Let me just say WOW what an unexpected turn of events, made me and the guys look like idiots
with our picks.
Loyola downs the Terps 12 -7
I don't think anyone in the world saw this coming, but man did Loyola dominate. The program needed this win and boy did they deliver... was Maryland hungover? Maybe, but who cares, Loyola looked great and outclassed them in almost every part of the game. Loyola goalie Luke Staudt out of West Genny put on a hell of a performance with 19 saves, Davis Linday and Evan James led the offense with a combined 6 points against a stacked Maryland D and boy did they have Ridley field rocking. I bet the boys had a great night in the inner harbor or on campus, wouldn't want to be a 30 rack of natty lite after that game.
Georgetown falls to Hopkins 13-12
Hopkins is back! Well, we will see, but quite an impressive performance for the jays. At this point, I thought they were done as a program and falling into darkness but with the odds against them with a Georgetown team full of DC clubgoers and hungry transfers ready deliver the knockout punch but Hopkins stood tall. They played solid fundamental lacrosse with an electric performance from Russel Melendez with 4 goals for the Blue Jays. You can't ignore Tucker Dordevic's debut for the Hoyas, 5g, and was rolling back and making the net crack like he does best, but in the final moments, the moment was too big. How did Hop become good again, is it the coaching? The STX helmets? All I know is that I'm here for it. Great to see the jays getting big wins again, Lacrosse is healing. Melendez and co definitely had a fun night, and I know Quint and the other alums are psyched.
Duke loses to Jacksonville (again)
If you were watching this game early you probably turned it off thinking it was about to turn into a bloodbath. However, with a 6-goal run Jacksonville made it a game and Duke did what they do best in February... Choke. Andrew McAdorey was given his "welcome to attack" game when he got absolutely owned by JU goalie Luke Millican in the second half, I'm gonna bet this guy got some action after the game. Another great win for the rising program in Duval and I'm willing to bet the boys had a lot of fun that night.
The other games had pretty normal results, Virginia had quite a battle with Michigan who proved themselves Big Ten title contenders. Virginias proves to be too loaded and will be tough for any team in the country to figure out, considering you can't put a short stick on any of them. The Stanford Slayer Ricky Miezan even got a Gino, the Cavs definitely murdered a keg that night. One of the more underrated player performances of the weekend goes to Hobart's Anthony Datellas, guy had 7 goals and 1 apple in 3 quarters, the true fans here will know because I tweeted it, but look out for the Statesman this year. Spalling and Cuse rolled through the weekend with two light opponents before facing their first test next weekend and buddy was buzzing with 10g and 2 assists over the weekend, (ignore my colleague's article about him being a bust HA HA). UNC rolled in their debut against mercer dropping a whopping 25 goals with a spread scoresheet, the Heels look to have a competent and balanced offense and get their first test against Hopkins on Tuesday. And Finally, Villanova downs Penn State in a battle today (both teams were probably hungover LOL) a great performance from stud midfielder Matt Campbell with 4 goals, and even without Stelios on the sidelines, these boys can still ball.