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

(Photo: Westminster Lacrosse)

It’s tough to imagine any fourth-place team in its own division having true tournament aspirations, but Westminster was able to snag a bid in 2014, its inaugural season as a Division 1 program. Can the Griffins start to climb their way up within the RMLC and among the MCLA’s best teams? 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: 10-4

Postseason finish: MCLA Tournament First Round

Quick season recap: In the program’s first year at the MCLA Division 1 level, head coach Mason Goodhand wasted no time familiarizing this team with the top talent in the league. It was a bold move, and it paid off. The team was immediately immersed in the intensely competitive RMLC, but with an out-of-conference schedule that featured big wins against UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly, the Griffins were able to make the MCLA Tournament despite finishing fourth in their own conference. The only blip on the schedule as a game that got away was a home loss to Arizona, and even that can be forgiven to some extent, given that it was a team that finished the season ranked No. 15. The first round generated an excellent match-up between Westminster and Boston College, who played right down to the wire in a game that could have gone either team’s way, as BC was able to sneak out a one-goal victory.

Roster losses: Midfielder Collin Madsen will be the most glaring loss off of this roster. He pulled off a rare feat, with First Team All-American wins at both the Division 2 and Division 1 levels, in 2013 and 2014 respectively, and the accolades were well-deserved. His three-year career at Westminster ended in the spring with 201 career points, giving him a stellar average of 3.59 per game. Madsen was also revered for his qualities as a leader. “We graduated a kid who was the heart and soul of our program,” Goodhand said of Madsen. “Having a player like that leave is always tough, but we have more ready to step up and play.” Beyond him, the only offensive loss is attackman Kevin Gee, who totaled 29 points last season. On the other side of things, the biggest change will be the transition in front of the net. Goalie Chris Burckle has departed after holding the fort as the starter for the past three seasons, and although his statistical effectiveness dipped last season (8.27 GAA compared to his career 5.44 mark) as the team transitioned to Division 1, his experience and composure will be gone. Defensive midfielder Jeff Peters will be missed as a decorated short-stick defender (First Team All-American at the Division 2 level in 2011). Defenseman Joaquin Mixco, one of last year’s captains, will also be gone.

This year

Who to watch for: Josh Holland, junior midfielder

It’s hard to look past Holland, who scored 44 goals as a sophomore. And to think, he didn’t even lead his team in points (Senior attackman Kyle Postler held that honor). This is a potential breakout year for the junior, who will have the benefit of leading a busy midfield with the best defensive attention likely being allocated to Postler. If Holland can take advantage of the space he’s given and improve as a distributor to find some balance in his game (after posting 44 goals and 19 assists last season), there’s a good chance you could be hearing his name in awards conversations late in the season. Look for fellow midfielders Elias Fairman and Eric Crosby to get more involved in helping to shoulder the load of the work that the departure of Madsen leaves open. Jake Berard could also be a beneficiary, as the team’s primary face-off man and a capable midfielder, coming off of a solid freshman campaign during which he scored 11 goals.

They’re dangerous if the rate of improvement continues based on the strides this program took last year. It’s hard to believe that this team was cutting its way through the Division 2 field as recently as 2013, but it’s apparent that the Griffins are here to stay at the Division 1 level. “We’re close,” Goodhand said. “One-goal losses in the first round to a team that took the No. 1-seed to a one-goal game the next day tells us we’re close.” (Goodhand was referring to Boston College’s narrow finish with top-seeded Arizona State in the second round.) The short-term target has to be climbing in the RMLC standings, but it won’t be easy amidst the dynasties that reside in it – Colorado, BYU, and Colorado State are all teams that consistently reload and field championship-caliber teams. However, as Westminster proved last year, the Griffins can hang tough with the best of them (losing by margins of three on the road against both BYU and Colorado). This year, after not losing too much of the team’s core, the experience could put Westminster in the contending conversation.

Achilles’ heel: Surviving the RMLC. As mentioned above, the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Conference is a brutal, savage regular season. The depth of experienced and disciplined teams that can be both physically punishing and mentally exhausting is astonishing. For Westminster to reach the tournament once more, it’s going to have to survive what is arguably the MCLA’s most competitive conference for the second consecutive year, which is far easier said than done. Goodhand will need to have this team prepared for the long haul if the team truly has championship aspirations.

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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