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Big City Classic Lacrosse Hop clear Hop is up 8-6 in the 3rd
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The LAS Big City Classic Experience

Connor Wilson headed out to New Meadowlands Stadium in New Jersey for the Big City Classic this afternoon, and he’s been sending in photos ever since. Meanwhile, Jeff Brunelle is having a personal viewing party with ESPNU on the other side of the US. Mash Wilson’s photos and Brunelle’s observations together and this is what you get – The LAS Big City Classic Experience!

The new Raptor Helmet by Easton Lacrosse
The new Raptor Helmet by Easton Lacrosse
Big City Classic Lacrosse Pregame Tailgate
Pregame Tailgating

Connor on ST. JOHN’S vs. RUTGERS:

SJU vs. Rutgers was a hell of a game. SJU was up 1 pretty much all game – it was 6-5 at the half and they won by one. Very exciting game, and HUGE win for St. John’s.

Big City Classic Lacrosse St. John's vs. Rutgers
St. John's vs. Rutgers

NORTH CAROLINA vs. JOHNS HOPKINS

1st Quarter

Tuned in at 2:03PM MT to find the game had just started. Ball is at midfield at the 14:54 mark. NBD – Time to put the pizza in the oven. Three Meat Trio!

Back to the TV at the 11:45 mark. Hopkins has just scored its second goal. Matt Goodrich, #77… Who wears #77?

Hopkins scores at 10:17. Blame it on the Tarheel d-pole who chased with his stick as if his feet were stuck in cement. John Ranagan deserved that one.

Quint says he’s impressed with the UNC goalie’s footwork so far, despite the fact he’s given up 3. 10 seconds later Hopkins gets a 4th. Kyle Wharton’s 2nd of the day. 9:49 left in the FIRST QUARTER.

8:37 – There we go Billy!

“Stop the beating. Change the momentum of the game.” – QK

Who is announcing with Quint? Sounds like a youngster. It’s not Connor though. He’s probably still tailgaiting with Matt Schomburg.

Tailgating with Matty Schomburg - IN STYLE!

7:00 – Nice ball control, UNC.

6:35 – Bitter splits 2! Bitter splits 2! Billy Billy Billy!

That goal was brought to us by Sector Spiders… WTF is Sector Spiders?!

3:29 – Quint may have just coined a new term: The Carolina Ride. Sounds dirty.

SOOO many lacrosse brand banners on the sideline. When they’re all mashed together like that they lose they’re effectiveness. Worth the dough to put ’em there? Doubtful.

1:38 – HOLY SH!T! BITTER IS BACK!

“Inside roll, tip-toe to the crease, I mean this is like 5 moves in one!” – QK

Carolina showed some hustle at the end of that quarter. This could turn into one helluva game.

New Maverik commercial is on… How much is Rabil putting up with that one-armed clean anyway?

2nd Quarter

14:41 – Wharton gets his 12th hat trick. Hop 5, Tarheels 3.

12:15 – What’s that yellow handkerchief doing on the turf? Ohhh, UNC has too many guys on the field.

11:38 – Kemba Walker mention! + Good point by Quint:

“What would college lacrosse look like if all the good freshmen went pro after their first year?”

Pizza time!

Hopkins up 5-4 on unc in the 2nd quarter - time out

7:53 – Dunster FTG. Hop 5, Taheels 4.

Maybe 30 Seconds to Mars should host Music Monday.

STX commercial. If the rumors about the Assault gloves were true, they wouldn’t still be promoting the Assault line… would they?

5:00 TO – QK on head shot penalties:

“Some players feel like they can’t even hit anymore. Coaches are re-teaching hitting using giant football pads.”

2:28 – Dunster to Holman… WE ARE TIED!

“Someone needs to get Jimmy Dunster some soap because that feed was dirty.”

2:08 – John Ranagan gets his 2nd of the day. Hop 6, Tarheels 5.

“Right down route 3!”

1:56 – TO Hop. That white – green – board Pietramala has is awesome.

1:47 –  The green board worked. Bluejays score. Hop 7, Tarheels 5. Yowza!

Camera zooms in on a hop player with the CPX-R. The fin on the back actually looks kinda cool with the Bluejay logo. Like a wing…

1:29 – Whoa. UNC d-man just got burnt! Hop 8, Tarheels 5.

0:01 – FLAG! UNC will be man up for the first 59 seconds of the 2nd Half. Nice way to start it.

3rd Quarter

14:01 – UNC gets nothing out of the man up situation.

13:58 – Hopkins gets a go at man-up.

8:46 – Hasn’t been a whole lot to say over the past 5 minutes. Hop just got a stall warning… they are clearly in no rush, but they’re only up 3. Isn’t it a little early to stall?

7:09 – UNC’s Marcus Holman gets his 2nd. Solid shot too. Hop 8, Tarheels 6.

