April 07, 2011|By Quint Kessenich, Special to The Baltimore Sun
Fans will enjoy the titanic matchup between Georgetown's Barney Ehrmann and Notre Dame's Zach Brenneman. Both were drafted by Major League Lacrosse in January. Ehrmann is Ted Hendricks with a lacrosse stick, rangy, active, a space-eater who covers ground with unusual mobility for guy 6-foot-6. Brenneman dodges to the goal like a runaway train. Brenneman absorbs checks, shrugging them off. His style says, "Get out of my way." And at 6-3, most do.
Hoyas (5-4) are desperate for a win which would get them back into then playoff discussion. The Fighting Irish (7-0) methodically stifle their opponents with the country's top-rated defense.
Syracuse at Princeton (Saturday, 4 p.m., ESPNU)
Princeton has been decimated by injuries but the one constant, and its only hope for an upset over the Orange, is goalie Tyler Fiorito. The left-handed junior from McDonogh is eighth nationally in save percentage at .599. He can get hot if he gets off to a great start. Just ask Hopkins, who was held to a mere three goals in its loss to the Tigers.
Denver vs. Duke (Saturday, 2 p.m., Bethpage, N.Y.)
Duke's Dan Wigrizer is the most inconsistent goalie in the nation, fluctuating between porous and impenetrable. Last week he wasn't seeing the ball, as Syracuse jumped out to an 8-1 advantage before he found his bearings. Denver owns the No. 2-ranked scoring offense in Division I with an arsenal of snipers that can make the best goalie look silly. Mark Matthews (26 goals), Alex Demopoulus (21 goals), Todd Baxter (16 goals) and Cam Flint (12 goals) play with finesse, flash and are unorthodox, which could have Wigrizer fighting double vision by game's end.
Quint Kessenich covers college sports for the ESPN networks and writes a weekly column for the Baltimore Sun during lacrosse season.
