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Wilson’s Wheelhouse: Midweek Report

Conference games are picking up in Division 3, the MCLA has some good games and as predicted, Syracuse rolled over Villanova on Monday and Jeremy Thompson, midfielder for Cuse, had a big day.  Hofstra then dominated Army, 17-2, on Tuesday.  Ouch.

Connecticut College barely got by Keene State 12-11 to remain undefeated and while Keene’s program has improved, this would have been a big loss for the Camels.  Williams dropped one to Endicott by 5 and I’ll say it right now, the Purple Cows out of Williamstown, MA are out of my top 20.

The headline upcoming game of the week might just be in the MCLA as Chapman heads North from comfortable California for the wilds of Oregon.  I know two guys who are pretty excited for this one.

Chapman is looking very solid, winning games methodically but playing with flair.  I think that’s a fair statement.  Oregon has been hanging tough when they’re not winning and doing so against some pretty strong competition.  I feel like the Ducks are due for a big win and Chapman at home is as good as it gets.

In NCAA D3 action, Cortland State heads to RIT and pretty everyone expects Cortland to take this one comfortably.  I like where RIT has headed this season but this is a big test for them.  They’re playing at home and they’ll need every advantage they can get but I think this one might be closer than the Cortland win over a really good Nazareth team.

On Wednesday night, Lynchburg travels to Roanoke for what has the makings to be the biggest ODAC game of the year.  If anyone can challenge Noke in the ODAC, it’s Lynchburg but I have to believe that Roanoke will take this one comfortably, even though they recently lost to Stevenson 18-9.

On Friday Duke will travel up to Cambridge, MA and take on the Crimson of Harvard.  Duke may be the 4th best team in the ACC but they also might be the 6th or 7th best team in the country.

Harvard will try to bring out a big crowd and play off that energy.  It’s a tall order for Harvard but they are more than capable.  Duke has done a great job of freeing up shooters and attackman Max Quinzani really sets the tone on offense for them with his work ethic.  Duke just barely got by Brown, 11-10, on Tuesday so they will know not to take the Ivy League teams lightly.

Elsewhere on Friday, Georgetown travels to Annapolis to take on Navy.  This is a game Georgetown absolutely needs to win.  The Hoyas haven’t quite been able to take down the top level teams so they really need to beat a team like Navy that doesn’t seem tournament bound.  The Midshipmen play great team lacrosse though, especially at home and are always primed for an upset, even in a somewhat down year.

In other news, the Thumbspiracy is still going strong.  I thought we’d get through a week where I didn’t find any photos of blatant thumbing and then I found a picture of an egregious violation by a ‘Nova player.  I guess I’d thumb the ball too if I were being covered by Joel White, LSM for Cuse.

This seems pretty blatant to me. Refs, where you at? Photo courtesy of lax.com, as usual.

I also caught some thumb action in the Duke game but it wasn’t Max Quinzani this time.  It wasn’t even a Blue Devil!  It was, gulp, a player for Brown!  What is happening to the game of lacrosse?  Have people no shame?

First Cornell, now Brown. Even the Ivy isn't immune to this thumbing scourge.

Then I was emailed a picture of our very own 412 “protecting his house”.  Has the Thumbspiracy made its way to the MCLA?  Oh no.  412’s is actually about as borderline as it gets, I mean he’s not even running with the ball so we’ll give him a pass.  For now.

Palms up usually means you're asking the ref for a call. I agree. Call it. Thumbing.

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About the Author:
Connor is a pretty average lacrosse player at this point who doesn’t know when to give up on the game.  He played and coached in the NESCAC and still plays for the Southampton LC in NYC.  Connor lives with his fiance in Brooklyn and thanks her for allowing him to keep the dream alive.

Contact him at connor@lacrosseallstars.com.