Le Moyne Athletics : Le Moyne blazes to D-II final (by Dave Rahme) Syracuse Post-Standard

May 21, 2006

Le Moyne blazes to D-II final
Sunday, May 21, 2006
By Dave Rahme
Staff writer, Syracuse Post-Standard http://www.syracuse.com/

Direct link to story: http://www.syracuse.com/sports/poststandard/index.ssf?/base/sports-0/1148201823257860.xml&coll=1&thispage=1

The game was barely a minute old, and Le Moyne College sophomore attackman Mike McDonald had an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. Limestone goaltender Marty Ward, the Corcoran High School graduate who had frustrated the Dolphins time after time last year on this same field in this same game - the NCAA Division II semifinals on Le Moyne's campus - was at it again.

The junior robbed Le Moyne midfielder Craig Rosecrans from in close on the Dolphins' first shot of the game, then calmly kicked aside Jason Longo's layup from the crease, an area the Dolphin senior usually owns.

Was Ward on the road to engineering another upset of top-ranked Le Moyne, of ending another undefeated Dolphins season and denying them a trip to Philadelphia and the national championship game?

"I have to be honest, that thought probably went through my head," McDonald said.

Less than three quarters later, though, McDonald was watching from the sideline with seven goals to his credit, enjoying the tail end of a dominating 22-3 victory that sent Le Moyne to its second title game in three seasons. The top-seeded Dolphins (17-0) will play the winner of today's Dowling-Mercyhurst game at 5:30 p.m. Sunday, May 28, at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.

"We just kept slugging and we kept shooting," McDonald

said. "That's been our philosophy all year. You can't think about the goalie. You just have to shoot, just put it by him."

And put it by him McDonald and his teammates did, shaking off the two early saves and pouring 18 goals into the cage over the next 43 minutes before giving way to the reserves for the final quarter.

"Wow," Le Moyne coach Dan Sheehan said. "Unselfish. We were moving the ball. I don't know how many of our goals were assisted (12), but it had to be a lot. Wow."

Sheehan, like McDonald, worried early when Ward came up big twice.

"Obviously, I'm not going to give him the credit during the game for making the saves," Sheehan said. "I'm telling our guys they've got to shoot better. Then all of a sudden I look up and it's 7-0."

"You start the game off hot, you start if off cold, it doesn't matter," Ward said. "It's a long game, and that proves it. I mean, it's tough when you can't get anything going, when your whole team can't get it going. You can make as many big saves as possible, but if your team isn't clicking together it's just not going to work out."

Ward actually made more saves Saturday than when he was the hero of last year's 9-8 upset (15-14). But as he accurately pointed out afterward, the Saints (11-7) had no answers anywhere for the onslaught. Consider:

Le Moyne owned a 52-18 advantage in shots.

It ruled ground balls 46-15.

It dominated the faceoff X, winning 24 of 28 draws (85.7 percent).

Its man-up unit went 5-for-9 (55.6 percent). Its man-down unit went 2-for-3.

Domination all around.

"Easily the best game we've played all year," senior All-America close defender Travis Tarr said. "Le Moyne and Limestone is usually a classic, but today we put it to them, and it feels good. I think we kind of made a statement. Dowling and Mercyhurst are going to be thinking about this score tomorrow when they play."

All week the Dolphins had talked about how they owed Limestone retribution for last year's semifinal loss, about how they felt they should be chasing their fourth consecutive national title instead of their second. They were heady words for a team that was 60-2 since the current seniors enrolled but only 1-2 in D-II semifinal games. Tarr was unrepentant Saturday.

"We talk like we're the best," he said. "We know we're the best. We enjoy that pressure. We put that pressure on ourselves to go out there and compete at a very high level."

Saturday, the Dolphins displayed how high that level can be, especially at the offensive end of the field. On defense, where Tarr and fellow All-Americans Chris Doran and Jared Corcoran reside, great performances are the norm.

The offense has often been another story, a hair-pulling mix of grace and gaffes. Saturday, it was all grace.

"Today it was everyone," said Longo, the Limestone transfer who scored two goals. "Everyone was working off-ball, everyone was talking, everyone was letting each other know what play we were in. It was everyone coming together."

McDonald had the hot hand, and he had plenty of help from junior Ed Street (4-1) sophomore Brian Cost (3-2), senior Ryan Lewis (2-3) and sophomore Tom Donahue (1-3).

"We clicked today. I can't say much more than that," McDonald said. "We really overwhelmed them."

The uneasy feeling in McDonald's stomach was long gone as he spoke, replaced by the anticipation of going to Philly for the title game. There, at least one player believes the Dolphins' chances will be very good.

