2008 Woodie Awards
Koppens, Richards exude confidence
Dave Lomonico
Issue date: 1/29/08 Section: Sports
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Sports Editor
It was the middle of October and already you could sense it.
Sense what?
"The flow," senior captain Shane Koppens said.
The flow?
"Man, against Maryland and Navy in the fall, we were just flowing."
Somehow, even if you didn't understand, you couldn't help but believe his words. Koppens, one of Loyola's four co-captains, has seen plenty of changes over four years on the lacrosse team, but this year - his senior year - Koppens senses something different.
So what is it?
"The flow."
I still didn't get it, but was quickly assured by Koppens and fellow senior captain Paul Richards that not many people do "get" the Hounds this year.
Loyola lost 80 percent of their offense from last year. There are freshmen in the starting lineup and at top backup positions. Last year's backups have now been thrust into prime-time roles. On top of that there's a completely new offensive mindset, and the style of play will be foreign to all those familiar with the Greyhounds' normally deliberative style.
"We're much more athletic and versatile than we've ever been," Richards said. "We're going to catch people on their heels. We have athletes at every spot on the field, and we've never had that before."
Excuse Koppens for his aforementioned vagueness, but with all these changes, it's hard for him to describe the team. That doesn't mean he's not confident. In fact, it's just the opposite; he has that feeling - the one only a veteran of four years can have.
"We're a much better team, but people don't think anything of us now," Koppens said. "They're going to hear some names they haven't heard before, and we're going to shock a lot of people. They say we lost 80 percent of our scoring, but I think we can top that 80 percent right now."
Koppens: A knack for finding the net
Of course, few lacrosse-savvy individuals believe Koppens, but his words are genuine. You want to believe him. Koppens realizes, however, that for his prediction to come true, he'll have to do even more than last year, when he was the team's leading scorer with 46 points.
Off the field, there's a care-free, laid-back demeanor about the senior from Clifton Park, N.Y., and chances are you probably wouldn't notice if you passed him around Evergreen. He doesn't have the bulging muscular physique of Andy Spack, who graduated last year, nor does he have the aura of a star basketball player like Gerald Brown. In fact the bushy-haired, bespectacled Koppens looks anything but the part of a team captain.
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