The Confidential

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Archive for the tag “lacrosse”

12 May 2013

Lacrosse: North Carolina Defeats Lehigh, Advances

The 2013 NCAA championship tournament is underway in mens lacrosse and the ACC Champion North Carolina Tar Heels are advancing.  The #5 seeded Tar Heels defeated Lehigh impressively at home by a score of 16-7.  With the win, North Carolina will move on to face the #4 seeded Denver Pioneers in Indianapolis.  Denver defeated Albany in a 19-14 shootout on Saturday.

Although Lehigh jumped out to a 2-1 advantage, it was all North Carolina the rest of the way.  The NCAA update included the following summary:

Marcus Holman led Carolina with a goal and four assists while Jimmy Bitter and Chad Tutton each had three goals and an assist. Steve Pontrello added a pair of goals as Carolina piled on the goals against a Lehigh defense which came into the match allowing only 7.44 goals per game, tied for second in the nation. Other goal scorers for UNC were Greg McBride, Walker Chafee, R.G. Keenan, Davey Emala, Ryan Creighton, Spencer Parks and Patrick Kelly.  Joey Sankey had a trio of assists for Carolina while Jake Matthai and Greg McBride also had helpers.

A very impressive win for North Carolina.

And there was more for ACC fans to rejoice in, as the #2 seeded Notre Dame Fighting Irish defeated Detroit, 9-7.  In the other matchup from Saturday, Yale upset #8 seeded Penn State, 10-7.  Keep track of the NCAA tournament here.

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Game Review, Lacrosse and tagged , , , ,
06 Mar 2013
8 Comments

Fast Forward: The ACC in 2016?

It’s 2016 and conference realignment has slowed down.  Again.  As most expected, the Atlantic Coast Conference has survived another round of unsubstantiated rumors and quasi-sourced reports from university big wigs and industry executives.  Overall, the past few years have proven quite productive in terms of membership and revenue.

A combination of ESPN affirming its financial commitment to the conference and the additions of Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Louisville, Cincinnati and Connecticut have made way for a 16-team league which boasts a great amount of competitive talent, geographic diversity and athletic tradition.

The ACC now has eight teams competing in men’s lacrosse with Cincinnati, Louisville and UConn adding the niche sport to their athletic departments.  Six of the league’s baseball teams are firmly in the Top 25 and seven teams are regulars in the women’s basketball Top 25.

College football has gradually improved over the past two years.  The Seminoles and Tigers have continued their top-tier presence in the rankings and Virginia Tech, Louisville, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh add some needed depth to the conference schedule.  NC State, Connecticut and Syracuse are steadily improving, the Tar Heels are sanction-free and competitive and Georgia Tech has awoken from its talent slumber.

College basketball is absolutely phenomenal.  Along with the annual Tobacco Road matchup, Syracuse-UNC has become epic in its short existence and Pitt has become quite the foe of Duke, NC State and Virginia.  Much anticipated matchups between Duke and Louisville and Connecticut and North Carolina have also given way to intense conference-wide games with Cincinnati and Pittsburgh.  The conference now boasts seven teams with national championship histories.

Although there is much competition among the field in both basketball and football, there is a great amount of talent at the top.  Many believe multiple ACC representatives will punch cards to the Final Four and there is guarded optimism a team will soon vie for the Coaches’ Trophy at Cowboys Stadium.

As with anything, it takes vision, determination and patience to see a great idea through to fruition.  The ACC is no different.  Fantasies often begin with unrealistic expectations while goals are accomplished through steady hard work and practical ambitions.

Congratulations, ACC!  You had the nerve and foresight to persevere and maintain your athletic tradition while maintaining and promoting solid academics.  The Confidential looks forward to many more years of ACC excellence.

