Photo courtesy of Syracuse Athletics
Welcome to Lacrosse Playground's College Lacrosse Roundup, where we recap all the notable news, scores and highlights of the past week, while previewing upcoming matchups and analyzing the latest Tewaaraton trophy race.
Notable News
Potentially the biggest news in college lacrosse happened off the field. Flow Fantasy Inc, the creators of last summer’s fantasy lacrosse challenge that coincided with the PLL Championship Series, announced their new daily fantasy platform coinciding with the NCAA Division I season.
Participants will have a salary cap and be tasked with building a fantasy lacrosse lineup comprised of college players from the ACC, Big Ten and Big East. Similar to other daily fantasy platforms, users will have to pay more to start top talent like Michael Sowers or Chris Gray, while finding top performances from undervalued players to rank above their peers.
To coincide with the Flow Fantasy Daily D1 challenge, Lacrosse Playground will producing a variety of content, including a weekly recap show titled the Fantasy Lacrosse Focus hosted by Ty Cunnington, the Fantasy Lacrosse Podcast hosted by Dan Neubert and a weekly competition between fellow lacrosse podcasts The Post Game and Crease Dive.
Check out the announcement from Tuesday morning for more details.
Top Moments of the Week
Camden Hay sent the ball into orbit with this nifty "around the world" goal.
Charlotte North found herself on SportsCenter's Top 10 with this behind-the-back beauty.
Jamie Trimboli contributed to a dominant Syracuse win including scoring this toe drag goal.
Ryan Tierney continues to impress both on the stat sheet and highlight reel.
Nate Buller displayed amazing effort AND skill snagging a groundball and burying it behind-the-back on the crease.
Best Games You Missed
Men's Lacrosse
Syracuse bounces back with win over #2 Virginia, 20-10
Brendan Curry led the astounding first line mids and all of the Orange with seven points (3 G, 4 A), followed by Stephen Rehfuss with six points (3 G, 3 A) and the freshman Owen Hiltz adding five points (3 G, 2 A). Tucker Dordevic had a hat trick while Owen Seebold and Lucas Quinn of the second line each added two goals a piece. Chase Scanlan had two points (1 G, 1 A), while Jamie Trimboli added two goals. Even Brett Kennedy joined in on the action, scoring a goal himself.
For the foes, Virginia was lead by Shellenberger who had 3 points (2g, 1a) Laviano with a hat trick, and Cormier adding 3 points (2g, 1a). Syracuse will play host to Vermont this Saturday, while Virginia will play host to High Point on Wednesday. Man this ACC is going to be fun to watch, there will be no telling who has a chance at winning the ACC until the game is over.
UMBC tops Mount St. Mary’s in OT, 8-7
Alex Poma, the faceoff specialist for UMBC, had the game winner for UMBC off a faceoff win in overtime that gave the retrievers a win over Mount St. Mary’s. Brandon Galloway led the team with three goals, followed by Nick Dupuis (1 G, 1 A) and Trevor Patschorke (0 G, 2 A) adding two points each. CJ Stowell and Justin Weick led the Mount with two goals a piece, but that just wasn’t enough. UMBC will host Stony Brook next weekend, while Mount St. Mary’s will host Georgetown on Tuesday.
Holy Cross sneaks past Sacred Heart, 11-10
Holy Cross was led by Will Spangenberg, who had four points (1 G, 3 A), as well as Dean DiNanno and Cameron Magalotti, who each added three goals a piece to help Holy Cross edge out Sacred Heart. Sacred Heart did not go quietly into that goodnight as Logan Liljeberg had six points (2 G, 4 A) and Drew Edwards and Max Lionetti added four and three goals respectfully. Holy Cross will travel to Colgate next Saturday, while Sacred Heart will host LIU on Saturday as well.
Richmond edges Towson, 11-10
Richmond’s Luke Grayum led the squad with four points (3 G, 1 A) in their battle against a tough Towson opponent. Dalton Young and Ryan Lanchbury each added three points, each with a goal and two helpers. Mitch Savoca and Kevin Todd each added two goals a piece.
Towson was led by Austin Stewart who had four points (1 G, 3 A) and Andrew Milani who had three goals on the day. Richmond will play host to a tough Duke opponent, who has not been slowing down since the start, on Sunday, March 7. Towson will travel to Drexel next Saturday to take on the Dragons.
Maryland’s McNaney tops Penn State, 13-7
Logan McNaney, the sophomore out of Corning, NY, had 16 saves on Friday night to lead the Terps to a 13-7 victory over Penn State on the road. Jared Bernhardt lead the Terps with seven points (3 G, 4 A), followed by Daniel Maltz (4 G, 1 A) and Logan Wisnauskas (3 G, 2 A). Kyle Long added four points (1 G, 3 A) and Anthony Demaio added a goal and a helper as well.
Penn State on the other hand only had one player with more than a point, which was TJ Malone with 2 points (1g, 1a). Mac O’Keefe is still having trouble finding the back of the net shooting only 20% in the loss against Maryland. Maryland will host Johns Hopkins next Saturday, March 6, while Penn State will host rival Ohio State on March 6 to see if they can get their first victory of the year.
Women’s Lacrosse
Central Michigan out last Oregon, 12-11 in OT
Central Michigan’s Natalie Karlen led the team with six goals, followed by the trio of Tyra Frince, Hannah Potter and Audrey Whiteside, who each added two goals a piece. Prince was the one who had the goal to win the game for Central Michigan. The Ducks on the other hand played a great game with Lillian Stump and Hanna Hilcoff each having hat tricks, while Lindsay Clarke had two goals and a helper in the loss. Central Michigan will travel to Marquette on Friday, while Oregon will seek their first win against Colorado on March 12.
