The Weekend that Was

Some interesting things happened this weekend.  Lets get right into it and discuss:

(Ranking as of Monday 3/21)

#2 Virginia 14-#20 Ohio State 11: Virginia showed that when their big four (Rhamel and Shamel Bratton, Steele Stanwick and Chris Bocklett) score and contribute they way they did on Saturday, their offense is down right scary.  Ohio State and mainly Logan Schuss shed light on the fact that no matter how good the Cav's offense is, their defense is not good enough to win a national championship. 

Schuss put up five goals against the Cav's and now has 18 on the year.  The craft Canadian attackman proved that the Cav's long poles are just getting flat out beat by opposing team's attack unit and their young play will hurt them come playoff time.

With that all being said, Adam Ghitelman in goal is again playing like a top goalie in the country and added 13 saves in the game.  Ghitelman is now tied for sixth all-time with his 44th career win.  There is no doubt the Cav's can score as they are averaging 14.5 goals per game.  The question will be can their defense and Ghitelman come up with big stops down the stretch.  UVA takes on Hopkins this Saturday on ESPNU.

#1 Syracuse 5- #12 Johns Hopkins 4 (2OT): Both teams proved their defense is legit.  The Blue Jay's came into the Carrier Dome averaging 11 goals per game and John Galloway and company held the Jay's to just four goals.  On the flip side, the Orange are averaging 11.3 goals per game and Pierce Bassett and the Jays defense kept the Orange offense pretty quiet. 

It was good to see senior midfielder Josh Amidon get going.  He had two goals and one assist on the day, including a nice pass to Stephen Keogh for the game tieing goal which eventually forced overtime. 

Keogh was brough to Syracuse to be a finisher and that is what he has done in 2011.  For the second straight Saturday, Keogh burried the game winning goal in overtime.  Last week he did it against Georgetown, this week against the Jays in the second overtime. 

I knew once we got the ball our offense, which has so much firepower, was going to put the ball in the net," Keogh said. "Joel made a good play, and Jeremy, hats off to him, made a terrific play. I was kind of firing blindly, but was just aiming for that area (up high)."

Tom Palasek is starting to get comfortable in the Orange offense and that means only good things for Coach Desko.  Palasek finished the afternoon with two assists as he faced his old team for the first time since transferring in January. 

Zach Palmer kept his hot season going as he added two goals for the Blue Jays.  The Canadian now has 13 goals on the season. 

Two Undefeateds Go Down, Leaving Syracuse and Notre Dame as the Only Two Left in the Nation

#7 Cornell 10- #19 Yale 8: Yale gets their first loss of the season as they finally took on a team in the top 20 and Cornell exposed the Bulldogs and showed that their undefeated season wasnt as real as their record proved.  Dont get me wrong, Yale hung around with the Big Red, but in the end the Big Red prevailed.

Ben DeLuca's club finally got some contribution from someone not named Rob Pannell.  Steve Mock added four goals and David Lau had a goal and two assists.  Pannell finished with four points (2 g, 2 a). 

Princeton's Season is Spiraling Out of Control

#13 UPenn 8- Princeton 3: Princeton falls out of the top 20 with their first loss to UPenn since 1989.  Give a ton of credit to UPenn as they are playing some great lacrosse this season. 

The Quakers are getting contributions from many different players as Al Kohart and John Conneely led the way on Saturday for UPenn.  But how about the Penn defense?  Holding the Tigers to only three goals. 

Penn’s defense forced 18 turnovers and gave up only 21 shots. The starting close defense –- senior Brett Hughes, sophomore Anthony Santomo and freshman Maxx Meyer (Half Hollows Hills East, NY) -- combined for nine caused turnovers.

The Tigers have been plauged with injuries all year and it has shown in their record (1-4).  Jack McBride returned for the first time since injuring his groin in the matchup against Hofstra.  He was held scoreless and had two turnovers.

Something has to change soon for this Tigers team as Ivy League play is starting to heat up and for the second straight year, there arent too many pushovers in the Ivy's.  Harvard had a nice win over Brown 11-7 and we know about Yale and Cornell.  Princeton is in danger of not making the tournament if they dont figure something out soon.  With Syracuse, Harvard and Cornell still on the schedule, things could get ugly soon.

More to come on the fun weekend as we break down the Villanova win, what has changed for Army and a little team named Maryland....