Lacrosse

Started by drisclaw, July 03, 2011, 09:27:41 PM

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Vandy74

PolarCat posted this today on the NESCAC football board but it also belongs here as well.  Colby MLAX HC Jack Sandler died unexpectedly yesterday.  He was also a Bates alum.  Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family, friends and both the Colby and Bates athletic communities.

www.colby.edu/news/2015/11/20/colby-lacrosse-coach-jack-sandler-dies

www.colby.edu/news/2015/11.20/letter-to-the-community-on-the-death-of-jack-sandler

PolarCat

With preseason training right around the corner, and the first NESCAC games just 7 weeks away (other conferences may start earlier), it's time to bring this board out of hibernation.  Any news out there in the land of D3 Women's Lax?  Coaching changes, stud recruits, surprise transfers and/or new programs / facilities?

How about predictions for the coming season?  Who will be atop NESCAC, Centennial and SUNYAC?  Will this be the year Mount Union and Pomona-Pitzer finally break through in the tournament?  Will a new coach / new program arrive with a splash?  Will we see a repeat of Cortland - Trinity in the NCAA Final, and if so, will Martha Griffin cap off her career with another title?

I'll start with 2015 NESCAC Runner-Up / NCAA Sweet Sixteen participant Bowdoin.  The Polar Bears graduated a very talented group of seniors, including All-Americans Taylor Wilson and Nat Moore, though their other All American (Lindsey Picard '16) returns to anchor the midfield.  The Polar Bear defense was perhaps hardest hit, with the starting GK and 3 starting defenders (including Moore) all graduating.  The fourth starting defender is a returning 2018, and she is joined by two talented 2017's, but it remains to be seen who will step up and fill the fourth defender slot. 

At GK, pre-season should be a battle between a 2018 who impressed in the games she played last year, vs. a talented FY.  Bowdoin opens its season at Amherst on March 5, followed by Williams on March 12th and Hamilton on March 15th (on a Spring Break trip to Florida), so we should know early in the season whether the Polar Bears will be NESCAC / NCAA contenders again this year.

Vandy74

#542
Quote from: PolarCat on January 14, 2016, 11:06:37 AM
With preseason training right around the corner, and the first NESCAC games just 7 weeks away (other conferences may start earlier), it's time to bring this board out of hibernation.  Any news out there in the land of D3 Women's Lax?  Coaching changes, stud recruits, surprise transfers and/or new programs / facilities?

How about predictions for the coming season?  Who will be atop NESCAC, Centennial and SUNYAC?  Will this be the year Mount Union and Pomona-Pitzer finally break through in the tournament?  Will a new coach / new program arrive with a splash?  Will we see a repeat of Cortland - Trinity in the NCAA Final, and if so, will Martha Griffin cap off her career with another title?

I'll start with 2015 NESCAC Runner-Up / NCAA Sweet Sixteen participant Bowdoin.  The Polar Bears graduated a very talented group of seniors, including All-Americans Taylor Wilson and Nat Moore, though their other All American (Lindsey Picard '16) returns to anchor the midfield.  The Polar Bear defense was perhaps hardest hit, with the starting GK and 3 starting defenders (including Moore) all graduating.  The fourth starting defender is a returning 2018, and she is joined by two talented 2017's, but it remains to be seen who will step up and fill the fourth defender slot. 

At GK, pre-season should be a battle between a 2018 who impressed in the games she played last year, vs. a talented FY.  Bowdoin opens its season at Amherst on March 5, followed by Williams on March 12th and Hamilton on March 15th (on a Spring Break trip to Florida), so we should know early in the season whether the Polar Bears will be NESCAC / NCAA contenders again this year.

I applaud your enthusiasm PolarCat but I think I'll let Old Man Winter run it's course for another month at least. :D  I'm rather looking forward to my first season as a "civilian" to tell you the truth.  I have no doubt that the Middlebury Panthers will remain among the NESCAC elite under the guidance of new HC Kate Livesay but with the rapid growth of the sport and addition of new conferences our days of sending 4 and even 5 teams to the post season party are dwindling.  And then there is the level of competition within the 'CAC itself to deal with.  Colby began last season with a win over #2 Trinity and was 9-1 before losing 5 of their last 6 games.  Of the 6 losses 5 were by a single goal and the other was by only 2.  I expect Middlebury, Bowdoin and Colby to remain highly competitive along with as many as 5 or 6 other teams as well.   No fewer than 8 conference teams were ranked in the Top 20 of women's lax at the end of last season.  Being competitive means nothing unless you win in this league. 

