GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD MORNING, College Crosse Nation! Thanks for making us a part of your day! Here’s everything you need to know for June 14, 2019.

College Crosse News

Dunk on all of them, Pat!!: Pat Spencer will take his basketball talents to Northwestern.

One of college lacrosse’s top talents this decade will return back to the hardwood next season. Loyola’s Pat Spencer will spend his final year of college eligibility playing basketball for the Northwestern Wildcats as a grad transfer, as first reported by Stadium’s Jeff Goodman. He’s expected to sign his national letter-of-intent later today, per Bill Wagner of the Capital Gazette. Spencer recorded 149 goals and an NCAA record 231 assists for a grand total of 380 points in his lacrosse career with the Greyhounds.

Here’s an article from the Chicago Tribune about the news: Northwestern basketball lands an unusual transfer – the nation’s top lacrosse player, Pat Spencer.

Spencer is such a dominant lacrosse player, Lafayette lacrosse coach Pat Myers told Stadium that calling him the LeBron James of the sport is not a reach: “His combination of size, athleticism, and technical skill make him extremely unique and special ... the fact that he is considering playing college basketball speaks to his freakish athleticism. Calling him the LeBron of college lacrosse is not far-fetched; it’s a legit comparison.”

Maryland goalie Megan Taylor named Division I women’s lacrosse Player of the Year.

Two weeks after becoming the first goalkeeper to take home the Tewaaraton Award as college lacrosse’s top player, Maryland’s Megan Taylor was recognized Thursday by the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association as Division I’s Player of the Year. The Terps’ Julia Braig was named Defender of the Year.

Return to greatness: Navy’s Joe Amplo aims to return Navy to its past success.

The U.S. Naval Academy men’s lacrosse program hasn’t dominated the Patriot League this decade the way it did in the 2000s, and a 6-7 record in 2019 led to Rick Sowell’s firing after eight seasons as head coach of the Midshipmen. With a 54-56 career record, Sowell became the school’s first losing men’s lacrosse head coach and only made the NCAA tournament once.

Guess who is on Twitter?

From the Boston Globe: On the world stage, lacrosse is played ‘per amore del gioco’ (Italian), ‘a játék szerete’ (Hungarian), ‘far di libe fun di shpil’ (Yiddish), or for the love of the game.

Vacationing in Italy with his family last December, Lincoln-Sudbury boys’ lacrosse coach Brian Vona met Giacomo Bonizzoni, the team manager for the Italian national men’s lacrosse team, for lunch on Christmas Eve. “Benvenuto a casa ,” Bonizzoni said to Vona in Italian, welcoming him home to the Calabria region of Southern Italy where Vona has family. Then, over a drink, Bonizzoni offered Vona, who speaks Italian, the opportunity to become head coach of Team Italy.

US Lax Mag reached the Top-5 of their Way-Early 2020 Rankings.

5. DUKE

2019 record: 13-5 (2-2 Atlantic Coast)

Last seen: Sputtering in the fourth quarter of the NCAA semifinals, leaving the door ajar just enough for Virginia to concoct the last of its remarkable comebacks and ensure the Blue Devils left Philadelphia empty-handed.

Senior starts lost: 63 of 180 (35.00 percent)

Senior scoring departing: 93 of 342 points (27.19 percent)

Initial forecast: Duke coach John Danowski isn’t one for comparisons, but there was a striking difference between the Blue Devils’ back-to-back championship weekend teams to close out the decade.

U.S. training camp features Tar Heel flavor.

University of North Carolina and U.S. head coach Jenny Levy has welcomed 36 of the nation’s best women’s lacrosse players to US Lacrosse for a three-day training camp this week. In addition to Levy, current Tar Heel rising juniors Taylor Moreno, Jamie Ortega and Emma Trenchard are in the camp along with former Carolina players Kristen Carr, Molly Hendrick, Marie McCool, Emily Garrity Parros and Caylee Waters and UNC assistant coach Katrina Dowd.

What’s Up, PhilaJersey?

Got ‘em: Philly’s elusive bear finally caught.

A bear initially seen in Philadelphia’s Andorra section Thursday afternoon and that successfully eluded capture for most of the day was finally nabbed shortly after 6 p.m. The 100-pound, 2-year-old cub was hit by a tranquilizer gun Thursday but continued to roam in a wooded area near the Andorra Shopping Center. Eventually, it was found sleeping and taken without incident by animal control officers.

World/National News

Get outside!: Two hours a week is key dose of nature for health and wellbeing.

Spending at least two hours a week in nature may be a crucial threshold for promoting health and wellbeing, according to a new large-scale study. Research led by the University of Exeter, published in Scientific Reports and funded by NIHR, found that people who spend at least 120 minutes in nature a week are significantly more likely to report good health and higher psychological wellbeing than those who don’t visit nature at all during an average week.

Your GIF/Video for June 14, 2019

DING DONG!!

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