The Sunday Slide: February 26, 2023

Michelle Tumolo means business.

Tumolo and the Army women’s lacrosse team have faced two stiff tests in February and handled both Jacksonville and Rutgers in a way that previous Black Knights teams might not have. A perfect 4-0, Army is looking every bit like a team that belongs in the Top 20.

The question is just how good the Black Knights are. Without any marquee opponents for the next five weeks, the eye test will have to do. And what my eyes are telling me is that the Army defense is not to be trifled with, and emerging freshman star Brigid Duffy is adapting quite well to NCAA lacrosse.

The Patriot League still runs through Loyola (circle April 15 on your calendars), and Navy is hardly a surefire win, even though the Mids fell to Villanova this weekend. Lehigh could represent a pesky opponent on March 29, but given Army’s early success, the Black Knights should enter most of their remaining schedule as favorites.

That’s pretty much unchartered territory for this program, which continues to notch new “firsts” in Tumolo’s second season as head coach. I’ll have more on Army’s rise to relevance this week. I’m certainly intrigued by their success.

As always, thanks for reading The Sunday Slide. Hit me up with your comments (kdejohn@usalacrosse.com) for a chance to be included in next week’s column.

RANDOM OBSERVATIONS

I’m starting this week’s Random Observations with a non-Festivus airing of grievances. Dear ESPN+: Can we get some different commercials? My 16-month-old dog screams her head off when there’s a dog on the TV (I know, we’re working on that whole training thing). ESPN, of course, recycles the same commercial with the same dog every break. My ears are bleeding. Make it stop.

Congratulations are in order. Meg Decker and Xavier notched their first win as a program on Friday, a 15-14 win over Radford. It didn’t take long to get win No. 2, as the Musketeers beat Longwood two days later. With Presbyterian, Wofford and Eastern Michigan on tap the next few weeks, Xavier could be 5-2.

Emma Eberhardt must read this column. Just last week, I pleaded with Lehigh to bring back the SportsCenter-worthy goals. Thanks to Emma for dialing this one up.

Emma Eberhardt up to her old tricks.

Question is: Will @LehighWLacrosse make it to #SCTop10 again? pic.twitter.com/34Nu48N3Fl

— USA Lacrosse Magazine (@USALacrosseMag) February 25, 2023

Women’s lacrosse is getting increasingly higher scoring, a byproduct of the shot clock plus and other rules that cater to offensive players. But shoutout to a handful of defenses across the country this weekend that turned games into old-school slugfests. Virginia Tech held No. 1 North Carolina to just 10 goals in a 10-6 loss, and Penn State improved to 4-0 with an 8-4 win over Arizona State.

Speaking of defense, Denver is just a nightmare to score on. The Pios’ latest defensive masterpiece was an 11-4 win over Ohio State, and they’ve allowed just 22 goals over their 4-0 start. Granted, they’ve yet to see an offense we’d consider lethal. March 5 at Maryland and March 19 at home against Boston College are going to be important measuring sticks.

The results aren’t fully there yet for Johns Hopkins, but let’s recognize the excellent young building blocks Tim McCormack has on offense. Ashley Mackin (a sophomore) and Ava Angello (a freshman) are offensive keys for a Jays team that is figuring things out after a 13-12 loss to Penn.

Opposing coaches raved about James Madison’s Isabella Peterson in the preseason when our USA Lacrosse Magazine staff and contributors compiled our Top 20 preview series. She was stellar last year and has been even better so far. Her latest accomplishment? Producing eight goals, one assist and seven draw controls in an 18-8 win over High Point.

Make it 20 goals for Rachel Clark, the 2022 ACC Freshman of the Year who’s nearly a third of the way to her scoring output from a year ago. She’s averaging five goals per game for a Virginia team that is 4-0 and has recently dispatched ranked foes Princeton (by nine goals) and Louisville (by 10 goals).

Clemson very nearly stuck it to Notre Dame, losing 12-9 after coughing up an 8-7 lead at the end of the third quarter. To me, this says two things. For one, Clemson is having fun and playing without fear in its first year — and credit to head coach Allison Kwolek for that. Secondly, it makes me question if Notre Dame will again by Jekyll and Hyde this year. We’ll know more in the next two weeks with ACC games against Duke and Syracuse.

Is Yale going to win the Ivy League? That’s what Joe Spallina told our Beth Ann Mayer after Stony Brook beat the Bulldogs 13-7 on Saturday. Yale made big strides in 2022, and for the first time in a long time, the Ivy League looks wide open.

Only two Maryland players have multiple assists. Granted, one of them is Eloise Clevenger with 13. The other is Chrissy Thomas with three. Scoring hasn’t necessarily been the problem for the 3-1 Terps, who just barely beat Florida on Saturday, but a more diverse offense will go far. Not every team is going to have multiple feeding threats, but it’s easier for defenses when they know where the ball is starting every possession.

Ya think Boston College remembered last April’s loss to Duke? The Eagles exacted revenge on the Blue Devils in a 17-7 romp. Three Eagles had at least three assists — Jenn Medjid, Courtney Weeks and Mckenna Davis (four).

FUN WITH NUMBERS

3

Games this upcoming Wednesday worth watching — Maryland at James Madison, Michigan at Denver and Princeton at Rutgers. Denver and Maryland then play on Sunday in College Park.

20

Draw controls won by Boston College against NCAA draw queen Maddie Jenner. Jenner won just two draws, while Andrea Reynolds (eight), Hollie Schleicher (seven) and others caused fits.

67.3%

The rate at which Lacey Bartholomay is stopping shots for Army. She’s allowing 6.55 goals per game. Just a brick wall.

90

The number of assists Meaghan Tyrrell, who is averaging 4.5 assists per game, would finish the season with if she keeps up this pace and Syracuse plays 20 games. That would break the NCAA Division I record set by Stanford’s Ashley Humphrey last year. The Orange have played 21 games each of the past three complete seasons (not counting 2020, of course). Her career high is 44.

94

Goals scored by Clemson in five games. The opponents (outside of Notre Dame) haven’t been traditionally strong programs, but this Tigers offense has playmakers.