MARYLAND LACROSSE CLUB - DICK'S SPORTING GOODS TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS TEAM PREVIEW
(September 08, 2008)
Location: Maryland
Head Coach: Mickey Matthews
Established: 2004
Colors: Red, white & blue
Qualified: Champion, Top 16 Summer Shootout
by Josh Gross
To call Maryland Lacrosse Club (MLC) head coach Mickey Matthews obsessed with his team is an understatement. But not obsessed in a bad way, clarifies his players.
“Coach Matthews likes to have fun,” says MLC co-captain Harry Prevas (defenseman, committed to Virginia), who was recently named the 28th-best rising senior according to Inside Lacrosse magazine (IL). “It’s basically his life outside of his job.”
“He pushes us to the max,” adds 17-year old attackman Billy Gribbin (committed to Penn State), who is #26 on IL’s top 50 rising seniors list.
Matthews and his assistant coaches, Jay Trainor and Emmett McGee, work hard to get the most out of their players, and employ aggressive defense and an up-and-down style of offense reminiscent of D-I powerhouses Syracuse and Virginia.
“[Our coaches] want us to run-and-gun the entire game,” continues Gribbin. “They like the defense to run down the field and score.”
While MLC goalies Conor McGee (Gilman School) and Matt Miller (Calvert Hall) are not asked to score goals, the rising seniors have been known to take the ball up-field when needed.
“I only like to come out when I really need to,” explains McGee. “If the defense breaks down, or no one’s open on a clear, I’ll come out and try to start a play, but only when it’s really a last resort.”
The previous successes MLC has enjoyed lead co-captain Patrick Fanshaw (Calvert Hall / Glyndon, Md.), a Loyola recruit and IL’s 27th-ranked rising senior, to think that the team will do just fine at the Dick’s Sporting Goods Tournament of Champions.
“We should match up well. We can play with some of the best teams in the country.”
But what about competing against Canada’s top squads?
“We’re hoping to be competitive,” says Matthews. “We recognize that a U.S. team has never won, and we understand that the Canadian teams are fabulous. We’re excited to go and play against them, see them, and try to compete.”
|