weekend PREview!

And the laxiest weekend of the year yet is upon us!

Maryland heads to Navy tonight for an all MD match up. Should be a good game with Navy's disciplined Defense and Maryland's over sized offense. The difference in this game will come from Maryland's offensive middies. If they can pop in a couple extra goals, I like the Terps. On Saturday, Albany visits the Hop where the Jays should cruise to at least a 4 goal win, likely more. Colgate and Lehigh do battle in PA. I like the Mountain Hawks in a close one at home. This could be one of the best match ups this weekend yet it gets absolutely no press, which is a shame. Princeton Plays Cuse at Giants Stadium in Jersey and Princeton could upset the Orange in this match up, I think Syracuse will rise to the occasion as they often do on the biggest stages and wins in a one or two goal thriller. UVA and UNC also face off at Giants Stadium and until UNC wins an ACC game, I'm going to continue picking against them. 5 years, no conference wins. WOW. Hofstra also plays Delaware at Giants Stadium but I like Hofstra by a bunch after a close first half.

Tonight NDNU from Cali heads to LI to face Merrimack of Massachusetts. NDNU is competitive but I can't see them hanging with 'Mack. Merrimack is a really good team this year and could really compete for the NCAA Div 2 NC assuming they keep it up. I can't see them tripping against NDNU though. On Saturday, Bentley travels to LeMoyne and Bentley is better than some think so if I were going to pick a major upset in Div 2 this weekend, this would be the game. However, I am NOT picking an upset this weekend and I think the Dolphins will take this one by a couple. NY Tech heads to CW Post to take on the Pioneers. I will take the reigning champs, Tech, in this one hands down. Unless Post's FOGO paints his face like Lattimer from The Program again... in that case, it is anyone's game. Also Post players love neon lax heads so... respek.

The NESCAC games in Div 3 will provide some great action... check out this link to see a ton of predictions and insider info: http://network.laxpower.com/laxforum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=32627&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&start=480

Endicott and WNEC could be an AWESOME game... it will decided the Commonwealth Tourney seeding for one thing and could preview the Conference championship game. Both of these teams could be Pool C bids if the lose the AQ Pool A bid. Hampden-Sydney v. Roanoke and Ithaca at RIT will be really big games with big time In-Region consequences. I think Ithaca will remain undefeated at this point but RIT will definitely show us just how good the Bombers really are. I think Noke will keep its winning ways as well. WAC travels to Gburg in what should turn out to be a fantastic game. Both of these teams have won and lost games to good teams and it should be a really emotional tilt. I like WAC by 1 or two in PA.

On the MCLA tip, Michigan faces off against TWO top 10 teams in 2 days. Friday they take on #7 Minnesota-Duluth and then on Saturday they take on #8 Colorado State. Gotta love the fearlessness of MCLA teams... they will take on anyone, anywhere at any time. Michigan just beat #4 BYU so I expect them to take both of these teams down but it won't be easy. Simon Fraser [that undefeated Canadian team in the MCLA] heads South to #11 Oregon on Friday and then plays unranked Oregon State on Sunday. The Clansmen are true contenders this season and having a Canadian national champion [I guess they would actually be an INTERnational champion but whatever] would be great for the MCLA and college lacrosse in general. #4 BYU takes on #17 Colorado at home. I like BYU easily against the Buffs. On the Div 2 side of the MCLA the best game of the week looks to be Kennesaw State - Tennessee Wesleyan. TW is 5-6 but ranked at #9 while KS is #15 in the poll. TW has some sweet uniforms with the white and gold while KS has something else... an undefeated 11-0 season to protect. I like the visitors in this one to keep it going.

Priorities... get em straight or face the music!

On the field, it has been an interesting year to say the least, but there is an interesting non-playing trend afoot and it is more disturbing than anything.

Lacrosse players have always been regarded as party-animals and wild-children/men/man-children but the day has come where that behavior absolutely needs to be modified. Colleges have made that clear this year with a number of season cancellations, firings and suspensions. Now, I don't miss the days where college administrators looked the other way for athletes, especially since the preferential treatment got SO out of hand in many sports [Division 1 football and basketball in particular] but I could see how a lot of people would be surprised. The surprise comes from the change inherent in years of people looking the other way and now refusing to do so.

