BearLaxTraxFax by John Nichols 02.24.2020

BLTF 022420

D-I

The Ivy League teams won six of their seven games this weekend with the only loss being an overtime loss by Brown.  Yale and Princeton knocked off the #1 and #2 ranked teams and half of the USILA top ten from last week lost.  Consequently, there are new teams at the top of the polls this week.

BEARS VS. BEARS

Richmond (Will Bou) 12

Navy (Thomas Evans, Shane Corcoran) 9

The Spiders used a pair of four goal runs to put some distance between themselves and Navy.  The Middies staged a late comeback with their own set of four straight scores to pull within two.  They would get no closer as Richmond closed out the scoring with a minute left in regulation.

Will took eleven faceoffs for Richmond, winning three.  For Navy, Thomas had one shot of goal, five ground balls and caused two turnovers.

Maryland (Justin Shockey, John Geppert, Matthew Kopp)

Navy (Thomas Evans, Shane Corcoran)

This game was postponed due to an outbreak of the Norovirus among the Navy players.  A new date for this longstanding rivalry game has not yet been set.

OTHER GAMES

Army (Drennan Greene) 9

Marist 17

Coming into this game, Army had outscored its first three opponents by a combined score of 51-9.  The Red Foxes turned the tables on the Black Knights.  Marist owned the middle two quarters of the game, outscoring Army 8-2.  Army attempted a furious comeback in the closing period, disrupting Marist’s clears and forcing turnovers, but the Red Foxes were able to match Army score-for-score down the stretch.

Army (Drennan Greene) 7

Syracuse 9

Army scored four consecutive first half goals and were up 5-1 as the game approached halftime.  The Orange got one more score in before the half and then scored quickly coming out of the halftime break.  Those two goals were the front half a four goal run that got the game tied up at five all.  Army answered with a pair of goals to take the lead back, but the Orange had another four goal run and the Black Knights had no answer for that.

Bucknell (Colin O’Brien) 11

Ohio State 15

The Buckeyes were a bit more accurate with their shooting, particularly in the second quarter, and that was enough to get the win.

Cleveland State (Justin Conner) 12 OT

Air Force 11

Over the course of the last three quarters of the game the score was tied seven times.  The Vikings forced the last tie in regulation with just under a minute remaining.  Air Force won the faceoff after that goal, but couldn’t muster a shot.  As with Landon’s win the MAPHL finals, overtime went quickly.  Cleveland State won the faceoff and scored on their first shot just 21 seconds into overtime.

Cleveland State (Justin Conner) 6

Denver 10

The Vikings gave the hosting Pioneers a tough contest early on, but Denver pulled away with a pair of four goal runs.  Denver severely limited Cleveland State’s offensive chances, allowing just 22 shots for the Vikings.

Colgate (Griffin Brown) 11

Princeton 20

In an otherwise close game, Princeton’s 8-1 scoring advantage in the third quarter was the deciding factor.  Colgate was down by just one goal when they got the first goal of the second half.  Princeton went on to score ten straight before the Raiders scored again.

Griffin had a goal and an assist along with three ground balls.

Colgate (Griffin Brown) 13

Hobart 21

From the first whistle through the middle of the second period Hobart built a lead by scoring twice for each Colgate goal.  Hobart’s runs of four goals in the third period and the fourth period stretched their lead further.

Griffin had four goals and an assist for Colgate.  He also contributed two ground balls.

Dartmouth (Brendon Gallagher, Brett Gallagher) 11

Bryant 8

Down 8-5 with ten minutes left in regulation, Big Green staged a furious comeback, scoring the last six goals of the game to get the win.  Dartmouth was deadly accurate in their shooting in that rally, placing six of seven shots in the back of the net.

Brett Gallagher got bragging rights over his brother by being the first to see playing time at Dartmouth.

