Good morning. Here’s the latest from around the lacrosse world:
1. And then there were two.
Delaware is sending longtime head coach Bob Shillinglaw out on a high note. Shillinglaw, who will retire at season's end, and the Blue Hens knocked off Rutgers from the unbeaten ranks with a 13-9 win behind 19 saves from freshman Matt DeLuca. Ohio State also suffered its first loss, losing at Notre Dame 12-7. That leaves Penn State and Hofstra as the final unbeaten teams in Division I men's lacrosse.
Rutgers and Ohio State were two rare upsets this weekend, but it was a crazy weekend in men's lacrosse nonetheless. There were five one-goal decisions in the Top 20, including three overtime games:
-
The "Cardiac 'Cuse" squad won its fourth straight one-goal game with freshman Jamie Trimboli playing the hero. Making his frst start, Trimboli scored the overtime winner in Syracuse's 12-11 victory over Duke.
-
Virginia rallied from three goals down in the final two minutes to force overtime, but Johns Hopkins edged the Cavaliers 18-17 as Shack Stanwick delivered the game-winner. Virginia has played six one-goal games this season, including four straight games in which it has gone 1-3.
-
Will Sands goal in the second overtime gave Bucknell a 9-8 win over No. 19 Loyola - the Greyhounds third one-goal loss of the season.
2. Who's Number One?
Unbeaten Penn State has carried the No. 1 spot in the Nike/US Lacrosse rankings for the past three weeks, but the 9-0 Nittany Lions don't own a victory over anyone currently in the rankings after Penn fell out of the Top 20. Denver was No. 1 through February, but has suffered losses to North Carolina and Ohio State. Notre Dame can certainly make a case after beating Ohio State along with a win earlier over Maryland, but has a loss to two-loss Denver. And don't forget about Hofstra, whose 8-0 record includes wins over Princeton and North Carolina.
PHOTO BY JOHN STROHSACKER
3. There's no question who's number one in women's lacrosse.
As much upheavel as there has been in men's lacrosse, there's been little movement in top half of the Nike/US Lacrosse rankings for much of the season. Notre Dame's 16-7 victory over Syracuse on Sunday was the only upset in the Top 20 all weekend. No. 1 Maryland, No. 2 North Carolina and No. 3 Florida all rolled on Saturday to retain their spots atop the rankings.
4. The NLL race is tightening up.
As the fourth month of the National Lacrosse League gets set to begin, the league races are tightening up. In the West, Colorado beat Saskatchewan to pull within a game of the Rush, and in the East, Toronto is within a half-game of Georgia after beating the Swarm in overtime, and Vancouver.
5. Haveford School wins top 10 battle.
The high school lacrosse season is heating up and No. 10 Haverford School (Pa.) took down No. 9 Culver Military (Ind.) 8-7 in double overtime on Sunday. Over the weekend, No. 5 Bullis (Md.) beat No. 12 Gonzaga (Md.) 7-3 in a matchup of D.C. area schools and No. 1 McDonogh (Md.) beat traditional Long Island power Chaminade 10-6.
PHOTO BY KEVIN P. TUCKER
WHAT WE’RE READING
-
The high school lacrosse community was out in full force as USC head coach Lindsey Munday brought her Trojan squad to her former high school - Mountain Lakes (N.J.) - for Sunday's game against Ohio State.
-
A candid look at St. Bonaventure’s decision to add varsity men’s lacrosse. The Bonnies Division I program will debut in 2019.
-
Delran (N.J.) High School is adjusting to its first season without longtime coach Bob Cristella, who passed away unexpectedly in October.
WHAT WE’RE WATCHING
What's better than a behind-the-back goal? How about a behind-the-back goal that came from a behind-the-back pass? How about a behind-the-back goal that came from a behind-the-back pass that came from your sister? That's what Stony Brook pulled off on Sunday in a 14-2 win over New Hampshire with Kyle Ohlmiller hitting her sister Taryn Ohlmiller.
Got to love this sister-sister behind-the-back connection x2️! @kyohlmiller feeds @TARYNNitup__ for one of her 8 assists #AEWLAX pic.twitter.com/ETigedIIeu
— America East (@AmericaEast) March 26, 2017
WHAT’S ON TAP
-
New Nike/US Lacrosse college rankings are out today. Find them here.
-
Oregon, led by first-year coach Katrina Dowd, continues an Eastern trip with a game at George Mason today. The Ducks are 6-4 and play an improved Patriot squad that has won two straight to improve to 4-3 and took nationally-ranked Virginia Tech to overtime earlier this season.
PHOTO BY JOHN STROHSACKER