(Photo: Cal Poly Lacrosse)
After a season that was considered a success up until an early exit from the tournament, the Cal Poly Mustangs are eyeing another WCLL title with even deeper tournament aspirations in 2015. This is part of an ongoing series during which we will focus on one of the MCLA’s top teams each day, counting down till Christmas to the true “cream of the crop.”
Last year
Record: 10-5
Postseason finish: MCLA Tournament First Round
Quick season recap: In a crucial year for the program following a disappointing 2013 season (where the team finished under .500 and missed the tournament for the first time since 2008), Cal Poly climbed its way back into the national spotlight. Despite tough losses to SMU and Westminster, the Mustangs were consistently holding opponents close as a product of tough defense. Throughout the season’s 18 games (including the postseason), this team only allowed one opponent to reach double digit goals (Chapman). Only two teams in the country allowed fewer goals per game. After a regular season that set Cal Poly up with the top seed in the WCLL Tournament, the Mustangs rolled their way through the field and snagged the conference’s lone berth in the MCLA Tournament, earning themselves a rematch with UC Santa Barbara, a team they’d lost to earlier in the year. Just as in the first meeting, it came down to the wire with a one-goal differential, and it was once more Cal Poly on the losing end.
Roster losses: Attackman Dylan Gonsalves and midfielder Matt Dobbs combined for 79 points last season, a dynamic pair that will require head coach Marc Lea to have other players step up on that side of the field. “Gonsalves will be difficult to replace,” Lea said. “He had an ability to drive the ball to the goal himself, even through two or three defenders.” Beyond those two, it was a pair of midfielders that are graduating who will leave a hole in need of being filled at the position. Tim Albo and Sean Curtis both recorded double-digit point totals last season. Defensively, this team will be looking to fill the shoes left behind by defenseman Sebastian Zorn, an honorable mention All-American last season who made the All-WCLL team for three consecutive years. However, all in all, there will be high expectations for a team that’s returning much of its stellar defensive core, particularly starting goalie Sean Pihl, who led this team to the tournament as just a freshman.
This year
Who to watch for: Joseph Sarjeant, senior attackman
Maybe it’s the obvious pick, as Sarjeant led the team in points last year with 53. He was also tied for 10th in the country (and finished second in the WCLL) with his 32 assists. The reason that Sarjeant should be considered a legitimate threat is because of his drastic improvement from season to season. His freshman year, he posted 10 goals and one assist. A year later, the point total rose to 21, as his assists saw a dramatic leap to nine. And then he sprouted onto the national scene with last year’s numbers. “Sarjeant has improved more than any player I’ve ever had over the course of his four years,” Lea said of the senior. If his improvement continues on its scale into this season, he could very well find himself in the postseason awards conversation. Expect fellow attackman Jake Sesti (who scored 20 goals as a freshman) to benefit from Sarjeant’s superior distributing abilities.
They’re dangerous if the defensive returning unit can pick up the pace from last year. With the minimal goals-allowed average from last year, led by senior defenseman Luke Willon, senior long-stick midfielder Chris Nespor, and sophomore goalie Sean Pihl, this team is the outright favorite in the WCLL. A shutdown defender in Willon can go a long way to stopping the likes of in-conference superstars like Sonoma State’s Brad Bochesa and Cal’s Nick Sheehan. Holding tough offenses at bay is something that will open the door to a deep tournament run. 2014’s track record is a great indication for the future, as Cal Poly held BYU to five goals, Virginia Tech to six goals, and UCSB to six goals on two occasions. That type of defensive dominance is unprecedented, and if it can expand across the course of an entire season there is little doubt that the Mustangs can return to the contending conversation. “This year could be one of our best teams ever,” Lea said. Keep in mind this is the same coach of Cal Poly’s 2012 team, which made it all the way to the MCLA championship game with an incredible finishing record of 21-2.
Achilles’ heel: Pulling wins out of close games. Only four Cal Poly games all season were decided by three goals or less, and all four (SMU, BYU, UCSB twice) resulted in a loss for the Mustangs. If this team wants to repeat in the WCLL and contend nationally, it will need to learn how to win these narrow finishes. “The key for us will be performing in those close games,” Lea said. “We’re gonna play in plenty of close games, especially the ones that matter.” Nothing stings quite more than the closest game of the season, a double-overtime loss to UCSB in the first round of the MCLA Tournament. If Cal Poly can find a way to start winning these games, it’s a team that will absolutely find itself with a chance to chase down the crown in 2015.
Trey Lanthier is a lacrosse reporter and editor at WCSN, as well as a contributor for Inside Lacrosse. You can reach him at treylanthier@gmail.com or on Twitter, @TreyLanthier.
