BEARLAXTRAXFAX 04232023

by John Nichols

Division I

BEARS vs BEARS

Penn (Stephen Bou) 17

Dartmouth(Brendan Gallagher, Brett Gallagher, Cameron Brown, Zak Oehlerking) 6

The Quakers limited Big Green to a single goal in each of the first three quarters.  Dartmouth’s only back-to-back scores were the final two of the game.  Penn, however, had two big scoring runs, the first of which consisted of seven straight scores in the first half and largely determined the outcome of the game.  After Dartmouth scored their second goal of the game, Penn put another five straight in the cage.  Penn’s goalie recorded fifteen saves on the day, making an otherwise close statistical match a runaway on the scoreboard.

Zak and Cameron took one shot each and Cameron got to two ground balls for Dartmouth.  Stephen saw some field time for Penn.

Michigan (Graham Hertzberg, Hunter Taylor) 19

Ohio State (Cullen Brown) 14

Michigan took an early lead by scoring four times in just fifty-nine seconds late in the first quarter.  The Buckeyes stopped that run with a pair of goals and stayed on the Wolverines’ heels, tying the game up with two scores just before the end of the first half.  Michigan inched ahead at the start of the second half then put the game away with a nine-goal run.  Ohio State replied with their own scoring string with five straight scores, but the clock ran faster than the scoreboard and they could not close the gap.

Cullen took two faceoffs and scooped up two ground balls.

OTHER GAMES

Denver (Ryan Giles) 13

Providence 6

Denver took control early with seven straight first-half goals.  Providence broke that string with a pair of goals then the teams had a couple of rounds of swapped scores—two for Denver, one for Providence, before the Pioneers closed out the scoring for the day.  Denver had clear advantages in both shooting volume and accuracy.

Ryan took one shot for the Pioneers.

Harvard (Joey Graham) 11

Princeton 17

The Tigers’ eight-goal run in the middle of the first half built a wall that the Crimson could not overcome.  Harvard tried to bounce back with three straight scores, but Princeton in the closing minutes of the first half, but Princeton responded with one score to close out the first half and two to open the second half.  From that point on, the teams matched each other goal for goal then each scored twice to finish the contest.  Princeton’s goalie was a critical factor, making fifteen saves in the game.

Joey played in this game.

Hobart (Jackson Galiani) 15

Richmond 20

The Statesmen took an early four-goal lead and were up by two as time wore down in the first half.  The Spiders turned the game in their favor, scoring the final five goals of the first half to go up by three at the break.  They added on two more to start the second half which gave them what proved to be an insurmountable lead.  Richmond added their lead by not allowing successive goals to Hobart until the closing minutes of the game.

Jackson created one turnover for Hobart.

Maryland (John Geppert) 11

Johns Hopkins 12

Maryland scored first then the teams went on a protracted run of trading goals in pairs.  Consequently, the lead switched with each pair scored, but neither team ever led by more than one goal.  After Maryland went up 7-6, the pattern changed as the teams traded single scores.  Maryland’s 8-7 lead was their last lead of the day as the Jays responded with a pair of scores.  The Terrapins forged two more ties with neither team able to break out with a scoring run.  Hopkins netted two goals to go up by two late in the game.  Maryland clawed back within one with less than a minute to play and John Geppert’s ground ball off of the ensuing faceoff gave the Terrapins a chance as the clock ticked towards 0:00, but an errant pass led to a Hopkins possession and allowed the Jays to run out the clock.

John assisted on Maryland’s goal which tied the game up at 10-10 and he also had two ground balls for the Terrapins.

Navy (JT Thomas, Preston Luger) 6

Army 11

Army proved the better marksmen on the day, putting two-thirds of their shots on-goal while Navy lined up the target correctly.  Army took a few more shots than Navy on the day and their greater accuracy put pressure on the Navy goalie who made an impressive fourteen stops.  Army took an early 3-0 lead then closed out the first half with four straight scores to take a 9-2 lead into the locker room.  The Midshipmen recorded the first three goals of the second half, but Army stopped their advance with a single score.  The game’s final quarter was a war of attrition with each team scoring just once.

Yale (Jake Cohen) 14

Albany 6

Yale was the odd man out on Ivy schedule this week, so they fit in a final non-conference match against Albany.  Yale never trailed in the game and by never giving up successive goals to the Great Danes, the Eli were able to incrementally build an unassailable lead.  Albany outshot the Bulldogs, but Yale’s accuracy proved more valuable than Albany’s volume and what shots Albany was able to put on goal were far more likely to end up in the goalie’s crosse.

Jake caused three turnovers and came up with two ground balls.

