BearsLaxTraxFax 03.04.2024

goldenstateservicesj
Mar 6, 2024
9 min read

by John Nichols P’09

BLTF 030424

D-I

DARTMOUTH (Will Cohen, Cameron Brown, Zak Oehlerking) 6

Lehigh 11

Dartmouth led 5-3 at the halftime break, but the second half belonged to Lehigh. The Mountain Hawks scored four unanswered goals in the third period and added another four in the final quarter before Dartmouth got their final score of the day. Lehigh’s early shots were a bit on the wild side, but in the second half they were deadly accurate.

Cameron scored a goal on one of his two shots, and he covered two ground balls. Will was credited with two ground balls and a caused turnover.

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

Siena 11

Big Green was in a big hole early. Siena was up 5-0 early in the second quarter before Dartmouth netted their first goal of the day. They rallied from there to trail by just one at the half, then got the game tied up off the faceoff that started the third quarter. Siena got their lead back with a single score, then Dartmouth broke on top with three in a row. Dartmouth extended their lead to three in the fourth quarter only to see Siena rally to a tie with three straight goals. Dartmouth retook the lead then stifled the Siena attack over the balance of regulation.

Cameron was a starting middie for Big Green and rose to the occasion scoring three goals on five shots and collecting three ground balls. Will had four ground balls and a caused turnover while Zak contributed one ground ball.

#4 DENVER (Ryan Giles) 15

Le Moyne 6

While the rest of the upper echelon of D-! lacrosse was suffering weekend challenges, Denver had a relatively easy time with former D-II power LeMoyne. Though new to D-I, Le Moyne gave the Pioneers everything they could handle in the first half and the game was tied at five all at halftime. In the second half, Denver ripped eight straight goals while holding Le Moyne scoreless for thirty-four minutes. After the Dolphins got their first score of the second half, the Pioneers wrapped up the contest with a pair of scores.

Ryan took one shot on the day, had one ground ball, and caused two turnovers.

HARVARD (Joey Graham) 23

Merrimack 8

The Crimson posted the first seven goals of the game while surrendering just one. Scoring was a bit more balanced over the rest of the first half and Harvard led by seven at the halftime break. The relative even scoring continued into the third quarter until Harvard broke the game open with a run of seven goals. Merrimack got one more score, then Harvard closed out the game with a pair of late goals.

Joey scored two goals on two shots, the first as the result of a blown clear by Merrimack, and the second on Harvard’s first possession of the fourth quarter.

HARVARD (Joey Graham) 15

Vermont 12

Both teams were ripping the nets early, with Vermont taking a quick 4-1 lead before the Crimson ran off five straight to go up by two. All that happened in the first half of the first quarter. The pace of scoring slowed after that (how could it not?) but the teams matched each other score for score, run for run so that the game was tied a nine at the end of the half. Harvard pitched a 4-0 shutout in the third quarter to get the lead, then they held off Vermont’s fourth quarter comeback attempt.

HOBART (Jackson Galiani) 7

Cornell 23

Hobart never got back-to-back goals, but it was routine for Cornell to do so. Big Red’s accurate shooting overwhelmed the Statesmen’s goalie. While the teams took nearly the same number of shots on the day, Cornell’s attack was far more accurate, and Hobart’s goalie was far less formidable.

HOBART (Jackson Galiani) 15

Robert Morris 10

Hobart’s big second quarter propelled the Statemen to their second win of the season. The Statesmen had a pair of quick three-goal runs in the second quarter and closed out the first half with a single score to take a lead that was not to be challenged in the second half.

#11 MICHIGAN (Hunter Taylor, Graham Hertzberg) 13

Jacksonville 10

Michigan dominated on faceoffs and had an edge in ground balls, but in the end it was superior play in goal by Hunter that made the difference in the outcome. Hunter saved sixty percent of Jacksonville’s shots on goal while his counterpart saved just over half. Michigan trailed by two at halftime, turning the game around in the second half with a seven-goal run.

Hunter saved fifteen of the Dolphin’s twenty-five shots on goal and got to one ground ball.

#11 MICHIGAN (Hunter Taylor, Graham Hertzberg) 13

Delaware 8

Another Wolverine win propelled by Hunter outplaying his opponent in the opposite cage. Hunter had another sixty percent save day while his mates pulled away with a pair of four-goal runs, one in the second quarter and one in the third. The first of those runs flipped Michigan’s two-goal deficit into a two-goal lead. The second effectively iced the game for the Wolverines.

