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College Lacrosse Weekend Recap!

What a weekend of college lacrosse!  we saw some great games, and even had a couple of HUGE upsets!  It’s early, but the action is hot and heavy already.  Loving it.  Don’t miss the Johns Hopkins vs. Delaware game TONIGHT either!!!!!!  The game is on ESPNU at 5pm on TUESDAY night (tonight).  If you’ll be at school or work, get someone to DVR it!  If you’re home, DVR it and go play wall ball with the remaining hours of light!  Then watch it later.  But make sure you watch it!

The reason I’m all up in arms about you watching the Hop – Del game tonight is that the Hop – Towson game on Friday night was killer.  Towson came to play but turnovers really cost them.  Can Delaware regroup quickly and capitalize on what they’ve learned about Johns Hopkins?  Ball possession and limiting mistakes are KEY here, just like they were on Friday.  Hop ended up winning comfortably, and the Blue Jays looked great for it being this early in the year.  Delaware is supposed to be improved, but I think Hop will roll in the 3rd and 4th quarters, especially after seeing how the Blue Hens fared against Loyola.

Ohio State – Denver was probably the game of the weekend.  OSU proved they are ready to roll for real in 2012, and I was really impressed by their athleticism on defense, and their ability to cycle the ball on offense.  The Buckeyes adjusted well to their face off problems, and didn’t let Mark Matthews beat them all by himself.  Matthews certainly performed, but OSU did a great job of limiting him when possible.  It really disrupted Denver’s O, and I expect MM22 to get a LOT of attention for the rest of the year.  OSU should be in the Top 10 after this huge win, and no one can count the Buckeyes out this year.

Jacksonville beat Navy and some people were surprised here, but it didn’t come as a total shocker to me.  Sure, I thought Navy would win, and they didn’t, but the game was tighter than many people think.  Jacksonville’s goalie had a huge game, especially early, and the Midshipmen were never able to get a run going where they could catch up.  Coach Sowell could be a good fit at Navy, and I liked their stick skills and ball movement, but I definitely think they’re lacking in size.  They looked more like a really good DIII team in that regard, even though they played a 6′ 7″ goalie.  Navy will take time to turn around, but I liked their first step, even if it was in a loss.

A couple of other big D1 games included UMass Vs. Bucknell, where UMass won by 2 goals.  This is a big win for UMass, who have a tough opening schedule, but are playing strong and winning.  Notre Dame really stepped up last weekend when they played Duke, and they dominated the final score 7 – 3.  No ONE saw ND holding Duke to THREE goals.  It was a hugely impressive win.  A little boring to watch, but impressive nonetheless.  Finally, Virginia beat Drexel by 1 in what we knew would be a great game.  UVA won 9-8, and now both of these teams are laden with high expectations for the rest of the year.

Usually, we would NEVER talk about a scrimmage, but in Brown’s case, we’ll make an exception.  Brown “State” University Lacrosse took on the Iroquois Nationals U-19 team in Providence this weekend, and we can’t WAIT to hear what Alex Jones, our Brown State Blogger, thought of the experience.  SUPER cool, Brown!

In DII and DIII, there really weren’t any surprises whatsoever.  Salisbury won, Stevenson won, Roanoke won and Denison won.  No shockers in DIII, although the Noke – St. Mary’s game looked awfully snowy.  In DII, NYIT won both games out West, although Dominican kept it close at 11 – 8.  CW Post won, LeMoyne won and Tampa won.  Rory Whipple has Tampa rolling in their first year with a ton of transfers.

Roanoke St.Mary's Lacrosse snow bowl lax
Wow. White out.

On the MCLA side of things, BYU beat Chapman by 1 in double OT.  What a game!  BYU was down 1 late, tied it up, forced OT and then weathered the storm to take home the win.  I wouldn’t be shocked to see these two teams meet at LEAST one more time this year, and I’d expect every follow up game to be just as good.  That game was played on Friday, and on Sunday, Chapman rebounded with a win over Utah.  They had also won over Santa Clara on Thursday, 12-4.

BYU however, LOST to Cal Poly.  HUGE upset right there.  An almost upset was ASU beating San Diego 5 – 4.  What’s up with the Sun Devils this year?  Struggling on offense a bit, huh?

Florida State took a huge victory over the University of South Carolina, but the 12 – 11 score has to give the Gamecocks hope for the rest of 2012.  If they can continue to improve, they could be a really dangerous team later in the year.  In DII MCLA play, Washington – St. Louis went 2-1 in three games in only 2 days.  They dominated Emory, lost to Kennesaw State by 3 and then beat Reinhardt 19 – 8.  Tough road and a couple good wins for WSL!

Wow. So much  college lacrosse action! Which games are YOU looking forward to this week? Check our TV Schedule for listings! 

(Roanoke – St. Mary’s Photo courtesy of the 90% of Lax is in the flow Facebook page.)