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MCLA: Power of Positive Thinking
March 20, 2008
Jac Coyne, Lacrosse Magazine Online Staff Sometimes you just have to look at the glass half full. That's what Mike Ganzert does. While most attackmen view a slide as a reason to get rid of the ball, Ganzert, the leading scorer for the University of North Carolina at Charlotte men's lacrosse team, sees a double-team as an even better opportunity to score. "I get early slides and double teams," said Ganzert. "We were laughing one day at practice because I don't particularly care. "If a double-team comes and you get past the first guy, you know he is behind you. When you're moving forward into the defense, the spy guy will be in front of you and the guy who was supposed to be guarding you will be behind. I've played lacrosse for a long time so I kind of know how to break down a defense." This field presence has allowed Ganzert to score 23 goals in six games, tying him with teammate Colin Wauchope for most goals per game in the Division II Southeastern Lacrosse Conference. The coolness in the face of multiple defenders was honed during the years leading up to his arrival at UNCC. After graduating from Charlotte Catholic, Ganzert played a post-grad year at Bridgton (Maine) Academy, one of the top prep feeder programs for NCAA Division I. Playing with the likes of Steven Brooks, Syracuse's second-leading scorer this year, at Bridgton, Ganzert refined his game, earning a scholarship to UMBC for the 2004 season. He was a face-off middie for the Retrievers, participating in 13 games with one goal in his first two years. Watching guys like Brendan Mundorf and Drew Westervelt - current starters for the MLL's Denver Outlaws - Ganzert improved to the point where he appeared to be the heir apparent for the full-time face-off job heading into his junior year. However, in what Ganzert described as the toughest decision he has made in his life, he opted to leave UMBC after his sophomore year and move back to his hometown.
"I loved my teammates and the coaching staff, but the truth was I decided that one day I wanted to settle down in Charlotte and have my professional career there after lacrosse," said Ganzert. "I felt going back home would help me get a better job later on in life. So I had to choose between playing Division I lacrosse, which was my dream, or make a decision that might help me down the road."
It was on a trip to Japan for the National Fellowship Games at the conclusion of his sophomore year at UMBC when Ganzert finally found peace with a decision he had been wrestling with for some time. "That was an incredible experience for me and it was like a sign that I could say, `Alright, this chapter of my life is done,'" he said. "I felt I achieved what I wanted to as far NCAA Division I lacrosse is concerned." After a year reacquainting himself with Charlotte, Ganzert joined the 49ers lacrosse team last year. Leading the team in goals (26) and finishing second in points (37), Ganzert helped propel Charlotte to a 9-3 record and a berth in the SELC tournament title game against Emory. The 49ers came up short, missing out on the automatic qualifier to the Division II tournament and leaving them one spot short in the final poll for an at-large bid. Last year's shortcoming has provided incentive for Charlotte's '08 edition. "Without a doubt that is absolutely some of our motivation," said Ganzert. "We thought last year we were the best team in the SELC, but we had a problem in the championship game. In all honestly we weren't prepared and we might have had a mental lapse in the first half. It was just kind of fate." Earlier this spring, Charlotte had No. 3 St. Thomas (Minn.) on the ropes but let it slip away at the end. The loss stung, but it gave the 49ers an indication they could play with the top tier. "I don't think anybody liked the way last year ended," said Josh DuVall, Charlotte's coach. "Now that we have gotten a taste of St. Thomas and have seen we are capable of going up against national competition and compete in that arena, we want to get there to do it." DuVall has had both the pleasure, and sometimes pain, to coach Ganzert, watching the attackman test his optimistic double-team theory. It's not something DuVall coaches, but it's tough to argue with the results. "Ganzert loves to throw himself at the cage, and if he has a five percent chance of scoring, that's a big enough chance for him," said DuVall. "We have tried to talk to him about it, but I don't know if it would work as well. You don't want to mess with something that's working, and it's working, so we just kind of let him play his game." DuVall points out that even he doesn't always appreciate the finer points of Ganzert's game, instead focusing on the occasional miscues on the way to the cage. "A lot of times you'll be sitting there at a game and say, `Gosh, if he had only passed out of it, there were some open looks,'" said DuVall. "But at the end of the game you look up and he's first or second on the team in assists. He's making the passes, but there are so many opportunities that you get the idea that he isn't feeding and he really is. It's deceiving." Even with all the success he has taking on slides and attempting to outmaneuver double-teams, Ganzert does have his limits. "If you're in a triple team and you're holding the ball, you're a ball hog."
Slides & Rides - Oregon's Justin Blackmore is putting up some impressive numbers. The sophomore has scored 31 goals and dished out 16 assists in the Ducks' first eight games of the season. To be fair, Oregon's first eight games have come against teams with a combined record of 16-34 and none with a winning record. On the horizon, however, awaits No. 10 Colorado, No. 2 Colorado State, No. 11 Simon Fraser, No. 9 Sonoma State, and No. 4 BYU to end the season. Something tells me Blackmore's numbers might fall back to the pack by May. - Lacrosse magazine's preseason player of the year Jake Launert is having a fine season for No. 7 Minnesota-Duluth (3-2), but it's tough to imagine anyone but Chapman's Marcus Wooden winning the player of the year award at this point. The junior leads the nation in scoring (5.33 ppg) and has helped vault the Panthers to No. 3 in the nation. In the loss to D-III No. 4 Ithaca, Wooden even managed to net a hat trick along with an assist. - The Stanford women are making some noise, moving up to No. 10 in this week's IWLCA D-I poll, but the Stanford men are quietly putting together a solid season. The Cardinal is 8-2, with a one-goal loss to No. 20 Loyola-Marymount and an 8-3 setback to No. 6 UCSB, and three winnable games remain in the regular season. It has a long way to go in the polls, but if Stanford wins a game or two in the WCLL tourney it's hard to believe they aren't worthy of a shot at nationals. Have an idea for the MCLA Notebook? Email Jac Coyne.
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