Vol. 3: Statement Wins, Overtime Thrillers, and ACC Blowouts
Syracuse and Northwestern completed top-five sweeps, Temple and Maryland escaped with OT wins, and BC and North Carolina routed ranked conference foes.
Sierra Cockerille sprints downfield after collecting a ground ball versus Notre Dame on March 11. The junior finished with a career-high five goals. Photo courtesy: Syracuse Athletics.
NOTE: National stats included are correct through March 15.
Notre Dame came into last week with the second-best scoring defense in the country. Granted, the No. 4 Irish had only played two games because of COVID-19 complications, but they had given up a combined seven goals to Vanderbilt and Robert Morris, two programs that are currently 5-2 and 6-2, respectively, and average at least 12 goals per game. Notre Dame held them to five or fewer scores.
Against No. 2 Syracuse, however, head coach Christine Halfpenny’s stacked defense, backed by grad defender Kathleen Roe and senior goalie Bridget Deehan—both Tewaaraton Watch List honorees—folded. And the Orange put on a clinic.
In the first leg of the doubleheader, Syracuse got out ahead, 4-0, and rounded out the opening frame with 10 goals. A four-goal halftime lead ballooned into a nine-score advantage after a 5-0 run to start the second period. The Orange offense was powered by Sierra Cockerille, who matched her season goal total with five strikes, Meaghan Tyrell (3 goals), and Emma Ward (3 goals). It was too big of a deficit for Notre Dame to erase. The Irish fell, 18-14. Three days later, Notre Dame took another step back.
Deehan brought her A-game and made seven first-half stops. But a 7-2 Irish lead quickly evaporated. Syracuse stitched together an 8-0 run, which started in the first period and carried into the back half of play. Sophomore Katelyn Mashewske was at the core of the Orange comeback. She won possessions in bunches for Syracuse, finishing the day with a program-record 13 draw controls. Once the Orange had the lead, Syracuse never left the driver’s seat, securing a 15-12 win and the series sweep.
Syracuse is off to its first 5-0 start since 2017.
Even more notable? Northwestern, which hasn’t had this kind of start in nine years.
Also 5-0, the Wildcats are coming off a sweep of their own. Following a one-week COVID-19 postponement, No. 3 Northwestern’s top-five showdown with No. 5 Penn State didn’t disappoint. Thursday’s matchup saw 37 goals scored between the two high-flying offenses. The Wildcats, who lead the nation with 19.8 goals per game, came out on top, thanks to a 13-goal second half. Senior Lauren Gilbert notched seven, and UVA grad transfer Sammy Mueller had four, including a highlight-reel rip.
Northwestern capped the series with a 17-13 victory on Saturday. Once again, Gilbert starred. Showing off her free-position expertise, the veteran attacker—now fourth nationally in goals per game—went 5-for-5 from the eight-meter arc. Penn State used a 4-0 second-half run to narrow its deficit to three and make things interesting. Yet the Wildcats answered with three consecutive goals, and that was that.
By the way, the last time Northwestern started 5-0, the Wildcats won the national title.
If they’re to rewrite that narrative in 2021, they’ll have to get past North Carolina, one of a few ACC teams to drop the hammer this week.
No. 1 UNC trounced No. 14 Virginia Tech, 22-1: That’s not a typo. Neither is the Tar Heels’ 30-0 all-time record against the Hokies. UNC outshot Virginia Tech, 31-11, and 10 Tar Heels found the back of the net as top-ranked UNC moved to 7-0 on the season.
Jamie Ortega and Katie Hoeg, who combined for 11 points, embrace after a goal amid UNC’s 22-1 win over Virginia Tech on March 13. Photo courtesy: Ryan Hunt/UNC Athletics.
Charlotte North piloted Boston College to 20-11 win over UVA: North was nothing short of dominant Saturday. She scored on all seven of her shots, a handful of which were acrobatic to say the least, and won 11 draws. The Eagles never trailed, went 15-for-15 on the clear, and scored nine of the first 12 goals in the second half.
And if you’re not a fan of a good blowout, I’ve got just what you’re looking for. After all, this week had a couple nail-biters with Top 20 implications…
Johns Hopkins almost did the unthinkable: The Blue Jays outscored No. 8 Maryland, 3-1, in the back half of the second period to force overtime and nearly upset the Terrapins for the first time in 19 tries. But Abbey Hurlbrink’s free-position attempt soared high, and UMD’s Hannah Leubecker put the game away on the other end.
Hannah Leubecker celebrates after scoring the game-winner against Johns Hopkins in overtime on March 12. Photo courtesy: Maryland Athletics.
Temple scraped by Big 5 rival Saint Joseph’s: Temple moved to 4-1 and played its way into the Inside Lacrosse poll with a thrilling double-overtime win over Saint Joseph’s. Fifth-year defender Kara Nakrasius iced the game with a free-position shot, snapping Temple’s three-game losing streak to the Hawks. The Owls took down No. 11 Towson earlier in the week—the program’s first ranked win since 2018—and get Florida next.
