In Saturday’s fully loaded slate of DI lacrosse, Top 20 teams Notre Dame and Lehigh returned to the field with dominant wins, Georgetown’s shutdown defense allowed one goal for the second consecutive week and high-scoring affairs were the norm, as six teams reached the 20-goal mark. But the most enthralling game was a back-and-forth 20-17 Hofstra win over Stony Brook as Ryan Tierney’s 11 points helped the Pride win the battle of Long Island.

Tierney tied his career-best performance from Hofstra’s season-opening loss to St. John’s with the same stat line of eight goals and three assists, only this time with an even better shooting percentage (73%) a week after struggling against Sacred Heart (1-for-13). Scoring in a myriad of ways, Tierney received help from Justin Lynskey’s hat trick and Alex Concannon’’s four goals.

The two teams traded blows throughout as there was only about three minutes in the second quarter when the score was not at least a one-goal game. But when there were six-and-a-half minutes remaining, Tierney scored the front-runner for goal of the season.

Driving up the left wing, Tierney faked a jump shot causing his defenseman to turn his head and drifted to his right before slinging a low-to-high ripper without setting his feet for his seventh goal, which gave Hofstra a two-goal lead and the momentum it needed to notch its second win of the season. It was a truly masterful play and indicative of Tierney’s elite performance.

Stony Brook’s Dylan Palonetti also showed out, scoring five and assisting three after being held to two points and 11% shooting against Bryant last week. Palonetti was one of four Stony Brook players to score a hat trick. The Pride’s goaltending and face-off play also helped make the difference in the win, as Chase Patterson won 23-of-34 and Mac Gates made 16 stops.

Hofstra (2-1) snapped a two-game losing streak against Stony Brook (2-1) in the Battle of Long Island.

North Carolina 27, High Point 12
The top-15 rematch between Joe Breschi and Jon Torpey’s respective programs didn’t live up to expectations. No. 2 North Carolina’s dominant second half yielded its highest scoring output since 2001 as High Point couldn’t keep up after starting well. A sloppy Panthers’ performance on the offensive end, including eight Asher Nolting (0G, 3A) turnovers, allowed the Tar Heels to pull away in the second half. Andrew Tyeryar again dominated from the X going 74%, resulting in 54 UNC shots. After shooting 67 times and missing 50 of them 11 days ago in UNC’s 17-15 win against High Point, Breschi said it was a point of emphasis to improve there. They certainly did, shooting 50%, and 13 different goal-scorers found the back of the net. Chris Gray, Nicky Solomon, and Brian Cameron all scored four goals.


Richmond 11, Towson 10
The No. 18 Spiders came back from a 9-5 fourth quarter deficit for a much-needed victory against Towson. Luke Grayum notched a hat trick, and Jack Rusbuldt made 13 saves. The Tigers scored seven-straight goals in the third as Andrew Milani produced his first career hat trick, and Austin Stewart facilitated with three assists. After blowing a lead themselves against Loyola and going toe-to-toe with North Carolina in the first half, Richmond avoided a three-game losing streak to start its challenging schedule. Duke is next on March 7.


Loyola 20, Utah 8
Aidan Olmstead and Evan James both scored five goals apiece as the No. 12 Greyhounds thwarted the Utes. Eight different Utah players found the back of the net in the loss, while Kevin Lindley and Riley Seay both notched hat tricks.


Lehigh 24, NJIT 10
Tommy Schelling’s seven-point performance and 14 different goal-scorers helped No. 17 Lehigh to a season-opening victory in ruthless fashion. After producing a team-high 33 points (22G, 11A) through the first six games of 2020, Schelling showed last year’s BO season was no fluke as the junior attackman figures to be one of the best playmaking attackmen in the country. Mike Sisselberger won 16-of-22 face-offs, as Conor Gaffney was one of a handful of Lehigh players out due to COVID protocols.


UMBC 8 (OT), Mount St. Mary’s 7
The Retrievers pulled out an overtime victory against their in-state rivals to kick their 2021 season off with a win. Trailing by three with a bit over three minutes in the game, UMBC rattled off the game’s next four goals, as sophomore midfielder Mason Edwards caught the face-off from the wing and came down and buried the game-winner.


