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BLTF 020320 by John Nichols
- goldenstateservicesj
- Feb 11, 2020
- 6 min read
BLTF 020320 by John Nichols
D-I
The pace has picked up in D-I men’s lacrosse with most of the teams that we follow having gotten their 2020 campaigns off and running. Maryland (Justin Shockey, John Geppert, Matthew Kopp) dodged and upset in Richmond, Virginia (Ryan Pride) successfully opened their title defense, Penn State (Nate Buller) is still a scoring machine, and Bucknell (Colin O’Brien) rallied for a win.
BEARS VS. BEARS
Johns Hopkins (Joey Epstein) 15
Towson (Mo Sillah) 7
The Blue Jays showed no ill effects from having Joey sidelined with an injury as they got revenge for last year’s loss to the Tigers. Hopkins jumped out to an early lead, but Towson fought their way back, tying the game a six all early in the third quarter. The Jays put together a run of four consecutive goals, and after a single score by Towson, tallied five straight to close out the contest.
Mo had a pair of ground balls for Towson.
Johns Hopkins will try to take back the title of the best in Charm City this weekend when they play at Loyola (a Bears vs. Bears game) while Towson plays Mt. Saint Mary’s
Virginia (Ryan Pride) 12
Loyola (Cam James) 9
Virginia opened the NCAA title defense against Loyola in Charlottesville and showed early on that they are intent on making a run at back-to-back titles. The Cavaliers took a 9-3 lead in the first half with Loyola’s defense suffering from a shaky start by their goalie and a Virginia benefiting from a stout effort by their keeper. The Loyola goalie steadied himself in the second half and stopped two thirds of Virginia’s shots on goal over the last two periods. The Greyhounds rallied to pull within three of Virginia early in the fourth quarter, but could get no closer.
Camsaw playing time for Loyola.
Colby Camalier, Ryan Pride, Cam James, Will Powell
[photo courtesy of Will Powell, THANKS]
Virginia hosts Lehigh this coming weekend and Loyola hosts Johns Hopkins in a Bears vs. Bears match.
Maryland (Justin Shockey, John Geppert, Matthew Kopp) 14 2OT
Richmond (Will Bou) 13
Maryland’s first lead came at the end of the game on their final possession of the game. The Spiders appeared to be on their way to big upset win as they led throughout the contest and held a five goal lead early in the fourth quarter. The Terrapins fought back in the fourth quarter, tying the game at 13 with just shy of two minutes left in regulation. Each team had a chance to take the lead as the clock ticked down, but shots by both teams went wide of the mark.
In the first overtime, turnovers outnumbered shots five-to-two and the scored remained stuck at 13 all. Richmond won the faceoff to start the second overtime period, but yet another turnover by Richmond created a scoring opportunity for Maryland and this time the Terrapins cashed in.
Justin won three of the five faceoffs and picked up one ground ball. Will Boutook one face off for Richmond. John Gepperthad a strong game, starting on defense and scoring a goal. He also had four ground balls and a caused turnover.
Richmond hosts Marist on Valentine’s Day and Maryland faces Penn on Saturday.
Michigan (Zach Johnson) 16
Cleveland State (Justin Conner) 9
The Wolverines had significant advantages in all statistical categories, including the most important one—the score. Michigan’s run of five straight goals in the second period created a comfortable margin that held up over the balance of the game.
Life doesn’t get any easier for Cleveland State as their next stop is in South Bend to play Notre Dame. Michigan plays Hofstra on Saturday.
OTHER GAMES
Army (Drennan Green) 17
UMass 4
Army pitched a shutout in the first half of the teams’ season opener, taking a 9-0 lead into the locker room. UMass finally broke the ice in the third quarter, scoring four times—a tally that was matched by the Black Knights. Army shut them down again in the fourth ensure the win.
Army hosts visitors from the Garden State this week, playing NJIT on Monday and Rutgers on Saturday.
Bucknell (Colin O’Brien) 11
Bryant 9
Stout play in goal by Bryant’s keeper looked like it was going to lead to disappointing start to the 2020 season for the Bison. The offense came alive in the second half and was able to flip the scoreboard in Bucknell’s favor with a four goal run that closed out the third period and an answer each time.
Bucknell plays Sacred Heart on Saturday.
