A good lacrosse coach can have the single-biggest impact on a program’s success out of any of its pieces, in my opinion. So, who is the best of the best? Who is the most successful lacrosse coach of all-time? I’ve selected the five coaches who I feel have been the most successful over the years.

Now, I’d like to first put a disclaimer on this article that I don’t necessarily think that a coach’s winning percentage or number of championships defines the impact that a coach has on a program. I personally believe that the best indicator of success is not only the success that his or her players enjoy on the field, but they success those players see off of it, particularly after they hang up the cleats. In my opinion, the best coaches are those that mold young men and women into high-character individuals that have an appetite for doing good and giving back to their communities.

But, the reality is that a coach’s job security is largely determined by the worth that we place on that individuals number of wins, conference or national championships or number of All-Americans produced. It seems in the last decade there have been more and more crazy stories of coaches getting fired after a period of time that hardly gives that person a chance to make any real impact at a school or professional team. I personally think that a large part of any job is adapting and growing into the role; I think it’s a rare few that come into a situation and immediately save the sinking ship.

At any rate, I thought it would be interesting to take a look at which coaches have the most success based on their team’s on the field performance by using a few pieces of criteria. Here’s my criteria for selecting these five coaches:

• A coaches total length of tenure in the coaching industry, and their overall winning percentage during their career.
• A coaches length of stay at one particular university or team, and their overall winning percentage at that program.
• The number of national championships and any conference championships, in addition to the number of appearances in the post-season.
• The number of All-Americans under their tutelage, bonus points for four-time All-Americans.
• Finally, coach of the year awards that they received. (Our list is likely not comprehensive of all of the awards they received).

That’s our frame of reference. If you disagree with my methodology, then we’ll probably disagree on who should be on this list of five of the most successful coaches. I personally won’t take any offense to any suggestions for how I can improve the criteria I used to select these coaches, or any suggestions of your own for who you feel should be included on this list should you feel I left someone out. Also, it goes without saying that this is not a male-specific article, as there have been a countless number of legendary women’s coaches who are every bit as deserving of making this list as their male counterparts. Also, we are not discriminating between divisions in the NCAA, although we are not going to include professional lacrosse given that most of the pro leagues have a relatively short history compared to the NCAA’s existence with lacrosse. Also, we are not taking into consideration a coach’s international experience, as that could be another article for another time.

So, let’s take a look at who is the most successful lacrosse coach of all-time!

NOTE: It should be noted that there was quite a bit of a discrepancy between different sources of records in terms of wins and losses. I referenced the various athletic departments of each coach for their official data as those are likely the most reliable sources available. What information was available is what I used.

Who Is The Most Successful Lacrosse Coach Of All-Time?

Top 5

5. Missy Foote: Middlebury (1978-1983, 1987-2015)

Highlights: 

• National Championships: 5
• NCAA Tournament Appearances:
• Conference Championships: 9 (7 NESCAC, 2 ECAC)
• Total Wins: 422
• Total Losses: 114
• Career Win Percentage: .787
• Years Coaching: 34
• Longest Consecutive Stay At One Program: Middlebury (28 years)*
• Record At Longest-Tenured Program: 422-114 (.787 win percentage)**
• No. of All-Americans:
• Coaching Awards: US Lacrosse National Hall of Fame (2012), IWLCA Hall of Fame (2017), IWLCA Coach of the Year (5x), Division III Regional and National Coach of the Year (1994, 1998, field hockey), Vermont Sports Hall of Fame (2017)

*Note: I considered a “consecutive stay” to be consecutive years coached at a program. Foote totaled 34 years at Middlebury, however, the most consecutive number of years Foote totaled was 28.

**Note: While we did calculate the longest consecutive stay at one program, the record at the longest-tenured program expresses the total win-loss record for time at that program as opposed to the win-loss record during the length of the longest tenure at that program.

Why Missy Foote is No. 5:

Missy Foote’s Middlebury women’s lacrosse team had an incredible 14 consecutive trips to the NCAA Final Four, winning national championships during five of those years during 1994-2007. Foote spent a total of nearly 40 years total at Middlebury, whether on the field as a lacrosse coach, a field hockey coach or as an administrator. Speaking of Foote’s field hockey coaching career, Foote finished her career with a 180-95-12 record and a national title in 1998. Yes, this is an article about the most successful lacrosse coaches of all-time, but being successful in a second sport certainly solidifies one’s greatness. Missy Foote’s 422 career wins are second all-time among Division III women’s lacrosse coaches, while she ranks third in total wins in any division of women’s lacrosse.

4. David Urick: Hobart (1980-1989), Georgetown (1990-2012)

Highlights:

• National Championships: 10
• NCAA Tournament Appearances: 21
• Conference Championships:
• Total Wins: 345
• Total Losses: 129
• Career Win Percentage: .728
• Years Coaching: 33
• Longest Consecutive Stay At One Program: Georgetown (22 years)
• Record At Longest-Tenured Program: Georgetown (223-99, .693 win percentage)
• No. of All-Americans: N/A
• Coaching Awards: US Lacrosse National Lacrosse Hall of Fame (1998), Kraus Award – Division III Coach of the Year (1980, 1981), Cortland State Athletics Hall of Fame (1986), Hobart College Hall of Fame (1990), Upstate New York Chapter Lacrosse Hall of Fame (1991), Potomac Chapter Lacrosse Hall of Fame (2006), ICAC Coach of the Year (1976, football)

Why David Urick is No. 4:

David Urick will always best be remembered for the dynasty he had at Hobart College from 1980-1989. Winning 10 consecutive national championships, Hobart dominated the Division III lacrosse scene. Urick is actually one of four coaches in NCAA history in any sport to win 10 straight national titles. Urick never matched the same success he had at Hobart while he was at Georgetown in terms of championships, but he led Georgetown to a 223-99 record while with the Hoyas that included 11 NCAA tournament appearances. Their appearance in the 1999 tournament ended with Georgetown in the semifinals. Georgetown never had a losing season under Urick, and were the No. 1 ranked team in the country for periods during the 2003 and 2007 seasons. Urick also served as the chairman of the NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Committee from 1990-93.

Urick was also the head football coach for Hobart beginning in the 1976 season, where the team finished with a 7-2 record, with Urick earning ICAC Coach of the Year honors. Urick actually was technically the co-head lacrosse coach of Hobart in 1979, and stepped down from the football program when he became the sole head coach in 1980.

3. Cindy Timchal: Northwestern (1982-1990), Maryland (1991-2006), Navy (2008-present)

Highlights:

• National Championships: 8
• NCAA Tournament Appearances: 28
• Conference Championships: unavailable
• Total Wins: 525
• Total Losses: 138
• Career Win Percentage: .792
• Years Coaching: 37 (entering 38th year)
• Longest Consecutive Stay At One Program: Maryland (15 years)
• Record At Longest-Tenured Program: Maryland (260-46, .849 win percentage)*
• No. of All-Americans: N/A (but, I bet it’s probably a lot)
• Coaching Awards: US Lacrosse National Hall of Fame (2012), National Coach of the Year (1999), ACC Coach of the Year (4x), University of Maryland Athletics Hall of Fame (2012), NCAA’s 25th Anniversary Team (2006), IWLCA Hall of Fame (2017)

*Note: Record was calculated from taking Timchal’s career record and subtracting the wins and losses from her records at Navy and Northwestern according to her coaching profile on the Navy Athletics website. The calculated record may not be 100 percent accurate.

Why Cindy Timchal is No. 3:

I know. It’s unusual to see Cindy Timchal’s name associated with anything other than first place. Timchal has had an incredible career and is certainly right up there with our No. 2 and No. 3 picks. It’s tough choosing between so many legends, but someone has to be ranked third. Timchal has been a winner at every program she has been at. Timchal was the first coach at Northwestern when the program officially competed in the NCAA in 1982. She had a 76-40 record while with the Wildcats, and was a huge part in setting that program off in the right direction. She then took over at Maryland in 1991, where she led the Terps to eight national championships, seven of which were won consecutively from 1995-2001 — a streak that is third all-time in NCAA Women’s Division I history in any sport. Her eight national titles are the eighth most by a coach in a women’s sport in NCAA history, and the 26th most in all sports, men and women combined. She has been coaching at Navy since 2008 after leaving Maryland in 2006, and has led the Midshipmen to nine Patriot League titles and seven NCAA tournament appearances, making the Final Four in 2017. Timchal has a knack for creating something out of nothing, while also being able to win at the highest level.

2. Jim Berkman: Potsdam State (1984), Salisbury (1988-Present)

Highlights:

• National Championships: 12
• NCAA Tournament Appearances: 1988-2019 (31 consecutive appearances)
• Conference Championships: 22 (Capital Athletic Conference)*
• Total Wins: 575
• Total Losses: 65
• Career Win Percentage: .896
• Years Coaching: 32 (entering 33rd)
• Longest Consecutive Stay At One Program: Salisbury (31 years)
• Record At Longest-Tenured Program: Salisbury (566-60, .905 win percentage)
• No. of All-Americans: 220 (11 national players of the year)
• Coaching Awards: US Lacrosse Hall Of Fame (2013), Division III National Coach Of The Year (1991, 2008, 2012), CAC Coach Of The Year (1996, 2002-08, 2010, 2012, and 2016)

*Note: Salisbury joined the Capital Athletic Conference in 1995.

Why Jim Berkman is No. 2:

Jim Berkman is certainly one of, if not the most, successful lacrosse coaches of all-time. He’s actually won more national championships than any lacrosse coach at any level. The name Salisbury Men’s Lacrosse has become synonymous with winning and is a very widely respected program across the country. Berkman has won more national championships in our sport than any other lacrosse coach, and also has the highest winning percentage over a career for a lacrosse coach as well — impressive, considering he also has the most wins of at least any male lacrosse coach at the NCAA level, and has coached for over 30 years. In his spare time, Berkman also reportedly hikes Mt. Everest for his morning walk, then swims back to the Salisbury to make it back for practice. The man probably achieves more in his morning than I have in my entire life.

1. Sharon Pfluger: Kean (1984), Montclair State (1985), TCNJ (1986-1997, 1999-present)

Highlights:

• National Championships: 11*
• NCAA Tournament Appearances: 33*
• Conference Championships: 1**
• Total Wins: 528*
• Total Losses: 64*
• Career Win Percentage: .877*
• Years Coaching: 35 (entering 36th)
• Longest Consecutive Stay At One Program: TCNJ (33 years)
• Record At Longest-Tenured Program: TCNJ (528-64, .877 win percentage)
• No. of All-Americans: 154 (18 national players of the year)
• Coaching Awards: US Lacrosse National Lacrosse Hall of Fame (2007), IWLCA Division III Coach of the Year (1987,2004), IWLCA Regional Coach of the Year (1989, 1995, 1996, 2001, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018), Outstanding Achievement Award – March of Dimes (1990), Outstanding Achievement Award – Philadelphia Sportswriters Association (1991,1992), Bea Marwick Award (1995), New Jersey Lacrosse Hall of Fame (1997), IWLCA Hall of Fame (2017)

*Note: Denotes achievements while at TCNJ (data unavailable for Kean (1984) and Montclair State (1985) — if you have a source for the official records during these years, submit it!)

