Men's Lacrosse
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By Lee Wilson
Photos By Hammer Sports Photography
http://www.collegelax.us/news/2008/03/20/ucf-golden-knights-on-the-rise/#more-7073
When people think of college lacrosse in the panhandle state, the University of Florida and especially Florida State university’s programs each come to mind, but this season there is one team that is refusing to be overlooked: the University of Central Florida.
The UCF Golden Knights are pleading there case as they have started the 2008 season at 7-0 and have left most of their opponents waving the white flag as they have not scored fewer than two goals in any quarter thus far this season and have outscored their opponents by a total of 137-39.
Head coach Craig Cook brought organization to the Orlando, Fla., based team and is showing why he was brought in to coach, but Cook is not surprised with the way his team has started off.
“This is just a culmination of years of building,” the coach said in a phone interview Thursday March 20th. “Even now we have another great freshman class coming in, which is a test to the team last year. And guys like C.J. Schmidt, our president, I mean the guy just works like a dog. So there is a lot of that and this is this team’s first year with two coaches I believe. Me and [assistant coach] Chuck [Scales] each have local high school backgrounds around here so that helps…but there is a lot of talent on this team.”
Whatever the factors that lead to the 7-0 start are, the bottom line is that the Golden Knights are doing more than winning, they doing it in impressive fashion. Aside from their 15-10 victory over Virginia Tech, the Golden Knights have not allowed more than seven goals in any game. With that victory, the Knights finally slipped into the MCLA rankings themselves for the first time in school history, coming in at 22nd, a feat that leaves Cook proud.
“Definitely, oh my goodness yes, it does [make me proud],” said Cook enthusiastically. “When we started this season we had a few goals and things that we wanted to accomplish this season… Our first big goal was to take on a team like Virginia Tech, who is so good every year, and beat them. But we still have plenty of big games left.”
Given that the team has been so dominant up until this point, and defeated a solid team like the Hokies, some might wonder if the team would get complacent at all. Coach Cook is not wondering, not at all.
“I think that the way that we had this season planned as far as games go, I mean we didn’t get all the games we wanted scheduled and some got cancelled, but we scheduled it so we could be ready for this stretch,” said Cook. “I think we have like eight games in two and a half weeks.”
It is not an easy eight games by any stretch of the imagination. After the Knights pummeled Wisconsin-Stevens Pointe 24-1 to start it off, they will travel to Harkins Field in Tallahassee, Fl., this Saturday to take on 8-1 Florida State.
“[FSU]’s the biggest hurdle we have,” acknowledged Cook. “They are the team to beat in the southeast just about every year. They are just outstanding. They have some talent, I mean like Corey Noonan, I remember him from high school, that guy was phenomenal then.”
Well he’s phenomenal now too, and stopping Noonan, or at least containing him, could very well be the key to this game for the Golden Knights. Noonan has had a terrific year so far. He has spread 36 goals and 15 assists throughout the nine games the Seminoles have played and that includes two six-goal performances and an eight and nine point performance as well. Noonan has not been held goal-less in a game this season, but Cook knows what his team has got to do.
“All we can do is go down there and our best game-we are going to need it,” said Cook. “But all we can control is what we do. We just have to go down there and play the best that we can and hope that is good enough.”
After their rendezvous with the Seminoles, the Golden Knights will have remaining games against Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Florida and Auburn before getting ready for the SELC tournament.
Tragedy in UCF
Before UCF got a chance to play its game on Wednesday night, tragedy struck the Golden Knight community as freshman wide receiver for the UCF football team Ereck Plancher collapsed on the practice field and was later pronounced dead.
While the autopsy results were inconclusive and the cause of death remains unknown for now, the tragedy reminds sports fans everywhere of the tragic deaths that have occurred under the hot sun in past years. In Florida, they are right in the red zone in terms of playing conditions.
This is something Cook has kept in mind all along.
“You just sort of get used to [the heat],” said Cook. “It is native to us. I have lived here 15 years now and you just know that you have to drink a lot of water…even if you are just walking around and not really doing anything, you still have to drink lots of water down here.”
Plancher’s funeral is Friday March 29th in his Naples, Fl., high school gymnasium. The UCF football team will be in attendance.