Conference Previews for the 2025 Season - Sunshine State Conference

Intro

SPEAKER_00 0:10

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 Sentstrom, and with me as always is our own beach bum, Danny Moran.

SPEAKER_01 0:26

Yeah, the beach bum that I am, and I'm I'm glad that I'm a beach bum.

SPEAKER_00 0:30

Be proud.

SPEAKER_01 0:31

Be proud, my friend. It's good to be a beach bum. Why are we talking about beach bums tonight, huh? It's cold outside.

SPEAKER_00 0:38

Well, it's second to last preview, and we're headed south to the sunshine state. Oh, I got some music for the sunshine state.

SPEAKER_01 0:53

Reminds me going across the 7th Street Causeway from Miami into Goose Cane Bay. Sunset.

SPEAKER_00 1:02

Yeah. There you go. There you go.

Sunshine State Preview

SPEAKER_00 1:06

Sunshine steak. I love Florida. That'd be good. I'll tell you what, doing the homework on this, Danny. The first question that popped in my mind is who steps up? To me, there seems to be a lot of turnover known players across several teams in this conference. And this could make one of the tightest SSC races we've seen in a while.

SPEAKER_01 1:31

You know, the Sunshine State Conference is a really, really good conference. You know how I go to the make the Massey ratings a lot. Yeah. According to the Massey ratings last year in 2024, collectively, analytics, okay, numbers-wise, Sunshine State Conference was the best all-around conference, but it's numbers-wise. It's analytics, it's points, strength of schedules, yeah, you know, wins, losses, and that type of thing over the whole conference. And you know what, a couple of years ago, we were like, What's with the Sunshine State Conference? And now, dude, they're one of you know top conference in Division Two.

SPEAKER_00 2:08

Yeah, I I agree. And they've got a lot of teams and they're getting better and better and better every year. And I think the last couple years it's been Rollins and Tampa and the other ones fighting. Florida Southern a couple years ago made a run. I think it's a little more wide open this year on paper.

SPEAKER_01 2:27

Florida Southern, Florida Southern was a really good team last year. They were really good, they were a lot of fun to watch, you know.

SPEAKER_00 2:34

But they didn't match up really against again when they played Tampa and Rollins.

SPEAKER_01 2:38

Well, that's it's the difference between two and three in that conference.

SPEAKER_00 2:42

But I think there's going to be a difference this, I think it's going to be tighter this year.

SPEAKER_01 2:46

Yeah. It's I well, you know what? Let's get into it. Let's dig in.

SPEAKER_00 2:51

Let's dig in. Let's start, of course, with last year's conference champions, the Tampa Spartans.

SPEAKER_01 2:58

The Tampa Spartans. Located? Tampa, Florida, Kev. Igor City, Gasparilla, not too far from Clearwater Beach. Got the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It's a pretty cool place. JB Clark at the helm. 18-2 last year, Kev. 8-0 in conference. They're only two losses. Lenore Ryan.

SPEAKER_00 3:23

And that second one, they lost 12-9 regular season. They lost by one, 15-14 in the NCAA Final Four. Yeah. That's how good Tampa was last year. Good team last year. Think it's going to be might be a little bit different for Tampa this year? I think so. They lose a lot. Let's go through their 2025 out of conference first, then we'll get into it. Their 2025 out of conference is Florida Tech, Flagler, Florida Southern. Now they have two Sunshine State teams that they play twice. Then they go after Florida Southerners. Rockhurst, Limestone in Savannah, Georgia, Concordia, Seton Hill at the Crown Classic, Meryville, and UI.

SPEAKER_01 4:05

I forgot Flaggler. I think Flagler. They played Flagler.

SPEAKER_00 4:09

Florida Tech, Flaggler, and then Florida Southern. That's what I said.

SPEAKER_01 4:12

Yeah, that's a really good out-of-conference schedule. Yeah. Seaton Hill, Maryville, Limestone. Rockers are a good team. Flaggler's going to be a competitive team. See why? We'll see about that. And don't they play Undie?

SPEAKER_00 4:24

Yeah, that's what I said at the very end. I said you indie. You just don't listen to me. You look at your own. You've got to listen in your headsets when I talk.

SPEAKER_01 4:33

He's killing me already, folks. He's on top of me.

SPEAKER_00 4:36

We're only on the first team. Dude, it's been a great day. Don't don't ruin it. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I just want a little acknowledgement there, Mr. Moran.

SPEAKER_01 4:44

You are good. You know, they were second in the country in points, second in the country in ground balls. They were number 10 in man up, sixth in scoring, and eighth in the country in scoring defense. They were a really, really, really excellent team last year.

SPEAKER_00 5:01

And if you remember when we did our conference preview last year, we had Rollins ahead of them. And probably in our top 20 today because of what who Rollins was bringing back. So I give a lot of credit to this team and what they did. They're always good. Don't get me wrong. They're always good. They're always a top five team. But what they did, especially in conference and what they did all the way through the NCAAs, was really spectacular. They really put it together.

SPEAKER_01 5:29

Yeah, they were a good team. They were a good team. They were fun to watch, actually. And that game against Wingate, the double overtime last year in the rain, that was an insane game.

SPEAKER_00 5:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:39

Man, I think, you know, Kenyon Birch was, you know, he's a he's not that tall, but he's built like a brick shit house, and he's strong as hell. And he literally, I watched that kid put put that team on his back a few times.

SPEAKER_00 5:53

Last year. Yeah. Great player. But look at he's one of five of their top scores. They lose their top five scores this year. And the Milani, Canyon Birch, Owen Miller, Nick Papa, and Charlie Bullish. All gone.

SPEAKER_01 6:10

Yeah. Who was insane last year? And my boy at LSM, Matthew Beto. Yeah. He's gone. He's gone.

SPEAKER_00 6:24

They lose short stick team, Jackson Day.

SPEAKER_01 6:26

Jackson Day, who was pretty good, man. Let me tell you something. That's a lot to lose, Cup.

SPEAKER_00 6:31

And they lose JP Robinson and D also. So, you know, on offense, they returned Jackson Beyshaw, who had 31 goals, nine assists, Ryan Kemp, Jack, Zach Friend, and Ronan Sanchez, all contributors and produced for Tampa, but they weren't at the same level of the top five. So they're going to have to step up and they're going to have to get production out of transfers. You know, Tampa is always one of these teams that brings in transfers and they seem to integrate pretty seamlessly pretty quickly. They're going to need that again this year.

