Conference Previews for the 2025 Season - NE-10 Conference

Intro

SPEAKER_03 0:11

Welcome, welcome, welcome. Another episode of In the Crease with Danny and Kevin, a coast-to-coast discussion of B2 Men's La Crosse. I'm your co-host, Kevin Stenstrom, and with me as always is the man Charlie Watts liked to emulate Danny Moran. Oh, good one.

SPEAKER_02 0:32

Good one. I like that. Charlie Watts, the human metronome, they called him.

SPEAKER_03 0:37

Oh, really?

SPEAKER_02 0:38

I like it. I like it.

SPEAKER_03 0:40

Drummer for the Rolling Stones, man. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. So, little footnote. I had help with this one again. I was gonna ask.

SPEAKER_02 0:49

I was gonna ask. I was gonna say I had a guess. You know, you know, Joe Vandovnik. Yes. It's getting cold up there. He's got nothing to do. That's right.

SPEAKER_03 1:01

Up there in Minnesota. He starts his brain starts working. He's got the fire going. Maybe he's at like you know, ice fishing or something, and he's like, Oh, I got time. I got drinking a little bourbon.

SPEAKER_02 1:11

Probably ice fishing in shorts.

SPEAKER_03 1:14

Yeah. So thanks for the help. Appreciate it.

SPEAKER_02 1:18

Good one, man. Good one.

SPEAKER_03 1:20

So, Danny,

NE10 Preview

SPEAKER_03 1:22

here we are, down to one. Our last conference preview of this season.

SPEAKER_02 1:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:31

And what do you call them? The granddaddy of them all.

SPEAKER_02 1:34

The granddaddy of them all.

SPEAKER_03 1:36

The N. Yeah, I got some music.

SPEAKER_02 1:57

We had Delphi Panthers national champions.

SPEAKER_03 2:01

There we go.

SPEAKER_02 2:02

New York.

SPEAKER_03 2:03

I'll tell you, the teams from Vermont and New Hampshire and Massachusetts aren't gonna like that you picked that song, but it is you got to give credit to the champions, right? Do you know any songs about New Hampshire?

SPEAKER_02 2:17

Do you know any songs about Vermont? There's maybe one or two about Vermont. Yeah, there is.

SPEAKER_03 2:21

It's uh it's in White Christmas. They sing about going to Vermont and snow. That's the only one I know. Christmas songs on this show. Yes, we didn't. We did. We didn't roll.

SPEAKER_02 2:32

I know. Only at Christmas time. Right.

SPEAKER_03 2:34

We're past that now. We're past that.

SPEAKER_02 2:36

Yeah, Kev, the NE 10, you know, the granddaddy of them all, uh, the historical uh conference and all division two um goes back a couple of decades. Uh a lot of national champions came out of this conference over the years, and a lot of those guys that were national champs in this conference are no longer in this conference anymore. I know the Merrimac, the Lemoines, you know.

SPEAKER_03 3:04

I know, but we've got a few still there, some with enough pedigree. But I do think as I went through my preview and my my homework, it's another conference where there may be a few that haven't stepped up before that may have that chance this time. May have that chance. There's a lot of teams with ped pedigree, though. And the key word may.

SPEAKER_02 3:30

It's a little different this year, I think, after doing my homework and looking at what's going on in the NE 10 this year. And uh again, I think I I contributed attributed to the uh that fifth year being gone, and a lot of those, I think a lot of big teams are losing senior leadership, Kev. Oh, you know, and and that's that's huge.

SPEAKER_03 3:52

I totally agree. And actually, even uh the Adelphi Panthers have that. So why don't we talk about them first?

SPEAKER_02 3:57

Yeah, all right. The Adelphi Panthers located in Garden City, Long Island in New York, Kev, nice town, very nice town. Coach Gordon Purdy, head coach, the legend of Lindbrook.

SPEAKER_03 4:13

Coach of the year.

SPEAKER_02 4:15

Oh, yeah, coach of the year, man. Like he's quite the guy. Uh 17-2 last year, 9-0 in conference, national champs. They uh they're they lost to LR 7-3. It's a football score. They lost to Rollins by two, and then beat Lenore Ryan 12-10 in a national championship that you and I attended.

SPEAKER_03 4:39

That's right. And let's put it even more a little more on that. That against Lenore Ryan, that was their second game when they lost 7-3. When they lost to Rollins by two, it was their fourth game of the season.

SPEAKER_02 4:53

After that, they ran the table. Yeah. And you know what the crazy part about that whole run? They never won a face-off. Practically, it's insane.

SPEAKER_03 5:04

Like, I don't know what were they saying? Against two games against St. A's, they went two and 41 or 1 and 41, something like that. Some crazy, crazy stat.

SPEAKER_02 5:15

I don't know if there's ever been a team to win the national championship that just couldn't win a face-off.

SPEAKER_03 5:20

I mean, their their stats there overall for face-off was 34%. That's not good. Which is not for a the national champion, you would never expect that.

SPEAKER_02 5:34

No, no, not at all.

SPEAKER_03 5:36

But that'll tell you how deep they were and how they controlled the middle of the field.

SPEAKER_02 5:41

Well, their defense was really good. They they uh caused a lot of turnovers. Um, and they had Dylan Renner in goal, man. Uh, you know, national player of the year, goalie of the year, yeah, first team All American, first team all conference, first team all North Region. Kid was just an first team all world. Kid was just an animal between the pipes last year, you know, and I think that was a big reason. I I mean, it's just one guy's opinion, but I watched a lot of Adelphi games last year. And you know what? They're a great team, and that's a team that always reloads year after year. They just reload. You think they're gonna lose somebody, and then next year they got five players that came out of nowhere, and like, wow, you know, they're just one of those teams. They were great last year, they were a lot of fun to watch.

SPEAKER_03 6:28

Yeah, very good team. Obviously, never out of it. They lost only, like you said, two games. They are, and they are returning Dylan Renner and Cage.

SPEAKER_02 6:40

Yeah, and the Annie 10 is like quietly weeping.

SPEAKER_03 6:46

Yeah, and they also like on defense, they're returning Kevin Groom, James David, Mike Delessandro, Steven Diamikas, and Ryan Dern Dernan. I mean, they have a solid, solid core at defense still returning. They lose Matt Greaves at short stick D Midi, but they get Frank Falco back, and Nico Shea, who is kind of their utility knife, is good, is back and will be at short stick D Middy, and they've got a few freshmen they're talking about that they can probably come in and spot, you know, give some relief. That's what they're thinking. So I think on the defensive side, they are really, really strong.

SPEAKER_02 7:29

Yeah, they lost some really good fit defenders, though, last from last year. They lost Ryan Butler and Aiden Fitzgerald, which were these guys were really, really good, Kevin. Caused a lot of turnovers, got a lot of ground balls. They were like seasoned veterans back there, and they just were like snipers, and they could just do things with the stick that not a lot of kids can do. And those guys are gone. They lose Logan Tucker, 78 points last year. I think it was a stud. Eamon Hall, 60 points last year. Horinski, another great player, another 34 points. Now, they lost Hipchin, they lost Rabuto. But the question is, I think Steinbach has a year of eligibility left.

