By Brett Hughes

Prior to the weekends games, I had reached out to certian RISE UP BOYS and asked them to write me a letter about what they had learned over the weekend as students of the firstround of the NCAA tournament. It could be about a player, a team, or a common trend they picked up on througout the weekend. These boys will always view the game as entertainment, but I wanted them to actively take a moment and view the game as if they were getting ready for a test... A four year test of lacrosse I.Q. and ability to learn the college game.  All the boys had a great time with it and I was so impressed with what they came back with.

One of the future Quarterbacks of the NCAA Matt White and I had talked prior to the games and I just knew this kid was going to come up with something right on the money. To be the conductor of Ridgefield High School in Conn. and a future leader of the Virginia Cavaliers high powered offense, I expected Matt to "get it" this weekend. He did, picking up on things that do not pertain to his position, but he is right on the money with his observations about the total game.

Brett,

From watching the games this weekend, i think the thing that really stuck out the most to to me was the importance of goalie play in the NCAA tournament.  It's obvious that nobody is a dud in the net playing for these teams, but for instance in the UVA vs. Nova game the nova goalie wasn't really in a good groove facing those shooters from Virginia.  Same thing wth the Duke v. Navy game.  Another key thing that i payed attention to was faceoffs.  Carolina, UVA, and Hopkins all looked like they had a great advantage in that spot with Walterhoefer, Gaudet and Dolente winning lots of draws for their respective teams.
 

Two things you will see consistently are coaches and analysts talking about  the importance of exactly that in the playoffs. when everyone is on an even playing field, the X-Factors come up huge.