Crawley has always been that type of player and continues to carry himself that way with the PLL’s Atlas LC. The PLL Championship Series tournament begins Saturday at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman, Utah.
“I really believe the only reason I was able to play [at Hopkins] was due to thinking and making proper decisions, selfless decisions to dodge, draw a slide and move the ball,” he said. “Or if no one slides to me, shoot.”
Crawley finished his collegiate career with 70 goals and 30 assists. He knows developing his lacrosse mind helped him accrue those numbers back then, and it’s helping him to this day.
“John has an incredible mind for the game,” Cassese said. “He sees the game differently than most people I know in the sport. He has an unwavering commitment to the process, the details and the intricate aspects of his offense. His work ethic is off the charts. And his care factor for the players and all those he interacts with is undeniable.”
The offense Crawley implemented at Lehigh in 2020 was free-flowing. It’s not an offense he created himself. He adopted it from his college days at Hopkins with offensive coordinator Bobby Benson.
“It’s basically a basketball offense,” Crawley said. “It’s passing and cutting, passing and picking, passing and screening. It’s a lot of off-ball movement. You teach the players the little pieces about how to play. You basically try to steer them and mold the offense where players are playing to their strengths. Coach Benson taught me a whole lot about how the game should be played naturally, without being told exactly what to do and when to do it.”
“It is very humbling to hear that I’ve had the ability to influence John in a positive fashion,” Benson said. “John and his teammates took great ownership in the offensive system they created when I was with them, and they really enjoyed playing unselfishly together.
“Hopefully, the guys now playing for John have as much fun as we did and I hope they see the same level of success.”
Crawley helps his players learn where to be in certain situations. It allows the student-athletes to develop an even stronger understanding of the game, much like Crawley did at Hopkins.
“On a given possession, I have no idea what the guys on the field are about to do,” he said. “It’s all on the players. To be honest, that’s why I think I loved it so much.”
The Mountain Hawks also loved it in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. It was only six games, but Lehigh’s offense averaged 14 goals per game (15th in the nation), up from 10.67 the year prior. The Mountain Hawks scored 14 or more goals in five of six contests after reaching that mark just four times during the entire 2019 campaign.
A scary thought for the Patriot League (and the nation) was that Lehigh’s offense was not even close to performing at its potential.
“The last game [against Holy Cross] was actually the first time we had everything all together,” Crawley said. “I don’t believe we saw a finished product because the way you get better is developing chemistry and developing a complete understanding over what you need to do and how you need to do it.”
A strong chemistry was in the works, due in large part to not only Crawley’s mind, but also his commitment to relationships, much like he learned from Benson.
“The best thing about Coach Crawley is his ability to connect with all the guys,” All-League midfielder Andrew Eichelberger said. “He’s not too much older than us, and he’s still playing at a very high level, so it’s easy to talk to him about anything.”