Last Week...
In Annapolis for the Patriot League Tournament...
Navy sails in the first round against Lehigh, but not without cost...
Miss Venus Lee reports...
This game was not the most competitive that I have covered this season, but the good news for Lehigh fans is that their young team is reaching the competitive level, albeit gradually, to which the team once played. The good news for Navy fans is that the reserves played credibly.

But the Mountain Hawks were doomed last Friday by a single statistic: 18 shots. Navy's defense is beginning to really step up the pressure on its opponents, and Lehigh could not solve the Midshipmen defenders.

Navy jumped off to an immediate lead on a goal by freshman attacker Nick Mirabito, who took a feed from Jon Birsner, and converted it from the right side close in. It came less that a minute and a half into the game.

Sophomore Billy Looney cashed in his first score with 12:16 remaining in the first period on a broken play in which he eluded two defenders with a "swim move," then shot from close in on the right side.

After things began to settle down, Jon Birsner scored at 7:40 with a left-handed jump shot from close in on the left side. He was pummelled to the ground afterwards. No penalty was assessed. Birsner was able to remain in the game for most of the first quarter, but shortly thereafter was pulled and later diagnosed with a concussion. He may be unavailable for Sunday's Championship contest--perhaps a costly play.

With only 2:06 left in the quarter, Ben Horn scored on a feed from Jon Birsner from behind the goal when Birsner's defender was trapped out front.

Navy suffered a penalty when the clock had ticked down to just 19.5 seconds. Clipper Lennon was flagged for 30 seconds for an offside violation. For whatever reason, Lehigh elected to simply burn the time off the clock, without taking a shot.

Navy seemed to lose focus in the second period. It's defense had held Lehigh to only four shots in the first quarter, but now, Navy began to take low percentage shots at the Mountain Hawks' goal. Altogether, the Mids fired 14 times, with only one success. That was on a Graham Gill left-handed rocket from the center of the field, just five yards out. Later, Andrew Lucas would get that back for the visitors on his second EMO goal of the game.

Eric Spirko, a freshman, played admirably in goal for Lehigh. But no moment was more hazardous for him than when Steve Looney wound up and fired a hard sidearm shot that Spirko took off his face mask. It repelled a sure goal, but the crowd groaned when Spirko's head snapped back from the impact.

The rain started just before halftime. It was not hard, but drove many fans to take cover under the overhang of the stadium's upper deck. Navy's notoriously slippery turf just became more slick.

Lehigh's defense constantly switched off on the Navy attackers, but Navy was still getting good looks inside.

The half ended, once more, with Navy being penalized at 00:22. Graham Gill was called for two infractions of one minute each.

Could Navy kill off the remaining time?

Lehigh opened the second half with possession, but Navy's man down defense took the ball away almost immediately. It was advanced to the sure-handed Billy Looney, no doubt with the intention of having him run off the remaining time that Graham Gill was serving in the box. But Looney, who was double-teamed, shook free of both Lehigh defenders and took the ball to the goal, where he found himself one-on-one with Spirko. He shot and scored--on a lob shot. This man down goal seemed to give new life to Navy, which now began to regain the spark it had lost in the second quarter.

Navy then scored three more goals in the quarter, and went to its bench. In my experience in watching Navy, this is always a bad sign for the visitors. The Mids began running and shuffled in players, especially at midfield, at a dizzying pace. Altogether, I counted five different midfield combinations employed by Navy's coaching staff.

Andrew Mastromonaco and Greg Morin kept things respectable for the Mountain Hawks with third quarter tallies. Lehigh's Andrew Lucas and Navy's William Wallace traded goals in the fourth quarter. Wallace's goal came on a chance reaction. Graham Gill was looking to feed Wallace, but Gill's stick was checked and the ball flew high. Wallace jumped up and flicked it into the goal.

With only 18 shots, Lehigh had no chance to win this game. Navy's defense seems to get better by the game.

