On the Run - Week 2

Welcome to On the Run. Here's what you need to know about what happened in college lacrosse this weekend, plus some little things that I loved. Quick and easy to read while you're on the run!

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👀 The Headliner: Princeton Beats Penn State in OT

The storyline that stole the show this weekend.

The game I was looking forward to most did not disappoint.

Colin Burns played hero with the overtime goal, curling to his left hand after Nate Kabiri drew a double team.

Burns finished with four goals while star Coulter Mackesy certainly played like one with five goals.

The Tigers do not win without the performance of goalie Ryan Croddick, who had 22 saves in his first career start.

Princeton is one of my favorites to win the whole thing, and they got a great win on Saturday.

But is it crazy that I come away more optimistic with Penn State even after a loss?

Sure, the Nittany Lions only had three players tally goals and didn’t have an assisted goal in settled offensive sets.

But to still lose in overtime despite these setbacks is pretty remarkable, even more so considering Croddick’s 22 saves.

Matt Traynor had five goals, but Hunter Aquino is one of the best freshman in the nation. With five points (3G, 2A), Aquino was assertive as a dodger, can absolutely bring it with either hand and demanded the pole on an midfield filled with veterans.

Colby Baldwin went 19-25 (76%) with an assist as the top faceoff man, facing off against who I consider one of the nation’s better faceoff men in Princeton’s Andrew McMeekin.

Alex Ross is in consideration for a First or Second Team All-American nod after three games while Kevin Parnham and Jack Fracyon are veterans that anchor the defense.

So while it wasn’t an awesome offensive performance from Penn State, I’m not worried about Ethan Long, Luke Walstrum or Jack Aimone. Their production will come.

With the way I’m talking, you would think Penn State won this game, right?

That’s because this was more or less expected from Princeton, a team with National Title aspirations coming off back-to-back Ivy League titles. But Penn State? They’re legit and better than people thought they would be this early on.

 🤝 The Supporting Cast

The things that weren't maybe the star of the weekend, but still important.

1. Richmond Upsets Virginia

The Spiders first win in Charlottesville! A really fun game to watch, Lucas Littlejohn paced the offense with four goals, showcasing a snappy right handed release, but his two caused turnovers on the ride are what really impressed me.

Richmond was good in settled situations, but won the game in the middle of the field, capitalizing on Virginia’s mistakes. Littlejohn and Gavin Creo scored after Virginia turnovers and Lukas Olsson burned the Cavaliers on the 10-man ride with this goal.

Whereas Virginia’s ability to capitalize on the chaos against Colgate led to a 19-9 win, it came back to bite them against Richmond.

This Quint Kessenich quote on the broadcast after turnover in transition by the Cavaliers summed up the game.

That’s not to take away from Richmond, as they played a great game and had stellar goalie play from Zach Vigue (14 saves).

But the concerns with Virginia are there.

Not only did they make uncharacteristic mistakes, but I wrote before the season that I was a little worried about the Cavaliers. Are they still a good team? Absolutely, but I just didn’t think they could meet their high preseason expectations considering what they lost. McCabe Millon and Griffin Schutz are very good players, but they no longer have the benefit of playing alongside guys like Connor Shellenberger and Payton Cormier.

LSM Ben Wayer is one of the best players in the nation, but Virginia just need more guys to step up, particularly on offense, to be a legitimate contender this season.

2. Villanova Upsets Yale

Like with Richmond, Villanova made play after play in the middle of the field to upset Yale.

They also got two points from LSM Jake Melchionni and a goal from faceoff man Ryan Cunningham.

Anthony Wilson made some timely saves while Matt Licata is proving time and time again why he’s one of the toughest covers in all the nation as a shifty and dynamic X attacker that uses both hands.

Yale will be okay.

This was their season opener while the Wildcats already had a chance to learn and grow from a Week 1 thrashing to Penn State. Leo Johnson and Chris Lyons will find their groove after missing all of last year while Max Krevsky, Johnny Keib, Brad Sharp and Peter Moynihan make up a dynamic midfield room. Maybe there’s question marks at SSDM after losing three starters, but Yale always has great athletes on their team that can grow in that position.

3. Maryland Bests Syracuse

John Tillman being 7-0 against Syracuse is the most impressive stat of the weekend.

