Lacrosse

Vandy74 · April 07, 2015, 08:49:55 PM

HUGE win for Bowdoin. One of the best games I've watched in a long time. I leave it to PolarCat to give the details.

PolarCat · April 07, 2015, 10:04:05 PM

Thanks, but I am still hooked up to the defibrillator.

Crazy game. The Mules jumped out to an early lead, while the Polar Bears had some uncharacteristic lapses on defense, and a couple of early shots that were really just passes to the GK. My wife and I were fearing the Bears would just fold under the pressure, and the onslaught of a VERY physical Mules team.

(On a side note: we had this same referee crew two Saturdays ago, and one of them is just absolutely blind and clueless. The crew completely let the game get out of hand. I counted THREE checks to the head - one of them to my daughter who told me after the game she was afraid her cornea was scratched - none of which drew a card, which is theoretically mandatory. If we see the girls all wearing helmets in a couple years, it will be because of crews like this).

Much to their credit, the Lady Bears refused to give up. A couple of girls had break-out games, and once they were up by two goals, they did a fantastic job of killing the clock, despite Colby double- and triple-teaming all over the field. Up by 1 with under 3 minutes to go, Bowdoin turned the ball over and we were sure we were headed to OT. But the defense rose up and shut down Colby's big guns as the clock ran out.

It doesn't get much more exciting than that. (I do wish that the announcers they hire could take the time to at least read the rule book. The guy working tonight's game had a pleasing voice - unlike one other school's announcer who is like fingernails on a chalkboard - but clearly didn't have a clue what shooting space, charging, dangerous shooting or 3 second violations were all about).

PS: There were THREE goals called back because the stick checks revealed illegal pockets. That's got to be some kind of record.

Vandy74 · April 08, 2015, 01:25:19 AM

Quote from: PolarCat on April 07, 2015, 10:04:05 PM
Thanks, but I am still hooked up to the defibrillator.

Crazy game. The Mules jumped out to an early lead, while the Polar Bears had some uncharacteristic lapses on defense, and a couple of early shots that were really just passes to the GK. My wife and I were fearing the Bears would just fold under the pressure, and the onslaught of a VERY physical Mules team.

(On a side note: we had this same referee crew two Saturdays ago, and one of them is just absolutely blind and clueless. The crew completely let the game get out of hand. I counted THREE checks to the head - one of them to my daughter who told me after the game she was afraid her cornea was scratched - none of which drew a card, which is theoretically mandatory. If we see the girls all wearing helmets in a couple years, it will be because of crews like this).

Much to their credit, the Lady Bears refused to give up. A couple of girls had break-out games, and once they were up by two goals, they did a fantastic job of killing the clock, despite Colby double- and triple-teaming all over the field. Up by 1 with under 3 minutes to go, Bowdoin turned the ball over and we were sure we were headed to OT. But the defense rose up and shut down Colby's big guns as the clock ran out.

It doesn't get much more exciting than that. (I do wish that the announcers they hire could take the time to at least read the rule book. The guy working tonight's game had a pleasing voice - unlike one other school's announcer who is like fingernails on a chalkboard - but clearly didn't have a clue what shooting space, charging, dangerous shooting or 3 second violations were all about).

PS: There were THREE goals called back because the stick checks revealed illegal pockets. That's got to be some kind of record.

In all likelihood Bowdoin's season ender against Tufts will have home field CAC tournament implications. Very impressive 7-1 finishing run after trailing 4-1 early on. Solid defensive effort in the closing minutes but truly throughout the entire 2nd half as well. I don't think I've seen 3 goals nullified by illegal pocket infractions in an entire season, let alone one game. Odd doesn't begin to describe it. Your daughter must be very excited and best of luck to her as long as the opposition isn't Middlebury.

amh63 · April 08, 2015, 10:18:40 AM

Nice posts guys on the Maine battle. Did see the early score and watched a bit of the game. Upset wrt to the Amherst loss to Conn College 11-10; it was 6-5 at the half, Conn. Did watch the Amherst's game on Gooding field. Amherst fell behind 2-0 in the rain, but ended the first period 3-2. It was 6-3 and then 9-4, Amherst going into the last period.....only to see the Camels surge back to 12-10 with a few minutes to go. Amherst wins 13-10. Seems expected wins are getting harder and harder as the season heads into tourney time.
Admit that I did not stay with the Bowdoin battle with the Mules...I'm weak!.....went to the WBB title game chit-chat. Big UConn fan...women's side. Men's side is too much an example of what is wrong with Big Time Div1 basketball. Not a fan of women lacrosse going to headgear. Rough play turned me off on men's ice hockey.

