This week was a continuation of what we saw last week with teams like Florida Tech pulling off a major upset. Many teams across the country getting their legs under them with some huge wins for some programs looking to establish themselves in the 2022 season.
The season is still relatively young as there were still some teams scrimmaging this weekend, but as we inch closer to March we will be in full swing.
Coaches Poll: USILA
D3 Lacrosse Recap
#4 Christopher Newport (22) – Roanoke (5)
The season couldn’t have started much better for CNU as they dominated Roanoke on Saturday. They dominated the faceoff X and doubled up the Maroons on shots as they walked away with this win. This should be a fun team to watch over the course of the entire season as they return a ton of talent from their 2021 run. The scariest stat from this game was that 21 out of 22 goals were assisted. A veteran offense that shares the ball is a recipe for disaster for any opponent.
Illinois Wesleyan (14) – #14 Colorado College (7)
Huge win to start the season for Illinois Wesleyan. A team known for playing fast did just that in a nice win for IWU. A key player for them was goalie Thomas Laduzinsky who had 18 saves and kept the Tigers at bay all day. On the stat sheet things looked even, but Laduzinsky was a difference maker for the green and white.
Catholic (13) – #20 Washington and Lee (6)
A nice win to start the season for Coach Sax and Catholic. A win over a ranked Generals team in Lexington isn’t easy to get. A halftime lead expanded in the second half as W&L couldn’t make it close after falling behind in the second quarter. Catholic is a team that will be interesting to watch as the season goes on and could be a team that surprises people come tournament time
Grove City (22) – #14 Colorado College (14)
Huge opening weekend for Grove City going 2-0 and finishing off with a big win against Colorado College. The fact that this was done in Memphis, speaks to how well GC can play on the road and is a confidence builder going into the rest of their non-conference schedule.
Brett Gladstone and Zach Hougan combined for 13 goals to pace Grove City, but an interesting stat line is Grove City going 5-8 on Man-Up.
D2 Lacrosse Recap
#2 Wingate (16) – #4 Mercyhurst (12)
A great rivalry that turned in another great game. The difference here was the second quarter as Wingate outscored the Lakers 8-3. The best stat line of the day was the turnover margin.
Mercyhurst had 16 turnovers while Wingate only had 5. Coach Boyle’s teams have always been known to protect the ball and this season looks like it will be a continuation of that. A great early season matchup that will pay dividends for both teams.
Mercyhurst isn’t going anywhere and will be in the mix come May.
Florida Tech (13) – #17 Belmont Abbey (12) – OT
Huge win for Florida Tech for so many reasons. If you’ve followed their coaching situation the last couple of months, you’ve seen that Coach Penn was let go for reasons unknown to anyone other than an Athletic Director who hides behind a private twitter account unwilling to give anyone (including players and parents) an explanation as to why it happened.
A joke of a situation that seems to have rallied the team together and ended in a huge win in OT for FIT. The key stat here is the Panthers going 3-7 on the Man-Up. In an equal game that was the difference maker.
Kudos to the Panthers and here’s wishing them continued success under their recently hired coach Brad MacArthur who will certainly have an uphill battle ahead of himself.
#15 Queens (16) – Lynn (15)
Queens came away with a win in a high scoring game against Lynn. The game was pretty even across the board, but was chippy from start to finish. Lynn may have walked away with this one, but the key stat that swung the game in the Royals favor was them going 7-11 on Man-Up. Seven man up goals is an insane stat and one that definitely swung the game their way.
