Hey! Lax Man! doesn't really exist anymore.
If you want to see more writing from Connor Wilson (the author) go to www.lacrosseallstars.com and enjoy the laxtasticness.

I can't believe this isn't April Fool's...

http://www.hemplax.com/index.php

I would like to see a stick actually strung up with this "mesh" and hear a review of how it works.
Hemplax man, send me a stringing kit and I will review it for you and get your name out there if it is a decent product or better.

That is all.

PotD - Artistic Lax shots

A kid I used to coach down in Perth, Australia has turned into quite a little photographer when he is injured due to Surfing. He takes pictures of training for the Wembley Lacrosse Club in Perth and does a fantastic job. Good on ya, mate!

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.

from the SuperFans' mouths II

Today I have insider [and actually trustworthy] info on Conn College and Williams, two struggling NESCAC teams as well as Trinity and Wesleyan:

Connecticut College [comments from Williams game] - "very unimpressed with Conn. their offense revolves heavily around the midfield. they do a lot of inverting with the midfield. their attack seemed okay, with #38 as the only attackman that'd dodge hard. the other two 16 and 19 were more off ball guys not really looking to dodge. on defense they run a zone, I thought they should have played more man since their close D is all big, tall, athletic dudes. i thought they were aggressive and threw good checks whenever they got the chance, but the zone limited their aggressiveness. played mostly a soft ride. really didn't pressure the ball too much."

Williams [comments from Conn game] - "they have a good young attack. #38 Hawley, is a big, strong kid who's definitely looking to shoot first. #12 and #19 are solid attackmen/midfielders, cant remember [exactly]what they played. both capable of dodging to shoot or feed. also, #7 and #9 played attack, both small, shifty guys looking more to feed than dodge. but capable nonetheless.
#28 is their best midfielder. big, strong kid looking to dodge to score.
their long pole #15 i think is downright nasty. strong, athletic tough kid looking to throw takeaway checks."

Trinity [comments from Wesleyan game] - "Wells is a good little fogo. Trinity has struggled a lot on O. Trin can’t settle the ball on O and trying to force the crease a lot which is obviously leading to picked off shots by Borerro and the zone d. Some spurts of brilliance from Trin but very short lived (mostly harper cullen)."

Wesleyan [comments from Trinity game] - Wes is dominating faceoffs – probably 80% for Wes. I didn’t expect it to be that lopsided. Follansbee looking pretty solid on attack. Borrerro has been mostly untested. IMO Wes has been winning the GB battle by a lot - But they’ve had a lot of unforced turnovers."

PotD - RIT v. Wick

RIT and Hartwick both got Riddell Helmets this year and I must say they look pretty good. The most important feature of the helmet though is its safety factor. Supposedly kids who are concussion prone will benefit from a Riddell helmet... looking good is just an added bonus!

April Fool's Day - we get it.

April Fool's Day is over. Over in the sense that few are fooled anymore because everyone is so darn clever and snarky. People still try though and sometimes it pays off. In response to the recent season cancellations and suspensions www.lacrosseallstars.com has provided us with this post to lighten the mood: http://www.lacrosseallstars.com/blog/2009/4/1/breaking-news-uc-santa-cruz-banana-slugs-forfeit-season.html

from the SuperFans' mouths

Re: Bates at Tufts

my secret source says, "Tufts 22 bates 3. $%#!ing beatdown. Probably one of the biggest margins in nescac in a long time"

I would have to agree with my source without even seeing the game... 22-3 is never pretty!

Tufts is looking like a real contender as they beat the teams they should and murder everyone else.

PotD - NEW Maverik Neon Juice - custom string job

lax flow linkology

You thought Mayo had great lax flo? wait for it... wait for it... wait for it... NOW:http://www.brobible.com/Story/15942

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.

PotD - Gburg Wins!

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.

PotD - mascots and ascots.

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!

Colby College - program on the rise

Colby College in Maine was always a tough game in the NESCAC during the 90s and early 2000s and the NESCAC is regarded as one of, if not, THE best lacrosse conference in all of Division 3. During the mid-2000s their stock dropped dramatically and the program started to be regarded as a bottom dweller. For the 2009 season the college picked up John Thompson, a Maine native, as their new head coach and the move has paid immediate dividends. In hist first season, Thompson has the team performing at levels akin to what they were doing in 1999 and 2000.

