(Photo Courtesy of Loyola Athletics)
Thought anything could have matched last weekend’s madness? Well, the second full weekend of the college lacrosse season has officially entered the chat. With action taking place from Baltimore to the Rocky Mountains, this past weekend certainly didn’t disappoint.
Top Storylines
Loyola Makes Another Statement
A week after securing what has been the upset of the year thus far with a victory over the Maryland Terrapins, the Loyola Greyhounds knocked off another highly-ranked in-state foe. This time around it a much more dominant fashion as Loyola defeated rival Johns Hopkins 13-8 at Ridley Athletic Complex in the Battle of Charles Street.
Evan James cut to the middle and put home and Adam Poitras feed for the first score of the game just under four minutes into the contest. The Greyhounds added another just seconds later with Eric Pachecho winning the ensuing faceoff and taking it to the rack. Later in that first frame, Matthew Minicus ended a nearly two minute Loyola possession with his first score of the game off a Davis Lindsey lead.
Brendan Grimes would get Hopkins on the board within the final 30 seconds of the first quarter to make it a 3-1 game. However, that would be the Blue Jays only goal for nearly an entire quarter as Matt Collison swept across the top with just under two minutes left in the half to even make it a four-goal, 6-2, game at the break. Garrett Degnon got the third goal of the day for the Blue Jays with three seconds left in the third and the rest of Hopkins’ goals came in the fourth quarter.
Johns Hopkins was missing two of its top offensive playmakers in Russell Melendez and Jacob Angelus, who were both out due to injuries sustained in the North Carolina game on Tuesday. Brendan Grimes, Matt Collison, and Garrett Degnon each had two goals to lead that unit.
Through the first three quarters of play, Loyola held Johns Hopkins to 19 shots while the Greyhounds had 31 themselves in that time. Loyola also won the ground ball battle 31-20 during those first three quarters and caused 12 of the Blue Jays’ 15 turnovers during that period. The Greyhounds held the Blue Jays off the board for 28 minutes of play during the second and third quarters combined.
Cam Wyers (3GB/3CT) and Matt Hughes (7GB/2CT) had monster days at close while Payton Rezanka (3GB/2CT) also had a huge day as the leader of that Greyhounds’ rope unit. Luke Staudt made 10 saves with a 66.7% save percentage in cage.
Coupled with its defensive success, Loyola was able to thrive on the other end and took an 11-2 lead into the final frame coming off a five-goal run in the third quarter to pull away and make this the statement win it was.
Matthew Minicus (2G/1A), Evan James (2G/1A), Seth Higgins (2G/1A) each had three points on the day whole Dylan Binney netted his first two goals of the season. Davis Lindsey dished out two assists in the win.
Army Edges Rutgers at Michie Stadium
The Black Knights of Army welcomed the Scarlet Knights of Rutgers to West Point on Saturday afternoon in what ended up being an absolute shootout. The home squad Army would come out come out on top with a narrow 14-13 victory over their top-10 ranked opponent,
Reese Burek scored five goals and assisted on one more to lead the way for the Black Knights with six points in the win. Will Coletti went 18-for-28 (64%) at the faceoff dot while Knox Dent made 13 saves with a 45.8% save percentage to anchor the Black Knights’ defense.
Ross Scott led the way for Rutgers with five goals on the day and could have had a sixth. However, on what would be the final shot of the game, Scott hit the post. Army won the race to the end line and and was able to run out those final 10 ticks to secure the upset victory.
David Sprock scored the first goal of the game to give Rutgers the early lead. However, it wouldn’t be long until the Black Knights gained control. Hinging on an 8-0 start for Colletti at the dot and a first-quarter hat trick from Burek, Army raced out to 4-1 lead at the 4:14 mark in the first quarter of play. However, Army would not stay in that spot forever as a Scarlet Knights four-goal run in the second quarter pushed them ahead 6-5 midway through the period.
Burek found the back of the net twice more in that first half while Ryan Sellow and Gunnar Fellows joined in to create a half-ending, four-goal run to make it an Army 9-6 lead at the half. Following that run, the Black Knights would never trail again. Rutgers tied it twice in the fourth quarter off a Brian Cameron and then a Ross Scott score but Army was always able to answer.
In addition to Scott’s big day, Rutgers saw Jack Aimone have two goals and two assists while Brian Cameron had a hat trick. Kyle Mullin anchored the Rutgers defense with 14 saves and a 44% save percentage.
Manhattan, Quinnipiac Pull Off Upsets
Even more upsets came out of this weekend as both the Manhattan Jaspers and the Quinnipiac Bobcats pulled out massive upsets.
Manhattan found themselves down 5-1 at the 11:00 mark of the third quarter before pulling together a five-goal, game-winning run during the final 26 minutes of play to earn the victory. That run included three consecutive scores from Liam Walshe. Those three goals made it a 5-5 game before Tadhg O’Riordan put home the game-winner off a Kyle Gucwa feed with one minute left.
