DII Lacrosse Game Time - a look back at Week 6 and a preview of Week 7

Intro

SPEAKER_04 0:32

Aloha to another episode of In the Creed with Danny and Kevin, a coast-to-coast discussion of D2 Men of the Frost. I'm your co-host, Kevin Stenstrom, and with me as always is the man who knows how to hang 10, Danny Moran. Hey, Danny.

SPEAKER_02 0:47

I cannot hang 10. If I came out to Hawaii, I would just be sitting on the beach watching everybody else doing that.

SPEAKER_04 0:55

Trying on a skateboard would be a little bit tough because you listen to those.

SPEAKER_02 0:58

I grew up on the beach. Surfing, we've all tried surfing. Have you ever tried to surf? Oh, yeah. I tried it one of the duck. Extremely, extremely difficult. Tumbling. The ocean has kicked my butt many, many, many, many times. So I gave up the surfing rather young. But uh no hang in 10. How's it going tonight out? Where are you? Hawaii? I'm in Hawaii.

SPEAKER_04 1:19

Oahu uh for the week. I'm gonna go watch some AYLA practices. Watched uh a little uh men's league yesterday when I got in. Yeah, yeah. It was uh fun to see. It was uh it was it was pretty funny, you know. A bunch of old guys like me trying to trying to pay the cross. Actually, they're younger than me. I couldn't even hang with them on the on the on the field, but it was a lot of fun to watch. And I'm here for this week for a conference, and I was I brought my mixer with me. I was all set to do it, and somehow technology has gotten the better of me, Danny, and I can't plug it in, so I'm going old school with my mic. But you're not Irish. You don't have the luck of the Irish.

SPEAKER_02 1:56

That's the problem. It's the high holy month. It is. Waco the daddy, what call the daddy oh, there's whiskey in the jar. It's the high holy month here in New York, Kevin. It's St. Patrick's Day when everybody wishes they were Irish.

SPEAKER_04 2:13

Exactly. I see you're sporting your beautiful uh St. Patty's Day tie there. I got my tie on, I got my cap on. I'm Irish, kid. Here we go. It's a big week.

SPEAKER_02 2:23

Big week.

SPEAKER_04 2:24

Yeah. Well, I'm excited for this week, Danny, because it's our second guest analyst this week. Yeah. One of my favorites. And we don't like to do this often. We don't like to have one return. But he was so good last year, we're willing to let him on and truly expose us as knuckleheads. He was requested by one of our listeners. Well, that's good enough for me.

SPEAKER_01 2:53

Let's welcome him in.

SPEAKER_04 2:54

Let's welcome in Coach Brad Dunn, now assistant director of athletics at Lee's McCrae. Hey Coach.

SPEAKER_00 3:03

How are we doing, gentlemen? Good to see you guys again. And thank you. I greatly appreciate it. This is my third time uh spending a little time this evening with you. So very excited to be here.

SPEAKER_02 3:15

I think you got the all-time list, man. You're like the LeBron. There we go. You're like the LeBron of Podcast, uh, I guess. Thank thanks so much for coming on. How's everything going? How you been?

SPEAKER_00 3:28

We're doing really well. Doing really well. Excited for uh uh another year of uh Division II Lacrosse. Well, we almost halfway through it already. Hard to believe, but uh things are going really, really well. Um really been enjoying my time. We got uh we had a pretty good winter. It's not quite over yet up here in Banner Elk, but uh you know we uh we're getting through it, and this is uh this is what we live for. Love uh loving March and into uh April and May.

SPEAKER_02 3:56

Yeah, the spring. The spring up at Banner Elk. And let me tell you something. I've watched uh the Bobcats several times already this year, coach, and can't say I it's amazing the the improvement that's been there in just the two years that John Grant Jr. has been there, what he's been able to do, really, really good. And uh I know maybe it's not equated into W's just yet, but the improvement is there. If you look at shots, shots on goals, shots and numbers, ground balls, all the little things that make a team, a team has improved, and and you got a couple of wins under your belt already this year, and it's been a lot of fun to watch.

SPEAKER_00 4:37

Yeah, these guys are um they're working extremely hard. They're working extremely hard. You know, this is uh we more than doubled last year's roster. Um our coach more than double. I like to say we, I still like to pretend like I'm a part of it.

SPEAKER_04 4:51

Uh hey, you're the compliance director. You've got to help out.

SPEAKER_00 4:54

That is true. That is true. The the whether they are go no go is is completely up to me, I guess. Um, but no, he's you know, they've worked extremely hard. Like I said, we had a we had a tough winter. Um, I don't think they saw the field more than a handful of times the first month and a half of uh of the semester. So um for them to to be where they are now. Um I mean you've seen it in the they're just their past few games. You can tell that they've been on the field, stretching their legs, getting up and down the field. Um they're they're piecing it together. So so we're excited. We're really excited for um for the second half of the season here and getting in the uh conference play and and seeing where these boys can uh can lead this program.

SPEAKER_04 5:36

So that's yeah, I was gonna ask you when we and Danny and I talked about this when we did the conference preview. When you double your roster and you're bringing in a lot of players and and probably an elevation of the level of play from a lot of those players, obviously guys like Onagi and others that are coming from other programs too. It it's not always just as simple as plug and play. They've got to be able to build that chemistry together on the field and practice and everything. And I assume that's what's has been one of their challenges, uh, especially with the weather up there.

SPEAKER_00 6:12

Absolutely has been. Absolutely has been. And um it's this isn't um, you know, this isn't professional sports. These are still, you know, 18 to 21, 22, 23 year old young men that you know still need time to grow and develop together. Um you know, so for them to put in the good work in the fall, um, then we had a couple additions added in at the mid-year. Um, so for them to come into the fold and like I said, uh the first six, eight weeks of uh of the semester to try to learn each other's tendencies by playing inside of a uh you know a small gym floor or playing on a small gym floor is it it can be tough. It can be tough. But uh, you know, they've fought through the adversity. Um you're seeing the the excitement around them uh in their locker room, but also on campus is really starting to elevate. And um, I hope they're feeding off of it. Um we were fortunate enough they can feed off of our women's basketball team, just won the conference championships. So now we got a trophy coming back. Um, our cheer and dance just won conference. So we got a couple of conference uh championships coming back to Banner Elk this year. So hopefully they can uh they can ride that wave a little bit and and possibly bring another one.

SPEAKER_02 7:31

Yeah, let's do it. That's awesome. That's awesome. It's good to see, man. Like I said, we've been watching Lee's for a long time. You know that um being that uh you're the LeBron of uh guests and been here a while. You know, we've been watching Lee's and we watched, you know, the ups and the downs and the in-betweens. But like I said, I've watched them several times already this year, and oh, the the improvement is there. You can just see it. You can just see it. Again, it might not equate to wins just yet, but they'll come. They're gonna come. I know it.

SPEAKER_04 8:02

I know it. Yeah, and and I I'm sure we're gonna be talking about them uh throughout this episode. Uh they just had a great win. Um that's a notable score we're gonna talk about, and then see where they land on games to watch because you get to pick some. And I if you don't pick Lise McCray, I think you're gonna be in trouble. So we'll be letting you do that. But before we get any further, Danny, it's time for your top 10

Top 10 Countdown

SPEAKER_04 8:24

countdown.

SPEAKER_02 8:37

All right, top 10 countdown. What a week in division two, man. Division two has been just upside down, topsy turvy. Jekyll and high, man. In and out, up and down. It's been kind of crazy. It's been actually interesting. Uh number one, Adelphi beat number four, Seton Hill, 10-3. They host St. Mike's next. A Delphi? They stood at 4-0, Kev. Uh, number two, Tampa lost to number five, Anderson, in a thrilling 14-13 overtime win. Tampa hosts Montevallo, and guess what? They got three home games coming up. They got some home cooking coming. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 9:19

Just what they want.

