Charlotte senior key part of talented Mustang offense

One player stood out to Kevin Iwanusa when he showed up for his first Myers Park boys’ lacrosse practice last year.

Iwanusa, then the offensive coordinator, watched him dart around the field, quicker than everyone else.

“Who’s this guy?” Iwanusa asked then head coach Mike Gambrill. “I think I can work with him.”

That guy was Drew Ortiz.

Ortiz, a 5-foot-7, 145-pound senior attack for Myers Park, scored 45 goals and had 27 assists last year. He was named All-Observer and 2012 U.S. Lacrosse All-American. During the summer, he committed to play at High Point University.

He’s one of the key offensive pieces coming back this year for the Mustangs (3-2 through March 13), which lost in the state semifinals last year to eventual state champion Lake Norman.

“You literally look out there and you see everyone going at one speed and you see Drew is able to just cut and turn on a dime and do some things that no one else can,” said Iwanusa, who is in his first year as head coach. “It’s his athletic ability, more than anything. He plays football, he plays other sports and it’s given him some of the quickness and speed that you need to be really effective in this game.”

Ortiz started playing lacrosse in sixth grade and has been on varsity since his freshman year at Myers Park.

That team went on to win a state championship in 2010, the first sanctioned by the N.C. High School Athletic Association. The Mustangs have made it to the playoffs every year since, losing in the second round his sophomore year and in the semifinals last year.

“Myers Park has always had a winning history in lacrosse, so definitely I don’t want to let that down,” said Ortiz, 17. “We definitely want to exceed all those expectations that we’ve been building up.”

Ortiz had to work hard to even be able to play at the beginning of this lacrosse season. He missed his entire senior football season in the fall after the wide receiver tore his ACL and MCL in August.

“The first few months were pretty rough,” he said. “I could barely even walk on it. I just stayed persistent and I was determined to play this year.”

He came back earlier than he expected. Through four games this season, he’s scored 13 goals and assisted on seven more.

“His not-100-percent is better than most kids in the state, so we’ll take it,” Iwanusa said.

Iwanusa said Ortiz is the hardest worker on the team. The coach uses Ortiz as a example for younger players of what it takes to play at a high level.

Ortiz relies on his speed and agility to get free on offense. He has quick hands that create opportunities for himself and teammates.

Iwanusa just wants Ortiz to learn when to pull back.

“He’s like a pit bull, it’s just go go go and a lot of times as a coach you want to reign that in and teach him to use it to his advantage,” he said. “There’s a time and place when you’re in traffic or dodging and getting ready to score a goal that he puts his skills to use wisely, in a better way and it’s starting to help him develop as a player.”

Ortiz gets help on offense from fellow senior and Air Force recruit Reid Foley. The two have been playing varsity together since freshman year and play on the same club team.

“We have pretty good chemistry,” Ortiz said. “We get the ball moving around pretty well, so that’s what it’s all about.”

Senior midfielder Brad Pellisero has also been playing varsity for four years with the Mustangs.

Midfielder Ned Hennessey is a sophomore playing varsity that has improved and freshman attack Austin Jones has impressed early.

“We didn’t expect to have him,” Iwanusa said about Jones. “It’s kind of like playing with house money at that point when you get a kid that’s that good as a freshman.”

Myers Park’s weakness is on defense. The Mustangs graduated several senior defenders, including Angus Musser (Hampden-Sydney College). Myers Park coaches are trying to keep things simple for the younger defense.

The Mustangs do return senior goalkeeper Duffy Suhr, who Iwanusa said “does his job 99.9 percent of the time so I never have any complaints with him.”

The team will rely on its offense to keep the ball out of the defensive side of the field as much as possible. With so much experience, Iwanusa has been able to be more advanced in teaching and schemes to his midfielders and attackers.

“I can bring some things that we would do in college or even in the pros that these guys may not every have experience with,” said Iwanusa, who played at Pfeiffer University and professionally with the Charlotte Copperheads. “But they’re all going to go on and play at another level so it’s good for them to learn and it’s an opportunity for me to help them get better.”

Iwanusa smoothly transitioned into the head coaching job this year. He was Gambrill’s college roommate and has some of the same coaching and playing philosophies as the former coach. Iwanusa knew Myers Park had a successful foundation and he didn’t want to change much.

But the Mustangs struggled in their first two games, losing 16-3 to Lake Norman and 14-9 to Archbishop Spalding.

As Myers Park continues to improve, Ortiz will be a crucial part of the Mustangs’ drive to win a conference championship and make a run in the state tournament.

Ortiz is the emotional leader of the team, said Iwanusa. He gets the team excited when he scores and has the ability to shift the momentum and affect the players around him.

“You can’t teach that, unfortunately,” Iwanusa said. “You either have passion about what you’re doing or you don’t.”