BEARS LAX TRAX FAX by John Nichols 020821

D-I

THIS WEEK’S GAMES

BEARS VS BEARS

VIRGINIA (Ryan Pride) 20

TOWSON (Mo Sillah) 11

After a closely contested first quarter, UVA scored seven times in the second period and then as many again in the third to blow the game open.  Ryan was a regular in the SSDM rotation.

OTHER GAMES

DENVER (Ryan Giles) 10

Duke 12

Propelled by a six-goal run, the Pioneers jumped out to an early lead in the first of two road games in North Carolina.  After the half time break Duke took over the game wrapping a pair of four goals runs around a single score for Denver.  Duke clung to a one-goal lead over the final seven minutes of regulation, extending their lead to two with just over a minute left in the game.

DENVER (Ryan Giles) 13

North Carolina 24

The Tar Heels took little time to get into high gear to start the 2021 season.  While Denver had more live game experience under their belts, North Carolina looked to be in mid-season form, racing out to a 9-1 lead in the first quarter.  Denver scored the game’s last five goals to take a measure of sting out of the rout. The DU Ryan played his 1^st ‘Pio minutes

D-I POLLS

Pre-season polls from USILA and Inside Lacrosse were published before Yale shut down their season.

Schedule Update

The Big Ten (Maryland, Johns Hopkins, Penn State, and Michigan) has posted an initial schedule of five conference games for each team.  That schedule runs from February 20 through March 20 with the conference planning to announce additional games at a later date. The Big Ten is also currently planning a conference tournament in early May featuring all six teams.  Outcomes for the Ivy League are still up in the air, with Yale’s decision not to field a team this year the only sure thing.  Cornell has indicated that several members of the team have withdrawn for the current school term but has not yet determined whether they can field a team.  Ivy practices continue.

THIS COMING WEEK

Army (Drennan Greene) at Virginia (Ryan Pride)—A Bears vs. Bears contest created when Army’s initial opponent, U Mass, went on two-week COVID related lockdown for all sports.

Towson (Mo Sillah) hosts St. Joe’s (Thomas Halm) in this week’s other Bears vs. Bears match.

Cleveland State (Justin Conner) visits Marquette and Loyola (Cam James) travels to Richmond for each team’s season openers.  Denver (Ryan Giles) plays for Colorado bragging rights against Air Force.

D-III

Preseason Poll

D-III Schedule Update

Our 2021 coverage will start with Colorado College’s season opener against CSU Pueblo on February 17. Schedules are still sparse and most of the schools that have posted games are not playing their first games until early March.