**Note: The New Jersey Athletic Conference, of which TCNJ is a member, wasn’t formed until 1985.

Why Sharon Pfluger is No. 1:

In my mind, in in terms of lacrosse coaching success there is nothing that separates Sharon Pfluger from Jim Berkman. Each of these coaches lists of accomplishments is nearly identical, although I don’t know if I was able to piece together a completely accurate record of Pfluger’s coaching history. Her coaching profile on TCNJ’s website provides probably the most accurate data for the largest portion of her career, but I was unable to find really any data on her records or success while she was at Kean or Montclair State. Regardless of how those two seasons actually went, she is obviously one the most successful NCAA coaches in any gender, and really in any sport. In fact, Pfluger has also won nine NCAA women’s field hockey championships and amassed 606-113-9 record while at TCNJ. THAT is why I’m putting Pfluger as the No. 1 lacrosse coach of all-time. While technically this is an article on who is the best lacrosse coach of all-time, I needed something to be able to separate our tie at the top. The fact that Pfluger is also one of the best coaches of all-time in NCAA women’s field hockey tells me that she is a born winner wherever she goes. The fact that Pfluger has proven herself in two sports to me is the deciding factor.

Have a coach that you think we should have mentioned in our list of who is the most successful lacrosse coach of all-time? Share in the comments or tag us on social media using our handle @LaxAllStars.

This article was originally published Nov. 15, 2019.

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Nick Diegel, who set a record at last year’s LaxCon for the world’s fastest shot at 123.1 mph, is back at it again with a now-reported shot speed of 127.4 mph. Yep, you read that right.

Shot speeds never get quite that high in during normal gameplay, but it is not uncommon to see 100 mph shots or greater getting launched in the professional leagues.

You may remember Zack Dorn, who set the then world record at the MLL All-Star game at 116 mph. Dorn didn’t actually play professional lacrosse but could still sling it with the best of them.

Nick Diegel’s college lacrosse career took him from CMU to Ohio State and has been continuing to work on his shot, now reported to be the fastest in the world. 127.4 mph is some serious heat.

Nick Diegel Fastest Shot In Lacrosse

Here’s The Story

Here’s The Shot

 

View this post on Instagram

 

I truly love the process. Here’s a live look inside of last weeks training session where I hit a new world record fastest lacrosse shot 127.4 MPH. To all the athletes out there whos seasons have been affected by the corona virus, be safe, but take advantage of this time off. Use this time to dial in on your craft. Set goals for yourself. Put in the work. Let’s get it!

A post shared by Nick Diegel (@nick_diegel) on Mar 14, 2020 at 10:38am PDT

This Kid May Have Something To Say About It…

New World Record? pic.twitter.com/bJ8KlchT99

— Lacrosse All Stars (@LaxAllStars) March 19, 2020

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Editor’s Note: Updates on the NCAA coronavirus spring athletics situation will be updated as they become available. Stay tuned for information as it relates to college lacrosse. Follow all of our coronavirus coverage by clicking here.

An Evolving NCAA Coronavirus Situation

Update: NCAA Division I Winter Sports Unlikely To Get Extra Year, Still On The Table For Spring Sports (March 18 at 3:34 p.m. ET)

Sources: The NCAA is unlikely to grant an extra year of eligibility for student athletes who participated in winter sports and had their seasons cut short due to coronavirus.

An extra year of eligibility is still in play for student athletes involved with spring sports.

— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) March 18, 2020

Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports is reporting that the NCAA is unlikely to grant an extra year to winter sports athletes, but is still apparently being considered for its spring sports athletes. The move would likely be a blanket waiver for Division I athletes for spring sports, including NCAA lacrosse, as it has yet to be made official that would be handed down directly from the NCAA (read about the situation from the updates below). NCAA Division I college lacrosse could still have that blanket extra year granted.

Update: NCAA Division I Official Update (March 18 at 1:58 p.m. ET)

The NCAA published a news release summarizing the actions taken thus far to address eligibility waiver concerns for Division I athletes. The statement lists that all three divisions were directed by the NCAA Board of Governors to enact legislative modifications and waivers to provide relief to student-athletes and schools impacted by the coronavirus (COVID-19). The Division I Council Coordination Committee agreed that NCAA member schools should make the best decisions for the health and safety of their coaches, staff, student-athletes, recruits and communities. Council leadership also agreed that eligibility relief is appropriate for all Division I student-athletes who participated in spring sports. Details of eligibility relief will be finalized later with input from the Division I membership.

While it is clear that some action will be taken to address NCAA Division I eligibility concerns, it is unclear how that will look at this point. It could potentially vary from conference to conference or even by each school to school based on the direction given thus far by the NCAA Board of Governors. The likely complications are that the financial and logistical disparities between many NCAA Division I schools, and the different sports within those schools and conferences.

Due to financial considerations for the schools, conferences and the entire Division I of the NCAA, those decisions would be further complicated by the factors of how rosters would look with potential roster implications for returning seniors and incoming freshmen, in addition to the funds needed to address those students and the school’s athletic department’s needs. Most spring sports do not actually generate near the amount of revenue that winter sports (mainly NCAA Basketball) or fall sports (NCAA Football) do. The NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament is by far the largest money-making machine, accounting for over 80 percent of the NCAA’s annual revenue.

You can read the full release by clicking here.

Update: NCAA Division II Administrative Committee Grants Additional Season Of Eligibility, Implements Recruiting Dead Period In All Sports Until April 15 (March 14 at 6:34 p.m. ET)

Division II Administrative Committee decisions: https://t.co/t8yRoP6cmH pic.twitter.com/rhnFmVfUvz

— NCAA Division II (@NCAADII) March 13, 2020

The biggest part of the announcement was that the NCAA Division II Administrative Committee has now officially that this year’s Division II spring athletes would be granted an additional season of eligibility and waved sponsorship requirements for schools canceling spring seasons.

The committee also implemented a new recruiting dead period in all sports at least until April 15. Flexibility is being allowed for schools to assist student-athletes with travel in addition to the already available housing and meal conditions.

Division I is the only division in the NCAA that has yet to officially announce that it would grant an additional season of eligibility, although based on the previous official releases and reports circulating today (found by scrolling down) it would seem highly likely it would happen.

Update: NCAA Division III Administrative Committee Waives All Sports Sponsorship Requirements For The Spring Season, Grants Additional Season/Semester Of Its Athletes Competing In Spring Sports (March 14 at 3:30 P.M. ET)

Division III Administrative Committee decisions: pic.twitter.com/wBB7IkW1C1

— NCAA Division III (@NCAADIII) March 13, 2020

Flexibility has been provided by the NCAA Division III Committee for schools to assist students with travel, lodging and meals as a result of campus displacement. The committee waived all sports sponsorship requirements for the spring season and granted an additional season or semester of eligibility. This is the first division-wide announcement to accept an official extra season of eligibility throughout the NCAA. While previous updates have suggested that the NCAA would likely implement such a policy across all divisions, it has still yet to be confirmed across NCAA Division I and Division II spring sports.

Update: NCAA Division I Council Coordination Committee Agrees Relief Is Appropriate For Spring Sports (March 14 at 2:30 P.M. ET)

Agreement Of Relief Being Appropriate

Division I Council Coordination Committee agrees eligibility relief is appropriate for spring sports: pic.twitter.com/u7hwYOyTDV

— Inside the NCAA (@InsidetheNCAA) March 13, 2020

The Division I Council Coordination Committee issued a statement agreeing that eligibility relief is appropriate for spring sport athletes. Again, the language doesn’t necessarily imply that the NCAA has officially granted a blanket waiver for this year’s spring athletes for an additional year of eligibility, but rather that it agrees with the idea that financial relief is an acceptable solution for its spring athletes affected by the NCAA coronavirus situation. There is room to read into this, but the official word so far is that the NCAA has not officially approved an extra season of eligibility.

NCAA Bans In-Person Recruiting

Division I Council Coordination Committee bans in-person recruiting: pic.twitter.com/pdBT45w2hW

— Inside the NCAA (@InsidetheNCAA) March 13, 2020

In-person recruiting has been banned through at least April 15 of this year. Extensions to the policy will likely be made based on the evolving situation surrounding the coronavirus and the response to it from government and other officials.

UPDATE: NCAA Board Of Governors Issues Guidance To Its Members (March 14 at 2:13 P.M. ET)

NCAA Board of Governors guidance to members: pic.twitter.com/SrTxuO4XuM

— Inside the NCAA (@InsidetheNCAA) March 13, 2020

It’s unclear what the extent of this statement means, but at least signifies that the NCAA is mindful of all its athletes across all divisions. Based on this statement alone it sounds as though the NCAA is not actually officially granting an extra season but is leaving those considerations up to the determination of the individual divisions, conferences and schools.

Original Report (March 14 at 12:58 P.M. ET)

Jeff Goodman, a basketball analyst, has reported that the NCAA is expected to grant relief for the use of a season of competition for its spring sports, including college lacrosse. The NCAA coronavirus situation — and a larger issue across all of sport — should help alleviate concerns for all its athletes, but specifically seniors who would have likely lost their last season of eligibility had the NCAA not made concessions.

There had speculation over the last few days since the flood of cancellations of conferences and teams competing in the spring, like Amherst, the Ivy League, the Patriot League — in addition to pro sports leagues like the NLL — on whether there would be additional eligibility granted to its spring athletes given the extreme nature of the situation with the threat of the spread of the coronavirus. Specific NCAA lacrosse teams had also individually canceled their seasons in a flood of announcements yesterday.

The considerations around specific rules to the Ivy League were also speculated about given that restrictions and realities are different than other the league’s conferences and schools.

While the news is certainly welcome, there are much larger hills to climb in the coming weeks and months ahead as the coronavirus has shaken not only the entire sports industry but many other businesses across the country and across the world.

All of this assumes reports by Goodman are accurate, which can only be hoped given the devastation across all of sport yesterday.

More information on the NCAA coronavirus and college lacrosse situation will be updated when it becomes available.

NCAA To Grant Relief For The Use Of A Season Of Competition For Its Spring Sports

The NCAA’s Council Coordination Committee has agreed to grant relief for the use of a season of competition for student-athletes who have participated in spring sports.

