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Corliss's Goal: Return to the owl men's lacrosse net next season
KEENE, N.H., 7/20/10 – Instead of minding the net, Owl goalie Alec Corliss was minding the camp store at the recently completed Elite-180 lacrosse camp at Keene State College this summer.
The last time Owl fans saw Corliss, he was being carted off the field after sustaining a foot injury in last spring’s Little East Conference lacrosse championship game. After captivating the crowd with several point-blank saves against rival Eastern Conn. State in the first half of play, the junior from Waltham, Mass., was sent to the sidelines with a season-ending injury.
After taking over as the Owl’ top keeper as a sophomore, Corliss had struggled to regain his form last season. Eventually losing his starting job to freshman Jason Lesser, a determined Corliss battled back and once again established himself as the main man between the pipes as the Owls embarked on their LEC championship run.
“It was great to get back and feel like myself again,” said Corliss. “The injury couldn’t have happened at a worse time.”
In the title game, Corliss was responsible for Keene State taking a 10-5 lead to the locker room. Six minutes into the second half, following a collision in front of the net, he was down. “Normally, I’d bounce right back up, but my foot got twisted under one of Eastern’s players,” said Corliss. “I knew something was wrong.”
A silent crowd watched players, trainers, coaches, and Corliss’s concerned parents, John and Sharon, make their way onto the field. A few minutes later, an ambulance entered the complex.
Despite being in tremendous pain at the time, Corliss still remembers the ovation from appreciative fans as he was taken off the field. “It was utterly fabulous,” said Corliss. “I’ll never forget it.”
Keene State rallied behind Corliss to defeat ECSU 14-10 and capture its third LEC championship in the past six years. “It was a turning point of the game,” said KSC Coach Mark Theriault. “Everyone wanted to win the game for Alec.”
Alec wasn’t forgotten during the celebration. As players assembled for the celebratory championship photo, junior Cam Souza went over and grabbed Corliss’s No. 31 jersey, which had been draped over the bench, and proudly held it up as the cameras clicked. Following the game, it was standing room only in Corliss’s hospital room as coaches, players, and friends came to offer their support. “The response was overwhelming," said Corliss, who said he got messages from people he hadn’t heard from in two years. “The lacrosse community is large and amazing.”
“We’re like a little family,” said Theriault. “There’s a special bond among lacrosse players on and off the field.”
The recovery hasn’t been easy for Corliss, who has spent seven weeks in a cast and was recently fitted for a walking boot. Although his foot has been slow to heal, Corliss hopes to get the go-ahead to return to the team for fall ball. “I hope to be out there for the first day, but we’ll see how it goes,” said Corliss. “I should be good to go once the spring season begins. Injuries are part of the game and I’m just trying to move on and get ready for next season.”
Asked if he expects Alec to be on the field next season, Theriault says without hesitation, “Absolutely. We’ll see him back.”
