2023 NCAA Games to Watch
In a little over a week, the 2023 College lacrosse season will kick off with a full slate of games on Saturday, February 4th.
As a lacrosse fan, the college lacrosse season is my favorite time of year. This year will be another special one for the Charlotte lacrosse community with more guys playing at the next level than EVER before. We’ll try to highlight as many of their games throughout the season in The Scoop and on our social media channels (@Team91CLT on Instagram/Twitter).
Here are five, February games that I am looking forward to watching at the start of the college lacrosse season:
Utah at Denver – Saturday, February 4th
Hall of Fame Coach Bill Tierney announced in early January that the 2023 season would be his final season coaching college lacrosse. Coach Tierney will go down as one of the greatest coaches in college lacrosse history following a career full of national championships at Princeton and Denver. Coach Tierney is credited with building lacrosse in the west and laid the footprint for Utah starting a program in 2019. Drew McMinn enters his second season leading the Utes with what might be one of the most exciting defensemen/longstick midfielders in college lacrosse in Sam Cambere. Be on the lookout for our guy Ryan Stines (Panther Creek) on offense for Utah!
High Point at Duke – Tuesday, February 7th
Over the last few seasons, High Point has proven they are capable of beating anyone, anywhere. Traditionally, the ACC and Big 10 teams would play High Point as a midweek non-league game on what has become “must watch TV”. After HPU pulled off wins against UVA and Duke over the last few seasons, no one is overlooking them. Duke dropped an early season game in 2022 to Jacksonville which likely kept them out of the 2022 NCAA postseason. I’d expect them to be very focused on their early season schedule this Spring. There is no shortage of our Charlotte guys on the roster at High Point with Nick Rizzo (Hough), Matt Lutzel (Southlake Christian), John Long (Hough) and Colin Hoben (Charlotte Latin) all expected to see time this Spring.
Georgetown at Johns Hopkins – Saturday, February 11th
Georgetown looked like a Top 2-3 team in the country in 2022 and it was supposed to be the season they returned to the Final Four. Instead, they lost in the first round of the NCAA tournament to Delaware. Will Bowen was named a First Team All-America in 2022 and is the favorite to win the Defenseman of the Year award in 2023. Tucker Dordevic transferred to Georgetown from Syracuse this Summer and figured to be a focus of their offense with Graham Bundy, TJ Haley and a stable of offensive midfielders. Charlotte native Cade Caggiano (Ardrey Kell) is also expected to be in the mix offensively. Johns Hopkins started the season unranked and continues their rebuild under Coach Pete Milliman. No one in lacrosse has a greater tradition than the Blue Jays and they are due for a big win over a marquee program. Upsetting Georgetown in February would be a great way to start their season.
Rutgers at Army – Saturday, February 18th
Rutgers surprised a lot of the lacrosse world with their performance last Spring and run to the final four. They have become masters of the transfer portal with another group of players coming to campus this Spring ready to join what was already a final four team in 2022. Ross Scott will be in the conversation as one of the best attackmen in the country all Spring and Ethan Rall is a preseason first-team All-American at LSM. Army will start the season unranked despite being consistently ranked in the top 20 for the last few years. They will have something to prove in what may be their biggest game of the season. It’ll also be an opportunity to watch Andrew and Trevor Kelly (Myers Park) as well as Eamon Murphy (Weddington); all are expected to play meaningful roles this Spring at West Point.
UNC at Ohio State – Sunday, February 19th
UNC versus Ohio State has become one of the best early season games in the country over the last few years. Ohio State dominated UNC in Chapel Hill last Spring which proved to be a key win for them on their way to making the NCAA tournament, while the Heels stayed home. The Tar Heels graduated what was arguably the best player in the country last Spring in attackman Chris Gray and will rely on number of underclassmen to share the load on offense this Spring. Defensively UNC’s Paul Barton and our guy Bobby Van Buren (#44 for Ohio State) are two of the best young defensemen in the country and are “must watch TV” for any young defenders. Freshman George Kalos (Hough) is also expected to be in the faceoff rotation for UNC this Spring. You can bet all our coaches will be tuned in to watch Bobby and George!
In our next edition of The Scoop, I’ll hit on 10 players that I’m looking forward to watching this college lacrosse season.
Enjoy,
Ryan Flanagan
