So I caught the Lizards/Machine game earlier this week.

The stakes were high for Ohio (the Machine)...

If they won then they guaranteed themselves a spot in the 4-team MLL playoffs.

They took care of business and won handily, 21-14.

So Ohio will join Denver and Florida in the playoffs.

Still one spot up for grabs, and I’m not sure how all the scenarios play out…  It’ll all be sorted out by tomorrow.  

New York does have a shot, but they need a lotta...

Two weeks into my Major League Lacrosse binge, and I’m liking the “re-discovery” of old names…

The games themselves - lots of goals - but it’s even cooler to see how all these former college stars mesh with one another.

Lacrosse is still a small sport.

It’s not nearly as big as football, basketball and baseball…

So I recognize lots of names.  

Makes it fun.  

So this post focuses more on the players than the actual game....

I never watched a ton of Major League Lacrosse, mostly cuz I would miss the games when they were on ESPN2.

Then I discovered Lax Sports Network…

…and everything changed.

The LSN site is great.

You can watch all MLL games at any time.

Plus it has a bunch of other cool content - still need to dive into all that.

That’ll happen eventually, and of course, I’ll report back…

The first game I watched was Atlanta at Denver.

But before I dive into...

I went to my first sleepover camp in the summer after 5th grade.  

It was basketball camp at Syracuse University.  

My Dad gave me the camp brochure beforehand, and I would look at it constantly.  I was really fired up to go…

There were probably 300 players there…  I didn’t know anyone, and I rolled in there thinking I could play.  

I quickly realized that my game was average at best - plus I got homesick.  

A double slap in the...

So, I’m definitely behind on my game watching...

I did watch Brown play Princeton last night in the first round of the Ivy League playoffs.  What a game!  I'll break that one down at some point.

The beauty of the “Watch ESPN” app is that I can watch all the missed games even after the season ends.

That’s gonna be the plan.

But, this post is all about when Maryland played Albany...

So the game was eventually played Albany on April 12th.

I say that...

In a game with high powered offenses, this one was a defensive battle from the get-go.

I’ve talked about Maryland’s strong strength of schedule….

Well, Notre Dame’s schedule is even tougher.

These two teams will play anybody.  I love that.

Each team showcases their respective stars, and both teams are loaded with talent. 

For Maryland, there’s Matt Rambo, Colin Heacock, Dylan Maltz, and Jared Bernhardt (freshman).

For Notre Dame,...

Let me tell you something to start this thing off... Maryland plays a tough, no joke schedule.  Their non-league games include Navy, Notre Dame, Albany, Villanova, and Yale.

Gets them ready for tournament play.  Kinda like Coach Izzo does with Michigan State hoop every year.

The Yale game has become an instant classic pretty much every year. 

Yale’s victory over Maryland in 2016 helped propel them to the #1 national ranking for a couple weeks. 

Andy Shay...

My new routine of breaking down a game each week is becoming a good time. 

Back when I was coaching in college, I’d watch opposing teams play for the sole purpose of creating a scouting report.  Now I can watch the game with an expanded view… looking beyond the narrow scope of opposing player tendencies and overall game planning.  

Something struck me while looking at each team’s roster…  Syracuse has 23 players that have...

Opening the season against Duke and Denver is no joke.

But all head coaches have their own philosophies on scheduling non-league opponents.

It’s obvious Coach Seremet,  Air Force head coach, is prepping his team to win back-to-back Southern Conference titles.

Last year, Air Force started the season 0-2, and then rattled off 15 straight before dropping their opening round game in the NCAA tournament.

Back on...

Mental Toughness front and center...

The 2017 college lacrosse season has begun.

Some teams have already played two games (Duke being an example), while others haven’t even started yet (like Tufts and the other NESCAC schools).

That’s an interesting point actually… The NESCAC and Ivy League schools aren’t allowed to practice as much as their respective counterparts.

Tufts first practice isn’t until next Wednesday (it’s always February 15th).

...