PolarCat · April 10, 2015, 11:14:59 AM

Big weekend coming up in the NESCAC.

On the women's side, Tufts travels to Hamilton and Colby travels to Amherst Saturday. Both games have tournament and national ranking implications. Wondering how the Continentals will be after their scare at Williams Wednesday? Also on Saturday, Colby travels to Amherst in what is likely a "must win" game for both teams, while Bates travels to Midd and Wesleyan travels to Williams. Can Wes secure a win over the Ephs team that folded spectacularly Wednesday?

On Sunday, Bowdoin travels to Conn, while Tufts travels to Cortland straight from the Hamilton game. Trinity has a rare bye weekend.

On the men's side, Midd travels to an energized Bates team, Amherst travels to struggling Colby, and Tufts hosts Hamilton on Saturday. It will be interesting to see how the Jumbos rebound from their surprise defeat at Bates. They travel to

PolarCat · April 11, 2015, 03:03:09 PM

Two great NESCAC games this afternoon. Hamilton prevailed over Tufts, and Amherst had an amazing buzzer beater quick stick goal over Colby in OT. (No other surprises, as Williams and Midd both won easily.) Bowdoin plays Conn tomorrow, and Trinity has a bye.

This could be a tough road trip for Tufts. It was a very physical game in Clinton, and then jump right from the frying pan into the fire tomorrow when they take on Cortland. It will be interesting to see how their second year coach can handle the emotions, and the long bus ride home.

We saw some typical NESCAC non-calls in both the Hamilton and Amherst games - checks to the head, vicious cross checks in the back, but only one card that I saw. The announcer in the Amherst game even said that some DI programs are pushing for body armor and helmets, so they can be even MORE aggressive. Anybody got some VC funds and want to start a company manufacturing girls' helmets? I think they're going to be required sooner rather than later.

Vandy74 · April 11, 2015, 03:29:54 PM

Easy win for Middlebury over Bates this afternoon. 18-6. A large crowd turned out as many former players are in town for Coach Missy Foote's retirement dinner this evening. An alumni game is scheduled for tomorrow. The Panther men fared less well losing 14-9 in Lewiston. Amherst over Colby? An interesting season for the Lady Js. The top 4 seeds in the NESCAC tournament are really up for grabs. I hope to chime in with more later but right now I need to find that coat and tie.

Should be a fun evening.

magicman · April 13, 2015, 05:56:14 AM

The 5th ranked Cortland women defeated #10 Tufts by a 14-8 score on Sunday afternoon. The Red Dragons built leads of 5-1 and 8-2 but 2 late first half goals by the Jumbos made it 8-4 at the half. Cortland led 9-6 and 10-7 with 8 minutes left to play, but scored 3 unanswered goals over the next several minutes to take a commanding 13-7 advantage. Both teams added 1 more goal ti make the 14-8 final.

Cortland improves to 12-1 on the season while the Jumbos fall to 9-4.

magicman · April 13, 2015, 06:08:01 AM

The Cortland men's team popped Plattsburgh's State bubble once again as they defeated the host Cardinals on Saturday afternoon by a 15-9 score. The Red Dragons left no doubt as to who the better team was that day as they jumped out to a 6-0 lead after the 1st period and increased it to 12-3 at the half. Cortland would lead by 10 goals at 15-5 in the 4th quarter before the Cardinals scored 4 time in the final 4 minutes to close the gap but never really threaten. Once again it looks like the SUNYAC championship will be decided on Cortland's home field. Cortland ranked #13 improved to 8-4 and 3-0 in the SUNYAC. Plattsburgh is now 9-5 overall and 2-2 in the YAC.

