(Photo: Indiana Lacrosse)
The Hoosiers secured a tournament berth in 2014 and have aspirations to do much more this season. Can they get it done? Midfield depth and a returning defense say yes, but a tough schedule and small conference woes say otherwise. 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: 8-3
Postseason finish: MCLA Tournament First Round
Quick season recap: The Hoosiers may not have played a tough schedule in terms of tough opponents, but aside from dropping the season opener to Michigan State (who finished the year ranked No. 7 in the country) and two games to UMLC foes (Minnesota-Duluth and Minnesota), they were without a scratch in conference play, winning all games against the GRLC to take the conference title and win the conference tournament, including two wins against Illinois. The season ended abruptly after Indiana entered the MCLA Tournament field as the No. 16 seed and was wiped out by top-seed Arizona State, 18-5.
Roster losses: Offensively, the biggest blow is the graduation of attackman Keegan McQuillan, who tallied 25 points last season. Beyond that, the next highest points-getter who’s graduated is Kurt Chessman, with 4. Don’t mistake that to mean this team will be completely without loss, though – a couple of crucial defensive midfielders are gone, as well as a starting defenseman. All in all though, this is a team that’s returning a stacked base. “We have something to prove, for sure,” head coach Pete Nelson said. “You bring back a huge core of your roster, which is nice.”
This year
Who to watch for: Ward Weber, senior goalie
Yes, midfielder Alexander Eaton is also on the team, and yes, he’s still one of the most dangerous players in the MCLA. But so long as he does what he’s done in years past, this program should be fine – it’s Ward Weber who will have a lot of pressure to step up into the tier of elite goalies in 2015. Last season, in his first year as a starter, Weber only allowed double-digit goals three times, all to ranked opponents (MSU and UMD and ASU). This year, he will be hard-pressed to repeat his quality 6.7 goals-allowed average and his 12.54 saves per game clip, given a very difficult schedule on the horizon for Indiana. But if he can command an experienced defense and continue to perform at a high level against tougher opponents in 2015, Indiana will find itself climbing in the polls.
They’re dangerous if their balance catches opponents off-guard. With a non-conference schedule that features several tournament contenders such as Michigan State, Boston College, Minnesota-Duluth, New Hampshire, and Pittsburgh, this is a team that will need to pull every trick possible out of its hat as the season progresses. “I like to think we’re the complete package,” Nelson said. “We bring back a lot of players at every position. Our offense is finally starting to mesh the way we want it to. Our defense is almost there.” If this team, which already showcased a strong balance during last year’s campaign, can strike a similar balance at a stronger level, it will be hard for opposing teams to prepare for. Just look at the points distribution from last year: six players above 25 points, no one above 43. It’s an offense that runs deep and should run even deeper this year with so many returners looking to make an impact. Defensively the Hoosiers can be stifling, with six games of five or fewer goals allowed (not to mention only allowing six goals to Illinois in the GRLC championship game). Putting all those pieces together could mean the difference for Indiana.
Achilles’ heel: Mental focus. Can this team embrace its opportunity to shine on a national scale? Last year, blowout losses to Michigan State and Minnesota-Duluth were a sign that this team wasn’t quite where it needed to be skills-wise to pull off upsets. This season, with so many returners and a coach that will now have his full attention on lacrosse (last year Pete Nelson coached both the hockey team and the lacrosse team at IU; this year he stepped down from his position with the hockey team to be able to focus solely on lacrosse), there’s a true chance for this team to pull off those upsets. But it’s not going to come easy. Nelson expressed discontentedness towards a fall ball routine that wasn’t taken seriously enough, and although the problem has been addressed, it’s a red flag going forward. If this team truly wants to turn heads around the country, it’ll need to come on the heels of concrete team mentality and focus.
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.
