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US Lacrosse College Notebook
March 28, 2003
Lose the Opener
It's probably not how most coaches envision starting their seasons—with
a loss—but it's been a pretty good way for several women's
teams to get rolling this year.
Twelth-ranked Yale was beaten by James Madison in the opener, but
enters a key Ivy League game against 15th-ranked Dartmouth riding
a five-game winning streak. Included in the Yale streak are wins
over 14th-ranked Notre Dame and 20th-ranked Vanderbilt.
Ohio State, ranked 16th, fell to Stanford 11-10 in its opener,
but since then the Buckeyes have won six straight, including Tuesday's
12-9 win over 14th-ranked Notre Dame. Ohio State will be the host
this weekend for the unofficial "ACC/Big 10 Challenge"
with second-ranked Maryland, ninth-ranked North Carolina and 11th-ranked
Penn State coming to Columbus.
Laura Brand's coaching career at Rutgers began with a loss to unbeaten
Cornell, but since then the Scarlet Knights have won five straight
games, including an 11-10 overtime win over Hofstra. Rutgers begins
Big East play this weekend hosting fourth-ranked Georgetown.
American dropped its first two games of the season, but has since
ripped off seven straight wins, including a 10-9 overtime victory
over Lehigh last weekend in a Patriot League game. The Eagles play
at defending conference champion Lafayette on Saturday.
California lost its opener to St. Mary's 7-5, but was riding an
eight-game winning streak before hosting UMBC today. Five of those
wins have come by two goals or less, including last Sunday's 7-6
win over Harvard. Cal also avenged its earlier loss to St. Mary's,
beating the Gaels 13-9 on March 15.
Around the Country
And Then There Were Two
Last week at this time there were six unbeaten teams
in men's Division I lacrosse. Now there are two—Georgetown
and Massachusetts. The Hoyas are 5-0 and will play at a hungry Navy
team on Sunday. The Midshipmen were stunned by Air Force 8-6 at
home on Tuesday night. Massachusetts is a perfect 7-0 and hosts
hard-luck Penn State this weekend. The Nittany Lions are just 1-5,
but all five losses have come by two goals or less to Top 20 teams.
UMass is now 31-5 in the regular season over the last three years.
One...Two...Three
Three games in five days against Top 20 competition isn't usually
a blueprint for success, but for Whittier it's a fact of life. The
California school had two Eastern trips scheduled this season and
needed to play as many games as possible. So from last Saturday
to Wednesday, the Poets faced off with Hampden-Sydney, Eastern Connecticut
and Roanoke. The final result? Three Whittier wins by a combined
score of 53-33. The third-ranked Poets are 7-0 but won't play another
Division III team until playing at Colorado College on May 3.
No Respect
So what's it feel like to be 6-0 and only be the fifth highest-ranked
team in your own conference? Just ask Kara Tierney, coach of the
Trinity (Conn.) women's program. The 16th-ranked Bantams moved to
6-0 with a 16-10 victory over Connecticut College in their New England
Small College Athletic Conference opener. The NESCAC boasts six
of the current Top 20 teams in the IWLCA Division III poll. And
that doesn't included unbeaten Tufts, Trinity's opponent this weeekend.
Aggie Land
The women's Division II tournament picture got a lot more interesting
when UC-Davis knocked off top-ranked Longwood 12-11 in overtime
on Thursday. The third-ranked Aggies are now 6-3, but all three
losses have come to Division I teams. UC-Davis, which beat last
year's national runner-up, Stonehill, earlier in the season, continues
its road trip on Saturday at sixth-ranked Limestone. The Aggies
play at defending national champion West Chester on April 11.
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