(Photo Courtesy of Navy Athletics)
You likely know the story by now. Navy has one of the most storied lacrosse programs in history. The Midshipmen have 17 pre-NCAA national titles and have been to the NCAA national championship twice (1975,2004). They have also appeared in 27 of the 48 NCAA tournaments and have five conference titles on their resume, as well. Continue reading “Midfield Depth, Defense are Two Issues Joe Amplo Must Solve For Navy to Be Successful” →
(Photo Courtesy of Lehigh Athletics)
The Lehigh Mountain Hawks are the 30th DI team to release their 2020 schedule. The Mountain Hawks come into 2020 season after going 9-8 overall, 5-3 in the Patriot League, and losing to Army in the Patriot League championship game in 2019. Continue reading “2020 Schedule Preview: Lehigh Mountain Hawks” →
(Photo Courtesy of Colgate Athletics)
The Colgate Raiders are the 29th DI team to release their 2020 schedule. The Raiders are coming off a 2019 campaign which saw the go 4-9 overall and 2-6 in the Patriot League in Matt Karweck’s inaugural season as head coach. Continue reading “2020 Schedule Preview: Colgate Raiders” →
(Photo Courtesy of Loyola Athletics)
As the calendar turns to November it marks the end of fall ball and the beginning of, essentially, the pre-season for NCAA lacrosse. While it is still early and there is only so much you can take from fall ball scrimmages, let’s take a look at who some of the early contenders in each conference are. Continue reading “Early Contenders: Patriot League” →
The Patriot League tournament got underway on Tuesday afternoon with the quarterfinals where Army defeated Holy Cross and Boston U. defeated Bucknell. Both teams move on to the semifinals that will be hosted by Loyola on Thursday.
#4 Army 14, #5 Holy Cross 5
It was a tale of two halves in this one as things started out pretty tight but once Army hit the gas they never hit the breaks. The Crusaders were overmatched in this one as the Black Knights advance to the semifinals where they will play Loyola.
Holy Cross started off strong, getting out to a 2-0 lead early on in the first. Army started to find their stride midway though the first when they went on a three-goal run. Each side would score a goal within the final minutes of the first to make it a 4-3 Army lead heading into the second. After a trading goals early in the second, Army took over to end the half with a 7-4 lead.
The Black Knights went on a nine-goal run from early in the second through late in the fourth. That run sealed the deal as Holy Cross had no chance at a comeback. The Crusaders did score in the last minute of the game to get that fifth and final point.
Army was led by attackman Brendan Nichtern with 8 points (2G,6A) in the win. Nate Jones also tallied 6 points (4G,2A) as well. Defenseman Johnny Surdick had 2 caused turnovers and scooped up 3 ground balls while goalie Baretto made 12 saves.
Holy Cross saw Sean Mullaney and Drew Babiak lead the way with 2 goals each. On the defensive end, defenseman Chris Conlin had 4 caused turnovers and scooped up 5 ground balls. In goal. Jonathan Tesoro made 5 saves.
Boston U. 14, Bucknell 8
The Terriers dominated from the opening faceoff to the final whistle in this one. Boston U. was the much better team as they dominated in every aspect of the game, riding their way to victory with ease.
Starting out with a 3-0 run Boston U. already had an edge. Bucknell finally got their first goal of the game late in the first to make it a 3-1 Boston U. lead at the end of the first. The Terriers just continued to dominate from that point on.
Boston U. went on a seven-goal run from early in the second through early in the third that helped them to a 7-1 halftime lead and then a 10-1 lead early in the third. Bucknell finally got a little something going in the third and even more in the fourth. It was too big of a lead to overcome as Boston U.
Chris Gray led the way for the Terriers has he tallied 9 points (5G,4A). James Burr also had 5 points (4G,1A). Reece Eddy had 3 caused turnovers and scooped up 6 ground balls. In cage, Joe McSorley made 15 saves.
For Bucknell, Will Yorke led the way with 3 goals for a hat-trick. Tom Smith also had 3 points (2G,1A). The Bison were led on the defensive end of the field by defenseman Bryant Boswell who had 3 caused turnovers and scooped up 6 ground balls. In cage, Christian Klipstein made 17 saves.