Without having done any research I expect Mount Union to continue to improve because when that school decides to compete in a sport that's exactly what it does.  Look at what their football team accomplishes EVERY year. ::)  Augustana is another young and rapidly improving program with some good in-conference competitors in Carthage and North Central.  That is very important if taking that next step up is the goal.  The lack of it can result in a huge regression in just a single season.  Look at Adrian.  If you're not tested on a regular basis the final month of the season you can't expect to compete with the likes of a Trinity, Gettysburg or TCNJ. 

That said I still have some DIII basketball to enjoy and a fantasy baseball draft to prep for although last season here in New England lacrosse did seemed to qualify as a winter sport. ::) :P  Here's looking forward to another exciting season in both men's and women's formats and hopefully a few new posters as well.


amh63

Actually have some news here...in spite of Vandy's "bus man holiday" talk.
Amherst has hired a new assist coach....see Amherst website.  She is a recent grad from UMass-Amherst where she played.  Amherst seems to be preparing for this coming season which will be extremely tough...want to make sure to keep up with the top tier teams.
Remember last season opening games where fields were surrounded with high piles of snow and fans huddle on the sidelines....their cars parked in rare spaces, etc.

PolarCat

Lacrosse Magazine has released its Pre-Season Top 20 list.  On the women's side:

1.   Cortland
2.   Trinity
3.   F&M
4.   Middlebury
5.   Gettysburg
6.   TCNJ
7.   Salisbury
8.   York
9.   Catholic
10.   Bowdoin

11.   Tufts
12.   Amherst
13.   Fredonia
14.   Washington & Lee
15.   Hamilton
16.   Colby
17.   Messiah
18.   Mount Union
19.   St. John Fisher
20.   Bates

It's interesting that only 3 NESCAC teams are in the top 10.  Of course, at this point in the season everyone's undefeated, so the poll doesn't mean much.

PolarCat

Sunday is Scrimmage Day in Brunswick.  Bowdoin, Colby, St. Anselm's, University of New England, Plymouth State, and Merrimack.  Format is each team plays 3, 40-minute games; in the last 2 minutes of each game, the clock will stop on the whistle.  The first scrimmage (Bowdoin v. Colby) should be a good one.  In 2015, the Polar Bears squeaked by the Mules by one goal in both the regular season and the NESCAC tournament.

PolarCat

Quote from: PolarCat on February 18, 2016, 09:42:30 AM
Sunday is Scrimmage Day in Brunswick.  Bowdoin, Colby, St. Anselm's, University of New England, Plymouth State, and Merrimack.  Format is each team plays 3, 40-minute games; in the last 2 minutes of each game, the clock will stop on the whistle.  The first scrimmage (Bowdoin v. Colby) should be a good one.  In 2015, the Polar Bears squeaked by the Mules by one goal in both the regular season and the NESCAC tournament.

Wow, it sure is quiet in here.......

It was a gorgeous sunny Sunday in Brunswick.  Some take-aways from the scrimmages:

Some of the new rules changes will take some getting used to, particularly the one that allows a fouled player to resume play without waiting for the ref's whistle.  (Someone help me out with the name for tahat?)

Bowdoin won all three of their scrimmages and looks surprisingly strong.  I thought the loss of so many talented 2015's would hurt, but Liz Grote seems to have recruited well, and the Polar Bears don't seem to have missed a beat.

Colby was either playing things VERY close to the vest, or the Mules will have a serious rebuilding year ahead.  The Mules were sputtering on both ends of the field, though they did seem to settle down as the day wore on.

D2 Merrimack was solid, and they seem to be loving their new coach Paula Habel, which is a great change for that program.

The revelation of the day was Plymouth State, 13-4 in 2015, who played great lacrosse, had some very pretty , disciplined offensive schemes, and hung with Bowdoin for most of their scrimmage.  Maybe it's because they were able to start their season earlier (February 15th was the first day of NESCAC practices, and 6 days later the Mules and the Polar Bears were scrimmaging), but I think the Panthers may surprise some folks this year.  Even if they don't win the Little East, the committee may reward them with an At Large bid. 

I did not get a chance to watch the UNE or St. Anselm's games, so maybe one of their fans could chime in?

amh63

At the request of PolarCat, some lacrosse info....since the season starts this weekend.
On the Amherst website, there are previews of both the men and women teams.
Preseason rankings on the men side has Tufts No.1 and Amherst no.4.
On the women side, the pre season has about all the conference teams ranked in the top 20 it seems.
Amherst women team are going after the title this year with confidence.  Unfortunately, the first game is at home against a higher ranked Polar Bear team.
It should be a battle, me thinks.

