Conference Previews for the 2025 Season - South Atlantic Conference (SAC)

Intro

SPEAKER_02 0:09

Welcome, welcome, welcome to another episode of In the Crease with Danny and Kevin, a coast-to-coast discussion of D2 Men's Lacrosse. I'm your co-host, Kevin Stenstrom, and with me as always is the co-host, I'm thankful for, Danny Moran. How's it going, Danny?

SPEAKER_01 0:27

Oh, Kevin, you're so nice. I'm thankful for you as well. I'm doing great. How's it going tonight in uh northern Virginia?

SPEAKER_02 0:34

Well, you're starting to get in that uh festive spirit. The holidays are around the corner. We're we are recording this about a week early, but this episode is our Thanksgiving episode. It's gonna come out on Turkey Day. So we might as well just say happy Thanksgiving to all our listeners.

SPEAKER_01 0:53

Happy Thanksgiving, yeah. It's getting it's fast, right?

SPEAKER_02 0:56

How fast this year has gone by already. Yeah, it is. So we're we're right around the house. And then it's Christmas, yeah, and then one month and the season starts. That's right. When they go back, it's go time. Yeah, it is. And for us,

SAC Preview

SPEAKER_02 1:15

I think this is a great episode for people to listen into between football and turkey. It's talking about, I think, in both your mind and my mind, the perennial powerhouse conference. Yes, it is. The SAC, the SAC.

SPEAKER_01 1:50

Oh, yes, the South. Yeah, you know how much I love the South, Kev. Every time I think of the South, I think of the Charlie Daniels band and all the kids out there listening, going, what the hell are those guys listened to? What kind of music?

SPEAKER_02 2:05

I just, you know, trying to bring some classics back for the for the audience.

SPEAKER_01 2:09

Hey, we're talking about the South Atlantic conference tonight, Kev. And like you said, probably the best, best, most competitive conference in the country.

SPEAKER_02 2:19

I wouldn't say maybe from a parody uh side of the house, but if you stack up top to bottom, you know, with any other conference top to bottom, I think they win out. If you match, you know, number eight with number eight on another conference, etc. I agree. We saw it in the in the in the finals last year. Number one of the any 10 beats out number one in the sack. Yeah, but so we can't always say that, but I think over total overall, any given day, someone's gonna win. And the Delphi showed it last year. We're not even gonna talk about them yet. We're gonna get to them later on. But we are here to talk about the sack.

SPEAKER_01 2:56

Yeah, the sack's a great conference, Kev, you know, a couple of perennial powerhouses and you know, a couple of historical powerhouses in in like Lenora Ryan and Limestone.

SPEAKER_02 3:07

Yeah, and then you've got some that from years past, like Mars Hill, and ones that are upcoming that we talk about Newberry and Anderson, and and some that are trying to climb that ladder, and and a new one coming in this year. So they're up to 11 teams in the sack with Emory and Henry joining this year.

SPEAKER_01 3:22

Yeah, 11 squads. It's a big, it's a big conference. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 3:26

So where do you want to start?

SPEAKER_01 3:27

We might as well start with last year's you know, national runner-up, the the Lenore Ryan Bears. You gotta start there, right?

SPEAKER_02 3:35

Yeah. 17-2 last year, eight and one in conference. Like you said, national runner-up. They lost to limestone in the regular season. It was a one-goal game. By one, yeah. Then the only other game they lost was a Delphi in the championship. They lost that by two, but they beat a Delphi in the regular season season seven and beat limestone in the sack by one. Well, and this is what's crazy, Danny, how tight it was at the end of the season, and Lenore Ryan always seemed to get on top. That will tell you what type of experience and championship pedigree they had.

SPEAKER_01 4:10

Yeah, Coach Gardel, he does an amazing job.

SPEAKER_02 4:13

But just listen to this rundown. Sack semis that beat Wing by one in double overtime. Sack finals, they beat limestone by one. NCA quarters, they beat limestone by two. And in the NCA semis, they beat number one seed Tampa by one.

unknown 4:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 4:32

Yeah. But they what's funny, you could say, well, it could have been could have been Wingate. It could have been it could have, but they always last year ended up on top. And I think that has to do with a lot with the experience they had.

SPEAKER_01 4:44

Yeah, a lot of experience on that field, especially on the defensive side last year. But they lose a lot of those guys, Kev.

SPEAKER_02 4:52

They do. They do. They lose at least 18 players from the 2024 roster. 32 new players this year, Danny. 11 transfers, 21 freshmen. 32 is a lot. That's a lot. And like you said on defense, they're their whole close D, gone. Victor Powell, Nate Ashley, Joey Masson, gone. Their rope defense, Colt McCracken, Tommy Farlow, Liam Farrell at LSM, and Brandon Webster, gone. Both goalies gone. Rob Pensabeni and Nolan Hoffman.

SPEAKER_01 5:26

Ton of experience.

SPEAKER_02 5:28

Ton. Ton. And then look on the offensive side. They lose their their number one scorer, Ryan Duncan. Number three, Casen Dillon. Number five, Jonathan Bender. And then look at this amount of experience they also lost. Will Kanada, Tommy Aguilar, Kyle Hatcher. Names that were would just roll off our tongue week after week in the past couple years.

SPEAKER_01 5:55

Yeah, I mean, that's a lot of guys, a lot of experience, Kev. And a lot of those players been to like three national championships, some of them four.

SPEAKER_02 6:04

Exactly. They've at least made it that far, you know. And it that is an amount of experience. Why I think, like last year, they were always able to get on top because they had that kind of experience. And all of them.

SPEAKER_01 6:19

Not only did they have experience, those players were good, man. Oh, yeah. Victor Powell was really good. He was a powerhouse, if not if people defense, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 6:27

Yeah, yeah. You're right though, with Victor Powell, probably the best. He was the best defender in the in the in the South, Rico.

SPEAKER_01 6:32

I think he might have been the best defender in the country, in my opinion. Yeah. I mean, he's big, he's he was fast, he was aggressive, he was smart. It just so many good things, you know, about the guy. And Colt McCracken at the SSDM was a great player, like great in transition.

SPEAKER_02 6:48

Oh, he, I mean, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:50

And they were just stacked at so many positions last year, and you know what? And like you said, very experienced, very, very experienced. These kids, multiple SAC championships, multiple NCAA appearances and national championship appearances. And when you lose all of that, you lose a ton of experience. Now, they do have some players coming back, right? They do, they do, you know. Uh Evan Voss, who was he's he's a phenomenal player. Phenomenal. Great. Uh young Donnie Powell, he's not so young anymore. He's a junior now, Donnie. You know, uh Jared Huff, Sloan Stewart, Nate Serrano. Hey, and their face-off guy, Matt Mancini, who was 51% last year. Very tough at the F.

SPEAKER_02 7:37

Great. Yeah, I had all the I wrote all those down, Danny. You're exactly right. It's not like they have their decimated, they've got a good little core.

SPEAKER_01 7:46

He was 15th in the country in winning percentage last year, uh, Matt Mancini. So, I mean, he's good. Yeah, he's very good. They're returning some good players now. They got to fill in a lot of spots now. So they have a bunch, a bunch of uh transfers coming in. Yeah, 11. Cameron Heard, uh Tachman from Birmingham Southern, goalie Owen Peters from the Mount, uh senior Joel Brushnan from Marist, uh LSM, uh D3 transfer, Davis Russell, another short stick D. Middy graduate student from Belmont Abbey, Richie Timothy. Uh a couple of them, you know. You know, and they're gonna how many how many freshmen are they bringing in?

