The 2020 NCAA Men’s Lacrosse season is in full swing, and we are now to what is considered Week 2 of the season (taking into account what is also known as Week 0).
2020 NCAA Men’s Lacrosse: Week 2 Top Moments
There more blockbuster matchups in Week 2, and it never seems to be a dull moment during the season. Be sure to stay tuned for our LAS Top 5 Games of the Week as well to make your predictions for our games we are featuring that week. There are a ton of games we could get into, but here are a few interesting matchups to mention.
Note: To clarify, all college lacrosse rankings we reference are based on the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll.
Top Matchups
Loyola vs. Johns Hopkins
Last weekend saw Loyola outpace Johns Hopkins, 10-7. The Blue Jays have certainly not displayed the same level of dominance over the last few years, as they had two 8-7 seasons in 2016 and 2017 and an 8-8 season in 2019 that all saw first-round exits in the NCAA tournament. 2018 was a good year as Johns Hopkins went 12-5, won the Big Ten Tournament and lost in its 41st NCAA Quarterfinal appearance to Duke, who eventually lost to national-champion Yale in that year’s title game. Loyola certainly misses Pat Spencer, but have a great chance at still having a good year. Loyola was ranked No. 16 heading into this matchup, while Hopkins was ranked No. 11. Then No. 12 Hopkins was coming off of a great 15-7 win over then No. 15 Towson but faltered against the Greyhounds.
Air Force vs. Utah
This game was a roller coaster. The Utes jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the first quarter, while Air Force went on a 4-0 run in the second to tie things up heading into halftime. The two teams traded goals in the third quarter, with Air Force then scoring the first two goals of the fourth quarter to hold on to the 9-8 win over Utah. Air Force opened its season with an impressive win over Duke, followed by a 7-13 to then No. 9 Denver that was incredibly close until the fourth quarter. Brandon Dodd — a Utah native that played at Logan High School in Cache Valley and had eight points against Duke and two points against Denver — had two assists against the Utes in his first NCAA game back in Utah since joining the Falcons. Utah was coming off of a solid performance against Lehigh, which was ranked No. 19 in the polls at that point.
Duke vs. Denver
Speaking of both Duke and Denver, these two icons of college lacrosse squared off in a matchup that saw 11 Duke players register points to grab the 15-13 win over Denver, who had been ranked No. 9 going into the game. Duke, who moved up from No. 13 to No. 10 in this week’s poll, has been known to have a history of early slip-ups in the season before making late-season charges into the NCAA playoffs — many of which have ended with national championships. Denver, who now sits at 1-1 on the year, fell three spots to No. 13 in this week’s poll.
UMass – Ohio State
Ryan Conwell had thought in his “Is This Poll Serious?!” article last week that UMass was on borrowed time, and was one of the few people who even still had the Minutemen in the top 20. A 9-7 win over No. 10 Ohio State is sure to give your season a boost early in the year. Gabriel Procyk led the Minutemen in goals with three goals, as UMass came back from a three-goal deficit in the third quarter while adding four more scores in the fourth to take the victory. Ohio State dropped to No. 19 in this week’s poll. Props to UMass for the big win.
Mount St. Mary’s – Towson
The Tigers have had a rough start to open the season as they lost tons of talent after last year like FOGO Alex Woodall to pro lacrosse. Towson has opened its season with two-straight losses to Hopkins and now to Mount St. Mary’s, losing the last game by one point in an 11-10 contest. Towson pitched a shutout in the fourth quarter to give itself a chance, but the offense only generated two goals in the final quarter to come up short of tying the game by a goal. Returning-starter in the net, Tyler Canto, had a solid opening-season performance against Hopkins with 15 saves (but did allow 15 goals) but struggled against The Mount, only making two saves while allowing 11 goals. I didn’t watch this game last weekend, but my initial thought would be he is not getting a lot of help with other units on the field controlling the ball and having way too many defensive possessions or that his defense has been struggling based on those numbers. And likely that could also be a combination of both. Canto had a very hot start to the 2019 season, making the insane save below against Loyola last February that was captured by Dan Aburn, formerly of Inside Lacrosse.
Tyler Canto Amazing Save: NCAA Lacrosse Matchup Against Loyola
https://twitter.com/Dan_Aburn/status/1100948619170144256?s=20
2020 NCAA Men’s Lacrosse: Week 2 Top Plays From College Lacrosse
No. 1 – Have Long Pole, Will Score
Long pole goal alert!!! 🚨🚨#ncaalax | @DU_MLAX
pic.twitter.com/coquKHv7e5— NCAA Lacrosse (@NCAALAX) February 15, 2020
No. 2 – Asher Nolting Earns One Of His Five Points
WILD#ncaalax | @HPUMensLax
pic.twitter.com/LDjNS0suPr— NCAA Lacrosse (@NCAALAX) February 15, 2020
No. 3 – Ryan Tierney Had Time And Room… Or At Least Some Time
We see you Ryan Tierney 👀#ncaalax | @HofstraMLAX
pic.twitter.com/A5dlA3C9wd— NCAA Lacrosse (@NCAALAX) February 15, 2020
No. 4 – North Carolina’s Dissection 101 Course Required By All Lacrosse Athletes And Medical Students
A cool Chapel Hill day, but 🔥 on the field!! pic.twitter.com/5ljSVEUvZY
— UNC Men's Lacrosse (@UNCMensLacrosse) February 15, 2020
No. 5 – Jack Kennedy Has No Regard For Life Or Limb For Anyone Else In College Lacrosse
CHOO CHOO. Get off the tracks.
Watch live on @ACCNetwork. pic.twitter.com/IZPm4SEWko
— Syracuse Men’s Lacrosse (@CuseMLAX) February 15, 2020
