Posted: Apr 29, 2008

ATTLEBORO SUN CHRONICLE FEATURE: STICK FIGURE

ATTLEBORO SUN CHRONICLE

Stick figure

BY PETER GOBIS SUN CHRONICLE STAFF

SMITHFIELD, RI - A few weeks ago Connor Hayes caught a glimpse of what the upcoming NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championships at Gillette Stadium over the Memorial Day weekend might be like.

Hayes, the former Mansfield High record-setting attackman, is now whirling his lacrosse stick as a member of the Bryant College Bulldogs, ranked No. 3 nationally.

"My parents, a lot of my friends were there, I remember looking up in the stands," related Hayes after practice Monday of that meeting with Merrimack in early April before several thousand fans assembled for a doubleheader.

"The atmosphere, being in the stadium and out on the field looking up, it was awesome and to think we might be able to be there again in a few weeks, that would really be awesome," beamed Hayes.

Bryant could certainly be in Foxboro May 24-26 among the field assembled for the NCAA Division II Final Four, in addition to the very best of the collegiate Division I and III teams.

All the lacrosse world will be assembling in Foxboro for the weekend series of games. Ask anyone who has ever been to Baltimore or Philadelphia or anywhere the NCAA Lacrosse Championships have been held and it is a very, very special event.

Over 50 percent of the nearly 50,000 seats sold for the series have been to New Englanders, but the NCAA Lacrosse Committee has sold seats to fans from 40 states, Australia, England, Bermuda and Germany.

This will be the 38th Division I Championship, the 24th Division II Championship and the 29th Division III Championship.

The fields for each of the three divisions will be filled this weekend, Sunday being Selection Day. First round matches will be held May 10-11, quarterfinals listed for May 17-18.

Then it's on to Foxboro.

The last time that New England hosted an NCAA Lacrosse Tournament was in 1985 and before that in 1976, Brown University hosting the Division I series.

Entering this week, Syracuse (12-1), Duke (15-1), Virginia (12-3) and Georgetown (9-3) were the respective top four teams in the U.S. Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association's Division I poll with UMaryland-Baltimore (10-3), Johns Hopkins (6-5), Notre Dame (11-2), Cornell (10-3) and Maryland (8-5) rounding out the top eight.

Syracuse beat UMass last weekend, and Duke outlasted Virginia (11-9) for the Atlantic Coast Conference title. Cornell might have the inside track on the Ivy League title, but in Providence on Saturday, Brown (10-3, 4-1) will host Princeton for a possible a share of the crown.

Bryant (12-3, 9-1) is nationally ranked only behind Lemoyne (13-0) and New York Institute of Technology (11-0). C.W. Post is No. 4 at 10-3 in this week's USILA Division II poll.

In Division III, Salisbury (Md.) is 19-0 and ranked No. 1, followed by Gettysburg (13-2), Cortland State (13-1) and Washington College (12-2).

Bryant has reeled off nine-straight wins and will be the No. 2 seed for the Northeast 10 Conference Tournament, the Bulldogs to be hosting on Friday the winner of the Merrimack-Bentley quarterfinal round match.

"That would be something if we'd meet Lemoyne for the league championship and again for the national championship," said Hayes of the possible matchup. Should Bryant win Friday, that could set up a Northeast 10 title match Sunday in Baltimore at Lemoyne.

Hayes has had a solid rookie season at Bryant, having seven goals and three assists in 12 matches, mostly playing in "man up" situations. Hayes underwent MCL surgery during the fall to clean up some loose tissue left over from his Hornet days.

It's not just Baltimore, Long Island or upstate New York that are the hotbeds of lacrosse. Hayes is a product of the nurturing of New England lacrosse fields. Sixty-nine colleges in New England have lacrosse programs and over 800 players on those rosters are from Massachusetts according to the USILA.

Massachusetts is also home to three of the primary stockpilers of lacrosse equipment, Brine, Reebok and New Balance.

Bryant has moved into the mainstream of the national intercollegiate lacrosse world as a result of the hiring of former Duke University coach Mike Pressler two years ago in the wake of his termination from the wrongfully-accused, scandal-scarred Blue Devil program.

Since taking over the Bulldog program, Pressler, a three-time ACC Coach of the Year during his 16 years at Duke (with a 100 percent graduation rate for his players), directed Bryant to a 9-0 Northeast 10 record last year and a No. 4 ranking nationally.

"He goes out of his way for everybody," said Hayes of Pressler imparting his wisdom and advice for Bulldog players. "He makes sure that you understand things, what you did wrong and how to fix it."

Hayes helped the Hornets win three straight Hockomock League titles and he totaled nearly 200 goals for then Mansfield High coach Craig Juelis. Selected to the Massachusetts Coaches Association all-star team and having played at the elite club level for years, Hayes was exposed to top flight competition.

But, at the collegiate level, the very best of high school players locally are thrust into competing with the very best regional players for varsity minutes. "It's a lot of work, it's tough, it makes you understand that nothing's for free," said Hayes.

He was slowed by his knee injury during the fall "preseason" workouts and is still not at 100 percent, likely to undergo off-season surgery.

"The kids at this level, these are the kids that were high school All-Americans, they're all standout kids," said Hayes. Junior Bryan Kaufman of Putnam Valley, N.Y. now has 108 career goals as a Bulldog; junior Kevin Hoagland of Glastonbury, Conn. has 41 goals this season; freshman Gary Crowley of Scituate scored a career-best four goals against Southern New Hampshire.

"Everyone is real good, we practice six days a week so that everything we do becomes second nature," added Hayes. "Even when I don't get a chance to play, I understand."

What Hayes and the Bulldogs understand is that the task of becoming NCAA Division II national champion is at hand and could be taken just down the road in a few weeks.

And it could be a rematch of the likely Northeast 10 Conference championship match between the Bulldogs and Lemoyne. "If everything goes well, we could be back in Foxboro," said Hayes. "That would be amazing to be part of it. I remember how cool it was to play at Gillette a few weeks ago.

"To have 40-50,000 or more fans there, that would be awesome. That'll be a real home game for me."

PETER GOBIS can be reached at 508-236-0375 or at pgobis@thesunchronicle.com.