Hunter saved twelve of his opponent’s twenty shots on goal.

NAVY (JT Thomas III, Preston Lugar) 16

Boston University 9

Navy opened their Patriot League schedule with a big road win. After the teams swapped leads early in the game, the Middies ran off three in a row to take the lead in the second quarter. They cemented that lead in the second half with five straight goals. The Terriers took a couple of small bites out of Navy’s advantage in the fourth quarter, but the Middies always answered the challenge.

#20 OHIO STATE (Cullen Brown) 11

#10 Cornell 15

The Buckeyes gave Cornell all they could handle in the first half, but with two goals in the final minute of the first half, Cornell forced a halftime tie. After the teams swapped goals to start the second half, Cornell tallied three straight to take the lead. Big Red did not give up successive goals the rest of the day to lock in the win.

Cullen had one ground ball for Ohio State.

#17 PENN (Stephen Bou) 14

#1 Duke 12

The Quakers started a weekend road trip to Tobacco Road with a stunning win over then top ranked Duke. Penn got their first lead late in the first quarter with a three-goal run. Duke opened the second quarter scoring to tie the game, but for the balance of the second quarter and into the third, each Blue Devil goal was met by two for Penn, the last iteration of which extended Penn’s lead to four. Penn maintained the lead into the fourth quarter, matching Duke score for score until the Blue Devils made a charge with three goals in less than two minutes late in the fourth quarter. Penn won the faceoff after the last of those three and got an empty netter as Duke tried to chase the ball down.

#17 PENN (Stephen Bou) 9

#19 North Carolina 13

Two days later and eleven miles to the south, things did not go so well for the Quakers. Penn led 4-2 at halftime, but the Tar Heels came out on fire in the second half. Carolina got the lead with the first three goals of the second half, only to see Penn take the lead right back with successive scores. The Heels closed out the third quarter and opened the fourth with five straight goals to go up by four. The Quakers were held in check over the balance of the contest.

#10 YALE (Jake Cohen) 14 OT

#12 Penn State 15

Yale appeared to be in control early with two first half runs of four goals each while the Nittany Lions only managed one score in each of the first two quarters. Penn State opened the second half with a five-goal run, but that just cut Yale’s lead to two. After swapping scores, Yale seemed to be back in control, taking the lead back with three straight scores. Penn State forced a tie at the end of regulation time by wrapping a pair of three-goal runs around a single Eli goal.

Yale dominated possession in the overtime period, but failed to convert any of their five shots then Penn State got the win on their first try.

D-I USILA POLL (3/4)

1. Denver

2. Army

3. Notre Dame

4. Johns Hopkins

5. Duke

6. Virginia

7. Maryland

8. Cornell

9. Syracuse

10. Penn State

11. Georgetown

12. Michigan

13. Penn

14. Princeton

15. Yale

16. Rutgers

17. Richmond

18. North Carolina

19. Harvard

20. UMass

THIS COMING WEEK

On Sunday we wrap up the week with a pair of Bears vs. Bears matches as Yale (Jake Cohen) travels to Denver (Ryan Giles) and Harvard (Joey Graham) plays Michigan (Hunter Taylor, Graham Hertzberg) in Ann Arbor.

D-III

BEARS VS BEARS

#19 DENISON (Will Savoy) 11

#13 WASHINGTON & LEE (Will Bou, Will Abramson) 13

But for a two-minute spell in the middle of the second quarter, Denison held the lead well into the third quarter. However, that lead never exceeded three goals, so when the Generals ran off four straight goals in the middle of the third quarter, they were able to take their first lead of the day. Denison finished the third quarter with two scores to wrest the lead back, but W&L answered in kind early in the fourth and led once again. Denison knotted the game up at eleven all a minute after that, but the Generals had the final say, netting the last two goals of the game to get the win.

OTHER GAMES

#14 AMHERST (Nicholas Kopp) 11

#7 Middlebury 17

The Amherst attack had the advantage in shooting volume, but Middlebury’s accuracy more than made up for the difference. Those Amherst shots that were on target were a bit more likely to end up in the keeper’s crosse than were Middlebury’s shots. Middlebury helped Amherst out by giving the Mammoths ten man-up opportunities, but the Mammoths only cashed in on two of those chances.

