“Men’s lacrosse defeated in title game.” This is the headline from the July 12, 2004 edition of The Polytechnic that haunts Rensselaer men’s lacrosse Head Coach Tom Korrie each day. The banner summarizes the disappointing end to a promising 2004 season, as the top-seeded Red Hawks were upended at home on Harkness Field by rival Clarkson 8-6 on May 9. The loss left RPI one win shy of the conference title and a berth to the NCAA Tournament.
Most coaches and players would simply want to forget such a game where a team that averaged 11 goals a game was held to just six, but Korrie refuses to let himself, or his players, do just that. Instead, the third-year coach from Syracuse has hung the painful article in both his office and in the locker room.
“I put [the article] up right away, right after it came out,” Korrie said. “It is a constant reminder, and it keeps me motivated.”
Korrie is also hoping the chronicle will strike a note with some of his players.
“I put it in the locker room at the beginning of the year, and wrote the word ‘motivation’ on it,” Korrie said. “We want to remember that game. Of all the wins we had a year ago, that loss is the game that sticks out the most. Instead of denying the fact I want to put it right out there as motivation, and if it pisses some guys off, then that’s good because it sure pisses me off.”
And what eats at the Rensselaer head coach even more is that he knew they had the caliber squad that could not just win then UCAA, now Liberty League, but possibly make a run at a national championship. Last year RPI boasted the UCAA Player of the Year and three All-Americans, of which only junior and leading scorer Adam LoGiudice is returning.
“I feel we had the ability last year,” Korrie stated. “We tell guys injuries can happen, and that you have to prepare like you are one play away from being a starter. Last year was a perfect example of that. We were banged up to a point where we were not playing our best, we had some key injuries, we lacked some depth, and no one stepped up.”
Korrie admitted that the lack of depth was a concern of his all season, and after the impact it had on last year he made a point of addressing the issue in the offseason. Rensselaer brought in 20 freshmen this year, as well as two Division I transfers to help beef up the lineup.
Sophomore defenseman Luke Murphy and junior midfielder/attack Peter Rice both made the move to RPI from their respective D-I programs for RPI’s strong academic offerings in engineering. Murphy, one of only six freshman to play for West Point last year, came to Rensselaer to be an electrical engineer. The Liverpool, N.Y., native was originally recruited by Korrie out of high school and returned after realizing West Point wasn’t quite for him.
Rice left Villanova to join RPI and also to study electrical engineering. Rice has been slowed by a shoulder injury he suffered two weeks ago, but now is fully recovered, and Korrie expects him to start making an impact on the field.
With the near total revamping of this year’s squad, several freshmen will be forced to take on major roles if the Red Hawks are to be as successful as last year. Korrie is looking for Mike Sampson, Briggs Thompson, and Josh Begley to solidify the midfield, while P.J. McComb and Alex MacDiarmid will add depth to the attack lines, and Justin Cassel and Dan Spencer will shore up the defense.
Thompson and Begley will most likely end up on the second midfield line while Sampson may inject his way into the starting line up. Korrie and the upper classmen have been impressed with the freshman’s progression, especially after Sampson scored two goals in the team’s first scrimmage.
“From the moment he stepped on the field the veteran players knew he was something special,” Korrie said. “He is a well balanced player and makes people around him better. And that’s the perfect fit for a couple veterans we are looking to put him with.”
Cassel and Spencer have received high praise as well and have been labeled as the “future” by Korrie. However, that doesn’t mean Korrie isn’t expecting the freshmen to contribute now. “They are still impressing us everyday, and with their talent we are going to have to find places for them out on the field,” Korrie said.
Of course the new freshmen are excellent additions, but the heart and soul of the Red Hawks will still be midfielders Chris Sherman and Ryan Frisch, LoGiudice, and defensemen Joe Panniello. LoGiudice, who led RPI with 48 goals last season, was named a second-team All-American while Frisch and Panniello received All-American Honorable Mentions from Face-Off Yearbook and Inside Lacrosse.
RPI will also return goaltender Ryan Michels. The sophomore and second team all-conference goalie has begun to take charge of the defense, something Korrie expects as Michels progresses.
The added depth has allowed Korrie to change his game strategy, using multiple lines of midfielders to play both offense and defense, compared to last year, where personnel forced him to use specialized face-off, offensive, and defensive units.
Korrie, who wants to put more responsibility on the midfielders, is expecting results out of all four of his midfield lines, and thinks the change will improve RPI’s transition game.
“Our strength is at the midfield,” Korrie said. “We are deeper at the midfield than we have ever been. We have more scorers at the midfield. Our season will go as far as our midfielders can take us.”
However, the implementation of a new philosophy, with a new team, on the new field turf, in the NCAA shortened preseason that went from 30-plus practice days to 16, may cause RPI some problems early on.
Nevertheless, these factors have not caused Rensselaer to lower expectations. Korrie still thinks RPI can win every game on its schedule, which includes three nationally ranked teams in Stevens Tech, Ithaca, and Middlebury. The Red Hawks are also desperately seeking that elusive league title and NCAA berth.
For now, Korrie’s primary concern is setting a lineup for the team’s 1 pm March 5 opener against Oneonta State at Harkness Field.
“Right now we are focused on our first game,” Korrie said. “We still are not set with who is going to be a starter and that might not happen until game day.”