Currently, Colby is 5-2, just upset #5 ranked Endicott out of Massachusetts, lost to a solid Stevens program by 1, lost to undefeated #9 Tufts by 5 early in the season and has picked up solid wins against Trinity, Wheaton, Williams and Plymouth State. This Saturday, Colby plays perennial NESCAC power Middlebury which is currently ranked 11th in the country. The Saturday after that they play another NESCAC powerhouse in nationally ranked #12, Wesleyan. These two games will tell us more about where Colby really is but the fact is that the Mules are back and can not be overlooked by anyone.

PotD - what now?

what is up with HaverfORD's uniforms? why is H-----ORD in red and AVERF is in black? I'm sure there is some awesome, tradition-laden stroy behind the color allignment but for now I'm confused... and a little intrigued.

PotD - australia lax practice

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.

Ursinus? MY sinus.

What is going on with Ursinus' men's lacrosse team?

The rumors are flying and until I hear something a little more reliable I won't speculate TOO wildly but wow... team goes to California, plays some lax and now the coaches are done-zo apparently. Their spots have been vacated on the men's lacrosse page and there is no contact info for the position listed on the school's directory.

The Bears' game this weekend does not look like it will be played and there will be a meeting between the President's office and the players in the next day or so. Ursinus had high hopes coming into this season so let's hope the kids didn't blow it like ASU's MCLA team managed to do.

I doubt Ursinus will have trouble filling the vacant coaching spot but... wow. Something must have happened to precipitate action like this whether it is justified or not remains to be seen as details emerge.

UPDATE: Ursinus has hired a new coach [Jamie Steele] and the team will continue its season.

http://www.laxpower.com/laxnews/news.php?story=13546

Steenhuis: father, all-star, lax n00b?

I have repped Mark Steenhuis as the best current lacrosse player in the world before on this site and just may do so again. However, the article below touches on his ability but it focuses on his relationship with his kids and mentions that he didn't even start playing lacrosse until he was a senior in high school. The guy just keeps impressing me!

http://www.wellandtribune.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1485690

Air Force's Gnazzo: the chameleon of lax

Interesting article on the Air Force Academy's Dan Gnazzo. He's been an all GWLL LSM, now he is the starting goalie for the AFA. Just goes to show you: work hard, be open to challenges and greatness can still find you!

http://www.laxmagazine.com/college_men/DI/2008-09/news/031909_gnazzo

midweek review - why not?

Lots of games were played on Wed in Division 3 and a few big Division 1 contests were decided on Tuesday. Duke lost to Cornell 10-6 on Tuesday but the story of the day had to be Lehigh coming back when they were down 11-3 to beat Army 13-12 in OT. Cassesse is doing well with the Mountain Hawks and I expect them to be a legit top 20 team within 2-3 more seasons. Making the transition from mid-level team to top 20 is difficult at the D1 level, especially when you play in a conference like the Patriot league which does not allow athletic scholarships and you have to compete against history-laden top 20 teams like Army or Hobart.

On the Division 3 side of things, Bowdoin beat St. Lawrence 10-6. Endicott continued to roll with a solid 11-9 win over Stevens. Stevens is a dangerous team that can beat anyone on any given day. Endicott did well to put 11 by the SIT keeper and the EC Defense really stepped up as they limited pre-season attackman of the year, JR Oreskovich to 2 goals and an assist. The "Northern Gulls" of Endicott aren't blowing people out like the "Southern Gulls" of Salisbury but don't be surprised to see the two match up head to head in the NC game. Dube had a big day for Endicott putting up 2 goals and helping on 4 others for 6 points on the day.

Wesleyan easily beat Farmingdale State on LI Wednesday afternoon 16-7. The game was never in question but it is interesting to note that the game began on Russ Follansbee's [#15, pictured] hat trick for a 3-0 Wesleyan lead. Farmingdale then scored a goal which was followed up by Jason Ben-Eliyahu's [#27, pictured] hat trick to make the score 6-1. you don't see that every day.

Gettysburg has rebounded nicely with a home win over Cabrini. Gburg is undefeated at home this season but hasn't won a big game on the road yet. That is no way to make it deep into ANY tournament.

In big time MCLA action, my personal favorite team, Chapman out in Cali, beat Colorado State 15-5. Both of these teams are top-level club programs that can and do compete with some of the best programs at the Division 3 level. On Sunday, Michigan beat up on Minnesota pretty badly. I believe the championship game will be a rematch of Michigan-Chapman from earlier in the year. Who will win is anyone's guess.

possible D3 upset

Look out Cabrini... Gettysburg may be back!

