Offensive-minded Chescavage leads laxers into opener with No. 22 Irish

By CHRIS ANTONACCI
Collegian Staff Writer

John Chescavage is not much of a golfer.

But he can drive -- far.

Chescavage is not very agile.

But he can shoot -- hard.

Really hard.

When the longhaired Penn State attacker winds up, he unleashes sheer fury. With one of the hardest shots in the nation, Chescavage is an offensive dynamo, leading the Penn State men's lacrosse team in scoring last season.

"Shooting is my advantage, I am not the most nimble of people," Chescavage said. "When I get in the game, I am looking to shoot. I am always looking to get goals, it is kind of my mentality."

That mentality for this year begins at 1 p.m. Sunday when he and his fellow No. 16 Nittany Lions host No. 22 Notre Dame in Holuba Hall to start the 1999 season. The game has playoff implications, as the Lions have been on the cusp of the postseason thrice, each time being one win away.

For the past two seasons, the chance to get one of those wins to start off the season has been lost at the hands of the Fighting Irish. And Chescavage knows this game begins his last season and last chance to win a national championship. Look out Irish, Chescavage wants to win -- badly, really badly.

"Obviously, we have struggled in the past with Notre Dame," Chescavage said. "We have always felt that we are better than Notre Dame. We thought we have been humiliated in the past. It is kind of a big thing, it is huge for us to get off the season with a win."

Chescavage believes he has not fared well in the past against the Irish, and wants to change that. Not faring well by Chescavage's standards includes netting two goals and one assist last year's match, and one goal the year before as a sophomore. Apparently, Chescavage wants to do more.

And no one is more concerned than Irish coach Kevin Corrigan.

"The first thing you think about with him is his shot," he said. "He can certainly put the ball in the cage."

No kidding. Last season, Chescavage did that 29 times and assisted on 10 others. He attributes that to his power.

No one knows of Chescavage's power more than Penn State goalie Kevin Keenan.

"You know if it hits you it is going to hurt," the three-year starting goalie said. "I just remember as a freshman when he got a open shot, it was going to be a gimme. He can really put the ball in the cage.

"Anybody that can shoot the ball that well is really gonna hurt other teams' defenses and help your offense."

While it hurts, Keenan has no fear, he does not cringe before the shot. However, sometimes the two captains will joke about Chescavage's power, but all in good fun.

"(Keenan) usually grimaces," the 6-feet-2-inch, 220 pounder said. "I feel bad about that kind of stuff, I feel kind of like an asshole hitting him everyday in practice. He'll start talking trash talking to me a bit, but it kind of plays off each other."