After Friday night’s games the 2019 Patriot League tournament field and seedings have been set. Loyola grabbed the top seed with a little help from Navy beating Boston U, and Lehigh fills in as the number two seed. Boston U. sits as the third seed while Army is the fourth seed. Holy cross and Bucknell fill in as the fifth and sixth seeds in the Patriot League tournament.
The 2019 Patriot league tournament kicks off on Tuesday, April 30th with the quarterfinals. The winner of those two games will advance to play either Loyola or Lehigh in the semifinals on Friday, May 3rd. The Patriot League Championship will be on Sunday, May 5th.
#4 Army vs #5 Holy Cross – Quarterfinals
The Army Black Knights will host the Holy Cross Crusaders in the first quarterfinal game on Tuesday night. This will be an interesting one as these two teams played each other back in mid March, early in conference play. That game was close as Army won 7-6. Now both of these teams have improved and it is playoff time so expect things to be just as close as they were last game.
Army has been stellar all season long and have impressed many with their play on both ends of the field. The Army defense is led by a fiercer Johnny Sudrick who has been one of the best defensemen in the country all season long. With him leading that defense and AJ Baretto in between the pipes, Army has been able to stifle a lot of offense’s with their aggressive defense. Now on the offensive end of the field, the Black Knights have had a very good year as well. With freshman Brendan Nicknern leading the way the Black Knights have been able to move the ball very well and find the back of the net often.
The Crusaders have turned things around from a season ago that was filled with much drama to end the year. Holy Cross has had a bumpy season, but they have some very good performances and wins. With Jonathan Tesoro in goal the Crusaders defense has been very good and has held numerous opponents to singe digits this season. On the offensive side of the ball Holy Cross is led by a trio of junior attackmen in Sean Mullaney, Kevin Kodizs, and Justin Lynskey.
#3 Boston U. vs #6 Bucknell
Boston U. will host Bucknell on Tuesday night in the second quarterfinal game on Tuesday night. This a rematch of last year’s quarterfinal when Boston U. upset Bucknell and blew up their NCAA tournament hopes. In the regular season meeting this season the Terriers topped the Bison 13-9. Again, it’s the post-season and expect anything and everything to happen as it usually does, especially in this conference.
The Terriers have been very good all season long with their offense being the driving force behind their success. Senior James Burr and sophomore Chris Gray have led a stellar offensive attack that has put many defenses to the test this season. In goal to anchor the Terrier defense is Joe McSorley who has been nothing but stellar in his efforts. The defense in front of McSorley hasn’t been half bad either, and has progressed all season. The Terriers are a dangerous team and when they are hot, they are HOT.
Bucknell has had an up and down season with a few stretches of losses in between some wins here and there. However, they have picked things up and are on a four-game winning streak entering the post-season. They have some new faces, but their offense has still been very good with Will Yorke leading the attack. In cage, Christian Klipstein has been very good in anchoring the defense. The Bison can put together a full game very easily but will need to be their very best if they want any shot at avenging those past two losses to the Terriers.
#1 Loyola vs Lower Seeded Quarterfinal Winner – Semifinals
The Loyola Greyhounds will face the lower seeded quarterfinal winner in the semifinals on Saturday, May 3rd.
#2 Lehigh vs Lower Seeded Quarterfinal Winner – Semifinals
The Lehigh Mountain Hawks will face the lower seeded quarterfinal winner in the semifinals on Saturday, May 3rd.
The number 6 ranked Duke Blue Devis took down the number 3 ranked Loyola Greyhounds 12-7 in a Thursday night home contest. Duke used a big offensive spurt in the third quarter to help them run past Loyola. This was Duke’s third straight win over Loyola since the first round of the 2016 NCAA tournament when Loyola last beat Duke.
While the Blue Devils were able to dominate in almost every area of the game, things started off a bit tighter than they ended, for sure. Loyola was able to keep it close until Duke went off in the second and third quarter’s. Loyola was able to find their offense late in the game, but the deficit was too big for a comeback.
Duke was led by Joey Manown who had 4 goals in the win. Brad Smith contributed heavily as well, tallying 5 points (2G,3A). Nakeie Montgomery also had 4 goals as well. In goal, John Upgren made 10 saves for the Blue Devils.
Chase Scanlan led Loyola with 5 points (3G,2A), while Pat Spencer tallied 3 points (1G,2A) for the Greyhounds. Jacob Stover made 15 saves in cage for Loyola.
