Rensselaer men’s lacrosse Head Coach Tom Korrie is beginning to sound like a broken record, but until the Red Hawks learn to take better care of the ball, they will continue to hear the same old tune from him. RPI committed 27 turnovers, lost 70 percent of faceoffs, and were only successful on 19 of 27 clear attempts in the Red Hawks’ close 8-6 defeat at the hands of Stevens Tech, the 12th ranked team in country, in Hoboken, N.J., on Wednesday March 23.
“We got beat by a better team,” Korrie said of the Ducks. “They dominated ball possession, we didn’t clear well, and we turned the ball over in key situations. As long as we do that, we will continue to lose close games.”
RPI’s faceoff struggles cannot be blamed on one individual. The Red Hawks currently rotate five different midfielders in the center circle, four of which are freshmen. In the Stevens Tech battle, Mike Sampson went 4-12 on faceoffs and Alex MacDiarmid went 1-5.
The faceoff lines’ inexperience and poor execution by the wing middies have caused Rensselaer to decline from a team that won 54 percent of its faceoffs in 2004 to a club that is not averaging winning 50 percent this season.
“We have to improve,” Korrie admitted. “We are not directing the ball well off the ‘x’ and our wing play has been slow and not tough enough.” Korrie continued, saying he was still in the process of searching for the right personnel for faceoff situations.
The Ducks’ dominance in controlling the ball allowed Stevens to open up an early 3-0 lead. After Joe VanSickle took a Mark Bielicky pass to score the lone goal in the first quarter, Stevens took advantage of a handful of RPI miscues to tally their next two goals a few minutes into the game’s second session. The Ducks found the net twice in less than a minute, sending the Red Hawks reeling. Rensselaer failed miserably to clear the ball from the defensive zone on five consecutive occasions in the second period, giving Alex Richards and John Dolny the opportunities they needed to find the net.
“One mistake here or there cost us dearly,” Korrie said. “The ball is pretty small and the net is 6x6, you cannot give a good team extra chances. Our defense was solid; we simply spent too much time on defense.”
The Ducks, who average 15 goals per game, looked to be on pace to rout the Red Hawks, but Adam LoGuidice finally got Rensselaer off the hook, scoring his only goal of the contest at the 8:50 mark in the second. Stevens’ Joe VanSickle answered just over two minutes later to push the lead back to a three-goal margin, but with just five seconds left in the half, Ryan Frisch found Peter Rice who delivered a timely goal for RPI, making the halftime margin 4-2.
“Being down a couple of goals never bothered us,” Korrie said. “We know we can make it up. We have guys that can score; we just have to get them the ball.”
Rensselaer labored to come back in the third and fourth quarters. The Ducks won eight of nine faceoffs in the second half and controlled the ball for most of the session. Ryan Michels and the rest of the Red Hawks’ defense tightened up. Michels made 13 saves in the game, seven of which came in the second half.
RPI, who trailed 6-3 heading into the fourth quarter, netted three goals in the game’s final session, but it was not nearly enough. Frisch, the senior co-captain, led the Red Hawks with two goals and an assist while freshman Sampson tallied one goal and one assist. Chris Sherman also found the net once for Renssleaer.
Richards and VanSickle scored three goals apiece to pace the Ducks. The two Stevens Tech standouts got help from Dolny and R.J. Oreskovich.
“We got out-horsepowered.” Korrie said. “Considering the amount of time they had the ball, we did well. Whenever you have two evenly matched teams, the game will ultimately come down to ball possession, and they won both.”
Despite the loss, the Red Hawks still maintain a 3-2 and Korrie is encouraged by his team’s progress, although he admitted the progression is taking longer than he would like.
“This is a good team, a resilient club,” Korrie said. “They are strong in character and we are making correctable mistakes. However, close games don’t count in the win column, so we have to pay closer attention to detail or we will continue to come up a goal or two short.”
And the Red Hawks will have to scrutinize every minute detail if they hope to beat Ithaca, a preseason top 10 team, today at 4 pm on Harkness Field. Ithaca, which has lost some close games this season, returns five Empire Eight First Team All-Conference players, and has been labeled as a “sleeping giant” by Korrie.
Bombers Head Coach Jeff Long played professional ball with Korrie, which will add another element to this crucial matchup. Long knows Korrie’s style. Korrie, however, insists the battle is not between him and Long, but the players on the field.
“There is a common denominator to good lacrosse,” Korrie said. “Ball possession, hit the corners [of the net], and solid defense. All good lacrosse coaches practice the same style, and [Jeff] is no different.”
Should the Red Hawks fall to the Bombers, they will lose consecutive games for the first time since 2002 when Rensselaer loss five straight games. Korrie has not lost two consecutive contests in his three-year tenure.
“[Ithaca] is a ticking time bomb,” Korrie said, “I just hope they don’t go off against us. We will have to bring our A-game and then some to win this game.”
The Red Hawks will also take on Hamilton in a Liberty League contest at Harkness Field on Saturday, April 2 at 2 pm. Rensselaer is currently 1-0 in the Liberty League after destroying Vassar 17-4 down in Florida. RPI defeated the Continentals 9-7 in Clinton, N.Y., last season.