College lacrosse players and college athletes in general need to realize this and make a declaration about why they are at school in the first place. Is it to play sports, skip class and drink all day? My advice to you would be to drop out. Is it to get a good education, grow as an individual and play a little lax? My advice there is to keep at it because you have it nailed! I personally tried to be the latter but feel like most people regarded me as the former. So as a former meat head drunk I can honestly say I made the wrong decisions and should have focused on my academics and growth as a person much more than I did. I probably could have drank a lot less too.

Arizona State's club lacrosse team had its season cancelled. Denver just kicked 3 kids off of their D1 team [for reasons unknown at this time] Ursinus' coaching staff was fired and Curry has now cancelled the rest of their season. Some of these penalties were levied for reasons beyond just drinking but it all plays into the commitment needed to be a college athlete. Not everyone can handle the responsibility and that is becoming more clear every single day. However, don't expect the rules to bend for you because you're a jock since it looks like they are being enforced more strictly... and I believe that is a good and much needed change.

Weekend Review V

this weekend was almost TOO crazy to even do a review post. My heart can't take the excitement anymore as there were some UNREAL games and some absolutely HUGE upsets.

UVA-Maryland was the best game I've seen in a while. The game was back and forth but Maryland was leading 9-6 late in the game when the Hoos came back and buried 3 goals to tie it up at 9. After that, the scoring ended and the overtimes began. Yes, overtimeS. It felt like there were 50 extra periods when Carroll netted the game winner for Virginia. Both keepers made save after save after save after save after save. For my vote, the MVP has to go to Ghitelman because he came up big time and time again for the Wahoos when it counted most.

Cuse came back on Loyola to win as well and keep my #1 and #2 teams set. There was some other really good D1 action this weekend but I'm not even going to mention it as these two games were some of the best I've seen and in my opinion cement UVA and Cuse as #1 and #2. I guess it is worth mentioning that UNC [whom I like as a team] beat Hopkins in a really close game but until UNC can beat a team in its own conference, I'm going to hold off on considering them a contender in any real sense.

Tech beat Molloy 16-15 in D2 action while Mercyhurst beat Dowling 8-7. Adelphi, Post, Merrimack, LeMoyne and Bentley all won their games as well. It is a pity that D2 gets such a limited number of teams in the playoffs as a contender will surely be left out this year but that's why the regular season matters so darn much!

Gburg beat Salisbury AT Salisbury. This hasn't happened in AGES. 80 home games ago SU lost to Lynchburg at home and 55 games overall ago SU lost... at all. This could be a rare event so cherish it while it last Gull-haters. SU is still a top 5 team in my book, EASILY. Haverford beat WAC 8-5, Tufts came back to beat Wesleyan [who was without Spike Malangone] 12-10 in Medford and Stevenson squeaked by an unheralded Wesley squad 12-11. A team to look out for other than Colby is Geneseo. I think they can challenge Cortland for the SUNYAC crown if they keep it up.

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!

Random thoughts on lax fashion and function

The weekend has come to a close and there is always subject matter to discuss beyond the weekend review of games.

1)Western New England College has no, I repeat, NO stickers on their helmets. I find this odd as few other teams go this route but I must say it looks good and helps keep costs down. I'm sure that is what they do it.

2)UVM and Lehigh got new helmets. Both are HUGE improvements over the ugly buckets they were wearing before. Lehigh's uniforms in general are pretty awesome when you consider the colors they have to work with: Brown, gold and white. The Gold face masks are particularly sweet.

3)CW Post has awesome uniforms. They also have some great lime green dyed stick on the squad as well as some other groundbreaking dye jobs. leave it to the LI boys to keep coming up with interesting stuff. I usually don't call people out on ridiculous behaviour and it could be said that I encourage it but one thing I do not encourage is painting your entire face to look like Lattimer from The Program. CW Post FoGo #16, I'm looking at you. shockingly poor.