Matt Russell also keeps playing better in Navy's goal each week. He looked outstanding last Friday, making several spectacular saves.

Final Score: Navy 10, Lehigh 6.
venuslee@laxswami.com


The Cardiac Cadets drag the crowd through a wild ride to overtime..
Why just burn the candle down to the table? Let's burn the table too...
Was an Army defender's smart play the difference in this game?...
Having just watched a good part of Navy's dismantling of Lehigh from the stands, the cadets of Army were ready to invoke Army-Navy II and get some revenge for having lost to Navy on this same field just two weeks ago. In addition, Army knew the winner was guaranteed a playoff berth.

Army has been alternating Matt Darak with Adam Fullerton in goal for most of the season, with both goalies seeing action in some of the same games. But Darak has been playing with a thumb broken from an earlier contest, and Fullerton was chosen to start this game. He played all sixty minutes.

Both teams played a sloppy first quarter, but it was Bucknell which struck first with a low shovel shot from Kirk Klett on an assist from Chris Cara. The opportunistic Bison then stretched their lead five minutes later on a left-handed side-winder from Brian Gargan.

The first quarter was almost over before Army rattled Bucknell's net. But, at 3:35, Jim Wagner took a feed from freshman attacker Matt Scheel and hit home with an underhand low-to-high shot that was really well located. No one in the stadium had any inkling at that time that Scheel would upstage the more experienced offensive combination of cadets Wagner and Walker this afternoon.

The first quarter ended there, but not before Army midfielder Chris Couch was whistled for illegal procedure. His infraction: playing without a shoe. Hey, this same thing happened (the Swami wants to say to Graham Gill) earlier this year on this same field when Navy met North Carolina.

When the second quarter opened, Army looked sloppy. It took fully five minutes for the Black Knights to light up the board and tie the game. In this case, it was midfielder Justin Bokmeyer hitting on a jump shot from the right side after taking a feed from--who else?--Matt Scheel, who was beginning to make himself increasingly conspicuous.

Army took its first lead with 10:09 left in the second period. It was Matt Scheel once again, this time feeding Jim Wagner, who was momentarily open. But, after Wagner caught the pass, his defender blanketed him. Wagner dipped to his left and got off a perfectly positioned shovel shot right into the net.

Up to this point, Army had controlled four of five face-offs. But, now, Bucknell's Ryan Goodman was beginning to click. He took that next draw and thirty seconds later, Bucknell had tied the game again. Credit Patrick Christensen on a feed from Mark Lane--it was a low shovel shot from the right side. It was Christensen who killed Navy earlier in the season in Lewisburg with one assist and three goals--including the overtime clincher.

In contrast, this game featured five ties and four lead changes. And Bucknell was not rolling over for anyone.

With the game now tied at 3-3, Christensen struck again for the Bison--this time on a feed from Chris Cara. Christensen had worked his way into the middle of the Army defense and it didn't look like he would be able to get a shot off once he had the ball in his stick. But the attacker has a quick release and was so close the shot could not be saved.

Army tied the game once again at 4:36 when Matt Scheel out ran his defender and scored. It was a great play for the highlight reel. Scheel showed several good moves and perfect shot placement. The official scorer properly recorded the goal as unassisted--and it surely was just that--according to the rule book. But, in reality, this goal was anything but unassisted.

In retrospect, if any single goal won the game for Army, Scheel's score at 4:36 was it, for just seconds before, the ball was in Bucknell's hands where Black Knight goalie Adam Fullerton was threatened by a Bison stampede. Providentially, the ball had been dislodged from a Bucknell stick onto the ground, but it was uncomfortably near Army's goal. A huge fight for possession ensued, with bodies flying all about. Closest to the sphere was Army defender Nick Doerr. The ball was right in front of Doerr when Bucknell's short sticks closed in. Doerr, handicapped in this case with a six foot pole and a ball only a foot or so in front of him, could have done what most other players do and just kept jostling for possession, hoping for the best. Not this day. The alert defender spotted teammate Matt Luyster out of the corner of his eye. Luyster was open, although somewhat away from the tussle. Doerr shoved his opponent out of the way momentarily, then deftly kicked the ball out to Luyster with his foot. Luyster began the fast break that led to Scheel's goal.

