Monday, March 9, 2009

Maryland Lacrosse Roundup: The State at War

The state of Maryland threw each other's lacrosse teams at one another this week, leading to some great games all around. UMBC took on the rebuilt Johns Hopkins, Towson tried to defend its home turf against Maryland, and Navy got ready for the Mount.

Blue Jays Hold Off the Dogs
The Retrievers tried valiantly to come back in the fourth quarter, cutting a seven-goal lead to just two, but in the end it was not enough. #9 Johns Hopkins won over #8 UMBC 14-11 in UMBC Stadium, handing the Retrievers their first loss.

After going into the locker room 8-6, Hopkins decimated the UMBC defense, scoring five goals in 15 minutes to put the score 13-6 with just over 10 minutes to go. UMBC had a five-goal run in the fourth, but it just wasn't enough. Michael Kimmel and Steven Boyle ended with hat tricks for the Hop while Alex Hopmann led with four goals for UMBC.

The rest of the week was good to the victor, not good to the defeated. Hopkins won 12-7 over Hofstra thanks to a five-goal effort put forth by Kyle Wharton while UMBC lost a defensive thriller to #5 Princeton 6-5 at home after giving up five goals in the third period. 3-1 Johns Hopkins will take on Syracuse on Saturday in a rematch from the '08 national championship while UMBC sets their sights on Maryland the same day.

Terps Hold Off The Tigers
Both #6 Maryland and Towson put forth a strong overall effort, but in the end the Terps took home the victory 9-7 in Towson's home opener, getting key shots in the second half. With the win, Maryland improves to 4-1, and Towson falls to 1-3.

After Towson scored the first goal, both teams went into halftime tied at two. Both sides kept their starting goalie; Maryland went away from the two-goalie system for the second straight game, staying with Jason Carter. Maryland went on a tear into the third quarter, scoring four goals, then held off a 3-0 run by the Tigers with a 3-1 run response that would win it.

All nine goals were scored by Maryland attacks, led by Grant Catalino's four. Tim Stratton and Justin Schneider both scored a pair. Both goalies had solid games, Carter for Maryland had seven saves and Towson's Bob Wheeler had nine.

This weekend Maryland hosts a pair of home games against in-state rival UMBC and Division I newbie Bryant. Towson will head south to play Virginia, the #1 team in the country.

Navy Tackles The Mount
The three-goal first quarter is all that #14 Navy would need, defeating Mt. St. Mary's 6-2 in Emmitsburg.

Navy only fired five shots in the first quarter, hitting three. After the two sides traded goals, the Mids had a five goal run from midway through the 1st to the final minute of the fourth quarter, having good defense the whole way.

Six different Midshipmen scored goals, with Joe Lennon having two assists added to his score. R.J. Wickham was barely tested in goal, saving three shots for Navy while allowing two.

Later in the week Navy defeated Lafayette 14-9 for their first Patriot League win and improved to 4-2. Meanwhile, the Mount could not stop Zach Greer and Bryant, losing 7-6 in a back and forth battle. The Mount are still winless at 0-3. Navy will hit the road this week against Lehigh and Holy Cross while Mt. St. Mary's will take on Manhattan.

In other lacrosse action, #16 Loyola defeated Siena, but fell to #13 Duke 11-9.

Now everyone has faced an in-state rival. Let's see how they stack up:

The Around the Harbor Lacrosse Standings Through March 8th:
(overall record, record vs. in-state teams), new Inside Lacrosse rankings
Maryland (4-1, 1-0), ranked #5
Johns Hopkins (3-1, 1-0), ranked #8
Navy (4-2, 1-0), ranked #15
Loyola (3-2, 1-0), ranked #18
UMBC (3-2, 0-1), ranked #10
Towson (1-3, 0-2)
Mt. St. Mary's (0-3, 0-1)

(Photo credit: Baltimore Sun)

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