2017 NCAA D1 Lacrosse Rundown – Week 1

We are now officially into college lacrosse season as 2017 NCAA D1 Lacrosse started strong with 11 games, and these games did not disappoint! We saw three go into overtime, ranked teams faced each other early, and Vermont forced their way into the lacrosse world’s hearts after two overtime wins on opening weekend. And just like that, we’re off!

2017 NCAA D1 Lacrosse Scoreboard – Week 1

Home teams listed first, OT games in italics.

Thursday
12 Furman vs. Vermont 13 OT

Saturday
15 Lehigh vs. NJIT 5
10 Manhattan vs. Bryant 17
12 Mercer vs. Vermont 13 OT
7 Providence vs. Boston U. 8 2OT
13 Delaware vs. Bucknell 14
15 Penn State vs. Robert Morris 11
17 North Carolina vs. UMBC 6
8 Cleveland State vs. Michigan 13

Sunday

12 Ohio State vs. Furman 6
10 Duke vs. Air Force 11

The Stat Freaks

This section is back once again to highlight some of the best individual performances from the week. Each category has a specific range, or cut off point, we’re looking for. It’s just fun to highlight some of the gaudy performances out there whether they come from the #1 team in the country, or a team closer to the bottom of the pile.

Freak of the week: As much as I want to reward Cam Milligan for his 8 point day, or Mac O’Keefe for his 7G NCAA debut, I’m going to give the nod for best performance to Conor Gaffney of Lehigh. Taking 22 faceoffs in your first NCAA game is no small task. Walking away with only losing three of those, is beyond impressive. Picking up 16 ground balls out of your 19 wins? Ridiculous. No other word for it. 19-22 on F/O, 16 GBs – winner, winner, blue collar chicken dinner.

Offense: The Cutoff here is a combined 7 goals and/or assists

Cam Milligan – Vermont: 4G, 4A
Grant Ament – Penn State: 1G, 6A
Mac O’Keefe – Penn State: 7G
Will Sands – Bucknell: 2G, 5A
Sean O’Brien – Bucknell: 6G, 1A

Defense:  For here, you need 8 GBs, CTs, and/or points

Billy O’Hara – UMBC: 7GB, 2CT
Jon Vandenberg – Furman: 7GB, 2CT
Ben Cox – Vermont: 7GB, 1CT

Faceoffs: Greater than 70%, at least 10 attempts

Charles Kelly – UNC: 7/10
Kyle Rowe – Duke: 16/21, 1A
Conor Gaffney – Lehigh: 19/22 with 16 GB
Will Beecham – Mercer: 11/14

Goalies:  Greater than 70%

Christian Casron-Banister – BU: 16/23
Tommy Heidt – Michigan: 14/20

The Big Upsets and Surprises

• Easily the biggest news was Air Force topping Duke on the road. They were both ranked teams, ESPN was streaming it, and both teams had expectations to build on last year, but for different reasons. Duke lost this game a year ago as well, so revenge was important, but so is them trying to reassert themselves as the team to beat in the country. Air Force earned plenty of attention last year and want to prove that they are no fluke team. Air Force winning is a much bigger deal for that program. They are on a great path, but a game with Denver looms large.
• Cleveland State also hosted their first ever D1 game against visiting Michigan. Given the track record of first year programs, it was great to see them make it a real game and test the Wolverines, who are still trying to hit a growth spurt themselves. Hopefully we’ll see them both fighting for postseason spots sooner rather than later.
• BU scored a great double overtime win down I-95 in Providence to open their season with a win. Providence really had the game won, but BU really fought their way back into it and pulled through. I’m very optimistic about both of those programs and feel like they’re each poised to break through in their respective conferences.
• Speaking of overtime, how about Vermont? Two games this weekend and they had to come back in both of them. Each time they forced overtime and each time they scored the winning goal. It still isn’t enough to make me think they’re going to take over the American East conference, but they’re definitely on everyone’s radar now.

Conference Comparison

Here’s I’ll be tracking how each conference is doing in terms of their out of conference schedule. It seems meaningless at first, but as people start talking about how many bids a conference might get into the NCAA tournament, it will matter a little bit more. That and I find it interesting. So there.

The Patriot League and B1G are off to a great start, but it’s the first week of games, so in no way will I make any sort of conclusion based off of this.