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SUNY Maritime lacrosse wesleyan fog
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Wesleyan And The Fog Roll In On SUNY Maritime

I picked up a Zipcar yesterday evening and made the drive from Brooklyn up to the Bronx to take in the Wesleyan @ SUNY Maritime men’s lacrosse game and I was blown away by the location of Maritime’s athletic field.  There really might not be a cooler place to play a game in all of DIII.  The field is located right on the water, the Whitestone bridge (which connects the Bronx and Queens) is looming large in the background and you are situated on a peninsula that is probably only 2000 feet wide, if that.

SUNY Maritime lacrosse wesleyan
You can see the Whitestone bridge clearly here on the left.

The game itself was fun to take in and along with Joel Taliento, who coaches with me at Eagle Academy in Brooklyn, I got to meet up with some former Wesleyan lacrosse players in Chris Meade (LacrosseRecruits.com), Bobby Goulding and Chris Knacke.  Needless to say there was some weslax reminiscing.

Both Wesleyan and Maritime play zone defenses at times, and this means goals came from long settled possessions and transition.  Wesleyan looked much more comfortable on defense, and the slides were well orchestrated for most of the night.  They seemed to be thinking a step ahead.  Maritime did manage to generate some turnovers when they pressed, and did a good job of covering the back side, with a few exceptions, which usually resulted in goals.

Wesleyan had the upper hand in the run of play for almost all of the game and would go on to win 12-3. Teddy Citrin opened the scoring for the Cardinals and finished with 4 goals, while Jon Froats and Max Landow each finished with 2 goals and 2 assists.  Maritime was led offensively by John Driscoll who had a goal and two assists.  When Maritime did cycle the ball well and cut from the high crease, they were able to generate some looks, and at least two of their goals.

Wesleyan was patient on offense early on, and clearly tried to control the game, putting some distance between themselves and the SUNY squad.  Maritime drove the ball well but struggled to make 3 or more passes off the dodge to generate good shots.  Wesleyan moved the ball well, and was almost too patient at times, passing up good shots.  However, it made sense for the Cardinals to want to slow it down and possess, so my guess is that it was part of the game plan.  Froats and DJ Bernatavitz looked especially good at times for Wesleyan.

Towards the end of the game, the fog really started to roll in and in the blink of an eye the Whitestone bridge, which had been brightly lit, was completely invisible.  Being so far out on the water allowed for the fog to completely sneak up on us, so of course I took a little video. Nature!

Plus a little “cheeky” (as per Meade) behind the back pass, because why not?  #7 for Wesleyan, Chris Walsh, also scored a no look goal on a drive from behind in the 4th quarter that was pretty sweet.  If Walsh can become a little more consistent and reliable for Wesleyan, he could have a bright future.  The fans also liked seeing Teddy Baker get a little run on defense.  He is just a man mountain, and looking to put someone on their back.  Some wall ball and stick work and the kid has some potential!

SUNY Maritime lacrosse wesleyan fog
The fog rolled in towards the end. HEAVY.