SPEAKER_01 7:07

Yeah, they always go to the portal, though. That's nothing new. Um, they got a bunch of guys coming in. But you know what? They have short sticky D. Midi, AJ Pasarella coming back, uh, defenseman Connolly Stone coming back, Rex Kesselring's coming back, senior defender Brendan Hume is coming back, who played in pretty much every game last year for them. So they do have a nice little core coming back. But man, on offense, when you talk about Milani, Burch, Miller, Bullish, and Papa, that's 293 points, Kev. It's like 65 of them, 70% of their offense.

SPEAKER_00 7:41

Yeah, I know that um their defense is gonna be stable. I mean, you lose someone like Matthew Beto, and that's a lot to lose. But they got a lot of good, man. They've got a lot of back then.

SPEAKER_01 7:55

Yeah. He was one of those guys that was like men amongst boys, it seemed like he could do whatever he wanted. He was just so and he could score too. Yeah. You know, with that pole in his hand. So they do got a bunch of transfers coming in. They got a goalie transfer, Connor Thoreau from Brown University. He had 551 career saves of Brown. They have a tackman, Davis Lindsay coming from Loyola, who was like, I don't know, fourth or fifth in the team in scoring, 35. Uh, they got an LSM transfer from Lyndon Wood, Brendan Lai. They got a Fogo. Get this. You know where he's coming from? St. Leo. It's Mikey Flores. Oh, wow. Mikey Flores left St. Leo and is now at Tampa. He was 67% last year and all South Region. So Tampa, Tampa's getting a good one there. And then they got an attackman, Conor McDonough. He was at Towson for three years, transferred to Rutgers, didn't see much action, so he's coming. And they got another face-off guy coming from Holy Cross, Kev. Yeah. Yeah, Jordan Nassau. He's up, he's at 40%. So Derek, they have to integrate a lot of new guys in key positions. Uh, I wonder if Mercado is going to get that started, the goalie, or is this kid from Brown gonna get the start? Is Charlie Villa gonna get some burn this year for Tampa?

SPEAKER_00 9:18

It'll be interesting to see. You had a guy who played pretty well last year for them in goalie, and they've got some, they've got a good goalie room. Let's put it that way. If this guy from Brown uh is as good as what you're saying from the stats, I mean it'll be it'll be intriguing to watch that as it goes.

SPEAKER_01 9:34

551 career saves is nothing to sneeze at, you know, especially when you play in Yale and you know, yeah, some of the teams that Brown plays. So I bet you he's pretty good. But be that as it may, you know, I don't see right now on paper Tampa being the same team that they were last year.

SPEAKER_00 9:57

I'd agree. Uh it all comes down to how well these transfers, these new players integrate, and how quick.

SPEAKER_01 10:06

Man, there's a lot of points they gotta make up. Yeah. Yep. Yeah, that's a lot of points that they gotta make up. And you know what? I don't, you know, Jackson Batshaw's a pretty good player. He got his last year. You know, the other guys were kind of like small-time role players. They got theirs, they got their burn, they got a couple goals and assists, but nothing that says, wow, watch out. So I don't know. We'll have to see how Tampa goes this year.

SPEAKER_00 10:33

I think you know, they'll be great, but will they be but but there seems to be room for other teams to challenge them in the Sunshine State.

SPEAKER_01 10:44

I I agree with that.

SPEAKER_00 10:46

Okay, then let's move on to Rollins, the Tars.

SPEAKER_01 10:51

The Tars located in Winter Park, Florida, Kev. Coach Lewis, good guy. Uh 12 and 4 last year, 6-2 in conference. Very formidable team.

SPEAKER_00 11:04

Great record, but I'll tell you. One bad loss. I do not think based on who they brought last year, that's they ended up where they wanted to end up.

SPEAKER_01 11:15

No, no, they had one or two bad losses last year that they should have won, but that's the way it goes in division two with the big boys. Right.

SPEAKER_00 11:25

And it's tough to have back-to-back seasons at the level they did in 2022, I mean in 2023, and bringing in 2024.

SPEAKER_01 11:36

So, you know, a little bit of a target on their back, you know. Oh, 100%.

SPEAKER_00 11:41

Pretty hard schedule. I mean, 12 and 4 is a great record. Let's not let's just stop there right now and say they had a great season. I think we expected them uh to really have a shot at at going back into the NCAs and making it to the final. Their problem, one of their big losses was St. Leo beating them.

SPEAKER_01 12:01

Right. That's the bad loss. Yeah, that was a that was a conference loss as well. Yeah. So, you know, they traveled last year. They came up and played a lot uh uh Adelphi. They had a really tough schedule last year, you know. They got after it. They were looking, they were looking to get into that tournament with that team last year, Kev.

SPEAKER_00 12:21

100%. They were looking to they were really looking to go to the final. 100%. Now they had a great team. They have an interesting out-of-conference this year. Belmont Abbey, Anderson, Lenore Ryan, Westminster, Flagler, Concordia, Adelphi, and Merriaville. They play the two national finalists this year in their out-of-conference.

SPEAKER_01 12:48

Yeah. And they traveled to California for CUI and A Delphi. They're gonna play a Delphi in Cali. Yeah. That's pretty cool. Well, that's not the schedule that they had last year out of conference, but it's very formidable. Especially with LR in there. You know, LR and the Delphi in there is crazy. Maryville's a great team. Flaggler thinks it's gonna be, you know, that team's gonna compete in every single game. I don't care what anybody says. Same thing with Maryville. And Anderson and Beaumont, Abbey. I so that's you know, pretty good.

SPEAKER_00 13:21

West, let's not let's I mean, it's a strong, it is a strong schedule. Absolutely, 100%. They lose a couple of good guys, though. Yeah, Mikey Bergman. They lose a boy, a boy. Yeah, the diesel, the big diesel, Shane Catchedorian. Shah, shy, right, shy. Shahi Catchedorian, yeah. And they also lose their all-American LSN Ben Copen.

SPEAKER_01 13:49

Yeah, yeah. But you know what? They return a shitload of guys, Kev. They really do. Their offense, you know, their very formidable offense.

