It is a feeling that permeates throughout the University of Massachusetts campus. The epicenter is a small patch of land just west of the hallowed hall where legends like Julius Erving played basketball. Garber Field is the home base of the tradition of UMass lacrosse, a tradition that turns 50 years old this season.
If Garber Field is the home base, then the supreme general is the man whose name adorns every entrance to the facility. Richard F. Garber began coaching UMass in 1955. In his 35 years at the helm, he amassed a 300-141-3 record, the second-highest win total in Division I history. Garber’s teams made nine NCAA Tournaments, and won 14 New England Championships. Dick Garber created the tradition.
Every player who adorns the maroon and white gets the tradition. From the great names of the past – names like Sal LoCascio, Mark Millon, Kevin Leveille – to the current crop of big-time stickmen, the pride and legacy of UMass lacrosse has become like a religion among everyone associated with the program.
Brett Garber, for one, gets it. He has to. Brett is former UMass coach Ted Garber’s son and Dick Garber’s grandson. He is a freshman, preparing to play his first season on his grandfather’s field.
“It means a lot, it’s like a dream come true,” Garber says. “I grew up watching it all, and now I get to run on that field and play. I can’t explain it. It’s like a dream.”
Greg Cannella gets it. He probably gets it more than anybody. His office is adorned with the many achievements of his UMass teams, whether it is the ECAC trophies he has sitting on a table near his desk, or the posters on the wall, depicting one of his players in battle. But that isn’t the best indication of how much Cannella understands the UMass tradition. It’s the passion he exudes for the sport, and the team.
That passion comes through loud and clear when he talks about the Garber family, from Dick to Brett. He begins to speak about Brett Garber, about the chance to have the Garber name back out on the field, and his voice cracks. He looks down, trying to compose himself, he focuses on tying the laces of his boot, anything to hold back the emotion that is boiling inside him. But it is no use.
In a gravelly, choked voice, he says, “I never could have imagined that. I try not to think about it too much. I just hope that he has … ” Cannella pauses for what feels like an eternity. ” … That he has as good an opportunity and experience as I did.” The lump in Cannella’s throat is nearly visible.
“It’s an incredible thing for [Brett]. I know it’s a really incredible thing for his dad and his mom. So I just hope that … that I can repay coach [Garber] in some way, that I can help his grandson along, help him find his way, be as good a person as his grandfather was and his dad is.”
2003 is the Minutemen’s first season since losing two of the highest-regarded players in the program’s history, Chris Fiore and Kevin Leveille. Leveille tallied 105 goals and 54 assists in his four years in Amherst, good for 11th place on the UMass all-time scorers list. Fiore became a dominating presence on the field, and earned First Team All-American honors last year. Fiore was also named the Eastern College Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year in 2003, for his 35 goals and 11 assists.
Fiore and Leveille, both now on the Boston Cannons’ (Major League Lacrosse) roster, are two of 35 UMass players to reach the pro ranks.
That was the past, and now the Minutemen move on with the new crop. Leading the way is senior captain Jeff Zywicki on offense. His 41 goals and 21 assists were the team-high last year. The former box lacrosse player from Nepean, Ontario now shoulders the full offensive load.
At midfield, the onus will fall on another senior captain, Neil Lundburg. At 6-foot-4, 225 lbs., Lundburg is certainly the easiest Minuteman to spot on the field. But these days, it’s not just because of his size, or his shoulder-length brown hair. Lundburg is a versatile, physical player who can cover most any territory, from moving through the midfield, to holding off defender after defender behind the opponent’s cage.
Among those midfielders is the man who gets things started, sophomore faceoff man Dane Collins. Collins won 160 of 343 faceoffs taken last year, and will be relied on to start the UMass attack.
On defense, a crew of players fill the back line, including sophomores Stephen Byrnes and Jack Reid. Junior Matt Garcia and senior Chris Gervat are among the elder statesman in a group that Cannella says will need to perform if the Minutemen will succeed this year.
“Obviously, the defense, we still have to stop people,” he says. “Jack Reid, Chris Gervat, Matt Garcia, Aaron Paskalis, Steven Byrnes. You also have to look at [midfielders] Greg Scott and Justin Walker. Especially early in the season, we need the defense to play very well to be successful.”
The last line of defense is junior Bill Schell, the man in front of the cage. Schell is already 10th on the UMass all-time saves list.
The Minutemen, ranked No. 7 in the nation, will be able to test things out against none other than No. 8 North Carolina tomorrow in Baltimore. The Tar Heels return their entire attack and defense units, and are coached by another man who returned to helm his alma mater, John Haus. Haus is 21-17 in three years as Tar Heel bench boss, and brings a talented group to Baltimore’s Calvert Hall College.
The players get the tradition. The fans who will soon dot the grass grandstand on the east side of Garber field get the tradition. Cannella explains it, pretty succinctly.
“The tradition of UMass lacrosse is the legacy that coach Garber left, The exciting style of lacrosse that we’re trying to emulate now. And the group of alums that played here, and the group of alums who played here and represented the University. I think the tradition is the players and Coach Garber.”
