In the quarterfinals, we had some great matchups and saw a lot of phenomenal talent play their last games of college lacrosse. The top 8 teams in lacrosse really showed out with their play and even starred all 5 of the Tewaaraton finalists. A few others that could have very well been on that list also played this weekend alongside those named to the final list. Cherish these last weekends of college lacrosse, as they are sadly almost done.
Yale Mens Lacrosse vs. Loyola Mens Lacrosse
Yale (15-3) beat Loyola (13-4) 8-5. It was a rainy one for the battle of the pups, and the Bulldogs proved to be the top dogs. Yale’s big man on campus, Ben Reeves, went to work putting up 3 goals & 3 assists. The star of Yale’s previous game, Jackson Morrill, also added 3 assists; but, he couldn’t find the back of the net in this one. Another big key to their success was face off man Conor Mackie. Conor is tough to out-maneuver at the X, and he went 12 of 17 with 8 ground balls.
Pat Spencer did all he could for the Greyhounds, but it just wasn’t enough to best Yale. It was hard for Loyola to really get their offense going all day. A lot of failed clears were a huge factor in this lack of offensive might. They were able to hang in the game from their goalie Jacob Stover with a great 19 saves. It was a pretty close game in the stat book besides Yale getting up 15 more shots. The Bulldogs will be heading to Boston to finally see who is the king of the lacrosse dogs when they face Albany. At least one good boy will be making their way to the finals.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5QYkpMwbbA
Albany Mens Lacrosse vs. Denver Mens Lacrosse
Albany (16-2) beats Denver (13-4) 15-13. This game lived up to all the hype, and it was easily the best game of the weekend. The matchup everyone wanted to see, Trevor Baptiste versus TD Ierlan, actually ended a tie at the X. 15 wins for each of them unfortunately won’t settle the debate of who is better. A lot of the face off battles were won in scrums from wing play, and there was a fierce fight to get the ball every time. Baptiste did have 9 ground balls and a goal, compared to Ierlan’s 6 ground balls; but, Irelan did walk away with the W.
The two squads tied every quarter excluding the first. This is when Irelan really thrived and won the first four straight before Baptiste started to recover. That fast start propelled Albany to the win, and kept them just ahead of Denver at the end of the game. It was, of course, a game of runs, and it went back and forth all day.
A huge day from the midfield of both teams really decided the victory in Albany’s favor. For Denver, Colton Jackson notched 4 goals, Joe Reid had 3 goals, and Nate Marano added 1 goal & 2 assists. Out of the Great Danes middies, Kyle Mcclancy had a hat trick & 2 assists, along with Jakob Patterson and Sean Eccles both getting a hatty too.
Albany’s powerful attack also played great against the Denver poles. Tehoka Nanticoke joined the hat trick club on the day, Justin Reh added 2 goals & 2 assists, and captain Connor Fields helped with 3 dimes. Ethan Walker and Austin French of Denver were held to only 1 point combined with only 4 shots. If we evened out the turnovers on the game we might have even seen it go into OT, as the Pioneers had 4 more turnovers which was about the only different statistic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phL-FNotW38
Maryland Mens Lacrosse vs. Cornell Mens Lacrosse
Maryland (14-3) beats Cornell (13-5) 13-8. A very slow game to start that turned around real quick in the second quarter put Maryland on top. Neither of the team’s normal stars did the producing. Connor Kelly only had 1 goal on 3 shots, and Jeff Teat only had 2 assists with 1 shot.
What really helped the Terps was their young guns. They have proven they can keep rebuilding and adding more great talent year after year. Freshmen Bubba Fairman put up 3 goals & 2 assists, Logan Wisnauskas 2 goals & 2 assists, and face off man Justin Shockey went 13 of 19 with 6 ground balls and an assist. Another young man, Sophomore Jared Bernhardt, had a hatty and an assist. With Teat being locked down, the Big Red had solid production from Jordan Dowiak with 5 points and Connor Fletcher with 4 points. Unfortunately for the Big Red offense, they couldn’t match the firepower of Maryland and came up short.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-XWHcnUXzk
Duke Mens Lacrosse vs. John Hopkins Mens Lacrosse
Duke (15-3) beats Johns Hopkins (12-5) 14-9. This one was dominated by Duke early and often. The Blue Jays had a big comeback in the fourth due to some bad Duke clears, but the Blue Devils eventually answered back and were too much to handle. The comeback was all thanks to Duke getting a little sloppy and having a few turnovers turn into goals that were essentially wide open.
Both teams spread out their scoring a good share besides the star of Duke, and lacrosse Justin Guterding putting up 3 goals & 2 assists. Guterding’s hatty then made him the nation’s leading goal scorer of all time. He accomplished this record while wearing the number of his friend who passed and wore 14. This was a great moment for Justin and he humbly celebrated a performance that could snag him the Tewaaraton.
Joel Tinney and Shack Stanwick had slow games only getting a combined 3 points. Kyle Marr and Cole Williams both put in 2 goals in the effort, but couldn’t jump start anything Duke couldn’t withstand. The difference for Duke might have been the youngsters, Joe Robertson and Nakeie Montgomery, who helped out a lot by scoring 2 each.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQwr8QfYYw0
