BearLaxTraxFax by John Nichols

BEARS LAX TRAX FAX 05012023

Division I

BEARS vs BEARS

Harvard (Joey Graham) 11

Yale (Jake Cohen) 14

Coming into the final regular season match, Harvard and Yale were tied for fourth place in the league with matching 2-3 records.  This last game of the regular season between these rivals was also effectively a play-in game for the Ivy League tournament.

Yale had the early advantage, scoring four goals in the first five minutes of the game.  The Bulldogs extended their lead in the second quarter with three straight goals, but Harvard matched that.  Yale scored the final goal of the first half and led by four at the break.  In the second half, Harvard started the scoring, but Yale posted two goals to take a five-goal lead.  Harvard closed in on the Eli with three unanswered goals in the fourth before Harvard got an insurance goal in the final minute of the game.

Yale earned the #4 seed in the Ivy tournament with the win and Harvard’s season came to an end with the loss.

Jake had one ground ball for Yale.

BIG TEN TOURNAMENT—QUARTERFINALS

#4 Michigan (Graham Hertzberg, Hunter Taylor) 14

#5 Ohio State (Cullen Brown) 10

The Wolverines took over the game with six straight goals in the middle of the first half then three straight late in the second quarter.  The Buckeyes rallied back and scored twice in the final two minutes of the half to cut their deficit to five.  The brisk scoring pace of the first half gave way to a more grinding second half.  The teams traded single goals for most of the half until Ohio State got two quick scores with five minutes left in the game.  Neither team found the cage after that.

Cullen had two ground balls and caused two turnovers for the Buckeyes.

Michigan advances to the Big Ten semis to face #1 seed Penn State while Ohio State’s season ended with the loss.

#3 Maryland (John Geppert) 14

#6 Rutgers 11

Maryland dominated the game, never allowing back-to-back goals for Rutgers until late in the fourth quarter.  For much of the first half, the teams matched each other goal for goal but the Terrapins squeezed in three in a row in the midst of that give and take and led by three at halftime.  Maryland put up another three-goal run to start the second half.  Rutgers got their first successive scores to stop that run, but Maryland then reeled off another three in a row.  The Scarlet Knights attempted a late comeback, scoring four times in the final five minutes of the game.

John had two ground balls for the Terrapins.

Maryland advances to the Big Ten semis to play Johns Hopkins and Rutgers’ season is likely completed.

OTHER GAMES

Dartmouth(Brendan Gallagher, Brett Gallagher, Cameron Brown, Zak Oehlerking) 11

Brown 13

This final regular season game closed out play for 3 for both teams.  Two big scoring runs for Brown—five straight across the second and third quarters and four straight across the third and fourth quarters—determined the outcome of this game.  That first run put Brown ahead for good and the second run gave them the cushion they needed to withstand Dartmouth’s fourth quarter rally.

Both teams missed the Ivy League tournament, with Brown and Dartmouth in sixth and seventh place, respectively.

Denver (Ryan Giles) 15  OT

Marquette 14

Denver had the early advantage with back-to-back goals in the first quarter, but Marquette took the lead back with the first three goals of the second quarter.  Benefiting from two late goals, Denver had a one-goal lead at the break.  The second half started with the teams swapping single scores, then pairs of goals, the strings of three.  Marquette had the last set of three and that third goal tied the game with just eleven seconds left in the contest.  Each team had chances in overtime and Denver secured the win with their second shot of the overtime period.

Ryan played in this game.

Denver continues to the Big East tournament where they are the #2 seed and will play Villanova. 

Hobart (Jackson Galiani) 9

UMass 13

UMass had the advantage in ground balls and faceoffs, but Hobart was better at clearing the ball and committed fewer turnovers.  Those offsetting factors lead to nearly equal shooting numbers, so it fell to the goalies to be the deciding factors.  The UMass goalie saved over 60% of the shots that challenged him with Hobart’s netminder we under 50%.  In the first half both teams had three-goal runs and UMass was up by one at the break.  UMass allowed just one goal to Hobart in each of the game’s final two quarters while totaling five of their own across the two quarters.

Jackson played in the game.

With the loss, Hobart finished in fifth place in the Atlantic Ten conference and missed the conference tournament.

