When Navy men’s lacrosse coach Richie Meade asked Seth DiNola to switch from goalie to defensive midfield early this season, he received an immediate response from the junior.
“I told them I wasn’t fooling around,” DiNola said. “I wanted to get started that day. So I went to the equipment room and got some new stuff. I got a pole, I got a short stick and he said, ’We’re going to use you everywhere.’”
Meade wasn’t kidding. DiNola, who began the season as the starting goalie before his removal from the role two weeks into the season, is now a key long pole for the No.4 Midshipmen (7-1) entering today’s game at No.1 Maryland (8-0).
The transition itself was stunning enough for someone who hadn’t played the field since seventh grade. Yet DiNola’s eagerness to embrace his new role and his support of new goalie Matt Russell have made his situation even more remarkable.
“That’s his attitude toward everything,” junior midfielder Graham Gill said. “He takes it in stride. Things weren’t working right for him, so he just moved on. The thing he’s doing now is clicking, and he’s doing fine. If there was anyone who could do it, it was him.”
DiNola started all 13 games at goalie as a sophomore, then beat out Russell this spring in what Meade called “the hardest decision I’ve ever made as a coach.”
The two split time in a season-opening rout of Lafayette, but DiNola made only three saves in the Mids’ 12-9 loss to Ohio State on Feb.28.
Meade, sensing his team was at a critical juncture, decided Russell had earned a shot. But when he informed DiNola of his decision March2, the coach asked if he would accept a role with the defensive midfield — and be ready to play that week at North Carolina. Three days later, DiNola had a few runs as a short stick in the Mids’ overtime defeat of the Tar Heels.
“Typical of Seth, he stayed after practice every day; he learned what he needed to learn,” Meade said. “We go down to North Carolina and we win, and I go up to him and the first thing he says is, ’I’m really proud of Matt.’ That’s the fairy tale. Now he’s getting better every game.”
DiNola’s background led to a smooth transition. A basketball point guard growing up, he adapted the defensive principles he used on the court to the lacrosse field. Though it took time to pick up on the spacing differences between the two sports, DiNola had an immediate understanding of what he needed to do.
“I’m down with anything, and I know I can play anywhere,” DiNola said. “Skillwise, I have a good stick. Defensively, I’ve played basketball my whole life, so I can pick that up easily. The footwork is exactly the same. Concepts like hedging on screens and support defense — it’s all stuff I’ve had in me.”
He saw his first action as a long pole March13 against Bucknell and drew some strange looks from opposing players who expected DiNola to be stopping shots rather than running a fast break in transition.
Since the switch, he’s played on faceoff wings, man-down defense — pretty much everywhere.
He’s also improving at a rapid pace. In the Mids’ 7-5 defeat of Georgetown last week, DiNola found himself in back of the goal against Hoyas attackman Neal Goldman. It was a new situation, but one he handled to help Navy hold on for the victory.
“Seth’s never played behind the cage, he’s never gone one-on-one behind the goal in practice,” Meade said. “But he’s been a goalie and he knows what he’s supposed to do, and he has enough poise and confidence. … It doesn’t matter what position you ask him to play, he’s going to be great at it.”
In addition to the success, DiNola is enjoying the freedoms his new role has brought him after years of confinement around the cage.
“That’s something I’ve missed, just the open field where you run by people,” DiNola said. “I’ve gotten a little taste of that at long stick on the faceoff wings. I’m having fun playing. … My dad is saying, ’I always knew you should be a short stick. I always thought you were inhibited in the goal.’ I said, ’I don’t know, Dad.’ But it is funny how things work out.”
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