SPEAKER_02 8:35

21.

unknown 8:37

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 8:39

Wow. So it's gonna be a different look for Lenore Ryan this year, a lot different.

SPEAKER_02 8:45

It is, it is. We've talked this about this a couple times even through the first two podcast episodes we've done on previews, right? And I think it's the same with Lenore Ryan. They are going to get better each and every game in the season and find their identity. I think it's not like in past years where you know they they may have more than two or one or two losses this year, but they're I mean, coach Coach Perry, and he's gonna have them ready.

SPEAKER_01 9:17

Uh, he's a great coach. I mean, yeah, we'll see what it's like in the beginning of the season. You know, we'll you know, like again, when Lenore Ryan played, you watched them, they were just a well-oiled machine last year. Last couple of years, actually. Oh, yeah. Just a well-oiled machine. These guys knew where they were gonna be, they had everything down. And when you add all these freshmen and all the all of these, you know, transfers, it's gonna take some time to get that chemistry going, I think. Totally agree. Totally agree. So we might see a one or two loss LR team, but I don't think it's gonna be all that bad up in Hickory.

SPEAKER_02 9:56

No, I I think they're still gonna contend. Oh, yeah. That's just the way they're built. Oh, yeah. Yeah. We'll see though. You know, it's gonna be different. It's gonna be different. I mean, that defense was I know. They've got a lot, they've got more on defense, I think, to fill holes than they do on offense.

SPEAKER_01 10:15

Well, let's see. Well, we'll have to see. It's gonna be definitely a new look bear's team this year.

SPEAKER_02 10:21

So, how about moving on to the limestone Saints?

SPEAKER_01 10:25

Yeah, Coach Brendan Storyer, the Saints located in Gaffney, South Carolina, Kev, 17-2 last year. And what, eight and one in conference?

SPEAKER_02 10:36

Nine and oh in season.

SPEAKER_01 10:37

Nine and oh in conference.

SPEAKER_02 10:39

Undefeated in in regular season. They lost to LR twice. Sack championship and the NCA quarterfinals. Both both games were phenomenal games, too. Phenomenal. You're exact. You said it right. I am sure Coach Dorrier would sacrifice a win or two in the regular season to get to the NCAA finals this year. Yeah, well, last year they were amazing.

SPEAKER_01 11:02

They led the country ready in team, uh, in assists, ground balls, and scoring offense. What does that tell you? Just those three, they led the country in.

SPEAKER_02 11:14

Yeah. And then get this. But we when we reached out to Coach Dorrier for any words and he came back. This sentence that he said, I think typifies for the standard that he sets at limestone. He's this what he said. We need to clear better this season. 89% last season need to get to at least 91%, Danny. At least fine. Not married or even 89%. And he says, and continue to ride. Teams cleared at 73% against us. So they need to continue to ride at a high level. I'm telling you, that's the bar he sets, and that's why these guys are so good.

SPEAKER_01 11:52

Yeah, they're a really good team and just well done. And Storier, great recruiter, Brendan Storier is. He's yeah, he knows how to get kids to get there, and he knows what kids he likes, and he knows what kids are gonna fit his program. You know, they lose some, they lose some pretty good players, though, Kev. They certainly do. They lose my favorite, my favorite player on that team, Jason Tom Forty. Yeah, I had him listed. Yeah, blue-collar kid, just a blue-collar kid, a ground ball kid. He would get, you know, he wasn't like, you know, watch me type player.

SPEAKER_02 12:28

Yeah, but all of a sudden, he had a pretty quick release, as I remember.

SPEAKER_01 12:30

Like all of a sudden, I could light he could light up for three or four goals, or he could light up the three or four assists and just be a more of a ground ball guy. Just he just did it all. Yeah, they're gonna miss him. Uh Carter Brand, yeah, another really good player for Limestone last year. Mike Shakiran, Chris Erneston, yeah, another phenomenal player. They're losing, they're losing their face-off guy, Kev. This is big.

SPEAKER_02 12:55

This is the big one, probably as big as putting up there with Jason Tom Forty.

SPEAKER_01 13:00

Yep. Timmy Ladner, yeah. Face-off guy extraordinaire, unbelievable at X, among the country leaders in in winning percentage last year. He just knows how to get possessions in. Yeah, he's just a really uh uh uh an aggressive go get him real bull type of kid, you know, and you love those type of kids that face off, and he's gone. Uh, they're goalie, Shane O'Leary from last year, he's gone as well.

SPEAKER_02 13:30

Yeah, but they're hoping Corey Lyons returns from the torn ACL. And he played really well two years ago. So he'd be uh he comes back, they're right back where they were. And they're also returning their number one and number two scorers, Zach Terry and Nate Senez. Along with Mike McGarry.

SPEAKER_01 13:51

First, another first team All-American.

SPEAKER_02 13:53

And then Austin Lamoreau.

SPEAKER_01 13:55

I mean 30 30 goals and 24 assists for Austin last year. They returned Beachley on defense. Uh Jaden Terry, they returned second team All-American last year. Uh LSM uh Evan Marciano, uh, Joel Mullen. They're deep at short stick D Midi. Like you said, go with Corey Lyons.

SPEAKER_02 14:15

Uh Coach said they return their their top four LSMs and four out of five of their top, four out of five of their top close defensemen, and they're deepest at short stick D Midi. So their D brings back a lot.

SPEAKER_01 14:30

So yeah, they're gonna be tough. But look at the offense, too. I mean, just Secretary and Mike McGarry alone. Yeah, two first team All-Americans are coming back. Yeah. And they're only juniors, I think, if I'm not mistaken, these guys. I think they're juniors. Yeah, so like Limestone looks tough, man, on paper, right? They got a good out-of-conference schedule. They're playing Florida Southern, Undy, Lewis, Alabama, Huntsville, and Lander.

SPEAKER_02 15:05

How about Lander putting it? And Tampa and Savannah. So they're they they catch them later. So I don't know, man.

SPEAKER_01 15:13

Limestone looks tough. They look stacked. Yep. They're gonna be tough. They're gonna be tough. I I expect them to be ranked in the top three and top four from week one.

SPEAKER_02 15:28

Oh, 100%. I I can't see anything else. I yeah, I mean if I look at what I looked at uh the last as I did this preview, I would stack them number one in in the sack.

SPEAKER_01 15:40

Yeah, I think right now you'd probably have to do that, yes, because of just who they return on offense. Defense, dude, they're gonna be good, man. You know, you know they add transfers, you know that you know there's gonna be a couple of transfers. They're gonna need a face-off guy. That's what they're gonna need. That's you're right. You're right. So let's probably the biggest hole on their side. If I know Coach Storyer, he's gonna he probably went out and found himself a face-off guy. Um I would venture the same thing. That's what he does. All right. So again, again, I think the limestone Saints are gonna be, you know, they're they're always a national powerhouse, Kev. Yeah, always, always a team that other teams want to be. That you know, they aspire to be like Limestone. Yes, yes. You know, when when you can give Limestone a game, a one-goal game, whether you win or lose, that's you you've played a great team and played well. So totally agree. Totally agree. I think limestone right now looks very, very, very good on paper. I agree. We'll have to see when this season starts. I think you'll be just fine. You bet. I think they'll be just fine.

