GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD MORNING, College Crosse Nation! Thanks for making us a part of your day! Here’s everything you need to know for August 17, 2018.

College Crosse News

Tool up! Bellarmine adds Kyle Bernlohr and Steve Soriano as full-time assistant to BOSS Mitchell’s staff.

Bellarmine Lacrosse Coach Jim Mitchell announced today that he has added Kyle Bernlohr and Steve Soriano as full-time assistant coaches to his staff.

Bernlohr comes to Bellarmine after most recently serving two seasons on the coaching staff at Cleveland State where he worked with goalies before being elevated to defensive coordinator. A 2016 graduate of the University of Maryland, Bernlohr played goalie for the Terrapins. He was a two-time All-American and won the 2015 Ensign C. Markland Kelly, Jr. Award as the nation’s best goalie. He also was a top 25 nominee for the Tewaaraton Award in 2015. In addition to coaching at Cleveland State the past two years, Bernlohr also has played for the Ohio Machine of Major League Lacrosse. He has won a host of honors as a professional including the MLL Most Improved Player in 2017 as well as being nominated for MLL Goalie of the Year after leading the league in save percentage and goals against average.

”Kyle is a rising star in the coaching profession,” Mitchell said, “and we are fortunate to have him join us here at Bellarmine. He is currently one of the best goalies in the world and our student-athletes will benefit from his combined experience as both an accomplished player and a college coach. ”His positive attitude and competitive drive will immediately impact the program as he takes over as the defensive coordinator,” Mitchell added. “His roots in the Midwest and his desire to grow the game will also benefit the local lacrosse community here in Louisville.”

Soriano, a 2014 Bellarmine graduate, was a face-off specialist for the Knights during his playing days. Bellarmine fans also will remember him serving on the BU coaching staff for the 2016-17 season. He comes back to Bellarmine after a one-year stint as an assistant coach at Princeton University, where he worked with the Tiger offense as well as with the face-off specialists. Prior to making the switch to coaching college lacrosse, Soriano spent two seasons helping with Louisville high school programs. In the 2014-15 school year, he was on staff at Trinity High School before moving to Christian Academy of Louisville for a season.

”We are proud to welcome Steve back to Bellarmine,” Mitchell said. “His passion and commitment to Bellarmine University is unmatched, and his relentless energy will help provide a tremendous experience for the young men in this program. His expertise in coaching face-offs and his time spent working on the staff at Princeton will also directly benefit the team from day one. Steve is an impressive young coach with a versatile skill set and we would like to officially welcome him back to the family!”

2018 Men’s Lacrosse Year in Review: #23 Navy Midshipmen.

Season Summary: After a disappointing 2017 season filled with injuries, Navy had a good bounce-back season in 2018, despite missing out on the NCAA Tournament.

The year didn’t start off as planned. In the season-opener against Jacksonville, the Dolphins used a 5-0 run to upset the Mids, who were without Joe Varello due to a suspension. They won only three of 22 faceoffs that day. But the senior returned for the Maryland game and went 12-of-18 against the Terps, despite a 10-4 loss. They picked up their first win against UMBC in a low-scoring affair and turned their focus to the start of Patriot League play with early wins over Boston University and Bucknell.

Navy’s first three games in March were a mixed bag, beginning with an embarrassing 11-3 loss to Penn at the US Lacrosse headquarters. After a blowout win against Lafayette, the Midshipmen were stuffed by eventual conference champion Loyola. But that’s when Navy started to get going, winning their next five games before the conference tournament. All five games came within three goals, including a thrilling finish in the regular season finale against Syracuse in the Carrier Dome. But the conference semifinal against Lehigh was a dogfight that saw overtime and Mountain Hawk junior Lucas Spence tally his fourth goal of the game to send Lehigh to the conference championship game.

WE DID IT: Lacrosse is Arizona’s fastest growing sport.

It was the sports moment of a lifetime for the Arizona Outlaws. The local lacrosse team won three gold medals at the U.S. Box Lacrosse Nationals in early August in Huntington Beach, California. Arizona’s Family caught up with the Outlaws when they returned home to the Valley. “It was a crazy experience,” said Ethan Tunucci, who played on the bantam team. “It’s a lot of fun having your teammates there to celebrate with you.” “It’s the best thing ever,” said Noah Burdick, who played on the peewee team. “It’s like Christmas and your birthday all in one.”

