Good morning. Here’s the latest from around the lacrosse world:
1. It was a pretty sweet weekend for some Midwestern lacrosse teams. A week ago, Patrick Stevens' analysis that a struggling Notre Dame team was still in good shape for a NCAA tournament berth drew the ire of lacrosse fans on Twitter. Rather than worry about the numbers game on Selection Sunday, Notre Dame took a major step towards securing a spot in the field by winning the ACC championship.
Last year's national runner-up, Ohio State, is also suddenly reenergized. Five straight losses had the Buckeyes under .500, but Saturday's 10-7 win over Rutgers was the third straight for Ohio State and earned them the No. 3 seed for the Big Ten tournament.
Michigan won't be dancing this postseason, but that didn't stop their men's and women's teams from a special ending to the season. Decker Curran scored the last two goals of the game to give the men's team a 10-9 overtime win at Penn State, but that just set the stage for an even more amazing comeback.
Michigan's women's team scored two goals in the final six seconds of the game, including Maggie Kane's buzzer-beater to give the Wolverines an unbelievable 12-11 victory at Penn State.
"It's a good goal!"
— Michigan Women’s Lacrosse (@UMichWLAX) April 29, 2018
Understatement! What a win! #GoBlue pic.twitter.com/PkuYEOehsd
2. Boston College's run at perfection came to an end, falling 14-11 to North Carolina in the ACC championship game. Marie McCool was held without a point, but grabbed 11 draw controls and UNC goalie Taylor Moreno made 33 saves in three victories in the tournament.
3. One of the best rivalries in all of sports, Johns Hopkins and Maryland men's lacrosse, went to triple overtime and ended with an unlikely hero. Junior Will Snider, the younger brother of Team USA member Drew Snider, entered the game with three career goals. He proceeded to net both the game-tying and game-winning goals to lead the Terps to an 8-7 victory.
WILL SNIDER WINS IT IN 3OT! @TerpsMLax takes it 8-7 for the fourth straight #TheRivalry win over @jhumenslacrosse. Terps are @bigten regular-season champs. pic.twitter.com/fRQuVaschI
— US Lacrosse Magazine (@USLacrosseMag) April 28, 2018
4. A season that began with an 0-2 record ended in triumph for the Stanford women's lacrosse team. The Cardinal avenged two regular season losses to Colorado, beating the Buffaloes 15-6 to win the inaugural Pac-12 championship. Stanford goalie Allie DaCar made 14 saves and was named the tournament MVP.
5. Loyola became the first team to officially qualify for the NCAA men's lacrosse championship, beating Lehigh 15-8 to win the Patriot League championship. Loyola erupted for six straight goals to open the second half, breaking a 5-5 halftime tie.
6. Two of the biggest surprises in women's lacrosse, James Madison and Towson, played for the Colonial Athletic Association regular season title on Saturday and didn't disappoint. Kristen Guadian scored her second OT game-winner of the season as the Dukes won 17-16 in overtime, setting the stage for what should be a great CAA tournament this weekend in Harrisonburg, Va.
7. Defending Major League Lacrosse champion Ohio had to wait a week to open its season, but the wait was worth it. Team USA attackman Marcus Holman poured in an MLL record 11 goals in Ohio's 25-13 victory over New York, breaking the league record of 10 set by Ohio's John Grant Jr. in 2016.
Congrats to this beast on a record setting day. What you put in is what you get out - and you work your ass off @MarcusHolman1 . 11 buckets and a @MLL_Lacrosse record. pic.twitter.com/ymiJEOB7W3
— Will Manny (@WillManny_1) April 29, 2018
Charlotte moved into first place in the league standings at 2-0 with a gutsy 13-12 win over Dallas. Despite missing many of its top offensive players, the Hounds prevailed with Charlie Cipriano 21 saves. Dylan Maltz scored four goals in his first game in a Charlotte uniform and Matt Rambo had two goals and five assists.
WHAT WE’RE READING
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Chapman is the top seed in the MCLA Division I bracket and St. Thomas heads the MCLA Division II field.
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The NAIA announced the fields for its men's and women's national invitational tournaments.
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Cornell's loss to Princeton may have left only one path to the NCAA tournament for the Big Red.
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Great story from the Washington Post on Maryland senior Bryce Young, whose cousin, Tyler Wechsler, died last April.
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Johns Hopkins coach Dave Pietramala lashed out at some critics regarding Shack Stanwick's toughness.
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The Univesity of Richmond will host the Atlantic 10 women's tournament and the Southern Conference men's tournament this weekend.
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After an 18th place finish at last year's FIL Women's World Cup, Hong Kong is already building towards the 2021 World Cup, which will be hosted by US Lacrosse at Towson University.
WHAT WE’RE WATCHING
Michigan's dramatic last-second goal shown above, was just part of the story. See the full drama of the final 30 seconds of play.
Check out the unbelievable turn of events in the final 30 seconds of play today.
— Michigan Women’s Lacrosse (@UMichWLAX) April 28, 2018
We are relentless. We will never give in. #GoBlue pic.twitter.com/mgMdK7wsSe
With 41 saves from Mike Poulin, including this beauty, it's no wonder defending league champion Georgia stormed back into the NLL playoffs. Georgia won the East and is followed by Rochester and New England. Saskatchewan dominated the West and is followed by Colorado and Calgary.
Taking the East Division like...
— Georgia Swarm (@GeorgiaSwarmLAX) April 29, 2018
Final Score presented by @Enterprise@mpthirty | #DefendTheCup pic.twitter.com/0Gxm4z9XWR
WHAT’S ON TAP
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The Nike/US Lacrosse weekly collegiate rankings come out today.
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