SPEAKER_03 8:20

There are some questions of whether he's coming back or not. When we had Coach, we talked to Coach Volpe on the phone trying to get some of this preview, and and I think it's still up in the air. I think the other thing, if you look at guys like Robato and Hipchin, although their stats weren't huge, go back to senior leadership of just what the fuck. What they would do to bring the team together. Things like you know, playing a weekly Jeopardy game, you know, and stuff like that, which really builds chemistry.

SPEAKER_02 8:58

Absolutely. They got some really good players coming back, though. The sophomore attack, the kid was a freshman last year. Braden Dunellen. Yes, the plain plain edge high school kid had 60 points as a freshman last year. I mean, he he came out of nowhere. And and talk about even 30 and 30. Yeah, yeah. I mean, great. And and Kyle Lewis, the builder, that kid, that kid's good, man. He doesn't come off the field. He doesn't come off the field.

SPEAKER_03 9:26

They've got Ryan Backo, uh, and they've got Noah Gibson transferred from St. Rose, who had 42 goals and 16 assists in his last year at St. Rose.

SPEAKER_02 9:38

So there, you know, there you go. We're talking about reloading. You know, these kids like Lewis and Dunellan are top-notch lacrosse players. Yeah. You know, they're they're very, very good. Um, I think it's going to be a little different. I don't know if that defense is as strong this year as it was last year. I mean, Delhi comes back, the Massaquequa high school kid. He's got a lot of burn, two years under his belt, and he's a damn good defender. Uh, James David saw, you know, action here and there, here and there. This is going to be his first year at really, you know, starting and playing tons of minutes. We'll see what happens with him. He's a good player, Beth Page high school kid. Um, again, I think, you know, they were 23rd in the country in scoring offense, but the defense kept them in games last year, Kev. They were second in the country in man-down defense and second in the country in winning percentage. They were just, to me, a super well-coached, high IQ team, you know, they deep in multiple positions. Although they got smoked at face-off all year, their defense was good enough to overcome that. And their offense, once their offense got the ball, they were lethal enough to put the biscuit in the basket.

SPEAKER_03 10:59

So what they do at what they do at face-off will be interesting. They say they've uh coach Volby told us, they've got a freshman coming in, Will Grease, they've got Nick O'Shea, who did a lot of that before. I think what you said is interesting. They lose enough guys, they lose some key guys in defense, and we're talking key guys, senior leadership both on defense and offense, that you would think they really don't want to be at that 34% level again this year. You know, if they get it closer to 50, that that relieves some pressure from these new guys coming in. But let's face it, they've got depth, they got depth at midi, they still have depth at their defense. I think they are gonna duh be really tough again this year. I'm you know, I'm playing Captain Obvious, right? They like we said, they lose some chemistry with senior leadership. This was the I found this message really intriguing because we asked Coach Volpe, you know, how do you follow up? You guys won. How do you keep that going? How do you keep them hungry? He said the message was fairly clear. Guys, we got our rings. They had the ceremony, we got our rings, that's over. New year. We have a bigger, bigger target on our back, right? That's what they've got. They have got to be more focused on the fact that every team is gunning for them. And we've talked about this year in every year. The team that just finished, Lenore and I was like last year. A Delphi always has a target on their back, but guess what? This year, it's even more.

SPEAKER_02 12:31

Oh, yeah, I agree with that. You know, I think in the past two years, up until last season, but prior the two seasons prior to that, I felt that their schedule was very favorable, you know, and we discussed that in past podcasts. Last year they upped their schedule a little bit, and they upped their schedule for this year as well.

SPEAKER_03 12:52

Yeah, they've got in their out of conference, they've got Georgian Court, St. Thomas Aquinas, Mercy, Concordia, and Rollins. And those two games are at Concordia at Irvine.

SPEAKER_02 13:04

Yeah, they'd be out in Cali.

SPEAKER_03 13:06

Yeah. So I think that's I wouldn't say that's a stack one like that we've seen before, but that's a good one. That's still a good out of conference. And I'll tell you, I would probably say, I would think that they have a tough time getting people to play them.

SPEAKER_02 13:25

You know, it's a Delphi. I think you want to play a Delphi. You know, you want to sharpen your audience, man.

SPEAKER_03 13:31

So I think it all depends on the team. You know, you're first of all, I think it's tough for teams in the sack to always do it. I I I love the fact that LR and Adelphi played last year. I think that's tough with both of them having very few, and actually the SAC having less out-of-conference games that they can grab onto. But I I think I think that's good. I think it's a good schedule. I think you know, bar none, we we talked about this in other ones. It's tough not to take them, have them at number one in my top 20 as I go through it.

SPEAKER_02 14:06

Nah, they set the bar, I think, you know. And but, you know, I don't know. This next team that might have a chance to really do some damage.

SPEAKER_03 14:18

And and who are you thinking?

SPEAKER_02 14:20

The Pace Setters.

SPEAKER_03 14:23

So funny you say that, Danny. That's exactly what I think.

SPEAKER_02 14:28

Yeah, the pace setters located in Pleasantville, New York, where my darling sister went to college and many times had to go pick her up. Wasn't too happy about that. Driving up to Pleasantville on a Friday night. But anyway, Coach Tom Mariano.

SPEAKER_03 14:46

That doesn't still sting, does it? That's the little scar you've got.

SPEAKER_02 14:49

Yeah, it's only been 40 years. Coach Mariano, what can you say about Coach Mariano, right, Kev? Yeah. Great coach, great person, humanitarian, goes above and beyond. He's just a phenomenal guy.

SPEAKER_03 15:05

I love having him on. Like he he just shoots straight when he's on with us, which is the other thing I love.

SPEAKER_02 15:10

Dude, he's old school Italian, man. Like, you know, you gotta love him. I I think he's a great coach. I think he does what he does up there on pace is amazing. Oh, they were 13-4 overall last year, Kevin. Great record.

SPEAKER_03 15:23

Seven and two in conference.

SPEAKER_02 15:25

Seven and two. They lost to a Delphi twice, and they lost to St. A's twice.

SPEAKER_03 15:31

Yeah, they all but they lost to St. A's by one in the NA10 semis. Yeah, they beat Mercyhurst in the NCAA first round and then lost to a Delphi. So in in the NCAA, great, great, great record last year. But I'll tell you, I think they're poised for even better this year.

SPEAKER_02 15:52

Kevin, I think just from doing my homework, they lose really three key players. Yeah. Three. Three. They lose Ryan Kemp. Huge, which in my opinion, maybe one of the top five best players in all of Division II last year. That kid was an animal out there. Yeah. And he quietly did the work. He quietly did it. He wasn't like a flashy look-at-me kid. Boom, biscuit in the basket.

SPEAKER_03 16:24

Another five goals, 29 assists.

SPEAKER_02 16:27

Another score for Ryan Kemp. Um, and they lose Rafi Rodriguez and they lose their their face off Max Streedy, who was at almost 60%. I think he was at 58%.

