The 40-year-old former National Lacrosse League star now prepares goalies Matt Vinc and Jake Henhawk for games and serves as a mentor and coach. On Sunday, before the Knighthawks game in Minnesota, O’Toole commented on his coaching position, his playing days and Hall of Fame Night.

Face-Off machine, Chris Eck of the Boston Cannons and Team USA, breaks down his Weapon of Choice for dominating the face-off X. From the type of head he uses, to number of shooting strings, to superstitions - The Ecks factor tells all.

As we were sitting at dinner in Managua, Nicaragua, a kid came walking past us with a bandaged arm and a slight limp. Later on in the night Jake and I started talking to him, of course curious as to what had happened. He said he had injured himself trying to break the speed record “Volcan Boarding” up north in Leon.

From CitrusTV, Syracuse's Jojo Marasco is excited to take on a new role at midfield for the Orange in 2012.

Anyone who watched the Syracuse University lacrosse team last season knew freshman Matt Harris was being groomed to replace All-America longstick midfielder Joel White. Peter Macartney believed he knew differently.

From CitrusTV, Syracuse's Jojo Marasco is excited to take on a new role at midfield for the Orange in 2012.

Anyone who watched the Syracuse University lacrosse team last season knew freshman Matt Harris was being groomed to replace All-America longstick midfielder Joel White. Peter Macartney believed he knew differently.

Andrew Champagne recaps the week that was in Siena athletics and chats with Chris Roth from Siena men's lacrosse!

Major League Lacrosse (MLL), the premier professional outdoor lacrosse league, announced Monday that Hamilton Nationals Attackman Joe Walters has renewed his contract for the 2012 MLL season. Walters is a two-time MLL Champion who won the Steinfeld Trophy with both the Rochester Rattlers in 2008 and the Hamilton Nationals in 2009.

Don't worry…I am just as much of a curmudgeon on Valentine's Day as the next guy (my girlfriend will be the first to tell you), so this blog is not about THAT type of love. But, this is a writing on love in sports, as odd as that may seem. As I have mentioned in some of my past couple blogs, I have been reading the book "Inside Out Coaching" by Joe Ehrmann.

The Cortland women finished 21-2 last season and advanced to the NCAA Division III “final four” before losing 13-11 to eventual national champion Gettysburg (Pa.). The Red Dragons have won State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) title and have played in the NCAA tournament each of the last 13 years.

The Cortland men, led by sixth-year head coach Steve Beville, will open the season at Widener University (Pa.) on Feb. 25. The Red Dragons' next four games will be against ranked teams – home versus 13th-ranked Union on March 3, against 12th-ranked Gettysburg (Pa.) March 10 in Massapequa on Long Island, home versus seventh-ranked Stevenson (Md.) March 17 and against 10th-ranked Middlebury (Vt.) in Albany March 20. Cortland will also face fifth-ranked RIT and 17th-ranked Nazareth as part of its non-league schedule.

To quell the jittery and frenzied at home, representatives from the Big Red athletic program adamantly downplayed Pannell’s absence on Saturday . . . English dazzles in debut: The former Virginia standout ran the offense flawlessly against the preseason’s second-ranked defensive unit in the nation, according to IL’s Quint Kessenich.

The Le Moyne College men's lacrosse team opens the 2012 on Saturday traveling to Seton Hill for a 1:00 p.m. face-off. The Dolphins enter the season ranked sixth in the country as released by the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) on Monday.

February and March polls are sketchy. At this point of the year I'm trying to figure out: Who is a national title contender? Who is an NCAA tournament contender? Where does a team stack up in its league?

Craig Jaeger was a two-time All American and National Champion at Nassau Community College. After Nassau, he was a two-time All-Ivy and All-American midfielder at Cornell. Helped the 1977 team to NCAA championship and runner-up finish in 1978. Selected to play for the U.S. in World Championships in England, 1978. After College, Jaeger has been selected into Cornell Hall of Fame and the Long Island Metropolitan Lacrosse Foundation Hall of Fame.

The 2012 US Lacrosse National Convention, presented by Champion, drew a record 7,064 participants to the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia Jan. 13-15, as announced today by US Lacrosse. The figure set a record for the convention, which annually is the largest educational and networking event in the world for lacrosse coaches, officials, administrators, players and fans. The previous mark was 6,448 in Baltimore in 2011.

