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Monday Lacrosse Video Explosion – Loyola Vs Hopkins & More!

I didn’t catch a single college game live this weekend because I was in Prague playing box lacrosse.  But that doesn’t mean I won’t try my best to catch up on all the great college lacrosse action from the past weekend.  So without further delay let’s get into the college lacrosse video explosion.  If your team puts up highlights on Youtube or Vimeo, I’ll talk about you.  If you don’t, well there’s nothing I can do about that!

Who wants to watch HOPKINS Vs. LOYOLA in 15 minutes?

I’m yelling because I’m excited.  I didn’t get to see this thriller of a game… and now I basically can.  This is pure awesomeness, and I’m pretty sure either of these teams could be in the Final Four, or even with the whole thing.  It’s Baltimore area lacrosse at its best.

A little lower down the D1 ranks, an America East Conference playoff game was played between Hartford and Vermont.  Hartford has been really solid now for 2 to three years, but Vermont hanging tight (with a 2-12 record) is a total shocker.  Great to see the Catamounts making big strides here!  I’d love to see UVM with an NCAA tournament quality lacrosse program… it looks like they’re closer!  Tip of the hat to Hartford, as people continue to doubt the Hawks.  They got it done anyway and won.  Impressive stuff!

Merrimack took to the road and beat Assumption 20-5 to clinch a #2 seed in the NE-10.  ‘Mack is 12-2 now and looking to make a run into the playoffs.  I just love watching Merrimack play, and the highlights they put together are consistently stellar.  The big question with Merrimack is when will they make the final jump to truly elite status?  It just seems so imminent as they improve almost every year.

Of course NCAA D2 lacrosse is as competitive as ever, so maybe the when is never.  But I’d love to see them do it.  New blood winning championships is always good for a growing sport.

Who wants more improving programs?  I do.  Kean and Montclair State fought it out for the Skyline Conference Championship, and an AQ to the D3 NCAAs and Montclair State ends up taking home the win, and the trip to the tourney. There is really good high school lacrosse in New Jersey, and both Kean and MSU can benefit greatly by continuing to tap in there.  These are schools with potential on the lax field.

Aurora University (IL) and Albion College did a little dance and I have to say, I like Aurora’s shake!  Their little face off guy (#28) has some moves, and they played this game strong fundamentals.  Some nice dodges and good passing.  Overall, a pretty good looking effort.  Aurora now sits at 12-3 and won the game over Albion 13-9.  It’s great to see growth at the NCAA D3 level in Illinois, and Aurora looks like they could really start to compete in only a couple of years.

https://youtu.be/aZ8NXgRkm_g

Want an MCLA game winner?  So do I!  I don’t know how I missed this the first time, but devbala kept me honest!  Thanks and apologies my man!  Stanford – Cal is BIG!

The Red Hot Buffs head to California, and Club Ball video #4 drops.  What more can I say?  Love the Buffs.

Utah State got their first win over UVU since 2004 to close out their season, and these highlights give a good take on the game.

https://youtu.be/RnDGFX-ATcw

I’m going to be honest here… that was some of the most unorthodox lacrosse I’ve seen in a while.  Some bizarre sets, dodges I didn’t think would work and some interesting passes.  Either way it looks like a fun up and down game.  It’s creative!

Some people are calling this the goal of the year… but I can’t say I agree.  Listen, it’s a GREAT goal, super pretty and I’d love to pull it off myself someday, but this is NOT the goal of the year.  Check it out for yourself… and then I’ll tell you why it’s not  THE goal of the year.

https://vimeo.com/41208098

– The player was wide open.  He only had to shoot that way because of the bad pass.

– He wasn’t under pressure.  He was about six feet away from the nearest defender.  MY goal of the year is almost always under pressure.

– The game was a blow out.  Score this goal in a 9-8 OT game and it could actually enter the conversation, despite what I said below… but it didn’t.  This one was scored in the 4th quarter of a blow out.

Basically, I’m just jealous because I couldn’t score a goal like that myself.  So what do YOU think?  Is that the college lacrosse goal of the year or what?