(Photo Courtesy of Loyola Athletics)

Just two short weeks into its infancy, not even every team has taken the field yet in 2023. However, the season of chaos has already begun across the college lacrosse world.

This past weekend presented an amazing array of results headlined by the No. 2, 3, and 8 ranked teams in the country all suffering losses. We’ll get into each of those results and more from the action that was this past weekend.

Top Storylines

Down Goes Maryland

For the first time since February 18th, 2020, the Maryland Terrapins have lost a regular season lacrosse game.

The reigning undefeated national champion Maryland came into the Ridley Athletic Complex having not lost a game 621 days, a regular season game in 1,089 days, and was coming off a dominating, 15-4, season-opening win over Richmond.

Loyola, however, was unfazed and the Greyhounds pulled out the 12-7 upset victory, riding behind a 19-save performance from Luke Staudt in just his second-ever start. Seven of those saves came during the fourth quarter of play where he faced 13 Terrapin shots. On the whole, Maryland outshot Loyola 42-26.

Maryland’s outshooting of the Greyhounds was due in part to the upper hand the Terrapins had at the faceoff dot with Luke Wierman going 18-for-22 (81%). The Terrapins also won the ground ball battle 38-27 and went 17-for-18 in the clearing game.

The Greyhounds’ close defense unit of Matt Hughes (5GB/1CT), Alex Bean (5GB/1CT), Cam Wyers (2GB/1CT), as well as LSMs Diego Roman (1GB/3CT) and Scott Middleton (4GB/1CT) came up huge in helping force Maryland to a 16% shooting percentage day. The Greyhounds also forced 11 of the Terrapins 22 turnovers on the day.

Maryland, on the other hand, forced eight of Loyola’s 11 turnovers and also held them to a 24-for-28 mark in the clearing game. Each of those failed clears came in the fourth quarter when Maryland switched to a 10-man ride and started to give the Greyhounds trouble.

Loyola’s offense also shined, and especially so late with the Greyhounds scoring seven of the last 10 goals and going on a five-goal run that started late in the third and lasted through the 9:17 point in the fourth. Loyola saw seven different players find the back of the cage through the course of the game.

Evan James led the way with a hat trick while Davis Lindsey and Seth Higgins each had three points off one goal and two assists. Freshmen Matthew Minicus and Henry Haberman each scored twice in their collegiate debuts. Adam Poitras also had two goals in the win.

 Daniel Kelly led Maryland with four goals while Jack Brennan and Kyle Long each had a goal and two assists for three points apiece.

Loyola will be back in action at home next week against the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays. Maryland will host Syracuse next week.

Jacksonville Upsets Duke…Again!

In 2019, 2020, and 2022 the Duke Blue Devils suffered an early-season upset loss. That trend looked like it might not hold true in 2023 as the Blue Devils traveled to Jacksonville following consecutive blowout victories and at the half held a 9-5 lead with its offense rolling. However, the host Dolphins had other plans.

John Galloway’s squad came up victorious against the Blue Devils as they were able to pull out the 13-12 victory on Saturday afternoon.

Nathan Kapp won just 33% (8-for-24) of the faceoffs against Duke, who saw Jake Naso go 70% (19-for-27) as the top option, on the day. Two of those wins came in the third quarter and each led to a Dolphins goal. On the opening draw of the season half, Kapp took it himself for the score to make it a 9-6 game. Later on in the quarter, the Dolphins scored on the ensuing possession with Jackson Intrieri finding Jacob Greiner for the score. That score gave Jacksonville its first lead of the game, 11-10.

Jacksonville outscored Duke 7-2 in that third quarter to enter the final frame ahead 12-11. Ethan LaMond put home the final goal of the contest for the Dolphins with 12:54 remaining.

Luke Millican was a difference maker in between the pipes for the Dolphins with 13 saves while Zack Deaken had three caused turnovers to lead the way out in front of the cage.

Still missing star attackman Max Waldbaum, it was freshman Jack Taylor who stepped up for the Dolphins on Saturday afternoon as he netted his first career hat trick. Two of Taylor’s goals came during that third frame in which the Dolphins’ outscored the Blue Devils 7-2. Brandon Galloway also had a hat trick in the game, mirroring his performance from a week ago.

Leading at the half, the Duke offense was able to get into sync during the first two frames and especially so during the second quarter when the Blue Devils outscored the Dolphins 7-1. Brennan O’Neill led the Blue Devils with five goals on the day while Dyson Williams had a hat trick. Owen Caputo dished out two assists and put one home himself.

Duke recorded 16 turnovers (seven caused) on the day with eight of them coming in the second half. Seven came during the first quarter of play where the Blue Devils fell behind 4-2.

