Not the craziest weekend we have seen this season, but there was plenty to write home about this past weekend in the lacrosse landscape. One being the fact that we are just 19 days to selection Sunday.
As teams are moving towards the end of the regular season, with just two weeks remaining it is becoming clearer who the contenders and pretenders are this season. The Top 5 are the Top 5 and each one of them has a case out to compete for a National Championship the last weekend in May. The teams ranked 6-11 this week look to play the role of a spoiler as each of those teams has enough talent to make a run in late May. The rest, well, the rest are going to fall into the category of long shots. All nine of them will battle for a conference championship and a shot to make the tournament in May. Only 16 teams will be selected to make the tournament this May, and I expect the ACC to get all five of their teams in, taking away at-large bids from the mid-major programs who had a solid year. The Big East, Big Ten and Patriot League could also be two-bid leagues with Denver, Georgetown, Maryland, Rutgers, Army and Lehigh, which would leave only five spots for the five remaining conference champions.
(You can discuss this on the BSL Board here.)
If the selection committee makes a decision to keep a Syracuse, Army or Lehigh out of the big dance this year (which I think is very unlikely) it might open a door for a mid-major runner up. Most of this will be decided in the next two weekends.
Top 20: April 19th
- Maryland (1)
- Notre Dame (2)
- Duke (3)
- North Carolina (5)
- Virginia (4)
- Lehigh (7)
- Rutgers (9)
- Georgetown (10)
- Army (11)
- Denver (6)
- Syracuse (8)
- Richmond (12)
- Drexel (16)
- Delaware (17)
- Ohio State (14)
- Albany (19)
- Stony Brook (NR)
- Villanova (NR)
- Navy (NR)
- Hofstra (13)
Receiving Votes: Vermont, Loyola, Towson, Boston, Penn State, Marist
WEEKEND RECAP
Robertson Wins it for Duke Once Again
In a massive game Thursday night, Joe Robertson once again delivered in the clutch as Duke took down Virginia in overtime from Charlottesville. In a very back and forth game between two of the best teams in the country, it was a crease dive/goal mouth call that allowed the game to even go into overtime.
It was clearly a crease violation, as Virginia’s Charlie Bertrand landed in the goal mouth, but it brought about the debate once again about the crease dive rule altogether. In the next couple of years, I expect to see a few changes regarding the rule as it is hard to officiate and hard for fans and new fans to really understand the rule.
Nevertheless, it allowed the game to go into overtime. Duke battled back to take the lead twice throughout the game against the pesky Virginia team, and at the end of the day had one more chance to make a play, as Robertson drove from X and iced it for the Blue Devils.
Despite a massive day for UVA’s Petey LaSalla (18-27 FO) and hattricks from Dox Aitken and Bertrand, it was Duke’s attack trio of Robertson, Brennan O’Neill and Michael Sowers who stole the show, combining for 8g, 5a on the night. Both goalies stopped 16 shots and were phenomenal.
UNC Sails Smoothly Past Cuse
It wasn’t such tough sledding for the Heels, who scored the most goals in the Carrier Dome in 30 years. Joe Breschi described the 21-9 win as the “first complete game we’ve played all year” and that it was. Essentially, North Carolina took advantage of a depleted Syracuse defense (they were playing without a starting defenseman and starting defensive midfielder) and went out to a 5-0 lead early in the first quarter and didn’t look back. For North Carolina, it is the perfect way to end a two-game losing streak. The Heels have #2 Notre Dame and #3 Duke remaining on the schedule and this is a perfect “get our heads back on straight” game to get ready for that.
For Syracuse, a season with so much excitement and so much hype surrounding the three headed monster of a midfield, #2 incoming freshman surrounded by experienced starters all over the field is in jeopardy of being a sub .500 season. The Orange has had their ups and downs. Opening loss to Army, followed by a slaughter of Virginia and three straight games, only to lose three of the next four. Still with #5 Virginia and #2 Notre Dame remaining on the schedule, the Orange need to make changes and do it fast to salvage something of their season and attempt to secure a spot in the NCAA tournament.
