The cross-checking play on Michael Powell still excites Rutgers lacrosse goalie Greg Havalchak.

It’s been two years since Rutgers visited Syracuse at the Carrier Dome. But Havalchak vividly remembers cross-checking Powell as he approached the 15-yard line toward the goal. He knocked down the No. 1 attackman in the country.

‘Everybody was booing me, man,’ Havalchak said. ‘It felt great when I crushed him.’

Havalchak looks forward to his reunion with Syracuse at the Dome this Saturday when Rutgers plays Syracuse at 4 p.m.

Havalchak loves to make the big hit. It’s his way of making his mark on the field and on pesky attackmen. He played offensive guard and nose tackle for the football team at Corning East High School in Corning. Havalchak, a 6-foot-1, 225-pound goalie, carries that physical toughness onto the lacrosse field. He doesn’t stop shots like a typical goalie. Instead of simply saving the shot, Havalchak confronts attackmen with full force.

He doesn’t let players prevent him from blocking the ball, even if it involves knocking them down. With this approach, Havalchak also takes some abuse. Balls constantly hit him, but he is immune to it – he says he barely feels a thing.

‘I don’t think he was ever born with any nerve sensors for pain,’ Corning East lacrosse coach Bob Streeten said. ‘He could get whacked in any part of the body and would show no pain. I haven’t seen many goalies who have a strong tolerance for pain.’

In Rutgers’ game in the Carrier Dome two years ago, Havalchak made 14 saves in a 12-11 Rutgers win. Last year, the Rutgers goalie saved 21 shots in SU’s 14-10 loss. His performance was one save shy of his career record he set against Dartmouth in the season opener.

In the opener this year, Delaware peppered him with shots up until the last minute. But Havalchak made one quick save after the other as the Scarlet Knights narrowly escaped with a 9-8 win.

Havalchak reads players more than his textbooks. He anticipates where an opponent will shoot, but he doesn’t react until the shot is fired. And, usually, he makes the save just in time.

The more balls a team shoots on Havalchak, the better he plays, RU head coach Jim Stagnitta said. He engages more in the action when he’s pressed.

‘Playing a top five or top 10 (team), there’s kind of an extra incentive,’ Havalchak said. ‘Their style of game plays in my style of game. They’re up and down, they shoot a lot and they play off transition. It allows me to get a rhythm. If I see three quick shots and I get them all, I feel confident.’

Rutgers, an offensively depleted team, nets six goals a game and can use any help it can get. To make up for its inadequate scoring, the Scarlet Knights (4-5) lean on Havalchak for his defense. Obviously, the goalie can’t bail his team out in every situation.

Stagnitta and Havalchak are also concerned with the junior goalie’s tendency to let down when he’s not challenged. Against slower, less talented teams, Havalchak doesn’t respond as much.

‘He really drives you nuts,’ Stagnitta said. ‘If (the other teams) are not getting a lot of shots and they’re not getting quality shots, he’s going to struggle.’

Streeten noticed Havalchak’s clearing and stick handling needed some work in high school, as well. Havalchak didn’t play lacrosse until sixth grade. Streetan said that most kids enter the lacrosse program in the Corning school district around second grade and immediately work on passing and stick work to solidify a foundation.

Streeten recommended that Havalchak spend the summer before his senior year to work on clearing and stick work at the local ice rink. Havalchak usually spent his summers in Bethany Beach, Del., at his beach house and also cooked at Cottage Caf. But he didn’t that year.

‘I think he rattled me from my beach experience a little bit,’ Havalchak laughed.

On the upside, though, Havalchak’s athleticism helped him. Adam Zuder-Havens, Havalchak’s best friend, convinced him to try the sport. Zuder-Havens remembers how Havalchak’s physical stature made a difference in the cage right away.

‘He was a big kid and he stepped in there,’ Zuder-Havens said. ‘He wasn’t afraid of the ball. I’d be afraid of the ball but that’s because of him.’

Before, Havalchak played baseball. When Zuder-Havens asked him to switch sports, Havalchak agreed partly because he figured he had a better chance to earn a scholarship in lacrosse. Havalchak thought this in sixth grade, and, he predicted correctly.

His plan almost failed, though. Few Division I schools pursued Havalchak in high school. He said few were interested because he didn’t aggressively make a name for himself by attending lacrosse camps in the summer. Instead, he spent his summers in Bethany Beach.

Lehigh and Loyola showed interest in Havalchak, but he wanted a bigger school. Stagnitta, who joined the Rutgers coaching staff in 2003, wanted to rebuild from its 2-14 campaign in 2002. To make it work, he needed a solid goalie.

‘We couldn’t afford to be (cautious),’ Stagnitta said. ‘There weren’t a lot of options and we were willing to take a chance. It was a match made in heaven. We needed him and he needed an opportunity.’

Havalchak jumped on the opportunity right away. He earned the Eastern College Athletics Conference’s rookie of the year, helping Rutgers reach the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Havalchak said the difference between high school and college lacrosse posed few differences because three future Division I attackmen shot on him everyday in practice. Zuder-Havens will attend Delaware State after his stint at Herkimer Community College this year. Mike Warner plays for Mount St. Mary’s in Emmitsburg, Md., while Mike Hatton joined Syracuse this past season.

The collegiate level competition challenged Havalchak to succeed. And as in any pressure situation, Havalcak responded.

‘There’s people out there who have that innate ability to be at their best when the pressure is highest,’ Stagnitta said. ‘I don’t want to compare him to an MJ. But in every walk of life, Wall Street, the military, people have those intangibles that separate themselves.’

Published on April 12, 2005 at 12:00 pm