D2 Lacrosse Conference Previews for the 2026 Season - CACC

Intro

SPEAKER_03 0:30

Welcome, welcome, welcome to another episode of In the Grease with Danny and Kevin. I'm your co-host, Kevin Stenham, and with me as always is our Fireball savant, Danny Moran.

SPEAKER_00 0:45

Hey, Danny. Kevin, how's it going tonight in Northern Virginia, my friend? I could use some fireball tonight. It's cold.

SPEAKER_03 0:53

That's what I was asking you. I was just thinking, you know, I saw you, you know, a post with Fireball and Thanksgiving and a few other things. And I was just curious if Fireball has eclipsed high-sea as your drink of choice. I'm assuming that maybe the weather has something to do with it.

SPEAKER_00 1:12

I may fancy a bit of fireball from time to time. Mr. Stenstrom, yes. And I'm not the only one out there. Seems to be a pretty popular amongst the people. Well, it's it's like cinnamon whiskey. It's whiskey at the end of the day.

SPEAKER_03 1:28

Yeah, offers me as one, I'll have it. But I wouldn't like go out.

SPEAKER_00 1:31

The Tennessee Jack is the better stuff. The Jack Daniels Tennessee whiskey. It's good.

SPEAKER_03 1:38

Well, I I'm more of a Scotch man if we're going down that road.

SPEAKER_00 1:42

So you've got class. I have not much. I wouldn't say that, but but it was a cold one today, my man.

SPEAKER_03 1:51

I hear you. I hear you. Probably worse up in New York than here in Virginia, but it was didn't get up above like 32 today.

SPEAKER_00 1:58

I think it was in the teens this morning with the wind chill factor. It was pretty cold.

SPEAKER_03 2:02

Were you in a heated area today?

SPEAKER_00 2:06

No, no, no. It's enclosed, but it's not heated.

SPEAKER_03 2:09

I I was gonna say, were you in in a building? But that doesn't help. I mean, it helps from the wind a little bit.

SPEAKER_00 2:14

I'm on this building a year almost, and they're just about to start turning electric on. They're just at that point we're about to start turning on. So parts of the of the building are finished, and parts are still going under. So it's it's still it was pretty chilly today, man. I bet. I bet. Nice, nice sandwich and soup when I got home, you know what I mean? Something a little get in the belly warming up. Oh, yeah. So yeah, you know what? We're almost at another semester down. The kids are home for Christmas. The uh finals have just passed, and uh we are almost ready to go with this 2026 season.

SPEAKER_03 2:56

Our daughter is still uh at school for finals, but we're picking her up next week. So yeah, we're right in that thick of it. And you know how quickly that turns. Right after the holidays, as we are gonna do these through the holidays, it's mid-January and they're practicing, and the first game is gonna be like January 31st this year.

SPEAKER_00 3:17

Yeah, we're less than 60 gate, 60 days from our first game in the 2026 season. We're ready to go.

SPEAKER_03 3:23

Unbelievable.

SPEAKER_00 3:24

Yeah, man.

SPEAKER_03 3:25

Unbelievable. I know it goes by so quick, right? It does. It does, especially when we're doing these things and we're getting prepared by just going and previewing all the conferences. And we've got another one tonight. But before we get into that conference, I'm sure a lot of people have heard this, but and by the time this comes out, it will be several weeks old. But we have some sad news to pass along if our fans have not heard it. First of all, head coach of Siena, a D1 program, Liam Gleason, passed away this past week after a tragic accident, a fall at his home, uh, and he just recently passed. And you if you look at what's on social media and in the press releases from like Inside LaCrosse and USA La Crosse magazine, you see how much this man impacted not only his lacrosse program, but the athletic program at Siena and the community itself.

SPEAKER_00 4:31

Well, the lacrosse community has come together one more time, Kev, like they usually do. Yes.

SPEAKER_02 4:36

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 4:37

They had a go fund me for Coach Gleason. It reached it's almost that $800,000 in a matter of a matter of days, six, seven days. The outpouring, the outpouring of love and affection for this man. I never met him. He coached uh a friend of mine's son at Albany back in the day. Yeah, he was a an assistant at Albany for a while. Yeah. And he coached a friend of mine's son who on the defensive side. So um, sad news, definitely out of Sienna, my heart's my thoughts, my prayers go out to him and his family. And exactly just just tragic.

SPEAKER_03 5:17

Yeah, and then one other piece of sad news, and our thoughts and prayers go out uh to the Cook family and the Tusculum men's lacrosse program. This past week, also, a freshman on the team, Peyton Cook, died in a car accident.

SPEAKER_00 5:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 5:36

Just another tragedy. That once again, I'm I know that Tusculum community and the lacrosse community is going to rally around him as well. But just some tough news to deal with this past week.

SPEAKER_00 5:49

Yeah, that young man was from Canada. He was a freshman, hasn't even played his first game yet, Kev. You know, sad, just set just a sad week for the lacrosse community for sure.

SPEAKER_03 6:00

It has, it has. But let's

CACC Preview

SPEAKER_03 6:02

let's try to move on to some better news or more fun things to look at as we look at another conference tonight, and that is the CAC.

SPEAKER_00 6:20

We're going down to Philly, Captain. Up for you, down for me. That's right. Love this song, Mr. Elton John. Reginald Dwight to his mom and dad.

SPEAKER_03 6:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 6:39

Love it.

SPEAKER_03 6:40

Interesting, Danny. A team finally unseated Chestnut Hill in the conference tournament last year. Which we were we had said for several years, like, oh, it's not going to be Chestnut Hill this year, and we didn't bet against them. Or weren't, I wasn't going to. And it happened. But guess what? They only lost in the semis by one, and it was an overtime to the eventual conference tournament champion, Georgian Court.

SPEAKER_00 7:08

Yeah, I lost money on that game. I thought DiCarlo for sure would win his third in a row, but no, to be denied, as they say.

SPEAKER_03 7:17

Yeah. And then the other interesting part is that this conference also sent two teams to the NCA tournament.

SPEAKER_00 7:25

Yes, they did. Yes, they did.

SPEAKER_03 7:28

It was uh both Georgian court, they ate who got the AQ, and then Wilmington, who had really a better record, and they got in.

SPEAKER_00 7:38

Yeah, people were like, what, two teams from the CACC? What? You know what? They've deserved it, if you ask me.

SPEAKER_03 7:45

I totally agree. If you look at these teams and what they play out of conference, and then the quality of work they do when they're in conference, and that doesn't go just for them. It's like Chestnut Hill was right behind them last year. There's some real, really good teams in this conference, and others that are trying to get up to that level.

SPEAKER_00 8:05

Exactly. And Wilmington's that really good team.

SPEAKER_03 8:09

Yeah, and they're we'll get to them. I think they're gonna be really good again this year.

SPEAKER_00 8:14

I agree.

SPEAKER_03 8:15

So let's start off, though. Let's start off with the conference tournament champions and the team that got in with the automatic qualifier, the Georgian Court Lions.

SPEAKER_00 8:26

The Lions. Mickey Hover, Lakewood, New Jersey, Kev. Jersey Boys, the black and blue division, the CACC 12-7 last year. Overall, 7-1 in concert. They handle their business. They lost to Wilmington 16-10, and they avenged that loss with a 9-8 win in the CACC championship. But Kev, those seven losses came from ranked squads.

SPEAKER_03 8:59

Exactly. You look at him, Mercy, Adelphi, Pace, Malloy, Wilmington in conference.

SPEAKER_00 9:07

Yep. What does that tell you? Mickey Hover always puts a tough ass schedule together. It was a couple of years ago where he had the hardest schedule in Division II. 100%. And like he he he lines these teams up, and it's amazing. And he goes out and gives it his all.

SPEAKER_02 9:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 9:26

Yeah. And there have been a few seasons where I think that has helped him. And I think sometimes it's it's hurt them where they were in with their roster and probably some injuries that probably happened along the way. But look what they did last year getting into the NCAA tournament, winning the conference tournament championship. My hat's off to them. And I think this year we'll get into it. But let's talk about their 2026 out of conference this year. This is more an out-of-conference that I think is a little bit like last year, but it's got some teams in there that they may be able to take care of. They go uh play Mercy, at Mercy, then Assumption, AIC, Pace, Malloy, and Stack.

SPEAKER_00 10:18

Yeah, they're at Mercy. They host Assumption. Now Assumption's gonna be a good team. You know, and uh Pace is gonna be pace.