4)the last point I will make is that when I look through pictures of Duke games, I see Max Quinzani [and others, but he is the most high profile] thumbing the head of their stick. It is illegal for any part of the hand to touch the plastic yet #8 gets away with it non-stop. Either the refs need to start calling this or the NCAA should remove the rule. What was the point of getting rid of draw strings when you won't call thumbing? I expect this to be resolved in typical NCAA fashion... meaning in 4-5 years.

weekend review IV

It was an interesting weekend of lacrosse for sure. Most of the games went the way I thought they would but some did not. I'll cover the upsets, the statements games and add in some other stuff just for fun.

Colgate beat Navy 10-9. Both of these teams are very good but neither has a real shot at the NC. One of them MIGHT be able to make the Final Four if they get into the tourney and get a decent bracket. Duke beat Gtown and is gelling more and more. the Blue Devils could be dangerous later on. Lehigh kept the close wins coming with a 10-9 victory over St. John's in OT. I like where the Mountain Hawks are headed and in a season or two they could be a very competitive team at the highest levels. MD beat UNC. UNC lax must hate being in the ACC at this point. JUST WIN ONE IN-CONFERENCE GAME! JUST ONE! Umass is looking better as well as they beat a very talented Loyola team. A lot of people thought Zoomass would be down after the issues/arrests/suspensions from last season but the Gorillas seem to be coming together and moving forward. Rutgers got their 2nd win of the season over previously undefeated Hobart in a low-scoring affair. Hobart's D is good but they seriously need better offensive production if they are going to win any of their games coming up. The level of competition they face in upcoming weeks is better than Rutgers. Cuse rolled on, UMBC won a close one and UVA beat Hopkins 16-15 in a barn burner. UVA looked really dangerous with kids who can create and score all over the field. They have attackmen, middies and even defensemen who can push transition and create where nothing previously existed. Hopkins looked really good too and they are starting to come together. After seeing the game on TV, I would now say that Cuse, UVA and Hopkins are the 3 front runners for the NC. I know, what a surprise! ha.

LeMoyne snuck by CW Post in Div 2 action 6-5 while NY Tech beat Dowling 9-8. Division 2 is very close this year and although the Division is small, 5-6 teams could win the NC. This represents a DRASTIC change of opinion from previous posts where I really thought only Tech and LeMoyne were real contenders.

Most of the D3 action [and there was a lot of it!] went as predicated with some upstate exceptions. RIT lost to Hartwick as Johnny Meade had 17 saves. Ithaca beat Cortland 11-8 with a real team effort. Roanoke beat Cabrini 16-13 and until Cabrini starts beating the teams they should AND the teams they are neck and neck with, they will stay out of my top 10. Cabrini has a LOT to prove at this point in the season. Stevenson on the other hand, kept right on winning with a 12-10 decision over Lynchburg. This is the first time in a while where Salisbury isn't only worried about not winning the NC but they should also be worried about not winning the CAC! WAC needed OT to beat McDaniel 9-8 and WNEC continues to impress with a 10-9 win over Naz.

weekend PREview!

Friday night: Princeton tries to make a statement against Albany in Jersey. Look for the Tigers to put up at least 12 goals and win by 3-4. Detroit travels to Bryant where an uneven match up of two first year D1 teams will result in the Bulldogs of RI putting up big numbers. expect Greer to go 4goals, 3 assists in the first half.

Air Force and Bucknell play on Saturday in Texas. Should be a good game between two decent D1 teams for the Texans who come out to watch. Colgate at Navy should tell us more about both teams. Is Corp back to 100%? the punishing Navy D will help us understand more. Gtown tries to make a statement that they aren't a fluke team at Duke in NC. I like Duke by a couple. Lehigh at St. John's could be a great game as both of these programs are swinging upwards this season. Umass at Loyola will also separate the men from the boys as both of these teams have the potential to climb the polls if they keep winning. UNC-MD should be a great match up. I don't like MD's style of play AT ALL... but you have to like them over a team that just doesn't seem able to win in conference games... well, at least not for the past 5 years! OSU travels to UMBC. If the Retrievers can play like they did against MD, I like UMBC. Rutgers travels to unbeaten Hobart but I don't think the Scarlet Knights will provide much of a challenge but then again, Hobart has only played one or two good teams. The BIG game of the weekend is UVA at Hopkins. Don't ever count out the Blue Jays although your money has got to be on UVA what with the way they have been playing this year... unless you blew it all on the NCAA bball pool. ew, basketball.

