Two years ago, junior midfielder Joel Tinney electrified Homewood Field with a standout performance in his rookie year as a Blue Jay, tallying 28 goals. He formed a young core with classmates Shack Stanwick and Patrick Fraser to complement now-graduated veterans such as Holden Cattoni, Ryan Brown and Wells Stanwick in one of the most dangerous attacks in D-I lacrosse.
After a initially slow start, the team caught fire and won the Big Ten title, knocking off formidable opponents such as the Virginia Cavaliers and the Syracuse Orange, en route to a Final Four appearance.
Although the Jays would fall in a nail biter to archrival University of Maryland Terps in the semifinals, the team looked poised for future success.
The following season, however, Tinney was suspended for the entire year for a violation of NCAA rules. Subsequently, the Jays slumped to an 8-6 record overall, and, while they did make the NCAA Tournament, they were handily defeated by the Brown University Bears in the first round.
This season, Tinney has returned to the field as the Jays look to avenge last season’s disappointing end.
Their quest to play deep into May has gotten off to a convincing start: the Jays soundly defeated the Navy Midshipmen and the UMBC Retrievers in the opening week of play. Tinney is currently tied for second with Stanwick in scoring, only behind senior attack Wilkins Dismuke.
Perhaps the highlight of the season so far has been Tinney’s successful hidden ball trick in the game against Navy, a play that instantly went viral, shared widely across the internet and even making the ESPN SportsCenter Top-10.
The play consisted of Tinney faking a pass to senior midfielder John Crawley. With the defense and goalie focused on defending Crawley, Tinney instead moved towards goal and fired a shot on net without anyone knowing until it was too late.
For the strong start to his return this season and his hidden ball trick goal, The News-Letter has named Tinney its Athlete of the Week. He was kind enough to answer some of our questions.
The News-Letter: How does it feel to be back on the field after missing the last season?
Joel Tinney: Being back on the field is great. Last year was tough, but I have learned from it. My team and my family helped me become a better person and player because of it.
N-L: How did you plan and execute the hidden ball trick against Navy? JT: There was no planning behind the hidden ball. It is a little creativity we use to kind of get the ball moving and John [Crawley] just happened to know exactly what I was thinking, and he sold it perfectly.
N-L: How has the team coped with losing key players from last season, such as Ryan Brown and Holden Cattoni?
JT: Losing those guys is tough, but we are never just about one player. We seem to be meshing well; Freshmen are stepping up in big ways to help the team. Offensively, it is about our unit and following the game plan that Coach [Bobby] Benson has put in place.
N-L: What are your personal goals for the rest of the season?
JT: Personally, for the rest of the season, I just want to continue to contribute all over the field in anyway I can. I also want to get back to the Final Four like we did two years ago.
N-L:What are some of the things you as a team need to improve on from last year to make a deep playoff run?
JT: As a team there are always things we can do to get better, whether it is improving our fundamentals or our game plan for an opponent. It is important we continue to improve each week in order to play late into May.