The Edmonton Rush and Washington Stealth completed a major trade on Monday. Washington has traded Paul Rabil, one of the National Lacrosse League’s top transition players, along with a first-round pick in the 2012 NLL Entry Draft to Edmonton in exchange for forward Athan Iannucci and a second-round pick in the 2012 NLL Entry Draft.

Local sports teams and the community will have the opportunity to celebrate the life of 12-year-old Tyler Kopp Monday night. A public tribute will be held at Nazareth College at 7:00 p.m.

The curtain is about to rise on the 2012 Syracuse University lacrosse season. If Sunday’s final dress rehearsal was any indication, the Orange could use some more time to learn its lines.

Nearly nine months have passed since Maryland knocked Syracuse out of the NCAA tournament. On Sunday afternoon, the memory of that day was as present as ever as the Terrapins seemed to be controlling the Orange in just about every way once again.

Mercyhurst is the unanimous No. 1 in the USILA Division II Coaches' Poll for the preseason. Coach Chris Ryan was also selected USILA Coach of the Year for Division II after last season, and he hopes to defend the Lakers' title. The Lakers open their season on Feb. 25 against Wingate, after this past weekend's game against Ohio Valley was postponed.

The Syracuse University lacrosse team scored three goals in the final 49 seconds to defeat Maryland 11-9 this afternoon in the Carrier Dome. The game-winner was scored with 16 seconds to play when midfielder Matt Pratt found true freshman attackman Kevin Rice cutting free on the crease and fed him for the dunk.

Sophomore Ricky Buhr won the ensuing faceoff, streaked into the box and scored with 7 seconds left to ice it.

The Colgate women's lacrosse team kicked off its 2012 season on Saturday and Courtney Miller finished with five points, but it wasn't enough as Stony Brook came away with the 13-10 win over the Raiders. Colgate (0-1) got four goals and one assist from Miller, while Katie Sheridan was credited with a career-high four assists off the bench. Amanda O'Sullivan and Kelly Mason enjoyed a good day as well. O'Sullivan scored twice and added a helper for three points and Mason had her best game as a Raider with a goal and three assists. Greer Goebels, Alison Flood and Megan Ark also scored for Colgate. Christina Roa made six stops in her first start of the year.

Lacrosse Magazine Photo Gallery

The eighth-ranked Orange men’s lacrosse team split two games in its final preseason scrimmage Sunday, Feb. 12 in the Carrier Dome. Syracuse defeated No. 7 Maryland, 11-9, in its opening game before losing to Canisius, 11-10, in the second half of the doubleheader. Both contests featured four regulation quarters and each game was decided in the final moments. Syracuse rookie Kevin Rice scored the game-winner against the Terps with 16 seconds left, and Canisius found the cage with one second remaining to win the second game.

Evan Kirk made 46 saves in his professional debut to help the Minnesota Swarm defeat the Rochester Knighthawks 9-6 at the Xcel Energy Center this afternoon. The win broke a five-game losing streak against the Knighthawks.

Sporting their Twitter handles on their jersey nameplates, the Wings got two goals Drew Westrvelt with less than four minutes to play, and held off the Buffalo Bandits 14-13 in front of 8,118 at the Wells Fargo Center on Sunday.

Junior Peter Baum led the way with a game-high five points from four goals and one assist while senior co-captain Jeff Ledwick tallied two goals and one assist. Senior Colby Wilson also had a multi-point game with one goal and one assist while junior Matt Baker and freshmen Ryan Walsh and Matt Clarkson scored one goal apiece. Junior Michael Thomas also added two points from two assists.

Knighthawks Mike Hasen gives updates on Point and Cousins.

The opponent is Maryland, but the stakes this time are markedly lower. The team that eliminated the Syracuse University lacrosse team from the NCAA Tournament in the quarterfinal round last season will be in the Carrier Dome at noon today to help the Orange prepare for the 2012 season. “We’re not talking about that,” coach John Desko said when asked if last season’s 6-5 overtime loss provided extra motivation even though it is still the preseason.

