May 12, 2006
Geoff Shannon
The First Round of the NCAA Men’s Division I Lacrosse Tournament kicks off this weekend, with the top 16 teams fighting for the four open spots in Philadelphia on Memorial Day weekend.
Of the eight games scheduled this weekend, the most competitive matchup should be No. 8 seed Georgetown (11-2) versus Navy (11-3), scheduled for 3:30 p.m., Sunday at the Hoyas’ Multi-Sports Field. The two regional rivals met earlier this year, with the Hoyas taking a 9-5 victory over the Midshipmen in Annapolis thanks to a hat trick by sophomore attackman Andrew Baird and the tough play of GU’s vaunted defense.
<TABLE align=right><TBODY><TR><TD>
</TD></TR><TR><TD align=middle>
Freshman goalie Miles Kass is
expected to get the start Sunday
against Navy</TD></TR>
</TABLE>And while Georgetown came out on top in that contest, coach Dave Urick is preparing to take on an enlivened Midshipman offense.
“The teams match up very evenly,” he says. “Navy is playing particularly well right now in their most recent games. They haven’t done anything unique or different, but they can get a leg up for you.”
For Navy, having the early season matchup has helped with game preparations as it heads into Sunday’s contest.
“They are what they are, and they don’t change much,” says Navy coach Richie Meade. “The last time we felt we were well-prepared to play, but there were things that happened in that Georgetown game we were not prepared for: looseballs, transition scramble situations off of defensive pressure. This time we know we have to handle the pressure, and shoot the ball in high-speed situations.”
With both teams playing well down the stretch (Georgetown snagged the ECAC trophy over Penn State while Navy won the Patriot League with their second victory of the season against Army), the contest should be a close one.
Historically, Georgetown has a 10-6 edge over Navy, including a 4-2 record since 2001. As expected, Georgetown will rely on their defense, led by longpoles Reyn Garnett and Jerry Lambe, while Navy will have push their strong offense led by Ian Dingman, Jon Birsner and Bill Looney.
It’s the players who are missing that could be the difference in this contest, however. For Georgetown, Urick said this week that he was still unsure whether freshman Miles Kass or senior Rich D’Andrea would start in goal Sunday. A tough stopper early in the season, Kass injured his leg against Mt. St. Mary’s in late March and sat out for almost the rest of the season (he started against Loyola, but the nagging injury sent him to the bench by the fourth quarter). Though D’Andrea has filled in admirably, Urick says he is leaning toward Kass to start after having a solid week of practice.
Navy senior midfielder Steve Looney is also questionable for Saturday’s contest, says coach Meade. Looney broke his collarbone against Army in April, and was forced to sit out a month. This week he practiced, but with no contact, according to Meade.
“You always hope you could get him back at 100%, but you have to plan like that’s not going to happen,” says Meade.
Thanks in part to the regional rivalry, expect the game to have a lively atmosphere as both Navy and Hoya fans will fill Georgetown’s campus for the contest.
“This has become a very important game,” says Meade. “With the proximity and tradition, it’s become another local game between two competitive DI lacrosse programs year in and year out.”
Top Dog
Though they stand as the consensus No. 1 and top-seed heading into this weekend, Virginia was stuck with a better-than-expected opponent this Saturday.
The Cavs rolled to a 13-0 record and an ACC title this season behind an athletic offense that outran and outgunned their opponents. But instead of facing MAAC Champion Providence, considered the No. 16 team in the draw, the Cavs will host 10-4 Notre Dame, which found itself in the tourney thanks in part to a strong RPI.
Though not the easiest road, Virginia coach Dom Starsia says he had an inkling that he would face a stronger opponent among the tourney invites.
“I thought there was a good chance that we wouldn’t draw the 16th team in the field” says Starsia. “I was a member of the committee five years, and I understand the considerations that went into the selections. And I don’t think anybody went out of their way to hurt the University of Virginia.”
Starsia also says he considers the move part of doing business with the NCAA while growing interest in collegiate lacrosse.
“If we go to NCAA and make a stink, they could come right back and say, okay, we’ll chop the number of teams in the field in half, and you can do whatever you want to from there,” he says. “This is better for the growth of the game.”
<TABLE align=left><TBODY><TR><TD>
</TD></TR><TR><TD align=middle>
Matt Ward, the Cavs' leading scorer
with 45 points, will play in Round
One despite a fractured right hand
(Todd Andrew Love)</TD></TR>
</TABLE>As far as the matchup, expect Virginia’s offense to push the ball constantly against the Fighting Irish in an effort to shake the last bits of game rust from playing just two games in the last three weeks of the season.
“I would like to see us get back to an offensive rhythm, going back to how we were early in the year,” says Starsia. “We played so little lacrosse later in the year, so I want to see us be like how we came into the season, thinking we had a chance to be good offensively.”
The team might have to do that with a less than 100% Matt Ward. A hairline fracture in his right hand still hasn't fully healed, and the Cavs were careful not to agitate it during practice this week. Ward has been wearing a brace under his glove, which could affect his game, though Virginia is not anticipating much of a drop-off in his game, if any.
“Dr. Ward made a self diagnosis that he’s good to go,” says Starsia.
Virginia will take on Notre Dame 3:30 Saturday in Charlottesville.
