Good morning. Here’s the latest from around the lacrosse world:
Welcome back to #DIALEDIN The Show!
— US Lacrosse Magazine (@USLacrosseMag) March 12, 2018
Today, we hop aboard the #DaneTrain and recap @UAlbanyMLax vs. @TerpsMLax.
Plus, @uncwlax tops @UVAWomensLax, @LoyolaWLax is and @pac12 lacrosse is here. pic.twitter.com/csMa8Kc4RQ
1. Albany is the unanimous No. 1 after defeating Maryland 11-10 on Saturday. The Great Danes bumped the Terps from the top spot in the Nike/US Lacrosse Division I Men’s Top 20 and swept first-place votes in the USILA coaches (23 voters) and Inside Lacrosse media (30) polls. And as US Lacrosse Magazine pollster Patrick Stevens writes, Albany could very well ride this ranking into May. The Great Danes must first get past upstart Vermont on Saturday.
@NikeLacrosse / @USLacrosse Division I Men's Top 20
— US Lacrosse Magazine (@USLacrosseMag) March 12, 2018
Hopkins, Georgetown, Notre Dame
Ohio State, Rutgers, Syracuse
Lehigh, Hofstra, Princeton
https://t.co/nwKfcNfJsb pic.twitter.com/z8pm63ygjF
2. Loyola moved up the most in the Nike/US Lacrosse Division I Women’s Top 20 after a big week that included non-conference wins over Towson and Princeton. The Greyhounds have won three straight after starting 0-2 and will get another opportunity to prove their mettle with a game against Virginia on Wednesday.
@NikeLacrosse / @USLacrosse Division I Women's Top 20
— US Lacrosse Magazine (@USLacrosseMag) March 12, 2018
Loyola, Colorado
Towson, Notre Dame
Penn State, Virginia Tech
https://t.co/9KFaZUaW6c pic.twitter.com/nYcJKQ1Qmg
3. Coast Guard knocked off then-No. 1 Wesleyan last week, paving the way for RIT to take over as the top-ranked team in the Nike/US Lacrosse Division III Men’s Top 20.
A look at all of the major college and junior college polls released Monday:
A look at the major-college and junior-college polls released on Monday:
Nike/USL Rankings
MD1 | WD1 | MD2 | WD2 | MD3 | WD3
Maverik/Cascade/IL Media Polls
MD1 | WD1
USILA Polls
MD1 | MD2 | MD3
IWLCA Polls
WD1 | WD2 | WD3
Junior College Men
4. Towson’s Shane Brennan and Colorado’s Darby Kiernan were named national players of the week for their performances over the weekend. Brennan made a career-high 16 saves in the Tigers’ 7-6 overtime upset of Ohio State, a game in which the Buckeyes outshot Towson 40-19, to earn Warrior/US Lacrosse Player of the Week honors. Kiernan made all sorts of history, leading the Buffs to an 18-16 comeback win over Stanford in the first-ever Pac-12 women’s lacrosse game and becoming Colorado’s all-time leading scorer to earn the Brine/US Lacrosse Player of the Week nod.
5. Must-see photos from the weekend include Albany-Maryland, Duke-Loyola, North Carolina-Hofstra, Johns Hopkins-Syracuse and Cornell-Penn State men; Vanderbilt-St. Joseph’s and North Carolina-Virginia women.
6. The NLL East is a wild scramble, with five teams separated by just three games in the loss column after New England and Rochester picked up overtime wins over the weekend.
WHAT WE’RE READING
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The Denver Outlaws have signed eight players from open tryouts to participate in training camp.
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Colorado College’s Parker Woo is one with the force.
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Penn State assistant coach John Haus is “the most talented guy in the locker room.”
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Lacrosse All-Stars breaks down the structure and schedule of this summer’s FIL World Championship in Israel.
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LaxCon presentations are now available on demand.
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The road to 2019 for the U.S. women’s U19 team starts later this month, when US Lacrosse will begin accepting applications for tryouts.
WHAT WE’RE WATCHING
“The character in this room and our certainty is greater than anybody else’s doubt.”
Video | Head Coach Scott Marr talks to @UAlbanyMLax in the final minutes and in the locker room after their big win against Maryland! The No. 1-ranked Great Danes take on Vermont this Saturday at 3 in Casey Stadium #GreatnessLivesHere pic.twitter.com/0d2ru9jy8J
— UAlbany Sports (@UAlbanySports) March 12, 2018
Hall of Famer Mark Millon believes there should be a “defenseless” label to protect shooters from late hits.
A few thoughts on this hit. 1. The sports needs to think about defining shooters as defenseless. Players feet are set w no ability to change course, hands are useless, eyes on goal 2. Shooter out for season, defender got ONE minute. 3. Ncaa football, you would have seen ejection pic.twitter.com/wDURdbWQZJ
— Mark Millon (@markmillon) March 10, 2018
Notre Dame started its spring break week with a service day in Chicago, visiting with OWLS (Outreach with Lacrosse and Schools) for a clinic that included some fun target practice on the Irish goalies.
This is awesome.
— Notre Dame Lacrosse (@NDlacrosse) March 12, 2018
70 seconds of @OWLSLAX ripping on our goalies pic.twitter.com/FWFobYNDMG
WHAT’S ON TAP
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Tuesday trap games for Johns Hopkins (against UMBC) and Hofstra (against Monmouth), two teams coming off big wins Saturday and looking to avoid a letdown.
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A marquee women’s matchup in Gainesville, where No. 5 Florida hosts No. 10 Navy. Other games of note: No. 1 Stony Brook visits Delaware and No. 6 North Carolina hosts Elon — and we’ve already seen the havoc CAA teams can create as underdogs.
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US Lacrosse HQ in Sparks, Md., will be the site of two games involving teams ranked in the top 12 of the Nike/USL Division III Women’s Top 20, starting with a top-10 showdown between Trinity and Ithaca today.
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On the men’s side, upstart No. 16 Coast Guard looks to continue its unlikely early season run against No. 9 Ithaca, while No. 15 Franklin & Marshall plays No. 7 Cortland. Both are neutral-site games in Virginia.