For Loyola men’s lax, no time to panic
If Loyola Maryland men’s l acrosse coach Charley Toomey had his way, he wouldn’t have played Virginia and Johns Hopkins in consecutive games to open the season. But he had no choice, and the Greyhounds are winless.
No. 11 Loyola will get somewhat of a breather this week when the Greyhounds open their Patriot League conference schedule against Lafayette, but now it’s time to repair the damage after the first two games. It is fix-it time. “I could wish all I want but I don’t have my way,” said Toomey about the schedule. “Virginia is sitting on an open week just like we are before the tournament starts and I have proposed playing that week, but they don’t want to do it. I have talked to all the ACC schools and maybe they don’t want to travel over exam week. The women do it in lacrosse, and I think it is a realistic request to play on the last great weekend before the tournament.”
“Right now, though, I have to look at my locker room and I see we’re not playing with confidence, not from the first two games,” said Toomey. “We’ve had our opportunities and I think these games will help us in the future. It’s not where we are now; it’s where we get to.”
It’s not panic time yet on the Loyola campus. The Greyhounds have won two of the last three Patriot League titles to gain an automatic berth into the NCAA Division I tournament. But before that can happen again, they need to improve on defense.
Loyola lost 16-15 to Virginia and then 14-13 to Johns Hopkins on Saturday in overtime. Besides poor communication, the Greyhounds have lacked toughness, a sense of urgency and a willingness to work through picks. They have allowed opposing attackmen to get top side on them again and again, leaving goalie Jacob Stover vulnerable.
Loyola had 15 turnovers while the Blue Jays had only six. Part of it was because Hopkins pressured the ball on defense and Loyola either couldn’t or wouldn’t.
“Hopkins is a very good offensive team, and we knew going in we might give up a few goals,” said Toomey. “But when we’re