IAAM A CONFERENCE LACROSSE FINAL FOUR

By Mike Buchanan
mbuchanan@digitalsports.com

 

The IAAM A Conference lacrosse play-offs are down to the Final Four, and it will be a battle of the top four seeds.  No. 1 John Carroll and No. 2 McDonogh get to host, while No. 3 NDP and No. 4 Severn get to travel.  It remains to be seen whether the weather will play a factor in Thursday’s semi-final games.  All four teams have speed, but if the expected rain hits before or during the game, it would certainly limit a team’s transition offense, which some teams rely on more than others.  A wet field will cut down on the speed of the game and make it one where controlled offensive play becomes more of a factor.

Here is a quick look at Thursday’s semi-finals:

No. 3 Notre Dame Prep (8-4) @ No. 1 John Carroll (12-0)

Both teams are coming off of close call in the quarter-finals.  NDP defeated Archbishop Spalding by two, 10-8, while John Carroll edged St. Paul’s SfG by one, 12-11.

The two teams played at JC in the regular season, on April 14th, and the Patriots won that contest, 16-7.  Casey Ancarrow had a seven-point game with four goals and three assists.  Grace Gaeng and Brittany Dashiell both had three goal/one assist outings, and Ally Carey had two and two.  No stats were available for NDP for that game.

Although the Blazers lost by nine goals before, all they have to do is look at the turnaround that St. Paul’s SG made versus JC.  The Gators lost by 12 in the regular season, and then just fell short of an upset on Tuesday, losing by one goal.

The Patriots are unbeaten and certainly have to be favored in this game, as well. They are dominating, but not dominant.  They have had three games decided by two goals or less, and five decided by five goals or less.  NDP will have to stay close and make it a four-five minute game down the stretch, where a goal or a break or a call can make a big difference and sway the outcome.

NDP can also look to the fact that McDonogh was undefeated last year, and lost at home in the semi’s.  The same thing “could” certainly happen to John Carroll.  Whether it does remains to be seen.

 

No. 4 Severn (8-4) @ No. 2 McDonogh (11-1)

The word “re-match” is certainly apropos here.  You can’t preview this game in the here and now without mentioned the here and then.  The so-called elephant in the room that is there, but must be avoided, is the fact that this exact same scenario last year resulted in a big upset.

McDonogh was undefeated and at home in the semi’s; Severn was the opponent. The Admirals took a lead and withstood an Eagle rally, hanging on for a 10-9 win. Freshman goalie Hannah Hook had 21 saves to key that win.

Fast forward to 2008 and Severn is at McDonogh in the semi-finals once again. The hardest task at hand for Eagle Head Coach Chris Robinson is to get his girls to focus on playing this game, and not re-playing last year’s game.  The revenge factor is there, but must be pushed aside to focus on this game.

These two teams met during the season at Severn, and McDonogh won that game, 9-6. In a statistical oddity, 13 players scored in that game – 12 players scored one goal each, six players for each team.  McDonogh’s Kitty Cullen was the only multi-goal scorer, tallying three goals to help give her team the three-goal edge. Megan Fiorito was strong in goal for the Eagles with 13 saves.

When asked what her team needs to do to achieve the same result as last year, Severn Coach Irene Sotiropoulos said, "We need a focused, intense team effort that sticks to the game plan."

Both teams are coming off tough, hard-fought wins on Tuesday.  Severn posted an 11-9 win over rival St. Mary’s and McDonogh eked out a 10-9 win over Bryn Mawr.

Regardless of wet or dry conditions, this game has all the makings of yet another down-to-the-wire game decided by one or two goals.

 

The two winners advance to Saturday’s championship game, at St. Paul’s School for Girls. The A Conference championship is 3:00.

Below is the A Conference bracket:

http://www.sportscombine.com/scripts/p_tu_16tm_single_elim.asp?BR=3815&TU=733