2013 Colgate Lacrosse Player Blog: Keeping the Train Rolling

May 20, 2012; Chester, PA USA; Colgate Raiders head coach Mike Murphy stands on the sidelines against Duke Blue Devils during the first half of the NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Quarterfinals at PPL Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

The 2013 season is here and we wanted to work closely with college programs to bring a part of the excitement to you. Throughout the 2013 season we will highlight lacrosse programs on our space for all of our readers to follow. Player blogs serve as a unique outlet for programs to showcase their season as it develops, plus highlight everything they have to offer a student-athlete. In contrast, families and fans get a glimpse into the program’s athletic and academic regimen.

Benjamin Shapiro
Senior – #19 – Midfield
Colgate Lacrosse

After settling our score with Vermont last weekend we were on to the Dartmouth Big Green who handed us our first loss last season. The loss was a memorable one because of the few defeats we faced last season, and most importantly because of the heavy snow the game was played in. The green turf on Tyler’s Field was unrecognizable during the second half of that loss to Dartmouth but both teams had to battle through the tough conditions, and it was Dartmouth who came out on top. True winners do not make excuses after a loss, and to our fortune we were able to prove to ourselves and The Big Green that we are the better team and can succeed in any environment, as once again snowy conditions were on tap for the rematch in Hanover.

The practice week kicked off on Monday as usual with our meeting before practice to wrap up the Vermont Week. Yours truly #19 earned practice player of the week honors, while not surprisingly #27 Brendan “Canner” McCann received the player of the game award after he netted 5 goals against the Catamounts. Similar to how we started off last week, we had another scrum with parameters to end practice. The scrum displayed great goalie play from all three net minders. I believe only one actually goal was scored throughout the 20 minute scrimmage, with the white team coming out on top with some help from the specific parameter goals. On Tuesday we began our preparation for Dartmouth in what turned out to be a snowy and wet practice on Andy Kerr. Despite the harsh conditions practice remained crisp and played at a high energy level, which little did we know would prove to be beneficial towards our upcoming game on Saturday. The weather took a turn for the worst later in the week forcing us to practice inside on Wednesday and Thursday.

This gave us the opportunity to work on individual skill work and 6 on 6 play. Both days one of my favorite drills The Mineola Drill was on the practice plan, allowing both our offensive and defensive units to practice 6 on 6 play against one another, and against the scout teams who were implementing Dartmouth’s style of play. The team’s still talking about my Deion Sanders “Primetime” dance after nuggeting a pass and clearing the ball during The Mineola Drill. Anyway that’s enough about me for this blog. Friday the weather cleared up and allowed us to have another pregame practice outside. I was reminded thoroughly on Friday from Alumni, teammates and the coaching staff that the opening drill to our pre game practice is “Full Fots” (Full Field Over The Shoulders) and not “Full Farts” as I wrote in last week’s blog. After Friday’s practice it was Senior Mike “The Hoover” Thomas’ chance to break down the team before we departed for Dartmouth. While admittedly Mike was “out of his comfort zone” he did a great job pumping up the boys for a pay back game against the Ivy League Opponent.

The Colgate Road Show left for Hanover after practice at 4:30 and had a strong comeback week movie wise as we watched Green Street Hooligans and Looper. For dinner we stopped in Albany at “The Macaroni Grill” where the Italian restaurant seemed to be serving “French” sized portion meals. Luckily Mrs. Murphy left us with baked treats before we left and we were able to enjoy them for desert as we continued our trip. Also we were able to celebrate Brendan McCann’s 21st birthday at the restaurant, as the waiters were kind enough to bring him a small chocolate cake with a candle. We arrived at our hotel around 10:30, and after the team gathered some snacks, we were in our rooms getting ready for bed

Wakeup calls were at 9 o’clock with a 9:30 breakfast before the 1 P.M. game. Scouting repots were handed in and we loaded the bus en route to the Dartmouth campus. After situating ourselves in the small visitor’s team locker room we geared up and got ready for the game. As I have been alluding to throughout the blog, once we came out for our second and final warm up the snow began to fall. It seemed to pick up as the game progressed, lightening up a little towards the end of the game. Here it was, same opponent, same weather conditions, and a chance for us to prove that we are the better team. The game got off to a slow start with a low scoring first quarter. Senior Matt “Bakes” Baker started off our scoring with a goal early in the period, getting him on the board for the 2013 season. In what was an up and down first half we closed it out with a 6-5 lead. Similar to Vermont we began to pull away in the second half with well rounded scoring led by Brendan McCann and Peter “Tewey” Baum. Dartmouth hung tough and remained in striking range throughout the game, but in the end we prevailed with a 13-10 victory.

Once again we came away with another solid victory on the road. We may have not been at our best consistently throughout the game, but we came away with a win. Offensively it was nice to see well rounded goal scoring from our attackmen and midfielders, while at the defensive end Bobby “Rattlesnake” Lawrence and Jimmy Queeney had solid games. After another great tailgate with the parents, highlighted by Frank Brown’s southern style pulled chicken sandwiches, we were back on the bus heading home to Colgate. While we will have the night to celebrate the victory I know our next opponent is square on everyone’s mind. It will be our first chance to play a top five team this season as we travel to Ithaca to take on The Cornell Big Red.

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