How many times have teams lost critical ground balls jostling each other when a clean kick could result in possession? The Swami thinks far too many these days. Kicks were de rigueur in the Woodolithic Era, when they were a regular part of lacrosse practices. Doerr's action was nothing other than quick thinking and a great kick from a smart player.

The first half was winding down quickly.

At 3:46 Bucknell's Chris Cara took the ball directly behind Army's goal and stood just outside the crease line. His defender, Matt Luyster, was positioned next to, and slightly behind, Army goalie Adam Fullerton. Cara just stood there. Hey, the Swami remembers almost exactly the same situation in College Park in 2000, when Navy dropped one of its now infamous 6-5 games to Maryland. In that case, Terp attacker Mike Mollot held the ball in the same position against Mid goalie Mickey Jarboe and defender Chad Donnelley, while trying to find an open man to feed. This time, however, Cara looked to be just running time off the clock. He stood stock still with the ball for an amazing 2:40! Bucknell received a stall warning at 2:53, but the ball never left the attack area. The Swami groaned, thankful that this game was not televised, and would therefore not add any more kindling to the ridiculous notion that Division I lacrosse needs a shot clock.

For whatever reason, Bucknell was whistled at 1:04, ending Cara's statuesque pose, and possession reverted to Army, which promptly turned it over again on a pushing penalty at 52 seconds. The cadets managed to hold off the Bison for the remainder of the half, which terminated with the score tied at 4-4.

During the intermission, the Swami was faced with an agonizing decision: buy a loathsome Navy hot dog, or send Miss Bimbette across the street to Graul's Supermarket for a gourmet roast beef sandwich. Since the ultraliberal and pro-feminist Swami has recently been criticized by people posting from Johns Hopkins servers wishing to convolute the Swami's innocuous gender comments into nefarious sexual politics, the Swami is unable to say what verdict was reached. The Swami did enjoy his lunch, however. And Miss Bimbette needed a little exercise to keep in shape anyway.

The Swami reviewed his stats while he was waiting for his meal to be delivered. Army had a 6-3 edge in faceoffs, and led in penalties, 3-1. But one of those penalties was caused by a shortsighted offside call, and the other came when one of the evil Couch twins lost his shoe. Nothing else really stood out.

The game was as tight as a drum. No team would ever lead by more than two goals for the entire length of the contest.

When the second half began, It only took Bucknell 50 seconds to achieve another tie. The Bisons' T. J. Wallace bounced a right-handed shot from the left side just past the reach of Fullerton. It looked savable, but Wallace got off a great shot on the run, and the angle was deceptive. It resulted from a busted play.

Army was now beginning to settle into a good offensive rhythm. Shots dropped off, but shot productivity went up, as low percentage opportunities were disdained.

The Black Knights became more deliberate and, as a consequence, did not score again until only 3:37 remained in the third period. Not that there had been no action. Bucknell goalie Matt Baran had battened down his hatches almost completely. Army's Brian Green just missed with a real EMO missile when Baran nabbed it. Separately, Fullerton made one of his best saves of the day on a point blank Chris Cara bullet.

But, at 3:37, Army's Jim Wagner saw a little daylight from the left side, and golfed a low-to-high shovel shot into Bucknell's goal. It was now 5-5.

Both Army and Bucknell fans were getting increasingly uncomfortable. These two teams were battling blow-by-blow. No one was going to run away with this one. The crowd hung on every possession. Each missed shot seemed to draw more groans from the seats.

Who can not say that Tony Vozzolo is the greatest hustler in Division I lacrosse? Army's face-off specialist is a real spark plug and inspiration to all those around him. No one gets off the field faster, or gives more effort when on the field, than the 5' 5", 190 lb. brick-like perpetual motion machine.

