Andrew Wagner

Mercyhurst men’s lacrosse player Andrew Wagner was named to USILA’s All-American first team for the second straight year, while teammates Brian Scheetz and Zac Reid were named to the second team and honorable mention, respectively.

Wagner, a junior defender, totaled 25 groundballs and 11 caused turnovers while also consistently defending opposing teams’ top offensive performers this season.

Scheetz, a senior attackman, leads the top-ranked Lakers (18-0) with 72 points (26 goals, 46 assists) while also collecting 36 groundballs. Reid, a senior midfielder, has 29 goals – including seven in an 18-17 overtime win against second-ranked Limestone in the NCAA Division II semifinals this past Saturday — and 43 points.

The Lakers, which have recorded All-Americans in 10 straight years and 13 honorees overall in program history, face third-ranked Le Moyne (17-2) in the national championship game Sunday at 1 p.m. at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.

The Mercyhurst lacrosse team’s top midfield trio of Deven Alves, James Chayka and Zac Reid rebounded from a tough outing at the perfect time.
They combined for 12 goals and one assist, including the game’s final three goals, in the top-ranked Lakers 18-17 overtime win against No. 2 Limestone in a NCAA Division II semifinal Saturday at Tullio Field. This after they were held scoreless by Lake Erie in last weekend’s national quarterfinals.
“We didn’t have our best game last weekend,” said Reid, who had a career-high seven goals – one shy of the school record of eight set by Bryon Lindner against Molloy on April 22, 2008, and the most since Cameron McLean scored seven against Dominican (N.Y.) on April 4, 2009. “We benefited from having an off week and being fortunate enough to can our shots when we had the chance.”
Reid scored his seven goals on 14 of the Lakers’ 49 shots. Mercyhurst outshot the Saints by four despite being dominated on faceoffs – Limestone won 28-of-39 overall – and losing the groundball battle 45-33. The Saints’ 16 turnovers, which were nine more than the Lakers, helped Mercyhurst’s offense.
“You find a way to adapt and overcome at that point,” Lakers coach Chris Ryan said.
* Speaking of faceoffs: Ryan used four players – faceoff specialist Mitch McAvoy, midfielder Kyle Lindsay and defensemen Patrick Maloney and Ryan Sullivan – against Limestone’s Jake Ternosky. Yet Ternosky, the nation’s sixth best at faceoffs entering the game (.650 winning percentage), still dominated that category as the Saints’ lone faceoff man. “The Ternosky kid is just exceptional at what he does,” Ryan said. “We have a pretty good faceoff guy (in McAvoy, who was 10th in the nation at .597). But Jake Ternosky is the best in Division II, and he proved it today. You just have to find another way to beat a team, and we found a way to keep ourselves in the game and get the ball back at times.”
Ternosky said “I just felt like I was in a groove. When it all came down to it, it was the offense. These guys were producing and making my job a lot easier (and) just giving us momentum to do whatever we wanted.”
* Complete faith: Mercyhurst trailed 17-15 as the final minute of regulation began. Yet Ryan believed his team could complete the comeback.
“Everyone chips in. Everyone buys in. Everyone has a good idea of what has to be done on a daily basis,” he said. “To tell you the truth, hat comes from the seniors. They’ve been there and they’ve seen both ends of it, winning and losing. They know how to get it done. As far as I’m concerned, as a coach you can put a lot of trust in these kids. They just know how to get stuff done. They know their way around the block.”
* Taking blame: Limestone coach J.B. Clarke praised his team for “the battle these guys fought today.” Then he blamed himself for the loss.
“Coach Ryan did a great job getting his team ready to play. I think my team came ready to play,” Clarke said. “I don’t think I did a very good job of having them in the right spots at the right time.” Clarke also gave Ryan and the Lakers “because they played our way and beat us.”
* Erasing bad memories: Reid said thoughts of a 7-6 overtime loss to Dowling in the 2012 national semifinals at Tullio Field crept into his mind late in Saturday’s game. “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t,” he said. “I felt terrible last year after the Dowling game. I didn’t want to feel that way again.”
* News and notes: Ryan and Clarke apparently had a heated verbal exchange after the game. When asked what happened, Ryan said, “I said good game.” … Riley scored three goals – his 52nd, 53rd and 54th of the season – for Limestone to finish his four-year career with 154 goals. … Mercyhurst has lost all four all-time meetings with Le Moyne, their national title-game opponent, including a last-second 6-5 loss in the 2007 championship game. … The Lakers can become the first team to win more than 18 games in a national championship season with a win next weekend.

