RIVERSIDE HIGH SCHOOL LACROSSE 2004, DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA

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Pirates will work on recipe for 'mystery dish' in 2008

By Coach Jim Kirkley
If you want to bake a prize-winning dish, it helps to have all the right ingredients. But have you ever had one of those days, where you just had to start with whatever was in the cupboard? You end up with a "mystery dish" which might be delectable, or might be slightly harder on your stomach. This year's version of the Pirates qualifies as a "mystery dish."

Let's see. Take away nine of your ten starters, your top six scorers and over 86 percent of your goals. Put together a team that includes 16 players up from the jayvee, three freshmen and one sophomore who has never played lacrosse before. Add in twelve lettermen, of whom only three have ever started a game, and who accounted for the grand total of 26 goals last year.

Mix it all together, bake in a pressure cooker called the Pac VI, pull it out in two months, and see what you've got. Let me see ... Could be a rebuilding year? Could be a surprising year? Even though playing in the toughest conference in the state makes it certain no one will be predicting a championship for the Pirates this year, youth and a lack of "seasoning" makes any prediction no more reliable than knowing what your "mystery dish" will taste like. But let's take a look at the available ingredients.

Defense

Although the defense is the oldest and deepest unit in terms of the number of seniors and does have the one returning starter from last year, it still is not settled who the starting unit will be, and it is highly likely that several players will fill those roles. Only senior co-captain Zack Brown, who was first team All State last year, is assured of a starting position. Senior Clark Harrison (6GBs/11 LBCs), who started several games last year and has the most experience other than Zack, has a strong shot at filling one spot.

Returning seniors Brian Juranas and Will Boone are also in the running along with juniors Jack Ratcliffe and Kyle Tom. Juniors Matt Marsee and Jesse Hardin will fill reserve roles within the defense. All of the juniors were on the jayvee last year. In the early going the defense will probably have to handle more than their share of the heat in the oven while the rest of the team learns.

In Goal

The Pirates have age in the goal, but not a lot of varsity playing experience. The starting goalie spot will be filled by senior Bryan Rooney (43 saves/ 34 goals/ .558 save pct.) who started four games for the Pirates last year. However Rooney missed his whole sophomore season with an injury. He is quick between the pipes and has worked hard to improve his outlet passes, so his goalie play could serve to be a highlight for the Pirates. He will have to maintain his cool or the Pirates will end up charred. Rooney will be backed up by fellow senior Erik Summers who started every game for the jayvee last year and sported a lofty .716 save percentage.

Midfield

The midfield unit is a mix of age without a depth of varsity experience, and youth with none. Senior co-captains Clayton Abbott (10g/5a) and Sam Cordones (10g/6a) anchor the unit, although Cordones has been limited in the preseason due to a back ailment, and it is not definite when he will be available for full duty. They need to show leadership and poise for this year's team to be a cohesive unit.

Senior Mike Schwartz (2g/1a) will handle most of the face-off duties this year after winning 55 percent last year when he took about half of the Pirate face-offs. He is joined by senior David Swift who saw limited action at the end of last year in a defensive role, senior Alex Rand who has been the most improved player in the preseason, and senior Alex Starnes.

The underclassmen, who were all either on the jayvee or in middle school last year, will play a huge role on the midfield. Juniors Robert Walton, who will help with the face-off duties, and rangy Michael Anspach have shown tremendous promise in the early going and need to be effective if the Pirates are going to be successful. Sophomore John Austin, and junior Laine Close will also see significant playing time. Sophomore Steven Greer, the starting safety on the football team, is new to the game of lacrosse, but his athleticism, speed and toughness have already earned him playing time, and big things are expected from him. Sophomore Joe Weitz is temporarily sidelined from a skiing accident, but he should be in the top two midfields once he returns. Brad Hinkle is the only freshmen on the midfield, but he is talented and is quickly adjusting to playing at the high school level. As he does, he will certainly see more and more playing time. With the unknowns, the midfield units are still being mixed together without any set recipe.

LSM

Junior Jack Marshall (18gbs/25lbcs) shared the long-stick middie position last year and gets the starting nod this year. He will be backed up by speedy sophomore Ruben Garcia and junior Lance McGhee, who both played the position on the jayvee last year. Garcia has shown great promise because of his athleticism, but needs to adjust to defending better players at the varsity level. Still, he has a lot of potential and could really stir things up.

Attack

The attack is the youngest unit on the field, and the smallest. The only returning varsity player is junior Alex Spathis who scored two goals on a total of six shots last season. Freshman Carson Sterling will be starting in one of the other spots and he will be joined either by fellow freshman Peter Ratcliffe or sophomore Ben Bortner, a lanky lefthander. It is likely that all four of these guys will see significant time in a rotation. The freshmen duo of Sterling and Ratcliffe show tremendous potential, and if they can stay healthy and learn from this season, they give the Pirates a lot of hope for the future.

Senior Eric Bircher will be backing the unit up along with junior Ian Domino. It will be crucial for the Pirates that this young attack unit is not overwhelmed in the early going. If they can adapt to the varsity level of play over the first part of the year, they could spice things up in the second half.

New Coaches

The biggest reason for expecting the "mystery dish" to be tasty is the return of two former Pirate standouts to the coaching staff. Cory Coffman, who was a high school All American in 2003, two-time first team All State, three time first team all conference and Pac VI Player of the Year in 2003, returns to take over the offensive coaching duties. Cory just finished his collegiate playing career with Loyola, where he was a starting middie.

Joining Cory is Ned Phillips, who was first team all conference and All State in 2002 after only picking up lacrosse in his junior year. The long stick middie then went on to play four years at Goucher College and will now be handling the defensive unit.

These guys bring a wealth of experience and a love for teaching the game of lacrosse to the program. Without any doubt, the Pirates have the right cooks in the kitchen.

Enjoy the meal

So, sit back and enjoy the process while the dish simmers. Feast or famine, we’ll still have a banquet at the end.

This site, rhslacrosse.com, is the unofficial Web page of the Riverside High School Pirates lacrosse team. It is for the enjoyment of parents and supporters, as well as any lacrosse fans who stumble upon it. If you have a comment about the Web page, e-mail to . If you'd like to contact Riverside's lacrosse coach, e-mail to .