2023 Championship Weekend!

SPEAKER_00 0:00

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Intro

SPEAKER_00 1:35

Hey Kev, what's going on, my brother? What a great weekend I had with you. Huh? How much fun did we have?

SPEAKER_01 1:42

Danny, it was sick. It was such a great weekend. Perfect weather. Shout out to Marcus Thatcher of N of the NCAA for taking such good care of us. Even to come up to us and talk to us and thank us for what we do. I'm like, dude, thank you.

SPEAKER_00 1:59

Yeah, and Marcus being from the NCAA is uh responsible for a lot of media things and in the NCAA. And he's a D2 guy. He's a D2 guy. When he said that to us, I was like, yeah, this guy's all right. He was really nice to us, man. He just the hospitality that the NCAA and Marcus and his his people uh uh gave us was just beyond anything that I ever thought could be.

SPEAKER_01 2:28

And it was so much fun then on Sunday being able to join the tailgates of Lenore Ryan and Mercy Hurst and meet their fans. Uh yeah, get to talk with them. It was just it was just a lot of fun.

SPEAKER_00 2:39

It was a great day. You know, it was just a great weekend for La Crosse Championship weekend in Philadelphia, Kev. If you all all three days were just insanely wonderful. The weather, like you said, couldn't have been any more perfect. Low 70s, no humidity, not a cloud in the sky. Tons of people at the venue. The venue was absolutely gorgeous. I, for one, thought that Lincoln Field was phenomenal. It was what'd you think? Oh, yeah, it was great.

SPEAKER_01 3:10

I had been there back in 2016 for the whole weekend with my son and my father-in-law, right? And it was 95 and 95 percent humidity, and it was hot and it was stifling, and it's still a great venue. The venue was great, lots of people then, and this year, just as many. And it was, of course, we got treated a little bit different this time.

SPEAKER_00 3:34

Yeah, so yeah, it was great. It was great, and like you said, the LR people and the Mercy Hearst. We went to both tailgates and they welcomed us with both open arms, and they even opened up a few coolers for us, Kev. We had a high C or two, and we got to meet some of the uh the players' parents, we got to meet the Scobles, which what what kind, nice people they were. Yeah, and then we got to on the other side, we got to meet Miles Moffat's dad and and and the batchers, and we spoke to them, and it was just really a great weekend. And then you had a great week in the games. Now, now you add the lacrosse in, and and and it it was something else. It was it was probably the best weekend I've had in quite a while.

SPEAKER_01 4:20

Always fun. I enjoyed it last year up at Hartford having you here this year and being able to share it with you and do it together as uh Danny and Kevin was extra special, always fun.

Championship Game

SPEAKER_01 4:31

But now we got to get to the game because after the tailgate, we got prepped and we watched the game. So let's talk about Mercyhurst, Lenoir Ryan.

SPEAKER_00 4:40

Wow, I I I don't know where to begin.

SPEAKER_01 4:42

I think I'll start right off the bat. We know the score. Lenoir Ryan won 20 to 5. It was just domination. The clinic. Yeah. We talked about that as we watched the game. And I really think the way it started out, I think it was LR's defense, which was so stout to begin the game. They were great all through. They won their matchups, I'd say 95% of the time. But their defense then set up their offense. Mercyhurst had four turnovers on their first four possessions on the offensive side, which just turned into goals for Lenore Ryan.

SPEAKER_00 5:22

Yeah, I mean, right out of the gate, you could just see Lenore Ryan's speed. They were much faster. They were beating their men to the points, uh, turning the men on uh the defensive men were getting their, you know, they were just better. They were faster, more physical. And like you said, the first four possessions, they caused four turnovers. And Merciers turned the ball over because it was four-nothing before you could blink an eye. And the defense did not stop all day. They didn't never once did they take their foot. They were aggressive all day. They were going after ground balls, they were doubling, they were sliding, they were knocking sticks out, they were right.

SPEAKER_01 5:59

I mean, they they were something else. There they got sticks on hands more often than not to cause some bad shots when Mercy Heroes could shoot. And like we've seen in other games, they swarm to the ball, Danny. There's not one or two guys, there's at least three LR players at a ground ball, and it just showed at the end of the stats and end of the first first quarter. I mean, it was 6-0 after one. You and I talked about this after that quarter. We didn't think the game could have started any worse for Mercyhurst. We did not expect that, but if you look at 18 to 6 on shots, 12 to 3 shots on goal, Lenore Ryan on top on both of those, and then turnovers. Mercyhurst had five turnovers in that first quarter to one by Lenore Ryan.

SPEAKER_00 6:57

Yeah, I mean, it it wasn't the Mercy Hearst team. I I said to you when we were sitting in the press box, I said, Is this the Mercy Hurst team that just took down number one Lemoyne? Because it didn't look like the same team. Uh the offense of Lenore Ryan was faster. Defense from Mercy Hearst looked slow and lethargic. They they weren't sliding, they weren't doubling. They were just trying to stay in that one-on-one. And Lenore Ryan, they were faster. Yeah, they were beating them at will, at will. And then they started moving the ball from X, and then it was like, forget it. They just the ball movement for Lenore Ryan, plus their athleticism, plus their tenaciousness on D. I mean, just added, just spelled doom for from Mercyhurst Lakers. And Mercy Hurst Lakers is a good team.

SPEAKER_01 7:48

They're a very good team. And that's what I will tell you. You and I discussed this a little bit. Lenore Ryan being there only two years before, a lot of the same players had that championship day experience. And I think when Lenore Ryan came out so fast, played so well on defense, and then the offense were beating their their matchups, and it's 6-0. I I think I think Mercyhurst was just in shock. And I don't think they could recover from it. I think that, and actually, Coach Ryan said it in his his press conference afterwards, the lights may have been just too too bright for these kids this time around.

