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Good morning. Here’s the latest from around the lacrosse world:

1. If the first weekend of college lacrosse proves a glimpse of the season to come, fans may be in for a treat. No. 20 Villanova rallied for a 17-16 overtime win at No. 9 Penn State Saturday, highlighting a wild slate of openers.

The Nittany Lions closed the third quarter on a four-goal spurt seemingly to take command, 14-9. But back came the Wildcats with fury, scoring seven in the final frame for a 16-15 lead before settling for the extra frame. Hard-luck, sixth-year senior John Kluh netted the winner for 'Nova.

2. State College, Pa., wasn't the only site of drama, as Boston University and Providence went into overtime before John MacLean netted his fourth goal of the game to deliver the host Terriers a 12-11 victory.

MacLean, a sophomore, worked on his shot during the offseason and said he better understands the offense. He scored via several different means Saturday in an efficient outing (4-for-6), but he may never have had the chance to win it had teammate Ryan Hillburn not found the back of the net for the equalizer with just 7.8 seconds remaining in regulation.

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3. Meanwhile, Duke opened in a matter fitting its No. 1 ranking in the Nike/US Lacrosse Preseason Top 20, smothering undermanned Air Force, 18-4.

The Blue Devil defense didn't forget its prior outing, a 16-11 dismantling at the hands of Ohio State in an NCAA quarterfinal, nor the one-goal defeats to the Falcons in recent season-openers. A now-veteran group made every effort to shut down an admittedly undermanned Air Force unit that scored twice in transition following faceoff wins but otherwise managed little on offense.

The Falcons may have been just happy to play a game, as a tumultuous offseason saddled several players and coaches with hazing-related suspensions.

4. Elsewhere, Jacksonville got season two of the John Galloway era off to a good start with a 12-7 win over visiting Navy yesterday.

The Dolphins used a 5-0 run in the second quarter to seize control of the game. Senior Hunter Forbes won 19 of 22 faceoffs, and sophomore Dwayne Mattushik scored a career-high five goals to lead Jacksonville, which drew 2,481 fans to D.B. Milne Field.

Navy assisted on all of its goals, but a 46-22 deficit in ground balls and just one faceoff win after the first quarter combined to limit the Mids to just 13 shots on goal for the game. The Dolphins travel to No. 1 Duke Saturday for a significant road test.

Salisbury's Tyler Snyder

Also yesterday, No. 1 Salisbury scored six straight in the third quarter and pulled away from a 4-4 halftime tie against visiting Hampden-Sydney for a 16-7 win in the lone Division III men's game. Eight different Sea Gulls scored, led by Corey Gwin's three goals and two assists. Tyler Snyder (above) added three goals and one assist.

Division II No. 7 Tampa cruised past Tusculum, 19-7, behind four goals from Bryan Wright.

5. Friday we wrapped up our previews of the top-ranked teams in the Nike/US Lacrosse Division I Preseason Top 20s: Duke on the men's side and Maryland on the women's side.

6. And finally (mercifully?), Super Bowl LII took place yesterday, featuring one of lacrosse Twitter's favorite subjects: New England Patriots wide receiver Chris Hogan. Did you know he starred in lacrosse at Penn State?

For all the highlights and lowlights of lacrosse fans tweeting about Hogan (a sample of which appears below), the former All-CAA midfielder acquitted himself quite well on pro sports' biggest stage. Hogan hauled in two passes on New England's first drive to help set up a field goal. He caught a 26-yard touchdown pass from Tom Brady late in the third quarter as the Patriots rallied from a 22-12 halftime deficit eventually to take a short-lived, 33-32 lead in the fourth.

Hogan finished with six catches for 128 yards and that score, also carrying the ball once on an end-around for four yards. 

Our own Matt Hamilton was quick on the draw to capture Hogan and former Rutgers All-American Chris Mattes on screen together. Mattes, a Florida Launch midfielder and co-founder of The Faceoff Academy, works in the Patriots' football operations/player development department, and was shown walking the AFC champions from their locker room to the field at U.S. Bank Stadium.

Unofficially, the under prevailed with room to spare.

WHAT WE’RE READING

  • The Daily Orange featured Riley Donahue, a key figure for the Syracuse women as they hope to rebound from a substandard 2017 season.

  • The State Press of Arizona State University spotlighted the school's women's lacrosse team, which begins its inaugural NCAA season Friday at Kennesaw State.

  • The Worcester (Mass.) Telegram spoke with Holy Cross women's coach Amanda Belichick, daughter of the Patriots' head coach, about some of her Super Bowl memories.

  • The Florida Sun Sentinel featured the 17th annual Florida Lacrosse Classic, which over the weekend drew 52 teams from the U.S. and Canada.

WHAT WE’RE WATCHING

Lacrosse Nation assembled highlights of Boston University's 12-11 overtime thriller over Providence and of No. 1 Duke's defeat of visiting Air Force.

 

The Villanova athletics department produced a brief highlight video from the Wildcats' overtime win at Penn State Saturday.

 

WHAT’S ON TAP

  • We'll have a team-by-team look at the men's and women's teams appearing in the Nike/US Lacrosse Division III Preseason Top 20s.

  • Watch for our first in-season update of the Nike/US Lacrosse Division I Men's Top 20.

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