SPEAKER_02 16:49

Yeah, I I don't think uh they have much worries, even though Coach tried to tell us that in his email. I I didn't buy all of it personally. Needs to clear better. All right, let's move on to the Wingate Bulldogs. Another one that's always vying for the sack. The Bulldogs located in Wingate, North Carolina, right outside.

SPEAKER_01 17:13

Wingate. Some some of the folks say wingate.

SPEAKER_02 17:16

They say wingate down there. Up here in Virginia in New York, we say wingate, but down there they say wingate.

SPEAKER_01 17:21

Wingate, yeah. And uh about 35 minutes southeast of Charlotte, Coach Tim Boyle. What can you say about Coach Boyle? Just another national powerhouse every year.

SPEAKER_02 17:33

I personally think, yeah. And I when I wrote a note at the end, it's I think it's their coaching that is going to could make a difference this year with as they transition to new players, which we'll get into. But last year they were 11 and 5, Danny, which was a little um 11 to 5 is a great, great for for Wingate standards. That's a little bit below where they were before. But they were 7-2 in conference, which is really good. They lost to Limestone and NLR in the regular season, as well as Tampa, but that was in double overtime in the Crown Classic. Another unbelievable game from last year.

SPEAKER_01 18:08

Yeah, yeah. I was there.

SPEAKER_02 18:10

It was a great moment. And like we talked about, they lost to Lenore Ryan in the sack semis in double overtime again. So you talk about how close they were to being 13 and three, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:25

Yeah. You know, one pipe, you know, in in the Tampa game. Yeah. And, you know, that would have won the game for them. And then, you know, same thing in the LR game. One pipe, and bang, it's it all, it's over, and it's a different game. And you know what, that's the way it went for the Wingate Bulldogs last year. And you know what, Kev? They were in the top ten in just about every single team category. This is a team that gets after it in all facets of the game, especially on the defensive side. They're a very good defensive team.

SPEAKER_02 19:03

The one thing I also have always always liked about their this team is how they ride on offense.

SPEAKER_01 19:11

Yeah, they're tough, man. They're they're just a well-coached squad. They always get a bunch of good athletes out there, high IQ players, you know.

SPEAKER_02 19:20

Yeah, and so, but look at who they're losing this year on offense. They lose a lot. Willie Greco, Dan Willie Greco, 29 goals, 61 assists last year. Danny Riley, 40 goals and 31 assists, and they lose Aiden McMahon, also. Yeah. That's that's quite the offensive firepower they lose. But this is what I would say, Danny. If you look at who they have returning, this actually could be addition by subtraction. Because if you see the number of players that can produce an offense for Wingate that are coming back and all still fairly young, they're at their at least juniors. I don't think any more seniors yet. Joey Moran, Matt PayPack, Jackson Grant, Zach Sampson, I think he's a senior, Matt Magyar, Kyle Spence, Sean Clark, Sam Goss. I mean, there's a litany of players that can score and pass and assist. And if they really, instead of getting it in Willie's hands, which you gotta do when you have Willie at the X, right? 100%. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:31

But now he touches the ball.

SPEAKER_02 20:34

Yeah, if you really spread the ball around and keep spreading the ball around, and these guys don't care who scores, they could be formidable this year.

SPEAKER_01 20:45

I agree with that. Um, we we call them the Fab Four. Yeah, Moran Spence, uh Jackson Grant, and and Matt PayPal. All right, those guys have been starting at Wingate since freshman year. Now you remember when they played U Indy in the NCAAs and lost by one two years ago, Tim Boyle had four freshmen on the field. Yeah. These guys are not freshmen anymore. Right. They're juniors, they're upperclassmen, they're seasoned, they're veterans, they are fearless, they are tough, they are super duper high IQ class. These guys can score and score in bunches. And you know what? Again, you're right. When you have Willie Greco and Danny Riley on your team, and you're a freshman or a sophomore, those guys are getting theirs. They're getting theirs. Yeah, you're gonna you're gonna dish the ball to them and watch them go to work. And and rightly so. But guess what? Now it's these time, these guys' time. Yeah. How about Sean Clark last year? He was amazing at 39 goals and 13 assists. Came out of nowhere, came out of nowhere. So, you know what? Offensive. You're right, Kevin. It might be addition by subtraction.

SPEAKER_02 22:05

I think that's the way they need to look at it. And I think if they if they really can if they run their offense of sharing the ball and right spacing, I just think it's going to be tough. Now, let's look on the defensive side. They also lost a lot. I mean, they look at their rope defense. They lost Joe Carnish at LSM. They lost Roberto DeJoyas, another LSM, who really backed up well. I mean, Joe Carnish was Joe Carnish, all American, but Roberto was really good too. Trent Connolly and John Natoly at short stick D. Midi. Trent Connolly's American. Yeah. Beast. John Natoly, just so fast, great in transition. John Salomone, they lost too. Yeah. And they lost the goalie Sully, Tom Sullivan. Thomas Sullivan, who was a transfer from Belmont Abbey. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 22:54

But they do return Nick Arnold, who was all SAC. Yeah. Big boy. You know, he's been a four-year starter. Peyton Farley, all American. He's a beast, Kevin. Yeah. 6'4, 230. He's he's got the whole package. Yeah strength, size, stick skills, speed, IQ, everything. Uh Graham Tillett's probably going to take over at the LSM this year. Good player. He's really good. He got burned last year, but Joe Carnage was the LSM of the entire country. He was LSM of the year last year. Yeah. Joe Carnage. He was an animal out there. So, you know, Graham had to do his time, sitting, watching, learning. When he got to his burn, he did really, really well. And like you get, you mentioned Matt Maggiar. How about CJ Dore coming in and playing some short stick D Middy, looking real good? Mason McGivern's going to get some run, I think, at the short stick D MIDI this year. Kids that have been going to practice and waiting for their time. And now's their time. And you know what? I've seen Wingate do this before, where kids had to wait till their time. And when their time came, they shined, Kev.

SPEAKER_02 24:06

Yeah. Now I will tell you, I saw it last year a lot, and probably even more the year before, especially when like guys like Peyton Farley and Nick Arnold were a lot younger, right? Their defense, I think, with really a change in short stick D Midi, I think that's probably out of all the positions, short stick D Midi and goalie are the areas they could be they will need to improve, right? And I think if you watch their and I've watched their defense before, it seems that as the game goes on, they get more and more comfortable in their defense and their defensive schemes. And then they play they play more shutdown, they play shutdown defense better as this as the game goes on than they sometimes do at the beginning. And I think that may be the same thing this year with new short stick D midis.

SPEAKER_01 24:56

Again, I I I've seen Wingate change change out short stick D middies before. And and and there was no difference. You know, it's just it was just you know business as usual. Again, these kids have been at practice for two, three years, some of them. You know, they've been going against these guys every day in practice. Now it's their turn. You know what? And there's two goalies. They, you know, I don't know who Wingate's gonna go with. They have goalie Quad Williams, yeah, he's a junior, and Matt Gennadi, he's a sophomore. And uh, I don't know who's gonna get that start. We'll see. And then they get they're bringing their phos back, Dylan Rucker and Logan Spith and Logan Spade. Yeah, both did really, really well last year.

SPEAKER_02 25:37

Right around that 56-57 percent.

