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The men’s lacrosse team is heading into the upcoming NCAA Championship with a 13-2 overall record. The Cavaliers have spent much of season ranked No. 1 in the polls. With big wins over the likes of Cornell, Johns Hopkins, Maryland, North Carolina, and Syracuse, they earned the top seed in the national playoffs. The Cavaliers’ journey toward a national championship starts Sunday at 2:30 pm as they host Villanova in the first round. Defensive midfielder Max Pomper has been one of the team’s top players throughout the season. The team has had two weeks since they last played, but with final exams, mixed in, the players have had their focus on their classroom tests, as well as their preparations for the Wildcats.
Question: The NCAA tournament seeds came out this past weekend and the team was given the top seed in the tournament What kind of honor do you think that is and how special is that?
Pomper: It’s very special. The last time we were ranked number one going into the tournament was 2006 and we ended up winning, so we’re all excited about the chances to repeat that. I think it is an honor, it talks pretty highly about our body of work that we had this season.
Question: Seasons are frequently judged on how teams do in May. How exciting is it for you and for the rest of the team to be back into the NCAA tournament?
Pomper: Really exciting. I think we all kind of had a sour taste after last year losing to Syracuse in double overtime. We’re all looking forward to performing in May and hopefully peaking as this month goes along.
Question: Given the two recent losses that the team had to Duke, how important is it to get some confidence back heading into the tournament?
Pomper: It’s very important. I think the way you gain confidence is by practicing hard and practicing well and I think we’ve done that. I think our confidence is back and we’re really excited to get going and play Villanova.
Question: As you said the team drew Villanova for its first round matchup. What do you know about Villanova? Do you know any of the players on their team?
Pomper: I actually don’t know many of the guys on the team. We’ve never played Villanova, at least I haven’t. They’re a good team, they made the tournament and every team that’s made the tournament this year is very talented. So we’re expecting the same out of Villanova. You know coach (Marc) Van (Arsdale) will probably chop up some film and we’ll get a better idea about them (Wednesday).
Question: One of the interesting things about the tournament especially in the first round is that you get to play a team that you likely have never played before. Is that one of the things you see as an interesting aspect of this matchup?
Pomper: Absolutely. There are a lot of unknowns to this team; we really don’t know anything about them as opposed to playing Duke or Maryland when you see them two or three times a year. But we’re excited about playing a team we haven’t played before and we’re looking forward to them coming to town.
Question: Final exams are going on right now, so the recent practice schedule has been kind of chopped up. Are the practices prior to getting into the game planning stage for Villanova a good time to get back to basics for the team?
Pomper: Absolutely. We spent the last two weeks now kind of just focusing on ourselves and we as a team need to get better as opposed preparing for other teams, and it almost had a kind of preseason feel. We had practices with a good amount of running, a good amount of conditioning and a lot of physical drills whereas in other weeks we had to play, say a Duke or Maryland, we kind of have to taper down. But we really got after it and went to work.
Question: Final exams are winding up at the end of the week. How does having exams and trying to get ready for this game complicate things?
Pomper: It complicates things in a few ways. One, people’s heads are kind of in the books as opposed to being concentrated on Villanova. But at the same time we have a lot of extra time now to focus on lacrosse as we finish up with exams, so it’s a nice time of year for everyone.
Question: Does players preparing for exams and preparing for a game require them to be sharp in preparing for both?
Pomper: Yeah, absolutely. It’s what being a student athlete is all about. You have to have half your mind on the books and half your mind on lacrosse field. It’s an interesting challenge but I think we’re all up for it.
Question: You have already finished your exams for this year and with graduation coming up, what will be more of a thrill—making a big run in the tournament and maybe winning a championship or graduating?
Pomper: Well both would be very exciting. I came here to win a national championship and it’s the one thing that I have been dreaming about ever since I stepped on campus and we’re really looking forward to making a good push towards the final four and hopefully letting it all hang out in Boston and hopefully winning this thing.
Question: Chris Clements has been out for the last couple of games. How does his potential absence from this week put more strain on you or does it?
Pomper: It definitely puts more strain on myself and Mikey Thompson, who is another defensive midfielder. Chris is an awesome player. He’s a speedy guy. He covered a lot of quicker midfielders that we used to play. But it puts a bigger onus on guys like Kevin Carroll and my brother Brian Pomper who are possibly the third defensive middies; they need to be now paying attention a lot more, paying attention to scouting report. It also puts a bigger responsibility on guys like John Haldy, Rhamel Bratton and Shamel Bratton, offensive guys who might have to play a little bit of defense. But I think Mikey and I are up to the challenge of playing a little more if it comes down to that.
Question: In the playoffs is it more of a case where the seniors and the older players have to increase their roles as leaders?
Pomper: Absolutely. Ours is a senior heavy team,. We’ve got a lot of great seniors and a good group of younger guys who have kind of being following our lead all year and we’ve been waiting for this. We’ve been waiting to be seniors, we’ve been waiting to lead and I think we’re all up for the challenge.
Question: How exciting is it to have this playoff game at Klöckner Stadium?
Pomper: Very exciting. You know you work hard all year to get a good seed, and we were blessed with the number one seed which means we get to play one last time in Klöckner. Some of my greatest memories are of being here playing here at Klöckner on a beautiful spring day. We’re really excited to play one last time in front of our friends and family at Klöckner.
Question: What do you think it is going to take to beat Villanova on Sunday?
Pomper: We’ve just got to play our best game. We’ve got to come out ready to play, not be flat. Play with energy, have a little bit of a swagger and just bring it to these guys.