Navy (JT Thomas, Preston Luger) 12

Bucknell 9

Bucknell jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first five minutes of the game.  Navy responded with two in a row to cut their deficit to one.  For the rest of the first half the teams traded single goals and Bucknell led by one at halftime.  Navy tied the game up quickly in the third quarter, then took their first lead of the day with a pair of goals soon after that.  Bucknell bounced back with a pair of goals to tie the game up at seven-all late in the third quarter.  After another goal-for-goal exchange, Navy scored twice to go up by two.  This time Bucknell was not able to answer in kind.  After the Bison got their last goal of the game, Navy tagged on two more late scores to ice the game.

Navy moves on to the Patriot League tournament where they are the #4 seed and will play Loyola.

Penn (Stephen Bou) 14

Albany 11

The Great Danes took the lead early in the game with three-goal runs in each of the first two quarters.  Penn used a five-goal run to close out the first half and had the game tied up at eight all at the halftime break.  Albany took the lead back to start the second half, but Penn got their first lead of the day late in the third quarter with a pair of goals.  Albany scored first in the fourth to tie the game up again, then Penn controlled the balance of regulation, scoring three times to get the win.

POLLS

Inside Lacrosse/Media

1.      Duke

2.      Virginia

3.      Notre Dame

4.      Johns Hopkins

5.      Penn State

6.      Cornell

7.      Maryland

8.      Georgetown

9.      Denver

10.  Yale

11.  Yale

12.  Delaware

13.  Villanova

14.  Michigan

15.  Boston U

16.  Rutgers

17.  North Carolina

18.  Syracuse

19.  Utah

20.  Princeton

USILA COACHES

1.      Duke

2.      Virginia

3.      Notre Dame

4.      Penn State

5.      Johns Hopkins

6.      Cornell

7.      Maryland

8.      Georgetown

9.      Denver

10.  Yale

11.  Penn

12.  Villanova

13.  Army

14.  Boston U.

15.  Michigan

16.  Princeton

17.  Rutgers

18.  Utah

19.  Delaware

20.  Syracuse & Saint Joseph’s

Nike/USA Lacrosse

1.      Duke

2.      Virginia

3.      Notre Dame

4.      Penn State

5.      Johns Hopkins

6.      Maryland

7.      Cornell

8.      Georgetown

9.      Denver

10.  Penn

11.  Yale

12.  Villanova

13.  Boston U

14.  Army

15.  Syracuse

16.  Princeton

17.  Rutgers

18.  North Carolina

19.  Delaware

20.  Michigan

THIS COMING WEEK

CONFERENCE TOURNAMENTS

Big East #2 Denver faces #3 Villanova in the semifinals on Thursday, May 4 and the winner of that game will advance to the Big East championship game on Saturday, May 6.

Big Ten: As noted above, #3 Maryland and #4 Michigan both won their quarterfinal games this past week.  #3 Maryland will face #2 seed Johns Hopkins and #4 Michigan faces #1 seed Penn State in the semifinals on Thursday, May 4.  The Big Ten championship is on Saturday, May 6.

Ivy:Penn is the #2 seed and will play Princeton in the semifinals.  Yale is the #4 seed and faces top-seeded Cornell in the other semifinal.  Semifinal games are scheduled for Friday, May 5 and the Championship game is on Sunday, May 7.

Patriot:Navy is the #4 seed in the Patriot League tournament.  Navy lost their quarterfinal match against Loyola on May 4 by a score of 12-7.  The loss leaves Navy with a record of eight wins and eight losses and likely out of the running for the NCAA tournament.  More on this game in next week’s edition.

Division III

NESCAC TOURNAMENT-QUARTERFINALS

#1 Tufts (Garrett Kurtz) 20

#8 Connecticut College 6

The Jumbos got the first eight goals of the first quarter before Connecticut College got their first, the Tufts got three straight goals before the Camels got their second.  In the second half, Tufts continued to make multi-goal runs while letting in just one Camel goal at a time.  The scoring pace slowed to a crawl in the final frame with Connecticut College scoring once early and once late in the period before Tufts got the last goal of the game.

Garrett put one shot on goal and recovered two ground balls.

Tufts advances to the NESCAC semifinals where they will face Amherst in a NESCAC tournament Bears versus Bears game.

