DII Lacrosse Conference Tourney Time Continues!

Intro

SPEAKER_01 0:32

Welcome, welcome, welcome to another episode of In the Crease with Danny and Kevin, a coast-to-coast discussion of these two men's across. I'm your co-host, Kevin Stenstrom, and with me as always is the president of the Carnivorous Ornithologist Club, Danny Moran. Hey, Danny. That's a Joe Vedovnik, isn't it? No, he gave me another one, and I went to this one. Why? Because we eat and crow tonight, Danny.

SPEAKER_00 0:58

Oh, I wait till you hear my music lead in. Wait till you hear that.

SPEAKER_01 1:02

Yeah, well, let's go for that right now.

SPEAKER_00 1:05

All right. Little little Aretha Franklin. Chain of fools. That's what we are. Chain of fools. Five long years we've been doing this podcast. Making predictions. And we still can't get it right. God, I just want to hear Aretha sing for a second. I know. She can sing. Oh my lord, she was amazing. Oh, yeah. Yeah. But we are a chain of fools, Kev, man.

SPEAKER_01 1:43

But I'll tell you one thing that I learned this week. No, not too bad. What I learned this week reminded me is that is why you play the game. Anything can happen. 60 minutes, man. You know, survive in advance. Yeah. And there were some great games that were overtime wins. There were some you couldn't have predicted even in the semis. Forget about the finals. It was just really some really good, some really good upsets, to be honest. It was it was fun to watch that those teams came from you didn't expect and win. But before we get to those games, Danny, and we'll probably start with one that we're eating crow, let's talk about a little D2 news. Two things happened last week, right after we recorded our last podcast. I wish these conferences and these teams would do it on a Monday. So when we record on a Tuesday, we could talk about it. But they haven't caught on to our cycle yet. You know, actually, one of them, we actually had a heads up and a little inside scoop, but we couldn't say anything until it was official. Yeah. The first one, and I'm not gonna say which one that is, the first one is St. Anselm going D3 starting in the 2027-2028 season.

SPEAKER_00 3:05

That sucks for D2.

SPEAKER_01 3:07

Yeah. They remain in D2 next year. I reached out to coach, Coach Burdeaux, and said, hey, that basically that that we are extremely sad, and we think it sucks that you're leaving. He said that he was a little taken back by it himself. He's blindsided by it. Blindsided, and he's like, I guess we have to go back to back. So we'll see. I it is it's a it's a damn shame because they brought so much.

SPEAKER_00 3:34

Yeah, Cine is a great lacrosse program, and then really just a lot of fun to watch. Love their offense, love what Bordeaux has done there. I'm wondering, are these players gonna enter the portal?

SPEAKER_01 3:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 3:47

You know, because you know, some of them are freshmen sophomores, you know, like LeMay, like for example, like he's a sophomore. Is he gonna stay? Is he gonna do it?

SPEAKER_01 3:58

Does he want to do D3 and go D3 is now he'll have for his senior year because he'll be D2 next year. Yeah, so so he's got three years of probably, and I don't know what their program is funded at. And is if you know, obviously scholarships make a difference. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:13

How do they work that out? So you know, like again, Kevin, we've discussed this. Some families don't have it. Right. You know what I mean? And those scholarships mean everything.

SPEAKER_01 4:21

Yeah, I agree. So totally agree. We'll have to see.

SPEAKER_00 4:24

It's said, it's said, it's like another good team. We're losing another one. Right, exactly. Now the other is getting thin, man. North is getting thin.

SPEAKER_01 4:36

You are correct there. You are very correct. There's some phenomenal teams, but overall, if you stacked them up, I think the the and we can probably talk about this later. I I I thought you're right. It's getting thin. There's some really good teams that other ones need to start stepping up into that into that role, and it's gonna take some time. You lose a team like St. Anselm, you'll lose a team like Lemoyne, Mercyhurst, all up in the north over the past few years. 100%. It's tough. So it is. Okay, the second piece of news is Flagler moving to the Sunshine State Conference. Yeah, that makes sense, doesn't it, though? It makes a lot of sense. I mean, they're right there in the state, they play those teams all the time, out of conference. It'll be interesting to see what their out of conference is gonna be. Yeah, it's sad for the Peach Belt, though. Yeah, it's really sad. But it makes total sense for that team.

SPEAKER_00 5:34

Oh, yeah, it does. It really makes a whole bunch of sense for so many different reasons. But you're right about that. I didn't even think about that. That out of conference schedule should be interesting now. Yeah. I bet you they put Peach Belt guys on the game.

SPEAKER_01 5:47

I bet you they have some Peach Belt. I'm curious if they do some other teams like more Conference Carolinas, more SAC. I don't know. It'd be interesting to see how they how that works out. Yeah. It's time they start playing some of those teams anyway. Well, they if you think about it, their whole out of conference schedule was basically the Sunshine State, which made so much sense. A great conference, great for them for competition, and helps them in money wise, travel-wise, and helps them out from a strength of schedule. Oh, 100%. So that it it was a no-brainer.

SPEAKER_00 6:22

But now they totally make sense.

SPEAKER_01 6:25

But now their out of conference will be smaller because they've got so many teams in the Sunshine State. Because guess another there's another team that starts next year is Barrie University. That's right. So they have a fairly big conference now next year.

SPEAKER_00 6:35

Yeah, that's true.

SPEAKER_01 6:36

It'll be it'll be great. Actually, it'll be fun to watch them in the Sunshine State and see that whole conference next year because that's a you talk about we talked about thin, you look at that conference, they're thick. Yeah. Oh yeah.

Conference Tourney Review and Preview

SPEAKER_01 6:47

Yeah. All right. Well, now it's time to kind of go into our week and review, and let's start off with one we should just just eat crow from the beginning, and that's the Conference Carolina tournament. Oh boy. Let's start with the semis that happened on Friday. And we'll start with the game that we predicted correctly. North Greenville and uh Lees McRae. Lees McRae wins this game 16-12. North Greenville, we're not going to go through these too much because we've got to get to the final. North Greenville controlled the first half and went on a six-goal run. Lees McRae kind of came back late run. It was six fourth half, and then it was all Lees McCrae in the second half outscoring North Greenville 12-6. Okay. And then so they won the game 16-12. But here's the shocker Belmont Abbey and Barton. Barton pulls this out 13-12. And they, Danny, went on a 6-0 run to begin this game. And they never looked back. They controlled the tempo. Belmont Abbey tied it at 9. And then what did Bart? It's like one of those things. You've got to crawl back. You've got to get back inch by inch. And when you get there, you're so tired out. My words, not what really happened. I didn't get to watch this game. It's 9-9. And then Barton scores like the next four goals. Take some winds out of their sales.

SPEAKER_00 8:04

Yeah. Yeah. Dude, I got to e crow on that. I expected Belmont Abbey to just kind of run away with that conference.

SPEAKER_01 8:10

You and I had them winning the whole thing.

SPEAKER_00 8:12

Yep. And uh, you know, the Barton Bulldogs, man, they that was the big, big, big upset. That might be the biggest upset in Division II this year, maybe. It could be.

SPEAKER_01 8:23

If you look at where Barton was this year and even last year. Nine and seven. They they did not have that. Yeah, their record this year's 10 and now 10 and 7. 9 and 7 when they got that yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:42

They were really underdogs. They were like what? They were the fourth seed in the in the conference.

SPEAKER_01 8:50

Yeah. They beat Mount Olive. Which you expected. I expect them to win that game. Yeah. But I did not ex the beat Belmont Abbey. They came out, beat Belmont Abbey, and then they go to the final against Lees McRae. Now Lees McCrae beat them in the regular season. But Barton came out and they dominated in the third quarter. Yeah. It was never the game was never a blowout, but it seemed they had control the whole time in the second half.

SPEAKER_00 9:23

Yeah, Lees had made a run late to kind of bring the. Yeah, but very late.

SPEAKER_01 9:27

It was like 15 to 10, and they got it to 15 to 12, and that was it. They their offense efficiency in the second half was amazing. And it lacrosse reference had a very good recap of the game and talked about all the percentages and their efficiency and offense. And it was you your naked eye could see it as you're watching the game, but then you backed it up with the stats, right? They just played a really good game. This game was 3-3 after one. It seemed very evenly matched. It seemed that Barton was scoring by beating their man, and Lees McRae was doing it by picks and cuts and dishing, right? Kind of more about that box game. And I thought that would win out in the end. But what happened is Barton's defense got much better. It was 5'4 at half. Then they went by, and the Bobcats are winning, and then Barton went on a three-goal run, and that's basically all she wrote. They had a 6-1 run to go up 6-10. It ended up being 11-7 after three, and they never looked back.

