BearLaxTraxFax by John Nichols

BEARS LAX TRAX FAX 03192023

by John Nichols

Division I

We had three overtime games in D-I this week, with all three resolved in the favor of the teams with Bears on the roster.

Notre Dame is the only undefeated team in D-I as Virginia lost to Maryland (John Geppert) and Dartmouth(Brendan Gallagher, Brett Gallagher, Cameron Brown, Zak Oehlerking) fell to North Carolina.

BEARS vs BEARS

Denver (Ryan Giles) 17

Ohio State (Cullen Brown) 12

Denver scored first and never trailed in the game.  After the Buckeyes tied the score at 1-1, Denver ran off four straight scores to put a bit more substantial distance between the teams.  Ohio State pulled within two twice in the first period, but the Pioneers launched another multi-goal run to finish the second quarter and kick off the third to extend their lead to eight.  Ohio State dominated the scoring for the rest of the third quarter and closed to within four before the fourth quarter.  Denver controlled the action in the final period, scoring three times before giving up a couple of last minute goals to the Buckeyes.

Ryanscored twice for the Denver, first off a faceoff and soon after while Denver was down a man.

Cullen put one shot on goal for the Buckeyes, secured two ground balls and took one faceoff.

OTHER GAMES

Dartmouth(Brendan Gallagher, Brett Gallagher, Cameron Brown, Zak Oehlerking) 7

North Carolina 25

Big Green’s undefeated run came to a grinding halt in Chapel Hill.  The Heels set the tone early, racking up eleven unanswered goals in the first quarter.  Dartmouth caught their breath and attempted a comeback by scoring the first three goals of the second quarter.  The teams traded goals twice to close out the half then North Carolina kicked off the second half with run of eight straight scores.

Cameron scored one goal on two shots and Zak took one shot.

Harvard (Joey Graham) 16 OT

Brown 15

Harvard and Brown played an even first quarter, but the Crimson took the half time lead with two three-goal runs in the second quarter.  The second half started with the teams swapping pairs of scores, but twice Harvard scored just once in response to two from Bruno and the lead flipped to Brown.  Down by one with the clock approaching zero, Harvard forced one more tie and overtime.  Brown won possession off of the overtime faceoff but turned the ball over.  Harvard’s one shot in that possession was saved and Brown took advantage of the second chance, ripping three shots wide of the goal before turning the ball back to Harvard.  The Crimson did not was this opportunity, closing out the game on their next shot.

Hobart (Jackson Galiani) 13

Providence 11

Providence took an early lead with a four-goal run in the first quarter and scored the only two goals of the second quarter to lead by three at halftime.  The Friars would not benefit from successive scores again.  Still, it took some work by the Statesmen as they could not do better than two at a time in the second half.  That frustrating pattern broke in their favor when Hobart rang up four goals to secure the win.

Maryland (John Geppert) 14 OT

Virginia 13

After Maryland handed Virginia a pair of blowout losses last year, these two long-term rivals put on another classic in Charlottesville.  This pairing of former ACC rivals has a long history of historic games, including a seven-overtime match in 2009 and the 2021 NCAA Championship game which went right to the wire.  This year’s game is available for replay on ESPN’s website.

Maryland took an early 3-0 lead but UVA surged ahead in the second quarter, scoring five straight goals to start the second frame.  The Terrapins got the lead back in the third quarter scoring sets of two and three goals while limiting the Wahoos to three isolated scores. Maryland extended their lead out to three early in the final period then Virginia started to work their way back into the contest.  With a pair of scores, UVA pulled within one with less than four minutes left in the game.  Maryland pushed their lead back to two goals, but Virginia met the challenge and netted two goals in the final two minutes to force overtime.  Both teams had opportunities in the extra session, but a miraculous pair of saves by the Terrapins’ freshman goalie set the table for Maryland’s game winning shot.

John Geppert was back in the line up for Maryland playing wing on several faceoffs and as an LSM (on IL’ preseason AA HM list) on Maryland’s defensive effort. John took one shot on the day, scooped up three ground balls and caused two turnovers.