- Victor Fernandes

James Chayka scored with 4.1 seconds left in regulation to force overtime, and then Deven Alves scored with 2:56 left in the extra period, to give No. 1 Mercyhurst an improbable 18-17 win against No. 2 Limestone in the NCAA Division II lacrosse semifinals Saturday at Tullio Field.
The Lakers (18-0) will face the winner of Saturday’s semifinal between Adelphi and Le Moyne in the title game May 26 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.

- Victor Fernandes

NCAA Division II lacrosse quarterfinals
Who: No. 1 Mercyhurst (17-0) vs. No. 2 Limestone (16-1)
When: Saturday, 2 p.m.
Where: Tullio Field
Tickets: $10 (adults), $5 (students), 12-under free*
On the air: www.americaonesports.com/static/mercyhurst.html (livestream), www.hurstathletics.com (live statistics)
Information: www.hurstathletics.com
* Gates open at 12:30 p.m.

Players to watch
Mercyhurst – Sr. A Brian Scheetz (25 goals, 40 assists, 65 points), Jr. A Jake McAndrew (35-8-43), Jr. A Brady Heseltine (39-2-41), Sr. M James Chayka (24-13-37), Jr. D Patrick Maloney (31 groundballs, 21 caused turnovers), Jr. G Michael Grace (17-0 record, 7.51 goals-against average, .566 save percentage)
Limestone – Sr. A Riley Loewen (51 goals, 35 assists, 86 points), Sr. A Corey Rich (33-21-54), Sr. MF Zach Cummingss (32-9-41), Sr. FS Jake Ternosky (100 groundballs, 217-334 on faceoffs), Fr. MF Reid Reinholdt (10-22-32, 56 groundballs), Jr. D Glenn Trovato (29 groundballs, 13 caused turnovers)

What to watch
Mercyhurst – The Lakers can advance to the national championship game for the second time in three years and third time since 2007 with a win. … They hold a 4-3 lead in the all-time series with Limestone. But they lost their only two NCAA tournament games against the Saints – 12-4 on May 17, 2003, and 14-12 on May 22, 2004, in Gaffney, S.C. … The Lakers have a NCAA Division II-leading seven wins against ranked teams and nine wins against teams with 10 or more victories this season. … They also have five one-goal wins. … Mercyhurst ranks among the top 10 nationally in scoring offense (sixth at 13.47 goals scored per game), scoring defense (fifth at 6.94 goals per game), faceoff percentage (sixth at .614), scoring margin (fourth at 6.53 goals per game) and assists per game (seventh at 8.0 per game). They face a Saints team that stands among the top 10 in those categories – third in scoring offense (13.88 per game), eighth in scoringZa defense (7.94 per game), third in faceoff percentage (.643), fifth in scoring margin (5.94 per game) and first in assists per game (9.47 per game) – as well as second in groundballs per game (38.65) and 10th in man-up offense (36.5 percent). … The Lakers have scored double-digit goals in 14 straight games. … They have held 16-of-17 opponents below their season scoring average. … Scheetz can add to his school-record 226 points (90 goals, 136 assists). … Chayka and senior MF Zac Reid (22-14-36) were held scoreless in a 10-9 overtime win against Lake Erie in the national quarterfinals last weekend.

Limestone – The Saints have won two national championships (2000 and 2002) and reached the title game seven times. They lost to Dowling 11-10 in the 2012 title game. … They have reached the national playoffs in 14 straight seasons. … The Saints have won nine straight games since their only loss of the season, 7-6 against national semifinalist Le Moyne on March 16 in Baltimore. … They beat Seton Hill 16-13 in the quarterfinals last weekend. … Loewen, the Saints’ all-time leader with 151 career goals, is tied with New York Institute of Technology sophomore A Luke Miller for the national lead with 86 points. NYIT’s season ended last weekend with a quarterfinal loss to Adelphi. … Loewen also ranks third with 5.06 points per game, fourth in goals and sixth with 3.00 goals per game. … He has scored three goals or more nine times and three points or more in all 17 games.