**Is this article fantasy or realistic? Join the discussion below and let the Confidential know your opinion.

Posted by MBenjAdams in ACC only, Baseball, Basketball, Conference Realignment, Football, Lacrosse, Louisville Correspondent, Predictions and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
13 Feb 2013
36 Comments

ACC Poll Day–If Notre Dame Went All-In with the ACC, Who Do You Like For Team #16

Today is a good day for a poll.  Query–if Notre Dame was to shock the world by going “all-in” for the ACC, giving it 15 teams, who would you like for team #16?  Let’s assume that schools from the SEC, Big XII, and Big 10 are out of the mix because…. they are.  Nobody is taking a pay cut to join the ACC.  It is what it is.

The candidates:

  • Connecticut.  Pros–outstanding hoops (mens and womens) & competent football, with at least one BCS appearance.  Rivalries with Syracuse and Pitt, and a huge rivalry potential with Boston College.  Even Duke-UConn womens hoops would be huge.  Cons–only competent football, not outstanding football.  Geographical overlap with Boston College.  Not a pedigreed football name.
  • Cincinnati.  Pros–new market (southern Ohio), good football recently, and some decent hoops.  Close to Pittsburgh & Louisville for potential rivalries.  Cons–small market, as Ohio is dominated by Ohio State, while neighboring Kentucky is  swallowed by Louisville and Kentucky.
  • Navy.  Pros–national name and a partner for Notre Dame.  Back into the Maryland/DC market.  Cons–terrible hoops in the post-David Robinson era.  Football would not exactly be an upgrade–although it is hard to say that Navy is demonstrably worse than UConn or Cincinnati in the big picture.
  • South Florida.  Pros–outstanding location for football recruiting and potential.  Cons–ACC already has the Florida market in check with Miami and FSU.  Hoops team has not done much, and the football team has underachieved of late.  Not a national name by any stretch.
  • Temple.  Pros–Philly market, good hoops history, and potential for football.  Cons–football has been more bad than good in the modern era, especially in the absence of a certain Mr. Golden.
  • Hybrid craziness.  Let’s say #16 gets to be UConn for hoops, Navy for football, and Johns Hopkins for lacrosse–take it or leave it, folks.  Or some other combination, like VCU for hoops subbing in for a UConn not being happy with a partial membership.

Anyone else out there?  This seems to be the list.

Who do you like and why?

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball, Conference Realignment, Football, Opinion and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
08 Feb 2013
10 Comments

Notre Dame Unlikely to Play ACC Hoops in 2013-2014

Not much to comment about here… the reports are that Notre Dame is unlikely to get out of the Big East in time for the 2013-2014 season.  At least part of the issue is what is going on with the so-called “Catholic 7” and their formation of a new league.  Notre Dame certainly does not want to be in a hoops conference with the leftovers from the Big East.  But if the Georgetown, Villanova, Marquette, and DePaul group is still around for 2013-2014, the urgency to leave is reduced substantially.

We can expect the anti-ACC (i.e. West Virginia bloggers) to say that this is “proof” that the ACC is about to be raided and/or that Notre Dame is getting cold feet.  If that is true, it will only be dumb luck for those bloggers.  Even a broken clock is right twice a day.  If you throw out rumors every week, you will be bound to get a few right over a long enough period of time.

On another note, Frank the Tank has an interesting update on the Catholic 7 and the Big 10’s possible interest in Johns Hopkins for lacrosse only.  The Confidential continues to ponder whether the ACC should consider Navy for football only.  Another partner for Notre Dame.

 

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Conference Realignment, Football, Lacrosse and tagged , , , ,
06 May 2012

2012 Lacrosse Bracket Released

The NCAA has released the bracket for this year’s lacrosse national championship. At 14-1, Loyola Maryland earned the #1 overall seed.  Perennial power Johns Hopkins is the #2 seed.   The ACC’s very own Duke is the #3 seed, while Notre Dame is the #4 seed.