SPEAKER_01 25:40

And that's that's that's pretty good where you want to be, you know. I mean, if they could get to 60, better. But you know what? They're winning more than 50 of their face-offs, and don't forget that that defense creates a lot of 50-50 ground balls off the faceoff, you know. So I think wing gate's gonna be a new look, offense. I think the defense is gonna be fine. I think really the biggest thing is in goal. Who's gonna get that goalie spot? Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 26:10

Well, I I I think that, and I think you're I agree with you. I mean, that midfield coach Coach Boyle Coach Boyle knows how to coach defenses. So I know he'll have the short stick D middies working well on the rope defense with the close D, and they'll be good. I just telling you, it's sometimes I've seen the gaps, and even from last year and the year before, and I'm not saying the whole game, I'm saying they seem they almost seem to lock in more and more as the game goes on. They get more focused, and I'm sure part of that is the coaching with Coach Boyle over there. You see him kneeling on the ground as he's watching these games. But I mean, I I agree with you. Their defense will be fine. Their defense will be fine. And and I think they're like you said, I I think they're the middies they've got come back in offense.

SPEAKER_01 26:58

That midfield unit may just be the best all-around midfield unit in the country, Kevin.

SPEAKER_02 27:04

Could be, could be. I haven't we haven't done every conference yet, but uh the ones we've done so far, and the one I just did for review for next week, yeah, there there isn't a midfield I think that's stronger right now that I've seen. I I mean they're just very and like now they're they're they're in season three. There's more than three of them. Like, I mean, it's not they've got more than one line.

SPEAKER_01 27:23

They can roll them in, yeah. Yeah, and and some of them go both ways. So they're out of conference, they got Lees McCrae.

SPEAKER_02 27:30

Yeah, they're starting off uh John Grant Jr.'s D2 experience playing gate.

SPEAKER_01 27:36

I I noticed that a lot of teams have put Lees on their schedule. Yeah, they have. 100% by playing the Wingates and playing the big teams and stuff like that. Um yeah, Lees McRae, Florida Southern, Mount Olive, and there's Lander again. Yep. Lander's doing the same thing, they're putting big boy teams on their schedule now.

SPEAKER_03 28:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 28:02

They they want to take it up to the next level. So I think if they can improve their clearing and find out who they want in goal, the Wingate Bulldogs will be just fine.

SPEAKER_02 28:12

And it'll be tough. They'll be tough. Yeah, I agree. I agree. All right, let's move on. Who's next on your list? How about the Newberry Wolves? Uh another one that's named after their town, or vice versa. Newberry, South Carolina, they're from. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 28:27

Coach Nick Collar. They went 12-4 last year. Very formidable team, six and three in conference. Do you know they were number one in the country for man up offense last year?

SPEAKER_02 28:39

Was it what I have on the list? 60, 67% on man up.

SPEAKER_01 28:44

That's the one. They were lethal. Lethal. If you were in the box against Newberry, they were forget it.

SPEAKER_02 28:50

Give them a goal. Just give them a goal.

SPEAKER_01 28:51

They were gone. But they lose a bowl of players, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 28:55

Now, yeah, totally agree. Let's go over their out-of-conference really quickly. This is a good test from Lewis, UND, Mount Olive, Lander, and Young Harris. Yep. When I go through who they've lost, this is another one where it's a totally new look team. They lose their top five scores, Danny. 294 total points. That's 67% of all their points they scored last year. Scott Reed, Zach Thompson, Baker Westmoreland, Jimmy Osario, and Curtis Butka all are gone.

SPEAKER_01 29:31

Wow. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 29:33

Now they returned Shane Holywell, but there's a lot of shoes to fill amongst all those players that are gone.

SPEAKER_01 29:41

A couple guys have to step up now. Tristan Nicholson, Derek Schiazzo, and the face-off kid Colby Rogers. I mean they looked at it. They lost a lot.

SPEAKER_02 29:55

And then look on defense. Jack Tarassi. David Squires and Owen Harrison. I mean, those are those.

SPEAKER_01 30:07

All starters.

SPEAKER_02 30:08

Yeah. Wow. Now they do return uh return on the defensive side uh Caleb Mallian, Christian McClure, and Anthony Delaros at LSM. So they've got a few that are returning, I think a little bit stronger as far as playing time than uh what you see on the offensive side. But man, they lose a lot. Now face-off, they lose Connor Bates, but they do return Kobe Rogers, who was at 55% last year. So that's not too bad. And goalie also. Ryan Erler's not back. Nolan Downey returns. He played in about seven games, so it's not like he didn't get some burn, but Ryan Erler was Rylan Erler was the starter.

SPEAKER_01 30:51

Yeah. Newberry, you know, like Kevin, you know, we discussed before that COVID year when all those fifth year graduate students stayed around, and and now what we're seeing is all of them are leaving. They're all gone. And all these kids that stayed around for their fifth year, and and they're they're just it's over for them. And Newberry's one of those teams that's taking a hit.

SPEAKER_02 31:16

Yeah, and yeah, exactly. Just like Lenore Ryan. Right. And uh there's just question marks for me on this team on on how they're going to look. Like I almost look at it as I did this, I I'd be shocked if they can if they can have the same record they did in 2024.

SPEAKER_01 31:36

Or you know, Coach Cotter likes those Canadian box attackmen, and he gets them to come down there. So he always has a really formidable attack squad at Newbury.

SPEAKER_02 31:46

Yeah, and he it they're deep. They're not gonna they have a lot of players coming in. I don't know what they were able to get really with transfers or anything, but I'm sure just like we talk about um Coach P at Lenore Rhine, Coach Cotter's gonna have these guys ready to go. And maybe another one of those teams that will take a while to ramp up in the season, and maybe by conference play after they get through their out of conference, which is a good, like I said, a good test for them. I think they'll be okay.

SPEAKER_01 32:17

They could lose four out of those five.

SPEAKER_03 32:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 32:22

They could, I mean, Lewis is no joke. Nope.

SPEAKER_02 32:25

You know, new Indy's gonna be Mount Olive is on the rise, and Lander, Lander's, I think Landon Newberry is gonna be pretty even, be my guess. Well, Landard lost some, but they brought some. It'll be interesting. It'll be really interesting to see what he's doing.

SPEAKER_01 32:41

Yeah, so so Newberry, Newberry, it's gonna be a new look Wolves team for sure for Coach Collar this year. Um, it's a pretty decent, tough out-of-conference schedule. Yeah. With especially with losing all those guys, Scott Reid was Morland Asoria. Those guys are beasts. They all scored over 40 goals, 50 goals apiece. You know, like it's tough to replace that, you know. Again, it's next man up. You know, Nicholson and Ciaso and all of these kids. It's your turn to burn, kid. Yeah, so yeah, we'll see, we'll see what Newberry comes up with.

SPEAKER_02 33:15

I think it's gonna be different for Newberry though this year. I I agree, I agree. All right, how about moving on to Anderson, the Trojans?

SPEAKER_01 33:25

Anderson Trojans, located in Anderson, South Carolina, Cap. Coach Albert Mitchell, uh seven and nine last year, five and four in conference. Yeah, took a little bit of a step back last year. Yeah, kind of took a step back, like you said, but um they lose two out of their top four scorers, Logan Gaddis and Tristan Kirkham, but he stays on as an assistant coach, Tristan does.

SPEAKER_02 33:53

Yeah, now what we found out they they graduated 18 seniors. So not only on the offensive side, like you said, they also lose Peyton Jefferson on the defensive side, another all-American great player. Now, they and they lose both of their goalies that were that were neck and neck last year to the portal. Hunter Klosterman went to Lynn and Joey Heckel went to CUI. So there's a big gap.

