Cardinal Mooney lacrosse not slowed by smaller talent pool

How does a school with 509 students enrolled for the 2016-2017 school year compete in lacrosse with such powerhouses as St. Thomas Aquinas?

The answer, according to Cardinal Mooney second-year boys coach Derek Wagner, is that it cannot.

The Cougars have made it to the second round of the playoffs three years in a row, and have set their main goal for the year as getting past that round. Relatively, the school’s talent level is astounding, and if this were football, where like-sized schools compete against one another in separate classes, it would likely be a perennial contender for state titles. But lacrosse has no such classes. All Florida High School Athletic Association schools with lacrosse are considered to be on the same playing field, which makes it difficult for teams like the Cougars to make much noise. Still, the team is confident in itself and has embraced the arduous road to the playoffs, even making its regular-season schedule filled to the brim with top-notch opponents.

“We enjoy the challenge, Wanger said. “We have an extremely hard schedule, and there's a reason for that. We don't get any better playing these weak teams that we can beat 20-0. Whether we win by a lot, win by a little, lose by a little or lose by a lot. It makes us better. We have to beat those quality teams when we get in the playoffs anyway, so we might as well get the shock and awe factor out of the way.”

“Obviously, the rainbow-in-the-sky-dream is to win states, but let's be realistic. Any of these teams such as us with an enrollment in the 500s, a small, private Catholic school, has no chance against a St. Thomas (Aquinas) or whoever. When it comes down to it, at some point the talent pool just isn't there or will dry up. It's not fair to pin a team like Cardinal Mooney against, say, Barron Collier.”

Barron Collier is a sticking point with Cardinal Mooney players, too. The Cougars have lost to them three years in a row, all losses coming in the second round of the playoffs. It’s a sore spot for a team that prides itself on being better than some bigger schools think it is.  When senior captain Patrick Warren said the name of the school in terms of wanting to vanquish their vaunted foe, fellow captain Caleb Ward’s eyes lit up, and he nodded his head. Thankfully, achieving the team’s goal of making the third round only requires following some simple advice, according to Ward.

“Keep working as hard as we are right now and stay together,” Ward said. “If people start thinking about their stats, that's obviously not good. We need to want it. The past few years, we haven't been getting real hype before games, people would be like, 'I don't really want to be here.' We need to make sure everyone's all in.

“Last year, I feel like the seniors were 'Me, me, me, I want my stats,' but this year it doesn't really matter what age you are. We're all getting plays, we're all working as a team, and we don't care about goals as much as we do winning this year.”

The team’s motto is “Cor Unum,” Latin for “one heart.” It was pitched to the team via sophomore attacker MJ McMahon in a group chat, and it’s another attempt at helping the program’s chemistry. It seems to be working. McMahon said the players often go out to eat together and hang out on the weekends because they are genuinely friends. The relationships don’t feel forced anymore, he said.

Another factor that should help the Cougars this season: health. Last year, except for a game and a half, the school played without two of its three top long pole defensemen, Eric Martin and Matt McDonald. They are back now, and though the other part of that trio, senior Tristan Hillerich, is currently out with an ankle injury sustained while moonlighting as Cardinal Mooney’s starting quarterback, he should be joining Martin and McDonald on the field soon enough.

That’s important, because the program needs a stronger defense if it's going to accomplish what it wants on the offensive end.

“We like to move the ball around,” Wanger said. “We like to slow it down when we need to, possess the ball. But we're all about scoring the ball when it comes down to it. We're out here to score goals. Some of the big, high-caliber east coast teams, we'll try to make it a slugfest kind of game. Everyone else, we're going to run them, and we're going to score.”

The team is 3-1 on the season as of Feb. 20, with the only loss coming to talent factory IMG Academy, exactly the type of team that Cardinal Mooney relishes playing against for the experience.

This year, when the playoffs roll around, the Cougars will be ready. With McMahon and Warren up front, Martin and McDonald in the back and Ward calling the shots from midfield, even the bigger schools should shake in their boots if they see Cardinal Mooney on the schedule, including Barron Collier.

“We don’t back down from anyone,” Ward said. “We actually step it up. Teams aren’t going to always come out expecting a good game, but we’re going to give it to them.”