The undefeated No. 3 Massachusetts men’s lacrosse team rolls into Saturday’s matchup with Colonial Athletic Association foe Saint Joseph’s at Garber Field to begin its five-game stretch of conference play to wrap up the regular season.
UMass (8-0) continued its perfect start to the 2012 campaign on Tuesday night with a 16-8 stomping of Harvard at Garber Field. Will Manny deposited five goals on the night, his best scoring output since the team’s season opening win over Army when he recorded a career-high seven goals.
The Minutemen led 6-4 with just under four minutes remaining in the second quarter before the home squad blew it wide open with five unanswered goals, carrying over into the third quarter to make it 11-4.
UMass has excelled in putting teams away early this season. In a game where scoring can come in bunches in a short amount of time, the Minutemen have mounted dominating stretches to turn once-close affairs into blowouts.
One such case was against Hartford on March 10. The Hawks were hanging tight with UMass, trailing by just two early into the second quarter. But the Minutemen reeled off an eight-goal onslaught to put the contest out of reach, 13-3.
UMass coach Greg Cannella said his team’s ability to focus on the task at hand prevents the Minutemen from getting caught staring at the scoreboard, as they always look towards the next play.
“You never really feel comfortable and I think for our guys within the game, they keep reminding each other, ‘Hey, lets go. Let’s keep going here. Let’s stay focused. It’s zero-zero after every quarter. Let’s win this quarter. Let’s win the next play,’” said Cannella.
UMass’ next task is the 3-5 Hawks, who come in to Garber Field after completing a 1-3 home stand. But after combining for just three wins over the previous two seasons, Saint Joseph’s appears to be heading in the right direction.
Taylor Wray takes over as coach for the Hawks after the resignation of former SJU coach Pat Cullinan, finishing a seven-year tenure at the helm. And just eight games into his first season, Wray appears to have changed the culture for the Hawks, according to Cannella.
“They have a new coaching staff [that] has sort of invigorated the program and these guys … have worked a lot harder,” said Cannella. “They have a lot more confidence in themselves because of the staff and what Taylor Wray has done with the group is outstanding.”
Saint Joseph’s is a defensive-minded squad led by goalie Griffin Ferrigan. The senior doesn’t allow for much space to shoot at in net with his 6-foot-2 stature, surrendering just 8.14 goals per contest.
Cannella referred to Ferrigan as the leader on the defensive end for the Hawks.
“He’s running the show and a guy that as a senior is leading the way you want your seniors to lead and playing the way you want your seniors to play,” said Cannella.
With an 8-0 record, the Minutemen are off to their best start since 2001 when the squad opened the season with 10 straight victories. The winning streak hasn’t gone unnoticed by the rest of the nation, as UMass earned as high as a No. 2 ranking in the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association coaches poll as of last Monday.
Despite all the national accolades, the Minutemen have managed to ignore the spotlight and remain focused on the task at hand.
“It’s a testament to their leadership and how they’ve led and the message that they’ve sent to their teammates,” said Cannella. “Not only what they’ve said to them [in the locker room] but also how they’ve acted on the field, off the field in real life and trying to remain humble and stay as focused as possible.”
UMass goes for its ninth straight win when it faces off with SJU at 1 p.m.
Stephen Sellner can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @MDC_Sellner.