Committee will also discuss issues for winter sport student-athletes.

— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) March 13, 2020

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Update (7:00 p.m. ET, March 13, 2020): US Lacrosse published a tweet that stated that all eligible WCLA players would receive an additional year of eligibility. That tweet has been added to the body of this story.

US Lacrosse has announced it will postpone all scheduled events through April 5 due to the potential effects of the coronavirus.

Nation’s Governing Body Postpones All Scheduled Events Through April 5 Due To Potential Effects Of Coronavirus

What This Affects

Two national events — the Women’s Collegiate Lacrosse Associates (WCLA) National Championships in Round Rock, Texas and the US Lacrosse Women’s National Tournament in Bel Air, Maryland — will be canceled. Most of the WCLA has already ceased regular games with other teams having canceled their seasons entirely. This has been another announcement in the wave of sports organizations canceling or postponing their seasons, beginning with Amherst on Tuesday and continuing with the Ivy League, Patriot League, National Lacrosse League and other non-lacrosse sports groups like the NBA.

The Women’s National Tournament wasn’t scheduled until late May, but fast-approaching tryouts currently have an inability to be conducted given the current situation with the effects of the coronavirus that is spreading throughout lacrosse, the sport industry and around the world, meaning that the tournament will be canceled.

Additional events will also be postponed, including the US Lacrosse Coach Development Program instructional clinics, the TryLax events, the Sankofa clinics and the player evaluations for the National Team Development Program.

All postponed events are intended to be rescheduled and registrants for postponed events will be able to transfer their registration to a rescheduled event or request a refund.

Eligible WCLA Players Granted Additional Year Of Eligibility

Due to the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) public health threat, US Lacrosse has canceled this year’s WCLA National Championship event. All eligible WCLA players will receive an additional year of eligibility.

More: https://t.co/AdqM3xR4ta pic.twitter.com/3aXOKMIZgM

— US Lacrosse Magazine (@USLacrosseMag) March 13, 2020

Official Announcement

In an effort to mitigate the potential effects of the coronavirus (COVID-19) public health threat, US Lacrosse is postponing all scheduled events through April 5 and is canceling two national events scheduled for May.

More: https://t.co/MLpC0Xu9qX pic.twitter.com/Jvs71keMtI

— US Lacrosse Magazine (@USLacrosseMag) March 13, 2020

Follow our coverage of the coronavirus situation as it affects lacrosse by clicking here.

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The MCLA announced after an expedited vote of the MCLA Executive Board and Board of Directors, every eligible 2020 MCLA player will be granted an extra of eligibility. This helps provide an indication as to how the league will deal with the specific MCLA lacrosse coronavirus situation that has also had far-reaching affects across other divisions of college athletics and professional sports as well.

The Ivy League announced it would cancel the remainder of its spring athletic seasons on Wednesday, a day after Amherst canceled its spring sports seasons that then started a domino effect around the country of college teams and conferences like the Patriot League and professional leagues like the National Lacrosse League either canceling or suspending its seasons.

Reports circulated earlier in the day that the NCAA was expected to grant relief for the use of a season for its spring athletes as reported by multiple people, including Jeff Goodman.

Of course, there are always considerations for players as to the feasibility of academic progress and financial considerations for college lacrosse student athletes. We took a look at some of those issues that specifically face Ivy League lacrosse players and athletes in our feature yesterday, which you can read by clicking here.

More information as to the logistics of and plans in place to make this plan feasible will likely be forthcoming as the league addresses the specific MCLA lacrosse coronavirus situation. Stay tuned for more information on the this eligibility announcement by continuing to visit LaxAllStars.

MCLA Announces Additional Year Of Eligibility

Through an expedited vote of the MCLA Executive Board and Board of Directors, every eligible 2020 MCLA player will be granted an extra year of eligibility. #mcla20 pic.twitter.com/GbTvEqzZKE

— MCLA (@MCLA) March 13, 2020

Follow our coverage of the coronavirus situation as it affects lacrosse by clicking here.

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The National Lacrosse League sent out a media advisory that announced the league would be suspending the remainder of its 2020 season until further notice due to concerns over the coronavirus.

In the advisory, the league said:

“The National Lacrosse League has determined that it is in the best interests of our fans, our players, our coaches and our staff to temporarily suspend play until further notice due to concerns over COVID-19. We will continue to evaluate this situation and remain in constant communication with health, team, business and league officials across North America. Security and safety is our top priority and focus in these challenging and unprecedented times, and we will continue to provide updates on resumption and rescheduling of play as they are determined.”

National Lacrosse League Media Advisory

The National Basketball Association suspended the remainder of its basketball season last night as a player had been confirmed to have contracted the coronavirus, leading to the cancelation of last night’s Utah Jazz – Oklahoma City matchup.

The National Hockey League canceled all of its morning skates, practices and team meetings on Thursday, and would be thought to likely suspend or cancel the remainder of its season as well. As the NHL shares many of its venues with NLL teams, a suspension of the NHL season would have meant that the NLL would have been forced into a similar decision at this point in the year had the NLL not made this announcement today. That information could have likely been a factor in the decision.

In college athletics, the Ivy League canceled the remainder of its spring seasons yesterday, while the Patriot League announced it would cancel the remainder of its spring seasons today. Individual teams like Amherst — who was the first university to make this decision — have also suspended or canceled the remainder of their spring sport seasons due to concerns over the coronavirus.

More information will be updated on the National Lacrosse League coronavirus situation as it becomes available.

Follow news and information about the effects on lacrosse and sports from the coronavirus by following LaxAllStars and by clicking here.

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The Patriot League has canceled the remainder of its spring sports seasons, including both men’s and women’s lacrosse. This decision follows yesterday’s news of the Ivy League canceling its spring sports due to the threat of the spread of the coronavirus.

A statement on the Patriot League’s website said the following:

Recognizing that the health and safety of our students and broader communities is our priority, and based on the ongoing spread of COVID 19 (2019 novel Coronavirus), the Patriot League Council of Presidents has made the difficult and challenging decision to cancel all spring athletics practices and competitions through the remainder of the academic year.

The majority of Patriot League institutions have announced a temporary or semester-long transition to remote learning.  While we recognize the deep disappointment that will be felt by our student-athletes, coaches, and communities, a continuation of spring seasons is untenable.

The decision will take effect on March 16.

In addition to the Patriot League Lacrosse and Ivy League Lacrosse seasons being canceled in addition to its other spring sports, the NBA announced that it would indefinitely suspend the remainder of this season as at least one player had been diagnosed with the coronavirus that led to last night’s Utah Jazz – Oklahoma City game being canceled at game time, with the decision on suspending the season made later that night.

Other professional sports leagues other college conferences are likely to follow in similar decisions.

Follow news and information about the effects on lacrosse and sports from the coronavirus by following LaxAllStars and by clicking here.

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Update (March 13, 2020): Multiple sources, including Jeff Goodman, have reported that the NCAA is expected to grant relief for the use of a season of competition for its spring sports, including college lacrosse. You can read about the news by clicking here. This should alleviate concerns for many NCAA athletes on losing a year of eligibility — there are different rules in place at non-Ivy League schools for their student-athletes to extend their playing careers with regards to academic expectations —with additional consideration needing to be made for athletes and lacrosse players in the Ivy League. Based on the update below, the Ivy League was expected to have requested a blanket waiver for all spring sports, and would indicate that the conference would likely allow players — most particularly seniors — to have accommodations to play an additional year in the conference as most Ivy League athletes are restricted to playing their four seasons within four academic years. Based on this information, skip below to the section titled “Academic Expectations” in order to understand what needs to be considered from an academic standpoint based on NCAA and Ivy League conference policies as it relates to today’s news about the NCAA providing relief. Additional expectations, including whether Ivy League lacrosse players would likely actually return to play their final season are mentioned beneath that section.

UPDATE (March 12, 2020): Dana O’Neil, a senior writer for The Athletic, has reported that Ivy League personnel had told her that it would likely request a blanket waiver/extra year for all spring sport athletes. To understand what that means given this information, skip to the section below titled “Academic Expectations” and read through the end. Given the context of the situation from the rest of today’s news of spring college athletics being canceled as the dominos fell today beginning with the Patriot League canceling its spring seasons in addition to pro sports like the National Lacrosse League, it would likely put additional pressure on the NCAA to grant athletes an extra year of eligibility for spring sports if they chose to use it, and to not just be a situation confined within the Ivy League.

Ivy League personnel just told me it will likely request a blanket waiver/extra year for all spring sport athletes whose seasons were just canceled.

— Dana O’Neil (@DanaONeilWriter) March 11, 2020

News broke yesterday that the Ivy League was canceling its spring sports, including men’s and women’s lacrosse. Amherst canceled its spring seasons the day before. Concern spread over how this year’s seniors and other Ivy League lacrosse players at these institutions and other colleges would be dealt with as their final seasons are being canceled. Players like Michael Sowers and TD Ierlan had represented the Ivy League incredibly well this year, and it’s unfortunate that this is the situation we find ourselves in.

We decided to take a look at what we could find on NCAA and Ivy League eligibility policies — which are unique in and unto themselves — and have some observations below on whether Ivy League lacrosse players could have another year to play.

This may be familiar to some but not likely for most given that Ivy League rules are a bit unique, so we thought it would be worth the look.

If you want the short version, skip to the section near the bottom titled, “So… What Was All Of That, Exactly?” to get the highlights and avoid what is probably a bunch of rambling. If you are interested in some of the sources and reasoning I used, then kick-out the La-Z-Boy, get your reading glasses and make sure you haven’t left anything in the oven that could burn your house down. I did include some section highlights for the main body of the text, so hopefully that helps make it easier to get through.

There Could Be Potential For Ivy League Lacrosse Players To Have Another Semester Of Eligibility After The Ivy League Lacrosse News From Yesterday

Here’s The Sources We Found

There could be potential for an extra year of play for those seniors affected. We’ll take a dive into NCAA and Ivy League policy, and give our thoughts as to how this would work.

First, from the Princeton University Athletics website:

In the Ivy League, student-athletes are expected to use their eligibility within their first four years of actual enrollment. As such, there are no redshirt options. There are limited waiver options for a fifth year (fourth season of competition) which should be reviewed before a student-athlete is away from Princeton for the academic year. For those student-athletes who do not compete in all four seasons while enrolled at Princeton, there are opportunities to play that fourth season as a graduate student at another school. In both of the above scenarios, the student-athlete should meet with Kelly Widener in the Compliance Office as early as possible.

