BearLaxTraxFax by John Nichols week of 05.09.2022

BLTF 050922

D-I

CONFERENCE TOURNAMENTS

Maryland remains undefeated and we had three Bears versus Bears games, including the Ivy League championship game.

BIG TEN

Semifinals

MARYLAND (John Geppert, Matt Kopp) 16

JOHNS HOPKINS (Joey Epstein) 11

The Jays held even with the Terps into the second quarter until Maryland went on a five-goal run.  After Hopkins stopped that run with a goal, Maryland ran off three in a row.  After another single Hopkins score, Maryland then racked up another three to take a 15-6 early in the fourth period. This time the Jays came back with their first back-to-back scores since early in the second quarter, these goals coming just four seconds apart.  Maryland then scored what proved to be their final goal of the day before Hopkins ran off three straight to finish the scoring for the day.

John had two ground balls and two caused turnovers and Matthew also played for Maryland.  Joey put three shots on goal for Johns Hopkins.

Maryland moved on to the Big Ten championship game, but Johns Hopkins’ 2012 campaign came to an end.

RUTGERS 12

OHIO STATE 10

Championship

MARYLAND (John Geppert, Matt Kopp) 17

RUTGERS 7

Maryland’s offense reprised its performance in the semi-final game, making a big run in the first half and then a couple of smaller runs in the second half while the Terrapins defense was even stingier in the championship game.  Scoring runs came easy to Maryland, but Rutgers scored successive goals just once.

John scored his fifth goal of the season and picked up three ground balls and Matt also played in the game.

The undefeated Terrapins won both the regular season and the conference tournament in the Big Ten and are the top seeded team in the NCAA Men’s Division I Lacrosse Tournament.

PATRIOT LEAGUE

Quarterfinals

NAVY (JT Thomas) 8

LEHIGH 14

Lehigh scored the first four goals of the game and successfully defended that lead each time Navy threatened.  The Mountain Hawks broke free of the Midshipmen with a five-goal run in the middle of the second half to go up by eight.

Navy’s seasoned ended with this loss.

LOYOLA (Cam James) 11

BUCKNELL (Drew Wellington) 7

Whether scoring goals singly or in pairs, each team had a reply in kind when the other scored.  That trend persisted throughout the first three quarters of the game, but Loyola broke a tie and took a lead for the first time to start the fourth quarter then did not let up.  All in, the Greyhounds ran off the last five scores of the game to move onto the Patriot League semifinals.

Drew played on defense for Bucknell.

Bucknell’s 2022 season ended with this loss while Loyola moved on to the Patriot League semifinals against Army.

Semifinals

LOYOLA (Cam James) 13

ARMY 14

The Greyhounds got the jump on Army, pitching a 4-0 shutout in the first quarter.  Army worked their way back into the game in the second quarter, twice pulling within one of the ‘Hounds.  Loyola held onto its advantage into the third quarter, but Army stayed on their heels, not allowing Loyola to pull away.  On the strength of a three-goal run, the Black Knights got their first lead in the middle of the fourth quarter.  Loyola tied the game up with a quick pair of scores as the game clocked ticked inside five minutes.  Army responded with two more scores which put them up by two with less than two minutes left in the game.  Loyola won the next faceoff but Army frustrated their offense until Loyola scored the final goal of the game with just six seconds showing on the clock.

The loss ended Loyola’s 2021 season.

BOSTON U 13

LEHIGH 12

Championship

BOSTON U 14

ARMY 10

The Terriers earned the Patriot League slot in the NCAA tournament with the win.

IVY LEAGUE

Semifinals

YALE (Jake Cohen) 14

CORNELL 11

The first quarter was an offensive slugfest with the Eli and Crimson trading short scoring runs and leads until the period ended in a 5-5 tie. Yale seemed to take control of the game after the break, scoring the only three goals of the second quarter and the first three goals of the third to forge and 11-5 advantage. Cornell made a hard run at Yale, pulling within one with ten minutes left in the game.  Yale got the last two scores of the game and held on for the final six minutes to move on to the championship game.

