Games Of The Week - Week 2

Maryland (4) vs UPenn (6)

After going down 5 goals to SoCon opponent Richmond at the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Terrapins scored the next 7 out of 8 goals in the game to come back and eventually win in OT. Logan Wisnauskus picked up right where he left off with a seven point effort, with Brenhardt and DeMaio putting forth four and five point efforts as well. This Maryland offense offers up a lot of different weapons and will match up nicely against a Penn defense that has yet to start the season. The University of Pennsylvania looks to start off their season strong against perennial powerhouse Maryland. The Quakers are coming off one of the best seasons in program history in 2019 and lost the first game of the year to Maryland 13-12 just a year ago. Simon Mathias, Tyker Dunn, Alex Roesner and Goalie Reed Junkin all won’t return for this UPenn squad so the expectation is for guys like Sam Handley, Sean Lulley and one of the NCAA’s best shooters, Adam Goldner to do the bulk of the scoring. Keys to victory will be containing Maryland’s high powered attack for UPenn and controlling the ground ball battle between the lines for Maryland. The faceoff match-up between Kyle Gallagher and Justin Shockey is going to be one of the best this season. Final Score Prediction: Maryland 13 UPenn 11 

Army (14) vs Rutgers (20)

Army is full of veterans on offense and is looking to do far more than they did in 2019. They are the biggest sleeper in Division I Lacrosse with some of the most athletic defenses in the nation. Brendan Nichtern continues to crush opposing defenses with his versatile stick skills and tremendous feeding ability. Sean O’Brien is emerging as one of the best finishers if not the best on this Army team so look for him to have a huge upper hand in this match-up. The Scarlet Knights are led by attackman Adam Charalambides, who has already started off the 2020 season leading their offense in the first two games. This offense looks like a well-oiled machine, putting up 37 in their first two games. Keys to victory for both groups will be a strong defensive effort, otherwise expect this one to be a shootout. Final Score Prediction: Army 16 Rutgers 12  

Virginia (2) vs Lehigh (18) 

Virginia started off the 2020 season with a win against Patriot League powerhouse Loyola. Virginia looks very strong between the lines and extremely aggressive when the other team has the ball or the ball is on the ground. With tremendous athletes on both sides of the ball, I look for the Cavs to push the tempo all day long and try to end this one early on. Lehigh, another Patriot league Powerhouse, looks to continue growing from last week’s win against Utah. With two young guns emerging in Tommy Schelling (7g,2a) and Christian Mule who added a hat-trick last week, Lehigh’s offense looks like they can do a lot of damage this season. Keys to victory will be shutting down Schelling and detering Petit for Virginia and slowing down the game to create half field battles for Lehigh. Final Score Prediction: Virginia 15 Lehigh 10 

 Villanova vs Yale (3)

 After almost getting doubled up by Penn State last week, Villanova looks to improve this week against a Yale team that has yet to play a game. I expect Yale to come out on fire, playing with a chip on their shoulder after graduating a few players and falling a bit short last year. Villanova is right on the cusp of the Top 20, so a win this week would definitely bump them in. Lets not forget last year's barn burner between these two teams that left the bulldogs stunned at home. This season the expectation is for guys like Connor Kirst, Keegan Khan, Matt Campbell and Corey Mcmanus to produce the most for the Wildcats. Yale will be led by faceoff winning machine TD Ierlan, as well as guys like Jackson Morrill, Matt Brandau and Matt Gaudet...the entire starting attack from last year. This Yale team has all the makings to be dangerous so the key for Villanova will be to contain this offense and not let it get out of hand. Final Score Prediction: Yale 18 Villanova 11

Albany vs Cornell 

This is going to be the most interesting game of the week. Albany is coming off their worst season in a really long time at 5-9 and is looking to come back this season with dominating efforts. This game last year was a one goal decision with Cornell taking the victory at home. This year the game will be in Albany with that roaring Great Dane crowd behind this UAlbany team. The Great Danes are going to be led by fellow attackmen Jakob Patterson and Tehoka Nanticoke, but expect guys like Kyle Casey, Mitch Laffin and Davis Diamond to accumulate some point totals of their own. The Big Red will be led by Jeff Teat, John Piatelli, Jonathan Donville and Connor Fletcher. The big question still remains: will Piatelli fill the shoes of Petterson as Jeff Teat’s number one option? The point totals speak for themselves from last season and this pair is going to be something to watch in 2020. Keys to victory for both teams will be faceoff win percentage and Goalie save percentage. Final Score Prediction: Cornell 14 Albany 12 

