Conference play is really starting to ramp up, which will make for more and more exciting games, as we finish up Week 8. There are some great surprises in every single league and in many out of conference games. There is no way to predict who will win each week. That’s technically always true, but this year seems to drive that point home.
Everyone is beatable.
Week 8 Scoreboard
Tuesday 3/21
13 Fairfield vs. NJIT 6
9 Hartford vs. Marist 3
11 Canisius vs. Albany 20
13 Villanova vs. Bucknell 8
15 Cornell vs. Colgate 6
17 Brown vs. Holy Cross 14
13 Boston U. vs. Harvard 8
11 Hofstra vs. Stony Brook 9
11 Navy vs. Dartmouth 6
4 UMass Lowell vs. Providence 11
Wednesday 3/22
11 Loyola vs. Georgetown 10
Friday 3/24
13 Princeton vs. Yale 16
Saturday 3/25
14 Navy vs. Lehigh 9
7 North Carolina vs. Maryland 15
10 Air Force vs. Jacksonville 9 OT
8 Binghamton vs. Vermont 5
11 Furman vs. Mercer 10
10 Georgetown vs. Marquette 11
4 High Point vs. Richmond 12
15 Penn State vs. Cleveland State 8
11 Towson vs. Denver 12
9 UMass vs. Brown 10 OT
13 Bellarmine vs. VMI 8
8 Bryant vs. Saint Joseph’s 7
9 Bucknell vs. Loyola 8 2OT
15 Boston U. vs. Lafayette 7
9 Cornell vs. Penn 10
9 Fairfield vs. Villanova 18
18 Johns Hopkins vs. Virginia 17 OT
10 Manhattan vs. Canisius 12
8 Marist vs. Holy Cross 5
10 Michigan vs. UMBC 7
17 Monmouth vs. Siena 9
11 Robert Morris vs. Mount St. Mary’s 10 OT
8 Sacred Heart vs. Hobart 7
13 Delaware vs. Rutgers 9
12 Notre Dame vs. Ohio State 7
11 Ohio Valley vs. Hampton 6
21 Albany vs. UMass Lowell 11
10 Army vs. Colgate 8
7 Dartmouth vs. Harvard 14
9 Hofstra vs. St. John’s 6
4 NJIT vs. Wagner 11
Sunday 3/26
6 Quinnipiac vs. Detroit Mercy 8
9 Hartford vs. Stony Brook 13
9 Providence vs. Drexel 8 OT
The Stat Freaks
This section shows off some of the best performances from the week. Each category has a specific range we’re looking for. It’s just fun to highlight some of the gaudy performances out there.
Freak of the Week: This was actually a little more difficult this week. Tate Boyce from Providence was definitely in the running, as was Ryan Conrad, and Ben Reeves. But I really have to go to Dave Little from Navy. 9/9 shooting is just out of this world.
Scoring 9 of your team’s 14 goals is impressive in itself, but not missing a single shot is just… wow.
