Lacrosse Preview- May 22

 

All of the lacrosse action takes place in Foxborough Massachusetts this weekend. On Saturday the division one semifinals take place. The first game features Syracuse and Duke. This game should be high scoring since both teams like a fast pace. I see Syracuse getting a one or two goal win. In the second game Virginia plays Cornell. This game is a contrast of styles. Virginia likes a fast pace with a lot of shots while Cornell likes to melt the clock and keep the score low. If winner has 10 or more goals I like Virginia. If the winner has less than 10 goals Cornell has a chance. I like Virginia by 3 or 4 goals. Both games are on ESPN2 and ESPN2HD. On Sunday the smaller schools take over. At noon Gettysburg takes on Cortland State for the division 3 final. Cortland will be in its 4th straight final. They won in 2006 and lost the last two games. All to Salisbury. At 3:00 LeMoyne plays C.W. Post in the division 2 final. These games are on CBS College Sports. The weekend wraps up with the division one final on Monday at 1pm. I like a Virginia/Syracuse final with my preseason pick of Virginia taking the title. This game will be on ESPN and ESPNHD.

 

I will recap the action on Tuesday.

 

Bryan in Annapolis

Lacrosse Recap- May 18

This weekend marked the end of the men’s college lacrosse season for teams from the state of Maryland. We start the recap with Maryland who lost to Syracuse 11-6. Syracuse led 5-3 at the half and used a 4 goal run in the third quarter to put the game away. The most interesting part of this game was the goalie situation. The normal starting goalie for Syracuse had the flu so he didn’t play and Brian Phipps, the Maryland starter tore his ACL in the first half when he jumped in the air during his protest of a call that wasn’t made and his leg gave out on him. Syracuse advances to play Duke who beat North Carolina 12-11. The other local team ran into a buzz saw. Johns Hopkins lost 19-8 to Virginia. Hopkins scored the first goal of the game but the Cavaliers scored the next 6 straight. They built the lead to 12-4 at halftime and coasted from there. They will meet Cornell who pulled a mild upset on Princeton 6-4. These four games did very well in attendance. The doubleheader at Hofstra drew 11,000 plus and the doubleheader in Annapolis drew more than 12,000 people.

In division three Stevenson lost 12-7 to Gettysburg so it will be Gettysburg and Cortland State in the championship game next Sunday.

I will preview the last weekend of the season on Friday.

Bryan in Annapolis

Lacrosse Preview- May 15

 

We start this week’s preview with a look back at Wednesday. Salisbury traveled to Stevenson for the rubber match. Stevenson led 5-3 at halftime. Salisbury scored the first two goals of the second half to tie the game at five. The Mustangs then went on a five goal run that would be the difference in the game. Two of the goals were scored by Salisbury transfer Brett Yoder. The Sea Gulls tried to comeback but fell short 11-9. Stevenson moves on to host Gettysburg in the semifinals on Sunday. This is the first time since 2002 the Sea Gulls didn’t make at least the semifinals. Kylor Berkman had one goal in his last game. The seven seniors went 82-5 in their careers with 2 national titles.

 

In division one the quarterfinals take place this weekend. On Saturday there will be two games at Hofstra. In the first game Maryland plays Syracuse for the first time since 1997. I think Syracuse has too much speed for the Terps and will win a close game. This game is on ESPNU and ESPN2 at noon. The second game at Hofstra is Cornell and Princeton. This game is also on ESPNU. I pick Cornell to get to the Final Four. On Sunday the action moves to Annapolis where the Naval Academy will host the other two games. These games should draw a great crowd. The first one is Virginia and Johns Hopkins. These two teams played a 16-15 classic during the regular season won by Virginia in Baltimore. Johns Hopkins can’t afford to blow leads like they have in the last three games. Virginia needs to put up a good performance to silence their critics after the second loss to Duke. I like Virginia to win in another close game between these two teams. This game starts at noon on ESPNU if you can’t make it to Annapolis. The second game is another round in the “Battle Of The Blues.” It will be Duke and North Carolina. Duke has already beaten Carolina twice this season. The key to this game will be face offs. In the game between these two teams Duke got three goals on fast breaks off of face offs. I like Duke to advance to the Final Four. If you are making the trip to Annapolis I would allow extra time. There is a festival at Sandy Point that is using the stadium lots for parking, St John’s College is having graduation, the Annapolis Memorial Day parade is also Sunday, and it is the start of Commissioning Week at the academy.

