#3 Notre Dame outlasts #14 Denver

[IrishLax]

I know I know.... scarce few of you care about Notre Dame lacrosse.... but when March Madness is over and we have three games (Georgetown, @Syracuse, @UNC) on national TV in April and May you'll thank me and be glad you've been keeping up with the best male team at Notre Dame.

Notre Dame just closed out a 10-9 win at #14 Denver where they not only defeated a very good lacrosse team but did so in front of a record sold-out-plus crowd (apparently Denver was selling standing room only tickets for $15 a pop and had people sitting in the stairs... that's ridiculous for a lacrosse game) in the thin Mile High air and did so without team MVP Zach Brenneman who missed his second game in a row with injury.

Notre Dame now moves to 4-0 with 3 wins over teams ranked in the top 20. Our next game will be 3/23 against the Suckeyes. Go Irish.

 

[Mr. McGibblets]

I'd like to keep up with it. Thanks for the info.

 

[Mr. McGibblets]

Did you see the goal in the UVA game? It was the number 2 play on Sports Center.

 

[IrishLax]

Did you see the goal in the UVA game? It was the number 2 play on Sports Center.

Yeah I actually saw it live today on ESPNU. Pretty sick. There was also one in the first quarter where a UVa guy ripped a shot so hard it busted a hole straight through the net. Definitely don't see that every day.

 

[NDPhilly]

Excuse my Lacrosse ignorance but I thought the only good lax teams were out east + ND

 

[irishfan]

Excuse my Lacrosse ignorance but I thought the only good lax teams were out east + ND

So did I. I like keeping up with the team though. You see the same thing with basketball. Interest builds as the season gets going.

 

[IrishLax]

For the most part you all are right, however, Denver is an odd little lacrosse hotbed in the middle of nowhere. In fact, the ESPN affiliate Inside Lacrosse posted this article not too long ago that drew a lot of controversy: Inside Lacrosse October Issue: Best Lacrosse Towns - No. 1 Denver | InsideLacrosse.com

Lacrosse is very regional like hockey. Basically, in areas like Baltimore and Long Island lacrosse isn't just a second tier sport.... it's right even with the major ones like football and basketball in terms of youth participation. Also, it is huge in Canada where they play an indoor version of the sport (because it is so cold year round) called box lacrosse that is extremely similar to hockey with lacrosse sticks. On Denver's team the vast majority of kids are either from Canada or home grown.

The biggest barrier to en masse participation is that many people still view it as a "rich kid" sport because of its roots in prep schools and the Ivy League and the high cost of equipment. Like hockey, you're looking at hundreds of dollars for all of the gear it takes to play.

As such, you're seeing a much slower expansion into the deep south than to any other region of the country. Ohio and Pennsylvania are growing their participation at ridiculous rates as football players look for something to do in the Spring. Indiana and Illinois are slowly but surely starting to catch up as well.. and even Wisconsin will feature Division 1 lacrosse as Marquette is adding a varsity team for competition in the Big East starting in 2013.

If you looked at a map of the United States there is basically a big desolate area in middle America stretching from Montana/North Dakota on the northern border down to the Gulf of Mexico where the game is not played. Utah (go Mormons!) and Colorado are both showing lots of growth, as are California, Texas and practically everywhere east of the Mississippi River that is not in the heart of SEC country.

The single biggest thing holding lacrosse back is Title IX. There are 50% more women's programs than men's at the Division 1 level even though there are 100% more males who play the sport at the youth and high school levels. So add those together and you have a 4:1 imbalance of teams in favor of women's lacrosse.

 

[IrishinSyria]

Speaking of hockey and lacrosse- it's always driven me crazy that Northwestern fields neither. Good for ND though.

And box lacrosse is worth a trip out to Sarnia or Windsor or Guelph- nothing recreates the atmosphere of "Slapshot" like Junior B lacrosse in Ontario.