like the others have said before, this is a first rate write-up on the final weekend of lacrosse in D-I, mike. i haven't been able to call any games right this whole year. i thought SYRACUSE would be untouchable with a stacked offensive unit, but the old adage is true: offense wins games, defense wins championships. losing three straight at one time seemed to hurt their chances at another championship, but they still have a solid chance at winning it all again, as long as they don't a)hit the goalie, b)hit the pipe, or c)over shoot the goal completely. there offense must be top notch to compensate for their lacking defense.
at a time i thought with there great start (7-1) i believed MARYLAND would beat anybody in D-I with their solid defense. they lost some games they should have won, but they could still win it all. their starting attack and middies are solid players, hands down. as long as they put up some numbers, the defense will hold their ground.
i was uncertain on what JOHNS HOPKINS was bringing to the table this year. what can be said about them though is that they are a solid team back to front, and easily the best team in all of lacrosse right now. if scherr comes with his A-game, it is hard to even compete with them. the jays middies control and distribute the ball so well, transition game is not a problem. still, they can not let up at all because another loss to cuse will be more detrimantal than the first (which is still possible).
i thought VIRGINIA would score in double digets every game (wrong again). if they had, they probably would have a perfect season. it is important that they avoid another semi-final loss, because they have something to prove this year. with the loss of one of the best x-attackmen to play the game, uva wants to prove that they can still win the big games. they will need someone in the midfield to go to work, and carry the team at critical moments.
so after alot of babbling and bad grammar, i finally say this: IT IS UP FOR GRABS. i've always been a cuse fan, so that is who i am going with. it should be an interesting weekend for us lax junkies anyway it goes though.