On the D2/D3 side of things, CW Post at Lemoyne will be an early tell-tale of who is the favorite and who is only a contender. Dowling at Tech could be good but I think Tech will dominate. St. Mike's has GOT to be pumped to be playing at Rollings in the Orlando area. Much better than playing at home... in cold Vermont.

Montclair State takes on Clarkson in FLA. Both of these teams have skilled offensive players but I think Clarkson's D will be too much for MSU and Clarkson will win by at least a couple goals. There is a LOT of great NESCAC action this weekend with Amherst at Bowdoin, Conn at Midd, Trinity at Colby, Tufts at Williams and Wesleyan at Bates. I see Midd, Tufts and Wesleyan winning by a few each in tough games. The Amherst game could be a trap for Bowdoin while the Camp TrinTrin-Colby match up has me scratching my head. I must say I like Colby at home. Gburg plays at Muhlenberg and needs to start winning on the road. Haverford and H-SC meet at H-SC's place for a good game and Ithaca will play Cortland in a HUGE upstate rivalry game. Public-Private, Red-Blue... whatever you want to call it, it is always entertaining and you get to see some great lax. I don't think this year's iteration will be particularly competitive after the first half. I expect the Dragons to outclass IC in the second half. Lynchbirg at Stevenson is really big for both teams. should be a great game by all accounts. WAC and McDaniel face off at McDaniel. McD is stronger than many give them credit for and this could be a good match up. at the very least it will show us what WAC can really do against good teams in mid-season form. WNEC and Naz will play in Dallas and although both teams are doing well, you can tell they are playing inspired lacrosse and are hungry for wins. This may be a much better game than the Air Force Bucknell tilt which is also taking place in TX.

Weekend Review III

What a weekend! Good games and upsets all acrosse the Divisions. Some teams' questions were answered, while others' questions are just coming up.

Division 1 had some upsets but on Sunday Maryland rebounded with a solid win over Bryant after losing to UMBC for the 3rd straight time on Saturday. Nice to see a Division 1 team play back to back games and win the second one. UMBC just has Maryland's number, I guess. Again Maryland's offense was stagnant even though it is loaded with talent. Catalino and Yeatman are assets but can be liabilities as well as they tend to slow it down and make UMD a little one dimensional.

Brown beat Umass and is looking pretty good now with Jordan Burke leading the way in goal. I was surprised to see Duke knock off UNC as I thought this was UNC's year. Billy Bitter was contained [to some degree] and he is clearly the guy who needs to initiate and get things rolling if UNC is going to thrive. Hobart bested Gtown by 7 goals and is proving to be something of a Cinderella story considering they were a D3 program for a couple days last year. Look for Hobart to keep rolling because this is the season they need to make a statement to their alums and college board of trustees. Cuse beat the Hop in a relatively close one. Cuse keeps rolling while Hopkins looks better every time I see them. At first they seemed lost but have really been improving as a team and finding new guys to fill roles. Hofstra looked second-rate against Hopkins last week but really impressed with a hard-fought win against the Princeton Tigers. It was Princeton's first loss of the season but they certainly have the guns to compete with Cornell and Brown for the Ivy League title.

Division 2 is crazy this year. NYIT looks to be solid along with Post and LeMoyne but beyond that teams are all playing close games, losing to teams they shouldn't and then beating teams they shouldn't. shouldn't in this case means pretty much nothing so what I'm really saying is... the division is too close to call right now and other than the top 3-4 nothing is certain. Merrimack has only played one game where they beat Dowling 11-8. Mercyhurst lost to Lemoyne and it wasn't really close. LeMoyne-Post will tell us a lot next week.

