Best lacrosse game of 2009?

Inside Lacrosse', Danielle Berstein goes out on a limb and says the Michigan vs. Chapman game in the MCLA finals was the best lacrosse game of the year.

She states her case here.

Michigan wins National Championship 12-11, caps off 40-0 record past two seasons

Post upcoming. Celebration must take precedent.

Boxscore

Rematch Live on FOX College Sports TONIGHT at 5PM ET, 7PM MT

© Dirk Dewachter
NEWS
The MCLA Finals between #3 Chapman University and #1 University of Michigan live on FOX College Sports channel 617 on direct tv at 7PM Mountain Time/ 5PM Eastern Time.

WATCH IT HERE

Semifinals: Michigan whips CU-Boulder, advance to finals

The Michigan men's lacrosse team continued their winning ways on Friday night in Denver. But before the lax team even suited up, drama filled the stadium. Michigan perched in a viewing gallery to watch the tail-end of #3 BYU vs. #2 Chapman semifinal game-- which turned out to be a thriller.

With a wide open lane to the net, the leagues best long-stick midfielder Britton Cone decided against a game winning attempt in regulation, and tried to settle the ball by throwing to an open teammate. Unfortunately for BYU, the pass bounced out of the reach of the attackman and trickled past the sideline. That was the last time they saw the ball on their offensive side. Within a few minutes of overtime, the stingy BYU defense stripped the ball from a Chapman attackman near the end-line. Then came any athletes worst nightmare. The BYU d-pole desperately tried to heave the ball downfield. The pass was intercepted by #3 on Chapman who was all alone on the goal crease. After two fakes and a solid finish, that was it. Michigan players walked down to their lockeroom. They knew well what the outcome of that game meant: rematch. All they had to do was take out the #5 Buffs first.

Michigan answered the call and went up on the Buffs early, leading by a score of 6-3 at the end of the first quarter. Riley Kearns was a hero again, especially after singlehandedly dismantling the CU defense with some creative play behind the net. Junior Midfielder, Jordan Kirshner (Ann Arbor Huron, woot woot) also got into the act, scoring an important last-minute goal that extended Michigan's halftime lead to 8-4. In the second-half, the bottom really fell out for the Colorado Buffalos. Not even their fans could bring them back from the sizable lead that Michigan produced in the 3rd quarter. Luckily, Dennis Kearns was in the attendence. The former P.I. made sure the unruly Boulder banterers knew their place. Nice work, D.

Final score: UM 17, CU-Boulder 7
Boxscore and flowtos

FINALS: #3 Chapman University
Saturday, May 16th. 7PM

U Laxin'

If you missed it Sunday, it can be summed up quickly here: Michigan won in front of almost 3,000 Chapman supporters (and a handful of UofM parents) on National television. The the color-commentary was from Kyle Harrison.

Battle of the Uni's
By request of Chapman head coach Mike Wood, Michigan donned it's brand-new maize Adidas jersey's. As always, the bold Michigan helmets looked great in the California night (see Michigan rose bowl games if you need convincing). Likewise, Chapman also showcased their new threads. Overall, the black and grey strips were met with mixed opinions, but I have to say they looked pretty neat.

Kudos to ESPN for covering these two elite MCLA teams! This game is definitely a proud moment for the league. People are beginning to understand what MCLA means for the sport of lacrosse. It is made up of teams who don't necessarily have lacrosse roots, but are working hard to develop players and support in undeveloped lacrosse areas. And as States like California, Texas, Florida and Michigan continue to grow their programs, it can only mean good things for the spread of the sport.

Inside Lacrosse highlights: