After completing his 40th season at the helm of the Nassau Community College Lacrosse program, Coach Rich Speckmann has stepped down as the Head Coach. He will continue in the program for the immediate future in another capacity.

In 40 years as the Head Coach of the Lions his teams have participated in 39 of the 40 NJCAA Final Fours and has won a record 20 National Championships. Coach Speckmann has compiled a won-lost record of 477-158-1 during his tenure.

Winning championships is only half of Coach Speckmann’s legacy. Of his players, over 200 have been named NJCAA All Americans, 6 have been selected to the U.S. World Team, and dozens have been named NCAA All Americans. Coach Speckmann’s family tree of coaches include Rich Meade, Head Coach U.S. Naval Academy, Greg Cannella, Head Coach University Massachusetts, and Dave Klarman, former Head Coach University of North Carolina. Current Division I Assistant Coaches include Sean Smith at Hofstra University and J.P. Brazel at Sacred Heart University.

Coach Speckmann’s teams have been known for being unselfish, fundamentally sound, and always prepared. He is a member of the Oceanside High School, SUNY Cortland, and the Long Island Metropolitan Foundation Halls of Fame.

Longtime (since 1984) Assistant Coach George Powers has been named Nassau Community College’s new Head Coach.

QUEENS, N.Y. – The Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team defeated St. John’s 13-6 on Saturday afternoon in BIG EAST action at DaSilva Memorial Stadium. The win improved the 15th-ranked Fighting Irish to 7-5 overall and 2-3 in BIG EAST play, while the Red Storm fell to 5-7 overall and 2-3 in the league.

Senior midfielder Grant Krebs (Annapolis, Md./St. Mary’s) paced the Irish with his fourth hat trick of the season. Junior midfielder Zach Brenneman (East Hampton, N.Y./East Hampton), sophomore attackman Sean Rogers (New Hyde Park, N.Y./Holy Trinity) and senior attackman Neal Hicks (Atlanta, Ga./Lovett School) all had two goals for Notre Dame.

Notre Dame jumped on top less than three minutes into the game on Brenneman’s first tally of the day. St. John’s knotted the contest on a Garrett Mitchell goal midway through the first quarter. The Irish regained the lead less than a minute later on a goal from Hicks. Notre Dame led 2-1 after the opening 15 minutes of play.

Following a Red Storm goal from Charlie Holenstein with 11:37 left in the second quarter, the Fighting Irish went on an 8-0 run to establish momentum in the game. The uprising started on a goal from Rogers with 7:26 showing on the clock in the first half. Krebs followed with three straight tallies to put Notre Dame up 6-2 at halftime.

Junior midfielder David Earl (Simsbury, Conn./Westminster School) kept the run going with a goal at the 11:28 mark of the third quarter. Rogers netted his second goal of the day less than two minutes later to put the Irish up by six (8-2). Scores from Brenneman and Hicks completed the surge with 3:14 remaining in the third quarter.

St. John’s temporarily stopped the bleeding on a Tyler Novotny goal with 2:38 left in the third period. Notre Dame led 10-3 after three quarters of play.

A man-up goal from sophomore attackman Nicholas Beattie (Columbus, Ohio/Worthington Kilbourne) put Notre Dame back up by eight (11-3) less than a minute into the final period. Following a goal from the Red Storm’s Harry Kutner, Irish sophomore midfielder Max Pfeifer (Crozet, Va./Western Albemarle) scored with 11:23 left in regulation to put Notre Dame on top 12-4.

Goals from Novotny and Tom Manes made it a 12-6 affair. Notre Dame freshman midfielder Steve Murphy (Shirley, N.Y./William Floyd) netted the final goal of the day with 4:12 showing on the clock.

St. John’s held a 35-30 edge in shots. Notre Dame’s Scott Rodgers (Wantagh, N.Y./MacArthur) started in goal and made 13 saves, while surrendering five goals, in 51:22 of play. Rodgers now is 6-3 this season. Brendan Moore (Charlotte, N.C./Providence), a senior, played the final 8:38 and made three stops for the Irish. Jeff Lowman made eight saves for the Red Storm.

The Fighting Irish will conclude the regular season against top-ranked Syracuse at 7:00 p.m. (ET) on Saturday, May 1 at Arlotta Stadium. The game will be aired live on ESPNU.

April 24, 2010 – DaSilva Memorial Stadium – Queens, N.Y.
#15 Notre Dame (7-5, 2-3) – 2 4 4 3 – 13
St. John’s (5-7, 2-3) – 1 1 1 3 – 6

Notre Dame Scoring (goals-assists):
Grant Krebs 3-0, Neal Hicks 2-1, Zach Brenneman 2-1, Sean Rogers 2-0, Steve Murphy 1-1, Max Pfeifer 1-1, Nicholas Beattie 1-1, David Earl 1-0; Goaltenders: Scott Rodgers (W, 51:22, 13 saves, 5 GA), Brendan Moore (8:38, 3 saves, 1 GA)

St. John’s Scoring (goals-assists):
Tyler Novotny 2-0, Charlie Holenstein 1-1, Harry Kutner 1-0, Garrett Mitchell 1-0, Tom Manes 1-0, Matt Hurst 0-1; Goaltenders: Jeff Lowman (L, 58:57, 8 saves, 13 GA), Gavin Buckley (1:03, 0 saves, 0 GA)

– ND –

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HARTFORD, Conn. – For the second straight week, sophomore Mark Matthews (Oshawa, Ontario) used a late fourth-quarter goal to seal the win as the No. 18/20 University of Denver men’s lacrosse team (10-4, 5-0 ECAC) defeated No. 17/18 Fairfield University (8-4, 4-2 ECAC) 9-8 in the first game of the Inaugural ESPNU Warrior Classic at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Conn. Denver has now won seven straight games.

