College Crosse Game Day: How To Watch, Attachments, & Open Thread For April 25, 2017

Below is today’s Big Board. Clicking on the team name will take you to that team’s homepage. Clicking on the Stream cell will take you to the broadcast of that game, while the Live Stats cell will take you to the live stats of that game. Tonight’s game are all free, so put the credit card back in your wallet. Let’s go to the Big Board!!

Game Previews

PLAYOFFS!

Holy Cross @ Navy: In the 5-4 matchup, the Crusaders make their second ever appearance in the Patriot League Tournament after making it last year, while Navy makes their 11th appearance. They met on April in Worcester, where the Midshipmen crushed the Crusaders, 11-4. Since then, Holy Cross has gone 2-1, with their lone loss coming against BU in overtime, while Navy has gone 1-1, but with a win against Army West Point. Navy has a slight advantage not only because they’re home, but they played Army over a week ago.

Lehigh @ Boston University: The 6-3 matchup also features a team that’s used to being in the PL Tournament against a newcomer. In this case, BU is making their first ever appearance in the league tournament. It’s been a fun series overall, with Lehigh taking a 10-6 win over the Terriers earlier this season. Since then, Lehigh has gone 2-2 with wins against Princeton and Bucknell. BU has gone 2-1, with overtime wins against Loyola and Holy Cross, both by a score of 12-11. Those three games have been decided by one goal. We discussed the progress that Monmouth has made this season, but BU is a big team on the rise. Marisa is calling the game, so you will watch it, or bad things will happen to you.

Brown @ Bryant: The non-playoff game is the final game in the Ocean State Cup, which is between Brown, Bryant, and Providence. Brown defeated Providence in overtime last Tuesday, while Bryant lost to the Friars earlier in the season. If Brown wins, they win the Ocean State Cup. A loss puts all three teams at 1-1 and I honestly don’t know the tiebreaker. Bryant won the cup last year. The game is also closed to the public, so don’t go to Bryant tonight. The NEC Front Row stream is the only way you can watch the game.

Attachments

Here’s the Patriot League major award winners and All-Patriot League teams:

2017 Men’s Lacrosse All-Patriot League and Major Awards

Offensive Player of the Year – Pat Spencer, Loyola Maryland*
Defensive Player of the Year – Chris Fennell, Navy
Faceoff Specialist of the Year – Dan Grabher, Army West Point
Goalkeeper of the Year – Christian Carson-Banister, Boston University*
Rookie of the Year – Griffin Brown, Colgate
The William Lawson Coach of the Year – Ryan Polley, Boston University

First Team
Cole Johnson, Army West Point, Sr., A*
Cal Dearth, Boston University, Sr., A*
Will Sands, Bucknell, Jr., A*
Pat Spencer, Loyola Maryland, So., A*
David Symmes, Army West Point, Jr., M
Sean O’Brien, Bucknell, Jr., M
Brian Sherlock, Loyola Maryland, Sr., M
Greyson Torain, Navy, So., M*
Johnny Surdick, Army West Point, So., D
Dominick Calisto, Boston University, Sr., D
Craig Chick, Lehigh, So., D
Chris Fennell, Navy, Sr., D*
Dan Grabher, Army West Point, Sr., FO
Matt Rees, Navy, Sr., LSM
Christian Carson-Banister, Boston University, Sr., GK*
* Denotes unanimous selection

Second Team
Jack Wilson, Boston University, Jr., A
Andrew Pettit, Lehigh, So., A
Alex McGovern, Loyola Maryland, So., A
Brendan Homire, Boston University, So., M
Kevin Lux, Holy Cross, Sr., M
Romar Dennis, Loyola Maryland, Sr., M
Reaves Klipstein, Army West Point, Sr., D
Matt Gilray, Bucknell, Jr., D
Eddie Bouhall, Lehigh, So., D
Jack Carrigan, Loyola Maryland, Sr., D
Brady Dove, Navy, Sr., FO
Greg Wozniak, Boston University, Sr., LSM
Brian Begley, Loyola Maryland, Jr., SSDM
Christian Klipstein, Bucknell, So., GK
Brandon Burke, Colgate, Sr., GK

Here’s a great feature on Navy short stick defensive midfielder John Trainor, from Bill Wagner of the Capital Gazette.

"John seemed like a natural defensive midfielder to me. He just had that gritty mentality," [Rick] Sowell said. "John is not going to back down from any battle and makes up for any weaknesses with toughness and tenacity."

Trainor, who grew up in a blue collar neighborhood on Long Island, was more than willing to accept the unheralded role. Short stick defensive midfield has become one of the most important positions in Division I lacrosse, but remains the least glamorous.

"It's definitely a workhorse position. You do a lot of running and get very little glory," Trainor acknowledged. "I think that kind of fits my personality."

That attitude, combined with an unflinching work ethic, transformed Trainor into one of the finest short stick defensive midfielders in Navy men's lacrosse history. He earned a spot in the rotation as a freshman and has been a valuable contributor ever since.

New Bracketology post from Patrick Stevens of US Lacrosse Magazine!

Song of the Day

Since Paul McCartney is coming to the Carrier Dome in September:

Games start at 6! I’ll see you out there!!