SPEAKER_03 10:26

Pace and Malloy is gonna be they're both so you've got really it's the AIC and St.

SPEAKER_00 10:31

Thomas Aquinas, which are not usually at the level of where where Mickey goes to get out of conference games. Right.

SPEAKER_03 10:41

And this year, Danny, though, they lose their top two points getters with Brett Bridges with 51 goals and 25 assists, and number two, Matt Dorian with 27 goals and 19 assists.

SPEAKER_00 10:56

Yeah. But they got another midfielder, Harrison Jordan.

SPEAKER_02 11:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 11:00

He was second on the team with assists. He's a midfielder that can draw the double. Kev, uh, the kid can find the open man. Uh senior Doug McKenzie returns. Doug was second on the team in goals. In goal, Vinny Burkhart, our man.

SPEAKER_01 11:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 11:17

He returns, man. He's he's been a staple in Georgian Court between the pipes for a while now. And he's one of the better ones. I think he's going to be one of the better top keepers in the con in the conference, if you ask me.

SPEAKER_03 11:29

Yeah, he was at 54% last year, which is really solid. I think you have him between the pipes, and then you've got also on special teams Daniel Devitt at face-off returning at 55%. Both seniors that are bringing senior leadership. That's that's really, really important.

SPEAKER_00 11:47

Absolutely. Lines are deep last year, too, Cap. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 11:51

Now on defense, they lose, it looks like to me, their entire close defense, along with LSM Max Dennington, who had 42 ground balls and 35 cost turners. They lose deep hole Joe Murphy, Michael Schoen, and deep old Jordan Frank.

SPEAKER_00 12:09

Yeah, they definitely do lose some senior leadership on defense for sure.

SPEAKER_03 12:15

They they have other seniors that are gonna step up at defense. Hunter Rindos and Alan Hernandez Flores. Now, but they only played in a few games last year, and so they're gonna really have to step up into some big choos. Now they what they are returning, Danny, is three short stick D middies. Thomas Fleming, Daniel Fleming, and Aiden Miranda to round out that rope defense.

SPEAKER_00 12:42

Yep. You mentioned Sebastian Castillo, Tyler Mikowski, Danny Lalana, bunch of guys coming back. Um, you know what? Kind of a pretty decent team. They do lose some senior leadership on defense, I think, but you know, I think Mickey Hover kind of will find a way to replace those guys. Last year they averaged 37 shots per game. Their man up was at a phenomenal 49%. They led the conference. Uh their face-off as a team was 50%. They clear at 82%. They average 13 goals per game. I mean, pretty solid all the way around, if you ask me.

SPEAKER_03 13:24

Very solid. I I had the same note. They lose some key contributors on both offense and defense, especially that close defense, as I think they're going to have to reset there. But they still have a lot of senior leadership that are in starting roles from last year or stepping up into a starting role. And when you've got that kind of senior leadership that's taking over, I think they're going to be right where they were last year.

SPEAKER_00 13:50

I bel I agree. You know, I like Vinny Burkhart between the pipes. This kid's been doing it a long time now. He's the seasoned veteran of the squad. We had him, Danny.

SPEAKER_03 14:00

I it's funny. I remember talking about him coming in a year as a freshman and watching one of his highlight reels. I'm like, we got to watch this kid, and he's proven it out.

SPEAKER_00 14:12

Yeah, he's been a staple for Mickey Hover and the Lions there at Georgian Court for the last four years. I mean, he's a seasoned vet. And with that, you know what they say, with age comes wisdom, right? He's going to be smart about it. And with Devitt coming back, because he split time. He took almost 200 face-offs last year, Danny Devitt did. So I don't think they lose much in those special teams areas. I think, I think the Lions are going to be pretty decent.

SPEAKER_03 14:39

Yeah, I think they're going to be solid all the way through. If you if I was a betting man, I'd say they're probably going to be right around that same record. I agree. Which is really good. They're going to they're going to have tough games against the Paces and the Malloys. Right. And the teams like that, as always. And that's what they want. But that gets them in and ready for the CACC.

SPEAKER_00 15:03

Absolutely. 100%.

SPEAKER_03 15:05

Okay. Now on to the team that I'm I loved watching last year. I think they're going to be as good, if not better, this year, and that's the Wilmington Wildcats.

SPEAKER_00 15:17

The Wildcats. Coach Christian Zwickert out of Wilmington, Delaware. The Wilmington Wildcats are. Yeah, I know, I know, I know. Coach was coach of the year in the CACC last year. He had a great job. Kim, they had a little slip up in the beginning of the season, little stumble, lost their first three games out of the gate. And the first one being to Barton. And I remember you and I talking about that, going, how the hell did Barton come in there and start just beat up on Wilmington that first game?

SPEAKER_03 15:59

But you just thought from where Wilmington was.

SPEAKER_00 16:04

Didn't think Barton was going to beat Wilmington in that opening game. And then they lost to Malloy, a ranked team, and then they lost to Pace, and then they lost to Seaton Hill, and then at the end they lost to Georgian Court. So out of the five games, they boom, they lost their first three. And that's got to be like, ho, ho, wait a second. What the hell happened here? And you know what they did? 11 in a row, man. Eleven in a row. So uh the Wildcats actually received an large bid last year to make the NCAA. So you gotta give them a big round of applause for that.

SPEAKER_04 16:43

Right.

SPEAKER_00 16:44

You know, and um people were like, what's going on? The CACC has two teams in the NCAA tournament, and I perfectly, I totally thought that Wilmington definitely belonged in there.

SPEAKER_03 16:58

If you look at the North region and what teams were up there and what their records were, it totally made sense. I don't know. I I would struggle to find another team to replace them, unless you're saying, well, geez, another one from the NE10 needs to be there or something like that. But I don't I don't think so. I think Wilmington put themselves in position. Look at they lost to Seton Hill in the first round of the NCAA.

SPEAKER_00 17:23

Yeah, 15-7.

SPEAKER_03 17:25

15-7, which isn't it doesn't sound great, but it's not that horrendous.

SPEAKER_00 17:31

No.

SPEAKER_03 17:32

Right? No. Against a team like Seton Hill.

SPEAKER_00 17:34

Seton Hill was stacked last year.

SPEAKER_03 17:37

Stacked. We talked about that last week.

SPEAKER_00 17:40

Yeah, they were stacked last year. So losing to Seton Hill doesn't really lose you much. You know what I mean? They're such a good team.

SPEAKER_03 17:49

So And I think that's important also. I think that's why I love the automatic qualifier, right? You get teams like this and you get an extra chance for an at-large like Wilmington got, it gets them in the NCAA tournament. Oh, by the way, since we've been doing that this podcast, first time we've seen those two teams in the NCA tournament. That is an experience in and of itself. I don't care if it's the first round at someone's home field. It's different vibes. You've got to be more nervous. You're in the NCAA tournament playing against there is no bad team. It's not like No.

SPEAKER_00 18:28

There's no there's zero bad teams in the NCAA tournament.

SPEAKER_03 18:33

It it's all a learning experience, and these teams are gonna learn from that.

SPEAKER_00 18:37

Oh, a hundred percent. I mean, just to get there was a big honor, you know, just to get there, you know, and the automatic qualifiers has really made Division II so much more exciting, really has, because in years past, without those automatic qualifiers, teams had to put crazy schedules together just to get a sniff. That's why Colorado Macy used to have to come out to come out east and play Lemoyne and play F Delphi and play Lenore Ryan and play those teams like that because they had to if they wanted to even get a sniff. Now they can worry about their conference. Yep. And you know what? And the CACC, again, Kev, I've talked about it a hundred times. It's a conference that I never understood why it wasn't a little bit stronger nationally, being where they are in that New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania area, because there's so many really, really good lacrosse players to choose from. The pool is big in this area.

SPEAKER_03 19:37

Well, and remember though, they are a young conference in lacrosse. And so they've been around maybe a year or two before we started the podcast. So that there's a lot of growth that needs to happen in a lot of these teams, and I think it's it's slowly getting there. Um, let's move and talk about their uh out of conference schedule for 2026. They play AIC away, then they play Barton and Mercy at home, they have Pace away, Malloy at home, and then they follow up with Frostburg at Johns Hopkins. And I think this is like the third, at least the third year that those two teams have played at Johns Hopkins.

SPEAKER_00 20:22

That's awesome.

SPEAKER_03 20:22

That's an awesome I hope to get to that one again. I missed it last year. I went the year before. It's actually windy, damn cold, but fun game to watch.