SPEAKER_00 8:28

Well, I, you know, I don't know what if that's true or not. It could be. Um, I'm just looking at it from a physical standpoint. You know, there's a mental part of the game as well, of course, you know, and you you make a great point. A lot of the Lore Ryan players had only been there two years ago. So I've kind of been there, done that kind of thing, maybe a little bit more relaxed going into this game.

SPEAKER_01 8:50

And that's when they're relaxed.

SPEAKER_00 8:51

Yeah, and whereas Mercy Harris, you know, it's been a while since they've been there. They're a great team, and they get to the NCAA tournament every year. They're a top five team every year, Kevin. They have a strength to schedule, they'll play anybody who they who wants to play them. You know, I and Chris Ryan, he does a great job with those kids, man. They're good, they're good, but they just ran into a really, really, really stacked and talented Lenore Ryan Bear team.

SPEAKER_01 9:19

When you get up like that and you have Lenore Ryan's talent, you can just play loose and free more and more. And it just turned into, like you said, a clinic where Mercyhurst now is trying to close that gap, close that gap. And when you make there was there was a time when you try to make and close that gap, and then Lenore Ryan comes right back and scores, it just deflates you a little bit more.

SPEAKER_00 9:43

Yeah. I said to you halfway through the second quarter, I said, Kevin, I don't see Mercy her. I I said, It's over. They can't get out of this. I I don't just Lenore Ryan was just playing too well, too fast, too strong, too, very physical on the defensive end. I mean, those guys were getting after it on the defensive side, man. Well, they weren't allowed, yeah, they weren't allowing Landamore or Ham or any of those guys to do anything. They could not get any rhythm, anything going. It was just not to be. It was just not to be for the Lakers that day.

SPEAKER_01 10:25

Yeah, and interestingly, in the first half, too, everything was going Lenore Ryan's way. I mean, getting ground balls off of rebounds, they were like like the ball was going to like a magnet into their stick. Right into their stick. Like the ball gets a rebound off of uh Pensa Benny on the on the offensive side or the defensive side off of off of uh only and and the ball ricochets towards a Lenore Ryan player versus a Mercy Hurst player. I mean, that's what it looked like from where we were sitting.

SPEAKER_00 11:00

You know, a lot of times in championship games, luck is part of it, right? Sometimes the cookie just crumbles your way. You know, I've been involved in football games that I won that I probably shouldn't have because we had a tipped pass or an interception at an opportune time. You know what I mean? Like it just comes down to one little thing, and and and you get lucky in some respects like that. I mean, every ground ball went into Lenore Ryan. I mean, like those bouncer shots that hit pipe, bang, they would wind up in a little Lenore Ryan stick off of one bounce in the air. So it was like one of those days, you know, and boy, they caused a lot of turnovers. They were really good, Lenore Ryan's defense. We we know how good their offense uh is. They they score 18-19 goals a game, every game.

SPEAKER_01 11:50

It really was uh beautiful lot of ways to watch how they played that game.

SPEAKER_00 11:56

Yeah, they really played well, man. They really looked good. I there's there's not much I can say about this Lenore Ryan game, what they did against Merciers. There's not there wasn't too many weak points to to find. They just they were really good, Captain. Yeah, just the ball movement, the athleticism, speed, the speed of them, and and just again, they're really tenacious on defense.

SPEAKER_01 12:22

So if you look at some of the key stats, we talked about them after the first quarter. Here's how they were at the end of the game. Interestingly, ground balls was like 35 to 34. So Mercyhurst did a much better job in the second half getting those ground balls, but they couldn't close the gap on the score. Shots, Lenore Ryan 54, Mercyhurst 31. Turnovers, Lenore Ryan only had seven turnovers in the game to Mercyhurst 15. And that 15 felt, as you watch the game, more like 25. Yeah, yeah, you're right. And then some of their players, Evan Voss, four goals, one assist, Riley Say, four goals, Torn Eccleston and Jared Huff both had hat tricks. Victor Powell, three ground balls, four caused turnovers, and a goal. Colton McCracken, three ground balls. And here's the other thing I'd add their offense combined for 12 ground balls and one cause turnover.

SPEAKER_00 13:27

That speaks volumes. Yeah. Those stats, you know, sometimes a lot of times in championship games, tournament games, the stats don't really tell the whole story sometimes. But that that really did. I I I I remember turn turning to you and saying they're on a pace for 70 shots if they keep this up, Kev. Yeah. They were on pace to pop get close to 70 shots off. That's how much they dominated.

SPEAKER_01 13:54

Yeah, they seem to score at will most of the time. And gotta give Mercy her some credit. I mean, they started to buckle down in the third quarter. They scored, they made the the score 15 to 5. And you're thinking, can they close the gap and just make it less than a 10-goal margin? Right? That's what I was thinking. I didn't think they were going to be able to close the gap and and and win. But then the next thing you know, it's 18 to 5 after three from from the Norrine.

unknown 14:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:26

Yeah. I mean, I I thought it was going to be a much closer game. I really did. I did not expect it to go the way it went. I think it's been the most lopsided game since Merrimack beat St. Leo in what 2000? What year was it? 18. 2018. So it's the most lopsided championship game in a long time. And hey, you gotta give you gotta give props to Coach B and the Lenore Rod Bears. They they came to the game. 100%. I mean, they came to play. I mean, even in the fourth quarter, when it was clearly, uh, clearly a win, uh, they didn't they didn't take their foot off the gas. They kept their foot on the juggler. There was like no way they were given any hope to Mercy Earth. And I felt like through the second quarter, I just saw a couple of I saw only. Olney was pissed. I could see it. He was like frustrated with some of the defensive players, and I could see just the body language of the Lakers after a timeout. You could just see they were just like, what do we do? What can we do? Like, right, you know, how do we how do we how do we come out of this? Like everything we're doing is not working. You know, and and it's gotta be tough. You know, here you are on the national championship, beautiful venue, you know, and you just can't get anything going. Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 15:54

So, like you said, props to Lenore Ryan, tough day for Mercy Hearst. But also, as you said, they're a top five team year in and year out, and they'll be back and they'll be hungry, and they'll they'll bring it next year as well.