Jake saw his first Ivy League tournament playing time in the game.

PENN (Stephen Bou) 14

BROWN 9

Penn showed little respect for the top-seeded Bears of Brown, racing out to a 6-0 lead in the first quarter. Brown responded in kind in the second quarter, pitching a 5-0 shutout to pull within one at the break for halftime.  After the teams traded goals to start the second half, Penn ran off four in a row to go up by five midway through the third period.  This time Brown could not match Penn’s run. Brown got the last goal of the third period and the first of the fourth but that was the end of their threat.  Penn got three quick scores and then the game fell into a scoring lull until Brown squeezed out one last score.

Championship

PENN (Stephen Bou) 16

YALE (Jake Cohen) 9

Well into the second quarter this game was a tight, low scoring affair as both teams had and surrendered small leads.  The Quakers then went on a run, closing out the first half with a pair of goals then reeling off five in a row to start the second half, to go up by seven.  Yale got their first back-to-back scores late in the third period, but Penn stopped that run with a goal as the clock hit zero to end the third quarter.  Penn extended their lead to eight early in the fourth quarter then Yale attempted to rally again before the Quakers stopped that attempt and closed out the scoring with less than two minutes left in the game.

Jake got one ground ball for the Bulldogs.

Penn earned the Ivy League automatic qualifier slot in the NCAA Men’s Division I Lacrosse Tournament.  Yale received an at-large invitation.

BIG EAST

Semifinals

DENVER (Ryan Giles) 14

VILLANOVA 15

Villanova leveraged a pair of three goals runs in the first half to take a four-goal lead at the end of the first half. Villanova got the last score of the third period and first score of the final period to extend their lead to six goals.  Denver mounted a steady comeback in the final quarter, scoring five straight goals to pull within one with just under four minutes left in the game. Villanova stopped that run and went up by two with half of a minute left in the game.  Down a man, Denver again pulled with one but now there were just eleven ticks left on the clock.  Denver again won the faceoff despite being shorthanded, but their attempt at tying the game was blocked.

Ryan had two ground balls and one caused turnover.

The loss ended Denver’s season.

GEORGETOWN 15

MARQUETTE 5

Championship

GEORGETOWN 14

VILLANOVA 12

Georgetown added the Big East champion’s crown to their regular season title and is the #2 seed in the NCAA Men’s Division I Lacrosse Tournament.

COLONIAL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION

Semifinals

TOWSON (Mo Sillah) 18

UMASS 10

The Tigers used a five-goal run in the first quarter and then a six-goal run in the third to move on to the CAA final.  This game proved to be the exception to the rule that faceoff wins and ground ball coverage are the keys to victory.  UMass excelled in both of those categories but undid that work with turnovers and anemic shooting.

Mo played in the game and took one shot.

DELAWARE 19

DREXEL 16

Championship

TOWSON (Mo Sillah) 6

DELAWARE 11

Delaware scored first and never trailed. Towson stayed on the Hens’ heels until Delaware ran off a slow-motion streak, scoring five straight goals from late in the first period until early in the fourth to take a six-goal lead. Delaware rode a solid faceoff advantage in the first half and limited the Tigers to a mere ten first-half shots.

Mo played in the game

Towson’s loss in the championship game ended the Tigers’ season.

NCAA DIVISION I MENS LACROSSE TOURNAMENT

First round games are scheduled for May 11.

5/14 #3 Penn vs. Richmond

5/14 #4 Yale vs. Saint Joseph’s

5/15 Harvard vs. #6 Rutgers

5/15 #1 Maryland vs. winner of 5/11 Vermont vs. Manhattan game

D-III

OOPS!

This year I completely missed a player—Owen Hegadorn.  Owen is a freshman at Hampden-Sydney and plays as a goalie.  This year Owen has appeared in five games for Hampden-Sydney, saving four of the five shots he faced and surrendering just one score.  Hampden-Sydney plays Washington and Lee the ODAC tournament in one of this week’s Bears versus Bears tournament games (details below).