SPEAKER_02 9:20

Yeah. Tampa sits at 7-1. Number three, St. A's beating number 12, Malloy, 16-9. St. A's sits at 3-0, and they travel to face a tough and sparky Mercy team. Uh, let's see. Number four, Seton Hill. Ready? Lost to Adelphi. We just said that. 10-3. Uh, they faced Thomas.

SPEAKER_04 9:44

I didn't see that one coming, Danny.

SPEAKER_02 9:47

They faced Thomas More and Wheeling, then they have pace. So they got two games to warm up before they got another real good squad coming in and pace. Uh, number five, Anderson. They looked amazing the other day. They looked very, very good. They beat number two, Tampa 14 and 13, uh, 14-13 overtime. And they travel to Georgia next and face Emmanuel. Anderson is six and oh, Kev, and they look very good. Number six, Lenore Ryan Bears. They lost to the number 17, Newberry Wolves, 16-15, and a really exciting game. Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And Lenore Ryan faces Wingate in the Crown Classic uh next Saturday.

SPEAKER_04 10:34

Yeah, and here's interesting. We just saw Anderson beat Tampa, Newberry beat LR. And we talked about this in the conference preview. We lose Limestone. That used to be the top three. It's now looking like the top four in the sack.

SPEAKER_02 10:48

Imagine if Limestone was there, it'd be top five. Yes. It'd be one hell of a gauntlet.

SPEAKER_04 10:53

We don't, you don't, and just because those teams, just because LR lost, doesn't mean they're not going to win out or whatever. I mean, that's how how how tight it is up there.

SPEAKER_02 11:02

Yeah. Uh number seven, Lewis. They look very good too, Kevin. They beat Lynn 22 to 6. I didn't see that come out. I knew that they'd win, but I didn't see them with that kind of win. They host Rollins. There's an SSC GLVC little tournament going on there. So Lewis sits at 6-1. Uh number eight, Maryville beat Westminster in a nice close game, 15-12. And they host St. Leo next, which I think is going to be a very good game. And the Maryville Saints sit at 4-1, Kev. Number nine, the Wingate Bulldogs beat Tusculum rather handily, 25-8. Uh had 13 possessions and 12 points, uh, 12 goals in the first quarter. Very good. They looked very good in the first quarter. The ones looked really good. Uh they faced Lenore Ryan at the crown on Saturday. Should be a great game. And the Bulldogs hit it four and one. And number 10, Bentley, beat St. Thomas. St. Thomas. What are you doing, boys? You gotta play some lacrosse who's 18-3. And Bentley travels to Frostburg to face the Bobcats next. And that's your top 10 countdown. And just a couple of quick scores to note. How about Northwood? Fellas, let's talk about Northwood. They go to 3-2. They beat Walsh by 1-12-11. Five goals, two assists from my man Andrew Rogers from Northwood. Uh post over Georgia Court. 14-10. What's going on with our Georgian court? I don't know. They're struggling. And Post looks pretty good. Four goals for Will Bryan in that game. Florida Tech over Belmont Abbey, big. 14-2. Didn't see that coming. Did not, yeah. All of a sudden they bounce back, it seems like for like from one extreme to another. Thomas Strong, their midi. Oh, he's good. Yeah, he's very good. U Indy over UAH, 19-8. Matt Pereira with five goals. U Indy sits at 3-2. How about Kataba LMU game? Great game. It was a really good game. LMU was leading a lot of that game. Yes, I texted you. I was like, you can't believe you see the score that so I turned I finished watching that game. It was a really good game. Man, LMU has vastly improved. Vastly improved. They added a lot of guys to their roster, and they're not the pushover anymore. But they're still in the sack, so it's not an easy run for them.

SPEAKER_04 13:44

So well, and they're running up against Ataba, who also is vastly improved over the like now. They've incrementally done it since Murphy's been there. Coach Murphy's been there, but they're now at this level that LME wants to get to very quickly.

SPEAKER_02 13:57

Right. I mean, they were right there. That was a good game. Could have been anybody's game. And uh, how about the Bobcats from Vanorel? Lise McCrae over Mars Hill rather handily, 19-9. Cole Morris, three goals and two assists. Pace over Wilmington. What's going on with Wilmington? I think I expected a little bit more out of this Wilmington team so far. They're three and three right now. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 14:24

Pace is a good team. I thought they'd make that one closer.

SPEAKER_02 14:28

And uh Rollins over PBA, 13-6. Jack Kern in goal. 10 saves, 71%. So that's just a couple of scores to note.

SPEAKER_04 14:38

Yeah, I've got two others. Um, another overtime game. Quincy beat William Jewell 14-13. I point that out because Quincy's now won a couple back-to-back, and William Jewell, who started off hot, has lost a couple. And then we we talked about this game as a game I wanted to watch. It wasn't streamed. It was at Sparks, Maryland, Southern New Hampshire over Roberts Wesley in 10-4. Fairly convincingly, Southern New Hampshire continues to roll. They are they are looking good. It'll be interesting to see them in conference play.

SPEAKER_02 15:10

Lhasa Volquartzen, three goals. Our man. Our man from Frankfurt, Germany. So, yeah, it's been kind of crazy. A little up and down in Division II. There's a lot of guys playing well, and some guys playing mediocre, and some guys you expected to play well, not playing so well, like a Wilmington.

SPEAKER_04 15:30

So I have to ask you, coach, that Lees McCray game against Mars Hill, that score 19-9. That's pretty convincing. Were you at the game? I'm sure you watched it if you weren't at the game. What did you think?

SPEAKER_00 15:42

Yeah, no, we uh came out guns blazing. You know, I think it was 6-0 after the first uh first quarter. Um and just and just never looked back. And um, you know, you mentioned Cole Morris. Uh that young man is just he has grown so much. You know, he transferred to us from from Lincoln Memorial. Um But he spent uh spent summer playing box up in up in Canada. Um and I mean he is just he's just elevated his game.

SPEAKER_04 16:13

Um I I've got to an anchor for almost like an anchor, uh a real leader of that whole team. Because he was there last year before all these new players came in too, correct?

SPEAKER_00 16:24

He was. He was absolutely transferred in um to to be a part of uh you know Coach Grant's tenure. And um yeah, he's he's just he's found a different found a different speed. Um I you know, I would love to say it's probably because he's being surrounded by players at or above his level. And it's just you know you know high tide raises all boats, right? Right. Uh so I he's he's just done a fantastic job. Um I I can't I can't speak. I'm not funny. He's such a great young man. Uh yes, sir, no, sir. Every time you see him in the through the gym. And um, I mean, just just a tremendous, tremendous young man, and I'm glad he's starting to get the uh the exposure that that he well deserves.

SPEAKER_02 17:13

Well, I hope his parents are gonna listen to this podcast because I'm sure they'd love to hear what you just had to say about that young man. That's excellent.

Week in Review

SPEAKER_04 17:22

All right, so let's move on to the week in review. Let's start off, Danny, with the Newberry Lenore Ryan game. Coach, did you watch that game?