Michigan (Graham Hertzberg, Hunter Taylor) 8

Notre Dame 18

Michigan had a better than two-to-one advantage on faceoffs and was even on ground balls, a statistically advantage that usually leads to an edge on the score board.  That advantage was undone by poor play in goal by Big Blue’s starting goalie who saved less than a quarter of the shots Notre Dame put on goal.  Hunter relieved the starter early in the fourth quarter and had an equal number of saves and goals allowed.  The Irish had an extended run of seven straight scores from late in the first quarter to early in the third to go up by nine.  Michigan could only muster goals in pairs a few times during the game but the Irish consistently ended each nascent rally.

In addition to his two saves, Hunter had a ground ball and caused a Notre Dame turnover.  Graham took one shot in the game.

Navy (JT Thomas, Preston Luger) 9

Johns Hopkins 12

The Blue Jays took an early lead in the game scoring the first two goals of the game.  Navy stayed on their heels and got their first lead with a three-goal run across the end of the first quarter and start of the second.  The lead passed back and forth with neither team able to do better than scoring pairs of goals.  Johns Hopkins managed to take the lead for good in the final quarter, still limited to just two at a time, but holding Navy to single scores between. 

Ohio State (Cullen Brown) 19

Detroit Mercy 6

The Buckeyes ran away with this game in the first half, scoring twelve straight times before Detroit Mercy closed out the half with just their second goal of the game.  The Titans took advantage of some rough play by the Buckeyes and netted three man-up goals to start the second half, but they could not maintain that momentum.

Cullen had an assist on a first quarter goal, a ground ball, and a caused turnover for the Buckeyes.

Penn (Stephen Bou) 9 OT

Princeton 8

The Tigers got the early advantage with a three-goal run midway through the first half and managed to hold that slim lead up to halftime.  Princeton got the first score of the second half, but the Quakers ran off three straight in a slow motion rally that ran from early in the third quarter to midway thought the fourth.  That rally put them up by one, but Princeton tied the game up with three minutes left in regulation.  Penn had the better chances in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter, but neither team could produce the winning goal.  That honor fell to Penn in overtime.

Yale (Jake Cohen) 10

Cornell 20

After Yale got the first two goals of the game, Cornell went on a tear, scoring eight times in the remaining ten and a half minutes of the first quarter.  Yale started the second quarter with a pair of goals, then Cornell went on another run, this time scoring six straight in a run that lasted into the early minutes of the third quarter.  After that, the scoring was more even handed.

Jake had a ground ball and a caused turnover for the Eli.

POLLS

Inside Lacrosse/Media

1.      Notre Dame

2.      Maryland

3.      Virginia

4.      Duke

5.      Cornell

6.      Rutgers

7.      Villanova

8.      Johns Hopkins

9.      Loyola

10.  Penn State

11.  Jacksonville

12.  Yale

13.  Army

14.  North Carolina

15.  Penn

16.  Georgetown

17.  Denver

18.  Boston U

19.  Ohio State

20.  Princeton

USILA COACHES

1.      Notre Dame

2.      Maryland

3.      Virginia

4.      Duke

5.      Cornell

6.      Rutgers

7.      Villanova

8.      Johns Hopkins

9.      Penn State

10.  Loyola

11.  Jacksonville

12.  Yale

13.  Army

14.  North Carolina

15.  Denver

16.  Penn

17.  Georgetown

18.  Boston U.

19.  Ohio State

20.  Princeton

Nike/USA Lacrosse

1.      Notre Dame

2.      Duke

3.      Maryland

4.      Virginia

5.      Rutgers

6.      Cornell

7.      Villanova

8.      Army

9.      Loyola

10.  Johns Hopkins

11.  Jacksonville

12.  Penn State

13.  Yale

14.  Denver

15.  North Carolina

16.  Penn

17.  Boston U.

18.  Ohio State

19.  Georgetown

20.  Saint Joseph’s

A WAY TOO EARLY TOURNAMENT FIELD GUESS

>>>based on current RPI per Lacrosse Reference

1. Notre Dame (ACC/at large)

2. Duke (ACC/at large)

3. Cornell (Ivy)

4. Yale (Ivy/at large)

5. Virginia (ACC/at large)

6. Penn State (Big Ten)

7. Villanova (Big East)

8. Maryland (Big Ten/at large)

9. Johns Hopkins (Big Ten/at large)

10. Loyola (Patriot)

11. Bryant (America East)

12. North Carolina (ACC/at large)

13. Penn (Ivy/at large)

14. Jacksonville (ASUN)

15. UMass (A10)

16. Delaware (CAA)

17. Manhattan (MAAC)

THIS COMING WEEK

An Ivy League Bears vs. Bears match as Dartmouth(Brendan Gallagher, Brett Gallagher, Cameron Brown, Zak Oehlerking) hosts Harvard (Joey Graham).

