Professional PLL
06:00 PM
Jul 19
Phi
Den
Good morning. Here’s the latest from around the lacrosse world:
1. Kylie Ohlmiller’s historic season may have come to an end, but you might hear her name in a couple weeks at the Tewaaraton Ceremony. After setting the NCAA record for points and assists in a season, Ohlmiller is one of the top candidates for the award.
“She’s the best player in the women’s game, period,” Stony Brook coach Joe Spallina said of Ohlmiller. “People can disagree with it. To me, proof is in the pudding. You can’t do more than she’s done, against everybody. … She deserves the Tewaaraton. It’s an absolute no-brainer.”
Spallina’s words came after Stony Brook’s NCAA quarterfinal loss to Maryland — a game in which the Seawolves led 11-7 with less than 15 minutes left. It’s the end of a great run for Ohlmiller and Stony Brook, but each has gained more attention along the way.
2. Maryland was minutes away from losing a streak that had stayed in tact for the entirety of the last four seasons. Down to Stony Brook late in the second half, coach Cathy Reese preached to her team to take it one goal at a time.
Then, captains Zoe Stukenberg and Nadine Hadnagy, who had never lost a game on Maryland’s turf field, helped spark a run that saw the Terps five straight goals and seal a 13-12 win. Stukenberg and Hadnagy finished their home careers at 46-0.
“I guess I don’t have to knock on wood anymore,” Stukenberg said.
PHOTO BY KEVIN P. TUCKER
Towson goalie Matt Hoy made a career-high 12 saves in the Tigers' NCAA quarterfinal win over Syracuse on Sunday.
3. Towson goalie Matt Hoy started the season as a backup, but he played a vital role in the Tigers’ upset win over Syracuse on Sunday. Hoy had 12 saves, including multiple stops from within five yards, to stymie the Orange attack and prevent a comeback.
Hoy lost out on the starting job heading into the season, but eventually took over the gig on April 1. Since then, he’s allowed less than seven goals per game and made over eight saves per game.
“When you’ve got have really nice defensive midfield, I put a lot of faith and trust in those guys and in the supporting cast around them along with Matt [Hoy] in the cage,” Towson coach Shawn Nadelen said. “… He definitely stole some goals for us in that fourth quarter to keep Syracuse at bay and really seal the game for us.”
4. Denver’s Trevor Baptiste and Penn State’s Madison Carter are your Epoch/US Lacrosse Players of the Week.
Baptiste has been on a tear as the Pioneers move through the NCAA tournament. He won 21 of 22 faceoff en route to a 16-4 blowout of Notre Dame in the NCAA quarterfinal on Saturday. He’s won a total of 44 out of 49 faceoffs in the NCAA tournament. He’s hit another gear.
As for Carter, she scored three goals in the quarterfinal win over Princeton, but it was her performance on draws that made the difference. She had nine of her 12 draw controls in the second half to propel the Nittany Lions to their second straight final four appearance.