– Victor Fernandes

NCAA Division II final four schedule
Semifinals – Saturday
No. 2 Limestone (16-1) at No. 1 Mercyhurst (17-0), 2 p.m.
No. 3 Le Moyne (16-2) at No. 4 Adelphi (14-2), 4 p.m.
Championship game – May 26
at Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia
Semifinal winners, 1 p.m.

Here are three college football games worth watching in Week 14.

Game of the week: No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide (11-1, 7-1 SEC) vs. No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs (11-1, 7-1 SEC), Saturday, 4 p.m., Georgia Dome, Atlanta, WSEE (CBS).

Pregame rant: Some would say this is the national championship game.

The winner will likely be the favorite to beat Notre Dame in next month’s BCS title game.  Alabama and Georgia are in this position because Oregon and Kansas State lost.

The Bulldogs are not as good on defense as Alabama, but have better skilled players on offense than the Tide.

So special teams could be the difference. If it is, edge Alabama.

The Tide have a senior kicker in Jeremy Shelley, who is 10-for-10 on field goals this season.

Georgia has a freshman kicker in Marshall Morgan, who is 8-for-12.  He’s missed two of his last four attempts.

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Penn State celebrated its 24-21 overtime win against Wisconsin with its fans at Beaver Stadium. Erie Times-News sport reporter Duane Rankin got right in the heart of the celebratory scene Saturday night.

Check out how Penn State senior right tackle Mike Farrell, senior linebacker Gerald Hodges and senior defensive tackle Jordan Hill each reacted to the win.

Let’s recap Week 12, shall we?

Game of the week: No. 14 Stanford at No. 1 Oregon

Final score: Cardinal 17, Ducks 14 (OT)

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Gannon University heads into Saturday’s PSAC West rivalry game at Edinboro University with an 0-6 record against the Fighting Scots (2-2, 1-1).

The Knights (1-4, 0-2) have dropped four straight games to Edinboro since joining the PSAC. Check out players and coaches from both sides talk about the upcoming showdown at Sox Harrison Stadium.

A new NCAA rule made Scots coach Scott Browning change his strategy in last week's 24-14 home loss to No. 6-ranked California (Pa.)./Josh Barber/Erie Times-News

In preparing for last week’s home opener against No. 6-ranked California (Pa.), the Edinboro coaches made a decision to go for it on 4th-and-short if put in that situation against the Vulcans.

“We had decided on Wednesday that if we were 4th-and-2 or less, we  were going to go for it,” Edinboro coach Scott Browning said Monday. “That was a staff decision.”

He didn’t know at the time the NCAA’s new rule in which players must sit out a play if their helmets come off would make him go against he and his staff’s thinking.

Down 10-7 on its second offensive series of the second half, Edinboro had a 4th-and-2 situation at the Cal 29. Junior quarterback Cody Harris put the Scots in this position with a 5-yard run on third down.

Harris also lost his helmet.

So instead of bringing in a new quarterback or even calling a timeout to get Harris back in the game, Browning elected to try a 46-yard field goal that Sean Seefeldt missed.

Now Browning says Seefeldt, a freshman from Newfane,  N.Y., has made field goals from that distance in practice.

“He’s been hitting them left and right, now,” Browning said. “He’s had a lot of success hitting them. That was not a stretch by no means.”

However, Harris losing his helmet impacted the decision.

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Let us recap Week 3, shall we?

Game of the week: No. 2 USC at No. 21 Stanford

Final score: Cardinal 21, Trojans 14.

Pregame rant: The Cardinal want to prove they’ve been more than Andrew Luck, but they’re going to need a lot of luck to get past the Trojans.

Barkley has 10 touchdown passes to only one interception and has only been sacked twice, but the Trojans haven’t been tested. If Stanford can take an early lead, it will be interesting to see how Barkley fares when the defense knows he’s passing.

Post-game commentary: No Luck needed in this one. The Cardinal pounded out 202 yards rushing with senior Stephan Taylor going for 153 and a score on 27 carries. As for Barkley, he was just 20-of-41 for 254 yards, no touchdowns and two picks.

The good news for USC is it lost early. The bad news is the Trojans still have to play Oregon. A loss Nov. 3 to the Ducks will end all hopes of an opportunity to play for a national title.

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