The NCAA Lacrosse season is winding down as teams start their respective conference tournaments and try to play themselves off of the dreaded NCAA Tournament bubble. This week, the MLL Draftees report gets a little defensive as some defensive players garner some major recognition with some impressive performances.
Who was added to the list this week along with the usual candidates of Miles Thompson and Jordan Wolf? Check it out.
Josh Dionne, A, Duke—Dionne continues his hot shooting streak as he added four goals in a 17-9 blowout of Rutgers this past weekend. Dionne now has nine goals in his last three games and 34 on the season. He is a good complement to the more diverse Jordan Wolf.
Jackson Place, D, Bucknell—The Ohio Machine draftee is second in the nation in caused turnovers with 35 and has 39 ground balls on the season. While Bucknell did not play well last week against Loyola, it is time Place gets some respect around the lacrosse world. He has the ability to shut down the opposition’s best offensive player and should bolster the Machine’s defense later this year.
Pat Laconi, SSDM, Loyola—Ranks seventh in the nation in caused turnovers with 27 as a short stick defensive midfielder! Had five of them against Bucknell last week and even scored a goal as well. Charlotte is going to have a helluva defensive midfield this summer. Last note on Laconi, he has 11 points this season and is a threat in between the lines.
Miles Thompson, A, Albany—Keeping steady on his daily spot here for the MLL Draftees, Thompson put up a ho-hum six goals and four assists in a 18-14 victory over UMBC this past weekend. Thompson still ranks second in the nation behind teammate Lyle with 77 points.
Kieran McArdle, A, St. Johns—I feel bad for McArdle, simply because he deserves to be playing in the NCAA Tournament. He has done everything for this team on offense this season and has 74 points on the season. This weekend, he showed his importance to the team as he had three goals and four assists as well as the game winning goal in overtime to keep the Red Storm alive for a Big East Tournament berth.
John LoCascio, LSM, Villanova— LoCascio continues to prove his worth to the Wildcats. He added another assist, three ground balls and two caused turnovers in this weekend’s loss to the Red Storm. What is more amazing is that he is on the team’s man-up unit! Yes you read that correctly, a long pole is on the man-up unit! LoCascio has 16 points on the season to go along with 28 caused turnovers. He is the epitome of versatile.
Tom Schreiber, M, Princeton—The world may be ending folks, Tom Schreiber went scoreless! After looking unstoppable to every team, Harvard somehow solved the Schreiber problem in their 9-8 victory over the Tigers. With the loss, Schreiber and the Tigers have essentially no shot at going to the Big Dance which is a real shame because Schreiber is so much fun to watch.
Mike Chanenchuk, M, Maryland—Chanenchuk comes up huge for the Terps this past weekend as they locked up the No. 1 overall seed in the ACC tournament. He scored three goals and added an assist in the Terps’ victory over the Fighting Irish. He leads the team with 44 points and shoulders the responsibility of making others better on the Terps offense.
Jordan Wolf, A, Duke—Wolf continues to get hot at the right time. In the team’s blowout victory over Rutgers, Wolf put up six points and two assists and now has 67 points on the season. He also has 18 points in his last three games for the Blue Devils. He is making a serious run at the Tewaaraton Trophy.
Mark Cockerton, A, Virginia—Cockerton continues to be the most important piece for this Cavalier offense. In a closer-than-you-would-expect 12-8 win over Bellarmine, Cockerton scored four goals to keep Virginia’s slim tournament hopes alive. He has 53 points on the season and 10 in his last three games. Cockerton knows how to find his way to the net and hopefully you will get to see him come tournament time.