SPEAKER_00 14:02

Grant Hansen comes back. No, Grant Hansen doesn't. He doesn't? He does not come back.

unknown 14:08

I thought he came back.

SPEAKER_00 14:10

No. He's gone along with Mikey Berkman and Justin White. All-American attackman Jack Johnstone returns.

unknown 14:19

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 14:20

As well as that attack, they're gonna have Nate Pollow, uh, NJIT transfer, and the third attack is gonna be, as coach told us, kind of like Grant Hansen, someone coming more of a midfield player uh in settled and off settled offense. I'm not sure they've decided on that yet. They've got a whole slew of middies coming back. Logan Myers, 25 goals, nine assists, Sam Matson, 21 goes eight assists, both all SSC. Ian Dean, another senior Harrison Key, a senior junior, Sean Caraccholo and Chad Ballura, and then sophomores Will Brandt, Seth Eisenhower, Carter Ungarat, and Avery Kemoff are all coming back. Now, the sophomores, they had they had some playing time. They didn't have a lot. They had a lot of good players last year to do that. They also have an LR transfer, Aaron Williams. So they are stacked at MIDI that they can play with going into this season.

SPEAKER_01 15:18

LSM Frankie Hapney comes back, 41 ground balls, 20 cause turnovers. Senior defenseman Evan Tesla from Dunwoody, Georgia, Kev. All American. 55 ground balls and 46 calls turnovers.

SPEAKER_00 15:33

That kids are Charlie Metz that all-American short stick D. Mitty returns to.

SPEAKER_01 15:37

He's really good. Yeah. He's really good. He's a baller, that kid. I'm telling you, they got players. Their senior face-off, Thomas Gurbin comes back and the backup guy, the second guy, Lake Baker. So their face-off guys come back. You know what? With this team, with the guys they have coming back, I think my only question is goal in goal. But a good portion of this team returns have, I think they could be poised to be in the SSC championship again.

SPEAKER_00 16:07

Yeah, so coach told us that senior Max Buke was their number one goalie in the fall. They got senior Brad Peterson and Denver transfer as a sophomore Nick Catino are pushing Max. So they've got, you know, look at Max Buke was been there behind Shahe. Um, didn't get a lot of playing time on us because Shahe was there. Now it's his turn, and these they've got quality guys behind. I think it'll be a we'll see who ends up starting off for them and who continues with them. But they've got some some choices there. Same thing. Defense, I think they're stacked. I think the real question mark for me is more on the attack line with just having Jack Johnstone coming in and then some transfers. I think that's got to be uh that's gonna be a little bit of a work in progress. But hey, they've got a lot of players with experience that can step in there. I agree.

SPEAKER_01 17:06

They don't lose a whole lot, you know. They lose three really, really good players, but pretty much everybody comes back. Four good players, four good players.

SPEAKER_00 17:17

A lot of talent. They'll just need the players like the sophomore middies and some of the else just need to step up and continue to be hungry like they were in 2023.

SPEAKER_01 17:27

Well, their first three games out of the gate are going to be tough. Belmont Abbey, Anderson, and LR. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 17:34

It's a tough out of contact schedule. Yeah, that's I I all I wrote in my notes, it almost rival to me, it kind of rivals Seton Hill, like we talked about.

SPEAKER_01 17:42

Right. They had a really tough schedule as well. So, yeah, a good portion of this team returns. I think they're poised to do some a lot of damage. I think, you know, they're looking to take they're looking to take Tampa spot, kid. That's what they're looking to do.

SPEAKER_00 17:55

And I think there's some other teams that want that too. Who do you want to go to next?

SPEAKER_01 17:59

We can go to well, let's go to Florida Southern Mox, the mock because they were really, really good. I like watching this team. Yeah, they're just Marty Ward does a good job with these guys, they just play a high-energy game. I like fast moving lacrosse, you know. You're right. Yeah, they do. So they're located in Lakeland, Florida, right near Upper Land. They're there. They were 10 and 7 overall, three and four in conference. I'm sure that I'm sure that's not what Coach Ward wanted.

SPEAKER_00 18:31

But well, that's one of my notes. I said after starting out and beating number three Wingate, they just could not seem to hold that momentum. That was a huge win starting out for them. And you're like, whoa, they came out of the gate strong. And they're 10 and 7, great season, but three and four in conference is a little surprising to me for where Florida Southern has been in the past.

SPEAKER_01 18:54

Yeah, and especially with the the players that they have, you know, or had, they they lose lose a little bit on the defensive side, Kev, I think. This team, yeah. Nick Shannon. Yeah, he's my boy. It was that it was fun, man.

SPEAKER_00 19:10

63 ground balls, 37 cost turnover.

SPEAKER_01 19:13

He was really, really good. And you know what? He was like a fast movement, exciting kind of player, man. I just real active stick, just always he was just good. They're gonna miss him.

SPEAKER_00 19:23

Well, then they lose Zach Fitzgerald in D. Their LSM Griffin Phillips is gone, and one of their short stick D middies, Jack Frazy, who was really, really good. That's four key defensive players that are gone.

SPEAKER_01 19:38

Caleb Cook, they lose, Brendan Glasser, they lose. Yeah, and a really good goalie in Mikey Simone. Exactly. Some crazy saves in some big games, man. Exactly.

SPEAKER_00 19:51

So I mean they lose on offense, they do return Bryden Robochot and number he was number one scorer and number four Nolan Ty, along with Caden White and Matt Flamenspec. So I think on the I think on offense, they're looking okay. They're looking pretty good, they're looking solid. You're right, on defense, when you lose those defenders along with that goalkeeper, that's where my question mark is. They do bring back face-off Jacob Chiz, who he was at 63%, and he's I think a junior this year.

SPEAKER_01 20:27

He's a junior this year, yes.

SPEAKER_00 20:30

Great, great, great face-off player. I think the question mark is at defense because they have a lot to replace, if you especially add in the goalkeeper.

SPEAKER_01 20:39

They got short stick de meeting, Isaiah Thomas, uh attack max, uh, Maddox Walton comes back. He had 20 and 2. Our junior defenseman Joe Bucksman. 6'3, 220 pounds out of where is he from? Ocean City, Maryland.

SPEAKER_00 20:59

40 ground balls, 27 cost turnovers he had. He's a player. 6'3, 220. Oh my god.

