January 5, 2010
Top 9 stories of '09
by George Martins/
The college game and New England were back in the spotlight for a second straight year. Syracuse dramatically claimed its second straight men’s Division 1 title, bringing a fitting end to an extended and eventful championship weekend at Gillette Stadium. It was the second straight year the men’s showcase event was held in Foxborough. New England men’s teams, absent in 2008, were back in the tourney in ’09 (thank you, Brown and UMass), and eight players from Massachusetts helped Northwestern’s women win a fifth national crown. In the pro leagues, the Blazers returned with a bang but the Cannons’ season ended in frustration. “The way it ended leaves a bitter taste in my mouth,” said Sean Morris after the Cannons’ semifinal loss to Denver — the team’s seventh one-goal loss in seven defeats in 2009. “I will definitely feed off that [in 2010]. I think the core of the team will be back and we will have what it takes to compete for a championship.”
1: TWO OF A KIND: SYRACUSE AND FOXBOROUGH
For the second year in a row, Gillette Stadium played host to men’s championship weekend, and for the second year in a row, Syracuse earned the NCAA Division 1 crown, scoring with four seconds to play to force overtime en route to stunning Cornell in the final. But perhaps the biggest winner was Foxborough. Approximately 100,000 fans (more than six times the town’s population) attended games during what was the NCAA’s second-largest event of the year, trailing only the men’s D1 basketball Final Four (also played in a football stadium). Not bad for Year 2 far from lacrosse’s “hotbeds.’’ And after getting acclimated, folks from Maryland and Long Island seemed to take a shine to Norfolk County. We’ll see you again in 2012.
2: HUB OF GREATNESS
What do Paul Rabil and Dan Dawson have in common, other than the fact that each brings incomparable skills to his version of the sport? In 2009, each was a league MVP, and New England fans are fortunate that both represent Boston teams. The Cannons’ Rabil, MLL’s best player, led the league in scoring with 53 points after a 34-point rookie season. Eight-year NLL veteran Dawson recorded 30 goals and a league-record 74 assists while helping the Blazers earn a playoff berth in their inaugural season.
3: US WOMEN ARE WORLD-BEATERS
Since the United States last won the women’s World Cup in 2001, Kristen Kjellman of Westwood, Mass., had won three national titles with Northwestern, two of which were accomplished with Sarah Albrecht of Braintree, Mass., by her side. In Prague last June, the two helped make sure there was nothing Kafkaesque about the US national team’s visit, each being named All-World and helping their country avenge a final loss to Australia in Maryland four years earlier. Sarah Bullard (Duke, Class of 2011) of Needham, Mass., and former Dartmouth College standouts Whitney Douthett and Devon Wills also were golden.
4: SOUR AND SWEET IN DUXBURY
They finally lost, but they inevitably won. New England powerhouse Duxbury (Mass.) High rode a roller coaster before, during, and after the 2009 season. The one constant: the Green Dragons were Massachusetts Division 1 boys’ champs, capturing their sixth straight crown by beating St. John’s Prep, with Notre Dame-bound senior Quinn Cully leading the way with six goals. En route to that game, however, Duxbury lost to the Prep, snapping a string of 99 consecutive victories over MIAA foes. The victory celebration was short, too; amid complaints about player selection, coach Chris Sweet’s contract wasn’t going to be renewed. But upon further review, Sweet will be back, which should make Duxbury a team to watch again in 2010.
5: RETURN MEN ENJOYED KICKOFF
The Blazers returned to Boston last year and they return to our top New England stories list this year because they lived up to their promise and exceeded it. Dan Dawson’s dominance, Mitch Belisle’s home opener hit (nearly 50,000 YouTube views and counting), two goals in the last 10 seconds to snatch a victory from the Titans in one of the indoor sport’s best games, and the playoff berth were memorable, as was the Blazers’ connection to the community. The team runs a program that educates Boston-area students about the sport, inspires them to achieve goals, and stresses teamwork, leadership, and healthy lifestyles. Doing their part to help sell their product, 13 members of the 24-man roster relocated to Boston for the 2009 season.
6: HIGH SCHOOL CONTROVERSIES
Sadly, some of the biggest high school headlines had nothing to do with stellar play. In Billerica, Mass., coach Chris Burns resigned in September after a cell phone video surfaced showing him in a boxing match with one of his players. Burns led his team to a state title in 2008. In Duxbury, Mass., after complaints about player selection, it looked as if Chris Sweet wouldn’t be rehired after leading his team to a sixth straight state title. But many in the community rallied in support of the coach and, reportedly, he will return. In New Hampshire, an illegal hit by a Pinkerton Academy defenseman left a Bishop Guertin midfielder with a Grade 2 concussion, prompted officials to stop the game, and inflamed a heated rivalry. The defenseman received a spearing penalty for the hit, which left the Guertin player motionless in the immediate aftermath and brought several teammates to tears.
7: DIVISION 1 SUCCESSES
Boosted by the addition of former Duke star Zack Greer, who tied the D1 career points mark, and guided by former Blue Devils coach Mike Pressler, Bryant went 10-5 in its first season in the top flight. Over at Harvard, John Tillman’s makeover has the Crimson poised to become an Ivy contender. In the women’s game, Boston University, UMass, and Fairfield made the tournament. To the surprise of no one, the women’s crown was lifted for a fifth straight time by Northwestern, which featured eight players from Massachusetts. Meredith Frank (Westwood) and Caitlin Jackson (Norwell) were members of four NCAA championship teams coached by Massachusetts’ Kelly Amonte Hiller (Hingham).
8: CANNONS WINS AND LOSSES
In a sense, the Cannons were a feel-good story of the year. Matt Poskay returned from a bout with testicular cancer. MLL MVP Paul Rabil, who is hard of hearing, was named the National Cued Speech Association’s first national spokesman. On the field, however, the Cannons (6-7) will have to try to forget their seven one-goal losses, or use them as inspiration this year. Three of those defeats came in their final four games, including a playoff loss to Denver. In each of those losses the team squandered fourth-quarter leads.
9: U.S. MEN ARMED WITH CANNONS
When the United States men take the field at the world championships in Manchester, England, in July, they will have plenty of familiar weapons in their arsenal: Cannons, to be precise. Five players from Boston’s 2009 roster (Paul Rabil, Ryan Boyle, Kevin Cassese, Kyle Sweeney, and Ryan McClay) made the final cut, as did Blazers first-round pick Max Seibald. Team USA will be coached by Bryant boss Mike Pressler. In 2006, Canada ended a six-tournament run of world titles by the US.