SPEAKER_01 34:24

Yeah. Klosterman was pretty good last year. Yeah.

unknown 34:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 34:29

Kept him in some games.

SPEAKER_02 34:30

And Heckel, I mean, Heckel was the starter for a long time until they got engine. Klosterman came back and they kept on fighting. Both of them are really, really solid goalies. So it'll be interesting to see how they fill that role. Now, they still return most of their starters. Uh they were actually pretty young last year. If you look at the returning offense, Raiden Boudron back, Ryan Bitterman back, Marty Rogers, Matty Rogers back, Braden Bruchot back. I mean, those are all really good players. And on defense, Chris Saluda, Diego Lopez, two LSMs, Chase Robertson and Tyler Hodwani are all back. So you know where Chase is from?

SPEAKER_01 35:12

You know where Chase Robertson's from? Where it's from. Roanoke, Virginia. Ah. There we go. They're face-off guys, okay? Aiden Dixon and AJ Rush. They split time last year, okay? Both of them were in the top 20. They're both over 50%. We're both in the top in the top 20. And they were both freshmen last year. For winning percentage. So they're pretty good at face-off. It's they do have some returners on offense. Raiden Badront, Maddie Rogers. You know, they're really good players. Uh, Bitterman, uh Bushnell.

SPEAKER_02 35:49

Yeah. I mean, I think I expected them to improve this this year. I see them taking a step up. I don't know what happened last year when they had some of those really good players uh and and could not get over that 500 mark when they were doing so well. They kept on in every year they get better and better. I see them improving this year.

SPEAKER_01 36:10

They struggled against the ranked teams last year, Kev. Yeah. They struggled clearing the ball against good teams last year and wound up turning the ball over a lot in transition. And that's what led to a lot of problems with Anderson last year.

SPEAKER_02 36:29

And like I said, yeah, I agree with you. It just surprised me with the talent they had. I almost feel like we we've kind of probably beat this like a dead horse. It's almost to me like once Cam Weeks did not come back, even though they had the firepower and they had two face-off guys that were over 60%, it wasn't the same. It just didn't feel the same. For something wasn't clicking.

SPEAKER_01 36:53

Yeah, but you you know, you got to turn that page. That chapter's done.

SPEAKER_02 36:57

Yeah, and I think they will this year. I I firmly believe they will.

SPEAKER_01 37:00

So their their question is in goal, and uh who's gonna step up on defense a little bit? And and who's gonna fill in some of those spots, like you know, Logan Gaddis and Tristan Kirkham. Who's gonna step into those roles and take those points? You know what I mean? So yeah, I'm looking forward to see Anderson. I think they're gonna be about a 500 team as I see it right now. I think they're gonna I'm gonna say they're gonna be better. Who are there? Do they did they put out their out-of-conference?

SPEAKER_02 37:31

They're out of conference, yeah. They have a good out-of-conference. Young Harris, Rollins, Emory Riddle, they're playing them in Savannah. Okay, North Greenville, Emory and Henry, and Lander.

SPEAKER_01 37:45

Well, Emory and Henry is part of the sack. Oh, that's true.

SPEAKER_02 37:48

So Emory and Henry, that's right. So Emery Henry is out, but North Greenville and Lander.

SPEAKER_01 37:53

Okay. Not a bad, not a bad out-of-conference schedule. Rollins should be a good one. You know, it's gonna test them. Yep.

SPEAKER_02 38:02

Because Rollins, Emory Riddle, and North Greenville. And then Lander, yeah. So that's a solid, solid out of conference.

SPEAKER_01 38:12

Absolutely, 100%. So I think Anderson, let's see if they if they if they can put it together, maybe they make the SAC playoffs.

SPEAKER_02 38:23

Yep. Well, they did last year. They lost to Newberry in the SAC playoffs, but we'll see. I think I think they're back in. I think they have a good shot at although there is a team that I think is going to probably make that jump this year. But who do you want to go to next?

SPEAKER_01 38:37

Well, uh, let's talk about who you think that team might be.

SPEAKER_02 38:41

I think it's the Cotabba Indians.

SPEAKER_01 38:44

You do with Coach Mike Murphy, huh?

SPEAKER_02 38:46

I do. I do. They were 7-8 last year, 3-6 in conference, which is a huge improvement in total wins. They beat North Greenville, Belmont Abbey, and Southern New Hampshire, and they jumped up in a lot of offensive statistical categories for them. Total goals, total assists, goals per game, shots per game, shooting percentage. Two things. Coach Murphy came from Mount Olive to here. He's finally started to turn this around. He's getting the players he wants, and he's a phenomenal coach. I think they're the ones, and you look at who they're returning, three leading scorers on attack, Frank Citron, Peyton Turner, and Hunter Clark all returning. Three leading scorers on at midfield, Jordan Dash, Garrett Simi, Gabriel Barker, all returning. Defensively, they lose Peyton Leonard, who is an all-American, and Eli Horton. But Dylan Kesselring had 14 starts and was Solomon D. He returns. Brian Garcia at LSM returns. And Tyler Weddick, I think he may be a short stick D Mitty. He's back. So they've got a lot of pieces that are returning, Danny.

SPEAKER_01 39:59

Yeah. I like a lot of the kids that are returning. Like you said, junior attackman, Frank Citron, Peyton Turner, 15 goals and 24 assists last year. Jordan Dash with 22 goals, Garrett Simi with 16. They're they got kids that can uh their backup goalie's sophomore Tyler Alvers is coming back.

SPEAKER_02 40:20

Um here's what Coach Murphy said when he sent us his information. So the last two recruit recruiting classes, we really focused on bringing in quality student athletes out of high school so we can continue to build the program how we want to. Development of young players who will be there here for the long haul. We really weren't in a position to pull from the transfer portal as we weren't in a spot where one or two big transfers with limited time frames would not get us to where we want to be long term. So he's building. That's why it's taking time. And he made that a pretty big jump last year. And all those players are coming back. I think they're going to be very, very competitive in the sack this year. And may I think they make it to the playoffs.

SPEAKER_01 41:04

Now, Peyton Leonard was a two-time All-American that took a year off, Kev, to get his master's and finish up school. He had a year of eligibility and he comes back to Catawa. That's amazing, okay? Just think of the the leadership that he's gonna bring back.

SPEAKER_02 41:24

No, he's not returning. Peyton Lennon's not returning.

SPEAKER_01 41:27

That from what I understood, I thought he was he took a year off to get his master's and was coming back. That's what I could be wrong. I could be wrong. But anyway, let's let's talk about their out-of-conference schedule. Lander, Shawan, Mount Olive, Belmont Abbey, Harton, and Virginia State. And they open up sack play at Tosculum. Could could Taba be six and oh by April 1st?

SPEAKER_02 42:02

It's a possibility.

SPEAKER_01 42:05

It's a damn good possibility. They return seven of their top eight scorers, all their face-off guys, a good portion of their defense, their goalie James Creighton, they return a lot, Kev. Yeah, and like you said, that's what I'm saying. They improved offensively and defensively in all categories and all statistics. They're in the sack. They only won three. I think they'll win more than three in the in the sack this year. And I'm telling you, by looking at that out-of-conference schedule, looking at what they got, they could be five and one and six and oh by the time April comes. I I agree. Imagine that. Yeah. So Coach Murphy's a good coach. He did a great job when he was out in Mount Olive. We knew it was going to take him a couple of years to get going and get the ball rolling in Salisbury over there. Salisbury, North Carolina is where Katawba's located. So I I like what I see on paper with Catawba. I know what Coach Murphy can do as a coach. Team, his teams like to get out and transition. If they got some speedsters on the short stick D mid side, they could probably uh do damage. Because he's he's a coach that likes to get them out and transition quick. Get them unsettled goals, which I love.