"That team definitely is national-championship caliber," Ward said.



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May 21, 2006 Le Moyne blazes to D-II final Sunday, May 21, 2006 By Dave Rahme Staff writer, Syracuse Post-Standard http://www.syracuse.com/ Direct link to story: http://www.syracuse.com/sports/poststandard/index.ssf?/base/sports-0/1148201823257860.xml&coll=1&thispage=1 The game was barely a minute old, and Le Moyne College sophomore attackman Mike McDonald had an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. Limestone goaltender Marty Ward, the Corcoran High School graduate who had frustrated the Dolphins time after time last year on this same field in this same game - the NCAA Division II semifinals on Le Moyne's campus - was at it again. The junior robbed Le Moyne midfielder Craig Rosecrans from in close on the Dolphins' first shot of the game, then calmly kicked aside Jason Longo's layup from the crease, an area the Dolphin senior usually owns. Was Ward on the road to engineering another upset of top-ranked Le Moyne, of ending another undefeated Dolphins season and denying them a trip to Philadelphia and the national championship game? "I have to be honest, that thought probably went through my head," McDonald said. Less than three quarters later, though, McDonald was watching from the sideline with seven goals to his credit, enjoying the tail end of a dominating 22-3 victory that sent Le Moyne to its second title game in three seasons. The top-seeded Dolphins (17-0) will play the winner of today's Dowling-Mercyhurst game at 5:30 p.m. Sunday, May 28, at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. "We just kept slugging and we kept shooting," McDonald said. "That's been our philosophy all year. You can't think about the goalie. You just have to shoot, just put it by him." And put it by him McDonald and his teammates did, shaking off the two early saves and pouring 18 goals into the cage over the next 43 minutes before giving way to the reserves for the final quarter. "Wow," Le Moyne coach Dan Sheehan said. "Unselfish. We were moving the ball. I don't know how many of our goals were assisted (12), but it had to be a lot. Wow." Sheehan, like McDonald, worried early when Ward came up big twice. "Obviously, I'm not going to give him the credit during the game for making the saves," Sheehan said. "I'm telling our guys they've got to shoot better. Then all of a sudden I look up and it's 7-0." "You start the game off hot, you start if off cold, it doesn't matter," Ward said. "It's a long game, and that proves it. I mean, it's tough when you can't get anything going, when your whole team can't get it going. You can make as many big saves as possible, but if your team isn't clicking together it's just not going to work out." Ward actually made more saves Saturday than when he was the hero of last year's 9-8 upset (15-14). But as he accurately pointed out afterward, the Saints (11-7) had no answers anywhere for the onslaught. Consider: Le Moyne owned a 52-18 advantage in shots. It ruled ground balls 46-15. It dominated the faceoff X, winning 24 of 28 draws (85.7 percent). Its man-up unit went 5-for-9 (55.6 percent). Its man-down unit went 2-for-3. Domination all around. "Easily the best game we've played all year," senior All-America close defender Travis Tarr said. "Le Moyne and Limestone is usually a classic, but today we put it to them, and it feels good. I think we kind of made a statement. Dowling and Mercyhurst are going to be thinking about this score tomorrow when they play." All week the Dolphins had talked about how they owed Limestone retribution for last year's semifinal loss, about how they felt they should be chasing their fourth consecutive national title instead of their second. They were heady words for a team that was 60-2 since the current seniors enrolled but only 1-2 in D-II semifinal games. Tarr was unrepentant Saturday. "We talk like we're the best," he said. "We know we're the best. We enjoy that pressure. We put that pressure on ourselves to go out there and compete at a very high level." Saturday, the Dolphins displayed how high that level can be, especially at the offensive end of the field. On defense, where Tarr and fellow All-Americans Chris Doran and Jared Corcoran reside, great performances are the norm. The offense has often been another story, a hair-pulling mix of grace and gaffes. Saturday, it was all grace. "Today it was everyone," said Longo, the Limestone transfer who scored two goals. "Everyone was working off-ball, everyone was talking, everyone was letting each other know what play we were in. It was everyone coming together." McDonald had the hot hand, and he had plenty of help from junior Ed Street (4-1) sophomore Brian Cost (3-2), senior Ryan Lewis (2-3) and sophomore Tom Donahue (1-3). "We clicked today. I can't say much more than that," McDonald said. "We really overwhelmed them." The uneasy feeling in McDonald's stomach was long gone as he spoke, replaced by the anticipation of going to Philly for the title game. There, at least one player believes the Dolphins' chances will be very good. "That team definitely is national-championship caliber," Ward said.