College Lacrosse

Every year in college lacrosse there seems to be a Delaware, Lehigh or Loyola, a team no one figured to be one of the nation's top contenders. Could Penn State be that team in 2013? There wasn't anything unusual about the Nittany Lions' 11-6 season-opening win against Michigan, but Penn State drew some attention with a 15-12 upset of No. 10 Denver on Feb.17. Then when Penn State took No. 3 Notre Dame to overtime in a 10-9 loss Sunday - a game that featured four lead changes and seven ties - the lacrosse world took notice.

College lacrosse No. 1 Northwestern women are upset Host No. 5 North Carolina took a 7-1 first-half lead and held off a rally by top-ranked Northwestern for an 11-8 victory Friday night in women's lacrosse. The win broke a four-game Tar Heels losing streak to the defending NCAA champions and is Carolina's first over the Wildcats since 2010. Abbey Friend led the Tar Heels with three goals, including Carolina's final two goals of the game. Her goal with 1:13 to go sealed the win for Carolina.

Women's college lacrosse Schwarzmann, Howard, D'Amore earn weekly honors Maryland senior midfielder Katie Schwarzmann (Century) and senior goalkeeper Kasey Howard (Broadneck) have been named Atlantic Coast Conference Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively, the conference announced Tuesday. Schwarzmann moved up to No. 5 on Maryland's all-time goals list (180) with a career-high seven in a 19-11 win at No. 1 Syracuse on Sunday. She added three draw controls and converted on 7-of-8 shots, helping the Terps avenge a one-goal loss last season that ended a 36-game home winning streak.

Laurel Park After crash, Javerre wins General George Smith Farm & Stable's Javerre outdueled front-runner Il Villano, then held on to win the $250,000 General George Handicap (Grade III) at Laurel Park on Monday. The race was marred when post-time favorite Brigand bore into Associate not long after the start, causing Associate to stumble and toss jockey Erick Rodriguez . Neither Rodriguez nor Associate was injured. Brigand crossed the finish line second, but after an inquiry and a review of the start by the stewards he was disqualified to fifth.

Women's college lacrosse Stanwick leads BC to rout of Holy Cross Covie Stanwick (Notre Dame Prep) set career highs with six goals and three assists to lead No. 18 Boston College (1-0) to a 17-8 victory over host Holy Cross (1-1). Brooke Blue and freshman Sarah Mannelly each scored four goals. Taylor Zebrowski and Laura Ryan each scored twice for the Crusaders. More national games: Nikki Boltja scored the tying and winning goals as host Louisville (2-0)

College football NCAA proposes rule change to allow ejection for hits above shoulders The NCAA has proposed a rule change that would eject any player who targets and hits a defenseless opponent above the shoulders. The Football Rules Committee, which met this week in Indianapolis, unanimously voted to increase the penalty to include an automatic ejection in addition to a 15-yard penalty. The proposal still awaits approval by the Playing Rules Oversight Panel on March 6. "Student-athlete safety will always be one of our primary concerns," said Air Force coach Troy Calhoun , the chairman of the committee.

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)

Each week, The Baltimore Sun publishes a Q&A with a college lacrosse player or coach to get you more acquainted with the player and his/her team. Today's guest is Loyola senior attackman Mike Sawyer, who recorded 52 goals and 10 assists en route to being named the university's first Tewaaraton Award finalist in 2012. The team captured the university's first Division I national championship of any kind. What drives you and your teammates now? Everyone's gunning for us. Everyone's going to give us their best shots.

Division I women's college lacrosse is in the middle of one of its biggest growth spurts in years, and several recent changes appear likely to spark even more expansion soon. This spring, the NCAA tournament bracket expands to 26 teams, and Division I grows to 100 teams with eight new programs, including Southern California. And a shifting conference landscape that includes some of the biggest women's lacrosse powers could prompt more schools to add the sport. Several Division I schools, including Maryland, recently decided to switch conferences in moves often driven by their football or basketball programs.

Men's college lacrosse Smith, McRoy help Delaware win opener Senior attackman Eric Smith (Boys' Latin), junior midfielder Connor McRoy (Archbishop Spalding), senior midfielder Nick Diachenko and sophomore attackman Brian Kormondy scored two goals apiece as Delaware defeated High Point, 12-10, in the host Panthers' DivisionI debut. The game marked the official start of the Division I men's lacrosse season, which the Blue Hens have traditionally played in for the past decade.