The hero of the contest for the Jaspers was goalie Joseph Persico, The first-year starter made a career-high 22 saves to help stifle the Navy offense. That included 12 saves during the first half of play.
Navy won the faceoff battle 10-to-15, had eight turnovers to Manhattan’s 16, outshot Manhattan 47-31, and won the ground ball battle 35-22. However, the Midshipmen were unable to convert down the stretch with three shots being saved and one hitting the post in the final three minutes of the contest.
Up in the Ocean State, the visiting Quinnipiac Bobcats pulled together an 11-10 upset victory over the Brown Bears to move to 2-0 on the season.
Jake Tellers had four points off two goals and two assists and scored the eventual game-winner with 2:55 remaining in the fourth quarter. Dylan Donnery had four points off three goals and one assist while Nick DiMuccio anchored the Bobcat offense with a 21-save performance. Demitri George went 14-for-23 (61%) at the faceoff dot.
Brown saw Devon McLane (2G/4A) and Ben Locke (3G) lead the way in its season opener and at one time held a 6-3 edge midway through the second quarter. The Bobcats would outscore the Bears 8-4 the remainder of the contest, knotting things up 8-8 at the end of the third and 9-9 early in the fourth before two straight from Donnery and Tellers gave Quinnipiac the lead which they would hold through the final buzzer.
Maryland Bounces Back Against Syracuse
Saturday marked the first regular season contest in which Maryland entered off the back of a loss since 2020 and the first contest since that same shortened season in which Logan McNaney would not play as he is out for the year with a torn ACL.
Maryland, however, didn’t falter as John Tillman’s squad pulled out the 15-12 home victory over the Syracuse Orange.
Teddy Dolan made nine saves with a 43% save percentage in his first start as a Terrapin. Faceoff man Luke Wierman proved to be a major catalyst in the victory, going 24-for-31 (77%). Daniel Kelly (4G, 2A), Jack Koras (3G, 1A) and Kyle Long (2G, 2A) led the way for the offense.
Midfielder Dante Trader also got in on the action, scoring his first two college goals, grabbing three ground balls, and causing one turnovers – all that in just his third ever college lacrosse game after playing exclusively football his first two years.
Maryland jumped out to an early 3-0 lead before Syracuse answered with three of their own to knot things up early in the second frame. The Orange would never tie it again and would never take the lead as, despite being unable to fully pull away, Maryland enjoyed being on top from wire to wire.
A pair of Jackson Birtwistle scores late in the third quarter and a wild behind-the-back rocket from Joey Spallina early in the fourth made it a 12-10 game and provided some late juice for the Orange. That would be short-lived as a pair if Syracuse penalties led to two consecutive man-up goals coming from Kyle Long and Jack Koras made it a four-goal game and helped quash any late, game-changing energy Syracuse may have had. Trader’s second of the day, which saw him put together one heck of an individual effort, essentially put the lid on this one.
Birtwistle had a hat trick for the Orange while Will Mark made 18 saves in cage.
Three Winners, Three Losers
Winner: Loyola Greyhounds
After knocking off the Maryland Terrapins a week ago, the Loyola Greyhounds made another statement win this weekend with their 13-8 defeat of the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays. The Loyola defense, headlined by Matt Hughes and Cam Wyers and anchored by Luke Staudt, showed its teeth once more as a key piece of the victory.
Matthew Minicus (2G/1A), Evan James (2G/1A), and Seth Higgins (2G/1A) led a strong and balanced offensive performance that showed to outpace the Hopkins defense.
Winner: Army Black Knights
Following a close loss to UMass in its opener last week, Army West Point showed that, despite its massive losses, still has what it takes to compete with the big boys. The Black Knights earned a hard fought 14-13 victory over the Rutgers Scarlet Knights in a game that featured a combined 75 shots.
Reese Burek (5G/1A) and Will Colletti (18-for-28, 64%) proved to be two of the biggest catalyst in the victory for the Black Knights.
Winner: Penn Quakers
The Penn Quakers opened their season on Saturday afternoon with a massive 9-7 victory over the Georgetown Hoyas. The Quakers’ defense headlined the victory with Emmet Carroll making 18 saves with a 72% save percentage. Ethan Till caused three turnovers in a solid performance out in front of the cage.
Cam Rubin lead the way for the Quakers offense with four goals off five shots while Chris Arceri went 11-for-20 (55%) at the faceoff dot.
Loser: Johns Hopkins
Johns Hopkins exited last week with a 2-0 record with wins over Jacksonville and Georgetown. The Blue Jays close out this week with a 2-2 record after falling to North Carolina on Tuesday before their loss against crosstown rival Loyola. In those two games, the Hopkins offense found itself stalled while the defense was unable to stop the oppositions onslaught.
The Blue Jays have shown to have talent for sure. But how soon will that talent lead to a consistent showing and lead to another win?
Loser: Navy Midshipmen
Navy had looked pretty strong in its 3-0 start with victories over Mount St. Mary’s, Queens, and Hofstra. The offense, in particular, looked improved and appeared to be gelling fairly well in those wins. This week, however, that unit was ground to a halt for most of the season half by the Manhattan Jaspers’ defense.
