D1:
Delaware vs. Bucknell 1pm – Delaware (1-0), heads into its second game of the season against the Bucknell Bison. With Billy Eisenreich graduated, freshman Sean Doyle has been selected as his replacement (via Inside Lacrosse). Sean has big shoes to fill; luckily he will have Chase Bailey and Todd Heritage there to make the transition easier. Bison goalie Kyle Feeney is coming off a big year (169 saves, .558%). He needs to take what he did last year and progress by helping out the defense and letting them know what he sees. His main goal will be stopping Delaware senior attackman Eric Smith, who recorded 5 points (3G, 2A) against High Point. The Blue Hens and Bison have only met once in the 2000’s, which was last year. Fans saw UDel squeak out an 11-10 win. The Bison may have the upper hand right now, as they were able to see Delaware in action versus High Point a week ago. Bucknell Head Coach Frank Fedorjaka and his Bison are contriving to steal that win back from the Delaware Blue Hens.
Duke vs. Denver 12pm – Gone from Denver are Mark Matthews and Alex Demopoulous, who take with them 111 points. For Duke it is Rob Rotanz (47 points), Justin Turri (31 points), CJ Costabile (11 points, 144 GB, 21 C/T, 143 Faceoff wins), and Mike Manley (4 points, 52 GB, 27 C/T) who have all graduated. The Pioneers return attackman Eric Law (2012: 38 points), midfielders Cameron Flint (23 points) and Chase Carraro (20 points), and goaltender Ryan Laplante (114 saves, .535%). Returning for the Blue Devils are attackmen Jordan Wolf (64), Christian Walsh (48) and Josh Dionne (43). At the midfield for Duke will be Jake Tripuka (27 points) and David Lawson (20). Defensively, Brian Dailey, Chris Hipps, Josh Offit, Will Haus will all be in front of goaltender Dan Wigrizer (130 saves, .518%). Substituting Matthews and Demopolous will be difficult, but if anyone can do it, it’s Coach Tierney. Blue Devils Head Coach John Danowski has some big shoes to fill with Rotanz, Turri, Manley and especially Costabile all departed. Brendan Fowler is the only other Blue Devil with more than 100 attempts at the faceoff x and he will be the go to guy to replace CJ at that position. The Pioneers took home the only meeting between the two in 2012, 15-9. Overall, these two teams are tied 2-2 against each other, with Duke winning in 2003 and 2007 and Denver picking up the most recent wins in 2011 and 2012. Both of these teams made the NCAA tournament last season, Duke making it one round farther than Denver. Mutually, they will be aspiring to start out 2013 on the winning track.
Mercer vs. Rollins 1pm – In the season first inter-division battle, division one Mercer will take on division 2 Rollins. This is the first meeting between the Tars and Bears. Rollins has had a program since 2008, whereas Mercer came along only in 2010. The Bears have only gotten 2 wins in their two year existence (2-25 overall). Coach Andrew Baxter has steadied the Tars’ annual wins to three a year and given the organization an 11-48 overall record since 2008. Each team will be eager to get a win tonight and look to improve on their winning ways.
Michigan vs. Penn State 1pm – The ECAC, a.k.a. the “Big 10 Conference”, starts up with Michigan and Penn State. Last season, the Nittany Lions went 9-6, their first winning season since Drew Adams senior year back in 2009. John Paul’s Wolverines entered their first season at the Division 1 level after wreaking havoc in the MCLA. Unfortunately, after going 1-13, it wasn’t what they had hoped for, but things can only get better. Jack Forster and Shane Sturgis return at attack for the Lions, while filling the hole left by Mackrides will be Tambroni’s toughest test. Nick Dolik and Tom Lacrosse are the top scoring midfielders coming back from last season, with the possibility of freshman Tommy O’Neil joining them. Goalie Austin “Sparky” Kaut is the only ALL-American from Penn State’s 2012 season, and it was well deserved after he made 157 saves and posted a .575 save percentage. He will be a big factor in Penn State’s success in 2013. Offensively, Michigan brings back seven out of their top ten point scorers from last year, including attackman Thomas Paras (16G, 7A) and top midfielder Willie Steenland (10G, 12A). Defensively, the Wolverines will have goalies Emil Weiss (121 saves, .515%) and Dylan Westerhold (35 saves, .347%) fighting each other for the starting position. In 2012, the two teams met in their second games of the season, with PSU picking up the 16-9 win. Wolverines and Nittany Lions are fierce competitors in the BIG 10 Conference in other sports, but as of now, Penn State and Michigan will do battle in the ECAC. There is hope for a BIG 10 conference in men’s lacrosse; unfortunately, it’s just hope, for now.
Navy vs. VMI 12pm – 2013’s first “military” game will have the VMI Keydets face the Naval Academy. 2012 saw the Midshipmen sail off with a commanding 14-7 win. There are some issues at play for these two teams. The biggest question for Navy is who will be in cage filling in for RJ Wickham? For the Keydets, the question plaguing them is, who will replace Stephan Robarge at the faceoff X? Both teams have major positions to fill and come noon today, we will see which team made the right choice.
