Cougars lax bounces back from early defeat
By: Justin Feil
It’s not surprising that Will Treichler will attend Colgate University next fall.
Both his father and grandfather graduated from the upstate New York school.
"Colgate was only thing I knew," Treichler said. "I’ve gotten Colgate T-shirts since I was like 2 years old."
But until two years ago, it would have been hard to foresee Treichler being a lacrosse signing for the Red Raiders. After playing baseball for his first two years at Montgomery High School, Treichler made a switch to lacrosse.
"I played baseball all the way until sophomore year," he said. "I had a lot more interest in lacrosse at that point. I started in a local summer league and then played in the indoor league with the high school team. I did that again this year. So even though I’m pretty new to the sport, I’ve gotten my fair share of it."
Treichler, who starred at running back in the fall for the MHS football team, was a solid addition to the Cougar boys’ lacrosse squad last spring. He’s returned even better this year.
"He’s one of the top athletes in the senior class," said MHS head coach Tim Sullivan. "He’s a kid who’s going to work as hard as he can to be as good as he can be. I’ve known him in the past. He told me he was a little interested sophomore year. He told me after the year, he was done with baseball. And now, there were schools he wanted to play with for football that he couldn’t get into. Lacrosse opened the door for him."
Treichler, a tri-captain, is part of an MHS defense that has proved stingy through its first two games. The Cougars followed up a 7-6 overtime loss to defending Group IV state champion Hunterdon Central on Monday with a convincing 14-7 win over rival Hillsborough on Wednesday. Fellow captain Mike Yetter had four goals and two assists while tri-captain Steve Watson had three goals. The Cougars pulled away with a 6-2 second-quarter edge that built a 9-3 halftime lead.
"We started playing much better defense," Treichler said. "The attack, they were able to put all sorts of goals in from different angles. We took energy from them and they took energy from us. We worked really well. We were kind of feeding off each other."
The win helped the Cougars even their record at 1-1 heading into Saturday’s game at Bridgewater-Raritan. In the spring break week for MHS, there are no breaks.
"Bridgewater just beat Ridge," Sullivan said. "They just beat Ridge, 6-3, so it’s going to be a very tough game. It’s hard to have all these games during spring break. It’s going to be a big game. Then we have Immaculata next Wednesday."
Treichler is encouraged by the way the Cougars responded to an initial setback against Hunterdon Central. MHS dug itself a 5-2 halftime hole before storming back to tie it, 6-6, and force overtime where HC won it.
"Afterward," Treichler said, "there was a period of time where you’re kind of down on yourself. You know it’s a one-goal game in overtime, and it could have gone either way. They got the break and won. We decided, if you’re going to lose, you might as well lose it in overtime to a good team, and they were Group IV state champs last year. The next day, at practice Tuesday, we were a little down at the start and then we focused our energy positively. We just said, we know how it feels and let’s not have another one.
"I like the team this year. It seems so far at least that we’re able to get excited real easy. We can say we came out a little flat in the first half of the Hunterdon Central game. But once we woke up, we were all right. If we play with energy, I think we can be a pretty good team. We did a good job today of keeping the energy level high."
The seniors are in part responsible for the demeanor of the Cougars. There are seven seniors on the MHS roster, and led by the trio of captains they have been a strong influence so far.
"I don’t have many seniors," Sullivan noted. "I’m encouraged by the ones I have. Steve Watson had another three goals. Mike Yetter had a good game today with four goals and two assists. Will Treichler played solid defense. They’re stepping up and giving every effort they’ve got. The other kids on the team are seeing that. There’s a lot of positive feedback from the seniors.
"Over the past two years, it’s a key part. It’s a whole team effort. For the seniors, it’s their last go-around for a lot of them. If they come in with a strong attitude, it’s funny how they all feed off it. We had a talented senior group last year and the year before and they took us far. This senior class is a lot smaller than the past two. They’re doing a great job with what they have."
Treichler has had to adjust to an increased role. He deferred to Yetter and Watson early in the preseason while establishing himself. He has stepped into a leadership role with a defense that will be a key to the Cougars season.
"Ryan Butler graduated and he’s now at Lynchburg," Treichler said. "Other than that, there were six of us long poles last year that got a lot of time. The majority of us are back. It’s a pretty experienced group of defenseman. The biggest difference is the leadership part of it. Last year, I was just getting my feet wet and really worried about how I was playing. While I was worried about the team concept, I wasn’t worried about leading it. Ryan was there for that.
"Now I have to make sure not only am I doing it, but the whole team is doing it. It’s challenging, but it’s fun at the same time. I take pride in being able to set up first and second and third slides and if the goalie makes a save and we get a clear. We don’t get a lot of stats, but that’s our little piece of the pie we get."
Sullivan likes the change of pace that Treichler can bring. He can lighten a mood as quickly as he can focus the defense. It is just his second season of lacrosse, but Treichler isn’t surprising the Cougars with his ability.
"He had a nice feel for it," Sullivan said. "And he’s also the running back for the football team and captain, so he has a lot of heart. He’s fitting in perfect. What he’s doing out there has been fantastic."
Will Treichler’s play is the just what Colgate envisions him bringing to their program. He is looking forward to the opportunity, after he helps MHS win as many as possible in his senior year.
"We have the makings to be a really good team," Treichler said. "It just comes down to if we’re willing to punch the clock and bring our lunch pails. If we can keep doing that, we can make a little noise later on."