Game Essentials Geneseo 13, Nazareth 12, Tuesday, March 11 As predicted pre-season, Geneseo was slightly better than Nazareth, and they proved that with a 13-12 win. Don’t count the Golden Flyers out just yet. The team has new faces across the roster but still managed to outshoot Geneseo (46-33), win the faceoff battle (17-for-29), and were perfect clearing (18-for-18). Unfortunately, Geneseo’s goalie rotation of Eddie Watts and Dennis Constanza came up with 15 important saves. Naz had four more turnovers than Geneseo and had less success on man-up (1-of-6 vs. 2-of-4). The back-and-forth game saw both teams score in spurts with eight ties. Naz came back from a 11-9 deficit to tie the game with 4:04 left and take the lead just 19 seconds later. Geneseo evened the score with 2:33 left before a Joe Malach goal with just :06 left on the clock gave Geneseo the dramatic win. Cortland 18, WNEC 15, Tuesday, March 11 The Cortland Red Dragons moved to 2-0 and handed WNEC their first loss of the season for the second-straight year. This shootout saw arguably the two most exciting offenses in the North battle it out. Cortland held an early 4-1 lead, then WNEC scored two in the final minute of the first half to make it an 8-8 halftime tie. WNEC stretched it to 11-9 before five straight Cortland goals made it 15-12. WNEC cut it to 16-15 with just 2:19 to play, but Cortland added two more goals in the final minute. WNEC senior goalie Chris Body proved that he’s one of the best in the country, giving the Golden Bears a chance in this one. He outplayed Cortland’s duo of juniors, Matt Hippenbecker and Mike Robinson, with 15 saves to their combined eight. Offensively, seniors Ryan Heath (2g, 4a), Billy Fuchs (4g,0a), and Chris Hannon (3,1) led the way for Cortland. WNEC was led by junior Brody Savoie and his seven points 5th Period Endicott 6, Wesleyan 5 (OT), Monday, March 10 – People should be slow to jump off the Wesleyan bandwagon, because this one was more a great win for Endicott than a bad loss for Wesleyan. Heading into the season, Endicott was hurt by a perceived “weaker” conference. Four games into the season, they are quickly pushing aside the stigmas of conference supremacy. With one of the best faceoff guys in the country, a solid goalie, and a strong junior class, expect Endicott to be a force to reckon with in the North Haverford 14, Lynchburg 13 (OT), Saturday, March 8 – Two of the best from the Centennial and ODAC, respectively. They didn’t disappoint in this overtime game that featured a monsoon for much of the first half. Haverford overcame a two-goal deficit late with seven points by senior Mike Distler to take this one in dramatic fashion. Washington College 12, W&L 11 (OT), Saturday, March 8 – The jury is still out on both of these teams, as W&L has a bad loss at Colorado College, and WAC had only a one-goal win over Wesley College. Now with a win over a strong Virginia Wesleyan and a dramatic 12-11 victory over W&L, Washington might finally be finding that offensive touch it lacked a year ago and expected to have this year. Tufts 13, Eastern Connecticut 12 (2 OT), Tuesday, March 11 – The easy excuse is that the NESCAC just started play a few weeks ago, and unfortunately that’s the one that’s going to have to stick here. Tufts was ranked #4 in the country to start the season. Regardless of the time of the year, two overtimes should not be needed to beat unranked teams. Tufts especially shouldn’t enter the fourth quarter down 11-6. However, a win is a win, and the ability and poise to come back and win this overtime game despite the deficit tells us to not yet count out Tufts. On the fly 301 – The amount of wins that Gettysburg College head oach Hank Janczyk reached with his 12-7 win over Ohio Wesleyan on Wednesday. Janczyk has posted a career record of 301-91 and joins Jack Emmer, who won most of 326 games at Army, and current Salisbury coach Jim Berkman, who had 308 wins entering this season, in the 300-win club. Janczyk has recorded 255 of his victories at Gettysburg, where he recently started his 21st season. He also won 33 games in three years at Salisbury and earned 12 victories in two years at Colgate. 