Lacrosse: Familiar Faces
Written by playerpress.com, Tuesday November 25 2008
Syracuse is hoping to repeat as NCAA Div. I Lacrosse Champs in 2009. The Orange captured the title last season with a 16-2 record and a 13-10 victory over Johns Hopkins in the Final.
Competition promises to be stiff and foremost on the list of challengers will be Johns Hopkins, once again. Johns Hopkins is a perennial powerhouse in Lacrosse and has been in the Finals 18 times since 1971. That includes a stretch of nine consecutive years. In five of those years they captured the title.
Johns Hopkins will hit the ground running with a tough schedule that pits them against eight tournament teams in their 13 regular season games. In their first month they face Syracuse and semi-finalist Virginia. Both of these games are on the road.
Also included are rivalry games against Maryland, which is part of a double header that also features Army vs. Navy, and a season closer against neighboring Loyola. If the Blue Jays are hoping to get back to the Final for the seventh straight year, they have their work cut out. Johns Hopkins is ranked fourth in the preseason polls.
Another team that must be considered is Duke. Coach John Danowski is recognized as one of the finest at his craft. US Lacrosse has asked him to be a keynote speaker at their upcoming convention in January.
The Duke program has flourished under Danowski’s three years at the helm. His overall record with the Blue Devils is 35-5 with 2 ACC titles and a trip to the NCAA Final. For a program that garnered notoriety of a highly negative sort, Danowski has held the reins and produced nine All Americans and 15 players who are ACC All-Academic award winners.
Danowski brings a wealth of experience to his post at Duke having coached Hofstra for 21 years. Duke holds the number two ranking in the preseason polls.
It is a safe bet that one of these teams will make the Final and it is not a stretch to say that two of them will face off for the title. They are three programs that consistently finish atop the rankings and advance in the playoffs.
You may think it would be an unwise bet to believe that Salisbury University could repeat its undefeated season from last year that led to the Div. III title, but you would be wrong. The Sea Gulls have run the table six times in the history of their program, so last years capping win over SUNY-Cortland was just the icing on a very large cake.
The Sea Gulls are 45-18 in 26 NCAA Div. III tournament appearances and also have four Div. II wins from the ‘70’s. Combined they have made the tournament in 30 seasons. While it is never easy, perfection is not unattainable for the Sea Gulls and they could easily achieve the feat again this season.
While still possessing a solid roster the Sea Gulls senior class graduated with an 84-1 record and a 45 consecutive game win streak. As a result, they are an early favorite to appear in the Div. III Final.
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