Logan McNaney had 12 saves in front of an impressive defense that handled on-ball matchups, supported and slid well when needed and forced Syracuse into taking perimeter shots (full breakdown coming soon 🎬) while the offense did enough with 11 goals to get the win.

I’d compare Maryland to being the Kansas City Chiefs and Syracuse being the Buffalo Bills. 

The Orange are usually favored to win like the Bills, but run into their kryptonite time and time again.

I’m not gonna put too much weight into this game for either team, as both have gauntlets of schedules coming up, but it’s certainly noteworthy how the Terps always seem to have the Orange’s number.

🎯 Quick Hits

The weekend's standout plays, hustle moments, and everything in between.

1. Denver Wins in Snowstorm Against Utah

Very fun game between two good teams. How about the goalies both recording double-digit saves in these conditions? Just a super impressive performance from Denver’s Grayson Manning (16 saves) and Utah’s Colin Lenskold (14 saves) while Denver’s Cody Malawsky was the player of the game with five goals, including a hat-trick in the 4th quarter.

2. Sam English No Look Feed

Really slick no-look feed from English. His eyes hold the defender to free up Finn Thomson inside.

3. Alex Marinier 7 Goals vs Air Force

Very impressive performance from one of the nation’s hardest shooters.

4. Jack Speidell Over the Shoulder Goal

Harvard opened up their 2025 campaign with a 12-10 win over a feisty Providence team. The highlight of the game was the sophomore Speidell with this crazy finish.

5. Richmond Bench Offsides Call

Absolutely electric.

📈 On the Rise

Spotlighting players and teams who are setting themselves up for big things ahead.

1. Thomas Power (Attack - Dartmouth)

The junior transfer from D3 Colorado College made a statement in his first game for Dartmouth with seven points (5G, 2A). Very two-handed, he seems to already be the top option on this offense and his best play was the assist after swimming through traffic.

2. Grayson Manning (Goalie - Denver)

I thought we might see Manning, a highly-rated recruit, at some point this season. I didn’t watch the full game, but it seems that Manning replaced starter Malcolm Kleban after Utah jumped out to a 3-0 lead. All Manning did in his first collegiate action was record 16 saves in a blizzard. If I had to guess, Manning will continue to be the starter for Denver until further notice after this performance.

3. Kenan Everhart (Attack - Loyola)

Everhart made headlines for the game-tying goal against Maryland last week with two seconds left, but this dodge against First Team All-American Scott Smith this week may have been more impressive.

4. Max Watkinson (Goalie - Loyola)

Watkinson deserves a ton of credit for holding Maryland to 8 goals and then Johns Hopkins to 9 goals in back to back weeks with some highlight-reel saves.

5. Jamison MacLachlan (Goalie - Stony Brook)

Like Watkinson, MacLachlan recorded 13 saves against Rutgers and 17 saves against UNC. Really impressive stuff from the Seawolves netminder.

 🏹 Shooters Shoot

The most unhinged shots from the weekend, because shooters gotta shoot.

⭐️ FCL Athlete Roundup

Spotlighting standout plays and moments so far this season from our FCL Athletes.

1. Maryland’s AJ Larkin Jump Shot

A jump shot as a pole?! Stop it.

2. Maryland’s Eric Spanos Back to Back 4 Point Performances

Spanos led the Maryland comeback last week against Loyola with a 4th quarter hat-trick, and then led the Terrapins again in scoring against Syracuse with 2G, 2A, including this missile on the extra man.

3. Harvard’s Sam King 6 Assists vs Providence

King showcased his feeding ability as the X attacker for Crimson on Saturday with six assists, his best being this skip pass to Owen Gaffney.

• Boston College’s Mckenna Davis has 5 goals and 5 assists in three games

• Michigan’s Ava Class has 3 goals and 1 assist in two games

• Clemson’s Natalie Shurtleff had 3 goals and 2 assists against Stetson

• Denver’s Jimmy Freehill had 4 GB’s and 3 CT’s against Utah

• Syracuse’s Billy Dwan had 2 GB’s and 2 CT’s against Maryland

• Duke’s Madison Beale had 4 GB’s and 1 CT against Johns Hopkins

• Princeton’s Nate Kabiri assisted Colin Burns’ OT winner against Penn State

I hope you enjoyed this week’s edition of On the Run and be sure to subscribe!