Division 3 was a roller coaster this weekend. Bowdoin is 2-0 and looks good after beating Wesleyan last week and Trinity this week. Cortland and Salisbury look like clear 1 and 2 although Endicott and Stevenson have to be considered for the 2 spot at least. Gburg continues to disappoint with a loss to Haverford which is no cupcake game but one the Bullets in past years would be expected to win. Denison looks to prove the NCAC belongs with a win over Lburg. Roanoke, Tufts and Ithaca are undefeated, as-is W&L, WAC has one loss and Cabrini also has one loss. One of these teams will do big things and the others may fall by the wayside but who will emerge as a true contender for a NC won't emerge for a couple weeks yet. All of the doors are still open in D3 and almost anyone in the top 10 has a chance to dethrone SU... they just have to bring their A game.

LAX MATH!

http://www.laxpower.com/common/participation08.php
check out the link above for participation, roster size and other numbers related to lacrosse in the college ranks, specifically at the NCAA level. Unfortunately, I have not yet found similar numbers for the MCLA.

Team USA 84-man player pool

The 84 man player pool has been established for the next iteration of the USA's national outdoor lacrosse team. The pool will be cut to 40 and then eventually to the ILF mandated 23 man roster. It is interesting to note that neither Casey [pictured] nor Mike Powell are listed, although Ryan is still eligible.

Most of the guys on the list played at the top [Cuse/UVA/UMD/Hopkins/Duke] tier of college lacrosse but there are a couple of notable exceptions in division 3 players Stephen Berger [WAC] and Eric Martin [Salisbury] and division 2 player Tom Zummo [NY Tech]. All 3 of them are big time players in the MLL.

It is impressive that Brian Dougherty is still in the running even though he graduated from UMD 13 years ago but what is even more impressive is that Dman John Gagliardi is still being considered. I mean, let's face it, goalies can stand around for much of the game and they don't have to be in tip-top shape if they are naturals [like Doc]. Dmen are expected to be able to cover the best offensive players in the game and in order to do so, they need to be in top condition. Gags is something special in that respect because he has always been a beast but his skill and precision with the longstick never ceases to amaze me. For further proof [and the opportunity for young dmen to learn some new skills!] check out this video from Maverik and Lax.com:

http://www.lax.com/story.phtml?story=2233

It will be interesting to see where the team ends up in terms of roster but so far the 84 men selected are skilled athletes that will represent the USA with pride and determination. A lot less repeat players were selected and that makes some sense considering what happened during the last world championships where the US lost to our neighbor to the North.

To see the entire list: http://insidelacrosse.com/page.cfm?pagerid=2&news=fdetail&storyid=198911

weekend review

What a weekend! Princeton beat the Hop liked I said they would. Cornell bested Army in the final minute on a Max Siebald goal. He doesn't get as much hype as some others in the college game but he is as good as or better than any middie in the college game right now. His swim move is evocative of Rabil, just a couple inches lower. UMd looked solid against Duke but their offense is a little stagnant for a team that is supposedly loaded with talent. Both Catalino and Yeatman tend to hold the ball a lot and post up which really slows the game down. None of the Terp first line middies are that impressive although they are all fast and play well together. This team needs something additional if they are going to be contenders. Gtown lost to St. John's in Queens and it was the first major win for this 5 year old iteration of the SJU program.

There weren't any major upsets in the D3 or D2 ranks and my call that Colorado College would beat Lynchburg was embarassingly wrong considering CC lost by 15! All of the typical players kept rolling although the NESCAC teams won't really start playing real games for another week. Montclair State came back from a 6-4 deficit in the 4th to beat Hartwick 7-6 in Jersey. Big win for the MSU squad. Merrimack scrimmaged Weselyan and Merrimack could really be the surprise team of D2 this year. They have an experienced bunch of kids, the coach believes in them and they were able to solve Wesleyan's zone which speaks to their ball movement and unselfishness. Look for Merrimack to do well this year. RIT beat Adelphi by one showing the difference between the 2 divisions is, as usual, not that much.

On a side note, I played in my alumni game on Saturday in 3 inches of snow and had a great time out there. We lost 9-7 with only 16 players to a bunch of kids who are actually in shape. If there is one thing I learned, it is that I simply do not recover the way I used to... ah, getting old!