SPEAKER_00 16:10

Yeah, they've got a lot of juniors and sophomores on that team that play for Mercy Hearst that get burned, you know? And there's they're they'll be they'll be back next year. I guarantee it.

Lenoir Rhyne

SPEAKER_01 16:22

Well, Danny, that's enough of us talking about what we saw in the game. Let's talk to the experts who played, coached, and won the Natty, the Lenore Rhine Bears. So we got a we got a good group with us tonight, uh, Danny, coach Greg Terradine, head coach, attackman Evan Voss, MIDI, Colt McCracken, and captains Bryce Reese and Dylan Stape. Welcome, fellas.

SPEAKER_00 16:47

Thank you. Thanks so much. Thanks for having me. Lenore Ryan Bears, Division II National Champions. How does that ring, right? It does, coach. It does. Bryce, how do you feel about that?

SPEAKER_03 17:03

Yeah, listen, man. I listen, I I'll tell you one thing. The the day of the national championship, I did not sleep until I got a full eight hours of sleep this morning, this this past morning. So we I had I had gotten three hours of sleep on the bus back, and then I we had gotten home, talked about the game from 3 p.m. 3 a.m. to about 5 30 a.m. And then I sat in my bed, and then after that I saw the sun start to come up. I was like, all right, I can't. There's no way there's no way I go to sleep. So I didn't sleep that night, which is I guess the best night to not not find full full night sleep, but it was good.

SPEAKER_00 17:36

Dylan, how'd you feel? How's that feel, national champion, bro?

SPEAKER_02 17:40

It's been a long way. I've been wanting to say that for a long time now. Uh, ever since freshman year, we had a down year freshman year, and to bounce back and and actually win it this year was with a tremendously great feeling.

SPEAKER_00 17:54

Colton, how's it make you feel?

SPEAKER_05 17:57

I don't really know if it's hit me yet. Um yeah, it's everything's just kind of been like so surreal and just amazing. Like from my freshman year, we went and we didn't win that year. And then last year, you know, we had another good team, a lot of the same guys. And we're like, all right, like we know what we're capable of. Fell short again last year, and we came in this year with that same exact mindset, a lot of the same guys on the team. We have experience and we just knew how to take care of business, and that's what it came down to.

SPEAKER_00 18:28

And Evan, how do you feel being the younger, the younger lad of the crew? How does how does it make you feel?

SPEAKER_04 18:35

Yeah, it's uh like Colton said, it's a surreal feeling, and uh to get it done it just is a dream come true. Uh ever I ever since I picked up a stick. You know, that was that was a dream for me. And when I committed to uh come to school here, that was that was the goal. Uh so it's just an incredible feeling.

SPEAKER_01 18:53

That that is so awesome to hear all you guys. It's so well deserved. You guys had a great season, and you guys got better and better in every tournament game you played, and you showed it in the national championship. But coach, let me go to you for a second. While I watched your practice on Friday, I thought you were practicing almost to run fast. Like you wanted to run with speed, you wanted to play the game at a fast pace. Was that your game plan going out? Because you certainly kind of executed that um in the game, certainly in the first 15 minutes.

SPEAKER_07 19:28

Yeah, I think. Well, I gotta go back to Wednesday's practice. So Wednesday we did a simulated scrimmage, a 12-minute scrimmage, LR vs Mercyhurst, and we pumped in crowd noise. And it was the 12 worst minutes of practice we've had this entire year. Um, and I think part of it was with the with the crowd noise, you can't communicate, and you can communicate on the field. I remember trying to talk to some of these guys, you know, some of the defensemen who are you know 10 yards away, right? Not hear me. So I was a little concerned. Go, you know, we leave in Thursday, Wednesday, we have our worst practice ever. You know, the Mercy Hearst beats us in our simulated scrimmage. You know, I get these guys back. I'm like, we gotta watch the film of it. This is what we can't do. And and then I, you know, part of it was just let's be let's just be loose, you know, let's have fun, let's let's be us. Um, yeah, I saw Coach Carrigan and Coach Stanowski in the hallway um prior to our game. They were doing some media stuff, and they said both of them said the same thing. They said, just be you guys, be loose, have fun. You guys will play the best when they're having fun. And that's what we do. We play our best when we're having fun. And I think it was just play, play our style across. You know, let's have our best scale across and see what happens.

SPEAKER_00 20:57

Yeah, it was amazing. Oh, wait, well, wait a second. Was that just another score? It's just another score that just hold on, holes. Yeah, another one in the back of the net. Oh my god. I mean, I just Danny, let's go get some more popcorn. I was in shock. I mean, you guys jumped all over them quickly. I just I saw their their heads down. They called that one time out, and they man, they were just they just couldn't get anything together. Bryce, on the offensive end, what were you thinking about their defense now? What were what kind of looks were they giving you? And what were you thinking in your mind? Were you thinking I can beat my one-on-one matchup?

SPEAKER_03 21:35

Yeah, I think it came down to really good preparation before we even got on the field. I think the first day back after we had finished the limestone game, uh, we had immediately started breaking down the film from their game against uh Lemoyne and also against St. Anselm. So we the first thing we noticed is that they weren't really sliding. A lot of the teams that we played prior to that were sliding really quickly as soon as we attacked over the top or some sort of from our midfield dodges. So once we started to recognize. That they were not sliding or they were hesitant to slide, we noticed that okay, this is gonna have to be a game where we win our one-on-one matchups. And then once we realized that, we started analyzing each defender. It's like, all right, how can we actually beat these defenders? And once we started taking a look at their defensive midfield and then their the tendencies of the long stick, the poles, we started to realize, yo, that we are a lot more athletic than um a lot of these defenders, especially from the midfield. So that's really where our game plan came from, which is like, all right, let's try and get our midfielders, our most athletic midfielders on their short stakes or whatever matchup we can and just try and run by them. And since we know that they're not sliding, then we'll just see what happens based off of what happened. And then as you see, once we got to the game, they continue to stick to that game plan as as far as as long as they wanted to, and then we just continue to capitalize off of off of that that game plan that we created all throughout the entire week.

