John Nichols’ BearLaxTraxFax 04.04.2023

Interesting news — 3 bigtime Bear v. Bear Div. I showdown. Alumnus makes saves and then later scores with normal stick

Division I

BEARS vs BEARS

Michigan (Graham Hertzberg, Hunter Taylor) 16

Maryland (John Geppert) 11

Simply put, a huge upset in the Big Ten.  Big Blue ran off five unanswered goals in the first quarter to take the lead for good.  The Terrapins pulled within one just before the first half ended, but Michigan ran their lead back out with three scores in the first two minutes of the second half.  The Terrapins got the last goal of the third quarter and the first of the final quarter to pull within two, but Michigan erupted again with four goals in three minutes, effectively icing the game.

Michigan switched goalies at the half and Hunter played in goal in the second, making several spectacular saves to frustrate Maryland’s comeback attempts.  His stats for the day—five goals allowed and five saved understate his impact on the game.

John had four ground balls and caused a pair of turnovers to benefit the Terrapins.

Penn (Stephen Bou) 17

Yale (Jake Cohen) 16

The Quakers defense frustrated Yale into a shot clock violation on their opening possession then the Penn offense scored four straight.  Yale got the lead back in the second quarter with a five-goal run to lead by two at the half.  Second half scoring started at a much slower pace but Yale was able to extend their lead with a pair of scores midway through the quarter.  Another lull, then three straight to Penn in a minute and a half to pull within one of the Eli.  Yale arrested that run with the last score of the third quarter, but back-to-back goals for Penn tied the game midway through the final period.  Yale came back with two quick scores then Penn closed out the game with three straight, not allowing a Yale possession across that run.

Jake had one ground ball for Yale.

OTHER GAMES

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

Cornell 22

Big Red started the game by scoring six straight goals before Big Green got their first.  Cornell ran off another four in a row before Dartmouth netted the last goal of the first quarter.  The balance of the game drifted in Cornell’s favor as neither team could sustain any scoring momentum over the remaining three quarters.

Cameron took two shots for Dartmouth and Zak played in the game as well.

Denver (Ryan Giles) 6

Georgetown 13

Denver was up 2-0 early in the contest but Georgetown ran off seven unanswered scores, including two man-up goals, before the Pioneers wrapped up the first half with another pair of goals.  The Hoyas avenged those goals with two of their own to start the second half then swapped Denver two goals for one over the balance of regulation.  The Hoyas dominated Denver at the faceoff dot and got to more than twice as many ground balls.  Those possession advantages led to Georgetown taking twice as many shots as Denver.

Ryan contributed one ground ball and one caused turnover.

Harvard (Joey Graham) 14

Colgate 10

Harvard pulled away with a five-goal run in the first half and led 9-3 at the half.  Colgate made the game appear to be close by scoring six times in the final quarter.

Joey had one ground ball for the Crimson.

Hobart (Jackson Galiani) 24

Saint Bonaventure 10

The Bonnies were looking for the upset and held a lead over Hobart until midway through the second quarter.  Once the Statesmen caught them, it was off to the races.  Hobart took the lead with a five-goal run in the second period then, after a single score to Saint Bonaventure, ran off thirteen straight before the Bonnies could score again.

Navy (JT Thomas, Preston Luger) 10

Boston U 8

Navy got their second straight win and possibly the most significant with of the year thus far, knocking of the Boston Terriers who were previously undefeated in Patriot League.  The Middies slowly built a lead scoring twice for each goal scored by BU.  However, the overall pace of the game was so slow that those incremental advantages added up to just three goal lead in the middle of the third period.  Boston U. got their first back-to-back goals to cut the Navy lead to one at the end of the third quarter.  Navy went back up by two to start the final quarter and managed to hold on while trading single scores through the end of the game.

Ohio State (Cullen Brown) 9

Penn State 17

Penn State went on a tear in the middle of the game, scoring eight straight goals from late in the second quarter until midway through the third and holding the Buckeyes scoreless for eighteen minutes.  The Buckeyes managed to arrest the Nittany Lions’ run, but could not find a way to get back in the game.  Much of the final quarter was consumed by errant shots and turnovers until each team scored once in the closing minutes.

Cullen caused two turnovers and collected one ground ball of the Buckeyes.

