College Crosse Prospectus: Dom Starsia At Wagner?

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Michigan used an 11-0 run to get past Detroit Mercy, 15-10.

Michigan is off to their first ever 3-0 start! Even though they’ve beaten teams with a combined 2016 record of 5-21 (and one of them was not even active).

There’s something special about a new program’s fourth year. It’s happening with Monmouth right now.

Make sure you listen to our latest College Crossecast! Ladies, all of us are still single!

Lacrosse The Nation

Dom Starsia has been making appearances at everyone’s favorite school, WAAAAAGGGGNNNNEEEEERRRR!!!!!

Fast-forward to the fall of 2016 —my first fall in 42 years without lacrosse. [Matt] Poskay was entering his sixth year as the head coach at Wagner College. He was one of my favorite players, someone who possessed that rare combination of confidence and personality. Always respectful, he gave it as good as he got from me on the practice field, and I treasured those exchanges. We probably talked twice a week throughout his coaching career, and those conversations and his personality helped him survive the incremental growth of the Wagner program.

It was during one of these late summer phone calls that Poskay mentioned he was short a member of his coaching staff. When I suggested that I might be able to come by a couple of times to help out in some way, he asked if they might issue a press release making that announcement. We both agreed to hold off on the release, but we immediately scheduled a couple of visits when I could make back-to-back sessions. When I began to ask if he would like me to stand off to the side and make some observations or to get a little more involved, he cut me.

“No, no, I want you out there,” he said. “Let them have it.”

To Poskay, his staff and his players’ great credit, I found myself comfortable almost immediately. I could easily have been on a field at Brown or Virginia, and it was only 15 minutes in when the entire team dropped for pushups when someone went offsides in a drill. That was like riding a bike.

#SpringSport

Jacksonville head coach and Rochester Rattlers goaltender John Galloway talks about his experiences as the head coach of the Dolphins.

1. What are your thoughts about the first game of the 2017 season against Lehigh?

Our first game was a blast. We competed against a very good Lehigh team with little knowledge of what our team would do. We learned a TON in our first experience. We made some silly mistakes in the clearing and faceoff game that cost us, but Lehigh is a team that will always capitalize. I am excited about the growth, and look forward to our next challenge.

3. What three things do you enjoy most about coaching at Jacksonville University? 1 – The people on campus. People love JU and are willing to help in any way possible. 2 – The talent already on our roster. Our guys are not far behind a lot of teams in the country. I am really proud of what we have. 3 – The potential. This campus is changing weekly. Our President has huge vision for what JU will look like. I am proud to be part of the Jacksonville community and the growth we are undertaking.

4. Talk about some of the things you guys need to do in order to beat Marquette team this coming weekend. To beat Marquette, we must go toe to toe with them in terms of toughness. Marquette is extremely well coached, fearless, and getting used to winning. We need to learn how to manage our emotions, throw the first punch, and expect to win. To do that, we must EXECUTE !

Dragons always need to fuel up!

Bellarmine looks to get their first win of the season on Saturday against Michigan.

I love Lars Tiffany! He sounds so happy for some reason!

Reporter: Coach, you just got your $500 Ikea gift card revoked, what are your thoughts?
Lars (smiling): Yeah I mean it was a bummer to lose it, but you know you just gotta move on and try to figure out what’s going to happen next. That’s life.

Final note: If you’re a budding journalist, DO NOT GIVE YOUR INTERVIEWEE THE MICROPHONE TO HOLD!

Safe is gonna love this one: Probable Tewaaraton finalist Joel Tinney loves lacrosse more than ever, from Gary Lambrecht of USLaxMagazine.com.

Two days after the Blue Jays moved to 2-0 by dismissing UMBC 15-5, Tinney said the NCAA-mandated suspension that cost him a precious collegiate season has made him treasure everything about playing his favorite game.

“By having to watch the game for a whole season, it was so hard to watch us lose games and lose guys the way we did,” said Tinney, alluding to the 8-7 finish last season, which was marred by injuries that decimated Hopkins’ midfield depth chart.

“It was tough thinking about the next time I’d get on the field. I’ve always been very competitive in everything I do, and I’ve always wanted to accomplish a lot,” Tinney added. “I definitely appreciate the wins and my time with the team more. I really want to make guys around me better. I just feel more humble about getting the chance to play this game again.”

“The last year was hard on that kid, and rightfully so,” added Hopkins coach Dave Pietramala, referring to the undisclosed NCAA rules violation that cost Tinney. “Joel paid the price. I would argue it was a bit of a dramatic price. But he came back as competitive as ever. He’d be the same way if he was part of a whiffle ball team. I see a guy who really loves lacrosse more than ever. Amidst all of this, he’s become a better person.”

