Good morning. Here’s the latest from around the lacrosse world:
1. A surprising announcement came out of Holy Cross on Friday afternoon as Peter Burke is no longer the head men’s lacrosse coach at the school. The school’s brief announcement didn’t even list Burke’s name, just that there was a change in leadership with assistant coach Shayne Lynch taking over as the interim head coach.
Burke was elevated from assistant to interim head coach himself on June 29, 2018. His Crusaders went 7-7 in 2019, reaching the Patriot League tournament. That record was the program's best since 1987. Holy Cross went 4-3 in the COVID-shortened 2020 season.
2. It’s less than a month from the normal start of a college lacrosse season, but many teams/leagues have yet to formally announce plans for 2021 due to the uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.
One league that has moved forward publicly with its plan is the Patriot League. On Friday, the league announced it will have North and South divisions for both men’s and women’s lacrosse. The teams will play a minimum of seven league games — beginning on March 6 — and the championship weekends will be May 6-9.
No. 1 ranked North Carolina women’s coach Jenny Levy told Lax Sports Network that her season will start on Feb. 13 against James Madison and a 15-game scheduled will include 10 ACC games.
.@uncwlax coach Jenny Levy @heelslaxcoach tells LSN their season is scheduled to start February 13 vs @JMULacrosse. Tar Heels will play 15 games, 10 @ACCWLax games with regional conference opponents they’ll play two times each. pic.twitter.com/oWRLEd2rSI
— Lax Sports Network (@LaxSportsNet) January 10, 2021
3. Rashad Devoe dreamed of coaching at Amherst. Now he’s getting that chance and determined to help his impact felt beyond the Lord Jeff program.
4. As we welcome the promise of 2021, US Lacrosse CEO Steve Stenersen highlights one of the biggest resolutions for the sport: assuring that every child feels like they belong in our sport.
WHAT WE’RE READING
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Voting for the International World Games Association "Greatest Athlete of All-Time" is open and former U.S. women's team player Alyssa Murray Cometti represents the sport of lacrosse.
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Carley Horan, a member of USC’s inaugural varsity women’s lacrosse team, has returned to the school as an assistant coach.
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High Point has promoted Daria Poulin from a volunteer role to an assistant coach position for its women’s lacrosse program.
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Eli Gobrecht is a prime example that there are many paths to the highest levels in the sport. He appeared on the most recent Going Offsides podcast.
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Nate Committee will be just the second player from his high school, Southern Regional (N.J.), to play Division I men’s lacrosse. The junior defender recently committed to Bellarmine.
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The 15th anniversary of the Jingle Brawl Lacrosse tournament in Florida came to fruition with people excited to get back on the field.
WHAT WE’RE WATCHING
So many fun moments on this compilation of high school lacrosse coverage over the last five years from Lax Sports Network. You might even catch our editor Matt DaSilva on some of the commentary.
We've broadcast a lot of high school games on LSN since 2016, and many great moments were by players whose name you may not have known at the time, but you might recognize now. #LSN5 pic.twitter.com/vbeO00OmBv
— Lax Sports Network (@LaxSportsNet) January 8, 2021
WHAT’S ON TAP
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We begin our team-by-team Top 20 previews today, beginning with the No. 20 Johns Hopkins men and the No. 20 Virginia Tech women.