Ten to Watch: Injuries Handicap Key Matchups
by Lacrosse Magazine Online Staff
Each Friday, your crack laxperts here at Lacrosse Magazine Online will try to handicap the upcoming weekend for the top 10 college games across all divisions. Follow here at laxmagazine.com all season long.
WD1: No. 1 Northwestern (1-0) at No. 15 Stanford (1-1) - Friday, 4 p.m. Pacific
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Princeton won't have Chad Wiedmaier (knee) to blanket Hofstra's Jay Card. © Joe Rogate |
Though Stanford did not show much resolve in its lopsided loss
to Syracuse last week, home-field advantage is something that has
allowed the Cardinal to spring a few upsets over the years. Couple
that with a long layoff for the top-ranked and five-time defending
national champion Wildcats – 20 days since their win over
UMass – and things could get interesting in Palo Verdes. The
game will be the season debut for Northwestern All-American and
player of the year candidate Katrina Dowd, who missed the season
opener with an undisclosed injury.
MD1: No. 11 Hofstra (0-0) at No. 9 Princeton (0-0) -
Saturday, 12 p.m. (ESPNU)
All-American defenseman Chad Wiedmaier’s ongoing knee
problems have put a wrinkle in Princeton’s plans on the
defensive end. He had surgery about a week before Christmas and
won’t return until March at the earliest, possibly April.
Captain Jeremy Hirsch leads the unit. Hirsch, Long Ellis and
Jonathan Meyers will have their hands full with Hofstra’s Jay
Card and Jamie Lincoln. The Pride’s third starter on attack,
Kevin Ford, is out until the end of March with a broken foot,
giving Stephen Bentz an opportunity to play a larger role in the
offense. Either way, new Tigers coach Chris Bates better hope
goalkeeper Tyler Fiorito can avoid the so-called sophomore slump.
They’ll need him to come up big.
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Kudos to these teams for scheduling this strong season-opener,
and on Feb. 27 at that — which is late by today’s
standards. But despite being separated by just 75 miles, Mother
Nature could beat them both with the latest snow-icane battering
the East Coast. If they do play, to me weather will dictate that it
come down to goaltending, and strong sophomores anchor both squads
(Princeton’s former U.S. U-19 star Tyler Fiorito and
Hofstra’s Andrew Gvozden). Like Loyola’s win at Navy
last week, a Hofstra victory really wouldn’t be an upset.
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MD2: No. 5 Merrimack (0-0) at No. 1 C.W. Post (2-0) -
Saturday, 12 p.m.
Sure, Merrimack lost the best scorer in its history. Greg Rogowski
and company took the Warriors to new heights in 2009, a
school-record 14 wins and NCAA tournament berth. But Merrimack does
return eight seniors, including Corey Spinale, arguably the top
goalie in Division II. Can the Warriors upset the Pioneers? After
John Jez flirted with the NYIT opening, he’s back with a
loaded squad at C.W. Post. Both teams are strong in the midfield.
For the Pioneers, middie Joe Meo has five goals in two games. Four
have come on man-up opportunities. Faceoff specialist Mike Cama has
picked up where he left off, winning 30 of 40 faceoffs in C.W.
Post’s wins over Queens and Catawba.
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Big early-season game as Merrimack tries to cement its spot
among the D-2 contenders.The Warriors are coming off a 14-3
campaign and a berth in the national semifinals last year, but must
regroup offensively with the departure of career-scoring leader
Greg Rogowski. Defending champion CWP has the home advantage in
this one as well as the benefit of having played twice already with
two victories in North Carolina last week.
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WD1: No. 2 Maryland (2-0) at No. 5 Duke (4-0) - Saturday,
12 p.m.
This is not just another case of ho hum, another ACC game. These
two juggernauts have put on some fireworks in recent years with
their down-to-the-wire shootouts. Despite not having Emma Hamm
(knee), the Blue Devils have torn through the early part of their
schedule, including ranked opponents Vanderbilt and William &
Mary. Combined score of their four wins? 68-34. The Terps are off
to a more expected hot start after crushing Richmond and Penn State
by a combined 34-16 score. Something’s got to give when these
buzzsaws clash in Durham.
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Blue Devil sophomore goalie Mollie Mackler has a .540 save
percentage going into this game, but she'll need to step it up
against Maryland's vaunted attack. Duke can pull off this upset,
though. They've got home field advantage, and they've handled some
tough teams (Vandy,
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WD1: No. 6 Syracuse (2-0) at No. 12 Virginia (1-1) -
Saturday, 12 p.m.
The Wahoos needed Josie Owen to become a star. So far, she’s
been up to snuff. The former U.S. U-19 team standout has five goals
and six assists in two games. Not to be upstaged is UVA midfielder
Brittany Kalkstein, who is about to surpass Dana Dobbie as the
ACC’s all-time draw controls leader. Syracuse also has some
new weapons, with innovative attackers Michele Tumolo and Tee
Ladouceur stepping up in a big win over Stanford and Australian
Tegan Brown earning a starting midfield role.