Gallagher Brothers: Easy to see why Brett (#40) had a leg up on Brendon

Furman (Michael Abizaid) 9

Utah 17

Furman was up 6-4 at the half, but Utah exploded in the second half to take the lead and the win.  The Utes had the field tilted in their favor in the second half using faceoff dominance and accurate shooting to pull away

Michael saw playing time for Furman.

Jacksonville (Hunter Sells, Andrew Mitchell) 15

Robert Morris 8

Hunter was back in the cage for the Dolphins and was a key contributor to Jacksonville’s win, stopping 14 of the 22 shots that Robert Morris put on goal.  A whole team defensive effort kept Robert Morris’ shooting accuracy down, with just 45% of their shots being on goal, versus nearly 75% being on the mark for Jacksonville.

Andrew also saw playing time in the game.

SENIOR PROFILE

Johns Hopkins (Joey Epstein) 10

North Carolina 17

Blue Jay fouls were costly as the Tar Heels scored six goals in their six man-up opportunities, including two scored during a full-time penalty.  Carolina had one run of four straight scores and several back-to-back goals while Hopkins could only score singly.

After being hampered by an injury last week, Joey was much more himself this week, coming off the bench to score a goal and dish out an assist.

Loyola (Cam James) 11

Rutgers 10

Loyola finished the first half with a short run of goals to take a 7-3 lead but Rutgers flipped the scoreboard in their favor by starting the second half by scoring five unanswered goals.  From there on out the team traded scores with the Greyhounds forging ties only to see Rutgers go back up by one.  Loyola finally strung together a pair of scores, taking the lead with just under two minutes to play.  Rutgers got a final try after a Loyola clock violation, but their one shot died in the goalie’s cross as time expired

Maryland (Justin Shockey, John Geppert, Matthew Kopp) 12

Villanova 13

For a third straight game, Maryland needed a furious fourth quarter comeback, but for the first time this season that effort came up short.  The Wildcats scored the first three goals of the game but Maryland kept things close, twice tying the score, only to see ‘Nova retake the lead.  Villanova opened up a five goal lead by scoring the first three goals of the fourth quarter.  The Terrapin’s rallied from there, scoring four while keeping Villanova from doing further damage.  Maryland was down by one with just over half a minute left and forced a turnover after Villanova won the final faceoff, but could not challenge the goalie before time expired.

John had three ground balls and caused one turnover.

Michigan (Zach Johnson) 16

Canisius 8

The Wolverines did all the scoring to start the game, taking a 6-0 lead into the break after the first quarter.  Canisius scored first in the second quarter, but for the rest of the game they would get no closer than down five goals.  Michigan’s big advantages from faceoffs and ground balls translated into a sizable shooting advantage.

Zach had one ground ball for the Wolverines.

Michigan (Zach Johnson) 12

Merrimack 14

Merrimack picked up their first D-I win (Merrimack was the D-II champion each of the last two seasons) with a strong fourth quarter performance.  Merrimack dominated scoring in the first quarter, but the Wolverines turned tables on the in the second frame and were up by one at the half.  Merrimack inched their way back in to the lead, establishing a lead that would hold up early in the fourth quarter.  Michigan pulled to within one with just under eight minutes left in the game, but could not get past that.

Penn State (Nate Buller) 10

Yale 12

Over the 2019 and 2020 seasons, Penn State has lost just three games—all three losses were to the Yale Bulldogs.  But for a spectacular 18 save performance by the Penn State net minder, this game could have been an epic blowout.

Nate took one shot for Penn State.

Richmond (Will Bou) 5

Notre Dame 13

Richmond’s goalie turned in a spectacular performance, particularly in the first half.  However, the constant onslaught of Notre Dame shots eventually overcame him.  During that first half, The Spiders’ goalie recorded 14 saves and totaled 22 for the game.  Notre Dame led 5-2 at the halftime break having scored with just a second left in the second quarter.    The Irish opened the second half with a quick score off the faceoff and from there on out it was all Notre Dame.

