It seemed to be the start of something special for then-sophomore Zac Guy and the 2011 Hoyas. Guy, an attack out of Tully, N.Y., had just logged one goal and one assist in the team’s season opener against Jacksonville. Minutes into the second quarter, however, Guy was slashed on the hand.
As a typical, tough Division I lacrosse player, the sophomore brushed it off as a small setback, not realizing he had suffered a broken hand that would end his season quicker than it had begun. With the injury, Guy was forced to sit out and redshirt the season, a result that even he admits was heartbreaking.
“It was really disappointing,” Guy said of the injury. “Last year, not playing, just watching the whole time just got me wanting to get back in.”
Head Coach Dave Urick echoed Guy’s disappointment over the injury, but is glad to have the junior back alongside classmate Travis Comeau.
“The thing that you like about him is he’s got a lot of confidence in his ability,” Urick said. “He’ll turn it over from time to time but he’ll also make a lot of very good plays. He’s getting better – he’s getting a lot better.”
Last season, Urick beamed about Comeau and Guy’s chemistry. Comeau’s penchant for inside scoring and Guy, whom Urick describes as a player who prefers to accrue assists over goals, complement each other ideally. Despite the pairing, and while he appreciates the creativity Guy brings to the field and his innate confidence in his own ability, Urick also feels that the attack needs to work on keeping things simple.
“The young man doesn’t lack for imagination, and he can create for himself,” Urick said. “He’s very capable of goal scoring, and sometimes he’ll have a five-yard shot but then he feels like he’s got to get a three-yard shot. I think we need to take the five-yard shot.”
Guy was on the verge of what seemed to be a breakout season, but his coach feels that much of his instinctual improvement will come with experience, as this will be his first full season as a significant piece of the Hoyas’ puzzle.
The upstate New York native, for his part, is comfortable again, as he worked throughout the summer playing box lacrosse in Canada with Comeau. In the end, though, he is simply excited to get back in the swing of things and contribute for the Hoyas.
“Just watching the rest of the year was pretty difficult,” he said. “But now, I’m all healthy and ready to go.”
