Spring Break
Men's Lacrosse makes top ten
Brett Fischer
Issue date: 4/4/08 Section: Sports
Apparently, overcoming a five-goal deficit against No. 13 Hofstra was only half of the good news.
For the first time in Drexel history, the men's lacrosse team is ranked in the top 10 in the country, according to this week's USILA Coaches Poll.
After following up a 13-6 loss to No. 7 Notre Dame with a 7-2 deficit against the Pride, things looked bleak for the Dragons. However, the players and staff had other plans in mind.
Instead of panicking after trailing by five at halftime, the men's lacrosse staff and players remained calm. Eventually they were able to win 9-8 in double overtime.
"We don't get too high or too low," men's lacrosse coach Chris Bates said. "Being down 7-2 isn't ideal after getting thumped. I give everyone around the program a lot of credit for not getting too rattled."
Bates said the No. 10 ranking raises awareness for the program and he's happy for the alumni, but he doesn't put much focus on where his team is placed.
"It's exciting for alumni and people surrounding the program," Bates said. "Honestly, for us, in some ways it's a milestone, but in other ways it's pretty meaningless. We lose a game, we're not 10th anymore. You're only as good as your next game. We're not getting caught up in
that stuff at all."
After losing All-American Defenseman Adam Crystal, it wasn't easy for the Dragons to improve on last year's 11-5 season, but Bates was confident in his team.
"With what we had coming back, we knew we had a chance to improve," Bates said. "Honestly, I thought we would stumble once or twice early in the season. We're in a nice position. But the goal is to peak at the end of the season. We have five league games and we're focused on the next one. We lost a couple seniors, but we thought we'd have a chance to have a good team."
However, Bates certainly did not expect his team to fare as well as it has.
"If you told me we'd be 8-2 at this point, I'd be pleasantly surprised," he said. "But we'll take it."
The Dragons have many aspirations for the season, but for right now, Bates and the rest of the men's lacrosse team are looking ahead to their upcoming conference games, starting with Robert Morris April 5.
"In the long term, our goals are so high, but those goals happen in May," Bates said. "We're just focused on Robert Morris. Hofstra was exciting and it was a great win. But more importantly it was a conference win. The way we get into the NCAA Tournament is through our conference games and tournament."
One of the reasons Bates says the team has done so well is because his team is full of strong-willed men.
"We've recruited solid high character kids," Bates said. "It's a great school that gives us a strong foundation. The athletic administration believes in what we're doing accordingly. Good things will happen if we do good things the right way with good people. We just continue to work hard."
For the first time in Drexel history, the men's lacrosse team is ranked in the top 10 in the country, according to this week's USILA Coaches Poll.
After following up a 13-6 loss to No. 7 Notre Dame with a 7-2 deficit against the Pride, things looked bleak for the Dragons. However, the players and staff had other plans in mind.
Instead of panicking after trailing by five at halftime, the men's lacrosse staff and players remained calm. Eventually they were able to win 9-8 in double overtime.
"We don't get too high or too low," men's lacrosse coach Chris Bates said. "Being down 7-2 isn't ideal after getting thumped. I give everyone around the program a lot of credit for not getting too rattled."
Bates said the No. 10 ranking raises awareness for the program and he's happy for the alumni, but he doesn't put much focus on where his team is placed.
"It's exciting for alumni and people surrounding the program," Bates said. "Honestly, for us, in some ways it's a milestone, but in other ways it's pretty meaningless. We lose a game, we're not 10th anymore. You're only as good as your next game. We're not getting caught up in
that stuff at all."
After losing All-American Defenseman Adam Crystal, it wasn't easy for the Dragons to improve on last year's 11-5 season, but Bates was confident in his team.
"With what we had coming back, we knew we had a chance to improve," Bates said. "Honestly, I thought we would stumble once or twice early in the season. We're in a nice position. But the goal is to peak at the end of the season. We have five league games and we're focused on the next one. We lost a couple seniors, but we thought we'd have a chance to have a good team."
However, Bates certainly did not expect his team to fare as well as it has.
"If you told me we'd be 8-2 at this point, I'd be pleasantly surprised," he said. "But we'll take it."
The Dragons have many aspirations for the season, but for right now, Bates and the rest of the men's lacrosse team are looking ahead to their upcoming conference games, starting with Robert Morris April 5.
"In the long term, our goals are so high, but those goals happen in May," Bates said. "We're just focused on Robert Morris. Hofstra was exciting and it was a great win. But more importantly it was a conference win. The way we get into the NCAA Tournament is through our conference games and tournament."
One of the reasons Bates says the team has done so well is because his team is full of strong-willed men.
"We've recruited solid high character kids," Bates said. "It's a great school that gives us a strong foundation. The athletic administration believes in what we're doing accordingly. Good things will happen if we do good things the right way with good people. We just continue to work hard."
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