 

I will recap the quarterfinals on Monday

 

Bryan in Annapolis

Lacrosse Recap- May 11

 

We start the recap in Baltimore where Brian Christopher scored his third straight overtime game winner as #8 Johns Hopkins beat Brown 12-11. Christopher also has overtime winners against Towson and Loyola to end the regular season. The Blue Jays advance to the quarterfinals where they will meet #1 Virginia next Sunday at the Naval Academy. The Cavaliers outscored Villanova 15-0 in the first half on the way to an 18-6 win on Sunday afternoon. The other quarterfinal in Annapolis will feature #3 Duke and #6 North Carolina. Duke cruised to a 14-5 win over Navy on the strength of a 10-0 halftime lead. The Tar Heels used 8 goals by Billy Bitter to beat UMBC 15-13. The other two quarterfinals take place on Saturday at Hofstra. The first one features Maryland who was the only road team to win in division one this weekend. The Terps beat #7 Notre Dame 7-3. It was the first loss for the Irish. Will Yeatman had 2 assists in his return to South Bend. Maryland will play #2 Syracuse. The Orange beat Siena 11-4 Sunday night. The last quarterfinal will be #4 Princeton who beat UMASS 10-7 and #5 Cornell who beat Hofstra 11-8. Game times were not set as of Sunday night when I am writing this.

 

In division three Salisbury beat Haverford 16-10. Six different Sea Gulls had two goals each in the win. In the quarterfinals Salisbury will be heading to Owings Mills to play Stevenson. The Mustangs beat Cabrini 8-7 in their second round game. This will be the third and deciding game between these two schools. Stevenson won 12-8 @ Salisbury during the regular season and Salisbury won 13-5 in the CAC Championship game @ Stevenson. This game is Wednesday at 4:00. The winner advances to play either Gettysburg or Denison on Sunday for the right to play for a national championship.

 

I will recap the Salisbury/Stevenson game and preview the division 1 quarterfinals on Friday.

 

Bryan in Annapolis

Lacrosse Preview- May 8

We start the preview in Baltimore where #8 Johns Hopkins hosts Brown tomorrow. Hopkins has won six games in a row and has played in the last two national championship games. Brown hasn’t been in the tournament since 1997. I like Hopkins in a close game. The game starts at noon and will be on ESPN2 and ESPNU. UMBC is also in action tomorrow when they travel to #6 North Carolina. The key to this game will be face offs. The Tar Heels are winning  62% while UMBC has struggled. If the Retrievers can find a way to neutralize them they can hold the ball and let them stay in the
game. This game starts at 2:30 and will be on ESPNU. Later in the day Navy travels to #3 Duke. Navy had last week off after winning the Patriot League tournament. Duke has won 7 straight including 2 wins over Virginia. This game is at 7:30 on ESPNU. The other game tomorrow is at 5pm when Hofstra travels to #5 Cornell also on ESPNU. Sunday starts at noon in South Bend where #7 Notre Dame hosts Maryland. The Irish enter the contest undefeated but didn’t play a strong schedule. The Terps on the other hand have played a decent schedule but had a disappointing season. As I mentioned in last week’s recap this game marks the return of Will Yeatman to Notre Dame. He spent his freshman year there before transferring to Maryland. The other games are #1 Virginia hosting Villanova at 2:30, #4 Princeton hosting UMASS at 5:00 and #2 Syracuse hosting Siena at 7:30. All games will be on ESPNU.

In division three, Salisbury will travel to Haverford (Have-r-ford) tomorrow at 1:00. The school is located outside of Philadelphia PA. It is Salisbury’s first NCAA tournament road game in seven years. Haverford also has a goalie that is 6′4″ 273 pounds. This will present a challenge for the Sea Gulls who don’t normally shoot against a goalie of that size.