Gburg is up on Cabrini 9-4 midway through the 3rd quarter.

Hobart 2009

A lot of people are talking about Hobart right now on the Division 1 side of things. Currently, they are 5-0, are playing great D and getting done on the offensive end when they have to. They haven't been putting up a TON of points although they did drop 15 goals on Georgetown last weekend. The Statesmen haven't played the best competition so far as none of the teams they have beaten have a winning record or are even considered perennial contenders save for the seemingly ever-disappointing Georgetown. They have also beaten Binghamton, Providence, St. Joe's and Bucknell. Coming up they have Rutgers, who is 1-5, then the Cuse in the dome followed by an easier game with Fairfield. I think they will win 2 out of 3, dropping the Upstate challenge game to Cuse. After that their road doesn't get any easier with games against PSU, UMass, St. John's, Canisius, Loyola and they finish up with a tough Cornell team. I don't think they will win all of those games but I must say I think they have a good shot against PSU, UMass and Loyola. Hobart should certainly beat Canisius and I like them over in St. John's in a one or two goal win at this point in the season. I think they will struggle with Cornell almost as much as I think they will struggle with Cuse. A lot of lacrosse is left to play but these next 3 games will determine what people think of Hobart. Win one, and people will bash you. Win 2 and people will get what they expect. Win all 3? people will be talking potential NC. Regardless of what happens, it is nice to see Hobart up in the top division and doing well instead of in Division 3 where they would be the top dog along with Salisbury.

PotD - Ghitelman Save for UVA!

Interesting but nice save by the UVA keeper against Cornell.

PotD - I got a disease and the only prescription is more Neon.

Easily the loudest lax stick out there. the Neon Hofstra Special redefining style on LI since 2009.

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.

Ithaca College

Great article on Ithaca:

http://www.ithaca.edu/icview/3903/

Currently, the Bombers are 5-0 and ranked in most pollster's top 10 in either the USILA or laxpower D3 polls.

Coach Long is a legendary coach at the D3 level without ever winning a National Championship and the players that have come through Ithaca are of the highest caliber both on and off the field.

PotD - Back in the Day Gait Bros.

Week review, Weekend Preview all in one!

UNC, Notre Dame and Georgetown all won this week. Bucknell put up a decent fight against ND after getting dominated by Hobart. The Statesmen clearly have some talent but will need to keep winning for their stock to improve further. Vermont rebounded to beat Bellarmine after losing to UVA and they didn't even have to change their mascot's name!

Mel McKee and Assumption picked up their first win of their career and season respectively over Division 3 MIT. MIT offers more varsity NCAA sports than any other college in the country which is an interesting tidbit considering their top flight academic standing. The brains at MIT put NESCAC, Centennial and ODAC brains to shame.

Ithaca lost to MCLA Chapman, barely beat Whittier and now barely beat Drew. I expect the Bombers to get BLOWN OUT by Cortland when they meet. It could get ugly in this rivalry game.

Bates stuck with Middlebury last weekend til the end and then went on to lose to WNEC 6-4 this week. They won't win the NESCAC; heck, they might not even win a game in the NESCAC but it shows that the talent from top to bottom in that conference is very even and no win comes easy.

Colorado State beat Florida handily in MCLA action without Coach Flip Naumberg who has taken what is believed to be a temporary leave from the team. Are the Rams getting back to their top level form? The easy home win over UF leads me to believe they are.

Some games to look out for this weekend are: Kenyon v. Stevens and Conn College v. McDaniel. Both of these games will be played at neutral sites. Dickinson v. Noke could be a good game, as could Cabrini v. Hampden-Sydney. Cortland Clarkson could be good although I bet Cortland wins by at least 6. Wesleyan v. Middlebury should be a GREAT NESCAC match-up. The birds really need this one even though it is early. W&L plays F&M in the ampersand tilt of the week. If the Generals win big, they could be a top 10 team.

On the Division 1/2 side of things: Hobart v. Georgetown will be huge for whoever takes that one. My gut says Georgetown but it seems like that program is always ready to lose just when you start to believe in them. Princeton looks to keep rolling against Hofstra, Umass takes on Brown for a public-private, Mass-RI brawl. UMD v. UMBC should be a great intrastate-school game with both teams looking to impress. Another match-up within the same state is UNC-Duke. Any game between these two NC schools is guaranteed to get heated and UNC is clearly on the upswing as Duke tries to find some stability and direction. UNC has not done well in the ACC for the past couple of years and you just know they would love to get a win over the Dukies to prove they have arrived back on the contender scene.