PolarCat

It must be an important game for the Jeffettes, because your Athletic Department is engaging in a little gamesmanship already.  On what promises to be a pretty cold day, we've been told that our tailgate area will be over by Orr Rink, a half mile walk from Gooding Field.  Such hospitality.

Two can play that game.  I think I will run out to Bed, Bath & Beyond, buy a bunch of blankets for the mothers and grandmothers in our group, then spray paint "Smallpox blanket, courtesy of J Amherst" on them.

amh63

#549
PolarCat......play nice!  FYI....the tailgate area is where visiting teams tailgate during the football season since the new facilities were built.  Other places for alums are at the old practice football field below Gooding field.  The ladies should be playing on the new football field.   Do not know if the streets near the field are clear of ice or snow.  See pix of women's game...last season on the website...lacrosse page...notice the piles of snow below the stands....on Pratt field.
The men's BB is hosting a regional NCAA site this coming weekend...starting on Fri.  Surprised you got space to tailgate near the hockey rink.   
Could ask the AD to help out...former OC for the football team...but he is still mad at me for not offering to fund an announcer stand for Gooding field..250K range.  Just too cheap, I guess.

ephoops

A belated report from the WLAX scrimmage last Saturday in Williamstown.

Midd, Babson, Oneonta and the Ephs scrimmaged on Farley - Lamb field.  Each team played the other three teams.  the format was two 25 minutes halves.

Midd v. Ephs started the day.  The game was surprisingly close given that Midd returns most of its Final Four team from last year.  In the end, Midd beat the Ephs by 3 or 4 goals.  Midd went on to destroy both Babson and Oneonta by 10+ goals in each game.  Midd just got better as the day went on.  They look loaded.  Apparently Midd has a strong freshmen class to complement all that returning talent.

The Ephs struggled against Babson.  Babson scored a late goal to win by 1.

Unfortunately I had some errands to run and could not stay to watch the Ephs take on Oneonta.  My understanding is that they faired well in this final game.




Vandy74

Five NESCAC games played yesterday and no chatter here.  Amh63 and I were more focused on basketball and he still has something to be excited about but it's time to follow lacrosse.  On the women's side only one real surprise, the margin of victory of Amherst over Bowdoin.  Very tough opponent to open against, for both teams.  Both will be in the mix throughout the season.  Trinity opened last season with a loss and didn't taste defeat again until the NCAA championship game.  Colby edged Hamilton in another game a ranked team had to lose.  The Panthers opened new HC Kate Livesay's Middlebury tenure with a victory over Connecticut College.  Let's hope the warm March weather continues.

PolarCat

Amherst is a team to be reckoned with this year.  The Lady Jeffs dominated every phase of Saturday's game, particularly the draws and rides, and their GK Christy Forrest was flat out amazing.  Despite a strong showing on scrimmage day, the Polar Bears struggled on D, with only one starter from last year's squad returning. Amherst pounced on the miscues, with Cronin, Passarelli and Wyeth all having multi-goal games. 

Bowdoin hosts 2-1 University of New England Tuesday, then travels to Willytown Saturday to face the 0-1 Ephs. A week from now, either Bowdoin or Williams will be 0-2 in NESCAC, and that's going to be a very deep hole for either team to dig itself out of.

Vandy74

I watched Wednesday's match-up between Bowdoin and Endicott to size up Middlebury's 'CAC opposition this weekend.  The Polar Bears prevailed 14-5.  Middlebury's 3-0 conference record is against three opponents yet to win a conference game while Bowdoin's 0-3 mark has come at the hands of Amherst and Hamilton, ranked #10 and #12 in DIII, and Williams, an always solid program that has twice gone as far as the national championship game.  None were played on Bowdoin's home turf.  I expect to see a highly competitive game in Middlebury this Saturday and assume that traveling player parent PolarCat will also be in attendance.

PolarCat

Since you and I may be the only D3 lacrosse fans on the board this year, I consider it my solemn duty to be there!

Bowdoin got off to a rough start, losing 3 starting defenders and the starting GK from last year's squad.  The defense seems to be finally coming together, and the offense is finally clicking.  (Maybe more impressive than the score, we outshot Endicott 36-10 yesterday, and Endicott only got off 2 shots in the entire first half, when the Polar Bear starters were in). 

Are we as good as Midd?  Maybe not.  The Panthers have a ridiculous number of weapons, including 2018 Claire Russel, a club teammate of PolarKitten's and former D1 player who transferred from Columbia this year.  Add Russell into the mix with Ritter, Eppler, Pascal, Instrum, Sciarretta and O'Connell, and Coach Livesay has one formidable offense.  With Maggie Caputi having an amazing year on D and Furber and Klinker between the pipes, the Panthers may go all the way this year.

It should be a fun game.