Also scoring for the Pioneers was senior John Dickenson (Dallas, Texas), juniors Andrew Lay (Denver, Colo.) and Todd Baxter (Eden Prairie, Minn.), sophomores Alex Demopoulos (Canton, Conn.) and Patrick Rogers (Portland, Ore.) and freshman Colin Scott (Ridgefield, Conn.).

“I thought we played a much better game after the first quarter,” said head coach Bill Tierney. “Fairfield really made it difficult for us and took advantage of a lot of our mistakes in the first half, but in the style that we have played in all season long, we found a way to win down the stretch when it counted. A lot of credit for this win needs to go to Chase Carraro, who did an excellent job winning the ball for us on face-offs and getting our offense some really good looks.”

A freshman from Louisville, Ky., Carraro finished the game winning 12-of-19 face-offs and scooping up four ground balls.

Posting his sixth complete game of the season, senior goalie Peter Lowell (Freeport, Maine) made nine saves for Denver between the Pipes, including four in the second quarter.

Denver held the advantage in face-offs, winning 13-of-21, while Fairfield held the advantage in shots (29-23) and ground balls (24-16). Fairfield’s Sam Snow led the scoring efforts for the Stags, scoring three goals and tallying one assist for four points, while Brent Adams added two goals.

Up next, Denver will host No. 7 Loyola University at INVESCO Field at Mile High on Sunday, May 2, 2010 at 1 p.m. MT. The game will be held after Denver Outlaws training camp, which will run from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.

This is the second consecutive year in that the Pioneers will host a game at INVESCO Field. Last season, Denver took part in the Sixth Annual Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Showdown, hosting Notre Dame. Since turning Division I in the 1999 season, the Pioneers have not faced the Greyhounds.

Tickets for the game are on sale at all Ticket Master locations. Fans can also purchase them through www.DenverOutlaws.com or by calling (303) OUT-LAWS. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for youths (12 and under).

Pioneer Notes
The win stretches the Pioneers’ winning streak to seven games and improves them to a perfect 5-0 in conference play. The streak began on March 20 with a 13-12 win over Stony Brook and has included wins over Air Force (9-6), Hobart (17-13), Bellarmine (12-8), Quinnipiac (14-10), Ohio State (10-9) and Fairfield (9-8).
The Pioneers are 6-0 when allowing fewer than 10 goals and are 8-0 against teams when winning more face-offs.
Matthews provided both goals to tie the game at 5-5 and at 8-8 and then scored his second game winner of the season with 3:58 left in the game for his seventh straight game with two or more goals. For the season, Matthews has six hat tricks.

Finishing with one point, Demopoulos extended his consecutive games with one or more points to 14 games.

- PIONEERS -

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In a game of runs, it was Navy that had the last one as the Midshipmen erased an 8-6 deficit late in the third quarter and held Johns Hopkins scoreless for the final 22:30 to seal the victory.

A Brendan Connors goal with 10 seconds remaining in the third quarter ignited the game-ending spree for the Mids.  With time winding down in the period, Ryan O’Leary found Connors cutting across the slot unmarked and hit him in stride.  Connors wasted little time slipping home his 17^th goal of the season to make it a one-goal game entering the final period.

Navy’s only goal of the fourth quarter came at the 9:39 mark as senior Patrick Moran blew home an extra-man goal home from 13 yards out.  While neither team scored again until Warner’s game-winner, it wasn’t for a lack of chances.  Navy’s R.J. Wickham twice came up with big saves in the final nine minutes of regulation and Johns Hopkins’ Pierce Bassett stuffed Warner in tight less than a minute into overtime.

Wickham then kicked aside a shot by Michael Kimmel with 2:39 remaining in overtime and Navy forced a Kimmel turnover 15 seconds later.  Warner’s goal came just over a minute after a Navy timeout and seconds after Nikk Davis missed an open net on a nifty back-door feed.

The Blue Jays had hopped out to a 5-0 lead in the first quarter as Kyle Wharton and Kimmel both scored a pair of goals and sophomore Tom Palasek added a goal of his own to spark the game-opening spree.  Palasek and Wharton went back-to-back in a span of 17 seconds late in the quarter to fuel the run, which ended with Kimmel’s second goal with just 46 seconds remaining in the period.  The Blue Jays outshot Navy 13-6 in the opening 15 minutes, but as quickly as they had crafted the five-goal lead, it was gone.

The Midshipmen needed just 40 seconds of the second quarter to get on the board as Moran dodged hard to the goal and scored from in tight.  The margin remained four until midway through the period when Navy erupted for three goals in a span of just under two minutes.

