Stony Brook

The only previous experience Adrian Coxson had with a Football Championship Subdivision team was when Maryland came away with a 28-3 win over Towson last fall. Before that, the Terps wide receiver had never given any FCS school much thought, and he certainly never expected to play at that level.  But after a redshirt freshman season in which he appeared in just nine games, Coxson decided to transfer from College Park. The former four-star wide-out, who started his college career at Florida, was pursued by FBS schools Utah and Toledo, which offered him a scholarship.

ESPN analyst Mark Dixon provided play by play for No. 2 seed Johns Hopkins' 19-9 rout of Stony Brook on Sunday. On Monday, he offered what he liked and what he didn't like in the Blue Jays' victory in the opening round. Tuesday featured Dixon's assessment of No. 1 seed Loyola's 17-5 thrashing of Canisius, and Thursday will highlight Maryland's 10-9 upset of No. 7 seed Lehigh. But here is what he thought of Johns Hopkins' win. What Dixon liked: “Their faceoffs were unbelievable.

These two teams will meet for the first time in an NCAA tournament first-round contest. Stony Brook (7-9) is one of two participants in the 16-team field with a sub-.500 record, but the Seawolves did capture their third America East tournament crown and second in the last three years. Johns Hopkins (11-3) is 11-2 all-time in first-round games and is 8-1 in the first round under coach Dave Pietramala. Here are a few factors that could play a role in the outcome at Homewood Field in Baltimore Sunday afternoon.

Mike Poppleton didn't score a goal, dish out an assist or register a save, but he clearly was the most dominant player on the field in Johns Hopkins' 19-9 win over Stony Brook on Sunday in an NCAA tournament opening-round game. From the onset to the final whistle at Homewood Field, the junior midfielder from Manlius, N.Y., won 20 of 26 faceoffs and the Blue Jays won 24 of 31 in a game that was never seriously in doubt. Poppleton's dominance came on a day when the Blue Jays defense struggled with Stony Brook's offense around the crease.

Sophomore attackman Chris Bocklet scored three goals and assisted on two others, and the Virginia men's lacrosse team held off an upset-minded Stony Brook squad to win, 10-9, in a NCAA tournament quarterfinal before an announced 10,024 at Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium. The top-seeded Cavaliers (16-1) advanced to their third consecutive Final Four and their seventh in the past nine years. Meanwhile, the No. 8 seed Seawolves ended their season at 13-4 and could not add a first national semifinal berth to the first quarterfinal appearance they earned this season.

By now, many folks in the lacrosse community have already written off Stony Brook as a major player in the NCAA tournament after the Seawolves won the America East tournament crown despite a sub-.500 overall record (7-9). Plus, they must take on No. 2 seed Johns Hopkins at Homewood Field in Baltimore Sunday afternoon. That's not the approach Blue Jays coach Dave Pietramala is taking, especially with Stony Brook's first midfield. Junior Jeff Tundo and seniors Robbie Campbell and Russ Bonnano rank 2-3-4 on that offense in points with 42, 38 and 32, respectively.

Mike Poppleton didn't score a goal, dish out an assist or register a save, but he clearly was the most dominant player on the field in Johns Hopkins' 19-9 win over Stony Brook on Sunday in an NCAA tournament opening-round game. From the onset to the final whistle at Homewood Field, the junior midfielder from Manlius, N.Y., won 20 of 26 faceoffs and the Blue Jays won 24 of 31 in a game that was never seriously in doubt. Poppleton's dominance came on a day when the Blue Jays defense struggled with Stony Brook's offense around the crease.

Tony Seaman knows exactly how Rick Sowell feels. On April 27, 1996, Seaman watched as his Johns Hopkins men's lacrosse team, which was ranked No. 5 in the country, was upended by Towson, 13-12. So Seaman, now the head coach at Towson, could empathize with Sowell, who was forced to watch his No. 4 Stony Brook squad get upset by the host Tigers, 9-8, before 1,323 at Johnny Unitas Stadium in Towson on Saturday. "I was the coach of that team in '96 that Towson beat," Seaman recalled.

DeWayne Jackson scored 18 points, including the game-winning free throws with 15.5 seconds left, as Morgan State edged North Carolina A&T, 68-66, Monday night. The Bears (10-9, 6-2 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) also got 15 points from Larry Bastfield and 10 apiece from Ameer Ali and Aric Brooks. Thomas Coleman had 20 points and 11 rebounds for the Aggies (9-13, 4-4), but committed the foul that sent Jackson to the line. Austin Witter added 10 points for North Carolina A&T and Nic Simpson, who normally averages 15, was held to nine.

