(Photo Courtesy of Brown Athletics)
Week four of the college lacrosse season is now in the books so, per usual, that means it’s now time for my weekly installment where I rewind the weekend, breaking down multiple key points and storylines.
So, let’s get after it.
From Western PA to the Rockies; Upsets Everywhere
This past weekend saw it’s fair share of upsets that peppered the weekend slate, and the first took place in State College, Pennsylvania where the Penn state Nittany Lions took down the No. 6 Yale Bulldogs 10-6.
Nittany Lions goalie Aleric Fyock made all the difference, recording 21 saves in the win to help hold the Yale offenses to single-digits for the first time since the 2019 title game.
On Long Island, the No. 10 Penn Quakers took down the No. 7 Duke Blue Devils, 14-13 in overtime. Jack Schultz called game, as with under a minute left in the overtime period, he dodged a Duke short-stick from up top, beat him and subsequently put the game-winner past Mike Adler to give the Quakers their first win of the season.
Up in the Ocean State, the Bryant Bulldogs suffered their second consecutive loss as they fell to Dartmouth 11-9. The Big Green held the lead from start to finish and, behind a 19-save performance from Daniel Hincks, held off a strong Bulldogs comeback effort.
A little further South, the Boston U. Terriers moved to 3-0 on the year as they beat a pretty highly-regarded UMass team by a staggering 16-7 score. Timmy Ley had seven points (4G/3A) to lead the way for the Terriers.
Out west, the Jacksonville Dolphins pulled off their second upset win of the season as they took down the Denver Pioneers 11-9 in a contest that saw Jacob Greiner net a sock trick (6G).
Brown is Fast, Furious, and Certainly the Ivy to Watch
Last Wednesday the Brown Bears went down to Chapel Hill and lost to a hungry North Carolina team that was looking for a bounce back win after getting trounced by Ohio State, but the Bears did end up raising some eyebrows with their play. They got back in the win column on Saturday, beating Vermont 12-11 in a game in which they had to hold off a late-game comeback.
Despite being blanked in the fourth quarter, this Brown team showed once again exactly how dangerous they can be, especially when they are playing fast and getting opportunities to capitalize on their early offense.
Brown held Vermont to 15-for-21 in the clearing game (7-11 in first half). And the Bears certainly capitalized off those wins.
The Bears also showcased scoring in transition off a ground ball in the defensive end.
The Bears also got things going fast off the faceoff, where Matt Gunty went 13-for-26 but wing players such as two-way midfielder Trevor Yeboah-Kodie also made and impact.
Defense Leads Cornell Past Lehigh
In a game that can only be described as a slug-fest, the Cornell Big Red beat the Lehigh Mountain Hawks 9-5 on the road on Saturday afternoon. And in that win it was their defense that carried the weight.
Chayse Ierlan headlined the performance with 15 saves, including seven in what was a scoreless third quarter. But Ierlan’s big day was just the tip of the iceberg. Cornell caused eight of Lehigh’s 15 turnovers and picked up 35 ground balls.
Gavin Adler helped lead the way at close, grabbing two ground balls and causing one turnover. Often matched up on Lehigh’s Tommy Schelling, Adler helped hold him scoreless with juts two assists on the day. Additionally, the Big Red rope unit played well with LSM Joseph Bartolo III causing a team-high three turnovers and scooping up two ground balls. The group of Cornell SSDMs, highlighted by Harrison Bardwell (4GB), wee often drawn out up top and behind the cage as the Mountain Hawks’ tried to take advantage of those mismatches and big-littles, but the Big Red shorties were mostly able to stand their ground. And if they weren’t, the Big Red defense was sliding with a purpose all day, really limiting Lehigh every chance they could.
Virginia Goes Scorched Earth Against Syracuse
Almost a year to the day that Virginia got boat-raced in the Dome by the Orange, the Virginia Cavaliers returned the favor down in Charlottesville as they blew out Syracuse 20-11 in a game that saw Virginia really turn up the heat.
I always saw Virginia as a top-five team, but did have questions about some of the slow starts they showed against lesser teams early this season. All those worries were washed away once the clock struck zero at Klockner on Saturday afternoon.
The two-time defending national champions got up 4-1 within the first eight minutes of the game it was a 4-1 Virginia lead, and by the time the first quarter had come to a close had pushed that lead out to 8-1. While the Orange did have a brief period where it looked like they could come back, making it a 7-11 game with 13:52 in the third, the Cavaliers never took their foot off the gas.
Connor Shellenberger led the way for the Cavaliers with seven points (3G/4A) while Petey LaSalla went 19-for-28 (67%).
Checking in on Reverse Survivor Island
Four weeks into the season (two weeks for Ivy League), 13 teams are still hanging out on reverse survivor island.
Bellarmine, Binghamton, Drexel, VMI, and Siena all got off this week as they earned their first wins of the season.
Still searching for a win is Air Force, UAlbany, Cleveland State, Detroit Mercy, Hampton, Holy Cross, Loyola, Monmouth, NJIT, Robert Morris, UMass Lowell, Wagner, and St. John’s.
Lacrosse Bucket 