A Rivalry That Only Matters on the Field
WCAC Opponents Become Supporters as DeMatha's Senior Goalie Continues His Fight Against Cancer

By Jeff Nelson
Special to The Washington Post
Monday, May 5, 2008

Before word spread to the rest of the lacrosse community, Zack Angel heard it through the high school grapevine.

It was mid-November and Angel, a standout attackman for St. Mary's Ryken, had a girlfriend with a connection to DeMatha goalie Matt Miller. Because of that link, Miller and Angel had hung out on a few occasions and become friends during past tryouts for state all-star teams.

They hadn't seen each other in a while when the news reached Angel, but that didn't reduce the shock.

Miller, he was told, had testicular cancer.

Six months earlier, Angel had led St. Mary's Ryken to a Washington Catholic Athletic Conference championship win over DeMatha. That game, which snapped the Stags' streak of eight straight WCAC titles, only escalated the intensity of one of the league's best lacrosse rivalries. But according to Angel and Miller, there has never been any bad blood or venom between the teams. Only respect.

For proof, look no further than Angel's reaction in November.

Angel, an All-Met, immediately told his coach and teammates about Miller's diagnosis, and the Knights put together a team card offering Miller their thoughts and prayers. It was a simple gesture, but considering the source, that one card carried plenty of meaning.

"You've got to appreciate the kindness of their team," Miller said. "Even though we lost to them in the championship game, that [game] meant nothing when I was going through chemotherapy. It just gave me a higher respect for the character of their team and their coaches."

Said Angel: "Even though DeMatha is our rival you can never have enough get-wells in that condition. And he's a lacrosse player, just like us."

Four days after his diagnosis, on Nov. 12, Miller had surgery to remove the cancerous testicle. He also had a tumor the size of a tennis ball on lymph nodes near his waist, so he underwent nine weeks of chemotherapy.

During that time, Miller said he reconnected with extended family -- "The aunts and uncles and cousins you normally only see on holidays," he said -- and relied on the support of his immediately family, friends and teammates.

He also received the card signed by each of the Knights, a card from St. Albans Coach Malcolm Lester and almost daily phone calls from his future coach, Drexel University's Chris Bates.

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."