Hi ILWT Readers,
I hope that everyone is excited for Memorial Day Weekend which is easily the best weekend of college lacrosse. All 8 teams (D1 through D3), have worked tremendously hard since the fall, giving them a chance to earn collegiate lacrosse glory. I wanted to give a quick shout out to Tufts, who is squaring off against Salisbury in the D3 title game. I played against Tufts all four years in college and Coach Daly was created a powerful program from the North. A victory on Sunday would solidify the team’s legacy over the past four to five years. Two of Tufts players, Jake Gillespie and Tucker Mathers, grew up in my hometown, which certainly adds to any biases I have toward this game.
But back to the MLL…
Week 4 proved what the Cannons can accomplish when we play a complete game. Defensively, we performed well against a young and talented Charlotte Hounds offense by minimizing their scoring opportunities. On the offensive side of the ball, we won many of our 1 v. 1 matchups, which created great looks on cage all throughout the night. At the face off X, Chris Eck and the rest of the unit performed exceptionally well, finishing nearly 80% on the evening. Each of these face off wins were vital components of our strategy to control the game’s tempo. Another notable performance to mention was the play of Owen Blye, who scored his first two MLL goals against his former team. His second goal was a beautiful high-to-low bounce shot from twelve yards out.
It’s hard to believe that the season is already a quarter over. When the Cannons return to action, we will be battling a tough New York Lizards team at Hofstra. The Lizards’ roster may be the most talented in the league, top to bottom, and they have recently been playing with a chip on their shoulder. With the league-wide bye week, it’s still critical that individuals continue to work diligently on their stick skills and conditioning. In the MLL, there is no such thing as a week off, and I know that the entire team will continue to be focused and dialed in.
“Nobody’s a natural. You work hard to get good and then work to get better. It’s hard to stay on top.” – Paul Coffey
Crush the week.
