US Lacrosse College Notebook
April 16, 2004

In the Middle of the Week
If you want to knock off a top-rated team the best time to do it is in the middle of the week. Witness Colgate's 12-11 win over ninth-ranked Army on Tuesday evening. It's one of the reasons that some of the top-rated programs are reluctant to schedule such games. But one or two midweek games against regional opponents might be something the top teams should take another look at.

Look at the case of Virginia. The defending champs are just 3-6 and the NCAA tournament officially begins for them this Saturday when they host Duke. Virginia will have to win Saturday's game, two games in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament and its season finale at Penn State just to be eligible for the tournament, which requires teams to have a .500 or better record.

But consider this scenario. What if Virginia loses to Duke this weekend, but then won its final three games of the season? In that situation Virginia would be ineligible for the tournament due to its 6-7 record. What if Virginia had played one more this game year, say a Wednesday night game against VMI. All of the sudden you might be looking at a 7-7 team with wins over three of the current top five teams in the country–Johns Hopkins, Maryland (first round of ACC tournament) and North Carolina (ACC championship). With those wins and its difficult strength of schedule, Virginia would be a strong candidate for a berth.

Virginia, with 12 regular season games scheduled plus the ACC tournament, is not alone in its scheduling. Johns Hopkins and Princeton both have just 12 games on the schedule while Georgetown and Syracuse have 13 game schedules. The NCAA allows Division I teams up to 17 dates for competition, but many schools use some of those dates for fall and spring scrimmages.

Many coaches might feel with six or seven losses their team wouldn't have a chance at the tournament anyway, but Virginia's 2004 season might make some schools take another look at their scheduling.

Around the Country
Sold Out
Sellout and lacrosse are two words that don't go together very often, but Saturday night's Maryland at Johns Hopkins men's game is officially sold out. Johns Hopkins had 350 tickets available for purchase on Tuesday morning, but they sold out that day. This is the 100th time the two schools have met on the lacrosse field and the teams will wear throwback jerseys. The game will be televised nationally on CSTV as part of the package that US Lacrosse helped sponsor.

Big East Biggie
Georgetown's women have never lost a Big East game, but the Hoyas will have their toughest test when they host unbeaten (10-0) and second-ranked Notre Dame this Saturday. The Hoyas are 8-2 and ranked fifth. Notre Dame's first five wins came over teams that were ranked in the Top 20 at some point this season, but the Irish haven't played a ranked team since beating eighth-ranked James Madison 9-7 on March 14.

Under the Radar
There are still four unbeaten women's Division III teams, but only one of them–Plymouth State–is not ranked. The Panthers have a chance to do something about that this weekend. Plymouth plays at Rhode Island College on Saturday before hosting 15th-ranked Bowdoin on Sunday. Plymouth is allowing just 5.0 goals per game and senior Katie Sheridan is the top goal scorer in Division III.

Stick Checks
If Duke and Rutgers post some big wins down the stretch, it's conceivable that Army could miss the four-team Patriot League tournament, but make the NCAA tournament. The Black Knights have two PL losses and are in a three-way tie for third place in the league, but already beat Rutgers and closes the season at home against Duke. Army has three of the top five scorers in Division I...Bucknell's Chris Cara is the leading scorer in Division I. He scored 30 of his 59 points in just three games with 11 points against Lafayette, 10 against Holy Cross and nine against Harvard.

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Previous Notebooks

• April 9, 2004
• April 2, 2004
• March 26, 2004
• March 19, 2004
• March 12, 2004
• March 5, 2004
• Feb. 27, 2004