John Nichols’ BearLaxTraxFax

BEARS LAX TRAX FAX 04092023

Division I

BEARS vs BEARS

Maryland (John Geppert) 12  OT

Ohio State (Cullen Brown) 11

The Buckeyes used a five-goal run in the first half to take a 9-5 lead after the first thirty minutes of play.  The Terrapins made slight progress in the third quarter, but still trailed by three going into the fourth quarter.  Maryland did all the scoring in that quarter, three goals, and was able to force overtime.  In overtime Maryland won the faceoff and got the game winner on their first shot.

John had one ground ball in the game, but it was off the overtime faceoff to ensure that Maryland had the first crack at winning the game.  He also took one shot in the game.

Cullen had four ground balls and forced two turnovers for Ohio State.

Yale (Jake Cohen) 21

Dartmouth(Brendan Gallagher, Brett Gallagher, Cameron Brown, Zak Oehlerking) 11

Yale dominated the key possession statistics, faceoffs, and ground balls, by a margin of two-to-one and leveraged that advantage into three-to-two advantages in shooting measures.  The Bulldogs never had a big splashy scoring run but consistently limited Big Green to single scores until the final minutes of the contest.  This was Yale’s first Ivy League win this season and with just two conference games remaining on their schedule, they likely need to win both of those games to make the Ivy tournament.  Dartmouth at 1-2 is similarly positioned, but they have three more league games remaining.

Jake had one ground ball and put a shot on goal for Yale.  Cameron took two shots for Dartmouth.

OTHER GAMES

Denver (Ryan Giles) 12

Villanova 6

The Pioneers held Villanova scoreless for thirty minutes in the middle of the game while scoring eight goals. ‘Nova’s goalie was overwhelmed by the Denver attack, making just five saves on the day.

Denver is through the most challenging part of their Big East schedule with just one loss in conference play.

Ryan had one goal for the Pioneers and scooped up one ground ball.

Harvard (Joey Graham) 10

Cornell 8

Harvard turned in the biggest upset of the year in the Ivy League, taking down Cornell which was the consensus #4 ranked team in D-I lacrosse coming into the game.  The game looked like it would be a runaway by Cornell as they scored three goals in the first four minutes of the game.  Harvard stopped the run and, with two sets of back-to-back scores, had the game tied up a four all at the half.  The game remained tied with each team scoring once to start the third period then Crimson reeled off three straight scores.  Cornell responded with a pair of scores to cut Harvard’s lead to just one, but Harvard halted that streak with a single goal to go back up by two.  Cornell again pulled within one, but Harvard got the last score of the game and held on for the win.

Hobart (Jackson Galiani) 13

High Point 14

In a well contested Atlantic 10 match up High Point edged out Hobart.  Neither team could develop and sustain offensive momentum, but two three-goal runs by High Point made a big difference in the outcome.  The Statesmen were able to keep the game close and pulled within one late in the fourth quarter by stringing three scores together.  Their last chance went wide of the goal.

Michigan (Graham Hertzberg, Hunter Taylor) 12 OT

Rutgers 13

The teams traded one-goal leads in the first half, then the Scarlet Knights went on a six-goal run from the end of the second quarter into the third quarter to take a five-goal lead.  Big Blue came right back with four in a row to pull within one at the end of the third quarter.  Rutgers scored twice to kick off the final period in regulation, but Michigan took advantage of a one-minute non-releasable penalty with two quick scores, then tied the game up with another.  The goalies held their ground over the balance of regulation.  Rutgers won the overtime faceoff and converted the game winner quickly.

Navy (JT Thomas, Preston Luger) 11

Loyola 10

Navy has had an up-and-down season with an early three-game win streak offset by the loss of their next six games.  The Midshipmen are back to .500 now with another three straight wins with all three of those wins coming against Patriot League foes.

The ball raced up and down the field in the first half but ended up in the back of the net just four times, two for each team.  The back-and-forth nature of play initially carried over into the second half, but Navy put together a five-goal run to close out the third period.  The Greyhounds quickly cut Navy’s lead to one with three straight scores to start the final period, but the Midshipmen answered with the same to go back up by four.  Loyola mounted another comeback in the closing minutes of the game with another run of three, the last coming with just thirty-six seconds left in the game.  The Greyhounds had one last chance in the closing seconds, but Navy made the save and ran out the clock.

Penn (Stephen Bou) 11

Brown 12

Penn and Brown matched each other goal for goal to start the game, then the Quakers scored four times in the middle of the second quarter.  Brown narrowed Penn’s advantage with two scores before halftime and then got the first goal of the second half to come within one of Penn.  After halting Brown’s rally, Penn extended their lead only to see two more from Bruno which tied the game at eight early in the fourth quarter. That pattern repeated and now Brown had their first lead of the game.  This time it was Penn’s turn to play catch up, but just nine seconds after Penn did so, Brown was right back on top.  Penn tied it up again less than a minute later, but it was Brown that concluded the scoring and got the win.

