Portland Press Herald: Arsenault Has Taken To Lacrosse In A Big Way

By Mike Lowe, Portland Press Herald Staff Writer

Athletes are among the first to discover that life isn't always fair.

Take Eugene Arsenault and the rest of the Clark University men's lacrosse team. The Cougars won three of their final four games, including an 11-10 double-overtime win over Wheaton, to finish 6-8 and produce a three-way tie for the final two playoff spots in the Pilgrim Lacrosse League.

But when the tiebreakers were tabulated, Wheaton got in and "we were the odd man out," said Arsenault, a senior attack from South Portland.

"It's unfortunate, but we had a really good season," he said.

It was a special season for Arsenault, a very popular student in the athletic department at Clark. He tore the medial and lateral meniscus in his left knee in the second week of preseason his junior year and couldn't play.

He returned this year to score 18 goals with eight assists while setting an example for his younger teammates.

"To have him back at full strength, to have him play at a high level all spring, was just great to see," said Coach Jeff Cohen. "He is a real force on the interior. He uses his size to shield defenders but he has a knack of knowing when to cut and when to move off ball. He knows instinctively when to start moving."

Arsenault is 6-foot-6, 275 pounds, numbers you normally would find on a football tackle, not necessarily a lacrosse attackman.

He played football at South Portland, "but you probably don't remember," he said. "We were probably the worst team in the state at the time. We went 0-8 two straight seasons."

But it was lacrosse that hooked him. He has uncommon agility for a player his size. And he has an aptitude for lacrosse. He used his size to his advantage, of course, but he also surprised defenders by moving quickly to a vacated area.

"I actually played defense when I first started playing lacrosse," said Arsenault. "I didn't like it. I wanted to score goals, to be the face. So I used my size advantage and tried to overpower kids. Everything was a lot more fun."

Cohen said Arsenault became much more committed to being fit in college, especially after his injury. He focused on workouts and diet and became a model player.

"He kept himself healthy," said Cohen. "There's so much movement involved in this sport and he was able to keep playing lacrosse with a football body because he was committed to dieting and conditioning."

"The injury motivated me a lot," said Arsenault. "I worked hard to lose weight.

"And this ended up being my favorite year playing in college. I had a lot of good friends and I felt really good playing for the team and my coach."

Sitting out a year had another advantage. Arsenault went to every practice and game and got a good look at the nature of the sport.

"It definitely made me understand how the offense is supposed to be run," he said. "And I learned by watching the defense. It helped me as a complete lacrosse player."

Arsenault is known for more than his lacrosse ability at Clark. He works in the athletic department, is known as the voice of Clark basketball and helps set up the sites for athletic contests.

Arsenault wants to play one more year. Because he missed his junior year with the injury, he has one more year of eligibility.

He'll graduate with a degree in business management and plans to apply to Clark's graduate school for communications. If he gets in and can make his class schedule work, he plans on playing again.

"It'd be nice," said Arsenault. "I'd love another year."

So would Portland's Sam McAdam, Arsenault's longtime friend, who missed his senior season after suffering a lacerated kidney in the second game of the season.

"It'd be great to have them both back," said Cohen. "But they've got to make the commitment to school first."