My Top 20 presented by SPIRE Lacrosse, always a treacherous exercise.
Quint Kessenich’s Top 20 presented by Spire
1) Army
America’s team skewered Holy Cross 18-8. Army began playing lacrosse in 1907. They captured pre-NCAA championships in 1923, 1944, 1945, 1951, 1958, 1959, 1961, and 1969. Black Knights played in the 1971 and 1984 NCAA semifinals. They face Lehigh this weekend. Let’s see how they handle the attention.
2) Notre Dame
Notre Dame is now 36-12 all-time versus Ohio State after a career day from Chris Kavanagh (8 points). In front of a sellout crowd in the Buckeyes new tiny stadium, the Irish turned up the heat with four straight goals in the early fourth quarter for the cushion.
Irish 3/3 extra-man is a wicked 13 for 17 on the season. I’m not sure opponents can play this unit straight up. In fact, I know they can’t. I would mix in some junk, shut-offs and striking (hard rotation). You’ve got to scrutinize strategy to disrupt their excellence and wizardry. FOGO Will Lynch has improved drastically from a year ago and had ten grounders. Will Angrick scored his first goal since 2022, coming back from a knee injury.
Michigan is at Notre Dame on Saturday at 2pm. Any BIG 10 against ACC opponent is an important game.
3) Virginia
Wahoos defeated RoMo on Tuesday 16-7 moving on from the sting of defeat. Tuesday afternoon contests are low adrenaline games for national powers. Truitt Sunderland had two points although the second midfield remains missing in action. Cav reserves looked sloppy and anxious. There’s playing time available. Backup goalie Kyle Morris was solid in relief while McCabe Millon did the damage early and often.
On Saturday in the rain at Towson, the first half was awful. Spring break can do that. What was said at halftime? Because the third quarter was fabulous. UVA took a seven goal lead midway into the fourth quarter before their substitutes made the margin look closer than it was.
Tigers had success attacking the inside of the Wahoo defense with cutters. UVA defense needs work off-ball.
When clicking, Virginia has an electric passing offense and a defense that’s strong on ball and slow to slide. Cavaliers and Terps square off this week in a visceral ACC vs Big Ten showdown.
4) Duke
Josh Zwada had six assists in a 16-10 road win at Loyola in the rain. Brennan O’Neil finished with four goals and an assist while Dyson Williams had four goals. This is the nations top scoring offense. Defensively, Duke (6-1) held Loyola (2-5) to a season-low 25 shots.
Providence is at Koskinen midweek and then Richmond hosts Duke on March 16.
5) Maryland
Some games happen contrary to probability. FOGO Luke Wierman did not dress on Saturday in an overtime win against Brown, a baffling near upset that exposes Maryland. 14-13 OT win over a winless team is cause for concern. Braden Erksa scored five times and Daniel Maltz sealed the envelope in extra time. Terps were -4 on face-offs, went 0-4 on EMO and have nobody coming off the bench to augment the top line scoring. Goalie Logan McNaney had a rare sub par game.
Maryland and Virginia, a pairing of mutuel disdain, is on the menu. Terps need to wake up.
6) Syracuse
Otto is now 2-13 under coach Gary Gait against top 10 opponents, snapping a ten game losing streak with a 14-13 victory over Hopkins. No great thing happens suddenly.
Orange were cooking with fish grease in the third quarter, and scored 11 goals in middle 20 minutes, but strategically began to slow down and stall, and that let JHU eat into the margin. Playing zone against Hopkins was foolish given their passing and shooting prowess. This win, monumental for Syracuse after one-goal heartbreaking losses to Army and Maryland, provides affirmation of belief and work while avoiding perilous time on the post season bubble. Mason Kohn, Jake Stevens, Christian Mule, Owen Hiltz and Joey Spallina were the heroes. Stevens was omnipresent and missed in the loss to Army. I see some personnel issues on defense, the same players are giving up too many goals. Wouldn’t be surprised to see subtle shifting of manpower on defense with Saam Olexo playing close against Shellenberger, Zwada, Duffy and a Kavanagh.
#HHH (Head, heart, hustle) tangles with Delaware next in Chantilly, VA after their week at the North Carolina outer banks, training during spring break. A very shrewd move to get out of Central New York.