5:26 – Nice clear by Bluejays longpole, Jack Riley. Sounds like he’s had his work cut out for him this season.

Big City Classic Lacrosse Hop clear Hop is up 8-6 in the 3rd
Hop clear.

Is it just me or do the refs’ green shirts look checkered on TV?

1:28 – Great takeaway and GB by UNC’s Flanagan. He’s a monstrous d-pole, that Flanagan.

We should have skipped the 3rd quarter and hopped right the 4th!

4th Quarter

Anyone else see the 2 Dollar Bills commercial? Interesting stuff.

14:22 -Nice little wing dodge and sweep towards the dodger. Don’t see that too often. Ranagan gets his 3rd. Hop 9, Tarheels 6.

“Have a day 3-1. He’s got 3!”

13:02 – Announcer said Bitter was turning on the jets. For some reason it reminded me of this.

9:25 – Greeley takes a second to step back and look at the scoreboard. Gotta have confidence to do something like that. He’s a fun player to watch.

8:27 – TO UNC.

Here’s the Maverik commercial again. Who’s stronger – John Christmas or Paul Rabil? Now here’s a Sector Spider commercial… oh I see.

7:57 – I leave the room for 2 minutes and UNC scores. Guess that timeout worked! Who got the goal?

6:02 – Whoa Billy! Atta boy. Great transition by the Tarheels. Hop 9, Tarheels 8.

3:55 – Just heard a Drew Adams mention. Once had a beer with him at the 12th St. Ale House in NYC. Great guy! Haven’t seen much of Thomas Wood today. What’s up with that?

2:41 – Galasso to Hutchins. Hop 9, Tarheels 9.

“Like the traffic on the BQE.”

1:52 – UNC’s D lets Lee Coppersmith get too close… Where was the slide?! Hop 10, Tarheels 9.

1:29 – Hop TO. Good call by Pietramala. Solid stall to follow.

0:54 – Close-up view of Hop gloves… half K18s, half Assault.

0:19 – Dunster shoots a duster. Bassett saw it coming all along.

Bluejays win 10-9. Hop is on fire.

SYRACUSE vs. DUKE

Big City Classic Lacrosse Syracuse Warming Up
Cuse warming up. White lids, orange jerseys, white shorts.

1st Quarter

14:30 – FLAG on ‘Cuse. Oh boy do these teams look good. The Duke chin straps are something special (neon green for Headstrong).

Nice sweatpants, Galloway.

13:03 – Syracuse 1, Duke 0.

“Middie to middie, it’s one-nothing ‘Cuse!”

12:07 – Syracuse 2, Duke 0. DANG. Good start, but we won’t see Desko ever crack a smile.

Big City Classic Lacrosse Syracuse Up 2-0
Cuse up 2-0!

10:32 – Jeremy Thompson puts one in, and that makes the Orange 3 for 3 so far this game. When was the last time a team scored 3 goals on their first 3 shots of the game?

“Tic-tac-toe, it’s 3-nothing Orange!”

9:19 – Tim Desko puts in a bouncer. The Duke defender blatantly ducked when he wound up for the shot. 4-o just like that.

Hopefully this game resembles the Hop/UNC game a bit and Duke finds their momentum like the Tarheels did.

7:04 – There we go Duke! Walsh, a freshman, plays like an upperclassman – not afraid to get physical. Syracuse 4, Duke 1.

Matt Ward says Walsh went to high school with Billy Bitter… that would have been a fun duo to watch.

5:55 – Marasco to Miller. They made that look easy. Syracuse 5, Duke 1.

4:38 – Some great advice from Quint:

“If you’re a middie or a defender, watch the defensive techniques of the Syracuse middies. You can really learn from their stance and the angles they take.”

3:34 – Syracuse 6, Duke 1… Let’s gooooooo.

Is Coach Danowski wearing a blue Duke t-shirt? Yes, yes he is.

MORE head shot talk between quarters. I’m getting tired of hearing the announcers talk about this issue. Trust the refs. Let it rest.

2nd Quarter

13:18 – Tim Harder shoots harder! (Bet he’s never heard that one before.) Syracuse 7, Duke 1.

Duke d-poles are using neon green shafts. Black unis, matte black domes, neon green chin straps and shafts to match… my these boys are color coordinated.

10:56 – Joel White is an animal. Jojo Marasco puts one in. Syracuse 8, Duke 1.

9:40 – There we go Dukies. Zach Howell with his 26th goal of the season. Syracuse 8, Duke 2.

8:18 – Dear Blue Devil offense, I know it’s important to get the offense set up, but once you’re set you’ve got to drive to the cage with confidence! You just burnt a minute off the clock and got nothing out of it. WWNCD? (What Would Ned Crotty Do?)

Where’s the shot clock when you need it?

5:38 – Quint calls it “Time and Room,” but my college coach called it “Room and Time.” Who’s right?