SPEAKER_01 21:07

That's a that's a bright end, man. Yeah. And uh, hey, does goalie Levi Shapiro get the start? That's my question. So Kev Florida Southern Mox, a very formidable team, high energy. Coach Ward likes to get up and down the field. He likes his he likes he likes fast-paced lacrosse, which is makes it fun to watch. Yeah, he loves those transitions. You know, with Jacob Chiz at the at face off, he's been in big games now, and now he's only a junior he's only a junior, but he's like, I feel like he's been there forever, you know.

SPEAKER_00 21:45

I know. Well, we remember watching him freshman year. We were wondering how he'd pick up from Kevin Horowitz, and he really took the reins.

SPEAKER_01 21:53

Didn't miss a thing when after Horowitz left Chiz stepped right in there and balled out, and he had Some really good games last year. I remember watching one game. I can't remember. It was towards the end of the season and it might have been an SST uh tournament game. And uh he lost a few, but then he won some big ones at the end of the game to keep them in the game. He was he's just a baller. I like him. So, you know, they were really, really good last year, formidable. I like the fast-paced offense that Coach Ward does, but they lose quite a bit on the defensive side. My question is in goal. I expect though, I expect this offense to be pretty lethal again.

SPEAKER_00 22:35

I think they're gonna be right in there. Right in there in the SSC. So we'll we'll see. Okay, let's move to Florida Tech, the Panthers out of Melbourne, Florida. The Panthers.

SPEAKER_01 22:52

Yeah. Brad MacArthur, Coach McArthur there, doing the killer job over there. Six and nine overall, but four and three in conference.

SPEAKER_00 23:01

Yeah, they improved in their in-conference uh wins and losses. They beat Lynn in the SSC quarters. They lost to Rollins in the semis. They were a solid team last year. They're out of conference this year. Tampa, North Greenville, Flagler, Wingate, Mercy, Alabama, Huntsville, and Colorado Mesa. Oh boy. That's a good out of conference for them. Might be they might be in trouble. Here's where we they may run into some trouble. They lose their top four scores.

SPEAKER_01 23:39

Right. Here we go again with teams that guys that have been three, four-year, five-year starters, some of them that fifth-year COVID year, guys, teams that have had groups together for a long time. They're they're turning them over. And here's another example of that in Florida Tech.

SPEAKER_00 23:55

Yeah, Zach Rosgoni, Colin Stewart, Griffin Martin, and Ben Foster. Remember, Ben Foster was a transfer from UIndy. Yeah, yeah, yeah. All really good contributors on their offensive side. Now they returned Joe Kovalesky. He was SSC freshman of the year, and Jacob Turpak, who's kind of an uh attackman, slash midi, wherever they want to put him. So they've got a few keys. They're bringing in Danny some some key transfers, though. Um, Dawson Long from AIC. He had 34 goals and six assists as an attackman for AIC last year. So, and then uh Rob Gadomsky from Lander, uh attack slash MIDI. So they've got some other players that need to will need to step up with their returners to really help their their offense.

SPEAKER_01 24:49

Yeah, they uh short sticky uh D Middy, Bobby Canaway comes back, Gavin Wessel, sophomore LSN, Kevin Wolf, yeah, junior goalie, Jack Francisco, not too bad at 53%. But you know what, Kev? They struggle to score points. I mean, like they were 49th in the country in scoring. They only scored, they only averaged about 11 goals per game, and only 26% on the EMO. So they they'd lose a lot on the offensive side of the ball, Kev. So then they're gonna need these guys to step in and step in fast because that out-of-conference schedule is gonna chomp on their ass.

SPEAKER_00 25:31

When Coach you know responded to us for the preview, he says he's really confident in the returners he has and the key transfer pieces. We talked about them on offense, but look at what they're bringing for transfers on defense to augment the returners, which is a pretty solid group. Steve Ulrich, uh defender from Lynchburg. He had 42 ground balls, 15 cost turnovers in Lynchburg last year. Zach O from Linenwood. And Brian, Brian Barlotta, an LSM from Mercer. So they've got some they've got some D1 players coming over to see how they help out. Now, I'm the first one to admit, I've seen D1 players come to a D2 team and they okay. They're just one of the boys. Just okay? Yeah, yeah. And others we've seen, obviously, guys like Shahe and others that we've talked about before. Critical, critical pieces.

SPEAKER_01 26:29

Canyon Birch.

SPEAKER_00 26:31

Yeah. So let's see how these guys help out on the defense and the offensive side for Florida Tech this year.

SPEAKER_01 26:38

Again, you know, team that's you know, struggled to score goals last year and lost a lot of offensive guys. Yeah, you know, so that's not the best spot you want to be in. So I'm hopefully it gets some freshmen that could come in there, maybe contribute right away. You know, that's that's gonna be key. And some of these guys coming in from um from transfers from the portal. So I'll uh we'll have to watch Florida Tech, especially the first three or four games. They're gonna they're gonna be in a tough spot, I think, early. I hate to say it.

SPEAKER_00 27:12

I mean, but I you know, coach a couple years ago when he started there, he said he likes putting Tampa and Rollins and teams he already knows that are really, really talented to test them early. And he's gonna do that. The first, well, geez, the first Tampa, North Greenville, Flagler, Wingate are the first four. Then Mercy. I mean, there's no let off. Yeah, yeah. So if if they get through those that gauntlet of out of conference.

SPEAKER_01 27:45

I don't know, man. I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 27:47

I'm not even saying I'm not even flipping on paper. You know, well, I'm saying not I'm saying if there's two ways that can happen. It can deflate you or you can learn from it. And if you learn from it, they may be ready and better prepared for conference play.

SPEAKER_01 28:04

You know, the the Panthers have always been a gritty, yeah, you know, could competitive team. It's not like they suck or anything, you know. Six and nine, there's nothing to sneeze at, and four and three in the SSC, that's pretty damn good.

SPEAKER_00 28:18

You know, there's a lot of games in almost every game. That's what you got to say. There's something they're competitive, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 28:24

Yeah. They're competitive.

SPEAKER_00 28:26

And they will be again this year.

SPEAKER_01 28:28

You know, Ben Foster was a good player, man. You know, Rosgani was a good player, you know. Marcanto that had to face off. I mean, that lose pretty much that's a lot, you know, on a on a team that struggled to score anyway. So we'll have to watch the Panthers early and see what happens with them.

