Loyola Greyhound

Issue date: 2/12/08 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Loyola College Athletics Captain Paul Richards is the lone Greyhound on the Preseason All-ECAC team.

Most have been waiting a while now. They watched eagerly last season as their upperclassmen teammates ravaged Duke in San Diego, held off Syracuse in the dwindling minutes at home and played their last game of the season filled with high expectations against Albany in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

But now the waiting is over. With the 2008 men's lacrosse season-opener against Notre Dame on Saturday, Feb. 16 fast approaching, a new core of Loyola athletes are eager to fill the shoes of those that came before them and prove their worth as Greyhounds on Diane Geippi-Aikens Field.

That's why, despite having graduated around 80 percent of last year's offense, head coach Charley Toomey isn't worried about filling open slots. That's why a lower preseason ranking in their ECAC conference and close to no recognition on the national stage isn't bothering them.

The attitude of some towards Greyhound lacrosse in what may be considered a "rebuilding year is nonchalant, but that is hardly the mind-set of hte men inside the Loyola locker room. And well, their attitude is the only one that matters.

"We've got great guys that are ready to step into this system now," Toomey said. "They've been in this program and these men are coming into a system that they've had experience with. Now it's really just their time to step out and give them game-day experience. And while they might not have those minutes on their résumé, they have confidence."

That confidence, among other qualities, is something the Greyhound squad will need to compete for a conference title and live up to their 2007 playoff season. The ECAC is a "stacked league" with worthy adversaries like UMass and Penn State lingering in the background. Meanwhile, St. John's boasts a core of seniors who yearn to pull off a few upsets. And is it really necessary to even mention Georgetown? The nationally-ranked Hoyas are once again the team to chase and will be the squad everyone is gunning to beat in the ECAC.

"Everyone knows that this is a strong and competitive conference," Toomey said. "Everybody can compete for this crown. You don't just casually come to play on just any Saturday in the ECAC."

Continued...

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