Jeff Snider to Recover

Geoff Snider suffered a broken trachea... yes, a BROKEN TRACHEA in a recent NLL game and was hospitalized for 3 days at the conclusion of the team's plane ride to Portland where their next game was taking place.

http://www.laxmagazine.com/nll/2008-09/news/031209_snider

Luckily, it looks like Snider will make a full recovery. He was injured setting a pick and didn't think much of the imjury at first. This serves as a lesson to every lacrosse player out there who refuses treatment and shrugs injuries off... DON'T! you might not seem like as much of a tough guy, but it also might save your life.

Wednesday recap!

Here is a little midweek food for thought:

-OWU looks like the class of the NCAC this year but they just lost to Gettysburg who lost to Stevenson and Cortland last week. I'm not a huge fan of comparative scoring but this does lead me to believe that there will be outrage if 3 NCAC teams make the tourney and deserving others are left out. The NCAC is good lacrosse but clearly not a conference putting forth teams in contention for the NC. Dickinson beat Kenyon by 1 and Dickinson isn't even on most people's Centennial radar.

-Bryant has shown that they have really arrived on the D1 lax scene. They lost to Loyola this week but kept it competitive. Any time you can play a top 20 team to a 15-11 loss in your first year is a good sign. Pressler will stick around for a while and Greer only went 2g, 1a so the future looks bright for the Bulldogs.

-Albany beat Umass yesterday. The Danes are up and down this year as are the Minutemen. Umass could put together a run at the end on the back of Connolly but even with the win yesterday, I still think Albany is a year away at least.

-UVA kept rolling as they easily bested the Catamounts of Vermont. UVA is clearly a top contender but what is going on with Ryan Curtis' UVM squad and its small roster? 20-something guys won't get you wins at the Division One level. As stupid as this may sound, I believe the problems start with their mascot. Question: what is the only difference between a catamount and a cougar? Answer: the prior is the mascot for Universitas Viridis Montis, the latter is not. Now is it silly to have two names for one cat?

side note: my uncle used to skate around the rink at intermission for UVM hockey games wearing the old Cat suit. Back then he was called Charlie, now they call him Rally. The latter is a step down considering it isn't even an alliteration. Also Rally connotes that the team is already losing. Is that really the attitude you want, UVM? Both of my parents went there so I would desperately love to see them succeed.

GREAT Division 3 highlights

check out the video lax.com loaded up from the Gburg-Cortland game last weekend:
http://www.lax.com/story.phtml?story=2250
some really good highlights from a great early season North-South match-up.

Cortland looks like they have some strong dodgers and finishers. Both teams played physical although both teams can be seen swinging at sticks instead of taking the body on numerous goal scoring opportunities, granted it is only a highlight reel.

PotD - at least it isn't snow?

The Pacific NW is just wonderful this time of year! Mercer Island HS lacrosse practice pictured above. They seem accustomed to the rain!

PotD - New Nike Jerseys

Wesleyan [top] and Skidmore [bottom] both have new away jerseys by Nike in 2009 and both programs are now rocking Brine helmets. Wesleyan is back in black after a few years with red jerseys.

NLL all star weekend

The NLL all-star game took place over the weekend in Denver.
The players were introduced to the roar of some motorcycles and flame throwers, a geared out Dan Dawson jumped into a hot tub with some scantily clad blondes during the 3rd period, Mark Steenhuis had 13 points [7g, 6a] to capture his 3rd all-star MVP and supposedly a lacrosse game was played.

OUTRAGE!

Read this: http://www.laxmagazine.com/college_men/club/2008-09/news/022009_asu

then read this: http://deadspin.com/5166103/florida-state-punished-for-cheating-scandal-but-not-really

so basically these schools and by extension, the NCAA are saying:

a)wrongs perpetrated by college students [just the kids] are worse than wrongs by YOUR OWN ATHLETIC DEPT/STAFF[PAID ADULTS, KIDS AND COACHES!].

b)drinking alcohol is bad, even though [at 21 years of age] it is legal.

c)cheating is kind of bad but really not that bad. next time, just don't get caught! tsk, tsk, slap on the wrist.

d)The NCAA has no teeth and is a slave to the money-earning sports and "academic" institutions.

