Good morning. Here’s the latest from around the lacrosse world:
1. There was a time when college lacrosse season didn't begin until March, but five weekends of February lacrosse gave us some memorable moments that spilled over into March. The last weekend might have been the best. Let's start on the men's side:
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UMass barely escaped UMass-Lowell on Tuesday. Four days later they looked like the Gorillas of old, stunning No. 1 ranked Yale on Garber Field.
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Last week's No. 1, Penn State, unleashed one of the nation's most potent offenses, outgunning Penn, 18-17, in overtime on Saturday.
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Maryland reinvented itself a little bit after an 11-day layoff and it paid off with a win over Notre Dame.
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Syracuse closed out the Dome in style, pouring in 21 goals to beat longtime rival Hobart.
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A year after missing the NCAA tournament, North Carolina is now 5-0 after beating Denver on Sunday.
Speaking of February, how about Princeton's Michael Sowers closing out the month with 42 points! Sowers had two goals and seven assists as the Tigers moved to 4-0 after beating Johns Hopkins.
MICHAEL SOWERS OUT HERE BREAKING ANKLES AGAIN.
— US Lacrosse Magazine (@USLacrosseMag) February 29, 2020
He dishes it to Vardaro, who RIPS it. It's 4-1 @TigerLacrosse pic.twitter.com/OXvaoTENWP
2. In women's lacrosse No. 1 North Carolina has looked as good as advertised, moving to 4-0 as it dominated Virginia down the stretch to pull away for an 18-12 victory. But there are plenty of teams jockeying behind them.
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Florida didn't let a blowout loss to Loyola keep it down for long. After a midweek win over Kennesaw State, the Gators rallied from an early deficit to beat No. 3 Stony Brook in a thriller.
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No. 4 Syracuse unexpectedly went on the road, but brought a lockdown defense to beat Maryland for just the second time in program history.
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Northwestern head coach Kelly Amonte Hiller led the U.S. women's U19 team to a gold medal in the summer. On Sunday, she won her 300th collegiate game as the Wildcats beat Stanford. Another Midwest school, No. 2 Notre Dame, stayed perfect with an ACC win over Duke.
One of the players who helped Amonte Hiller win gold in Canada, was the hero on Sunday. Bri Gross scored off a rebound to give Vanderbilt a 14-13 upset win over previously unbeaten Denver.
!
— US Lacrosse Magazine (@USLacrosseMag) March 1, 2020
Bri Gross with the game-winner as @VandyLacrosse defeats No. 12 Denver 14-13, the Commodores' first win over a nationally ranked opponent since 2014. pic.twitter.com/7ftjwFgFbQ
3. The New England Black Wolves swept a pair of games in a busy NLL weekend slate. All 13 teams in the league were in action, starting with New England taking down New York on Friday. The Black Wolves then beat Halifax on Sunday and are tied for the league's best record at 7-3. Callum Crawford had a combined eight goals and eight assists in the wins.
4. Ashley Humphrey and Sarah Jaques will head to Stanford next year, but first they've got a senior year at Darien (Conn.) High School to finish.
WHAT WE’RE READING
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Christopher Newport is looking to break into the upper echelon of the Capital Athletic Conference.
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A year of paying to play rejuvenated Zach Higgins career in the NLL.
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Nate Siekierski got pulled, but came back strong to help Albany beat Harvard.
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Brendan Grimes is getting ready for another year at Boys' Latin and hoping to wear red, white and blue this summer with the U.S. U19 team.
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Virginia played its most complete game of the season in Sunday's win over Air Force.
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Northwestern came from behind to beat Stanford for Kelly Amonte Hiller's 300th win.
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Megan Tryniski had an East Carolina record eight points as the Pirates beat VCU 16-12 to win their fifth straight game.
WHAT WE’RE WATCHING
"He's riding the pony." - Give us more Ric Beardsley please.
.@CuseMLAX sent the current Carrier Dome out in style with a 21-13 win over Hobart, including this short-handed tally by Griffin Cook. @DukeMLAX rallied to win in OT. The Friday Wrap: https://t.co/NDmJ6AQeJs pic.twitter.com/aNKgTnFrOW
— US Lacrosse Magazine (@USLacrosseMag) February 29, 2020
Days after heartbreaking loss to Johns Hopkins in the final second, Georgetown was the one breaking hearts in a comeback victory over Delaware.
Ali Diamond with the go-home-goal in OT
— US Lacrosse Magazine (@USLacrosseMag) February 29, 2020
Georgetown beats Delaware at home.
pic.twitter.com/htxIUyLE0C
WHAT’S ON TAP
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The Nike/US Lacrosse rankings for NCAA lacrosse come out today.