magicman · April 13, 2015, 06:16:06 AM

Quote from: amh63 on April 06, 2015, 01:17:06 PM
Magicman.....how is it that your Cardinals get good lacrosse players? Aware that it is a Native American game...any Native American players?...being serious here....Amherst is always looking out for such students with that background...truly. On that subject, many years ago I was informed that Maine has a large Native American presence....even reservations. Discussed it recently with a friend who has several pieces of property in Maine, including a family farm...and goes up each summer to keep them in shape. Where am I going?...who really knows, but I'm thinking if the tribes in Maine play the sport, or are only the tribes of the NY region the originators. I know, I should look it up online!

amh63,

Most of the Cardinal lax players come from Long Island, the Capital Distict of NY (Albany area) or Central New York. There are several Native American communities close by (3 within a 60 mile radius) but I don't recall any of those players attending Plattsburgh. Do recall several of them attending DI schools but couldn't tell you where or when. Just remember reading about a few students that went on to play at some of the bigger schools over the years.

amh63 · April 13, 2015, 10:53:52 AM

Magicman.....thanks for your response! Crazy weather has Spring sports in the conference scrambling for rematches and places to play...except for the "stick game". The Lady Jeffs are indeed having an up and down season...due much to their opponents....hope they are learning to play better team ball. Young team. Saw them in the Final Four last season at Gettysburg, Pa.live.

Interesting that the game is trending to rough play on the women's side. Yes, it was always.a rough game on the men's side. In my day, a number of the players played both lacrosse and football...even played UMass down the road. It was the days that the Div1 JHU players also played football to keep in shape. On the men's side, it has become faster and more skilled, imo, with hockey like line changes.

With the recent posts on goal eliminations due to illegal stick web...it finally hit me why I now see the women players DROP their sticks after a score. Seems the men's game do not do this...not on the Div1 level. How did this routine come about on the women's side?

PolarCat · April 13, 2015, 11:44:11 AM

Probably the most famous Native American men's players in the recent past are Miles and Lyle Thompson, members of the Onandaga Nation who played at Albany. They were co-winners of the Tewaaraton last year. On the women's side, first year Selena Lasota is a member of the Katzie Nation, and is leading #5 ranked Northwestern in goals, assists and caused turnovers. She may well rewrite the record book for that storied program by the time she graduates.

amh63, I got some additional information on that crazy, three-goals-called-back Colby-Bowdoin game. The two goals which were disallowed for Colby were indeed for illegal pockets. The Bowdoin goal was not. Lindsey Picard (who takes the draws for the Polar Bears), actually broke her shaft scoring the goal. She dropped her stick afterward as required by the rules. But between the emotion of scoring and the concern for replacing her stick before the draw, she picked it back up before the refs could check her pocket. So the disallowed Bowdoin goal was for an (understandable) mistake, not because of a problem with the pocket.

PolarCat · April 13, 2015, 01:49:01 PM

Breaking NESCAC WLAX news: Amanda Belichick (Bill's daughter and the recipient of that notorious kiss after the Super Bowl) has stepped down as Wesleyan coach.

When ESPN did a story on Amanda, Wes AD Mike Whalen said The Hoodie told him, "If she doesn't do the job, you run her out of town like anybody else." (2:05 in this video: http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=9981970 ). Looks like that was prophetic.

amh63 · April 13, 2015, 06:15:22 PM

PolarCat....thanks for the clarification and the coach resignation at Wesleyan. Sad it did not work out.
It seems that there is growing pressure on coaches all around the CAC....even the recent "retirement" of the long time coach at Bates.
Amherst has a FY coach..and staff...in softball. Third coach in the last 3-5 years, I believe. The other FY coach is in men's tennis..different secenario there. The former coach who built a power program at Amherst left to coach at the Naval Academy after his Amherst team won the National title last sear.

PolarCat · April 15, 2015, 10:00:23 AM

Couple of key WLAX games this afternoon and evening. At 5:00 Hamilton (ranked #4 in NESCAC, #7 Nationally) hosts Middlebury (#2 in NESCAC, #2 Nationally). Link to the streaming video can be bound here: http://nsnsports.net/colleges/hamilton/

At 7:00, TCNJ (ranked #8 nationally, and fresh from their 10-3 road upset of Salisbury) hosts #1 Trinity. (Somewhat unbelievably, there appears to be NO streaming video of this key match up. (Maybe Chris Christie should step away from the pizza, get off the campaign trail and take time away from his man crush on Jerry Jones to address that?)