There have been some clear positive signs coming from Annapolis early this season and were many there on Saturday. Navy’s inability to convert in the second was a clear negative coming from this Midshipmen squad.
Loser: Brown Bears
The Brown Bears had an incredible run last spring, putting together a strong string of win in April and ultimately hosting both the Ivy League tournament and the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Bears’ magic didn’t role over into the new season with Mike Daly’s squad falling to Quinnipiac 11-10.
While Devon McLane (2G/4A) was impressive as usual, the Bears struggling to stop the Bobcats offense and inability to get those extra possessions off the faceoff proved to be too damanging.
Conference-By-Conference Notes
ACC
- Notre Dame defeated Marquette in its season opener on Tuesday before knocking off Cleveland State 18-8 on Sunday. Chris Kavanagh had four goals and four assists in the win while Eric Dobson and Quinn McCahon each had hat tricks.
- Virginia defeated Harvard 25-21 in a game that was not nearly as close as the final score suggest. The Cavaliers blitzed out to 20-8 lead at half behind a 10-point outing from Connor Shellenberger (3G/7A). The team’s combined 51 taken faceoffs set a new NCAA record.
America East
- Binghamton defeated St. Bonaventure 12-11 in overtime off a Matthew Keegan game-winner. Keegan led the way with four goals and one assist on the day for the Bearcats.
- UMBC defeated Drexel 12-7 in its season opener. Allen Hockenberry (2G/2A) and Mike Doughty (3G/1A) each had four goals to pace the Retrievers in the win.
- Vermont defeated the Utah Utes in a 14-13 overtime thriller in which Brock Haley called game. David Closterman (4G/1A) led the way for the Catamounts offense.
ASUN
- Air Force defeated Colgate in a tight, 11-10, contest in which they fended off a strong second-half Raider effort. Jason Rose made 17 saves in the win.
- Bellarmine earned its second win over the season with a 14-4 victory over Canisius in which Kyle Playsted’s three assists earned him the top spot on the Knights’ all-time career list.
- Jacksonville defeated Marist 13-5.
- Lindenwood earned its first victory as a DI program, defeating LIU 9-8 off a Wesley Scurci score.
- Mercer earned its first win in the Ryan Dahehy era with a 15-6 defeat of Holy Cross.
Atlantic 10
- Richmond earned its first win of the A-10 era, defeating Bucknell 18-5. Luke Grayum had eight points off four goals and four assists while Derrek Madonna netted four goals and dished out two assists for six points.
- Saint Joseph’s defeated the Towson Tigers 16-13 in one of the best mid-major games of the day. Zach Cole went 63% at the dot and score twice for the Hawks.
Big East
- Providence defeated Siena 18-11 in a contest that saw James Corasaniti make 17 saves with a 61% save percentage.
- Villanova faces Yale on Sunday
Big Ten
- Michigan edged Hofstra 11-10 in a contest that saw Jacob Jackson put up four goals and assist on one more. Nick Rowlett went 13-for-17 at the faceoff dot. Hunter Taylor replaced Shane Carr during the contes and made 10 saves.
- Ohio State outscored the North Carolina Tar Heels 6-1 in the second half, which included five fourth quarter goals, to earn the come-from-behind victory. Kyle Borda led the way with two goals for the Buckeyes.
- Penn State defeated Stony Brook 17-12. TJ Malone had four goals and two assists for six points in the win. Chase Mullins went 14-for-26 at the dot.
CAA
- Delaware took care of business against St. John’s, 16-9. Tye Kurtz had five goals and one assist to lead the way.
- Fairfield defeated Wager 14-7 in a contest that saw Bryce Ford find the back of the cage five times.
- Hampton plays Queens on Sunday.
MAAC
- Mount St. Mary’s defeated NJIT 13-10 to earn its first victory of the season. Cormac Giblin and Jared McMahon each had four goals in the win.
Ivy League
- Cornell defeated UAlbany 12-10 behind a six-goal effort from CJ Kirst.
- Princeton took care of business in its opener with a 22-9 defeat of Monmouth. Alexander Vardaro (5G/2A) had seven points while Braedon Saris (3G/3A) and Coulter Mackesy (4G/2A) each had six points.
- Yale defeated Villanova 20-14 in an offensive shootout to secure a win in its season opener. Chris Lyons led the Bulldogs with nine goals on the day.
Patriot League
- Thomas Niedringhaus’ career day helped Boston U. past Bryant 16-15 in an overtime thriller. Niedringhaus had four goals, including the game-winner.
- Lafayette defeated Sacred Heart 15-8 to earn its first win of the season. The Leopards were led by six-point Peter Lehman (5G/1A) performance.
- Lehigh earned a 19=13 win over Hobart in a contest that saw a combined 89 shots. Christian Mule’ (5G/1A) and Scott Cole (4G/2A) each had six points in the win.
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