Remember last week’s preview when I said this:
“And with a mainly mild winter (except for last weekend with a huge snowstorm throughout the east coast), we may not see many games getting postponed due to snow!”
Well, I was sort of right, for now. Sort of, because the east coast is gonna get bone-crushing cold this weekend that is altering the college lacrosse schedule throughout all divisions. Some games have been moved forward, while others have been pushed back, most notable UMBC’s home game against Johns Hopkins which is now scheduled for March 30. At least it isn’t snow for the time being!
Last weekend, the season officially started with some exciting games. #18 Navy overcame an early deficit and defeated Air Force 10-6, while #12 Ohio State edged Furman on a last second goal in regulation 8-7, and Jacksonville edged Vermont 17-16. Tuesday saw the first big game of the season, as #6 Johns Hopkins beat the Midshipmen in double overtime 12-11, with a ton of people watching the game online.
This weekend, we have two ranked matchups, both of which are on Saturday. But there are some other games to take a look at as well:
FRIDAY
UMass @ Army West Point – 12:30 PM
UMass won’t have Nick Mariano (Syracuse) and Zach Oliveri (Stony Brook) anymore, as those two transferred to different schools. Two big blows for the Minutemen, who didn’t have a good 2015, especially with a very poor start. Brendan Hegarty is the team’s leading returner on offense, while the goalie question surrounds junior D.J. Smith, who played in four games last season, sophomore Dan Dolan, or freshman Sean Sconone. Kyle Karazka led the team in caused turnovers last season and returns for his senior year. Army also loses two big contributors from last season in John Glesener and Sam Somers. Connor Cook and Cole Johnson return on offense, while freshman AJ Baretto might get the early nod as the starting goalie. And with this game being played outside at West Point, really bundle up if you want to go to this game. But luckily, the game will be streamed online.
High Point @ #3 Duke – 7 PM
Last year, these teams met at High Point, and the Panthers almost gave the Blue Devils a shocking early season loss. Back then, Duke lost a ton of personnel from the season prior, but gained a lot of momentum and chemistry entering the NCAA Tournament. Now, this Duke team looks prime to make another title run, with guys such as Myles Jones, Deemer Class, Case Matheis, and Justin Guterding returning, along with a ton of other talent that would take a long time to list. Kyle Rowe might be one of the five best FOGOs in the nation, while Danny Fowler is starting to take steps to becoming an elite goaltender. But High Point has been a dangerous small-conference team for the past few seasons, and have progressively gotten better every season. High scorers such as Dan Lomas, Matt Thistle, Michael LeClair, and Cole Carns are back for another season, and also get transfers Keegan O’Connor (Maryland), Jimmy Wyrick (Syracuse), and freshman FOGO Alex Woodall (St. Mary’s Annapolis) to bolster their squad. One question for the Panthers is who will replace Austin Geisler in net? This game will be streamed on ESPN3.
SATURDAY
Roberts Wesleyan @ Hampton – 12:30 PM
The first ever HBCU team to field a lacrosse team since Morgan State will play their first ever Division I game on Saturday against Division II Roberts Wesleyan. The tone of the game will be a little different than every other game this weekend, as it’s more of a celebration of expanding the game, not geographically, but making it more diverse. Sure there’s Myles Jones and Trevor Baptiste that are dominating, but lacrosse has been known to be stereotyped as an upper-class and caucasian sport. But for many years, it has made strides to breaking those stereotypes, expanding to places such as Harlem, and now having an all-African American team in Division I. Props to Hampton Director of Athletics Eugene Marshall for making this happen. Although the game won’t be streamed, ESPN will have Sportscenter on location in the morning.
#18 Navy @ #4 Maryland – 1 PM
If there was a co-game of the week, it’d be this one. This will be Navy’s third game in a week, and they played great against fellow top ten and inner-state rival Johns Hopkins on Tuesday. Jack Ray had a hat-trick against the Blue Jays, while freshman Greyson Torain has five goals this season, including three last weekend against Air Force. But the Terps enter 2016 as the #4 team in the land after falling to Denver in the National Championship game in Philadelphia last Memorial Day. They won’t have LSM Matt Neufeldt for the season due to an ACL injury, but will return senior Kyle Bernlohr in net. Matt Rambo has emerged as a star amongst the offense to go with Colin Heacock, Dylan Maltz, and Henry West. The team also gets UMBC transfer Pat Young as well on the midfield. One question is who will replace Charlie Raffa for faceoffs? Jon Garino Jr. saw a lot of time last year when Raffa was out.
#11 Loyola @ #7 Virginia – 1 PM (GAME OF THE WEEK)
This should be yet another great opening game for these two teams. Both had down years in 2015, with Virginia losing important players throughout the year and Loyola finishing under .500. The Greyhounds do return Zach Herreweyers, Tyler Albrecht, Graham Savio, and Romar Dennis and also get Nick Mazza in from JUCO’s CCBC-Essex after spending a year at Penn State. Grant Limone returns as a sophomore in goal, but could we maybe see freshman Jacob Stover in the season? And Virginia looks to make some noise this season, especially building up their recruiting classes. But returning to Charlottesville include James Pannell, Greg Coholan, Ryan Lukovic, Tanner Scales, and Zed Williams, along with goalie Matt Barrett. The majority of last year’s team returns, and they have some chemistry and health that they didn’t have last season. Add freshmen Phil Poquie and Ryan Conrad, and Virginia could be a darkhorse in the ACC.
#1 Denver @ Air Force – 3 PM
The defending champion Pioneers are on the road to open up their season to take on Air Force. Many of last year’s guys return to Bill Tierney’s squad, including Zach Miller, Trevor Baptiste, Jack Bobzien, Connor Cannizzaro, and Christian Burgdorf. Freshman Nate Marano has been getting some buzz lately, and could help fill a void that was left from the departure of Wesley Berg. A big question comes in net, with the departure of Ryan LaPlante. He started every game last year, and there’s a lot of inexperience that’s left. Senior Joey Gigantiello might be the candidate to start on Saturday, but there’s also juniors Ryan Purcell and Hunter Krout, along with freshmen Alex Ready and David Winsor.
OTHER GAMES:
FRIDAY
St. John’s @ Rutgers – 3 PM
SATURDAY
Detroit @ #12 Ohio State – Noon
Richmond @ Fairfield – Noon
Siena @ #5 Syracuse – 1 PM
Furman @ #8 North Carolina – 1 PM
Hobart @ Penn State – 3 PM
Pace @ #6 NYIT – Noon (Division II)
Lenoir-Rhyme @ #1 Limestone – 3 PM (Division II)
Albion @ #17 Denison – 12:30 PM (Division III)
SUNDAY
Bucknell @ Bryant – Noon
Lehigh @ #3 Duke – 1 PM
Colgate @ Michigan – 1 PM
