Professional PLL
06:00 PM
Jul 19
Phi
Den
Good morning. Here’s the latest from around the lacrosse world:
1. It was a weekend of wild finishes in college lacrosse.
On the men’s side:
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Johns Hopkins’ Joel Tinney, the hidden-ball hero who went viral earlier this month, scored off on a fake-flip play in overtime to lift the Blue Jays to a 14-13 win Saturday over Loyola.
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Syracuse’s Nick Mariano scored with 1.6 seconds left to lift the Orange to a 10-9 comeback win over Albany.
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Sacred Heart held off a furious rally from Furman to win the first NCAA men’s lacrosse game at US Lacrosse’s Tierney Field.
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In Division II, Limestone’s Chris Clancy scored a buzzer beater, as the Saints narrowly averted an upset bid by Seton Hill to win 10-9.
On the women’s side:
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USC freshman sensation Kerrigan Miller scored a backhanded goal in overtime to lift the Trojans to an 11-10 victory over Northwestern.
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It took three overtimes, but Denver moved to 4-0 for the first time in school history with an 11-10 win over Louisville.
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Albany scored eight goals in the final 14:03 to mount a massive comeback and beat Yale 13-11. Sarah Martin scored five of her school single-game record 10 goals during the finishing run.
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The first NCAA women’s lacrosse game at US Lacrosse, much like Saturday’s men’s game, finished with a furious rally. James Madison held on Sunday to defeat UConn 11-10.
2. Tewaaraton finalist Ben Reeves was seen favoring his heavily wrapped right hamstring and was shelved midway through the second quarter of Yale’s 16-11 season-opening win Saturday at Villanova.
PHOTO BY KEVIN P. TUCKER
We reported earlier this month about the preseason attrition at some top Division I programs, and that was before Syracuse’s top defenseman, Nick Mellen, underwent season-ending shoulder surgery and Rutgers lost senior midfielder Christian Trasolini for the season. Also:
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Tyler Pace, Denver’s top midfielder with Zach Miller not enrolling this spring, has yet to suit up this spring due to a variety of injuries.
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Maryland defenseman Mac Pons is out at least until the end of February, while Terps midfielder Lucas Gradinger will miss the entire 2017 season.
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Johns Hopkins is 3-0 despite being without faceoff specialist Hunter Moreland. The Blue Jays are winning just 43 percent of faceoffs in his absence.
Inside Lacrosse rounded up the carnage last week.
3. Brown dropped 25 goals on Quinnipiac in former Tufts coach Mike Daly’s debut as the Bears’ skipper. How’s that for continuity of systems? Tewaaraton winner Dylan Molloy had four goals and four assists, showing no ill effects of his offseason foot surgery and rehab.
4. It has been a busy several days for pro lacrosse.
There were two significant Major League Lacrosse announcements last week.
First, MLL announced the championship game would take place Aug. 19 at Ford Center at the Star in Frisco, Texas, site of this weekend’s Patriot Cup. It’s league's latest foray into Texas, where the professional outdoor lacrosse league seems intent on establishing a franchise.
Then, 2015 MLL MVP Greg Gurenlian announced he is retiring after the 2017 season. Gurenlian announced the news on Lax Sports Network, but later clarified that he’s not done with lacrosse altogether. He plans to train and try out for the 2018 U.S. national team.
The National Lacrosse League squeezed six games into three days. We’re starting to see real separation in the East Division with frontrunners Georgia (7-1) and Toronto (5-2) and in the West Division with two-time defending champion Saskatchewan (5-2) leading the way following a tight win over Colorado.