Maryland Wins the Big Ten Outright
The Terps are on one crazy run and sit at 9-0 and their best start in program history. They are #1 in the nation, Big Ten champions and boast the most unguardable player in the nation right now in Jared Bernhardt. No, he hasn’t strapped up against any ACC defenses yet this season, but the Big Ten also has capable top-tier defensemen on every team that Jared has to square up against. He is the frontrunner for the Tewaaraton with 39g and 18a so far this season and a major reason Maryland is 9-0.
He had 6g and 1a on Sunday against Ohio State. The Terps started off slow, just like they did against Michigan last week. But a second quarter run put the game away. Goalie Logan McNaney scored a goal from 60 yards. I say it every week, the Terps are a complete team and have utterly dominated the Big Ten this season. I cannot wait until they go head-to-head with the other nations’ bests.
Georgetown and Denver Need Extra Time
A month removed from a 13-7 Denver win, the second meeting of the top two teams in the Big East needed overtime and Georgetown has their marquee win of the season. The key for the Hoyas was faceoff man James Reilly who after going 48% in the last meeting won 16-24 faceoffs this past weekend holding TD Ierlan and Alex Stathakis both to a 4-12 line on the day. None was more important than the opening faceoff in OT, which allowed Georgetown to keep the ball the entire period and come away with the game winner. The Hoyas might have been a question mark heading into the tournament if they lost this game, but this should be able to earn them a spot in the NCAA tournament.
Around the Country
Penn State’s Mac O’Keefe set the career goals record with a goal against Michigan on Friday afternoon. Duke’s Justin Guterding previously set the record of 212 back in 2018, and O’Keefe currently sits at 217 career goals and it doesn’t just end with this. O’Keefe scored the overtime winner to take down the Wolverines on Friday.
Navy jumped out to a 6-0 lead against Loyola and hung on despite the Hounds fourth quarter rally. The Midshipmen are back in the rankings at #19 ahead of their showdown with Army this weekend.
Rutgers was back again with their run and gun up tempo style, this time on senior day against Hopkins. The #7 Scarlet Knights took this one 17-11 on the backs of three seniors (Charlambides, Kirst, Mullins) and their combined 12 goals and 6 assists. Rutgers continues to make a case as to why they are deserving of a tourney berth.
The CAA continues to be the conference that is simply up for grabs. It seems like everybody has beaten everybody. As it stands, Delaware sits at 5-1 with Drexel nipping at their heels at 4-2. Three teams are tied at 3-3 (Towson, Hofstra, Umass). If it weren’t for Delaware’s 14-13 comeback win over Hofstra this past weekend things would be a lot different.
Richmond is the team to beat in the SoCon, as they took down Jacksonville in the battle of the SoCon unbeatens. The Spiders took down the Dolphins behind stellar play both at the faceoff X and in net.
PROJECTED BRACKET (April 19th)
It is about that time where we begin to look at how the NCAA Tournament is going to shake out. This year’s field will include an automatic qualifier from the America East, Big Ten, Big East, CAA, MAAC, NEC, Patriot League, and SoCon. The ACC elected to forgo a conference tournament since the teams play more than once in the regular season, but those 5 should get at large bids with the exception of a potential question mark in Syracuse. The final three teams would be at-large bids and now sit in the Big Ten, Big East and Patriot League. See my projected bracket below:
1. Maryland (Big Ten)
16. Monmouth (MAAC)
8. Denver (Big East)
9. Syracuse (ACC)
5. Virginia (ACC)
12. Delaware (CAA)
4. North Carolina (ACC)
13. Army (Patriot)
6. Lehigh (Patriot)
11. Richmond (SoCon)
3. Notre Dame (ACC)
14. Albany (America East)
7. Rutgers (Big Ten)
10. Georgetown (Big East)
2. Duke (ACC)
15. St. Joes (NEC)
WEEKEND SLATE
This week/weekend features several games that will be able to answer more questions about where teams stand in May. See the featured games below:
Duke-Notre Dame – Thursday, 7pm
The last Thursday ACC game of the season, and boy will this be another good one. Notre Dame hasn’t played since April 10th, when they beat you guessed it, Duke. In a 13-8 win, Notre Dame essentially locked down the most explosive offense college lacrosse has seen in years. And now for their next act, they will look to do it again. Jack Kealty was able to shut down Sowers, which helped Notre Dame tremendously, while the Irish’s midfield did a lot of damage to the Duke defensive midfield with 7 goals and 3 assists. Look for Duke to try to incorporate more in their game plan to get Sowers involved and looking to feed shooters like Robinson, O’Neill and Montgomery. But if Notre Dame can have their attack initiate and get to the goal this could swing Notre Dame’s way or be a close one.