SPEAKER_00 17:35

I did, I did. Um man, I tell you what, his that stack, his South Atlanta Conference is just an absolute bloodbath, man. Right now, um just big, strong, physical, aggressive. Um I mean, what what Cotter's Coach Cotter's building down there in South Carolina, obviously bringing in several recruits, um, or transfers rather, um, from limestone and and other places. I mean, and and the ability to put them together and put them together quickly. Um, you know, as I've you know, I've watched Coach Grant up here, at least McRae, do the same thing. Um, you know, it just speaks to what Coach Cotter has been able to do um bringing those guys into the fold. And um, I think they're they're leading score three of their top three leading scores in this game. I think were all transfers from limestone, if I remember correctly. It's just uh it's no discredit to Lenore Ryan. Lenore Rhine is a tremendous, tremendous program. Um so and obviously, as you guys know, and you you say quite frequently on here, you know, when in between the bricks is is a hard place to play. It sure is a hard place to play. And um I saw firsthand when Lees McRae earlier this year went over, you know, went down to Hickory and took it on the chin um there in between the bricks. So, you know, kudos to uh you know to the Newberry program and um what Coach Cotter's built there. But man, it's yeah. Like you said earlier, I don't just because they won this game does not mean that they're out. I mean, there's there's four or five, maybe even six teams that could pull out a conference championship from that from that group.

SPEAKER_04 19:30

So yeah, it's gonna be crazy to watch. Newberry pulls us out 16-15, and just like Lee's McCray against Mars Hill, they came out guns ablazing and they took a 5-0 lead. What I saw, Danny, is they had great Newberry had great ball movement, they got their hands free. I also think that Lenore Ryan's defense with a two-week layoff looked pretty rusty. They were they were on their heels in the sense of they were late to the ball.

SPEAKER_02 19:57

Well, I think defensively they're still looking for answers, Lenore Ryan. Um they pulled their goalie after the first quarter and put Gavin Conland in.

SPEAKER_04 20:07

In the middle of the first quarter, five minutes left in that quarter.

SPEAKER_02 20:10

Yeah, and they put Gavin Conlin in. And right now, to me, Gavin Conlin has the most experience, even though he's coming over from Lake Erie, graduate student. He's got two years of summer ball playing with Team Ireland. You know what I mean? Like he's had a lot of reps in the last two, two and a half years. And I think right now, I think he gives Lenore Ryan the best opportunity in goal. Um, but they they're struggling a little bit. They're not the same squad a little bit. There's something missing with Lenore Ryan.

SPEAKER_04 20:45

They I think they struggled. They started to come back in the second quarter, and I actually, when it was eight to five at half, I said is LR starting to warm up. And it was more on their offensive side because it was 6-2 after one, right? Right. But I agree with you on the defensive side and the goalie. They pulled their freshman with five minutes left, put Gavin Conlin in. If you look at the combined save percentage for those two, it was like 38%. And that's about they were at 40% with their goalies last year. So that's and it's also tough coming in cold, you know, against a team like Newberry. Newberry. My question, if you remember last week, was can the goalkeeping of Lenore Ryan do enough against that potent offense? And they really couldn't. I was what I was surprised about is how Lenore Ryan fought back. They actually went up by two goals sooner or later in the game. And then all of a sudden, Newberry poured it on, and they had a four goal run that got them up by two.

SPEAKER_02 21:46

You know, Newberry's deep, man. They keep throwing LSMs out there, they keep throwing short stick D mids out there. They they got a lot of guys they throw out there. And you know what? Coach Cotter has been building this squad. Oh, yeah. You know, and he's a fiery coach. He gets things going. He's a fiery guy. And I think he's got his team playing at a good level right now. So Newberry's a tough team. They're going to be a tough out for anybody who plays that. And I'm not surprised they beat Lenore Ryan. I I picked them. No, you picked him.

SPEAKER_04 22:19

I I I picked LR. Yes, you did. So I I eat a little crow. You got it right. But I told you this was a pick them game in a lot of ways. And and I I said I would have picked LR. And I'll tell you, Danny, when it was 5-0, I'm like, whoa, I'm gonna eat a lot of crow. I you give some credit to Lenore Ryan of trying to figure it out and coming back and actually getting a lead. But I do think it was their defense because some of those goals were not the goalies' fault. Even when Gavin Stable was in. I mean, he got he got wrecked pretty early, but some of it was just when you've got that hands free and you're eight yards out.

SPEAKER_02 23:02

Four or five yards away.

SPEAKER_04 23:04

Yeah, are you gonna stop that? No, I don't think so. I understand why they did that, uh, but uh why coach did that and put in Gavin Conlan, but it it it was just a tough thing. I mean, there were goals that he he missed too that were scored against him that weren't his fault either. Right. What'd you think, Brad?

SPEAKER_00 23:25

Yeah, no, I I the guys are exactly right. And you know Newberry's offense can move the ball when they when they're clicking, I mean, there's a there's a lot that they can do, you know, whether it's a you know, dodge pass, pass, attack the backside, you know, uh, you know, razor picks, sweep across the top. I mean when they get rolling, that that offense is extremely potent. Um and you know, the ball moves faster than the man sometimes. And it's just you know, you can do everything, you know, in your power, but when they get that ball moving around, um they're gonna find the open man and and those boys can shoot. They can shoot. I you know, I remember going down there and uh one year I watching their warm-up and it was just ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping. You know, sounded like a sound like an old uh um pinball machine. You know, because you're all just picking corners. So kudos to them. Kudos to them, and um you know it's gonna make for a really, really exciting uh second half of the uh SAC calendar.

SPEAKER_04 24:34

Here's what's interesting too, you gotta give Newberry credit, and I didn't, and I sh I need to, is Lenore Ryan goes up by two. And in years past, Newberry between the bricks probably would have folded. And then they didn't. And they're the ones that took advantage of it and pulled it out. And they were up what were they up by? They were up by like three goals, I think, near the end, or at least two goals, and and and then with time running out. I mean, and then you know Lenore Ryan scores with 49 seconds left, but you know, that's not enough time then to get another one because Newberry was able to hold on to the ball.

SPEAKER_00 25:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 25:16

So uh you give them a lot of credit for for turning it around. They did not wilt at all between the bricks.

SPEAKER_00 25:24

Makes you wonder how much of the you know of that comes from the limestone pedigree with them having so many limestone guys on their roster, you know, who have been in big games in between the bricks, that you know, they can't grab control of the huddle and and say, listen, guys, we've been here, we've done this. You know, they're not it's not insurmountable, you know. It's not insurmountable because we did it when we were the blue and gold.

SPEAKER_02 25:48

So yeah. Yeah, I couldn't agree with you more. Um, again, I think Newberry is very good. They're gonna be a tough out whoever plays them for the rest of the season. Yeah, again, and they got a lot of arrows in their quiver, man. Yeah they can they they got a lot of guys. Yeah, and they just you know just keep rolling them in. And so, you know, and LR's still a good team, but they're they're missing something. I don't know what it is.

SPEAKER_04 26:14

Yeah. Okay, let's move on to Flagler against St. Leo at St. Leo. This score, I think we talked about this. I thought this would be a really close game. You and I, Danny, both picked Saint Leo, yeah, but they beat Flagler 17 to 7. Yeah, man. They put a beating on him. They controlled the face-off dot and the pace of play, and that was all the difference in the world.

SPEAKER_02 26:40

Andrew Graham was 21 for 23 at the dot for what, 91% or whatever it is. It's like, how do you do that? Because now Flagler's just watching. They're watching St. Leo's offense just go to work. And St. Leo's offense is very potent, very deep. Multiple guys can score. It's not just one guy every night. If it's not Rauchy, it's Palmer. If it's not Palmer, it's Baker. If it's not Baker, it's, you know, you know, Multisante. You know, it's like they just got guys that can play, man. And I've been liking St. Leo all year. I think they have all the bases covered. They really do. And I think they're a top 10 team. That's just my opinion. Just one knucklehead's opinion. And I am a knucklehead, but I think they're very good. And Flagler was watching them play. I mean, they held Trace McDonald, the All-American, to just three shots, one goal.

