AMHERST — Grant Chryssicas isn’t the player who stands out on the highlight reels.
He doesn’t shoot the ball much and he’s not often involved in the Amherst offense. He’s the type of scrappy midfielder who earns his playing time making plays on the wings that make the coaches happy but might not show up on the stat sheet all the time.
Yet the sophomore was in the middle of two huge plays for the Mammoths last weekend in the national semifinals against Williams.
First, Chryssicas scooped up a rebound and fired home his eighth goal of the season for the opening salvo of the game. Then when the Ephs started to capture some momentum in the second quarter, he flew in to pick up a loose ball on the faceoff and feed Evan Wolf for a goal — only the second assist of the year for Chryssicas.
Amherst’s path to the national championship game against Cabrini (21-2) in Philadelphia is littered with plays like the ones Chryssicas made on Sunday. In a sport where only 20 players see the field in a given game for most teams, the Mammoths (18-3) have routinely played 27 of the 32 players allowed to be dressed. And that depth is a major reason the Mammoths will play for their first national title at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday at 4 p.m.
“There are a lot of guys who are very selfless, they’re not ‘me guys,’ they’re ‘we guys,’” captain Brogan Mahon said. “I think of a guy like Grant Chryssicas, he’s out there and it seems like every time we need momentum, he picks up that big ground ball. We have a lot of those guys who are willing to make that play who don’t always stand out on the highlight reel, but they mean a lot to us.”
Injuries to positions that would hamper most teams have done little to slow down Amherst. At various points this season, the Mammoths have had their starting goalie and starting faceoff specialist go down with injuries, yet it would be hard to tell that from the performance of their backups.
The most notable example is sophomore Gib Versfeld, who was thrust into the cage after Chad Simons was injured early in the Mammoth’s win over Connecticut College. Versfeld and Cam Mitchell battled to take the No. 1 spot in Simons’ absence with Versfeld grabbing hold of the job right before the start of the NESCAC Tournament.
In six postseason starts, Versfeld is 5-1 with a .549 save percentage and a 10.00 goals against average.
“Defensively, they’ve done a great job working with me and we’ve developed some great chemistry in the last couple of weeks,” Versfeld said. “I went from being ready for anything to just being comfortable and confident in myself just to go out there and be able to do my job and own it out there and be the best I can be for this team.”
The type of chemistry and trust that Amherst’s players have built within the locker room does not happen overnight. There have been plenty of moments where that belief has been tested, including in the second half of the win over Williams once the Ephs took the lead at the end of the third quarter.
However, none of the adversity Amherst has faced this season has dampened that faith between teammates. In fact, most of it has only strengthened the bond between the Mammoths and the confidence they have in the next man up to produce and buy into their role.
“We start trying to build it in September when everybody gets on campus and we have our first fall ball scrimmage or captain’s practice,” Mahon said. “It probably (comes around) when the coaches get there and we’re mixing in so many different guys that you sort of have to believe in each other. It makes it easy to trust a guy coming in like PJ (Clementi) or Jack Patton, who are coming in for (Jack Norton) on man-up. It makes it pretty fun when you have guys who aren’t usually in the spotlight, making those big plays.”
The trust Amherst has in its depth is a major factor in the Mammoths’ favor heading into Sunday’s game. Both programs are playing in the national championship game for the first time, and coach Jon Thompson said he believes whichever team relaxes first will be more likely to win.
Thompson said his message all season has been that the Mammoths’ stars don’t need to be the best players in the big moments. They simply need to trust their fundamentals and play within themselves and good results will follow. Amherst’s depth certainly makes it easier for the Mammoths to relax because they know all of the 32 players in uniform Sunday will be ready to make that critical play in a crucial moment.
“One of the mantras of the last couple of weeks is our best players don’t have to rise to the occasion, they have to fallback on their training,” Thompson said. “If we resist the urge to rise to the occasion and embrace the urge to fall back on our training, we’ll relax quicker and that’s a good overall formula for us.”