Another one this week? YUP.
After playing “Another one bites the dust” last week following Penn State’s first loss, this week marks Hofstra’s entry into the land of the positive loss column.
The Conference tournament seedings are coming into focus as teams are locking up spots.
Sadly, it also means some teams are getting outright eliminated and knowing that their seasons are coming to an end.
This is the best of times, and the worst of times.
NCAA D1 Scoreboard Week 11
Monday 4/10
15 Monmouth vs. VMI 8
Tuesday 4/11
11 Notre Dame vs. Marquette 10
14 Dartmouth vs. UMass Lowell 8
12 Lafayette vs. NJIT 11
15 Lehigh vs. Princeton 10
15 Syracuse vs. Cornell 8
13 Virginia vs. Robert Morris 7
Wednesday 4/12
11 Albany vs. Maryland 12
Saturday 4/15
7 Michigan vs. Ohio State 18
6 Manhattan vs. Marist 16
12 Boston U. vs. Loyola 11 ot
6 Dartmouth vs. Princeton 16
13 Hobart vs. Bryant 6
12 Holy Cross vs. Colgate 11
3 Hampton vs. NJIT 17
8 High Point vs. Furman 13
10 Navy vs. Army 6
9 Providence vs. Marquette 7
12 Sacred Heart vs. Saint Joseph’s 11 ot
4 VMI vs. Air Force 14
18 Yale vs. Brown 12
6 Bellarmine vs. Richmond 13
16 Cornell vs. Lehigh 11
20 Duke vs. Virginia 11
10 Harvard vs. Penn 14
11 Hartford vs. UMass Lowell 12
7 Lafayette vs. Bucknell 11
7 Mercer vs. Jacksonville 13
12 St. John’s vs. Denver 18
12 UMass vs. Fairfield 8
9 Vermont vs. Stony Brook 10
9 Wagner vs. Mount St. Mary’s 6
13 Johns Hopkins vs. Penn State 11
8 Detroit Mercy vs. Monmouth 11
12 Georgetown vs. Villanova 17
10 Canisius vs. Siena 11
11 North Carolina vs. Syracuse 12 ot
13 Cleveland State vs. Walsh 7
12 Hofstra vs. Drexel 13
6 Delaware vs. Towson 10
7 UMBC vs. Binghamton 6
Sunday 4/16
12 Rutgers vs. Maryland 13 3 ot
The Stat Freaks
Who should be recognized for a zillion goals, assists, face off wins, GBs, or saves? We answer. 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: Yale’s Ben Reeves’ 10 points was up there, as was Dylan Beckwith’s defensive stats (a similar stat line gave Jordan Evans this title in week 1), while Connor Keating also came close. In the end, I have to go with Navy’s Ryan Kern in goal. He was a brick wall against a great Army offense, and even grabbed two ground balls for good measure. A game like that in a big rivalry and an upset bid? That works for me!
