BearLaxTraxFax by John Nichols P’09

BLTF 031124

D-I

Apparently, all you get out of being ranked #1 in D-I men’s lacrosse is a target on your back.  Denver’s one-week reign is over, so Army, you are up next!

BEARS VS BEARS

#15 YALE (Jake Cohen) 15

#1 DENVER (Ryan Giles) 13

Yale scored first then the Pioneers got their first lead of the day with a pair of goals.  The game toggled back and forth as Denver would go up by one then the Eli would tie the game.  Yale broke that pattern with a three-goal run but Denver got the game tied with back-to-back scores.  Yale netted one to finish the first half and one to start the second and led by two early in the third quarter.  Denver bounced back with a pair of goals to tie the game, and, after a single score for Yale, the Pioneers took the lead with another pair.  Yale grabbed the lead again with three scores to end the third quarter and one at the start of the fourth.  Denver struck back with three straight to create the game’s eighth tie.  Yale netted two and retook the lead.  Over the balance of regulation, Denver hit a couple of posts, but could not put it past the Yale goalie.

Ryan played in the game.

#19 HARVARD (Joey Graham) 13

#12 MICHIGAN (Hunter Taylor, Graham Hertzberg) 11

Harvard led by seven early in the third quarter driven by an initial run of four straight scores then two runs of three.  The Wolverines clawed their way back with their own run of four in middle of the third quarter.  After the Crimson stopped that run with a single score, Michigan pulled to within two late in the third.  Harvard ran their lead back out to four with a pair of goals.  Michigan scored twice to trail by two with over half the final quarter remaining.  Over the balance of regulation, Hunter saved both of Harvard’s shots on goal, but the Michigan consistently fired the ball wide of the goal.

Hunter had eleven saves on the day and got to one ground ball.

OTHER GAMES

DARTMOUTH (Will Cohen, Cameron Brown, Zak Oehlerking) 12

Stony Brook 15

Big Green had early leads, but Stony Brooks’ three-goal run to finish the first half scoring proved to be the difference maker.  The teams produced a storm of offense in the first half, scoring a total of nineteen goals.  The second half was relatively tranquil, with each team scoring twice in each of the final two quarters.

Cameron had a pair of man-up goals and also contributed an assist for Dartmouth.  Will chipped in with a caused turnover and a ground ball which led to Dartmouth’s fifth goal of the game.

HOBART (Jackson Galiani) 10

Albany14

Albany opened the game with a four-goal run and closed out the game in the same manner.  In between those fateful runs, Hobart battled back and were twice tied with the Great Danes.  Albany had every advantage in the game—shots, shots on goal, ground balls, and turnovers—but Hobart’s goalie’s eighteen saves kept them in the game.

NAVY (JT Thomas III, Preston Lugar) 10

Lehigh 12

The Midshipmen grabbed the lead with a three-goal run in the first quarter, by Lehigh matched that to close out the first half, giving the Mountain Hawks a one-goal lead at the halftime break.  Navy tied the game quickly to start the second half, then Lehigh connected on three straight to take the lead back.  Navy would tie the game twice more, but Lehigh was able to regain their lead each time.

OHIO STATE (Cullen Brown) 10

#3 Notre Dame 13

Notre Dame pitched a 3-0 shutout in the first quarter then leveraged a two-minute non-releasable penalty on the Buckeyes into a three-goal run in the second quarter.  Ohio State pulled within one of the Irish in the third quarter then Notre Dame ran their lead out to five with four straight scores.  Ohio State came back with two in a row, then each team got one more before the final buzzer.

Early in the second quarter, Cullen forced an Irish turnover, ran the clear and got off a shot that was high.  He contributed one additional ground ball.

#13 PENN (Stephen Bou) 11

Villanova 8

The Quakers used a pair of three-goal runs in the first half to lead by three at the break for halftime.  Villanova pulled within one with a pair of goals early in the second half, but Penn never let them get closer.  After that initial burst by ‘Nova, Penn matched them score for score before wrapping up the day with the game’s final two goals.

D-I USILA POLL (3/11)

1. Army

2. Notre Dame

3. Duke

4. Virginia

5. Maryland

6. Syracuse

7. Denver

8. Johns Hopkins

9. Penn State

10. Yale

11. Georgetown

12. Penn

13. Princeton

14. Harvard

15. Cornell

16. Richmond

17. North Carolina

18. Michigan

19. Rutgers

20. Delaware

THIS COMING WEEK

HARVARD (Joey Graham) and YALE (Jake Cohen) face each other in their Ivy League opener and OHIO STATE (Cullen Brown) travels to DENVER (Ryan Giles).

D-III

Welcome Oscar Smink of Amherst! 

Oscar, Landon ’22, is a sophomore who joined the Mammoths’ lacrosse team this season.  A rare collegiate two-sport athlete, he also plays for Amherst’s D-III hockey team.

THIS WEEK’S GAMES

#14 AMHERST (Nicholas Kopp, Oscar Smink) 16

Springfield 6

Amherst overcame a slow start but by closing out the first half with four straight scores, the Mammoths led 5-3 at the break.  Springfield pulled within one with the first goal of the second half then Amherst took over with a ten-goal run.  By the time Springfield scored to halt that run, there were just two and a half minutes left in the contest.  Each team scored once more before the clock showed zeros.

Nicholas won fourteen of twenty-two faceoffs but may have been a bit jumpy in the first half when he earned three trips to the penalty box for going early.

Oscar saw playing time in his first D-III lacrosse game.

