Lacrosse Magazine: Pioneers Frustrate Another Foe
May 19, 2014
By JAC COYNE
Full Story
The game was over. There were still technically eight seconds to burn off the clock, but it was over.
After the final compulsory faceoff, which occurred once LIU Post put the exclamation point on its 12-9 win over top seed Adelphi, Panthers' superb FOGO, Greg Puskuldjian, finally showed his frustration.
Having posted a sub-.500 percentage at the dot for the first time all year, mostly because of the play of LIU Post's Dom Montavani, Puskuldjian threw his hands up in disgust and walked toward the Adelphi bench as Post picked up the 13th win of the 23 total draw attempts and ran out the clock.
Make no mistake: Puskuldjian's legacy is secure. He is a lead-pipe lock to be a first team All-American when the teams are announced later today, and he will go down as one of the top draw men in Adelphi's fabled history, right next to his head coach, Gordon Purdie.
But this was LIU Post's day. And it was Montavani's day.
He was not even on the depth chart as a faceoff man when the season started, but Montavani emerged as a dominant presence at the dot thanks to assistant coach Michael Cama. A member of the last two Post national championship teams, Cama has completely altered Montavani's approach – to the point where Pioneers head coach John Jez says that 40 percent of his program's late season push can be credited to Cama.
"He breaks down things piece by piece. It's part of his life," Jez said of Cama's approach. "I'm glad he's here because I don't understand the things he talks about during the game. Our guys being successful may have worried Puskuldjian and he was over-thinking things. I don't know. Faceoff guys are strange people."
The battle at the dot was just many won by the Pioneers. While several of the big guns for Adelphi got their points, nobody went off, keeping Post from ever trailing in the contest.
"I don't know if we neutralized them, but we kept them at bay," Jez said. "Nicky Watson came back for them and had an impact. They have at least six weapons on the field at all times on offense and we tried to stay with them in some one-on-one coverages. Our guys played good, one-on-one defense and our goalie played very well again."
Pioneer goalie T.J. DiCarlo made 10 saves on the afternoon, but all of them had the feel of game-changers. He certainly won the head-to-head match-up with Adelphi backstop Aiden Bennardo, who finished with six stops.
For a story written by Joe Pantorno for LaxMagazine.com, Purdie lauded DiCarlo.
"DiCarlo certainly stepped up and won the game for them," said the Adelphi coach. "He had a couple of good saves, key saves that we thought could have gone in. He was in place. He played a very, very good game."
In a vacuum, the win over Adelphi is an impressive feat. The Panthers had just one loss on the season and were, for the most part, considered the favorites to win the title. Taken in its entire context – including the fact that many invested in LIU Post, including Jez, didn't think they would make the tournament – advancing to the championship game is nearly miraculous.
It certainly reflects well on Jez, who will now be searching for his third national championship with Post when they face Limestone next Sunday. The Pioneers have no business being in Baltimore, but alas, here they come.
Jez's tendency is to deflect praise. It's a trait that he combines with a willingness to accept fault.
"We knew we had enough talent in the room, so maybe it wasn't the best coaching job," he said. "Maybe we just did a horrible job [coaching] early. I'm not sure. We had the talent in the room and you said it over the summer, there was potential to do great things. Maybe it was a glitch by us to not focus on the right things earlier. We're doing the right things now and the kids are responding to things. When things are out in front of them and it's tangible without the coaches just telling them a thousand times, they respond."
The most tangible of goals looms on the horizon for LIU Post on Sunday. Are they ready to frustrate the entirety of Division II like they did Adelphi?