Shot-Caller
The Cavs’ high-octane offense defined 2006, outscoring opponents by a wide margin. Virginia averaged an 8.39 margin of victory, which currently places them just outside the Top 10 historically. With four possible playoff games to go, it might be tough for Virginia to inch higher on this list.
ALL TIME SINGLE-SEASON SCORING MARGIN
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="75%" border=1><TBODY><TR><TD>
School</TD><TD>
Year</TD><TD>
GF</TD><TD>
GA</TD><TD>
Mar.</TD><TD>
Diff.</TD></TR><TR><TD>
Syracuse</TD><TD>
1990</TD><TD>
271</TD><TD>
124</TD><TD>
147</TD><TD>
11.31</TD></TR><TR><TD>
Cornell</TD><TD>
1976</TD><TD>
276</TD><TD>
104</TD><TD>
172</TD><TD>
10.75</TD></TR><TR><TD>
Towson</TD><TD>
1974</TD><TD>
257</TD><TD>
110</TD><TD>
147</TD><TD>
9.80</TD></TR><TR><TD>
Syracuse</TD><TD>
1988</TD><TD>
261</TD><TD>
118</TD><TD>
143</TD><TD>
9.53</TD></TR><TR><TD>
Cornell</TD><TD>
1977</TD><TD>
213</TD><TD>
91</TD><TD>
122</TD><TD>
9.38</TD></TR><TR><TD>
Cornell</TD><TD>
1974</TD><TD>
233</TD><TD>
107</TD><TD>
126</TD><TD>
9.00</TD></TR><TR><TD>
Johns Hopkins</TD><TD>
1981</TD><TD>
239</TD><TD>
114</TD><TD>
125</TD><TD>
8.93</TD></TR><TR><TD>
Johns Hopkins</TD><TD>
1978</TD><TD>
237</TD><TD>
117</TD><TD>
120</TD><TD>
8.57</TD></TR><TR><TD>
Syracuse</TD><TD>
1984</TD><TD>
262</TD><TD>
126</TD><TD>
136</TD><TD>
8.50</TD></TR><TR><TD>
Virginia</TD><TD>
1997</TD><TD>
255</TD><TD>
136</TD><TD>
119</TD><TD>
8.50</TD></TR><TR><TD>
*Virginia</TD><TD>
2006</TD><TD>
203</TD><TD>
94</TD><TD>
107</TD><TD>
8.39</TD></TR><TR><TD>
Syracuse</TD><TD>
1991</TD><TD>
274</TD><TD>
149</TD><TD>
125</TD><TD>
8.33</TD></TR>
</TABLE>
*regular-season only
Brother vs. Brother
Saturday’s matchup between No. 4 seed Johns Hopkins (8-4) and Penn (10-3) is tangled in a web of longstanding friendships and collegiate family ties.
There’s Penn head coach Brian Voelker, who is a Hopkins grad and worked as a defensive coordinator under Blue Jays’ coach Dave Pietramala from 1997 to 2001. Voelker’s best friends are Hopkins assistants Seth Tierney and Bill Dwan, both former roommates who were groomsmen in Voelker’s wedding. Penn assistant coaches Peter Jacobs and Todd Cavallaro are both Hopkins graduates, and Coach Pietramala even worked as an assistant coach at Penn early in his coaching career.
“It’s definitely a little bit different playing those guys,” says Voelker.
<TABLE align=right><TBODY><TR><TD>
</TD></TR><TR><TD align=middle>
Hopkins begins its title defense
against Penn and former Jays'
defensive coordinator Brian
Voelker</TD></TR>
</TABLE>Still, don’t expect those bonds to come into play during Saturday’s contest at Homewood Field.
“It doesn’t effect the game at all,” says Pietramala. “Our whole staff has great admiration for Brian Voelker. Those relationships are something we have and value but in no way, shape or form will they have an impact on this game.”
That belief comes from the fact that both teams haven’t seen one another in over two years, when the Blue Jays last took the field with Penn. The recruiting trail has taken them on different paths, so anticipating talent and coaching moves becomes harder for both teams to do.
“The guys I’ve recruited are gone, the guys I coached are gone, so I don’t really know them that much more than other teams we’ve played,” says Voelker.
Says Pietramala: “Just because you think know each other real well, don’t think you can anticipate that in a game. You have to plan based on what you can see, on the scouting we’ve done on Pennsylvania and how we’ll react to it.”
Expect Hopkins to learn a lot from last weekend’s Penn-Maryland contest, when the Terps controled the ball for most of the game to shut down the Quakers. For Penn, pushing the offense and taking advantage of Hopkins turnovers will be their best bet to snag an upset.
Hopkins and Penn will face off 1 p.m. Saturday at Homewood Field.
Weekend TV schedule:
Saturday, May 13
UMass at No. 6 Cornell
1 p.m. ET (ESPNU)
Notre Dame at No. 1 Virginia
3:30 p.m. ET (ESPNU)
Sunday, May 14
Navy at No. 8 Georgetown
3:30 p.m. ET (CSTV)
Providence at No. 3 Hofstra
3:30 p.m. ET (ESPNU)
Harvard at No. 5 Syracuse
7 p.m. ET (ESPNU)
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