Rutgers beats Ohio State, 10-9
Jenna Byrne led the Scarlet Knights with five points (3 G, 2 A), followed by Cassidy Spills who had a hat trick, and Ashley Campo who added two goals as well. The Buckeyes were led by Nicole Ferrara with four points (2 G, 2 A) and Ashley Turner who had a hat trick as well. Rutgers will try to extend their win streak next Sunday against Michigan, while Ohio State will play host to a double header against Johns Hopkins next Friday and Sunday.
San Diego State beats Cal, 12-11
Courtney Robinson and Bailey Brown led San Diego State with three goals each as Julia Sheehan added three points (2 G, 1 A) in this west coast matchup. Megan Mix of Cal had five goals on 56% shooting, followed by Maya Lawliss (2 G, 1 A) and Quinnlyn Mason (1 G, 2 A) each having three points each. San Diego State will host UC Davis next Friday, and Cal will travel to Fresno State next Friday.
Virginia edges Virginia Tech, 12-10
Annie Dyson, Ashlyn McGovern and Mackenzie Hoeg each had three points in the win over Tech as Dyson and McGovern had three goals, while Hoeg had two helpers and a goal. Virginia Tech’s Sarah Lubnow had five points (2 G, 3 A), while Paige Petty and Paige Tyson each had hat tricks in the loss. Virginia will host Louisville on Saturday, while Virginia Tech will travel to South Bend to play the fighting Irish on Saturday.
Tewaaraton Tracker
Men’s Lacrosse
Michael Sowers (Duke)
Sowers is still second in the nation in points with 27 (10 G, 17 A). The Blue Devils won’t play again until Sunday where they will travel to Richmond where, barring an upset, Sowers should have a field day.
Chris Gray (North Carolina)
Chris Gray still leads the nation in points with 30 (18 G, 12 A) as the Tar Heels continue to roll whoever they see in sight. He will have a favorable matchup against Mercer this weekend.
Ethan Walker (Denver)
Ethan Walker is currently second on Denver in points with 21 and continues to dominate for the Pios, adding five goals and two assists in Denver's 15-6 win over Air Force.
Jackson Morrill (Denver)
Jackson Morrill is a new addition to the list as he overtakes Ethan Walker by three points, leading the Pioneers with 24 points (14 G, 10 A). Denver may be starting to find their groove with wins over Air Force, Marquette and Providence. They will travel to St. John’s next Saturday.
Ryan Tierney (Hofstra)
Ryan Tierney is also a new addition as he put on a dazzling performance again this weekend. He is currently tied with Morrill with 24 points (17 G, 7 A). Hofstra is fun to watch especially with Ryan Tierney running the show. In their last battle with Stony Brook, Tierney had 11 points (8 G, 3 A). Hofstra will be playing host to Wagner on Tuesday, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if this time next week Tierney is leading the country in points.
Women’s Lacrosse
Katie Hoeg (North Carolina)
Katie Hoeg is currently third in the nation in points with 24 (9 G, 15 A) and sits just behind her teammate Jamie Ortega. Her vision continues to make her one of the best feeders in the game.
Jamie Ortego (North Carolina)
Jamie Ortega now leads the country with 26 points (16 G, 10 A) as the Tar Heels continue to roll whoever they play. Ortego looks to continue her lead in points this week against Boston College on Saturday.
Izzy Scane (Northwestern)
Izzy Scane sits just behind Ortega with 25 points (20 G, 5 A). Northwestern will take on Penn State in a double header this weekend, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if Scane overtakes Ortega.
Cassidy Spilis (Rutgers)
Cassidy Spilis is a new addition to the list. The sophomoreis fourth in points for this year with currently 20 points (18 G, 2 A), and has proven to be one of the most elite goal scorers in women's lacrosse. Let’s see what Spilis can do this weekend in Rutgers' double header against Michigan.
What to Watch this Week
We've teamed up with Lacrosse Reference to provide you with the top games to watch this coming weekend based on Lacrosse Reference's ELO ratings. The ELO system is a method for comparing the relative strength of teams. The higher the ELO rating, the better the team. The difference in two teams’ ELO ratings can be used to estimate the likelihood of each team winning.
Men’s Lacrosse
Richmond (1622 ELO) vs Duke (1860 ELO) - 4pm ET on Sunday, March 7
Maryland (1794 ELO) vs Johns Hopkins (1608 ELO) - 1pm ET on Saturday, March 6
Penn State (1762 ELO) vs Ohio State (1628 ELO) - 12pm ET on Saturday, March 6
Lehigh (1577 ELO) vs Loyola (1723 ELO) - 1pm ET on Saturday, March 6
Boston U (1583 ELO) vs Army (1696 ELO) - 2pm ET on Saturday, March 6
Women's Lacrosse
North Carolina (2232 ELO) vs Boston College (2130 ELO) - 12am ET on Saturday, March 6
Duke (1844 ELO) vs Syracuse (2069 ELO) - 1pm ET on Saturday, March 6
Northwestern (2039 ELO) vs Penn State (1760 ELO) - 5pm ET on Friday, March 5
Notre Dame (1930 ELO) vs Virginia Tech (1747 ELO) - 12pm ET on Saturday, March 6
James Madison (1998 ELO) vs George Mason (1613 ELO) - 3pm ET on Wednesday, March 3
Note: ELO only uses the final score, the location of the game, and the date of the game, and it does factor in some season-to-season carryover. To reiterate, this is not a ranking based on past performance, but an attempt to sort teams based on “current” strength. Consider these ratings in beta for the time being.