An incredible weekend of lacrosse across both D2 and D3 as we are getting closer to crowning a champion. The unique thing about D3 lacrosse is the Pod system which forces teams to play back-to-back and really favors the teams that have good depth. With the NCAA only allowing 32 players to play for tournament games, it becomes a bit of a chess match especially in the closer games.
Christopher Newport Pod
What more needs to be said than CNU had a dominant weekend. The Captains easily dispatched Sewanee on Saturday and set themselves up for a battle with Wesleyan on Sunday. The Wesleyan zone is always a tricky thing to figure out, and it took CNU the majority of the first half to do so. A 5-0 third quarter stretched to a 12-3 advantage in the second half and gave CNU a 21-8 win against a very tough Wesleyan team. CNU is for real and has a huge test this weekend with their quarterfinal matchup against York.
York Pod
York dominated the weekend, but the game of the weekend was the rematch of Grove City and Denison. This is another game that went down the wire as Denison was able to walk away with the win. Grove City is a team that is quietly becoming a threat in the Midwest lacrosse scene. They are disciplined, well coached, and look to be here to stay. York has now won 17 in a row and have a date with Christopher Newport this weekend in Newport News, VA.
Dickinson Pod
Another great D3 lacrosse rematch with Dickinson taking on Gettysburg with the Bullets walking away with the huge win. It was truly a balanced effort as 8 players had multi-point games and stifled with the Red Devils offense while taking it to them offensively. Gettysburg held the advantage statistically for the game, outshooting Dickinson 42-33 while maintaining a 31-27 advantage in groundballs and a 14-13 edge in face-off wins. The Bullets, who were not flagged for any penalties in the contest, went 25-for-26 on clears and 1-for-2 on extra-man opportunities. A date with Union looms in the CNU pod this upcoming weekend.
Union Pod
One of the surprises of the weekend for a lot of people wasn’t that Union walked away with two wins, but that Union faced WNEU and not Lynchburg on Sunday. WNEU has always been a team that is incredibly difficult to play in May and Coach Klepacki always has his guys ready to go. After waiting through a weather delay of nearly 90 minutes, Union finally got on the field and rattled off the first seven goals of the game cruising to a 21-11 victory over the Bears. Union faces Gettysburg on Saturday for a berth in the D3 lacrosse Final Four.
RIT Pod
RIT rolled through the weekend. On Saturday, they played a pesky Albion team that did a nice job of hanging around for a little, but the athleticism in between the boxes really caused issues for the Britons as the Tigers cruised. In the other game, MIT continued to make history as they knocked off Amherst in a wildly entertaining game that came down to the wire. Sunday saw the Tigers easily dismantle MIT and set up a date with Bowdoin on Saturday.
Bowdoin Pod
A historic weekend for the Polar Bears as they booked their first trip to the quarterfinals in program history. On Saturday, they dispatched Colorado College before taking down St. Lawrence on Sunday. St. Lawrence had a nail biter on Saturday against Cortland that saw them pull out a narrow 15-14 win. In these back-to-back games those tough Saturday games make it very difficult to get back up on Sunday and play at a high level.
Salisbury Pod
Salisbury keeps winning, but they aren’t winning in the Salisbury fashion people are accustomed to. Stockton did a tremendous job hanging around on Saturday before the Gulls pulled away. On Sunday the Seagulls saw themselves in a rematch against Cabrini which took them to OT just a few weeks prior. The Seagulls used a strong second quarter to get out ahead and give themselves some distance which proved to be enough to earn them a date with Tufts this weekend which will be the game to watch in D3 lacrosse.
Tufts Pod
Jumbos Rolling! A team that people were counting out in March look like a favorite to be playing on Championship Sunday. Tufts easily dispatched Norwich on Saturday and took it to St. John Fisher on Sunday to set up a date with Salisbury this weekend. A game usually reserved for the last game of the year is now a quarterfinal match up. Look to see some fireworks in this one.
DII Weekend Recap
No Pods, just play. One of the deepest tournament fields in history boasts some extraordinary teams led by phenomenal coaches and players. Expect these games to be dogfights. Sunday Lacrosse at its best!
Le Moyne (9) – Adelphi (4)
A third time is the charm. Death, taxes, Le Moyne’s defense showing up in May. A tremendous game plan by Coach Sheehan and the Dolphins stifled the Panthers who ran into a tough Le Moyne team. A second and third quarter run was all the Dolphins needed in this one as they erased a 2-0 deficit on their way to a 9-4 win. They face the Mercy Mavericks this weekend with a shot at Championship Weekend on the line.
Tampa (13) – Lenoir Rhyne (11)
This game was as evenly matched as could be and came down to the electric performance of Blake Ulmer in the cage. His 21 saves were the difference and it stretched Tampa’s unbeaten streak to 19 and gives JB Clarke a date with his former team in Limestone this weekend.
Limestone (17) – Wingate (14)
The Saints used a 7-2 first-half run to open up a five-goal lead at halftime, but the Bulldogs pulled to within three early in the third period. Limestone answered back with a run of their own as the Saints ran away behind a 5-1 spurt in the third and then held off a late surge by Wingate in the fourth to move on to the national semifinals with the win.
Mercy (11) – Seton Hill (10)
Powered by a combined nine points from Dominic Scorcia and senior Brady Kearnan and 13 saves from senior Tommy Umano the No.1 seeded Mercy College men’s lacrosse team earned an 11-10 win over No.5 seeded Seton Hill University. A strong first half proved to be just enough for the Mavs in this one as they held off a late Seton Hill run that gives them another shot at Le Moyne with a chance to go their first NCAA title game on the line.