SPEAKER_04 27:38

If you look at St. Leo's defense, I think in the first quarter they they held him to like six shots, and another quarter, they held him to four shots.

SPEAKER_02 27:46

McGonagall and Wills are dogs back there, man, with those polls. Those guys are good. They get after it. And I think that loss last week pissed them all off because they looked real good in this flat.

SPEAKER_04 28:01

Did you see any of that game, Coach?

SPEAKER_00 28:03

I I didn't see any of it. Um, I just kind of have been catching up through the uh through the box scores and stuff. But yeah, no, I mean, just looking at you know, statistically, as you mentioned, you know, they controlled the face-offs, um, stayed out of the penalty box. They only committed one penalty. Yeah. To Flagler 6. Yeah, to Flaggler 6. Now they only converted on two of them, but still, just the the opportunities, right? They didn't allow Flagler the opportunity to get back into the game.

unknown 28:31

Right.

SPEAKER_00 28:32

By winning that many faceoffs, controlling the ball, um, you know, 46 shots, you know, that's averaging you know, over 10 a quarter. That's you know, that's a dream. You know, that's what coaches you know strive for. Um, yeah, I mean, it's just on the ground ball war.

SPEAKER_02 28:49

Drew Wheeler had 24 shots. Yeah. 24 shots, Flagler. That's not where they're at. That's that's that St. Leo defense. Sorry, coach. I didn't mean to interrupt.

SPEAKER_00 29:01

No, no, I was you know, I was just gonna say, you know, keeper Drew Wheeler, uh transferred from Barton. Um, you know, just a tremendous young man. He's a he's great in between the pipes. Yeah, a great communicator, extremely athletic. Like he's he's shining. He's starting to shine, and he's doing what I've seen him do since he was, gosh, probably junior in high school. Really? Um, you know, yeah, oh yeah, yeah. He's he's he's a heck of a ball player. Heck of a ball player, heck of a family, honestly. Um and uh yeah, I I'm really I'm really happy. I'm really happy for Coach Brad down there. Um, you know, they deserve after after all the injuries they went through last year. Yeah, I mean, Greg Palmer, you know, is out the entire year. I mean, look at what that kid's doing this year. It's just I mean, he's he's on an all-American pace. And he would have been that last year if you hadn't gotten hurt. You know, it's just yeah, I I think they're they're coming into form. This is the team that they wanted to be last year, and they're just that much stronger this year. So you better look out. You better look out for those Lions down there. They're rolling.

SPEAKER_02 30:09

Absolutely. First quarter, Brady Maltesante scored the first goal for the Lions. Flagler tied it at one, but St. Leo just kept pushing the envelope and pushing the pace. They scored four consecutive goals. Multisante had a hat trick in the first quarter. Lions led 6'2 after one. I mean, it's like it was bad. Wow. And then the second quarter, it was Rauchy, Baker, Palmer, Carlo, and Anderson Smith all scored for the Lions in the second quarter. Andrew Graham was just outstanding at face-off. I mean, again, just kept McDonald and that Flagler Saints offense off the field. They were watching all night. And the route was on. I mean, by the second quarter, it was over.

SPEAKER_04 30:52

It was 12-3 and a half. It was over. You said it, Danny, and this is the note I wrote. St. Leo was dominating both sides of the field, defense and offense. And and all you could try to see is like, is Flagler going to make it close? Not I didn't think they were going to win by that point, but like, uh, can they make it close when there's that much of a deficit and you've got 30 minutes left? And St. Leo just kept pouring it on.

SPEAKER_02 31:20

Yeah, man. Greg Palmer, four and one. He had uh Brady Montesante and John Rauchi each with three goals and assists. Ben Baker had two goals, no Jin Chernoff, Stell Wagon Smith, and A.J. Carlo each with one. Drew Wheeler had eight saves for Flagler, uh Will Link with two goals, Griffin Moore, Dempsey Gibbs, Trace McDonald, uh each uh Quinn Micah, Ben Nyberg, each with one. I mean, again, just the Trace McDonald one goal on three shots just amazes me. Um they sent out St. uh Flagler sent out six face-off guys. Six. And they they couldn't they couldn't solve it. They were a combined three for 27.

SPEAKER_04 32:05

Now you look at Ano Nogen of St. Leo, one goal but five assists. He was dishing dimes. And then you look at Owen Wills. Three ground balls, three cost turnovers.

SPEAKER_02 32:16

Dog, I'm telling you. So St. Leo looks real good. They're four and one now, and Flagler drops the five and three. But that was a good game. I mean, St. Leo was a good one.

SPEAKER_04 32:25

Let's move on to the Anderson Tampa game.

SPEAKER_02 32:30

Great game.

SPEAKER_04 32:32

Great game. What'd you think about it? I don't have no. I watched the game. I don't have notes on it. We talked about this quickly last week. I said Tampa Anderson. You're like, oh, we always talk about Tampa. I'm like, okay, but it's still gonna be a good game to watch, right? Remember that?

SPEAKER_01 32:44

We do.

SPEAKER_04 32:45

And so I'm watching it. Yeah, we always talk about it. Here's what I would say. And you and I would texted back and forth on this, Danny. And this goes back to like the Anderson and Newberries of the world stepping up to be that elite team. Anderson never, never capitulated anything. Even if they they were up to begin with, then they were down by two, they'd go up by two. And here's the most amazing thing: they are up by one against Tampa with seconds left. Tampa scores, I think there was like seven seconds left. Tampa scores two even and tie the ball game going overtime. You talk about Newberry not wilting. Anderson wins in an overtime. And the reason why I say that is because I've said this on several episodes. Tampa is always Tampa. They're always gonna be in it. You think they're gonna lose, they end up winning. Anderson is the one that pulled it out this time.

SPEAKER_02 33:48

Yeah. Well, let's talk about the goalies. Let's talk about both goalies. Both goalies were outstanding and made insane saves. Like over-the-top crazy saves that you just like, oh my God. And it went back and forth. I mean, there were several of them. Doorstop saves. One was like a doorstop save, uh, rebound out, a garbage ball on the ground, bang, another save. You know, the kid like shot it quick because he got the ball like almost like at the end of the game of the Tampa Adelphi last year. Yeah, you know, just right in front of the goal. This craziness. And he and he made the other save. I thought Lachlan was great. I mean, AJ Rush and and Dixon, Rush and Dixon are really good lethal combination at the dot for Anderson. They basically split time 50-50, and they're equally as good. Yeah, Dixon was eight for 16, Rush was eight for 15. These guys are good. Uh MP Thomas was he was solid at the dot, but not as solid as he's been. He was 14 for 28 for Tampa.