Offense: The Cutoff here is a combined 7 goals and/or assists
| Ben Martin – Dartmouth: 7G, 10 Shots vs. UMass Lowell |
| Connor Fields – Albany (NY): 3G, 5A, 14 Shots vs. Maryland |
| Dylan Beckwith – Fairfield: 7GB, 1CT, 1G, 1A vs. Massachusetts (an Attackman with D stats!) |
| Justin Guterding – Duke: 6G, 4A, 12 Shots vs. Virginia |
| Jack Bruckner – Duke: 6G, 2A, 9 Shots vs. Virginia |
| Ryan Lukacovic – Virginia: 4G, 3A, 7 Shots vs. Duke |
| Reid Bowering – Drexel: 5G, 2A, 6 Shots vs. Hofstra |
| Zack Sirico – Loyola Maryland: 4G, 3A, 5 Shots vs. Boston U. |
| Aaron Forster – NJIT: 4G, 5A, 12 Shots vs. Hampton |
| Andrew Park – Wagner: 4GB, 4CT vs. Mt. St. Mary’s |
| Jeff Teat – Cornell: 4G, 4A, 8 Shots vs. Lehigh |
| Ben Reeves – Yale: 5G, 5A, 12 Shots vs. Brown |
| Tre Leclaire – Ohio St.: 3G, 5A, 6 Shots vs. Michigan |
Defense: For here, you need 8 GBs, CTs, and/or points
| George Christopher – Dartmouth: 10GB vs. UMass Lowell |
| Will Puduski – UMass Lowell: 6GB, 3CT vs. Dartmouth |
| Chris Adamo – Lafayette: 10GB, 3CT vs. NJIT |
| Scott Hooper – Virginia: 5GB, 7CT vs. Robert Morris |
| Matt Neufeldt – Maryland: 6GB, 3CT vs. Albany (NY) |
| Will Murphy – Holy Cross: 7GB, 2CT vs. Colgate |
| Marcus Willock – Canisius: 6GB, 2CT vs. Siena |
| Erik Cannon – Lafayette: 7GB, 4CT, 1G vs. Bucknell |
| Brandon Jones – Air Force: 11GB, 2CT vs. VMI |
| Frank Merrill – Manhattan: 8GB vs. Marist |
| Walt Gahagan – Cornell: 6GB, 2CT vs. Lehigh |
| Tim Troutner – High Point: 7GB, 4CT vs. Furman |
| Zach Barrett – Binghamton: 4GB, 4CT vs. UMBC |
| Matt Caracappa – Sacred Heart: 4GB, 4CT vs. Saint Joseph’s |
| Austin Smith – Saint Joseph’s: 6GB, 3CT vs. Sacred Heart |
| Connor Kubikowski – Saint Joseph’s: 7GB, 3CT vs. Sacred Heart |
| Robert Kuhn – Johns Hopkins: 7GB, 2CT, 1A vs. Penn St. |
| Connor Keating – Penn: 11GB, 1G, 1A vs. Harvard |
Faceoffs: Greater than 70%, at least 10 attempts
| Zachary Melillo – Marquette: 18/25, 6 GB vs. Notre Dame |
| Zach Currier – Princeton: 13/18, 7 GB, 1G, 2A vs. Lehigh |
| Ben Williams – Syracuse: 19/25, 11 GB vs. Cornell |
| Jason Murphy – Virginia: 12/15, 4 GB vs. Robert Morris |
| Jarett Witzal – Bucknell: 17/21, 10 GB vs. Lafayette |
| Trent Harper – Air Force: 14/16, 6 GB, 1A vs. VMI |
| Tyler Stevenson – NJIT: 17/20, 11 GB vs. Hampton |
| Hunter Forbes – Jacksonville: 17/23, 8 GB, 1A vs. Mercer |
| Conor Gaffney – Lehigh: 19/23, 11 GB vs. Cornell |
| Dylan Protesto – Hartford: 22/27, 12 GB vs. UMass Lowell |
| Trevor Baptiste – Denver: 22/29, 13 GB, 1G vs. St. John’s (NY) |
| Sam Gravitte – Princeton: 8/10, 5 GB vs. Dartmouth |
| Zach Currier – Princeton: 9/11, 9 GB, 2G, 3A vs. Dartmouth |
| Chris Santangelo – Penn: 22/28, 8 GB, 1G vs. Harvard |
| Jake Withers – Ohio St.: 20/23, 11 GB, 2G vs. Michigan |
Goalies: Greater than 70%
| Griffin Thompson – Virginia: 18/24 Saves, 6GB, 2CT vs. Robert Morris |
| Ryan Kern – Navy: 17/23 Saves, 2GB vs. Army West Point |
| Nick Marzullo – NJIT: 8/10 Saves vs. Hampton |
| Brian Corrigan – Marist: 12/17 Saves, 4GB vs. Manhattan |
| Benny Pugh – Richmond: 12/17 Saves, 1GB vs. Bellarmine |
The Big Upsets and Surprises
- 15 Lehigh vs. Princeton 10: Really Princeton? This game is just so Ivy 2017. Princeton looks like world beaters one week, then will lose to Lehigh by 5 the next. The entire league is just so unpredictable weak to weak (spelling intentional), that you cannot assume anything. I think at this point, whoever wins the Ivy tournament will win the national championship. Why not?
