
with 9:01 remaining, then McKeefrey netted the deciding goal with
6:29 left. It was the first conference title in Bryant's
history.
"We got down by a couple late, but our guys have got great
confidence," Pressler said. "They have the ability to come back and
be successful."
The winner of tomorrow's rematch (at Le Moyne, 1 p.m.) will
advance to the championship game May 25 at Gillette Stadium. New
York Institute of Technology hosts Limestone tomorrow in the other
semifinal.
Pressler, the former coach at Duke, is leading a club that will
transition to a Division 1 schedule next season. Bryant will join
the Northeast Conference and be eligible for NCAA Tournament play
in 2010-11. Next season, Bryant will face off against traditional
lacrosse powers Virginia, Maryland, and Loyola (Md.). Virginia is
the No. 2 seed in the Division 1 tournament.
"We're doing it again the right way," Pressler said. "Here we are,
in our second year, back in the hunt at the D2 level. Somebody said
to me the other day that I'm the first guy who's ever brought a D3
[Ohio Wesleyan], D2, and D1 team to the tournament. We had plans at
Duke University to end our career there. But when you're coaching,
when you're doing it for the right reasons, it's never about the
Roman numerals. It's never about the limelight. We're putting
everything into this game like every time we played Maryland in the
NCAA Tournament or Johns Hopkins in the tournament. It's the same
formula. Same effort. The kids might be a little bigger, smarter,
faster, or slower. But it's all about the players and giving the
team the best chance to win."
But before Pressler and the Bulldogs make the jump, they're hoping
for one final victory over Le Moyne, which claims a 14-2 all-time
record against Bryant. The Bulldogs stumbled at the start of the
season, posting a 3-3 record, but have rolled off 11 straight
victories. Bryant will look to faceoff specialist Andrew Hennessey
(.717 winning percentage) to get the ball to its skilled players:
juniors Kevin Hoagland (43 goals, 11 assists), Bryan Kaufmann (35
goals, 22 assists), and McKeefrey (19 goals, 22 assists).
At the other end, goalie Michael Kennedy will attempt to keep the
Le Moyne attackers from finding the back of the net.
"Even with our old Duke teams, I told the players that they had to
be great down the middle," Pressler said. "The goalie has to make
some saves and you have to win faceoffs. You have to get your
opportunities in front of the goal. If we can play well down the
middle, we've got a chance [tomorrow]."
