| Young Pirates manning the ship for 2009 |
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By Coach Jim Kirkley Graduating seniors is just a regular occurrence in scholastic sports, so losing the entire defense and both goalies, along with the leaders at midfield shouldn't be a huge shock to a program. But this may just be the youngest and most inexperienced group of Pirates to ever try to launch a ship. There will probably be some very rough seas at the outset of the voyage, and how well the young crew adapts will determine whether the ship sinks in distress or if these young Pirates learn, like their predecessors, how to rule the seas. 
Gone are the entire defense of First Team All State Zack Brown (Wingate), PAC VI Honorable Mention Clark Harrison and both Brian Juranas (Belmont Abbey) and Will Boone. Also among the missing are PAC VI honorable mention goalie Bryan Rooney and his capable backup Erik Summers. That leaves a huge hole to fill in battling off attacks from other ships.Also graduated are middies Clayton Abbott and Michael Schwartz (both conference honorable mentions) along with David Swift, Sam Cordones and three others. The good news was that the whole attack was returning from last year. At least they were until senior co-captain Alex Spathis (37g,7a) went down with an ACL tear in December. And promising middie Scott Levine tore his ACL during soccer season. ATTACK So two-thirds of the attack is back, and others are looking good in practice. Sophomore Carson Sterling (First team all conference) who led the Pirates in scoring last year (34g,24a) and sophomore Peter Ratcliffe (10g,10a) should combine with junior Ben Bortner (4g,2a) and sophomore Brad Hinkle (2g,0a) which should be the nucleus of a potent group both this year and beyond. Their shooting prowess should be able to cause a lot of damage to opposing ships at sea. Carson, Peter and Brad may also see some time at midfield where the Pirates are shorthanded. Backing up those four are senior Ian Domino, and sophomores Garrett Abbott, Justin Marsee and Mitch Fagert. That's about as young a group as one could get at the varsity level. MIDFIELD At midfield, senior co-captain Robert Walton (2g,1a) has to take the leadership role. The only other seniors at the midfield spot are Michael Anspach, who should be a scoring threat this year, but who missed all of last season with an injury, and Mike Armour, who is playing lacrosse for the first time, but hopefully will help the Pirates defensively. Junior Steven Greer was a stalwart defensive middie for the varsity last year, and it is hoped that he can be a productive two-way middie this year. Junior Joe Weitz starts his second season on the varsity roster, but like Anspach, he missed virtually all of last year with an injury. So, the only players of that bunch with any true varsity experience are Walton and Greer. But these older guys have to show some leadership and play their age, not necessarily their experience or it will be rough sailing for sure. After that group, all of the players were either on JV last year, or in middle school. That includes sophomores Leslie Wickham, Michael Titus, <>bNathan Crooks, and freshman Grant Cullinan. If these young players don't carry their own weight when the storms start pounding the Pirate's ship, it may just become a shipwreck. LSM At long stick middie are seniors Lance McGhee and Jesse Hardin, and freshman Kyle Anderson. McGhee was a reserve LSM last year while Hardin has played close D all along. Anderson has great speed and a very good stick. He has shown tremendous promise in early season practice making the transition to high school lacrosse. DEFENSE On the defensive end of things, there's a good amount of age, but not all that much experience. Senior co-captain Jackson Marshall (39gbs, 62Lbcs)was honorable mention all conference last year at long stick middie, but he is making the transformation to close defense. Joining him there is his backup at LSM last year, fellow senior Jack Ratcliffe (25gbs, 34Lbcs), and senior Kyle Tom a reserve defenseman last year. Those three are all good athletes with above average stick-handling abilities. If they don't get tossed overboard with injuries, they should present a formidable barrier to opposition attacks. That could go a long way in keeping this young group of Pirates out of Davy Jones' locker through the early contests. Backing them up are seniors Matt Marsee and Spencer Bourguignon, junior Yousif Nazo, and sophomores Grant Muir and Brent Samuels. Only Marsee was a varsity member last year. GOAL In the goal is junior John Austin, who played part of the season last year as one of the JV goalies after making the switch from midfield. He has quick hands and has shown great improvement through pre-season practice. If he can weather the early season storms and get his sea legs under him, he could be the next in a long line of outstanding Pirate goalies. Backing him up is sophomore Chris Spathis who volunteered for the position to fill a desperate team need. Chris has one of the better sticks on the team, and just has to learn the intricacies of the position. COACHING STAFF The biggest positive addition to the ship is the return of Coach Glenn Estacio as associate head coach and offensive coordinator. Coach Estacio was at Riverside for seven years and was responsible for the offensive juggernaut that helped the Pirates rule the seas from 1998 to 2002. After going to Chapel Hill and leading the Tigers to three state championships, Glenn has returned as a teacher at Riverside to take over the helm. With a good, young, talented crew on both the varsity and JV, successful sailing is in sight. Whether or not that success will happen this year or not remains to be seen. This year also marks a transition at the helm of the Pirates' ship. This will be my last "season outlook" and my last as captain of the ship. But I don't expect the change to be any more than a "blip" in the voyage. Coach Estacio is so familiar with the Pirate family and the history and tradition, that even as he makes his own necessary course corrections, the sailing will be smooth and the sails filled with wind. In the movie "The Princess Bride," the character of the Dread Pirate Roberts never really ceases, because he is just replaced by his successor, and the story, which is what is most important, continues. Let's keep the Pirates sailing, and may they rule the seas once more. |