SPEAKER_00 20:32

Absolutely. So they got some they got some ballers at Wilmington, senior attack, Andrew Zubiek. 54 goals, 28 assists, 82 points, CACC player of the year, all-American honorable mention. You know where he's from, Kev? Where is he from? He's from Putnam Valley, New York.

SPEAKER_03 20:54

And coach let us know too in the stats, he was number six in the country for goals per game and number six in points per game.

SPEAKER_00 21:03

He's a baller. That kid is a beast. Junior attack, Josh Wetson, 28 goals, 15 assists, 43 points. And junior attack, Gavin Parishak, 24 goals, 13 assists, 37 points, along with another junior attack, Josh Lovely. They make up one hell of a lethal attack unit, Kev. Yeah. That is a lethal attack unit. And their midfield brings back junior Carter Earl.

SPEAKER_02 21:31

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 21:32

24 goals, 18 assists, 42 points, first team, all C A C C last year. Sophomore Toby Templeman, 24 goals, nine assists, and senior Kyle Parker. Another that's a formidable midfield unit coming back. Yeah, you know.

SPEAKER_03 21:50

Look at here's the deal. Wilmington returns their top six scores from last year.

SPEAKER_00 21:58

And there's nice balance between the the Attack and the midfielders and points and goals. Yes. Yeah. You know, nice balance. So now you can't sit down and just suck down on one player like Zubiak. You're going to have to have to defend other players. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_03 22:12

Exactly.

SPEAKER_00 22:13

And these guys can throw up points. I mean, Josh Watson, as a sophomore last year, threw up 43 points, Kev. Yeah. As a sophomore. So he's going to be a lot better. He's going to be a lot more seasoned. I like their attack unit and their midfield unit. On defense, senior Tracy Quinn, 40 ground balls, 26 cause turnovers last year. Amazing. Julian Dusinski? Yep. What do you else you got?

SPEAKER_03 22:43

I've got, well, that's returning is also Shortstick D. Mitty, senior Tyler Quinn. He was an all-American. 78 ground balls, 10 cause turnovers, seven goals, and two assists. So you know he's really, really good in transition.

unknown 23:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 23:02

Yeah. And then I also had an LSM, senior LSM, Patrick Crutchfield. He played in 15 games last year. You may remember he transferred from Chuan as a standout there. And we had, we talked, I talked about it once last year, the year before. He usually wears number six in honor of his friend Mason Farrell, who passed away in 2017. Right. But he he couldn't get it when he went to Wilmington because a senior had that number. So he wore number 13 last year, his parents told me. And I'm really interested to see does he go back to number six this year as he rounds out his career and and and honors Mason. But he's a he's a pretty good player. They do lose a few on defense, Danny. They lose all-American Paul Army at D-Pole, and he was a team captain. Right. They lose defensive mid Brady Freeze and D-Pole Ryan McCreary. So they lose some, but they're still bringing back a good, good core at defense.

SPEAKER_00 24:03

Yeah. Pays off specialist Aiden Vicomini, 50% at the dot last year. And Junior this year, goalie, Daniel Flint, 54%. He was the goalkeeper of the year in the CACC last year. So conference-wise, the Wilmington Wildcats had first team, second team, All-American honorable mentions, all Americans, first team, second team kids. They had a bunch of guys. They average 16 goals a game, Kev, one of the better offenses in the country. They average almost 50 shots, close to 50 shots a game. They're 38% on man up. One area they need to clean up is the turnovers, Kev. They had 278 over the course of the season that averaged about 17.5 turnovers a game. That's far too many for Coach Swickard. I'm sure he would like to get that down. They clear at 88%. So I like what I see on paper with the Wildcats this upcoming season. I'm sure they'd like to not have that slow start, that 0-3 start that they did last year. I'm sure they want to come out of the gate firing. I think the CACC better watch out for the Wilmington Wildcats.

SPEAKER_03 25:23

I agree. They also return another face-off specialist, Connor Whidmer, who was an all-American. He was at 66%. So you have two guys that are well above 50% at the face-off dot. Forgot about Connor. Coach also let us know that they've got some really 20 recruited players, including two Essex Community College transfers, both JUCO All-Americans coming in, one being a face-off. Okay. So they've got a lot of good players coming in. He told us that during the fall ball, he ran six attackmen at different times and four lines of middies. Which, if you look at what we were talking about, Danny, with who's coming back on the offensive side, you can easily see them being able to do that. They've got depth and leadership at every position.

SPEAKER_00 26:13

Absolutely. And I also think they got that little chip on that shoulder from losing that championship last year.

SPEAKER_03 26:21

Oh, totally agree. Totally agree. That's happened to them before, and that also hurt them when they were trying to get in to the NCAA a few years ago.

SPEAKER_00 26:32

So just about all their starters returned. Just most of them return, Kev. And with that attack unit, I think the Wacats are going to be tough this year in the CACC, my friend.

SPEAKER_03 26:46

I agree. I put them at the top of this conference right now.

SPEAKER_00 26:50

Me too.

SPEAKER_03 26:51

Let's move on. Let's go to Chestnut Hill or the Griffins.

SPEAKER_00 26:58

The Griffiths. Jim DiCarlo. Philly. Philly boys. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 27:06

They were 7-6 in 2025, 6-2 in conference. That's a little bit of a drop-off from two years.

SPEAKER_00 27:14

It's a stumble from the year before.

SPEAKER_03 27:16

They, as you recall from last year, they lost a lot on D two years ago. And they had a very young defense. Maybe not so much in grade, but in experience. So that really cost them. You can see it in some of their in their stats. They went to 9.8 goals against average, which doesn't sound too bad, but the year before that, they were at 6.9. So that kind of shows what the tough and then they had a they had a tough out of conference too last year. They lost to Pace Malloy and Seton Hill. In conference, they lost to Georgian Court and Wilmington. But look at they started to make it up. As always, where do they shine in the tournament? They lost to Georgian Court in the semis by one, and that was in overtime.

SPEAKER_00 28:16

Yeah. Me and you both picked Chestnut Hill ago and win it. And win it all for a third year in a row. And we were wrong. You know what? Again, like you just said, the Griffins took a little stumble last year, stepped back from their 24 campaign where they went 11-4 that year and was 7-1 in conference. But this year, Gev, they struggled against teams above 500. They really did.

unknown 28:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 28:43

You know, they did make the conference 20 where they lost to eventual champs, Georgian Court. But um, I don't know, they lose their top two scorers, Max Kogallan, Sam Slater.

SPEAKER_03 28:55

Well, they also lose Noah Hammond, their number three score. He transferred to Malloy this year. Oh, wow. Wow. So their top three scores.

SPEAKER_00 29:07

Now they return Jake Ballerini and he was on my players to watch list last year. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 29:15

And and he was just a sophomore last year. So they obviously are going to need him to step up along with Will. Now, the other thing is, Will Diddy was a red shirt junior last year, and their roster's not out yet. So we'll have to see if he comes back for his you know red shirt senior year, or did he graduate? We don't know that yet.

SPEAKER_00 29:36

Yeah. I was thinking, you know, with who they got, they senior attack Jaden Bis Bal Basal Basalatin? Basalatin?

SPEAKER_02 29:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 29:47

He had 12 goals and four assists. And, you know, like Ballerini was only a sophomore. He had 17 goals and eight assists. I expect his numbers to go up. I expect Basalatin's numbers to go up. If they could get some midfield production, because they their midfield really didn't produce outside of Kilgallen's 28 goals.

SPEAKER_01 30:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 30:08

You know, I think the next highest score was Duddy with 10 in the from the midfield unit. So I think this is a team that has to kind of like retool a little bit in some areas.

SPEAKER_03 30:21

And that's what's funny. So last year they were set up a little bit better on offense and had a young D. This year they return their starting defense. They've got Thomas Gallagher, Daniel Myers, and Sam Kohler all coming back on close D, along with LSM Silas Charles. So they're pretty solid on the defensive side of the ball this year.

SPEAKER_00 30:45

Yeah, Gallagher started all 12 games as a true freshman last year. And became a force kind of pretty quickly. He's got 12 cross turnovers, 22 ground balls. You know, those freshmen, they're out there to get those little freshman jitters a little bit. Not sure where they should be at some times, but at the end of the season, like you can see, he was getting better and better. Hey, junior face off Carter Gets returns. Yeah. Only 35% at the dot last year. That he needs to improve. That area needs to improve for the Griffins and Coach DiCarlo.