POLLS

Inside Lacrosse/Media

1.      Duke

2.      Notre Dame

3.      Virginia

4.      Cornell

5.      Maryland

6.      Johns Hopkins

7.      Army

8.      Penn State

9.      North Carolina

10.  Georgetown

11.  Villanova

12.  Rutgers

13.  Loyola

14.  Penn

15.  Princeton

16.  Michigan

17.  Ohio State

18.  Jacksonville

19.  Denver

20.  Delaware

USILA COACHES

1.      Duke

2.      Notre Dame

3.      Virginia

4.      Cornell

5.      Maryland

6.      Johns Hopkins

7.      Army

8.      Penn State

9.      Villanova

10t. Georgetown

10t. North Carolina

12.  Rutgers

13.  Loyola

14t Princeton

14t Penn

16    Jacksonville

17    Denver

18    Michigan

19    Ohio State

20    Delaware

Nike/USA Lacrosse

1.      Duke

2.      Notre Dame

3.      Virginia

4.      Cornell

5.      Johns Hopkins

6.      Maryland

7.      Army

8.      Villanova

9.      Penn State

10.  Loyola

11.  North Carolina

12.  North Carolina

13.  Rutgers

14.  Jacksonville

15.  Penn

16.  Princeton

17.  Ohio State

18.  Michigan

19.  Denver

20.  Delaware

THIS COMING WEEK

Maryland (John Geppert) plays Ohio State (Cullen Brown) in a Big Ten Bears vs. Bears game while Dartmouth(Brendan Gallagher, Brett Gallagher, Cameron Brown, Zak Oehlerking) and Yale (Jake Cohen) have an Ivy-covered Bears vs. Bears match.

Division III

Special recognition goes to Owen Hegadorn of Hampden-Sydney who got a stint in goal in Hampden-Sydney’s win over Averett then traded in his goalie stick for an attack crosse and scored a goal!

THIS WEEK’S GAMES

BEARS vs BEARS

Hampden-Sydney (Owen Hegadorn) 11  4OT

Washington & Lee(Will Bou) 10

Hampden-Sydney shut out the W&L attack in the first to take a 3-0 lead.  The Generals fared better in the second with four goals, but by giving up another three, they still trailed.  The Tigers pitched another 3-0 shut in the third and seemed to be coasting to a win.  Washington and Lee got their offense in gear in the final period and ran off four unanswered scores to pull within one with six minutes left in the game.  The Tigers stopped that run and extended their lead back to two with a single score, but the Generals got back-to-back scores in the next twenty-four seconds to tie the game up.

A personal foul against W&L just before the end of regulation gave Hampden-Sydney a big advantage to start overtime.  The Tigers had a good scoring opportunity, but the Generals’ goalie prevailed, and the balance of that overtime period was consumed with missed shots, turnovers and an occasional save.  The next two overtime periods were much the same, but in the fourth round, Hampden-Sydney won the faceoff and, after a timeout, got the game winner.

Will won twelve of his twenty-one face offs a scooped up four ground balls.

OTHER GAMES

Amherst (Nicholas Kopp) 17

Western New England 9

The Mammoths coasted to an easy win in their final nonconference match.  Amherst jumped out to a 6-0 advantage in the first quarter and maintained that lead into the half as team swapped three-goal runs in the second quarter.  The Mammoths extended their lead in the third with a set of three straight scores.

Nicholas won fifteen of thirty faceoffs and collected eleven ground balls.

Amherst (Nicholas Kopp) 13

Bowdoin 12

Bates jumped out to an early lead with a set of three successive scores in the first quarter.  The Mammoths fought back and managed to tie the game up just as the first half ended.  The teams swapped leads in the third quarter then Amherst put together a run of five scores to take a three-goal lead early in the final quarter.  Bowdoin rallied in the middle of the fourth and tied the game up at twelve all.  In the closing minutes of the game each team had scoring chances but the goalies were up to the test.  Amherst broke through and got the winning goal with just nine seconds left in the game.

Nicholas scored twice for the Mammoths.  He won nineteen of thirty faceoffs and chased down twelve ground balls.  You his second goal in the video of the game’s highlights on the Amherst men’s lacrosse site.

Colby (Miles Tonkel, Colin Flood) 8

Connecticut College 11

Colby had an early 5-1 lead which was the result of a run of four scores across the end of the first quarter and start of the second quarter.  That advantage disappeared as the Camels put together an eleven-goal run that lasted until late in the third period.  The Mules finally stopped that run with three straight scores but could not narrow deficit further.

Miles played in this game.

