College Lacrosse Schedule for March 12, 2013

Today is a great day, you guys. Staten Island -- both a graveyard and incubator for Trans Ams pumping REO Speedwagon and America's greatest consumer center for hairspray and people saying, "Naw, buddy. Naw!" -- will host the most important lacrosse game played this season: Wagner, fresh off a heartbreaking defeat this weekend against Mercer, will square-off against VMI, a team that has only once this season put together an effort that resulted in a loss of less than six goals. No matter how you look at it, Wagner and VMI are two of the worst five teams in the country and there aren't a lot of potential wins on either team's schedule the rest of the way. This is a huge game for both programs -- all the effort and hard work that the players on these teams put in during the preseason and throughout the year deserves a reward, even if it is only fleeting in the big picture. This is the dark side of lacrosse, the side that doesn't get Wednesday night showcase treatment on ESPNU; it is, however, the side of lacrosse with the most heart and courage, as it takes significant resolve to put on the foil each week when the opportunity for victory is smaller than the possibility of splitting atoms in a lab with a lacrosse stick.

I couldn't be more excited for this game, and I'm playing the 1812 Overture over and over again until the the Seahawks and Keydets beat each other to a pulp.

Anyway, there are nine other games today, with action starting early this afternoon and extending into business time tonight. Here are your highlights for the day:

• Providence at Quinnipiac: We're through the looking glass, people. Having spent lots of time watching Quinnipiac lacrosse games early in the 2000's -- I lived not far from Hamden then, and I think I watched more Yale, Quinnipiac, and Fairfield games than any human ever should have during that time -- I never would have expected that in 2013 I'd be writing words on my Internet computing machine that highlight a Bobcats game as a must-follow compared to other games happening on a particular day. And yet, here we are. Quinnipiac and Providence are putting their combined 7-0 record on the line today in the damp confines of southern Connecticut to determine which team will win a briefcase filled with 100 million dollars (I think). I'm not sure whether either team is legitimately a destructive force this season, but that really doesn't matter; what matters is that the Bobcats and Friars, both relegated to the kiddies table of college lacrosse for so long, are playing a game today that will draw serious national attention. That's great for both programs, but even better for college lacrosse in totem.
Drexel at Bucknell: You're telling me that Lewisburg, Pennsylvania is going to feature one of the hottest teams in the country with an electric buzz about what they've been accomplishing (Bucknell) facing-off against a team that can assume what are expected to be mortal wounds and not only survive, but thrive (Drexel)? I want that. I want that so bad that when I get it, I want to rub it all over my body; if I can do that, I want to concentrate it and put it in a pool in my mansion and swim in it like Scrooge McDuck. Alright, things got a little weird there. Let's just forget it and move on, okay?

Here's today's full schedule with links to things so that you can monitor the carnage:

Leave your comments about the game or anything else (QUERY: How are you celebrating VMI-Wagner Day? With a traditional human sacrifice?) in the comments below.