Bucky Smith’s first goal of the season started the three-goal flurry, which was capped by a Joe Lennon goal and included an own goal.  A minute before Lennon actually scored his own goal, he was stopped by Basset on a drive to the cage from the side.  Hopkins’ Matt Dolente tried to scoop up the loose ball, but instead directed it past Bassett just inside the far post.

A Jay Mann goal with 2:30 remaining in the second quarter and the first of Connors’ two goals on the day with 43 seconds remaining accounted for a 6-5 Navy lead at the half.

In keeping with the first half flow of the game, it was Hopkins’ turn to answer with another run of its own.  Palasek slipped inside his defender and scored from in close with 11:30 remaining and senior Steven Boyle dodged from behind the goal and bounced one home to give the Blue Jays a 7-6 lead with 5:55 on the clock in the third quarter.  Palasek completed the first hat trick of his career just over two minutes later, but that would be the last goal of the game for the Blue Jays, who went more than 19 minutes without scoring twice in the game.

Navy got a team-high three points from Wanter (1g, 2a), while Moran and Connors both scored two goals to pace Navy offensively. Wickham, who entered the game ranked second nationally in save percentage, posted eight saves in goal and Navy held advantages in shots (40-32), ground balls (35-21) and faceoffs (13-of-21).

Johns Hopkins was led by Palasek’s three goals, while Boyle (1g, 2a), Kimmel (2g) and Wharton (2g) also registered multi-point games for the Blue Jays, who got a career-high 14 saves from Bassett.

Johns Hopkins will return to action on Wednesday, April 28 when the Blue Jays host Towson at 7 pm.  The Blue Jays must win their remaining two games to be eligible for selection to the 2010 NCAA Tournament.  Teams must have a .500 record to be eligible for an at-large bid to the tournament.

#17 Johns Hopkins (5-7) 5-0-3-0-0/8

Navy (6-7) 0-6-1-1-1/9

Goals:  J:  Palasek-3, Wharton-2, Kimmel-2, Boyle.  N:  Moran-2, Connors-2, Warner, Lennon, Smith, Mann, Team.  Assists:  J:  Boyle-2.  N: Warner-2, O’Leary, Sullivan.  Saves:  J:  Bassett-14.  N:  Wickham-9.  Shots:  J-32.  N-40.  EMO:  J:  0-for-1.  N:  1-for-2.  Attendance:  10,128.

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Ohio State Lacrosse 2010
Air Force vs Ohio State (Apr 24, 2010 at Columbus, Ohio)
Air Force (1-11, 0-5 ECAC) vs. Ohio State (7-6, 3-3 ECAC)
Date: Apr 24, 2010  Location: Columbus, Ohio        Stadium: Ohio Stadium
Attendance:31078   Start time:11:05 pm  End time:1:05      Total time:2:00
SCORE BY PERIOD       1  2  3  4  Tot
————————————-
Air Force………..  3  2  1  0 -  6
Ohio State……….  3  2  2  3 – 10
Air Force SCORING: GOALS: Zack Carroll 3; Vinny Sandtorv 2; Paul Gaski
1.
ASSISTS: None.
Ohio State SCORING: GOALS: Logan Schuss 2; James Green 2; Jeff Tundo
1; Mario Ventiquattro 1; Andrew Stimmel 1; Eddie Bambino 1; Mike Smail
1; Mike Pires 1.
ASSISTS: Logan Schuss 2; Jeff Tundo 2; Bryce Woodson 1.
Air Force GROUND BALLS: Bryan Gilbreath 3; Benson Oldmixon 3; Matt
Sanders 3; Zack Carroll 2; John DeBonis 2; Dayton Gilbreath 2; Tristan
Newkirk 2; Ben Cullen 1; Ridge Flick 1; Paul Gaski 1; Adam Paranka 1.
Ohio State GROUND BALLS: Scott Foreman 3; Keenan Ochwat 3; Joe Bonanni
2; Brandon Freeman 2; Kevin Mack 2; Brandon McLean 2; Brock Sorensen
2; Andrew Stimmel 2; Trey Wilkes 2; Eddie Bambino 1; Jarred Bowman 1;
Conor David 1; James Green 1; Scott Lathrop 1; Logan Schuss 1; Mike
Smail 1; Jeff Tundo 1; Mario Ventiquattro 1.
Air Force TURNOVERS CAUSED: John DeBonis 1; Bryan Gilbreath 1; Dayton
Gilbreath 1.
Ohio State TURNOVERS CAUSED: Scott Foreman 3; Conor David 2; Keenan
Ochwat 1; Brock Sorensen 1.
SHOTS – Air Force 31; Ohio State 40.
SHOTS ON GOAL – Air Force 17; Ohio State 20.
Penalties – Air Force 6/4:30; Ohio State 4/3:30.
MAN-UP OPPORTUNITIES – Air Force 1-4; Ohio State 0-5.
TURNOVERS – Air Force 13; Ohio State 12.
FACEOFFS – Air Force 11-19; Ohio State 8-19.
CLEARS – Air Force 15-18; Ohio State 18-20.
GOALIES – AF: Matt Sanders 0-3 (60:00 minutes, 20 shots-10 saves, 10
GA); OSU: Brandon Freeman 7-5 (60:00, 17-11, 6).
Start time: 11:05 pm  Finish time: 1:05      Length of game: 2:00
Officials:.
A-31078 T-2:00

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Game 15 l ACC Tournament Semifinal

Duke (11-3, 1-2 ACC) vs. Virginia (11-1, 2-1 ACC)

Friday, April 22  5:00 p.m.

