Cardinal Gibbons’ lacrosse is on a quest to
capture the MIAA C Conference title after two years being denied in the
championship game. The Crusaders had a large and accomplished senior
class in 2007, which led Gibbons to a combined 19-1 regular season and conference record
during 2006 and 2007.
Both years however, the Crusaders fell to
Chapelgate Christian in the title game.
Not much was expected of Gibbons in 2008, having graduated
its entire starting attack, its excellent faceoff man, and its top
defenseman. Another returning starter on defense transfered out, and a top attackman left the school.
But, led by senior captain Dave Nesbit and junior captain goaltender
Christian Klimczyk, the Crusaders could be a factor
in the playoffs, yet again.
The Crusaders took league-leading Saint John’s Catholic Prep into double overtime before losing, 12 – 11. The Crusaders have knocked off Towson Catholic by the same score, as well as Baltimore Lutheran, by 11-9, over the past couple of weeks.
The Crusaders are 6-3 against the league with five games remaining, including a rematch with St. John’s.
Junior Dave Stark and seniors Pat Hathaway and Dan Phelan
are leading the offense from the attack position, providing threats to opponents who focus primarily on Nesbit.
Seniors Jason Preston and Hunter Truette have been stalwarts at midfield,
joined in the last week by sophomore Mike Dougherty, who began the year on the junior varsity. Doughterty, however, has notched seven goals in the last six varsity games, including a hat trick against Baltimore Lutheran.
Klimczyk anchors an aggressive, high-pressure defensive
corps led by Don Gould and Travis Mitchell. Senior Ryan Roth and
junior Will Foy round out the long stick unit.
The Crusaders play a pressure and gambling defense, having been a catalyst in the team’s fastbreak offense. Against Lutheran, for example, Foy and Gould
were credited with assists, and Preston had two assists.
In the Towson Catholic game, with the score tied at 11 with 27
seconds remaining, the Owls called time out to set up the potential game-winning play.
After the Crusader defense stopped the play, Klimczyk came up
with the ball with 12 seconds left. Following a long, outlet pass to Nesbit, the ensuing fast break resulted in Phelan’s scoring the game-winner off of a pass from Hathaway with four seconds left to play.
First-year coach Keith Reitenbach brings a lifetime of
lacrosse experience to the Crusaders’ sideline, and is determined to teach the Crusaders, in his words,
“the way the game was meant to be played.”
Reitenbach was a
member of the powerful Cornell University squads of the 1970’s. Among his assistants are Ralph Quillen and Matt Enoch, who share his love of the game, as well as the philosphies of spirited, fun, up-tempo lacrosse.
Quillen graduated from Towson High in 1991, from Essex in ’93, and from the University of Maryland in ’95. Enoch graduated from Loyola High in ’95, Essex in ’97, and Drexel in ’99.
The Crusaders look to win their next three weeks of games, particularly those on Friday, starting with St. John’s this week. Reitenbach coached St. John’s during its first three seasons in the MIAA, leading then St. John’s at Prospect Hall to the B Conference playoffs in 2004.
The Vikings’ current seniors were freshmen and
sophomores on Reitenbach’s St. John’s squads.
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