POLLS

Inside Lacrosse/Media

1.      Notre Dame

2.      Duke

3.      Virginia

4.      Johns Hopkins

5.      Penn State

6.      Cornell

7.      Maryland

8.      Georgetown

9.      Army

10.  Denver

11.  Villanova

12.  Penn

13.  Delaware

14.  Rutgers

15.  Syracuse

16.  Yale

17.  Michigan

18.  North Carolina

19.  Utah

20.  Princeton

USILA COACHES

1.      Notre Dame

2.      Duke

3.      Virginia

4.      Penn State

5.      Johns Hopkins

6.      Cornell

7.      Georgetown

8.      Maryland

9.      Army

10.  Villanova

11.  Denver

12.  Penn

13.  Yale

14.  Michigan

15.  Delaware

16.  Rutgers

17.  Princeton

18.  North Carolina

19.  Syracuse

20.  Boston U.

Nike/USA Lacrosse

1.      Notre Dame

2.      Duke

3.      Virginia

4.      Penn State

5.      Johns Hopkins

6.      Maryland

7.      Cornell

8.      Army

9.      Georgetown

10.  Denver

11.  Villanova

12.  Penn

13.  Princeton

14.  Delaware

15.  Rutgers

16.  Syracuse

17.  Yale

18.  North Carolina

19.  Boston U

20.  Michigan

THIS COMING WEEK

LOOKING AHEAD—CONFERENCE TOURNAMENTS

Atlantic 10 Four teams qualify for the conference tournament with the tournament winner getting what is likely to be the sole slot for the A10 in the NCAA tournament.  Hobart is currently in fifth place and will need to beat High Point this weekend to be in the running for a slot.

Big East  Georgetown remains in first with a conference record of 4-0 and will close out their conference schedule against Villanova this week.  Denver and Villanova are both 3-1 coming into the final weekend of the season and are assured of tournament slots.  The last team in will be either Marquette or Providence.  Providence has an easier path as their final game is against last place Saint John’s while Marquette plays Denver.  If those two teams both win or both lose this coming weekend, Providence advances due to their 16-14 win over Marquette earlier this month.

Big Ten: Johns Hopkins and Penn State claimed the top two seeds with matching 4-1 records in league play.  They will play semi-finals games against the winners of Saturday’s quarterfinals in which Maryland is the #3 seed and will take on Rutgers, the sixth place team.  Last year these were the top two seeds in the conference.  The Big Ten’s first round will also include a Bears versus Bears game with #4 Michigan hosting #5 Ohio State.

Ivy: The top four teams make the Ivy League tournament. We know three of the four teams that will make the tournament: Penn, Cornell, and Princeton.  Cornell and Princeton both have 4-1 records going into their head-to-head match this week.  The winner will be the top seed, the loser will face Penn in the semi-finals.  The fourth seed will be determined in a Bears versus Bears game this week as Harvard and Yale, both of which have two wins and three losses in league play, conclude their regular season schedules.

Patriot League: The League’s top six teams make the Patriot League tournament.  Navy is tied for fourth with Loyola and appears will be in the top six regardless of this coming weekend’s outcomes.

Division III

BEARS vs BEARS

Dickinson (Will Single) 12

Gettysburg (Billy Banfield) 7

Dickinson’s goalie saved the day for the Red Devils in an otherwise evenly contested Centennial match.  The game was fast paced from the start with both goalies making saves and taking possession back for their side.  It took twelve minutes for Dickinson to get the game’s first goal, then Gettysburg came back two minutes later with their first.  The teams again trade goals then Dickinson scored three goals in a row which gave them a lead the proved durable over the rest of the game.  Gettysburg closed out the first half with a pair of scores to pull within one, but

Dickinson reeled off two straight to start the scoring in the second half.  Gettysburg kicked off the fourth quarter with an early score, then the Red Devils salted the game away with a string of four goals in four minutes.  The Bullets stopped that run but could not rally in the closing minutes of the game.

Will played in the game.

OTHER GAMES

Amherst (Nicholas Kopp) 11

Middlebury 17

Amherst hung in there against Middlebury, a top ten team in the D-III polls, in the first half, and trailed by just two at the half.  Middlebury kept Amherst off the board in the third quarter and scored three times to extend their lead to five.  The Mammoths scored twice early in the fourth quarter, but Middlebury shut them out for the rest of the game while recording three fourth quarter goals.

Nicholas had an outstanding game at the faceoff dot, winning twenty-three of thirty-one faceoffs and collecting nine ground balls.  He also took two shots, one of which was on the cage.

Colby (Miles Tonkel, Colin Flood) 26

Thomas College 0

Thomas put exactly one shot on goal per quarter and each of four Colby goalies had one save.  An ideal outcome for the team’s last home game.  Colby and Thomas have played three times and the Mules have shut them out each time.

Miles had a busy day winning four of the nine faceoffs he took, scooping up six ground balls, causing two turnovers and taking three shots.  Colin was one for three at the faceoff dot.

Colby (Miles Tonkel, Colin Flood) 11

Trinity 15

The Mules answered the Bantam’s three-goal run in the first quarter in kind and led by one at the end of the first quarter.  Each team scored once in the second quarter, so their lead was preserved.  Each team had, and lost, the lead in the third quarter, but after a short bit of back-and-forth scoring to start the final period, the Bantams went on a tear, closing out the game with five straight scores.

