Hofstra's Card speaks the language of lacrosse

In his 10-page final paper for his linguistics class, Hofstra junior Jay Card dealt a bit with a culture gap that is rapidly closing in U.S. college lacrosse: American-born players melding with the influx of fellows who speak, as Card put it, "the Canadian language."

Card is from Caledon, Ontario, near Toronto. In his country, people speak a form of English, of course. And French. Different creole dialects and regionalisms. And "a language all our own."

For instance, Card would not like to be thought of as an eggandspooner. "That's a lacrosse player," he said, "with terrible stick skills who looks like he's carrying an egg in a spoon out in front of him."Nor a Bobby Bigwheel - "Someone who isn't good with girls."

As the 2009 Colonial Athletic Association player of the year, Card in fact personifies the rationale for the increasing search among Division I lacrosse coaches for Canadian lads, who grew up playing indoor box lacrosse, with its smaller goal and tighter quarters that foster better stick skills and shooting accuracy.

Card's 35 goals led Hofstra last season and, entering Saturday's NCAA Tournament first-round game at Maryland against the tournament's No. 3 seed, he has 49 points this season (27 goals, 22 assists), second on the team. First is Jamie Lincoln (33-20-53), a junior who (no surprise) hails from St. Catherines, Ontario, and was convinced to enroll at Hofstra by Card.

In more ways than one, those two talk the same talk. In Canadian, Card explained, there are "the usual 'ehs' and the 'pops' [for soda]. And there is 'poutine.' That's a snack, like fries and cheese curds with gravy. Really good. Maybe not good for you. A chesterfield is a coach. A cheese wagon is a yellow school bus."

And a goal is a goal is a goal. that speaks both traditional lacrosse (Long Islanders, upstaters, Marylanders) and Canadian. No eggandspooners here.