SPEAKER_02 43:35

Yeah. No, I think they're they're poised. They're poised. Yeah. All right. Let's move on. We we had a little we on that one, we haven't figured out what uh Peyton Leonard is uh doing. I couldn't figure it out, find it in my notes. So we'll we'll have to either it's either you're right or I'm wrong. Or I'm right and you're wrong. It's a work in progress. Here. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 44:00

We've been wrong before. Someone please tell us.

SPEAKER_02 44:03

Please tell us what we're doing wrong here. Next, next. All right. How about we move on to Mars Hill?

SPEAKER_01 44:08

Mars Hill, the Lions. Located in Mars Hill, North Carolina. Which is about 20 minutes north of Asheville, Kev.

SPEAKER_02 44:20

So get your we talked to head coach Josh Coons. They dealt with Helene this fall. Uh they had really no damage, which was good, but a lot of disruption. Disruption on campus, disruption to the program for a couple weeks. Not as bad as what Lees McCrae had to go through, but it still um had some challenges to them. Now, last year they went five and ten and two and seven in conference, which was an improvement. They beat Barton and Lincoln Memorial. That game was another double overtime game. So they are looking to uh kind of what Coach Murphy said. And when we talked to Coach Koons, he said they're building it from their roster. It's not really from transfers or the transfer portal. They're trying to build incrementally and get better and better each year. And that's what he's really looking at at for this year. Now, their 2025 out of conference goes like this Belmont Abbey, Montevallo, Young Harris, Barton, and Malone. Okay. It's a good schedule for them. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 45:31

Good schedule. You know, they were kind of young last year, Kev. You know, a lot of young players, and a good portion of them return. Uh Tacman, Austin Stroud, 17 goals, 19 assists. Midfield Josh McCallion, 34 goals and two assists. He don't dish too much. He just goes to the run. Yeah. He just goes to the Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 45:52

Which kind of surprised me for a MIDI, but you know, that's great.

SPEAKER_01 45:55

They have good senior Cole Ross. He was a pretty good player. 15 goals, 14 assists. Brandon Woodward, 22 goals, six assists. Defender Jake Lynch comes back. Ben Clark, 6'7, 215-pound defenseman. From American.

SPEAKER_02 46:14

I have them that there, once again, I have that they Ben Clark is not returning.

SPEAKER_01 46:18

Really?

SPEAKER_02 46:19

Yeah. Okay. Who I have not returning is goalie, Steven Smith, which is a big loss. Ben Clark, Cole Pickle, defensive MIDI, George Jansen, who had 16 goals, eight assists, Joey Baumgart, and Braden Hoskin. Those are some of the ones are going. They've got 10 freshmen in this year, which he thinks some could help. Coach thinks some could help this year. And another player who was not eligible last year, Sam Art, but is this year, or he's looking for big things on him on the offensive side. What coach told us was they were having great positional battles across the roster, which for them and in their development at where Mars Hill is, that's a very good thing. They didn't have established players, but now that now they're if they're really battling out there, that's only going to make them like you always say, it it's iron sharpening iron within their team right now. So that could help them.

SPEAKER_01 47:19

Who's uh gonna get the start in goal later? Shane Hecht or Alex Ozczyk. I don't know. One of those two. Again, these players, a lot a good portion of them are coming back. So we could see a game or two improvement, maybe in Mars Hill.

SPEAKER_02 47:36

Yeah, yeah. And I think exactly what you said, Danny, some of the things the coach said they were trying to improve. It's uh 6v6, uh, trying to get more efficient on offense, now with more depth. That's exactly where you went to with goals per game, right? Trying to get more efficient and trying to get the biscuit in the basket. They want to build on their transition success from last year at the end, and they want to try and control the middle of the field better.

SPEAKER_01 48:01

And if they can up their turnovers, yeah, shut down 23 turnovers a game, Kev. That's a lot, you know, a game per game. Yeah. That's a lot of turnovers.

SPEAKER_02 48:10

And they were in the box a bit too much last year, too, from what I saw, compared to their their opponents. So some things they definitely have to work on. As Coach said, they are working on these things incrementally. They're looking to make the next step, you know. So they're looking to try to, like based on their record from last year, they want to try to get close to 500 probably this year. Make it close, get to 7'9, you know, 8'8, something like that. I could see maybe a game or two, but you know, they they still got a little ways to go. They do. They do. All right. How about the Lincoln Memorial Rail Splitters? Oh, rail splitters.

SPEAKER_01 48:54

Coach Joe Wilson. LMU. What do you think? 4'11 last year, 1-8. Yeah, they're very, very young.

SPEAKER_02 49:04

They took a step back, though, from 2023. As you remember, since Coach Wilson, he had that after the COVID year, he had a decimated roster. He built that up and he really had them going by 2023. He really wants to get them back where they were in 2023, not at that level they were. I really thought last year they looked strong on paper. I think this year they looked strong on paper. They return their top four scores. Two last year were sophomores and one was a freshman. Rhodes Conroy comes back, 36 goals and 15 assists. Gavin Reed, Daniel Pearl, and Cole Morris. They are all back. And all on their close D return. Connor Blonden, Nolan Culbertson, and John Lombell, along with Ashton Wilson, I think, at short stick D. Midi. So they've got a really good core that, like you said, they were young last year. They're coming back. I think, I think they are going to be stronger and more competitive with those mid-level teams this year.

SPEAKER_01 50:04

Junior goalie, Jaden Herman returns. Faceoff Hayden Berry comes back. Uh there they could be, you know, they're returning five of the top six scorers. They lose Mike Rogers and Francis O'Hara. Um, you know, they play in a tough SAC where every game is ridiculous. Um they were 55th in the country last year in scoring, Kev. So they have they're another team that has difficulty putting the biscuit in the basket. But one positive thing about this team, one positive, they do not turn the ball over. They were in the top 15 in the country for not turning the ball over. So they do a good job of yeah, holding on to the ball. They just can't they can't score.

SPEAKER_02 50:54

Yeah, their clearing percentage was at 87%, which is great. Man up is where they need some help. They were only at 17% last year, which you know, they want to be able to capitalize on those opportunities. I don't know. It's tough to get a read on this team for me. On paper, they look strong, like I said, coming back. But to me, they did last year and regrist. I don't know if they had a lot of injuries last year. You know, I watched a couple of games, but I can't really track players and you don't get an injury report or whatever. Maybe they had some of that. I think Coach Wilson, who's a really good coach, will have this team rebound.

SPEAKER_01 51:30

He's got a lot of energy, you know, and and and he he relates real well to the kids. Yeah. And he's got a great coaching style. Yeah. Yeah. It's about recruiting. I mean, it's not the coaching there, it's recruiting. It's just about getting kids to go. You know, and like you said, after and he's done a great job with that.

SPEAKER_02 51:50

I mean, they've got a full roster now. I think, you know, it's tough. It's tough in the sack. I mean, it's tough to try to get over that hump and try to start like really competing against the big boys.

SPEAKER_01 52:00

But I think he was on he was on the program with us a couple of years ago when he took the job. And Kevin, he knew he knew it was an uphill job, uphill battle. He knew the work was gonna have to be put in to get where he wanted to be. It's gonna take a few years. It takes time to get a program up and going and get them, you know, where they're solid and steady every year. So is this the year that LMU makes a little jump and wins maybe two, three more games? Who's there out of conference?