Other Notable Storylines:
1) Jacksonville upset No. 6 Florida for the first time in program history. The Dolphins were 0-9 all-time against their bigger and more established in-state foe. Jacksonville and Florida have played in all but two of the Dolphins’ seasons since the program was created in 2010. But the Gators had won by at least six goals in each of those first nine meetings. It was never close. Then Saturday happened. Led by Molly Brock’s 13 draw controls, Jacksonville dominated the circle, 19-6. The Dolphins, who at one point led by five goals, also outshot Florida (31-21) and scooped up nine more ground balls than the Gators (35-24). Alyssa Arnold and Sarah Elms posted hat tricks. And, despite not scoring in the final 13 minutes, Jacksonville held on for the 12-11 victory, its first-ever top-10 win. It doesn’t get much better than that.
2) No. 18 Loyola rattled off its fourth victory in a row, handing Drexel its first loss. Livy Rosenzweig and the Greyhounds continued their hot streak on Sunday with a 17-12 win over previously undefeated and No. 16 Drexel—one of this year’s Cinderella stories. Rosenzweig tied career highs with six goals and nine points in the victory. Perhaps more impressive, though, junior defender Katie Detwiler held Tewaaraton Watch List honoree Karson Harris to just one score on three shots. Harris came into the weekend with the second-most goals (24) in the country. Earlier in the week, the Patriot League Preseason Defensive Player of the Year shut down Georgetown’s Michaela Bruno. Detwiler ended the grad student attacker’s 23-game point streak and ultimately received her second straight Patriot League Defender of the Week award. Loyola has outscored its last four opponents, 65-28, and climbed to No. 13 Monday.
3) Thanks to Alyssa Parella’s 10 goals, Hofstra bounced back from Albany defeat. There’s putting a team on your back. And then there’s what Parrella did on Saturday. The fifth-year attacker, who already set the CAA all-time goals record earlier this year, added a career-high 10 versus Villanova. She netted all five of the Pride’s goals in the second half, including the final three of the game to break a 9-9 tie with under 10 minutes left. She also logged four draw controls, a ground ball, and a caused turnover. It was a gutsy effort from Parrella. Her 10 goals were not only a Hofstra single-game record but also the most by a CAA player since 2002. Parrella’s scoring explosion came four days after she was held to two goals in the Pride’s 18-7 loss to Albany.
Hofstra’s all-time points and goals leader Alyssa Parrella wraps around the cage against Villanova on March 13. Photo courtesy: Adam Flash/Hofstra Chronicle.
Numbers to Know:
9.50 - draw controls per game by UConn midfielder Sydney Watson, tops in the country. The senior has won 57 bouts in the circle in six outings, a big reason why the Huskies rank in the upper third (28th) nationally in draw control percentage (56.2%).
3.50 - turnovers caused per game by Wagner defender Aileen Hannan, the highest clip in the nation. She’s forced 14 changes of possession in four games this year. As a team, the Seahawks entered the week ninth nationally in caused turnovers per game (11.75).
54.3% - shot percentage of William & Mary, the highest in the country. The Tribe have scored 76 goals on 140 shots in five games but only have a 2-3 record to show for it.
William & Mary sophomore Sarah Cipolla scores against then-No. 19 Richmond on Feb. 27. It was one of her two goals in the 14-11 loss. Photo courtesy: William & Mary Athletics.
Tewaaraton Watch:
NOTE: As the season progresses, I’ll also track draw control, ground ball, and caused turnover leaders. Because of COVID-19 and the various postponements (and game totals), I’ve also broken down scoring categories in game averages. Stats are correct through March 15.
POINTS LEADERS
POINTS PER GAME LEADERS
GOALS PER GAME LEADERS
WATCH LIST HONOREES
The Tewaaraton Foundation announced its 2021 men’s and women’s watch lists last week, recognizing the early contenders for the sports’ national Player of the Year awards. Players from all three NCAA divisions are eligible. As far as the women’s list is concerned, the top four teams ranked in the Inside Lacrosse poll accounted for 18 honorees. UNC and Syracuse led the way with five apiece, and Northwestern and Notre Dame weren’t too far behind with four each.
Players not featured on the initial watch list still have an opportunity to play their way into national POY contention. The first wave of watch list additions will be announced on April 2. Next, the field will be cut down to 25 on April 23, a group that can include non-watch list members (essentially inviting a second round of newcomers).
In early May, five finalists will be named. Then, after the conclusion of the NCAA Tournament, the award will be given.
Latest Inside Lacrosse Poll
NOTE: screenshots pulled from insidelacrosse.com.
The top four remained intact this week, with UNC sitting atop the poll for fifth straight week. Arguably the biggest winner was BC, which jumped from No. 10 to No. 5 after its runaway victory against UVA. Duke cracked the Top 10 following a resounding 19-9 win over High Point. Most of the poll’s movement occurred in the back half of the Top 20, though. Jacksonville and Temple entered the ranks, while Virginia Tech and Hofstra dropped out. Towson and Drexel slid a bit, but two more CAA teams—Elon and JMU—are once again floating in the receiving votes section.
What’s Ahead?
No. 1 UNC @ No. 15 Louisville, March 18, 7 p.m.
No. 14 Jacksonville @ Virginia Tech, March 20, 12 p.m.
No. 8 Duke @ No. 9 UVA, March 19, 7 p.m. & March 21, 12 p.m.
No. 19 Stanford @ Colorado, March 20, 3 p.m.
Hope you enjoyed this edition of the Quick on the Draw newsletter. If you liked it or know someone who will, please share! We’ll be back next Monday for more coverage.