Good morning. Here’s the latest from around the lacrosse world:
1. Lacrosse is growing in the West. If you hadn't heard, here's another reminder: the National Lacrosse League has awarded an expansion franchise to San Diego. The to-be-named team will begin play in November 2018 at Valley View Casino Center, the city's 51-year-old arena that seats slightly more than 12,000 for ice hockey and about 14,000 for basketball. San Diego team will give the NLL its 10th team, fifth in the Western Division to provide scheduling balance.
The franchise owner is Alibaba executive vice chairman (and billionaire) Joe Tsai, who played lacrosse at Yale. A column in The San Diego Union-Tribune hints that the addition is a breath of fresh air in the wake of the city losing the NFL's Chargers to Los Angeles.
Check out the franchise's official website.
2. La Salle's Lexi Kucia is walking lesson in perseverance. But it wasn't that long ago that the walking part was in doubt, much less, a collegiate lacrosse career. In high school, Kucia survived a car accident that had doctors originally doubting her ability to run again. She returned to the field in the same season, but later tore the ACL in her right knee during fall ball with the explorers. Yeah, she's back again.
3. Stick doctor? Do it yourself when it comes to stick stringing, writes Cody Hornung of STX.
4. Good news for interim Cornell men's coach Pete Milliman, as goalie Christian Knight has been awarded a fifth year of eligibility. Knight three times has earned All-Ivy League honors and won its rookie of the year award in 2014, in which the Big Red shared the league championship. But he lost his entire junior season to injury, and could do only so much last season as Cornell struggled. Matt Kerwick ultimately stepped down as coach, but Knight's return gives Milliman, a former associate head coach with the program, a known element.
5. More media outlets have pounced on Major League Lacrosse's brief exposure of players' personal information on its website. It's rarely good when an entity draws coverage from Deadspin. The league issued a statement on the matter to Lax Sports Network, via Inside Lacrosse.
Predictably, and perhaps justifiably, MLL players tweeted about the incident.
6. The Six Nations Chiefs stayed alive in their Major Series Lacrosse final series against the Peterborough Lakers, winning Game 4, 11-10. Six Nations had a 10-5 lead going into the third period and withstood a furious Laker rally. Ryan Benesch had a goal and six assists to lead the Chiefs. Peterborough can punch its ticket to the Mann Cup with a win in Game 5 Thursday at home.