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US Lacrosse College Notebook
April 2, 2004
An American Game
For a group of schools with little in common, the American Lacrosse Conference has come a long way in a short time. In just its third season, the ALC has become a home to some of the top women's lacrosse. Four schools are in this week's IWLCA Top 20 and Ohio State was a quarterfinalist last year.
The big showdown this weekend will be between 9th-ranked Vanderbilt and 12th-ranked Johns Hopkins on Sunday at JHU's Homewood Field (the game will be televised live on CSTV). The Commodores (5-2) had a five-game winning streak snapped with a 16-13 loss to sixth-ranked Duke last week while Hopkins is off to a 9-0 start. Six of the Blue Jays final seven opponents are nationally ranked.
Northwestern has won five straight games to improve to 6-1 and is ranked 15th this week. The Wildcats play at Connecticut this weekend in a nonconference game. Penn State is ranked 18th despite a 2-7 record. The Nittany Lions have beaten only unranked Davidson and Temple, but their seven losses have all come against Top 15 teams, including three one-goal losses. It doesn't get easier this weekend as PSU hosts fourth-ranked Loyola.
Around the Country
Showing Their Color...Brown
If there are any remaining doubters, Brown's men's lacrosse team will get its chance to prove them wrong this Saturday when it hosts third-ranked Syracuse. Brown, unranked and virtually unmentioned in the preseason, is off to a 6-0 start and is ranked 11th in Division I. The biggest test will fall on the Brown defense as Syracuse leads Division I with an average of 15.0 goals per game. Brown senior goalie Mike Levin ranks second nationally with a 5.63 goals against average.
On a Mission
Trisha Moran played a key role in helping C.W. Post to the NCAA Division II women's championship as a freshman in 2001. She's out to return the Pioneers to the top as a senior. Moran was averaging 10.0 points per game through the first six games of the season to lead Division II in scoring. She had a school-record eight goals in C.W. Posts 19-18 overtime victory over West Chester earlier this year. C.W. Post (7-0) is ranked first in the latest IWLCA poll.
Have Mercy
Mercyhurst qualified for the NCAA Division II men's championship for the first time last season, but that didn't tone down the surprise when the Lakers stunned top-ranked New York Tech last Sunday. Junior midfielder Dan James' second goal lifted the Lakers to a 12-11 overtime win. James also won 15 of 22 face-offs for the Lakers, who are now 6-1 and ranked third in Division II. Before the loss, New York Tech had won 27 consecutive regular season games dating to a May 5, 2001 loss to C.W. Post.
1-2
The best rivalry in Division III women's lacrosse will be renewed this weekend when second-ranked Amherst hosts top-ranked Middlebury. Amherst beat Middlebury for last year's NCAA title and the two schools have combined to win five of the last seven NCAA championships. Middlebury beat Amherst for the title in 1999 and 2001.
Stick Checks
Dana Dobbie, a star for Canada's U-19 team last summer, leads Division I with 5.57 draw controls per game and has 21 goals in seven games for Ohio University...there are no underclassmen among the Top 10 scorers in women's Division III lacrosse, but there are seven freshmen among the Top 10 in goals against average.
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