2/6/06
Santa Barbara, CA- For a while it seemed as if the champs had lost too much. UCSB had no Will Patton, no Luke Wilson, and no Ryan Brittain. Mike Towers was there on the sideline, though his uniform had drastically changed from gloves, helmets and shoulder pads to a typical WCLL coaching ensemble of shorts and polo. Against a still rebounding Cal Bears team, many around the league looked to see if the Gauchos had finally succumbed to the forces of graduation. On paper it would appear so. Starting the game were freshman (two), sophomores (two), and juniors (4), with only two seniors, three if you count longstick mid-fielder Damon Conklin-Moragne (St. Ignatius (San Francisco) CA).

Playing before a sun drenched crowd of 300 plus on an unseasonably warm Friday afternoon, the Gaucho’s looked to erase any doubts that they were still the team to beat. At the end of the first half however, the game appeared to be what was expected from the young Gauchos and hungry Bears. The Bears, entering their third year under the direction of Steve Dini, were playing hard, inspired ball- executing the cliché’s of head, heart and hustle. Relying on an experienced and physically imposing defense led by David Massey (Berkeley, CA) and Scott Kelly (Monte Vista (Danville), CA) Cal seemed to frustrate the Gauchos early, taking advantage of a young opponent seemingly hesitant to make a mistake. Opportunities were aplenty for UCSB, but time and again the ball bounced the Bears way. On their offensive side, Cal relied on freshmen, and future stars, Ricky Pantella (Torrey Pines, CA), David Parker (Torrey Pines, CA) and Andrew Whitney (Lake Forest, IL) to guide them, and guide them they did. Though limited in their offensive opportunities, the Bears were efficient, sliding two goals past UCSB goalkeeper Mike Sheridan (Bishop O’Dowd (Oakland), CA). Even though they were greatly out shot the Bears two scores were enough to enter halftime tied with the defending champions.

At a time when their may have been cause for concern amongst the Gaucho faithful, however, there was little. Tied with the re-building Bears or no, the usual strains of doubt prevalent amongst a champion whose reign seemed to be sliding away were absent along the sideline and in the huddle. If anything, the Gaucho’s appeared to be confident- knowing that their system was working. They had out-possessed and out shot the Bears, and given time those shots would eventually fall. The only question was whether that time was now.

From the opening whistle of the second half the answer was a resounding yes. Less than two minutes into the second half, sophomore George Granelli (Bishop O’Dowd (Oakland), CA) quickly lost his defender from the top right of the box and scored the first of his three third quarter goals. There was little Cal could do after that. Thoroughly controlling the middle of the field and face off X, UCSB gained possession after possession. Returning seniors and captains Conklin-Moragne and Nick Schooler (Berkeley, CA) established their presence in the middle third, ensuring that possession would remain in the Gauchos end. Junior Dustin Benesch (Patrick Henry (San Diego), CA), the Gauchos de facto midfield workhorse, made it his mission to rescue any ground ball from the Bears sticks. A mission he accomplished with aplomb.

Not having an answer for the three of them, all Cal could do was wait to gain possession in their defensive end and clear up the field. Unfortunately for the Bears the UCSB attack, led by senior Nick Stratton (Bishop O’Dowd (Oakland), CA) and sophomore Luke Shaw (Santa Cruz, CA), were equally impressive in guiding the offense and riding like banshees. They engineered a quick eight goal run, getting help from freshman Brenden Sindell (Malibu, CA) who assisted on two goals and scored one of his own. In a matter of 10 minutes the game went from a two-two tie to a 10-2 walkover, and UCSB immediately cast aside any self doubt that may have lingered from last spring’s commencement ceremonies. An additional two goals were added to each sides score before the final whistle, though the game itself was over before they occurred.

Walking away from the field, UCSB head coach Mike Allan was pleased with his teams victory, regardless of the teams struggles in the first half. “We figured some things out today, which is good”, said Allan, “we have a young team, and in this league were going have to grow up quite quickly.” Whether or not those issues that were resolved on Friday remain resolved for the rest of the season will be interesting to see. When you have a young team still trying to find its feet however, a convincing run against a traditional rival always indicates positive growth.

Coach Dini echoed Allan’s sentiments. “Mike did a great job adjusting his guys in the second half. Their face off team was phenomenal and starting the third quarter we couldn’t pick up a ground ball to save our life.” Still, Dini also had much to be pleased with from this afternoon. “We have a great group of defenders and some fantastic young guys who we can build around.” For Dini, to restore the luster of a once proud team, the process will not happen overnight. Yet with the building blocks in place, he only needs to look at his rivals 340 miles to the south to provide a blueprint for capitalizing on young talent.

At the end of the day this game was just one on a schedule of fourteen for the Gaucho’s. A long season that includes match-ups against perennial national powers BYU, Michigan, Colorado and Colorado State, as well in league rivals and national contenders UCSD, Cal-Poly, and pre-season number one Sonoma State. If there was any time for the young Gaucho’s to grow up into their new roles, it is effectively over. Fortunately, leftover stalwarts like Conklin-Moragne are there to lead the group. “We have to have a lot of young guys step up and take new roles. It’s what we need and what we (seniors) expect,” said the burly longstick. When pressed on the idea of playing without his departed seniors of 2005, however, he paused in the Santa Barbara sun and let it sink in. “You know... you’re right. Those guys who graduated made winning a tradition here. Fortunately, tradition never graduates”. For Conklin-Moragne and the Gaucho’s, it will be a test to see how long their tradition can remain enrolled.

October 7, 2005
Berkeley, CA - The UC Berkeley Men's Lacrosse team opened its fall season with a scrimmage against the St. May's Gales at Maxwell field on October 7th. The Golden Bears scored early and often in an 11-5 rout of the St. Mary’s Gales.

In the first half the Bears experienced defense held the Gales to one goal while the rookie offense put in eight goals. The offense was balanced throughout the game with 9 different players scoring goals. The Bears were lead by last season’s leading scorer, Sophomore Midfielder Gene Pontes, who had two goals and one assist. Also with two goals was Junior Midfielder, Kyle Stalnaker. Four freshmen earned their first college points; Rickey Pentella, David Parker, Andrew Whitney and Morgan Brewer all had one goal each.

Others players that scored were: Jr. Ramsey Nabahani (1G), So. Cameron Sampson (1G, 1A), So. Zach Todaro (1G), and Jr. Scott Kelly (1G, 1A). The defense was lead by senior goaltender, Tyler Lebrun who had his first start for the Bears. He played 3 1/2 quarters letting in 1 goal on 6 shots. Sophomore Goalie Matt Scheinder finished the game with 3 saves and 4 goals allowed. The bears suited 38 players for the Friday night game and all 38 played. Attendance was over 150.