Yale (Jake Cohen) 17

Boston U 14

The Bulldogs and the Terriers each notched three goals in the first quarter, but Yale took the game over in the second, outscoring BU 7-1.  Yale ran their lead out to eight with a three-goal run in the fourth quarter.  BU was able to make the game look more closely contested than it actually was with a run of five to close out the game, the final two coming in the last minute. 

Jake had one ground ball for Yale.

POLLS

Inside Lacrosse/Media

1.      Notre Dame

2.      Virginia

3.      Duke

4.      Maryland

5.      Penn State

6.      Cornell

7t. Johns Hopkins

7t. Army

9.      Rutgers

10.  Georgetown

11.  North Carolina

12.  Denver

13.  Villanova

14.  Jacksonville

15.  Michigan

16.  Delaware

17.  Syracuse

18t. Ohio State

18t. Penn

20. Loyola

USILA COACHES

1.      Notre Dame

2.      Duke

3.      Virginia

4.      Maryland

5.      Penn State

6.      Army

7.      Cornell

8.      Johns Hopkins

9.      Georgetown

10.  Rutgers

11.  Denver

12.  North Carolina

13.  Villanova

14.  Jacksonville

15.  Delaware

16.  Michigan

17.  Ohio State

18.  Syracuse

19.  Loyola

20.  Princeton

Nike/USA Lacrosse

1.      Notre Dame

2.      Duke

3.      Virginia

4.      Maryland

5.      Penn State

6.      Johns Hopkins

7.      Cornell

8.      Army

9.      Georgetown

10.  Rutgers

11.  Jacksonville

12.  Denver

13.  Villanova

14.  North Carolina

15.  Loyola

16.  Syracuse

17.  Delaware

18.  Penn

19.  Princeton

20.  Ohio State

THIS COMING WEEK

Harvard (Joey Graham) plays host to Penn (Stephen Bou) in our lone Bears vs. Bears match this week.

Division III

You may have noticed that Will Bou of Washington and Lee and Nicholas Kopp of Amherst take a lot of face offs.  Both of these Bears have won a majority of their draws this season with Will winning 135 of 237 (57%) and Nicholas winning 166 of 302 (55%).  These two have contributed 45 and 85 ground balls, respectively.  On the scoring front, Will has one assist to his credit while Nicholas has netted five goals plus an assist.

THIS WEEK’S GAMES

BEARS vs BEARS

Amherst (Nicholas Kopp) 16

Colby (Miles Tonkel, Colin Flood) 12

Amherst ran off six unanswered scores in the middle of the first half to take control of the game.  The Mules did not let Amherst add on to the margin and were able to pull within two by scoring three straight goals at the end of the third quarter and start of the fourth.  Amherst answered in kind and restored their lead back to five goals with just over five minutes left in the game.  Colby was able to notch one more goal before the final horn sounded.

Nicholas won fifteen of twenty-three faceoffs, collected nine ground balls, and scored one goal on two shots for the Mammoths.  His shots were off the faceoff to start the second quarter and off a faceoff just as the second quarter ended.  Miles also played in this game.

OTHER GAMES

Amherst (Nicholas Kopp) 13

Wesleyan 17

Wesleyan took over the game with a ten-goal run that lasted from the closing seconds of the first quarter until late in the third quarter.  That run included back-to-back man-down goals for Wesleyan and the fun was stopped by a man-up goal for Amherst (all the result of a two minute “cross in the face” penalty against Wesleyan).  Amherst was nearly able to overcome Wesleyan’s big lead in the fourth quarter as the Mammoths scored eight straight goals over the final twelve minutes of the game.

Nicholas won 20 of 34 faceoffs and scooped up ten ground balls.

Colby (Miles Tonkel, Colin Flood) 12

MIT 10

In the first quarter, MIT scored back-to-back goals twice and Colby squeezed in three of their own between.  MIT would not benefit from successive scores for the rest of the game.  The Mules did not run away with the game, though, as their scoring streaks were limited to two at a time over the balance of the game.  MIT dominated faceoffs and shooting, but their shooting was inaccurate and Colby’s play in goal was solid, effectively wiping out those advantages.

Miles played in this game.

Dickinson (Will Single)15

Washington College 12

The Shoremen dominated play in the first half, limiting the Dickinson offense to single scores while making three short runs to go up 9-3 at the break.  The teams traded goals to start the second half then the Red Devils took over.  Dickinson ran off eleven straight scores and by the end of that run led 15-10.  Washington College managed two more scores but could not close the gap before time expired.

Gettysburg (Billy Banfield) 9

York 8

York had the early lead scoring twice for each goal scored by the Bullets.  Gettysburg broke away in the closing seconds of the first half, scoring three times in the last minute of the half to take a one goal lead.  The Bullets continued that run with four more to start the second half.  The pace of scoring slowed considerably after that and only York could get one past the goalie.  The Spartans got their last goal with thirty-three seconds left in the game but could not get another chance at the goal.

