The Minutemen have been ranked No. 1 in the CAA in the preseason coaches' poll.
Will Manny of UMass battles Colgate goalie Conor Murphy last May in the NCAA playoffs in Amherst.
By STEPHEN SELLNER
AMHERST – The No. 13 University of Massachusetts men’s lacrosse team left Garber Field for the final time last season disappointed and shocked.
After a 13-0 regular season, Colonial Athletic Association Championship and No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament, the Minutemen were knocked out by on May 12 Colgate, 13-11, ending with a 15-1 overall record.
So when this year’s Minutemen met for the first time as a unit this off-season, senior Will Manny had a simple message: “That’s old news. We’re the 2013 team. We start from scratch.”
That mindset starts with coach Greg Cannella, who enters his 19th season at the helm preaching to his team to focus solely on the task at hand.
“In the past, we’ve been able to build strong teams through character and through focus, and focusing more on the preparation, rather than, ‘Hey, what are they saying about us here and there?’” Cannella said. “It’s so much more important because that’s what you have to do in order to go out there and play these teams.”
This year’s UMass squad – which was picked in the league coaches’ poll to win the CAA again – goes into Sunday’s season opener against Army at Garber Field forced to fill gaps left by the graduation of goalie Tim McCormack, defenseman Tom Celentani, midfielder Anthony Biscardi, attackman Art Kell and face-off specialist Greg Rushing.
The game was rescheduled from Saturday to noon on Sunday because of the weather forecast.
Senior attackmen Will Manny (44 goals, 33 assists in 2012) and Kyle Smith (33 goals, 19 assists) headline the Minutemen’s core, as the lethal duo finished last season as UMass’ first and third scorers, respectively.
Manny and Smith, roommates since their sophomore year, rely on their chemistry to anticipate each other’s moves on the offensive end.
“If I’m dodging behind the net, I can have my eyes closed and throw the ball to the middle of the field, and I know he’ll catch it and it’ll be in the back of the net by the time I even open my eyes,” Manny said.
Of the Minutemen’s personnel changes, none is more daunting than the man between the pipes: redshirt freshman Zachary Oliveri, who Cannella said is the front-runner to replace McCormack. Oliveri was captain of the 2012 U.S. men’s national under-19 team, which won the 2012 Federation of International Lacrosse World Championship.