Big Weekend

Although it's early in the season it's a pretty big weekend of college lacrosse with some intense match-ups. Once again the Konica Minolta Face-Off Classic puts six of the top teams in the country up against each other which is sure to be an entertaining day of lacrosse. In the 1st game two ACC rivals match up as #9 Duke plays #6 Maryland. Maryland is coming off of a big win over Georgetown while Duke dismantled Penn last Saturday. These two teams usually play a physical game and it most likely will come down to last two minutes of the 4th quarter to decide this one. I'm taking Maryland over Duke, 13-11.

The 2nd game pits #5 Johns Hopkins vs #7 Princeton, you talk about another rivalry....when I coached at the Hop this was the game of the season (even though they play everyone). Hopkins and Princeton have played each other for a long time,dating back to the early years of each program. So the alumni really get into this game, the night before the Princeton game the alumni meet the team for that year in an event they title "The Smoker". So when you talk about a big game, this is it. Hop struggled vs. Siena, they didn't look sharp offensively and had a lot of unforced turnovers and miscues. Princeton on the other hand lit up Hofstra and looks like they're offense is clicking and heading in the right direction. Look for Petro to put together a defensive game plan to try and slow them down and take control of the game early. This game also puts two of the country's top goaltenders against each other, Gvodzen needs to show up and demonstrate he's ready to take his team for another title run this year. Hopkins 12, Princeton 10.

The last game has the #3 ranked Notre Dame Irish vs. the #10 Loyola Greyhounds. This game will be entertaining for sure. When's the last time Notre Dame has been ranked #3 in the country?? Both teams are coming off of victory's and have something to prove to the lacrosse world. The Irish are led by their senior goalie Scotty Rodgers and his quest to be the best goalie in the country. Loyola is a young scrappy team that has won three in a row, the biggest win over Navy by a goal but they really haven't been tested yet....this one will be a big test for sure to see if they are indeed the real deal. I'm taking the Irish in this one, 13-8.

Make sure you check out the Face-Off classic on ESPNU this weekend, check your local listings. There's been a lot of lacrosse on this year as they've made a big commitment to the sport televising 42 total games on the ESPN family.

If you have any questions about training, shooting, or coaching, feel free to email me at bd@lax-school.com

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Go Heels, make it 5 in a row over UMBC!