The Post-Week Tailgate: April 16, 2023

For the last few several weeks, Notre Dame, Duke and Virginia have seemed to elevate above the rest of the field. The trio has combined for a 27-6 record with four of the losses coming among each other.

It begs the obvious question: Who is number four?

Last year’s national champion – Maryland – headlines the list. The Terps haven’t had the consistency of their recent vintage teams, evidenced by losses to Loyola and Michigan, but they played one of their most complete games of the season in an 11-8 win at Rutgers on Sunday night. Seven different players scored goals, Luke Wierman won 14 of 21 faceoffs and Brian Ruppel made 12 saves.

Last year’s runner-up – Cornell – has also had a couple of tough losses, including a surprising loss to Harvard last weekend. The Big Red bounced back by beating Marquette 21-11 on Tuesday and then snapped Army’s nine-game winning streak with an 11-10 comeback win over the Black Knights. The Big Red have one of the best players in the country — C.J. Kirst — and one of the most proven goalies — Chayse Ierlan, a deadly combination for any opponent.

Two of the other strongest challengers to join the Memorial Day Weekend field are two of the bigger surprise stories of the season — Johns Hopkins and Penn State.

Johns Hopkins’ start time on Saturday was delayed over 90 minutes and the Blue Jays fell behind Ohio State 2-0 early, but once they got going, it was over. Hopkins scored eight straight goals, holding the Buckeyes scoreless for nearly two quarters, in a 17-8 win. With a 10-4 record, the Blue Jays have their first winning season since 2018 as third-year head coach Peter Milliman rebuilds the program.

Michigan had Penn State on the ropes, but the Nittany Lions comeback effort on Sunday night was indicative of its comeback season. After back-to-back losing seasons, Penn State is now 8-3 after outscoring Michigan 5-0 in the fourth quarter of an 11-9 win. Jack Traynor scored four of his game-high six goals in the fourth quarter.

Random Observations

Duke and Virginia both found something to draw from in a Blue Devil win. Duke has now won 23 of its last 25 games against Virginia, and has not lost to the Cavaliers in the regular season since 2004. Virginia did beat Duke in the semifinals in its 2019 national championship season, but this is clearly a matchup that the Cavaliers wouldn’t mind avoiding in the NCAA tournament.

That said, Virginia did something it hasn’t done as much this year as it did in its recent national championship seasons, come from behind. Down 10-3 at one point, Virginia kept plugging away and nearly came all the way back before Duke goalie William Helm made two saves in the final 13 seconds, including stuffing Virginia’s dynamic finisher Peyton Cormier inside.

Duke saw Helm, a grad transfer from Division III St. Lawrence, come up big in the clutch and faceoff specialist Jake Naso redeem himself. Naso won 21 of 32 faceoffs against Virginia All-American Petey LaSalla, avenging a subpar performance in the first meeting this season when LaSalla won 20 of 34.

Faceoffs and goaltending, more than one championship has been won with that formula.

Georgetown has been anything but dominant, but the Hoyas have now won seven straight games after beginning the season with three straight losses. Syracuse grad transfer Tucker Dordevic scored five goals, including the game-winner in overtime, in a 15-14 win over Marquette. Dordevic has scored at least four goals five times for the Hoyas, including three of the last four games.

Syracuse’s young players are growing up. Star freshman Joey Spallina twice broke fourth-quarter ties and another freshman, Michael Leo, scored the game-winner in the Orange’s biggest win of the season – a 15-14 victory over North Carolina on Saturday in Olney, Md.

Could the Orange play themselves into the NCAA tournament picture? With road trips to Virginia and Duke the next two weeks, absolutely.

The America East race and tournament is going to be fun. League newcomer Bryant gave reigning champion Vermont all it could handle before the Catamounts prevailed 13-12 in a battle between teams that were both 4-0 in league play entering Saturday.

First-year Tristan Whitaker scored five goals and Vermont’s defense came up big when it mattered against Bryant’s explosive offense.

Bryant (4-1) and Binghamton (4-1) play each other this weekend while traditional America East stalwards Albany and UMBC are among the teams hoping to make a run.

Mount on top. Siena’s 10-6 upset victory over Manhattan means that Mount St. Mary’s is now alone atop the MAAC with a 7-1 league record. Quite a turnaround for the Mountaineers, who began the season with a 1-6 record. The Mount’s seven-game winning streak is its longest since 2000.

By the Numbers

14 • Saves by Hofstra’s Mac Gates as the Pride upset Drexel 8-7, handing the Dragons their first CAA loss of the season.

21.3 • Average goals allowed by Dartmouth in its four losses this season after losing to Princeton 17-7. In its other six games, all wins, Dartmouth is allowing just 9.7 goals per game.

5 • Consecutive goals to close the game as Denver avoided an upset, beating St. John’s 12-10 on Saturday. Bill Tierney’s final squad has now won three straight games.

100 • Career wins for Towson head coach Shawn Nadelen. The former USA gold medalist defenseman led the Tigers to a 20-1 victory over Hampton on Saturday.

35 • Career wins for Villanova goalie Will Vitton, breaking Joe Canuso’s school record of 34. Vitton made 14 saves in a 20-8 win over Providence.

18 • Consecutive conference wins for Saint Joseph’s, including a 3-0 start in the Atlantic 10 era after an 11-10 win over Hobart.

3 • Consecutive games in which Utah has scored at least 22 goals. Jordan Hyde scored a school-record eight goals in a 22-12 win over Mercer.

10 • Career-best points for Air Force’s Brandon Dodd. Dodd had six goals and four assists in the Falcons 22-7 win over Detroit Mercy.