Good morning. Here’s the latest from around the lacrosse world:
1. Season three of the Women’s Professional Lacrosse League started to take shape Thursday.
The WPLL announced that it will operate with four teams after shuttering WPLL Fire, that Amber McKenzie (née Falcone) will take over the WPLL Futures program that works in conjunction with the US Lacrosse National Team Development Program and that USC’s Lindsey Munday and Drexel’s Jill Batcheller will be the head coaches of WPLL Command and WPLL Fight, respectively.
Each team will be comprised of 22 players, with a 15-player travel roster. Each team has protected 12 players ahead of the late-April college and free agency draft.
2. The Premier Lacrosse League announced Thursday that Ticketmaster will be the presenting sponsor and official ticket partner of the league.
PLL co-founder Paul Rabil called the partnership “a historic moment for professional lacrosse,” citing Ticketmaster’s audience reach and technology.
Why we partnered with @TicketMaster
— Premier Lacrosse League (@PremierLacrosse) February 27, 2020
ALL NEW State of the League is here. @PaulRabil pic.twitter.com/DiuMBsNxRr
3. The Maryland-Syracuse women’s lacrosse game originally scheduled to be played Friday at Syracuse will now be played Saturday at Maryland due to concerns about the weather forecast. The news elicited some tongue-in-cheek responses from the Syracuse side on social media.
The sun was out in Cuse today https://t.co/d0ZjY6EBUB
— Megan Carney (@megcarney02) February 28, 2020
To be fair it was unusually warm...44 I believe.
— Maggie Koch (@PHLMaggie) February 28, 2020
44 is a beauty of a day in cuse... not to mention that indoor facility you get to play in... how warm is it in there today meg ?
— alyssa murray cometti (@abmurray01) February 28, 2020
To the girls that have now been forced to give up their senior day and last time ever playing in the dome, thank you for everything you’ve done for the program. You are far from finished. pic.twitter.com/goScYeGpEP
— alyssa murray cometti (@abmurray01) February 28, 2020
Weather in Syracuse this weekend. If you know, you know.... pic.twitter.com/qVWXCogpI3
— alyssa murray cometti (@abmurray01) February 27, 2020
Do turtleshells not protect you against 1” of snow? Asking for a friend...
— Liz Hogan (@Liz_Hogan02) February 28, 2020
WHAT WE’RE READING
-
Nelson Rice’s peak behind the curtain at Calvert Hall (Md.), home of the three-time defending MIAA champion Cardinals.
-
Ella Brockway’s NCAA Division I women’s lacrosse notebook, checking in with Villanova after a big week and putting North Carolina’s lopsided win over Maryland into historical context.
-
Jonathan Sigal’s look at Washington and Lee in the post-A.J. Witherell era.
-
Patrick Stevens’ check-ins with Merrimack after its first Division I win (over Michigan, no less) and Cleveland State after first win over a nationally ranked team.
-
How Yale coach Andy Shay took a ragtag program at the bottom of the Ivy League and turned it into a perennial national power.
-
About Maryland’s sluggish starts and how the Terps are still finding their way on defense.
-
How the faceoff became a position of depth, strength and dominance for Syracuse.
-
An enlightening and inspiring story by Edward Lee of the Baltimore Sun on how Johns Hopkins’ Cole Williams and Jack Keogh have embraced life without hair, given that each suffers from alopecia, an autoimmune disorder.
WHAT WE’RE WATCHING
Syracuse coach John Desko on his favorite Carrier Dome memory. The Orange will play their last game under the old roof tonight against Hobart before renovations force their home games elsewhere.
40 years under the old roof. Last Dome game of the season before we make way for construction. Head Coach @JohnDesko gives his favorite Dome memory: pic.twitter.com/eIz4jRI9rk
— Syracuse Lacrosse (@CuseMLAX) February 27, 2020
Sticking with Syracuse-Hobart, highlights from the third-oldest rivalry in college lacrosse.
Third oldest rivalry in college lacrosse with a trophy on the line.
— Syracuse Lacrosse (@CuseMLAX) February 28, 2020
Gotta bring it home again. pic.twitter.com/vWma4re6sm
WHAT’S ON TAP
-
Friday night lacrosse: Richmond at No. 11 Duke and Hobart at No. 4 Syracuse in two games with serious upset potential. Both the Spiders and Statesmen are receiving consideration in the Nike/US Lacrosse Division I Men’s Top 20.
-
Our weekly Gameday Guide to help you navigate the rest of this college lacrosse weekend.