Nakeie Montgomery got the scoring started for Duke early on to get the Blue Devils on the board first. Montgomery found the back of the net again a few minutes later, making it a 2-0 Duke lead. Less than a minute later, Pat Spencer got Loyola on the board to cut it to 2-1. A Chase Scanlan goal tied things up at 2 with 5:21 in the first, and that’s a close as it would get.
A three goal run from Duke, lasting from late in the first through early in the second, put the Blue Devils up 5-2. Each team scored once more before the half. That made it a 6-3 lead for Duke going into the half.
Coming out of the half, Duke dominated in every facet of the game. Their defense wasn’t allowing anything. The Blue Devils scored five straight unanswered goals in the third and held Loyola scoreless. That third quarter performance pretty much sealed the deal for the Duke win, but Loyola still had some fight left.
Just as the third was owned by Duke, the fourth was owned by Loyola. Bailey Savio got the Greyhounds going early on in the fourth, and they kept rolling from there. That Savio goal was the start of a four goal run from early in the fourth until late in the fourth. That helped Loyola get back into it, somewhat. The Blue Devils scored the last goal of the game and held on for the 12-7 win.
Duke’s next contest will be a home game against Utah on Tuesday, March 12th. Loyola will play Navy on Saturday, March 16th in their next contest.
In a Sunday afternoon contest the Bucknell Bison got a win over the Bryant Bulldogs in their home opener.
Junior attackman Will Yorke led the Bison with 5 goals in the win. Reed Malas and Matthew Barkauskas carried the rest of the load on offense with 2 goals each. The lack of depth in scoring didn’t seem to matter too much as there were plenty of assist as well. Christian Klipstein was able to make 13 saves as he anchored the Bison defense in goal.
Bryant was led by Marc O’Rourke as he tallied 3 goals to lead the Bulldogs offense. Mason Balch had 2 goals and Zach Coffey tallied just 1 goal to also help the Bryant offense. In goal Luke Caracciolo made 16 saves to help that defense.
Just 65 seconds into the game Matthew Barkauskas stung a transition goal to put Bucknell up 1-0 early. The rest of the first quarter was filled with defensive stands, turnovers, and shot clock violations. However, after a push call on Bucknell with just 2:53 in the first Bryant would get on the board with a man-up goal coming from Mason Balch. That goal tied it up at 1-1 heading into the second.
The second quarter saw much more action, offensively speaking. Bucknell got the quarter started off with two early goals coming from Matthew Barkauskas and Reed Malas. Bryant started to find themselves offensively as they went on a two goal run within a minute late in the second. Mason Balch and Marc O’Rourke scored during that run for Bryant.
Coming out of halftime with it tied 3-3 Bucknell was searching for more as the Bison, and Will Yorke in particular caught fire in the third.
After a slow start to the third Will Yorke went on a three goal run all by himself late in the third to give Bucknell a 6-3 lead heading into the fourth. This run was a huge boost for Bucknell and really helped propel them to victory.
And it’s a natty for Will Yorke! Three straight goals here in the third period and the Bison are on top 6-3! pic.twitter.com/09GkecBWrw
— Bucknell Men’s Lax (@Bucknell_MLAX) February 10, 2019
Early in the fourth Bucknell extended their lead with another goal from Will Yorke, his fourth in a row. Bryant was able to answer just a few minutes later with a goal from Mac O’Rourke to stop the bleeding.
Bryant scored twice more as did Bucknell to end the game. The Bison just had too much momentum on their side for Bryant to force any kind of comeback. Bucknell also dominated possession which helped them out a ton in this win.
Both teams will be in action on Saturday February 16th as Bucknell takes Richmond in a home contest and Bryant has their home opener against Providence in an Ocean State Cup game.
The Bucknell Bison will welcome the Bryant Bulldogs on Sunday afternoon as these two teams know each other very well, and they both look to get a win in what should be a pretty good Sunday afternoon matchup.
Bucknell will be searching for their first win of the season after taking an 11-6 loss at Maryland just a week ago. The Bison will be looking to get their first win of the season with this ‘new look’ offense of sorts. They were able to find momentum late in the game against Maryland, now they need to get that going all game.
Senior midfielders Reed Malas and Ryan Durkin look to get back out and lead this Bison offense against Bryant on Sunday. The two senior midfielders each had 2 points against Maryland, Malas tallied 2 goals while Durkin had 1 goal and 1 assist. Their offense looks to keep improving after losing the majority of their point scoring from a year ago.
