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US Lacrosse College Notebook
March 5, 2004
Western Wow
Air Force, California and Denver have something in common after a wild weekend out West. All three are in the national rankings. The men's teams at Air Force and Denver each went 2-0 in Denver's Pioneer Face-Off Classic, highlighted by shocking victories over defending national champion Virginia.
Air Force, ranked 14th in this week's USILA poll—it's highest in head coach Fred Acee's six years—rallied from a 3-1 halftime deficit to beat Virginia 7-6 last Saturday and then came back to beat Vermont 8-4 on Sunday. Air Force heads to Army this weekend. The Falcons have never beaten Army, though they took the Black Knights to double overtime last year.
After blowing out Vermont 14-3, Denver matched Air Force's upset with a 9-7 victory over the top-ranked Cavaliers. Junior Scott Davidson, the MVP of the tournament, had three goals in the win over Virginia. Denver, ranked 11th, plays at Sacred Heart this weekend, but then plays six straight games at home—including showdowns with fourth-ranked North Carolina and eighth-ranked Notre Dame.
California's women's team moved into the IWLCA rankings for the first time after a big weekend against Notre Dame and Ohio State. The Bears, ranked 16th, took then 17th-ranked Notre Dame to overtime before falling12-11 to start the weekend. Freshman goalie Hilary Lynch then made 20 saves as Cal upset ninth-ranked Ohio State 10-6 to even its record at 2-2.
Molly Brady, who had four goals in the win over Ohio State, leads Cal with 16 this season. The Bears travel to Virginia this weekend for games against William & Mary and Richmond.
Around the Country
Thoughts in Columbus
The thoughts of the lacrosse world are with Ohio State men's lacrosse coach Joe Breschi. Breschi's three-year-old son, Michael, died in an accident on Monday. A memorial service was held on Thursday in Columbus. Sympathy cards may be sent to the Ohio State Men's Lacrosse Office, Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium, 2450 Fred Taylor Dr., Columbus, OH 43210.
Dallas Debut
When the University of Dallas women's lacrosse team plays the University of Redlands in Colorado Springs on Saturday, it will mark the first varsity lacrosse game for a team from the state of Texas. The Crusaders will compete at the NCAA Divisiion III level and play an eight-game schedule in 2004. Dallas' roster consists of 23 players with a little over half of them coming from Texas high schools.
The Mighty MAAC
The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference men's lacrosse teams have been more than holding their own in some early non-conference battles. Marist, led by first-year interim coach Andy Copelan, stunned Butler 9-7 on Feb. 29 behind four goals from freshman Keith Detelj. The victory came just one day after Butler had surprised Hobart. Manhattan opened its season with a 10-9 win over Sacred Heart of the Colonial Athletic Association on Wednesday. Providence took 2002 NCAA participant Fairfield to overtime before falling and Canisius took Colgate to overtime.
Stick Checks
Goucher men's lacrosse goalie Reeves Craig made a career-high 34 saves in last weekend's game against Virginia Wesleyan, but it wasn't enough as the Marlins pulled out a 6-5 victory in overtime...this week's IWLCA Division I poll features five teams away from the Eastern seaboard—Vanderbilt (11th), Notre Dame (12th), Ohio State (15th), California (16th) and Northwestern (20th)...Ursinus, which went 6-8 in its first varsity season last year, is off to a 2-0 start this year in men's lacrosse. The Bears travel to California next week for games against two NCAA tournament teams from a year ago—Gordon and Whittier.
US Lacrosse College Notebook is a weekly feature on the US Lacrosse web site. For information about supporting the sport through membership in US Lacrosse, visit our membership page.
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