#4 Amherst (Nicholas Kopp) 18

#5 Bowdoin 16

Amherst and Bowdoin had nearly identical regular season records and Bowdoin won the regular season meeting by just one goal.  Bowdoin had the early advantage with a three-goal run in the middle of the first quarter.  Amherst got the game back to even by the end of the first quarter, then used a four-goal run in the second period to take the lead.  That lead held through the end of the first half, but Bowdoin took the lead back with a three-goal run to start the second half and held that lead by limiting Amherst to just one goal at a time.  Amherst got their first pairing of goals early in the fourth quarter, but Bowdoin matched that to go back up by two.  Again, a pair of Mammoth scores to tie the game, but this time Bowdoin scored just once.  That was also Bowdoin last of the day.  Amherst closed out the game with three straight scores to take the win and advance.

Nicholas won sixteen of thirty-seven faceoffs and scored one goal off of three shots.  He also scooped up five ground balls.

Amherst advances to the NESCAC semis where they will face #1 seed Tufts in a Bears versus Bears game.

OTHER GAMES

Amherst (Nicholas Kopp) 16

Trinity 10

After a fairly even first half, Amherst took control of the game in the second half with scoring runs of three and four goals in the third quarter, each run punctuated by a single score for Trinity.  Amherst then kicked off the fourth quarter with four straight scores to go up by nine.  Trinity trimmed that margin with three late scores.

Nicholas won eleven of twenty-three faceoffs and secured three ground balls.  He also put one shot on goal.

With the win and tie breaking procedures, Amherst secured the #4 seed in the NESCAC tournament.

Colby (Miles Tonkel, Colin Flood) 15

Bates 11

With both teams sporting 0-9 records in NESCAC play and neither in the field for the NESCAC tournament, this game was all about finishing the season on a high note.  Bates was up by two at the end of the first quarter, but the Mules wiped that advantage out with the first five goals of the second quarter.  Bates stopped that run with a pair of goals then Colby closed out the half with a single goal to go up by two at the break.  In the second half, Bates seized the lead with a three-goal run, but Colby flipped the board back in their favor with four straight scores.  After that Colby protected their lead by not allowing successive goals to Bates then closed out the game with the last two scores of the season.

Dickinson (Will Single) 15

Ursinus 10

Dickinson started the game with four successive goals then gradually added to their lead by yielding only single goals to Ursinus and scoring twice between after each of Ursinus’s single scores.  That pattern persisted into the second half until Ursinus got their first back-to-back scores to finish the third quarter.  Dickinson stopped the string with the first goal of the fourth quarter, then Ursinus got another pair.  The Devils responded with a run of three in the middle of the fourth quarter then Ursinus closed out the game with two late scores.  Ursinus won the faceoff battle handily and the ground ball war narrowly but undid those advantages with turnovers.

Will had one ground ball for Dickinson.

Dickinson is the #1 seed in the Centennial Conference tournament and faces the #5 seed Franklin and Marshall in the semifinals on Friday.

Gettysburg (Billy Banfield) 26

Washington 13

After a nearly even first quarter, the Bullets blew the game open in the second quarter with a rush of seven goals in five minutes.  Gettysburg led by seven at the half, but Washington rallied quickly in the second half, scoring four times in the first four minutes of the half while giving up just one.  The Bullets rebound with three quick goals and then, after a single score to Washington, ran off eight straight to go up by fourteen.  The teams matched each other over the balance of regulation.

Billy Banfield played in the game.

Gettysburg earned the #3 seed in the Centennial Conference tournament and plays #2 seed Swarthmore on Friday.

Hampden-Sydney (Owen Hegadorn) 2

Lynchburg 13

Hampden-Sydney scored once in the second quarter and once in the fourth.  Otherwise, this game was all about Lynchburg.  The Tigers put just under half of their shots on goal, but the Hornets goalie made thirteen saves on the day.  Lynchburg took an early 5-0 before the Tigers got their lone second quarter goal, then the Hornets ran off eight straight before Hampden-Sydney got their other goal late in the fourth period.