7) Denver
Wearing their plain white helmets with no decals, the Pioneers grabbed a 10-9 lead in the third quarter against Yale. That got spun into a Yale 12-10 advantage and ultimately a 15-13 loss. Those helmets will have decals next time DU plays at home.
Sunday’s game was physical. DU didn’t face-off well. Let’s face facts – DU was fortunate to beat JHU and Cornell. They did. And they are sitting pretty for the post season barring a major collapse in the Big East. Their close wins over JHU and Cornell didn’t age well this weekend and their other wins are low value. They play at Ohio State on Sunday March 17.
8) Johns Hopkins
Jays caught a break a week ago at Virginia when Cav FOGO Anthony Ghobriel scratched. Orange FOGO Mason Kohn was too much for Hopkins, as SU held on 14-13 in Charlotte in the 62nd meeting between the two former powers.
Simple game. “We Want More” needed the ball more. SU earned ten extra possessions and this margin would have been worse if not for Blue Jay goalie Chayse Ierlan. Clearing wasn’t terrific and the defense slid too much. Syracuse wanted, needed and played like this game meant more.
Jacob Angelus is money from close range, shooting over 60% on the season. Freshman defender Quintan Kilrain has been starting down low on close defense, the lefty did excellent work on UVA’s McCabe Millon a week ago and makes weekly flash plays.
Jays social media is ascending confidently, a marked upgrade, but remember to be humble, as this roster owns a singular playoff win over Bryant.
Navy visits Homewood Field on Friday night at 7pm. I’ll be up-top with Sheehan Stanwick Burch (ESPN+) for this rivalry that dates back to 1908.
9) Penn State
Jack Fracyon made 14 stops in a lopsided 20-9 win over Cornell in the rain at Panzer Stadium. Matt Traynor had 7 goals and TJ Malone had seven points. “We Are” jumped out 4-0 in the first six minutes and 6-1 by the end of the quarter. That’s five straight wins for PSU.
Nittany Lions play Marquette this Saturday. PSU has had issues clearing the ball before going 20-21 on Saturday.
10) Yale
With Leo Johnson and Chris Lyons sidelined, right-handed Canadien finisher David Anderson has been featured. Tensions were high during a 9-9 tie at Denver in the third quarter. Yale led 12-10 and held sway in a rough and exciting Sunday tilt on the funky field at altitude. 15-13 win is giant for Yale and the Ivy League. FOGO Machado Rodriguez did fantastic work. Midfielder Patrick Hackler is a two-way threat, the heart and soul of this team. Matt Brandau was slick, smart and managed different scenarios well. Freshman Patrick Moynihan, aka the ambassador, scored two crucial goals.
Defenders Patrick Pisano and Jack Stuzin causing all sorts of yard sale turnovers each week. Yale has struggled to clear the ball efficiently at times and gives the ball away too much. Holding wins over Nova and Colgate.
Harvard comes to New Haven on Saturday for some pizza and the rivalry game.
11) Georgetown
High Point and Brayden Mayea. put a scare into the Hoyas on Tuesday, the game was 8-6 HP before the Swamp Dogs put up a no hunting sign, quieting the unrest in a 14-8 win behind ten straight goals in the final 25:00 minutes. Aidan Carroll found the net four times.
Hoyas, are idle for a graduate student academic trip abroad before facing Dartmouth on March 19. Never heard of slipping out-of-town mid-season, a near two-week hiatus, which will allow Coach Warne time to surf eBay for throwback Starter outfits.
12) Harvard
Crimson jumped out 4-0, 7-2 and 10-3 flexing their defensive muscles in Ann Arbor. They held Michigan off, winning 13-11. Harvard was dusted on face-offs overcoming the possession advantage with efficiency on offense. Michigan took 55 shots. It was Ali “Rope a dope” for coach Byrne and company. Sam King might be the best player that nobody’s talking about.
Crimson swarm ground balls. This program is one of the oldest in America, founded in 1878 and won 13 pre-NCAA national titles between 1881 and 1915. Dust em off.
The undefeated teams in D1 are NJIT, Army, Harvard and Quinnipiac. Harvard travels to Yale on Saturday.
