The Sunday Slide: February 12, 2023

Women’s lacrosse fans, welcome to The Sunday Slide.

It’s the brainchild of our entire editorial team — a digestible, informative and (hopefully?) fun way to dive into the week’s women’s lacrosse results.

Full disclosure: I’ve played two lacrosse games in my life. Both were USA Lacrosse staff games with soft sticks and tennis balls. As I sit here patting myself on the back for the handful of goals I scored on the empty goal, I also acknowledge that I have more to learn (#TeamNoCradle).

I’m a lifelong baseball player from Lawnguyland who ironically knew next to nothing about the popularity of lacrosse. After four years covering high school sports, the first of which I was “forced” into covering girls’ lacrosse, here I am partway through my fourth year at USA Lacrosse loving the game, learning more of its intricacies every day and regretting that I didn’t find it earlier in life.

But after eight years around the game and countless relationships with players and coaches, I think I’ve got a pretty good grasp.

Still hit me up (kdejohn@usalacrosse.com) with anything you think I might have missed. Let’s make this a community column. Have an opinion? Any hot takes? Maybe we can throw them into next weekend’s story.

Let’s have a blast this season. Thanks for being here.     

RANDOM THOUGHTS

The first game I watched from start to finish this weekend was Northwestern at Syracuse. Good choice by me. Not only did Izzy Scane light it up in her return with five goals and two assists, but Megan Carney (four goals), Emma Tyrrell (three goals) and Emma Ward (two goals, three assists) also balled in returns from injuries of their own. Syracuse earned a 16-15 win, and these programs are already on a collision course for May.

ALL THE FEELS. IZZY IS ON THE BOARD.

The @NULax star scores her first goal since 2021. A long time coming for the sharp shooter. pic.twitter.com/XpzLDy3Kgu

— USA Lacrosse Magazine (@USALacrosseMag) February 11, 2023

Opening weekend underscored the significant leap from Division II to Division I. Lindenwood, the 2021 NCAA champion, and Queens, which held down the No. 1 spot for several weeks last spring, were thumped in their D-I debuts. Cal topped the Lions 17-9, and Richmond bested Queens 13-6. Success will come, for sure, but it was a rocky start for both teams. Stonehill, another Division II transplant, opens February 15.

HBCUs were on ACC Network Extra to kick off Saturday’s slate, and London Downing dropped four goals on Howard in Delaware State’s 16-4 win. Played in Chapel Hill, the game was hosted by North Carolina and served as an educational opportunity. Beth Ann Mayer will have more on the experience this week.

Colorado suffered two losses to open its season, one thanks to an overtime goal by Vanderbilt’s Bri Gross and one after facing a brick wall in Louisville’s Sara Addeche (14 saves). Tough sledding for the Buffs in week one. Is another rollercoaster season on the horizon?

Charlotte North who? OK, nobody’s asking that question. But Boston College still looks good. The Eagles toppled a ranked USC team 14-3 behind five goals from Jenn Medjid, three from Belle Smith and seven points (five assists) from sophomore Mckenna Davis.

Might as well be honest in this space. I’m on the Maryland hype train this season. The defense is loaded, the midfield play is superb, and if Emily Sterling is even close to the goalie she was last year, well, good luck. You could make a case the offense has an Aurora Cordingley-sized hole in it, and you’d be right. But Cathy Reese told me in the fall to watch for Eloise Clevenger as something of a replacement. Not an exact 1-for-1, of course. Clevenger had a team-high four assists in a 15-5 win over Saint Joseph’s.

Opening day assists for Elle Clevenger

Opening day goals for Jordyn Lipkin

Our offense was humming today! pic.twitter.com/cMEsVsKgJV

— Maryland Women's Lacrosse (@MarylandWLax) February 11, 2023

Continuing the honesty, I’m also on the Stanford hype train. That train didn’t run smoothly out of the station in a 14-11 loss to Virginia. That’s not an awful loss, of course, because Virginia was knocking on the door of the top 10 anyway. But an offense that should be lethal mustered just 23 shots, and the Cardinal turned it over 14 times. Maybe that’s more of a testament to Virginia than it is a knock on Stanford, but either way, it bears watching.

Tara Singleton’s first weekend as a head coach culminated in a hard-fought 9-7 loss to Rutgers, a team many believe to be a serious Big Ten contender yet again. Jacksonville is 0-2, with both losses against ranked teams. The Dolphins can next prove themselves on February 20 against Stanford.

FUN WITH NUMBERS

5 • That’s how many goals freshman Marissa White scored in her NCAA debut, a team-high for defending national champion North Carolina. White looks like an early clubhouse leader for big responsibility on an offense with spots to fill.

11 • Xavier’s Marina Piszczor made 11 saves in 45 minutes in relief of starting goalie Jada Brandon, but Xavier still fell to Oregon 17-6 in its program debut. Meg Decker is one of the most positive coaches I’ve ever had conversations with, so she’ll find the good from game one and go from there.

14 • Jill Smith’s jersey number. You’ll be seeing a lot of the Michigan sophomore this season, at least that’s what it looks like as of now. She had 11 goals on 20 shots during opening weekend, a 1-1 showing by the Wolverines.

23 • Shoutout to Clemson. Not only did the Tigers put together a fantastic women’s lacrosse rules video. They also dropped 23 goals in their program debut against Wofford. Hanna Hilcoff and Gianna New each scored five times.

JENNER WATCH

With 13 draw controls against Navy on Saturday, Duke maestro Maddie Jenner is now 29 draws away from breaking the all-time Division I record of 645 held by Robert Morris’ Jessica Karwacki. We’ll keep everyone updated on her pursuit of history here.

Kenny DeJohn is the digital content editor for USA Lacrosse. He’s worked for the organization since 2019.