SPEAKER_00 28:47

Right. Where to next? Where do you want to go? You want to go to St.

SPEAKER_01 28:54

Leo?

SPEAKER_00 28:55

Sure.

SPEAKER_01 28:58

St. Leo Lions, located in St. Leo, Florida, which is a tiny bits, really close to Zephyr Hills, which is in near the Clearwater Tampa area. Uh nine and six last year, three and four in conference. Uh, had a couple of injuries last year, I think, too. This is a team that probably should have performed a little bit better with with you know the roster that they had.

SPEAKER_00 29:30

They held steady in kind of their wins and losses from 2023. And I thought we talked about it last year, we thought they'd improve. And I think you're right, some injuries or whatever. They still look at they lost to limestone last year. They beat Flagler, Rockhurst, Montevallo, Lynn, and Embry Riddle. I mean, it's not like they they had a bad season. Just I guess we were expecting more at the beginning of last year.

SPEAKER_01 30:00

Yeah, because you know, they had guys like Guy Bistro on that team who was just balling out. Yeah. Yeah. Again, I know that Thomas Nealin, the attackman, was hurt with a broken wrist. So he was a kid that was putting up four or five points a game for them as a freshman and sophomore, you know. So he lost a little bit there on the attack line, but you know, they lose Guy Bistro, which was huge, and they lose Matt Cleary. He transferred out to D1 Manhattan. Um, and they lose. This is big. This is the big loss, I think. Michael Flores.

SPEAKER_00 30:33

You just thought you were gonna say their face off.

SPEAKER_01 30:35

Yeah, yeah. You know, losing him to Tampa's gotta suck. It's in conference. It's like, you know, it's like what are you doing? It's like the going down the street. It's like the Giants letting Saquon Barkley go to Philadelphia in conference. You know, that's what that is. So I mean, I don't give a shit. It's gotta burn you a little bit. Oh, I got it. You know, so they lose Ellison, uh Jason Curley, they lose goalie chase straight, who was pretty damn good. Yeah. Um, they lose defenseman Damas Arella. Yeah, but they they do have a pretty formidable offense returning, Kevin.

SPEAKER_00 31:11

Greg Palmer, 42 goals, 29 assists. Yeah, not too shabby. No. Aiden uh Notkin and John Rochey. And like you said, um Nealan comes back. Yeah, yeah. Yep. And then on defense, they've got Jimmy McConaughey coming back and LSM Shane Jones. So they've got they've got some players on D. They lose a little bit more on D, especially with their goalie. And like you said, they're face-off specialists. Key specialist positions they lose. Big shoes to fill on both those sides.

SPEAKER_01 31:50

Yeah, James Davies, McConagle. They got a good SSDM coming back with Canada and those guys. Um, they're out of conference this year is Montevallo, Rockhurst, LMU, Concordia, UAH, Meryville, Flagler, and Colorado Mesa. Pretty damn good out of conference. It's a good out of conference. Really good conference. So I like, you know, what Coach Jergensen, my oldest son, paid for him. I go back a long time. I like the St. Leo Lions. I think Coach Jergensen's a great person, and he does so much. He's a player's coach. Yeah, he does so much for those kids. They really, you know, and and when I I was on on when I heard that Matt Cleary was uh transferring out, Cleary's dad said that Coach Jurgensen was really helpful, like really helpful about it, you know, not annoyed, just helpful. I'll you know, we'll do what you got to do.

SPEAKER_00 32:49

Yeah, that's exactly how he is all the time.

SPEAKER_01 32:53

You know, again, I think they got a good portion of this team coming back. He always does a pretty good job of recruiting. They did have some injuries, and those fellas are are healthy now. Um, I think they're big, the biggest loss is is that face-off, I think. Yeah, I agree with you. And then, you know, who who'll step in and goal? That's that's my question. I think they're a solid team. I think they're solid, and I think they can be very competitive.

SPEAKER_00 33:24

I think they can be dangerous. I mean, you this is a team that no one in the SSC can take lightly, my opinion.

SPEAKER_01 33:33

Well, a lot of the guys that got run and and the better burn last year that are returning were only sophomores last year. So most of this, most of the returning guys coming back in key positions now are juniors. They got two more years to like put this shit together. Exactly. You know, so I know, you know, Coach Jurgensen's a really good recruiter. He does what he's got to do to get players there. I'm sure he's gonna get a couple of freshmen that will contribute right away. He always does. Yeah, he always does. Yeah, so I think again, you know, they're big losses at face-off, in my opinion. Who's gonna step in and goal? But I think they're a solid team that could be competitive in in this conference for sure.

SPEAKER_00 34:13

Totally agree. I think you said it really well. Solid that will be very competitive. Totally agree. Let's move on to the fighting nights of Lynn University.

SPEAKER_01 34:24

The Lynn University fighting knights. Coach Mark Miller. Five and ten. Overall, two and five in conference, guys.

SPEAKER_00 34:35

Yeah, decline in their overall record, but Danny, they had five one goal losses last year, two in overtime. Yeah, that's tough. That's tough. So although the record does not look that good, they could easily be above 500.

SPEAKER_01 34:56

You know, Lynn's another one of those teams that's, you know, they've been up and down over the years. They've put out some really good teams, and they've kind of lulled, and then they come back and play well, and then they lull. So, you know, uh, they lose Joe Mikowski, Jalen Stanton, Thomas Murray, and Scott Freant. Other than that, most of this team comes back.

SPEAKER_00 35:18

Yeah, yeah. Number one score Brian Hoskins, number three score Connor Houston, Jackson Cutter, who was second team all SSC, Connor Zombro, who was MIDI played in all 15 games last year. Uh, had some production, but ready to step up, and then they've got some key transfers. Nick Callary from Brett Barton and a Cabrini transfer, Mar Mario Leone. I mean, they're they've got a lot of offensive weapons coming back.

SPEAKER_01 35:47

Hoskins was third team all conference last year. You know, they got uh senior short stick D. Midi coming back, Ethan McKinley from Austin, Texas, Kev. Yep. And then uh senior defenseman Jake Podmosak. Yeah. Mountain boy from Park City, Utah, Kev. He's a mountain boy. Yeah, growing big growing big out west. Nick Leon comes back, senior defenseman Mac and Dia, third team all conference on Sicinato.

