Shaler grad Weaver finds his niche at midfield for Heidelberg

Moving without the ball wasn’t something Liam Weaver ever put a lot of thought into.

Making a position change for the Heidelberg (Ohio) men’s lacrosse team this season presented a new line of thinking.

After moving from midfield to attack, the sophomore has found a niche for the Student Princes. After scoring three goals and adding an assist in a 20-8 loss to Capital last Wednesday, Weaver has recorded 36 goals and 15 assists thus far this season.

Putting an added emphasis on positioning has been a major focus for Weaver.

“It’s never been in my bags of tricks as a midfielder,” Weaver said. “I’ve always had to work on my lacrosse IQ.”

Shifting positions has led to more opportunities for Weaver, who was named Ohio Athletic Conference Player of the Week earlier this season.

Weaver recorded 32 points, including 21 goals, in 15 games as a freshman.

Adjusting required being comfortable in different positions on the field.

“Mainly positioning and having a long stick on me was new,” Weaver said.

Heidelberg coach Bill Schmoldt believed Weaver’s lacrosse IQ made switching positions a natural transition.

With a young roster, Weaver wouldn’t be the only player looking to find his footing.

“It’s good from the sense he can learn and develop,” Schmoldt said. “The only negative is he doesn’t have an older guy to show him the ropes and correct little things. They are learning together. We are lucky my graduate assist Sam Kuhn is an offense guy, and he’s taking on that senior role of working with guys individually on how to get their hands free and correct things in their game.”

Through 13 games, Weaver already had recorded more goals, assists, groundballs and shots on goal than he did all of last season.

Building chemistry with teammates and new offensive tactics have helped create opportunities for Heidelberg (5-8, 2-3).

“He plays well with (midfielder) Pat McCarthy,” Schmoldt said. “Liam works on his craft a lot. He practices shooting with his left and his right hand. He does a good job of taking advantage of what the defense gives him.”

While the Student Princes have lost three straight, Heidelberg already has won more conference games than it did last year.

“We’ve had some tough losses where the scoreboard didn’t reflect how well we played,” Weaver said. “We’ve been making progress. We want to have a strong end to the season.”