SPEAKER_00 10:32

Yeah. So unbelievably, Barton Bulldogs are the Conference Carolinas champs, man. And they get the AQ. Yeah. So them, but I'll tell you what, they're going to get into the tournament and they're going to say bye-bye real quick.

SPEAKER_01 10:52

You would think. But you've got to give them credit for doing it. And I'll tell you what, we talk about this all the time.

SPEAKER_00 11:00

That's two upsets. Yeah. On paper, they shouldn't win those games. But they they on the But they put it together. But they put it together. But they're going to face a whole new level of lacrosse because they're probably going to be a lower seed. They're not going to be, they're going to play a high seed in the conference, in the region. Good night.

SPEAKER_01 11:21

Yeah, but I'll tell you, that's which we talked about this before. The automatic qualifiers are just great for every team and recruiting everything else. And now they get to say, look at guys, we got there. We got to go to the NCAA tournament. This is what you can do when you come here. That's right. And they can build off of that. No matter what. We'll see what happens.

SPEAKER_00 11:39

100%. I never expected Barton to do what they did. I don't think Barton expected to do what they did. With the season they had, they're really inconsistent up and down season. You know, I agree. And put it together at the right time.

SPEAKER_01 11:54

At the end, playing with house money, really. When you play Barton uh Belmont Abbey, they were playing with house money.

SPEAKER_00 12:00

Of course, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:01

Now they're playing at Young Harris in a neutral field, which also helps. But I I just give them a ton of credit. They I watched the Lees McCrae game. I didn't get to watch the Belmont Abbey game, and they they just played better. They just had a better game plan. They won out. So it was uh it was great to see. Okay, let's move on to the peach belt. This one, Danny. We got right. I got it right. You got it right. Yeah. So in the semis, Flagler beat Lander 15-11, and Montavalo took care of UAH 19-9. Now on Sunday, you get to the final, and Flagler wins out 14-12. And once again, once again, it was a dominance in the third quarter. They came back just like Barton.

SPEAKER_00 12:54

Montavalo went out to a fast start. They looked good. Flagler looked like to be on their heels a little bit in that beginning of the game. But man, they started chipping.

SPEAKER_01 13:05

They had it. The Falcons were up 9-5. And I thought, and that was near the end of the second quarter, and I thought that four-goal difference is not a lot in lacrosse, but they looked like they were just playing more efficiently and better than Flagger. And then all of a sudden the Falcons can basically run out the clock, but Lucas Mullen forces it and turns it over, and Trace McDonald scores, and then they follow it up after a face-off and win, and they score again. And so they go they go from down four to down two in 24 seconds. Yeah. Well, that's what this game is about. Yeah. And then so it's nine, seven and a half. And then just like you said, they chipped away very quickly from a four-goal deficit to two at halftime. And it's almost like it woke them up. They scored the first four goals in the third. Yep. It was 11-9 after three. Zero goals for the Falcons in the third quarter. Yeah, that's huge.

SPEAKER_00 14:18

That's huge. And then I tell you what, I gotta give Montevallo credit, though. They had a good season again. They have a great goalie and agortian. And but you and I both knew that Flagler was going to win that game. We kind of knew that.

SPEAKER_01 14:34

I I picked Flagler. I would say that the score uh and actually how the game went.

SPEAKER_00 14:41

I was surprised in the beginning to see Montevallo go out to such a you know a big commanding lead, it almost felt like. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:49

Like they had command of that game. And Flagler, give them credit, they didn't back down.

SPEAKER_00 14:55

That's right. So Flagler Saints are your Peach Belt uh conference champs are going to the to the big to the big dance.

SPEAKER_01 15:04

Yeah, now remember last year they won the peach belt, but they had a play against Colorado Mesa. And Mesa beat them. And Mesa beat them and got the AQ. So now they get they get their chance. They get the AQ, and we'll see what they can do. Coach Duncan getting it done.

SPEAKER_00 15:21

Getting it done down there in St. Augustine.

SPEAKER_01 15:24

Yeah. Okay. Let's move on to the GLVC. I E Crow here much more than you, Danny. The semis, Undy against Lewis. Lewis takes care of Undy 12-8. Yep. And then Meryville revenge game for the Saints against Rockhurst. And they smacked them around. 17-8 they won. I just wrote this down and we can move on to the final unless you've got some. They scouted well and they had a great game plan and they took it to the Hawks. Period. End of story. We both picked Lewis.

SPEAKER_00 16:03

We both picked Mary Village. I picked Rockhurst. I did. You had to do it because you've been following them all year. You kind of had to.

SPEAKER_01 16:13

I did. I went that way. I did not did not surprise me that Maryville won. I'm kind of surprised at the the score, the lopsided score. But Maryville played a great game. Now let's get to the final. Get to the final. Lewis Maryville at Lewis. We both picked Lewis, and I basically said, you can't pick against them because they're at their home field. Yeah. They haven't lost at home all year. And they still haven't. That's right. They won 16-10. And I think yeah, go ahead. Dominated the Saints, dominated them. Yeah. I never felt like that game was not theirs. Nope, me neither. It was 3-2 after one Lewis, but it was 9-5 at half. Yeah. And and that's about all she she wrote. I mean there were times that Meryville got it within three kind of close, but that's it.

SPEAKER_00 17:15

You know, Meryville showed some youngness a little bit on offense, a little bit late yesterday the other day. A couple of times I felt like they they rushed shots early in the clock when they could have worked the ball around. I thought they took some long shots.

SPEAKER_02 17:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 17:30

You know, they took some shots where they lost possessions, nobody had X to back it up. It's just not really a great offensive day for the Saints for sure.

SPEAKER_01 17:42

Yeah. And uh just the opposite. I think Lewis's offense was humming. Yeah, they looked really good. They looked good. Yeah. So they pulled out 16 to 10. And they get the AQ. Yeah. And so Malachi Good had an unbelievable game.

SPEAKER_00 18:03

He's good, man. Yeah. Yeah. He's good. They they got a pretty potent offense. They do. The defense is pretty good, too.

SPEAKER_01 18:11

Yeah, and Kane Donahue and Gold played really well. I mean, they they have a solid team all around. I'm really interested to see who they get in the NCAA tournament and who they're playing against.

SPEAKER_00 18:24

Yeah, we're gonna have to see. We've got some we got some championships still to go yet. Yeah, we do. We do. So let's move on. So the so the flat um Lewis, they they're their GLVC champs. Gotta give them some props with that 16-10 win. And we talked about this.

SPEAKER_01 18:41

That's a little bit of a bloodbath. I think just like the sack, those four teams playing, it didn't really work out that way. I mean, you called it correctly, and it wasn't the scores weren't really close in any of the games. But that's what also kind of surprised me. Like how dominant Maryville was against Rockhurst, and then how dominant Lewis was against Maryville. Like, I didn't really expect that. And I think that is gonna be I think it'll be interesting to see if Merryville gets an at-large bid. Maybe. They might. They might. And then I think it would be and then I really want to see what Lewis does. Kind of what Maryville did last year. Meryville won it. Won the tournament. And that I they made it all the way to the final four. Can Lewis do the same thing? Does that help them from a confidence level going in there? They're a damn good team. It'll be fun to watch. Oh, absolutely. Okay, let's move to the Sunshine State tournament. Last Wednesday were the semis. These were close games, especially the first round. Yeah, well, the semis, Tampa took care of Florida Southern 17-5. But Florida Tech and St. Leo, we thought this could be a battle, goes to overtime and Florida Tech wins out 8-7.

SPEAKER_00 20:05

They squoked that one out, man.

SPEAKER_01 20:07

Yeah, exactly. I literally throughout a lot of that game did not know who was going to win. I thought Florida Tech would win that game. I thought it'd be close. I didn't think it would be that close, to be honest.

SPEAKER_00 20:25

We both said, you know, St. Leo's offense has been up and down the last couple of weeks. Yeah. Hasn't been as as efficient on offense. But they played a damn good game against a really stout defense. That Jackson's ridiculous in game.

SPEAKER_01 20:39

Well, and the score kind of reflects the defense in this game. Like that the defense, you know, it was going to be a defensive struggle. Um, so to score seven against Florida Tech, bring it to overtime, they did what they needed to do, but but Florida Tech wins out. Yeah. But now some eating crow eating to do, Danny boy. Yeah. Tampa against Florida Tech. Tampa wins 17 to 8. Keep that snot out of the. Oh my God. Yeah. Keep the snot out of them.

SPEAKER_00 21:15

That was a statement came from Tampa.

SPEAKER_01 21:19

I agree. I think I think they listened to the podcast and you telling them that they only scored 12 or 13 a game, and they're like, we'll show Danny Moran what we can do. Well, it's about time, Spartans.