SPEAKER_03 16:39

I I had him at 62%.

SPEAKER_02 16:41

Oh, really? Yeah. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 16:43

So we'll we'll split the difference and say 60.

SPEAKER_02 16:47

Yeah, but 60. Forget about it. I mean, I mean, that was that's phenomenal. Last year they were 10th in the country in winning percentage, 20th in the country in assist, 58th in the country in man up percentage, though. They'd like to improve on that, I'm sure. Uh, they average uh 44 shots per game, and they clear at 85%. And Kev, a lot of this team returns from last year.

SPEAKER_03 17:17

Yeah, yeah. You said the way they losses, but on offense, Daniel Zabia returns. Declan Landers returns. Those two attackmen, they're the third attackman coach tells us is up for grass, but they've got a Stony Brook transfer, Will Dunowski, and they got two freshmen that could be in the play. But look at this from MIDI, Timmy Morrow, who was hurt last year, but was the best midi before their his injury. Trevor Lamero, Colin Reese, Preston Cry. I mean, they are loaded at the midfield and attack, ready to go.

SPEAKER_02 17:53

Yeah, they they score points from the midfield too, man. Yeah, it's not just the tacmen getting all the score with with Xavier and Kemp. I mean, these middies can score too, Kev. They're just deep, you know, they're deep.

SPEAKER_03 18:07

Yeah. Yeah. And then you look at uh, you know, on defense, they lose uh Nick Conan, Chris Caputo, and Rowan Kelly at short stick D Midi, but they are bringing back a lot. Brendan Teller, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 18:23

Chris Butler comes back. Brian Brennan comes back.

SPEAKER_03 18:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 18:28

Uh goalie Jack Kern, who was at 50% last year, comes back. He's you know, that's key, you know. I think the only thing I can see that really is is does Josh White get the start at Fogo this year now that Streedy's gone.

SPEAKER_03 18:43

Yeah, that's the big thing I had. This is my note for them. They are always solid and deep, but I think this year, even more so. Can they make their move this year? That was exactly my question. Faceoff replacement is gonna be key for them. You know, I'm sure they're easily in my top 10 this year.

SPEAKER_02 19:05

Yeah, I'm sure Coach Mariano has guys stepping into roles that are ready. He's that kind of coach. He's gonna make sure that they're ready. You know what I mean? Yeah. To step into these roles. He he's a very good recruiter. I'm sure the freshmen that he's got coming in are very good players. I'm sure there's not one scrub amongst them. He's that kind of coach, you know, and he brings those kind of players to pace.

SPEAKER_03 19:31

And if he can get options at that position, Danny, right? Like, so if one isn't working, another one comes in. Look at that, with the fact of all they're bringing back on D, makes them a really, really, really tough out.

SPEAKER_02 19:50

You know, that the whole thing is those numbers that I talked about, if they can improve in one or two of those categories. I just think that this team is going to be a national powerhouse with the players that they have coming back, with the style of coaching. You know, they're well coached. Yeah, you know, they're a well-coached team, they're a well-oiled machine. Yeah, they're deep, they have a solid defense, they have potent attack units, potent midfield unit. They got the whole package. The only question really is in face-off, and I'm sure Coach Mariana's gonna see to it that that, you know, they're gonna get somebody decent in there at face-off. Um, like I said, I think Josh White gets the start, maybe. We'll see.

SPEAKER_03 20:32

Yeah. No, I totally agree with everything you just said. I I I couldn't have said it better. I'm really excited to see how they match up with the Delphi this year. Tony, man, those are gonna be some games this year. Oh, yeah. They were last year, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 20:50

I know, right? So Pace was a fun team. There was a couple of games where they kind of got beat up a little bit, but you know what? There was games where they were in it and and came back at the end to win and stuff like that. So they're they're a gamer team. They got that Northeast, you know, uh mentality, you know, dog mentality. They play in the harsh, harsh weather, especially the first month of the season. Yeah, you know, it's it's uh the black and blue kind of division a little bit. And uh, you know, I think Pace is gonna be a really good team. And I think they're gonna be a force in the any any 10 this year.

SPEAKER_03 21:27

Totally agree. All right, where to next?

SPEAKER_02 21:30

How about St. Ace? Sounds good.

SPEAKER_03 21:32

The Hawks, New Hampshire.

SPEAKER_02 21:36

That's right. Coach Drew Bordeaux, 12 and 5 last year, Kev. Good team. 7 2 overall in the NE 10. Very good squad last year.

SPEAKER_03 21:49

Now, you know, Coach Bordeaux takes over from Mike Shimana, who went on to Mary Mac, right? Which is a little bit of a change. I think the good news for St. A's is Coach Burdeaux is a twenty eighteen graduate. He's someone that Coach Shimana tried to recruit onto his coaching uh squad. Right. And I think I think that's a good pick for them to go forward. The only challenge, I think, is how much they've lost.

SPEAKER_02 22:29

Yeah, another team that loses, you know, that's those senior leaders, you know. Those, you know, these the teams that were like really, really good last year, Kev, had a lot of senior leadership on them. And and due to that fifth-year-old, these kids are gone. And now these spots are opening up, which is great for the you know, the underclassmen and the juniors and stuff. They get to come in and step in, but they do they do lose some pretty good players, man.

SPEAKER_03 22:54

Yeah, an offense they lose Jake Davis, who was a transfer from uh Lowell, UMass Lowell, 38 goals, 22 assists. Nick, the Larson brothers, Nick and Noah.

SPEAKER_02 23:04

It's gonna be sad to see them go. You know why? Because one of our first podcasts, we had to watch St. Anthem, and that they were freshmen. Yeah, and they were making noise, and I was just so impressed with those guys. And now they're gone.

SPEAKER_03 23:17

It's it's yeah, and those are their top three scores right there. And they lose Jack Andrews, who was like number, he was farther down, but he brought was a presence, has been a presence along with the Larson brothers for years on that team.

SPEAKER_02 23:32

Yeah. Noah and Nick were four-year starters, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 23:36

Well, so and so was and Jack Andrews was in that that mix too. Yeah, so those are big losses on offense. They do return Colin Mulvey, Chris Kaflin, and Maverick Lyon. They were four through six on the on the the scoring depth chart there for them. So they had good production. So they're gonna have to step it up to match what they lose.

SPEAKER_02 24:03

You know, they lose a big one, though. The really, really big one was the unsung hero for that team last year. And that was all American defenseman Ryan Slattery. Oh, yeah. You know, losing, losing him is big, Kev. He was just he was the director on on defense out there. He he really was. He he held that defense in check for St. A's last year and for a couple of years. I mean, Slattery is an all-American first team, first squad, first region guy, you know, losing him, losing a four-year starters like the Larson brothers, they're losing face-off guy Craig Yannon.