2 inches– The length that strings hanging from a lacrosse head cannot exceed. This came into play when Haverford College trailed Lynchburg with less than 1:30 left on the clock. Immediately following a Haverford goal that cut the lead to one, Lynchburg requested a stick check on Haverford’s freshman defenseman Scott Kelley. Kelley was penalized for having shooting strings that exceeded the legal length. The rule states “Any strings or leathers used to attach the pocket to the crosse are limited to a hanging length of 2 inches. The use of pull strings to alter the depth of the pocket is illegal.” - note that the referee’s expression, which may be taken as confusion) Kelley was awarded a one-minute nonreleasable penalty for the infraction. As it turns out, the referee didn’t handle the situation correctly, because in the rule book, it goes on to state: “Player A1 has strings on his crosse that have a hanging length greater than 2 inches. Ruling: Officials shall instruct A1 to cut the strings to the proper length. If A1 does not, a one-minute, nonreleasable penalty shall be assessed.” Had the strings been part of a “pull string”, his pocket would likely have been useless if he cut the strings. As one imagine, Kelley’s intent was not to whip the Lynchburg players with his excess hockey lace. In retaliation, Haverford called a stick check on Lynchburg and was awarded a man-up due to the ball becoming lodged in the stick of Lynchburg faceoff man, Jeff Schwartz. Luckily the referees’ strange/inappropriate application of a rule late in a one-goal game between two of the top teams in the South did not ultimately change the outcome. It would have been a shame for this great DIII lacrosse game to have been ruined because of a couple of inches of hockey lace and the referees lack of familiarity with the rulebook, Ironically on Sunday, Salisbury attackman Matt Hickman scored a goal and immediately had his stick taken for a stick check ( HYPERLINK "http://www.lax.com/bimages/1960/51" http://www.lax.com/bimages/1960/51). More than two inches of hockey lace could be seen hanging from his stick as well, but the refs decided that the excess hockey lace had no bearing on the head of the stick, so his goal stood, and the stick remained in the game. 28 – The number of saves by Emerson’s Dean Smollar in a 12-3 loss to Catholic. Smollar’s performance was the best of the week in between the pipes. He was followed by Andrew Sim of Immaculata with 24 saves in a game against Elizabethtown, Alex Hammer of Marymount’s 22 saves in a 13-8 upset of Hampden-Sydney, and a combined 22 saves by Christopher Wynne and Michael Mamujnes of Castleton State in a 12-3 loss to Western Connecticut. 1986 – The last year that Union College went 3-0 to start a season. Tied 3-3 against RIT with 7:21 remaining, the Dutchmen rattled off five-straight goals over the next 4:30 to pull away for the 8-3 upset. 14 – The amount of goals scored by Kenyon College in an upset of Roanoke. Despite a 7-4 halftime lead by Roanoke, the unranked and untouted Kenyon College Lords came back for the 14-11 upset bid. Roanoke dominated the major statistical categories, with eight more shots, 18 more groundballs, and winning 22-of-27 faceoffs. Unfortunately, Kenyon won the only stat that really counts: goals scored. 