CONFERENCE TOURNAMENTS

NEW ENGLAND SMALL COLLEGE ATHLETIC CONFERENCE

Semifinals

AMHERST (Nicholas Kopp) 14

BOWDOIN 15

Amherst and Bowdoin traded blows in the first half, each swapping the lead after three-goal runs. Bowdoin landed a solid blow to conclude the first half, scoring four straight to take a two-goal lead at halftime.  Amherst came out punching in the second half and took the lead back with a three-goal runs which put them up by three with just over nine minutes left in the game. Those final nine minutes we all Bowdoin.  The Polar Bears notched four straight goals—the last two coming in the final fifteen seconds (that’s right, the tying goal and the go-ahead goal in the final fifteen seconds) to steal the game.

Nicholas won sixteen of thirty-one faceoffs and collected six ground balls.  He also took three shots, one of which was on goal.

Despite the loss, Amherst’s season continues with a slot in the NCAA Men’s Division III Tournament.

TUFTS (Garrett Kurtz) 17

WESLEYAN 9

Tufts scored in several small bunches of two, three, or four goals while Wesleyan managed to score back-to-back goals just twice in the game—once early in the game the as the game’s final scores. Tufts had a huge advantage in turnovers, losing the ball just twelve times while Wesleyan committed twenty-eight turnovers in the game.

Garrett took one shot for the Jumbos.

Championship

TUFTS (Garrett Kurtz) 20

BOWDOIN 11

Tufts started and ended the first half with three goal runs while Bowdoin had three isolated scores for the half.  The Jumbos went on a goal-a-minute tear to start the second half, scoring the first eight goals of the half before Bowdoin got their first of the period. The Polar Bears took a bite of Tufts’ lead late in the middle of the fourth quarter with five straight scores but could not overcome.

Garrett took one shot in the game.

Tufts has earned on of the top seeds in the NCAA Men’s Division III Tournament.

OLD DOMINION ATHLETIC CONFERENCE

Semifinals

WASHINGTON & LEE (Will Bou) 7 OT

HAMPDEN-SYDNEY (Owen Hegadorn) 8

The Generals won the first quarter 2-0 and were up 3-0 when Hampden-Sydney got their first goal in the middle of the second period.  One more for each team wrapped up the first half scoring. Hampden-Sydney scored the only goals of the third period sending the game into the fourth quarter tied four all.  The Generals got the lead back quickly then Hampden-Sydney got their first lead of the game with a pair of scores.  The Generals retook the lead with back-to-back goals, the last coming with less than four minutes left in the game. After W&L won the faceoff, the teams traded possession as time ticked away. Hampden-Sydney tied the game up with thirty seconds left on the clock. Will won the faceoff but the Generals were unable to convert before regulation ended.

Hampden-Sydney won the faceoff to start overtime then turned the ball back to Washington and Lee.  The General missed winning by the slimmest of margins as their lone shot in overtime hit a post.  Hampden-Sydney got the ball back and scored on their first shot.

Will won eight of ten faceoffs and covered six ground balls.

Washington and Lee survived the loss and received a bid for the NCAA Men’s Division III Tournament.

LYNCHBURG 17

ROANOKE 9

Championship

HAMPDEN-SYDNEY (Owen Hegadorn) 7

LYNCHBURG 18

Lynchburg’s score was the product of six three-goal runs. Hampden-Sydney scored first and got their only back-to-back goals after Lynchburg’s first run of three.  From there on out each time Lynchburg scored three Hampden-Sydney would score just once.

The loss ended the 2021 season for Hampden-Sydney.