SPEAKER_00 21:28

That's all I'm saying. It's about time. And we know you got it in you, but you haven't been doing it. But you know what? You showed up at a big time spark. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 21:38

You said it exactly right. Statement win. Statement win. They went to an early 3 0 lead before Florida Tech score to make it 3 1. And it was 5 1 after 1. And I actually wrote a note. I said, Is a four goal lead already too much of a gap for Florida Tech? Because we've seen them recently. Their defense was good. Very, very good. Yes. But their offense was struggling, especially against Tampa the last game. And so I thought a four-goal lead was too much, and it definitely was. And I think the other thing is Tampa finally figured out. I don't know if Florida Tech's defense, they didn't look as strong as they had in the past. Sometimes there's they they couldn't recover quick enough on their slides. Tampa was doing a good job of cutting and seeing men who are open and great passing to school.

SPEAKER_00 22:32

Tampa lives so large this time of the year, Kev. They just, you know, with the coaching and the squad that they got, this is the time of the year that they really kind of put it together always. They're really they're just a remarkably coached team, you know, and and just talent all over the field for the Spartans. Um I was, you know, Florida Tech, again, defense I thought was great all year. Their offense was okay. Okay. Their defense kept them in games all year. Yeah. Not in this game. They couldn't stop them. They looked they looked lost out there. They really did. Florida Tech.

SPEAKER_01 23:11

They did not play. It kind of reminds me if you go back to them playing against Wingate and then them playing North Greenville. Their defenses look their defense phenomenal against Wingate, did not look like the same team, same defense against North Greenville. Last Tampa game, their defense was phenomenal. Really good. And you and this game, you didn't see it.

SPEAKER_00 23:36

No. Tampa just destroyed them. I still say Florida Tech gets in, though. I say they get an at large.

SPEAKER_01 23:45

I think they have a I think they have a good shot, too. Yeah. They might have to.

SPEAKER_00 23:48

I think they have a good shot. One of the top at-larges, if you ask me. You know, that first at-large might go to Florida Tech. Could be. So the Spartans are our Sunshine State Conference champs again. Again. Just gonna have to put that on tape. Rollin', rollin', rollin'. Keeps them doggies rolling. Yeah, JP got them boys rolling, that's for sure.

SPEAKER_01 24:19

All right, let's move to the Armac. The Armac. This is definitely some more crow, Danny. Crow eating for me, all over the crowd. Crow eating for me, too.

SPEAKER_00 24:31

Well, this is the one I said I didn't know what to think.

SPEAKER_01 24:34

You did. You did. And we both said that, and we agreed because look at the way the the season worked out. Westminster and Colorado Mesa splitting, Concordia and Colorado Mesa splitting. Westminster beat Colorado, meet beat Concordia two times in a row. I'll get that in a second when we get to the final. So you really it was some toss-ups. Now, the the outlier was probably Northwest Nazarene. They made it to four, number four seed against Westminster. Westminster took care of them 20 to 10. However, if you look at that score early on, and I didn't watch the game, I was just looking at the score. They were made a it was pretty close at halftime, and then they kind of blew it open. Colorado Mesa against Concordia, though. CUI pulls us out in overtime 13 to 12. And I just wrote a note, once again, did not watch the game because let's face facts, Danny, every one of these games, it seems like you have to pay 10 bucks to watch.

SPEAKER_00 25:43

Yeah, that's why I didn't watch a lot of RMAC games this year. I didn't see, I don't think I saw Westminster maybe play once. I haven't seen Concordia maybe once all year. Yeah. When I'm out of playing out of conference so I can watch the game.

SPEAKER_01 25:57

Well, I'll I'll tell you, I watched a little bit. I watched probably a few more games Westminster than Concordia. But just like the last few years, but especially their first season in, Danny, they got better throughout the season. And this year, exactly the same thing. Yeah. They go to the final now, and I wrote a note. I said, I think Concordia likes Salt Lake City because they've beaten Colorado Mesa twice there. Now they're back in in the final against Westminster. Westminster is home. Westminster beat them twice this season, regular season. But look at the scores, Danny. First game, they beat him 22 to 10. Second game, they only beat him by two, 11-9. And now this game, CUI wins in overtime 12-11.

SPEAKER_00 26:58

Yeah, man. That's crazy. I never expected that either.

SPEAKER_01 27:02

If you watch this game, Danny, and I pay the $10. I paid the $10. Game of runs. CUI takes a 3-0 lead. Westminster rallies back to tie at 3-3. CUI scores the next two. Griffin scored next two. It was 5-5 after one. Westminster then scores two to make it 7-5 at half. They hold CUI to zero goals in the second. Then CUI scores three in a row to go up 8-7 after three. They hold Westminster to zero goals in the third. Then it's a run, and then it's like two goals, two goals. It was a crazy game. It just went back and forth. It was tied at 10. There's an illegal body check by Westminster by Westminster's Logan Huggard with 117 left. I didn't really see the illegal body check. Maybe a hold, so maybe a 30 seconds versus a minute. Max Texter of CUI goes stick side high on that EMO to go up one. Westminster wins the faceoff but throws it out of bounds on a low pass. So CUI has it and can run out the clock, but they throw it out of bounds. Duke DeVault passes to Luke Silstrop to score with 11 seconds left. The defense was watching Duke DeVault. He's a big guy. And Luke slips, just slips near the crease. Beautiful pass, 11 seconds scores, goes to overtime.

SPEAKER_00 28:42

And Concordia becomes your R-Mac in overtime.

SPEAKER_01 28:47

And here's the one thing I want to point out. Here's the thing I want to point out. It was pouring rain. And where they have the camera, it's right on the top of the stadium or near the stadium or near the top of the stands, right? It's actually a pretty good game. Yeah, it wasn't too bad, actually. It did a good job. So you never really you hear the crowd and they were loud. They panned one time, the only time I've ever seen this Westminster down. It was packed, and everyone is in rain gear, and they are soaked, and they are so into the game. It was really cool to watch. But yeah, they pull it out in overtime. And let me tell you, that team went wild. I'm sure, of course, man. You talk about Barton?

SPEAKER_00 29:35

Second year in or third year.

SPEAKER_01 29:38

Third year. You talk about Barton and a team that you didn't expect doing that, this is the same thing. Yeah. And they get the AQ for the RMAC.

SPEAKER_00 29:50

Yeah. And go to the dance. Good for them, man. Golden Eagles played ball. They beat some good teams to get there, too. Both overtime games in that tournament for them. Yeah. So just think of that. Oh, the X Hale after that win, right? Yeah. Those boys, I bet you slept good that night.

SPEAKER_01 30:08

Yeah, that was, but but I'll tell it'll be interesting to see who they get matched up to against. You know, you talk about Barton.

SPEAKER_00 30:15

They're going to have a higher, you know, they'll be down in the lower end of the seeds. They're going to have to play a high seed, I think, as well.

SPEAKER_01 30:21

Yeah, no, if Westminster had won based on them being uh Kyler or Mason Beesham, they they may have been a higher seed if they got the AQ. I don't think anyone else from the RMAC is getting in.

SPEAKER_00 30:33

No, that's it. Just them. Nobody else is getting in. Mason won't be.

SPEAKER_01 30:38

Congratulations to them and like congratulations to all the teams that got the AQ so far. So let's go through some games that happened that uh we we don't have the finals yet, but we can go quickly through some of the quarterfinals and talk about where it has. Let's go with the sack first. Kataba against Anderson on Saturday. Anderson wins out 12-9. I I don't know if you watched that game, Danny. I did. What'd you think?

SPEAKER_00 31:05

Anderson's, you know, at the at the dot was the difference, you know. They just dominated the dot. They got more possessions. I thought Kotabba played pretty good, man.

SPEAKER_01 31:15

Yeah, but I kind of felt, and maybe because I was watching that at the same time I was watching Pace Bentley, so I'm watching this. I kind of felt like Anderson seemed to have control of the game. And maybe that's because of the face-off dot.

SPEAKER_00 31:27

You know, like every time, you know, Cotabba. I tell you, man, Kotaba's an impressive team. They really are they're they don't suck anymore. You know, they haven't sucked in a couple of years. They've always been a gritty team, but this year they seem to put things together, and I expect Coach Murphy to even improve on that team next year.

SPEAKER_01 31:44

Oh, I agree. I think they're gonna be. We've talked now about the top four Anderson, Newberry, Lenore Ryan, and Wingate. I think it's gonna be a top five.

SPEAKER_00 31:55

Yeah, Catawba lost by three. That's not such a bad loss. No, it isn't. But you're right. You know, Anderson did can kind of control that game a little bit.

SPEAKER_01 32:04

It was 3-2 at one after one, seven-four Anderson at half. Um, they got it uh to 11-7 after three, and Cotabba fought back. Like, that's the thing that I saw. It's like I think Anderson knew, I mean, they had to be focused because you can't Kotaba came back and got within two, um, and then Anderson scored with 437 left, and that's that was it 12-9.

