College Lacrosse

No. 6 Maryland (3-0) Coming up: Vs. Towson, Saturday, 11 a.m., Byrd Stadium; vs. Pennsylvania, Monday, 3 p.m., Byrd Stadium Comment: The Terps are 3-0 for the first time since 2006 and haven't been 4-0 since 2004. Junior attackman Grant Catalino had five goals and one assist in Maryland's 11-10 overtime win against No. 8 Duke last Saturday. No. 7 Johns Hopkins (4-1) Coming up: At No. 11 Hofstra, Saturday, 7 p.m. Comment: The Blue Jays are 18-4 all time against the Pride, but all four losses have occurred on the road.

College lacrosse is beginning - albeit slowly - to regain its reputation as the fastest sport on two feet. New rules implemented in the offseason to accelerate the pace of play aren't showing up in the numbers. But anecdotally, what had devolved at times into a slow-plodding, low-scoring slog is turning into a fast-paced, action-packed thriller. "I think they're the best thing to ever happen to the game, to be honest with you," Denver coach Bill Tierney said. "The [NCAA] rules committee took charge of their charge, so to speak, and realized that the game was not getting any better.

With the No. 1 ranking in Division III presumably at stake Sunday, Stevenson at times found its own exuberance as big an obstacle as opposing Western New England. Once the second-ranked Mustangs began to settle down, however, the 16th-ranked Golden Bears didn't stand a chance. With their lead cut to just one shortly after halftime, the hosts regrouped to reel off six straight goals, building a commanding lead on their way to an 11-5 win. "We really gave them chances when we should have been burying them," said Mustangs coach Paul Cantabene, whose team struggled to clear the ball early.

Twelve players scored for the Navy men's lacrosse team as it rolled past visiting Virginia Military Institute, 20-7, on Saturday. Juniors Sam Jones and Erik Hoffstadt each had a hat trick, and five players recorded their first career goals in Navy's highest-scoring game since 2004. Navy entered halftime with an 11-1 lead and outshot the Keydets 58-26 for the game.   No. 10 Denver 14, No. 6 Duke 12: Eric Adamson scored five goals to help the Pioneers (1-0) upset the host Blue Devils (0-1)

Pierce Bassett is diving into one of the most scrutinized positions for one of the most storied programs in college lacrosse, and the freshman goalkeeper is rolling with the punches. "There's definitely expectations put on the starting goalie for Johns Hopkins, but I just try to take it as a game and put all my effort into preparing for the next opponent," Bassett said. "I'm not really worried about what's going on in terms of the media and anything outside of our team." Bassett, who will earn his second career start Saturday against visiting Albany, became only the fifth true freshman to start in the net for the Blue Jays since 1972.

The Towson men's lacrosse team scored in the second overtime to win, 10-9, against host Hofstra on Saturday. The Tigers (6-3, 2-1 Colonial Athletic Association) trailed 9-3 with 12:04 left in the fourth quarter but went on a 7-0 run to beat the Pride (4-5, 1-2). Thomas DeNapoli tied the game with two seconds left in regulation, and Justin Mabus had the final score with 38 seconds remaining in the second overtime. UMBC 16, Hartford 12: Joe Lustgarten had eight points to lead the Retrievers (3-4, 1-0 America East)

Tim Paul's senior season has ended, but his contribution to the Navy men's lacrosse team has not. The attackman tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in the No. 11 Midshipmen's 8-7 overtime loss to No. 10 Loyola on Saturday. While the Parkton native, a Loyola Blakefield graduate, won't be a physical presence on the field, Paul has vowed to provide mental support for his teammates. "I benefited learning from some great guys like Billy Looney, Tommy Wallin, Nick Mirabito," Paul said in a phone interview Wednesday.

This summer, usually a busy time in college lacrosse, has been even more turbulent than summers past. Almost 20 percent of the Division I schools have made changes regarding their head coaches, and the subject has dwarfed other topics in lacrosse publications, on message boards, and among the coaches themselves. ESPN analyst and former Johns Hopkins midfielder Mark Dixon said the turnover is symptomatic of the sport's evolution. "I think it's the growth of the game, and it could also be a troubling trend," he said.

When UMBC stunned Maryland on Tuesday night, it was the biggest upset of the college lacrosse season but just one of many so early in the year. Logic dictates that this could be the season a team like No. 4 Massachusetts, No. 7 Notre Dame or Villanova or Penn State could break the hold the traditional favorites have on the sport and win a national championship. That could happen, but don't bet on it. There is more parity in lacrosse, but not enough for one of those top four - Virginia, Syracuse, Johns Hopkins and Duke - not to win the 2012 championship.

Zach Brenneman had a hat trick to lead the No. 8 Notre Dame men's lacrosse team to an 11-7 upset of top-ranked Duke on Saturday at the Blue Devils' Koskinen Stadium. The Fighting Irish (1-0) outscored the Blue Devils (1-1) 5-2 in the second half and never trailed in the game. "We literally could not run past their guys," Duke coach John Danowski said. "Individually, their scheme was very different from what we saw last week. Today we needed to run past people and today I thought Notre Dame was just better than us."