SPEAKER_04 34:53

So well, guess what? So there he goes. It's 50% split. And what do you think Anderson wanted to do against MP Thomas? Just exactly what they wanted, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 35:02

Just wear him down, you know. And perked. And I I tell you, Aiden Lockman played really, really well in goal. And I thought Weston Schmidt played really, really well well in goal. You know, Tampa's a great team. They really do a lot of good things, but I don't see a whole lot of number twos in there. I don't see a whole lot of second-line middies coming in. They might have one or two, maybe, but that's it. It's they run their ones to the to the that's what they do. You know, and Anderson rotates their boys. Fresh legs, fresh legs. And what I saw uh in this game was how Anderson matched Tampa speed. Yes. Tampa's quick. Anderson matched their speed. And that's where the difference in the game was because Tampa, quite frankly, hasn't played anybody with that speed that can match their speed. Raiden Badron was beating his guys, you know, one-on-one. That's not an easy thing to do over at Tampa. They got Conley Stone, they got Gordy Gumball, they got guys to complain. Their short stick D-meds are tight, and they got multiple multiple short stick D meds. So I think what Anderson did was a statement game for the rest of the country. I really do. I really do. I think if you ask me, I think they should be number one. Delphi hasn't played anybody. They played Seatnail, that's it. That's it. Tampa has the hardest schedule, strength of schedule in the country. And Anderson beat him. Yeah. I don't know, man. I don't know how they do these rankings. What do you think, Coach?

SPEAKER_00 36:40

Yeah, no, I mean, I think uh I don't want to put you on the spot or anything.

SPEAKER_04 36:45

Yeah, yeah. Look, if he still has a job in the athletic department, he's got to be careful here, okay? We're just two requests. We can say whatever we want.

SPEAKER_00 36:54

Adelphi, you know, is they they deserve their number one. They honestly do. You know, Anderson now, uh looking at the US ILAs, um, they did move up to two. Yeah. So and it's close. I mean, it's they're only trailing them by what, 29 total points, you know, on on the um Anderson's or Adelphi still got all 20 first place votes, but I mean that's that's a pretty narrow margin. So, you know, Anderson definitely got their flowers for sure. And um and it's well deserved. I mean, what is Coach Mitchell's building there or has built. It's not, you know, I mean, he's he's he's done it. Um, you know, I have always been following them. Um, you know, they started they started their program when I was when I was coaching, and um, yeah, we were actually supposed to scrimmage them one year, but it got you know, something something happened. Um, I don't remember why we had to call it off, but um, so I've always kind of you know kept tabs on them. And I mean, I'll tell you what, he is they are a machine. They are an absolute machine, they play both ends of the field extremely well, they move in transition, they can face off. Aiden Laughlin, I tell you what, was watching him fundamentally um Tampa kept trying to you know skip through the crease.

SPEAKER_02 38:15

Right.

SPEAKER_00 38:15

The way that Aiden was able to go pipe to pipe with confidence and maintain a you know good posture, you know, a lot of a lot of goalies you know can struggle with that, or you know, once they take that big step across, you know, they're that might get too low, might get too high. I mean, you watch if you go back and watch him fundamentally it was just it was a masterclass on on how to handle those, you know, those skip passes through the crease. And um, he was ready to make the save. He knew what was coming, he's ready to make the save. So, you know, uh some of that you just can't teach, but some of it is you know, learned, you know, from from your experience and honestly, good good scouting. No, you know knowing what to expect. You know, knowing what to expect from the offense. That you know, if you see it across your face like that, you know there's a shot on the backside, so get your hands ready, get get set, and and attack the ball, which he did all game long. And I mean, 13 saves. Great day. A great day to be a Trojan down there. And you know, kudos to them. I think they uh they deserve that number two ranking. And and we'll see. We'll see. Maybe they can they can uh pull off another one and sneak up uh sneak up into that number one there, Damon.

SPEAKER_02 39:26

Dix Dixon and Rush had won a couple in a row. It was towards the end of the fourth quarter. And uh Anderson went up by two. And I was like, all right, this is a pretty big face-off here, this face-off. And Tampa won the face-off, and they went down and scored. And I was like, all right, this next face-off is pretty big. It's like a minute and 40 left in the and then they're down one, and MP Thomas won that face-off. Yeah. And they scored with what, like seven seconds on the game on the clock? And it was great, great play. I mean, yeah, yeah. JB calls timeout perfect timeout. He sets up the play, the play work to perfection. All right, now we're going into overtime. This is a pretty important face-off right here. Yeah. Dixon wins the wins the face-off, and that was the difference. Yeah. You know, and like even like both, even even both face-off guys won their face-off at like big opportunity times, you know, when they needed to win a face-off or two, they did. You know, and like it was just a really just a well-played game. I felt like I was watching like a D1 game. The size, the fast, the speed, the amount of not sloppy play, just the type of play both teams uh exhibited that afternoon. I mean, it's just great. Great game.

SPEAKER_04 40:51

Watch the off-ball movement, the passing, which I think is one of the things that that uh Anderson did so well to score a lot of times. They did very well. They moved without the ball, yeah. They spin that ball so well. I mean, Tampa's always been known for it. And you you're right, you hit the nail on the head, Danny. It was an amazing game to watch, just see that level of play against those two teams.

SPEAKER_02 41:14

It's like watching a Division I game, you know. Just that's the kind of play that was going on. You got two good coaches, you have both teams with, you know, multiple All-Americans on both sides of the ball. You know, that I've been waiting for a while to see that a game like that.

SPEAKER_04 41:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 41:31

It's really good. It's been kind of a crazy year. Like I've just been waiting to see a really good, well-played lacrosse game from both teams, and that was it. And Anderson takes down uh Tampa.

unknown 41:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 41:43

So Anderson's 6-0, and Tampa goes to 7-1. I don't think it hurts Tampa too much, though.

SPEAKER_04 41:48

No, no, they're they're still in it. All right, let's go to the last game that we're gonna talk about, and that's a Delphi at Seton Hill. A Delphi pulls it out 10-3. 10-3. We talked a little bit, or I talked a little about how I thought Lenore Ryan looked a little rusty. A Delphi's defense had no rust on them as they hadn't played in like three weeks, and they just shut down the Griffin's offensive weapons. And they did it with coach.

SPEAKER_00 42:25

Yeah, you know, I the thought workmanlike. You know, this was workman-like, you know, this it's this is a Delphi. We're just gonna come out here, we're gonna dominate on defense, we're gonna, you know, timely goals, just you know, just a very workmanlike, you know, not flashy. And you know, they they showed up, they were confident, they knew they were gonna win that ballgame, and and they went out there and they did it. I mean, it's just that's what a coach purdy team does. You know, they show up and they win ball games. Um, and and it's just, yeah, a workmanlike win is how I would describe this one for uh for the Panthers.

SPEAKER_02 43:07

So well said, Coach. Like uh uh earlier I kind of said it reminded me of the old Lemoyne team, so methodical, business-like, workmanlike. They knew what they wanted to do and they were able to do it with not much problems at all. They look good doing it too. And their defense, let me tell you something. When they come to slide, they're not just coming to give you a little stick, they're putting a body on you with that. Oh, yeah. They're putting a body on you. The ball's coming out and your ass is going down on the ground. They're not playing around. I mean, these guys, when they slide and they come for that double, you're gonna feel a body against you.

SPEAKER_04 43:43

And then even when they're just playing man, Danny, what I would I saw a lot was two things. One, stick check after stick. They they're gonna let you know that they're right there before the slide, right? Before slide needs to come. And then you saw sticks and lanes. How many passes did they intercept that just you're like. Just in the middle of it. Now, the opposite thing I would say is that Seton Hill looked pretty sloppy with their passing in this game. I was surprised at that.

SPEAKER_02 44:09

Yeah, they lost their fundamentals somewhere along this line in this game. They just didn't play a Coach Novotny type game. I'm not used to seeing a Seaton Hill team play sloppy. They're usually very well coached. They usually know what they did. They're very methodical in their approach as well, Seaton Hill, defensively and offensively. I mean, they just they couldn't get anything rolling. They just won't get anything rolling at all. I mean, and again, like you said, Kevin, I agree with you. They played sloppy. They were throwing balls away. Uncharacteristic of a Seaton Hill Griffith team. I think you said it.