Vozzolo, by this time 3 for 5 in the faceoff circle, was alternating at the "X" with Erik Mineo. At 3:37 he faced Bucknell's Ryan Goodman once more. Vozzolo came away with the ball cleanly, ran to the goal, hit an open Paul Wigdzinski, who threw to Matt Scheel for the go ahead score. Elapsed time: eight seconds. Now, the Swami has seen a lot of scores right off the face-off, and many in as little as five or six seconds. But how many times do you see three players handle the ball then score in eight seconds? It takes a Tony Vozzolo to start that kind of play.

Erik Mineo won the ensuing face-off for Army when he kicked the ball out to Tom Ronan on the wing. Within seconds Cadet Justin Bokmeyer fired a rocket at Matt Baran. Baran got in front of the ball immediately and blocked it off in a play that should have gotten a star in anyone's score book. Baran would end up with five saves for the quarter.

Army went up by two at 2:39 on a far outside shot from in front by Jim Wagner, assisted by Chris ("Monster Man") Larsen.

But, once again, the Black Knights could not slay the Bison. Bucknell's Chris Cara converted a Kirk Klett feed with just 24 seconds left. This cut Army's lead to 7-6.

Then, with just 17 seconds left in the quarter, Army's Tom Ronan was assessed a one minute penalty for an illegal body check. Bucknell elected to not take a shot, and passed the ball until the quarter ended. So, when the fourth quarter opened, Ronan was still in the penalty box. This would have normally resulted in an automatic Bucknell possession with no face-off to open the quarter. But Bucknell had been passing the ball, and when the whistle blew to the end the quarter, the ball was in the air. The player for whom the pass was intended dropped it--after the quarter was over. No matter. The ball was not technically in the possession of the team under those circumstances, leading to a face-off.

Fortunately for the Bison, Ryan Goodman came through, and Bucknell retained possession, but precious seconds were lost, and Bucknell could not score on the man up situation.

During the fourth quarter, Bucknell attacked Army's goal relentlessly, pounding away with 13 shots, many of which were forced and not on cage.

Army was being more deliberate on offense, seeking better shot selection. Within four minutes, the Black Knights had pushed their lead back up to two on a goal from John Walker. This was a real worm-burner. Walker released it left-handed and it hugged the ground all the way into the bottom of the net.

At this point, time was really beginning to wind down fast. With only 2:47 left in the game, Bucknell was behind by two goals, Army was being patient, and the crowd was still sitting of the edge of their seats.

Then, a twist of fate came the way of the Bison. Bucknell goalie Matt Baran had to get rid of the ball quickly. He threw a blind pass upfield. It landed just past the midfield line in an area that not a single player from either team occupied. Army's defenders swarmed up from the goal to pick up the loose ball. But Bison Kirk Klett calmly scooped the ball and ran to the Army goal that its defenders had just vacated. When you draw your opponents' army out of their fortress with a distraction, you can attack their stronghold with impunity. This is exactly what Bucknell did with Klett's unassisted goal. It was the break Bucknell needed.

That's not to say the pressure was off Bucknell at all. The clock was now under two minutes and Army had the ball with a one goal lead.

Once again, the ball rolled Bucknell's way. A huge scrap took place around Army's goal. Fullerton was drawn out just as the ball was kicked out front. The net was open. Bucknell shot--and missed! Unbelievable! The Bison came up with possession once more and called timeout at 1:28.

Miss Bimbette had purchased the Swami a brownie to eat after his lunch. She now offered to unwrap it. Hey, babe, this is the wrong time. This is a not infrequent occurrence when she knows the Swami is too distracted to eat. Miss Bimbette nibbled on the brownie.

The whistle blew and Bucknell inbounded the ball at Army's end. Bison Brian Gargan cut to the goal, shook two defenders, and scored low into Army's net.

