In Perfect Balance

Dolphins' system optimizes McDonald

By Dave Rahme, Post Standard Staff Writer



The true greatness of Mike McDonald can be found in the players around him on the Le Moyne College men's lacrosse team.

Read it again. As strange as it sounds, it is true. Sure, the senior attackman is one of only five players in school history to amass 200 points in his career heading into Saturday's 1 p.m. rematch with Bryant in the NCAA Division II semifinals. Sure, he is a four-time All-American and is about to be named the D-II Attackman of the Year for the second consecutive season. Sure, he was named the MVP of each of the Dolphins' last two national title games.

Now, imagine what his numbers would be like if he played on a lesser team, if he wasn't standing on the sideline 10 minutes into several games each season due to fat Dolphin leads and sharing the load with a bunch of stars in their own right.

"If Michael played on some other teams he might have had some really gaudy numbers," Dolphins coach Dan Sheehan said. "I know it is difficult sometimes for him and some other guys who are individually much better than their stats show. That's the nature of how we play here. It has always centered on the team rather than the individual. That certainly is one of things I'll remember about him . . . his ability to work within the system."

It is hardto envision McDonald with gaudier numbers than the 134 goals and 89 assists he will carry into Saturday's game with the Bulldogs, which will determine whether Le Moyne (14-1) earns a trip to its third consecutive D-II title game. He has been a star ever since he stepped onto the field as a true freshman and led the team with 35 goals and 53 points.

In those days he was playing alongside senior Brandon Spillett, who had guided the Dolphins to their first national title the season before and was regarded as the best attackman in the country. With such notoriety came a lot of attention from opposing defenses, and Spillett had to learn to transform his game from finisher to set-up man to help his team win. One of the guys he set up was McDonald, a rookie from the Albany area who had been spotted by Sheehan while playing in the Empire State Games for the Adirondack region.

"It was pretty easy to pick up his lacrosse skills just by watching him in those two or three Empire games," Sheehan said. "He was doing the exact same things he does now. You could tell how hard he plays. Then we started making some calls to find out about him as a person, and everything we heard indicated he was just a great kid."

With Spillett in the lineup to deflect attention, McDonald was an instant success. Three years later he has assumed Spillett's reputation and his role, an honor and a curse.

"He's as goodas any attackman in Division II and could certainly play at the highest level," said Bryant coach Mike Pressler, who coached some great attackmen during his tenure at Duke. "He shoots it with either hand and can shoot on the run, and he's very athletic and smart. He's a handful for any team to game plan. You have to make sure you know where No. 19 is on the field at all times and account for him."

Defenses once designed to stop Spillett are now designed to contain McDonald. And, like Spillett, he has had to adjust.

"It hasn't always been easy," McDonald said. "Sometimes I may want to carry the burden and try to do all this stuff on my own, but I have to realize we have so much talent. Things really go best when I don't try to do that. We have so many guys on the field who can change a game.

"Whatever theythrow at us, zones or quick slides or whatever, it is something I've had to deal with . . . moving the ball quicker, learning how to keep my head up more. I'm not even sure, but I think my numbers have changed a little bit."

They have. Two years ago McDonald scored 41 goals and assisted on 20 others. This season he has 28 goals and a career-high 27 assists. It is the first time in his four seasons at Le Moyne that he hasn't led the team in goals (fellow senior Brian Cost has 38).

"I have more assists just because maybe they (defenders) do come a little quicker," McDonald said. "But there are so many talented guys on our team who can make stuff happen that it really hasn't been too tough to deal with."

Still, it is easier said than done, especially for someone as motivated as McDonald, who plays so hard on the field he is prone to taking penalties due to his aggression and works so hard off it that he boasts a 3.6 GPA while earning a degree in the dual major of business and information systems.

"He's a very hardworking guy," teammate Nick Gatto said. "He works hard at whatever he does. There are games when his shots may not be falling, but he does all the little things . . . ground balls, riding hard, causing turnovers, doing all that extra stuff that the team needs to win. He'll do anything to help the team win."

Sheehan admitted that determining when McDonald should stay within the system and when he should step out and try to make something happen has been a juggling act for player and coach alike.

"I don't think anyone can dispute his ability," Sheehan said. "He shoots it hard, he's tough, he dodges hard and he hustles all over the field. But when he uses an Alex Bily or a Brian Cost, when he realizes his buddies can deflect some of the attention from him and we can then get him into a one-on-one matchup, then he is tough to stop."

And so arethe Dolphins, who have been to the D-II semifinals in each of McDonald's four seasons, have won two national titles and are 61-4 during his tenure. He would like to add two more victories to the list.

"The one thing we all want right now is to go out on top," McDonald said. "The seniors all agree that we don't want to go out as anything but the champion. We're so used to it now. How else would you want to go out? This could be the last time we play lacrosse. That's our last order of business, going out on top and getting one more ring."