SPEAKER_00 32:30

Kataba beat the snot of them last time these two met. Yeah. So I'm pretty sure that Coach Mitchell had them pretty dialed in, you know. Exactly. Exactly. Because they didn't want to go home. They still have a chance to do some damage.

SPEAKER_01 32:44

Yeah, we'll get to that in a second. Um, when we talk about the games to watch uh next this next coming week. The other quarterfinal was Lenore Ryan against Lincoln Memorial. I didn't get to watch that game, but it was 24-9 Lenore Ryan over Lincoln Memorial at Lenore Ryan. So add that in there. Great to see Lincoln Memorial get in. And I'll point this out. We talked about it last week. We thought it'd be either Coker or Tusklum. We talked about those two, and I forgot Lincoln Memorial as the third degree. We talked about it like two weeks ago that they were all gonna have the same record and gold differential. Well, it's actually Lincoln Memorial that won out, so congratulations to them for getting into the tournament. Yeah, yeah. Good job, Coach.

SPEAKER_00 33:28

That's great for them. That's huge. Yeah, that's huge, but yeah, it's really big. A juggernaut like LR. Yeah. You know, it's tough. It's it's not easy. It's tough. He's got to face Newberry at Newberry.

SPEAKER_01 33:41

Yeah, we'll get to that in games to watch. I think we and we'll we'll talk about that, but yeah, that's gonna be really interesting.

SPEAKER_00 33:48

Games take place on Wednesday. Anderson's gotta go up to uh go up to Wingate and face Wingate on Wednesday.

SPEAKER_01 33:54

Do you want to talk about yeah, let's talk about the the instead of going games to watch next week, why don't we just go through the rest of the tournament? So on Wednesday, it is the semis, and it's Anderson against Wingate, and then Lenore Ryan against Newberry at Newberry.

SPEAKER_00 34:13

I'm telling you right now, semifinals in the country.

SPEAKER_01 34:16

I will tell you, I think both games are pick'em games to me.

SPEAKER_00 34:21

I tell you, I like LR, man. They're looking good lately.

SPEAKER_01 34:25

I I think that's so I will tell you, out of those two matchups, I'm leaning more LR than Newberry, only because I think they're putting it together. They're starting both defense and offense, and I think although they're playing at Newberry, so that's only we'll have to see. Newberry likes to run and gun, man. They like to get out and Newberry won regular season they won, but by one goal against Lenore Ryan. Right. I I give a little bit of the edge to LR, but the Anderson Wingate game, to me, that's a pick'em. To me.

SPEAKER_00 35:01

I like I like Wingate at home. I think they got the better offense. I I do. I just Anderson's offense is great. They might be number two in the country or so I I as far as goals.

SPEAKER_01 35:15

Well, look at how the last game ended up. It was 1918. Yeah. Wingate. I I think both I said this in the conference preview for the sack that I thought Wingate's offense was probably, if not the best, it's obviously one of the best in D2, and that has played out. They are really, really, really good. My question on this one is it could come down to goalie play in this game. I agree. And I it's a pick'em for me. I can't pick it.

SPEAKER_00 35:46

Like I I would say, yeah, we're if you look at edges, you know, all right. So I mean, offensively, they're pretty even. I might even give a little bit of the edge to to to Wingate on the offensive side. They're just they're really good on offense. Um, at the dot, gotta give the edge to Anderson. Anderson, yeah. You know, the defense, I don't know, man. Yeah. Wingate's defense has played really well the last couple of weeks. Even their face-off guys have played really well the last couple of weeks, and their goalie Quad and uh Quad um Williams. Quad Williams, he's been really good in goal the last couple of weeks. So is Wingate peaking at the right time now, too? Because you remember last year when Wingate went through that gauntlet as the fifth seed, they just kept winning these games. Uh, you know, we're like, oh my God. They just got they seem to put it together at the right time. Remember last year we say, man, they're getting hot at the right time.

SPEAKER_01 36:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 36:50

Are they getting hot at the right time now?

SPEAKER_01 36:53

I I I yeah, I I don't know. I I think we're gonna say not hot at the right time. They've been good all season.

SPEAKER_00 37:02

I think Wingate's defense is better than Anderson's defense.

SPEAKER_01 37:06

So you give the nod to Wingate. I call it I'm Because it's home.

SPEAKER_00 37:09

It's a home game. I'm uh it's a pick'em game for me. I think you're gonna see a lot of people at that game. I think a lot of alumni that are in the area in Charlotte are gonna be at that game. I think it's gonna be a great game. But both of them are gonna be great games. Great games. Absolutely. This is the is the conference, if you ask me. What other conference has a semifinals like that with four top ten teams?

SPEAKER_01 37:37

Yeah, in USILA right now, Newberry's 12, but but in USA Lacrosse, or yeah, USILA, yeah. It's very, yeah, exactly. Yeah, exactly. No, I agree.

SPEAKER_00 37:48

No conference has a semifinal like that. That's a gauntlet right now.

SPEAKER_01 37:53

Like we said last week, bloodbath. It's gonna be a bloodbath. All right, let's go to the NE 10 quarters. Pace against Bentley. Did you watch any of this game?

SPEAKER_00 38:03

I watched a little bit of it, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 38:06

Okay, I watched this game. I had the Anderson game, Catawba game on the other screen. I had another game down at my tablet, and I, but I paid more attention to this one for most of the.

SPEAKER_00 38:16

I had an early gig on Saturday. Oh, you did, that's right. I had to get up and out kind of early, so I didn't get to watch as much as I was.

SPEAKER_01 38:24

Pace Pace Bentley Paces wins this one 16-5. They basically dominated. It was crappy weather up in the north. I don't know if it was raining with where you were in Long Island, but it was crappy at pace.

SPEAKER_00 38:40

Pouring here Saturday.

SPEAKER_01 38:42

4-1 pace after one. Setter's offense was just really, really efficient, I felt. Uh and I think early penalties did not help the Falcons on this one. The pace went four for four on EMO to begin with. And they ended up five and six. Five for six on EMO. And this now that wouldn't have, you know, if they didn't score those, they still would have won the game. But once again, we talk about this. That that is a that's gotta be kind of take the wins out of the sails when you do stuff like that. And they score so much on things. It was 10-4 after three. Pace held the Falcons at zero goals in the third. I just think Pace's offense was just too potent. They they moved the ball really well. They did well on transition, their spacing was great. I mean, it was 14-4 with eight minutes left.

SPEAKER_00 39:44

Pace outcoached Bentley this time. It was outcoached. Yeah. Because Bentley played such a different game. I mean, Pace played such a different game against Bentley the first time. And this time, man, Pace just owned Bentley. Owned them.

SPEAKER_01 40:01

Yeah, they did. It was never a game where I kind of talked about Anderson. Yeah, Pace just controlled the whole thing. I like Pace, man. I like what Coach Mariano's got going on there. Yeah, we'll we'll get to that in a second when we get to the semis. Let's talk about the other quarterfinal. Another Barnburner, Danny. Assumption in St. Mike's. Overtime game. Another overtime game. Assumption wins it 10-9, just like they did last time. 3-3 after one, Danny. 7-4 assumption and a half, but it was tied at 4 before the Hounds made a run. It was 8-6 assumption after 3. And I wrote a note still close in anyone's game. It was not, even though Assumption had been up by a few goals, it was a back and forth game. St. Mike scores first in the fourth to make it 8-7. They get within one to make it 9-8. They get within one again to make it 9-8. And then St. Mike's goalie, Gulachensky, once again, he made some unbelievable saves. If you look at how many what his save percentage was, he's pretty good, man. He had 21 saves in this game, Danny. He's good. 21 saves. He actually uh his stop led to a goal. He he fed it to um up the you know in transition and they tie it up at nine with a great dodge from the right wing and got underneath. He had another doorstep save with five seconds left to make go to overtime. St. Mike's outscored Assumption in the fourth 3-1 to get back. And then uh Assumption wins a face-off. Gulachensky saves it uh from short from a shot up top. St. Mike's turn now. They get in the box to call a timeout, but then Shane Corcoran, that he he has a great save uh for Assumption. They clear turns and unsettled transition. St. Mike's D is not they basically now it's Sumption's turn. They get into unsettled transition and St. Mike's is D is not ready. And that's how uh Boomer Stanton pushes it up the field over midline and passes to Lowenberg with you know kind of uh unsettled, and and Assumption wins the game. It was a fun game to watch.

SPEAKER_00 42:31

Yeah, it's it's their season's coming to an end on Wednesday.

SPEAKER_01 42:36

So it's a great season. Both of them. But let's get to that. The the semifinals Assumption plays a Delphi on Wednesday. A Delphi beat him by a lot last time, and uh and and then pay Pace plays Saint A's. Now Pace lost to St. A's by two the first time around. Obviously, I'm picking Assumption. I mean Assumption, I'm picking a Delphi over Assumption. But what do you think about the St. A's pace game?