SPEAKER_03 31:18

They also returned their goalkeeper, Adam Daly, as far as we can tell. He was at 56%. So that's another point. Once again, they seem really solid to me on defense. It's going to be tough unless the offense steps up. Not tough. I think they're going to have a tough time once again against the like the Georgian courts and the Wilmingtons.

SPEAKER_00 31:41

Yeah. They took they took average about 37 shots a game. The shots on goal percentage was good at 58%. 30% on man up. That's that's where that that one category that just jumps out me, out of me, is face-off, where they just need to improve.

SPEAKER_03 32:00

They were only at 32, like you said. That's down from the year before when they were at 50%.

SPEAKER_00 32:05

Yeah. And you know what? Coach DiCarlo always has good defenses. He's a defensive-minded coach. His defenses are always pretty good. You know, they clear at 84%. I mean, their numbers are they're pretty solid, you know. Definitely need to improve in the in the uh face-off department. I'd love to see the midfield get more production out of the midfield, open things up for Ballerini down low, and you know what, might be able to get some easy goals. Easy goals. Because when your midfield's not producing, that defense sucks in, makes it real tough for these attackmen to dodge and get in there. So bottom line, the grips were kind of young, a little young on the young side last year. They had a lot of freshmen and sophomores playing, you know. Now they're juniors and they're playing like Gets and those guys. And that inexperience though, Kev may have been may have led to the season that they had. I do.

SPEAKER_03 33:04

So I think their, like I said, I think their big question mark is who's gonna step up with Ballerini and and possibly Diddy on the offensive side. And like you said, um, is that more getting more production on the in the midfield?

SPEAKER_00 33:20

Yep, those are the two big needs.

SPEAKER_02 33:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 33:23

Midi Middy's that can score and more wins at the dot. So I'm gonna have to see what they put out there, but I think they're gonna be about the same. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 33:31

You know, they may be a little bit better. Like I said, defense is their signature. Right. Coach DeCarlo's signature. So if he gets those guys producing, that can lead to more wins just because their defense is stronger.

SPEAKER_00 33:48

Yeah, and they got their special teams guys coming back. So Yep, exactly.

SPEAKER_03 33:52

Okay. How about the Post Eagles in Waterbury, Connecticut? Post Eagles. Coach Pat Yannarelli. He's in his third year, Danny. They were nine and seven last year and five and three in conference. Really kind of steady state from 2024.

SPEAKER_00 34:14

Yep. Located located in Waterbury, Connecticut. Did you say that? I did you did. I did. I tried to tell you that time. I was looking for my papers.

SPEAKER_03 34:23

I know. I'm throwing cutting uh team names out. You you're not, you're not on. It's easy for me, right? It's the next one on my list.

SPEAKER_00 34:31

Yeah, I know. You you do everything on computer. I write things down like 1957 Hazel. So they had some good signature wins last year. 17-8 over Holy Family and an 1811 win over Bridgeport. They lost to a really good Assumption squad and St. Thomas Aquinas by one. They lost to Malloy, George and Court, Wilmington, and Chestnut Hill. So they lost all the big boys in the conference. Yeah. And they lose a bunch of starters.

SPEAKER_03 35:04

Yeah. Well, I see that they lose number two and number three scores, Robbie McGrain and Hunter McCarty. But they I'm seeing that they're bringing back number one Leighton Cook. And then number four through six, Ryan Denickey, Will Bryan, and Gabe Roman. Are you tracking the same thing?

SPEAKER_00 35:21

I am. They also, well, on the other side, they lose LSM James Sproul, who was amazing for them. Uh defenseman Thomas Puglio and short stick D. Mid, Cam Beckett. Those five guys were really good for Coach Pat Yana Raleigh last year.

SPEAKER_03 35:39

Yeah, no, I agree. The losses, especially, I would say, well, you got it's on both sides, right? You lose those three on defense, and you lose your number one and number two. You've got a lot of guys coming back on the offensive side, like we talked about. Well, look at Leighton Cook had 54 goals and 28 assists as a junior attackman last year.

SPEAKER_00 36:00

82 points. That's that's balling right there, kid.

SPEAKER_03 36:04

But look at James Sproul, who they lost at LSM. 106 ground balls and 51 cost turnovers. How do you make that up?

SPEAKER_00 36:13

That's huge with three guys. You need three LSMs. You know, that's huge. I mean, Sproul was a beast for them last year. And one of the better ones in the country, if you ask me.

SPEAKER_03 36:25

Oh, 100%.

SPEAKER_00 36:26

You know, one of one of the better LSMs in the country. Uh midfielder Will Bryant comes back, 31 goals, 13 assists, 44 points, 27 ground balls, and six cause turnovers. This kid's that kid's all over the field. Yeah. I think he's going to be on my watch list.

unknown 36:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 36:46

Gabe Roman comes back, six goals, six assists, twelve points. Guy just that was on the team and contributed as he could, when he could. Uh, short stick D-mid Van George comes back. He had a good season last year. Five goals, six assists, 20 ground balls, and 10 calls turnovers. There was a good transition, short stick D mid right there. Sophomore goalie Aiden Waller, 54%. He was a freshman last year. They threw him right into the deep end of the pool, man.

SPEAKER_03 37:16

Yeah, and they've also got uh junior D Nick Gallery coming back, sophomore defender John Karras, and then sophomore LSM Gavin Lee coming in. So now obviously Gavin did not have the numbers that Sproul did. But look at he was only a freshman last year.

SPEAKER_02 37:37

I know. I know.

SPEAKER_03 37:39

Now I don't see him kind of getting up to the tripling and quadrupling the numbers he had, but he's he's in position to get better numbers. So if you look at what they have, they definitely lost depth, obviously to LSM and some of the defensive positions, but they they have a pretty good core returning. Yeah. So can they beat Chestnut Hill or or Georgian Court or Wilmington?

SPEAKER_00 38:10

Dude, they got a face-off kid, Charlie Foster. Ready for this? 6'6. 210-pound face-off guy. Are you freaking kidding me? Out of O'Dea High School, located. This is where the kid's from. Des Moines, Washington. Wow.

SPEAKER_03 38:29

Wow.

SPEAKER_00 38:30

Wow. Wow. 6'6, 210. He was 49% as a true freshman at the face-off dot last year. I would like to keep an eye on that guy.

SPEAKER_02 38:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 38:44

Yeah. You know, he's only going to get better. He's only going to get better. You know, freshmen coming in, you know how I say it, coming into back into the sophomore year, got that confidence in him, and with that kind of size, you had some confidence. Oh boy. Hey, the Post Eagles average almost 40 shots a game. They were 37% on their man up. Not too bad, actually.

SPEAKER_03 39:06

That's not too bad.

SPEAKER_00 39:07

They average, though, 21 turnovers a game, Kev. They just give the rock away. They clear at 81%. So, I mean, their numbers are kind of decent. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_03 39:22

Yeah, I think it just where it gets tough is once again, you look at roster size. They're at about 30. Look at they've got players that put up good numbers, but it's just more of a fresh legs thing.

SPEAKER_00 39:33

Like you Yeah, yeah, I agree, man. Like in this, in this, in these conferences, I think, I think to get over the hump, man, you need like 40 plus players.

SPEAKER_03 39:44

I'd agree. You you want to get up to that.

SPEAKER_00 39:46

It's hard to run with 25, 28, 30 players out there. They have 11 freshmen on, yeah, 30 on the roster, 11 freshmen this year. Like I said, although the numbers are pretty decent, Kev, this this squad lacks the depth to run with the upper echelon of the CACC, if you ask me.

SPEAKER_03 40:06

Yeah. Now, their out-of-conference schedule isn't too bad for them. They play against AIC, Assumption, Franklin Pierce, Chawan, Malloy, and Deuville. Yeah, they're away.

SPEAKER_00 40:19

They're away most of those games.

SPEAKER_03 40:20

But uh, you look at Assumption and Malloy, probably the two big tickets on that out of conference. And the other ones, they're they're right in the fight for it, right? And you would think if you look at the teams from Deuville, maybe right there with them. The other ones, I think, they have a good chance of winning.

SPEAKER_00 40:38

Yeah, I think they're right there, if you ask me. So again, I think their needs are more numbers, you know, just legs. They need players. And I'd like to see a big step up from the midfield unit, you know?

SPEAKER_03 40:54

Yep, and I think that's what we're gonna see with a lot of these teams that we've got last left is size of the roster. It is what is gonna make the difference in them and the out years.