Division III

THIS WEEK’S GAMES

Mustang Classic at Stevenson

Amherst and Dickinson were two of the ten teams playing in the Mustang Classic at Stevenson this weekend.  The Classic featured five games on Friday and five on Saturday.  Nine of the ten teams were ranked in the top 20 of at least one D-III polls, and four of the teams were in the top ten.

Amherst was one of three teams picking up a pair of wins at the Classic (the others were Christopher Newport and Saint Lawrence).  Dickinson suffered a pair of one-goal losses.

Amherst (Nicholas Kopp) 15

Bates 8

The Mammoths strolled to an early three-goal lead and managed to maintain that lead into the halftime break by not allowing back-to-back scores to Bates.  In the second half, Amherst continued to hold Bates to single goals while extending their lead with runs of three and four goals.  Bates got their only successive scores with a pair of goals in the closing minutes of the game.

Nicholas got some relief this week after taking 46 faceoffs against Tufts last week.  He won six of fourteen in this game and got two ground balls.

Amherst (Nicholas Kopp) 19

York 16

Amherst took the early lead with a five-goal run in the first quarter, but York came right back in the second and tied the game up.  The Mammoths got the lead back by scoring twice to end the first half, but York again tied the game up, scoring twice to start the second half.  Amherst rebuilt their lead with three in a row, but York trimmed that back to just one just as quickly.  The teams matched each other goal for goal until York tied the game with the last goal of the third quarter and first goal of the fourth.  Nicholas scored off the next faceoff to break the tie and spark a three-goal run by the Mammoths.

In addition to his goal, Nicholas won seventeen of thirty-nine faceoffs and corralled six ground balls.

Dickinson (Will Single) 14 OT

Stevenson 15

Festival host Stevenson scored five times over a three-minute span in the first quarter.  That early 5-1 lead held up until the fourth quarter when the Red Devils mounted a comeback.  Dickinson’s first score of the final frame capped a three-goal that started in the third quarter and set the Devils within one of Stevenson.  The Mustangs were able to run their lead back out to two, but another run of three from Dickinson gave the Devils their first lead since the early moments of the game.  Stevenson eked out a tie by scoring with twenty-eight seconds left in the game.  Dickinson won the overtime faceoff and put a shot on goal, but it was saved.  Stevenson kept possession off of that shot and got the game winner on their second shot of the overtime period.

Will took two shots, one of which was on goal.

Dickinson (Will Single) 12

Christopher Newport 13

Each team had a pair of scoring runs in the first half with Dickinson’s runs being just a bit more productive.  That advantage disappeared in the second half.  The Red Devils opened the second half scoring but the Captains tied the game up at eleven all with a string of three straight scores.  Dickinson broke that run and got the lead back, but CNU scored the last two goals of the game to secure the win.

Will had one ground ball for Dickinson.

OTHER GAMES

Colby (Miles Tonkel, Colin Flood) 12

Wesleyan 21

Wesleyan finished the first quarter by scoring seven unanswered goals.  That run gave them a lead that held up over the next three quarters.  The Cardinals extended their lead with two shorter scoring runs while not giving up back-to-back goals to the Mules.  Colby was able to string together three straight as the third quarter gave way to the fourth, but even then, they were still down by eight. 

Colin was credited with a caused turnover and took one faceoff.  Miles also played in the game.

Gettysburg (Billy Banfield) 9

Denison 10

The Bullets suffered their first loss of the season.  Gettysburg ground out an early lead and the game was tied at the half.  Denison took the lead with the first goal of the second half and held that lead for most of the third period until the Bullets tied the game once again.  Denison closed out the third quarter with three quick goals then a fourth to start the final period to go up by four.  Gettysburg fought back with three unanswered goals to pull within one, but the Bullets could get no closer as the teams traded single goals in the final two minutes.