Dickinson (Will Single) 18

Haverford 5

Dickinson’s defense never gave up successive goals to Haverford while their attack had several nice runs of four or five goals. 

Will took one shot which was on-goal and covered one ground ball.

Hampden-Sydney (Owen Hegadorn) 23

Randolph 2

This was the sixth consecutive game that the Tigers have held an opponent to five or fewer goals.  Randolph scored once in the first half after Hampden-Sydney started the game with seven straight scores.  The Tigers scored sixteen more times before Randolph got the last goal of the game.

Owen got the only save of the day for the Tigers’ goalie crew.

Hampden-Sydney (Owen Hegadorn) 20

Roanoke 11

Hampden Sydney buried Roanoke right away.  After giving up a quick goal off of the opening faceoff, the Tigers scored six straight goals.  Roanoke broke that streak, but Hampden-Sydney bounced back with another four in a row.  After Roanoke wrapped two pairs of scores around a single Tiger goal, Hampden-Sydney closed out the first half with four straight scores to lead 16-6 at the half.  Scoring was far more even and far less hurried in the second half.

Tufts (Garrett Kurtz) 22

Hamilton 12

Hamilton scored twice at the end of the first quarter to take a one-goal lead into the second.  That was the last time they would lead and the last time they would record back-to-back goals.  Hamilton was able to tie the game once more, but the Jumbos scored four goals in four minutes to take the lead for good.  Scoring was pretty much even after that until the Jumbos put together a five-goal run early in the final period.

Garrett played in the game.

Washington & Lee(Will Bou) 16

Roanoke 12

This ODAC match started hot with both teams scoring twice in the first five minutes.  The Generals then poured in four straight before Roanoke got the last goal of the first quarter.  Allowing just two to Roanoke while scoring five, W&L had a six-goal lead at halftime.  After Roanoke kicked off the second half with an early goal, the Generals extended their lead out to eight with three quick scores.  Roanoke made a run at the Generals with five straight scores in a run that lasted into the fourth quarter, but W&L restored order with a pair of goals.

Will won fifteen of twenty-four faceoffs, scooped up seven ground balls and also took one shot.

Washington & Lee(Will Bou) 20

Grove City 10

The Generals limited Grove City to one goal at a time while producing short scoring runs between those Grove City goals.  As the game wore on, the Generals’ runs got longer and the Wolverine’s single scores less frequent.  In the middle of the fourth quarter, Grove City broke through with a string of three straight scores, but the outcome had been largely decided by then.

Will won ten of fourteen faceoffs and covered three ground balls.

Washington & Lee(Will Bou) 26

Randolph 1

Washington and Lee scored the first twenty-six, Randolph got the last one with twelve seconds left in the game.  Will won all nine of his faceoffs and got to six ground balls.

POLLS

INSIDE LACROSSE/MEDIA

1.      Tufts

2.      Salisbury

3.      RIT

4.      Middlebury

5.      Christopher Newport

6.      Bowdoin

7.      Dickinson

8.      Gettysburg

9.      Amherst

10.  York

11.  Saint Lawrence

12.  Washington & Lee

13.  Lynchburg

14.  Swarthmore

15.  Denison

16.  Cabrini

17.  Union

18.  Williams

19.  Hampden-Sydney

20.  Stevens

USILA COACHES

1.      Tufts

2.      Salisbury

3.      RIT

4.      Christopher Newport

5.      Middlebury

6.      Dickinson

7.      Gettysburg

8.      Washington & Lee

9.      Bowdoin

10.  Amherst

11.  York

12.  Saint Lawrence

13.  Lynchburg

14.  Denison

15.  Union

16.  Cabrini

17t. RPI

17t. Swarthmore

19.  Williams

20.  Stevens

NIKE/USA LACROSSE

1.      Tufts

2.      Salisbury

3.      RIT

4.      Christopher Newport

5.      Middlebury

6.      Dickinson

7.      Bowdoin

8.      Gettysburg

9.      Amherst

10.  Swarthmore

11.  Denison

12.  York

13.  Stevens

14.  Washington & Lee

15.  Cabrini

16.  Hampden-Sydney

17.  Union

18.  Saint Lawrence

19.  Williams

20.  Lynchburg

LOOKING AHEAD—CONFERENCE TOURNAMENTS

NESCAC:Tufts (Garrett Kurtz) is undefeated heading into its final regular season game and assured of the top seed in the tournament.  Amherst (Nicholas Kopp) will also qualify for the tournament with their seeding subject to the outcome of their game against Trinity on Tuesday.

ODAC: Seven teams qualify for the ODAC tournament and both Washington & Lee(Will Bou) and Hampden-Sydney (Owen Hegadorn) are in the field, but this week’s play will settle the seeding.  Hampden-Sydney is currently in first place with a perfect 9-0 record in conference play.

Centennial Conference: This conference is rich with accomplished programs. Gettysburg (Billy Banfield) and Dickinson (Will Single) assured of making the tournament with seeding determined by this week’s contests.

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