SPEAKER_00 22:49

That's interesting. And Evan, you know, offensively, what'd you think? Once you realized you could start. I think, I think as a player, your your eyes must light up a little bit when you realize, hey, I I can beat my man, man. Like I can beat him, and they're not sliding. Dude, I'm gonna take them, you know, I'm gonna take them inside, I'm gonna take them outside. I'm gonna roll back. I'm gonna what were you thinking to yourself about their defense?

SPEAKER_04 23:13

Well, yeah, Bryce, Bryce touched on it in uh their game plan was to not slide. And I just remember after our 17th goal, we we go in the huddle and just the six guys on the field, and we realized they're you know they're still not sliding. And you know, we we dominated that that part of the game. And you know, after after Limestone, Coach P had told us that you know we he realized that we had a lot of success from behind the goal and uh wanted to get us some the attack band the ball a little bit more and and test those guys and see uh how they would react. And you know, right off the bat, uh we had success from behind the goal. And you know, I think um with how well our MIDI's have been playing, uh getting our attack going like they did uh was really important. And you know, we like Bryce said, we know we have the guys that are more athletic, and you know, we we took it to them and showed off our athleticism, even our defensive midfielders running up and down. Uh, you know, Landon Parker had had four shots in the first half, and really see that too often.

SPEAKER_01 24:12

So yeah, well, it's interesting you say that because you guys are beating them from the midi position, Bryce, like you said, and from behind X, which then you then the defense, besides if you're gonna decide whether to slide, now you don't know really pick your poison. What are you gonna really focus in on if you're beating them on both sides? Which is so the the offense was on fire, but Colton and Dylan, I personally think that it was the defense, especially in the first five, six minutes of the game that set up the offense. When you when Merciers turns the ball over, first four times they have it on offense, which creates the four-zero gap off the bat. That's you guys on defense. What what do you think about that?

SPEAKER_02 24:57

Yeah, so uh we were we were told to go out there and be physical. And when we were out there, you know, we we knew that they like to go their strong hand uh a lot of the times. And once they go their strong hand, they don't like to roll back. When I do roll back, we won the double. So once they started creating turnovers and things like that, our offense was taking care of the ball and just giving us you know a lot more rest. That's that was huge.

SPEAKER_00 25:22

Colton, what do you think? You know, defensively, what were you what was your thoughts on their offense?

SPEAKER_05 25:28

Yeah, like stay touched on. I mean, going into the game, we basically knew all their players and what their tendencies were. And so we had all of our matchups, like how we wanted, we wanted to bring another pole up to the midfield because they were a little bit deeper out of the midfield lines. Um, but like said, when they were dodging, we weren't letting them get down their alleys to their right, like their strong hands, like they wanted to do. We were making them uncomfortable, putting them in having to go to their weak hand, or once they're over the top of their strong hand, we're gonna get them in that spot to roll them back, force that double team. And I think our defense, we like to play fast, we like to play physical, like stave touched on. And I think we just brought right from the gate. We came out hot, we came out with a little bit of fire, and I think we forced them to play a little bit faster, and that's where those turnovers came from. Uh just not letting them do what they're comfortable with and just giving it to them.

SPEAKER_00 26:26

And I don't know, man. I think you were just like beating them to points and and forcing them back the other way. And I just think you were better, better than them. You just were beating them to the to the punch every time. And like you said, physical. They they I don't know, man. Like it just seems to me that Mercy Hurst was so overwhelmed, so fast, so quick, that they it looked like they kind of had nothing in the in left to to give. They they looked like they couldn't get anything going.

SPEAKER_01 26:57

You so you remember back in uh in the early 2000s. Um, many of you boys on this podcast may not remember this, but uh Coach Peradine may remember when the president when going into uh Afghanistan and Iraq, they talked about shock and awe. You know, let's have shock and awe on with our deep our military. That's what you guys brought. And what happened with Mercyhurst was they were shell-shocked after five, six minutes. And like just like Danny says, it's it was tough for them to regroup. And I think here's the other thing I'm gonna ask you guys what you think. You know, Colton, Dylan, Bryce, you guys were there before having that experience game day at championship. Mercyhurst hasn't been there in 10 years, so those guys weren't there. How do you do you think that helped you as well?

SPEAKER_03 27:47

Yeah. Um, personally, I think uh Coach B had said it best when we had finished the game in the locker room. He said he had, when we were just going through the lines, he had looked at just looking at a lot of those players, and just even during the game, looking at a lot of those players and the coaches, you could see like you could see the shell shock in their eyes. And the thing is, that was us two years ago. Like we had that same kind of shell shock in our eyes where we got into the big stage, it was there was a lot of noise that we did not hear before, it was raining, it was a lot of external sensories that was going on that kind of shell shocked us in the moment. And I think that's kind of the same thing that happened to Mercier. So, like, as I said before, Coach P who when he had noticed that kind of said he felt bad for them. I mean, I I would too because we were in that same position. Because so I know how they feel, I know how they feel, and I think that the fact that we were there a lot earlier than they were is like a lot uh more recently, I think that really helped our mentality, made us be more grounded. Like we were there to play a lacrosse game. I think Mercy Hearst was there to play a national championship, and I think that's the difference, the difference between what was going on on the field because we were so comfortable in our own skin. We were confident with the ball on our stick, we were confident in the game plan, and all those things stemmed from just the the motivation of being there two years ago and being on the other end of that the spectrum and in losing that final.