Army won the ensuing face-off with Erik Mineo coming up with the ball cleanly. This may have saved a disaster, for Army had looked disorganized on the previous Bucknell possession. Time was running out and both teams turned up the heat on each other, scrapping for the ball, which was turning over regularly.

Finally, Army took control and called its last timeout to regroup--to no avail.

The clock ran down to zero. We were headed for overtime. The fans stood in front of their seats. Everyone was on edge. This was a wild one.

On the overtime face-off Bucknell's Ryan Goodman pushed the ball in the direction of T. J. Wallace, who came up with it and headed downfield. Bucknell took its time and worked the ball around, then, at 3:01 cut to the goal and took a point blank game-ending shot. But Fullerton saved it! What a stop! The crowd was on its feet again.

Now Army headed to the other end of the field. The ball worked its way around to Matt Scheel. He aimed an overhand bouncer from the right side at the goal. It somehow got passed Baran at 2:13. Army had pulled out a close one. We would now see Army-Navy II.

It was a great game. The saying is that victory has many fathers, and defeat is an orphan. But, without a heady play by an alert Army defender in the second quarter, this contest may well have ended differently.

Will Bucknell's win over Navy be enough to carry the Bison to post-season play? Much of that depends on what Maryland will do this weekend, if anything, to raise its RPI, and therefore the RPI of Navy, which defeated Maryland, and that of Bucknell, which defeated Navy during regular season play. Bucknell is a gritty team, in which there is no quit.

This was Sid Jamieson's last scheduled game as head coach of Bucknell after 38 years. He has been the only head coach Bucknell has ever had. Immediately after the game, Navy head coach Richie Meade and Army head coach Jack Emmer offered Jamieson their congratulations.

But the Swami thinks that Jamieson may just have another game or two left in him. We'll see.

It was a shame that any team had to lose this contest.

Final Score: Army 9, Bucknell 8 (OT).
swami@laxswami.com


In Baltimore for the ACC Tournament...
UNC-Duke is a yawner until late in the third quarter...
The Swami awakens for a quarter, only to doze off again at the end of the game...
Duke was cruising in total control (10-3) until only 1:11 remained in the third quarter. Then, Tarheel Ryan Blair sneaked from behind the goal and scored from close in on the right side. Thirty seconds later, Jed Prossner converted a feed from Ryan Blair right in front of Duke's goal. Billy Staines picked up a ground ball off the next face-off, passed to teammate Lance Zimmerman, who fed Mike McCall for a third UNC goal with just 22 seconds left in the quarter.

The Northwestern chicks have just one game remaining on their regular season schedule. This Thursday afternoon (May 5th), they will host the Buckeyes of Ohio State in Evanston. That game will be broadcast live on CSTV at 5:00 PM [EDT]. You can refer to the Swami's media page for more details, including replay times.

Unfortunately, Miss C. C. Ryan, who normally covers women's lacrosse for "This Week," was unable to make the trip to Nashville with the team last week, owing to a previous controversy with which she was involved at the Grand Ole Opry after celebrating her birthday.

"This Week" will offer coverage of the first two rounds of the NCAA Playoffs.

Team Swami is working with law enforcement officials of the City of Annapolis in an effort to have Miss Ryan cleared to report on the NCAA Tournament there on May 20th and 22nd, but, at this time, cannot guarantee to have coverage of that event. We will keep you informed.

This Week...
Lacrosse broadcast links...
Each week the Swami notices questions on the Laxpower board about which games will be broadcast that weekend. Hey, they're all here!

If you need to connect to lacrosse games on the Internet, remember: the Swami's list is the most complete compilation of lacrosse TV and radio broadcasts on the Internet. To get to that page, or any of the Swami's other exciting pages, just run your mouse over the floating link bar at the left of your screen. That will activate the pull-out tray which contains links to Radio/TV, the Swami's other links and the Swami Fan Club, which is now the most populous fan club in lacrosse. Hey, when you read the Swami, you get it all!

It usually takes a while to get down all the many changes that college stations make to their webcasts between seasons, so be patient.