Weekend One-Liners: The Pat Spencer Played Lacrosse Edition

Five years ago today, Pat Spencer leapt at the goal line and landed on “SportsCenter.” His ascent never stopped.

This week’s news that Spencer, the 2019 Tewaaraton Award-winning attackman for Loyola, has signed a two-way contract with the NBA’s Golden State Warriors gives us reason to reminisce on one of the most iconic plays of his decorated college lacrosse career.

On Feb. 23, 2019, in Piscataway, New Jersey, Spencer scored five goals — all unassisted — and doled out two assists in the Greyhounds’ 13-7 win over Rutgers.

None said future NBA player more than the diving backhand goal during which Spencer seemingly levitated above the crease.

The Big Ten Network hardly did the play justice with its unimaginative camera work. You needed to be field level to truly appreciate the athleticism of the play. Which is where photographer Steven Wojtowicz comes in, capturing the image at the top of this page, which we ran gleefully in the ensuing edition of USA Lacrosse Magazine.

Which brings us to this week’s action, including another Loyola-Rutgers tilt in Baltimore, a top-10 showdown between Cornell and Denver out west and several more intriguing non-conference matchups. Here’s one sentence each on a dozen games of note.

Jacksonville (1-1) at No. 2 Duke (3-0) – Friday 6 p.m. (ACCNX)

The pedigree and current roster makeup of these teams say look elsewhere for an upset, but the Dolphins have taken down the Blue Devils two consecutive years, including a 14-12 win in Durham in 2022 that trumpeted their arrival as a nationally ranked contender.

Manhattan (0-3) at NJIT (4-0) – Saturday 11 a.m. (AETV)

The Highlanders are taking us on an early-season joyride as we fathom the possibility that a team that has never won more than three games in a season could go undefeated in non-conference play. 

Quinnipiac (2-0) at Bryant (2-1) – Saturday 12 p.m.

Bryant followed its big win over BU with a disappointing setback against Harvard, now gets an ascendent Quinnipiac team that looked really good in a 13-7 win over Brown.

No. 8 Johns Hopkins (3-1) at No. 15 North Carolina (2-0) – Saturday 12 p.m. (ACCNX)

Highly touted freshman Owen Duffy is shooting just 3-for-21 for the Tar Heels, who start a three-game home stretch against Hopkins, Princeton and Penn in Chapel Hill after a pair of neutral-site wins over Mercer and Fairfield. 

UPSET WATCH

No. 11 Penn State (2-1) at Navy (2-1) – Saturday 12 p.m. (ESPN+)

After scoring 35 goals in its first two games, Navy laid an egg at Towson but now gets a shot at a Penn State team that has already been picked off once by a Patriot League foe (Colgate) this season.  

No. 18 Rutgers (2-1) at No. 19 Loyola (1-2) – Saturday 1 p.m. (ESPN+)

Freshman Colin Kurdyla was one of the lone bright spots for Rutgers in a 16-7 loss to Army, scoring three goals for the Scarlet Knights.

GAME OF THE WEEK

No. 5 Cornell (1-0) at No. 7 Denver (3-0) – Saturday 2 p.m. (DU)

One of Matt Brown’s first moves as DU coach was to beef up the schedule and getting Cornell to come play at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium represents a significant accomplishment in that regard. 

No. 12 Princeton (2-0) at No. 4 Maryland (3-0) – Saturday 2 p.m. (BTN+)

With so many Matt Madalon recruits using their bonus NCAA eligibility to succeed elsewhere, Princeton’s reinforcements — namely freshmen Geogetown Prep (Md.) products Colin Burns and Nate Kabiri (13 goals combined) — have proven plenty capable of carrying the mantel.  

No. 14 Delaware (2-0) at Penn (1-1) – Saturday 3:30 p.m. (ESPN+)

It’s kind of shocking to learn that these two well-established and nationally competitive programs separated by just 40 miles have not played each other since 2000.

Marquette (3-1) vs. No. 13 Michigan (2-1) – Saturday 7 p.m. (BTN+) 

Early on at least, neither of these teams has proven to be on the level of a Notre Dame (which beat Marquette 21-8) or Virginia (which beat Michigan 19-11), but then again it’s possible only Duke and Maryland belong in that conversation right now.

No. 16 Ohio State (4-0) at No. 3 Virginia (2-0) – Sunday 1 p.m. (ACCNX)

Freshman goalie Caleb Fyock has been as good as advertised for the Buckeyes with a 67-percent save percentage that surely will be tested against newly crowned UVA goals king Payton Cormier and the rest of the Cavaliers’ sharpshooters.

Georgetown (1-2) at No. 1 Notre Dame (2-0) – Sunday 2 p.m. (ESPNU)

The Hoyas avoided their second straight 0-3 start by beating Penn and gaining at least some momentum going into this game against the defending NCAA champion that has put up 46 goals in its first two games and has both Kavanaghs operating in peak form.