SPEAKER_00 43:16

Well, I think this is gonna be a really, really good game, to be honest with you. I think that the announcement of St. A's going down to D3 might add a little fuel to the fire for the boys. Yeah, you know, uh the Hawks. But man, you know, Coach Mariano, it's hard to beat a team twice. You know, and the way he coaches and the way his team is. I think it's gonna be a close game. I think St. Ace pulls it out because of their offense. But man, it wouldn't surprise me if if base if base beat him. Wouldn't surprise me.

SPEAKER_01 43:52

This is uh very close to a pick'em game, I think Quinn Gannon. At the dot for St. A's may help them out. Now he's been he's been really good this this season. He hasn't been great the last few games from what I've seen. He's hasn't like totally dominated. I think if he does what he usually does, that helps St. A's offense, obviously. And St. A's offense is so potent. Pace has looked really good against Bentley. But I think St. A's is obviously a little bit better than Bentley. I gotta give a little bit of a nod to St. A's.

SPEAKER_00 44:30

Yeah, but Saint A's. That last game, Pace St. Ace. St. A's got two goals late, kinda to put it away. It was late. If you know what I mean. That game was tight, right till like the last four minutes of that game. And that's when St. A's scored twice.

SPEAKER_01 44:46

That's why uh yeah.

SPEAKER_00 44:47

So like if the if if pace if Pace could play a little bit cleaner because that was the only thing. There was a couple of uh mis cues here and there. It wasn't like a big thing with that St. A's pace game. It was literally a couple of miss cues, and I said if they had played a little cleaner, they might have brought they might have won that game. This is the pick and game in a lot of ways. Yeah, this is a game to watch. A really big game for both teams. And I think it's kind of like that Wingate Anderson game and the LR Newberry game. It's gonna mean a lot.

SPEAKER_01 45:24

Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_00 45:25

I mean, it means a lot because it's a tournament anyway. Right. But still, these, you know, I tell you, again, I gotta give CNAs a slight edge because of their home. But do they try too hard with all the news and everything? Do they, you know, is it overwhelming? What kind how are they gonna handle that? You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_01 45:45

So yeah, can they block that noise out and just focus in? Right. It's not like this way, it's not like limestone last year, it's not like they're going away. Right, right. Now, our kids may be thinking, players thinking, what do I do next year? Do I well now? They've got another year of D2, so they're still around. I I think they're gonna have to remain focused. That is a but that is something. These are 18 to 22 year old kids. That's right.

SPEAKER_00 46:10

That's right. You know, so it's up to coach to keep them like, you know, focused and loaded and lost is gonna be a and and Mariano's gonna look to stomp on a juggler vein. I know it. I know it. Just stomp on that juggler. That's what he wants to do.

SPEAKER_01 46:26

It's a pick'em. Yeah, yeah. It's a pick'em. All right, so let's move on. Let's talk about the CACC. There was only one for the first round. We'll do this quickly. This game, Danny, Holy Family against Post. Holy Family wins out in overtime, 18-17. I don't know if you watched any of this game, but this was another crappy weather up north. Totally back and forth this game. 9-8 at half, 14-13 at post. We had to lead, 14-13 after three, post. And then Holy Family pulls it out, but there were a lot of penalties in this game, Danny. 19 penalties. Oh my god. Oh my god. Two for five for Holy Family, three for fourteen. There were 14 penalties against Holy Family. Imagine a Post could have converted in just a few more.

SPEAKER_02 47:19

That's ridiculous.

SPEAKER_01 47:20

What kind of reps did they have? It was it was crazy. Like I didn't, I watched the game. Yeah, that that's the way I felt. I didn't think there were 19 penalties there. It was it was that was it's a tournament game. I will tell you, if you if you're trying to block out and having all those if you watch the game, these two teams are so evenly matched. And that was the fun thing to watch. Oh, definitely. 100%. But uh and post led for most of the game, but by a thin margin, and then Holy Family comes in, they they cut it to one within 227. They they they tie it at 17 with 17 seconds to go. And then they they they win in overtime. Great, great game to watch. Yep. So Holy Family pulls out.

SPEAKER_00 48:13

I thought it was kind of like a play-in game.

SPEAKER_01 48:15

Yeah. So Holy Family has to play Wilmington.

SPEAKER_00 48:19

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 48:20

And then Chestnut Hill plays Bridgeport. Right. And so obviously Wilmington, that's the semis on Wednesday. I pick Wilmington. I'm gonna give the nod a Chestnut Hill, but they they beat Bridgeport only by two. Bridgeport could pull this out. Yep.

SPEAKER_00 48:38

I like Chestnut Hill in this game.

SPEAKER_01 48:40

I do too.

SPEAKER_00 48:40

So then the finals on Saturday and Wilmington.

SPEAKER_01 48:43

And you yeah, and then on the finals on Saturday. We already talked about this last week. We both have Wilmington winning, but Chestnut Hill only lost by three to Wilmington. Yep. We could be eating Crow with Chestnut Hill again.

SPEAKER_00 48:56

Bridgeport could give Chestnut Hill a game, too. So I think Chestnut Hill, you know, home have has a little bit more of an advantage. But then they're gonna go to Wilmington and get beat. Sorry. I gotcha.

SPEAKER_01 49:09

Okay, one more one more to go through. That's G-Mac. GMAC first round was Saturday. Thomas More against Davenport. Davenport pulls this out 17 to 10. Here's the one thing I would say.

SPEAKER_00 49:21

That's a beat-up.

SPEAKER_01 49:22

Well, here's the deal. Thomas More got it to within two and third, and they were playing pretty well in the third quarter. And then Davenport was too strong and pulled away. I watched this game, Danny. Davenport got up by a few. Thomas More never went away until near the end of the third, and then Davenport just crushed it. But until that point, it was kind of funny. I was waiting for Thomas More to come back, and they didn't. Because it they were they were playing pretty damn well. Especially in offense. Their offense impressed me sometimes. Davenport was just stronger throughout, and they pulled it out. It was it was an awesome game to watch. And now we'll talk about that in a second. Davenport goes against Northwood, but Walsh against Wheeling. Walsh pulls us out 12-7. It was 6-3. Walsh at half. This was a methodical game, Danny. This was a grinded out game. This was just 6v6 almost the whole time. It was 8-4 after 3. And then Walsh starts to break it open. It was 10-4 with 12-15 left. A 12-7 final, a five goal. Really, Walsh controlled the whole game. It was just like I said, it was methodical on both sides. And Walsh just controlled the game, controlled the pace, and won out.

SPEAKER_00 50:48

Now they get to go play Seton Hill. The Griffiths.

SPEAKER_01 50:51

Exactly right. They play Walsh plays Seton Hill, Northwood and Davenport. So obviously, Seaton Hill, I've got Seton Hill. And I think you said Northwood would beat Davenport. I said Davenport was going to revenge and beat Northwood. This is a close game. I'm going to stick with Davenport. I'm just going to see what they can do. But this is going to be a close Northwood beat him by four goals last time. I didn't get to watch that game. I'll be watching this one to see what happens. If I can.

SPEAKER_00 51:23

I think Northwood beats him again. And then Northwood's going to have to play Season Hill. Seton Hill and Seton Hill. Yeah, Seton Hill's going to win that game.

SPEAKER_01 51:31

Now, the only game we have to talk about, the semi-start for ECC on Wednesday. We actually talked about this last time, Danny. There were regular games. A fan DM'd us and said, hey, there's still regular games going on. It hasn't been decided yet. And I'm like, you're right. Luckily, we don't eat Crow on this one. We got it right. We kind of got it. Malloy is playing against Roberts Wesleyan and Frostburg against Mercy. And I think we have Malloy going all the way. I think the Frostburg Mercy game on Wednesday is going to be a really good game. That was a one-goal game against that Frostburg won. Now it's at Frostburg because they're the number two seed, but I think Mercy comes back and beats him.

SPEAKER_00 52:11

Yeah, I think Mercy avenges that loss and comes back and beats him. But I like Malloy. Yeah. No, I don't think anybody's beaten Malloy in that. I agree. I agree. And Malloy's gonna probably maybe go to that semifinal in the NCAAs again. They're a good team, too. Yeah.

unknown 52:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 52:30

They're a kind of silently good team, you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_01 52:34

They had some games this year that surprised me that they lost. There's a couple you're like, you know, they they started off and they beat pace. Yeah, that was a good one. Then they had a couple and you're like, oh my gosh. Yeah. You know, they because Coach Dunn said it. They're they're not hiding from anyone this year. Everyone knows what they can do, but in the end, they've kind of pulled it out, and they're gonna be sneaky good. They're not perfect words. Sneaky good. Yeah. Yeah. All right, that's kind of the wrap-up we've got. I mean, I'm really excited. The end of the conference tournaments, and then next Sunday when the NCA bracket comes out will be great. A lot of good games this Wednesday. A lot of good games on Wednesday. I uh I wish I didn't have to work. Let me put it that way. I'll have to be watching a lot of games Thursday and Friday, I think, before we get to Saturday.