“Our name’s Hartford lacrosse, we get buckets!”

Get to know Orange defensive midfielder Joe Gillis!

Duke had some fun as well.

Add Josh Byrne to Hofstra’s captains for the 2017 season.

Sounds like Jacob Stover will start in net for Loyola on Saturday against Johns Hopkins, according to Edward Lee of the Baltimore Sun.

Lee also says that Navy head coach Rick Sowell believes his team can fix their defensive mistakes.

Sowell said the defense can improve its on-ball efforts, its ability to play picks, its communication and a few more aspects. He also said the offense could help the defense by converting scoring opportunities and making it difficult for opponents to clear the ball.

Ultimately, Sowell said Navy, which dropped from No. 11 to No. 17 in the latest Maverik media poll, can correct the mistakes.

“It’s nothing major,” he said. “It’s getting on the same page. This has an impact as well, but our defense has only practiced together maybe once or twice this year. Someone was out this day, someone was out that day. That’s part of it. So this week, it’s been nice to have our whole defense intact and working together and fine-tuning things.

"Some of these things might take a little longer. I’m not going to say that all we need is one practice and then all of a sudden, all of our problems go away. But it was a good start yesterday, and we suspect that we’ll come back today and take an even further step. It’s early. There’s probably not a team in the country that doesn’t have something to work on, but yes, it’s surprising that our defense is averaging 15 goals. That just can’t be. We’ve got to fix that in a hurry.”

Inside Lacrosse’s Dan Aburn has a great profile on last year’s Tewaaraton winner and Brown senior Dylan Molloy, and explains why Mike Daly left Tufts for Brown State.

Daly admits that his familiarity with Molloy and his family was a large factor in his decision to leave Tufts after 18 seasons and take over at Brown. With Tiffany’s groundwork in place, the transition should be seamless.

“I liken my process with Brown to what we hope our recruits go through,” Daly says. “The process of finding the right fit. Every time I turned around, everything was just a perfect fit. From wanting more success, to style of play, to familiarity with the parent group and the current student-athletes, and even with a couple alums. The athletic director is awesome to work with. He was excited about all the success and wants to keep that going in the present. It’s just been a perfect fit at every turn.”

With a new coach that he personally vouched for, Molloy has high hopes for his team entering 2017 despite many indications that suggest the Bears will find difficulty replicating last year’s success. Brown lost 10 seniors to graduation, including key starters like [Kylor] Bellistri, Henry Blynn, Bailey Tills and Brendan Caputo, the four of whom combined to account for 47% of the Bears’ offense last season. [Jack] Kelly and face-off specialist Will Gural, key pieces in maintaining possession and pace, also graduated.

The Bears do retain Larken Kemp and Alec Tulett, the two longsticks who fuel Brown’s fast-paced style. And of course there’s Molloy, who, since his return to on-field activities in late October, has provided a consistent and calming presence to a program currently undergoing rapid change.

“Dylan did not do a lot this fall,” Daly says. “Even when he did come back, he was still sorting through the mental side of that injury. Going from a scooter, and even into September, we were just getting a normal shoe on him and walking. So he had to go through a lot on the mental side, seeing what he could do and when he could do it. There wasn’t too much we saw, and frankly, not too much that we needed to see. His injury really allowed us to focus on all the other guys. There are going to be a lot of new faces and a lot of new people making plays for us. Not having Dylan out there and him needing his touches, it really forced a lot of those younger players into playmaking roles immediately.”

Women’s news: Asa Goldstock is a beast.

"My style of play as a goalie is a little bit different than a lot of goalies people have seen,'' she said. "So, if I save a ball I'll take off right down the field and look for an open attacker. It's all in the moment. Whatever happens, we can do it right away.

"I think I play with a lot of athleticism. So when I'm playing, I try to spark transition. It's flashy. It's too flashy sometimes. I'm trying to spark something more than a just a save. I'm trying to spark the next goal, get the team ready to move to the next step.''

That risk-reward approach is a natural fit with Orange coach Gary Gait, who encourages his players to play with creativity and speed.

"He's pushing me to play to my potential, pushing me to take chances, pushing me to do things that a lot of other goalies can't do,'' Goldstock said.

The 2017 MLL Championship game will be held inside the Ford Center in Frisco, Texas. This means no rain delays (hopefully).

Throwback video!

Philly Jawns

#FireBryanColangelo: Jahlil Okafor has not been traded and played last night for the Sixers.

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Jimmy Fallon plays charades with Charlie Day and Kendall Jenner.

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Managing Editors: Safe Fekadu, Chris Jastrzembski, Ryan McDonnell