Upset City: Population Everyone. What a week in D2 and D3 lacrosse. With so many talented teams out there it was bound to happen in a big way and it sure did this week. The regular season is halfway done and conference play is heating up so watch out! Midweek lacrosse is for the hunter!
Coaches Poll: USILA Week 8
D3 Weekend Recap
#7 Union (17) – #3 Tufts (12)
A Tuesday night matchup between two of the best teams in the country. Union used a run that stretched from the second quarter into the third that gave them a 5 goal cushion against the always deadly Tufts offense. Tufts dominated the stat sheet, but not the scoreboard as the difference maker in this one was the play of Union Goalie Dan Donohue. His 17 saves were the difference as Union got itself a Top 3 victory. Some might not even consider this to be an upset, considering Union is currently 9-0.
#2 Salisbury (15) – #18 Stevenson (12)
Throw out the records in this rivalry. This game always consists of fireworks from motivated teams and coaches. A great midweek matchup that was a primetime event for D3 fans and any lacrosse fan in general. A huge second quarter run for the Seagulls gave them the distance they needed to close this game out in the second half. Two big keys here were that faceoffs that saw Salisbury win 21 and their EMO unit which went 4-5.
Middlebury (21) – #3 Tufts (14)
A two loss week for the Jumbos isn’t something the lacrosse world is used to, but that goes to show you how good the teams they play are. Is Middlebury Back? I think Middlebury may be back. The Panthers three losses are to Top Ten Bowdoin, RPI who we’ll get to below, and a Top Five Union Team. The Panthers are a player in a big way in the North if they can keep this run going. A huge second quarter and constant pressure from their offense throughout the game allowed the Panthers to come away with this one. Turnovers and groundballs were the difference in this one as they favored the Panthers. Only time will tell is Middlebury can keep the ‘Upset Train’ rolling!
#19 RPI (13) – #1 RIT (12)
Battle of the Engineers! What an upset this one was. This had you on your seat from start to finish. A game of runs that saw RPI build a lead in the second quarter with a 4 goal run, only to have RIT match it with a five goal run in the third. An 11-10 lead for RIT was erased with a 3 goal run in the 4th Quarter from RPI and saw them have arguably the biggest win in their programs history over the #1 ranked team and defending champions, RIT. The Tigers dominated the stat sheet, but RPI’s goalie didn’t care as Joseph Perry had a monster game with 23 saves. If that doesn’t warrant national recognition I don’t know what does.
D2 Weekend Recap
#4 Limestone (24) – #19 Newberry (12)
A dominant win for the Saints that showed they had something to prove after last seasons loss. A 7-0 first quarter saw them build a 14-3 halftime lead and they never looked back in this one. If you get a chance to go back and watch the game though you will find two phenomenal EMO units on display as Limestone went 7-8 on the extra man while Newberry went 5-6.
Coker (13) – Mars Hill (11)
The Cobras used a 6 goal fourth quarter in a game Mars Hill was leading for ¾ of it to pull away and steal and important SAC win. The difference here was in the middle of the field as Coker was able to win the battle at the X and control possessions that proved extremely important late in the game.