SPEAKER_03 24:41

Who was at 65%? Yeah, it's a lot. You lose LSM Henry Alford, who was right there, you know, in front of Ryan, and Jonathan Holland. I mean, they they they bring back Jake Klapacke on on defense, and I think a couple short stick D. Middies, Colby, good, good child, Brady Martin, and LSM Mac Hackland, who had some good numbers, 15 ground balls, 14 cost turnovers, but still it's that leadership and that seniority of guys that have been there on both sides of the ball. They do return Finn Granera. Now, he's an interesting story, right? Yeah, because Anthony Kubick got injured last year, and Anthony had the had a lot of the game, he started a lot of the games until he got injured. One once Finn got in there, who was a freshman, never gave it up.

SPEAKER_02 25:31

That's right. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 25:34

And he played outstanding. Yeah. He impressed me. So they've got some pieces. Can they who my question? Who do they bring in? Because their roster, 2025 roster, wasn't up. So who do they I mean, we do know some players based on um class that we think would be coming back, but who did they bring in? Is my because they're gonna need to fill some holes.

SPEAKER_02 26:06

Yeah, well, all the guys that were number twos last year are in the in the number one spots now. So now you got to fill those spots with new number twos. So the number twos last year were pretty good, you know. The Claflin with the 21 goals. Even like, you know, even like senior midi Will Andrews contributed 15 goals. Joe Lombardi, senior attackman this year, added 19 goals. Like their players there. Now they're gonna step up. Can they fill up almost 100 goals? Right. Okay. I think, you know, they lose again. They were they averaged about 47 shots per game, very good last year. Their face-off was really good, man. That you know, you know, it was at 63%. They cleared at 91%. They were 32nd in the country in points per game, and they were 22nd in the country in scoring offense. One of the better teams in all of Division II.

SPEAKER_03 27:02

And they are ranked 11th nationally in defense.

SPEAKER_02 27:05

Yeah, I mean, well, that's that's where we have the problem this year with St. A's. It's on the deep, it's on the defensive side of the ball. You know, I love the fact that Granara's there. You know, he got a lot of burn last year. And what do I say about freshman coming back as sophomore? Bigger, better, smarter, stronger, faster, right?

SPEAKER_00 27:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 27:26

He's uh hopefully he fits right in there. It's gonna be who's who's the number two. I think they're gonna have a pretty solid attack unit, though. The second line middies are gonna need to score, and uh we're gonna have to see what their identity is gonna be.

SPEAKER_03 27:42

Well, and that I this was my note, my closing note that I wrote. They will still be good because they have pieces, like you just said, but they lose some key players who have been there for a long time.

SPEAKER_02 27:55

And all Americans, too, you know, and that's and and that's key. And again, again, I just think uh we're gonna have to see which guys step up. We're gonna have to see what kind of identity they have on defense. So they lose a lot on the defensive side, you know, using losing Craig Union at face-off's big got them a lot of possessions, Kev. Yeah, you know, and and that's that's key. So I think it's gonna be a new look, St. A's Hawks this year. It's a we'll see kind of look. I don't know. I think they'll be formidable, yeah. They'll be formidable. Are they NCAA bound this year? Good question. Good question. Because for the for the last couple of years, they've been a really solid, strong team nationally. Yeah, you know, like a team to watch out for. And I'm just wondering with that defense.

SPEAKER_03 28:47

They they've been in our top ten the last couple years. Yeah, and deservedly so. Yeah, absolutely. Let's move on. You want to go to Bentley? Sure. The Falcons?

SPEAKER_02 28:59

The Falcons, Coach Murph, Jim Murphy, Waltham, Massachusetts is where they're located, Kev. Yep. Nine and six.

SPEAKER_03 29:08

With Coach Murphy, he's been there 30 plus years. You cannot count this team out, I don't think, ever.

SPEAKER_02 29:16

Nine and six last year, six and three in the N last year. Very good team.

SPEAKER_03 29:23

Um second straight year for them getting into the NCAAs, which shocked me that they had not done that, I don't think, prior to 2023.

SPEAKER_02 29:33

Yeah, they were never in the NCAAs prior to until then.

SPEAKER_03 29:37

Yeah, so the last shocked me.

SPEAKER_02 29:40

The last two years, they've had some insanely good, good players there. And the player that really made that team tick is no longer there. And that's face-off kid, Cam Bartolomeo. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 29:58

He's gone. Yeah, we we talked about that with St. Ace. He's gone. They also lose their top four scores with Connor Segretti, Nick Harveth, Nicholas Thorn Galero, who I loved watching, and Jace Lambert.

SPEAKER_02 30:14

39 points, 34 points, 29 points, 26 points. Eddie Gigliati's gone, 24 points. Devin Smith's gone, 14 points. Short stick, D. Middy, Jake Tyska's gone, and LSM, Joe Franzoso. All gone. All starters last year. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 30:31

Yeah, they lose Brian Powers as well on D. You know, Jackson Tinsley, their goalkeeper's back. He had an okay last year. He he's gonna be looking for a bounce back year in his senior year. He played really well his sophomore year. He's at 47%, not terrible, but not where he was, I think, his sophomore year. So he's gonna be looking. And I think Nathan Alviti, look at he is a great player. He was injured last year.

SPEAKER_02 30:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 31:00

He only played in six games.

SPEAKER_02 31:02

I was gonna say he only saw action in a few games, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 31:05

So if he will need to return to form and other they're gonna need to fill the face-off gap. That's what I wrote. Those are the two main two major things I think. Alvini's gonna have to step up with some of the other guys stepping up, but uh Alviti definitely he's he's the glue, in my my opinion, for this team for 2025.

SPEAKER_02 31:27

What I like about is the guys that are coming back that are seniors, these guys like David Gagman, Garrett Witt, Will Adams, these guys put up multiple points last year. Yeah, they were big-time contributors last year, Nathan along along with Nathan Alviti. Um, you know, their short stick D-mitty, Nick McGovern comes back 6'3, 215 pounds. Can you imagine a short stick? That's your front line of defense. You know where he's from? He's from Bow New Hampshire. Is that how you pronounce it? Bow BOW? That's how I would say it. Could be bow.

SPEAKER_03 32:03

I don't know where that is.

SPEAKER_02 32:03

So I'm you're from up that way, sort of. Uh LSM Kyle Pierciak comes back. He's a ground ball machine, Kev. 65. 65 ground balls. Are you kidding me?

SPEAKER_03 32:14

Well, and not far behind him is another LSM, Alex Parton, who had 55. And 37 cost turnovers.

SPEAKER_02 32:21

Perciac two 38 cost turnovers. Like these are.

SPEAKER_03 32:24

Talk about a duo.

SPEAKER_02 32:26

Wreaking havoc on the defensive side. Uh, the defenseman, uh, Nick Kane comes back. And like you said, the goalie Jackson Chinsley comes back. My question is face-off. Maybe Dalton McKinnon, who got burned last year and got some burn last year at the face-off. Does he come in? Or does Coach Murphy have a freshman coming in?

SPEAKER_03 32:45

Or is it by committee, which is not always a bad way to go either?