If a student-athlete chooses to transfer to another institution before graduating from Princeton, a Notification of Transfer form must be completed prior to any communication between the student-athlete and a coach from another institution. A student-athlete who does not use four seasons of competition while at Princeton may consider using a season in graduate school.

The question for us is how the Ivy League defines a season of competition for these players to continue playing for their respective teams. Pursuing a graduate season at a non-Ivy League school is likely an easier route in general terms, but there’s more information that could mean that there is the potential for seniors to still play their senior year at their Ivy League schools.

There’s three excerpts below that should help explain that.

We found this information in The Harvard Crimson:

The rules, though, are more friendly to players on other teams. Athletes in sports that span just one semester (football in the fall or lacrosse in the spring, for example) can play five athletic seasons in eight academic terms by taking one offseason off. 

The Harvard’s Athletics website also provides some clarity:

Harvard stipulates that you must have a valid academic reason for extending your residency on campus beyond eight terms. If you are planning to use a 5th year of eligibility, Ivy League rules require that you meet with Shanna Kornachuck of Compliance, and Tom Dingman, Harvard’s eligibility officer and Associate Dean of the College, before applying for a ninth term waiver. If you decide to proceed after this meeting, your request must be approved by your Senior Tutor and Tom Dingman, and then by the Ivy League.

Then, consider this from the Brown University Athletics website:

Medical Hardship and Fifth (5th) Year Waivers

Student-athletes have eligibility [in the NCAA] for no more than four (4) seasons of intercollegiate athletic competition in any one sport, which ordinarily must be used within five (5) calendar years from their first full-time matriculation at any collegiate institution. However, under Ivy rules student-athletes are ordinarily expected to use their eligibility during their first four years of enrollment. The Ivy League does not allow “redshirts”. There are exceptions to this rule; please consult the Compliance Office for more information about Fifth (5th) Year Waivers.

NCAA rules pertaining to medical hardships state that you may compete in a maximum of three (3) contests or dates of competition, up to 30% of your team’s contests, and still qualify for a waiver. If you have suffered a season-ending injury or illness, you must let the Compliance Office staff know as soon as possible, even if you are unsure if you will pursue a waiver. This is because medical documentation and participation information must be submitted by the Compliance Office to the Ivy League office in the same calendar year as the season you have missed. Note that medical documentation must indicate dates and treatments prescribed, the date when you were declared unable to compete as well as the date you were officially cleared to resume competition. If you see a medical professional at home or off campus, it is your responsibility to make the records available to the Brown Athletic Trainers and compliance staff – they will be needed for any waiver request.

Does This Mean That Seniors Could Have An Extra Season Of Ivy League Lacrosse Eligibility? Here Are The Factors To Consider

Eligibility Requirements

What this boils down to is whether the Ivy League or the NCAA will count this season as a season of eligibility for each of the spring sport players. The clear difference between the NCAA and the Ivy League is that the NCAA has that extra year for players to complete their four seasons of athletic participation (i.e. redshirt year). For Ivy League athletes that are juniors or younger, they would still at least have their fourth year of eligibility to play next year if the NCAA or even the Ivy League doesn’t grant an extra year of eligibility from canceling the Ivy League lacrosse seasons, but will have only played three complete seasons. No surprises there.

Based on the definitions of eligibility provided by the NCAA, we’ve already passed the mark for most Ivy League schools for their players to qualify under that definition.

Here are the Ivy League lacrosse teams lists of percentages of games they have played compared to the entire number of games for the season (rounded to the nearest whole percent):

• Brown

  • Men’s: 33 percent (5-out-of-15 games played)
  • Women’s: 46 percent (7-out-of-15 games played)

• Columbia

  • Women’s: 46 percent (7-out-of-15 games played

• Cornell

  • Men’s: 36 percent (5-out-of-14 games played)
  • Women’s: 40 percent (6-out-of-15 games played)

• Dartmouth

  • Men’s: 28 percent (4-out-of-14 games played)
  • Women’s: 33 percent (5-out-of-15 games played)

• Harvard

  • Men’s: 33 percent (4-out-of-12 games played)
  • Women’s: 40 percent (6-out-of-15 games played)

• Princeton

  • Men’s: 38 percent (5-out-of-13 games played)
  • Women’s: 33 percent (5-out-of-15 games played)

• Penn

  • Men’s: 42 percent (5-out-of-12 games played)
  • Women’s: 33 percent (5-out-of-15 games played)

• Yale

  • Men’s: 31 percent (4-out-of-13 games played)

  • Women’s: 33 percent (5-out-of-15 games played

Section Summary:

• The Ivy League and NCAA have different policies on the number of academic semesters you can have to play your four years of college lacrosse.
• Dartmouth Men’s Lacrosse is the only team who has played less than 30 percent of its games to this point and its players would qualify for a Fifth Year Waiver.
• It’s also important to note that it seems each school handles Fifth Year Waiver applications on a case-by-case basis. I hope they’ve got some space in their filing cabinets.

Percentages And…Stuff

At this point, the Dartmouth Men’s Lacrosse team players have the best case for an extra year of eligibility given that all of the players on the team have played less than the required 30 percent of games to apply for a Fifth Year Waiver after missing this season. That would mean that the seniors for the Dragons have a good possibility of being back next year if they so choose.

If the NCAA or Ivy League does choose to rule this season ineligible, then underclassmen or juniors who began their academic and college playing careers in the spring semester of their first year in the Ivy League would be able to play an additional spring provided that this spring season was ruled ineligible without adding on any extra academic semesters. However, players that started in the fall of their first year would technically have nine academic semesters under their belt, which would disqualify them from play based on the limit of eight academic semesters with which to complete their four years of athletics eligibility.

Most of the other teams in the Ivy League have played over 30 percent of their games, but only by a small margin. That may have be a factor for consideration in the waiver application process given the nature of the reasons why the players were unable to complete their seasons. I don’t believe the NCAA has ever canceled entire seasons on this scale in this narrow of a time period before, so I don’t think there is a precedent for that. But, there have been instances of individual schools having specific programs’ seasons terminated based on violations of NCAA rule. Obviously, this is a much different situation so a lot of how this is handled will likely be based on current circumstances and not as much around how they’ve handled cases previously.

If the Ivy League and the NCAA rule that the 2020 NCAA Lacrosse seasons wouldn’t be counted or would be waived — which would likely depend on the outcome of how far reaching the effects of the effects of the coronavirus and the response to it are — then those seniors could potentially use what is deemed their fourth year of play again.

While this would also be incredibly unlikely, it would be interesting if a team’s season would then be defined as the games actually played and wouldn’t count games that were originally scheduled towards that 30 percent completion mark. There’s no reason to believe that would happen, and that idea is likely just a product of the fact that I’ve spent too much time reading through eligibility policies.

Section Summary

• Fifth Year Waivers are possible but rarely exercised. If there was ever a strong case for it, this would be it.
• There really aren’t any situations to compare this to if the NCAA or Ivy League wanted to make exceptions to their current rules, but there’s a lot of reasons why it would be reasonable to do so.
• Athletes that were in their junior year or earlier are better off.
• Dartmouth Men’s Lacrosse has unique shot shot at getting added eligibility for its players for the season being canceled this year.
• Athletes that began their academic and athletic careers during the spring semester also have a better outlook.

Academic Expectations

The question then becomes if the student is able to remain another year in school while making adequate academic progress as defined by the NCAA and what the Ivy League universities deem as acceptable.

The NCAA requires that all of its athletes make “satisfactory progress” towards their degrees. This is defined as having a minimum of six credits earned per semester with a total of 24 credits earned per academic year, with 60% of those credits needing to count towards degree requirements for your chosen field of study.

Most of these seniors at Ivy League schools are likely already going to be graduating this spring, provided that the universities can adequately continue classes and study (whether in-person or online) based on what the necessary academic requirements are and how the universities respond to the spread of the coronavirus. If a senior this year was able to become athletically eligible, the other part would be that as long as that player met those academic requirements for competing.

Of course, there’s always the chance that special considerations are made depending on the severity of what the situation is in relation to schools shutting down, etc. that are outside the scope of what are the current policies in place.

Section Summary: 

• You need to take a minimum amount of credits each semester and for each year, enough of which check-off requirements for your degree.
• The Ivy League normally pushes people in and out in four years, so it would probably be harder to be able to stretch your course load over an extra year the further along in school you are if you were to be granted an extra year of athletic eligibility in the Ivy League.

The Life Of An Ivy-Leaguer

The catch is that many students in Ivy League athletics tend to pursue careers and employment after their senior year of graduation, so it would likely be more rare for higher percentages of these seniors to return to play any potential final season of lacrosse or any other sport, based on the fact that Ivy League schools have stricter standards for pushing its students through their programs in the traditional four years. Most Ivy League lacrosse players and other Ivy League athletes have the potential to earn much more at whatever their chosen career path could be with their degrees from these schools as opposed to playing professional lacrosse or other pro sports. Plus, the Ivy League does not grant athletic or academic scholarships, so the students or their families would be having to pay an extra year of an Ivy League education.

Section Summary:

• For players who have the option to play professional lacrosse, it makes much more sense to graduate and get a job, and to then play professionally.
• The real reason those players, and others who wouldn’t have a chance of playing professionally, would want to play their final season is for the experience. Playing college lacrosse is certainly one that they may never have again.

So… What Was All Of That Exactly?

A Summary Of What You Probably Just Skipped Over

Simply put, the majority of Ivy League lacrosse seniors, juniors, underclassmen or other sports won’t likely get to play another year of college lacrosse or other college athletics. It’s a bit more nuanced and there is the potential for something to happen, but there are a few main factors.

The biggest difference-maker would be a merciful ruling by the NCAA and Ivy League that would allow for seniors to come back and compete in their final seasons.

Dartmouth Men’s Lacrosse senior lacrosse players have the best shot at getting an additional year of eligibility, from any Ivy League lacrosse players that are juniors and seniors from other teams (and, of course, other sports) who began their playing and academic careers during the spring of their first season of college undergraduate enrollment.

However, even if that were to happen, a good chunk of seniors from most Ivy League schools wouldn’t likely return for a final year of college sports given their futures with their potential jobs and other endeavors outside of their athletic careers, unless that player had a stronger desire to play out that additional year likely for the reason that they love the sport and the experience.

In the case of the senior lacrosse players, from a financial standpoint it would make more sense for those seniors to graduate, get a job and then play professionally in any of the pro lacrosse leagues rather than returning for an additional year of school they likely wouldn’t need to complete their degree. Only if those lacrosse seniors felt they needed that additional year to prepare for a pro lacrosse career, and that was their dream to do would that make the most sense for those individuals.