The Outlaw club is only 2 years old. Coach Ben Prepchuk brings a wealth of experience to Arizona. He was the No. 3 overall pick in the 2000 National Lacrosse League early entry draft. Prepchuk played 99 career games.

The PIAA has lost about 1,500 refs from a decade ago. Many reasons for the loss, but abhorrent fan/player/coach behavior has played a big role. Lacrosse (& soccer) are facing a shortage & had to cancel games in 2018 because of a lack of officials.

In District III, sports such as football and basketball do have enough officials to cover the current slate of games; other sports such as soccer and lacrosse though are facing a shortage right now. Those sports even had to reschedule a few contests last season because not enough officials were available ... Verbal abuse, post game harassment, spitting; these are just a few documented incidents from players, coaches and fans helping to drive the number of registered officials in the state from 18,000 a decade ago to under 16,500 currently, all while there are more games to be administered and it’s a problem, according to the PIAA.

Looking good, PSU.

Fox 5 in San Diego with a story about the San Diego Seals dance team auditions, which is set for this weekend.

The Seals, San Diego’s newest premiere sports team, is currently assembling their dance team. Heather Lake learned what it will take to audition for the lacrosse team’s dance squad. The auditions are scheduled for this weekend at Valley View Casino Center. The Seals start their season this December.

Former athletic director who swindled $100K from school district used some of the illicit funds on daughter’s lacrosse team.

A prosecutor scolded the former athletic director of Como Park Senior High Thursday for failing to take full responsibility for his decision to swindle the St. Paul school district out of tens of thousands of dollars ... Charging documents state Searles paid for a laundry list of personal expenses with his district-issued credit card during his tenure, including groceries, golf shoes and expensive registration fees for his daughters to join lacrosse and traveling soccer leagues.

US Lacrosse with an article on Cornell being a title contender in 2019.

A little less than five years ago, a former Division II coach and Princeton assistant named Peter Milliman joined the Cornell coaching staff. A star player at Gettysburg College and later the Rochester Rattlers, Milliman entered a Big Red program that boasted Tewaaraton winner Rob Pannell, but had transitioned between head coaches Ben DeLuca and Matt Kerwick.

In Ithaca, Milliman helped lead Cornell to back-to-back Ivy League titles in 2014-2015 — a sign that the program that had three NCAA championships was continuing its proud tradition. But Cornell followed with a combined 11-18 record in 2016 and 2017 in one of the worst stretches in the program’s recent history.

Milliman stayed on with the Big Red through it all.

“He’s been through the whole cycle of Cornell lacrosse,” said Connor Buczek, a Cornell star from 2012-15 and now an assistant. “He was there when we were ultra-successful. He was there when we weren’t as successful. He took everything that he believes in. He’s a down-to-earth hardworking guy and he understood how we did things.”

Richmond & women’s lacrosse coach Allison Kwolek agree on new contract.

University of Richmond Vice President and Director of Athletics John Hardt has announced a new five-year contract for women’s lacrosse head coach Allison Kwolek. Kwolek has led the Spiders for the past six years and is coming off her most successful season in 2018. “Coach Kwolek has done an outstanding job leading our women’s lacrosse program both on and off the field,” Hardt said. “She has built a championship caliber program with outstanding student-athletes and we’re excited to ensure her leadership of the program for years to come! This past year was great for Spider lacrosse, and we look forward to building on that positive momentum next season. Allison is a great ambassador for the University of Richmond and Spider athletics!”

What’s Up, PhilaJersey?

HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

World/National News

R.I.P. to the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin.

Aretha Franklin, the preacher’s daughter who became the “Queen of Soul” and forged the template of the larger-than-life pop diva with her exuberant, gospel-rooted singing, has died. She was 76. Franklin died Thursday of advanced pancreatic cancer, according to her publicist Gwendolyn Quinn. In a career she began as a teenager in the 1950s, Franklin went from singing in her father’s Detroit Baptist church to performing for presidents and royalty as she took soul music to its creative and commercial pinnacle.

Her unfettered singing inspired an uninterrupted line of female singers, from Gladys Knight and Patti LaBelle in the ’60s and ’70s to Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey in the ’80s and ’90s and Beyoncé and Rihanna in the ’00s. “Christina Aguilera, Pink … they all want to shout their heads off,” author David Ritz, who co-wrote Franklin’s 1999 autobiography, “Aretha: From These Roots,” told The Times. “She was the first one to do that.”

Your GIF/Video for August 17, 2018

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Managing Editors: Safe Fekadu, Chris Jastrzembski, Ryan McDonnell