🎥 DIVISION 3 CONTROVERSY SOLVED

If you’re not following NCAA Division III Men’s Lacrosse, then you missed one of the strangest overtime endings of the year on Thursday night. Tufts (No. 1) visited CNU (No. 5) for a battle of undefeated teams, and the game ended in controversy…

…until a new sideline camera angle emerged Friday morning.

In overtime, CNU’s Brett Jackson rang a shot off the pipe that looked like it may have gone in. The CNU players and announcers started celebrating what they thought was a win, and in the moment of confusion, Tufts took the ball back the other way and scored on a fast break.

The “no-goal” call was challenged by CNU, reviewed by the officials, and ultimately upheld. Many who witnessed the live stream thought CNU was robbed, but the sideline angle below (captured by LSG Visuals) shows much clearer evidence that the ball hit the crossbar and did NOT go in the net.

No disrespect to the broadcast team at CNU, but this is exactly why we love and support sideline shooters at The Lacrosse Network. The high-definition angle from the sideline completely shifted the online narrative around the Tufts win. It even had some fans apologizing to the refs for making a good call (something we RARELY see in sports).

Tufts is now 5-0 on the season, with three straight come-from-behind wins. Up next is a top-20 matchup at Stevens Tech on Saturday.

The Jumbos have appeared in each of the past two NCAA Division III Championships and have only lost a total of four games since the start of the 2023 season. Could they complete their first undefeated season (of the NCAA era) this year?

Which D1 team has the BEST chance to beat Maryland this year? Let us know by replying to this email!

✅ Redwoods Name New Head Coach

After the recent departure of longtime head coach Nat St. Laurent and hiring of new general manager Joe Spallina, the California Redwoods have settled on a head coach for the 2025 season: former MLL Champion Anthony Kelly.

Spallina described Kelly as “the perfect hire” in a statement released by the team, then sent a personal message on his Twitter/X account.

“Welcome to the Woods!” Spallina posted on X. “Fired to work together [with] someone I’ve known a longtime and someone that will get the [Redwoods] to the top of the [PLL].”

Kelly is a Ohio native who played (and later coached) at Ohio State. He played 10 seasons in the MLL as a face-off specialist, making the All-Star Game six times. Kelly was on the Denver Outlaws team that won the MLL Championship in 2014.

Kelly takes over a Redwoods squad that went 3-7 last season and currently has the No. 2 pick in the 2025 PLL Draft, which is coming up in early May.

💪 Future UNC Star ‘Does His Job’

Right now, Gary Merrill is a high school lacrosse star at St. Anthony’s on Long Island. Later this year, he’ll be competing at quarterback under the legendary Bill Belichick at North Carolina.

Merrill, the No. 2 recruit in the Class of 2025 (per Inside Lacrosse), is signed to play both lacrosse and football at UNC. Last weekend, he led St. Anthony’s to a 9-7 win against Culver (Ind.) in the season opener.

Merrill, who was inexplicably chirped by a Culver player for being “washed” in the clip above, finished the game with four goals and an assist.

As St. Anthony’s looks to capture its sixth straight New York Catholic State Title in 2025, Merrill is also preparing mentally for the rigors of becoming a two-sport athlete at the collegiate level.

“I know the Belichick way is ‘do your job,’” Merrill told the New York Post in February. “I need to be ready when I get there. So I’ve been working hard.”

After powering his team to a 1-0 start, it’s safe to assume Merrill is doing his job quite well.

🧹 St. Joe’s Sweeps Philly

Watch out, here come the Hawks!

One mid-major team that’s flying under the radar right now is St. Joe’s, which just completed a three-game sweep of Philadelphia-area opponents: Drexel, Villanova, and Penn.

St. Joe’s has a spark-plug attackman in Richie LaCalandra (13G, 14A) and a future PLL Draft pick in Canadian long stick Levi Verch. They’ve won six straight games since starting the season 0-2, with close losses to Sacred Heart and Duke.

The Hawks (No. 19) are one of three teams from the Atlantic 10 Conference that are currently ranked in The People’s Top 20 at TLN. The others are Richmond (No. 15) and UMass (No. 17).

With the A10 likely being a one-bid league, can St. Joe’s make it through conference play and into the NCAA Tournament this year? Keep an eye on the Hawks…

🩸 This Game Could Be a Bloodbath

If you like high-scoring, fast-paced and physical lacrosse, you’re going to want to tune into the Syracuse-Colgate game on ACC Network on Saturday. Last year, when these two teams met at The Dome, it was one of the most brutal matchups of the season.

The 2024 game was so physical, we were able to put together a 5:34 highlight reel of just the biggest hits. The video has almost 200,000 views; check it out below.

Colgate (5-3) was looking like one of the most dangerous teams in Division I until their shocking loss to Bucknell last weekend. Syracuse (6-2) is still trying to solidify itself as a true NCAA title contender and can’t afford a letdown loss at home.

This matchup has the makings of another all-out war.

📺 College Lacrosse on TV!

Here’s the men’s D1 slate and watch links for this weekend, via Inside Lacrosse (all times Eastern):

Friday, March 21:
7 p.m. — North Carolina at High Point (ESPN+)

Saturday, March 22:
12 p.m. — Boston U at Army (ESPN+)
12 p.m. — NJIT at Binghamton (ESPN+)
12 p.m. — Brown at UMass (ESPN+)
12 p.m. — Bryant at Vermont (ESPN+)
12 p.m. — Lehigh at Bucknell (ESPN+)
12 p.m. — Canisius at Quinnipiac (Quinnipiac All-Access)
12 p.m. — Cleveland State at Le Moyne (NEC Front Row)
12 p.m. — Colgate at Syracuse (ACCN)
12 p.m. — Hampton at Delaware (FloSports)
12 p.m. — Drexel at Fairfield (YouTube)
12 p.m. — Richmond at Georgetown (FloSports)
12 p.m. — Harvard at Princeton (ESPN+)
12 p.m. — St. John’s at Hobart (YouTube)
12 p.m. — Hofstra at Monmouth (FloSports)
12 p.m. — Navy at Holy Cross (ESPN+)
12 p.m. — Marist at Mount St. Mary’s (ESPN+)
12 p.m. — Michigan at Maryland (BTN+)
12 p.m. — Providence at St. Joe’s (ESPN+)
12 p.m. — Wagner at Robert Morris (ESPN+)
12 p.m. — Stony Brook at Towson (FloSports)
12 p.m. — Utah at Virginia (ACCNX)
12 p.m. — Mercyhurst at VMI (ESPN+)
1 p.m. — Air Force at Marquette (no streaming info)
1 p.m. — Cornell at Yale (ESPN+)
1 p.m. — Rutgers at Hopkins (ESPN+)
1 p.m. — Lafayette at Loyola (ESPN+)
1 p.m. — UMBC at Albany (ESPN+)
2 p.m. — Detroit Mercy at LIU (Front Row Sports)
3 p.m. — Iona at Siena (ESPN+)
4 p.m. — Sacred Heart at Merrimack (Merrimack Sports Network)
7 p.m. — Dartmouth at Penn (ESPN+)
8 p.m. — Denver at Duke (Corrigan Sports Network)

Sunday, March 23:
7 p.m. — Ohio State at Penn State (BTN)