Agility allows attackman to help Knights

Lake Norman Charter attackman Josh Ford picked up this season right where he left off last year.

After leading the Knights with a team-high 45 goals and finding teammates for 28 more in 2012, the senior hasn’t allowed a hamstring injury to slow him down.

Playing in two of the team’s first five games heading into the March 15 game at Hopewell, Ford led the team with eight assists and added four goals as the Knights defeated Conference 10 opponents Hough and Mooresville.

The senior tallied two goals and five assists in his first game back, against the rival Huskies, helping Lake Norman Charter to a convincing 16-8 win.

“He maybe didn’t score as many goals as he would’ve liked,” said first-year Knights’ head coach Matt Whiehl. “But he drew a lot of attention. ... That allows him to distribute the ball to the open teammate.”

Ford added three more assists and a couple of goals in an 18-2 win against Mooresville.

The 18-year-old describes himself as a dodger on the field. Ford, who got into lacrosse in third grade and started playing competitively in middle school, credits his agility to playing soccer when he was younger.

“Josh is really explosive,” said Whiehl. “He’s got great side-to-side movement and a great nose for goal.”

Whiehl, who took over for former coach Terry Gobble in the offseason, after spending a year helping coach the team, added that Ford also stands out because of his ball-handling, field vision and ability to finish inside with his quick stick.

“He opens up the field,” said Whiehl. “He opens up looks to other players.”

Having been at Lake Norman Charter for two years, Whiehl has noticed Ford’s maturation on the field.

“He’s definitely gotten better,” he said. “Especially his confidence level after having a really good season, where he was starting with a senior-heavy line-up.”

Despite his breakout junior season, Ford said he wasn’t satisfied with his performance. He wanted to get better to help the Knights improve on last year’s 14-6 season, when they were conference runners-up to eventual state champion Lake Norman and reached the second round of the state playoffs.

In addition to playing club lacrosse, Ford worked on his outside shooting and attended team-run workouts to stay in shape for his final high school season.

The Wingate commit’s work ethic has impressed Whiehl.

“He puts his nose down and gets it done,” said Whiehl.

That mentality is what the coach said allows Ford to lead Lake Norman Charter by example.

“He’s always doing what you ask of him,” said Whiehl. “He adjusts his game to fit the grand scheme of things.”

With eight seniors on the roster, including Ford, the team has some experience, but it also relies heavily on some younger players, including long-stick midfielder/defender Griffin Stechmiller and attackman Hudson Harris – both sophomores.

“I think we’re going to do some good things,” said Whiehl. “I think we’ve progressed as a team every time we’ve stepped on the game field.”

Stechmiller gets help on defense from senior Randon Hassell, while junior Michael Clark solidifies the team at goalie, stepping in for his now-departed older brother, John.

Offensively, Harris had scored a team-high 10 goals going into the Hopewell game along with junior Petey Fabian, who was second on the team with five assists.

Sophomore Luke Koferl had scored eight goals in the team’s first five games, while senior T.J. Francomano added seven.

Ford likes seeing the effort shown by his Knights, who started the year 4-1.

“We play a lot better as a team this year,” the 5-foot-11, 150-pounder said. “It’s a smaller team, so we’re closer.”

Whiehl enjoys seeing his team being unselfish offensively.

“Nobody’s standing out as the take-over player,” said Whiehl. “We have a lot of guys doing good things. I think that’s going to be key to our success later on – that everyone’s contributing, that nobody’s trying to dominate on their own.”