MCLA’s Cream of the Crop: California 2015 season preview

(Photo: Cal Lacrosse)

Last year, Cal was in contention for the WCLL’s automatic bid up until the conference’s toughest team, Cal Poly. It’s a new year, though, and the Golden Bears will be shooting for the conference title 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: 9-5

Postseason finish: WCLL Tournament Championship

Quick season recap: After a bumpy start through nine games that had this team at 4-5, the Golden Bears were able to right the ship and finish the regular season on a five-game winning streak, which led them into the WCLL championship game. There they would fall again to Cal Poly, who had already beaten them earlier in the season. Some performances during the year were eye-opening, such as two wins over Sonoma State and a pair of narrow losses to Colorado State and UC Santa Barbara. But a loss to Oregon State and an inability to contend with conference champion Cal Poly ended up sinking the Bears.

Roster losses: It’s on the defensive side that Cal will be ailing a bit, as defenseman Eric Soenksen graduated. A two-time WCLL 1st Team All-Conference selection and an honorable mention All-American last season, Soenksen will be sorely missed for a team that has relied on his defensive shutdown abilities for years. Attackman Sam Schloemer is gone from the team after tying for the team lead in assists (16), and a scoring threat in midfielder Peter Hamilton (13 goals) will also be missing. There’s nothing much being lost beyond that, as last year’s starting goalie Sam Stowe is back (although head coach Ned Webster wouldn’t commit to him being the starter, citing a “healthy goalie competition” as the current situation in net for Cal) and five of its six leaders in points are also returning.

This year

Who to watch for: Adam Parietti, senior defenseman

You might be asking yourself who Adam Parietti is, and if you look him up, you’ll notice that as a starting midfielder last year, his season total was only three points. But a new coach has brought a new mentality to the table, and one of the major positional shake-ups comes with Parietti, who picked up a long pole after starter Connor McLeod went down with injury. “It’s almost bittersweet,” Webster said. “I’m sorry he had to wait until his senior year of college to realize that’s the position he should be playing.” Parietti could offer some relief on the defensive side of the ball to help ease the loss of Soenksen as well as bolstering a balanced unit with goals of contending in a tough conference.

They’re dangerous if the moving pieces all fit together for a balance. A new head coach paired with a young offense (three freshmen – Nick Sheehan, Austin Shore, Max McKone – combined for 98 points in 2014) could mean an instant hit, especially if the defense can overcome its losses. Webster has experience at the NCAA level and his nine years at Dominican should help him to make the transition and turn Cal into a contender sooner rather than later. He’s already proven that he’s willing to make changes, as evidenced by the position change to Parietti that could pay dividends for the Golden Bears in 2015. “When you’re a first-year coach inheriting a program, you come in with fresh eyes, really trying to see where players fit,” Webster said. “Once we come back in the spring, [we’re going to just be] trying to develop that chemistry.” If that chemistry develops fast, there are a lot of pieces in place that can make this team a threat around the MCLA.

Achilles’ heel: No definitive answer at face-off specialist. It’s tough to orchestrate a team without a consistent performers this position. While there is the potential for talent there, (a rotation of players have been taking face-offs during the fall for Cal) it’s a crucial element to success. If there isn’t an emergence of talent, it could spell trouble for a Cal team that has many of the other factors already in place. A top-heavy schedule that includes match-ups against tough SLC foes Arizona State (Zack Handy, anybody?) and UC Santa Barbara in the first month of the season (along with a game against the always-dangerous Sonoma State) will challenge at the face-off X in particular, right out of the gate. However, if Webster can find a way to turn this weakness into a strength, even ASU and UCSB will have to be on the lookout when that Cal game comes up.

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.

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