A few weeks into the 2018 Men’s Division 1 College Lacrosse season, we have seen quite a few upsets and shake-ups in the National Top 10.
There is a new number 1 and Villanova and North Carolina have made impressive, undefeated runs into the Rankings:
1) Albany (3-0)
2) Maryland (5-0)
3) Duke (5-1)
4) Denver (3-1)
5) Villanova (5-0)
6) Syracuse (3-1)
7) Loyola (4-1)
8) Virginia (4-1)
9) North Carolina (6-0)
10) Yale (3-1)
(You can discuss this on the BSL Board here.)
The only big “upset” the college lacrosse world saw this weekend was in Sunday’s tilt between Virginia and Syracuse. The Cavs came in ranked #4, and without the loss of two-way stud midfielder Ryan Conrad (Loyola Blakefield) to a knee injury in the second quarter, the game might have been very different. Conrad is one of the best in the country at getting groundballs off the face-off wing, as well as playing the transition game from defense to offense. He had an early goal in transition, but Syracuse extended their lead in the second half. Virginia scored six times in the fourth quarter, and had the game tied at 11 until Syracuse’s Tucker Dordevic scored his fourth goal of the game with 13 seconds left to catapult the Orange to victory. It wasn’t a major upset, as Syracuse was ranked #12, but is still a quality win for the Orange in ACC play.
Other results from the past weekend include #18 Hopkins’ stomping over #20 Princeton 16-9 from Homewood Field. For the Jays, Hunter Moreland (Boys’ Latin) went 20-25 on face-offs, which gave the Hopkins offense lots of time to show off their fireworks. Sophomore Cole Williams (Loyola Blakefield) had four goals, Brinton Valis (McDonogh) had three, and Shack Stanwick (Boys’ Latin) had a goal and an assist. Sophomore sensation Michael Sowers had three goals and three assists for Princeton in the loss. The Blue Jays travel to the Carrier Dome next weekend for a big game against Syracuse.
#9 Loyola opened its Patriot League schedule, dismantling Holy Cross 13-5. Pat Spencer (Boys’ Latin) and Kevin Lindley both had nine points on Sunday afternoon, and the Greyhounds welcome Duke to Baltimore on Saturday.
#2 Maryland took on #8 Notre Dame, winning 12-10 behind a career day from senior captain Connor Kelly. Kelly had three goals and seven assists to match Notre Dame’s points total on the day. In what might be the biggest game of the season thus far, Albany travels south to College Park to take on Maryland this Saturday in the year’s first #1 vs #2 matchup. Face-off is scheduled for 12PM at Byrd Stadium.
Get ready for one of the best weekends of college lacrosse so far this season, with several Top 20, big name matchups. In-state teams Hopkins, Loyola and Maryland are all hosting huge games this Saturday.
Predictions:
#1 Albany @ #2 Maryland: Albany
#3 Duke @ #7 Loyola: Loyola
#6 Syracuse @ #17 Hopkins: Syracuse
#4 Denver @ #11 Notre Dame: Denver
Towson @ #14 Ohio State: Ohio State
#5 Villanova @ #19 Penn: Villanova
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.