Dickinson (Will Single) 14

Franklin & Marshall 8

Dickinson enjoyed a four-goal run in the second quarter and led by two at the break.  F&M cut that two one to start the third quarter but the Red Devils ran off six straight goals.  Fourth quarter action was more evenhanded.

Will played in this match.

Dickinson (Will Single) 15

Saint Mary’s 7

Saint Mary’s got their first goal in the middle of the second period, but Dickinson already had netted nine at that point.  Face-offs were even for the game, but the Red Devils had many more ground balls, far fewer turnovers more shots. 

Will had three ground balls for Dickinson.

Gettysburg (Billy Banfield) 18

McDaniel 8

The Bullets raced out to a 14-0 lead in the first half and were up 18-3 after three quarters.  Gettysburg had three times as many shots and a third as many turnovers.

Billy put a shot on goal and scooped up two ground balls.

Gettysburg (Billy Banfield) 14

Haverford 8

Two big runs by the Bullets decided this Centennial Conference clash: six straight to start the game, then five straight from the end of the second quarter into the start of the third.  Gettysburg had better than two-to-one advantages in faceoff wins and shots while collecting fifty percent more ground balls.

Hampden-Sydney (Owen Hegadorn) 22

Averett 4

Hampden-Sydney steamrolled Averett, scoring eighteen first half goals while giving up just one.  Owen came into the game in goal to start the second half and made one save and gave up one goal before yielding to the next man down the depth chart.  That wasn’t the end of the day for him as he picked up a short stick and got some time in the field, most notably scoring a man-up goal near the end.

Tufts (Garrett Kurtz) 14

Union 7

Union used a three goal run in the second quarter to take a two-goal lead, but the Jumbos scored twice before the end of the first half to tie the game up.  Tufts pitched a 7-0 shut out in the second half to ensure the win.

Tufts (Garrett Kurtz) 19

Middlebury 15

A key match between two undefeated NESCAC teams.  The Jumbos raced out to a 6-0 lead and held the Middlebury attack in check allowing successive goals just once in the first half.  Tufts extended their lead to ten goals with a three-goal run to start the second half.  That was the end of substantial scoring runs for the Jumbos, but Middlebury was unable to make any real progress as well.  The Panthers’ three goal run in the final two minutes of the game was their most productive turn of the game.

Flags were flying in this game: 20 penalties for 19½ minutes, including a three minute sentence to Tufts and a two minute sentence to Middlebury during the messy fourth quarter.

Washington & Lee(Will Bou) 23

Bridgewater 6

The Generals took an early commanding leading wrapping ten goals around a single score for Bridgewater.  W&L continued on that many-for-me-few-for-you pace in the second half with a nine-goal run.  Surprisingly, faceoffs and ground balls were even in this game, but shooting stats were more than two-to-one in favor of Washington and Lee

Will won eight of fourteen faceoffs and scooped up two ground balls.

POLLS

INSIDE LACROSSE/MEDIA

1.      Tufts

2.      Christopher Newport

3.      RIT

4.      Gettysburg

5.      Salisbury

6.      Amherst

7.      Middlebury

8.      Saint Lawrence

9.      Lynchburg

10.  Bowdoin

11.  Union

12.  York

13.  Denison

14.  Washington & Lee

15.  Wesleyan

16.  Stevenson

17.  Dickinson

18.  Cabrini

19.  Hampden-Sydney

20.  Ursinus

USILA COACHES

1.      Christopher Newport

2.      Tufts

3.      RIT

4.      Salisbury

5.      Gettysburg

6.      Middlebury

7.      Amherst

8.      Saint Lawrence

9.      Union

10.  Lynchburg

11.  Washington & Lee

12.  York

13.  Dickinson

14.  Bowdoin

15.  Wesleyan

16.  Denison

17.  Cabrini

18.  Muhlenberg

19.  Ursinus

20.  Stevens

NIKE/USA LACROSSE

1.      Christopher Newport

2.      Tufts

3.      RIT

4.      Salisbury

5.      Gettysburg

6.      Amherst

7.      Middlebury

8.      Saint Lawrence

9.      Bowdoin

10.  Wesleyan

11.  Lynchburg

12.  Stevens

13.  Union

14.  Ursinus

15.  Denison

16.  Dickinson

17.  Washington & Lee

18.  York

19.  Cabrini

20.  Swarthmore

THIS COMING WEEK

Amherst (Nicholas Kopp) plays Colby (Miles Tonkel, Colin Flood) in a Bears vs. Bears game.

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