University of Massachusets Athletics
2002 Men's Lacrosse Season Preview
February 19, 2002 | Men's Lacrosse
On the night of May 6, 2001, over 30 members of the Massachusetts lacrosse team congregated in the confining space of the McGuirk Alumni Stadium conference room. Visible on most of their faces was a carefree attitude - after all they had, less than a week earlier, dismantled Brown (15-5) to finish the season with 12 wins and only a pair of losses.
But suddenly the apparent snubbing being relayed directly to Amherst via satellite television smothered the positive vibes that once flowed through the conference room. The NCAA had said no. Casting aside one of the best win/loss records in the country and all but disowning the ECAC as a power conference, (UMass shared the regular season title with Georgetown) the tournament selection committee hid behind its questionable credentials and dashed the Minutemen without a hint of regret.
Kind of gives them something to think about in the offseason doesn't it.
"No, I wasn't thinking about making the tournament," All-American defenseman Matt McFarland said. "I was thinking about winning it."
It's more than likely that McFarland's declaration represents a team-wide thought process, rather than a singular sentiment. Nonetheless, garnering an invite to lacrosse's postseason dance is, as the Minutemen discovered a year ago, no easy task. But like all perennially successful programs, UMass has taken the graduation of a talented senior class in stride and reloaded instead of rebuilding.
The Maroon and White return a pair of high-end players in midfielder Kevin Leveille and co-captain McFarland. Both were All-Americans in 2001 and as comes with the territory of winning, the pair along with senior co-captain Don Little received much preseason praise.
In what should be looked at as a sign of national respect coming to the program Leveille and McFarland were named preseason first and second team All-Americans respectively. But they do not look at it that way.
"It's not about individuals getting respect," Leveille says. "I don't think we have it, as a team anyway."
"We didn't make the tournament," adds McFarland. "When we do that then we'll have the respect we want."
So to recap, respect comes from getting in. But the Minutemen do not want to simply show up for the party, they want to bring the house down. And with the talent they have coming back, success is quickly gaining focus.
"We're going to keep the same attitude," McFarland says. "Be tougher, outhustle and out-gun other teams."
UMass broke all types of barriers last year with a hydra-like offense and a backline that played more like a linebacking corps-both representing the changing face of Minuteman lacrosse.
The Minutemen were 40-38 in six years under coach Greg Cannella before he and his staff implemented lacrosse's version of the fun n' gun offense. The UMass attack, led by Rich Kunkel's 35 goals, scored in double-digits in 13 of 14 games last season. National runner-up Syracuse was the only team to hold the Minutemen under 10 and that was in a 9-8 Orangeman win in front of a sellout crowd in Amherst.
The loss of Kunkel, a 48-point scorer and All-American, would hurt most teams. But luckily the Minutemen have enough young talent to make up for the loss of not only Kunkel, but three more 20-point scorers in John Madigan, Keith Gabrielli and Jeremy Guski.
Leveille (43 points) and top-returning goal scorer Marc Morley (29 tallies) are expected to improve on breakout seasons in 2001. The only big question mark as far as offense goes is the second attack spot.
Senior Dan Paccione (13 goals) is the natural choice, as he holds experience and a couple big-time performances over his competitors, but the job remains anything but secure.
"Both Morley and Paccione are going to be counted on to score more goals," said Cannella.
Sophomore Kevin Glenz is a better feeder than Paccione, but with limited game experience, he is not yet a proven finisher. Craig Conn, a freshman from Canada with big-time credentials, could slip into the starting role if he makes an easy transition from the indoor version played in the great white north.
Of the trio, Conn probably has the biggest upside. He was one of the top scorers in Junior A last year and his competitive fire is nothing to be reckoned with. If he can improve on his speed, Morley, will have some protection near the crease.
The offensive midfield remains the strongest facet of UMass' game. Leveille is the only true All-American in the unit, but by season's end he might have some company on the list of postseason accolades.
Little had a breakout year in 2001 with 22 goals including a five-goal game against Maryland-Baltimore County. The junior captain has easily the hardest shot on the team, and like a true sniper, he can release from any position, with either hand, on the run or standing still.
"Little is as tough as they come," Cannella exclaims. "He scored a bunch of goals for us and I'm looking forward to him having a great year."
Joining the two-established scorers is sophomore Jeff Zywicki. The other Canadian on the UMass roster saw a lot of garbage time last year, but in UMass' fall tournament Cannella says he was "as good as any midfielder we had."
Zywicki is a darting player who like his countryman Conn, had his reactions sharpened through indoor box lacrosse competition back home.