Photo of Wick-MSU game.

Bryant proving they belong immediately

Bryant has done a great job early on this season after making the jump from Division 2 to Division 1. They have started the season at 2-1 by losing to UVA, crushing Sacred Heart and with a win over Dartmouth in NH. Mike Pressler has obviously done a great job at Bryant and he is an outstanding coach but the real man behind Bryant's early success is Zach Greer. He will only play there for one year but it is the most important; the first year as a Division 1 team.

Now, Pressler will lead the team for years to come and is leading the team now but the impact that a player like Greer can have on a team can not be underestimated. When Greer practices, he practices hard and sets an example as to what a Division 1 practice should look like and how high the intensity level has to be. He showcases what kind of athlete you need to be, he has experienced the best the college lacrosse world has to offer and knows what it takes to reach that level. Coaches always say to lead by example and Pressler has to be thrilled to have a guy like Greer doing just that.

ZG is putting up points when the team needs them most [as evidenced by his run-squelching goals against Dartmouth], keeping Bryant competitive in big games while being unselfish [against Virginia] or lighting it up [against Sacred Heart] when playing an opponent Bryant feels it should best. http://insidelacrosse.com/page.cfm?pagerid=2&news=fdetail&storyid=198213

Bryant won't make the tourney this year no matter what because of their D1 probationary period but Greer has to be in the running for PoY regardless because without him, I sincerely doubt Bryant would be doing nearly as well as they are now. On a side note, it seems like Greer is still using the Gait Triton even with Bryant Lacrosse being sponsored by Brine.

the death of the Bag.

In recent years there was an epidemic hitting lacrosse fields all over the country: bagged out pockets [as a d-man, I actually used one myself for a little while! it is a little embarrassing but I wasn't exactly a "finesse" guy...].

The use of draw strings had become prevalent in the club, college and high school levels. The college game in particular was really suffering because [more so than high school or club] the college game is one of possession evidenced best by Princeton and Hopkins' respective styles of play. Obvious exceptions that jump to mind are UVA and 'Cuse who like to run n' gun, however, the majority of teams outside the top tier will slow it down when they play competitive games. The drawstring-aided bags and pinched heads came together with this slow-down style of play and when combined with the refs' inability to check for violations to create a perfect storm involving REALLY deep pockets and lots of them.

The rules were changed and now refs do a lot of stick checks throughout the course of the game. Drawstrings were made illegal and touching your pocket after a ref asks to see it is being watched carefully as well and will result in an infraction. These new rules have really improved the quality of the game.

I have seen better passing, more takeaway checks dislodging the ball, more turnovers, more excitement and better shooting and I give all of the credit to the new rules and the refs as well as the Rules Committee for making the changes. Next year, the pinched heads will fall by the wayside [to a certain extent, at least] and I think we can expect to again see even better passing, more accurate shooting, great takeaway checks and a lot of up and down due to turnovers. This will increase the pace of the game as possession is never assured.

Will these moves increase scoring? I don't know that yet and think it could go either way but I would much rather see an up and down style of play that results in a 8-6 game than a 13-10 game where a couple of the top players just held the ball until they weaved through 4 players and scored from 7 yards out because no one could knock the ball out of their stick.

We don't need to get back to the days of wooden sticks and short shorts but we have gone too far away from what made the game great: passing, lots of running, back and forth battles, ground balls and a certain amount of uncertainty. The rules will reward the better players the most by allowing the game to be one of creativity and not technology but we will all reap the benefits because the product on the field will be that much sweeter.

weekend review

Duke's blue helmets are simple as are the 'Gate's jerseys but I'm a big fan:
http://www.lax.com/story.phtml?story=2226
as you can see, Colgate seems to be here to stay and while Brandon Corp is the real deal, he has some work to do in order to be in the running for PoY.

I watched the Maryland-Georgetown game and I must say that I was not that impressed with Maryland even though statistically the game was pretty even. Maryland's offense seems a little stagnant as they take too long to set up dodges and then dodge slowly allowing the defense to adjust. Georgetown did an excellent job of not forcing slides. Defensively, the Terps looked a little slow and Brian Farell had an awful day for someone who is supposed to be a top level d-man. I guess I'll reserve judgement though, seeing as only a tenth of the season has been played. Barney Ehrmann looked really good down low after a season at LPM and could be the best defender in the country based on what he did against ND transfer and current Terp Yeatman.

