As the heat of this years’ NCAA lacrosse season progresses, we ended the weekend of April 8th with plenty of close games and thrillers. Teams are getting more competitive as every game matters more than before, creating better and greater competitions and games. Here were some top games seen this past weekend:
Michigan 10 Penn State 8 – Box Score
A B10 battle took place this weekend against two top-25 ranked teams. Michigan hosted Penn State Saturday April 8th, ending in a 10-8 win. The first quarter, won by Michigan (4-2) did not discourage the Nittany Lions as they then turned it around tying the Wolverines 4-4 in the second and and forcing them to go scoreless in the third. That being said, Michigan’s early success allowed them to end up top of Penn State. Jill Smith was a Michigan standout putting up four goals. For Penn State, Emma Kelly and Kristin O’Neill led their team each putting up two goals.
Boston College 12 Notre Dame 11 – Box Score
The No. 7 and No. 8 teams faced off Saturday April 8th in South Bend resulting in a 12-11 Boston College win over Notre Dame. Boston College started and ended the game off strong, winning the first (8-7) and last (10-7) quarters, while Notre Dame controlled the middle of the game. The Fighting Irish topped the Eagles 12-8 during the second quarter and 8-5 by the end of the third.
Jenn Medjid for BC was one of seven Eagles to score, adding four goals and one assist of her own. Shea Dolce showed up ready to play on Saturday, ending the day with 13 saves, the highest of her career yet. On the other side, Madison Ahern led her team with three goals while Lilly Callahan competed in goal, making a solid 11 saves.
Harvard 14 Cornell 13 (2OT) – Box Score
A battle of the Ivys took place this past Saturday as Harvard traveled to New York to take on Cornell. Ending in double-overtime, Harvard took down the Big Red 14-13. Harvard’s Callie Hem and Hannah Shiel led the way for the Crimson both having four girls, and worked alongside Caroline Mullahy who made her mark by adding four assists.
On the Cornell side, Amanda Cramer and Katie Castiello both gave three goals, alongside a hand-full of their teammates who added two goal each. Ellie Horner had herself a day with 13 saves, making out to be 48% save percentage for the game.
The game winning goal was nothing but unordinary as after a winning draw control from Harvard’s Shea Jenkins, she began to look up field and send a ball that got deflected off the stick of a Cornell defender, ending up in the goal at 2:39 of the second overtime.
Syracuse 19 Clemson 10 – Box Score
No 1. Syracuse took on No. 19 Clemson this weekend, making it another Top 20 matchup. ‘Cuse dominated the first and third quarters making their mark on the game and ensuring themselves a 19-10 win. Unsurprisingly, Emma Ward (5G, 1A) and Meaghan Tyrrell (4G, 1A) helped lead the Orange to their victory and continuing to live up to the names they have created for themselves. Delaney Sweitzer ended the day with a save percentage of 59%.
Clemson has been on the rise, forcing teams to take their program seriously as they’ve found success in games against teams such as Duke (11-10 W) and Louisville (19-8 W) making them a team to watch. It being their first season, it can be expected that Clemson only continues to find themselves as a top ranked team as they progress their program in order to continue to prosper. Against Syracuse, Gianna New, Miya Scanlan, Chloe Willard, and Hanna Hilcoff each put up two goals while Emily Lamparter had 9 saves in goal.
USC 10 Stanford 7 – Box Score
As USC finishes out their time in the PAC-12, they faced regular opponent, Stanford this past weekend. Coming off a loss from their last encounter on April 2nd, the Trojans felt as if they had something to prove, showing up and dominating the second, third, and fourth quarters, helping them to a 10-7 win. Per usual, Isabelle Vitale and Claudia Shevitz were threats to the Cardinal, adding three goals each. They were supported by five other teammates who each added a goal themselves. For Stanford, Annabel Frist led the Cardinal’s group of five scorers with three goals herself.