Final Thoughts

It’s A Very Unusual, Sad Situation To Say The Least

It’s sad that we are in this situation, and give our best wishes to all Ivy League sports staff and players out there. We respect the need for public safety surrounding an outbreak of disease, but also regret what effect this is having not only on the college athletes, but the employees and other staff associated with those universities. Plus, our sympathies go out to those that have been severely affected by the coronavirus. It would seem that we’ll be seeing more of this before we see less of it, unfortunately.

NCAA Division I Lacrosse is still considered by most to be the pinnacle of the sport in terms of its following and presence, and it is certainly tragic should any player, including one like Michael Sowers or a TD Ierlan, both favorites for this year’s Tewaaraton, should have to miss what would be their last season of college sports.

Our frustrations and reaction to the news was best summed up by a certain coach’s spirited reaction on the sideline, which you can see by clicking here. In case you missed the news yesterday for whatever reason, catch up by clicking here.

More information on the Ivy League sports and Ivy League lacrosse news situation and the entire situation of college athletics will be updated when it becomes available. Follow our coverage of the coronavirus situation as it affects lacrosse by clicking here.

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Ivy League Athletics has canceled the remainder of its spring athletics practice and competition through the remainder of the academic year.

Amherst became the first university to officially cancel or postpone its spring sports yesterday, affecting all spring sports including men and women’s lacrosse.

It is up to the individual institution to decide whether or not to cancel the remainder of its winter athletics seasons. Ivy League sports for the spring season will no longer compete, and it is unclear whether those seasons will be reinstated. The language of the statement suggests that this move could be final.

Several Ivy League schools have canceled on-campus classes, with classes being held virtually during the rest of the semester.

With further developments in the outbreak of COVID-19, the Ivy League Presidents are announcing their unanimous decision to cancel all spring athletics practice and competition through the remainder of the academic year.

Ivy League Athletics Statement

The move comes in wake of the threat of the spread of the coronavirus, which according to the UN has had over 110,000 reported cases with over 3,800 deaths at the time of the release from the UN.

Accurately and effectively testing for the virus has been an issue in the United States, and it remains to be seen the full effect of what the response will be from not only colleges and universities, but government and other organizations.

Both the men’s and women’s Ivy League lacrosse seasons are canceled unless there are changes made to the current announcement.

More information on the Ivy League sports and Ivy League lacrosse situation and the entire situation of college athletics will be updated when it becomes available.

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The Premier Lacrosse League announced 16 new players who would be joining the pool for the 2020 PLL Entry Draft that will take place on March 16 this morning on the league’s social media channels.

Take a look at the list of players joining the league pool below.

Pro Lacrosse Players Joining The PLL For The 2020 Entry Draft

We’re excited to welcome 16 new players to the PLL who will be available during the 2020 Entry Draft! pic.twitter.com/r6VXhrqBQ9

— Premier Lacrosse League (@PremierLacrosse) March 10, 2020

Quick Hits:

• Rob Pannell was included in this announcement, while the initial announcement from the league of Pannell joining the PLL was released yesterday.
• Josh Hawkins, who had retired from Major League Lacrosse in 2018, looks to be making a comeback and will apparently be entered into the 2020 Entry Draft pool.
• Some other notable departures from the MLL to the PLL are Zach Currier, Jesse Bernhardt and Dillon Ward.
  • Bernhardt’s brother Jake currently plays for the PLL, making playing in the league a family affair for the two brothers. The Bernhardt’s younger brother, Jared, who is a senior at Maryland this year and was a Tewaaraton finalist last year, will be playing college football next fall with his final year of NCAA eligibility as a graduate transfer and will consequently delay potentially playing any professional lacrosse this summer.
  • Zach Currier had expressed frustration with how last year’s MLL Championship turned out, after being ejected in the final minutes of the game in what was a controversial finish. Controversial playoff games are nothing new to sports, but it happened at a more impactful time with the PLL playing its first season last year. The MLL saw great successes last year, without any real dips in reported attendance numbers — in fact actually seeing a 20 percent increase in reported attendance from the year prior — as both the MLL and the PLL competed for similar audiences.
  • Dillon Ward will be a big asset to the PLL, as Ward is considered the best goalie in the world. Ward won the title of the world’s best goalkeeper at the 2018 field world championships, and has been consistently ranked as one of the highest performing goalkeepers in the National Lacrosse League despite what some Colorado Mammoth fans think.
• There’s a lot of other great talent joining the 2020 PLL Entry Draft pool as well, like Zed Williams, Jason Noble, Christian Mazzone, Ryland Rees and TJ Comizio. This should help bolster the depth of talent and competition that already currently exists.

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The 2020 NCAA Men’s Division I lacrosse season has now hit the Week 5 mark. Take a look at some of the biggest storylines and plays from this past week in college lacrosse.

2020 NCAA Men’s Division I Lacrosse: Week 5 Top Moments

Note: Take a look at this week’s Inside Lacrosse Media Poll. All references to team rankings are based on that poll for the different week’s rankings.

Top Matchups From College Lacrosse

Cornell – Penn State

Big players make big plays in big moments. You always count on your go-to guy to step up in critical situations.

It makes it even better when you get a game-winning goal from a freshman, let alone faceoff midfielder with eight seconds to play.

That’s exactly what happened for Cornell, as Angel Petrakis actually lost the clamp after a game-tying goal by Jeff Teat only moments prior, but was able to get open downfield after a scrap for the groundball and had an open lane to the net.

Petrakis went 18-for-29 on the day at the faceoff X, good for a 62 percent win percentage.

Cornell took a commanding 12-5 lead over the Nittany Lions by the half (the Big Red were up 10-2 at one point), but Penn State came roaring back to take a lead late in the game that Cornell was able to overcome.

Grant Ament finished with five assists for Penn State, while TJ Malone had four goals and an assist. Mac O’Keefe had three goals and an assist in the losing effort.

Jeff Teat led all scorers in the game with six points on three goals and three assists, including the game-tying goal with little time left in the fourth quarter. Michael Long had a goal and four assists for the Big Red in the win.

Cornell will face the only other team to have beaten Penn State since the Nittany Lions’ final game in 2018 against Michigan on April 28 — the Yale Bulldogs — on Saturday.

Penn State will look to regroup and take on Furman tomorrow night.

Brown – Virginia

Brown took down the Virginia Cavaliers on Saturday in what was Lars Tiffany’s first return to Providence since leaving for the Wahoos in 2016 .

Ryan Aughavin scored his third goal of the game in what was arguably the most important one of the day with 42 seconds remaining to seal a win for the Bears over No. 8 Virginia.

Colby Gendron scored the go-ahead goal with 6:17 to play in the game as Brown held off a late push by the Cavaliers.

Phil Goss made nine of his 16 saves in the second half to help hold off Virginia, while Cavaliers goaltender Alex Rode had 17 saves himself for the contest.

Goss was named the Ivy League Men’s Lacrosse Player of the Week for his effort.

The Bears were down four goals at the half (they were actually down 8-2 with 1:47 left in the second quarter), but opened the third quarter on a five-goal run that launched Brown back into the game that would eventually see the Ivy League school win.

Michael Kraus had four assists to lead all scorers, while Aughavin had three goals and one assist for Brown to lead the scoring effort for the Bears in addition to the game-winner.

The defending champs will look to take on Maryland on Saturday, while Brown heads to Cambridge to take on the Crimson of Harvard.

NCAA Lacrosse Quick Mentions

• From the NCAA Division II Men’s Lacrosse world, in what was our featured game of the week, then No. 10 Lenoir-Rhyne faced No. 1 Limestone on Sunday, with Lenoir-Rhyne emerging from the aftermath with an 18-16 win.
• Georgetown has won its fifth straight game and now has a 5-0 record with its most recent win over Towson. The Hoyas have also beaten Mount St. Mary’s, Fairfield, UMBC and Lafayette thus far in the year. While Georgetown’s strength of schedule thus far hasn’t been against top-level competition, that will all change on Saturday as the Hoyas will face the North Carolina Tar Heels in Chapel Hill.

Top Plays From This Past Weekend In NCAA Men’s Division I College Lacrosse

No. 1 – Angelo Petrakis Has A Bone To Pick Over Paul George’s Trademark Phrase Of “Ball Game”

“ARE YOU…KIDDING…ME?”
The call said it all, as Angelo Petrakis’ game-winning goal with 8 seconds left capped a frenetic fourth quarter and @CornellLacrosse defeated Penn State 18-17. Absolutely wild game with a playoff vibe in Charlotte pic.twitter.com/ldJbde2AG6

— US Lacrosse Magazine (@USLacrosseMag) March 8, 2020

No. 2 – Ball Game, Part 2

Aughavin puts Brown up 14-12!
Watch it live on ESPN+: https://t.co/5GxeXJ4emP#GoBruno pic.twitter.com/6tdGXk9N4Q

— Brown Men’s Lacrosse (@BrownLacrosse) March 8, 2020

No. 3 – Jake Weinman With The BTB

Jake Weinman coming in clutch for @Marist_MensLax #NCAALAX
pic.twitter.com/TeXCNx6VZk

— NCAA Lacrosse (@NCAALAX) March 7, 2020

Jake Weinman had a BTB beauty against Delaware. You may remember the memorable play from earlier this season from Marist’s win over Army with Jason Intermesoli sending a no-look celebration on an assist to Joe Tierney.

What were your favorite moments from 2020 NCAA Men’s Division I college lacrosse this past weekend? Share in the comments or tag us on social media (@LaxAllStars).

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The 2020 NCAA Men’s Division I lacrosse season is starting to take shape as we leave Week 4 to head into Week 5, with teams fighting for position for postseason play in May.

2020 NCAA Men’s Division I Lacrosse: Week 4 Top Moments

Note: Take a look at this week’s Inside Lacrosse Media Poll. All references to team rankings are based on that poll for the different week’s rankings.

Top Matchups

Syracuse – Hobart

A lot of eyes were on this matchup to see if Hobart could prove itself and the frenetic scoring pace it had established against lower-ranked opponents against the top competition in the NCAA. The Orange came into this game as the No. 3 team in the country, which provided a perfect opportunity for Hobart. The aftermath was that Syracuse walked away with the 21-13 win after capitalizing on opportunities against the Hobart defense and forcing its offense to post its lowest goal total in a game for the year. To the victor goes the Kraus-Simmons trophy, or something like that.

The game was relatively close throughout, with the Orange adding to its four-goal lead at the end of the third quarter to achieve the eight-point score differential in the win.

Interestingly, while Penn State, who was ranked ahead of Syracuse, won this past weekend over a Penn team that went into the matchup being ranked No. 9 in the nation, stayed put in this week’s poll after No. 1 after Yale’s loss to UMass. So far, Yale has been the only team over the past year-and-a-half or so that has actually beaten Penn State, which should strengthen Penn State’s argument to be the nation’s top team depending on Yale’s total-season performance.