SPEAKER_02 32:50

Yeah, you know, but you know, losing Segretti and Harbath and Thorn Giuliano and Jace Lambert and Gigliotti and the biggie Bartomaleo. Bartomaleo. I mean, that kid was just, you know, got possession after possession. I mean, anytime Bartolomeo went out, he there was a big chance he was gonna win, you know, and get the ball.

SPEAKER_03 33:13

Right. Here's what I would say though, is that we had Coach Murphy on last year, and I think one of the things he talked about was the fact that they look at what they've got and they you and they have depth, and they always have depth. And they scheme based on what they've got. Right? They take what they've got and they they mold what they can do. And I think they have a still plenty of talent for them to work their magic.

SPEAKER_02 33:49

You gotta remember about the IQ of the type of player that goes to Bentley. Yeah, you know, you're not no dummy if you're you know got accepted to Bentley. That's right. Okay, so you're pretty smart to begin with. So if you get athletic and you're smart, chances are you have a pretty good high IQ for the game of lacrosse. And you know what? Last year their numbers were pretty decent. They have 43 shots per game. Uh their face-off is at 55, they clear at 85%. I bet you they'd like to improve on that number a little bit. Um, they were 28th in the country and caused turnovers, which we saw. They wreak havoc and they got LSMs for days that can do that.

SPEAKER_03 34:27

And these yeah, I'd be surprised if uh either Partner Pierce Aksiak, one of them plays close D.

SPEAKER_02 34:35

Yeah, I'm I'm I'm venturing to say that you're probably right. Uh, they were 46th in the country in points and 42nd in the country in scoring offense. So they do lose some senior leadership, but they do have talent that's coming back and a strong defense. So if they can improve on those numbers that I just quoted to you in any of those categories, they're gonna be a pretty decent team in the NE 10. And you know what? I was looking at their schedule. I only see 12 games on their schedule. Is that correct?

SPEAKER_03 35:14

Yeah, they so they've got eight in conference and they got four out of conference. That's about the standard for I think the NE10. They're out of conferences. Mercy, Bridgeport, Bridgeport, I'm sorry, St. A's, uh, they play them twice, and Frostburger. So that's their that's their out of conference. You look at we didn't go over Saint A's. They've they their first game is like the first week in March. And they've only got three out of conference. So, you know, I think it's just I think about 12 is about average for most of them. They have about four out of conference, maybe five. Okay. Um, maybe they're a little bit on the lower side, but yeah.

SPEAKER_02 36:00

I see that they brought in 14 freshmen. So I think Benley's gonna be pretty good in the NE 10. I think they're gonna be a tough team. They're gonna be a tough out. They're not gonna they're not gonna roll over. Question at face-off does Dalton McKinnon get the job, or does somebody else come in and give him some some compet competition there? Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 36:23

Be interesting to see. Okay, where do you want to head next?

SPEAKER_02 36:26

Where would you like to go?

SPEAKER_03 36:27

Okay, here's a team, Danny, that I think did some really good stuff last year and may be poised to do the same thing this year, and that's St. Michael's, the Purple Knights out of Colchester.

SPEAKER_02 36:43

Colchester, Vermont, nine and five last year. Good good record, six and three in the NE 10, Kev.

SPEAKER_03 36:52

Same as the team we just talked about, Bentley.

SPEAKER_02 36:56

That's right. They lost they lost to RW, they lost to RW, Adelphi Pace, and Bentley by one in overtime.

SPEAKER_03 37:04

In overtime, they beat St. A's by two. We talked about this last year. Which one of these mid-tier teams can play up to the level of those top tier? St. Mike's did it last year. Lost to Bentley in overtime, beat St. A's. Okay. They were a team to reckon with in a lot of ways. They really kind of upped their their game. Their 2025 out of conference, I think, is pretty good for them, too. It's a good mix. Felician Deuville, Roberts Wesleyan again, who they lost to last year, Bridgeport and Frostburg. Very good test for them. Now, what coach told us when we went out and asked for the preview is they kind of did an inverse this of last year, this year. They lost a lot of offense last year, and now this year their challenge is kind of revamping their defense. But look on their offensive side. Four of their five top scores return. They lose number three, Alex Cherguin, who had 21 and 6. They returned Sebastian Simonson, Christian Reyes, Ethan Hughes, and Sean Murphy.

SPEAKER_02 38:20

Yeah. Simonson had 59 points. Reyes had 44. Hughes had 24. Sean Murphy had 21.

SPEAKER_03 38:27

They don't lose much on the offensive side. Now, on the defensive side, they lost some key members on the close D uh and whatnot. They um to graduations. They lost Nathan Woods, who was their two-way mid-y in all conference, Michael Camarada, Rocky Grillone, Cam Stroyer, Thomas Fazzoli, and short stick D. Middy Lachlan Sheridan. So that's a good bunch that they did lose. And that's where they're going to have to really turn around. They do return sophomore LSM Taylor Wersinski, junior LSM Gavin Pruitt, and sophomore short stick D. Middle, Ben Riggs, and senior defenseman Teddy Lenz. They've got a good mix coming back of different classes and maybe a good core. All those guys got play, you know, like defenseman Teddy Wintlands, he played in all 13 games. The LSM type Taylor Wersenski played in 14 games with one start. They've got guys that got burned. They're just gonna have to step it up and replace.

SPEAKER_02 39:28

I was gonna point that out that a lot of the players on their team got burned and got play in almost every game. Yeah. So this is the this is a coach that likes to coach Alex Smith. I don't think we mentioned Coach Smith's name. I'm sorry, coach. Sorry about that. But Coach Smith and his Purple Knights is a team that likes to rotate their players, give guys a breath of fresh air, and keep those guys coming in. They had 47 on their roster, Kev. This is not a small roster by any means. They have 15 freshmen coming in this year. Um they lose some senior leadership and a few starters, but they still have a solid core offensively.

SPEAKER_03 40:10

And their special teams returns.

SPEAKER_02 40:12

Yeah. Uh goalie Sean Regan comes back. Senior Fogo uh Cooper Wilson was at 56% last year.

SPEAKER_03 40:19

Yeah. I mean and they share the rock. Last in 2023, they were like at their assist-to-goal ratio was like 70%. They couldn't keep that up, but they're still they were still at 50%, 57% last year.

SPEAKER_02 40:33

Yeah. I think they're going to be able to do that. They moved the ball.

SPEAKER_03 40:35

They spin the ball around.

SPEAKER_02 40:37

I think they're going to be better this year than they were last year.

SPEAKER_03 40:41

I think you watch out for them. I think they're going to play those guys pretty damn even.

SPEAKER_02 40:48

Who's their first two games again?

SPEAKER_03 40:51

So they're out of conference, starts off Felician and then De Yuville. All right.

SPEAKER_02 40:56

Who's their third and fourth game?

SPEAKER_03 40:58

Roberts Wesleyan, followed by Bridgeport and Frostburg. So it'll be it'll be really good to see the matchup against Roberts Wesleyan and Frostburg.

