April 14, 2008

By Paul Carcaterra

Special to CSTV.com

PAUL CARCATERRA
An analyst for CSTV, Paul was All-American on Syracuse's '95 title team. He is president of No Limit Lacrosse Camps, and developer for Maverik Lacrosse.
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        ---   Column Archive   --- MEN'S LACROSSE 5/20: Semifinal Breakdowns 5/12: Foxborough Lurking 4/28: Closer Than You Think 4/21: Don't Sleep On Hopkins 4/14: Quinzani Completing Duke Scoring Trio 4/7: Danowski Running Duke Offense To Perfection 3/31: Maryland Defense Dominating 3/24: Look Out For Penn 3/17: Syracuse's Brooks Coming Through In The Clutch 3/10: Zimmerman Leads Tar Heels' Resurgence 3/3: Rabil Making His Mark For Hopkins 2/25: Leveille Is Key For Syracuse 6/4: Singing a Different Tune 5/24: Don't Forget the Blue Jays 5/16: Underdogs Closing In On Baltimore 5/7: Rabil Coming on Strong For Hopkins 5/7: Big Snub For Big Red 4/30: DiNola, Daratsos Keep Navy In Stride 4/23: McMonagle Anchors Big Red Defense 4/16: Duke's Midfield the Difference 4/11: Back To Business 4/9: A Terp and Blue Devil Garner High Praise 3/26: Big Red Hits the Big Time 3/19: Bocklet Has Been The Answer For Fairfield 3/12: Yale's Washabaugh Shows Dominance At First Four 3/5: Blue Devils Still In The Spotlight 2/26: Upsets From Great Coaching 2/19: On the Wall - Early Thoughts 2/13: The Race Is On 2/12: Syracuse's Midfield Trio Looks To Be Dominant In '07 2006 5/23: On the Wall - Down To Four 5/15: On the Wall - Tournament Edition 5/08: On the Wall - Bracket Breakdown 5/01: On the Wall - Making Their Mark 4/24: On the Wall - Another Good One 4/17: On the Wall - Hen Pecked 4/10: Turning Points 4/02: Duke Scandal and More 3/26: Duke is Talk of Lacrosse World 3/20: Parity Joins the Party 3/13: Movin' On Up 3/6: Two Extremes and Much More 2/27: Early Season Thoughts 2/13: Preseason Top Ten 2/10: Preseason All-Americans 2/10: Preseason Notables

Offensive Player Of The Week: Max Quinzani (Duke)

There were very little questions about the Duke attack tandem of Matt Danowski and Zack Greer heading into the season. The third piece of the puzzle was sophomore Max Quinzani, who certainly brought a ton of credentials from high school in Duxbury, Mass., to Duke. However, as is the case with many freshmen, Quinzani went through some growing pains last season before ending the season on a positive note. In his second campaign in Durham, N.C., Quinzani has been spectacular. He has an ability to find the net at a ridiculous pace. On Saturday against third-ranked Virginia, Quinzani was on point, netting seven goals en route to a 19-9 victory, many of which were done in highlight-reel type fashion. Quinzani increased his season goal total to 43 -- best in nation -- slightly above his teammate Zack Greer (42), making the Duke attack an impossible matchup. If the Blue Devils win it all in 2008, the attack trio could surface in discussions as one of the best of all-time. 

Defensive Player Of The Week: Jordan Burke (Brown)

Burke, the nation's leader in goals against average (5.88) and save percentage (.695), was outstanding on Saturday against Penn. Burke made 19 total saves in an 8-5 win, 11 coming in the second half during a stretch in which Penn had multiple scoring opportunities. Burke has played at an elite level over the course of the last two seasons. Last season, he was ranked second nationally in save percentage and was credited with All-Ivy accolades (Honorable Mention). This year, he has set the standard in the Ivy League in regards to goalie statistics and is a front-runner for First Team All-Ivy and could very well place on a postseason All-American team. His numbers would certainly back up the accolades that he will be in the running for. Brown closes the season out with late season dates with in conference powers Cornell and Princeton. At 8-2 and with no wins against the Top 10, many question how good this team really is. However, there are little questions about their junior goaltender.  

Rookie Of The Week: Jack McBride (Princeton)

Since the departure of Ryan Boyle in 2004, Princeton has lacked a star offensive player who can take a game over. Enter current first-year player Jack McBride. The freshman from The Delbarton School in New Jersey has emerged to as the Tigers' best scoring threat. After the first six games of the season, McBride only had five goals. Chalk that up to getting acclimated to the college game. In the past five games, he has netted 12 goals, including six last Tuesday against Penn, and two against Harvard in a 9-8 OT win. The six tallies against the Quakers broke Jesse Hubbard's 1995 freshman scoring record for most goals in a game at five. Against the Quakers, he scored dodging inside and outside and set his dodges up from prior time and room goals. The Madison, N.J., native capitalized on every mistake the Penn defense made. The best statistic of the night against Penn was McBride's shooting percentage, which was perfect, as No. 14 was 6-for-6 on the night. This time of the year, freshmen who are starters need to be playing like sophomores, and that is certainly the case with Jack McBride. 

Quick Hits

I had an opportunity to watch the Syracuse vs. Rutgers game on Saturday in New Jersey. What I saw from the Orange during a 17-9 victory was the most balance from an offensive standpoint since their title run in 2002. They have game-changers offensively in Mike Leveille and Steven Brooks. These two seniors usually get the most attention from the opposition's defense. However, with the emergence of Kenny Nims (40 points), Brendan Loftus (14 goals) and Dan Hardy as of late (four goals against Rutgers), the Orange are a deep and talented unit who create matchup problems with their tremendous depth. The defense plays with a sense of urgency and creates transition from their end of the field. Freshman defensive midfielder Joel White will be the best at his position in college lacrosse by the time he leaves the Dome. For Syracuse to make a run at the national championship a few players will become X-factors. Juniors Greg Niewieroski and Pat Perritt will have to up their scoring production and virtually make this offensive group a nightmare to game plan for. Good news for the Orange, both players are capable of making noise and most likely will as teams will not focus on them, giving the two plenty of great scoring chances. 

If Johns Hopkins wins out, they certainly will make the playoffs with an 8-5 record, especially after Loyola beat Georgetown (Hopkins has to play Loyola in May). Against Maryland over the weekend, the Blue Jays dominated the Terps with balanced offense and solid goaltending, two areas that lacked productivity during their five-game losing skid. Another good sign for the Blue Jays was they were able to get inside goals from Mike Donegar. This is a direct result of Hopkins working through the proper offensive progressions with multiple passes after the initial dodge. Bottom line, the Jays have the same core of players back from last year's title team. If they get steady goalie play and have the attack involved in each game, they will be a disaster early round matchup with a higher seeded team. Imagine being a top four-seeded team and you are rewarded with a quarterfinal matchup with the defending national champions who just squeaked into the tournament?