No. 22 Men’s Lacrosse Opens with No. 5 Hoyas – Ohio State Buckeyes
2/23/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
Feb. 23, 2001
%^$COLUMBUS, Ohio — The No. 22 Ohio State men’s lacrosse team (0-0, 0-0 GWLL) opens its regular season at 1 p.m. Saturday when it plays host to No. 5 Georgetown (0-0, 0-0 ECAC) at the North Turf Field at Woody Hayes Athletic Center. It is the season-opener for both squads.%^$
%^$The Rankings
%^$The Buckeyes were ranked No. 22 in the 2001 Face-Off Lacrosse Preseason Coaches’ Poll. Georgetown was No. 5 in the poll.%^$
%^$OSU’s Captains
%^$Seniors John DeLucia and Greg Zytkowski and juniors Peter Dillon and Kevin Stephan are serving as the Buckeyes’ captains this season.%^$
%^$The Series
%^$Ohio State and Georgetown have met once. In 1982, the Buckeyes posted an 11-7 victory over the Hoyas in Washington, D.C.%^$
%^$Scouting the Hoyas
%^$Georgetown, a member of the ECAC, enters the game ranked fifth in the nation by Faceoff Magazine. The squad is led by tri-captains senior defenseman Rodger Colbert, senior midfielder Scott Doyle and senior attackman Mike Henehan. All three athletes were named Preseason All-Americans by Face-Off Yearbook.%^$
%^$The Hoyas’ Coach
%^$Dave Urick is in his 12th season at the helm for the Hoyas. His record at Georgetown is 105-45, while his career mark in 21 seasons is 227-75.%^$
%^$The Schedule
%^$As always, the Buckeyes face a daunting schedule this season. The squad, ranked No. 22 in the preseason poll, opens the year with No. 5 Georgetown and faces six teams ranked in the preseason Top 25, including three of the Top 5 squads, throughout the season.%^$
%^$”The schedule is tough and competitive, but I think it’s one we need to continue to play in order to reach our goals of winning the GWLL title and earning a berth in the NCAA tournament,” head coch Joe Breschi said. “There are a lot of things we want to accomplish as a team. In order to do that, you have to play the best teams.”%^$
%^$2000 Highlights
%^$The Buckeyes posted a mark of 6-8 last season, including a 2-2 record in GWLL action. The squad tied Butler and Denver for second place in the conference. Goalie Mike Abeles became the first OSU All-American since 1979 when he was earned U.S. Intercollegiate Association/STX honors. In addition, Abeles earned all-conference honors and was a North-South game participant. Pat Myers, who led the Buckeyes in goals (21) and points (33), was the first Buckeye to earn GWLL Rookie of the Year honors.%^$
%^$A Captain Returns
%^$Greg Zytkowski (5th., North Olmsted, Ohio/St. Ignatius), a preseason All-America selection last season, returns for the Buckeyes after using a medical redshirt last season. Zytkowski tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee during a 2000 preseason practice.%^$
%^$The Coach
%^$Joe Breschi is in his fifth year at the helm for the Buckeyes. In his first four years with the team, the squad compiled a mark of 21-18. In 1999, the Buckeyes won their first Great Western Lacrosse League title since 1988. Prior to joining the Buckeye staff, Breschi served as an assistant coach at both Brown and North Carolina. Breschi played collegiately at North Carolina, earning both All-America and All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors He also was a member of the USA National Team in 1994 and 1998.%^$
%^$The Outlook
%^$In Goal
%^$In goal, the Buckeyes have the task of replacing All-GWLL selection Mike Abeles, who became the first Buckeye since 1979 to earn All-America honors as a senior last season. Both junior Ben Kochalski and redshirt-freshman Tony Russo, who have limited experience because of the play of Abeles, will compete for the starting spot this year.%^$
%^$”It will be very competitive in scrimmages and practice for Ben Kochalski and Tony Russo,” Breschi said. “We’ll have to wait and see who comes out on top to determine who is going to be the starter. We have all the confidence in the world in both of them. If we have to use two goalies throughout the season we are confident both can do the job for us. We’re just going to have to wait and see.”%^$
%^$Defense
%^$After graduating the entire starting defense from the team last year, the Buckeyes have a young but talented group of athletes who will be competing for playing time this season.%^$
%^$”This is a young, inexperienced defense,” Breschi said. “We have to replace our entire defense with a lot of young guys who have never started and have never played a game. The learning curve is going to be huge, especially at the beginning of the season.”%^$
%^$The top returnees on close defense include Greg Bice, Dan Savage and Brandon Paul. Paul played in 13 games last season, made three starts and recorded 14 groundballs. Savage saw action in five games, while Bice was a redshirt and did not compete. In addition, sophomore Josh Tracy and sophomore Matt Cafarelli and junior Toby Mink also should see time on defense this season.%^$
%^$At the long pole position, juniors John DiCamillo and Preston Dickerson and sophomore Sean Ireland will compete for the starting spot. The squad usually plays three athletes at that position each game, so DiCamillo, Ireland and Dickerson all should see a substantial amount of playing time, taking on the task of matching up with the best midfielder from the opposing team.%^$
%^$DiCamillo and Dickerson each played in 13 games last season. DiCamillo recorded 19 groundballs, with Dickerson picking up three. Ireland saw action in one contest a year ago.%^$
%^$”All three (DiCamillo, Ireland and Dickerson) bring different aspects to the game,” Breschi said. “DiCamillo is a super ground ball player. He doesn’t have great size, but he has great stick skills. Dickerson is a great athlete who can run up and down the field and knows the game. Ireland is still learning, but he’s doing a good job so far. He’s a left-hander, which brings something different to the game for us.”%^$
%^$Junior co-captain Pete Dillon is expected to handle the short stick defensive midfield duties. He played in 12 games last season.%^$
%^$”Pete is a very good athlete with tremendous speed,” Breschi said. “He has improved his stick skills every year. He will provide good leadership for the defense this season.”