- 11 Albany vs. Maryland 12: This may have been the game of the week. The win was not easy as Albany threw everything they had (Connor Fields) at the Maryland defense as time was running out. They had about three legitimate chances in the last minute, but Maryland held on strong for the win.
- 12 Boston U. vs. Loyola 11 OT: This was one of BU’s biggest wins in their young program’s history. Even if Loyola is not playing like they did a year ago, they are still the team to measure yourself against in the league.
- 10 Navy vs. Army 6: Huge win for Navy. The rivalry of all rivalries, this one proved how much records don’t matter when these two play each other in any sport. Army was just marching through the Patriot League on their way to a top speed and likely AQ. Navy on the other hand was one of the most disappointing teams this year given what they had to build off of last season.
- 9 Providence vs. Marquette 7: Providence continued their undefeated runs through the Big East and scored their first ever win over Marquette. Marquette had some high expectations going into this season, but they are showing just how much their departed seniors meant to them.
- 20 Duke vs. Virginia 11: Really? UVA was blown out by Duke to see yet another winless ACC regular season. Now they are relegated to play Penn instead of their ACC friends, but at least it is a revenge game. Penn held on for a win earlier in the year and while Virginia will be eligible for the postseason, that will likely be it for the Cavs.
- 13 Johns Hopkins vs. Penn State 11: Hopkins is really starting to peak at the right time. They jumped on Penn State early and really controlled most of the game. Their offense just does an uncanny job of capitalizing on mistakes by the defense and making the quick passes around the outside to find the open shooter. Penn State did rally, but still came up short at the end.
- 11 North Carolina vs. Syracuse 12 OT: What a comeback. Syracuse closed out conference play 4-0 by coming back from 5 down. What really stands out for me is when the sideline camera turned to Syracuse Assistant Coach Lelan Rdgers as he pointed at North Carolina and told his bench “They know who we are”. This is the team of unlikely wins. I do not think they’ll win their conference tournament, but if you’re in a close game with Cuse in May in the fourth quarter, games like this will come to mind. I also need to say that this is the best I have seen North Carolina play this year. They have looked good at times, but this was towards the upper end of what they can do. Unfortunately on this day, it just wasn’t enough.
- 12 Hofstra vs. Drexel 13: Hofstra lost. I really expected them to make a run all the way into Towson to end the regular season, but give credit to Drexel. They played a solid game and were able to pull off a big upset. The CAA is still a two horse race, but that does not mean someone can’t make a run for the AQ.
- 7 UMBC vs. Binghamton 6: While they were not undefeated, Binghamton lost to UMBC, and with it their Top 20 ranking. In the grand scheme, this doesn’t affect much, but it does make their upcoming game with Syracuse lose its marketability as a top 20 matchup.
- 12 Rutgers vs. Maryland 13 3OT: OK, that game of the week thing with Maryland vs. Albany? It was really this one. Triple overtime. Save after save by each team. And it was all undone by a simple dodge with a late help slide for a goal on the crease. Sometimes as the game goes on, just the simple fundamentals can win you the game.