Byrd Stadium l College Park, Md.

ACC Select l Live Stats l ACC Championship Site l Complete Game Notes

Duke Meets Virginia in ACC Semifinal

Just six days after upsetting top-ranked Virginia 13-9 in Charlottesville, Va., the Blue Devils will take on the Cavaliers again in the ACC Semifinal on April 23 in College Park, Md. … Faceoff is set for 5 p.m., in Byrd Stadium … The winner advances to the championship on April 25 at 3:30 p.m.

Duke-Virginia Series History

Duke and Virginia are meeting for the 71st time since the first meeting in 1938 and for the second time in six days … The Cavaliers own a 48-22 lead in the series, but it is Duke who has had the recent success in winning each of the past eight matches … The Blue Devils upended the No. 1 Cavaliers in Charlottesville on April 17 … Virginia’s last win over the Blue Devils was on April 17, 2004, a 13-4 triumph in Charlottesville … Duke is 5-6 all-time against Virginia in ACC Tournament contests and has won the past three meetings in the postseason competition.

Last Time Out Against Virginia

Sixth-ranked Duke outscored No. 1 Virginia 8-3 in the second half on its way to a 13-9 victory at Klöckner Stadium … Senior Ned Crotty and junior Zach Howell led the attack, combining for seven points, as Duke recorded its eighth straight win over the Cavaliers … CJ Costabile went 10-of-13 in faceoffs and added the game-winning assist in the win.

A Win Over Virginia Would

Be the program’s 451st all-time victory
Be John Danowski’s 281st career victory and 62nd at Duke
Push Duke’s win streak to 11 games
Be the ninth straight win over Virginia
Give Duke an 18-14 record in the ACC Tournament
Make Duke 13-9 in ACC Tournament Semifinals
Put Duke in the ACC Championship game for the 12th time
Put the Blue Devils in the title tilt for the fourth straight season, a first in program history
ACC Tournament Notes

Duke owns an all-time record of 17-14 in ACC Tournament action.
Duke is 11-9 all-time in ACC Tournament semifinal games and 6-5 in championship tilts.
Against the field, Duke is 5-4 vs. Maryland, 7-4 vs. North Carolina and 5-6 vs. Virginia.
Duke is 0-3 in ACC Tournament games played in College Park, Md.
Duke has won six ACC Tournament championships in 1995, 2001, 2002, 2007, 2008 and 2009.
Duke has had six ACC Tournament MVPs in Ross Moscatti (1995), Scott Bross (2001), A.J. Kincel (2002), Matt Danowski (2007), Dan Loftus (2008) and CJ Costabile (2009).
Duke landed seven players on the 2009 ACC All-Tournament Team … CJ Costabile, Ned Crotty, Mike Catalino, Zach Howell, Michael Manley, Max Quinzani and Steve Schoeffel were voted to the squad.
In 2009 CJ Costabile became the first freshmen in ACC lacrosse history to win the ACC Tournament MVP award.
Recent ACC History

Duke has launched itself into the top of the ACC since 2001, winning five league titles and sporting a .667 winning percentage … Here is how it breaks down across the four teams since 2001.

Duke in the National Stats

Duke senior attackman Ned Crotty currently ranks second in the nation in assists (2.79/gm), while fellow attacker Max Quinzani is fourth in goals (3.36/gm) … Senior defenseman Parker McKee is 21st in caused turnovers (1.64/gm) and 14th in ground balls (5.29/gm) … As a team, Duke is fourth in man-up offense, fifth in points per game, sixth in scoring offense (13.07) and ground balls (36.36/gm).

Against The ACC

Duke is 66-140 all-time against ACC foes … The Blue Devils own the most wins over North Carolina with 26 and the fewest over Maryland at 17 … In regular season contests, the Blue Devils are 38-117 against conference foes.

Duke starts ACC Tournament play as the No. 4 overall seed with an 11-3 overall record and 1-2 mark against conference foes … The starting attack unit of Max Quinzani, Ned Crotty and Zach Howell lead the Blue Devil offense … Quinzani is tops in goals and points with 47 and eight, respectively … Crotty has 53 points from 14 goals and a team-high 39 assists, while Howell has 46 points (34g, 12a) … Redshirt sophomore Justin Turri has 25 points to round out the top scorers … Defensively, Duke is allowing just 8.90 goals per game and has held each of its past four opponents under 10 goals … Senior Parker McKee leads the team with 23 caused turnovers and 74 ground balls … Junior Tom Montelli has forced 13 caused turnovers … At the X is the trio of Sam Payton, CJ Costabile and Terrence Molinari .. Payton leads the way with a .545 win percentage (85-of-156), while Costabile is 54-of-100 (.540) … Molinari has won 34-of-65 restarts for a .523 win percentage … In goal, freshman Dan Wigrizer has started 13 games and owns a 9.16 goals against average and a .543 save percentage.