Hampden-Sydney and Lynchburg finished their ODAC seasons with matching 8-1 records in ODAC play with Lynchburg getting the #1 seed in the tournament and Hampden-Sydney the #2 seed due to the outcome of this game.  Hampden-Sydney faces #3 Washington and Lee in a Bears versus Bears game in the semifinals on May 4.  Hampden-Sydney won the regular season tilt with Washington and Lee in a four overtime game.

Tufts (Garrett Kurtz) 19

Bowdoin 15

The Jumbos closed out the regular season with a perfect 15-0 record, 10-0 in NESCAC play.  The Jumbos limited Bowdoin to one goal at a time while Tufts scored pairs of goals three times and added a run of four straight, all of which put them up13-7 at the break.  In the second half, Bowdoin modestly turned tables on Tufts, scoring goals in pairs while limiting the Jumbos to just one at a time.  That effort pulled Bowdoin within three at the end of the third quarter.  Tufts broke that pattern in the fourth quarter with a pair of goals, but Bowdoin responded in kind.  Bowdoin was unable to close the gap further and Tufts iced the game with one last score.

Tufts is the regular season champ in the NESCAC and the #1 seed in the conference tournament (see above).

Washington & Lee(Will Bou) 25

Shenandoah 6

Washington and Lee limited Shenandoah to one goal per quarter until Shenandoah got their only back-to-back scores in the closing minutes of the game.  The Generals had early scoring runs of three and five goals in the first half then launched a game-defining run of fourteen straight across the second and third quarters.  Washington and Lee put constant pressure on the Shenandoah goalie, putting three-quarters of their seventy-two shots on goal.  Despite giving up twenty-five goals, Shenandoah’s goalie had a solid game, saving twenty-nine.

Will won sixteen of nineteen faceoffs and ensured possession with seven ground balls.

Washington and Lee is the #3 seed in the ODAC tournament and had a rematch with #7 seed Shenandoah on Monday.  The Generals won that handily (22-8) and advanced to play in a Bears versus Bears game in the ODAC semifinals against #2 seed Hampden-Sydney on Thursday.  Hampden-Sydney won the regular season match in a four overtime classic.

POLLS

INSIDE LACROSSE/MEDIA

1.      Tufts

2.      Salisbury

3.      RIT

4.      Middlebury

5.      Christopher Newport

6.      Dickinson

7.      Gettysburg

8.      Amherst

9.      York

10.  Bowdoin

11.  Saint Lawrence

12.  Washington & Lee

13.  Lynchburg

14.  Swarthmore

15.  Denison

16.  Cabrini

17.  Union

18.  Williams

19.  RPI

20.  Stevens

USILA COACHES

1.      Tufts

2.      Salisbury

3.      RIT

4.      Christopher Newport

5.      Middlebury

6.      Dickinson

7.      Gettysburg

8.      Amherst

9.      Washington & Lee

10.  York

11.  Lynchburg

12.  Bowdoin

13.  Denison

14.  Swarthmore

15.  Saint Lawrence

16.  Williams

17.  Union

18.  RPI

19.  Cabrini

20.  Stevens

NIKE/USA LACROSSE

1.      Tufts

2.      Salisbury

3.      RIT

4.      Christopher Newport

5.      Middlebury

6.      Dickinson

7.      Amherst

8.      Gettysburg

9.      Swarthmore

10.  Denison

11.  Bowdoin

12.  York

13.  Stevens

14.  Washington & Lee

15.  Cabrini

16.  Lynchburg

17.  Williams

18.  Union

19.  Hampden-Sydney

20.  Saint Lawrence

CONFERENCE TOURNAMENTS

NESCAC: With this past week’s results, Tufts, the #1 seed, and Amherst, the #4 seed advanced to the semifinals and will face each other on Saturday, May 6.  The conference’s championship game is on Sunday, May 7.

ODAC: Hampden-Sydney is the #2 seed and plays in a semifinal game on Thursday against Tuesday’s quarterfinal match between Washington & Lee and Shenandoah.  The ODAC championship game is scheduled for Saturday, May 6 and is hosted by the highest remaining seed.

Centennial Conference: Top seed Dickinson plays the winner of Tuesday’s Muhlenberg versus Franklin and Marshall game in one of the tournament’s semifinals games and Gettysburg takes on #2 seed Swarthmore in the other.  Those semifinal games are scheduled for Friday, May 5 and the championship game is scheduled for Sunday, May 7.