Apparently Syracuse’s No. 1 ranking came while other teams like Penn State actually generated more first-place votes. Although Syracuse is a great team and could very well be the top team in the country at the end of the season, based on strength of wins and teams’ schedules thus far there could be an argument that other teams might be more qualified for the No. 1 spot based on their resume thus far. The Orange will have a chance to prove themselves the rest of the season.

Ridonkulous. Cuse at #1 despite only 6 #1 votes while Penn State has 11. Math is strange. https://t.co/WgqgHZjVwi

— Ryan Conwell (@RyConw) March 2, 2020

Penn – Penn State

This was the big game most people were excited for heading into this weekend. The No. 2 Nittany Lions took on No. 9 Penn in a cross-state rivalry that saw Penn State establish supremacy in the Quaker State in an 18-17 overtime win on the game-winner by who else, Mac O’Keefe.

The overtime winner gave O’Keefe a two-goal lead in career goals scored in the Big Ten as he moved into the top-spot in conference history earlier in the game on his third goal, passing Johns Hopkins’ Terry Riordan.

O’Keefe shone for the Nittany Lions, having four goals and an assist to lead Penn State in scoring while last year’s Tewaaraton-finalist Grant Ament had two goals and two assists. Jack Traynor added four goals himself to help in Penn State’s scoring effort. Colby Kneese had 18 saves in cage.

Dylan Gerger led all scorers with six points on five goals and one assist.

UMass – Yale

Ryan Conwell mentioned in a previous ‘Is This Poll Serious?!’ article at the beginning of the season that UMass was one of those teams that was on borrowed time. The Minutemen have answered the call much like they did in 1776 over the last stretch of games, as UMass has beaten then No. 12 Ohio State and now No. 1 Yale in addition to wins over Harvard and UMass-Lowell. It’s lone loss since its season-opening loss to Army was to Harvard by one goal.

This was Yale’s first loss this season after wins over Villanova and Penn State. TD Ierlan went a ridiculous 20-for-26 at the faceoff X but couldn’t overcome UMass in the 10-13 loss. Matt Gaudet went off for five goals in the loss to match UMass’ Billy Philpott’s five point performance of four goals and an assist to lead all scorers in the game.

NCAA Lacrosse Quick Mentions

• Cornell had a 17-16 win over Ohio State to move to 3-0 on the year with an attack unit led by Jeff Teat that has been praised as one of the best units since Rob Pannell’s line himself since, well, virtually Rob Pannell himself. Check out the tweet below.

Love watching this years @CornellLacrosse attack unit. The most versatile, efficient, skilled and unselfish unit we’ve had in years. JD3 at the midfield is a treat to watch too! 4-0 LGR!

— Rob Pannell (@RobPannell3) March 2, 2020

• No. 8 Maryland beat No. 5 Notre Dame behind Logan Wisnauskas’ five goals.

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You may have heard of the Emmanuel College Lions men’s lacrosse team before when we gave them a shoutout on our Instagram page at the beginning of this month. Take a look at this ridiculous full-field assist from Michael “Ballsy” Balsamides to Alex Stull in the Lions game against Pfeiffer.

You’ve got to hand it to the Lions, they’ve got style.

Emmanuel College Is Out Here In Stuart Hughes Diamond Edition Suits While The Rest Of Us Are Buying From The Discount Rack At Men’s Warehouse

Info On Emmanuel College And Who To Thank For The Full-Field Assist

About The Program

Before we get to the incredible play below, here’s a brief overview of Emmanuel College. If you just want to see the play then skip on down to the bottom. The college is an NCAA Division II school in Franklin Springs, Georgia. The Lions are a newer program, having picked up their first college win in history in 2012 when the program was added. Emmanuel College also has a women’s lacrosse team that was added that same year.

The team is a member of the SouthEastern Lacrosse Conference and currently sit at 2-3 on the year with wins over Shorter and Pfeiffer.

The play seen below is courtesy a la junior defender Michael Balsamides.

Mixing Business With Pleasure

 

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Swipe left to see the most electric team in college lacrosse. @ecmenslax

A post shared by Lacrosse All Stars (@laxallstars) on Feb 3, 2020 at 9:48am PST

Emmanuel College was featured on our Instagram page earlier this month with some of the more bold names on its roster. College lacrosse has been known for some of the more preposterous and extravagant player bios, and the Emmanuel College Men’s Lacrosse team has certainly set a standard that is incredibly high (or low depending on your perspective) that I’m sure teams in the future will try to one-up.

I’m looking at you next year, Albany. Consider the gauntlet thrown down.

Also, can I just say how perfect it is that Michael “Ballsy” Balsamides is the one who threw this pass? This is almost too perfect to have just happened organically. This has to at least have an ESPN 30 for 30 short film produced around it, or at least a mention on the local TV sports news desk. Give this man the recognition he deserves!

The Full-Field Assist

Michael “Ballsy” Balsamides Sends It The Length Of The Field

And The Crowd Goes Wild!

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It is never a dull moment in college lacrosse. The NCAA Women’s Division I lacrosse season has picked up some steam, and things are getting exciting the further along in the year we get.

2020 NCAA Women’s Lacrosse: Week 3

Top Moments

Syracuse – Northwestern

Norhtwestern currently sits at 3-2 after this past weekend’s loss to Syracuse. In every game that the Wildcats have won so far this year, they have scored more than 20 goals in each of those games with an average margin of victory of over 15 goals per win. In Northwestern’s two losses, however, they have been held to 15 goals (Notre Dame) and 11 goals (Syracuse). The interesting part is that while the Wildcats do have an impressive margin of victory in their wins, Duke still put up 20 goals against them while Arizona State scored a respectable 12 points. So far, Northwestern has lived and died by its offense. When they’re on, they have a great shot at beating almost anyone. But, it seems that things have been a bit inconsistent, which is likely to be expected after losing players like Tewaaraton-finalist Selena Lasota after last season.

Syracuse, on the other hand has steamrolled most of its competition, with its lone loss at the hands of Stony Brook. This win over Northwestern was actually the closest win of the season for the Orange, and will look to carry momentum into its matchup with defending-champion Maryland this Friday in what should be a top-tier showdown.

Maryland – North Carolina

Actually, while Maryland is the defending champion, the Terps are trying to replace some major talent at various positions themselves. The Terps are 1-2 on the year with a win over George Mason, but have a loss to a top-ranked team in Florida and then to No. 1 North Carolina this past weekend. Maryland is still ranked No. 9 in the country from this last Monday’s poll, but are going to need to start picking up some bigger wins if they want to have successes to build on and continue its past history of success.

North Carolina, on the other hand, has been the No. 1 team in the country since being picked the top team in the preseason poll, and currently sit at a perfect 4-0 with wins over 2018 national champion James Madison, High Point, Davidson and now Maryland. The best part for the Tar Heels? Their closest game has been within eight points and have double-digit wins in all of the rest of those games. UNC will face No. 6 Virginia this Saturday, who are also going into the game undefeated in what should be a fantastic ACC showdown in this young 2020 NCAA Women’s Lacrosse season.

USC – Boston College

Boston College has unfortunately stumbled a bit thus far in the season. That is completely understandable given that the Eagles just graduated three legitimate Tewaaraton contenders last year and are having to almost completely replace that offensive production. They aren’t the same team they have been the past few seasons thus far, but I fully expect Boston College to be able to figure things out and be one of the top teams in the country again in the future. We’ll see how fast they can get back to that level.

USC had a pretty convincing 18-9 win over Boston College, and by my saying that Boston College is currently rebuilding should take anything away from what the Trojans are doing in Southern California. The Trojans opened their season with three-straight wins over ranked opponents (or those just outside the top 20), and had another solid win over San Diego State on Monday, taking the 14-6 win. USC will play its first Pac-12 conference game against Stanford a week from this Friday, and should have plenty of time to prepare as it heads into the rest of its schedule.

Honorable Mentions

Jill Rizzo set an Ohio State career saves record over the weekend in the Buckeyes win over Cincinnati last Wednesday. You can read about it here.

2020 NCAA Women’s Lacrosse Week 3 Top Plays

No. 1 – WHEELS!

Lindsey McKone with the breakaway goal for @NULax !! #NCAAWLAX
pic.twitter.com/eftwb9SZ6b

— NCAA Lacrosse (@NCAALAX) February 23, 2020

No. 2 – Dig It Up, Oh, Oh, Dig It (The Shovel Shot, In Case You Missed The Holes Reference)

Brindi makes it happen!! #NCAAWLAX | @MarylandWLax
pic.twitter.com/EF7CaeCBhv

— NCAA Lacrosse (@NCAALAX) February 22, 2020

No. 3 – It’s Not Really A Play, It’s More Of A Lifestyle

Couldn’t have said it any better, Coach! #NCAAWLAX | @OhioStateWLAX pic.twitter.com/oLq6ZTsIzn

— NCAA Lacrosse (@NCAALAX) February 20, 2020

I thought it would be fun to share this great speech by Ohio State women’s lacrosse coach Amy Bokker. I realize it’s not a play but wanted to include it in case anyone out there missed it.

No. 4 – Literally Almost Everything North Carolina Did Last Weekend

The Tar Heels were on today!

Highlights from the win over Maryland pic.twitter.com/Vgnx9Mt7ml

— UNC Women’s Lacrosse (@uncwlax) February 22, 2020

No. 5 – The Mad Hatter

Hope you brought two ’s to the game tonight. Someone call the . Jenny Kinsey is burning D.B. Milne field down. #JUPhinsUp | #BestPlaceToPlayLacrosse pic.twitter.com/Oq4ICwSdja

— Jacksonville WLAX (@JAX_WLAX) February 15, 2020

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The 2020 NCAA men’s lacrosse season has hit Week 3 and was another exciting week in college lacrosse. Read on for some of the top storylines and highlights.

2020 NCAA Men’s Lacrosse: Week 3 Top Moments

Note: Take a look at this week’s Inside Lacrosse Media Poll. All references to team rankings are based on that poll for the different week’s rankings.

Top Matchups

Yale – Penn State

This is obviously the game everyone has been talking about from this past weekend. Last week’s No. 3 Yale walked on to Penn State’s turf and walked out victorious with the 12-10 win in what was a physical, grinder of a game. Yale is the only team to have beaten Penn State dating back to its April 2018 overtime loss to Michigan, which it has now done three times during that time span. A non-official Yale Lacrosse Twitter account posted a pretty funny tweet today that you can see below.

https://t.co/eCdp681LDt

— Lacrosse All Stars (@LaxAllStars) February 24, 2020

Yale jumped to the No. 1 spot in this week’s rankings while Penn State dropped to No. 2.