Scouting Virginia

Virginia heads into the ACC Tournament as the nation’s No. 2 ranked team with an 11-1 overall record and 2-1 mark in the ACC … The Cavaliers are 17-16 all-time in ACC Tournament contests and 12-8 in semifinal games … Chris Bocklet and Steele Stanwick pace the offense with 42 points apiece … Bocklet has a team-high 33 goals, while Stanwick has a team-best 21 assists … Brian Carroll has 26 points and Matt White and Shamel Bratton round out the 20-point scorers with 23 and 21, respectively … Ryan Benicasa and Brian McDermott split faceoff duties … Benicasa is 62-of-107 (.579) and McDermott is 69-of-114 (.605) … Ken Clausen anchors the defense with 26 caused turnovers and 40 ground balls … In goal, Adam Ghitelman sports an 11-1 overall record with a 7.90 goals against average and a .538 save percentage … The Cavaliers are allowing just 7.83 goals per game.

Duke Riding a Nine Game Win Streak

With the 13-9 win over top-ranked Virginia, Duke extended its winning streak to nine games … The Blue Devils have not lost since March 10 against North Carolina … Duke’s nine-game run is currently the nation’s longest winning streak.

-d-u-k-e-

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No. 12 Notre Dame (9-4, 5-1 Big East) at No. 18 Ohio State (8-5, 1-3 ALC)
Date: Thursday, April 22 – 5 p.m.
Where: Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium (Grass/8,000)

OPENING DRAW
With just three games remaining in the regular season, the 18th-ranked Ohio State women’s lacrosse team welcomes No. 12 Notre Dame to Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium at 5 p.m. Thursday. The Buckeyes are 8-5 on the season, while the Fighting Irish are 9-4 and riding a four-game winning streak.

FOLLOW THE ACTION
The Ohio State-Notre Dame game will have live video streaming available at bigtennetwork.com for a $2.99 charge. It can also be followed via live stats, linked from the home page or women’s lacrosse schedule page of OhioStateBuckeyes.com, or Twitter (@OhioState_WLAX). The game will be aired on tape delay on the Big Ten Network beginning at 10 p.m. Friday.

RECORDS WATCH
With two assists vs. Vanderbilt April 12, senior Kelly Haggerty broke the all-time record for career points at Ohio State. The West Chester, Pa., native now has 131 goals and 93 assists for 228 points, passing Kristen Slahor’s 221 (82g, 139a) earned during the 2005-08 seasons. Haggerty is second all-time in career goals and assists, needing eight and 46, respectively, to eclipse the leader in each category.

DYNAMIC DUO
Kelly Haggerty and Alayna Markwordt are one of the most successful scoring duos in NCAA lacrosse. The pair has combined for 118 points, the sixth-most among Division I scoring tandems. Haggerty leads the Buckeyes with 30 goals and 32 assists, while Markwordt – the reigning ALC rookie of the year – is second with 35 goals and 21 assists.

MARGIN OF VICTORY
In games won, the Buckeyes have outscored their opponents 136-65 – a 71-goal difference and an average of 8.9 goals per game. Their largest win this season came against Cincinnati, 20-5, April 14 – the largest margin since exactly a year ago to date against Detroit (21-4).

ANNIE GET YOUR SAVE
Heading into the week, junior goalie Annie Carruthers led the ALC in saves per game (11.0) and save percentage (0.525) and is ranked third and fourth in the NCAA, respectively in the two categories. The Columbus Academy product made a career-high 22 saves against Northwestern March 24 and has had at least 10 in seven games this season. With 145 on the year, she is fifth all-time in single-season saves and needs nine to tie the fourth-place Megan Barnett and her 154 tallied in 1999.

DEFENSIVE DIVA
Maghan Beaudrault leads the team with 23 caused turnovers this season – nearly twice as many as her closest teammate (Gabby Capuzzi, 12). Her 1.77 caused turnovers per game ranks 30th in the NCAA and third in the ALC.

RANK AND FILE
The Buckeyes re-entered the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) poll at No. 20 April 5 for the first time since the March 1 edition and have since moved up two spots to No. 18. After being limited to receiving votes beginning Marsh 8, Ohio State has gone 5-3 with its losses coming at the hands of top-ranked and undefeated Northwestern, No. 10 Vanderbilt and No. 18 Penn State.

GONE STREAKING
Two Buckeye attackers hold point-scoring streaks of at least 20 games. Kelly Haggerty has notched at least one goal or assist in each of the last 31 games – the 17th-longest active streak in the country – while Alayna Markwordt has posted points in 27-consecutive games.

BIG GAME, SMALL SCREEN
Buckeye lacrosse made its debut on Big Ten Network last weekend with the Penn State game. The Notre Dame matchup Thursday will be streamed live on BigTenNetwork.com and then shown on tape delay on the television network at 10 p.m. April 23. The games will air intermittently throughout the week; check local listings for times.