Gettysburg (Billy Banfield) 11 OT

Swarthmore 12

Swarthmore is one of the big surprises of the 2023 season with just one loss on their record and no loss in the Centennial Conference.  The Garnet took an early lead but a pair of goals for the Bullets led to a 6-6 tie at the halftime break.  Gettysburg started the second half with five straight scores over to appear to take command of the game.  That was, though, the end of the day for the Bullets’ offense.  In a near reprise of the York game, Swarthmore closed out regulation with five of their own, tying the game up at eleven all with just twenty-four seconds showing on the clock.  The game ended quickly as Swarthmore won the faceoff and then won the game with their first shot.

Hampden-Sydney (Owen Hegadorn) 15

Bridgewater 5

Hampden-Sydney rode Bridgewater right out of this game.  Bridgewater had a decided advantage in faceoff wins but several of those wins quickly became turnovers.  In all, Bridgewater turned the ball over thirty-four times, a Tiger record twenty-seven (80%) of which were directly caused by Hampden-Sydney.  With their offense disrupted, Bridgewater could only get off twenty-one shots on the day (ten on goal) while the Tigers fired off fifty-three shots, half of which were on goal.

Hampden-Sydney (Owen Hegadorn) 20

Virginia Wesleyan 3

Hampden-Sydney dominated this game from the start.  The Tigers were up 9-0 before Virginia Wesleyan got their first goal.  Wesleyan got their second goal of the game to start the second half, but that just proved to be a launch pad for Hampden-Sydney going on a six-goal run.  After one last goal for Virginia Wesleyan, Hampden-Sydney closed out the game with a string of three.

Tufts (Garrett Kurtz) 14

Williams 11

Williams matched Tufts blow for blow in the first half.  If the Ephs score twice, Tufts would go back-to-back, if the Ephs netted four in a row, the Jumbos would run off four straight scores to get the game tied again.  Williams got the last two scores of the first half, but Tufts got the first two of the second half, tied yet again.  Williams responded with a single score then Tufts came back with a pair of goals to take their first lead.  Williams tied the game up soon thereafter but that was the end of the back and forth.  Tufts closed out the game with a three-goal run to remain undefeated.

Garrett played in this game.

Tufts (Garrett Kurtz) 15

Connecticut College 14

The Jumbos were cruising along in the first half up 8-4 when the Camels ran off six straight scores to take the lead.  Tufts needed just twenty-four seconds to score three goals (make it take on repeat) and take the lead back.  Tufts regained the lead with the first goal of the fourth quarter, but Connecticut College bounced right back and took the lead with a pair of goals.  That was, however, the end of the uprising of the Camels.  Tufts ran off three goals to take a two-goal lead which the Camels dented with single goal near the end of the game.

Washington & Lee(Will Bou) 22

Randolph-Macon 7

The Generals opened the game with a four-goal run and were up 6-2 when they sealed the win with a ten-goal run while holding Randolph-Macon scoreless for almost half of the game.  The Yellow Jackets stopped the run with their only successive scores of the day, then the game settled into single scores being traded until the final buzzer.

Will won ten of sixteen faceoffs and gathered up four ground balls, he also took one shot.

POLLS

INSIDE LACROSSE/MEDIA

1.      Tufts

2.      Salisbury

3.      RIT

4.      Middlebury

5.      Christopher Newport

6.      Gettysburg

7.      Saint Lawrence

8.      Amherst

9.      Lynchburg

10.  Bowdoin

11.  Swarthmore

12.  Wesleyan

13.  York

14.  Union

15.  Washington & Lee

16.  Denison

17.  Dickinson

18.  Cabrini

19.  Stevens

20.  Hampden-Sydney

USILA COACHES

1.      Tufts

2.      Salisbury

3.      RIT

4.      Christopher Newport

5.      Middlebury

6.      Saint Lawrence

7.      Amherst

8.      Lynchburg

9.      Gettysburg

10.  Union

11.  Washington & Lee

12t. Dickinson

12t. Bowdoin

14.  York

15.  Wesleyan

16.  Swarthmore

17.  Cabrini

18.  Denison

19.  Muhlenberg

20.  Stevens

NIKE/USA LACROSSE

1.      Tufts

2.      Salisbury

3.      RIT

4.      Christopher Newport

5.      Middlebury

6.      Saint Lawrence

7.      Bowdoin

8.      Wesleyan

9.      Amherst

10.  Swarthmore

11.  Gettysburg

12.  Lynchburg

13.  Stevens

14.  Union

15.  York

16.  Dickinson

17.  Denison

18.  Washington & Lee

19.  Cabrini

20.  Hampden-Sydney

LOOKING AHEAD—CONFERENCE TOURNAMENTS

NESCAC: Eight teams will qualify for the conference tournament with both Tufts (Garrett Kurtz) and Amherst (Nicholas Kopp) looking like locks for while Colby (Miles Tonkel, Colin Flood) remains winless in NESCAC play.

ODAC: Seven teams qualify for the ODAC tournament and both Washington & Lee(Will Bou) and Hampden-Sydney (Owen Hegadorn) are well positioned to make the field.  Hampden-Sydney is currently tied for first place with a perfect 5-0 record in conference play.

Centennial Conference: This conference is rich with accomplished programs. Gettysburg (Billy Banfield) and Dickinson (Will Single) are both highly ranked in conference play, but both have challenging schedules remaining.