Good morning. Here’s the latest from around the lacrosse world:
1. The college lacrosse season did not come in quietly as Air Force worked its magic once again. The Falcons beat Duke for the third time since 2016 and gave No. 5 Duke a February loss to an unranked or lower ranked team for the fourth straight year.
2. Maryland didn’t look like the defensive-minded, patient Turtles we’ve come to expect in a 23-12 win over High Point. The Terps unfurled 70 shots with its experienced offensive unit, highlighted by this pretty connection from Anthony DeMaio to Logan Wisnauskas.
BTB assist ALERT
— US Lacrosse Magazine (@USLacrosseMag) February 1, 2020
Demaio Wisnauskas pic.twitter.com/qIC8yKyTLu
3. US Lacrosse Magazine Preseason Player of the Year Grant Ament certainly started 2020 off the right way.
WELCOME TO 2020,
— US Lacrosse Magazine (@USLacrosseMag) February 1, 2020
He drops points (4G, 6A) to lead @PennStateMLAX to the 16-9 win over @LafayetteMLAX.
Also, Mac O’Keefe with 6G. pic.twitter.com/gU7bs5kyBK
4. The NLL’s maiden voyage to Las Vegas included this last second bomb from Brodie Merrill to help San Diego beat Colorado 17-10 in Sin City.
MUST WATCH: Brodie Merrill goes 200ft to score an empty-netter with 0:01 remaining in the second quarter. pic.twitter.com/sOgMA8TSmV
— NLL (@NLL) February 2, 2020
Love Merrill’s description of the goal.
"It's probably 15 years of being bored at morning shootaround working on those long shots... I was relieved it got there in time and hopefully we can build off of that." - @BrodieMerrill_ on his 200ft buzzer-beater goal to end the first half. pic.twitter.com/Grlk7NPEqg
— NLL (@NLL) February 2, 2020
5. 2,600 for a February game is sweet. Even better when the school president is showing support for the lacrosse program. Utah opened with a 16-10 win over Bellarmine.
On what may be the last blue-sky day we see for a while, our men's lacrosse season opener on Saturday drew 2,600 fans—the largest home crowd for a D1 lacrosse game west of the Mississippi. And the team got the win! Well done, Coach Brian Holman. @UtahLacrosse @utahathletics pic.twitter.com/8T2iY4vzO4
— Ruth V. Watkins (@RuthVWatkins) February 3, 2020
WHAT WE’RE READING
-
The 2020 NCAA Division I women’s lacrosse season opens on Friday. Here’s a look at the season from A to Z.
-
Twenty years after Louis Acompora's death, the family continues its mission to make lacrosse safer.
-
Boston University transfer Chris Gray was everything North Carolina hoped for, and more, in his Tar Heel debut.
-
The Schneidereith family takes the lacrosse sibling story to a whole new level.
-
Coker honored late teammate Garrett Bakhsh before its season opener on Sunday.
WHAT WE’RE WATCHING
Not every behind-the-back play in lacrosse is must-see, but this goal by Colorado’s Dylan Kinnear was a thing of beauty..
OH MY! Kinnear making the behind-the-back look E-A-S-Y... pic.twitter.com/tA0Fcnztiy
— NLL (@NLL) February 2, 2020
Behind-the-back bounce shots also deserve their own special recognition. Quinnipiac’s Will Abbott.
Will Abbott's BTB goal from yesterday's season opener at Rutgers made it on @SportsCenter! #BobcatNation #SCTop10 pic.twitter.com/2NdhA80EXv
— Quinnipiac Men's Lacrosse (@QU_MLAX) February 2, 2020
WHAT’S ON TAP
-
The first Nike/US Lacrosse Men's Division I rankings of the season come out today.