SCOUTING THE IRISH
Notre Dame rides a four-game winning streak coming into Columbus Thursday, including two victories over ranked opponents in No. 7 Syracuse and No. 13 Loyola. The defense, led by goalkeeper Ellie Hilling, has been the deciding factor as it has only allowed 10 goals over the last three games. As a team, the Irish are 16th in the nation, giving up 9.08 goals per game. Jackie Doherty leads the Irish in ground balls (43, 3.31 per game) and caused turnovers (30, 2.31 per game) to also top the Big East in both categories.
On the attack, Gina Scioscia’s seven-point game (3g, 4a) in the team’s last outing vs. Cincinnati gave her a team-leading 39 points off 24 goals and 15 assists. Two others – Kailene Abt and Maggie Tamasitis – have more than 30 points, coming in at a tie for second with 33.

SERIES HISTORY
Notre Dame and Ohio State will meet for the 15th time in the all-time series with the Buckeyes narrowly trailing 6-8 through the first 14 games. In the last meeting between the teams, Feb. 22, 2009, in South Bend, Notre Dame came away with a 14-11 win. Rachel Hawes, Jayme Beard and Gabby Capuzzi each netted hat tricks, while goalie Kristen Gilwee notched 17 saves in the loss.

LAST TIME OUT
It was a tale of two halves as the No. 19 Ohio State women’s lacrosse team built a first-half lead but fell to No. 18 Penn State, 18-12, at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium last Sunday. Brittney Zerhusen and Alayna Markwordt paced the attack as the Buckeyes moved to 8-5 on the season and 1-3 in the ALC. Coming off a record-setting performance against Cincinnati Wednesday, Zerhusen finished with three goals and an assist, while Alayna Markwordt also posted four points with two and two. Annie Carruthers tallied 11 saves, including two on free-position attempts, and marked her seventh game this season with at least 10 stops between the pipes.

COMING UP NEXT
The Buckeyes close out their home schedule at 1 p.m. Sunday against Detroit. Five seniors will be honored – Laura Burke, Lindsey Burkhart, Rachael Cornicello, Kelly Haggerty and Lauren Sterner – for their four years at Ohio State. The Titans are 6-10 on the season and coming off back-to-back losses to LeMoyne and Longwood.

###OhioStateBuckeyes.com###

Fitness is a huge part of success in the game of lacrosse. You must posses speed, strength and endurance in order be competitive. Arriving at the first day of practice out-of-shape, regardless of your talent, is the best way to get on your coaches bad side and fall way behind other less talented players and end up on the bench. You simply cannot play lacrosse if you are not in top condition, there is too much running, hustle and fitness involved in the game.

I always started training at least 2 months before the first practice because I didn’t want to spend the first weeks trying to get into playing shape and looking bad in front of the coaches. You want to show your commitment to the team and impress the coaches quickly because many decisions about who will play are made in the first weeks of practice. Your goal must be to make sure you are at least a starter, which will give you an opportunity to have a good season – and this all starts by arriving in shape.

I suggest a routine of distance running, basketball and some sort of muscle building routine.

Distance running:

There is a ton of running in lacrosse, and you better be prepared. Your goal is to be in shape when the season starts, not be a marathon runner. In two months, you should be able to increase your cardio fitness by running approx. 3 times per week. For the first 2 weeks, I would run 1.5 miles each time you go to the track, followed by some 100 yard sprints. This should start to get your legs in shape and give you enough time to recover to prevent injury. Make sure you have a good running shoe and do some light stretching.

Around the 3rd week, you will notice 1.5 miles feels very easy and you can start to run about 3 miles each time out. I would not go much beyond that distance; that should be enough to really get you in terrific shape for the start of the season. Distance running is great for lacrosse players.

Basketball:

While distance running is great for overall endurance, basketball is great for improving your first step speed, lateral movement and your ability to backpeddle. Basketball is a game of quick bursts, jumping and sprints; all of which will greatly increase your leg strength and again, your endurance. Some lacrosse players prefer HOOPS over running because it more closely simulates the workout of a lacrosse game and is more fun.

When I was preparing for the season, I would play hoops 2-3 times per week. Since I love basketball, this was never an issue. Get a few teammates together and play other good athletes. Cover the best man on the other team and work on your latteral movement. Offensively, push the tempo of the game but share the ball. Play with a purpose. Don’t just go out there and start shooting 3 pt shots and not getting back on defense. Get in the post, rebound, build your strength, defend and communicate. This is the best way to maximize your workout.

Basketball also gets you in mental shape. Each game has its own dynamic. Obviously, the goal is to help your team win the game. How can you contribute? How can you help your teammates get better? What can we do as a team to stop the other teams strength? These are exactly the same issues you will face as a leader on your lacrosse team.

Strength building:

The third area you want to work on is your physical strength. I always love weights but also added routine push-ups and sit-ups. Lacrosse is a very physical sport and if you get pushed around easily, you probably will not be very successful. You want to be strong enough to both take and give a hit; and run through stick checks.