Hampden-Sydney (Owen Hegadorn) 10

Ohio Northern 5

In an otherwise quiet, low scoring game, Hampden-Sydney exploded for seven goals in the second period.  Hampden-Sydney opened the game with a five-goal run before Ohio Northern got their first, and only, goal of the first half.  The Tigers then ran off four straight scores before Ohio Northern again netted a single score.  One more for Hampden-Sydney then Ohio Northern closed out the game with a three-goal run.

Hampden-Sydney (Owen Hegadorn) 17

Randolph-Macon 9

The Tigers again gained the advantage early, scoring the first six goals of the game.  The balance of the first half was a draw with Hampden taking at 11-5 lead into the break.  Hampden-Sydney extended its lead in the third quarter and held on to pick up their first conference win.

Tufts (Garrett Kurtz) 19

Lynchburg 4

Lynchburg scored just once in each quarter while the Jumbos racked up four or five goals per period.  It was an all-day shooting gallery as the Jumbos took sixty-two shots, placing almost two-thirds of them on-goal.  Tufts gathered up fifty-seven ground balls, many the product of Lynchburg’s forty turnovers.

Tufts (Garrett Kurtz) 21

Stevens 7

For most of the first half, this was a closely contested match, but the Jumbos scored fourteen straight goals in an extended run from late in the first period until early in the fourth.  Stevens scored twice to end the game.  There was a constant shuffle between the penalty area and the field as the teams combined for eighteen penalties and fourteen-and-a-half penalty minutes.  For all that man-up time, the teams combined for just three power play goals.

Washington & Lee(Will Bou) 19

Ithaca 10

The Generals defense held the heretofore undefeated Ithaca offense in check, giving up successive goals just twice.  Washington and Lee’s attack put pressure on Ithaca defenders by putting two-thirds of their forty-eight shots on goal.

Will won 15 of his 25 faceoffs and got to two ground balls.

Washington & Lee(Will Bou) 25

Guilford 4

W&L cruised to an easy win in their first ODAC game of this season.  The Generals scored six straight to start the game, then after Guilford’s score, they ran off nine more.  Guilford got their second goal, the Generals ran off nine in a row.  Guilford scored the first and last goals of the final period with one for Washington and Lee wedged in between.  Washington and Lee’s shooting was deadly with three-fourths of the shots being on target and the goalie for Guildford managed just twelve saves on the day.

Will won fifteen of nineteen faceoffs and scooped up seven ground balls.  He took one shot on the day and assisted on the last goal of the first half.

POLLS

INSIDE LACROSSE/MEDIA

1.      Christopher Newport

2.      Tufts

3.      RIT

4.      Gettysburg

5.      Union

6.      Salisbury

7.      Saint Lawrence

8.      Amherst

9.      Washington & Lee

10.  Denison

11.  Dickinson

12.  Middlebury

13.  York

14.  Stevenson

15.  Cabrini

16.  SUNY Cortland

17.  Stevens

18.  Ursinus

19.  Wesleyan

20.  Williams

USILA COACHES

1.      Tufts

2.      Christopher Newport

3.      RIT

4.      Salisbury

5.      Union

6.      Washington & Lee

7.      Saint Lawrence

8.      Gettysburg

9.      Amherst

10.  Dickinson

11.  Middlebury

12.  Denison

13.  Lynchburg

14.  York

15.  Wesleyan

16.  SUNY Cortland

17.  Ursinus

18.  Cabrini

19.  Bowdoin

20.  Stevens

NIKE/USA LACROSSE

1.      Christopher Newport

2.      Tufts

3.      RIT

4.      Salisbury

5.      Union

6.      Gettysburg

7.      Washington & Lee

8.      Dickinson

9.      Middlebury

10.  Saint Lawrence

11.  Amherst

12.  Wesleyan

13.  Ursinus

14.  Lynchburg

15.  Denison

16.  Bowdoin

17.  Stevens

18.  York

19.  Cabrini

20.  Williams