SPEAKER_04 44:48

A Delphi playing, both of you said it, a Delphi plane, very methodical, workman-like. They controlled the pace, but they just needed to play six on six. That's all they wanted to do. Sooner or later, Seton Hill had to push tempo. They needed to push tempo to get back in the game, but they couldn't do it because they weren't making crisp passes in that game.

SPEAKER_02 45:09

This wasn't their day at all. It just didn't look good, man.

SPEAKER_04 45:12

I did not, I we both thought Adelphi would win. I did not think Seton Hill would be held to three points. Now, I will tell you, a lot of it, a lot of that credit goes to that Adelphi defense. We already talked about it. They just were amazing to watch.

SPEAKER_02 45:29

Kristen Tomey was 81% leaving the pipes. It's ridiculous. 81%. It's his day. Nobody could get a ball past him.

SPEAKER_04 45:41

And then you look at some of the team stats. I mean, you could talk about shots and shots on goal, which a Delphi had, but look at turnovers. A Delphi had 15 to Seton Hills 24. Ground balls. A Delphi 35 to Seton Hill's 20. Yeah. That kind of tells a story right of how that game really went, I think.

SPEAKER_02 46:03

Yeah, Seton Hill's got a circle of wagons, bring it back down to practice, watch a little film, and figure out what to do next.

SPEAKER_04 46:12

We we always talk in individual stats about the goals. Let's point out a Delphi's individual defensive effort. Mike Delasandro, four ground balls, two cause turnovers. Reese Bauer and Gavin Herzog, three ground balls, one cause turnover a piece. Cutter Link letter, six ground balls, three cause turnovers.

SPEAKER_02 46:33

Crazy. What'd they do? They just recap the two.

SPEAKER_04 46:38

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_02 46:39

Yeah. I mean, they're good. They're good, the top five. I'd love to see them play Anderson. I would too. With AJ Rush and Dixon and Laughlin and goal. And you know, with that speed that Anderson has, yeah. That would be some games. So um I really Anderson's scary good, man. I got kids in the SAC. It's not gonna be an easy run. They're scary good. I mean, and Coach Mitchell's a great coach, and we know that he's been our guest before, and he listens all the time. And he knows that we love him, love the game, and love them and what they're doing. And they're gonna be they're gonna be tough because now it's all SAC. I mean, SAC's got 10 teams in the in the in the sack. It's a it's a long season in the sack. And again, with LMU improving and Tusculum improving, and you know, Kitala doing their thing, and it's just it's getting ridiculous in the sack. So Adelphi, what do you think? They're really, really good, man. They look like like, oh, they're tough.

SPEAKER_04 47:49

They look like a number one.

SPEAKER_02 47:50

I mean, I know you like Anderson, and I I can I you have a very logical thing, but I they But because who Anderson played and what they had to do to get there. That's why, that's where my comes from. You know? That's why I would love to see those two play. But they'll probably play St. Thomas at Points. You know, they're like the ranked 68th in the race.

SPEAKER_04 48:11

But they did, they were supposed to play Wingate and Lenore Ryan, and those got snowed out. So there you go. They had it on their schedule, it didn't work out. They probably would have beat both of them.

SPEAKER_02 48:20

Yeah. Yeah. But you know what? They probably would have been both good games, you know.

SPEAKER_01 48:24

Oh,

Offensive Player of the Week

SPEAKER_01 48:25

yeah.

SPEAKER_02 48:26

In the creeps, player of the week, offense. All right, Kev, this week's offensive player of the week. My honorable mention is kind of pretty cool if you think about it. It's gonna go out to my man from Newberry, Bradley David. Ready for this kind of number? He had five goals on five shots and three assists. He had eight points on five shots. That's talk about efficiency. Yeah. That's about as efficient as you could possibly get. That's a really, really? My offensive player of the week this week, though, goes to St. Leo Fogo. Andrew Graham, who is just amazing at the goal. 21 for 23, 91%. I'm not really the guy that goes for the specialist. I like guys that can put points up and guys that do things, but that was ridiculous. Great job. Andrew Graham, offensive player of the week.

Defensive Player of the Week

SPEAKER_02 49:26

In the crease, player of the week, defense.

SPEAKER_04 49:30

Okay. Defensive player of the week. My runner-up has to go to Christian Tomey. And the only reason he's probably not the player of the week, because we've had a few goalies before. So 81%. He had some unbelievable saves, too. He was really good between the pipes. But the defensive player of the week goes to his teammate, Carter Linkletter, who came over, transferred over, and is playing like you figured he would for a Delphi. And in this game, six ground balls, three cost turnovers against a really good team, Seaton Hill. He deserves a defensive player of the week. All right. Congratulations.

SPEAKER_02 50:10

Good job, boys.

Gsmes to Watch

SPEAKER_02 50:14

Who do you like, coach, in the games to watch?

SPEAKER_00 50:19

Well, you know, I gotta stay, uh gotta stay with my boys. Um, we got uh we got a couple big ones uh teed up um from uh starting with this Friday. Uh we have Barton coming to town. Barton Bulldogs Warren's shoemate. Um come on over the mountain and uh come on up to Attack Mountain uh for a Friday afternoon tilt. So pretty excited about that one. And then following that up uh next Wednesday against our uh reigning conference champions, Corey Struss and the Trailblazers of uh North Greenville. So very excited two-game stretch here for uh for my guys. Um really, really looking forward to seeing how they can uh how they can start making some moves within the conference.

SPEAKER_04 51:12

Yeah, interestingly, Barton hasn't been the team that they were a couple years ago. They've they've kind of had a little bit of a downslide. And then you look at North Greenville. We talked about this earlier. They've been kind of, to me, that Jekyll and Hyde team this year, where they play really, really well. They beat Florida Tech convincingly, but they lose to a team like Monteval. Now, Monteval is a good team, but I didn't expect that. So can Lees McRae, they're they're both they both have four wins, Leez McCrae and North Greenville, before we go into this weekend, but can they catch North Greenville at their stadium? It'll be a that'll be a good game. Of course, Barton will be good with them being at home. I I actually think Lees McCrae will take that one.

SPEAKER_00 51:55

Yeah, we're uh we sure hope so. The guys are working hard. Um be you know, first uh be our first uh first win against Barton um since they've started the program. Um it's always just a very hard-fought, tough game.

SPEAKER_04 52:11

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 52:12

Um I you know, you want to call it a rivalry, but I think it's more of a respect rivalry than it is uh, you know, two teams that hate each other. Um and I I think that just comes from you know my time against Coach Sumate, you know, built a really good friendship. Um, and I I think it reflected in in the competition on the field. So really excited, really excited to welcome those guys back up on the mountain. And then like you said, you know, can we turn around and um and and compete against you know the conference champions, the current conference champions? Um I I think I think we can. I truly do think we can. Um it's gonna be an exciting game. I'm gonna do everything I can to get down to Tigerville that that Wednesday afternoon to catch that one. Um but yeah, very excited. Very excited. Got a good uh good couple couple games lined up for uh for my Bobcats. Awesome.

SPEAKER_02 53:07

I gotta be honest with you. I like Lee's in this game at home. Um I just think that they're gonna do the job. I think they're gonna beat the Barton Bulldogs this week. That's my prediction. I like Lee's at home at this game.

SPEAKER_04 53:22

Yeah. Who else do you have, Danny, on your list? Uh oh, on my list? Yeah. Oh, I'm not sure. What's you throwing out there?