Yale faceoff midfielder TD Ierlan won roughly 61 percent of his faceoffs while nabbing 15 groundballs, while another Tewaaraton finalist from last year, Grant Ament, broke the Big Ten points record on a goal he scored with 3:04 left in the third quarter (see the play below under our top plays). That record was formerly held by Terry Riorden (Hopkins, 1992-1995), who also still holds the record for most goals in a career from teams in the conference, which Mac O-Keefe is now three goals away from breaking (note: Big Ten conference records are based on historic performances from teams in the conference since men’s lacrosse was first introduced in 2015). Ament finished the game with one goal and five assists, good for six points on the day while O’ Keefe had two goals.

Colby Kneese had 16 saves on the 28 shots on goal he faced.

Princeton – Virginia

Princeton took down then-No. 2 Virginia on Saturday at Klockner Stadium by a score of 16-12.

Erik Peters registered 16-saves in the win for the Tigers, while Michael Sowers had four goals and four assists for eight points. Sowers is currently averaging a ridiculous 11 points per game, aided by a 14-point explosion against Colgate and an 11-point performance against Monmouth.

Take a look at some ridiculous highlights from Sowers against Colgate.

Want to see what 14 points in one game look like? Here are all 14 of Michael Sowers’ points against Colgate. pic.twitter.com/Q1XAVB9j8u

— Princeton Lacrosse (@TigerLacrosse) February 19, 2020

Ian Laviano had three goals and an assist, Michael Kraus had two goals and two assists and Matt Moore mirrored Kraus’ performance to lead all Virginia scorers.

Chris Brown had four goals and an assist for the Tigers while Phillip Robertson had four goals to complement Sowers.

Syracuse – Army

Syracuse climbed to No. 3 in this week’s poll from the No. 5 spot after beating then-No. 9 Army in the Carrier Dome on Sunday.

Notable performances for the Orange included a career-high 18 saves from Drake Porter and Jakub Phap going 16-for-19 at the faceoff X worked as advantages for Syracuse, while Army lost its second-straight game in six days after losing to Marist last Tuesday in what was a major upset. The Black Knights fell to No. 16 in this week’s poll, down seven spots from the prior week.

Ryan Conwell was at the game, and you can see his photos in a gallery coming soon.

Penn – Duke

Sean Lulley took over for the injured Sam Handley, taking control with six goals and an assist for Penn as the Quakers purged the No. 10 Blue Devils by a score of 14-11 over the weekend. The game was close throughout, with Penn breaking away in the closing minutes to seal the win. No. 8 Penn actually dropped one spot to No. 9 while Duke fell to No. 13.

Quick Mentions

• Shoutout to Cleveland State for achieving its first-ever win over a ranked opponent on Saturday as the Vikings took down No. 16 Air Force in overtime.
• Merrimack picked up its first-ever NCAA Division I win over Michigan as Merrimack scored seven of the last 10 goals in the game to pick-up the 14-12 win.

This facial expression is February madness in a nutshell. Congrats to @merrimackmlax on their first Division 1 Men’s Lacrosse win. #GrowTheGame
@merrimackmlax pic.twitter.com/RCZz60QlF3

— Lacrosse All Stars (@LaxAllStars) February 24, 2020

Top Plays From Week 3 of the 2020 NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Season

No. 1 – Loyola Was In It To Win It

That game-winning moment >>>>#NCAALAX | @LoyolaMLAX
pic.twitter.com/1WKc6MKsJw

— NCAA Lacrosse (@NCAALAX) February 22, 2020

Joey Kamish scored the go-ahead goal with 1:53 to play. Kamish took it down half the length of the field and let a shot loose that found the back of the net to give Loyola the 11-10 win. Cam Wyers was somehow given the assist and based on what I read from the NCAA rule book under Assists (Section 3) that is probably a pretty generous interpretation of the process. In any case, great work by Loyola to grab the win.

No. 2 – Bucknell’s Will Yorke Gives It The Backhand

The over-the-shoulder sling shot #NCAALAX | @Bucknell_MLAX
pic.twitter.com/t4DuhA44OS

— NCAA Lacrosse (@NCAALAX) February 22, 2020

No. 3 – Some Goalie Love For Drake Porter

Drake Porter is unreal pic.twitter.com/8QOtT403Jy

— Syracuse Lacrosse (@CuseMLAX) February 23, 2020

No. 4 – Grant Ament Takes The Big Ten Career Points Record

3Q (3:04) | Yale 7, Penn State 6

Ament takes it himself! It’s a one-goal game and that goal gives Grant Ament the Big Ten career points record with 267!#WeAre pic.twitter.com/BtTIZTCFLz

— Penn State Lacrosse (@PennStateMLAX) February 22, 2020

No. 5 – Marist Jason Intermesoli’s No-Look Celebration

Congrats to @Marist_MensLax on the win, but also some major props to Jason Intermesoli for having some bravery for this no-look celebration on the assist.pic.twitter.com/aG5FR9lSkf

— Lacrosse All Stars (@LaxAllStars) February 18, 2020

This play was from last Tuesday but is too good to not include. You can read more about it here.

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An outbreak of the norovirus among the Navy men’s lacrosse team has forced this weekend’s game against Maryland to be postponed in the interest of public health.

Navy Norovirus Outbreak Forces Cancellation Of Maryland Game This Weekend

Info From The Statement

The University of Maryland Athletics released a statement on Friday with the following information:

Out of an abundance of caution and for the sake of public health, the medical personnel at the University of Maryland and the Naval Academy determined that Saturday’s men’s lacrosse game be postponed.

Single-game ticket purchases will be refunded to the credit card of the original purchase.

A new time and date for the game have not yet been established.

Background

The Air Force Academy was reported as having had over 400 cadets contract the norovirus last November in what was another major spread of disease at a service academy.

Outbreaks like this have been reported as happening from time to time at other military facilities, like the norovirus outbreak at multiple U.S. German military facilities during January of 2019 or the norovirus outbreak at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait in May of 2018.

This is actually not the first major spread of disease to happen on the Naval Academy campus, as WJZ in Baltimore reported in 2011 that over 100 people were sickened with what was believed to be viral gastroenteritis at a state swimming competition.

There are different viruses that can cause gastroenteritis, but norovirus is reportedly one of the most common.

The San Diego Seals relocated its game at the MCAS Miramar this year due to the MCAS Miramar handling coronavirus patients. While the coronavirus and the norovirus are two very completely different diseases (the norovirus is rarely fatal and is largely described as the stomach flu) this announcement by Maryland Lacrosse marks another major lacrosse game that has been cancelled due to the potential spread of disease this year.

Information will become available in the future as to the rescheduling of the game.

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Editor’s Note: This is the next article in our series of major figures in the professional lacrosse industry. We’ve started with the NLL, and today we are profiling the ownership group of the Calgary Roughnecks, which just so happens to be the NHL’s Calgary Flames. Use the hashtag #LeadersInLacrosse on social media. Here are the profiles we have done so far:

• Introduction – Leaders In Lacrosse: Here Are The NLL’s Owners
• Georgia Swarm – John Arlotta, Andy Arlotta: Georgia Swarm Owner Profiles
• Toronto Rock – Jamie Dawick: Owner Of The Toronto Rock
• Saskatchewan Rush – Bruce Urban: The Man Behind The Rush Franchise

The Calgary Flames And The Roughnecks

Let Me Get This Straight…

An Overview Of Pro Sports Franchise Ownership

Yes, the Calgary Flames actually do directly own the Calgary Roughnecks franchise. This is a bit unusual in pro sports to have one professional sports franchise directly own another franchise from another league, or even other sport. There are plenty of organizations that act as holding companies for multiple professional sports teams, and allow people or groups to structure their investments. Obviously, there’s a lot of intricacy to this, but you can learn more about the basics of how holding companies work here.

An example of this is Comcast Spectacor which owns the Philadelphia Flyers and the Philadelphia Wings.

The Flames are actually owned by the Calgary Sports and Entertainment group, which owns other teams like the Calgary Stampeders of the CFL.

In a sense, the Roughnecks are owned by this same holding company but based on this release I found from the NHL the Flames actually technically own the Roughnecks. That is a bit more unusual, but not really all that surprising.

Brief History

Having the same person or company own multiple sports franchises across sports was actually not as widely accepted until recently. The NFL actually used to have a policy where if you owned a franchise you were actually not allowed to have a significant interest in non-football sports investments. An example of this is when the San Francisco 49ers were fined $500,000 by the then-NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue when the owner of the 49ers at that time, Edward “Eddie” DeBartolo made the team a subsidiary of the DeBartolo Corp., which also owned the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins.

The policy shifted to allow for franchises to be owned if they weren’t in competing markets, but the NFL changed its policy in 2018 to remove that restriction.

Multiple franchise ownership across different sports was more common at lower levels of professional sports or in sports that hadn’t achieved the same level of financial success that the NFL had. Now, there are far fewer restrictions on how that all works.

How It Has Worked In Lacrosse

Field Lacrosse

Major League Lacrosse used to have different franchise owners until the league announced it would be moving to a model that had the league own each individual team, much like how the Premier Lacrosse League operated in its first year. The WPLL also operated closer to the same model during the 2019 season after it removed the specific location ties to each of its teams.

This idea makes sense for those situations because there are certain advantages to not being tied to a local market or have to deal with multiple ownership groups.

The NLL

The NLL has historically always had various ownership groups or individuals owning different franchises. The league has stepped in and owned different franchises at different points, particularly during periods that required restructuring a number of years ago. The league has actually seen a lot of success over recent years in terms of growth with what has happened since.

This is the only hockey franchise I am aware of that directly owns an NLL team, although there are other holding companies that own both lacrosse and NHL teams. It makes complete sense to me why.

Many NLL teams play their games at hockey arenas, so if I were a pro hockey team owner, having another team to draw fans to the arena and generate revenue would theoretically work. Companies that own major event venues like NHL arenas like that are always looking for people to rent it out and use the space, so they can get as much of a return on the investment and expenses involved with owning it. I know there have been reports in the past about some NLL franchises struggling to generate revenue, but it would at least work in theory and could be a good longterm investment as the league continues to grow and expand.

The Roughnecks Franchise

Anyway, enough talk about business. Let’s get into the good stuff about some pro lacrosse.

The Early Years Under Brad Banister & Co.

The Franchise Is Born

Brad Banister originally took over the expansion franchise of the Roughnecks back in 2001. Oil is a big industry in Calgary and is a major financial center for that industry in the region. Calgary’s franchise was named the Roughnecks in order to pay homage to workers on oil rigs.

