For the typical Rensselaer student a spring break trip to Florida means fun, sun, and sandy Atlantic beaches, but for the RPI men’s lacrosse team, their trip to the magical city of Orlando did not include a trip to Disneyworld, but three critical games for RPI.
The Red Hawks went 2-1 over the stretch, losing a tight contest 14-13 in the final minutes to Western New England College on March 13, before rebounding to defeat Vassar in both teams’ Liberty League opener 17-4 on March 14, and knocking off Wheaton 12-3 on March 19. The Red Hawks returned to the Great White North with a 3-1 mark and 1-0 in Liberty League play.
“The trip was productive,” Rensselaer Head Coach Tom Korrie said. “We progressed in certain areas and several of the younger players performed better, which was a pleasant surprise.”
While Korrie acknowledged progression over the break, the Red Hawks reduced their turnovers in each game and saw some cohesion developing on both the offensive and defensive ends of the field, he was not entirely pleased with the trip, particularly the one-goal loss to WNEC.
“We got outplayed,” Korrie, now in his third year at the helm for Rensselaer, stated simply. “They are an unrated team, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them in the NCAA Tournament this year. They came out better prepared and wanted it more than us on a hot day.”
Rensselaer stayed incredibly close to the powerful Golden Bears’ offense, but eventually fell behind for good after Jason Whitehouse scored his lone goal with 3:22 remaining to put WNEC up for good.
Despite Whitehouse’s heroics, Korrie was convinced that it was Rensselaer’s inability to control the ball that cost the Red Hawks the game. WNEC won 19 of 31 face-offs, allowing the Golden Bears to control the game’s flow and pepper RPI goalie Ryan Michels, who made 14 saves, with 38 shots. The Red Hawks also gave up several shots within five yards, leaving Michels virtually helpless in his efforts to cover the net.
“We spent too much time on defense,” Korrie said. “The face off team’s performance was unacceptable, we had too many turnovers, and we did not play good team or individual defense.”
On a more positive note, the Rensselaer offense did start clicking over the break scoring a combined total of 39 goals. Ryan Frisch scored four times, Peter Rice added three goals, and Adam LoGiudice tallied two goals and an assist against WNEC. LoGuidice totaled nine goals and four helpers over the trip.
Freshman Alex MacDiarmid was named Rookie of the Week by the Liberty League after adding a goal and an assist to 10 groundballs and a 9-12 showing on face-offs over Rensselaer’s first three games.
Korrie, although frustrated with the WNEC loss, hopes his team now realizes the dedication and preparation needed to be successful. He was pleased with the way his team responded by blowing out Vassar and Wheaton.
Rensselaer is still very inexperienced, as the Red Hawks continue to use more freshmen and sophomores than in the past. Having games versus Kings Point and Keene State delayed due to weather has further hampered a team that is in desperate need of game experience.
“We need to keep playing games and gelling as a team,” Korrie said. “Other teams are facing the same problems as us with the weather, but we need the on-field experience.”
The game cancellations will force RPI to bulk up the middle half of its schedule which already includes three nationally ranked opponents in Stevens Tech., Ithaca, and Middlebury. RPI will take on Stevens Tech. today, in Hoboken, N.J. Stevens will be out for revenge after RPI beat the Ducks 14-9 last year. Stevens is an extremely dangerous team, averaging 15 goals a game, nearly beating the fourth and second ranked teams in the nation.
“Against Stevens, we are going to have to take care of the ball,” Korrie said. “We need to be more selective with our passes and simply play more offense and less defense.”