SPEAKER_00 36:20

45 ground balls, 34 cost turnovers for Mac.

SPEAKER_01 36:23

Yep, shorts like digmitted, Jackson Cutter, second team all conference, senior face-off Cameron Santos comes back, 50-52 percent. Um, nine freshmen, 45 on the roster. Pretty solid numbers. I think it looks good for Lynn, right?

SPEAKER_00 36:41

And then get this. They're returning their starting goalkeeper, Tristan Leonard. He was at 49%, which is kind of where you want me, right? He's right at the about the 50%, but stiff competition with a couple of transfers. One, Hunter Klosterman from Anderson. Starter for Anderson. And then two, Jamie Grant from Marquette. Well, now, if you don't think that's gonna improve their goalkeeping ability, no matter who starts, I don't know Jamie Grant. We've seen Hunter Klosterman. Yeah, he's a damn good goalie. Yes, you know if Tristian Leonard wins that, he won that outright, right? And comes back in goal. Yeah. Other thing that coach told us that I thought was interesting was he's returning to the defensive side of the ball because he hired in Nathan Schnitz as their offensive coordinator. He came from being the offensive coordinator of D3 Hood, but he has D2 experience. He was a volunteer assistant in 2022 for Lynn. So the real question I've got, Danny, is with that change and with their offensive transfers and some of the guys that come in, can they help them get over 500? Because I think their D is solid.

SPEAKER_01 37:57

All right. Last year, Kev, they were 59th in the country in scoring. Yeah. Only only averaging 10 goals a game. Their EMO was only at 34%, and they averaged less than 40 shots per game. So they're gonna need that coach's help on offense because bottom line is they don't score goals. But you know what? Here's what I like about Lynn this year. Again, this is a team that's always kind of been okay. They've been, you know, a team that has been up and down over the years. But I'm finding out that a lot of players that want to go in the portal are going to Florida schools. And who can blame them for God's sake? But they got a nice mix of upper and lower classmen. They do lose some offensive senior leadership, but I always feel that at times this team could be gritty and formidable. I think that they're like three, four, five solid, really good players away from being really good.

SPEAKER_00 39:03

I think it could be less than four or five. I think they've got a you're right.

SPEAKER_01 39:08

No, they're needing, they need they need like some really, you know, excellent freshmen coming in, you know, some like 1% kid or like an underarm or all American. They need some of those kind of freshmen to come in to kind of change that program around a little bit.

SPEAKER_00 39:26

Well, well, look, Nick Killary was the number one scorer for Barton last year. Now, he doesn't have four years to play, but can he help him out for the last couple of years? Can he bring that in and how does some of the other players step up? You know, and I think you're right. They they are a few players away. I personally think their defense is going to be pretty, pretty darn good, pretty strong this year. Let's see what they can put together on the offensive side to bring it up beyond 10 goals per game that they get.

SPEAKER_01 39:57

They're out-of-conference schedules, North Greenville. They play Farmingdale State, D3 school, but they're pretty formidable with cross squad. Uh they play Dominican and California, Westminster, Southern New Hampshire, which I find is cool. I like when the North teams play the South. Uh, Uah and Flagler. So that's a pretty good out-of-conference schedule for them. Um, you know what? I'd like to see how they start out those first four games. Greenville, I'm not counting Farmingdale State too much because it's D3. But, you know, Dominican Dominican Westminster and SNH. Let's see what they're like after those kind of games. And let's see how many goals they're getting a game. Right. Because they they need to improve in that area.

SPEAKER_00 40:43

I agree. I agree. I watched several other games last year. They always seem to be in it. Like I said, they lost five by one goal, but they had scoring droughts. Do you know what I'm saying? Like it wasn't just like, oh, they just it was a consistent, they would like score in bunches and then have long droughts now and then in some games I watched. Yeah. And so I don't know if that's better movement on the ball, changing how what kind of offensive scheme they're running. I'm not an X and O, X's and O's guys, but I I agree with you. I think with maybe Coach Miller seemed really excited about this change, him being able to go back on the defensive side, having a uh a new coach focus on offense that knows Lynn, knows what they want to do. Let's see what they bring on the table this year.

SPEAKER_01 41:30

All right. We're looking forward to that one.

SPEAKER_00 41:33

All right. How about where do you want to go to next? Emory Riddle? We can go to Emory Riddle.

SPEAKER_01 41:40

The Eagles. Okay in Daytona. Coach John Jazz, the legend. Six and eight last year, Kev overall. A super duper improvement for them. And uh two and five in conference. But they had a real tough schedule last year.

SPEAKER_00 42:01

Yeah. Yeah. I I personally think, and coach talked to us about this, right? They are still building, and it's a culture thing of knowing how to be more gritty and win those tough games.

SPEAKER_01 42:16

Yeah, coach, you know, Coach Jez brings a lot. We knew when Coach Jez went to Emory Reddle, that team is going to instantly improve just by coaching. Same players, just you know, different things that that that coach Jez brings to the table. You know, he's been there, done that national champions at post, and just, you know, a great Division II legend. And I'll tell you, the the parents of Eagle players are really, really happy that Coach Jez is there. They're really happy. They love the fact that he's there. So they had a tough schedule last year, and they were really, really young last year.

SPEAKER_00 42:52

Yeah, yeah. They they only lose a few this year, they lose their top two scores, I Isaiah Hines and Coleman Jacobs, but they return a lot. They returned pretty much in the Christian Hofer, Joe Anderson. So I I agree with you. I think they were still young. They had some pieces. You got to remember that they're still a young team, and they lost two years of play. They didn't just lose 2020, they lost 2021. Yeah. And for a team that's just starting out, just prior to 2020, like 2018, that's like a total reboot. John Jess has come in there, he's starting to get that thing moving.

SPEAKER_01 43:38

It's not the easiest school to recruit for because it's an aeronautical kind of engineering type school. So it takes a special student to want to go to Emery Riddle. So I think the pool I think the pool is narrowed down a little bit as far as players.