Chris Hall led the Roughnecks through their first five seasons after replacing Kevin Melnyk and won the NLL championship in 2004, the first of three championships for the Roughnecks franchise (2004, 2009, 2019).

The Roughnecks won its second NLL title in 2009 with Banister as the leader of the ownership group.

Transition Period

Banister announced just before the 2011 season that he was placing the team for sale. The NHL’s Flames initially indicated at that point they were not interested in purchasing the team.

Halfway through the season, as no new buyer had been found, the team was in danger of folding.

The Flames and Banister announced the sale of the Roughnecks franchise that next summer, while Banister would help the franchise during the transition period.

Success Under The New Ownership

Soon after the Flames took over the Roughnecks franchise, Curt Malawsky took over as head coach. Malawsky has a regular-season record with the team of 44 wins and 44 losses but recently won the 2019 NLL Championship, defeating the Buffalo Bandits and their addition of NLL goalie legend Matt Vinc in two games in a three-game series.

Dane Dobbie won the league-MVP award that season, but Dobbie was quick to praise young goaltender Christian Del Bianco for his performance, particularly during the finals series.

The Roughnecks franchise has also featured major league award winners like Mike Poulin (Goaltender of the Year, 2012), Curtis Dickson (Rookie of the Year, 2011) and Jeff Shattler (who won the league-MVP and Transition Player of the Year awards in the same season), among others.

The Calgary Flames And Its Success

Brief History Of The Flames Franchise

The Flames franchise began in 1972 and was relocated in 1980 to Calgary. This team is the third major professional hockey team to represent the city (Calgary Tigers, Calgary Cowboys, Calgary Flames).

The Flames have been to the Stanley Cup three different times (1986, 1989, 2004) and won its only NHL title in 1989. After hitting a rough patch in the early 2010s, the Flames have made the playoffs the last three seasons and won the Pacific Division last year. The Flames currently sit 31-24 and in fourth place in the Pacific Division.

Videos

Here are a few fun moments from the Calgary Roughnecks’ franchise (not comprehensive).

Buffalo at Calgary 2019 NLL Championship Game 2 – YouTube User: Logical Lacrosse

Riptide vs. Roughnecks | Full Highlights – National Lacrosse League

Pace scores hat trick in 91 seconds – National Lacrosse League

Correction: The original article listed Comcast Spectacor as also currently owning the Philadelphia 76ers. Comcast Spectacor sold the 76ers franchise to Josh Harris in 2011, and is owned by Harris Blitzer Sports and Entertainment, of which Harris is chairman. This article has been updated to reflect this correction.

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Joe Fletcher, who played for Chrome LC in the Premier Lacrosse League’s inaugural season was announced as retiring from the league today.

Joe Fletcher Retires From PLL

About His Career

Fletcher appeared in six games this season for Chrome, registering one caused turnover and six groundballs according to the PLL website. He was also listed as having nine faceoff wins.

Fletcher played for Loyola, graduating in 2014, and was a sophomore on the 2012 championship team where he received USILA All-America Honorable Mention recognition. He was selected in that year’s Major League Lacrosse Entry Draft as No. 3 overall by the New York Lizards and went on to be named the Warrior Defensive Player of the Year for the MLL in 2015 in addition to being named an All-Star (2015, 2016, 2017) and to the All-MLL Team (2015, 2016).

Joe Fletcher currently is the director of operations for the Loyola men’s lacrosse team.

Fletcher also won a gold medal in 2018 with Team USA at the men’s field world games.

The Announcement

Gold Medalist and All-Pro Joe Fletcher has announced his retirement from lacrosse. pic.twitter.com/JamNkyX4pE

— Premier Lacrosse League (@PremierLacrosse) February 20, 2020

Memorable Moment From Last Season

*Cue the groundball of the year* pic.twitter.com/ikCyBwTNtE

— Premier Lacrosse League (@PremierLacrosse) February 20, 2020

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A recent contestant on Family Feud Canada has made the lacrosse world proud after his guess on the Canadian game show, guessing our great game as the sport Canada is famous for. Lacrosse is Canada’s official national summer sport and has apparently taken over hockey.

The Sport Canada Is Famous For

Wait, What Is Canada’s No. 1 Sport?

His selection of the sport of lacrosse was the top answer that could have been guessed, and lacrosse fans everywhere sensed that somewhere in Canada, the Creator’s Game has apparently just taken over hockey as the most popular Canadian national sport.

Of course, I realize that hockey is probably the bigger sport in terms of general popularity, but if a game show is telling me that lacrosse has surpassed it then it must be true.

This may be a future topic to bring up on a future episode of Lacrosse Classified… (catch up this week’s episode if you haven’t already!)

Video Proof

𝙉𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙖 𝙨𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩 𝘾𝙖𝙣𝙖𝙙𝙖 𝙞𝙨 𝙛𝙖𝙢𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧.

Good answer Good answer pic.twitter.com/xLEk0wUloO

— Mimico Mountaineers (@MimicoLax) February 20, 2020

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Kyle Bernlohr, goalie for Premier Lacrosse League‘s Whipsnakes and former Maryland Terrapin, brought up an interesting proposition today on Twitter about men’s college lacrosse changing the lacrosse ball color to something other than the current color of white.

Should Men’s College Lacrosse Have A Colored Ball? An Examination Of The Case

The Motive: Why Change The Color?

College lacrosse needs to take a serious look at changing the color of the ball. We are doing goalies an incredible disservice. “Coach I can’t see on that end” “coach I need more shots I can’t see anything here” “that alley is impossible” needs to become a thing of the past.

— Kyle Bernlohr (@kbernlohr35) February 19, 2020

The Reasons

It’s a fairly common complaint among goalies that white lacrosse balls can be incredibly hard to track. If you’ve ever played against an all-gray or all-white backdrop (i.e. bleachers) it can be relatively distracting to locate the ball as quickly. In reality, it may only impact things by a fraction of a second, but those fractions of seconds are vital in a goalie’s reaction to make the save. The whole position is basically built on movement efficiency and being able to quickly — and accurately — identify, then react to where the ball is going.

There are situations where the ball is almost impossible to locate, let alone react to it. I know I’ve played in snowy conditions — which is a very common occurrence early in the season, particularly in the Northeast — where there have been times I have been lucky to get hit with the ball directly, let alone actually being able to identify where the ball is and make a motion to save it.

If you’ve ever played goalie on a field facing east-west, then you’ll know you could go almost entire quarters without ever being fully aware of when a shot is coming or where it is coming from due to the sun setting. I don’t think there’s as much you could do about that even if you changed the color of the ball, but it’s the principle of the matter! I’m here to complain about how miserable being goalie is and want to make sure you all know about it too (of course, I’m kidding. I loved playing goalie — most of the time).

The solution that Bernlohr brought up, which is a fairly common discussion that has been had before over a number of years, is to replace the current white-colored lacrosse balls with ones that have more contrast. It seemed to be really well-received on social media, but I know there have been opinions expressed in the past of it not being necessary either.

The Evidence: What Has Been Done About It Before?

Exhibit A – Major League Lacrosse As An Example Of Using Different Lacrosse Ball Colors

The best comparable case study we have to this is Major League Lacrosse‘s use of colored balls over a number of years. The league had been using colored lacrosse balls for really as long as anyone can remember. It’s interesting, because I found this older article on the LaxAllStars site about basically this same discussion, talking about how white balls should be the standard, at least in the MLL.

TV Audience

I’ll give you the main idea: the argument this author gave was that orange lacrosse balls are almost impossible to see on television.

I don’t disagree with that, but the white balls are not very easy to see themselves. A lot of the experience of seeing the ball on a broadcast is sort of handcuffed as it is because the ball is so small and moves so fast. Add in the fact that it seems like many college lacrosse games are filmed from the nosebleeds and it doesn’t really set the viewer up for success. You have to know the sport already to be able to really follow the action because you know what to look for. That’s why the up-close, slow-mo highlights tend to be more impressive because you can see the detail and the intricacies of the play with the ball locked into the frame.

I know that some pro leagues have been experimenting with balls that appear almost reflective on television. That would be a bigger difference-maker from a TV-viewer perspective than changing a ball color.

(Fun fact: While the MLL made rule changes like the two-point line and shot-clock in men’s lacrosse popular, the Vail Lacrosse Shootout had been experimenting with those rules years before the league was even formed, thanks to Flip Naumberg and the Soren family. You can visit the Vail Lacrosse Shootout’s website here.)

Player’s Perspective

This one is harder for me to comment on because I have never actually played professional lacrosse or even NCAA Division I ball.  If this is something that those goalies want then I think it should really be considered. I know from my own experience that I got used to tracking a white ball and made the best of it. I almost was thrown off when I saw something orange or yellow coming at me at 90 miles per hour, because I wasn’t used to dealing with it. I’m sure that for those goalies that would need to make the adjustment to a new lacrosse ball color, it would be fairly easy with a little effort, and might pay off in the long run as it could help keepers locate the ball sooner. At the higher levels of play, the small adjustments make the biggest difference because everyone at that level is already fantastic.

I don’t know that an adjustment to the lacrosse ball color in men’s college lacrosse would really make a major statistical impact in terms of save percentage, but I don’t see why it would really hurt to try! The other thing to consider too is that with the example we gave of this being implemented at the pro level before, it may make even less of a difference for college lacrosse goalies because the shooters are (or at least should be) so much better at the pro level that those minor adjustments I talked about would be a bigger deal. While there are certainly the normal cream-of-the-crop goalies in the NCAA, the average quality of a goalie at that level shouldn’t be the same as in a professional league, and there may be larger issues to tackle rather than changing a ball color.

Exhibit B

There isn’t one, I just wanted to use the term Exhibit A.

The Verdict

Changing the lacrosse ball color would be a relatively easy fix I would think. The only real problem that I see is that it is just a matter of ordering a huge amount of new lacrosse balls for each program. It’s a minor, easy change to make that might make a much bigger difference than what has been the consensus in the past. As I said, Bernlohr’s tweet got a lot of response so it seems like there are plenty of people on board with the idea.

I haven’t looked at the data to back this up, but statistically, over the last few years, I know that there has been the complaint that goalkeepers aren’t performing at levels that previous athletes at their position have. I think that has a lot to do with stick technology and entirely new offensive skill sets (thanks, Lyle Thompson) if that is in fact true. A change in lacrosse ball color might help, but rule changes regarding equipment or gameplay might make a bigger difference if the goal is to give a goalkeeper a bigger advantage.

The bottom line is it could be a good move. And, I’m sure all of the lacrosse ball manufacturers out there wouldn’t mind helping the entirety of men’s college lacrosse replacing their ball supply with new colored lacrosse balls.

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