SPEAKER_02 41:05

And Bridgeport. Bridgeport's going to be no slouch either. Yeah. You know? All right. All right. So we got the Purple Knights looking pretty good, and Coach Smith's got his team looking and trending upwards. Again, 47 on the roster with 15 freshmen, nothing to sneeze at. They're doing good things up at St. Mike's. I agree. I agree. And they got a couple of Irishmen there. Sean Murphy. You know, they got the Irishman at St. Mike. All right. So, Coach Smith, I like what the I like what they got, man. I think they can uh do some damage in the N E 10 this year. What do you say? I agree. I agree. That's why I pointed them out. Let's go. It was 6-3 last year, man, in the NE-10.

unknown 41:52

You know.

SPEAKER_03 41:52

St. A's. Went to overtime with Bentley.

SPEAKER_02 41:56

And St. A's don't have the defense that they had last year. So it's possible that St. Mike's could really make a move in the NE-10, though.

SPEAKER_03 42:05

I think so. I think they could. Let's move on to the penmen of Southern New Hampshire. Manchester. Love it. Manchester, New Hampshire.

SPEAKER_02 42:17

They're actually in hook set, New Hampshire. Coach Paul Calkins uh struggled a little bit last year, four and nine. Yeah. And three and six in conference. They lost to Malloy by one in double overtime. Uh they lost to Cotabba by one. They had a pretty good out-of-conference schedule last year.

SPEAKER_03 42:35

Yeah, they had three one-goal losses.

SPEAKER_02 42:37

Lost to Mount Olive by one, lost to St. Mike's by one, and uh they lost to Bentley by four. So this was a team that was competitive, just came up short last year.

SPEAKER_03 42:50

Yeah, yeah, I agree. They their out of conference this year is Felician, Malloy, St. Thomas Aquinas, Lynn, and Dominican of New York. Okay. I think that's a pretty good schedule for them.

SPEAKER_02 43:05

They're a lot easier than last year's schedule.

SPEAKER_03 43:09

They're they're out their challenge, Danny, is they lose some key folks. They lose number one and number three scores, Ryan Auger and Jack Turones. They also lose Cody Fleming, who was the first line midi for them for a while.

SPEAKER_02 43:28

Yeah, they lose a couple of guys, Owen McCormick. They lose goalie Ronan DePaul. Yeah. They lose Eric Boa Jr. And uh their face-off guy who was badass last year, Gennaro Mara. 63% last year at the dot, Kev. That's huge.

SPEAKER_03 43:48

Yeah. Yeah. And here's the other thing they lose a lot of their starting D. They lose LSM Cam Coat, Dawson Center at defense, Kyle Prue. Short stick D minis Aiden Anthony and Dylan Quigley. And they lose Eric Bua, who was a transfer from Franklin Pierce and just balled out for him last year. They have to revamp close D and rope defense all in the same year.

SPEAKER_02 44:22

Yeah. I don't know. I don't know about the the Penman this year. Sophomore attack, Ryan Lynch returns. He did pretty good as a freshman last year. 26 goals, 28 assists, 37 points total. Senior attack, Matt Antonette Antonetti, 13-4 for 17 points. Sophomore midi, Sean Dwyer comes back. Another sophomore midi, Patrick Roy comes back. Junior short stick DM Aiden Anthony comes back. Transfer, Aiden Boyle. He's going to add to the defense. I'm telling you right now. So, you know, Southern New Hampshire lost a lot of senior leadership and a ton on the defensive side of the ball, Kevin.

SPEAKER_03 45:08

Yeah, and and I can't tell you why their record last year was four and nine. I I thought they were going to be much better than that last year. I don't know if it was just injury, what the deal was. So maybe that's not a good indication of this year. Like, you know what I'm saying? Like they lose a lot, but was so are they going to take another step back, or was there something else happening last year on the injury front, or something else that they didn't they didn't match up to where I thought they'd be, which was much more of a 500 team, both in the in conference and out of conference, or overall sketch, all over wins and losses. So let's see what happens this year. You know, I think Coach Calkins has done a really good job there. They have always been a team to reckon with in years past. They weren't that last year. They seem to Well, they were competitive, you know.

SPEAKER_02 45:59

They have five, one goal losses, you know, four or five.

SPEAKER_03 46:02

They had three three, but you're right. You're right.

SPEAKER_02 46:05

They easily could be eight and five or eight and you know what I mean? Yeah. Yeah. That was last year. And what, you know, the defense and and and losing your face-off guy at 63%. I counted 37 on the roster and 11 freshmen. So it's gonna be uh we're gonna have to see. We got to see what they put out there. We got to see the product. It's gonna be a new product up there in uh Manchester. Hook set. Hook set.

SPEAKER_03 46:34

But let's go to the other New Hampshire team, Franklin Pierce in Ringe.

SPEAKER_02 46:40

The Ravens. Ringe. New Hampshire. New Hampshire. Another team really struggled last year.

SPEAKER_03 46:47

Yeah, head coach Devin Callahan took the reins a couple years ago. Uh he was the interim coach. In that year, he did really well. Struggled a little bit last year, 3-10 and 0-9 in conference.

SPEAKER_02 46:59

Yeah, pretty tough, pretty tough year for Coach.

SPEAKER_03 47:02

They went 3-1 out of conference, but then couldn't do anything when they they got into the N-10. They lost last year, Danny. Here's what's interesting. Last year, going into last year, they lost a lot of firepower and they lost a lot on D. This year, so if you look at it, last year they were pretty darn young. And this year they they are returning a lot because of that. That's the real upside, I think, in this. Now, the roster, I think, is not out yet. So I don't know how much they brought in. They need their their depth and they need more, a bigger roster size, at least in the mid-30s. Um, but they are bringing back a lot.

SPEAKER_02 47:43

They had 29 on their roster last year, which is less than what I thought. I thought I thought Franklin Pierce had more players. They do return some good players. Senior midfielder Ethan Coate comes back. Yeah. 22 goals last year. Junior MIDI, Jackson Hale.

unknown 47:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 47:58

11 of goals, five assists, you know, put 16 points up on the board. Sophomore attack, Alex Costa, junior midi, uh, Curtis Nelson. LSM sophomore Nick Sawyer comes back. Attack Everett Hillman comes back. Senior goalie Mike Mestopolo comes back. So they were young last year. A lot of these guys come back. I only see them losing one really guy, senior midi Connor Rooney, but everybody else kind of returns.

SPEAKER_03 48:25

Right. And look on the on their defensive side, Nick Sawyer at LSM, Lance Starr, LSM and or D. I mean, Lance Star had 41 ground balls. Kyle Breitweiser at D, Drake Nelson at D, you know, Nick Catabriga at D. They've got guys lined up to even spell. You know, they've got more than just. So I think I think the upside for them is all that they're bringing back this year.

SPEAKER_02 48:53

Yep, I agree with that. They're not a conference schedule. They play LaSalle. What's that, a D3 team?

SPEAKER_03 49:01

Yeah, then they and I don't know if that's a scrimmage or not. That's their first game, right? So I don't know. I couldn't tell if that was from then they play Mercy, Bridgeport, Post, and Dominican of New York. That's a good schedule for them.