Jacksonville moves on to face Marist next week in its final of a three-game home stand to open the season. Duke will face Denver in a highly-anticipated battle on Friday.

Johns Hopkins Stays Hot

After taking down the Jacksonville Dolphins last week, the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays moved on to a tougher test at home this week with the third-ranked Georgetown Hoyas coming to Homewood.

The Blue Jays would pass the test and move to 2-0 on the early season with a 13-12 comeback victory over the Hoyas.

Trailing 11-8 entering the final stanza and coming out of a third quarter that saw the Hoyas outscore the Blue Jays 4-2, Hopkins would catch a late-game spark with five different scorers putting home five consecutive goals to take the lead. Matt Collison, Stuart Phillips and Russell Melendez put in three straight in just over three minuted before Dylan Bauer and Garrett Degnon tacked on two more to push the Blue Jays ahead 13-11 with 5:09 to play. Bauer’s score gave the Blue Jays their first lead since the 12:00 mark of the second quarter when Degnon capped a four-goal Blue Jays run to put them up 5-4.

Georgetown answered midway through the second quarter with three goals of its, including two consecutive from Graham Bundy, Jr., to make it a 7-6 Hoyas lead at the break.

In those final five minutes, Georgetown was able to get just three shots off, the second of which went in for a Jacob Kelly goal to make it a 13-12 game. Graham Bundy, Jr., got off a shot at the buzzer following a late scramble and it was blocked. The Hoyas committed two turnovers in those final minutes, the latter of which led to a second consecutive Hopkins possession in which they were able to bleed the clock.

Melendez led Hopkins with four goals on the day while Jacob Angelus dished out just as many assists. Degnon and Jonathan Peshko each recorded hat tricks.

Tim Marcille made 16 saves in cage with a 57% save percentage and Tyler Dunn went 11-for-22 (50%) at the dot.

Tucker Dordevic led the way for Georgetown with five goals while Bundy had four goals and one assist. Brian Minicus had two goals. James Reilly went 15-for-29 (52%) at the dot.

Daniel Hincks made 13 saves with a 50% save percentage in cage for the Hoyas.

Johns Hopkins moves to face North Carolina on Tuesday before taking on cross-town rival Loyola next weekend. Georgetown will face Penn next Saturday.

Air Force Tops Denver

For the first time since 2009, the Air Force Falcons have beaten Denver, taking down the 17th-ranked Pioneers 12-10.

With things knotted 3-3 entering the second quarter, the Falcons soared ahead 7-4 at the half by way of a 4-1 second quarter. The Falcons tacked on five more goals in the second half to help secure the Falcon victory.

Brandon Dodd led the way for the Falcons with five goals and one assist for six points while Josh Yago (1G/2A) ended the day with three points. Jason Rose anchored the Falcons’ defense with 17 saves and a 63% save percentage

Shad Bruce scored the Falcons’ lone goal of the fourth quarter with 12:52 remaining and the Air Force defense was able to hold Denver at bay for most of the final frame. JJ Sillstrop scored the final goal of the contest with 1:46 left. Denver gained two more possessions but turnovers would be the fate of each.

Sillstrop had a hat trick while Stephen Avery (2G/1A) also ended the day with three points. Richie Connell and Michael Lampert dished out two assists.

Air Force moves to face Colgate next week. Denver will travel to face Duke in a Friday night contest next week.

Three Winners, Three Losers

Winner: Johns Hopkins Blue Jays

For the first time in the Peter Milliman era, Johns Hopkins appears to be clicking on all cylinders. Despite missing some key pieces, including Beudon Szuluk, in each of its first two games, the Blue Jays are 2-0 and with wins over Jacksonville and Georgetown heading into the Battle of Charles Street next week against Loyola.

Tim Marcille anchored another solid defensive effort with Alex Mazzone (5GB) helping to lead the way at the close unit. Scott Smith IV (1GB) also impressed on Saturday despite a challenging matchup in Tucker Dordevic. Nine overall point-getters and six different goal scorers, as well as a solid faceoff effort against Georgetown’s James Reilly, keep things trending in the right direction at those spots.

Winner: Virginia Cavaliers

The top-ranked Virginia Cavaliers defeated the Michigan Wolverines 17-13 in their season opener on Saturday afternoon. Connor Shellenberger (3G/3A) and Payton Cormier (5G/1A) were as expected at the attack spot while Vermont midfield transfer Thomas McConvey (3G/3A) appeared to fit very well in the offense and gave the Michigan defense troubles. Xander Dickson (2G/2A), Jeff Conner (1G/1A), faceoff man Petey LaSalla (2G), and even former Stanford linebacker Ricky Mieza (1G) got in on the scoring. Furthermore, Matthew Nunes 15 saves with a 53.6% save percentage was pivotal on the back end.

