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US wins second straight lacrosse state title
(by Steve Novak - June 11, 2009)
US wins second straight lacrosse state title
BY STEVE NOVAK
In explaining his team's 7-5 victory in the Division II state lacrosse championship over Cincinnati Mariemont last Saturday, University School coach Jack Fisher offered an analogy for those not familiar with lacrosse.
"Imagine the game is like basketball," said Fisher, whose team successfully defended its state championship. "Mariemont is a fast-break team. We're a team with a half-court offense. We wanted to control the tempo of the game. We worked to slow the game down.
"Our best game is a possession game," he said. "In the first half, we stayed well within our game plan."
In the opening quarter, University School performed the equivalent of a four-corners, slow-down offense in basketball. The Preppers held onto the ball for long stretches of time, passing it around the perimeter and waiting for some sign of a weakness in the defense.
It paid off well, as University School quickly overcame Mariemont's 1-0 lead by responding with three goal to take a 3-1 advantage at the end of the first quarter.
The possession type of offense continued to work well for the Preppers as they scored two more goals in the next period and held Mariemont scoreless, giving them a 5-1 lead halfway through the game.
Fisher said he knew that a team as good as Mariemont wouldn't let the rest of the contest go by without trying to re-establish its offensive speed.
"In the third quarter, we knew they would try to push up the pace," he said. "They did, and we let down a little bit."
As a result, Mariemont came back with three goals to make the score 5-4 at the end of three periods of play.
But Fisher said his team was able to regroup and begin regain the rhythm of its slow-down offense. University School was able to add two more goals in the fourth quarter, while allowing just one more goal.
Fisher especially credited his defense line for keeping the game out of reach in the final minutes of play. That defense was led by senior defensemen Tommy Visconsi and Charlie Clark.
"Both of them made a big stop in about the final minute or so," Fisher said. "They made probably the best plays of the game."
Juniors John Floyd and Will Gilkenson each scored two goals to pace University School. Ben Bold, Brian Stovsky and Andy Neff all added a goal. Preppers' goalkeeper Adam Daroff registered six saves.
The Preppers, who finished with a 14-6 record, also won a state championship in 1999.
To advance to this year's championship game, University School defeated neighborhood rival Hawken, 15-6, in a semifinal match last week.
Fisher said he basically used the same type of slow-down strategy in that game because Hawken averaged about 14 goals per game during the season.
"We dominated the possession to put the pressure on them," he said. "We work hard on slowing down the transition game. We worked the ball slowly and methodically."
The scored was tied 3-3 early in the game, but University School jumped out to an 8-4 lead by the end of the first half.
Hawken head coach Jim Scully said that in addition to University School slowing the tempo of the game, the Preppers' defensive line was effective in keeping the Hawks' attack players from getting good shots.
"Tommy Visconsi is really a force in there. He took (Hawken attacker) David Falk out of the game," Scully said. "They beat us to every ground ball."
Hawken ended its season with a 16-4 record. Falk led the team with 58 goals and 38 assists. Mike Hruby scored 40 goals and 37 assists. Pat Horsburgh added 15 goals.
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