All five ACC schools will be participants.  Syracuse had to win the Big East conference championship to qualify, but they did so.  But the Orange (9-7) were “rewarded” with a game against Duke (14-3).  The only ACC teams to have rematches in the tournament, Duke already defeated Syracuse earlier in the season, 12-10. The game will be played at noon on May 12, 2012, in Durham.

Virginia was given a #5 seed.  With such a hot start, it is disappointing for the Cavaliers to end up with only a 5 seed.  The Cavs (11-3) will play Princeton (11-4).   The game will be in Charlottesville on May 13, 2012, at 1:00 p.m.   Notre Dame is the top seed in the bracket.

North Carolina (11-5) is a #8 seed and landed an opening round matchup with Denver (8-6).  The game will be played at Chapel Hill on May 12, 2012, at 7:30 p.m.  Loyola is the top seed in the bracket.

Maryland (9-5) will travel to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, to take on #7 seed and host, Lehigh (14-2).  The game will be played at 5:00 p.m. on May 12, 2012.  Johns Hopkins is the top seed in the bracket.

 

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Lacrosse and tagged , , , , , , ,
21 Apr 2012

2012 ACC Men’s Lacrosse Championship Game Set

The Championship Game for the 2012 ACC Men’s Lacrosse Championship is now set.  Following Friday’s two semifinal games, Duke will be playing North Carolina for the Championship.

In the 2-3 game between North Carolina and Virginia, the Cavaliers continued their late season swoon by falling to the Tar Heels, 11-9.  The game was a see-saw affair for the first three quarters, as neither team was able to mount a lead of more than 1 goal.  However, once North Carolina got to a 7-6 lead, it never trailed again.    Attackman Marcus Holman was the leading goal scorer for North Carolina with three goals, while Joey Sankey added five points with two goals and three assists.  Steele Stanwick of Virginia scored 7 points to lead the Cavaliers.  For North Carolina, it was its first win over Virginia since 2004.

In the other semifinal game, red-hot Duke defeated suddenly surging Maryland 6-5.  The low scoring affair was close throughout.  Duke did have a 6-4 lead, before allowing Maryland to get within one goal.  And then Maryland had a few opportunities in the final minutes to tie, before ultimately falling short.  Duke’s Josh Dionne was a star for the Blue Devils with a hat trick.  In the end, Duke protects its number 1 seed and will move on to Sunday’s Championship game against rival North Carolina.

Championship Game details:  Duke v North Carolina.  3 p.m.  The game will be televised on ESPNU and ESPN3.  Good luck to both teams.

 

 

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Game Review, Lacrosse and tagged , , , , , , ,
20 Apr 2012

ACC Lacrosse Weekly Report 8, April 20, 2012

The ACC Lacrosse season continues to progress…

News/Rankings:

The big news this week was Duke defeating Virginia 13-5.  Duke has been on a roll, so a win over Virginia would not have been entirely shocking.  But to win by 8 goals?  NOBODY saw that coming.

With all the losses, Loyola of Maryland and Massachusetts are atop the standings right now.  Both teams are undefeated.

The Inside Lacrosse poll has Duke at #5, with no first place votes.  Virginia is #6, Maryland is #8, North Carolina is #9, and Syracuse is #14.

In the USILA Coaches Poll, Virginia is #4 with 4 of the 0 first place votes.  Duke is #7, Maryland is #8, North Carolina is #9, and Syracuse is #15.

Recent Scores:

Tuesday, April 10, 2012:

Cornell 12-Syracuse 6, Recap

Friday, April 13, 2012:

Duke 13-Virginia 5, Recap

Saturday, April 14, 2012:

Syracuse 19-Rutgers 6, Recap

North Carolina 12-Hofstra 9, Recap

Maryland 9-Johns Hopkins 6, Recap

Tuesday, April 17, 2012:

Syracuse 13-Hobart 12, Recap

Upcoming Games:

The 2012 ACC Men’s Lacrosse Championship Tournament:

Friday, April 20, 2012 (semifinals)

#4 Maryland v #1 Duke, 5:00 p.m.

