Finnerty moves on at Loyola

The germination of Collin Finnerty’s second chance in college lacrosse is laced with a bit of irony — an e-mail he sent to Loyola’s coaching staff in the days leading up to a game against Duke.

Finnerty, of course, was one of three Duke players wrongfully charged with rape two years ago. David Evans, then a senior, graduated. Reade Seligmann continued his career at Brown this season.

Meanwhile, Finnerty is a sophomore starting attackman for ECAC champion Loyola (7-6), which visits top-seeded Duke (16-1) on Saturday in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

“I think his best lacrosse is ahead of him,” Loyola coach Charley Toomey said. “There’s no doubt he’s made an impact and a big reason we’re back in the playoffs after losing 80 percent of our offense.”

It has turned into an ideal addition for the Greyhounds, whose collection of attackmen is known far more for speed than size. At 6-foot-3 and 210 pounds, Finnerty provided a different look this season while producing 13 goals and an assist.

Finnerty was not made available to comment per the wishes of his parents and his attorney, a Loyola spokesman said.

Like the rest of his 2006 Duke teammates who were not seniors, Finnerty can petition the NCAA for an extra year of eligibility. If he opts to do so, he would have two more years to play after this season.

That could mean a few more encounters with Duke beyond this weekend. Finnerty and the Greyhounds already have met the Blue Devils once, a 21-8 home loss March 8 that reunited him with former teammates who remain impressed with how he handled matters connected with the case.

“He’s a special kid,” Duke attackman Matt Danowski said. “This never brought him down, and he never showed us that it brought him down or that he was worried about it or that it was depressing for him. He’s moving on with his life and enjoying Loyola and that experience. I’m just happy that he’s happy.”

Toomey concurs and believes Finnerty has found Loyola a comfortable fit since his first visit to campus.

“He’s a good teammate,” Toomey said. “He’s a very open kid, a funny kid, witty. A prankster but again one of those guys everybody kind of looks up to physically. But he is a personable kid that a lot of kids gravitate toward.”