Nicholas dominated the dot, winning twenty-one of thirty-one faceoffs and backing up that effort with a game-high eleven ground balls. He also took one shot for the Mammoths.

#9 BOWDOIN (Nico Schermer) 13

Trinity 6

After Bowdoin got the game’s first goal, Trinity tallied three straight goals to go ahead. Bowdoin bounced back with the three goals in the last minute of the first quarter to go ahead, as it turns out, for good. After the Bantams scored first in the second period, Bowdoin went on an extended run that lasted until late in the third period. By the time that run was done, Bowdoin led by eight. Trinity checked that run with the first goal of the final period, then each team scored once more before the final buzzer sounded.

COLBY (Colin Flood) 11

Wesleyan 20

Wesleyan used a four-goal run to get out ahead early, but Colby closed out the first half with their own run of four to set the game even at seven to seven at the break. The Cardinals ripped five straight scores to get the second half going but, in this half, Colby did not have a comeback. The two Colby goals that came after that run were offset by another four from Wesleyan. A single goal for the Mules broke that run, only to be followed by another four from the Cardinals.

#18 DENISON (Will Savoy) 19

Baldwin Wallace 5

Denison scored in bunches throughout the game and limited Baldwin-Wallace to just one goal at a time until midway through the third period. Denison dominated in every statistical category, taking twice as many shots, putting twice as many on goal, winning 50% faceoffs and scooping up over 60% more ground balls.

#5 DICKINSON (Will Single, Andrew Atkins) 15

Roanoke 13

Dickinson handed Roanoke College their first loss of the season in a game played at Bullis. Roanoke led by two after one quarter, but the second quarter belonged to Dickinson. A Red Devils goal seconds before the end of the first half created a halftime lead for Dickinson. The Red Devils extended their lead to one by the end of the third quarter. Roanoke took the lead back with three straight scores to start the final period then Dickinson ran off four straight in response and was again ahead. The margin proved too big and time remaining too short for Roanoke.

HAMPDEN-SYDNEY (Owen Hegadorn) 11

Cabrini 10

Slow and low scoring over the first three quarters, this game turned into a scoring fest in the final quarter. In the first half, each team had and lost one-goal leads. The Tigers netted two scores in the first four minutes of the second half propelling them to a one goal lead to start the fourth. That slim lead proved to be just enough as both teams turned up the offense in the fourth quarter (ten goals total, 5 for each side). In that final period, Hampden-Sydney led by as many as three and few as one, but never allowed Cabrini to pull even.

HAMPDEN-SYDNEY (Owen Hegadorn) 9 OT

Saint Mary’s 10

The Tigers scored twice early in the game, but Saint Mary’s took over with a six straight goals. Hampden-Sydney set about trimming their deficit in increments. By halftime, they were down three and, after shutting out Saint Mary’s in the third period, they were down by just one heading into the final quarter of regulation time. The teams matched single scores then, with the clock winding down, the Tigers tied the game up with just six seconds left on the clock. In overtime, the Tigers had the early advantage, but Saint Mary’s gained possession and, benefiting from a Hampden-Sydney penalty, got the game winner.

OHIO WESLEYAN (Quinn Laughlin) 13

Transylvania 6

Ohio Wesleyan picked up their first win of the season. The Battlin’ Bishops ran away from Transylvania, scoring eight unanswered goals to start the game. Transylvania got their first goal early in the third quarter. Neither team had a scoring advantage after that.

#13 WASHINGTON & LEE (Will Bou, Will Abramson) 23

Bridgewater 5

Bridgewater got their first three goals early in the game and led 3-1 with just under seven minutes left in the first quarter. The Generals then went on a scoring tear, netting seventeen goals in a run that lasted into the middle of the third quarter. Bridgewater got two to stop the run, then W&L closed out the game with five more.

Will Bou won a pair of faceoffs and Will Abramson had one ground ball.

D-III USILA POLL (3/4)

1. Salisbury

2. RIT

3. Tufts

4.Christopher Newport

5. Dickinson

6. Middlebury

7. Gettysburg

8. RPI

9. Bowdoin

10. York