GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD MORNING, College Crosse Nation! Thanks for making us a part of your day! Here’s everything you need to know for November 26, 2018.

College Crosse News

Chris broke down Delaware’s 2019 schedule.

The Delaware Blue Hens are the 27th team in our 2019 schedule preview series and the fifth team from the CAA. The Blue Hens finished 6-8 in 2018 and 3-2 in CAA play. Delaware came up one goal short in the CAA semifinals, falling to Towson in overtime.

Circle These Dates

2/26 (vs. Saint Joseph’s): One of two new opponents to the Blue Hen schedule in 2019. Unlike Delaware, St. Joe’s loses plenty of their key contributors from a year ago including Mike Rastivo and Chris Blewitt. They may have found a stud in goal with Mike Adler, who could help the Hawks steal some games this year.

3/2 (at Villanova): Both teams were undefeated when they met last March. The Blue Hens led early in the fourth quarter, but Christian Cuccinello scored twice to give the Wildcats the one-goal win. That game started a five-game losing streak for Delaware, which included surprising losses to Mercer and Binghamton.

3/9 (vs. Binghamton): The worse of those aforementioned two losses last year came in Binghamton against the Bearcats. Up 7-5 with under a minute into the final quarter, the Blue Hens gave up two goals from William Talbott-Shere to send the game into overtime. His second goal came with 14 seconds left in regulation. Sean Gilroy scored the game-winner with 1:57 left in double overtime to cap off one of the milder surprises of the season.

Bellarmine has a new coach and a bright outlook, let’s see what 2019 has in store for the Knights.

The Bellarmine Knights are the 28th team in our 2019 schedule preview series and the fifth team from the SoCon. The Knights finished 4-9 in 2018 and 2-5 in SoCon play. Bellarmine failed to qualify for the SoCon Tournament and parted ways with head coach Kevin Burns late in the season. He was replaced by Jim Mitchell in the summer.

Circle These Dates

2/2 (vs. Wagner): Not only will it be a fresh start for Bellarmine, but it’ll be a fresh start for Wagner as well. The Seahawks will also begin 2019 with a new head coach in Bill McCutcheon leading the way. Both teams hope to turn the corner on their respective programs. Meanwhile, the Knights look to carry last season’s momentum early into the upcoming season after winning two of their final three contests.

2/9 (at Marquette): At last year’s Midwest Lacrosse Classic, Bellarmine provided the second upset of the weekend against the Golden Eagles in double overtime. That came after Marquette upset Ohio State in overtime two days prior. Both teams will have plenty of rest this time around, with the Golden Eagles taking part in their regular season opener.

3/9 (at Utah): There’s plenty of buzz surrounding the Utes program, as they should. But when Utah’s schedule first came out, some predicted wins against programs such as Bellarmine in their inaugural year. Mitchell’s Knights shouldn’t take that lightly, and a trip out west to get a win will show how good Utah really is right out of the gate.

The Blue Jays released their schedule over the weekend as well. Check out their 2019 slate here.

The Johns Hopkins Blue Jays are the 26th team in our 2019 schedule preview series and the third team from the Big Ten. The Blue Jays finished 12-5 in 2018 and 3-2 in Big Ten play. Johns Hopkins defeated Maryland in the Big Ten title game to win their second conference championship before falling to Duke in the NCAA Quarterfinals.

Circle These Dates

2/16 (vs. Loyola): Similar to the Blue Jays, the Greyhounds exited in the quarterfinals against a team who would play in the national championship team (and later won). Loyola has two key returning seniors in early season Tewaaraton candidate Pat Spencer along with Jacob Stover in goal. That’s two things Hopkins doesn’t have. The closest thing to Spencer is Kyle Marr or Cole Williams. But the Blue Jays do have a veteran defense spearheaded by Pat Foley.

3/9 (at Syracuse): We know what happened last year. 18-7 in the Carrier Dome, something that wasn’t good for the Orange faithful. Just like how Hopkins defeated Princeton a year after losing to the Tigers 18-7, Syracuse will make sure that outcome doesn’t happen to them again.

3/23 (vs. Virginia): Could this be an early preview at a potential NCAA Tournament game? We’ve heard that before, with the Blue Jays usually beating the Cavaliers in their most recent postseason meetings. But Virginia has slowly returned to becoming an elite college lacrosse team and it could be the year they breakout. If they can hold on to a lead against Hopkins this year.

#AnotherOne: Passaic, New Jersey to add first ever lacrosse program.

The city of Passaic is finally getting a competitive lacrosse program. The city won a $2,000 grant from US Lacrosse, which, recreation officials said, will be a catalyst to create the program. “This will be the first time Passaic will have a lacrosse team,” said Recreation Superintendent Jessica Lezcano. “This gives our youth the greatest opportunity to expand their horizons.” The grant comes on the heels of a series of clinics held last spring by Jim Robbins, the coach who helped Verona get its program. Robbins said he introduced America’s oldest sport to Passaic in hopes of jump-starting its program.

“We started off with the Recreation Department,” Robbins said. The clinics held in May attracted nearly 200 fifth-grade students, Lezcano said.

Here’s a nice box lacrosse highlight video from Richmond.

Speaking of box lacrosse, the NLL & the PLPA ended reached an agreement to save the 2018-2019 season.

Let there be lax.

The National Lacrosse League and Professional Lacrosse Players Association have finalized a deal on a new collective bargaining agreement, ending the bitter labor dispute that forced the NLL to cancel the first two weeks of the 2018-19 season.

The new agreement, which was reached in principal Friday and then ratified by the players Saturday, is for a five-year term.

“We appreciate the efforts of the negotiating committee and their tireless dedication to reaching a fair and equitable agreement for both the NLL and the players,” NLL commissioner Nick Sakiewicz said in a press release issued by the league. “This agreement has created a clear path for incremental growth, not just for the players and the existing clubs, but for the sport of lacrosse as well. Thank you also to the fans and the players for your patience as we worked through this situation.”

Deck the halls with lacrosse!

What’s Up, PhilaJersey?

The Birds beat the Giants yesterday, 25-22.

Doug Pederson had tried everything else, so he did something completely out of the blue. He ran the ball. The Eagles rallied past the Giants Sunday at the Linc, scoring a touchdown and field goal on their final two possessions to turn a five-point fourth-quarter deficit into a 25-22 win.

And they did it by pounding the rock. “They always say the running game is a quarterback’s best friend, and that was 100 percent true today,” Carson Wentz said. The Eagles opened the fourth quarter by driving 61 yards for a touchdown to take a 22-19 lead, and all 61 yards on that drive came courtesy of undrafted running backs Josh Adams and Corey Clement, all on the ground other than Clement’s 23-yard catch and run on a screen. Then, after the Giants tied the game, the Eagles drove 50 yards to set up Jake Elliott’s game-winning field goal. On that drive, Adams ran on six of nine plays.

World/National News

This is a great story: Sisters adopted by same family 20 years apart.

Lynn Brusnahan received an unexpected phone call that changed her life earlier this year. Advertisement A social worker had contacted her to ask if she could provide a baby girl a home. Brusnahan is a mother of three grown children, including two who are adopted. Baby Lulu turned out to be her 20-year-old daughter’s half-sister. Brusnahan and her husband, Tim, who were about to become empty nesters, decided to adopt the 1-year-old. “This is really about bringing two sisters together,” Tim Brusnahan said.

Your GIF/Video for November 26, 2018

Big pup finally gets some love and an actual home.

That’s it for today!! I’ll see you out there!! Make sure you follow us on social media!

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Managing Editors: Safe Fekadu, Chris Jastrzembski, Ryan McDonnell