With the first week of
practice and first scrimmage in the books I figure it’s time to give a little
update on where we’re at heading into 2011.
We were able to have a
solid first week of practice with two practices indoors and three outside on a
full field. With 59 guys coming out for
the team this year we were spending more time evaluating this first week than
we normally do and also took a lot of time to get everyone through each
drill. We’ve been able to make a first
round of cuts but will have one more round in store after this weekend.
The highlight of our
scrimmage yesterday down in Schenectady was the return of Gary “Force” Forcier to the team after having his season cut short last
year. Gary had shoulder surgery last
spring but is doing well and we’re glad to have him back. Many of you know Gary but for those who
don’t, he’s been our bus driver for over 15 years and has become part of the
team during his time with us.
As for the scrimmage itself,
I thought Union played pretty well and the video confirmed that last
night. They have some nice attackmen and
are good finishers inside. As for our
group, we have some good depth on the defensive end this year and I believe
we’ll be a formidable defense by the time we get into our regular season. Matt Rayner, Henry
Clark, Chris Mejia, and Johnny Duvnjak all did some
good things for us in the first half at close defense.
Offensively, sophomore
Stew Kerr came in during the 2nd half and had a hand in 4 of our last 5
goals. He is making a strong push to get
on the field this year. As for our
starters, we know David Hild is going to score some
goals for us this year and put a few on the board yesterday. Tim Cahill who’s been inside for us the past
few years was held scoreless and Darren Schuefele had
a nice goal off a dodge from x in the first half. Another guy to keep an eye on at attack is
freshman Griff McGoldrick
(Fairfield Prep, CT). Griff is 6’5, is very skilled and also moves well for such
a big guy. My guess is that we’ll have
to find a way to get him on the field this year.
In the midfield we’ll have
some new faces on the field this year.
The guy who got us on the board for the first time yesterday was
freshman Quinn Cronan (BB&N, MA). Quinn is a 6-1, 195lb middie
who will be on the field as a d-middie and perhaps
get some offensive runs for us this year.
Sophomore Erich Pfeffer finished last season
on a good note and looks to be picking up right where he left off, he was 2,1 yesterday. Seniors Andrew Conner and Brooks Toth have also looked good in practice and will get plenty
of time in the midfield this year.
Finally, freshman George Curtis will also find a way onto the field this
year. He has great wheels, a good motor,
and will be able to contribute on the offensive or defensive end.
The other performance
worth noting from yesterday came from freshman goalie Nate Gaudio
(Cheshire, CT). We finally got Nate into
the scrimmage yesterday in the 5th quarter as we were trying to get everyone in
off the bench. He saw a lot of rubber
(16 shots) in the quarter but made some great saves.
Overall it was clear from
the scrimmage yesterday that we need to pick up our intensity in practice and
be a better team getting the ball off the ground. The reason we schedule these scrimmages early
on in the season is to see where we’re at and what we need to work on as we get
ready for our opener. I think Union
showed us exactly what we need to be doing and it was the best thing for our
team going forward. After watching the
film I was surprised to see that the score ended up being 10-9 with Union
scoring the go ahead goal in the 5th quarter.
Union had built up a nice lead throughout the scrimmage (6-2 at one
point) and it felt like we were still down by a few goals when the whistle
blew. As Rit
always says, you’re never as good as you think you are and you’re never as bad
either. With a day off today I think
we’ll find out all we need to know about this team on Tuesday when we get back
after it.
Next up is a scrimmage
against St. Lawrence this weekend. We’ve
had some good runs with them the past few years and I wouldn’t expect this year
to be any different.