weekend PREview!

As usual, there are some BIG games this weekend. I'll highlight a few of them and even make some predictions because why not? Bryant at Lehigh could be a great game as Lehigh is really stepping up this season and Bryant has already made a splash in the D1 pool of talent. Greer is always fun to watch but I like Lehigh by a couple in this home game for the Mountain Hawks. Hopkins is looking better and better every week and faces off with UNC this weekend. UNC could win the game as Hopkins is not an ACC team. I still like the Blue Jays by 3. UMD takes on UVA and I really don't think the Terps can hang with the Wahoos. Virginia is LOADED at attack, they are LOADED at midfield and their defense is very strong. Chad Gaudet, #7 LSM who faces off for the Hoos, is the real deal. He's a Massachusetts product who started out at Dartmouth and is doing some grad work at UVA. Ivy league schools do not allow kids who graduated from continuing to play as grad students from what I can tell even if they have an extra year of eligibility. Dartmouth's loss is UVA's gain. I see UVA winning by 5... or more. There are a bunch of other games this weekend but none will have national championship implications. Georgetown plays Navy, Cuse visits Loyola and Princeton visits Yale. The latter two should be won by Cuse and Princeton while the Navy-Georgetown game is anyone's guess. Both teams are doing well this year but neither is really a contender in this blogger's opinion. On Sunday, Army plays at Colgate and I expect a good game but again, neither of these teams can be considered a favorite although they both have a lot to prove. Look for Army to ride their young goalie to a close win unless Corp can get 'Gate going early and often.

The best games on the Div 2 side of things will be the NYIT-Molloy match up, St. Mike's at Bentley and Assumption at Merrimack. I think Merrimack will roll AC while the St. Mike's-Bentley game could go either way. I expect Tech to best Molloy but it may be a little closer than some would expect. On Sunday, Dowling visits Mercyhurst in the game of the week. I like the Hurst to prevail but a win the other way is always possible.

Division 3 has a host of great games coming up this weekend. Colby just beat up on #5 Endicott and now they play #11 Middlebury. I like the Panthers in this game by 2 or more but I expect it to be a battle for most of the time. Gburg visits Salisbury and earlier in the season I would have said this game would be a battle. A couple of weeks ago, I would say blow out in favor of the Gulls and now I'm back to the battle scenario. Gburg experienced some bumps early on but Salisbury hasn't been DESTROYING people like they usually do. I still think the Gulls will win but the score could be in the 15-12 range. Haverford and WAC tangle at 7pm in Chestertown. Should be a great game and I like WAC by 1. RIT travels to Cortland where the Dragons should win easily. #12 Wesleyan visits #9 Tufts in what could be the game of the week regardless of division. When you take into account Ian Applegate as an assistant at Tufts after playing at Wesleyan until he graduated in 2004, the match up just gets even more interesting. I've got my Alma mater, Wesleyan, winning by 1, possibly in OT.

Should be an exciting weekend where we learn a lot more and see some great lax. Next weekend looks even better, the weather keeps improving up North and the lacrosse action rolls on... Spring time sure is great!