In years past, a trip to Loyola College University to catch a men’s lax game on a Saturday afternoon guaranteed a few things; One – you’re parking on Cold Spring Lane or somewhere on the neighboring campus of The College of Notre Dame and walking a half mile to Curley Field. Two – the bleachers will be full and you’ll probably have to sit on the rock-hard turf right up against the sidelines where diving lax players are likely to crash into you and your friends. I like being close to the action, don’t get me wrong, but being a human out-of-bounds marker is not the best way to spend your free time, regardless of how good the lax is. Three – you’re in for some excellent D1 lacrosse.

Of course I am exaggerating, but that’s what I do best. How do you think I married such a wonderful lady? “Soft lies” as I like to call them. I should also note that Curley Field was eventually renamed for the late-great Dianne Geppi-Aikens. That field holds a lot of memories for the Baltimore community. But I digress.

So what’s so different about going to a Greyhounds’ lax game now?

Well, this…

The grandstands are super close to the action. No bad seats in this house

Capacity appears to be more than 6000, but what do I know?

The video board is cutting edge. They run videos of Borat giving high-fives after every Loyola goal!

Okay, I know I’m behind the times and that this complex opened almost 2 years ago. Cut me some slack, this is my first game at the Ridley Athletic Complex and I’m excited. The place totally blew me away. It’s hard to believe that this facility exists at a non-football school like Loyola. Named after Rev. Harold Ridley, the athletic center is home to the mens and womens lacrosse and soccer teams and can seat up to 6000 Greyhound fans on two levels. It’s a fantastic venue for watching lacrosse, even for Baltimore.

Oh yeah, there was a game there today! That’s why I was there. I almost forgot to mention it.

The 19th ranked Delaware Blue Hens (2-0) were in town to take on Loyola for the inaugural game of the Greyhounds’ 2012 season. From the opening face-off it appeared that the two game head start to the season would pay off for the Blue Hens. The Hens were sharp, aggressive, and more focused than their hosts in white and green. Loyola struggled through the first fifteen minutes to win face-offs, complete simple passes or get anything going on “O”. The Greyhounds committed turnover after turnover which allowed the Hens to build a 3-1 lead after one quarter.

Lusby geting ready to go off.

Then, Delaware changed their strategery. I can only imagine that one of the assistant coaches uttered something like “let’s play man down the rest of the half”! Now, I’m no Dick LeBeau, but playing short-handed and having possession for less than 3 minutes in a quarter is not a recipe to win lax games. Unfortunately for the visiting Hens, that’s how it played out. The Hounds would rip off 5 goals inside of 6 minutes, 3 of the extra-man variety to take the lead and steal the momentum away from the boys in blue. And just like that, presto! Loyola confidence restored! Voila, face-off problem solved! Kapow (okay, I’ve run out of catchy excitable action words) the Hounds have their swagger back! From there it was the Eric Lusby and J.P. Dalton show. Lusby a graduate student from Severna Park tallied four goals on the day. And after losing every face-off in the first quarter, Dalton awoke to go 14 of 21 in face-offs for the final three quarters. Mike Sawyer finished with 3 goals and an assist for Loyola as well. The hounds would eventually out-shoot the Hens 44 to 23 to seal the 13-8 comeback victory. If you had left the game after 1 quarter, you would have been certain that Loyola was going to get killed. I guess that’s why they play all 4 quarters.

Grant Kaleikau has mad game. He tallied 3 points on the day. He's one to watch.

Delaware is still a team to watch this season and I wouldn’t put too much credence into this loss so early in the year. They have an athletic group of middies and several studs at attack. They will get their chance to redeem themselves Tuesday night against the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays. The Loyola Greyhounds will face Charles Street rival Towson on Saturday the 25th.

Check out this highlight video of the game, compliments of Loyola College Lax.

Get to Ridley this year if you can. It’s easy to find and parking is a breeze. Check out the Hounds full schedule here. Check out more photos of this game on our Facebook page.