MD1: No. 6 Maryland (1-0) at No. 12 Georgetown (0-0) -
Saturday, 2 p.m.
Georgetown is stronger at midfield than Maryland, but the Hoyas
top offensive and defensive midfielders are each battling injuries.
Hotshot Andrew Brancaccio (concussion) is probable. Long stick
midfielder Barney Ehrmann (back) is questionable. That might tempt
Dave Cottle to exercise his depth at attack and bump Grant Catalino
up to run roughshod at midfield.
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Maryland and Georgetown has been a great way to kick off the men’s lacrosse season in the D.C. Metro area the last few years and this one should no different with two very hungry teams. Maryland’s 10-7 season last year was uninspiring and Georgetown has now missed the playoffs two straight years after making it for 11 years in a row. |
MD1: No. 18 Stony Brook (1-0) at No. 2 Virginia (2-0) -
Saturday, 3 p.m.
While the Wahoos were sweating against Drexel last week, the
Seawolves were whipping a defensively sound Siena team to the tune
of 21-14. Not hard to see where Stony Brook’s offense came
from. Jordan McBride and Kevin Crowley combined for 19 points. This
has all the makings of another shootout.
MD3: No. 8 WNEC (0-0) at No. 1 Cortland (0-0) - Saturday,
3 p.m.
The Golden Bears, bolstered by goalie Brewster Knowlton, gave
Cortland its toughest test during the 2009 NCAA tournament in a 6-5
loss. WNEC now gets another crack at the Dragons, who lost Joey
Morgan and Luke Lemon, but return stud middie Chris DeLuca.
WDIA: No. 4 UC Davis Club (6-0) at No. 1 UCSB (8-0) -
Saturday 1 p.m. Pacific
The Aggies were the talk of the Santa Barbara Shootout, even
upstaging the host Gauchos due to their surprise ascension in the
club women’s lacrosse ranks. UCSB must be smarting after
losing the No. 1 spot in the US Lacrosse WDIA poll to Santa Clara.
Both of these teams received first-place votes. There will be some
separation with this game and No. 5 Cal Poly visiting the
top-ranked Broncos this weekend.
WD1: Florida (2-0) at No. 4 North Carolina (3-0) - Sunday,
1 p.m.
Florida has proven itself against a fellow first-year startup
(Jacksonville) and an experienced, mid-major program (La Salle),
but the Gators face a tall task in their first legitimate game
against a national power on the road. Their best bet at an upset
will be if Oregon pushes the Tar Heels enough Friday that they
can’t rest their starters for Sunday. Freshman Ashley Bruns
(6g, 8a) has been Florida’s top contributor.
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I've never seen as much love for a start-up program as Florida receives. Lacrosse Magazine gives the Gators a print cover, the editorial staff sends a shooter to photograph their game against La Salle (!?), and now we're led believe there is a question which team will win Florida's game against No. 4 UNC? Give me a break. |
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I get Coyne's point. In fact, one rival coach asked us after
LM's January issue came out, "When are you guys going to stop
writing about Florida?" I hope we never have to stop writing about
Florida. I hope the Gators serve as a shining example to those
universities that treat women's lacrosse as a gender-equity
afterthought of how patience, resources and a little love can go a
long way to putting an immediately competitive product on the
field. I hope the SEC sanctions women's lacrosse one day, or at
least covers Florida the way the Big 10 does Northwestern.
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| Last Week | 9-1 | 7-3 | 8-2 | 8-2 | 8-2 | 5-5 |
| Overall | 16-4 | 15-5 | 15-5 | 15-5 | 15-5 | 13-7 |
W: N'Western @ Stanford
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Northwestern
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Northwestern |
Northwestern
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Northwestern
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Northwestern
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Northwestern
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M: Hofstra @ Princeton
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Hofstra
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Princeton
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Princeton
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Hofstra
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Hofstra
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Princeton
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M: Merrimack @ C.W. Post
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C.W. Post
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C.W. Post
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C.W. Post
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C.W. Post
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Merrimack
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C.W. Post
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W: Maryland @ Duke
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Duke
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Maryland
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Duke
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Maryland
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Maryland
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Maryland |
W: Syracuse @ Virginia
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Virginia
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Syracuse
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Syracuse
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Virginia
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Virginia
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Syracuse
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M: Maryland @ Georgetown
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Maryland
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Georgetown
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Maryland
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Georgetown
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Maryland
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Maryland
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M: Stony Brook @ Virginia
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Virginia
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Virginia
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Virginia
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Virginia
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Virginia
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Virginia
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M: WNEC @ Cortland
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Cortland
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Cortland
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Cortland
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Cortland
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Cortland
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Cortland |
W: UC Davis Club @ UCSB
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UCSB
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UCSB
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UC Davis
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UCSB
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UCSB
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UCSB |
W: Florida @ UNC
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UNC
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UNC
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UNC
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UNC
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UNC
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UNC
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