SPEAKER_00 43:54

Remember when Coach got on the coach? Yeah, you're right. Coach, but coach said they've got plenty of people that want to go there. I think one. One of the differences for them is you can't supplement with transfers when you're an engineering school like that. It's not as easy. They have very few majors, some business majors, maybe you could do it, but it's not the same thing. When you look at most of the other schools, maybe you can go from like a Florida Tech to an Emory Riddle, or you can go to another uh engineering type school and transfer in, but it isn't easy to do. And that's one of the things Coach Jez saw us when we got on got him on a call. So I think what he said was they've got plenty of people that want to come and play. It's getting to that caliber of player to be able to compete successfully in the Sunshine State Conference. And that's what he's looking for.

SPEAKER_01 44:44

But again, I like the guys that they returned. Like you said, Pete Abbas comes back. He was 13. He was 13 all conference last year. Hoffer was first team all conference last year.

SPEAKER_00 44:54

He's a great player.

SPEAKER_01 44:55

You know, they got sophomore Vinny Spalladauro coming back. Defenser, uh defenseman Trevor Need Whiskey. He was 6'3, 200-pound Colorado Springs, Colorado kid. Junior goalie Reed Ritter comes back, Reed current 56%, Kev. Pretty solid. Senior face-off, James Meek. Um last year, their face-off was at 39%. They cleared it almost 90% this year. They brought in 13 freshmen. I, you know, I'm looking at everything and I'm saying, wow, Coach Jez is uh completely trending up with this team. Many starters and second line guys return.

SPEAKER_00 45:37

Yeah, and he's got a couple of post transfers from his old school. Tim Keefe, attackman MIDI, 45 goals and 43 assists for post last year. Wow. And defender Noel Carfania. I hope I said that right. He was first team CACC last year. So he's bringing some players that he knows that know him to add to the mix on players that are returning. He's got 50 on the roster now, Danny. So when you go back to it's tough to recruit, he's got the the roster size. It's finding the depth and the level of and the skill levels that he wants. I think he's very close.

SPEAKER_01 46:20

He's the guy to do it.

SPEAKER_00 46:22

Yeah. It's going to be, I think for him, it's going to be another growth year for him. I bet you they're going to have a better record than they did last year. They're going to be more competitive. So I think they're going to improve this year, and they're going, just like I said about St. Leo, this is a team that maybe some of the top-tier teams in Sunshine State could almost mark as a W. I don't think they should do that this year.

SPEAKER_01 46:47

No, I don't think so. They're out of conference schedules. Flagler, Uah, Anderson, North Greenville, Newberry in Savannah, Georgia, Malloy, which is awesome. Yeah. And then they open they open SSC Play when they host Palm Beach Atlantic. The Bill Dunn, John Jez matchup. Matchup from years past, from NYIT and post-years. Oh my God. How cool is that?

unknown 47:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 47:20

That'll have to be our game of the week that week.

SPEAKER_00 47:23

I think so. I think that's March 18th. How can we get down to Daytona Beach that week?

unknown 47:29

Oh man. I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 47:34

I don't know. I'm trying to scheme in my mind right now.

SPEAKER_01 47:37

One of my best friends from Florida lives in Daytona, too.

SPEAKER_00 47:41

I have a friend that lives in Ormond Beach right down the road.

SPEAKER_01 47:43

Dude, they they return a lot, Kev, man. And I just, you know, with Coach Jez there, again, this team is trending and they've just got to trend up. They're instantly better. The minute John Jez got there. And now with a year under their belt with Coach Jez, the Eagles, I think, are going to fly even higher this year, Kev. I think they're going to be a team that's going to be pretty damn formidable in the SSC this year. I think they're going to be better than their 6-8 record, and I think they're going to be better than 2-5 in conference. So Emory Riddle is one of those teams I want to keep an eye on.

SPEAKER_00 48:23

Totally agree. Okay. Last team now, the sailfish of Palm Beach Atlantic. West Palm. They have a bad neighborhood. I try to stay off those mean streets of West Palm Beach. It's so beautiful. So beautiful. So they have an interim head coach, Brett Bernardo. We remember we tried to get him on during our coaching changes. We couldn't get him on. He took over for Jesse Venata. He's been the assistant for two years. So we'll see how this plays out. He knows the team, he knows the players. They last year, and he can try to continue what they did last year, which is going six and five overall and two and five accomplishments. Best single season winning percentage and most conference wins in program history for them. So although that doesn't sound like it's great, I mean six and five over 500, 2-5, they're still trying to build. So can they build off of last year? The tough thing for us in doing this is their 2025 out of conference was not out yet when I looked at looked for it. Their 2025 rosters at 34. So that's about where they were, I think, last year. They do return some good players, Cooper Porter, Keegan Southard, and his brother Caleb. And then on D, they lose Hunter Sheffield, but they return Christian Bond, Jake Basilick, and Austin Nelson, from what I see. So I would love to see their out of conference. I think they've got some pieces coming back. You know, they've got some stability with Coach Bernardo. Can they improve or do they hold steady? You know, what's it there's still a question mark for me with them?

SPEAKER_01 50:28

Yeah, big question marks. Kind of a kind of kind of a younger team last year. You know, a lot of sophomores and juniors are going to get burned this year for them. You know, I don't know. Like you were right, there they didn't upgrade their uh their website with their roster yet. So I don't know how many freshmen they brought in or anything like that. Um, they need help in depth, you know, and last year they suffered at the dot cav. They were 74th in the country. It's yeah, yeah. You know, if you ain't getting possessions, it makes for a long afternoon. They were 52nd in the country in scoring, only averaged 11 goals per game. Face off was at 32%.

SPEAKER_00 51:11

You know, that's it's gonna struggle. You're right. They they what's interesting though, you look at their record, six and five overall. They hit some and the surprising wins against St. Leo. They had some games where they really started to show their improvement. And so can they build upon that this year? That's what they're gonna need to do.

SPEAKER_01 51:34

I could see maybe a game or two improvement.

SPEAKER_00 51:38

Yeah, I think it really depends. I I think the good thing is uh what does the word interim really mean, right? I I don't know if it really means anything to the players, right? It may mean something to Coach Bernardo. Is he gonna get it or not? But to the players, it may be the same old, same old. It's a stability. They know this coach, they know what they're going to do, they know what what they bring. My real question is, does he have any kind of assistant coach, or is it all him this year? Because if that's the case, that's where you get to be, that's where it makes it a little bit tougher, right? I mean, last year they had Venata and him, and now if it goes down to one, that's a lot more just on his shoulders. I couldn't tell on their website if they've got another coach or not. It looks like right now it's just him.

