The Massachusetts men’s lacrosse team officially begins the second half of its season Sunday when it hosts Hofstra (2-4) at 1 p.m. on Garber Field. While their season hasn’t gotten off to the start that most expected, the Minutemen are coming off a convincing 12-4 win over Sacred Heart, giving them some momentum heading into Sunday’s meeting of the rivals.
In Tuesday’s game, the Minutemen were spurred by strong performances from a number of young players, especially on attack, where the Minutemen have been hampered by the absence of senior Jeff Zywicki.
Freshman Matt Tundo scored a hat trick, joined by classmates Brett Garber, Andrew Recchione, and Sam Moody, who each tallied one goal in the victory. Garber’s goal, which came with just 30 seconds to go in the first half, staunched a four-goal run by Sacred Heart, and sent the Minutemen into the locker room with a 7-4 lead, from which they never looked back. UMass coach Greg Cannella said it’s safe to assume that Zywicki won’t be in the lineup again Sunday, putting more emphasis on the young blood.
“The boost that we need, is the freshman that scored the other day to contribute on a consistent basis,” Cannella said. “The other guys, [sophomore midfielder] Sean [Morris], and [junior midfielder] Chris [Doyle], and [junior attack] Ryan [Connolly], and Gene [Tundo], and [senior attack Kevin] Glenz, and [senior midfielder] Neil [Lundberg], those guys are marked guys, everyone knows they’ve been around a while and can do a lot of damage. Everyone else’s best people are going to be on those guys, so it’s on Brett, [Recchione], Matt Tundo, Clay Stabert, Brian Jacovina, Jamie Yaman, Tony Ventiquattro, those guys have to contribute consistently, and they’ve contributed a lot so far. That’s going to be a key to the offense.”
The team’s reliance on underclassmen is something of a new development. Last year, Kevin Leveille and Chris Fiore were the top scorers, and neither one missed a game, combining for 69 goals and 28 assists.
“We relied on those guys, but if you looked at the games where we were successful, it was other guys who stepped up along with them,” Cannella said. “Chris Doyle as a sophomore, after not doing anything as a freshman, steps up and has a great year. We have depth, but our younger guys will always get an opportunity to play here at UMass.”
After falling in three straight games, the win over Sacred Heart was a boost for the Minutemen, who are 3-4 on the season with the gut of their slate coming up.
“Anytime you’re able to do that in a game, it’s good for the confidence of the team. We were able to play at the end some guys who have contributed a lot to the team but haven’t gotten much playing time.”
UMass was also aided by the heightened exposure of sophomore midfielder Sean Morris and sophomore defenseman Matt Garcia. Morris missed the first four games of the season with mononucleosis, and Garcia missed three games with a sprained ankle he suffered against North Carolina in the Minutemen’s season-opening 12-7 loss. Morris scored two goals against Sacred Heart, and Garcia was a strong presence on defense, picking up two ground balls.
“It helps a lot, those are two very good players. Matt’s a returning All-American player, and Sean is that caliber of player. It just gives you another person that has a lot of experience, that other guys have confidence in. It changes you on offense and it changes you on defense because you’re deeper. And you’re more dangerous because you’re deeper.”
The Pride has lost three straight, its most recent defeat a 19-11 drubbing at the hands of Notre Dame on Wednesday. Hofstra is led by junior midfielder Ryan Vilar, who has nine goals and six assists in three games this season, as well as sophomore Tim Treubig, who has 10 goals. In net for the Pride is sophomore Matthew Southard, who has allowed 10.8 goals per game, with a .565 save percentage.
