Why not us? Mount Anthony lacrosse ready for championship bout

Sports Reporter

Mount Anthony's toughest test awaits them Saturday when they travel to Norwich University to face No. 1 Hartford in the Division II boys lacrosse championship. The Hurricanes are undefeated heading into the contest, a perfect 17-0, and are considered the favorite to hoist the trophy.

As they head into Saturday's title game, those in Bennington have turned to a three word phrase they’ve uttered all spring long as motivation: Why not us?

That question has served as a rallying cry all season long for the now 12-5 Patriots; the entire team has bought into the mantra and the team shirts don the phrase. That subtle yet constant reminder has helped the program reach this stage for the first time since 2001.

Coach Frank Gaudette said that mindset will be crucial against a team as talented as Hartford.

"I think that's the key: believing that they can win," he said prior to Wednesday's practice on Veteran's Home field. "They’ve done it all year. They believed they could win after (starting out the season 0-2)."

The belief has to be high considering the opponent they knocked out Tuesday in the semifinals, Harwood, is the same team that bounced MAU from the playoffs last spring. The Patriots exacted their revenge on Tuesday, downing Harwood 8-7, holding the Highlanders to their fewest goals scored in nearly a month.

That performance was no fluke. The Patriots possess talent throughout the defense, and have improved in the possession game offensively. Put those two together and you get what MAU's experienced a lot of lately — winning.

"We’ve got a really good defense," Gaudette said. "But a lot of our defense has been offense. The last month or so, we’ve been able to control the ball on the offensive side."

When the opposing team does get the ball near the MAU cage, however, the Patriots are more than capable of coming up with stops. Look no further than Tuesday's win, when MAU had two players in the box on two separate occasions, against the No. 2 team in Division II, and held Harwood scoreless on both occasions. The man-down game has been a sense of pride for MAU all season long.

The Patriots’ last line of defense isn't half bad, either. Starting goalie Landon Brimmer is a big reason why the Patriots are preparing to play Saturday, finishing the semifinal with 19 saves, 12 of which coming in the second half.

"That was huge," Gaudette said. "He came up with a lot of saves in the second half and kept us in it. Put two or three of those in, and we’re talking about a different outcome."

Brimmer will likely have to duplicate those efforts Saturday, as Hartford is known to put a high output of shots on the cage.

The Hurricanes came to Bennington for an early season matchup on April 11, leaving with a 12-4 win. Gaudette said his team has improved in the "little things" since that game.

"Passing, catching – we’re doing all the little things that we weren't doing very well in the beginning (of the season)," he said.

MAU's also adapted its offense since the last time these two teams faced off. The inspiration came as they got word an opponent planned to run a specific set against them. Gaudette had the scout team run it in practice, and found it worked well with their personnel. MAU hasn't looked back since.

"We like the way it looks on us," he said. "So we stuck with it."

The offense's improvement throughout the season has been instrumental in the Patriots’ success. They have a plethora of scorers and are as balanced a unit as you will find. At attack, Tyler DeBoer and Aiden Moscarello have registered north of 70 points this season. Frechette is closing in on 70 points, as well.

"We’re really even, all the way around," Gaudette said. "It's hard (for other team's) to say, ‘Cover this one.’"

Then there's players like Lucas Lincourt in the midfield, who’ve made their impact felt.

"We call him Houdini," Guadette chuckled.

Gavin Schnoop has emerged as the team's go-to faceoff specialist, which has paid dividends for MAU in the possession game. In the Patriots’ previous matchup with Hartford, they were switching the midfield lines, meaning Schnoop wasn't getting every faceoff opportunity. Shortly after, the MAU senior took on that expanded role, and it has coincided with MAU's surge. Gaudette said Schnoop's presence as the go-to faceoff guy has "helped tremendously."

The Patriots have evolved as a team since hosting Hartford nearly two months ago. They head into Saturday's Division II title showdown thinking upset – and why not?

Michael Mawson can be reached on Twitter @Mawson_Sports or via email at [email protected].

Sports Reporter

Michael Mawson is the sports editor for Vermont News & Media. He obtained a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of New Hampshire in 2019. Michael was the sports editor of UNH's student newspaper where he covered NCAA Division I athletics.