13) Richmond
Spiders collared the Retrievers 13-4 on Friday. Goalie Zach Vigue, a 6-0’ right-handed redshirt junior from Apex, NC made 15 saves and is posting impressive save percentage stats each week. Spiders rank high in combined efficiency. RU is at Bucknell on Tuesday and host Duke on Saturday.
14) Cornell
“Hard Hat 21” got plastered in Happy Valley 20-9, falling behind 6-1 early in the rain. They made a goalie change but the damage was done. Michael Long and CJ Kirst were bright spots in this forgettable outing that featured no bench scoring, six failed clears and an o-5 extra man.
Prior to the PSU loss, Cornell shooting percentage has been north of 40% which is rarified air. Their SSDM’s inability to redirect or slow ISO’s will make sliding and recovery skills essential. I could see them shifting to more zone defense.
Cornell meets Princeton on Sunday (ESPNU) at 2pm with Cotter & Carc on the mic.
15) Princeton
Tigers and Rutgers compete for the Meistrell Cup, named after Hall of Famer Harland (Tots) Meistrell, who helped restart the lacrosse teams at both schools in the 1920s. Princeton had disbanded its team in 1894 before its resumption in 1920, while Rutgers discontinued its program in 1889, before its 1920 revival.
Goalie Michael Gianforcaro would not flinch, making 14 saves (67%) on Sunday in a 14-8 Tiger win. Coulter Mackesy flourished with five points. The mechanics of his shot release are efficiently beautiful, smooth, the transfer of weight from back to front, mimicking a golf or squash shot.
Face-offs are an area of concern. The lack of success is leading to heavy opponent possession time. Princeton and Cornell meet Sunday on ESPNU with Chris Cotter and Paul Carcaterra calling the action.
16) Penn
Quakers modest 11-8 win over Villanova was coach Mike Murphy’s 100th career victory. Defender Brendan Lavelle had six ground balls. Penn needs to ramp up their FO and ground ball departments. Their overall efficiency isn’t top tier. Brown visits Franklin Field this weekend.
17) Michigan
Shooting 2 for 25 in the first half and missing the goal 35 in total proved costly in a Sunday home loss to Harvard. Low shot placement on a Flopper isn’t smart. Second half game plan was more on point with Mikey Boehm finding the island and Ryan Cohen running out of the box.
Give them credit for mounting a comeback down 10-3 to make it 11-9. Christian Ronda led that charge.
(5-2) with wins over unranked Delaware, Jacksonville, Marquette, Hobart and Canisius.
Michigan squares off with Notre Dame on Saturday in South Bend.
18) North Carolina
Heels blasted Hofstra 21-9 leading 6-1 early and 11-3 at halftime. Owen Duffy had a career day with nine points and more than 50 Tar Heels saw action.
FOGO Brady Wambach has played very well in 2024. Heels have to ramp up their shooting percentage and roll out an offense that’s still under construction.
They face Wagner on Tuesday and then Stony Brook on March 16. This non-ACC schedule is an RPI debacle.
19) Ohio State
Bucks scrapped and clawed, losing at home to Notre Dame 13-10 in front of a compact crowd at their new facility. This was actually a positive step, they fought and played hard, especially in the second and third quarters. Matt Caputo and Blake Eiland had hat tricks. Other than man down defense, this was a strong game for OSU.
They challenge Detroit on Tuesday and Denver is in Columbus on Sunday.
20) Quinnipiac
Welcome to the big show. (5-0) with wins over St John’s, Brown, Bryant, Merrimack and Canisius – I’ll give them respect. Coach Mason Poli has this squad vying for a MAAC title. Bobcats appeared in the 2016 NCAA tournament.
As the weather perks up, use the time before and after practice to work on your craft. Individuals get better before and after practice. Teams get better during practice.
On the radar:
- Colgate (5-3)
- Rutgers (5-2)
- Delaware (3-2)
- Quinnipiac (5-0)
- Umass (4-2)
- LIU (4-1)
- NJIT (7-0)
Bill Tierney is my guest on the Quintessential Podcast. The 7x NCAA championship coach is currently writing a book/memoir. Coach T discussed that project along with his observations from the 2024 season.
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