Third-ranked North Carolina got four goals from Kara Cannizzaro (Cazenovia) and three from Abbey Friend (Canandaigua) on its way to an 11-9 win over fourth-ranked Florida on Saturday afternoon at Fetzer Field in the season opener for both teams. The Tar Heels improve to 1-0 with the victory and won their first game of the season for the seventh year in a row. Florida falls to 0-1 with the defeat.

In addition to the scoring output of Cannizzaro and Friend, Carolina also got a goal and an assist from All-America Laura Zimmerman (Westhill) and single goals from Emily Garrity, Taylor George and Brittney Coppa. Becky Lynch had an assist.

A tournament held in [John Mack's] memory brings the spirit of competition together with awareness of the risks of the game. The sounds of the John Mack lacrosse tournament reminds parents, coaches, and the Mack family about the risks involved in playing the fastest growing sport in the United States.

[Ari] Waffle, a freshman attacker from Manlius, N.Y., scored all of his three goals in the second period as the Dolphins outscored Towson 5-2The Dolphins (0-1) scored five second-period goals to take a7-5 halftime lead.

Kyle Sweeney was looking forward to playing his first National Lacrosse League game as a member of the visiting Buffalo Bandits in Philadelphia today. After all, he grew up in that area and spent more than six seasons with the Wings.

Coming off a year where it finished 6-8 but defeated No. 2 Florida in its final game of the season, the Cornell women's lacrosse team is ready to make a push in 2012. With a group of 29 players that wants to attack and start games fast, the Big Red will be going full steam ahead and vying for a berth in the Ivy League tournament that it missed out on in 2011. “Every game is precious,” 15th-year head coach Jenny Graap said. “No one on our team is complacent. No one that thinks that anything is going to come easily in 2012.” Graap's group lost just two seniors to graduation, and this season's senior class is nine strong. The 2012 edition of Cornell women's lacrosse looks to be a tough, experienced group with a talented roster all around that will compete in the Ivy League this season.

Ferguson begins her first season with the Big Red with an extraordinary experience under her belt. She arrived on East Hill in August days removed from winning a gold medal as a member of the U.S. team at the Federation of International Lacrosse Under-19 Women's World Championship in Hannover, Germany.

Not so long ago Syracuse University was the furthest thing from Henry Schoonmaker’s mind and one of the farthest from his Oregon home. Pardon him, then, for having to pinch himself occasionally to make sure he is really playing on the second midfield line for one of the nation’s Division I lacrosse powerhouses.

In its first ever collegiate lacrosse game, the University of Tampa defeated Florida Southern College 7-4, in a Deep South Conference battle. Tampa goes to 1-0 on the season while Southern drops to 0-1.

Helping Coach Rory Whipple (Cortland St.) bring the University of Tampa a victory in the program's very first game were AJ DeSimone (Whitesboro/SUNY Delhi), who scored the programs first goal, Kevin Castle (Skaneateles/Monroe CC) with two goals, and Gregory Khanzadian (CBA-Syracuse/Roanoke) (1G).

Michigan may be an anomaly now, but there are many more successful lacrosse clubs out there, especially at Football Bowl Subdivision universities like Arizona State, Brigham Young, Oregon and Texas. “A lot of these big schools out west have the opportunity to build lacrosse tradition,” said Brian Myers, University of Texas’s club coach. “Hopefully, Michigan is just the first domino.”

Six different Army players found the goal, but it was senior attackman Will Manny of #11/13 Massachusetts with a career-high nine points (7G, 2A) leading the Minutemen to a 12-9 win over the Black Knights in the lacrosse opener for both teams on Friday afternoon at Michie Stadium.

Rookie midfielder John Glesener posted a pair of goals in his first collegiate contest, joining junior attackmen Andrew Boyd and Garrett Thul for the team lead in goals. Junior All-America selection Tim Henderson, senior co-captain Devin Lynch and sophomore attackman Matt Ghidotti also found the back of the net.

The No. 19 Colgate men's lacrosse team will open its 2012 campaign with a home contest against Bryant on Saturday, Feb. 11 at 1 p.m. The team returns two of its top-five leading scorers from last season. Junior Peter Baum completed the season with a team-best 49 points from 34 goals and 15 assists. He is on a 27-game point streak that started on Mar. 2, 2010, which is ranked 11th nationally.