SPEAKER_00 29:01

That was well said, you know, you're probably correct on most of that too, man. Because it's it's just I love the way you got, you know what I said to Kevin about halfway through the first quarter. Is this is this the same Mercyhurst team that just brought down number one Lemoyne? Yeah. Is this the same team? I because it didn't look uh anything like a Mercy Hurst team at all. And I think you guys completely overwhelmed them right out of the gate, like you guys said. I just you were physical, you were faster to the ball on defense, you were faster your spots on offense, you were beating your one-on-one guys. Dude, you guys put on a clinic. I mean, that's that was, and you know, you guys were the five seed going into the tournament, and and and I think you're the first five seed to ever win a national champion. I'm at least get there, but now you're national champs. That's quite the feat, fellas. And uh you guys were moving the ball quick. It was just you guys played really well, man. Really well.

SPEAKER_01 30:03

Yeah, so Evan, I I have to ask you though, you were not there two years ago. You were still in high school, and yet you come away with most outstanding player, four goals and assists. I think you did that the game before. Was it was it four goals and assists in the semi?

SPEAKER_03 30:20

I think so.

SPEAKER_01 30:20

Yeah, yeah. How'd you do it?

SPEAKER_03 30:24

I think so. He knows exactly what those points were. He knows what exactly. I was gonna say the same price.

SPEAKER_01 30:30

I was gonna say that's right, sir. Bryce, keep him grounded, will you?

SPEAKER_04 30:35

Uh that's you just see the final score. You don't you don't see the stat lines. The stat line doesn't say four and one. The stat line says, you know, 20 to 5, 18, 11, I think was the semifinal. Um, but yeah, I was I was a senior in high school uh during 2021. And you know, I I actually went to the championship weekend, and um it was it was my senior trip, uh just because stuff with COVID got all mixed up. And um, yeah, it was heartbreaking. Even uh I wasn't even a student at Lenore Ryan, but it was it was heartbreaking to see those guys uh lose that game. And you know, going into just this playoffs, um playing Tampa last year as a freshman and falling short, that I'd never felt like that before on a lacrosse field walking away. So, you know, I think motivation for this year was just to come in and coach P in the fall. Um, you just said everybody's in our way. It doesn't matter if it's you know Tampa, Wingate, uh Marshall, uh, everybody's in our way and they're holding us back from from going all the way. And you know, that was that was still the message uh on Sunday was that Mercy Urs is in our way. So um, and yeah, the most outstanding players, it's great, but the trophy doesn't say my name, you know, it'll be remembered as a 2023 team. Um, not just me. So I mean, I had I have the best coach of staff in the nation. Um, and then the guys around me just pushed me every single day. You know, Bryce and I would have conversations. I remember two days before the Tampa game, you know, we were talking about uh what this meant to the seniors and the guys that aren't coming back and don't get a another chance at this. And you know, I as a sophomore could just even really feel that. And you know, I didn't go all the way as a senior in high school, so I know what that's like to have your career ended. And you know, that was the last thing I wanted. Um, and then nobody could pull me off the field. It didn't matter uh what happened. So I think I think that's what kept everybody motivated, not just me. And you know, that was an indescribable feeling at the end of the game, just watching the clock hit double zero, and you know, I've never felt anything like it.

SPEAKER_01 32:46

Very well said, very well said. I have to ask this question. I'm gonna start off with you, coach, and then you guys chime in. What about your fan support? So Danny and I are in the press box. We're on the other side of where your fans are and where you guys are, up in the nosebleed section. And we heard your fans like they were sitting right next to us. And believe me, I've been between the bricks. It's a pain in the ass to listen to your fans. Okay, but they came out, they come out loud and they come out strong every single time for you guys, not just in Philly, and they did it in Philly. So, coach, how do what does that do for your what do you think you that's a does for your team?

SPEAKER_07 33:33

I just you know, it it's all those guys who come before these guys, um they're just an extension of our team. And you know, our alums, the guys who built the program, you know, love seeing these guys compete and they're gonna be there for them. And they come loud and proud. Um, and I think that's the neat thing about you know, starting the program and the kids that, you know, 13 years ago decided to come to LR and start the program, you know, they've seen it grow and mature and and take the steps, you know, class by class. Um and it's it's just an amazing group, amazing, amazing kids, amazing families. And then what's also been neat is you know, we've we've gotten support from external people outside the program, people inside the uh, you know, around the hickory community um and around our campus who've never before, you know, uh LR lacrosse was there, they never saw a lacrosse game before in their life, didn't know what lacrosse was. And now they're going up to championships and um supporting these guys. It's amazing that the support these guys get from community members. Um, like right before we left, we had four guys, four or five guys who never played lacrosse before, just community members, you know, donated money, get these guys steak dinners. Um it's awesome. It's that it's that yeah kind of mentality and it's family. You know, those guys are family, so it's it's been really neat.

SPEAKER_01 35:07

Anyone else chime in with uh how you how the span how do you like the fans behind you like that?

SPEAKER_04 35:12

Oh it's it's incredible. Um you know, after Limestone, uh I just remember getting back on the bus and I think uh Miles Moffat said, wow, that that felt like a home game.

SPEAKER_06 35:24

And we were at limestone, which is it's a huge rival for us.

SPEAKER_04 35:28

And you know, it it really is true. Uh, you know, the alumni will they don't care where they have to travel. Uh if it's Rollins or in Philly, you know, they like Coach P said, they they love watching us compete. And um there's I mean, there's nobody else in the country that has the support that we do from their alumni. And I think that comes with you know, Coach P starting the program from the ground up, and you know, it's just a it's a different connection uh with those guys. Um and there's a couple alumni from Georgia that you know I've I played for when I was younger, and you know it's uh it's a different bond just seeing those guys celebrate and get rowdy on the sidelines when we're we're crushing it on the biggest stage.