Player's Spotlight

SPEAKER_00 53:22

Now it's time.

SPEAKER_01 54:28

Danny, it's that time again. Player spotlight. My favorite part, Kev. My favorite part. This week, we have a player from Attack Mountain. And boy does he fit that mold. He transferred from Lincoln Memorial to Lees McCrae at the end of his freshman year. He was there last year during Coach Grant's first year when they only had, if you remember, they had like 24 on the roster, but really played about 18 because of injuries and other things. And he put up 59 points leading the team that year. And you remember during the conference previews, we were talking about how much you know, doubling the roster basically, how would this player fit in with all these new additions? Well, I think he has done just fine. Second only to K Nonagi in total points with 58 goals and 21 assists. Unbelievable. So let's just welcome in Cole Morris, attackman from the Lees McCrae Bobcats. Hey, Cole.

SPEAKER_03 55:40

Well, thank you. I gotta appreciate you for giving me this opportunity uh and all the confidence at the start. It's been quite the ride this year.

SPEAKER_00 55:50

Oh, and how the attackman from Attack Mountain. What a change Coach Grant has done there. What a job has he done. Tell me what it was like the first year with Coach Grant. What was it like?

SPEAKER_03 56:04

Oh boy. Well, it was kind of an investment being in the portal. Um, I remember being at a box practice back home and seeing that Junior got picked up by Lees McCrae. And I was in the portal at the time, kind of shopping around. And Lees McCrae actually reached out to me the year before I went to Lincoln, and it was the only two D2 schools that actually reached out to me with under the previous coach. And I remember pitching it to my parents, and then it came back around, and I've known Junior my whole life and kind of idolized him. And to see him kind of pop up at somewhere where that could have happened was kind of crazy. And then to get an email from him, and then to be in here in Banner Elk was kind of a surreal summer. And getting into the fall, it was it was a rough start. Like coming in hurricane, right? Yeah, all the hurricane was that was that was its own story. Especially for my own situation being far from home, I kind of had to couch surf with teammates, and I definitely learned a lot away from the classroom and the field or kind of the lack thereof, either or for that semester. Interesting. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 57:14

Yeah. So you went to Lincoln Memorial for a year. What made you, and maybe you don't want to go into it, but like what you just w wanted to change, it wasn't a good fit for you, and and then go into a little bit more about that first year at Lees McRae because it was tough. I mean, you didn't have a big roster, but I will tell you what I saw from that team. That team was total grit. You guys never gave up. You got better once again throughout the season until end of the season you played North Greenville and they squeaked out that win. With you only having about 20 players suited up to play. What would but what was that like? Was it really more of a learning experience? Was it just trying to trying to really gel as a team? And what was that like for that first year? Because it couldn't have been easy all the time.

SPEAKER_03 58:13

No, it was definitely a unique experience, I'd say. Kind of we I think the biggest thing what drove us was we were hopeful every game we had. Hope really didn't matter what team we were playing against. We knew we were coming up and we were growing and we were bettering a culture from where we were before. So we kind of went into every game knowing that we had a fighting chance, regardless of how it turned out. And I think that kind of took a lot of teams by surprise and honestly took us by surprise a lot of times at our like success and how effective we were. But yeah, I I owe a lot to those guys on that team and junior himself for being able to manage a roster like that and be able to put us all out there and not overwork us away from game times and not have us too taxed to be there for practices or anything. We were we seemed to be always ready to fight.

SPEAKER_00 59:04

That's good. That's coaching. That's coaching.

SPEAKER_01 59:07

Yeah, now let me just transition this. What was the transformation of this year? 23 players your first year to 41 this year, a winning percentage of 231 your first year, a winning percentage this year of 688. What has that been like?

SPEAKER_03 59:29

Well, it's it's been rocky. We've had our own battles internal and external, but I think we got the worst out of our system early in our year, and then we had a pretty quick schedule back to back to back, and I think I think that just gelled us together. We I think our just our constant kind of battle and relentless style, and honestly, at times it felt like we were playing hockey or box in practice. It was just relentless, and I think that's where we can attest some of our grittiness too. But it's just been surreal to see that this group of people come together, even with our new uh defensive coordinator, too, having him come in and be and be as remarkable as he was. I knew all summer thinking that the success of our year is honestly going to be if we can be unified at the end of the year. And I honestly I'm surprised. It was I wasn't hopeful at times. There were some times where I was pretty like, oh. But wow, we we surprised a lot of people, I think.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:27

Surprise yourself, you sound like a little bit. Yeah, for sure. So, like now you come back, all right? So you go home for the summer after your first year at Lease, and you come back, and there's like 25 more guys. What did you say to yourself? Like, oh man, here we go, or like I better get to know these guys.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:45

Well, it was a little overwhelming for me. Uh, I knew coming in, I played a pretty influential role on the team the year before, and coming in seeing guys with resumes that I don't even totally understand, like JUCO resumes, older guys have got like a couple three years of college experience on me. Onagi from Maryland, I just knew that we had a Maryland transfer coming to Lees McCrae, and I knew I had to find some more another gear in my game, but I was just like, it's just wow. Like, this is gonna be a place that you're gonna want to come to, and this is a place that's gonna be competitive.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:21

So you're basically saying your game got better because those guys came in and kind of pushed you a little bit, huh?

SPEAKER_03 1:01:27

Absolutely. I I owe a lot to the group that pushed me in practice every day. I'd find that I didn't think there was a better defense in our conference, if I'll call them out. They they tested us every day and they pushed us, and I think it's why we kind of came to who we were.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:45

Let me ask you about your defense, and then I want to ask you about yourself a little bit. But you're talking about defense and now having a defensive coordinator. Do you think that really helped this year for your defense to get so much better?

SPEAKER_03 1:02:00

I believe so. I think having someone who's a leader and a role model there that's for the defense. Um I wouldn't say I'm well versed in field lacrosse, but I know that the defense is very intricate. And if you have a nails defense, it's the backbone of the team all the way down to the goalie. And if you have a clicking defense as an old guy, it's it's pretty intimidating. So I think we came into this year coming from essentially pretty little, uh junior big old coach. He kind of there's times where the defense might get a little neglected, but uh I've I've it's remarkable what we came up with, especially with Channing now, holy.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:39

Yeah, that's that's incredible. So let me ask you about you. You hail from Okatokes, Alberta, Canada. Tell us what it was like there. It sounds like not a lot of field, more box, and playing at Foothills Compot Composite. Were you mainly a box player, or what's your background and when did you start?

SPEAKER_03 1:02:58

Uh I actually never played any field across before I came to college at Lincoln. Wow. Uh I I was pretty strictly box. I played hockey all winter, box all summer, played box to make my hockey better, and then kind of push come to shove after I graduated. I found that I had some opportunities. Canadians had some opportunities because of their box experience in the U.S. And I kind of took a chance and fell into Lincoln. I was a Tennessee was always a state I wanted to visit, so I found that was the one place I could convince mom to leave home for.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:33

So yeah, yeah.

unknown 1:03:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:36

What do they think? What do they think of Banner Elk now?

SPEAKER_03 1:03:39

They've yet to be here, but uh little brother might be coming here too. So they really like the area. I love the area. I'm I like the kind of small town areas and the Aps Mountains here, holy. It's guys, Alberta and northwestern North Carolina, eastern Tennessee, they have a lot of similarities I've found.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:00

Okay, but it's I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. Oh, that's great. It's beautiful up there. I've never been to Banner Elk myself, but I've been up in the mountains that way. Um, absolutely beautiful part of the country that not a lot of people know about. It's just absolutely gorgeous up there. Now, this season you started, weather kind of helped you keep off the field in the beginning of the season. You guys had trouble getting practices going, and it took a little while before you had the whole team on the field to really get up and down. How does what was that like? And did it force you to even do more at practice? How did Coach handle that?