Colgate (Griffin Brown) 14
Syracuse 21
Colgate played their second straight road game against a top ten team and suffered their second straight loss. Griffin had another outstanding game, scoring four goals on ten shots. You can catch video of his four scores—three of which game in just over five minutes of game time–on Landon Varsity Lacrosse’s twitter feed.
Brown Earns Preseason All-Patriot
HAMILTON – Colgate midfielder Griffin Brown has begun his senior year with placement on the 2020 Preseason All-Patriot League Team.
Brown in each of the last two seasons has led Colgate in goals scored and gone on to earn All-Patriot League Second Team honors. He scored 20 times last year, including a team-best six man-up goals, to go with nine assists. The six man-up goals tied for third in conference.
The McLean, Virginia, product enters is senior season with 77 goals and 18 assists for his career. Brown was the 2017 Patriot League Rookie of the Year before claiming his consecutive All-Patriot League Second Team honors. 2019 All-Patriot League Second Team 2019 Patriot League Academic Honor Roll 2018 All-Patriot League Second Team 2018 Team Crease Club Offensive MVP 2018 Warrior/U.S. Lacrosse National Player of the Week (Feb. 17) 2018 Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week (Feb. 17) 2018 Colgate Raider Academic Honor Roll 2017 College Crosse Freshman All-America Second Team 2017 Patriot League Rookie of the Year 2017 Team Crease Club Offensive MVP 2017 Team Rookie of the Year2019 (Junior)Games/Starts: 13/13 Position: M Stats: Team leader with 20 goals … Team leader and tied for third in Patriot League with six man-up goals … Second on team with 29 points … 13 ground balls and two caused turnovers … Team leader with four hat tricks … Tied for second with five multigoal games.2017 Patriot League Rookie of the Week (March 8, April 1, April 8)
Colgate continues their early season road trip at Princeton on Tuesday.
Furman (Michael Abizaid) 19
Hampton 4
Furman scored the first six goals of the game and then followed up with a run of twelve straight after Hampton got their first score of the game.
Furman faces Navy this week in a Bears vs. Bears match.
Navy (Thomas Evans, Shane Corcoran) 9
Manhattan 4
Very few shots by both teams and good goalie play (particularly by Navy’s keeper) led to a score reminiscent of games from before the advent of the 80 second shot clock. Navy took a 5-1 advantage after the first period and after that goals were few and far between. The Jaspers scored once in each period and the Middies had single goals in the second and third period before a two-goal outburst in the final frame.
Captain Tom was in the starting line up on defense for Navy and had one ground ball and one caused turnover.
Navy plays Furman in a Bears vs. Bears game this weekend.
Penn State (Nate Buller) 19
Villanova 10
The game was tied at four all after one period, then the Nittany Lions went on a scoring tear, tallying six goals in just over three minutes of game time. Nate scored the second goal in that rally. Penn State dominated on faceoffs and ground balls.
Penn State continues to battle Keystone State opponents this week, facing St. Joe’s in a Bears vs. Bears game.
St. Joseph’s (Thomas Halm) 15
St. Bonaventure 8
The Mountain Hawks benefited from four three-goals runs in the game, two of those coming in the first period. Although the Bonnies prevented any extended scoring streaks, they scored only once or twice before St. Joe’s went on another small tear.
As noted above, Penn State is next on the schedule for the Mountain Hawks.
POLLS
THIS COMING WEEK
Another good dose of Bears vs. Bears contests:
Navy (Thomas Evans, Shane Corcoran) versus Furman (Michael Abizaid)
Penn State (Nate Buller) versus St. Joseph’s (Thomas Halm)
Johns Hopkins (Joey Epstein) versus Loyola (Cam James)
And Dartmouth (Brendon and Brett Gallagher) joins the fray with their season opener against Merrimack.
D-III
D-III action has a slow start with most of the teams we follow not playing until the weekend of February 15 and NESCAC games starting on the 29th.
GAMES
Salisbury (Brian Menendez, Jace Menendez) 16
Lynchburg 10
Solid play in goal by Lynchburg kept this game from being a blowout. The field was definitely tilted towards the Gulls as they won 25 of 29 faceoffs (including all fourteen faceoffs in the first half) and enjoyed a nearly five-to-two advantage on ground balls.
Salisbury has this week off to prepare for our first D-III Bears versus Bears match on February 22 when the Gulls fly up to Gettysburg to take on the Bullets.
POLLS
Nike/US Lacrosse
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