He stepped off the artificial turf surface of Hofstra Stadium prepared to forge his way to the visitor’s locker room. The only hurdle was a group of friends bloated with customary congratulatory sentences.
After he finished saying his last “thank you,” he continued his march over to the locker room entrance. But his journey was again halted.
“Greg,” yelled an older man, standing about 20 feet in the distance.
Massachusetts men’s lacrosse coach Greg Cannella turned and saw a rather familiar face – Larry Glenz, his former high school lacrosse coach from Lynbrook High School in New York.
The two coaches shared an embrace and some words before going on their separate ways.
Cannella entered the locker room, smiling – his Minutemen had just knocked off the No. 9 team in the nation, 17-13 on its home turf.
Glenz made his way over to the post-game tailgate party being set up in the parking lot by the UMass parents – joining Glenz for some barbecue was his son Kevin, a freshman on Cannella’s Maroon and White squad.
“His son plays for me,” Cannella said, back in the locker room. “That’s just unbelievable.”
But the connections don’t stop there. Cannella’s father, John, is the founder of the lacrosse program at Lynbrook High School. And it was there that Glenz coached the present UMass skipper to a high school All-American selection. So, for the Cannella and Glenz families, playing lacrosse in the Empire State, especially Long Island, gets a little personal.
Check that. For the Cannella, Glenz, Shay, Managan, Gabrielli, Guski, Kunkel – well let’s just say the UMass roster (coaches and players) is filled with a lot of New Yorkers.
And that’s why Saturday’s victory over Hofstra in Hempstead N.Y., was rather exciting for the men in maroon. When the final buzzer sounded and the Minutemen lined up to shake hands with The Pride, UMass had gained some well-deserved respect, not only for themselves but for the Massachusetts lacrosse program as a whole.
Apparently, lacrosse is the number one sport at Hofstra. And rumor has it that it was the main reason for the $9 million major renovation and expansion of Hofstra Stadium in 1994 – a project which pushed the seating capacity from 7,000 to 15,000 and developed the new athletic department building which includes a new press and club suite level, making it the largest outdoor sports complex on Long Island.
None of this served as any form of intimidation for the Minutemen. If anyone proved shaky in warm-ups, it was the old Flying Dutchmen. Because when UMass senior Jeff Seals bent down for the first face-off, there were more UMass shirts in the bleachers than Hofstra ones.
“The crowd was great,” Cannella said. “The women’s (lacrosse) team was there which was great to see. Again, you got a lot of guys coming home for this. There’s a lot of families – I had a lot of family and friends here today. I do think that has an effect but what these guys do on the field and how hard they work makes the difference.”
Less than one minute into the first quarter, junior All-America candidate Matt MacFarland went after a ground ball in the UMass zone and was pushed from behind by The Pride’s Tom Kessler, the fifth-leading scorer in the nation last year. Kessler was immediately flagged and MacFarland pumped his fist strongly into the air. The Minutemen were all fired up and ready to go.
“When you’re playing a Top 10 team and you’re a team that had a losing record the year before – and you come through and win a game like this – everything you coach and everything you talk about comes true,” Cannella said. “So there’s an instant boost in confidence not only in their ability but in what we’re doing as a team.”
Sophomore Kevin Leveille’s parents, Nancy and George, made the drive from Delmar, N.Y. Saturday morning to watch their son begin his second year in a maroon and white uniform. And after two quarters, the young Leveille had wracked up two assists. He was, however, still looking to extend his six-game goal-scoring streak that he ended last season with.
Early in the third quarter, the Leveilles saw their son find the net twice in a span of three minutes to give UMass the 12-10 lead. In the fourth stanza, Leveille short-hopped a shot into the left corner to give his team the 15-13 lead and with 15 seconds left in the contest he added his fourth for good measure. At this point the UMass fans who were now all on their feet.
“You can’t really focus [on the crowd] when you’re out there,” Leveille said. “But it all helps. And it’s all fun now, especially.”
Leveille’s four goals and six total points (two assists) were both career highs for the 5-foot-10 attackman. Last year he finished with 10 goals and seven assists for 17 total points.
“I’ve been looking forward to this game since last year,” Leveille said. “This is pretty big. We knew this was going to be one of our biggest contests the whole year. This is our first step, a big step I think.”
It was really a decision that the team made which was the difference in the game,” Cannella said. “They decided to play tougher and harder than Hofstra and I think we accomplished that goal.”
Eric Soderstrom is a Collegian columnist.