SPEAKER_01 36:10

So that's awesome.

SPEAKER_02 36:14

Yeah, one of the things I want to say is um getting the five seed, we kind of thought, you know, going all the way down to Florida, uh Tampa, Rollins, we're not gonna have many fans and things like that. But man, they showed up Tampa, they showed up to Rollins strong, and it just made us feel more comfortable to play those games. It wasn't just oh, we're we're in Rollins, we're no one's no one's here, you know. No, they were there cheering for us in you know, 600, 700 miles away.

SPEAKER_00 36:43

Yeah, no, they they traveled good, man. The the tailgate, I know you guys weren't there, the tailgate was legit.

SPEAKER_07 36:51

Rice's dad went off on the tailgate. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 36:54

I also I I wanted to add that. I wanted to add that I think that the venue also helped play a big part. And I think the fact that comparing it to our first our first go at the national championship in 21, where it was a lot better weather, I feel like this is a lot better overall experience for the um for the spectators. So I think the fact that for them it was it was a fun game to watch, that it made them want to, you know, express their feelings a lot more. There's a lot more people out there. You know, I I think you guys had Big Five Two, uh, Rob Penta Benny on the call a couple a couple weeks ago, but he and I are both from that Philadelphia area. So we also had a lot of people that can you know came from our hometown and a lot of people that we knew in the area to also add on to the the numbers that give some energy to the alumni and to the parents and to the fans. And I think the fact of that and then just a really good overall environment and as far as weather and venue and just experience, I think it all played into you know their their energy and how we were able to you know feed off of it on the field as well. Now, what'd your pops do for the tailgate, man?

SPEAKER_00 37:53

I gotta know that.

SPEAKER_03 37:54

He's uh yeah, he's a he's a big he's a big barbecue guy. He went to he went to college for culinary arts, so he's got a big background in food. So he was on the grill, dialed in, like you couldn't even tell him to like 15, 15 racks of ribs.

SPEAKER_00 38:08

Oh wow, pork shoulders and I saw it. I said to Kevin, I said, Kevin, this is the the South knows how to do it, man. They got the barbecues out, yeah. They got the grills going, the coolers were out early, you know. It was it was good.

SPEAKER_07 38:26

I didn't know if we were gonna win the game, but I knew we were gonna win the tailgate.

SPEAKER_00 38:30

We always win the game, and and you know what? And the parents, the the parents came up to Kevin and I, and they were just really great, you know, just talking, giving us props about the podcast and stuff like that. And you know what? It was a great day. Now the venue, the venue was sick. I thought it was great. My first time in the Lincoln Field. What'd you think of the venue, coach?

SPEAKER_07 38:54

Oh, it was incredible, you know. I and I think that that was for me personally, is it being when I was a Carolina, we went to four final fours, you know, being around um championship weekend is something really special. And I felt in 21, it just with COVID and the venue and the weather and the fact that we lost, I felt like it was it was just a it was a bad, it was it wasn't a great experience. It wasn't the experience that it that it should be, that I thought it should be. Um so I felt bad for the our guys getting there and not really getting the entire experience. But then this year, I mean, at at the link, beautiful weather, seeing the semifinals, you know, we saw we went over to the Virginia Notre Dame game. Oh Philly, Philly's a great city to be in, a host, you know, the great host. It was exactly what it should be. You know, when you think about that weekend, that's I mean, that's you know what it was for these guys. Um, just awesome environment, you know, first class facility. The field was great, weather was great. It was just an amazing weekend.

SPEAKER_00 40:12

Dylan, what was the like the locker rooms like? Were they sweet?

SPEAKER_02 40:16

They were really cool, man. Uh they had they had it like like half of the full visiting football locker room, and it was still huge, you know. Like we still had room, you know. Most of us had lockers. It was, it was, it was an experience.

SPEAKER_00 40:33

That's so cool, man. And you know what? You deserve to do when you know it's a championship there. It's NCAA. I think you deserve something like that. You deserve the best venues, you deserve the best of treatment and everything like that. And you get to see some sick games. And you know what I really liked that I saw was how many young kids were there with their sticks. There were thousands of young kids with their sticks. And Kevin and I got tired of sitting in the press box during the Notre Dame game. So we came downstairs, right? And sat with the crowd. And there was one kid with his mom, and he didn't stop practicing his swing for like an hour and a half. He stood there, and I swear to God, the kid just kept swinging the stick, no ball in it, just looking at guys shooting and trying to emulate their shot. You guys don't realize how much you influence these young kids, man. They want to be like you guys. How does that make you feel? Colton, how does that make you feel?

SPEAKER_05 41:38

I was actually, I had an experience after the game, we're at the tailgate, and there's like this little kid, and I had no idea who he was. And he like came up to me and he's like, Oh, congratulations, this and that, blah, blah, blah. Like, I love coming and watching you guys play. And I was just like caught up in the moment. And then like I looked back on it and I was like, wow, like, you know, I don't really like think of myself as somebody like that, but just seeing like affect other people, especially like younger kids, it was just so awesome. So, like somebody I had like I didn't even really like know who they were, like, he didn't know me, but he just came up to me and was like, I love like watching your guys' game, like, congratulations, and you know, it makes you like feel good inside, just like, yeah, like we play the game because like we love it, and like our teammates, our coaches, this and that. But the game's like it's real big, it's a lot bigger than that. I sent a text guys guys on the team before the game, just like why we play this game, like win or lose today. Like, the relationships that we have made from this game, like it's a lot bigger than that, and just seeing it affect like other people like that really means a lot, just like what the game of lacrosse can do for people.

SPEAKER_00 42:45

100% couldn't agree with you more.