I normally hit the weight room about 3 times per week prior to lacrosse season. I was not trying to get HUGE; I wanted to be strong, fast and flexible. I would do push-pull routines of chest/triceps, back/biceps and shoulders/hand strength work. Personally, I never did any legs in the weight room since I was running and playing basketball but squats are great for explosive strength so u should work them into your routine.

After the first few weeks, I would notice improvement in my strength and begin doing more reps. While I did use a decent amount of weight, I never wanted to feel like I was do so much I could hurt myself – an injury in the weight room can be a huge setback. I wanted to be lean and strong, fit and ready to explode at the first practice. That is the build of an athlete – look at hoop stars like Lebron James or any top lacrosse player! Lean and mean.

Weight lifting is a also great way to prevent injury.

A complete work out would also include YOGA to increase flexibility.

DIET: A diet high in protein, vegetables, fruits and low fat will remove any weight your carrying and provide you with the necessary nutrition to add muscle.

PICK A STICK! Start to break-in a few sticks so you are comfortable with your equipment. Find a stick that compliments your game. Make sure you have at least 2 sticks ready for the start of the seasons; in-case one breaks in the cold weather. LACROSSE HERO.

So arrive in shape and ready to go! Get your teammates to join you in your commitment and be a leader. It’s a great start to a great season!

The Pride, who won their second consecutive game, improve to 7-3 on the year and 1-2 in the CAA. Delaware, which dropped its second consecutive game, fall to 5-6 overall and 0-2 in league play.

Card, a junior, tallied a game-high six points on three goals and three assists with classmate Bentz adding two goals and two assists. Ford, a sophomore who returned to action after missing the previous two games with a foot injury, scored three goals and added one assist.

Hofstra sophomore goalie Andrew Gvozden stopped 11 shots in the Pride cage for his second win of the year. The Blue Hens of Delaware were led by senior Curtis Dickson with four goals while senior Martin Cahill added two assists. Junior Noah Fossner made 10 saves in the Blue Hens’ cage.

The first half featured four lead changes and five tied scores. The Pride would use a five-goal run near the end of the first half and into the third quarter to pull away from the Blue Hens. Ford opened the scoring in the contest 6:11 into the first quarter recording his seventh of the season, on a bullet from the middle of the box, for a 1-0 lead.

But the Blue Hens responded with three unanswered goals as Dickson notched his 39th and 40th goals of the year around a Nick Elsmo goal to give Delaware a 3-1 lead with 4:37 to play in the first quarter. Card would notch his first of the game and 20th of the season with 1:04 to play in the period to close the deficit to 3-2 after one quarter.

Dickson boosted the Blue Hens’ lead back to two at 4-2 with a man-up goal, from Cahill, 53 seconds into the second quarter before Hofstra scored unanswered goals by Ford, Bentz and freshman Adrian Sorichetti, in a three minute span, to take a 5-4 lead. But the Blue Hens came right back with sophomore Grant Kaleikau scoring his ninth of the year at the 6:58 mark and John Austin notching his ninth 37 seconds later to give UD a 6-5 advantage.

Hofstra’s high-scoring junior Jamie Lincoln tallied his 29th goal of the year, from Card, with 4:03 to play in the half to tie the game before the Blue Hens’ Chris Hichborn scored his eighth goal of the year less than a minute later to give Delaware a 7-6 lead.

It would be the Blue Hens last lead of the contest as Bentz would score a man-up goal, from Card, with 27 seconds to play in the half, and Card would score his second of the game and 21st of the year, from freshman face-off man John Antoniades, seven seconds later to give the Pride an 8-7 lead at halftime.

In the third quarter, Ford continued the Hofstra run with a man-up goal from Card 30 seconds in and Card completed his third hat-trick of the year seven minutes later, from Bentz, to boost the Pride lead to 10-7. Sophomore Brad Loizeaux added his 13th of the season with 5:59 to play in the third to give Hofstra the biggest lead of the game at 11-7. Dickson would score his 42nd just 35 second before the end of the quarter to close the Delaware gap to 11-8.

Hofstra senior Dan Stein gave the Pride a four-goal lead 2:34 into the fourth quarter with his sixth goal of the year. The Blue Hens closed on goals by Kevin Kaminski at the 6:38 mark and Dom Sebastian 21 seconds later to close to 12-10. But Taylor Burns’ first goal of the season with two seconds remaining was not enough as the Pride posted its fourth straight victory over their longtime conference rivals. Hofstra now leads the series, 23-10.

The Pride outshot Delaware, 34-33, with the Blue Hens picking up 31 ground balls to Hofstra’s 29. Delaware also captured 19 of 27 face-offs.

Hofstra, the CAA preseason favorite, will be looking to keep its conference tournament qualification hopes alive when the Pride return to action next Saturday, April 17 when they travel to State College, Pennsylvania to face Penn State. Game time is 7:30 p.m.

* * * *

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The University of Delaware and Hofstra University treated Big City Classic fans to an exciting show for the second straight year on Saturday, but once again it was the Blue Hens who fell short despite an impressive late rally.

Delaware (5-6, 0-2 Colonial Athletic Association) scored three goals in the final seven minutes of action, but it wasn’t enough as the Hens dropped a 12-11 decision to No. 10 Hofstra in typical battle between the two CAA rivals.

