BearLaxTraxFax 03.26.2018 by John Nichols

D-I

BEARS vs. BEARS

#12 Virginia (Ryan Pride) 12

Dartmouth (Landon McKenzie) 6

Through the midpoint of the last quarter, Virginia would score two or three goals for each one that Dartmouth recorded.  Dartmouth scored two quick goals in succession to close the gap a bit, but UVA got the last two and the mid-week win.

#7 Johns Hopkins (Sam Lynch) 15

#12 Virginia (Ryan Pride) 13

This game was a surreal tale of two halves, with UVA winning the first half 9-2 and dominating in every statistical category.  Hopkins took the second half 13-4, dominating possession time and every statistical category.  The Blue Jays second half eruption was driven by runs of six and seven goals, each run answered by just two from the Cavaliers. Sam had several runs as a short stick defender and Ryan Pride, having recovered from an injury, was in uniform for the game.

The Blue Jays retained the Doyle Smith Cup, awarded to the winner of each year’s regular season contest between these two teams.  Doyle Smith contributed greatly to the lacrosse programs at both schools and is the only non-player, non-coach in the USILA Hall of Fame.

Colgate (Griffin Brown) 8

#15 Army (Drennan Greene) 6

Army took a three-goal lead with twelve minutes left in the second period, then Colgate shut the door on them.  The Raiders put up 6 straight goals, holding Army scoreless for over 41 minutes of game time. Army recorded their last goal with just 36 seconds left in the game.  Griffin had 2 goals on 3 shots

St. Josephs (Thomas Halm) 6

Hobart (Riley McTague, Koko Avedisian) 5

In a game that was nearly dead even in every regard, St. Joseph’s modest advantage in shooting efficiency gave them enough of an edge to overcome the good play in goal by Hobart’s goalie.  Koko saw his first field time of the season for the Statesmen.

OTHER GAMES

#16 Bucknell (Sean O’Brien-Team Captain, Jarett Witzal, Colin O’Brien) 8

#20 Penn 9

The Quakers delivered a heart-breaking loss to Bucknell, netting the game winner with just two seconds left on the clock.  This was another closely contested game, one in which the score was tied seven times.  Bucknell scored the first two goals of the final period to turn a one goal deficit into a one goal lead.  Penn tied it up for the seventh and final time with five minutes left, then netted the winning goal just before the buzzer sounded.  Sean had a goal on four shots whileJarret won ten of twenty faceoffs and had four ground balls.

#16 Bucknell (Sean O’Brien-Team Captain, Jarett Witzal, Colin O’Brien) 12

#11 Loyola 11

Bucknell’s four goal run that spanned the end of the third quarter into the fourth gave the Bison a four-goal lead and they would need each and every one of those goals as Loyola mounted a late comeback, scoring three straight to close the gap to one with three minutes left.  Jarrett won the final faceoff of the game, but Loyola got possession back by saving a Bucknell shot.  The Bison were eventually able to clear the ball back in their zone and run out the clock after their goalie saved what would have been the game tying shot.  Jarrett was 15 for 27 on faceoffs with six ground balls while Sean scored twice on ten shots (keep shooting!).

The win improves the Bison’s Patriot League record to 4-1 with three league games remaining, tying them with Lehigh and Navy.  Loyola is at 3-1.

Cleveland State (Justin Conner) 5

Penn State 16

Penn State shutout Cleveland State 3-0 and 6-0 in the first and third quarters, respectively, to pick up the win.  Justin saw playing time in this game.

#14 Cornell (Jack Bolen, Colton Rupp, Andrew Fowler) 20

#20 Penn 13

Colton was back in the starting lineup for Cornell, scoring one goal on three shots.  The Big Red dominated play in the second half, outscoring the Quakers 12-3 over the last two quarters.  Down two midway through the third quarter, Cornell netted five straight goals to close out the third period and added a run of four straight over a three-minute span late in the fourth to run away with an Ivy League win. Jack also saw time in this game.  The win even Cornell’s Ivy League record to 1-1.

Dartmouth (Landon McKenzie) 8

Harvard 10

Dartmouth dropped its Ivy League season opener in a tightly contested game.  The game was tied at each integer up through a 6-6 time midway through the third quarter when a pair of Harvard goals gave the Crimson their first two goal lead of the game.  Dartmouth was able to answer back with a pair to tie things up again, but Harvard scored the last two to get the win.

Jacksonville (Hunter Sells, Andrew Mitchell) 9

Bellarmine 5

Hunter had 9 saves and seven ground balls for the Dolphins who improved to 2-0 in Southern Conference play.  Jacksonville’s wins are often driven by the “Hunter and Hunter” show with Hunter Sells standing tall in goal and Hunter Forbes dominating on faceoffs. Walt Bartman attended the game and reported that Hunter was spectacular. 

#2 Maryland (Justin Shockey) 11

North Carolina 7

Justin Shockey dominated on faceoffs to propel Maryland to the win in a game played in Costa Mesa, California.  Justin won sixteen of twenty faceoffs (80%) and led the team in ground balls with twelve (North Carolina had just 13 ground balls as a team).  Maryland exploited that faceoff advantage to build an 8-2 lead midway through the third quarter.  The Tar Heels fought back to within two late in the fourth, but Maryland closed out the win with a pair goals.

#17t Michigan (Will Amoroso) 13

#6 Notre Dame 12

Michigan picked up the biggest win in the school’s history, downing then #4 ranked Notre Dame.  Neither team could develop much momentum in a game which was tied seven times.  After three relatively low-scoring quarters, the flood gates opened up in the fourth with Michigan tallying five goals and Notre Dame six.  The Irish’s last shot hit a post with just three seconds left in the game and the Wolverines escaped with a big out-of-conference win.