SPEAKER_03 1:04:44

I think it was definitely a factor that we we knew about being up in the mountains here, seeing honestly a surprising amount of snow and keeping us away from the field. I think it helped fuel us in a way that we know that we had kind of some diversity we had to fight through and that kind of thing. I think that fired us up to that when we did have opportunities, whether it was on a gym floor with tennis balls or when we actually got onto the turf, it kind of helped us double down in a sense to make up for lost time.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:14

What did Coach Grant say to the team after that heartbreaking loss in the conference finals? I mean, you guys got to the conference finals. I kept saying to Kevin all year, like, just keep an eye on this Leeds team, man. They're just they're playing well, they're doing good things, things that they really haven't done a lot of, Cole, in the history of the program. You know, that kind of the program has struggled over the years, you know, and in walks one of the greatest lacrosse players ever to step foot on a lacrosse field and hold a lacrosse stick in his hand. And you get to be coached by him. Right. And that that's pretty cool in itself. Then you just turn around this whole program and and and you wind up eleven and six. 7-1 in conference. Coach has to be happy, has to be proud. I know you guys were heartbroken in that conference loss, especially in the championship game. What did Coach say to the team after that game?

SPEAKER_03 1:06:15

Well, one thing for sure, Junior wears his heart on his sleeve. He's a passionate guy. And I I think in the game there was some negativity, but after the game, it was nothing but positivity. It was like wow, we've came to this as a group from where we've come from and from how split off we were from the start of the year through through everything we kind of came through to blend as one. It was just gratitude from him. I can't really recall what he said word for word. I was kind of in my own world seeing everything going on on the other side of the field.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:46

Yeah, that well, yeah, I I I can see that. Let me ask you this. What now that you've had a little bit of time to think on it? Um, what do you think you will learn from that experience yourself personally? And how can you that carry you through next year? Is there anything you learned that can help carry you through next year and next season?

SPEAKER_03 1:07:08

I think this loss just honestly accounts to our preparation and how like committed we really were to it. I think we went through a lot, but I think there's a lot of times where we could have maybe been stronger a little or been better in areas, but I think we tended to find hide behind excuses or effort at times. And I think even myself that comes to it down to it. So I think it's just that discipline if we're able to overcome that and consistently. And I think we're able to do that as if we're kind of building that standard between one another with our uh as like our leadership group and our coaching staff's kind of building that culture for us. I think this loss is just gonna help fuel us for the next year going in and knowing that we were we have the talent to be there and we have the work ethic, but I think we need we need to be better. We need to we know what we need to do.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:59

Spoken like a true leader, Cole. Yeah, spoken like a true leader. Totally. I'll tell you what, Coach Grant's gonna remember you for a long time. You're gonna be the guy that helped him do this. You're gonna be that guy. He's always gonna Cole Morris, he was the guy that came here and really helped start the change of this program. And you know what? And then he brings in all these other guys this year and some transfers and some really good lacrosse players. And it only it only fueled you. You got better, you know. You just got better and better as the and you got one more year left. How many more guys is he gonna bring in next year? I bet you brings in like another 20, man, because now school's on the map.

SPEAKER_03 1:08:44

Oh boy, yeah. Every time I'm in his office, he's so excited telling us about what he's got cooking up and what he's got in store, whether it's even the out of conference schedule or just the players that he's talking to, it's he loves it and I if it fires everyone up when he's up. Oh, that's great, man.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:02

Yeah, I I've I've got one thing I think that kind of exemplifies you as a player this year and how you like we said, like I said in the conference preview, how is Cole Morris going to fit in with all these guys? Semi-final against North Greenville. You put up eight goals and an assist. You had an amazing game, and I think that kind of shows kind of what Danny said. You didn't shy away when all these other players came in. You kept yourself on that map, not only on the map for Liz McCrae, but to be but to be um, you know, scouted and really have to be watched by every single team you play, along with the other players like Kate Onagi and some of your other offensive players that does, you know, Henderson and a lot of other players. Uh what did you think of that game? And did that is that kind of more fuel also for you to like continue to get better and and in and be in your senior year like another top guy again?

SPEAKER_03 1:10:09

Yeah, absolutely. I I was amazed at what happened that uh Friday night. Uh the ball just seemed to fall, and boy, I think field across is definitely a confidence game, and that really helped. And I know going into the my next year, the every every year you get older, the game kind of seems to slow down just a little bit more. So that also gives me some confidence to go on in that it's gonna be a little slower. I'm gonna be able to react to things differently, but I'm also gonna be back here in the same colors, hopefully raising it at the end.

SPEAKER_00 1:10:40

Yeah, definitely. I think you will be. I think you will be.

SPEAKER_01 1:10:44

Well, I tell you what, Danny. He has spoken some very true words throughout this. He's a very honest, honest guy about where things stood, how they felt. And I think it's time to see how he does in the firing round.

SPEAKER_00 1:11:06

All right, folks, tonight we have Cole Morris in the firing round, the junior attack from Lees McCrae. Dude, you balled out this year. 58 goals, 21 assists, 79 points. Oh my god, you went to the conference championship. You've just been such a big part of what Lees has done in their change. And we're gonna have some 10, about 10 or 15 questions in the firing round. You ready to go, kid?

SPEAKER_03 1:11:33

Let's hear it.

SPEAKER_00 1:11:34

All right, here we go. Number one, mom's best meal. Gotta be anything breakfast. Anything breakfast. Like, give me give me something that she makes that's great. Bacon. Kidd.

SPEAKER_03 1:11:50

Back bacon or back bacon, that's the one.

SPEAKER_00 1:11:53

Back what's back bacon?

SPEAKER_03 1:11:55

That's Canadian bacon for you folks.

SPEAKER_00 1:11:57

Okay, all right. I know what it is. Okay. Xbox or PlayStation? PlayStation. Favorite type of music? Probably country. Country music. Who's your favorite artist?

SPEAKER_03 1:12:11

Lately it's been cold through all.

SPEAKER_00 1:12:13

Okay, interesting. Do you have any pregame rituals like, you know, like wear the same socks or wear the same jock strap from junior high school or something like that?

SPEAKER_03 1:12:25

I think if I I got one, if I do good the game before, I gotta wear the same socks to the next game.

SPEAKER_00 1:12:30

There you go. Do you have any like superstitions? Gotta have this, gotta have that breakfast, gotta have this meal or this drink before.

SPEAKER_03 1:12:38

Uh I think I gotta be best friends with my stick. All my sticks have names.

SPEAKER_00 1:12:43

Okay. Give us what what are your names of your sticks? The your main stick, what do you call it? Oh, that's I can't disclose that. All right.

SPEAKER_03 1:12:51

All right. Your second stick. Uh no. I can't disclose that one either.

unknown 1:12:58

All right.

SPEAKER_03 1:12:59

I gotta keep it secret.

SPEAKER_00 1:13:00

I'll get it off podcast. Are you a morning bird or a night owl?

SPEAKER_03 1:13:06

Definitely an early morning.

SPEAKER_00 1:13:08

A morning bird. Okay. What was your favorite cartoon as a kid? Johnny Test. Johnny Test. Alright, I remember that. Favorite color. Green. Favorite holiday. Better say green, coach, getcha. Canada Day. What happens on Canada Day?

SPEAKER_03 1:13:34

Well, my birthday's the next day. Mom's birthday is not too far out, and that's usually a long weekend.

SPEAKER_00 1:13:39

Okay. What's Canada Day known for? Because I'm a dumb American. I don't know.

SPEAKER_03 1:13:44

Oh. It's kind of like July 4th. It's just hot summer weekend.

SPEAKER_00 1:13:48

I gotcha. Alright, great. Uh Netflix or ESPN? ESPN. Okay, me too, kid. Outside of lacrosse and hockey, what other sports did you play growing up?

SPEAKER_03 1:14:02

I had a little bit of basketball. Uh in junior high. That was really it.

SPEAKER_00 1:14:10

Who was the one guy that helped you on your journey in lacrosse? Who's the one person? Or two or three? Who are the people that really helped you in your lacrosse game and get to get you to where you are today?

SPEAKER_03 1:14:23

I definitely got to give it to my father or my brother. My brother was outside throwing the ball back and forth, or even my dad, just for whether it was tough love or just confidence.

SPEAKER_00 1:14:35

That's excellent. I love that answer. Okay, let's get into the Bobcats. You ready? Who's the funniest kid on the Bobcat squad? Oh, Jackson Bruce. Number Jackson. What does he do? What makes him so funny?

SPEAKER_03 1:14:49

Oh, he's just he's just a lovable guy. Everything from his laugh to just his demeanor, man. He's and he does simple things and it's just funny to us.

SPEAKER_00 1:14:56

Kind of guy you want to sit next to on those long bus rides? Absolutely. He's just entertaining all the time. Which teammate would be voted best ladies' man? Looks like it might be you, Cole. Looks like it might be you, kid.

SPEAKER_03 1:15:12

Yeah, I wish. Uh I think we'll give it to my roommate, Mr. Lyndon Kenop.

SPEAKER_00 1:15:22

Alright. Alright. Shout out. Which teammate would be voted most athletic?

SPEAKER_03 1:15:29

Most athletic. A freshman from Tennessee, Zayn Huff.

SPEAKER_00 1:15:34

Holy, he's a good athlete.