SPEAKER_02 49:12

Yeah, and then they host Bentley for their NE10 opener. Yeah. So um, again, the young team last year, a lot of these kids, a lot comes back. Um, pretty tough out-of-conference schedule for them now. And uh I think this is gonna be another team. We're gonna just have to see what kind of product they put on the field. Again, only three and ten, and they didn't win them a game. Big old, big old goose egg in the win column in the NE 10 last year. Right.

SPEAKER_03 49:45

I agree. But here's another team, Danny. The Assumption Greyhounds in Worcester, Massachusetts, who I find kind of intriguing to see what they do this year. And here's I'll start out with them. Their record last year was 7-7 and 4-5 in con in conference. That was a nice improvement. If you remember back, and I saw this on my notes, so I got to repeat it because now I sound like I'm actually smart, right? Uh, in 2023, if you look back there, I said in our conference preview last year, they improved in their stats, in their team stats, which this year they they stayed about even, but it did not show up in their results. So they really improved in team stats, but you know, they had a losing record in 2023. And my question was, will that kind of try to transcend? If they can keep those team stats going, will that change in and translate into wins and losses? And it did in 2024, Danny. They ended up a 500 team, which is better than they've been in a while. And if you look at this team this year, they the the question I've got is will that continue this year? Because they do return a lot of their core, so they should be in good contention. They do lose players, but they bring back players as well.

SPEAKER_02 51:02

Yeah. The Assumption Greyhounds located in Worcester, Massachusetts. Kev, four out of their five conference losses came to top 10 teams. Yeah, there you go. So seven and seven, and four out of their five losses were against top ten teams. They do lose a couple of players. Ryan Healy, who had 42 points last year. Jackson Bulgar had 20. Uh, Sam Maciel had 17. They lose uh goalie Colin Mel Malone. Sorry. Uh defenseman Cooper.

SPEAKER_03 51:40

I thought I had him returning.

SPEAKER_02 51:42

I could be wrong. I'm not I'm not perfect. I've made mistakes before. Not a lot, not a lot, but I've made them. Uh defenseman Aiden Boyle transferred to Southern New Hampshire. Okay. That's why I said Aiden Boyle's gonna add to them. Yeah, you know, to them on the defensive side because they lost so much. But they return a boatload, Kev. This this team could be formidable this year again. Junior attack, Patrick McGrath comes back. 25 goals, 14 assists, 39 points. Senior attack, Cameron Thoreau, 15-5 for 20 points. Senior MIDI, Colby, Bailey Gates at 14 points. Junior attack, Nolan Johnson comes back. Goalie James Lopez comes back. He had 48%, pretty, pretty, pretty darn good. Senior defenseman Colby Leighton comes back. Sophomore attack Brian Short comes back. Uh senior faceoff Nick Palmeros was at 53% last year. Uh, you know where he's from? He's from Natic. Natick, Massachusetts.

SPEAKER_03 52:56

Natick.

SPEAKER_02 52:57

Natick. Okay. Natick. Never heard of it. Thank you. Um junior defenseman Trent Sargent comes back. Junior Ellison Sam Steingold comes back. You know where he's from? Where is he from? Safety Harbor, Florida. Man going north for his lacrosse. He's something wrong with that kid. Unless they offered him a boatload of money. But anyway, last year, 47th in the country in scoring, the Greyhounds were. Averaged about 11 goals per game. I think they'd like to improve on that. They were 37th in the country in face-off percentage, right in the middle of the road, kind of. They averaged 48 shots per game. They were 25% on man up. I think they like to improve on that. And they cleared at close to 90%. So this is the team that's pretty well coached, pretty rounded, has a lot of good key players and a lot of in a lot of positions. I think, you know, I think they're going to be pretty good in the uh NE 10. I think they're going to be pretty good overall.

SPEAKER_03 54:04

Yeah, yeah. So I did look it up. It looks like Colin Malone on their website is coming back as a graduate student in Gold.

SPEAKER_02 54:12

Oh, okay. That's huge. So that's huge. Yeah. Yeah. All right. So Malone comes back. They're out of conference schedule. Mercy, Post, Caldwell, Roberts Wesleyan, Deuville, Georgian Court. And they open any 10 when they host pace. So it should be a good season for the Sunction Greyhounds. I'm I'm kind of excited for this team. I think Coach Bordone should be excited for this team.

SPEAKER_03 54:45

I I think they're going to be dangerous. I think they're going to be dangerous. Okay, last team in the N to go over in my old stomping grounds of Springfield, Massachusetts, American International College, AIC Yellow Jackets.

SPEAKER_02 55:04

Yeah. Coach Corey Nealy had their best season ever last year, Kev, right? Something like that.

SPEAKER_03 55:11

Yeah, 5-10 in 2024, 1-8 in conference. Here's what I'd say about last year's team. They put the scare in a lot of any 10 teams. May not have ended up if you look at the end score, but they had plenty of teams, including those top dogs, scared at least through the first half.

SPEAKER_02 55:34

They had a couple of dogs on that team last year and they're coming back.

SPEAKER_03 55:39

Yeah, so this is what's interesting. When we had Coach on during the coaching changes, he he admitted to it, right? This team had to deal with a lot of adversity with Coach Ballone leaving midseason last year. And so a lot of kids transferred. This is somewhat of a do-over. They had well over 40 on their roster last year. Their roster is not up for their 2025 team yet. I think Coach talked when he talked to us, he said it's in the high 20s, maybe low 30s. That's quite the difference in having the depth. And he also talked to us back in October and gave us that is that information. So the real question is: did they keep a lot? Because if they do, especially on the defensive side, look who they're returning. All attackman, all all American Carter Linkletter, all American Reese Bauer. Stud. 78 ground balls for Reese, 58 cost turnovers, eight goals, and six assists.

SPEAKER_02 56:57

Man, these kids can ball, man. Those are huge numbers. Those are national numbers. It wasn't like he was doing it just against any 10.

SPEAKER_03 57:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 57:11

You know, he's going against the Delphi, he's going against the St. A's. He's going against Pace. He's going against St. Michael's. Yeah, he's going against Bentley. Yeah. That's a good conference.

SPEAKER_03 57:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 57:23

You know?

SPEAKER_03 57:24

And then you've also got Ryan Levis coming back on Dia and Rowan Rogerio and Charlie Blankstein. I mean, I think if all those guys return on defense, they are going to be really strong in that category. Now, on offense, what coach told us is they lost some depth, two starting attack transferred out. Um, they are returning uh Tyler Good at X7 Gilliam uh as well. He had 11 goals, 15 assists. Jordan Boyenko, Baden's brother, out at Lewis, he's at AIC. He was injured last year, and Coach says could have a huge impact this year on their offensive production. And we know he's like his brother.

SPEAKER_02 58:04

I was gonna say I bet if he's the younger brother, I bet she's pretty spunky. Yeah, because you know how those younger brothers are. Yeah, they're always tougher, they're always tougher than the older brothers because they have to put up with all the crap while they were younger, you know. But you know what? Uh um, I wish that their their roster was up so we could really give a little bit more about this team. We don't know who stayed, we don't know who left, you know.