Herkimer County Community College has announced the appointment of James "Jamie" Ireland, of Norwalk CT, as head men’s lacrosse coach for the spring 2012 season. An HCCC graduate with the Class of 2004, Ireland was a member of the Herkimer Generals 2003 national championship lacrosse team and was a two-time first team All American and 2004 NJCAA Player of the Year.

The Syracuse University lacrosse team’s most experienced unit this season is attack, where seniors Tim Desko, Tommy Palasek and Collin Donahue return after getting plenty of playing time last season.

The eighth-ranked Orange men’s lacrosse team will play its final exhibition game on Sunday, Feb. 12 when it hosts No. 7 Maryland at 12 p.m. in the Carrier Dome. It’s the third year in a row these two lacrosse titans have tangled in the preseason.

To know Brian Kopp, a 4-time letter winner at Colgate University, is to know determination with humility, competition with sportsmanship and pride with class. And when you see values like that coming from the children of the Kopp family in Casey, Tyler and Megan, you know where they got it. You can’t coach speed or quickness, and you can’t coach instinct. But you can coach respect, and that’s what Brian and Julie did with their children.

Navy will rely heavily upon veteran close defenseman Matt Vernam and senior goalkeeper RJ Wickham (Penn Yan) to manage the defense. Wickham, a former Penn Yan Mustang, who was a Tewaaraton Trophy nominee in 2010, is in his third season as a starter in goal.

Saturday’s game will be streamed online via Navy All-Access with live stats available at www.NavySports.com. this week’s All-Access feed will be provided free of charge, however, the remainder of the season will be subscription based.

The Blue Devils defense welcomes back Mike Manley (Penn Yan) after he sat out 2011 with a torn ACL. Manley may be the first defender taken in the 2012 MLL collegiate draft.

Defense has become more about scheme and less about personnel, which means that the same teams consistently end up atop the scoring charts. Still, each system requires a different skillset, so matching style and talent is important. These defenses do that best.

"I think this is as much talent and depth as we've ever had," said Pannell, whose Cornell club is ranked No. 3 in the respected Inside Lacrosse preseason poll behind the last two national champions, Virginia and Duke. "We have a lot of veterans at each position and I have no doubt we can challenge for the title."

Bucknell, Colgate, Lehigh and Navy all open up their seasons on Saturday, and coaches from all seven League squads talked about their 2012 teams in the Patriot League Preseason Media Teleconference. You can listen to what every coach had to say about their teams on Patriot League All-Access and YouTube.

Cassese, Pietramala and Tambroni join the coaching staff led by head coach Richie Meade that will lead the U.S. men's national team at the 2014 Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) World Championships, hosted by US Lacrosse and set for July 10-19, 2014, in Denver, Colo. The U.S. men's national team is seeking its 10th world championship after reclaiming the gold medal at the 2010 FIL World Championships in Manchester, England.

Major League Lacrosse (MLL), the premier professional outdoor lacrosse league, announced Rochester Rattlers attackman Ned Crotty has renewed his contract for the 2012 MLL season. “It’s definitely good to be with MLL and returning to Rochester for the 2012 season.” Crotty said. “We had a good finish to last season. We’re looking to pick up right where we left off last season and make a push for the playoffs this year.”

Syracuse University has produced some of the greatest names in the history of indoor lacrosse. Players like Marechek, Gait, Powell, Jamieson, Thorpe, Cougevan, Smith and others have excelled in the pro ranks after superb careers at SU. Stephen Keogh added his name to that list when he joined the Knighthawks’ lacrosse community in September when he was drafted by Rochester in the first round (second overall) of the National Lacrosse League Entry Draft.

Buffalo Bandits Director of Lacrosse Operations Scott Loffler today announced that the Bandits have acquired a second-round pick in the 2012 NLL Entry Draft and a second-round pick in the 2014 NLL Entry Draft from the Edmonton Rush in exchange for rookie defenseman Jeff Cornwall, Buffalo’s second-round pick (15th overall) in the 2011 NLL Entry Draft.

Tragic irony accompanies the timing of this weekend's sixth annual John Mack Southern Tier Shootout lacrosse tournament, which is expected to draw 1,500-plus participants to the Greater Binghamton Sports Complex.