SPEAKER_02 52:28

That's not out yet. I couldn't find it. So it wasn't listed yet when I uh as we record this right now. But I do I agree with you. I agree with you. I think they are a team that you cannot just think it's gonna be a W, even if you are a um, you know, even if you're a Newberry, an Anderson or a Wingate or a Limestone. If you don't know those teams, those top-tier teams, those three, Lenore, Ryan, Wingate, and Limestone, should beat a team like LMU even this year handily, but I don't think you give them any grace. I don't think you just say it's gonna be a W because I think this team can be talented enough to give go for a run and put a scale in teams.

SPEAKER_01 53:10

You know, they have a good core group coming back. Yeah. You know, so they got you know, NCAA games in the sack under their belt, add a few spots, you know, add a you know, one or two kids, get some depth maybe in that midfield, get some depth on, you know, the LSMs and the and the short stick D middies, and they could they could improve. So I agree. I I like Coach Wilson. I hope they do improve.

SPEAKER_02 53:34

Yeah, I agree. All right, where do you want to go to next? We're down to the last three teams, I think. Want to go to Coker Cobras? The Cobras.

SPEAKER_01 53:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 53:43

No, they're not in Coker, South Carolina, Danny.

SPEAKER_01 53:47

No, they're located in Hartsville, South Carolina. Coach Austin Ambrose. They went six and nine overall last year, four and five in conference. They do lose goalie, Ethan Hobart, and James.

SPEAKER_02 54:01

Yeah. He had some unbelievable saves last year. I mean, if you look at his total stats, they're not, he probably is not at the top of the goal, but he was really good for them in critical, critical situations.

SPEAKER_01 54:16

You know, they return their top eight scores. Midfield Elijah Otz, Zaire Marshall, Justin Bailey, Ryan Forehand, Caleb Hilti, Blaise Connect. They return a lot of players. Defenseman Lennon Connolly, attack Ryan Forehand.

SPEAKER_02 54:37

Yeah, they bring back on D, they bring back Michael Jensen, also James Brands. He started nine games. Solid D middies and Connor Gross and Carson Coker returning. They do lose their senior D defender, Jake Brundage, but they bring so much back.

SPEAKER_01 54:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 54:54

Now their 2025 out of conference goes like this. Lander, Lee McCray. Yeah, Lander's hitting a lot of sack teams this year. Lees McCray, Emmanuel, Chuan, and Barton. So that's a it's a pretty good balance for them.

SPEAKER_01 55:11

Favorable.

SPEAKER_02 55:12

Favorable for them both.

SPEAKER_01 55:13

Yep.

SPEAKER_02 55:14

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 55:14

I would agree. I would agree. And you know what? If they can improve their clearing and their turnovers, they'll be okay.

SPEAKER_02 55:22

And their shots per game. They only were at 32.5 shots per game last year.

SPEAKER_01 55:27

And then they were only at less than nine goals a game.

unknown 55:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 55:31

Another team that struggled to put the biscuit in the basket, but most of the team returns. And they made the sack playoffs last year. They did. They lost to Barton by one and lander in North Greenville. I mean, in comp in competitive games. So could could Coper be the team that runs up to nine and nine? Goes maybe a better than 50%.

SPEAKER_02 55:56

If you look at them, you look at you look at teams that are going to be on the rise, based on what you're looking at and what they're bringing back. You look at Coker and you look at Kataba, the two C's. Right now.

SPEAKER_01 56:07

I couldn't agree with you more. I couldn't agree with you more. These are the two teams in the sack I think everybody has to watch out for.

SPEAKER_03 56:16

Totally agree.

SPEAKER_01 56:17

I think they're both like very even, kind of, those two teams, Coker and Kataba. So yeah. That's gonna be a good game. That's gonna be a really, really good game. We're gonna have to watch that one.

SPEAKER_02 56:31

All right.

SPEAKER_01 56:32

So the what do you think what are they out of conference again? Lander Lees, Emmanuel, Shawan, and Barton. Yep. Yeah. I'm telling you, with that kind of schedule with the with the the seasoned kids that they have returned. They got a lot of guys. Most of the team returns. Yeah. Yep. So I like poker. I like poker. They're gonna be a tough out in the sack. And whoever plays them.

SPEAKER_02 57:02

Watch out. All right. Let's move on to Tusculum. The Pioneers. Pioneers. Another team from Tennessee. Greenville, Tennessee. Two and fourteen last year. Oh and nine in conversation. Yeah, no. You know, Coach Tapp was replaced by Coach Mike Brisbane as the interim, and now he is the head coach. And he we had him on the podcast, right? Right. He said it really well. They are just trying to get to that first rung of the ladder. They're just looking to improve this year. I mean, that's a he's got a Hulean effort in front of him, I think, in a lot of ways, from where he was. Now, he's got players that stayed on. He's some he's constant now. He's now the head coach. Right.

SPEAKER_01 57:53

Um stability there, hopefully. Yep.

SPEAKER_02 57:55

They do lose their top scorer, Wesley Phillips and number three, Chase Penner, but they return Clay Mendez, Blake Harrison, and Bob Hobday. So they've got players coming back that can help them out, you know. So on the on the offensive side.

SPEAKER_01 58:11

Brendan Pakora comes back. You know what? They were very, very young last year, Kevin. Very, very young. And not a lot on the roster. Um many, many of the guys do return and they're still young. If you look at the roster, they're mostly freshmen and sophomores. And I think I counted 36 on the roster. So this is a team that's you know gonna have to put some more work in, you know.

SPEAKER_02 58:38

Yeah, exactly. You know, that some of their problems, like you look, they were they were only 9.4 goals per game last year, and they had 18.2 goals against their face-off was only at 39%. Main up wasn't bad at 37%, and clears 30, 74%. So that's an and once again, you talk about shots per game, 29.9. So there's a few things. Right. They've got they're gonna have there, there's a lot of things that coach has them working on, but really what he's got to get them to is thinking play by play, rung by run. Let's get to that first rung. Let's get a game. I don't even think he likes he talked to us. He's not even talking W's. Those have to come by doing the right things and improving in their stats, whether it's individual or team stats.

SPEAKER_01 59:26

I really liked what Coach Brisbane was talking when he talked about his team and where he needed to be. You know, he was very transparent and honest and just open about it. And he knows that it's gonna take some work. It's a rebuild. I mean, it's a rebuild. Exactly. And you know what? To just improve in one category is an improvement. Yeah. And if you can improve, again, it's not about the wins right now with them, it's more about improvement in certain categories. You know, maybe face-off, get it up to 50%, you know, uh clearing, get it up to 70%, that type of thing. Yeah, if they can improve on these little steps, like coach said, rungs on the ladder. So I think it's I think it's a work in progress. Coach Brisbane is gonna have his work cut out. That sack is a gauntlet, man. He's what about his out of conference?

