A portion of this weekend’s schedule says it all. Seven great games over the course of the day make this weekend special. One would think that this is a late season schedule in April, but it’s March 1 and there are going to be changes to the polls. This is a lacrosse fan’s dream weekend with so many intriguing matchups.
#1 Duke @ #2 Maryland—Two Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) teams battling for early supremacy in league play. The matchup to watch is going to be the Terps’ Charlie Raffa vs. Blue Devils’ Brendan Fowler at the faceoff. This battle for possessions is going to factor for both teams. I’m also excited to see Maryland’s young offense versus Duke’s experienced defense. I like Maryland in this matchup at home.
#3 North Carolina vs #11 Notre Dame—Again another matchup in the ACC. My matchup to watch is Notre Dame’s Beast Defenseman Stephen O’Hara vs. the Tarheels’ quickness of Joe Sankey. In a close one I like the Heels. Why, because I liked them in January. https://inlacrossewetrust.com/2014-conference-champions-predictions
#4 Virginia vs #6 Syracuse—This game is another matchup in the ACC with the Orange limping in to the game after a 16-8 loss vs. Maryland at the Dome last weekend. You can throw out faceoff stats in this game; the last team with the ball in this one will win. I like the Cavaliers over the Orange based on Mark Cockerton’s hot scoring for Virginia.
#5 Denver @ #20 Penn—I really like what Mike Murphy and UPENN are doing with this up-and-coming squad, don’t be surprised if goalie Brian Feeney from UPENN can pull together a strong game to upset the Pioneers.
#7 Johns Hopkins @ #9 Princeton—Hopkins has looked really good in its opening games, while Princeton pulled together a great final 20 minutes to pull past Hofstra last weekend. I really like Hopkins starting attack led by Wells Stanwick. In my opinion, Hopkins moves up into the Top 5 with a win.
#8 Loyola @ #14 Lehigh—Early season Patriot league matchup at this game is going to be a goalie battle between Loyola’s Jack Runkel and Lehigh’s Matt Poillion. Loyola is on a great run to open the season and it will continue with a road victory over the Mountainhawks.
#10 Penn State @ #19 Ohio State—Huge matchup for Big Ten supremacy, oh snap it’s only 2014. I like PennState in this game.
Three observations of the season that I have noticed over the 1st month of play.
- Faceoff cheating is rampant.
- The officials are letting the kids play.
- Parity is among us.
Enjoy the games this weekend and follow me on twitter: @bchambeaux15