The two-day event is to commence one day after a memorial service in remembrance of Tyler Kopp, a 12-year-old Brighton resident who died this week as result of being struck in the chest by a ball during a lacrosse game last week.

Army coach Joe Alberici has been around a lot of great lacrosse programs, and he believes senior Tim Henderson is the best "offensive" defensive midfielder in the country and perhaps the best he's ever coached. The coaches in the Patriot League have high regards for Henderson, too, voting him the preseason defensive player of the year. The media have named him a preseason all-American.

“I had just passed the ball,” Cometti said. “I don’t even remember how I got checked. Obviously it was accidental. It was a hard check and the hand went numb. It was bleeding, and I went in and they sewed it up. I went for an X-ray a couple days later and it was shredded. I got a couple screws put in there.

On a road trip to Clarkson last March, Rochester Institute of Technology men’s lacrosse coach Jake Coon watched the unranked Golden Knights race out to a 5-1 lead after the first quarter and still hold a three-goal advantage over his then No. 8-ranked Tigers late in the third quarter. RIT rallied for a 12-10 victory, but it was a harbinger of the challenges the Tigers will face this year when they join Clarkson in the revamped Liberty League.

Just days after Rick Sowell (Horseheads) accepted the Navy lacrosse coaching vacancy, he ventured over to the program’s hall of fame in the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium with assistant coach Ryan Wellner and longtime Navy assistant Mark Goers. Sowell knew he was taking over a different sort of program than at his first three head coaching jobs. The exhibits detailing the Midshipmen’s numerous All-America selections and long history as a national power brought that reality home.

Adelphi, which has won the regular season and championship title each of the two years it's been in the conference, received seven first-place votes and 137 total points in the poll. The Dolphins, who only lost to Adelphi last season in their first year of Division II play, also earned 137 points to tie for the top spot, while garnering five first-place votes.

Members of several Ithaca women's sports teams will be hosting a National Girls & Women In Sports Day activity Feb. 19 at the Athletics & Events Center on the Ithaca campus. The event will take place from 3-5 p.m. and activities will include soccer, field hockey, lacrosse, and tennis skills along with strength and conditioning and team building.

Play-by-play announcer Jim Moran will conduct interviews with four members of the Hamilton College athletic department during halftime of the men's and women's basketball games on Friday, Feb. 10, and Sunday, Feb. 12.

Albany #3, Binghamton #5.

The 2012 season has begun! Okay, it may be just a handful of games thus far, but the action will heat up quickly over the next few weeks. The hopes of teams and fans run high at this time of year, of course, but surprises both positive and negative await.

The Moe's Southwest Classic men's lacrosse challenge has received a national boost as NBC will broadcast both games on the new NBC Sports Network Feb. 19.

Up in Ithaca, the theme this spring is “unfinished business.” “We feel like we have some unfinished business to take care of this spring, and we just want to maximize our potential,” said Big Red coach Ben DeLuca in an interview this fall. “We want to do the best we can to work hard and to allow our fans, our family and our alumni to be proud of the product we’re putting on the field.”

It's a different year and Army will be a different team in 2012. The Black Knights suffered huge blows to graduation last May, but return a plethora of talented, eager players clamoring to fill those voids and continue a storied tradition of winning at West Point.

Army lifts the lid on the 2012 season on Friday, Feb. 10, when the team hosts preseason nationally ranked Massachusetts in the earliest season opener the program's 95-year history. The Black Knights received votes in both national preseason polls.

When Syracuse won back-to-back championships in 2008 and 2009, the Orange played fast, got up and down in a hurry, and relied on a whole host of offensive stars. But the past two years, goals haven't come as easy.

The lines are blurred in Division I lacrosse between attackmen and midfielders. It seems as if coaches have designated offensive players who play in the half-field sets, then run to the sideline on a change of possession. The game has become matchup based.

4. Cornell: Roy Lang (27, 9), Mike O'Neil (13, 4), Chris Langton (8, 7), Mitch McMichael (7, 7), JJ Gilbane (12, 2) are all back. Each had double-digit points last season. Lang was the No. 11 overall pick in the Collegiate Draft.

The Gear Zone welcomes its first piece of equipment from the NJCAA men's lacrosse field with a look at the Hudson Valley Vikings' custom Warrior Riot gloves to be used in the 2012 season. Located in Troy, New York, just outside of Albany, the Dragons compete in the Region 3 circuit of the NJCAA scene, one of the toughest groups of teams each season.