Army-Navy – Saturday, 12pm
This is always a game to look forward to. It’s Army-Navy. A couple weeks ago the tide leaned heavily towards Army, but after a win against Loyola last weekend, Navy is coming into this one with loads of confidence. Army is coming off a big win as well, beating Boston U by 6. Expect a close rivalry game unless Army starts off strong offensively as their defense can be strong.
Virginia-Syracuse – Saturday, 1pm
I highlighted Syracuse’s rough stretch above, but the next two games for the Orange are crucial to their potential in May. They have two awesome opportunities to show the lacrosse world that they belong on the big stage. They seem like a very different team than the one who beat Virginia by 10 in late February, especially with Chase Scanlan being suspended indefinitely from a “weekend incident” earlier this week. Rehfuss, Hiltz and the midfield need to step up in the next two games, along with the defense which has been easily exploitable the past couple weeks. They have a tough task in Virginia, who just went toe to toe with Duke and has an explosive offense. I am leaning with the Hoos in this one, but crazier “upsets” have happened this season.
Hopkins-Maryland – Saturday, 2pm
The last regular season weekend in the Big Ten and we have The Rivalry 2.0 of 2021. The Terps and Jays will meet at Homewood field for the chance to win the crab trophy once again? Not sure about that one but Maryland has the chance to complete a perfect regular season against their rivals at Homewood. The stakes are different for Hopkins, a chance to end the regular season with a win after five straight losses and a 2-7 record. Milliman’s first season hasn’t shaped out as it was supposed to be, but a win could partially erase the sour taste in the mouth of Hopkins faithful nationwide. I expect it to be smooth sailing for the Terps, who have dominated the Big Ten this year and boast one of the most complete rosters in the nation.
North Carolina-Notre Dame – Sunday, 2pm
Rounding out the east coast trip, Notre Dame travels down Tobacco Road to visit North Carolina on Sunday afternoon. Talk about a trip: Duke and UNC in four days. Both games should be good ones, especially in the ACC this year when every game is highly anticipated and closely contested. Notre Dame will see two similar teams in four days: ones with potent offenses and stifling defenses. I think the Irish will match up well with UNC, but plenty remains to be unseen, especially playing on such short rest after a matchup with Duke.
Other Notable Games
Stony Brook plays UMBC in a battle of two top America East teams. This would be a huge win for UMBC heading into the AE tournament. UMBC took the first game in OT by a score of 13-12.
Penn State and Ohio State play with major Big Ten Tournament seeding implications. The winner takes the three seed and loser will sit at four. They will play a combination of Hopkins/Michigan in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament, with the winner hoping to not see Maryland until the final.
Drexel and Hofstra faceoff in a game with major implications for both teams. With three CAA teams sitting at 3-3, one will miss the cut on the CAA tournament. If Hofstra should take down Drexel, they have Fairfield next, a winnable game that will likely get them in.
Towson takes on the top team in the CAA in Delaware. This is another game with major CAA implications, as Towson currently sits at 3-3. Their road is tougher, with Delaware and Drexel left to go. Plenty of options await the CAA tournament.
Many things will be answered this weekend while plenty of other questions will still be at stake the first weekend in May when the season begins to wrap up.
Lacrosse Analyst
Sam Kuhn currently is the graduate assistant for the men’s lacrosse program at Heidelberg University in Tiffin, Ohio and is working to complete his Masters of Business Administration in 2020. Sam graduated from the College of Wooster in 2018, where he received his Bachelors Degree in English and played lacrosse as well. In his four years, Sam was a two time All-NCAC selection, a first team All-Region selection in 2018, and surpassed 100 goals for his career, one of seven members in program history to do so. Sam has interned with Inside Lacrosse, and wrote for the sports section of The Wooster Voice.