SPEAKER_00 41:06

So check this out. They were 10-6 in 2023, they were 10-8 last year, and 9-7 this year. They're just kind of like maintaining maintaining their weight, as they say. You know, so again, I think they need a a couple of I'd love to see them get up to like 40, 42 guys. I think it would make a difference for Coach Anarelli.

SPEAKER_03 41:28

I agree. I agree. All right, let's move on and talk about the Dominican of New York, Chargers, in Orangeburg, New York. Do you have your sheet ready to go?

SPEAKER_00 41:42

I do. Coach Shelly Shiner, four and nine, two and six in conference. The Chargers were under first-year head coach Shelly Shiner last year, the former coach of Keene, Division III. Coach Shiner got uh inducted into the New Jersey lacrosse Hall of Fame. So congratulations, Coach, on that. Big huge honor, huge honor.

SPEAKER_03 42:07

And I and I think that will tell you something. And I had a discussion with Coach Shiner as we were trying to put the stuff together, and we had a call with him. And look at he's still building the program and how he wants to do it in the culture. And as you know from past years, right? This is not a program that has a lot of resources. They now have a new field. It's like one of these things are continuing to build. They don't they didn't have a huge roster. Now it looks like it's gonna be in the high 30s, which is starting to get a little bit better. But they just are still in a building phase.

SPEAKER_00 42:41

Absolutely. 100% couldn't agree with you more. They basically stayed the same as the year before, maybe a slight step backwards, goals per game, et cetera. But the one thing I liked about the Chargers was the offensive balance between the attack unit and the midfield unit. The attack unit was led by senior Chad Kaiser, 27 goals, seven assists, 34 points. They got a decent attack unit. Senior attack Nick Poleta added 22 goals and nine assists for 31 points. And junior attack, Steven Dupras, 11 goals, 6 assists, 17 points. Pretty solid numbers from the attack unit. And then the midfield unit was led by senior Sean Cosgrove. You know where he's from? Where is he from? He's from Warwick, New York, Kev. He had 12 goals, 14 assists for 26 points. Senior MIDI Zach Sousa was uh uh had a solid season, 13 goals, six assists, nineteen points. And senior MIDI uh Jimmy Conklin, four goals, three assists, seven points. They round out, rounds out a pretty seasoned midfield. Again, not pouring crazy numbers up, but consistent numbers. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_03 43:57

Right. And and I think that's Where teams like this are, that they've got to continue to be that consistent, take care of the little things. Same thing on defense, right? So they lose Jordan Scott with who had 19 ground balls and 16 cost turnovers, but they return junior LSM Michael Oferio, 50 ground balls, 24 cost turnovers. Sophomore LSM Michael Cheese, 53 ground balls, 18 cost turnovers. So there again, you're looking at those two LSMs. Solid. Very comparable and solid numbers. I mean great numbers. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 44:30

And then you two solid LSMs he has.

SPEAKER_03 44:33

And then senior D poll Rocco Albanese with 26 ground balls and 12 cost turnovers.

SPEAKER_00 44:39

Minky Rocco, how are you doing over there? Go home with the mama. Look at the meat the ball, Rocco. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 44:47

You look at it like he's got a lot of pieces that should be returning. Now remember, he's got pieces.

SPEAKER_00 44:57

Not a lot of pieces. He's got pieces. Not a lot, though, yet. He still has work to do, Coach Schneider.

SPEAKER_03 45:04

Well, that's exactly right. And the what Coach told me is like he's impressed with the talent, but he still needs more depth. And he's got to build what he wants to build. They also returned their goalie Bryce Leighton.

SPEAKER_00 45:18

They ran out two goalies last year. Most of them, they both kind of split time last year. Bryce Leighton and Kyle Jenks. Both were like 52% as a unit.

SPEAKER_03 45:29

Yeah, but is Kyle returning?

SPEAKER_00 45:31

He's a sophomore. He's a freshman. He was a freshman last year. Should be a sophomore this year. They clear it 79%. I think they'd like to get that number up. Definitely. Their face-off was at 38%. I think they'd like to get that number up. And this is the really, this is the one. The turnovers per game. 24 per game, Kev. That is going to be doom. Every single game, I don't care how good you are, if you're turning the ball over 24 times, it's going to be hard to win ball games. Yeah. Because if you're only getting four out of ten at the dot, and you're losing three out of three clears out of ten, you don't have the you don't have the opportunity to throw the ball away 24 times a game.

unknown 46:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 46:23

So that's going to hurt you back there. So I think they have some needs. I need they need players, but how many? I think I counted 35 on the roster, Kev. Would you count?

SPEAKER_03 46:33

It's well, now their roster's not out for this next year. Yeah. Okay. So their needs. But coach told me they were going to be in the high mid to high thirties.

SPEAKER_00 46:48

Okay. So they're moving up. They're trending upwards in that in that category. So um, you know, China has his own recruit class now. You know, he's had a year to recruit.

SPEAKER_02 46:59

Right.

SPEAKER_00 47:00

So I'd like to see what kind of kids he's bringing in athletically, size-wise, what kind of, you know, where he's looking to go, you know, with the offense. Um, because he came with basically a team that he inherited. Inherited, right, exactly. So now he's got a recruit class. So uh the face-off's got to get closer to 50% to for them. Especially, you know, with the clears at 79%. They need to improve on clearing, keep the turnovers down, and just recruit, recruit, recruit, Coach Shiner. Just keep on banging down the recruitment trail, you know.

SPEAKER_03 47:39

And I think that's what he's do trying to do. He's trying to bring in the right players that fit his culture. What he's now that word is used a lot, but he's trying to build something of what he was trying to do back at Kane. And it's a rinse and repeat because it was successful there and he knows it can be successful here. It's not an overnight thing. And so this year will be what we want to see this year is can they be more consistent? Can they do a little bit better in those fundamentals and improve in some of those stats?

SPEAKER_00 48:16

Yeah, my final note was second-year head coach has planted his scheme and culture, and the roots are planted. Now he's just got to get these charges charged up. I think, you know, I think recruiting is a big thing, too. So um going to be looking forward to watching uh Coach China and the Chargers.

SPEAKER_03 48:35

Yeah, I agree. I agree. And here's another team with a new head coach. We got a few this year, uh, and this one is the Caldwell Cougars. The Cougars. With new head coach, Dom Scorsha.

SPEAKER_00 48:55

Coach Scorsha? I feel bad for you, kid. You got an uphill battle. He's got a lot of work to do. I'm not gonna pull away from him now, you know. I like Dominic. You know we do.

SPEAKER_03 49:07

But he's a good kid. In my notes for this this team, too. They are were 0-12 last year, 0-8 in conference, obviously. They have a small roster of like 20. They've got a lot to do to build up. It's gonna be a tough year, even if they're healthy, even if they stay healthy.

SPEAKER_00 49:29

It's gonna be tough. I feel bad for Coach Scorsha. I really do.

SPEAKER_03 49:32

But look, remember what uh what Coach Scorchist said? He said he likes the fight and will in the players he has, and that's what he's got to lean on. He's got to have that and build from there. Remember what he said to us too. Like in the first, we had him on the show after the first few practices, and he said, I was actually kind of surprised at where they were with their stick skills on what he was thinking. So look at he, it this is not gonna be if they can eke out. I don't even think it's like worrying about wins and losses with this team.

SPEAKER_00 50:01

No, it can't be. It can't be worried about wins and losses, but Coach Scorser coming from where he comes from and the background that he's come, it's gonna eat him up. It's gonna eat him up because he's not used to losing, man. He hasn't lost too many games in his career. You know, he's not gonna, he's gonna want to get these kids to change. So, you know, the world Cougars 2025 campaign is one. They would definitely like to forget, Kev, just close that book and put it behind him. A new head coach, a new vision, a new offseason, a new offense, a new defense, a whole new culture. Coach Gorsha comes from Jordy Levine's coaching tree. He'll he will bring many of the mercy ways to Caldwell and the way they do things. Now, coach, you're starting at the bottom, kid. You are starting at the bottom. And you know what? This is gonna show a true character of the coach you are and the man that you're gonna be, and everything that's gonna happen for your future because these low numbers are gonna make it difficult for you for the Cougars, I think. You know, it's gonna be different.

