Loyola coach Charley Toomey was slightly upbeat after his team?s 7-6 season-opening loss to No. 10 Notre Dame at Diane Geppi-Aikens field on Saturday.
The leader of the 16th-ranked Greyhounds wasn?t sure how fast his team, which replaced five starters from last year?s NCAA Tournament squad, would gel. But after rallying from a 3-0 deficit to tie the game twice late in the second half, Toomey realizes his team is capable of being better than last season.
“Last year we were able to run, and this year we?re trying to find our identity,” Toomey said. “We?d like to be a team that can run, but due to our personnel, we kind of have to dictate who?s on the field and what we have to do.”
The Greyhounds (0-1) could have easily folded early, falling behind 3-0 after one quarter, and trailing 5-2 at intermission. But the team used a physical style of play ? punctuated by several crushing hits in the open field ? and a penchant for winning ground balls to stay close against the Fighting Irish (1-0). The Greyhounds controlled the tempoand flow of action for much of the second half and finally found a better offensive rhythm off the rush, than off from a finesse passing game against a stingy Notre Dame defense backed by All-American goalie Joey Kemp.
And senior attacker Shane Koppens, who had a game-high four points (one goal, three assists), thinks his team is close to finding the style of play that will take his team back to the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season.
“We can play fast and we can run around,” Koppens said. “We just have to work on our shooting. We?re 0-1 now, but we?re looking to change that. You?ve got to be optimistic.”
Loyola has a week off before driving four miles north on Charles Street to face rival and No. 13 Towson in the Tigers? season opener on Saturday afternoon at 1 at Unitas Stadium.
The long layoff also is important for the Greyhounds? goaltending situation. Junior Alex Peaty didn?t dress because of a double-ear infection and bronchitis. Freshman Jake Hagelin, however, was strong in his first collegiate game, making 11 saves, many from close range.
But the focus is clear for the Greyhounds in practice this week: find a way to translate their newfound identity into victories.
“As I just told our team, it should hurt because when you lay it on the line and you come up short, it should hurt,” Toomey said.”We need to realize that if we had played the way we did in the second half in the first half, we probably would have made it a little easier on ourselves.”