#3 North Carolina v #2 Virginia, 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Championship, 3:00 p.m.

Other Games:

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Georgetown @ Syracuse, 3 p.m.

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Maryland @ Mount Saint Mary’s, 7:00 p.m.

 

Records:

Virginia 10-2 (2-1 in conference).

Duke 11-3 (2-1 in conference)

North Carolina 9-4 (1-2 in conference)

Maryland 7-3 (1-2 in conference)

Syracuse 7-5

 

The Confidential’s ACC Lacrosse Rankings:

1.  Duke (11-3).  After a tough start, Duke has rebounded and dominated Virginia.

2.  Virginia (10-2).  After a great start, Virginia is fading a bit.  Collapsed against Duke.

3.  North Carolina (9-4).  With a win over Maryland and more wins, North Carolina gets the edge.

4.  Maryland (7-3).  Maryland has an extra few games to show it deserves an upgrade.

5.  Syracuse (7-5).  Too many losses.  And not enough impressive wins.

If you have any comments on the ACC Lacrosse season or this entry, please feel free to share!

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Lacrosse and tagged , , , , , , , ,
08 Apr 2012

ACC Lacrosse Weekly Report 7, April 8, 2012

The ACC Lacrosse season continues to progress…

News/Rankings:

The big news this week was North Carolina defeating John Hopkins 13-9, allowing Virginia to return to #1.

The Inside Lacrosse poll has Virginia #1, again–receiving 11 of the 20 first place votes.  Duke is #8 and North Carolina is #9.  Maryland is #12 and Syracuse has dropped all the way to #17.

In the USILA Coaches Poll, Virginia is #1 with 4 of the 10 first place votes.  The rest is the same as the Inside Lacrosse Poll, except that North Carolina and Syracuse are tied in their rankings.

Recent Scores:

Saturday, March 31, 2012:

Virginia 12-Maryland 8.  Recap.

Sunday, April 1, 2012:

Duke 12-Syracuse 10.  Recap.

North Carolina 13-Johns Hopkins 9.  Recap.

Friday, April 6, 2012:

Maryland 13-Navy 6.  Recap.

Saturday, April 7, 2012:

Virginia 15-North Carolina 10.  Recap.

Duke 11-Marist 10.  Recap.

Syracuse 10-Princeton 9.  Recap.

Upcoming Games:

Tuesday, April 10, 2012:

Syracuse @ Cornell, 7:00 p.m.

Friday, April 13, 2012:

Duke @ Virginia, 6:00 p.m.

Saturday, April 14, 2012:

Rutgers @ Syracuse, 11:00 a.m.

Hofstra @ North Carolina, 1;30 p.m.

Maryland @ Johns Hopkins, 6:00 p.m.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012:

Syracuse @ Hobart, 7:00 p.m.

Records:

Virginia 10-1 (2-0 in conference).

Duke 10-3 (1-1 in conference)

North Carolina 8-4 (1-2 in conference)

Maryland 6-3 (1-2 in conference)

Syracuse 5-4

The Confidential’s ACC Lacrosse Rankings:

1.  Virginia (10-1).  Rebounded nicely with wins over Maryland and North Carolina.

2.  Duke (10-3).  Duke just keeps on winning.  Took care of Syracuse and Marist.

3.  North Carolina (8-4).  With a win over Maryland and more wins, North Carolina gets the edge.

4.  Maryland (6-3).  See above.

5.  Syracuse (5-4).  Syracuse has not looked good when winning and played poorly in losing.

If you have any comments on the ACC Lacrosse season or this entry, please feel free to share!

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Lacrosse and tagged , , , , , , , ,
02 Apr 2012

Big City Classic at MetLife Stadium Recap

Sunday was a big day for college lacrosse as the Big City Classic at MetLife Stadium featured three games involving elite teams, including Duke, Syracuse, and North Carolina.