IL's Terry Foy and Quint Kessenich discuss the news and notes of the early season, particularly a rash of injuries at Maryland, Carolina and across the rest of the country.

Evolving medical knowledge of the deleterious long-term effects of concussions has brought forth more stringent recovery procedures and reinforced equipment to protect athletes’ vulnerable brains. Rigorous new study should address the dangers of sports projectiles impacting the chest, and the efficacy of players’ protective gear.

"They're the better team until we're able to beat them," said Le Moyne head coach Beth Hewitt, whose squad lost just three games last season, all to Adelphi. "They've lost a lot of players to transferring, but they have a number of players who could have been playing at any other school."

Cornell's Ben DeLuca breaks down the 2012 Big Red.

“I’d love to be able to do that (play three lines),” Desko said. “I think a lot of it is going to have to do with how other teams play us. There were situations in many of our games last year where we had a bunch of one-goal games and the other team was trying to hold the ball as much as possible. So I would love to be able to say we can get all three groups in there. I don’t know whether that’s going to be reality, depending on how other teams play us.”

Kyle Barrett and Paul Wilson will once again offer a clinic for team statisticians. This statisticiansyear the clinic will be held on Monday, February 27th at 6:30 PM at the Pittsford library.

Cody Jamieson said being named a starter for the all-star game came as a surprise to him. He was likely one of the only ones.

Thoughts and prayers have remained with Tyler Kopp and his family for the past week. The 12-year-old boy passed away Monday at Strong Hospital. Last Thursday he was struck in the chest with a lacrosse ball during a youth league game at Total Sports Experience on Elmgrove Road in Gates. In the lacrosse community, thoughts and prayers have also been with the young boy who fired the shot that happened to strike Kopp in the chest.

He was only 12-years-old, but the impact Tyler Kopp made in the Brighton community was profound. The Brighton School superintendent talked about how Tyler’s death after collapsing during a youth lacrosse game is affecting the entire community and school district. The superintendent shared some beautiful stories that students have told him about Tyler.

The Rob Grimm experiment is no longer an exercise in possibility. UMBC coach Don Zimmerman confirmed that the senior will shift from attack to midfield for the coming season. Grimm (Carthage), who led the offense in assists (18) and points (35) last year, is expected to join a projected first line of juniors Dave Brown and Scott Hopmann.

John Greeley (LaFayette) has been cleared to return and has been practicing with the rest of his Johns Hopkins teammates after suffering a knee injury in the offseason. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that the junior is a lock to start in the midfield.

The Syracuse University lacrosse team’s competition for the starting goalie position could be down a player thanks to a hand injury suffered by true freshman Bobby Wardwell in the days leading up to Sunday’s preseason scrimmage victories over Hofstra and Le Moyne in the Carrier Dome.

While there are a handful of top-shelf attackmen around the college ranks this season, the best units combine a cornerstone player with three or four solid contributors that execute their defined roles at a high level.

The Hobart College lacrosse team will play four televised games in 2012. The Statesmen will appear on Time Warner Cable Sports (TWCS) against Siena, Canisius, Syracuse, and Air Force.

Receiving five of a possible six first-place votes, University at Albany women's lacrosse program has been picked to defend the America East Conference championship title. The preseason coaches' poll was released Wednesday, February 8th from the league office.

The Le Moyne College men's lacrosse team has been picked second in the Northeast-10 Conference men's lacrosse preseason coaches poll, as voted upon by the league's 11 head coaches and announced by the conference office on Wednesday afternoon.

US Lacrosse today announced its newly redesigned certification and training program for men’s lacrosse officials. The US Lacrosse Officials Education Program, developed in conjunction with the pre-existing Lacrosse Referee Development (LAREDO) program, has now expanded to include three levels for beginner-level to collegiate-level officials and requires annual recertification.

The National Lacrosse League has announced the additional 24 players (12 on each team) that will join the 12 starters in the lineups for the 2012 NLL All-Star Game, at First Niagara Center in Buffalo on Saturday, February 25.

Spring lacrosse for girls in grades one through six is beginning soon, and the Webster Women's Lacrosse Club has released the following information: