Loyola coach Charley Toomey said his players will be acting like professionals for the next few days.
“This is a time you want to enjoy with your teammates,” he said. “Because now you are pro lacrosse players because you aren?t in school. Final exams are done. The guys can come in and watch some extra tape, hang around the locker room together and now worrying about [life].”
The Greyhounds (8-5) will need to play like a professional team, however, if they are to upset top-seeded Duke in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament this afternoon at 2:30 in Durham, N.C. The Blue Devils received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, but the Greyhounds are an automatic qualifier by winning the Eastern College Athletic Conference.
But the teams already have met once this season, with Duke winning easily, 21-8, at Evergreen on March 8.
“We haven?t watched a lot of [the loss] tape because Duke is a different team now, and what we have watched is the past five games,” said Toomey, who was named the ECAC?s Coach of the Year. “Really, we know what not to do: not allow them to run and not [control] the ball on the offensive end. We have to have confidence to run by guys on their end.”
If Loyola is to upset the Blue Devils, they will need to find a way to score on goalie Dan Loftus, one of the best in college history. The fifth-year senior has a save percentage of .633 and a goals-against average of 6.80. The challenge of cracking Loftus falls on Shane Koppens, a senior attacker who has 19 goals and 23 assists this season.
“Everyone?s 0-0in this round and it?s a new season,” said Koppens, the ECAC Offensive Player of the Year, “Just do what we have been doing and what works.”
On defense, Jake Hagelin, the ECAC Rookie of the Year who posted a .579 save percentage and goals-against average of 7.86, has to contain senior attackers Zach Greer and Matt Danowski. Greer, who has 56 goals and 22 assists, is the NCAA?s career leader in goals with 197, but Danowski ? the son of Duke coach John Danowski ? has posted a team-high 84 points on 36 goals and 48 assists.
“I?d like to see a team that is excited to play but is able to control emotions and handle the pressure and enjoy the environment they are in,” Toomey said. “We will come out and play with a lot of emotion.”
