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US Lacrosse College Notebook
March 14, 2003
Division I's New General
Saturday's Army-Penn matchup could be a historic occasion, and it's fitting the game is at historic Franklin Field in Philadelphia. Army head coach Jack Emmer last week tied former Massachusetts coach Dick Garber for the all-time Division I record for coaching victories. Emmer can break the record and move into first place if the Black Knights beat Penn and give Emmer his 301st career victory. Now in his 34th year of coaching, Emmer has enjoyed successful tenures at SUNY-Cortland, Washington & Lee, and now Army, taking each team to the NCAA semifinals.
I'm fortunate to be in a position to coach college lacrosse for 34 years, to be able to endure and to do what I like to do for that long, said Emmer. I'm flattered to be in the same company as Dick Garber, who was not only a great coach, but a fantastic human being. It's an honor.
Emmer's legacy speaks for itself. He has coached seven National Lacrosse Hall of Famers, 86 All-Americans, and guided the U.S. Men's Team to last summer's ILF World Championship in Perth, Australia. He earned three straight coach of the year honors from the USILA from 1972-74.
Emmer counts among his most memorable Army units the 1984 and '85 playoff teams, the '93 squad that beat Maryland in the first round of the NCAA tournament before 4,121 at West Point, and the playoff '96 and near-miss '97 teams. His most talented teams, however, may have been the '73 and '74 Washington & Lee Generals. Both teams finished the regular seasons undefeated and advanced to the NCAA semifinals. In '73, W&L beat Navy 13-12 in triple overtime before falling to Maryland in the semis, and following another first-round win over Navy the next year, the Generals barely fell to Johns Hopkins, 11-10.
We had four future Hall of Famers on that '74 squad. We lost by a goal to Hopkins in the semifinals. That '74 team was a national championship-caliber team, Emmer said.
Through all the years of coaching, Emmer has seen the evolution of the college game. It's much more singular in focus now. Guys are playing lacrosse year-round, strength and conditioning programs are year-round, and the kids are bigger, stronger and faster. The players are totally focuesd on the sport, which is not necessarily a good thing. They lose the experience of participating on other teams.
Emmer also has seen the evolution of recruiting, now, like the sport itself, a year-round business. If you're not recruiting juniors now, forget it. ... We're recruiting players younger and younger now. As coaches, we probably need to put the wraps on it some. Recruiting is so competitive. Not a day goes by that you're not recruiting, except Christmas.
Though the teams have not met since the 1984 NCAA tournament, Army owns a 12-1 all-time record against Penn. Faceoff is 1 p.m.
Around the Country
Putting it on the Line
The top four teams in the IWCLA Division III poll will face big tests this weekend, highlighted by a match-up between second-ranked Amherst (0-0) and fourth-ranked William Smith (1-0) on Saturday in Panama City, Fla.. Top-ranked Middlebury opens its season on Saturday at home against 16th-ranked Colby (0-0), and third-ranked College of New Jersey opens its season at 12th-ranked Salisbury (2-0) on Saturday.
NESCAC/UCAA Challenge
It wasn't designed by any formal means, but there is an intriguing trio of games between NESCAC and UCAA men's lacrosse teams over the weekend. It kicks off with Williams at Hamilton on Saturday. After rare back-to-back losing seasons under longtime head coach Renzie Lamb, the Ephs have gotten off to an impressive start with wins over Bates and Skidmore. Hamilton, which went 9-4 in Gene McCabe's first season a year ago, ran its record to 2-0 with a 10-9 victory over Oneonta State on Wednesday.
Game two of the series matches Amherst and Clarkson on Saturday in Port Richey, Fla. Amherst pounded Bates 18-3 in its opener on Wednesday, while Clarkson, the defending UCAA champ, looks to get on the winning side of the ledger after opening with a 10-9 loss to Geneseo.
The final game is a battle of two nationally-ranked teams as 12th-ranked St. Lawrence and 14th-ranked Bowdoin meet on Monday in Orlando, Fla. St. Lawrence is off to a 2-0 start, including a big 10-3 win over ninth-ranked Cortland. Bowdoin fell to 1-1 with an 11-8 loss to 20th-ranked Roanoke on Thursday.
Orange Shavings
Syracuse's women's team has played three games this year and they've all been decided by one goal. The seventh-ranked Orange beat Virginia 12-11 in overtime, beat Virginia Tech 8-7 and lost to Maryland 8-7 in overtime. Syracuse plays at third-ranked Georgetown (3-0) in a key Big East game on Saturday.
A True Shocker
The word shocker is overused when looking at early season lacrosse scores, but St. Michael's 14-13 victory over Adelphi in overtime in men's lacrosse on Sunday was worthy of the word. Adelphi, ranked first in the preseason by Lacrosse Magazine, led 7-3 after one quarter, but the Purple Knights rallied with six fourth-quarter goals to force overtime. Senior Kevin Duffy scored the game-winner for St. Michael's and senior Bryan Barletto had five goals in the win. Sophomore goalie Brian Hingston made 17 saves for first-year head coach Michael Schaefer. St. Michael's, which went 10-5 last year, moved into the No. 10 slot is this week's USILA poll.
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