BEARLAXTRAXFAX by John Nichols

BLTF 041915

Its tournament time—conferences first, then the NCAAs. In many of game summaries that follow you will find updates on teams’ prospects for making their conference tournament.

This is also the season for Senior Days. Congratulations to the 2011 and 2010 Bears who are being celebrated by their schools, fans and teammates as the 2015 regular season comes to a close.

BEARS VS. BEARS

Fairfield (Charlie Schnider ’11) 12—2OT

Delaware (Taylor Valencia ‘13, Philip Pena ‘13) 11

Charlie had 3 shots and 2 ground balls in the win. Fairfield’s win puts them in position to be the second seed in the CAA tournament at worst. If the Stags can down Hofstra and Drexel can beat Towson, Fairfield will be the #1 seed.

OTHER GAMES

Bucknell (Sean O’Brien ’14) 10–OT

Loyola 9

Bucknell’s only lead in the game ended the game as the Bison scored just 45 seconds into overtime. Bucknell had to find the net twice in the final 1:30 of regulation. Sean had one shot for Bucknell. Bucknell will now face Lehigh in the quarterfinals of the Patriot League tournament on Tuesday.

Patriot Tournament Update—Bucknell 13 Lehigh 8—The Bison will play Colgate on Friday in Annapolis. Also, Army beat Loyola and will face Navy on Friday.

Colgate (Robby Dunnigan ‘13) 8

Army 5

Colgate’s win give them a share of the Patriot League regular season title (shared with Navy). The Raiders lost the tie breaker against Navy and is seeded second in the Patriot League tournament. Colgate will play the winner of the Bucknell/Lehigh game this coming Friday in Annapolis.

Cornell (Will Joyce ’10, Marshall Peters ’13, Jack Bolen ‘14) 6

Brown 15

Marshall Peters had another productive game on defense with 6 ground balls, 3 caused turnovers and 2 shots or the Big Red. Cornell will have Senior Day this coming weekend as the Big Red takes on Princeton. Will Joyce will be among the honored. If Cornell beats Princeton and Dartmouth beats Brown this coming weekend, Cornell will host the Ivy League Tournament. Otherwise either Princeton or Brown will host.

Drexel (Hank Brown ’12) 9

UMass 12

Drexel dropped a game that was key to qualifying for the CAA tournament and now must face the league leading Towson Tigers needing a win.

Hobart (Riley McTague ‘14) 5

Syracuse 18

Hobart (Riley McTague ‘14) 6–OT

St Joseph’s 7

St Joe’s scored three straight in the fourth period then got the winner 2 minutes into overtime. Hobart has the #2 seed locked up for the Northeast Conference tournament and will host Bryant in a semifinal game on April 30.

Jacksonville (Zac Buller ‘14) 8 –OT

Mercer 9

Zac got his first start on attack for Jacksonville and racked up 3 assists to go with 4 shots. Jacksonville. Jacksonville’s season ends this coming weekend against Furman.

Johns Hopkins (Sam Lynch ‘14) 16

Michigan 9

Hopkins picked up Big Ten win over Michigan and, despite their overall 6-6 record, the Blue Jays can tie for the Big Ten regular season title with a win over Maryland. If that happens and if Rutgers beats Ohio State, then the Jays are the #1 seed for the Big Ten tournament that takes place April 30 and May 2 at the University of Maryland.

Penn (Will Laco ’11, Garrett Fellows ’13, Peter Laco ’13) 15

Dartmouth 12

It was Senior Day in Philadelphia, and Will celebrated with a goal in the Quaker’s win. Will’s goal is included in Penn’s highlight reel on the Quaker’s website (http://www.pennathletics.com/SportSelect.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=1700&SPID=544&SPSID=8738 ). Penn will play UVA this coming weekend and will be score board watching to see if Dartmouth can beat Brown so the Penn can make the Ivy League tournament.

Princeton (Justin Murphy Undergrad Asst ’11) 12

Harvard 11

It was also Senior Day in Princeton, with Justin Murphy being honored for his play and contributions to the Tigers’ lacrosse program. Princeton travels to Ithaca to play Cornell this coming weekend (Bears vs. Bears!). With a win over the Big Red, Princeton can lock up the #1 seed and host the Ivy League tournament.

Vermont (Coach Ryan Curtis ‘96)14

Hartford 11

With a win over Binghamton this coming weekend, the Catamounts can earn a seed in the American East tournament.

Virginia (Michael Rhoads ’13, Jason Murphy ’13, Brandon Johnson ’14, Jack Falk ‘14) 12

Georgetown 9

Jason was 13 for 18 on faceoffs with 5 ground balls for the Wahoos and is now over .500 for the season. Jack Falk had 2 ground balls as well. Virginia found themselves in a 3-0 hole early in the first quarter, tied things up at three, only to see the Hoyas come back with two to take the lead. Virginia then scored 7 straight goals to effectively put the game away.

Updated D-I Rankings:

	LaxPower Forum	USLIA Coaches	IL Media
Virginia	8	8	9
Cornell	11t	12	12
Princeton	14	14	14
Navy	16	15	15
Colgate	20	18	18
Bucknell	V	V	20
Johns Hopkins	V	V	V
Fairfield	V	V	V

THIS COMING WEEK:

Cornell (Will Joyce ’10, Marshall Peters ’13, Jack Bolen ‘14) hosts Princeton (Justin Murphy Undergrad Asst ’11) and Virginia (Michael Rhoads ’13, Jason Murphy ’13, Brandon Johnson ’14, Jack Falk ‘14) travels to Penn (Will Laco ’11, Garrett Fellows ’13, Peter Laco ’13)

D-III

Dickinson (Austin Dodson ’10) 9

Swarthmore 5

Dickinson built an 8-0 lead into the fourth quarter to get a win on senior day. Austin had one shot and an assist and a ground ball for the Red Devils.

Hamilton (Sellers Garrett ’12) 7

Connecticut College 10

Sellers had 3 ground balls and 2 caused turnovers for Hamilton in the loss.

Ohio Wesleyan (Tommy Minkler ’11) 19

DePauw 5

Tommy scored 3 goals, 2 assists and 4 ground balls as OWU beat an undermanned DePauw team. One of the DePauw assistant coaches Tommy described as “a great leader out there on the field.”

Ohio Wesleyan (Tommy Minkler ’11) 13

Wooster 6

Tommy scored another 3 goals and picked up an assist. The Battling Bishops have wrapped up the #1 seed and hosting honors for the North Coast tournament. They will play Kenyon in the semi-finals on Wednesday.

Updated D-III Rankings:

	LaxPower Forum	USLIA Coaches	IL Media Poll
Ohio Wesleyan	4	3	3