By Jean DePlacido
Peabody's Leo Shidler had the game of his life — and it couldn't have come at a better time.
The Mount Ida senior captain scored nine goals and assisted on another to power the Mustangs to a 25-9 victory over archrival Castleton (Vt.) State in the North Atlantic Conference championship game last weekend.
"It was unbelievable," said Shidler, who is ranked fifth in the conference in total points (57) and fourth in goals (33). The attackman is a Second Team All-Conference selection and broke the conference playoff points record.
"When I came to Mount Ida, I never thought I'd be on four straight league championship teams or go to NCAAs three (straight) seasons. Some guys play all four years (of college) and never get the chance to go."
It was the sixth consecutive North Atlantic Conference championship for Mount Ida (9-1 league, 13-6 overall) and carried an automatic NCAA Division 3 tourney bid with it. The Mustangs will begin NCAA play this afternoon when they hit the road to face powerful Springfield College (11-6) in the first round.
Shidler, one of six former Peabody High players on the squad, was named tourney MVP with former Tanner teammates Bryan Seaman, a sophomore defenseman, and Justin Famiglietti, a freshman goalie, joining him on the All-Tourney team.
Castleton had handed Mount Ida its first conference setback ever five weeks ago, 14-11, but the Mustangs eagerly welcomed the rematch. After falling behind, 2-0 early, Shidler completely took over and scored the next four goals. He found the back of the net three more times before halftime to give his team an 11-4 cushion.
Shidler, who said his previous best moment in college was scoring the game-winner in overtime last season against Colorado College, wound up scoring on all nine shots he took, recording an amazing 100 percent shooting.
"I did an interview with a reporter from the press in Vermont, and couldn't think of anything to say. I was totally speechless because I've never done anything like that in my career," Shidler said. "I think it was more a question of being lucky because I got great passes, and after a while (teammates) were looking for me.
"We had some key injuries on defense when we lost to them before and were having a lot of trouble clearing the ball. Having 'Fam' start in goal for us made another big difference because he had 11 saves, including some big ones."
Shidler wasn't the only former Tanner doing damage. Fellow attackman Matt Savage added four goals and two assists, setting a new school record for most goals in a single season (56) and joining the exclusive 100-Point Club — as a sophomore.
Savage, who was named team MVP and a first team All Conference player, led NAC in goals scored, was second in points in the conference and fourth in the country for Division-3 lacrosse scoring. He has 64 points this season after netting 40 as a freshman.
Two other Peabody players, long stick junior midfielder Kevin Mulvey and sophomore defensive midfielder Derek Broughton, also contributed to the big win. Mulvey, who missed a lot of the season due to injury, returned to anchor the defense. Broughton, one of the tri-captains, has been very steady all season long.
"It's great having so many Peabody guys on the team," said Shidler, who passed the 200-point career mark in the Mustangs' NAC semifinal win over Maine Maritime. "It's scary to think how many points Savage will have by the time he graduates."
Mount Ida head coach Andrew Fink has good reason to be pleased with the players Tanner coach Kevin Houlden has sent his way.