The wild card of the group is junior Chris Fiore. At 6-foot-4 and 200 pounds Fiore is a specimen of a player. He has a rocket shot, great vision and a quick release that led to 11 goals, 19 points and something like 10 posts or crossbars last year. Before this his junior year, Fiore is on the cusp of an offensive explosion. He has the tools, and his work ethic will likely land him on the number one extra man unit-all that remains is results.
Don't bet against him.
You could call the offense explosive, but then what adjective would you use to describe the defense. You've got the fastest man in lacrosse, Paul Hutchen, playing defensive midfield. Then there is 6-foot-4, 240 pound Tom Fallon who would be a good hire as a nightclub bouncer. And McFarland-affectionately known as Big Nasty-he's decent. Throw in budding sophomore Chris Gervat whose skills are so sickening he does not even have a nickname yet, and you have quite the formidable unit.
If you think about it, explosive is really the only expression that would work.
The Minutemen had the nation's scariest man-down unit last year, and it was not because they were shy about it. Losing defensive Chris Gabrielli is a big blow, but McFarland is a legitimate second team All-American and Fallon averaged at least one disassembling hit per game last year.
Gervat is a budding superstar. He covered three first-teamers in the midfield last year in Georgetown's Steve Dusseau, Syracuse's Josh Coffman and Hofstra's Doug Shanahan. And he accomplished all of this as a freshman.
"Shanahan was player of the year and Chris [Gervat] covered them all," Cannella recalls. "And he did a pretty decent job."
But with more experience comes higher expectations. Nothing the sophomore's broad shoulders can't handle, after all, carrying the defensive midfield on his back will likely be routine come late February.
As is par for the course for this preseason, UMass will have to contend with another graduation hit at goaltender. Chris Campolettano was a stalwart in the crease for three plus years in Amherst but his time has passed and it is time for a new keeper to take the reins.
The prime contenders are senior Rob Schneider and freshman Bill Schell. Schneider is a junior college transfer, and if not for his lack of experience at this level, he might have won the starting job last year.
"Until the first game last season it was a question of who was going to start," Cannella remembers. "But we went with Chris [Campolettano] because he had experience.
"The only thing we really feel like we are losing with Schneider in net, is experience."
Schell on the other hand has zero collegiate experience. He played extremely well in fall action against perennial power Hobart, but his lack of real-game minutes will be an instant handicap on his chances to gain the starting role.
Whomever wins the No.1 job will inherit some lofty prospects. From Sal LoCascio-who many consider to be the greatest netminder in lacrosse history-to Campolettano, who set a high bar of consistency in his tenure, UMass has a long line of top-notch goaltenders. As always, the level of play in the nets may determine whether the Minutemen even have a postseason.
No pressure.
Possibly the most gaping hole in the UMass lineup is in the faceoff circle, where Cannella must find a replacement for Jeff Seals. The graduated senior won more than 63 percent of his draws last year en route to honorable mention All-America honors. With the loss of Seals and the departure of Kevin Merchant, the Minutemen have only one player with a faceoff taken in 2001 and that was Hutchen, who lost his only attempt of the season.
Draws are a hugely underrated aspect of lacrosse, especially for a team like UMass, that depends on momentum and three or four-goal spurts to break games open. The Minutemen were the best streak team in the nation last year, thanks in large part to Seals dominating the faceoff circle.
The list of replacements is short and equally undistinguished. Paccione and Morley have had some experience on draws, but it will be impossible to replace the workmanlike efficiency of a Seals. Nonetheless, if an adequate replacement is not found soon, UMass will have a difficult time going toe-to-toe with powerhouse squads like Hofstra, Syracuse and conference rivals Navy and Georgetown.
The Hoyas were especially tough in the circle in last year's 13-12 UMass loss in Amherst. Seals won the day in terms of efficiency but every time the Hoyas needed a win they pulled it out. Without a bona fide faceoff ace, the Minutemen will be in even deeper trouble this year when they travel to the nation's capital to face the Hoyas.
That game will more than likely decide the conference's automatic tournament bid. G-Town is the only ECAC team ranked higher than UMass in the preseason poll. Although the Minutemen and the Hoyas are the clearcut favorites, the conference should be as competitive as ever in 2002.
With the loss of Stony Brook to America East, all six teams (UMass, G-Town, UMBC, Penn State, Rutgers and Navy) are ranked in the top 25, including the Minutemen at No. 12.
It is more than likely, especially with a schedule that includes only two other bona fide top tier teams, that UMass' postseason fate will be spelled out in conference play. If the Minutemen garner an at-large bid, it will be because they performed well in the league and the ECAC as a whole played like a power conference from start to finish.
