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Keene State men's lacrosse becomes "Simsbury-North"
KEENE, N.H., 5/5/10 – Jokingly referred to as “Pinkerton-West” a few years back, the Keene State College men’s lacrosse team has netted a new moniker this season: “Simsbury-North.”
At its peak in 2008, KSC had 11 players on its squad from Pinkerton Academy in Derry, N.H. While the migration north hasn’t been quite as large, the six players from Simsbury High School in Conn. on the current KSC roster have certainly made a major impact on the top-seeded Owl team that goes into Thursday’s Little East Conference semifinal tournament game with a 10-5 record and riding a seven-game winning streak.
According to Keene State coach Mark Theriault, the move up I-91 from Simsbury to Keene began with former high school All-American Griffin Meehan. “My goal at one time was to get all the New Hampshire kids, and I did that with Pinkerton,” Theriault said. “The same thing happened with Simsbury. I got one of their best players, and it snow-balled real quickly.”
After looking at several Division I schools, including Quinnipiac, Meehan, was sold on Keene State after visiting the campus.
Sean Leblanc and J.T. Galloway transferred to Keene soon afterwards. “I went to Quinnipiac out of high school and didn’t really like it too much,” said LeBlanc, an All-America defenseman as a senior at Simsbury. “Grif called me almost every day, telling me, ‘You need to come to Keene.’ It got more and more appealing as the days went on.”
What goes around, comes around. Originally deciding to join Meehan at Keene State, Galloway left to attend Endicott College for a semester before returning this year. The fact that Megan Sanfilippo, his girlfriend from Simsbury, was at KSC made the lure even stronger. A third Simsbury native, defenseman Alex Tress, also came to Keene State after spending a semester at Stony Brook in New York.
Just for good measure, LeBlanc convinced Quinnipiac teammate Matt Schairer to join him at Keene State. “We pretty much consider him a Simsbury kid,” said a smiling LeBlanc.
“When an All-American comes to a program, other teammates from that high school take notice,” said Theriault. “The players do their own recruiting. Many times I’m just a coach wanting a kid to come to a school. Players from the same high school aren’t going to steer their teammates and friends in a bad direction.”
Although he played down the influence he had on his former Trojan teammates joining him at Keene, Meehan did his persuasion on the field. Leading the Owls in scoring with 37 goals and 84 points as a freshman, Meehan was named All-Little East and was selected as the conference’s Rookie of the Year.
The second wave of Simsbury players, defenseman John McCann and attack Taylor Jette, also came aboard this season.
“It kind of happened all at once,’ said McCann. “It wasn’t really planned, but knowing others from my high school team were coming helped my decision.”
“We were all pretty close in high school,” said Jette. “Knowing a few players already on the team makes the transition a little bit easier.”
Success breeds success. Grooming his players since middle school, former Simsbury coach Dan Corcoran turned the Trojans into a lacrosse power. Under his direction, Simsbury made four consecutive trips to the state (Class L) semifinals before reaching the championship game last spring. Over the past two years, over 20 of his players went on to play in the college ranks.
Meehan picked right up where he left off last season. Currently leading the Owls in scoring with 56 goals, 30 assists, and 86 points, the Simsbury sniper is second in NCAA Division III in goals (3.73) and points (5.73) per game. Earlier this season, he set the KSC record for points in season and is three goals and four assists shy of breaking those marks as well.
LeBlanc and Jette moved right into the KSC’s starting line-up this season. LeBlanc provides the team with a physical presence in front of the net, while Jette (29-17-46), who is third on the team in scoring, quarterbacks the Owl offense.
A member of one of the teams’ top midfield lines, Galloway has had a couple of three-goal games, and McCann and Tress are reserve defensemen.
The Simsbury-Six had a reunion with their former high school coach when Keene State played at Conn. College on March 30. Corcoran, who joined the Camel coaching staff as an assistant this year, said it was the proudest moment of his coaching career. “You can’t help feel a good deal of pride seeing all those Simsbury players on the field playing at the college level,” he said.
The close loss to nationally ranked Conn. College served as a catalyst for Keene State, which is looking to net its third LEC crown and NCAA berth.
A common goal has created a special camaraderie on and off the field. The Simsbury players at KSC get plenty of support from a cavalcade of parents and friends who travel to Keene and surrounding schools for games.
On the field, the team is tight. “The team chemistry is great. Not just the kids from Simsbury, but everybody,” said Galloway. “It’s awesome. It’s like one big family.”