SPEAKER_03 1:15:37

He's so shifty. Perfect short sticky, baby.

SPEAKER_00 1:15:40

Really? Okay. Um what's something that you like to do off the field, away from lacrosse, away from school, that kind of just helps you relax and chill and kind of exhale?

SPEAKER_03 1:15:55

Uh I would definitely just hang out with my dog, or even just like I find something that's really comforting is just uh taking in just snow, or I don't really know how to say it. Just outside in the winter is usually the best time, or outside in the summer, taking in kind of the climate. Outside is usually the best time I find.

SPEAKER_00 1:16:17

That's very interesting. I like that. What's been your best lacrosse memory so far in college?

SPEAKER_03 1:16:27

Uh, I would say this past weekend beating North Greenville. I would say the reaction of everyone on the benches to even just kind of rallying in that game was unforgettable.

SPEAKER_00 1:16:38

Yeah. Kevin and I both picked you guys to beat North Greenville, too, by the way. Um, what's been the most interesting class you've taken at Lees McCrae? That's an interesting one.

SPEAKER_03 1:16:54

I'm yet to have it, but canoeing. I'll have it next semester.

SPEAKER_00 1:16:59

Canoeing. Kevin, where were these classes when you and I were? I know.

SPEAKER_01 1:17:03

We talked about this last week. Microeconomics, macroeconomics, statistics, political philosophy, chemistry.

SPEAKER_00 1:17:14

These guys are going canoeing, outdoor rec, sports. That's my lucky one. That's that's great. Um, where do you see yourself 10 years from now, Paul?

SPEAKER_03 1:17:27

Well, I don't know if I'll the lacrosse will still be a part of my life, but hopefully I'm somewhere happy and confident. I think I honestly am not even sure if it'll be back home in Canada or somewhere out here in the USA.

SPEAKER_00 1:17:44

You like it where you are, right? You like it down there, don't you?

SPEAKER_03 1:17:46

I do like, I do like a lot of it.

SPEAKER_00 1:17:49

I get it, man. I love North Carolina. I'm a New York guy, Long Island. Kind of, you know, grew up in Queens a little bit, did a little bit of growing up in South Florida. But man, I do love the Carolinas. It's beautiful there. Um, last one, give us your best impression of Coach Grant. Oh boy. Don't worry. You we got dispensation. Don't worry, Coach Grant can't do nothing to you.

SPEAKER_03 1:18:16

I gotta think about it for a second. If I had a hat, I'd spike it right now. He's a hat spiker, huh? He's a hat spiker.

SPEAKER_01 1:18:26

I think I've seen that a few times on the stream. I have to admit.

SPEAKER_03 1:18:29

His best one is just if anyone scores, it's just a hard fist bump. And it's a power fist bump.

SPEAKER_00 1:18:36

All right, great. Well, that's about all the time we got, Cole. You did a great job in the firing line. You were a great guest tonight. We really appreciate you having coming on and uh congratulations on a great season and just remarkable turnaround for the Lise McRae program. And dude, you are one of the big reasons why they're there. And we wish you nothing but continued success, young man.

SPEAKER_03 1:19:03

Thank you. I appreciate this again.

Shout outs

SPEAKER_01 1:19:06

What do you think of Cole Morris, Danny? I loved him. He was so honest on his answers.

SPEAKER_00 1:19:13

Yeah, he seemed a little nervous. He seemed a little nervous, but you know, he's a Canadian, he's not an American, and he's coming down here. Like his story was kind of interesting. He was like away from home, you know, and like I don't know. It's just I felt sorry for him a little bit.

SPEAKER_01 1:19:30

Had to convince his parents to let him go down. They they said Tennessee was okay. Then he then he he transfers to Lee's McCrae because his idol is starting to coach there. He was in the portal. He gets there, and what happens? But they have a hurricane, and he's couch surfing with teammates. He's all by himself as a sophomore trying to figure it out.

SPEAKER_00 1:19:53

God only knows what the kid was going, what was going through this poor kid's mind. But you know what? He stayed the course. You know, perseverance wins, Kev. I loved kids like that, you know. You know, get hit hit with a little, you know, those speed bumps of life that come along, and you gotta learn to navigate those speed bumps of life. And you know, to be a 19-year-old kid so far from home, it's not like you're a two-hour drive. Right. You're in you're another country away. Yeah. And, you know, just to be in that position. And you know what? He overcame it. And I think just speaks volumes of his character, right?

SPEAKER_01 1:20:29

Yeah. And then, you know, going into his second year, all these new players come in, he's thinking in his mind, oh, they've got players from Maryland and all these places, you know, they got G1 resumes.

SPEAKER_00 1:20:38

Yeah. You know, mentally he was a little overwhelmed. And here's a kid that didn't play field until he came to college. It's unbelievable to me sometimes. And he's just balling. He's just balling. What a great kid. Just, you know, like I said, I think Coach Grant's gonna remember this kid for the rest of his life. He's gonna be like this is the kid that said, I'm common, Coach, and I'm common.

SPEAKER_01 1:21:02

And then that's why I wanted him on because it wasn't like one of the players that came in this year that really helped out, which they're and that's great. Yeah. But I want to hear his story about what he went through the first year and what it was like going in into the second year.

SPEAKER_00 1:21:17

And and you know what? Congratulations to Lees McCrae and and the Bob Catson for everything that they've done this year. That's it's just truly an amazing story, it really is. And if I said it once, I'll say it twice. I'm gonna say it again. If John Grant Jr. isn't the coach of the year in Division II, I don't give a shit who wins the championship. I really don't. If that man's not the coach of the year, then something's wrong.

SPEAKER_01 1:21:42

I was shocked he wasn't the coach of the year in the Conference Carolinas. Yeah. Shocked. And I agree with you. I think he should be the coach of the year. We'll see what happens. You know, it could go to Hopefully.

SPEAKER_00 1:21:55

Hopefully, some of them committee members are listening, listening to the outside voices for a change.

SPEAKER_01 1:22:01

Two knuckleheads that they should listen to. We know. We know that's right. All right, time to go to shout-outs, Danny.

SPEAKER_00 1:22:10

What you got? Hey, my my man, John Charlton, a defenseman from Maryville, GLVC player of the year. Congratulations, John. You've been a killer defenseman all year. What do you got, Kev?

SPEAKER_01 1:22:27

I've got Davenport attackman, Jaden Ashley, first player in program history to record over 200 career points, and he sits at 228 so far.

SPEAKER_00 1:22:40

Oh, that's outstanding. Love it. All right, my next shout out, Vinny Batrico, the attackman from uh Wingate Bulldogs. Player of the year in the sack. Offensive player of the year. Good job, Vinny. Good job.

SPEAKER_01 1:22:58

Okay, my last shout out for the night goes out to Kataba assistant coach Will Urban. Promoted to associate head coach. Congrats. Coach, that's awesome.

SPEAKER_00 1:23:10

Good job. All right, my my my button's not working. Why is not my button working?

SPEAKER_01 1:23:16

There it is. There we go. Delayed.

SPEAKER_00 1:23:20

I got a couple more. Okay, go for it. How about Coach Peruzzi? Uh GLVC coach of the year, huh? Well, that's co-coach of the year. So was also Kelly. Really? Yes. I didn't see that. Yes. All right, congratulations, both of you guys from the two knuckleheads. Um, my man, Alex Agorshian, the goalie of the year from Montevalo in the PBC. Congratulations, Alex. Well deserved, young man. Good job, buddy. Um how about Jason Lang? Coach of the Year in the Peach Belt. Good job, coach. Well deserved. And last but not least, my favorite coach in all of Division II. The man, you know him, you love him, you can't live without him. Tim Boyle, Wingate Bulldogs named Coach of the Year for the Sack. Well deserved, coach. Love you.

SPEAKER_01 1:24:17

All right, those are great shout-outs. I've got one other thing to say. I spent a lot of money this past weekend to watch games, to report on them. So I need a couple cups of coffee bought for me. Or you can go to our website and buy some merch. Hey, we had some guys buy some merch.

SPEAKER_00 1:24:38

We did. We did. Guys, our listeners, first of all, thank you for listening throughout the whole year and all your DMs and all your ideas and everything that you give us, all the info. But man, we got merch now. Go to that lacrosse podcast, In the Crease Lacrosse Pod.com, and buy that merch. If you don't want to buy a merch, you can buy us a cup of coffee. It helps keep the show going. So please, if you could find it within your heart, get a nice high C glass for yourself.

SPEAKER_01 1:25:10

Yeah, I love it. I love it. They're nice.

SPEAKER_00 1:25:12

They're nice.

SPEAKER_01 1:25:13

Yeah. All right, Danny. And for this week, that's a wrap.

SPEAKER_00 1:25:28

It's funny when you can call yourself a fool. Every day. That's a rat cow.