8 -- The amount of unanswered second half goals by Marymount University as they topped Hampden-Sydney, 13-8. As is often the case in upset bids, Marymount needed their goalie to play on his head for them upset a typically stronger Hampden-Sydney squad. Marymount senior Alex Hammer turned away 22 shots, while the offense exploded to overcome a 7-4 halftime lead with a 9-1 second half in the 13-8 victory. 3-for-4 – The success that the Wesleyan Cardinals had in the first quarter at the faceoff X against Endicott College. That was before Endicott senior John Ortolani got into a rhythm and won 10 of the last 11 faceoffs, including one in overtime as Endicott pulled off a 6-5 overtime upset of the highly ranked Cardinals. 3.0 – The amount of goals that the nation’s leading defense, Union College, has allowed per game in wins over Utica, Cazenovia and RIT. 18 – The number of saves by OWU senior goalie Ryan Perone in 14-10 loss at Salisbury on Sunday. Without Perone's play, the Bishops don’t become the first team to score 10 goals on the Sea Gulls since the 2006 national championship game, nor would they have had the ability to have a chance in this game. Another redshirt – Fellow 2007 DIII Third-Team All-American attackman Zach Thomas of Roanoke joins Stevens Tech's J.R. Oreskovich in seeking a medical redshirt. Thomas broke his foot in Roanoke’s first game of the season against Carbini on a freak play. Roanoke continues to be hurt by injuries as midfielder Chaz Carlson and defensemen Chase Phelps and Michael Wilson, a transfer from UMASS, all have been battling injuries. They’ll need them to regain their health before ODAC play starts, because they are falling behind in the at-large bids for the NCAA tourney. Offensive Stickers – If this was football, these players would have a lot of stickers on their helmets. Ten Points 1) 5g, 5a – Daniel Cannon, Lycoming (Lycoming 27 – Wells 1) 2) 3a, 7g – Russ Follansbee, Wesleyan (Wesleyan 19 – Babson 2) Nine points 1) 6g, 3a – Richard Ford, Villa Julie (VJC 17, Ursinus 6) Eight Points 1) (5g, 3a) – Sam Fitzpatrick, Goucher (Goucher 21, Jefferson 6) 2) (4g, 4a) – Max Hjelm, Haverford (Haverford 13, Eastern 5) 3) (5g, 3a) – Jameson Landgraf-Kimball, Misericordia (Misericordia 10, Mount Saint Vincent 3) Sea Gull Perch 10 – OWU was the first team to score 10 goals against the reigning national champs since Cortland did it May 28, 2006, when they beat Salisbury in the NCAA championship game. Despite giving up double digits for the first time in 30 games, Salisbury managed to outlast OWU for the 14-10 win. 64 – The Sea Gulls have won 64 consecutive games at Sea Gull Stadium. 11.6 – The difference between turnovers Salisury committed against OWU (30) and their season average up to that game (19.4). .421 – Despite going 3-for-15 on man-up against OWU, Salisbury still has one of the deadliest man-up units around, scoring on more than 42% of their chances. They made up for their letdown against OWU by converting 4-of-7 opportunities at Marymount on Wednesday. 2:04 – The amount of time it took Marymount to build a 2-0 lead over Salisbury on Wednesday. It was the first time since the 2007 DIII national championship game against Cortland that the Sea Gulls had found themselves behind in a game. After a timeout by Salisbury, they regrouped and notched the next eight goals in seven minutes on the way to a 24-8 win. 33 – The point total by junior Kylor Berkman (15g, 18a) that currently leads the country. Games of the week

