Forget 2007. Remember 2006.
That?s approach Johns Hopkins men?s lacrosse coach Dave Pietramala is asking his players to take as they begin the defense of their second national championship in three years.
John Hopkins, which plays its first game Feb. 23 against Albany, is almost always considered a national title contender ? and this year is no different, as the team returns nine of its top 10 scorers from last season. But after claiming their first NCAA title in 18 years to cap a 16-0 season in 2005, the Blue Jays finished a modest 9-5 after losing to Syracuse in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament ? a fate Pietramala wants to avoid this spring.
“You have to manage expectations,” Pietramala said. “Last year is over and you have a whole new mountain to climb. We start this year in the same place that everybody else does. We talked a lot about each guy doing their job and it?s exciting to be out there practicing.”
Pietramala said his team has been “consistently inconsistent” during preseason practice as he looks for senior midfielders Stephen Peyser (16 goals, 10 assists, .561 faceoff percentage) and Paul Rabil (27, 26) to provide leadership for talented sophomores Steven Boyle (23, 14) and Michael Kimmel (23, 7).
The Blue Jays also are looking to replace Jesse Schwartzman, a three-year starter at goalie, with sophomore Michael Gvozden ? a former standout at Severna Park ? the early favorite.
Pietramala said his biggest mistake entering the 2006 season was relying too much on seniors the previous season and failing to develop younger players to take their roles. It left the Blue Jays unprepared for the pressure of defending their title.
But Pietramala made sure he didn?t make the mistake last season. When the team lost three straight games to fall to 4-4 at midseason, the Blue Jays rallied to win their final nine games, culminating with a 12-11 win over Duke in the championship game at M&T Bank Stadium.
“The difficult thing about this season is not concentrating on the success we had, but remembering what made us successful,” Pietramala said. “That?s the most important thing. We need to see what made last year?s team successful, what made ?05?s team successful and what we didn?t do right in 2006. Human nature is to forget the bad and remember the good. My job is to remember the good and bad from last year.”
Johns Hopkins junior defender Michael Evans, a former South River standout, said the players still on the team from 2006 are determined to learn from the past. Evans is a key player for the Blue Jays after the Honorable Mention All-America selection anchored a defense that allowed just 7.2 goals per game during their nine-game winning streak.
“A losing streak like we had plays with your emotions,” Evans said.” To play like we did in 2006 and then to start off 4-4, we wondered what was going on and knew we had to get our tradition back of winning. At that point, everyone understood their role and we got back on track.”