So... WOW. I am appalled at FSU, the NCAA and Division 1 sports in general. The point of college is academics. PERIOD. Therefore, when serious academic violations are reported the response should be swift and meaningful, unlike what happened with FSU. These "students" should be suspended or even expelled and the tutors, coaches and administrators should be fired. Conduct violations [like what happened at ASU] are embarrassing for the University and the students involved and are quickly remedied by the suspension of the team but cheating scandals are far worse because they bring in to question why the students-athletes are even called students in the first place.

Duke's lacrosse season was cancelled by the school because of an off-campus party and allegations that in the end proved to be false. ASU's season was cancelled due to hazing and drinking. If this thinking continues logically, FSU's entire athletics department should be suspended for a year because the problems there are clearly systematic and widespread, yet the school did very little on top of the pathetic NCAA penalties.

weekend review II

Maryland won. Catalino scored 4 goals but I still think he slows down their offense and the game and is a pretty boring player to watch. He also made some questionable hits, of course he is also just bigger than everyone else so I could just be feeling bad for them.

Cornell lost as I thought they would but were competitive. UVA is just too deep this year for many to run with.

Hopkins impressed with their win over Hofstra. Defensively they looked comfortable and were playing like a team. Hofstra just didn't bring it to the same level. Both Gvozden brothers looked pretty good in goal for both teams. Older Brother, Michael, was a difference maker.

Umass took out Harvard. Lynchburg knocked of Cabrini in a surprise win. Lburg could be the class of the ODAC although W&L looks to be a challenger this year and Roanoke is off to a quick start. The top of this conference and the top of the CAC is looking even better than the Centennial or the NESCAC.

Cortland proved they are the real deal with a big win on LI against Gburg. the Bullets keep slipping and although I believe they are a top 20 team, they have a lot to prove. Bowdoin took the one goal win over Wesleyan with less than 30 seconds left in a 4-3 barn burner.

MCLA Chapman bested D3 Ithaca by a score of 14-11. I think this score pretty much proves Chapman could easily play at the top of Division 3 lacrosse. I would go out there and play lax in Cali if I could!

BYU topped FSU... I wish both of these schools would add men's lacrosse to their NCAA offered sports. When that happens, lacrosse will be unstoppable but in the meantime, it is great to see the club guys balling at a really high level and filling the gap until those schools take up the mantle of lacrosse themselves.

PotDs - NYC spring lax

A shot of the Sideline for Team Southampton, some photo "art", me almost killing a teammate from Hobart and me getting ready to shoot wide right.

Cornell-UVA

The Cornell-UVA match-up is probably the premier game of the weekend, at least according to the rankings. Max Seibald is a monster out on the field and is my early pick for player of the year. He just does things others can't, elevates his teammates and provides that spark when his team needs it. He plays at 100% all the time but is aided by less heralded players like John Glynn. Glynn does a great job on face offs and is a threat to score as well. He is more than just a FOGO. Do I think this will be enough for CU to knock off UVA? No. UVA is loaded on offense and defense with athletes and blue chip players all over the place. They place well together and along with Cuse are the heavy favorites to win the NC this year.

http://cornellsun.com/section/sports/content/2009/03/06/men%E2%80%99s-lacrosse-against-top-ranked-virginia

Hofstra-Hopkins looks like a good game to see which of these teams is for real and which is just pretending. I like the LI crew in this one. I also think the "Spirit of Massachusetts is the Spirit of America" Bowl featuring UMass and Harvard will be a telling game between two top 20 teams.

On the D3 side of things Cabrini-Lburg should be a good game. I don't think Lynchburg is as bad as some people thought they were after they destroyed Colorado College. I do think Cabrini is the real deal and will win by 3-5 goals. Gburg-Cortland on LI should be a great game in warm weather. Gburg has a lot to prove after getting destroyed by Stevenson. I like Cortland by a few. Wesleyan-Bowdoin should be a good game as well up in Maine. If it were 20 degrees colder the edge would go to Bowdoin but with the warm temps predicted I have to give Wesleyan a one-goal edge in this early, but important NESCAC tilt.

PotD - Ephmen dye? shameful.

Lavender [yeah I dyed my stick lavender, what of it?] Gait Triton with a disintegrating checker pattern, neon yellow mesh, yellow sidewalls and all-white shooters. You would think some hotshot from Williams, Nazareth, Albany or Whittier had done up this bad boy but no, it was an old laxrat from the Red & Black of Wesleyan. I'm an equal opportunity dye-ist.