Denver (9) vs Duke (13) 

This game is hard to predict. The Air Force loss is going to haunt Duke for the rest of the season, while Denver handled them with relative ease last week winning that battle 13-7. The last two seasons these two teams faced off in Durham...this year they return to Denver where the Pioneers last beat the Blue Devils in 2017. Last week Denver’s JJ Sillstrop made his debut as a Pioneer and absolutely lit it up with 5 goals in the decisive win; I would expect Ethan Walker to have a breakout Senior game in his last regular season game against Duke, especially at home. For Duke, after a regrouping win over High Point 17-8 I would expect guys like Manown, Carpenter and Badour to continue to get better and better. I would like to see breakout games for Dyson Williams, Montgomery and Walsh. Keys to victory for Duke will be to establish their midfield presence early and often and limit Ethan Walkers shot attempts and for Denver it will be to force Duke’s attack to beat them and control the game on offense. Final Score Prediction Denver 14 Duke 13 

Loyola (16) vs Johns Hopkins (11)

After losing to Virginia in Week 1, Loyola was a pleasant surprise after losing two of their best offensive weapons and the best player in college lacrosse. Hopkins looks very talented this year, even without their freshman phenom from last year, Joey Epstein. The last time these two teams met in the regular season, Loyola handed Hopkins a loss with an 18-12 victory. Loyola looks like the offense will be led by the grouping of Swindell, Oldmstead and Lindley this year with some other guys stepping into roles they may have not had in the past. For Hopkins, Cole Williams looks like he will be the leader of the offense after the seven points he put up against Towson last week, but I like how DeSimone and Degnon are both stepping up from the midfield. This is going to be a barn-burner of a game with a great emphasis on possession of the ball and the face-off X from both teams. Final Score Prediction: Loyola 12 Johns Hopkins 11 

Utah vs Air Force (17)

Last year’s match-up between these two teams was nothing shy of a defensive battle. The Utes ended up stealing one from Air Force with a 6-5 win in Colorado. This year Air Force came out blazing with a great opening day win over Duke, but are looking to bounce back after getting beat by Denver last week 13-7. Peene and Dodd continue to impress and lead this Air Force offense while Utah is led by one of the most underrated attacks in the country. After losing 16-11 to Lehigh last week, Utah is looking for a decisive win over a ranked squad. Transfer from Fairfield Colin Burke is leading the offense with fellow linemates, Josh Stout and Jimmy Perkins. I like the offenses in this match up so I am looking for a high scoring affair. Keys to victory will be for Utah to contain Air Force’s big weapons to force the rest of the team to beat them and shutting controlling the pace of play and possession time for Air Force. Final Score Prediction: Air Force 17 Utah 13 

High Point vs Drexel 

This game will be one of the more exciting this week, after last year’s battle between High Point and Drexel. High Point won the high paced, offensive showdown 15-14 and are looking to get another victory against this Dragons team. High Point is led by stand-out attackman Asher Nolting along with Russell and midfielder, Tyler Hendryks who leads the team in points going into this weekend’s contest. Drexel has yet to play a game, but expect guys like Varian, Bowering and Mailman to lead the offense as upperclassmen and the top-scorers from last season. I am also excited to see how Jimmeh Koita fairs this season as a veteran and absolute menace at the face-off X. Keys to victory for this game will be controlling the ball on offense and dictating the tempo for Drexel, while High Point will look to control the face-off X and limit Koita’s exiting ability. Final Score Prediction: High Point 11 Drexel 10

Michigan vs Hofstra 

This is the first meeting between these two programs so it should be an interesting test for both teams. Last week both teams handled their opponents coming out handley over Cleveland State and Wagner. Michigan is led by Bryce Clay, Alex Buckanavage, and freshman Josh Zawada...expect big games out of Kevin Mack and Jake Bonomi coming back to LI as well. For Hofstra, expect big games out of Dylan McIntosh, Ryan Tierney and freshman Justin Sykes, who leads this Pride team in points after their first game. I would also like to see freshman Sam Lufti continue making his presence felt after the four point outing he put together in his opening game. For teams that have never played one another before, a big emphasis on film this week for each team will be a key factor in the W. Final Score Prediction: Michigan 16 Hofstra 12