SPEAKER_02 53:30

I think, you know, Lander and North Greenville, okay? North Greenville has, like I said, we were talking last week. On paper, they look amazing, but they've stumbled. They've had a couple little stumbles. And Lander is quietly like, what's their record now? They're at uh five and two or four and three. Four and three. Four and three. Both teams are at four and three right now. So Lander at North Greenville, I think, is going to be a pretty interesting game, I think, for both teams moving forward. Maybe possible bids. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_04 54:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 54:11

Possible. Yeah. It could go that way. Yeah. So these games are important now for some of these teams. So, what do you think? I think I agree with you.

SPEAKER_04 54:22

Lander, both Lander and North Greenville. Lander's been quietly getting better.

SPEAKER_05 54:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 54:31

And North Greenville, like I said, it's kind of been that Jekyll-Hyde team. We expected, I expected them to be stronger in some games than they than they have been. Maybe they're still figuring out they've got so many weapons, you know, and Lander really is in a not in a total rebuild, but they've lost a lot of players and are are are trying to get back up to where they were. And that just takes time. They're four and three. They're gonna play a really good team. I think this game is going to be really kind of set either team. Whoever team wins is gonna get they're gonna get their confidence up with this game. Oh, definitely. What do you like? Oh, so I I'm gonna say North Greenville at home. Over Lander. Yeah, I like North Greenville at home, too. I'll go with that. We won't make coach pick. You know, he's an assistant athletic director. He could get in trouble. He's the compliance guy. We don't want him to have to pick.

SPEAKER_02 55:32

We'll keep you safe there, Coach. Also, another game I like, I think the Lewis Rollins game. If Rollins is gonna make a statement, they gotta play well against Lewis. And Lewis has been playing really well. They're really good. They're really, really good. They are tough this year. They're gonna be they're gonna be in the mix at the end, I'm telling you.

SPEAKER_04 55:53

They are and this is what's interesting. We talked about this quickly. This is kind of like it's being played at Maryville's field in St. Louis. This is an SSC versus GLVC tournament. The same day St. Leo plays Maryville, which also should be a really good game. Those are two good games. And then they flip on Monday. Maryville plays Rollins and Lewis plays St. Leo. Yeah. Yeah. Little company out there. Now you talk about St. Leo, Danny, and how strong they are. Playing Maryville and Lewis two days apart, I may give them the nod against Maryville, but I don't know about against Lewis. I think that's a pick'em game. I don't think I could pick.

SPEAKER_02 56:41

Oof. I like St. Leo against Maryville. Yeah. I like that game.

SPEAKER_04 56:47

Except they're traveling and Maryville's at home. That's but I I agree with you. I I I would go with St. Leo.

SPEAKER_02 56:53

And um the Lewis, St. Leo game? I don't know, man. That's gonna be I'm gonna have to give the nod to Lewis, I think. I a slight edge, just a slight edge. I think that might be a really, really good game.

SPEAKER_04 57:08

I agree. What do you think about Rollins against Lewis?

SPEAKER_02 57:14

Lewis. I think Lewis also. Lewis. That's just my thoughts. Lewis looks good, man. Rollins looks like they're good, but haven't put it all together yet. As a lot of teams haven't. A lot of teams haven't yet put it all together. There's only one or two teams that I've seen out there, Delphi, uh Anderson and Tampa, really that have been putting it together. Those three teams. Everybody else kind of I don't know.

SPEAKER_04 57:44

Okay, I've got one other this I'm interested in. This is kind of a notable one, and that's Colorado Mesa against Palm Beach Atlantic in Tampa. So Colorado Mesa's coming out east. Road Warriors. They have to turn around and play Tampa on Sunday, but on Saturday they play Palm Beach Atlantic, and Palm Beach Atlantic has played been playing well.

SPEAKER_02 58:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 58:06

Colorado Mesa just beat Florida Southern in overtime. I would give the nod to Colorado Mesa, but you can't count on Palm Beach Atlantic anymore. Like that should be a fun game to watch. I like Mesa. I do too. Any other games on your uh on your list there, Coach?

SPEAKER_00 58:28

Um, there's a couple others. The uh the Flagler Florida Tech game on Friday night. Oh, yeah. Afternoon. I think it's a four o'clock tilt. Yep. That should be that should be a good one. Um I you know, Florida Tech with what they just did against Belmont Abbey, Flagler, you know, kind of taking it on the chin a little bit, you know, that uh Coach Duncan's gonna get them fired back up.

SPEAKER_02 58:53

Um so that's they gotta go to Florida Tech, though. They do. They do like Melbourne. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 59:02

Um that could be that could be a great game. You know, I I I truly expect a bounce back from Flagler. I think they're gonna come in motivated to prove that they can still run with the S uh Sunshine State Boys. Um that I think that's gonna be a great, great game. Uh if I wasn't gonna be at the uh Barton LMC game, I I'd probably I might still have that one pulled up on the on the cell phone while uh while I'm while I'm working the uh the the Bobcat game. But um yeah, excited for that one. Um and then you know give a little love to the the Northern Boys, uh Assumption Pace on Saturday. Oh yeah, very good game. Um could be a very strong game. Um and then Assumption turns around on Tuesday and and draws um Southern New Hampshire, who you know you spoke about a little bit earlier.

SPEAKER_05 59:55

Right.

SPEAKER_00 59:56

They keep just plugging along, you know, great uh great little ball club going up there. So um Assumption is just sort of uh starting to hit a little bit of a murderers row here. So um yeah, I think it's gonna be it's gonna be a great weekend. Friday, you know, a lot of some of these teams are hitting their uh spring breaks, you know, so they're stretching their legs a little bit. And um, you know, you mentioned the Sunshine State GLVC. I love having teams meet somewhere, multiple teams, whether it's you know at one school or a neutral site, and uh these little round robin tournaments. Yeah. Be able to give a lot of lacrosse in a short period of time, um, you know, from a team budgets, you just you know, it's uh an extra night of a hotel versus a whole nother trip. Like I really, really hope as as Division II continues to grow, um you know, that we start seeing more and more of these happen because I think it's great for the game. I truly do. I agree. I love it,

Game of the Week

SPEAKER_00 1:00:57

actually.

SPEAKER_04 1:01:40

Game of the week, Danny. Who do we have this week?

SPEAKER_02 1:01:44

Oh, it's the Wingate LR Crown Classic game, Kev, down in Charlotte at the American Legion Stadium, downtown Charlotte. Beautiful. Ah, what a what a venue that is. Yeah, uh UNC Penn State at night, right? Yeah. Uh right after the uh Wingate LR games. That should be great. It's gonna draw a lot of people. And we have two women's games, one Division II and one Division I. So we're gonna have four games, NCAA games, two in Division II and two in Division I. It's exactly what they want. And it's just a great, great day for College La Crosse. It's one of the best days where you can see four games in one venue. It's almost like it's kind of got like a playoff atmosphere a little bit. You know what I mean? It's just that kind of uppity. And the weather's supposed to be very nice into the 70s and sunny this year. Last year was freezing, and then the year before that was pouring raining. It's like it's like my umbrella. They wouldn't even let me take an umbrella when I was sitting there getting soaked. But uh it's a great day, great venue. Um, just it gets it gets people coming out in droves. The high school kids come out, yeah, the junior high school kids come out. You see the girls' teams coming out. And then all the tailgates from the different schools, all the tailgates and the buses.