CENTENNIAL CONFERENCE

Semifinals

GETTYSBURG (Billy Banfield) 12

MUHLENBERG 11

Muhlenberg led by one at the halftime break.  Over the first two quarters both teams had single goal leads and the game was tied six times.  The Bullets tied the game up for the seventh time to start the second half and notched two more goals to take their largest lead of the day. After Muhlenberg pulled within one with a goal, the Bullets scored two more to stretch their lead out to three early in the fourth quarter.  Muhlenberg fought back and ran off three goals in a row to tie the game up with just over two minutes left on the clock. Muhlenberg won the next faceoff and had a chance to take the lead but Gettysburg’s goalie got the save and the Bullets recorded the winning goal with just ten seconds left in regulation.

DICKINSON 13

URSINUS 12

Championship

GETTYSBURG (Billy Banfield) 9 OT

DICKINSON 10

Dickinson shut out the Bullets in the first half and led 7-0 at the break. Gettysburg scored two in a row to start the second half, but Dickinson matched that and were still up by seven at the start of the fourth quarter. The Bullets owned the fourth quarter, scoring seven unanswered goals in the period to tie the game up with just ten seconds left in regulation.  Then disaster struck. Gettysburg was called for a slash as the game clock hit zero.  Dickinson started the overtime period a man up and with the ball.  They got the game winner twenty-two seconds later on their first shot.

Gettysburg will continue their season in the NCAA Men’s Division III Tournament.

COAST TO COAST CONFERENCE

Semifinals

SALISBURY (Jace Menendez) 22

MARY WASHINGTON 5

Salisbury buried Mary Washington for the second time in three days. The Gulls led 14-0 when Mary Washington scored their first goal of the game. 

Jace took one shot in the game and had one ground ball recovery.

Championship

SALISBURY (Jace Menendez) 15

CHRISTOPHER NEWPORT 10

Christopher Newport wrecked Salisbury’s perfect record in the regular season and the Gulls returned the favor in the conference championship game. The first quarter got off to a brisk start with small runs and lead swaps and eventually concluded in a six all tie at the end of the quarter.  The scoring pace slowed in the second quarter and the Captains took a one-goal lead into the halftime break.  The second half was all Salisbury.  The Gulls racked up seven goals before Christopher Newport got their first, and only, score of the half with fourteen seconds left in the game.

Salisbury earned and invitation to the NCAA Men’s Division III Tournament as one of the top seeds.

HEARTLAND COLLEGIATE ATHLETIC CONFERENCE

Semifinals

COLORADO COLLEGE (Max Becker) 22

ANDERSON 2

Colorado College scored a goal every two minutes in the first half to lead 15-0 at the break.  The Tigers then got the first goal of the second half before Anderson got their first goal of the game.

HANOVER 3

SOUTHWESTERN 18

Championship

COLORADO COLLEGE (Max Becker) 17

SOUTHWESTERN 12

The Tigers were outshot by Southwestern, but they were far more accurate which was critical considering the goalies did not pose much of a threat.  Colorado College started the game with a three-goal run and added another run of three after Southwestern got their first goal. Southwestern came back with three of their own, but a pair of Tiger goals ran Colorado College’s lead back out to four. The Tigers ran their lead out to six goals and kept Southwestern at bay until midway through the fourth quarter when Southwestern’s last gasp closed the gap to three. Colorado College closed out the game with a pair of goals.

By winning the HCLC tournament the Tigers will be playing in the NCAA Men’s Division III Tournament.

NCAA DIVISION III MENS LACROSSE TOURNAMENT

First round games are scheduled for May 11.

5/14 Amherst(Nicholas Kopp) vs. MIT

5/14 Colorado (Max Becker). Bowdoin (Bear Grandson CC attackman Jack Murdock v. Bear Grandson- Patrick Murdock is a Polar Bear FOGO)

5/14 Salisbury (Jace Menendez) vs. winner of 5/11 Stockton vs. UMass-Boston

5/14 Gettysburg (Billy Banfield) vs. Roanoke

5/14 Tufts (Garrett Kurtz) vs. winner of 5/11 Norwich vs. Maine Maritime

Winners of these games will play their next game on Sunday, May 15.