After a disappointing 2009 season and a rough fall, the John Carroll University Men’s lacrosse team looks to rebuild and rebound this upcoming spring.
The Blue Streaks came in with high hopes, getting off to a strong 4-0 start but tailed off and finished their inaugural season in the MCLA with a 6-5 record overall and 1-3 in their division. As they eventually found out, the learning curve moving from the NCLL to the MCLA was a difficult one. The team hopes to grow from last season’s challenges by return to their winning ways of two seasons ago and achieving their ultimate goals of a conference playoff berth and national title bid.
The team came into the fall refreshed and focused, but the fall has been tumultuous so far. Coming in, the team has its best roster ever, but was dealt a traumatic blow when sophomore midfielder Frank Kinmonth died suddenly on September 20th. Frank passing was a shock to the team and has proved to be a significant loss, but the team has rallied together and vowed to become stronger. In addition, the team has not been immune to flu epidemic, and there have been a substantial number of players missing time due to illness or injury. In the wake of this, the Streaks have only played one game this fall, falling to Division III Oberlin College 19-7, but are looking to build off this experience.
Spearheading this challenge are returning head coach Bill Schmoldt and assistant coach Bill Fallon, along with two new yet experienced assistant coaches Dan Delagrange and Bill Fortune. Schmoldt returns for his fourth season with a career record of 25-14, while Fallon is in his third year with the program and takes over as assistant head coach and offensive coordinator. Coach Fortune graduated from Wittenberg University in 2005 where he was a four-year letter earner and earned all-conference honorable mentions for both the 2004 and 2005. Fortune was also an assistant coach for both the University of Detroit Jesuit High School and University Liggett School in Michigan and will be in control of the defense. Delagrange, a Cleveland native and St. Ignatius alumni, played lacrosse at and graduated from the University of Dayton in 2009, the same year he earned an all-conference (CCLA) honorable mention award.
In the player department, the Streaks are led by captain and leading scorer Josh Tatro, a CCLA honorable mention player from last year. He will be joined on the offensive end by a strong core of returning juniors led by Harrison Steinwald, Patrick “Buddy Lee” Durkin and Christian Cirillo. Joining Tatro are fellow seniors Ryan Heller, Mike Kaminsky and Peter Greb, who look to make a statement in their final season at John Carroll. The team is also bolstered this season by arrival of a talented freshmen group, including Tommy Janowicz, Ryan Cox, Brian Jazska, and Chad Riley on the offensive end as well as grad student JP Washington between the pipes.
Some changes this season will be to revamp the inconsistent offense which ranged from prolific to stagnant last year and to become a more aggressive defense to build on last year’s solid effort, which included holding national runner up Dayton to 10 goals, their lowest total of the year. On the defensive end some players will need to step up and fill the holes left by departed seniors Chad Palmer, Aaron Syguda, and all-conference LSM Pat Bloomstine. Junior Evan Sander returns to lead the D, and sophomores Matt Pistella and Peter Grisanti are looking to build off a strong fall. Many players will be taking on new and in some cases unfamiliar roles this season, as the coaches try to maximize everyone’s talent and reach a new level of team competitiveness.
The Streaks were hot early on last year, winning their fist 4 MCLA games, including against then #22 Oakland University, but failed to show up later in the season. That won’t be a problem this year as the coaches have high expectations as always and the younger players are bringing a passion that is pushing the team to maximize its potential. Expect great things this spring.