SPEAKER_03 51:18

It is. Now, he does have some players returning uh on offense. You've got Zachary Glatfelter, uh junior mid, 19 goals, two assists. Gavin Starr, number four. Now, here's where you start to see the difference. Some some of the other teams we saw with solid numbers. Number four score last year, seven goals, four assists. So and Nick Nico Fasoli at a sophomore mid, you know, he had seven goals last year, one assist. So he's got some players that have experience, but it's still really building. And that's the same way now on the defensive side, they lose Angelo Drake and D Midi LSM Nick Bonfiglio, but they do return junior LSM James McCarthy, and he had really good numbers. 65 ground balls, 25 cost turnovers.

SPEAKER_00 52:13

You know, Kev, I don't think it's gonna matter much what player is where and what their numbers were last year. I think it's going to be a whole new puzzle thrown onto the table. And coach is gonna start picking those players and making him, making them do what he wants. And it might not work out to wins, but he needs to get this team going. And how do you do that with the fundamentals, right?

SPEAKER_03 52:44

Right. And but here's what I would add to that, right? It's not like he has 50 guys on the roster, he can say, okay, new sheet, all start from scratch, and we're gonna pick it. He's got to use the players he has. And what I do agree with you is he is gonna put him in how he wants to see and his vision for the offense and the defense. And I think what I was talking about, and some of these players that are coming back, at least he's got something to work with to continue to mold.

SPEAKER_00 53:22

He's got something. Yeah. It's gonna be tough. I mean, I'm not gonna I can't I can't pull away. You know, we're running the podcast, we have to say what it is.

SPEAKER_03 53:33

I agree with you. I'm just saying that I I totally agree with you that this is when you only got 20 on the roster and you've got the the drop-off from production on the offensive side, you've got some, you've got a couple players on defense that can help you out, but look at their D was ranked in the eighth percentile last year. So the good news is there's only one way to go, and that's up. The bad news is with the numbers you have and where you are, and when you and when you got to the program, it's gonna be a struggle this year.

SPEAKER_00 54:09

You know, coach has a real strong Long Island background. I believe that his recruiting is gonna be hard. I think he's gonna recruit hard, not be hard, recruit hard. I think he's gonna be on that trail looking to stuff this roster and get these boys going. I think he's young enough to where he can relate to the younger players. Oh, sure. And and and get and get players to come to Caldwell. I think coach's biggest job right now is recruiting. I think that that's where a lot of his energy should be. Because just recently we had a series of tournaments up here in New York that just ended like a week ago, uh just you know, Thanksgiving weekend, pretty much. So there was a lot of coaches. I'm sure Coach Scorsha was at many of those. Yeah. And you know what? And he's got uh another Mercy guy helping him out, you know, and um I think it's gonna be a new culture, a whole new thing, all new ingredients, a whole new cake batch, a new bowl, a new spoon, you know, just it's a whole new kitchen, a whole new everything, Kev.

SPEAKER_03 55:20

So uh look look at this Dom Scortia is the fourth head coach since 2020. And so you gotta write the ship first.

SPEAKER_00 55:34

Yeah. And then move from there. So I love Scortia. I think he's a good kid. I think he's gonna try hard. I think the only way to get this program really up and going is to is recruiting. It's the recruiting trail. You know? And that's that's where they need that's where they need to be. Okay, on to the next. What do you got?

SPEAKER_03 55:57

I've got uh Felician, the Golden Falcons.

SPEAKER_00 56:01

The Golden Falcons, Brendan Bonekom, Rutherford, New Jersey, Kev. Another New Jersey team. Up where the Giants and the Jets play. Yeah. It's in New Jersey. This why don't they call them the Jersey Jets and the Jersey Giants? Why do they call them New York? I don't get it. Hey, it's a holdover, you know, from years past when they weren't in Jersey. It's Jersey, man, no matter how you cut it. Four and nine overall, two and six in conference last year. Only 22 players on the roster, Kev. Another, another short rostered team in the CACC.

SPEAKER_03 56:41

Yeah. Coach says that this year they're going to be around uh 30. Now their roster's not out on the on the website, but he did reach out and let us know that that was going to be the case. Look at they basically were steady state from 2024 on the record. They're not really doing anything like to break through to the next level yet. And I think once again, we talk about this. It's really a lot of it is based on having the depth.

SPEAKER_00 57:09

Another young team, you know, a lot of young guys last year. They struggled in most categories. When you know, when you're young, that's what's going to happen. Uh 34 shots per game. Man up was at 28%. They turned the ball over 22 times a game. The one area where they really shined was face-off. They were at 61%. They clear at a decent 81%. They'd like to get that up. The offense was led by a true freshman last year, Kev. Attackman, Connor Langdon. You know where he's from? Where is he from? William Floyd High School, Shirley, Long Island out in Nassau, uh Suffolk County out there. Wow. Big school. William Floyd's a football school. 19 goals, 13 assists, 32 points.

SPEAKER_03 57:57

Yeah, coach told us that he really was the quarterback of the offense last year, and you'd got to expect him to take next steps this year.

SPEAKER_00 58:09

I think he's gonna make even I think he's gonna be even better this year. Their next highest scorer was their face-off guy.

SPEAKER_02 58:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 58:17

Believe it or not, Jaden Rios. He had 20 goals, 10 assists, 30 points, and he was an outstanding 63% at the dot. There's a shining, there's a diamond in the rough, isn't there? Uh, you got a tackman Ethan Tooner returns, 12 goal, eight assists, 20 points. Senior LSM Liam Dunn. I had 15 goals last year.

SPEAKER_03 58:41

Yeah, so coach said that he is making the switch full time to a two-way middle because of his value on the offensive side of the ball, which if you look at his numbers, sick. 15 goals, five assists as a as with a long pole. That's crazy.

SPEAKER_00 58:59

35 ground balls and 17 close turnovers. Yeah, yeah, definitely, definitely. Uh defenseman Declan Olivia comes back. Oliva, Oliva, my bad. Declan Oliva, the sophomore, out of Tappan Z High School in Spark Hill, New York, Kev. Uh he started in all but one game, scooped up 21 ground balls, and caused 13, calls turnovers. They do lose goalie Nick Grieb. So who gets the start? That's what I need to know.

SPEAKER_03 59:42

So what coach said was Landon Santangelo.

SPEAKER_00 59:46

Sant'Angelo.

SPEAKER_03 59:47

Santangelo, thank you very much. He was the backup for Nick's last two seasons, and he's got really the nod. Now, what coach said, even this is really interesting to Felician, he's the first non four-year starter in program history. So, what they've had is a guy that came in as a freshman, played all four years, and then they handed off to another freshman. Landon is coming in and had spent two years behind him, and it'll be really interesting to see how what a difference that could make. Right? Because sometimes that's great. You get to see, you get you get you're kind of under the wing of the starting goalie. There's no pressure from you at getting ball shot at you as a freshman. Let's see what he can do if he can step up. Nick Greeb was good when he when he left. 55%. So we'll have to see what Land can do.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:40

So they're out of conference schedule at Southern New Hampshire. They host UDC at AIC, at St. Mike's, they host Davison Elkins, and then they open up CACC play at Caldwell. So this is another team that kind of just maintains Kev a little bit. Um, short on numbers. I think their basic needs are numbers. You know, 22 players are gonna make it an uphill battle for the Golden Falcons, you know what I mean? A little bit more balance on offense, take care of the rock. But most of this team returns, Kev, with another year of maturity for this young squad.

unknown 1:01:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:22

Be enough to get them, get them to six wins maybe this year.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:25

Right. They they do lose, I mean you add in the goalie of Nick Greeb, they do lose more on defense than probably what they lose on on offense. But there's changes on that side, right? So, like they're you look at their number two and number three scores, face-off, and it was an LSM. So, can they get other production? You're right, though, they bring back a lot. I think they need to control the face-off and they need to control the pace of play. If they want to run, that that's what I think they're gonna need to do to get some more wins.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:59

Again, I just think it's really hard to run out there with you know less than you know 30 players. It just makes them really, really difficult. I mean, the legs by the end of the game just don't got them. You know what I mean? Yeah, just gonna run teams are gonna run you down, you know. Wilmington's gonna send 40 guys out at you, 50 guys, you know. So we'll see what happens with uh Coach Monacom. He's doing a pretty decent job up there. Keep plugging away, Coach. Exactly.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:29

All right. Let's move on to another Connecticut team. We're moving out of New Jersey to Bridgeport, Connecticut, and the Purple Knights.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:39

The Purple Knights. Ryan McAlevy takes over Kev. Former Florida Tech coach, there for a long time. 7-8 last year at the Purple Knights were 4-4 in conference. Their signature win was a 17-11 win over Holy Family. And uh again, he's uh this is a squad that struggles to beat teams over 500. You know, they they they lose to the ranked teams.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:11

