A Rivalry That Only Matters on the Field

DeMatha's Matt Miller believes that his bout with testicular cancer will not affect his chances of playing lacrosse for Division I Drexel next year. (By Ricky Carioti -- The Washington Post)
Buy Photo

After an article on Miller ran in the February issue of Inside Lacrosse magazine, DeMatha Coach Scott Pugh said more well-wishes came pouring in.

"I think it shows you just how tight-knit the lacrosse community is," Pugh said.

As Miller went through chemotherapy, which for three of the nine weeks included five-to-six hour sessions from Monday through Friday, lacrosse remained on his mind.

"That was one of my biggest motivations," he said, "getting back on the field."

After chemotherapy ended in early February, Miller got the go-ahead to play, and he became the team's opening day starter. He has not relinquished that role.

Even though the Stags lost two of their top attackmen in early April, the goaltending duo of Miller and junior Ryan Brant (who typically plays the second half) helped DeMatha go 9-0 in conference play in the regular season.

In one of those games, a 9-8 win over St. Mary's Ryken on April 24, Miller had 11 saves. Asked about Miller's performance, Knights Coach John Sothoron said he didn't notice any difference between Miller this season and Miller last season.

"I thought he played outstanding," Sothoron said. "He looks great."

Miller's tumor markers recently were measured at zero and the tumor is now one-third of its previous size. Doctors told him they're almost certain the remaining mass is just dead cells, but to make sure, he will have a CT scan within the next two weeks. If the tumor has continued to shrink, he said that means it should eventually go away.

If not, Miller will fly to Indiana in June to have the lymph nodes between his chest and waist removed, just to make sure the cancer won't come back in the future. That surgery would require a week in the hospital and a month of recovery, he said, but it should not derail his college career.

For now, though, Miller is focused on one more high school achievement.

The top-seeded Stags (11-4 overall) host St. John's today in the WCAC boys' lacrosse quarterfinals. The semifinals are Thursday at the site of the higher seeds.

If DeMatha makes it back to the championship game, which is a week from today at the University of Maryland, the Stags could face second-seeded St. Mary's Ryken one more time.

"[A championship] would be a great way for him to finish out his career with what he's faced," Angel said, "and I'd definitely be proud of him and definitely send him another card saying that. But at the same time, I'm still going to try to fight and mess up that storybook ending."

When that quote was read to Miller, he laughed. "I would be doing the same thing if I were him," he said.

When pondering the possibility of a title, however, Miller is more reflective.

"We've just overcome a lot of adversity," he said, "especially me, since the doctors weren't sure if I was ever going to be able to play lacrosse.

"To win a championship would just be the icing on the cake."