But the surest road to an NCAA invite is through the automatic bid, and considering what happened last year, the Minutemen are not about to make any assumptions.
After all it's not about respect, and it's not about getting in. It's about winning.
But suddenly the apparent snubbing being relayed directly to Amherst via satellite television smothered the positive vibes that once flowed through the conference room. The NCAA had said no. Casting aside one of the best win/loss records in the country and all but disowning the ECAC as a power conference, (UMass shared the regular season title with Georgetown) the tournament selection committee hid behind its questionable credentials and dashed the Minutemen without a hint of regret.
Kind of gives them something to think about in the offseason doesn't it.
"No, I wasn't thinking about making the tournament," All-American defenseman Matt McFarland said. "I was thinking about winning it."
It's more than likely that McFarland's declaration represents a team-wide thought process, rather than a singular sentiment. Nonetheless, garnering an invite to lacrosse's postseason dance is, as the Minutemen discovered a year ago, no easy task. But like all perennially successful programs, UMass has taken the graduation of a talented senior class in stride and reloaded instead of rebuilding.
The Maroon and White return a pair of high-end players in midfielder Kevin Leveille and co-captain McFarland. Both were All-Americans in 2001 and as comes with the territory of winning, the pair along with senior co-captain Don Little received much preseason praise.
In what should be looked at as a sign of national respect coming to the program Leveille and McFarland were named preseason first and second team All-Americans respectively. But they do not look at it that way.
"It's not about individuals getting respect," Leveille says. "I don't think we have it, as a team anyway."
"We didn't make the tournament," adds McFarland. "When we do that then we'll have the respect we want."
So to recap, respect comes from getting in. But the Minutemen do not want to simply show up for the party, they want to bring the house down. And with the talent they have coming back, success is quickly gaining focus.
"We're going to keep the same attitude," McFarland says. "Be tougher, outhustle and out-gun other teams."
UMass broke all types of barriers last year with a hydra-like offense and a backline that played more like a linebacking corps-both representing the changing face of Minuteman lacrosse.
The Minutemen were 40-38 in six years under coach Greg Cannella before he and his staff implemented lacrosse's version of the fun n' gun offense. The UMass attack, led by Rich Kunkel's 35 goals, scored in double-digits in 13 of 14 games last season. National runner-up Syracuse was the only team to hold the Minutemen under 10 and that was in a 9-8 Orangeman win in front of a sellout crowd in Amherst.
The loss of Kunkel, a 48-point scorer and All-American, would hurt most teams. But luckily the Minutemen have enough young talent to make up for the loss of not only Kunkel, but three more 20-point scorers in John Madigan, Keith Gabrielli and Jeremy Guski.
Leveille (43 points) and top-returning goal scorer Marc Morley (29 tallies) are expected to improve on breakout seasons in 2001. The only big question mark as far as offense goes is the second attack spot.
Senior Dan Paccione (13 goals) is the natural choice, as he holds experience and a couple big-time performances over his competitors, but the job remains anything but secure.
"Both Morley and Paccione are going to be counted on to score more goals," said Cannella.
Sophomore Kevin Glenz is a better feeder than Paccione, but with limited game experience, he is not yet a proven finisher. Craig Conn, a freshman from Canada with big-time credentials, could slip into the starting role if he makes an easy transition from the indoor version played in the great white north.
Of the trio, Conn probably has the biggest upside. He was one of the top scorers in Junior A last year and his competitive fire is nothing to be reckoned with. If he can improve on his speed, Morley, will have some protection near the crease.
The offensive midfield remains the strongest facet of UMass' game. Leveille is the only true All-American in the unit, but by season's end he might have some company on the list of postseason accolades.
Little had a breakout year in 2001 with 22 goals including a five-goal game against Maryland-Baltimore County. The junior captain has easily the hardest shot on the team, and like a true sniper, he can release from any position, with either hand, on the run or standing still.
"Little is as tough as they come," Cannella exclaims. "He scored a bunch of goals for us and I'm looking forward to him having a great year."
Joining the two-established scorers is sophomore Jeff Zywicki. The other Canadian on the UMass roster saw a lot of garbage time last year, but in UMass' fall tournament Cannella says he was "as good as any midfielder we had."
Zywicki is a darting player who like his countryman Conn, had his reactions sharpened through indoor box lacrosse competition back home.
The wild card of the group is junior Chris Fiore. At 6-foot-4 and 200 pounds Fiore is a specimen of a player. He has a rocket shot, great vision and a quick release that led to 11 goals, 19 points and something like 10 posts or crossbars last year. Before this his junior year, Fiore is on the cusp of an offensive explosion. He has the tools, and his work ethic will likely land him on the number one extra man unit-all that remains is results.