Virginia had to fight against a good Wolverines squad to earn the win, but this Cavaliers squad looked as deep as expected and especially so on offense.

Winner: Loyola Greyhounds

Loyola was one of the most inconsistent teams in college lacrosse each of the past two season. Last season things looked especially troublesome on offense where the Greyhounds didn’t seem to click all the way until late in the season with the implementation of Davis Lindsey as a starter. The offense appeared to be working even against a tough Maryland defense and the Luke Staudt-anchored defense impressed.

The Greyhounds’s clearing late in the game and their performance at the faceoff dot are concerns. But through one game, at least, it is practically night and day between the Loyola of last year and this year.

Loser: Georgetown Hoyas

Headlined by a strong group of transfers, Georgetown came into the season with high hopes following an early exit in the NCAA Tournament a year ago. Tucker Dordevic and Graham Bundy, Jr., were solid and so was goalie Daniel Hincks on the back end. However, the needed depth which surrounded much of the talk around this team over the course of the offseason wasn’t there. Georgetown had just five goal scorers and six over point-getters.

It is still early and there were some positive signs for this team on Saturday, but that lack of depth and the Hoyas inability to break through when it was needed most are notable negatives from Saturday.

Loser: Maryland Terrapins

Nobody expected Maryland to go unbeaten again or be as dominant as it was a year ago. However, the Terrapins held some clear advantages in possession and shooting. However, running into a hot goalie and the ability to get the looks they needed turned out to be detrimental.

With the success on the ride Maryland had with it late in the game, one has to wonder what the outcome could’ve been had the Terrapins chose to go with the 10-man ride sooner. Is the result flipped?

Loser: Duke Blue Devils

Duke looked unstoppable in its first two games and that attack of Brennan O’Neill, Andrew McAdorey, and Dyson Williams came into Saturday’s game with a combined 33 points (15 goals). That’s 55% of Duke production through that point. On Saturday, O’Neill had five goals while Williams had three. McAdorey started at midfield and went 1-1. Tommy Schelling started at attack and had one assist.

Duke’s offense has plenty of talent. The depth of that talent on a week to week basis and how all the pieces come together as the competition increases is something to watch.

Conference-By-Conference Notes

ACC

• Syracuse beat UAlbany on Friday night and Holy Cross on Sunday.

• North Carolina took care of business against Mercer to gets its season underway. The Tar Heels face its first big test of the season with a date on Tuesday with Johns Hopkins.

America East

• UAlbany fell 20-7 in a blowout at Syracuse on Friday night. Jack Pucci and freshman Silas Richmond each had two goals.

• Binghamton defeated Marist 18-11 in its season opener on Saturday. Matthew Keegan (5G/1A), Thomas Greenblatt (1G/4A), and NJIT transfer Gage Adams (5G) helped lead a strong Bearcats offense. Matthew DeSouza went 71% at the dot and Connor Winters made 14 saves with a 56% save percentage in his first career start.

• Bryant defeated Providence 15-14 in its debut contest of the Brad Ross era. Kevin Groeninger led the way with five points off two goals and three assists. Jacob Alexander went 14-for-20 (70%) at the dot.

• Merrimack moved to 3-0 on the season with a 15-9 victory over the LIU Sharks. KJ Delane had four goals and one assist in the win.

• NJIT fell 12-11 against Siena in the debut of the Eric Wolf era. Gavyn Wilson led the way with four goals.

• UMass Lowell fell 21-22 in its first game under Drew Kelleher. Garrett Murphy led the River Hawks with three goals and two assists for five points.

• Vermont held off a strong comeback effort to defeat Boston U. 14-12 to earn its first win of the season.

ASUN

• Bellarmine earned its first win of the season on Saturday as the Knights defeated St. Bonaventure 14-10. Benny O’Rourk had four goals and one assist.

• Cleveland State lost 19-12 against the Ohio State Buckeyes. Ed Shean led the way with six points off five goals and one assist.

• Detroit Mercy fell 17-2 in the first game of the day against High Point. Jakob Hemme made 13 saves with a 68% save percentage,

• Mercer fell 25-3 against North Carolina on Friday night.

• Queens fell 10-9 in overtime against VMI on Friday night.

• Robert Morris defeated Western Pa. rival Bucknell 12-9 in a tight contest. Nick Pelletier led the way for the Colonials with four goals. Nate Randall made 16 saves (10 in second half) with a 64% save percentage, helping to hold the Bison at bay down the stretch.