#14 AMHERST (Nicholas Kopp, Oscar Smink) 17

Hamilton 5

Amherst picked up their first NESCAC win of the season.  The Mammoths started and ended the first half with pairs of scores and in between Hamilton’s two lone scores of the half they squeezed in a six-goal run.  Hamilton got their first back-to-back scores to start the second half, benefiting from a two-minute full time penalty against Amherst.  The Mammoths bounced back with three straight before Hamilton scored what turned out to be their last goal of the day.  Amherst recorded another three before the final horn sounded.

Nicholas had another solid day, outdoing several different Hamiltonians at the dot.  He won thirteen of twenty-two faceoffs, fired off a shot, collected six ground balls and caused one turnover.  Oscar played also.

#9 BOWDOIN (Nico Schermer) 19

Western New England 9

After some early back-and-forth play, Bowdoin took over the game with nine goals in row.  Western New England closed out the half with two goals and then Bowdoin kick started the second half by ripping off five straight.

#9 BOWDOIN (Nico Schermer) 16

#6 Middlebury 10

Bowdoin struck first with three goals in the first four minutes of the game.  The Polar Bears and the Panthers traded goals for the rest of the first half.  Bowdoin was off to a hot start for the second half, scoring five times before Middlebury halted their run.  The Polar Bears frustrated Middlebury’s comeback attempts, never allowing more than two goals in a row until the final quarter when each team scored three times.

COLBY (Colin Flood) 12

University of New England 5

The Mules picked up their first win of the season with rhyming quarters to start the game. In each of the first two periods, Colby netted four straight before New England scored their only goal of the quarter.  Play was more even in the second half as Colby did not run away with the game, but New England couldn’t make a dent in the Mules lead.

COLBY (Colin Flood) 13

Connecticut College 12

The Mules evened their NESCAC record by handing the Camels their second loss of the season.  Connecticut College had the early advantage with small scoring runs compounding the benefit of their defense not surrendering back-to-back goals to Colby in the first half.  The Mules got the first two goals of the second half, then another two after a single goal for Connecticut College.  Colby came back with another two in a row, to cut the Camels lead to just one.  Connecticut College ran their lead back out to three goals before Colby tied the game with three straight scores in the middle of the fourth quarter.  After seeing Connecticut College take the lead back, Colby scored twice to take the game, the winning goal coming with just twenty-six seconds left in the game.

#19 DENISON (Will Savoy) 6

#13 Lynchburg 13

Denison scored first, but Lynchburg ran off four straight scores to take the early lead.  Denison netted a pair of goals across the end of the first quarter and start of the second to trim Lynchburg’s lead to a single goal.  It looked like it was “game on,” but it proved to be “game over” as Lynchburg netted eight straight goals over the rest of second period and through the third.  Denison scored once more early in the fourth before Lynchburg recorded the last goal of the game.

#5 DICKINSON (Will Single, Andrew Atkins) 13

#20 Kenyon 8

Kenyon kept Dickinson under control in the first half, defending a slim lead for most of the first two quarters.  The Red Devils broke out quickly in the second half and took over the game with seven unanswered scores.  Kenyon got their only goal of the second half with five minutes left in the game.

Will got to two ground balls for Dickinson.

#5 DICKINSON (Will Single, Andrew Atkins) 14

Stevenson 6

Dickinson led throughout much of the first half, but Stevenson took the lead with a four-goal run to finish the first half then added a fifth to start the second half.  The Red Devils owned the game after that, scoring nine while giving up none.

Will played in the game.

HAMPDEN-SYDNEY (Owen Hegadorn) 11

Ohio Northern 9

Hampden-Sydney flipped a two-goal deficit into a two-goal lead with four straight second half scores.  After Ohio Northern snapped that run with a single goal, the Tigers scored twice more and held on for the win.

OHIO WESLEYAN (Quinn Coughlin) 14

Saint Vincent 3

Ohio Wesleyan scored the first six goals of the game and, after Saint Vincent got their first, the Battlin’ Bishops reeled off another six. 

Quinn saw playing time in this game.

OHIO WESLEYAN (Quinn Coughlin) 10

John Carroll 9

A slight goal tending advantage for Ohio Wesleyan proved consequential in an otherwise even match. With key possession statistics nearly even, OWU’s nearly 60% save rate, compared to Saint Vincent sub-50% effort.  The Bishops took the lead in the middle of the second half when they converted four successive shots on goal into four scores.

#12 WASHINGTON & LEE (Will Bou, Will Abramson) 15                                                                                                

#7 Gettysburg 8

The visiting Generals took over the game early with six unanswered goals in the first quarter.  Washington & Lee was up by eight when Gettysburg cobbled together their first run—three goals to complete the third quarter.  Unfazed, W&L punched back with four straight scores to stretch their lead to nine.  The Bullets pulled with seven with a pair of late fourth quarter goals but could get no closer.

D-III USILA POLL (3/11)

1. Salisbury

2. Tufts

3. RIT

4. Dickinson

5. Christopher Newport

6, Bowdoin

7. RPI

8.Washington & Lee

9. Union

10. Saint Lawrence

11. York

12. Lynchburg

13. Gettysburg

14. Amherst

15. Swarthmore

16. Middlebury

17t. Stevens

17t. Williams

19. Babson

20. Wesleyan

THIS COMING WEEK

AMHERST (Nicholas Kopp, Oscar Smink) and COLBY (Colin Flood) met in NESCAC play while HAMPDEN-SYDNEY (Owen Hegadorn) plays OHIO WESLEYAN (Quinn Coughlin) in a non-conference match.

Ten teams will face off this coming weekend in Owings Mill, Maryland at the annual Mustang Classic.  Washington & Lee (Will Bou, Will Abramson) and Dickinson (Will Single, Andrew Atkins) will be the teams featuring Bears on their rosters.  The filed will also include three of D-III top five teams—Christopher Newport, RIT, and Tufts.