Out-of-Conference Conference Comparison
| Record | % | # of Teams | |
| Big Ten | 45-8 | 0.849 | 6 |
| ACC | 31-10 | 0.756 | 5 |
| Colonial | 28-22 | 0.560 | 6 |
| America East | 26-25 | 0.510 | 7 |
| Northeast | 26-28 | 0.481 | 7 |
| Big East | 24-26 | 0.480 | 6 |
| Ivy | 22-24 | 0.478 | 7 |
| Patriot | 22-25 | 0.468 | 9 |
| MAAC | 18-34 | 0.346 | 7 |
| Southern | 18-36 | 0.333 | 8 |
This weekend will see teams fighting for conference seeding. While some are locking into their seeds, others are still trying to win their way in. How much does seeding matter, though? Well, here’s a look at the major conference and how each of the top four seeds has fared over the past few years:
| #1 Seeds | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 |
| Big Ten | 2-0+ | 2-0 | DNP |
| ACC | 0-1* | 0-1 | 0-1 |
| Ivy | 0-1 | 0-1 | 1-1 |
| Patriot | 0-1 | 0-1 | 2-0 |
| Big East | 1-1 | 2-0* | 2-0 |
| #2 Seeds | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 |
| Big Ten | 1-1 | 0-1+ | DNP |
| ACC | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-1* |
| Ivy | 2-0 | 0-1 | 0-1 |
| Patriot | 2-0 | 2-0 | 0-1 |
| Big East | 2-0 | 1-1 | 0-1 |
| #3 Seeds | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 |
| Big Ten | 0-1 | 1-1 | DNP |
| ACC | 1-1 | 2-0 | 1-1 |
| Ivy | 0-1 | 1-1 | 2-0 |
| Patriot | 1-1 | 1-1 | 2-1 |
| Big East | 0-1 | 0-1 | 1-1 |
| #4 Seeds | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 |
| Big Ten | 0-1 | 0-1 | DNP |
| ACC | 2-0 | 1-1 | 2-0+ |
| Ivy | 1-1 | 2-0 | 0-1 |
| Patriot | 2-1 | 0-1 | 1-1 |
| Big East | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-1 |
*Eventual National Champion
+Eventual National Runner Up
Keep in mind that the Patriot league runs a 6 team tournament.
Some interesting (may not actually be interesting) notes from these:
- The top team in the ACC has not won a game in the past 3 years. Sorry, Syracuse. Neither has the second seed.
- The Big Ten is the opposite, though. Their top team has won both tournaments.
- Last year, the two seed won three championships. In 2014, none of them won a game.
Weekend Games to Watch
This week, there are a couple match ups that really have my eye:
Army/Loyola: A big Patriot League matchup where Army is looking to bounce back so they can claim the top seed outright in their tournament. Loyola has been disappointing this season, but do not mistake that for them not being dangerous. This should be a great test for Army’s defense.
Notre Dame/North Carolina: The most important ACC game of the weekend as both teams are fighting for seeding. Syracuse owns the top seed in the tournament after their 4-0 run. Duke locked up the #2 seed, so the winner here will play Duke. The loser gets Cuse. I’ll let you decide which is better.
Denver/Providence: Both teams are undefeated in league play, so something is going to give. Denver is the obvious favorite, but this will be Providence’s chance to really show what they can do. They probably won’t show their whole hand right now since they are going to still need to win the Big East tournament to make the NCAA, but they are not going to just be a doormat, either. I expect this team to be a handful for the Pioneers.
Ohio State/Maryland: Another brutal Big Ten game, Maryland is looking to stay undefeated in the conference while Ohio State is right behind them at 1-2. A win likely gives Ohio State the top seed in the conference tournament, but they would still have to get through Rutgers. Maryland would still be no guarantee as they would have to face Hopkins still. Either way, both teams have something on the line.
Albany/Yale: This is the best non-conference game of the weekend. Yale is surging, with Ben Reeves leading the way. Albany on the other hand has some serious doubters around the country who they want to silence. They only have two losses on the year and they are to the two best teams in the country. Does beating Yale prove that they are a top 5 team? No. Does losing to them help their argument at all? Also no.
Penn State/Rutgers: Another Big Ten Sunday game to end the weekend. Last week, Rutgers went into triple overtime in their loss to Maryland while Penn State is in the midst of a two game skid after playing Hopkins and Maryland. Both are looking to turn things around.
