Each week, BRSN sits down for a Q & A session with the BRSN Athlete of the Week. This week, we caught up with Athlete of the Week Senior Cornell Men’s Lacrosse attackman Matt Donovan following his outstanding six-point effort in leading the Big Red to victory over the previously undefeated Yale Bulldogs.
BRSN: Matt, thanks for taking the time out to speak with us. With your outstanding four-goal performance on Saturday, you became just the eighth player in Big Red history to eclipse the 100-goal career mark. How does it feel to achieve such a milestone and have your name associated with some of the best players to suit up for Cornell?
MD: It’s awesome; when I walked on campus my freshman year, I was pretty uncertain as to what type of career I’d have here at Cornell. I knew I would work hard, but that doesn’t always transition into having success, unfortunately. So, to see positive results come from all the blood and sweat exerted over the past couple years is a pretty honoring and humbling experience.
BRSN: Matt, thanks for taking the time out to speak with us. With your outstanding four-goal performance on Saturday, you became just the eighth player in Big Red history to eclipse the 100-goal career mark. How does it feel to achieve such a milestone and have your name associated with some of the best players to suit up for Cornell?
MD: I think as each year has gone by, I’ve just felt more comfortable on the field. I’ve been able to watch and play with some unbelievably talented players here, so as I’ve grown up, I’ve been sure to analyze why players like Rob Pannell, Steve Mock, Max Van Bourgondien, Connor Buczek, etc. are so good and apply certain aspects of their game to my own. In the end though, having the mindset that you’re capable of doing great things is essential – especially in the world of sports.
BRSN: The team opened up the season with a 14-6 loss to Syracuse, but since then you’ve gone 4-1 and defeated two top ten teams. How were you able to bounce back and what’s led this recent success?
MD: Losing our first game, to Syracuse nonetheless, was tough to swallow. However since then, we’ve been making strong improvements and we’re playing some pretty good lacrosse right now. Our coaching staff deserves a lot of the credit because they’ve kept the team composed and been understanding of the fact that even though we’ve lost a few games, there’s no reason to hit the panic button. Other than that, it’s just been our hard work, which has been a staple of Cornell lacrosse for quite some time now. We have a great amount of veterans on the team who’ve experienced both failure and success in their careers here. We’ve been through a lot with each other, and I can’t wait to see how the rest of the season plays out.
BRSN: How did having your first full week of outdoor practice contribute to the team’s victory? How did you adjust to not having this luxury prior to last week?
MD: Having a full week of outdoor practice last week was great. It finally allowed us to just roll the ball out and compete against one another. The younger guys are really starting to develop their game, and it’s awesome to see. Prior to being able to practice outdoors, we’ve been spending a lot of time in the Ramin room in Bartels. It’s definitely not a full field, so it only allows for a couple drills, but practice is practice, and we’ve done a good job of focusing on controlling what we can and not dwelling on any outside circumstances that we simply can’t do anything about.
BRSN: Both personally and as a team, what are your expectations and goals for this year?
MD: As a team, we’re just focusing on one game at a time. There’s so much talent in Division I that anyone is capable of knocking off a top competitor. With that said though, we certainly always want to go undefeated at home, undefeated in the Ivy League, win the Ivy League title, and go into the national tournament playing our best lacrosse, so we can make a serious run at the National Championship title. Personally, I guess I’d say be the leader and quarterback of the offense, while trying to lead the team in assists. If any outside accolades come from that, great. If not, I won’t lose to much sleep over it.
BRSN: What are some of your interests outside of lacrosse?
MD: I’m a pretty regular college kid; I enjoy any outdoor activity with friends. I also enjoy embarrassing teammate Tim LaBeau, aka Lobo, in any extracurricular activity, mainly the video game NHL 2015 though.
BRSN: What is one thing that most people don’t know about you that you would like to share with fans of Cornell and, more specifically, Big Red lacrosse?
MD: I’m highly entertained by dogs, babies, and grandparents.
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