Inside Lacrosse is kicking off the season by previewing the top 40 teams. Here's Five Things to Know About Siena, ranked No. 38 in the Face-Off Yearbook.
Siena has been a team nipping at the heels of Division I's elite for the last several seasons, thanks largely in part to some outstanding defensive units and one of the college game's top point producers in recent years in Canadian attackman Bryan Neufeld.?
But with Neufeld departed upon his graduation, as well as standout goalie Tom Morr, this Siena squad has to replace some key pieces on both ends of the field. The Saints will do so with an eye toward returning to the top of the MAAC ? with the taste of last year's 10-9 MAAC title game loss to conference and cross-state foe Canisius fresh in their mouths ? and to the NCAA tournament, which Siena reached in both 2009 and 2011.
1. New Faces on the Staff
Head coach John Svec enters his second year at the helm in Loudonville ? just outside of Albany ??and he's brought on new staff members to assist him in his efforts.
Mark Cometti, a former standout midfielder at West Genesee High School and later at the University at Albany, was brought on as the team's offensive coordinator after spending most of 2011 and then the 2012 spring working with the upstart Division II Saint Rose program in Albany.
Comett, Svec says, brings a lot to the team in terms of experience and an understanding of the game. A member of the Albany staff from 2001 to 2008, Svec coached Cometti when he was a Great Dane.
"I'm really excited about Mark and what he's bringing to this program in terms of knowledge and teaching. He's played and won games at a high level."
Kevin McKeown is also a new addition, coming on board as the Saints' defensive coordinator after spending 2009 to 2012 on the Binghamton staff.
"We're lucky to have a guy with a lot of experience on the defensive end," said Svec, who spent years as a defensive coordinator, and so often finds himself on that end of the field.
A standout netminder for the Bearcats and three-time captain from 2003 to 2006, McKeown's presence and defensive knowledge will allow Svec to step back and focus more on his overall coaching responsibilities, something he said has been an adjustment, but changes that will positively impact the program.
"Kevin's experience is beneficial for us," Svec said. "From a staff standpoint, I couldn't be more excited."
2. The Post-Neufeld Era
With Neufeld gone, a great deal of the heavy lifting will fall on senior attackman Danny Martinsen, who registered an impressive 33 goals and 29 assists last season. A player that has seemingly flown under the radar while still being one of the most productive in the land, Martinsen is a formidable dodger who has likely benefited from the presence of Neufeld.
But there's no secret that the beginning of Siena's post-Neufeld era will come in the form of Martinsen and what he's able to do as the team's top initiator and most experienced scoring threat.
"Danny has grown considerably as a player and as a young man," Svec said. "He's harder on himself than any coach could ever be. That is a challenge but a good thing. ? He's a fierce competitor."
In the fall, Martinsen and other offensive players worked closely with Cometti in what Svec referred to as Siena's "shooting school," heading out to the fields each morning ? deep into the fall ? shooting buckets and buckets of balls, using shooting targets and focusing on different types of shooting.
Along with Martinsen (a preseason All-Conference choice), Siena will look to junior Colin Clive to develop into a more dynamic player. Having put up 31 goals and 6 assists in 2012, Clive will need to be more involved in setting up plays as much as he will need to be finishing. He returns after competing at the European Lacrosse Championships with the English national team in Amsterdam.
Svec already saw in the fall that Clive is more mature and ready to shoulder greater responsibility and take his game to the next level.
Competition for the third spot was strong in the fall. Redshirt sophomore Rich Hurley, Svec says, could emerge as the third attackman in a unit that he hopes will help this team surprise people with another explosive and potent offense, following up on the nation's fourth most productive in 2012.
"If you look at that attack we had (Neufeld, Martinsen, Clive), those guys did some pretty scary stuff," Svec said. "They had great chemistry. Now, we are starting to see that with this group, and more than just three guys. ? We're pretty excited about that."
In looking at the midfield, the Saints expect contributions from senior captain Collin Parkhurst, and also hope to see Conor Prunty ? a productive freshman last year with 10 goals and 11 assists ? come into his own as the team develops its new identity on offense.