Offense: The Cutoff here is a combined 7 goals and/or assists
| Connor Fields – Albany (NY): 4G, 3A, 8 Shots vs. Canisius |
| Jack Curran – Villanova: 5G, 2A, 10 Shots vs. Bucknell |
| Cal Dearth – Boston U.: 3G, 4A, 8 Shots vs. Harvard |
| Dylan Molloy – Brown: 7G, 3A, 16 Shots vs. Holy Cross |
| Greyson Torain – Navy: 3G, 4A, 8 Shots vs. Dartmouth |
| Pat Spencer – Loyola Maryland: 2G, 5A, 4 Shots vs. Georgetown |
| Ben Reeves – Yale: 4G, 4A, 7 Shots vs. Princeton |
| Gavin McBride – Princeton: 5G, 2A, 8 Shots vs. Yale |
| Morgan Cheek – Harvard: 4G, 4A, 7 Shots vs. Dartmouth |
| Teddy Hatfield – Richmond: 4G, 4A, 11 Shots vs. High Point |
| Will Sands – Bucknell: 2G, 5A, 3 Shots vs. Loyola Maryland |
| Connor Fields – Albany (NY): 8G, 1A, 14 Shots vs. UMass Lowell |
| Kyle Marr – Johns Hopkins: 6G, 1A, 13 Shots vs. Virginia |
| Dave Little – Navy: 9G, 9 Shots vs. Lehigh |
Defense: For here, you need 8 GBs, CTs, and/or points
| Reece Eddy – Canisius: 6GB, 2CT vs. Albany (NY) |
| Ryan Fournier – Loyola Maryland: 6GB, 2CT, 1G vs. Georgetown |
| Ryan O’Donoghue – Sacred Heart: 5GB, 4CT vs. Hobart |
| George Christopher – Dartmouth: 5GB, 3CT vs. Harvard |
| Brandon Jones – Air Force: 7GB, 1CT vs. Jacksonville |
| Johnny Surdick – Army: 5GB, 3CT vs. Colgate |
| Garrett Waldron – Binghamton: 4GB, 4CT vs. Vermont |
| Ryan Conrad – Virginia: 8GB, 2G, 1A vs. Johns Hopkins |
| Zachary Bryant – Robert Morris: 5GB, 5CT vs. Mt. St. Mary’s |
| Jack Toomb – Robert Morris: 5GB, 3CT vs. Mt. St. Mary’s |
| Charlie Hayes – Detroit Mercy: 5GB, 5CT, 1G vs. Quinnipiac |
Faceoffs: Greater than 70%, at least 10 attempts
| TD Irelan – Albany (NY): 16/18, 11 GB vs. Canisius |
| Collin Orr – Colgate: 19/24, 5 GB vs. Cornell |
| Joe DeLasho – Fairfield: 14/18, 8 GB vs. NJIT |
| Joe Stucky – Boston U.: 18/25, 6 GB vs. Harvard |
| Ted Ottens – Brown: 23/31, 9 GB vs. Holy Cross |
| Conor Mackie – Yale: 26/33, 18 GB vs. Princeton |
| Matthew Pedicine – Hobart: 9/11, 2 GB vs. Sacred Heart |
| Trevor Baptiste – Denver: 20/26, 8 GB vs. Towson |
| Gerard Arceri – Penn St.: 16/21, 11 GB vs. Cleveland St. |
| Kyle Gallagher – Hofstra: 10/12, 4 GB vs. St. John’s (NY) |
| TD Irelan – Albany (NY): 19/25, 16 GB, 1A vs. UMass Lowell |
| Brady Dove – Navy: 21/25, 17 GB vs. Lehigh |
| Colin McKendry – Providence: 12/15, 1 GB vs. Drexel |
Goalies: Greater than 70% saves
| Tate Boyce – Providence: 13/15 Saves, 7GB, 1CT vs. UMass Lowell |
| Christian Knight – Cornell: 15/21 Saves, 1GB vs. Colgate |
| Ryan Vanderford – Hartford: 10/13 Saves, 1GB, 1CT vs. Marist |
| Benny Pugh – Richmond: 10/12 Saves, 3GB vs. High Point |
| Brian Corrigan – Marist: 19/24 Saves vs. Holy Cross |
The Big Upsets and Surprises
- 13 Princeton vs. Yale 16 – Happy Hour lacrosse! Princeton captured the college lacrosse world’s attention by dominating Hopkins in an early Friday evening games just a few weeks ago. This time, Yale may have launched their comeback tour in the same way. Following a big eight point game from Ben Reeves, the Elis took down Princeton and are now looking to regain their spot as an Ivy favorite.
- 7 North Carolina vs. Maryland 15 – North Carolina continues to be questionable, but I just cannot get over the fact that they have the exact same record as this point last year. They were all but written off before catching lightning in a bottle and carrying that into Championship weekend. Can that happen two times in a row? Doubtful. What is less doubtful is Maryland once again being a favorite for returning to the final weekend of lacrosse.