4:46 – Syracuse d-man #10 knocks Howell into the crease. I know it was a penalty, but you gotta love seeing a defender bring the heat like that. It’s HIS crease.

2:30 – Duke fails yet another clear. Sloppy play both ways.

1:58 – TO ‘Cuse.

Readers give their take on the Duke neon:

@Mid_Calf_Lax via Twitter: they look awesome with the matte black helmets, however it’s not helping them out too much.

Sam López via Facebook: If duke had clipped the chinstraps so they didn’t cover the helmet logo they’d be perfect.

1:06 – Keogh gets one. Syracuse 9, Duke 2.

“Keogh joins the party”

The ‘Cuse D sure is fun to watch, but I’m not sure I can take Quint talking about players’ haircuts much longer. Let’s hope the Blue Devils come out swinging in the 2nd half.

 

Connor getting up close and personal with the Easton Raptor.
Connor getting up close and personal with the Easton Raptor.

More on Easton Lacrosse’s new Raptor helmet can be found here.

3rd Quarter

14:52 – Duke gets a man-up opportunity to pick up some momentum… AND THERE WE GO! Wolf! Syracuse 9, Duke 3.

No Matt Ward, he was not in the crease.

12:12 – Does Galloway always wear blue sweatpants?

11:59 – Jovan Miller gets his 2nd goal. He’s so quick. Syracuse 10, Duke 3.

It’s pronounced OR-ange, not ARE-ange.

11:16 – Duke’s Lawson gets one. Matt Ward says he was a defensive specialist last year – impressive. Syracuse 10, Duke 4.

9:30 – Marasco to Keogh for a pretty one. Syracuse 11, Duke 4.

“Keogh loves the celebration. He touches the ground then points to the sky. I’m not sure I want to know where that comes from.” – MW

Hmm…

8:47 – Galloway gets his 11th save. Kid is wall.

7:23 – High-to-high goal by Howell. What a rocket. Syracuse 11, Duke 5.

6:02 – C’mon! That goal should not have been called off. He wasn’t in the crease there either.

These announcers seem like they’re getting tired. I don’t blame them… I’d be tired too. Regardless, maybe ESPN should have brought Paul Carcaterra in for this game.

4:02 – Dear Duke, stop passing and start dodging.

3:15 – Dear Duke, stop passing and start dodging.

3:08 – Flat-footed shot from the restrainer and Galloway gets his 12th save.

1:38 – Jojo Morasco is such a rascal.

1:01 – Nice dodge by ? and lefty shot. Syracuse 11, Duke 6.

0:29 – Hey Joel, that was dirty. Keogh with the rebound and put back. Syracuse 12, Duke 6.

0:06 – Jojo for the three! Nice outside shot by the rascal. Syracuse 13, Duke 6.

4th Quarter

Konica Minolta should have mixed a lacrosse reference or two into their white collared commercial.

12:13 – Oops! Fell asleep for a couple minutes. Back it now. FLAG on ‘Cuse. 1 minute for an illegal body check. Can Duke capitalize on this?

11:41 – Yes they can! Did we just see Galloway drop the f-bomb on national television. Yes we did! Syracuse 13, Duke 7.

25,115 fans in attendance at New Meadowlands Stadium for the Big City Classic. Stadium capacity is 82,566, so the place was 30% full today. Not bad, but nothing to brag to the lacrosse gods about either.

10:48 – Last time Quint was at Syracuse he got to work out with the football team’s quarterback, who was riding the bike while doing his homework. TMI, TMI!

8:53 – Syracuse D is fun to watch. Did I already sau that?

8:16 – ‘Cuse with some slop, and Duke’s Christian Walsh puts one in. Syracuse 13, Duke 5.

Duke could go on a run here.

5:49 – Howell gets a hat trick and here come the Blue Devils! Syracuse 13, Duke 9.

4:05 – Coach Danowski takes a TO. Is 4 minutes enough for 4 goals?

3:44 – FLAG on ‘Cuse. Nice move by Howell, but that probably should not have been a penalty.

3:25 – Uh-ohhh… high hit by Syracuse’s McGill (?). 1 minute penalty. ‘Cuse is now 2 men down.

3:13 – Duke capitalizes. Syracuse 13, Duke 10.

“WE HAVE A BALL GAME” – MW

2:43 – Refs take some momentum from Duke by calling a player in the crease. Didn’t look like it on TV!

2:11 – FLAG on Duke for “holding.” In reality, that was just some decent acting by Jojo Marasco. Such a rascal.

0:36 – Duke gets one! Syracuse 13, Duke 11. Too little too late?

0:04 – There is only one Joel White.

0:00 – GAME. John Galloway is the Konica Minolta Player of the Game. Galloway now has the most wins ever for a goalie in NCAA D1 lacrosse. Making history every win from here on out!

“He’s unflappable” – QK

 

Big City Classic Lacrosse
Great day of lax in the Big City!