Apparently, playing the long-stick midfielder position has been hazardous to the health of the men’s lacrosse players this school year.
Last fall, Peter Harris ’07 fractured his right foot during captain’s practice and is still in the midst of the rehab process. Now, Harris’ replacement, Tom Bendon ’07, is playing through pain after slicing open his right thumb and index finger on a sharp ceramic ledge in the shower of his campus apartment.
Despite six stitches in his hand, Bendon was able to play in the Cardinals’ latest win, 10-9 in double overtime, at Amherst on Wednesday. The win gave the Cards their fourth Little Three title in the last five years.
But when it was determined that Harris would not be available for much of the regular season, there was some uncertainty as to how the team would react to losing what head coach John Raba called “an All-American caliber player.” The Little Three crown and a 10-1 overall record (4-1 NESCAC) have erased any doubts about the merit of Harris’ replacement.
“I have to say that I am Bendon’s number one fan,” Harris said. “He has stepped up and become a defensive force.”
On the field, Bendon spends most of his time harassing opposing attackers for a defense that ranks first in the NESCAC in goals-against average (5.16). He has also been a magnet for loose balls, collecting 40 on the season to give him the second most on the team. In other words, he makes his living on out-working his opponents.
“Tom has worked very hard and put himself in a position to succeed,” Raba said. “He’s a very good leader and competitor. The combination of his academic success and off-season conditioning is what I’m most impressed with.”
At 6’3“ and 210 pounds, Bendon is no stranger to the Wesleyan weight room. However, he has slimmed down during his transition from close defenseman to long-stick midfielder.
”Wesleyan is notorious for zone defense and everybody in the package has a specific job,“ Bendon said. ”And all last year I got minutes at close defense out on the wing, and I learned that position well. All my off-season work was geared towards close defender, getting bigger and stronger. But when we lost Pete and I was told I was going to make the switch, I had to start running a lot more, which was good, because I was starting to get fat.“
Once preseason began, Bendon still felt out of place in his new position.
”It was really uncharted waters playing up top in the zone defense,“ Bendon said. ”The first few practices were tough. But Jeff McLaren’s [’06] incessant constructive criticisms helped ingrain the system in me. Now, it’s funny to think how out of the water I was at the beginning of the year. It’s like a new bed. At first it’s strange and weird, but then it conforms to your body and you sleep there every night.“
Bendon also credits Harris’ useful advice early in the season.
”Obviously Pete is a great player, and he deserves all the recognition he has gotten,“ Bendon said. ”So when he went out, we were scrambling, but he was in my ear and that was really helpful. He kept things positive and pointed me in the right direction. Frankly, I feel blessed to have him helping me out, and I wouldn’t want it any other way because it could always be worse. I could be taking cues from Matt Smith [’06] and that’s never good.“
Still, the Cardinals miss Harris for more than just his teaching
”Anytime you take [a player like Harris] away from the team there is a loss,“ Raba said. ”He is a great leader and really has been a key factor in many of the biggest games the Wesleyan lacrosse team has ever played in.“
Some of Bendon’s teammates have noticed subtle differences between him and Harris.
”After we commandeered a copy of Babson’s scouting report, saying that Pete was ‘slow with no change of direction,’ it was nice to have TB [Bendon] on the field,“ said tri-captain midfielder Mike Hines ’07. ”We realized that, in fact, their scout was correct, Pete is slow. But at the same time it would be nice to have Peterman because, unlike TB, Pete actually attempts to play with the ball with his stick instead of simply kicking it down the field.“
As Harris has only recently gotten off crutches, it appears that he is not quite ready to help the Cardinals build on last year’s run to the Final Four of the NCAA tournament.
”Peter has had a tremendous attitude through his injury and is doing everything he can possibly do to get back out there,“ Raba said. ”He doesn’t feel sorry for himself and is always looking ahead. It will be great to see him out there running around with our guys in a couple more weeks.“
For now, Harris remains a spectator, as well as Bendon’s personal coach and number one fan. But he’s far from worried about the Cardinals’ prospects with Bendon wielding the long-stick in the midfield.
”I guarantee Tommy will be instrumental in a Wesleyan run deep into the NESCACs and NCAAs,“ Harris said.
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