On the defensive side of the ball Alston Tarry, Tommy Spoko, and others look to step up and be much improved from what they were a week ago. This defense needs to be able to hold Bryant and not let them get off to a hot start if they want to have any chance at winning this game. In goal senior goalie Christian Klipstein looks to build off of a pretty good performance to open the season with 10 saves.
Bryant is coming into their first game of the 2019 season as they look to get things started off on a high note. The Bulldogs are a little bit of a younger squad, but head coach Mike Pressler always has the boys ready to play.
Offensively the Bulldogs will be looking for sophomore attackman Marc O’rourke to lead the way as was their top point scorer last season. Sophomore attackman Jake Buonaiuto and junior midfielder Trevor Weingarten are also two guys that Bryant will be looking for to contribute in this game, as well as throughout the season.
The Bulldogs return a strong goalie in senior Kevin Beimfohr who stopped 101 shots last season with a 48% save percentage. He looks to anchor this defense and get things started off on a high not in this season opening contest. Out in front of Beinfohr the Bulldogs have a younger core with juniors Zach Coffey and Jake Fiske looking to lead the way.
With the matchups this game presents and the talent on both sides of the ball this one could very much be a defensive battle or an offensive shootout. But judging by these two squads past contest it looks like this will be a good one either way. Bryant has won the past four contest by no more than two goals.
The Syracuse Orange are set to welcome the Colgate Raiders into the Carrier Dome on Friday night at 7PM to open up the 2019 season. The Orange look to get their season off to a hot start with a win over in-state foe Colgate.
Coming into this game it will be the beginning of a new chapter for Colgate lacrosse as Matt Karweck takes the field for the first time as a head coach. Karweck came over from Notre Dame where he was the offensive coordinator. The raiders look to open the Karweck era on a positive note on Friday.
Syracuse is a heavy favorite in this game, as expected. The Orange bring back a young core from last year on both sides of the ball. This young core really shined at times last season, but didn’t live up to “Syracuse” standards, as many Orange fans would argue. This will be our first real look at the Orange and see how they have progressed over the summer and fall.
The Orange will rely heavily on attackman Stephen Rehfuss in this game and throughout this season. Rehfuss did not play in Syracuse’s scrimmage against Yale last weekend, but twill be playing on Friday according to head coach John Desko. Also, Tucker Dordevic will be out in this game and could miss additional time as well with a foot injury.
Nate Soloman, Bradley Voight, and Jamie Trimboli will also be guys the Orange will hang their hats on this year offensively. If Dordevic does miss some more time this season David Lipka has been reported to run with that first midfield unit in his absence.
While the Syracuse offense is pretty solid the defense may be more of a question mark and something to watch in the Orange’s opener. Nick Mellen will lead the trio of long poles again this season. While Mellen will most likely be their strongest defender Austin Fusco and Tyson Bomberry are back as well and look to get things off to a solid start on Friday. The Orange have a new goalie as junior Drake Porter will get the start.
Colgate comes into this game with a new head coach and a pretty young squad as well. We will get to see how this team gels within these new systems on offense and defense, as well as see how some new energy can potentially help this program get back to competing for Patriot League titles.
On offense the Raiders will lean pretty heavily on senior attackman Sam Cleveland who led them last season. Sophomore attackman Mike Hawkins and junior midfielder Griffin brown will also be two guys to watch for in this game as they were crucial pieces of the Raiders offense last season as well.
The biggest thing, from my perspective, to watch is what kind of system they play and how they use the shot clock, the dive, and the shortened sub box. With a new staff the players may work right in or it may take some time. You never really know until you get to see them play.
Defensively the Raiders will be anchored in net by senior Connor Mullen. The Texas native looks to get his senior campaign off and running on a good foot come Friday’s game. Out in front of Mullen the Raiders have a lot of younger guys returning from last season. Junior Parker Baddley will be one of the leaders on this defense that is fairly young and will be growing quite a bit this season.
To many this may be a lopsided matchup, aka cupcake game for Syracuse, to start the season but it is an interesting one with both teams looking for ways to improve and see how things work.
You can watch this game on ACC Network Extra (ESPN 3). faceoff is set for 7:00pm ET.