SPEAKER_02 1:00:18

It's not listed yet. I don't have ah, I got it. Here we go.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:22

You got it at Young Harris, Virginia State, at Emmanuel, Thomas Moore, and at Lees McCrae. So that's a perfect out of conference schedule for them.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:35

Yeah, that's good. I didn't see it, but I'm glad you had it because I couldn't I didn't find it. That's awesome. That's awesome.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:40

Yeah, at Young Harris, they host Virginia State at Emmanuel, host Thomas Moore at Lees McRae. That's good. I like it.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:50

Yeah, I like it for them. All right, so let's move on to the last talk about a work in progress and a lot to go. This is the new team, last team in the sack. Emory and Henry, the Wasps. The Wasps.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:10

Yeah. Coach Eric Ruppel comes from Quincy, comes down to Virginia, right there on the Tennessee border, there, right? Virginia, Tennessee border. Is that where it is?

SPEAKER_02 1:01:20

Yep, right. Well, right, yeah, it's right in the right in the neck, right in the corner there, right on right off of 81.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:25

Emory, Virginia, and they call it the Appalachian Islands. That's kind of like the area geographically is in the Appalachian Islands. So apparently very beautiful. Um first year. First year for Emory and Henry.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:43

There's nothing freshmen. Not a lot to say. Not a whole lot of information on them. Although we talked to Coach, here's the interesting thing, right? These players have already gone through adversity and have shown some tenacity and resilience because, as you remember, their original head coach that recruited them, Joe Laird, left the program late this summer. Weird. And now Coach Ruppel comes in and takes over. So he said he was impressed. Yes, he's impressed with the talent and the buy-in from these guys, and that means a lot. These guys wanted to be here and be the cornerstone for a new program.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:25

And not only was he impressed with that, he was impressed with what the athletic department and the money that the department was putting back into the school. They just broke ground from multi-million dollar multi-sport facility that's gonna be like state-of-the-art everything. Yeah. They're throwing a bunch of money in there. Yeah, and and Coach Ruppel says it's absolutely beautiful campus. It's gorgeous.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:56

Yeah. So here's their out of conference. Virginia State, Monte Valo, which is their first home game as a team, then Young Harris, Roberts Wesleyan, Mount Olive, and Emmanuel.

unknown 1:03:12

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:13

And Emmanuel comes after a couple of sack games. Now you remember, they have got when they play conference play, the sack gauntlet. Three Saturdays in a row, they go Wingate, Lenore Ryan, and then Limestone.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:32

Well, that's what happens when you come into the sack and you're a new team, you're gonna get taught a lesson by those guys. Because those that those are like Division I teams, Kev. You know, yeah, they really are. They really are. You know, you're talking about national powerhouses. So Emery Henry's gonna learn a lot by by playing teams like that. And but seeing seeing what it takes to get there and that type of thing.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:57

Totally agree. See where they want to get to, but I think the other thing is exactly kind of what Coach Brisbane says, what Coach Ruppel was talking about, right? They're gonna track metrics and stats they care about, not really look at the scoreboard. And if they do that, it's not gonna result in a lot of wins this year, if any, but it's going to build for the future. So they're gonna they're gonna look for improvement and progress.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:25

Yeah, they're all freshmen and sophomores on the freshmen. He was didn't he say he was like thinking about getting a spring transfer or two that he was looking at? Perhaps I'm not mistaken. Yeah, you could be right. You could be right. Trying to bring in a uh a transfer too at the springtime. But you know, again, Coach Ruppel knows what he has there. He he knows it's an uphill battle. The sack, the gauntlets. They open up sack play against Anderson. So you know what? I'm glad that Emory and Henry's in Division II. Division two continues to grow, Kev. Yeah. Um during the sack, which you and I, you know, agree on is probably the best, most competitive, top-to-bottom conference in Division II. Um it's just the best conference, I think. And I mean, to go through these teams, I mean, I don't care what team you are, what part of the country you're from. If you come in and you face an Anderson, you're gonna be in a good game. Yeah, if you face a Catawba, if you face a Coker, you're gonna be in a best game. And Newberry, you know, Coach Connor knows how to coach him up. Like, these guys are no joke. Newberry was ranked most part of last year. You know, 100%. Anderson was ranked, and and Wingate and Limestone and LR are always ranked in top five, top seven. Yeah, yeah. So it's it's a great conference. It's in the south. It's the the campuses are beautiful down there. The weather's fantastic. I mean, what's not to like about the sack?

SPEAKER_02 1:06:06

I can't think of much, Danny. Except, you know, if you talk to someone from the N, then they'd say there's a lot to not like about the sack.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:17

All the coaches and all the players are in the NE10 are like, they're looking crazy. No, but you got to admit, I mean, even the coaches in the other conferences know about the sack. They talk off the record. They're like, tough conference, man.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:31

Well, tell you what, we're gonna get to a lot of others. We want to do this one early to throw it in there and throw one of these out. But I'll tell you, if you go down the list of these conferences when you look at the GLVC and RuPaul, Coach Ruppel put it in our face about three of them making into the NCAAs, right? Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. There's a lot of good conferences. This one, though, I agree. At the top, at the top in my book.

Shout Outs

SPEAKER_02 1:06:55

All right, Danny. Now to close out, to close out this episode, do you have any shout-outs?

SPEAKER_01 1:07:03

No shout-outs, particularly. Just, you know, again, happy Thanksgiving to you and your family, to all my, you know, my family who's out there listening. Happy Thanksgiving. It's a great time to be with family and friends, and may your tables be filled with food, fun, family, and fireball.

SPEAKER_02 1:07:21

There you go. I I I do have one shout out, even though, once again, your shout out puts mine in the dirt. But I I I I will do it anyway. Quincy has named a new head coach. Jake Assavito. And he was announced back, Danny, on October 18th. But it was not on their lacrosse site or in their lacrosse news feed. He's not listed in the staff directory. He's not listed on the lacrosse site as a coach. None of that's there. How did I find out? Coach Assavito following us on Instagram. And I was just scrolling through on the new new people following us, and I'm like, and it said Quincy, and I'm like, and then I had to, I actually had to type in Jake Acevedo, lacrosse, and it showed where he was. He had been the head coach at Carroll University in Wisconsin for three seasons for coming to that. Showed that he had left that program. And then it finally there is actually a news release, but I can't find it anywhere. I can find it that it was released by Quincy, but I couldn't find it anywhere on their sports website.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:37

Wisconsin, huh? Wisconsin has lacrosse.

SPEAKER_02 1:08:39

Wow. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. So great shout out to Coach Asevilla. Welcome to Division II and to the GLVC and coming taking over Quincy for Coach Eric Ruppel. We wish you good luck.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:53

Yeah. Hey, what was the YouTube thing that came out with the Ohio State player? Did you see it on Lenore Ryan? Oh, D2 Mitch Belky. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:09:05

We talked about that as a shout-out a few weeks ago.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:08

Did you see the whole like video, like the nine-minute video? I watched the whole thing. Oh, it was amazing. I thought it was really cool. I had only seen snippets of it when we spoke about it, but I saw the nine-minute version. And is D2 real? Well, Kev, we're starting a new movement here on In the Crease. D2 is real. And it's not going away. It's getting bigger. More teams in D1 now, and just getting better. Automatic qualifiers this year, growing by leaps and bounds. And it's growing in California. It's growing in Colorado. It's growing in Texas. It's just growing in Minnesota and Ohio, Missouri. Just amazing. It's just amazing. And this D2 is real, folks. It's real. Yes.

SPEAKER_02 1:09:58

And if you want the news on D2 throughout the season, the only place to really get that is right here on this podcast in the crease. That's right, Kev. And with that, Danny. Happy Thanksgiving, and that's a wrap.

SPEAKER_01 1:10:25

Happy Thanksgiving from the South Atlantic Conference Conference Review. That's a wrap, guys.