Don't bet against him.
You could call the offense explosive, but then what adjective would you use to describe the defense. You've got the fastest man in lacrosse, Paul Hutchen, playing defensive midfield. Then there is 6-foot-4, 240 pound Tom Fallon who would be a good hire as a nightclub bouncer. And McFarland-affectionately known as Big Nasty-he's decent. Throw in budding sophomore Chris Gervat whose skills are so sickening he does not even have a nickname yet, and you have quite the formidable unit.
If you think about it, explosive is really the only expression that would work.
The Minutemen had the nation's scariest man-down unit last year, and it was not because they were shy about it. Losing defensive Chris Gabrielli is a big blow, but McFarland is a legitimate second team All-American and Fallon averaged at least one disassembling hit per game last year.
Gervat is a budding superstar. He covered three first-teamers in the midfield last year in Georgetown's Steve Dusseau, Syracuse's Josh Coffman and Hofstra's Doug Shanahan. And he accomplished all of this as a freshman.
"Shanahan was player of the year and Chris [Gervat] covered them all," Cannella recalls. "And he did a pretty decent job."
But with more experience comes higher expectations. Nothing the sophomore's broad shoulders can't handle, after all, carrying the defensive midfield on his back will likely be routine come late February.
As is par for the course for this preseason, UMass will have to contend with another graduation hit at goaltender. Chris Campolettano was a stalwart in the crease for three plus years in Amherst but his time has passed and it is time for a new keeper to take the reins.
The prime contenders are senior Rob Schneider and freshman Bill Schell. Schneider is a junior college transfer, and if not for his lack of experience at this level, he might have won the starting job last year.
"Until the first game last season it was a question of who was going to start," Cannella remembers. "But we went with Chris [Campolettano] because he had experience.
"The only thing we really feel like we are losing with Schneider in net, is experience."
Schell on the other hand has zero collegiate experience. He played extremely well in fall action against perennial power Hobart, but his lack of real-game minutes will be an instant handicap on his chances to gain the starting role.
Whomever wins the No.1 job will inherit some lofty prospects. From Sal LoCascio-who many consider to be the greatest netminder in lacrosse history-to Campolettano, who set a high bar of consistency in his tenure, UMass has a long line of top-notch goaltenders. As always, the level of play in the nets may determine whether the Minutemen even have a postseason.
No pressure.
Possibly the most gaping hole in the UMass lineup is in the faceoff circle, where Cannella must find a replacement for Jeff Seals. The graduated senior won more than 63 percent of his draws last year en route to honorable mention All-America honors. With the loss of Seals and the departure of Kevin Merchant, the Minutemen have only one player with a faceoff taken in 2001 and that was Hutchen, who lost his only attempt of the season.
Draws are a hugely underrated aspect of lacrosse, especially for a team like UMass, that depends on momentum and three or four-goal spurts to break games open. The Minutemen were the best streak team in the nation last year, thanks in large part to Seals dominating the faceoff circle.
The list of replacements is short and equally undistinguished. Paccione and Morley have had some experience on draws, but it will be impossible to replace the workmanlike efficiency of a Seals. Nonetheless, if an adequate replacement is not found soon, UMass will have a difficult time going toe-to-toe with powerhouse squads like Hofstra, Syracuse and conference rivals Navy and Georgetown.
The Hoyas were especially tough in the circle in last year's 13-12 UMass loss in Amherst. Seals won the day in terms of efficiency but every time the Hoyas needed a win they pulled it out. Without a bona fide faceoff ace, the Minutemen will be in even deeper trouble this year when they travel to the nation's capital to face the Hoyas.
That game will more than likely decide the conference's automatic tournament bid. G-Town is the only ECAC team ranked higher than UMass in the preseason poll. Although the Minutemen and the Hoyas are the clearcut favorites, the conference should be as competitive as ever in 2002.
With the loss of Stony Brook to America East, all six teams (UMass, G-Town, UMBC, Penn State, Rutgers and Navy) are ranked in the top 25, including the Minutemen at No. 12.
It is more than likely, especially with a schedule that includes only two other bona fide top tier teams, that UMass' postseason fate will be spelled out in conference play. If the Minutemen garner an at-large bid, it will be because they performed well in the league and the ECAC as a whole played like a power conference from start to finish.
But the surest road to an NCAA invite is through the automatic bid, and considering what happened last year, the Minutemen are not about to make any assumptions.
After all it's not about respect, and it's not about getting in. It's about winning.
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