SPEAKER_01 42:48

Yeah, so guys, I just want to say this has been awesome having you on. Congratulations again. I we could say it five million more times. I'm sure you'll hear a lot more. And you guys deserve it. You guys played a great game.

SPEAKER_00 43:02

Oh they just scored again. Hold on, wait a second. They just scored again.

SPEAKER_07 43:09

A couple defenders scored. No, it was good.

SPEAKER_00 43:12

A couple of poll goals. I know, man. It was it was a great game, you know. You guys just you're great. And the the uh social media afterwards, man. Yeah, the South, man, lacrosse in the South, baby, SEC bringing it, yeah, baby. Like it it got a lot of attention this this past game. I think a lot of it had to do with the entire weekend, with the games on Saturday being so great, and then your games, and then the yesterday's championship. I think the whole weekend was intertwined with itself. You know, I don't know it was all right, there was less people maybe at the division two and division three game, but that didn't change any any feel inside inside the arena. You know what I mean? The feel. excitement was still there but what what a great year you guys had and uh I know you're gonna bring some boys back coach they're coming back it's the a lot of the ingredients are gonna be there for next year so you guys uh you know hit hit the weights stay keep the stick in your hand do you know run a little bit stay away from the Burger King all right stay away from the crap food danny Danny still has four years of eligibility so be careful no so the south has really come along with lacrosse the quality of lacrosse in the south is growing like exponentially there's no real easy games in the SAC there's no really easy games even the mid-level guys are gonna bring boys they're gonna bring attackmen they're gonna bring guys that that can play and if you take your foot off the gas you can go home with an L quick you know and then and that's the way the SAC is is has come and I I just think it's getting better and better. I think the SAC is improving and division two and division two as a whole is improving. Even in the other conferences you're seeing teams just put really good squads out there you know they're making the steps to get there. So you guys are there national champs 2023 the Lenore Ryan Bears Bryce Reese Dylan State Colton McCracken Evan Voss Coach Peradine thank you guys so much for coming on the show you guys are awesome.

SPEAKER_01 45:33

Hey thanks so much for having us on you guys put a spot on on Division two

Final Toughts

SPEAKER_01 45:39

all right Danny that was a lot of fun having the national champions on the podcast this year again yeah a lot of happy faces a lot of smiles and you know what well spoken young men I think they were ready for the game and uh they took care of business and they get to walk away a national champion and and and it's SAC and I you know how I feel about the SAC.

SPEAKER_00 46:03

So I was happy to see the Lord Ryan uh bring the championship to the South. I I really was and they played great Kevin and totally agree and coach paradigm's been great you know coming on the show has been real nice with us and uh again the LR people were just dynamite with us and Marcy as well and it just it's a great game it's a great season and again congratulations to to the Bears.

SPEAKER_01 46:28

I think Lenora and Bears that came on the coaches and players we've had on and the fans that we've met D2 parents d2 players family friends just keeps emboldening me why Division II lacrosse is as good as it is and why we do this podcast and why we have fun doing it because we get to meet people like that. We get to talk to people who are playing it coaching it fans of it it's just it's just great.

SPEAKER_00 46:58

Yeah it's a whole package it's a lacrosse is a special game Kev.

SPEAKER_01 47:02

It's a special game I didn't play it you know when I was a kid I didn't have it around you know and when my kids started to play I you know I look I came to love this game I I mean I love it I love watching lacrosse uh there was a high school championship tonight I would have gone had we not had the podcast tonight would it would have been you know a good game in acid olympic big big high school game here on Long Island a lot of studs on both sides it would have been interesting to see a great but I love watching good lacrosse and we had a lot of good lacrosse games this year it was a good year for Division II lacrosse for a lot of teams a lot of conferences just a really a positive year totally agree and and with that note just for our listeners you know keep a lookout for maybe one or two episodes this summer we're not going to do that many and we know you guys are all busy doing other things and not really focused in on lacrosse maybe like maybe like one a month right we've yeah something like that we can do that yeah but then we'll start cranking it up once again in the fall when we start talking about coaching changes conference previews all that will be coming and I I can't believe we are already at the end of the season and but it'll I'm already looking forward to next year.