Ohio State vs. Detroit Mercy 1pm – Detroit Mercy and Ohio State have met every year since 2009, when the Titans became a part of division 1 men’s lacrosse. The Buckeyes have been dominant over the Titans, controlling the series 4-0, winning by as much as 20 goals and as little as one. Last season, Detroit fell to OSU 11-6. Returning for the Titans are their top three scorers in Joel Matthews (24G, 15A), Shayne Adams (33G, 4A) and Alex Maini (20G, 14A), along with top goaltender AJ Levell (152 saves, .541%). As for the Buckeyes, all of their top five point getters come back, bringing with them 78 goals and 61 assists. Matt Holtz will be coming out hard against Nick Myers and will try to spoil the Buckeyes’ perfect record against the Titans.
Quinnipiac vs. Dartmouth 1pm – Dartmouth and Quinnipiac will be renewing their rivalry this season. The Bobcats unfortunately are down 4-0 in the contention to the Big Green. Last time these two teams met was in 2005, where Dartmouth downed Quinnipiac 16-9. It’s been eight years since these two teams did battle, which means different teams all around. Bobcats head coach Eric Fekete will lead his team in their home opener, in hopes of getting their first win over the Big Green since the rivalry started in 2002.
Robert Morris vs. Bellarmine 1pm – 2005 was the first year when the Robert Morris Colonials and Bellarmine Knights met. In their last seven meetings out of the past eight years (did not meet in 2007), Bellarmine has a 4-3 series lead. However, the Colonials won the 2012 game 9-8. This year’s matchup has Kevin Burns and his Knights traveling to Robert Morris to take on Ken Davis’ Colonials.
Stony Brook vs. Fairfield 12pm – It had been a decade when Stony Brook and Fairfield last met. In 2001, the Seawolves won 14-12. 2002 saw the Stags victorious in a 10-9 routing of Stony Brook. 2012 was the reawakening of the bout. Stony Brook and Fairfield rumbled for four straight rounds. Head Coach of the Stags, Andrew Copelan, had his team put the finally points on the score card and come out victorious 13-10. Fairfield (14-4) was last year’s dark horse, making it all the way to the ECAC Final for the second straight year, unhappily losing to future NCAA Champion, Loyola. Rick Sowells Seawolves made it back to the NCAA tournament after losing in the America East Finals in 2011. These two teams are out to prove they’re no joke and fans at Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium will be in for a treat come game time.
D2:
Mars Hill vs. Lees-Mcrae 2pm – The Bobcats already have a game under their belt, dropping their season opener to Pfeiffer, 24-0. There’s little to say when you open up the season and don’t score a point, especially after a 1-10 record the previous year. Lees-Mcrae has a lot of work to do. Mars Hill posted an 11-2 record, losing to only Tampa and Limestone, and defeating the Bobcats 12-3 in an early season competition. Over the past 13 years, the Lions have decimated the Bobcats in all their meetings, but one in 2033, when L-M squeaked out a 7-6 victory. The Lions are scratching to get out on the field to face the Bobcats, add to their 11-1 succession over L-M, and put another W in the win column. Of course, for the Bobcats, there’s always that “one time”.
D3:
Calvin vs. Carthage 1pm – Entering their first season at the Division 3 level, Calvin is preparing to make a statement as the new kids in town. Carthage themselves have only been an NCAA program since 2009. Every year, the Red Men have gotten better, nabbing one more win and one less loss than the previous year. Joel Kamstra and his Knights are going to try and spoil David Neff’s Red Men season opener.
Huntingdon vs. Birmingham Southern 230pm – Going 5-9 in your first season in the NCAA as in independent is not that bad. Of course, losing a game last year 27-2, to your season opener opponent this year will put a bad taste in anyone’s mouth. Well, that’s exactly what happened to the Huntingdon Hawks in their inaugural 2012 season. Fortunately, the Hawks went out with a win over Oglethorpe 14-10, which puts the team in high spirits entering 2013. Birmingham Southern on the other hand has experience since they were initiated in 2009. Last season, the Panthers went 14-5, winning the SCAC championship for the first time, avenging their 2011 SCAC Championship game loss to Colorado College. BSC also entered the NCAA tournament for the first time, unluckily losing to Stevenson 13-2. Huntingdon, entering their first season in the MIAA, will look to redeem themselves after the huge loss to the Panthers in 2012 in front of their home crowd at W. James Samford Jr. Stadium.
Kenyon vs. Beloit 12pm – A matchup between new versus old, Kenyon hosts the new Beloit Buccaneers in their first season as a division 3 program. Out of the last 12 years (’00-’12) the Lord’s have only had 4 losing seasons. 2012 saw Kenyon go 8-5 and make the first round of the NCAA tournament, but lose to Dickinson 15-6. The last time the Lord’s made the NCAA’s was their NCAA play-in game against Wesleyan in 2008, where they lost to Wesleyan 12-8. Returning for Coach Doug Misarti are his top scorer Will Lowe (2012: 19G, 24A) and starting goaltender Fletcher Franklin (2012: 101 saves, .537%). Bob Dignazio is at the helm for the Buc’s and faces a strong Kenyon program that will put his Buccaneers to the test.
Millsaps vs. Piedmont 2pm – Millsaps is in their third year as a program, with Piedmont entering their second. The Piedmont Lions and Millsaps Majors met towards the beginning of 2012. There, the Lions demoted the Majors, 21-6. Head Coach Luke Beam must be having his team work overtime heading into their season opener, especially after being dismantled last year by a first year program. Piedmonts Head Coach Pete Manderano is preparing his team for domination. This matchup will be a battle until the final whistle.