The game was the first of three held Saturday at the new Meadowlands Stadium as part of the second annual Konica Minolta Big City Classic sponsored by Inside Lacrosse. The game was the first event held at the massive new stadium which serves as the home of the National Football League’s New York Giants and New York Jets.

After falling behind 12-8 early in the final stanza, the Hens battled back on goals by Kevin Kaminski and Dom Sebastiani just 21 second apart to cut the deficit to 12-10 with 6:17 left. Delaware scored again with just under two seconds left on a goal by Taylor Burns – his first career score – but it was too little too late for the Hens, who fell to Hofstra for the fourth straight time.

“This was your typical Delaware-Hofstra game,” said Delaware head coach Bob Shillinglaw, whose team lost its second straight game and has now lost five games by four or less goals this season. “I was proud of the intensity we brought today but we’re disappointed that we fell short. Hofstra has a lot of talent and a lot of weapons. There is so much balance in the CAA and every game, every shot, is crucial.”

Senior All-American Curtis Dickson (at right) led the Blue Hens once again as he tallied five points on four goals and one assist to increase his streaks to 20 straight games with a goal and 51 straight contests with a point. The British Columbia native entered the game ranked No. 2 in the NCAA in total goals, total points, and points per game and upped his season goal total to 42 with his seventh hat trick of the season.

No other Blue Hen managed more than one goal as Dom Sebastiani, Kevin Kaminski, Nick Elsmo, Grant Kaleikau, John Austin, Taylor Burns, and Chris Hichborn all scored. Delaware’s Martin Cahill (#22 at left) was held without a goal but dished out two assist and became the 31st player in school history to reach the 100-point plateau for a career.

Delaware dominated on faceoffs, winning 19 of 27 draws as Dan Cooney won 12 of 20 attempts and Tommy Lee won all seven of his attempts. The Hens held a 31-29 advantage in groundballs and its 33 shots was just one short of Hofstra’s total.

The Pride (7-3, 1-2 CAA), the pre-season CAA favorite, won its second straight game and posted its first league win of the season. Hofstra got a big effort from pre-season CAA Player of the Year Jay Card who scored three times and dished out three assists. Kevin Ford added three goals and an assist while Stephen Bentz scored twice and dished out two assist. Jamie Lincoln, who entered the game as the nation’s leading point producer with 5.2 per game, was held to just one goal on the day.

Nationally fourth-ranked Saints play Pfeiffer in conference tourney semi’s Friday at 1:00 p.m. Gaffney, S.C. — The Limestone College men’s lacrosse team remains No.1 in the latest NCAA Division II South Region Rankings released on Wednesday, April 21. While the Saints at 9-0 within the region lead the way for the second time in as many rankings, Conference Carolinas rival Queens University of Charlotte moves up to No.2. The Royals are 8-2 in the region. Saint Leo is up to third, the Lions are 10-3 versus region foes while another set of Lions, Mars Hill fell from second to fourth and is 9-3 within region action. Catawba has moved up to the No.5 ranking and is 7-5 within the region. Elsewhere, Le Moyne continues to top the North and is followed by Merrimack, Bentley, Pace and Adelphi. As for the Central, Mercyhurst held onto the No.1 ranking as was followed by Dowling, C.W. Post, NYIT and Seton Hill. One team from each of the three regions and one at-large team from any region shall be selected to participate in the 2010 NCAA Division II Men’s Lacrosse Championship. Teams must have a .500 record against Division II competition to be selected for the championship. Championship selections will take place Sunday, May 9 with the selection show airing at 10-11 p.m. Eastern time on the CBS College Sports Network. Limestone has represented its region in the NCAA Division II Men’s Tournament each of the previous 10 season’s. Limestone, 9-1 overall and No.4 nationally in the latest USILA Division II Rakings, returns to action on Friday of this week, April 23rd, as the top-seeded and Conference Carolinas regular season champion Saints square off against fourth-seeded Pfeiffer in the semifinals of the Conference Carolinas Men’s Lacrosse Tournament in Charlotte, N.C. Face-off is set for 1:00 p.m. at the Queens Sports Complex. Limestone has won seven straight and went 5-0 within the conference. Pfeiffer went 2-3 in the league and is 8-8 overall. The Saints and the Falcons just met on Saturday (4/17) with Limestone winning 9-5 at “The Rock”. The Limestone/Pfeiffer winner will advance to Sunday’s (April 25) 4:00 p.m., tournament championship and will play the winner of Friday’s 4:00 p.m., semifinal between second-seeded Queens University of Charlotte and third-seeded Belmont Abbey. The home standing Royals went 4-1 in the conference and are 9-3 overall and are also the third-ranked team in the south region. Belmont Abbey posted a 3-2 mark within league play and is 6-5 overall. Limestone posted road wins at both Queens (3/31) and Belmont Abbey (4/10) during the regular season. The Saints posted a 15-10 decision over the Royals and defeated the Crusaders 13-10. As noted earlier the 2010 Conference Carolinas Men’s Lacrosse Tournament will be played at the Queens Sports Complex at Marion Diehl Park which is located at 2229 Tyvola Road in Charlotte (N.C.).

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