SPEAKER_00 48:21

Yeah and uh I gotta I gotta give a shout out to our listeners Kevin our listeners have been phenomenal they're dynamite nothing but positive feedback I just got a a DM the other day just saying they just love listening or we're so informative it's the they this person said it was the best podcast on the cross that he's that he's listens to out of all I'll take that you know and you know what uh again I I you and I we we do do our homework and but we do it because out of love you know we really like it we enjoy it it doesn't take long what we we an hour a week out of our time to do something that's a little more for me yeah you're on the producing side yeah but you know but you know what on the other side of that we get to meet great parents we get to meet these people and we get to talk to them and they appreciate what we're doing here and you know what Kevin we got to give out a huge shout out to our sponsor exactly huge thanks to our sponsor scorebreak and believing in us to sponsor us for the last 10 weeks of this season and I can't say it enough Danny you know we people know we didn't play we didn't coach but we know when a product and a tool as powerful as scorebreak can be a game changer in helping teams and what they're going to do. We've talked to other coaches that use it and I just hope uh people give scorebreak you know check out scorebreak www.scorebreak dot io mention us and get that 10% discount for your first year but at least check them out get a demo see if it can work for your school your team your club your high school it would be well worth just just checking it out I couldn't agree with you more and thank you scorebreak for believing in us and it's been a great partnership so far and hopefully we can continue the partnership Cap exactly exactly so now we've got one more shout out Danny last week USILA came out with their division two all Americans it's a kind of a fitting way to go out after the championship to recognize some of the players so why don't we go down we'll do the uh the different positions of the year and then we can go first team second team third team you want to mention who the who the positional players I'll do the positions I'll do positions okay um for all these guys we're gonna give you shout outs congratulations to all of you ahead of time you guys have been amazing lacrosse players in the NCAA this year our 2023 US ILA Division II All Americans our goalie of the year is Shahe Ketchadorian Rollins our attackman of the year is Willie Greco Wingate Bulldogs midfielder of the year my man Anthony Caputo from Pace Defender of the Year another one of my man Kyle Bosch from UND he's a stud and player of the year face off specialist Sean Doran from Mercy Hurst Lakers congratulations players of the year that's awesome and well deserved all right I'll go down first team Danny so the first team all Americans at attack Willie Greco Wingate Grady Keiernan Mercy and Drew Billig Undy at the midfield Dan Fitzpatrick Tampa stud stud Anthony Caputo Pace and Michael McGarry limestone I think I'd point out Danny all these guys are studs if you go down this roster first team second team third team they're amazing players but we'll continue on defense Ryan Slattery St. Anselm Matthew Beto Tampa and Charlie Gleason Mercyhurst along with Justin Eisenhower Rollins face off obviously Sean Dorn Mercyhurst defensive midfield your man Kyle Bosch you Indy and Braden McCard of Mercyhurst long stick midfield Justin Gerdville mercy and at the goalie the goalie of the year Shahe Kachadurian Rollins yeah the first team boys what a what a lineup that is huh Kevin imagine having those guys on your squad amazing all right i'll I'll go down the second team second team all Americans this year 2023 at attack from Lemoyne Joey Pesamente also at attack out of Mercyhurst Miles Hamm and the Bruiser out of Adelphi Joe Duknowski also at attack Toron Eccleston from the Lenore Ryan Bears at midfield Riley Say from the Lenore Ryan Bears Jack Gibbons from Mercy Jay Minor from Florida Southern Kyle Steinbach from Adelphi our poles on defense Liam Bogadin from Mercyhurst Josh Jackson from UIndy Peyton Farley from the Wingate Bulldogs at face off second team Jason Cooner from Mercy he had some second half of the year boy yeah he played really well second half of the year uh defensive midfield Colton McCrack and Lenore Ryan also D Middy out of St.

SPEAKER_01 54:27

Anselms Will Harvey good player Cav good player another defensive midfielder Joe Galimi out of Lemoyne our long stick midfielder second team a really really good player Kevin this guy's good Joe Carnage Wingate Bulldogs and second team goalie of the year my boy living the life of Riley this kid's the bomb Blake Homer out of Tampa loved that kid and the goalie second team another stud from a Delphi Panthers Dylan Renner congratulations fellas second team all right third team and I'll tell you Danny you look at these names I'd say if not all most of these names I could put in second team as well I mean that's how good and how stacked these all Americ folks are so let's start it off at attack Zach Terry limestone Danny Riley Wingate Ethan Landamore Mercyhurst and Mikey Berkman Rollins for the midfield Owen Miller Tampa Sam Lambert Lemoyne Baker Westmoreland Newberry and Nick Larson St. Anselm Defense for third team all American Victor Powell Lenore Ryan Jack Kipnis Mercy Nick Paris Adelphi and Sam Bulch Florida Tech Faceoff Out of Bentley Cam Bartolomeo and from Mount Olive Mike Mardo Defensive midfield Craig Connor of Florida Southern Trent Connolly of Wingate and Tyler Paytak of Mercy Longstick midfield Steven Morley Mercyhurst and Luke Getz Rockhurst goalies we've got two and we've got two good ones just like the rest of the third team Brent Olney Mercyhurst and Matt Vabanis Lemoyne there's your third team Danny congratulations to these all Americans well deserved for all of these guys I mean we've watched them all play we've been calling all these guys names all season man they're just they're they're they're the cream of the crop and you know what many of these players could be division one players 100 many of them 100 so you know Danny we ended up with that there's a lot of accolades to go around sometimes it feels like kind of like a zero sum game like we talk about wins and losses and there are teams that stack up and then teams that don't if you look at the championship game right Mercyhurst players have got to be feeling a little down that they didn't play to the level that they could have against Lenore Ryan but I read an article last Friday from a lacrosse player who played at Columbia University, Lindsay Schuster. The title of her article was The Meaning of Lacrosse and the power of perspective I recommend everyone finding that article on USA Lacrosse magazine and reading the whole thing. I'm just going to read two paragraphs that were near the end because I think it encapsulizes what lacrosse really brings to the table. I think it also talks about a lot of things a lot of coaches talk about that there's much things a lot of things that are a lot bigger than just the game it's getting the education getting your degree it's getting other things it's the camaraderie it's a lot of other things this article points it out so I'm gonna read this uh verbatim the last two paragraphs here it goes this is what she says I want to leave you all with this college lacrosse is a high pressure environment that demands mental fortitude and perseverance you may not play as much as you had hoped or perform as well statistically but within this sport there are so many other more profound rewards take lacrosse off the pedestal and find balance you perform better when you are free enjoy your experience and remember what the sport does give you that is lifelong friendships unparalleled discipline and an uncannity ability to overcome adversity and healing enjoy the journey not the outcome well said by that young lady it's very interesting you know with that yeah yeah the the game of lacrosse Kevin is is you know Native American and it's spiritual and as much as these guys go at it there's a lot of respect with each other a lot of these players know each other played on tournament teams against each other maybe played high school against each other or with each other and have gone on that journey together and it's it's quite the journey if you start lacrosse at a decently young age you know 10 11 12 and you get to the NCAA level and then when you get to the NCAA level and you realize how much is involved in the game and what it takes to to be a great team and be a good teammate and and get your grades and make sure you get to class and it the pressure is high but the journey is amazing and sometimes the outcomes are amazing as well. Yeah and if they're not I think that like she so well said there's so much more to take from the game and playing the game than just what your stats are either personally or as a team so with that Danny that's a wrap that's a wrap Kev. It's been a great season