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Elizabethtown @ Washington College, 7:00 pm – A loss here could really tell us something about WAC. A blowout is expected, but who knows with E-town.

Saturday, March 15, 2008

Middlebury @ Connecticut College, 1:00 pm – A one- or two-goal game the past two years.

Haverford College @ Gettysburg College, 1:00 pm – Haverford was the only team besides Salisbury to beat Gettysburg last year, but then Gettysburg found redemption in the Centennial playoffs before making a Final Four run. Major South implications, not to mention Centennial Conference bragging rights. The CC is still Gettysburg’s for the taking, but Haverford is closing the gap. Right now, Haverford is averaging 15 goals per game, while Gettysburg is still working out goalies, trying to find a replacement for DIII Goalie of the Year Pat Vaughan, and trying to get back to their past success at the faceoff circle. Currently, Gettysburg is only winning 42.5% of its draws, as opposed to last year when it won 61.9%.

Cabrini @ Hampden-Sydney, 1:00 pm – Cabrini is 3-0 and hot. Hampden-Sydney is 2-2 and reeling. A win over the Cavaliers would do wonders for HSC’s confidence. Remember this team is a year removed from a 12-3 record and a #10 ranking. Cabrini, however, is playing like a frontrunner in the South. Might be a one-goal game like last year, or Cabrini might just be the real deal.

Swarthmore @ New England College, 1:00 pm – Did you know that Swarthmore, tied for worst in the Centennial Conference in 2007, is 3-0? Probably not. The combined record of the Centennial is 26-5 at the moment. For reference, the ODAC is 17-15, while most other conferences are either worse or haven’t played enough games.

Hartwick @ RIT, 1:00 pm – Probably wouldn’t have thought that RIT would need a win so early in the season.

Dickinson @ Roanoke, 1:00 pm – Looking at common scores is dangerous, especially when talking about a team like Roanoke. However, Dickinson so far is the quietest undefeated team in the Centennial (out of five), but the Red Devils spanked the Kenyon Lords 15-6 recently, the same Lords that just beat Roanoke 14-11. Don’t count Roanoke out; they have the players and have been a slower starting team the past couple of years.

Bates @ Trinity, 1:00 pm – This has been a one- or two-goal game for a few years, and right now Bates is desperate for a win. Sitting at 0-4, the Bobcats have four tough losses to ranked or nearly ranked teams. Trinity hasn’t been tested yet.

McDaniel @ Widener, 1:00 pm – Widener is 1-3 and needs to regain confidence in order to continue the success it has had in the MAC. McDaniel is 2-1 and looking to get itself set for the battle of attrition that the Centennial Conference might be this year.

Sunday, March 16

Denison @ Salisbury, 12:00 pm – OWU played Salisbury tough a week ago and now it’s their neighbors’ chance. Denison has a shot in this one with an experienced defense and a lot of capable scorers. However, Salisbury has only given people reason to think they’re human, but that has yet to be proven.

Monday, March 17

Saint Lawrence vs. Bowdoin, 3:00 pm @ Sylvan Lake Park, Florida – This St. Patrick’s Day battle will hopefully live up to last year’s game that saw Bowdoin give St. Lawrence their only loss of the season before they fell to Cortland in the NCAA Tournament. Don’t think the Saints forgot about it. After weather claimed their first two games of the season, look for St. Lawrence to fly out of the gates in sunny Florida.

Tuesday, March 18

Wesleyan vs. Nazareth, 12:00 pm @ Orlando, FL – Both teams have something to prove. Wesleyan should be able to score more than four goals a game, and Nazareth has a lot of new faces helping them average 11.5 goals per game. Expect this one to have major implications in the North seeding. Just another meaningful mid-week DIII game.

Tufts @ Roanoke, 3:30 pm – Pre-season #4 and #2 respectively. Neither has played up to the expectations. There have been flashes of that brilliance from both. If one can somehow figure out consistency between now and then, that will be the one that takes it in a likely high-scoring affair.

Gordon @ Stevens Tech, 1:00 pm – Who knows? Both lost to a tough underrated Springfield team, and they’re probably tied for the best 1-2 teams in the country.

Wednesday, March 19

Gettysburg @ Cabrini, 4:00 pm – Even if one of these two teams lose before, it will still be two of the best teams in the South going at it. Watch for a defensive battle. A win here removes any doubt, if anyone still has some, that Cabrini deserves to be talked about with the top teams in the South.

Cortland @ RIT, 3:30 – Is this the game that RIT gets back on track? A lot of experience and seniors at Cortland say otherwise.

Keene State @ Whittier, 4:00 pm – The Poets lost to Ithaca by five but are still an intriguing team. Keene State is a lot of the same that went 16-1 last year before falling to WNEC in the NCAAs. 2007 Honorable Mention All-American goalie Matt Johnson is off to a good start. Look for him to potentially be the difference here.

Dickinson @ York, 3:30 – Dickinson is undefeated and York is 5-1?