Good morning. Here’s the latest from around the lacrosse world:
1. Early recruiting affects real people. As part of our coverage in the March edition of US Lacrosse Magazine, we asked current and former college recruits to share their stories of how the recruiting scene has influenced their lives.
Wyatt Naylor (2016), Addie Kalama (2019), Curtis Zappala (2015) and Luke MacDonald (2020) shared firsthand accounts of their recruiting processes.
A solution to the early recruiting issue could come as early as next month, when the NCAA Division I Council votes on a solution proposed by college coaches.
Here's the rest of our early recruiting content featured in the March edition:
-
Landmark Decision: Diving into the nuts and bolts of the early recruiting issue and upcoming NCAA vote
-
Why Team USA stars Rob Pannell and Marcus Holman loathe early recruiting.
-
Straight from the Source: Advice from Team USA members John Galloway, Katie Schwarzmann, Kayla Treanor and Alice Mercer
-
From US Lacrosse CEO Steve Stenersen: Early Recruiting's Erosive Effect
2. Northwestern had its hands full with Michigan at the Big House on Thursday. The Wildcats began Big Ten play with a 10-8 victory over the Wolverines, but it wasn't easy.
The teams headed into halftime tied at 3-3, but Northwestern came out of the break strong, taking a 6-4 lead with just over 16 minutes remaining. Meghan Duffy scored her third goal to give the Wildcats a 9-6, but the Wolverines responded with two straight goals to cut the deficit to one goal with 6:48 left.
Christina Esposito gave Northwestern some breathing room with a goal a minute later. Duffy and Danita Stroup each had hat tricks to lead the way for Northwestern.
Here are other Top 20 scores from Wednesday night:
-
Morgan Caldwell's goal with 2:36 left in the first overtime period gave No. 8 Ithaca the 11-10 win over No. 10 Cortland. (WD3)
-
No. 14 Lock Haven scored 11 straight goals to break open a tight game with No. 18 Kutztown and win convincingly 15-3. (WD2)
3. For Ohio State, it’s all part of the blueprint. At 9-0 following a week that saw them beat both Towson and Denver, the Buckeyes and coach Nick Myers are sticking to the basic, and it’s working.
After a season in which Ohio State started by winning five of six, but fell off during a six-game losing streak, Myers said his team came to fall ball ready to improve. The Buckeyes have made an effort to spread it around on offense, and Jake Withers is winning his fair share of faceoffs.
Looking to keep the momentum going, the Buckeyes will face Notre Dame on Saturday.
4. Michigan is finally making waves in Division I. The Wolverines picked up their first win over a ranked opponent this month, when they beat Penn 13-12. Thought it was a slow rise, Michigan, at 7-1, might be due to compete in a stacked Big Ten.
The Wolverines moved to Division I from club in 2012, and ever since, coach John Paul has focused on incremental improvements. But even with a team that’s winning faceoffs and stopping shots are respectable clips, Paul said there’s plenty more work to do.
5. The UWLX announced its 2017 schedule on Thursday. The league will kick off season No. 2 on May 27 with a doubleheader at Attleboro High School (Mass.) and conclude on Aug. 2 in Lake Placid, N.Y.
The league returns for its sophomore season under new leadership. Commissioner Michele DeJulius stepped down after one season in charge, and Syracuse coach Gary Gait took over in the interim. The season will run for 10 weeks.
6. Colorado Mammoth goalie Dillon Ward turns 26 this month, but he’s already on top of his game. He’s leading the league with an 80.4 save percentage, helping the Mammoth to a 7-6 record so far this season.
WHAT WE'RE READING
-
Princeton senior midfielder Sam Gravitte is a man of many talents. With parents that both worked on Broadway, Gravitte is balancing his love for theater and lacrosse.
-
Quint Kessenich hands out his grades for conferences, coaches, players and even Mother Nature as the college lacrosse season hits its midway point,
-
It may be March, but it's not too early to talk Player of the Year candidates. Inside Lacrosse ranks its top 20 players in Division I men's lacrosse this season.
-
Johns Hopkins is excited to have the services of Hunter Moreland back. The junior faceoff specialist won eight of 12 faceoffs in the Blue Jays' loss to Syracuse over the weekend.
-
Syracuse women are playing with the spirit of their coach, Gary Gait. He's given his players the keys to be creative with the offense that he calls during games.
WHAT WE’RE WATCHING
St. Bonaventure announced that it was adding men's lacrosse for the 2019 season. The school's athletic director, Tim Kenny, spoke with Lax Sport Network about why the decision was an easy one.
"It makes money for the school" @Go_Bonnies AD @TKAthletics on St. Bonaventure adding men's lacrosse. Full interview https://t.co/oJkK8CQ2nw pic.twitter.com/OBVin0qMOr
— Lax Sports Network (@LaxSportsNet) March 23, 2017
Northwestern needed every goal it could get on Thursday, but one stood out among the rest. Check out Shelby Fredericks' fake BTB goal that had Michigan's defense guessing.
— Northwestern Lax (@NULax) March 23, 2017
You have to see it to believe it. Fredericks faked out everyone in the Big House. #SCTop10 #B1GCats https://t.co/Wl3kq3K0AW
WHAT'S ON TAP
-
Friday, we have a classic Ivy League rivalry on the men's side, as Yale travels to face Princeton on ESPNU. On the women's side, No. 9 Stony Brook and No. 10 USC battle in a crucial nonconference game for both teams. Both No. 13 Elon and No. 15 Virginia Tech are also in action.
-
Boy, do we have some good matchups in college lacrosse on Saturday. Let's start with the men, where North Carolina and Maryland battle at Chapel Hill on ESPNU in a rematch of the 2016 championship game, Denver travels to Towson looking to bounce back from its blowout loss to Ohio State, Johns Hopkins hosts Virginia, Syracuse and Duke face off and Notre Dame meets the Buckeyes. Need our TV Listings? Here they are.
-
On the women's side Saturday, No. 3 Florida hosts No. 17 Denver, No. 20 Virginia gets Duke in a key ACC game, a surprising James Madison team meets No. 1 Maryland, No. 2 North Carolina battles No. 19 Boston College and Penn State faces Johns Hopkins.
-
No. 5 Rollins women will play a pair of games at Tierney Field this weekend, meeting Shepherd on Friday and Grand Valley State on Sunday. Check out the full Tierney Field schedule here.