Young, young team. Really young.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:14

They're only in their fourth year. Right.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:17

So saying you're about seven and eight and four and four in conference, it's not too bad. Obviously, you want to make uh the next leap. And once again, one of the challenges is gonna be roster size. Their roster's at 28. Here's what's funny, Coach sent us a note. He said, Yeah, I'm still hoping for some mid-year transfers. So if you know anyone, send them my way.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:42

See, he he wants he wants to move things quickly there, Coach McAlevy. I know he does. You know, he brings a lot of pedigree, and he's a Long Island guy. He's a Long Island guy. He's not D2. He knows D2 like the back of his hand, so I think this is a really good hire for the Purple Knights. And he inherits some pretty damn good players. Senior midfielder James Napoli is a good player, Kev. I've been watching his kid since he's sixth grade. Went to the same high school as Matt PayPack from Wingate University, went to the same high school as Nick Del Grosso, who's now at Newberry, who was at limestone. That high school put out some pretty good lacrosse players. So, James, he led the Purple Knights. He's a strong and seasoned midfielder that can be lethal. He can take over games. He had 25 goals, 18 assists, 43 points. He's really, really good. And coach is going to have fun coaching him for sure. I know that. Uh, sophomore mid Steven Trauma put up some nice numbers last year as a true freshman, Kev. Uh 24 goals, 14 assists with 38 points. And senior midfielder Matt Leventini returns as well, rounding out what I think is a solid midfield unit.

SPEAKER_03 1:05:05

Very solid. Very, very solid. And then you've got junior attackman Ashton Lankowski with 24 goals and three assists. So, but really, if you look at who they're returning, and the top three scores are middies, they're gonna run stuff through the midfield.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:23

Yeah. And if Coach can get a couple of guys that, you know, and and put his offense in and get his attack unit to get going. I mean, but that is a solid midfield unit, if you ask me.

SPEAKER_03 1:05:35

Yeah. 100%.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:36

They got a bunch of guys too. And and Napoli's brother, he's a defenseman. He comes back, he plays. Um the triplets. There were triplets, there's three of them.

SPEAKER_03 1:05:47

You also have uh two short stick D middies that are seniors this year. Uh Matt Levent oh, I've got Matt Leventini in there too, but he he had thirty eight ground balls and six cost turnovers to go. With his 19, that's a good player. He's a very good player. Then we've got short 50 mini Joe Martin at 38 ground balls, 11 costs, turnovers. And with Sean at defense, you've got Ryan Thomas, who coach says look out for, along with Luca Runyan and and Brian Wolf. So they've got some some key guys coming back on D, and they're returning their goalkeeper. Casey Domchowski.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:29

Yep. Domchowski, yeah, 52% last year. Not bad. Senior faceoff Connor Collin comes back. That's a good one. Ryan Ryan Thomas defenseman comes back. Brian Wolfe. So they got a nice core coming back. Again, though, still low on numbers, Cav. And it's tough to run with the upper echelon of this, this.

SPEAKER_03 1:06:55

Well, and that's what my notes are. They bring back a ton of experience, but not a lot of depth. So once you get past that first MIDI line and and a few of that attack, and and you've got very strong close defenders ready to go. But how many short stick D midis do you have? W what's the rotation for that for fresh legs? So can they take down with those numbers, you know, uh Georgian Court, Chestnut Hill, Wilmington. It's still gonna be tough. I think that's still gonna be tough. Can they can they hang with a post? Can they take care of business in the rest of the CACC? I think they're gonna have a good shot at that. But once again, 28 isn't that that big of a of a roster that and coach knows that. He's saying, like, look at if you know any mid-year transfers that are looking for a place to stay.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:54

Yeah, so they average 10 10 goals a game. They only average about 39 shots. Their man up was at 24%. Faceoff was at 50 per seven, 57% as a unit. They clear at 81, but they give up, they give up goals and they turn the ball over. Kind of middle of the road numbers, Kev, and kind of explains their record, don't you think?

SPEAKER_03 1:08:19

Yeah, I mean. Their man-up decline from the year before. Their shots per game is not bad, I don't think, at 39.6. I mean, it's getting up there. Faceoff's pretty good. It's a clears, and like you said, turning the ball over too much are the things that we've seen time and time again for some of these teams that have have got to start to turn that around. So who's on their out of conference? So their out of conference is uh Farmingdale State, which I think is D3. They've got Franklin Pierce, Bentley, Malloy, Quincy, AIC, and St. Thomas Aquinas. Oh, wow. Okay. So that's a good out of conference.

SPEAKER_00 1:09:02

Definitely, definitely. You know, I think Coach McAleby brings, you know, all that coaching and knowledge and that pedigree. I think he's gonna definitely make this team better. I think it was a really good hire. I think he I think he's gonna have to recruit. You know, he's gonna have to hit that. I'm sure he was at all these tournaments on Long Island for the last. And then the one at Capelli, I'm sure he was. So that's what the Purple Knights have to do. I think they got a good solid midfield unit, like to see some more production out of the attack, tighten up that defense, and let's see Coach McAlevy do some do some stuff out there in Bridgeport.

SPEAKER_03 1:09:42

Exactly. Exactly. So now on to the last team in the CACC that we're gonna talk about in the preview, and that's Holy Family, the Tigers.

SPEAKER_00 1:09:54

The Tigers! They're great.

SPEAKER_03 1:10:03

The Tigers out of Philadelphia. I can't even say it now. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

SPEAKER_00 1:10:10

Coach Noah Morris. Yeah, in his third year now. Nine and seven last year, three and five. Not bad year. Over 500, Kev. Huge improvement in overall record. I think Coach Morris has done an outstanding job building this holy family program, if you ask me.

SPEAKER_03 1:10:30

Yeah. Yeah. So their 2026 roster's not out yet. They had 33 on the roster last year, and that was a really good jump from the year before. So I think you're right. He is building this program. And when you look at the record, yeah, three and five, not that great, but nine and seven. They're out of conference last year. They're out of conference for 2026, it's not out yet. But they're out of conference last year. If you look at who they played, it was probably where they needed to be to get where they were. But, you know, now they got, I think they got to start to turn that into a little bit tougher schedule. So they had um, you know, they had teams like Davis and Elkins, Virginia State, Tiffin, UDC, Stack. But they also beat, look at they beat Caldwell. They beat uh Dominican and Felician in conference.

SPEAKER_00 1:11:24

Everybody beat Caldwell, Jeff. Now that's true. That's true.

SPEAKER_03 1:11:28

They and they lost it to Yuville by one. So they it's gonna be really interesting to see what they do this year.

SPEAKER_00 1:11:37

I just think what Coach Morris has done with this team in a two-year period is just really amazing to get almost 10 wins in the second year program. You know what I mean? So they're in their third year. This team is laced with freshmen and sophomore. The squad, though, they sit they see tired legs like the other squads that have short short numbers, Kev. And um this at the end of the season, they lost four of their last six. I think they just they just got tired. They just couldn't hang with the big boys anymore, you know.

SPEAKER_03 1:12:12

And um And who knows if some of that was due to injuries with that roster. Now, 33 is better than some of the other teams we had. Let's see where they are in numbers this year when they're when their roster comes out.

SPEAKER_00 1:12:23

Their offense, though, Kev, was led by two true freshmen. Attack Jake Feeney out of Eastern High School in Vorhees, New Jersey. 38 goals, 35 assists, 73 points. Outstanding for a young freshman. And Jake, he's got a partner in snipe. You know, have your partner in crime? Yeah. He's got a partner in snipe, Kev. Has attacked Noah Simpson from Oshawa, Ontario. 39 goals, 28 assists, 67 points. And you know what makes these two guys special? Gonna blow your mind right now. Both these kids were number one and number two in the country in points as freshmen. Wow. Number one and number two among all freshmen in the United States and the NCAA and Division II in points. I think Coach Morris got to be pretty darn happy about that. Because what happens with freshmen when they come back for this sophomore year? Just think, man. You know, 73 points and 67 points from freshmen.

SPEAKER_03 1:13:38

Yeah, those those are unbelievable numbers. Then you add in guy like uh junior middy Xander Kelly with 42 goals and 10 assists last year. They've got they've got a lot of production, a lot of guys. Another attackman, James Bienia, 28 goals, only uh a Paulsley 16 assists.