Hopkins-Siena was fun to watch for the first half but JHU showed they were simply the better team in the 2nd... which is fun to see if you are a Hop fan! Also, I liked the Captains' "C" on the Hop jersey... like I said, they will do something classic with their uniforms. Their helmets were all traditional but well-designed.

Surprise of the weekend: HAS to be Harvard over Duke IN DURHAM, NC. Harvard was the kind of team that people thought could be a top 20 team but the jury was still out. Definitely expect to see them ranked this week. Congrats to my buddy, Charlie Congleton, the goalie coach at Harvard!

Then again, the surprise win of the weekend could also go to a Division 2 squad as Belmony Abbey [a recent addition to the lax world] bested perenial power Limestone 9-8 in OT. Jedd Gardner had 4 goals, including the OT game winner.

Big Scorers: Bryant won their first D1 game 22-8 over Sacred Heart. Zach Greer finished up 11 points as 6 of those 11 came on goals and 5 on assists. Also dropping 11 points was UVA's Garret Billings who did so on 8 goals and 3 assists in a 20-10 thumping of Stony Brook.

The D2/D3 side of things: Whittier lost to D2 NDNU 7-6 in the battle of Cali. You can be assured it was a tough, hard-hitting game. Salisbury keeps rolling with ease, 'Noke and OWU won convincingly. Stevenson was picked to be a real contender this year but they only bested Widener by 1.

Tewaaraton Watch List

When the Tewaaraton Watch List comes out at the beginning of the season I always look down the list to see who from Divisions 2 and 3 is mentioned purely out of interest. I know they will never win the award but it is always interesting to see who is regarded as one of the best in the country. Doug McIver of LeMoyne is listed as the sole D2 representative and that makes sense considering the Dolphins recent success. One the D3 side of things I was not at all surprised to see Kylor Berkman listed considering he plays for Salisbury, they won the NC last year and he was the D3 Player of the Year.

Joining Berkman were Eric Hagarty and Nick Cosco who BOTH play for Endicott. Now I know that Endicott is a really good team that has improved year after year but I find it hard to believe that they have 2 of the 3 best players in the entire Division yet they have never made a final 4 or even beaten a TRULY top tier team. This last point could be argued but the fact is they haven't won anything truly meaningful and neither of these guys even has an outside shot of winning the Tewaaraton unless Endicott goes undefeated and wins the NC game by 10. I don't think that is going to happen.

I'm not REALLY complaining about these selections because both Hagarty and Cosco are outstanding players on an excellent team but I do think they should spread the wealth a little more or just don't include D3 players on the watch list, especially kids who would never win the award in a million years. It seems silly and arbitrary and does nothing to lend any sort of credibility to the award.

Florida Southern and the Wick!

Today is the Florida Southern College lacrosse team's first NCAA game as a varsity team. They defeated SCAD, the Svannah College of Art and Design which is an NAIA school [with possibly the coolest team bus ever], in a scrimmage but this will be there first official test ever. It could be a tough test as they face Hartwick College from New York state. Hartwick has been around for a long time, has seen some amazing players come and go through its doors and has a roster filled with kids who can really play, including their keeper, John Meade who originally played at Division 1 Sacred Heart. I don't expect FSC to actually win this game but I wish them the best of luck and applaud the school for sponsoring a lacrosse team and applaud their coach, Rory Whipple [yes, THE Rory Whipple] for seeking out good competition. For more info, see below:
http://www.theledger.com/article/20090203/NEWS/902030356/1002/SPORTS?Title=Starting_Up

UPDATE: Hartwick won the scrimmage/game/whatever it was [it appears on FSC's Div 2 schedule but not D3 Hartwick's] 7-6. Johnny Meade did not play as many of the 'wick Vets sat this one out. Congrats to FSC for making it through their first NCAA game. next up? their first win! Good luck Mocs!