 |
Lacrosse Team: Almost Perfect
The NYIT Bears lacrosse team roared through its regular season schedule 14-0, and advanced to its first Division II NCAA National Championship game since 1997.
The Bears ultimately lost the championship game, 11-9, to Limestone College, but the season remained an overwhelming success. Moreover, several team members earned All-American and All-Conference honors (see story below, "NYIT's All-American Boys").
In many ways, the lacrosse team-which was ranked No. 1 in Division II for much of the season-exceeded the coaching staff's wildest expectations.
"We graduated 12 seniors from last year's team, so we were looking to just be competitive in our conference," says head coach Jack Kaley. "No one expected us to be as successful as we were. To run the table during the regular season and advance as far as we did in the play-offs was just a wonderful and pleasant surprise."
Team members certainly agree with that assessment. "I couldn't think of a better way to start my lacrosse career at NYIT," says freshman Tom Zummo, who earned Rookie of the Year honors in the New York Collegiate Athletic Conference (NYCAC). "Even though we didn't win it all, this season was an experience that I will never forget, and I know it will help us for the next couple of years."
The team's future certainly looks bright. Next year, the Bears will return 23 players from this year's roster and, with only four seniors, will still have a relatively young team.
Stepping into History
Still, filling the shoes of this year's graduates will be a daunting task, concedes coach Kaley.
"John Rochefort, Tim Spruyt, Peter Muller and Eric Zilinek are going to be extremely tough to replace," says Kaley, who has coached the team for 10 years. "We can probably replace their talent and abilities, but I don't think we will be able to replace the things you can't see, such as their leadership and their heart."
"Thanks to those guys and coach Kaley, now we know what it is like to make it to the big game," adds sophomore Brian Boyle, a first-team All American. "Believe me, we all want to be in Baltimore [the site of the 2003 NCAA Lacrosse Championships] next year. We want to prove to people how good we really are."
NYIT flashed some of its greatness during this year's championship game against Limestone, but the Bears were playing catch-up throughout most of the showdown.
Limestone erupted for five goals in the second quarter and NYIT trailed 8-3 at halftime. The five-goal deficit was the largest that the Bears faced all season, and it proved too big to overcome. NYIT fought valiantly until the finish, but in the end the team just ran out of time.
multiple milestones
The Bears' remarkable season began in early March, with a 12-10 victory over Bryant College. The tight contest marked coach Kaley's 400th career victory. Three games later, Kaley notched career victory No. 100 as head coach at NYIT, with a 12-7 victory over Colby College.
Kaley's personal achievements, however, never overshadowed the team's accomplishments.
After opening the season with eight consecutive victories, the Bears earned the No. 1 ranking in Division II lacrosse on April 15. The team had been ranked No. 4 in preseason polls, but early skeptics thought NYIT lacked the experience required to vie for a national title.
The Real Deal
That perception changed on April 17, when the Bears faced off against No. 2-ranked Adelphi, the defending Division II National Champions.
The Bears continued their excellent play during the showdown, holding the Adelphi Panthers to just one goal in the second half and improving their record to 9-0.
Still, it wasn't an easy victory. NYIT trailed 6-3 early in the third quarter before the team erupted for six unanswered goals. Boyle registered two goals and three assists,
and Muller chipped in with three goals for the Bears.
"Before we played Adelphi, everyone was doubting us as a team because we really hadn't played any of the top teams," concedes attack man Boyle, who transferred to NYIT from Towson College. "But after we beat [Adelphi], the guys came together and we really started believing in ourselves and believing we were a very good team."
Further down the road, NYIT survived a 10-9 scare against West Chester, defeated rival C.W. Post to finish the regular season unbeaten, and earned its first trip to the NCAA finals in five years with a 12-9 victory over Le Moyne College in the NCAA semifinals.
The Bears-and their fans at NYIT-had high hopes heading into Championship Weekend, which was held May 25-27 at Rutgers University in Piscataway, N.J.
Limestone ultimately stole the spotlight, but the Bears kept the loss in perspective. "It was a great season with a disappointing end," says Zummo, who grew up in Islip, N.Y. "I am really disappointed for our seniors, who made us work hard everyday and gave us great leadership all season."
|
|