SPEAKER_00 1:13:59

44 points, boy. Yeah, I know. That is that attack unit's lethal, man. Yeah. Think about that.

SPEAKER_02 1:14:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:14:08

73, 67, and 44 points out of your attack unit. Yeah. That's something I'm really be happy about. Oh, man. You'd you'd take that all day, every day, and twice on Sunday. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:14:25

And then look at on on defense, they're returning Jackson Brown. Uh he was only a freshman last year, so he's a sophomore yesterday, 43 ground balls, 19 cost turnovers, and sophomore D Pole Logan O'Keefe, 40 ground balls and 24 cost turnovers.

SPEAKER_00 1:14:43

Yeah, good season. Goalie James Demakopoulos. Demakopoulos? Demakopoulos? Demakopoulos? That's a tough one. The sophomore, you know where he's from?

SPEAKER_03 1:14:58

Where is he from?

SPEAKER_00 1:14:59

Right over here, Kev. Carl Place, Long Island, not far from Hofstra.

SPEAKER_03 1:15:03

Right around the corner.

SPEAKER_00 1:15:05

Not far from Hofstra. He was at 55% as a true freshman last year. Sophomore face-off Jaden Williams. You know where he's from? He's from Mays Landing, New Jersey. He took most of the face-offs last year, and he was at 45%. Hey, you know what? They had a pretty decent midfield too, Kev. Junior Xander Kelly had 42 goals. Yep. 16 assists for 52 points, and sophomore Nick Garrigan had 18 goals. And Max Max Covley, six goals and six assists, 12 points. He's, you know, not bad. I think the Tigers are kind of poised to be a squad that's going to be a little bit more seasoned. I think that they could win 10 to 11 games this year.

SPEAKER_03 1:15:53

And look at this, Danny. We talk about trying to improve just in the stats, work on the fundamentals, be more efficient and effective. Look at the difference in their stats from 2024 to 2025. In 2025, they went 47.2 shots per game, Vice 28.7 in 2024. That's huge. They only had six goals per game in 2024.

SPEAKER_00 1:16:26

Coach should have got coach of the year with that. Just an outstanding job of coaching. Just an outstanding job.

SPEAKER_03 1:16:46

That's exactly what you need to be doing. And that's that is like the blueprint of like, let's not worry about wins and losses. Let's worry about the little things and what we can do to clean up to get improve those numbers. Like, look at the the shots per game alone. Now probably a lot of that.

SPEAKER_00 1:17:06

47 47 shots a game, man.

SPEAKER_03 1:17:09

Is having guys like Jake Feeney and Noah Simpson come in. That has to do with recruiting, right? So you add recruiting with coaching and what you're doing. Yeah. Big improvement from the second year. And I I just think they're going to continue to build. I I had the question: do they continue to build? I think I'm convincing myself that that is what they are doing.

SPEAKER_00 1:17:30

The one thing that they have to really kind of clean up is shots on goal percentage. They got to get those shots on goal. Check this out. They took 755 shots last year. That's a lot of shots, man. But only 223 were on goal.

unknown 1:17:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:17:51

So they're spraying them all over the place a little bit, like my golf game on a Sunday morning. So I think Coach and Morris has done a really good job down there for the Holy Family Tigers in Philly. I think the attack units are very good. These kids were one and two in the country. I think the midfield was formidable as well. I think they're all going to improve. Super young freshmen and sophomore all over the field last year and just about every single position. Um I think they're I think they're going to be more seasoned, and I I think they're going to win 10 to 11 games. That's my I think they're the team to watch in the CACC this year.

SPEAKER_03 1:18:36

I think they have a good shot. I mean, I think, you know, if we look back at what we were talking about across all these teams, we kind of said that uh Georgian Court's going to hold serve. Wilmington looks tougher. Holy Family is going to need to win a few more games in conference against like a post-type team to build to that 10. Which I think they have a chance of doing. I think that you I think you're right. I think they you know, we talked about a few teams having a core coming back. They've got like everyone coming back.

SPEAKER_00 1:19:14

Yeah, pretty much. Yeah, they're good. They're gonna be good. I just think it's a numbers thing with you know some of these teams.

SPEAKER_02 1:19:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:19:22

Like Bridgeport, like Holy Family. I think that it's a numbers thing. I think I think they got players there, they got coaches there, they got guys that can be.

SPEAKER_03 1:19:38

Which is not, like we said, is not out yet.

SPEAKER_00 1:19:40

So to wrap things up in the CACC, I call it the black and blue division. Um, these guys, you know, they're tough, they're Philly kids, they're jersey kids, you know, them blue-collar, hard hat kind of confidence, Kev. They beat each other up. I really think Wilmington's gonna have a chip on their shoulder, and I think it's gonna be theirs to lose this year. I like Chestnut Hill. I think that they're gonna be a formidable squad. 7-6 last year, 6-2. DeCarlo always puts out great defenses. Got to definitely, you know, they got their top four scores, you know. They're gonna be a decent squad. I think they're gonna be one to watch out with. Holy Family, we just talked about post-Eagles. You need numbers, guys. You're at 9-7 this year. You've been maintaining that kind of eight and seven, nine and seven, ten and six, you know, that kind of record over the years. It could be the numbers thing. Just need to improve on that. And I think you could see difference in post-eagles. Caldwell, Coach Scorsch has got a job to do. He's got he's got his work boots on, he's got his hell hard hat on, he's got his tools in his pockets, he's ready to go to work up there in Caldwell, New Jersey. Dominican Chargers, Shelly Shiner. Um, again, I think it's just a matter of a numbers thing with that school as well. Getting his culture in there, getting his stuff planted. And I think he's stepping in the right direction again. Four and nine, two and six. They get they got some they got some work to do. Uh, what do you think, Kev?

SPEAKER_03 1:21:29

No, I agree with you. I think you did a pretty good rundown with that. I would say like the one team that you didn't mention again, and I kind of said I think Georgian Court's gonna be right up there again. Oh, Georgian Court, yeah. They are solid. Oh, yeah. But we'll see where the other teams, like I said, I think a lot of them still need they're they're they're trying to improve. All the other teams are trying to get to the next level. Unless you got a team like Poost that's kind of been there and they they're trying to get to that one level higher. Um, I think this is a good conference. It's a strong conference right at the top, and you've got a lot of teams that I think have potential to improve throughout and just make this conference get it a little more, a little more parity. It won't be this year. I I'm hoping in the next couple years, as these some of these coaches have come in the and what they're they're starting to build, bring it to that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:22:29

It's a it's a good I like watching this conference because I listen I just like when teams beat the shit out of each other. And that's what they do in this conference. And they play in weather, you know. Like they they play in the weather. I I've I've seen like some Georgian court games where there was ice on the field, man. Like, you know, like and these kids go out and play in it. So it's a cool kind of conference. Had two, two NCAA guys last year, you know, teams in last year. I don't know. We'll see if that will happen this year.

SPEAKER_03 1:23:01

It can. It could it's uh there's a fairly good chance with some of those teams at the top.

SPEAKER_00 1:23:07

Absolutely. So definitely a good conference. I like the CACC.

SPEAKER_03 1:23:11

100%.

Shout outs

SPEAKER_03 1:23:12

Okay. Now it's time to move to shout-outs.

SPEAKER_00 1:23:16

I have no shout-outs, Kev.

SPEAKER_03 1:23:19

I have got one. Of course you do. And this shout-out goes to our podcast, In the Crease, Danny. Why do I say that? We're trying to grow up after five or six years. We actually have a website now. There we go. Everyone can go to www.inhecrease lacrossepod.com. It will be in our show notes moving forward. You can find every episode on that website. You can contact us through that and we will get it and be able to answer. You can leave a review. You can even, Danny, buy us a cup of coffee. Wow. There's a way that there's a neat little widget on the on the website that you can click on. And if you think, like, look it, I would spend an hour talking to Kevin or Danny, maybe not both of us at the same time, but Kevin or Danny in a coffee shop. I'd buy them a cup of coffee so they could talk C A C C with me. You could leave a donation. It doesn't have to be what they're suggesting. You can do little. Every little bit helps because doing this podcast costs money with a website, Zoom, etc. etc. So I would love for everyone to check out www.inthecreasecrosspod.com.

SPEAKER_00 1:24:49

Yeah, kind of awesome.

SPEAKER_03 1:24:51

And that, Danny, that's my shout out, and that concludes this preview. That's a wrap, Danny. That's a wrap from Philly Cat.