Duke 17, Air Force 7
Joe Robertson’s seven goals and Michael Sowers’ five assists led the way for the No. 1 Blue Devils’ lethal offense. Brennan O’Neill and Nakeie Montgomery both notched a pair, while Air Force’s Matthew O’Rourk and Aidan Tolen were bright spots with hat trick performances.


Georgetown 19, St. John’s 1
The Hoyas’ defense was ranked first in most statistical categories by the end of the shortened 2020 season, and showed their elite status once again by holding their second-straight opponent to just one goal. That’s two goals in roughly 57 possessions this season, and this time they did so with their best cover man Gibson Smith out injured. Jake Carraway’s second goal of his balanced six-point performance broke Georgetown’s all-time scoring record in the second quarter. Ge now sits at 155 career goals.


Johns Hopkins 14, Michigan 7
Joey Epstein’s six goals, three of which came on the extra-man, and Connor DeSimone’s two goals and four assists helped Peter Milliman earn his first victory as the Johns Hopkins head coach. Both Big Ten rivals were looking to bounce back after suffering humbling defeats against Ohio State and Maryland, respectively, but it was the Blue Jays who came out on top. Four of Epstein’s scores were identical, as the Wolverines defense was slow to rotate, and he made him pay.


Denver 23, Providence 10
Jackson Morrill notched seven points (4G, 3A) and Alex Simmons, Jack Hannah, and Drew Erickson all scored hat tricks in the No. 11 Pioneers’ 23-10 demolition versus Providence. Denver face-off specialist Alec Stathakis won 73% of his draws as he went 16-of-22 as 13 different goal scorers found the back of the net. Twenty-three goals is the largest scoring output for Denver since 2003, and its 18 assists and 43 total points were program DI records.


Holy Cross 11, Sacred Heart 10
Former Maryland offensive coordinator J.L. Reppert kicked off his head coaching career with a win as Holy Cross scored the game’s final three goals after trailing 10-8 with under nine minutes to go. Junior Peter Murphy notched the game-winner with 2:36 to play. Will Spangenberg had four points (1G, 3A) while Dean DiNanno and Cameron Magalotti both notched hat tricks. Drew Edwards’ four goals led the way for Sacred Heart. Both goalies impressed as Sacred Heart’s Colton King posted 14 stops and A.J. Fox saved 17.


UAlbany 15, Colgate 9
Jakob Patterson’s four goals and four assists helped the Great Danes to a season-opening win without their star attackman Tehoka Nanticoke, who was one of 11 Albany players to miss out due to contact tracing. Senior midfielder Alex Burgmaster scored a hatty while freshman attackman Camden Hay notched six points (2G, 4A) in his collegiate debut. Michael Minicus led the way for Colgate with three goals.


Army 13, Saint Joseph’s 5
Brendan Nichtern continued his scorching hot start to the season with four goals and three assists to help a balanced Army offense roll past the Hawks. Saint Joseph’s face-off specialist Zach Cole went 14-of-22 at the X.


Villanova 16, Marquette 14
The Wildcats never led by more than two goals as senior attackman Keegan Khan’s six points (3G, 3A) and junior midfielder Matt Campbell’s five goals boosted Villanova to its first win. Marquette tied it at 14 with 9:37 remaining, but Villanova scored the final two and never relinquished the lead.


Boston University 15, Pace 2
After UMass’ COVID shutdown caused the postponement of their game against Boston, the Terriers added DII’s Pace to their schedule and earned their second win of the season. Louis Perfetto's 5 assists and Christian Quadrino’s four goals led the way.


Bryant 15, Vermont 12
The Bulldogs improved to 2-1 with a nice bounce-back victory after losing to Stony Brook last time out. Logan McGovern had a four-point (2G, 2A) output, and 10 goals came from freshmen.


LIU 19, Wagner 8
Richie LaCalandra’s balanced eight points (4G, 4A) and Sean Boll’s four goals helped LIU dominate.


Merrimack 16, UMass Lowell 8
Tommy Rooney’s six points and Drew Hailey’s four goals were key in Merrimack’s first win of the season. Conor Foley had four points for UMass Lowell.



- Inside Lacrosse