I will recap all of this action on Monday

Bryan in Annapolis

Lacrosse Recap- May4

 

For this week’s recap I will mix in the NCAA tournament brackets with some scores. In division one Johns Hopkins received the #8 seed after beating Loyola 11-10 in double overtime. Brian Christopher scored the game winner but the play of the game was when Loyola’s P. T. Ricci picked up a ground ball and riffled a 30 yard pass to Shane Koppens who scored to tie the game at 10 with 4 seconds left. The Blue Jays open the tournament when they host Brown Saturday at noon. The winner of that game will play the winner of #1 Virginia and Villanova who held on to beat Towson in the CAA final 10-9. The Wildcats were up 8-3 at halftime and held on for the win. The UVA/Villanova game is Sunday at noon in Charlottesville. The winners play at Navy on May 17th. The other Navy quarterfinal will features the winners of #3 Duke and Navy who play Saturday night at Duke. The winner of that game plays #6 North Carolina and UMBC. UMBC beat Stony Brook 11-7 to win the America East automatic bid. That game is Saturday at 2:30 in Chapel Hill. The other two quarterfinals will take place at Hofstra on May 16th. #5 Cornell hosts Hofstra Saturday at 5. The winner plays the winner of #4 Princeton and UMASS who play Sunday at 5pm in New Jersey. The last quarterfinal will be the winners of these two games. #2 Syracuse hosts Siena in the biggest mismatch of the first round Sunday at 7:30. The winner gets the winner of #7 Notre Dame and Maryland. This means Will Yeatman gets to face his former Notre Dame teammates after he transferred to Maryland following some legal problems. This game is Sunday at noon. Before the season I had Maryland, Virginia, Hopkins and Syracuse in the final four with Virginia taking the title. I think I will be half right. I like Virginia, Cornell, Duke, and Syracuse to get to the final four. I like a Syracuse/Virginia final and Virginia to win it all.

 

In division three if Salisbury wants their 6th title in 7 years they are going to have to win on the road. The Sea Gulls open the tournament @ Haverford who won the Centennial Conference regular season but lost the conference tournament to Gettysburg. If they win they will probably have to head to Owings Mills again to play Stevenson. Stevenson plays the winner of Cabrini/Montclair State in the first round. The south bracket also features Gettysburg who won at Salisbury earlier in the season and Roanoke who has one loss. Whoever makes it out to play the north winner in the championship game will have earned it. I have no idea why but I am sticking with my preseason pick of Salisbury and Cortland State with Salisbury winning.

 

I will have a more in depth first round preview on Friday.

 

Bryan in Annapolis  

Lacrosse Preview- May 1

We start the preview for the last weekend of the regular season in Baltimore. There are three important games taking place there this weekend. We start at Johns Hopkins where the Blue Jays host Loyola. Johns Hopkins needs a win to keep their hopes for a top six NCAA seed alive and Loyola is on the bubble to make the tournament if they don’t win the ECAC automatic bid. In order for that to happen Rutgers needs to upset UMASS. Loyola was also hurt by Hofstra losing in the CAA tournament because there will be one less at large bid available. A win over Hopkins would make the committee think twice about leaving them out. This game starts at 1pm tomorrow and will be on Ch. 2 and ESPNU. UMBC hosts Stony Brook in the America East championship game at 7:30. The Retrievers needed double overtime to beat Binghamton 9-8 in the semifinals Wednesday night.  Ryan Smith had the game winner. The winner gets an automatic NCAA bid. UMBC is on the bubble if they lose and Stony Brook will be out with a loss. Towson beat Drexel 10-2 on Wednesday to advance to the CAA championship game. Villanova upset Hofstra in the other semifinal. So instead of traveling to Long Island the Tigers get to host the Wildcats tomorrow night also at 7:30. Both teams need the automatic bid to get into the NCAA tournament. Maryland is also in acion tomorrow. The Terps travel to Yale at 1:00.

In division three Washington College plays Gettysburg in the Centennial Conference semifinals. The game takes place at top seed Haverford who plays McDaniel in the other semifinal. The winners meet Sunday at 1:00 for the automatic bid.

Sunday is also selection Sunday for the NCAA tournaments. ESPNU will have the men’s division one bracket at 9pm. CBS College Sports will have the brackets for the men and women in each division at 10pm.

I will recap on Monday and breakdown the brackets.

Bryan in Annapolis