Professional PLL
06:00 PM
Jul 19
Phi
Den
Good morning. Here’s the latest from around the lacrosse world:
1. There will be a new No. 1 in national rankings for NCAA Division I men’s and women’s lacrosse after the Duke men and Maryland women both went down Saturday.
Duke, ranked No. 1 in the Nike/US Lacrosse Division I Men’s Top 20 since the preseason, suffered its third loss in as many tries at Franklin Field, as No. 17 Penn rallied with four unanswered fourth-quarter goals to stun the Blue Devils 10-9.
That might not even have been the biggest upset of the day, an honor that probably belonged to Robert Morris, which also used a four-goal fourth-quarter run to put away No. 14 Penn State 12-9 in Happy Valley.
It was a nice Saturday for Pennsylvania teams, generally. Bucknell rode the hot hand of Will Sands to a 13-10 win over previously unbeaten Colgate. And in Division III, Gettysburg defeated defending NCAA champion Salisbury, which was ranked No. 1 in the USILA coaches poll and No. 3 in the Nike/US Lacrosse Top 20.
On the women’s side, the two heavyweights staged a prize fight to remember, ending with a 16-15 North Carolina win over top-ranked Maryland on senior Marie McCool's goal just 43 seconds into overtime at Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill, N.C.
And instead of Pennsylvania, Virginia stole the spotlight. UVA, ranked No. 14, should get a big boost from its 14-10 road win at No. 10 Princeton. The Cavaliers scored seven of the first eight goals of the second half.
Virginia Tech, meanwhile, upset Duke for the second straight season, defeating the No. 12 Blue Devils 17-14 after leading 10-3 at halftime.
In a Division III top-five showdown, No. 5 Washington and Lee doubled up No. 4 Franklin & Marshall 8-4.
WEEKEND POSTS
FRIDAY
» UNC’s Kelly Wears No. 18, Delivers Late-Game Heroics to Honor Huntley
» Miller Fuels Second-Half Comeback in USC Win over Notre Dame
» Women’s Roundup/Scoreboard
SATURDAY
» Madonna’s Long Range Assist Lifts Syracuse to 3OT Win
» Penn Stuns No. 1 Duke with Fourth-Quarter Rally
» Keystone State of Mind: Bucknell, Gettysburg, Penn, RMU Land Upsets
» Men’s Roundup/Scoreboard
» McCool Clutch as UNC Downs Terps in Overtime
» Penn Edges Hopkins; Virginia and Virginia Tech Post Upsets
» Women’s Roundup/Scoreboard
SUNDAY
» Late Rally Sends Florida Past Loyola in OT
» Women’s Roundup/Scoreboard
» Baptiste Goes Perfect 22-for-22 in Denver Rout
» Men’s Roundup/Scoreboard
2. Jacksonville’s teams nearly came up with an unlikely sweep of Ohio State.
The Dolphins women did their part Friday night, defeating the Buckeyes in overtime thanks to Megan Prescott’s man-up goal.
The Jacksonville men had No. 6 Ohio State on the ropes Sunday. The Dolphins led by three in the fourth quarter before the Buckeyes rallied. Tre Leclaire scored the game-tying goal with just 1.8 seconds left and then clinched a 12-11 win in overtime.
Game winning reaction. #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/uLlYjthfzN
— Ohio State Men's LAX (@OhioState_MLAX) February 25, 2018
3. Trevor Baptiste went a perfect 22-for-22 in Denver’s 17-8 victory over Cleveland State on Sunday, the second-best perfect faceoff performance in NCAA Division I history behind only Sacred Heart’s Zach Smith’s 25-for-25 perfecto against Hartford in 2007.
4. Syracuse might want to reconsider inviting its upstate New York rivals to the Carrier Dome.
A week after getting blown out by Albany, the Orange appeared headed for a similar fate Saturday against Army. But the Syracuse offense, which sputtered to a 6-1 deficit at halftime, came to life in the second half and the Orange pulled out an 11-10 win in triple overtime.
You could tell Syracuse’s swagger was back when Brendan Bomberry scored between his legs with his back to the goal.
BRENDAN BOMBERRY GOES BETWEEN THE LEGS! @CuseMLAX now leads 10-9 with 5:43 left. pic.twitter.com/j7hOVJAwh9
— US Lacrosse Magazine (@USLacrosseMag) February 24, 2018
And Ryan Simmons picked a fine time for his first goal of the season, making a nifty catch on a 48-yard rope from goalie Dom Madonna and scoring the game-winner on a breakaway.
MADONNA TO SIMMONS AND @CuseMLAX WINS IN 3OT! Orange come back from down five goals to beat @ArmyWP_MLax pic.twitter.com/kgvj0XQS4J
— US Lacrosse Magazine (@USLacrosseMag) February 24, 2018
5. North Carolina’s Timmy Kelly wore No. 18 to honor his longtime coach Dave Huntley, who died of a heart attack in December, then did the jersey justice with a career-high four goals — including three in a row in the fourth quarter — to lift the Tar Heels to a 13-11 win over Johns Hopkins at Homewood Field.