SPEAKER_04 1:03:08

I wanted to come down for it this year. Unfortunately, I'll still be here in Hawaii. So I'll be watching that game. It'll be 10 in the morning when LR Wingate play. I'll be starting to watch games as I'm drinking coffee at 6 in the morning for those 12 noon games that start. But um, this game last year, Lenore Ryan Wingate played last year. Lenore Ryan pulls that one out 9-6. Here's my question, Danny. We we know both teams have potent offenses. I'd give the nod almost to Wingate in the in the offensive category this year, based on number of players that can score. My question is, which defense really shows up? Both defenses have had some question marks this year, both in goalie now and then, and certainly even, you know, in their their close D. Yeah. And so I think whoever wins that battle, whatever defense really shows up, ends up winning this game.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:02

Yeah, you know, it's gonna be uh I think that Wingate has the slight edge a little bit just not much, but a slight edge. I think they're just a tiny bit better than LR right now. Um, I think that LR's defense is missing something, but they're good. I'm don't get me wrong, but they're just not the defenses they've been in the years past. I think they're struggling in goal. And I mean uh Wingate's offense hasn't even looked that great, but they looked good the other day.

SPEAKER_04 1:04:35

Yeah, it was against Tusculum, you know.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:37

Tusculum's four and two.

SPEAKER_04 1:04:39

Yeah, but look at who they played, too. They I mean it now, Tusculum's I love to see that for Tusculum, don't get me wrong. They also have improved, and that is awesome. And but they're not close to Wingate's level, whereas Lenore Ryan playing Newberry is a totally different animal, right? Now, I would I don't disagree with anything you're saying about Wingate. I actually would I give the not slight nod to Wingate also in this game. Because of the things you're saying. I think their offense is just a little bit stronger, but I have seen Wingate's defense struggle a little bit, and that's the only thing that I think I think their goalie, I think Quad Williams has played at a higher level than the goalies for Lenore Ryan. He's at 50%. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:24

But it's okay. Not great. It's okay. He needs to be in the 60%, you know, to make it like for them to win the daddy. But we did we discussed that in the beginning of the year. We thought that, you know, they needed better goalie play out of Claude Williams at Wingate. They just needed a little bit more consistency. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:05:43

So um, what do you think of this game, Coach? Sorry, Danny, I didn't mean to cut you off. I want to try to bring Mr. Brad Dunn into this conversation.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:52

Yeah, I'm really looking forward to this one. Um, obviously, you know, the Wingate LR matchup every year. Um We're fortunate enough. We some you know, most years we see it more than once because they always see uh you know find each other in the playoffs as well. But that's right. Um yeah, I I I agree with you guys. I'm gonna give a slight nod to um to the wing gate offense. Um I think they're just the weapons are a little bit deeper. Um specialist play. I think face offs is gonna be uh I think it's gonna be tight. Um the the rope units for both both programs are really, really strong. Um, so you can't really give a you know lean one way or the other there. Um but I do I hear what you're saying about Quad. Um I I just I have a gut feeling that he's gonna stand up. It's gonna be his sort of his breakout game this year. He's you know he's kind of gotten off to a little bit of a slower start. Um, but we uh we all know what he can do, what he's capable of. We watched him at the end of last year. Right. Um I I really think he could be the one. And um yeah, I'm gonna I'm gonna run with uh I'm gonna run with the Bulldogs. I mean, got one of my one of my favorite uh one of my favorite former players, Mikey Moore, uh transferred from Wingate to Lee's McCrane. Um is now back at Wingate. He's their uh you know their offensive coach. And you know, he and I talk almost daily. Um he's uh you know I know he's he's working his absolute tail off to prepare for this game. He wants this to be a statement game um for you know for Wingate and for himself as an offensive coach, and I know he's got it in him. So um I'm gonna you know I'm gonna side with the dogs on this one. And uh, but I think it's gonna just be an absolutely epic game. It always is when these two come together. But in this in this setting, in you know, at the at the classic, and um no better way to represent Carolina lacrosse than have these two programs get after it. So absolutely better.

SPEAKER_02 1:08:01

That deserves the quality bell. Yeah, we got it. Excellent job, Coach.

SPEAKER_04 1:08:05

That's why he's on as the guest analyst, and once again, he shows that we're just two knuckleheads. Yeah, 100%. Yeah.

Shout outs

SPEAKER_04 1:08:13

All right. That is the games to watch. We've gone through the week in review. It's now time for shout-outs.

SPEAKER_05 1:08:21

Shootoops!

SPEAKER_04 1:08:22

And always with a guest analyst, we defer to the guests to begin with. Coach, do you have any shout-outs?

SPEAKER_00 1:08:29

I appreciate that. Yeah, no, I just want to give a shout-out to the fans. Um, you know, in watching these games this year, uh, you know, just hearing how exciting and excited the fans get on both sides. Um, it's just it's great to see the outpouring of support for Division II Lacrosse, both, you know, listening to this podcast and attending the games and and you know, all the the tweets and retweets and everything, you know, just the engagement for Division II lacrosse has just been phenomenal. The growth of uh at at our level um is just it's just astronomical. You know, I think back to when I was a player, and of course that was back in the Stone Age before we had any social medias or anything. But um, you know, just watching it grow from you know really the ground roots to where it is now. I'm I'm just so proud to to be affiliated with Division II Lacrosse and be a fan and um the opportunity to come on here and and cut it up with you two knuckleheads, you know, is something that I'm just I'm I I'm just so honored to be here and to be a part of it. So to the fans.

SPEAKER_02 1:09:42

We're honored to have you, and thank you so much for saying that. I really appreciate your kind words. Coach Dunn, I always like what you talk about. You're just just a true gentleman and uh uh a good ambassador for Division II and a great ambassador for Lise McRae. And I can't thank you enough for coming on tonight. We really appreciate it.

SPEAKER_04 1:10:03

Appreciate you. Yes. So before we say goodbye to him, I got three shout-outs really quickly. One, first one goes to Northwest Nazarene with their first NCA victory against Dominican of California, 11-9. Then they turned around the next day and beat the other Dominican a day later. So hats off to them. Two wins, both against Dominican. Let's see what they can do against CUI and some of the other RMAC teams. That's a good shout-out, Kev. I like that one. Next one goes to Rockhurst player Jonah McConnell with his 100th career goal. All right. That's just awesome. 100 career goals is no joke. It is not. And then finally, to two, we talked about Tusculum, two Tusculum players, both hitting 100 career points. That's Ben Royer and Luke Bowen. So congrats to those boys. Great job, boys. Congrats, Tusculum. They're getting better, man. Yeah, they are. And my last shout out, you said it, Danny, and now I'm gonna just repeat it. Coach, when we had you on for the first time, we had you on the first year of the podcast, I think, to talk about Lise McCrae. Your passion for the sport just oozed through the Zoom call. And that's why we keep on having you back, because of what you bring to Division II Lacrosse and certainly what you do and help us out. And we can't thank you enough for coming on again and supporting us the way you do. So thank you so much for coming on.

SPEAKER_00 1:11:47

Guys, it's an absolute pleasure. Um, I I'm I'm just I feel so fortunate that I keep getting the emails from you guys to you know allow me to spend a little bit of time with you. Um, there's nothing more I love uh in this world than than Division II lacrosse um across the board. I think you know we are the best division. I don't care what anybody else says. Um the combination of student athletes that we have at our level, um, I'll put them up against anybody in the world. So let's keep growing this thing. Let's keep pushing forward and uh thank you guys for all you do to to advocate for us at the division two level.

SPEAKER_04 1:12:26

Well, thanks, Coach. And Danny, I don't know. I think with those words from Mr. Bradley Dunn, that's a wrap. Happy St.

SPEAKER_02 1:12:34

Patrick's Day to all our fans and all the people that are Irish and those who wish they were.