The first weekend of NCAA Men’s lacrosse is in the books, providing both thrillers and blow outs. We saw a lot of firsts with High Point getting their first win in program history and Bryant taking Colgate into overtime. It was an exciting weekend of lacrosse at every division.
In division 1 contests, High Point University, the new kid on the block, went 1-2 overall. First losing to Delaware 12-10 and then Air Force (1-1) 14-4, but defeated Towson (0-1) 9-7. Downing the Tigers, a club that’s been around since 1959, was a big statement for the Panthers, showing the D1 lacrosse world that they are here to compete.
2013 had its first overtime thriller between Colgate and Bryant. The Bulldogs seemed to score in spurts and led the Raiders early on. Peter Baum was held to only four points (2G, 2A) and was guarded very heavily by the Bryant defense. However, they didn’t take in account that Matt Clarkson would show up to play. Clarkson scored 5 goals, beating the Bulldog’s goalie, Gunnar Waldt (13 saves, .481%), twice over the right shoulder. Brian Schlansker tied the game up at 13 with eight seconds left in the fourth to force overtime. Bryant gained possession in the beginning of OT, fortunately for Colgate, net minder Conor Murphy (11 saves, .458%) came up big with a one on one save on the crease. The Raiders got the ball to Baum behind the net and he fed Jimmy Ryan (4G, 1A) for the game winner. Mason Poli recorded two goals and one assist, continuing his dominance at the long pole middie position.
Bucknell (1-0) revenged their 2012 loss to the Blue Hens, beating Delaware (1-1) 9-8. Speaking of revenge, Bellarmine took home the win against Robert Morris 9-8, after the Colonials took out the Knights 9-8 last season.
After their 16-9 rout of the Wolverines in 2012, the Penn State Nittany Lions keep their record clean in the loss column against Michigan, now at 2-0, with an 11-6 win.
Starting the season 0-1 with a 14-12 loss at Denver (1-0), which the Blue Devils are now 0-3 against since 2011, Duke (1-1) came back charging. They kept the Dolphins from Jacksonville (0-1) at bay with a 21-9 win at home.
The “Battle of the Pennsylvania Hawks” was not a real battle. Lehigh (1-0) came, they saw, they conquered, allowing only one goal on 10 shots. Mountainhawk goaltender Matt Poillon was relieved after making 8 saves on 9 shots and posting a .889 save percentage. David DiMaria put up seven points with 6 goals and 1 assist, while fellow attackman Dante Fantoni recorded five for himself (2G, 3A). Ryan Mcgee was the long goal scorer for the Saint Joseph’s Hawks (0-1).
UMass disarmed the Army Black Knights with a dominating 16-9 win. The Minutemen’s season was ended last year with their only loss of the season to Colgate. Looks like things haven’t changed much for the Minutemen since 2012.
Military games kicked off this weekend as Navy Midshipmen took on the VMI Keydets. Navy started 2013 off strong, downing the Keydets 20-7. Austin Heneveld led the way for the Midshipmen, picking up two goals and four assists. As for their net minder, replacing RJ Wickham has gotten harder as the Senior, Nolan Hickey, and freshman, John Connors, both made five saves on the day. Connors ended with a .714 save percentage while Hickey posted .556%. VMI saw contribution from seven different players, including senior Russell East and sophomore Mike Deblasio, who scored 2 goals each. Biggest question from this game is who will be the permanent goaltender for the Midshipmen?
Johns Hopkins came flying out of the gate. Siena held their own for as long as they could, unfortunately, they couldn’t stop the surging Jays, dropping the competition 15-6. The Saints have faith this season, as their goaltender, Matt Sharp, stood on his head multiple times to keep Siena in the game, tallying 20 saves on 35 shots and a .571 save percentage. Conor Prunty showed his colors Friday night, scoring 4 goals to lead the Saints on offense. Hopkins saw John Ranagan pick up 4 points (3G, 1A) and Brandon Benn scored three goals. Pierce Bassett recorded 12 saves on 18 shots (.667%) and was eventually replaced by Eric Schneider, who documented two saves on two shots. Zach Palmer was in the shadows this game, only tallying two assists. When Hopkins goes up against higher caliber teams (i.e. Maryland, Duke, Syracuse) Palmer cannot be hiding. The Saints put up a good fight, but their lack of discipline with taking care of the ball during transition hurt them badly. Transition is a killer for some teams, with the new rules in place, possessions become more valuable.
Marcus Holman took charge for the Tar Heels, leading them with eight points (2G, 6A). Jimmy Bitter picked up five goals and one assist while fellow attackman Joey Sankey recorded four points (3G, 1A). Kieran Burke started in net for North Carolina and made 11 saves. Tommy Mckee scored three goals for the Falcons in their 16-8 loss Friday night.
Other Division 1 Scores:
Sunday:
Rutgers 15 – Manhattan 6
Saturday:
Mercer 13 – Rollins 3
Ohio State 14 – Detroit Mercy 8