Will took two faceoffs for Richmond

St. Joseph’s (Thomas Halm) 11

Delaware 8

St. Joe’s staged a fourth quarter comeback, using five unanswered goals to turn a two goal deficit into a three goal victory.  The Mountain Hawks had a make-take-it fourth quarter, winning all six of the closing period’s faceoffs while pitching a shutout on defense.

St. Joseph’s (Thomas Halm) 10

Providence 8

The Mountain Hawks won each of the first three quarters 3-2 to go up by three heading into the final quarter.  Providence fought back to trail by one with five minutes left in the game and while the Friars had their chances, St. Joe’s held on to improve to 3-1 this season.

Towson (Mo Sillah) 10

Cornell 17

Cornell blew open a tied game with a six goal run that lasted from the second period into the third.  Big Red had a huge advantage in shots and shots on goal from a possession advantage driven by faceoff and ground ball dominance.

Mo had two ground balls in the game, the first of which led quickly to the goal that gave Towson their second, and last, lead of the game.

Virginia (Ryan Pride) 12

Princeton 16

Virginia got a big taste of their own medicine as Princeton ran a quick, ball sharing offense, a tough disruptive defense, and had solid play in goal.  And they did it better than Virginia.  The Tigers applied pressure at both ends of the field throughout and got a 4 goal, 4 assist effort from their leading attack, Michael Sowers.

POLLS

Losses at the top of the polls have shuffled the rankings.  Army (Drennan Green) had a short visit to the top ten and St. Joseph’s (Thomas Halm) broke into the rankings for the first time this season.

THIS COMING WEEK

Only one Bears vs. Bears contest this week as Loyola (Cam James) and Towson (Mo Sillah) wrap up the Charm City Round Robin.

D-III

BEARS VS. BEARS

Salisbury (Brian Menendez, Jace Menendez) 11

Gettysburg (Mitch Laughlin, Billy Banfield) 5

Salisbury was up 8-0 before the Bullets got their first score of the game—just a few ticks before the end of the second quarter.  The Seagulls first half near shut out was paced by not allowing a single Gettysburg shot in the first period.

GAMES

Gettysburg (Mitch Laughlin, Billy Banfield) 14

Goucher 3

The Bullets goalie led the stout defensive effort by Gettysburg, saving 21 of the 24 shots that Goucher put on goal.  In the second half, Gettysburg blanked Goucher 9-0 to turn a close game into a rout.

Oberlin (Farley Price) 21

Thiel 10

Oberlin opened their 2020 season by scoring the first six goals of this contest.  Up 8-4 at the half, the Yeomen scored ten goals in the third period, including one run of four goals in four minutes and another run of four in just two and a half minutes.

Farley saw playing time in his first D-III contest.

Ohio Wesleyan (Guy King) 11

Illinois Wesleyan 14

Ohio Wesleyan was up 8-4 early in the third quarter when Illinois Wesleyan exploded and scored ten unanswered goals in a span of just under twenty minutes of game time, turning a four goal deficit into a six goal lead.  The Battlin’ Bishops fought back and had the last three scores of the game, but time ran out on OWU as a pair of penalties against them allowed IWU to run out the clock.

Washington College (Will Oliver) 3

Washington and Lee 23

W&L gave up three goals in the second period but shut out the Shoremen in the other three quarters.  The Generals’ ride was ferocious, allowing Washington College successful clears in just eleven of twenty tries.

POLLS

USILA Coaches’ Poll: Salisbury #1, Tufts #6, Gettysburg #12

Nike/US Lacrosse Poll: Salisbury #1, Tufts #5, Gettysburg #11

THIS COMING WEEK

NESCAC teams [Tufts (Kyle Amitay and Garrett Kurtz) and Colby (Miles Tonkel) for our purposes] open their 2020 seasons this coming week and give us a Bears vs. Bears contest as Tufts plays Colby right out of the box.