SPEAKER_01 52:28

Yeah, well, we'll see. Again, this team has kind of struggled last few years. I remember if they were ranked for a while. They were ranked and then they started to play the big boys, and they weren't ranked very much after that. Right.

SPEAKER_00 52:48

Let's see what they can do. They they've got to get some, you know. Uh Coach Venada was only there for a couple years.

SPEAKER_01 52:53

Now, Bernardo had different coaches there now, you know.

SPEAKER_00 52:56

It's like Steve Tempone started it. Uh Coach Tempone started it, and now it's been a little bit of a revolving door. A little musical chair every year. Little musical chairs. Let's see what uh Coach Bernardo can do with this team. He knows them, makes a big difference in stability.

SPEAKER_01 53:17

So too bad, too bad they don't have their roster, uh their schedule lock because that could tell us a few things, but we'll see. So overall, that's the uh SSC conference, strong ass conference, a lot of good teams at Rollins, Tampa, St. Leo, Florida Southern, Florida Tech. I think they're all pretty damn good.

SPEAKER_00 53:38

Henry Riddle coming on. It's like I said, St. Leo, the grandfather a tighter race this year than I think it has in the last two years.

SPEAKER_01 53:52

Again, I've you know, Tampa loses oh man, a boatload. And you know, I just don't know how how much you can replace that. That's so much. Those kids played together for a while outside of Canyon Birch and those guys, you know, because he came in later. But those guys play with each other. I mean, losing Beto on the defensive side, I think is huge. Um, I think losing short stick to D mini Jackson Day is huge. Yeah, these guys were really good. You know, Tampa, they're always known for their offense, but their defense was badass for the last two years. For the last two years. Yeah, you know, with Beto, and then they had Ulmer, the you know, goalie of the year back there a couple of years ago. I mean, their defense has been badass. And I, you know, uh they're a question mark for me. Are they the top of the the the heap in SSC? We're gonna have to see. We are going to have to see because they were in top 10 in mostly every single category in the United States last year. Yeah. So they were a phenomenal team. I, you know, it's it's Tampa. I think Rollins is gonna be really, really good. You know, I just it's I think the biggest question is in goal, maybe. That's the only really who's gonna get the start. Yeah. You know, they get a lot of returners with Johnstone and Myers and Madison and Mets, Evan Tesla and Garvin. They get a lot of guys. I like their out-of-competence schedule with Belmont, Abbey, Anderson, LR, Westminster. It's gonna be, they're gonna be a fun team to watch. We'll see what they do. Um, Florida Southern, I think that's, you know, they lose a lot on the defensive side, like we talked about earlier. Strong on the offensive side, but they are strong on the offensive side. I think they're gonna be very lethal. I think having Jacob Chiz comes back, give them the ball at 62% last year, and I think he's gonna be better this year. I mean, I that's I think he's got a chance of being like one of the best in the country. I really do. Um, my question again in them for them, because um, they lose Mikey Simone and goal. Yeah, that's huge. I think I like that kid. He was an energetic, he was skinny, skinny little kid. But he had long arms, man, and he made some crazy saves. So um I think they're gonna be, I expect their offense to be pretty lethal. I think they're gonna be one of the teams to watch out for in the SSC. Um uh, let's see, Florida Tech. We talked about them lose a bunch on the offensive side of the ball. Right. It's crazy as how much they lose on the offense, but they return a lot of their defense. So we're gonna have to see some improvement. I think Emory Riddle with John Jez is gonna be a team to watch out for in the SSC this year. Yeah. I just think with another year of Coach Jez getting some of his freshmen in there, guys that he recruited in, you know, and you know, coach, coach is that good where he can get you in and just teach these kids how to play.

SPEAKER_00 57:00

Yep. I'd say for Lynn, they could be a dark horse, too. If their pieces come together and what they brought in in transfers, their D is solid, their offense they brought with those transfers, they could be a surprise as well.

SPEAKER_01 57:16

Yeah, so it's a great conference, uh, really formidable nationally. They have teams that are powerhouses here in Tampa and Rollins, and teams that have made really a lot of noise in Florida Southern last year. Um just a good conference, Kev. I like the Florida. It's gonna be good.

SPEAKER_00 57:34

It's they they add to the the whole South region without a doubt, and I think it's gonna be exciting to watch them this year and see them duke it out in conference, all these teams. It's gonna be good. Yes,

Shout Outs

SPEAKER_00 57:48

sir. All right, now it's time to close it out. Do you have any shout-outs for this week?

SPEAKER_01 57:53

I have no shout-outs, Kath. Nothing exciting went on this week.

SPEAKER_00 57:58

It's the holidays. People, it this is gonna come out in the new year, but for us, we're actually recording this in between Christmas and New Year's, just to keep it rolling for our fans. I have one shout-out, and it goes to our Canadian scout connection, Mr. Warren Saunders. You know, he DMs us a lot. You know, I'm I'm the one that's keeping the account on Instagram, but he's always giving us insider information, especially from Canada. He sent a really interesting DM about a list of Calgary players in D2 playing their senior year this year. These names you will know. Here's the list. LMU, Aiden Smith, Rock Saunders, Ashton Wilson, Florida Southern, Matt Flamenspec, Bryden Roboshow, Mason McQuigan, Lander, Nick Page, and Reese Peterson, U Indy, Nathan Lamb, Limestone, Matthew Hulk Colebrook, at Meryville, Joel Lucas and Jared Norris, and in North Greenville, Hayden Moffat. All those guys, same year in Calgary, playing their senior year in D2. Pretty damn impressive. So we thank Warren Saunders for his continual updates and information.

SPEAKER_01 59:38

Who put that O Canada anthem on there? Who did though?

SPEAKER_00 59:43

But that's pretty impressive, isn't it? Yeah. Warren's been great for it. He's been great for us the last time. Thanks, Warren. We appreciate that.

SPEAKER_01 59:50

Shout out to Warren. Good job, dude. Awesome. You know, I the Canadians can play lacrosse, man. They can play. And I think it's great that they come in and play D2. You know why? Because they're smart. They come down, they get them academic and athletic scholarship, they stack them together. It's affordable. And when the kids go leave Canada, go to Florida, they're really smart.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:18

Right into the Sunshine State Conference. And for this week, Danny, that's a wrap.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:24

That's a wrap, good.