The big winner of the day was North Carolina, who knocked off previously #1 Johns Hopkins, 13-9.  R.G. Keenan won 18 face-offs, Jimmy Bitter scored three goals, and Marcus Holman added a two-goal, four-assist performance to lead the Tar Heels.  The game was 8-7 after three periods, but North Carolina outscored Hopkins 5-2 in the final period to win by a comfortable margin.  As Tarheelblue also noted:

R.G. Keenan was named the Konica Minolta Big City Classic MVP as he won 18 of 25 face-offs, the sixth time in his career and the third time this campaign he has won at least 18 draws in a game. He led both teams with nine ground balls. That was Keenan’s second highest ground ball total of the season, exceeded only by the 11 he had at Navy on February 25.

Congratulations to Keenan and the Tar Heels.

The other big winner of the day was Duke, who defeated Syracuse 12-10 to win its sixth straight game.  Duke senior Robert Rotanz tallied four goals to lead the team.  The teams were tied several times during the game, including at 9-9 and 10-10.  But each time Duke got a timely goal.  Syracuse has lost two straight games now–the first such streak since 2007.

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Game Review, Lacrosse and tagged , , , ,
31 Mar 2012

ACC Lacrosse Weekly Report 6, March 31, 2012

The ACC Lacrosse season continues to progress…

News/Rankings:

The big news this week was former #1 Virginia losing to former #2 Johns Hopkins in overtime, 11-10.  Johns Hopkins used a 4-1 third quarter to pull ahead of Virginia.  And then John Ranagan scored the game-winning goal with five seconds remaining in the overtime period.  It was Virginia’s first loss in 14 home games.

The Inside Lacrosse poll has Virginia #2, no longer receiving any first place votes.  Duke is #8 and Maryland is #9.  North Carolina is #12 and Syracuse has dropped all the way to #14.

In the USILA Coaches Poll Virginia dropped all the way to #3.  The rest is the same as the Inside Lacrosse Poll, except that North Carolina is #11.

Recent Scores:

Saturday, March 24, 2012:

Duke 13, Georgetown 11.  Recap.

North Carolina 11, Maryland 10.  Recap.

Johns Hopkins 11, Virginia 10 (OT).  Recap.

Sunday, March 25, 2012:

Villanova 11, Syracuse 10.  Recap.

Tuesday, March 27, 2012:

Duke 9, Brown 8.  Recap.

Upcoming Games:

Saturday, March 31, 2012:

Virginia @ Maryland.  12:00 p.m.

Sunday, April 1, 2012:

Duke v Syracuse.  4:00 p.m.

North Carolina v Johns Hopkins.  6:30 p.m.

Friday, April 6, 2012:

Navy @ Maryland.  7:00 p.m.

Saturday, April 7, 2012:

Virginia @ North Carolina.  1:00 p.m.

Marist @ Duke.  Time TBA.

Princeton @ Syracuse.  4:00 p.m.

Records:

Virginia 8-1 (0-0 in conference).

Maryland 5-2 (1-1 in conference)

Duke 8-3 (1-1 in conference)

North Carolina 7-3 (1-1 in conference)

Syracuse 6-3

The Confidential’s ACC Lacrosse Rankings:

1.  Virginia (8-1).  Losing to the #2 team in overtime is hardly worth dropping Virginia over.

2.  Duke (8-3).  Duke just keeps on winning.  They face a struggling Syracuse team on Sunday.

3.  North Carolina (7-3).  With a win over Maryland and more wins, North Carolina gets the edge.

4.  Maryland (5-2).  With a win over North Carolina, Maryland would be #2.  Instead?  #4.

5.  Syracuse (6-3).  Syracuse has not looked good when winning and played poorly in losing.

If you have any comments on the ACC Lacrosse season or this entry, please feel free to share!

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Lacrosse and tagged , , , , , , , ,

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