Steele Stanwick (Loyola) helped top-ranked Virginia win again, 12-5, over visiting Stony Brook, and helped himself to the 100-goal and 100-assist plateaus Saturday in Charlottesville, Va. Stanwick scored back-to-back goals in the third quarter. He became the third Cavalier, the seventh Atlantic Coast Conference player and 44th nationally to record 100 goals and 100 assists. Colin Briggs had a career-high seven points on three goals and four assists to lead the Cavaliers.

These two teams will meet for the first time in an NCAA tournament first-round contest. Stony Brook (7-9) is one of two participants in the 16-team field with a sub-.500 record, but the Seawolves did capture their third America East tournament crown and second in the last three years. Johns Hopkins (11-3) is 11-2 all-time in first-round games and is 8-1 in the first round under coach Dave Pietramala. Here are a few factors that could play a role in the outcome at Homewood Field in Baltimore Sunday afternoon.

By now, many folks in the lacrosse community have already written off Stony Brook as a major player in the NCAA tournament after the Seawolves won the America East tournament crown despite a sub-.500 overall record (7-9). Plus, they must take on No. 2 seed Johns Hopkins at Homewood Field in Baltimore Sunday afternoon. That's not the approach Blue Jays coach Dave Pietramala is taking, especially with Stony Brook's first midfield. Junior Jeff Tundo and seniors Robbie Campbell and Russ Bonnano rank 2-3-4 on that offense in points with 42, 38 and 32, respectively.

Due to deadlines, my conversations with Loyola coach Charley Toomey, Johns Hopkins coach Dave Pietramala and Maryland coach John Tillman were relatively brief. But here are their initial impressions of their opponents in the first round of the upcoming NCAA tournament. Toomey on Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference champion Canisius (6-7): “My first impression is that my assistant coaches better be home doing their homework right now as I'm in Indy [due to his duties as a member of the tournament selection committee, which met in Indianapolis]

After setting a school record for wins and matching another program mark for best start, the Loyola men's lacrosse team reaped a coveted reward: the top overall seed in the NCAA tournament. The 14-1 Greyhounds, who captured their first Eastern College Athletic Conference tournament crown and are ranked third in the latest Sun rankings, will meet Canisius (6-7), the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference champion, in the first round. The game is scheduled for Saturday at 5 p.m. at Ridley Athletic Complex.

College Lacrosse St. John's stuns No. 2 Notre Dame, 8-7, in Big East men's semifinal St. John's recorded one of its biggest wins in program history as it upset No. 2 Notre Dame, 8-7, in the Big East semifinals Thursday. The Red Storm (8-6) was led by three goals and four assists from Kieran McArdel . Jeff Lowman made 13 saves in the winning effort. For the Fighting Irish (11-2), Westy Hopkins had three goals and Conor Doyle (Gilman) added two. In the other semifinal, Syracuse defeated Villanova, 15-6.

Scott Jones finished with two goals in No. 2 seed UMBC's 19-8 loss to No. 3 seed Albany in Wednesday night's America East tournament final, but his impact was barely felt at UMBC Stadium in Catonsville. Jones, who entered the contest leading the Retrievers in both goals (34) and points (38), scored the game's first goal just 27 seconds into the first quarter. But he didn't score his second one until 12:30 remained in the fourth quarter. The Great Danes shadowed Jones with a short-stick defensive midfielder, essentially daring him to dodge - which is not his strength.

Women's college lacrosse Krause's 5 goals lift UMBC over Stony Brook, 10-8 Alicia Krause (Mount Hebron) scored five goals and host UMBC (8-4, 2-1 America East) used a four-goal run in the second half to take control and win, 10-8, over Stony Brook (3-8, 0-3) on Wednesday night. More state games: Lauriann Parker had two goals and four assists to lead visiting St. Mary's (9-5, 3-3 Capital Athletic Conference) to an 18-7 victory over Hood (4-9, 0-6)

UMBC's opponent Wednesday night in one semifinal of the America East tournament is Albany, a foe that the Retrievers memorably edged, 17-16, in overtime on April 14. In that contest, UMBC overcame a 16-11 deficit with a five-goal run in a span of 2 minutes, 18 seconds in the fourth quarter and then got a goal from junior attackman Scott Jones with 2:17 left in overtime to cap the impressive rally. Coach Don Zimmerman is fully expecting the Great Danes to use that loss as inspiration for Wednesday night's game at UMBC Stadium in Catonsville.

A win last Saturday night against Binghamton would have put UMBC in the conversation for the America East regular season championship and the top seed and homefield advantage in the conference tournament. Stony Brook's 12-11 decision against Albany made that discussion moot as the Seawolves finished with a 4-1 record in the league and clinched the aforementioned rewards. That left the Retrievers with a 3-2 conference mark and the second seed in the America East Tournament. UMBC didn't exactly help its own cause with a 15-8 loss to the Bearcats.