The Reverb: Confidence Boost

(Photo by Bob White)

by Jac Coyne | MCLA.us

LA CROSSE, Wis. – The biggest double-edged sword in sports is confidence. Not enough and you’ll never get over the hump. Too much and humility awaits around the corner. You need the perfect blend.

Northwest Nazarene entered this season brimming with confidence. They made the quarterfinals at nationals in their first visit last spring, were returning a large number of stalwarts and added a talented incoming class featuring both freshmen and transfers.

After starting this season with a pair of wins with a combined score of 59-0, the Nighthawks entertained UC San Diego and Florida Atlantic – two teams that are no strangers to May lacrosse, but still looking to break through the semifinal barrier.

Northwest Nazarene finished the weekend 0-2.

“Despite being on the wrong end of two highly competitive games against two teams who are going to be in the tournament, we never lost confidence in ourselves,” said Tom Blanchard the coach and architect of the NNU program. “After watching film, we were generating looks, we just weren't cashing in. So the message for our guys was to stay the course and we'll start cashing in on the shots we generate.”

It sounded like a good plan, but implementing it against quality teams can be chore. As part of its six games in nine days gauntlet (which included Arizona Christian midweek), NNU wouldn’t have a lot of practice time to get the bugs out. They’d need confidence to make it happen.

The ‘Hawks would also have to do it on a three-game tour of the Upper Midwest that included St. John’s, North Dakota State and St. Thomas. Granted, the UMLC Division II has lost a little off its collective fastball from its pre-"pandemic" salad days, but three straight on the road is a grind no matter the opposition.

“With us being a seasoned team, we were confident heading into this road trip. The team was in great spirits and looking forward to getting things turned around by finishing off this gauntlet,” Blanchard said. “To go on the road and play some of the top end teams out of UMLC is no easy task, but like we told our guys, if you’re going to have national title aspirations, these types of trips are character-builder trips. They embraced the opportunities this trip presented.”

Although the true test was waiting on Saturday in the form of the second-ranked Tommies, Naz took care of business on Thursday and Friday. The Nighthawks dispatched St. John’s to start the journey, 22-6, and out-gunned No. 11 NDSU, 20-16.

“We feel like we should respect each team on our schedule as they come up, so those teams got our full attention,” Blanchard said.

The noon faceoff against St. Thomas loomed on Saturday. If a team is not careful, it can fall into the trap of playing the Tommies’ prodigious and well-earned legacy – which is second-to-none over the past two decades. There have been plenty of teams who were beat before the first faceoff.

With a program-wide conviction that they deserve to be on the field with anyone, the Nighthawks strode defiantly into the contest.

“We knew before we stepped on the field that we had players just as good as St Thomas,” Blanchard said. “Our team does not lack confidence. We don't ever step onto a field not expecting to win.”

It certainly wasn’t an easy victory. Despite leading after each of the first three quarters, NNU witnessed St. Thomas make one of its patented runs to tie the game at the death of regulation.

“They got some extra possessions and went on to tie the game late in the fourth quarter,” admitted Blanchard. “We were able to rally in double overtime to get the win, but what really stood out was that not once did our team panic.

“They trusted each other and they stayed the course. I've been coaching for twenty years now and I've coached championship teams. Being able to play through that type of adversity tells a lot about a team’s character.”

There are seven contests left on the Nighthawks’ schedule, including another rugged three-game run against Montana, Utah State and College of Idaho – currently all ranked – to end the season . Despite the slowish start, NNU is the front-runner to repeat as PNCLL champion, has an at-large essentially wrapped up and is eyeing a championship-caliber seed.

All of their preseason goals are still achievable.

“We can't become complacent and we need to continue to add to our schemes while playing these high-caliber games,” Blanchard said. “We've learned what those things are so by the time late April and early May comes around, we are a more complete product.”

And a confident one, too.

My Top Fives

Division I

1. Brigham Young (8-0) – Cougars barely get passed Boise. Boredom?
2. Cal Poly (7-0) – Mustangs coasted by Sonoma with startling ease.
3. Northeastern (6-0) – Huskies square up with Liberty in the Nutmeg State.
4. Florida (7-1) – Rivalry win over UCF sets the stage for an important Texas trip.
5. San Diego State (6-1) – A win over the Hokies today could cement an at-large.

Division II

1. Air Force (5-0) – Last two tests of the season before the end of April.
2. UC San Diego (5-0) – Air Force comes calling this weekend.
3. Florida Atlantic (6-1) – Showdown with FGCU looms on Sunday.
4. UNC-Charlotte (5-0) – Big quiz awaits Niners in two weeks.
5. Northwest Nazarene (6-2) – Two losses are to No. 2 & 3. FGCU was close here.

Slides & Rides

- Northwest Nazarene’s weekend overshadowed an impressive showing from Utah State in Big Sky Country. The Aggies knocked off both No. 4 Montana State and No. 15 Montana to climb above .500 and essentially ensure at least at at-large bid to nationals. They also get the added bonus of avoiding Air Force in the first round of the RMLC tourney (although they’ll likely get Denver, which also beat the Aggies). Still, impressive work from USU with No. 20 College of Idaho up next.

- It was a roller coaster weekend in the desert for Boston College. The Eagles tuned up No. 8 Arizona State on Friday night, 10-5, only to turn around and take a 10-7 loss to unranked Grand Canyon on Saturday. Just when it appeared BC would march into the Top 20 and have a quality tournament resume, they are barely on the bubble with realistically only one regular season game left (Northeastern) to boost its at-large credentials. It might be AQ or bust for the Eagles.

- Speaking of the Sun Devils, they didn’t do themselves any favors by losing to BC and then again to Colorado, 9-8. Arizona State is now a sub-.500 team, which will take a little work to dig out of. Because of schedule strength, ASU is still in the mix, but they’ve got to go on a run.

- In the seemingly weekly skirmishes between the ALC and SELC, this sessions victor was definitely the latter. South Carolina and Georgia Tech humbled a pair of ALC outfits with Round Rock aspirations. The Gamecocks smothered James Madison, racing out to a 13-1 lead before breezing to a 15-4 triumph. Thanks to five goals from Joseph Rose and a stout defense, Georgia Tech put the clamps on Tennessee and snapped its two-game skid, 15-10. These crossover games mean something on Selection Sunday.

- After coming up short in its first four attempts, Cal finally posted a ranked victory. Connor Testa had a big day as the Bears took down No. 16 Oregon, 13-8. Cal will look to make it two straight next weekend against a stout Cal Poly squad with serious WCLL implications…Virginia Tech looked they were in deep trouble against Chapman, trailing 8-3 at halftime, but rallied for a 13-12 triumph. They get San Diego State today.

- Miami (Ohio) improved to 6-0 and now takes a month off before wrapping up the season with three games in mid-April…Clemson has rattled off six straight. The Tigers get a two-week break before battling Tennessee…impressive weekend for Oklahoma. The Sooners knocked off LSA North favorite Kansas and UMLC West leader Iowa State in Norman.

- Dayton downed Central Michigan for its first win of the season…North Dakota State brutalized Duluth, 18-1…four straight wins for Denver and that Utah State win is looking better and better. Pioneers battle Montana State and Montana this weekend…Cal State San Marcos downing TCU – a squad that just beat South Carolina – means the Cougars are rounding into form after a 2-2 performance at the Rocky Mountain Rumble. Good thing with Air Force visiting this weekend.

- As always, the Warrior Player of the Week and the PEARL Goalie of the Week. Head coach nominations to info@mcla.us by noon on Monday.