• Utah earned its first win of the season with a 18-16 victory over the Marquette Golden Eagles in its home opener. Tyler Bradbury (2G/4A) and Jared Andreala (4G) led the way. Pole Colby Plotts had two goals and one assists as the Utes were able to get out and run against the Golden Eagles.

Atlantic 10

• High Point earned its first win of the season with a dominating 17-2 defeat of Detroit Mercy. Jack VanOverbeke had four goals in the contest.

• Hobart defeated Canisius in a contest that saw Anthony Dattellas put up eight points off seven goals and one assist.

• St. Bonaventure fell in its season opener, 14-10, at Bellarmine. Cristofero Cucciuffo made 10 saves with a 42% save percentage in his collegiate debut.

• UMass defeated Army West Point in its season opener by a score of 10-8. The Minutemen fended off a strong second half effort from the Black Knights after leading 4-1 at the half. Carter Castillo netted a hat trick for UMass while Matt Knote made 19 saves with a 70% save percentage.

Big East

• Marquette fell 18-16 in a battle out west with the Utah Utes. Bobby O’Grady had six points off five goals and one assist to lead the way.

• Providence fell to Ocean State rival Bryant 15-14. Ryan Bell put up a career-high nine points (6G/4A) in the contest.

• St. John’s fell to Manhattan 9-5 in the program’s first game under Justin Turri. Connor Kalmus netted a hat trick for the Red Storm.

• Villanova opened its season with a 14-12 victory over the Penn State Nittany Lions. Patrick Daly (4G/1A) and Matt Campbell (4G) led the way for the Wildcats in the victory.

Big Ten

• Penn State fell to Villanova 14-12 on Sunday. Jack Traynor (1G/3A) and TJ Malone (3G) led the way for the Nittany Lions.

• Rutgers defeated Stony Brook 11-7 in a hard fought battle. Brian Cameron led the Scarlet Knights with four points off three goals and one assist.

CAA

• Delaware took care of Lafayette in a 14-5 season-opening victory. Tye Kurtz had five goals and one assist to lead the way.

• Fairfield fell 20-10 against Lehigh. Jack McKenna led the Stags with five goals.

• Hampton recorded its first win since 2019 as the Pirates defeated DIII Guilford 13-10.

• Hofstra fell 13-12 in a tight contest against the Navy Midshipmen. Gerard Kane tallied six points off three goals and three assists.

• Stony Brook fell 11-7 in a battle with Rutgers. Blake Behlen (1G/3A) and Matt Anderson (3G/1A) had four points apiece.

• Towson took care of in-state foe Mount St. Mary’s in a 20-7 victory. Kyle Berkeley (3G/3A) and freshman Joaquin Villagomez (5G) led the way for a Tigers offense that saw 11 different scorers.

MAAC

• Canisius fell 20-14 against Hobart in its season opener. Kevin Carney netted four goals.

• LIU fell 15-9 against Merrimack in its debut under new head coach Jordan Levine. Sean Boll put up six points (2G/4A) in the effort.

• Manhattan defeated St. John’s 9-5 in its season opener. Kyle Gucwa put up five points off four goals and one assist. Joseph Persico made 14 saves with a 74% save percentage in his first career start.

• Marist fell 18-11 against Binghamton. Jojo Pirreca had three goals and one assist for four points.

• Mount St. Mary’s fell 20-7 against Towson.

• Quinnipiac defeated UMass Lowell 21-12 in its season opener. Justin Robert (4G/3A) and John DeLucia (3G/4A) each had seven points. Demitir George went 23-for-34 (67%) at the dot.

• Sacred Heart fell 17-5 against Saint Joseph’s.

• Siena defeated NJIT 12-11 in its season opener. Christian Watts had four goals and one assist.

• VMI defeated Queens 10-9 in overtime on Friday night.

Patriot League

• Army West Point fell 10-8 against the UMass Minutemen. Reese Burek netted three goals and dished out one assist while Will Coletti went 57% (12-for-22) at the dot.

• Boston U. fell 14-12 against the Vermont Catamounts in its season opener. Louis Perfetto (4G/1A) and Vince D’Alto (3G/2A) each had five points on the day.

• Bucknell fell 12-9 against Robert Morris in a game that saw Dutch Furlong dish out five assist and score a goal.

• Lafayette fell 14-5 against Delaware.

• Lehigh defeated Fairfield 20-10. Christian Mule had 10 points (4G/6A) while Scott Cole had seven off four goals and three assists. Mike Sisselberger went 19-for-30 (63%) at the dot.

• Navy defeated Hofstra 13-12 to move to 3-0 on the year. Xavier Arline had a career-high seven points off three goals and four assists. Henry Tolker scored five goals. Pat Ryan and Dan Daly split time in cage, each playing a half.