For starters.  THE CHAIR of the rules committee is Brian Voelker the head coach at Drexel.  He was also one of the hardest hitting defensemen to ever play that game when at Hopkins, on the US Team and in the MLL.  If he’s on board with these changes I think it sends a message.  

2nd.  The first page of the book that talks about the rules is the points of emphasis and there are only 2 this year.  Head and neck issues are front and center. 

“Sportsmanship: The committee is increasingly concerned that in some areas, inappropriate conduct is occurring in and around NCAA lacrosse contests. The committee asks administrators, coaches, student-athletes and game officials to take
measures if needed to address these issues.

Protection of Head and Neck: Student-athlete safety plays a part in virtually every rules committee decision. In recent years, the committee has attempted to address head and neck contact in a variety of ways. In this rules cycle, the committee asks
game officials to stringently penalize head and neck contact. A new rule has
been added to address this issue specifically”

3rd.  Under personal fouls and illegal body checks:
“c.  Initiating contact with an opponent above the shoulders of the opponent. To
be legal, a body check must be below the neck, and both hands of the player
applying the body check must remain in contact with his crosse.

e. The blocking of an opponent with the head or initiating contact with the head,
known as “spearing.” A minimum of a one-minute nonreleasable penalty
shall be assessed for spearing. A three-minute nonreleasable penalty shall be
assessed if the spearing was violent.”

4th Under Technical Fouls there is a specific rule on head/neck.

“Targeting the Head/NeckSECTION 14. A player shall not deliberately initiate contact to an opponent’shead or neck with a cross-check, or any part of his body (head, elbow, shoulder,etc.) or stick. Any follow-through that contacts the head or neck shall also beconsidered a violation of this rule.PENALTY—One, two or three minute nonreleasable foul, at the referee’sdiscretion. Excessive violation of this rule may result in an ejection from the game.”

The issues on this play and the rules are being skewed.  It does not matter if the Hop players drove on 3 poles, had his head down, dropped the ball, lost his stick, didn’t have his helmet on tight, had the helmet pop off of ANYTHING else that has been mentioned here.  The UVA player led with his helmet and the first and main point of contact was the Hopkins players head.  

That is the point of emphasis, that is why there are links on health and safety under Player, Coach and Official on US Lacrosse’s website.  That is why there are a dozen videos and articles on head injuries here: http://www.uslacrosse.org/UtilityNav/AboutTheSport/HealthSafety.aspx 

I’m a lifelong defenseman that take pride in a physical game and believes that the UVA player did need to slide and put the Hop player on his butt.  The issue is that the head was involved.  We need players to play physical between the whistles and we need to make sure everyone leaves the field without debilitating head injuries.  

Other than that I see nothing but great lacrosse being played here. I see a solid slide from UVA’s shorty that recognized his fellow middie was in trouble and slid body to body to defend his goal. Yes he should have gotten his head down more as to avoid the head to head but if you look at it in review he raises his head up at the point of contact as he sees the ground ball but is already committed to the hit. These are all good things from a teamwork perspective and I work so hard trying to instill timing and communication with my high school kids I coach. We all know you play defense as a team. UVA demonstrates that very well here. If the hit would have been 6 inches lower it would have been a UVA fast break and most likely a goal…

In Hopkins’ defense I’d like to say that their player got right up off his feet, put his bucket right back on, and stayed on the field for the EMO and buried his shot in UVA’s goal. That’s how you get them back for penalties. Make them pay on the score board. I know that same player had at least one more goal that afternoon post hit and played hard for the rest of the game. Straight class and heart.

That’s lacrosse Gent’s. Play hard, keep a cool mind, if you find yourself on the ground get up, and for your Mother’s sake wear your helmet properly!!!

Cheers,
Gordo

-The Hopkins player had lost the ball when he was hit but was still within 5 yards of it. >> -  Not Illegal

-The UVA player seems to leave his feet, and hits the JHU player with an upward motion >>. -  Not illegal

-The UVA player also approaches the hit ready to crosscheck the Hopkins player. >> – Not illegal

1 min Penalty with it locked in because it was head to head.  I think they made the right call.  If he did all the same stuff except he put his shoulder into the guy’s sternum it would have been a clean hit.  From the looks of it, the helmet might have still come off.

As an aside, I don’t think many coaches would get upset about a penalty like that. Sets a tone defensively for sure. Sometimes picking up a penalty is a necessary evil.