3. Defensive Continuity
A good portion of Siena's defensive success in 2012 could be attributed to Tom Morr's play in cage. Morr is gone, but don't sleep on what senior defender Brendan Meehan, another preseason All-Conference selection, could do for this unit in 2013.
"I think Meehan is as good as anybody out there," Svec said. "Brendan is one hell of an athlete, and he continues to get better."
A likely candidate for the MAAC Defensive Player of the Year, Meehan will anchor the Saints defense, and he's going to be flanked by a couple additional important players for Siena in Joe Ednie and Erik Casparius.
Ednie and Casparius provide Siena with different skill sets and different strengths, but are additional experienced leaders who can be leaned on and interchanged with Meehan in some situations and depending on matchups.
While the Saints have no question about the abilities and experience of their key returning defenders, which should help the team pick up where it left off in 2012, there's an interesting story in the large pool of goalies ? six of them ??who are competing to take Morr's spot.
"We made the joke that we have an army of goalies," Svec said. He acknowledged that some might view six goalies as too many for one college roster; but he said what the scenario has produced is a very healthy competition between the players, and it's yielding better candidates for the starting position.
It's unlikely, Svec said, that the team would use a platoon; instead the staff is looking to settle on the strongest player before the start of the season. Helping the situation has been the presence of McKeown and the legacy left by Morr, who mentored two of the top candidates, seniors Nick Capalbo and Matt Sharp.
"In the fall, we came right in and said it, 'we have a goalie battle,'" Svec said.
4. Good Start at the Face-Off X
While there are some big spaces to fill, the Saints can at the very least expect to hold their own at the face-off X, where preseason All-Conference selection Casey Dowd returns after winning 53.8% of the 292 draws he took last season.
A "lax rat" and an intriguing character, the sophomore is considered Siena's "surprise" of 2012 and has improved each week, coaches say. His impact comes by way of what he does both on and off the field.
"It's great that we are keeping face-offs in the game for the sake of a kid like this who's worked so hard to be good at it," Svec said. "He's not the fastest guy; he's something like 5-10, 215 pounds, but he's owned his role and has embraced it from the start. He has a huge impact for us as a personality and a player."
In looking to leverage their success on draws, Svec and McKeown are hoping to groom long poles who can be threats in transition and hopefully even score a few goals ??something the team didn't get from any longstick last season.
5. Disappointment's a Strong Motivator
Getting defeated by Canisius in the MAAC championship game was hard to swallow for the talented 2012 Saints team. That will be used as a powerful motivator this coming spring, as this Siena squad looks to make up for that disappointment.
However, there was another reminder in the fall of how hard the team will have to work to do so: at the Catamount Classic, the Saints were handily beaten by Brown 11-3, and then lost to Sacred Heart 10-8.
"When you get whooped up on in fall scrimmages, that refocuses you," Svec said. "As a coach, you never want to lose a battle, whether it's checkers or a fall scrimmage. From that last individual interviews we had last spring right up to our discussions with each player at the end of the fall, there wasn't one guy who hasn't brought up that game (against Canisius). ? "That's important. You'll see it at practice: who really remembers it and who worked hard because of that feeling."
Best Bet: Danny Martinsen, senior, attack
His 115 points over the last two seasons tell the truth: Martinsen is a dangerous player who has produced points consistently and in important games. With no Bryan Neufeld on this roster, there will be no mystery about the Saints' go-to player on offense. Looking at what he's been able to do in his career so far, and given the cast he'll have around him, it's a safe bet that Martinsen will be the Saints most productive attackman in 2013. As a senior, he's being asked to do big things for this team.
Sleeper Pick: Conor Prunty, sophomore, midfield
A player who was looked at by some higher-profile lacrosse schools, Siena has a tremendous young player in Conor Prunty, an All-American out of the Hudson Valley in his last high school run. Prunty could very well be the player to fill the void left by the outstanding Chris Roth. His 21 points as a freshman midfielder bode well for his sophomore campaign and the Saints' greater efforts. ?
2012 Record: 11-5
2012 Conference: 6-0
GPG (Rank): 12.38 (4)
GAA (Rank):?9.25 (25)
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Source: http://insidelacrosse.com/news/2013/01/16/ncaa-preview-2013-siena
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