#17t Michigan (Will Amoroso) 9

UMBC 6

Michigan closed out their non-conference schedule with their fifth consecutive win.  While the Retrievers shot often, the Wolverines were more selective and more efficient.

Navy (Tom Evans) 10

#19 Lehigh 7

Navy lost about every statistical category this game—shots, faceoffs, turnovers, ground balls, clearing efficiency and extra-man goals—but rode a hot goalie to a big Patriot League win.  There was just one penalty called in the game, an illegal body check by Navy, but it was locked in for the full minute and Lehigh managed two goals during their one-minute advantage.

The win makes Navy one of the four Patriot League teams with just on loss on the season also and they have the tie-breaking advantage with wins over two of those teams (Bucknell and Lehigh).

Polls

Cornell, Michigan and Bucknell all come into the poll with big wins this week

T. Halm #33; with fellow frosh Austin Strazzulla

This Coming Week

Cornell (Jack Bolen, Colton Rupp, Andrew Fowler) faces Dartmouth (Landon McKenzie) in our lone Ivy League Bears vs. Bears game.  Maryland (Justin Shockey) faces Michigan (Will Amoroso) in each team’s first Big Ten contest and Army (Drennan Greene) plays Bucknell (Sean O’Brien-Team Captain, Jarett Witzal, Colin O’Brien) in another Patriot League Bears vs. Bears match.  This Army/Bucknell game is also a Sean O’Brien (Bucknell Senior, Landon, 22 goals and one assist in 9 starts) vs. Sean O’Brien (Army, Sophomore, Sachem North, 7 goals and 2 assists in 8 starts) game.  Army’s Sean did not play in last years game when Bucknell’s Sean scored twice.

D-III

BEARS vs. BEARS

#3 Tufts (Luke Kurtz)  16

Trinity (Spud Dunn)  14

These two teams have usually finished the season at opposite end of the NESCAC standings with Tufts being one of the top teams in D-III lacrosse.  While that has led to some lopsided games in favor of Tufts, many of the games played between these two over the past ten years have been closely contested with Trinity getting an overtime win in 2012, year in which Tufts lost only three games.

Trinity look to be making this year’s contest a rout in their favor by jumping out to an 8-4 lead in the first quarter by winning ten of thirteen faceoffs and having a 14-3 advantage on ground balls.  Tufts incrementally worked their way back into the game.  A Jumbo goal with just six seconds left in the first half and a run of five goals in the first ten minutes of the third quarter flipped the scoreboard in Tuft’s favor.  Trinity closed out the third quarter with three straight to get back to a tie, but Tuft’s 3-1 advantage in the final period determined the final outcome.

Other Games

Catholic (Asst. Coach Tom Minkler, Sean Feldman) 10

Drew 8

The Cardinals had to overcome the superb efforts of Drew’s goalie who saved 14 of the 24 shots that Catholic put on goal.  Drew had a one goal lead after three quarters after blanking the Cardinals in that third period.  Catholic returned the favor with their own 3-0 shutout in the final frame, to open Landmark Conference play with a win.

Marymount (Asst. Coach Wes Lincoln)  9

Southern Virginia 13

Trailing by two at the half, the Saints rallied with four straight goals to start the second half to create a two goal advantage.  Southern Virginia responded with a run of five goals in seven minutes of game time to set up the win.  The game was Marymount’s first CAC regular season match.

#12 Ohio Wesleyan (Tyler McTague)  21

Kenyon 10

Ohio Wesleyan had this game well in hand less than 20 minutes in, up 12-1.  Kenyon closed out the first half with three straight goals, and then the Battling Bishops were back at it, opening the second half with a five goal run. Tyler saw playing time in this North Coast tilt.

#11 Salisbury (Brian Menendez) 6

#2 York 15

In the last ten regular season meetings of these Capital Athletic Conference foes, the Seagulls are undefeated and have won by an average score of 17-5.  Things are different this year.  Salisbury, currently 6-3, has lost three games in a season since 2015 and hasn’t lost a regular season conference game since 2014.  York, however, is off to a strong start this year, losing just once to Gettysburg and ranked #2 in the USILA Coaches’ poll coming into this game.

Trinity (Spud Dunn) 15

Emmanuel 0

Surprisingly, shutouts aren’t all that rare in D-III lacrosse.  Trinity’s blanking of Emmanuel was the sixth such instance this year and the lowest scoring of those six.

#3 Tufts (Luke Kurtz) 16    2OT

#14 Cortland 15

Each team built early leads of three goals only to see the other rally back to tie and take the lead back.  The later stages of the game were a more back-and-forth affair with the Jumbos tying things up at 15 on a man-up goal with just over two minutes left in regulation.  Tufts won the ensuing faceoff and their one shot on goal was saved.  Cortland could not challenge and we were on to overtime.  Cortland dominated the first overtime but was 0 for 5 on shooting.  In the second overtime period, Tufts wrapped two multi-shot possessions around a single shot by Cortland.  On that second possession, the Jumbos found the back of the net with just over one minute remaining.

Washington College (Will Oliver) 8

#9 Dickinson 14

Having made a strong showing at the War on the Shore last weekend, Washington had the honor of facing another ranked opponent.  This one did not go as well.  Dickinson was up 9-1 just a minute into the second quarter.  Scoring was more even from there on out, but that early run was the deciding factor.

Polls

USILA Coaches’ Poll:

#3 Tufts

#11 Salisbury

#12 Ohio Wesleyan

Nike/USL Poll:

#3 Tufts

#13 Ohio Wesleyan

#16 Salisbury