GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD MORNING, College Crosse Nation! Thanks for making us a part of your day! Here’s everything you need to know for February 21, 2019.

College Crosse News

Cornell’s 2019 debut is this Friday.

Coming off the heels of an expectation-surpassing 2018 campaign, Cornell men’s lacrosse is ready to begin its quest to defend its Ivy League championship and make even greater strides toward the program’s fourth national title. The season opener features the 138th installment of the Cornell-Hobart rivalry — the oldest in collegiate lacrosse. The Red came out on top last year for its 86th win against the Statesmen, despite falling behind early. “Against Hobart last year we started out pretty slow,” said senior captain Jake McCulloch. “Coming out more intense is something we need to focus on.” Hobart has already had the opportunity to shake off the rust, having competed in two games already this season. And in the two games they have played, the Statesmen have tallied 43 goals.

A Michigan St. mini-series is in the works.

Just win, baby: Loyola’s not concerned with rankings.

Loyola men’s lacrosse coach Charley Toomey would not get caught up in the hype surrounding his team following an 18-12 victory against Johns Hopkins Feb. 16. The Greyhounds were headed to the top spot in the Division I polls after Yale was upset by Villanova, 11-10, in overtime earlier that day. “You watched the game, right? You think that’s the No. 1 team out there right now? No way, no way,” Toomey said moments after the game. “We have work to do. I don’t think anybody is putting stock into the rankings. I know my team is not.” Despite Toomey’s reservations, No. 1 Loyola has been the nation’s most impressive team out of the gate.

What is a “draw” in women’s lacrosse? Learn what it is, how it works, and some useful strategies with two members of the Penn women’s lacrosse team.

If you missed it, here’s our podcast from earlier this week. A new episode is dropping later this morning.

The early NCAA Men’s Lacrosse season has been giving us some wild results and plenty to talk about. Thankfully for us, we have a bi-weekly podcast to have some fun with it all.

On this edition of College Crossecast I’m joined by Safe and Jake to break down the wild 2nd full slate of the college lacrosse season. We look back on Friday (1:22) before we go into Duke’s critical victory against Denver (8:22). Army’s pivotal road victory over Rutgers (15:30), Maryland’s survival against Penn, and Villanova’s second straight upset of Yale (23:00) also take center stage in our discussion. We then tackle the Charles Street Derby of Loyola’s decisive win over Johns Hopkins and Syracuse raging their revenge on Albany (38:50) and wrap up the review with High Point scoring another huge victory over the ACC, this time at the expense of Virginia (54:15). Then it’s on to talking about our polls (1:04:15) before taking a peek at today’s slate of games (1:16:00).

Drexel’s dog pile after beating Michigan looks like a lot of fun.

Here’s a nice article on UMass’ Billy Philpott.

It was a cloudy, overcast day in early February of 2016, the day before the season-opener at Army in West Point, New York, and the Massachusetts men’s lacrosse team was practicing and getting loose. At the time, Billy Philpott—a Sandwich, Massachusetts native and product of Tabor Academy—was a true freshman, preparing for his first collegiate game. Primarily an offensive player as a freshman, Philpott was dodging in from the wing when his feet got tangled with a teammate’s. Philpott was sent to the ground, and as he attempted to break his fall, his left hand got pinned underneath the shaft of his stick. Philpott trotted off to the sideline and sought the opinion of fellow freshman Ben Spencer, one of Philpott’s closest friends on the team. At the time, the two were both on the same second-string midfield line. They have been roommates for three years.

#SpringSport as far as the eye can see.

UVA can turn their season around with a win over Princeton this week.

After back-to-back games at home, the No. 12 Virginia men’s lacrosse team will travel to New Jersey Saturday to face No. 19 Princeton. The two teams are set to face off in a ranked showdown at Sherrerd Field at Class of 1952 Stadium.

Virginia (1-2, 0-0 ACC) and Princeton (1-0, 0-0 Ivy League) will meet for just the second time in the regular season since 2008, with the Cavaliers having won the last six matchups.

Last year, the two programs renewed their rivalry after a decade with an old-fashioned shootout at Klöckner Stadium. Virginia’s high-octane offense, strong face-off play and unwavering hustle helped the Cavaliers edge the Tigers 18-15.

Loyola women’s lacrosse dropped Vlog #2 this week.

Delayed gratification is the name of the game at Albany this year.

If the answers were easy to find, University at Albany men’s lacrosse head coach Scott Marr would have them already.

But they’re not, so he doesn’t.

Not yet, at least.

“It’s a process for us this year,” Marr said after Wednesday’s practice indoors at Afrim’s Sports. “This is not an instant-gratification team like we’ve been the last couple years. We’re going to have to work and we’re going to have to figure it out as we go along.”

Here’s a fun video from USC.

Here’s another UMass article for all our Minutemen fans out there: Doc Schneider - The man behind UMass’ CAA-leading attack.

After a 2018 campaign that saw the men’s lacrosse team win their first CAA title and NCAA tournament appearance since 2012, while graduating just six seniors, the Minutemen are poised to repeat as CAA champions and make another run at the NCAA title. Much of the team’s success came from their offense, which was coached by associate head coach Doc Schneider.

Schneider’s offense led the CAA in points, assists, scoring margin and scoring offense. As a result, attackman Buddy Carr and midfielder Jeff Trainor earned All-CAA First Team honors, while attackman Chris Connolly made the All-Rookie Team.

What’s Up, PhilaJersey?

I’ve never read the books: This couple went all out for their Harry Potter wedding.

When it comes to themed weddings, it’s a fine line between a fully fleshed-out concept and, well, just plain overboard. But this Harry Potter wedding at Parque at Ridley Creek in Newtown toes the line beautifully, blending whimsical moments and details from the beloved books into an elegant October affair. See the magic in the photos below by Photography by Brea.

Cory Waddell and Lawrence Mallard are both very into fitness and weightlifting, so a gym makes sense as the location of their meet-cute — especially because both worked long hours and would would often find themselves at their local fitness center at the same time each night.

World/National News

Newly discovered grave site gives us a whole new insight into the Vikings.

An incredible grave containing the skeleton of a Viking warrior, long thought to be male, has been confirmed as female, researchers say. The 10th-century grave, known as Bj. 581, was first discovered on the Swedish island of Bjorko in the late 19th century. Stunning artifacts found in the grave indicated that it belonged to a high-status Viking warrior, who, for over a century, was assumed to be male. In 2017, however, experts published the results of a DNA analysis that revealed the skeleton was female. The amazing discovery garnered a great deal of attention and sparked plenty of debate.

Your GIF/Video for February 21, 2019

... and I keeps one in the chamber in case you pondering.

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

Twitter: @College_Crosse

iTunes: College Crossecast, Across College Lacrosse

Facebook: College Crosse

Instagram: @College_Crosse

Managing Editors: Safe Fekadu, Chris Jastrzembski, Ryan McDonnell