Dear Boston Globe ....

I enjoyed the note today on the NCAA Lacrosse Championship and the Bay State flavor of the tournament rightfully recognized by your column in the great Boston Globe. 

See:

NCAA lacrosse finals have Bay State flavor

Several area lacrosse players are on teams playing in the NCAA men's lacrosse championships this weekend at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough.

Danno Lynch of Medfield netted 19 goals as a sophomore midfielder for Division 3 finalist Gettysburg College, whose roster includes freshman goalkeeper Jim LeClerc of Acton.

The Division 2 final features two former Tri-Valley League rivals, with C.W. Post senior midfielder Chris Fraser of Ashland on one side and LeMoyne sophomore midfielder Jikado Hanna of Hopkinton on the other.

Division 1 players include Duke sophomore defender Jason Orlando of Sudbury, a Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High grad, and Cornell freshman defender T.J. Weyl of Medfield and the Noble & Greenough School.

TL NOTE:   I am thrilled to see the high level of lacrosse being played throughout Massachusetts, and I pay tribute to Coaches Tom Ryan and Randy Fraser of the Boston Blazers, along with top pro indoor players like Dan Dawson, Mitch Belisle and the rest of the Blazers team for helping the sport grow.  Now, as spring comes along, I look forward to watching the Boston Cannons play at Harvard. Let's get behind the Cannons, people.

As I've very recently relocated from NYC to Boston, I have to pay tribute to my former State, the Empire State of New York and make note of this fact so my new neighbors in Mass welcome the NY State of Mind to the Commonwealth and the great and growing sport of Massachusetts lacrosse:

NY State of LAX: FACT:

Div I title will go to either Cornell (Ithaca, NY) or Syracuse (Syracuse, NY)

Div II title went to CW Post (Brookville, NY/Long Island)

Div III title went to Cortland State (Cortland, NY).

The tourney will switch to Baltimore for a few years, but let's be sure the LAX spirit remains alive and well by supporting the Cannons and the Blazers.  

Here's to Harvard, the NCAA, Gillette Stadium and the rest of Massachusetts for a great job of hosting the NCAA tourney.

Sincerely,

Terry Lyons

Newton Centre, Mass

proud uncle of an NCAA champion CW Post women's team player, Kian Lyons.

Good night

Half of the crowd is gonzo. Half empty is answer.

Good night and Good luck. Go Cornell at the NCAAs Final 4 Lax and best wishes on a great season for the CW Post Pioneers. K Lyons made her third NCAA Div II Final 4 with one championship ring to boast. Not bad.

Kian and her CW Post Lacrosse Team ...

My niece and her teammates from CW Post of Long Island are attempting to win their second consecutive NCAA Div. II Women's Lacrosse Championship. Here is a round-up of the national semifinal win:

HOUSTON (May 15, 2008) – The C.W. Post women’s lacrosse team advanced to the NCAA Championship title game for the second straight year with a 9-4 win over Adelphi University in the semifinals Thursday afternoon at Memorial Park.

The Pioneers improve to 17-1 overall and will play West Chester University on Saturday, May 17 at 1 p.m. The win stops a 16-game win streak for the Panthers as they end their season with a 16-1 overall record.

C.W. Post and Adelphi last met in postseason play in 2006 in the NCAA semifinals in Chicago, where the Panthers edged out a 9-8 win.

Junior attacker Jaclyn Napoli (West Islip, N.Y.) led the Pioneers offensively with four goals while senior goalkeeper Lauren Scipione (East Meadow, N.Y.) made a season-high 15 saves in goal to preserve the win.

The Panthers scored first when Michelle Ceraso scored on a shot from the right side at 23:54.

The Pioneers answered back with two goals, the first from Napoli at 14:14 on a shot from the left post on a cross pass from junior attacker Katie Hogan (Farmingdale, N.Y.). The second came from senior attacker Jenna Miller (Silver Spring, Md.) at 11:23 on a 3-yard shot from junior midfielder Samantha Lyons (Farmingdale, N.Y.) to go ahead, 2-1.

Adelphi tied the game when Kaitlyn Carter shot one in from the right side to tie the game at 10:57.

Napoli scored her second goal of the game on a sling shot from the left post on a pass from Miller at 9:21. The Panthers again answered back when Emily Simpson scored from the right perimeter with an assist from Rachel Ray at 6:32.

The teams played to a 3-3 draw until the Pioneers added two more goals from Napoli and sophomore midfielder Brianne Jackolski (Shirley, N.Y.) to give themselves a cushioned lead with 5:12 left in the half.

In the second half, C.W. Post scored three continuous goals from Hogan, Napoli and senior midfielder Elaine Williams (East Islip, N.Y.) to boost its lead in the game to 8-3 with 20:19 remaining in regulation.

Adelphi score its final goal of the game when Carter scored from the left side with 7:26 left to play.

Sophomore midfielder Staci Passafiume (Port Jefferson, N.Y.) scored the game’s final goal at 3:35 with an 8-foot shot from Hogan.

C.W. Post outshot Adelphi, 30-25, and held a 17-15 ground ball advantage.

Passafiume and Hogan each tallied two assists while five Pioneers each scored single goals.

Carter had two goals while Ceraso and Simpson each had one for Adelphi. Caitlin Fitzpatrick made 10 stops in goal, including seven in the second half for the Panthers.

The Pioneers advanced to the title game in 2007 after a win over Stonehill College and went on to defeat West Chester, 15-7, to claim their second national in program history.