History repeats itself in NCAA College Lacrosse as the pre-season number one falls, and that gives us a new top dog. Last year’s runner up Yale, stole a road game against the Nittany Lions to dethrone the highest ranked team in men’s college lacrosse. The big win puts the Yale Bulldogs at the top of the league, not a big jump from their previous number three spot.
A lot of very close nail biters happened all across the board took place this week, and that only sets up a more interesting season. Some college lacrosse teams got big wins that will shoot them up the ladder, while others take their second loss early in the year and look to bounce back in their net games.
NCAA College Lacrosse Week 4 Biggest Games of the Week
Below are the best games from week 4 of the 2020 NCAA lacrosse season.
Yale (2-0) beats Penn State (3-1) 12-10
The Bulldogs came into town and showed the world they are ready to make the trip back to the finals in 2020. Yale led the entire game, but Penn State did close the gap to a 1 goal game early in the 4th quarter. Unfortunately, the Nittany Lions could not capitalize on the comeback and let the lead slip to 2 goals. Only 3 goals were assisted for Yale but the Bulldogs spread the wealth in scoring goals with nine different players. For the Nittany Lions, Grant Ament is picking up where he left off last year by dishing out dimes every game and getting five during this game along with a goal despite the loss.
Princeton (3-0) beats Virginia (2-1) 16-12
The defending champs take their first loss of the season against a fierce Tiger attack early in the season. The game started off going back and forth with scoring in a true battle of momentum. Virginia even led the game heading into halftime, but three goals from Princeton to start the 3rd quarter put the game out of reach for the rest of regulation. A large part of the win is credited to stud Senior Attackman Michael Sowers who put up 4 goals and 4 assists. The Cavaliers won the ground ball battle, face offs, shots and practically tied in every other stat. It’s definitely hard to lose this game at home, and Virginia is absolutely left with a sour feeling after this one.
Penn (1-1) beats Duke (2-2) 14-11
The Quakers get the huge win after a tough opener on the road at Maryland. Duke takes a big second loss after Air Force shocked them to start the year and the Blue Devils don’t look like their normal selves. This one was practically a home game for Duke, playing at a neutral field in Charlotte, North Carolina; but Penn wasn’t scared of a little adversity. Penn won this game all-across the board by beating the Blue Devils in every single stat; the big one being shots. In terms of rippers, the Quakers put up 52 to the Blue Devils 28. The Quakers were led by Sean Lulley scoring 6 goals and adding an assist to cap off an outstanding day for Penn.
North Carolina (4-0) beats Johns Hopkins (1-2) 17-10
The Tar Heels are off to a blazing hot start, while the Blue Jays drop their second straight this season. North Carolina started fast and has never taken their foot off the pedal during this one. A huge factor in this game was penalties, and the Tar Heels made scoring look easy on 5 out of 7 man up opportunities. Chris Gray had a monster game and could not be stopped in this one as he scored 8 goals and 1 assist. North Carolina looked really good all around, shared the ball well, and will be put to the test again in thier next game versus Denver.
Syracuse (3-0) beats Army (2-2) 9-7
The Orange continue their solid start to the season with a good win over the Black Knights. This game was a tale of two halves; but the second half decided the game. Army started off great and held the lead or were tied all the way into the 4th quarter until letting the lead slip away. Then, Syracuse finally got over the hump and took the lead with 5 minutes left on a 4 goal scoring run to end the game. The Orange big success came behind goalkeeper Drake Porter with 18 saves on the day. Syracuse Senior middie Jamie Trimboli also put in 5 goals during the win.
The Rest of the Field
Cleveland State over Air Force 12-11
-Vikings Tristan Hanna 7 goals
Denver over St. Bonaventure 16-3
Albany over Drexel 14-13
-Great Danes Tehoka Nanticoke 4 goals 2 assist, Corey Yunker 3 goals 3 assists
Villanova over Hofstra 10-8
Hobart over Colgate 21-13
-Statesmen Eric Holden 5 goals 2 assists
Harvard over UMass 10-9
Georgetown over Fairfield 25-12
-Hoyas Dylan Watson 7 goals, Jake Carraway 3 goals 5 assists
Loyola over Rutgers 11-10
Cornell over High Point 21-11
-Big Reds Jeff Teat 3 goals 4 assists, Michael Long 4 goals 3 assists, John Piatelli 6 goals
Notre Dame over Richmond 13-5
Paul’s Picks for Week 5
Maryland wins vs Notre Dame
Johns Hopkins stuns Princeton
Penn beats Penn State
Cornell rolls Ohio State
North Carolina outlasts Denver
