Good morning. Here’s the latest from around the lacrosse world:
1. The NLL semifinals are set after a pair of playoff games last night.
In the East, Toronto downed Georgia 16-14 behind four goals from Tom Schreiber and three goals and six assists from Adam Jones. The Rock will meet Buffalo, a 13-6 winner over New England on Saturday, in the East Division final on Saturday. Here’s a rip from Schreiber for one of his four goals:
It was mostly @TorontoRockLax in the 2nd as they take a 10-7 lead into the half
— Bleacher Report Live (@brlive) May 7, 2019
Watch @TorontoRockLax vs. @GeorgiaSwarmLAX on #BRLive: https://t.co/jAvn7RJCl2 pic.twitter.com/FXA1480hV1
In the West, Calgary trailed for much of the game, but a fourth quarter tally from Curtis Dickson gave the Roughnecks a 12-11 win over San Diego, ending the Seals' debut season. Calgary will host Colorado in the West Division final on Friday. The Mammoth upset No. 1 seed and defending champion Saskatchewan 11-10 in overtime on Saturday.
2. The NCAA Division I Women’s Lacrosse Championship starts today with two opening round games coming just 43 hours after Sunday night’s selection show. Jeremy Fallis, who correctly picked the at-large teams for the third year in a row, breaks down the bracket.
3. Cornell, Denver, High Point and Ohio State fans might not agree, but this was comparatively one of the easier NCAA men’s lacrosse fields to figure out, ironic given the unpredictable nature of the regular season. Here's Patrick Stevens’ breakdown of the bracket.
4. As we enter the NCAA tournaments, US Lacrosse Magazine did one more set of rankings for the six divisions before we release our year-end rankings later this month.
5. Major League Lacrosse has turned to one of its own, naming Mark Burdett as chief revenue officer on Monday. Burdett, who has a host of experience in professional sports and television, was most recently president of the Chesapeake Bayhawks.
6. A late night from Utah ended with two dramatic games in the MCLA tournament. No. 12 seed Florida State upset No. 5 Arizona State 10-9 in double overtime on an absolute laser from Davis Crayner.
DAVIS CRAYNER CALLED GAME! FSU upsets ASU!
— QuickStick (@quickstickblog) May 7, 2019
@FSULacrosse pic.twitter.com/Q54tHqYeqz
New Hampshire, making its first tournament appearance in 17 years, beat Cal Poly 10-9 on 6-foot-8 Sam Stanton's overtime goal. UNH will play top-seeded Cal in the quarterfinals.
Sam Stanton right away in overtime for @UNHLacrosse, as they take down Cal Poly to advance to the quarterfinals of the MCLA Tournament in their first appearance in 17 years! (via @MCLA) pic.twitter.com/S83BD5DJFt
— The Lacrosse Cave (@LacrosseCave) May 7, 2019
7. Interesting observation from Stanford coach Amy Bokker on the Pac-12’s home-and-home scheduling. Three Pac-12 teams got in the field this year, and the multiple opportunities to play the top teams in the league certainly paid off this year.
So proud of @pac12 Lacrosse! We took a risk with unprecedented home/home scheduling in our sport. This year 50% of our conference is heading to @NCAALAX tournament! We are non-traditional geography no longer!! #BackThePac @StanfordWLax @USCTrojansLax @CUBuffsWLax
— Coach Amy Bokker (@AmyBokker) May 6, 2019
WHAT WE’RE READING
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US Lacrosse, the national governing body for the sport, has announced a content partnership with TrueSport®, a positive youth sports movement powered by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).
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Ryan Wellner spent 11 years as an assistant coach for Rick Sowell at two stops. With Sowell recently fired by Navy, Wellner is forging ahead as Navy’s interim head coach.
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Stockton has had.a men’s lacrosse program since 1987. Today, the New Jersey school plays its first NCAA Division III tournament game in that 33-year history.
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Syracuse won’t be in the friendly confines of the Carrier Dome, but is excited about the opportunity to head to Loyola for the opening round of the NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Championship.
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As if Penn State needed another offensive weapon. The Nittany Lions will welcome Canyon Birch of Manasquan (N.J.) High School, who has racked up a state record 506 career points, breaking the old record of 468 set by former Virginia star Matt Poskay nearly two decades ago.
WHAT WE’RE WATCHING
Tufts goalie Mason Pollack is just getting ridiculous. He scored his THIRD goal of the season. But get this – it came in the fourth quarter, with the game tied, in the league CHAMPIONSHIP game. He gave the Jumbos a 16-15 lead with 4:23 left in the fourth quarter and Tufts eventually beat Williams 17-16 in overtime to win the NESCAC.
Somebody get Mason Pollack a short stick. The @TuftsLacrosse goalie scored his THIRD goal this season, and it broke a 15-15 tie late in the fourth quarter of the @NESCAC championship game. The Jumbos won in OT. pic.twitter.com/i4KBFH2Ppf
— US Lacrosse Magazine (@USLacrosseMag) May 7, 2019
Kyla Sears split of the double team and subsequent goal from Sunday’s Ivy League championship win for Princeton made SportsCenter’s Top 10.
Kyla Sears and Princeton make #SCTop10! pic.twitter.com/oafw65Wj24
— Princeton WLAX (@princetonwlax) May 6, 2019
WHAT’S ON TAP
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The NCAA Division I Women’s Lacrosse Championship kicks off with a pair of opening round games: Mercer at Jacksonville and Wagner at Fairfield.
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The NCAA Division III Men’s Lacrosse Championship also opens today with four opening round games.
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Our latest Overtime podcast with Paul Carcaterra features former Yale player and current San Diego Seals owner Joe Tsai. It drops today.
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We’ll have our monthly Nike/US Lacrosse Magazine High School national and regional rankings coming out later today.
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