- 10 Air Force vs. Jacksonville 9 OT – Jacksonville came so close to pulling off this upset, but just fell short. The new coaching staff down in Florida will get this team going the right way at some point, but this is still a team that only had three wins a year ago.
- 11 Towson vs. Denver 12 – This game was much closer than I thought it should have been, but it’s a win both teams needed. Neither one will have much of a boost from conference play, so any prayer of an at large bid rests on winning games like this.
- 9 Bucknell vs. Loyola 8 2OT – Bucknell was feeling great after topping BU, but are now only 2-3 in the Patriot League. With Army next, can they beat the three best Patriot League teams only? For Loyola, this is just another knock against them in a confusing season. They should have been building on their great 2016. Instead, they’re fading away.
- 18 Johns Hopkins vs. Virginia 17 OT – Another situation where both teams really needed a win. UVA seems almost incapable of winning close games at this point while this game underscores how much better Hopkins looks when they are running. They can be an exciting team to watch, but they can also lull anyone to sleep. They’re better when they play exciting.
- 12 Syracuse vs. Duke 11 OT – Another game, another one point win for Cuse. You certainly can’t fault them for being exciting at this point. Well, the end of their games anyway. They still go through long stretches of not doing much on offense, but their flurries of activities are among the best in the country.
- 12 Notre Dame vs. Ohio State 7 – Notre Dame controlled this game from start to finish and allowed them to take control of the #1 spot in the media poll this week. Ohio State is still a good team, but Notre Dame is absolutely the undisputed king of the Midwest.
Out-of-Conference Conference Comparison
When I was looking this over, I had to do a reality check on the Big Ten. Have they really played that many games already? The answer is a big yes, because with the exception of Maryland’s rescheduled date with Albany, the entire conference is done playing other teams. They are now going behind closed doors to figure out who is the best inside the Big Ten.
When looking as just gross numbers, not paying attention to percentage, the other thing that jumps out at me is the Patriot League’s 21 losses. Despite having the most teams, they have only the third most losses. They will continue to play out of conference games all season long, but they have been impressive. It makes sense that such a large league does not leave too much room on the schedule compared to say the five team ACC, but I still find it mildly interesting to see.
| Record | % | # of Teams | |
| Big Ten | 44-8 | 0.846 | 6 |
| ACC | 25-10 | 0.714 | 5 |
| Colonial | 28-22 | 0.560 | 6 |
| America East | 23-22 | 0.511 | 7 |
| Big East | 23-24 | 0.489 | 6 |
| Patriot | 20-21 | 0.488 | 9 |
| Northeast | 24-26 | 0.480 | 7 |
| Ivy | 18-21 | 0.462 | 7 |
| Southern | 17-32 | 0.347 | 8 |
| MAAC | 15-33 | 0.313 | 7 |
Weekend Games to Watch
This week, there are a couple match ups that really have my eye:
Rutgers vs. Johns Hopkins: Rutgers tumbled from their #1 spot in the media poll while Hopkins is now in a spot where they need the Big Ten tournament to find an NCAA bid. Without it, they will really need to hope the conference favorites win everywhere else in the country.
Hofstra vs. Fairfield: Hofstra is still undefeated. Fairfield almost was Penn State’s first loss very recently. Fairfield is a bit of an under the radar team, but can play with anyone on the right day. Don’t be surprised if they pull off an upset here.
Syracuse vs. Notre Dame: #1 vs. #3 in the media poll. ACC matchup. How can you not get excited for this one?
Richmond vs. UVA: Richmond is practically an ACC team the way they have been playing them. Their only loss is to Duke. UVA will have their hands full and is actually the underdog here. Battle for the State of Virginia!
Duke vs. UNC: Battle for the State of North Carolina! It doesn’t matter what the sport is or what kind of year either is having: this rivalry is awesome.
Ohio St. vs. Penn State: Undefeated Penn State opens league play with an Ohio State team who was just handed their first loss by Notre Dame. Winner is the default favorite for the Big Ten.