SPEAKER_03 58:28

So we have it from October 3rd. You know, so I don't know if any of there are any mid-year transfers that happened or not.

unknown 58:36

Right.

SPEAKER_03 58:37

I think I liked Coach Nealig's philosophy, his message. He seemed like a guy that could you know, take what they had to deal with adversity. He will not have the roster he wants this year.

SPEAKER_02 58:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 58:56

But let's see now, and they also lost their stone starting goalie.

SPEAKER_02 59:02

Okay, so it's kind of like a reboot. A little bit of a do-over, yep, yep. Let's see.

SPEAKER_03 59:07

Let's see what they come to. Yes. So Roberts Wesleyan, Caldwell, Dominican of New York, Georgian Court, Post, and Bridgeport.

SPEAKER_02 59:20

Oh boy. Yeah. Oh boy. That's tough ass out of conference schedule for the Yellow Jackets. But hey, Corey, Corey Nealer, you know, we gotta get this team going. You know? All right. I totally agree. So the team, whoever's gonna play for the Yellow Jackets, you guys are gonna be playing some pretty good teams pretty much all year long. Eat your Wheaties, eat your Wheaties, get your sleep, do your stretches.

SPEAKER_03 59:51

Come out hungry. Yeah, make sure you're ready to go. I love it. I love it. Well, that's it, Danny. That's the wrap-up for the N.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:02

Can you believe we did every team, every conference, every coach, every town, every returning player. I love it.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:11

I don't know if if all our fans, all our listeners love it. I love it. I love going through all of them. I, you know.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:17

Are we out of our minds?

SPEAKER_03 1:00:19

It's it's it's like the baseball season, right? Everyone has a shot. Come February 1st.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:26

Right, exactly. You know, I just just going over, you know, I was just you know, trying a quick recap. I think the the biggest thing that stands out to me this year is the amount of turnover on a lot of the bigger teams, the bigger teams, the teams that had 35, 40, 45, 50, 55 guys on their roster. I've seen a lot of turnaround. I see a lot of turnaround in the top 10 of last year's teams. Uh, you know, LR, you know, 32 new players, you know, uh Wingate Hooper, Tampa losing guys, Rollins losing guys, you know, Pace lost Ryan Kemp. Although they got a lot of guys coming back, they might be dangerous this year, Pace. I really do. Yeah. Um teams, teams like Rockhurst look like they can do some noise this year, you know. Can Mercy put out what they did, you know, in the last three, four, five years. They've still good. They've been so good. And I just don't know if they have that kind of talent on the team. I want to see a team like Malloy. I have a feeling they're gonna be making some noise this year a little bit. I think Flagler is a team that's gonna be making some noise a little bit. I think they're gonna be a tough, tough team. Um, uh a team like Lander is gonna be another tough team. I think, you know, Colorado Mesa lost a boatload. Westminster, not so much. You know, just where do they end up?

SPEAKER_03 1:01:59

How does Concordia's match up? They didn't lose as much. I think it's really, really, it's it really is kind of a different makeup and look this year across the conferences.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:12

You know, the GLVC, even you know, Lewis and U India Merryville lost quite a, you know, quite a bunch of, you know, really, really good players. I think teams like Chestnut Hill is gonna make some national noise this year, Kev. Their defense, they're like top, one of the top defenses in the country. And you know what? I just think that they have a lot of guys just coming back. I think they can do some damage. They were only they were 11 and 4 last year. You know, Conference Carolinas.

unknown 1:02:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:44

Does North Greenville make a noise this year, or is it Belmont Abbey? Belmont Abbey, or is it gonna be, you know, uh, you know, Barton's again? Right. So there's a lot of new looks, I think. You know, exciting. I think St. A's isn't the same team that they were, you know. I I don't know if uh I don't know, like I it's it's just a different look this year. Like I think, I think last year when we did our conference previous, we kind of had an idea of which teams were going to be pretty lethal and which teams could be formidable and which teams were gonna struggle. This year, I think there's a bunch of new teams in the mix here.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:27

Yeah, I agree, I agree, and that's what I think makes it even more exciting uh for this season. Like you just watch how how games end up, watch different teams, see how they how they stack up, what they do in the first four or five games. Because I don't think the first few games are gonna tell the story. It's gonna be an evolution this year.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:54

Yeah, again, I mean, I think there's probably six to eight teams that are gonna be really, really, really good. And then everybody else, I don't know. I don't know. We'll have to see. You just you never know one injury here, or you know what I mean? Like crazy things can happen. Yeah, and I've seen it happen, and it's happened before, it'll happen again.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:16

I'll be interested to see what you put down for your top 20.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:20

Yeah, well, my top 20 is probably gonna make a lot of people angry, Kev. We're gonna we're gonna put the Kevlar suits on for a month because the darts are gonna be going to hiding. Yeah, well, that's always the fun episode. That's always one of my favorite episodes, and that's gonna be coming up soon, man. So yeah, looking forward to that. Yeah, that's it. But it's been interesting this year as I hold my notes in front of me. About 75 pages of notes. Um, about what six weeks of uh six weeks of doing conference previews.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:54

10 weeks, 10 weeks, 10 conferences. Think about what we've done. Yeah, so it's pretty amazing. So it is pretty amazing. D2 is real, folks. It is, it is. Get ready, strap in, it's gonna be a wild ride.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:07

The first couple of teams, it's January 6th as we record this. The first teams will be playing in three weeks.

SPEAKER_03 1:05:16

Yeah. Amazing, amazing, can't wait. All right, let's close it out. I've got one shout out that I think you and I agree on. We didn't even need to talk about it. Like, what do you have? What do I have? It was we already knew. And this shout out goes to the Chestnut Hill lacrosse team and family. They lost captain and 22 graduate Billy DeMaio. He was tragically killed in the new New Orleans Massacre that happened New Year's Eve, really New Year's Day around three in the morning. And our thoughts and prayers go out to them as they remember Billy. Just the tragedy.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:01

The whole lacrosse community gives their hearts some prayers and thoughts. Um, just a shocking and disgusting display. And I just my heart goes out to his poor mother, his father, his friends. It's a it's it's just heartbreaking. And you know what? It is and we and we cover Division II, and we've covered Chestnut Hill, and we've covered Billy before in our in our comments, and you know, he was a really good lacrosse player, but according to his friends, he was even a better human being.

SPEAKER_03 1:06:34

Exactly, exactly. And this tragedy struck obviously more than them, killed an 18-year-old aspiring nurse, a single mother, a father of two. You could go on, and all I can say is that as we see in these things, and I know the Chestnut Hill family is feeling that right now, it's life and time are precious. So when you get the chance, grab and hug your loved ones and let them know you love them because you don't know when you can't say that anymore. Said it better myself, Kevin. So, with that, Danny, on that note, unfortunately, and as we send our thoughts and prayers once again out to Chestnut Hill, that's a wrap for our conference previews of the 2025 season.

SPEAKER_02 1:07:27

That's a wrap, Kev. Any tenure?