Game Time - A look back at week 3 and a preview of Week 4 of the 2022 season

SPEAKER_01 0:12

Welcome, welcome, welcome to another episode of In the Crease with Danny and Kevin, a coast-to-coast discussion of D2 Men's Lacrosse. I'm your co-host, Kevin Stenstrom, and with me as always is that D2 lacrosse Road Warrior, Danny Moran. Hey Danny, it was great to see you at the Le Moyne game on Sunday.

SPEAKER_03 0:32

Uh Kevin, it was a great, great weekend Road Warriors. Yes, we were all Road Warriors this weekend. It was really great to uh be on the campus of Johns Hopkins and uh watch some really great lacrosse on Saturday and Sunday. And it was great to see you and all them D2 people out there for that Wingate Le Moine game, which was dynamite.

SPEAKER_01 0:54

A lot of fun. And of course, uh number one facing number two is probably the headliner for our week in review segment. But before we get into that, do you want to just run down this week's scores?

SPEAKER_03 1:05

You want to run down the week's scores already?

SPEAKER_01 1:08

Hear the music there, Danny.

SPEAKER_03 1:10

In this week's roundup of Division II, men's lacrosse. Today's game, Roberts Wesley and big over Post 21-12. And Mercy played today, and they were big over Georgian Ford 21 to 5. On Monday's game, Mercy

Week in Review

SPEAKER_03 1:27

Hearst all over Lewis, 17-5. And Sunday, we had a ton of games, Kev. Emery Riddle over Montevallo 12-10. Meryville beat Lake Erie 14-11. St. Leo beat Alabama Huntsville 16-14. And the Battle of the Hills, Seton Hill over Chestnut Hill, 12-5. And Felician beat Allison Brodus 16-4. Saturday's game, Florida Tech over Flagler 17-6. Bentley over Georgian Court 13-4. Davenport beat Wheelings 16-6. And Malloy's on the winning board and they beat St. Michaels 8-5. Anderson back to their winning ways and they beat Barton 16-6. Wilmington all over Chawan 26-4. Mercy goes 2-0 for the week, 11-8 over St. Rose. Queens over Mount Olive, 16-6. UIndy beat Newberry 15-8. Tusculum, big over Emmanuel 21-8. Lander over LMU 19-5. Rollins over Palm Beach Atlantic 15-7. Mars Hill beat Young Harrison a close one 9-8. And North Greenville beat Coker 14 to 4.

SPEAKER_01 2:51

So there's your week D2 score roundup, Kev. I like it. I like it. I like the music in the background too. I was getting all excited. I was I was shaking my pom-poms as you were going through.

SPEAKER_04 3:06

All right. That's a first. That's a first for in the crease.

SPEAKER_01 3:12

There we go. Uh I didn't want to scare you with that, but I thought I'd just point it out. Too funny. Okay, so let's let's start with Lemoyne Wingate on Sunday. A 15-11 final. Lemoyne beats Wingate.

SPEAKER_03 3:24

Yeah, Lemoyne's good, man. Wow. They're a good team. They're just so precise with the ball. They move the ball so well.

SPEAKER_01 3:32

Crisp, crisp. It's sharp. It's so funny, Danny. Like I've watched them on TV on the computer when the street games are streaming. The watch, it's the first time me seeing them in person. And like you said, they are a precision machine. It was very, very impressive.

SPEAKER_03 3:52

Oh, yeah. They're oh my god, they were so good. I mean, they were you know, Wingate's a good team, Kevin. They're a really good squad, a little young on defense. And I felt that Lemoyne exposed that youngness on real early, real early.

SPEAKER_01 4:07

Um when you say when you say that they moved the ball well, that's exactly what I was thinking. They moved the ball so well that sooner or later they they got it backside or right at the crease for easy layups. The man was wide open and they just had to put it in.

SPEAKER_03 4:23

Yeah, I don't think some of those uh players on Wingate, some of those close defenders, those two freshmen sophomores, I don't think they've ever really seen players like that before. And and and you know what? And and and it's okay. It's okay. They're young and they're gonna learn. But wing came back in the second half. There was a it was a difference in the two halves.

SPEAKER_01 4:42

It was. I mean, the first half, wingate was down 10-4 at the end of the half. And I it looked like a route, you know, it looked like it was gonna be a route, but they fought. They came back, they trimmed a nine-goal deficit down to three in the fourth quarter.

SPEAKER_03 4:56

Yeah, wingate came back, you know, that that attack unit and Willie Greco went back to work and he did his thing. And and you know what? That defense made adjustments in that second half. Coach Tim Boyle made some adjustments, and they were frustrating Lemoyne a little bit that they were getting a little physical with Lemoyne, and you know, there was some butts getting you know pushed into the ground, and the and uniform started getting dirty a little bit. It started started to get a little chippy, not too chippy, but physical, you know. And you know, two good teams going at it and realizing, hey, this is a game here. And then, you know, Wingate struggled at the face-off, you know, they struggled at the faceoff. That was the difference, I think. Yeah, they couldn't win a draw. They couldn't win a draw. So that was big in the game. And you know what? Here's another thing about Wingate's defense. Lemoyne had 13 man-up opportunities and all and only and only scored on one. So that defense tightened up when they had to. But you know, hats off to Coach Sheen and those boys. That's that's a good team, man. They're that's that's division one players all over that field, all Americans on both sides, for both sides. It's both, you know, it was a really, really, really good game. Yeah, exactly. And I was happy to be there, and it was a Johns Hopkins and you know, homewood. You know, and it just crowds were good for both sides. Great crowds and respectful to each other. There was no like name calling or none of that stuff going on.

SPEAKER_01 6:29

Two two really, just really good teams that showed it on the field, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 6:34

And you know what, and great fans for both schools as well, you know, very respectful, yes, and just you know, cheering on their teams and both a great turnout for both schools as well. So it was a really, really good weekend to be there.

SPEAKER_01 6:47

Yep. Now, the other one that happened on Sunday that I want to touch upon was Tampa against Lenore Ryan. Tampa won 13-8. And I tried to watch that once I got home from the Lemoyne Wingate game, but it didn't appear that it was streamed. It wasn't a neutral site in Savannah. So I just had to kind of go by the recap. I don't think the score really told how close it was. Tampa was up 5'4 at half, and then they went back and forth, and Tampa broke it open in the fourth with five unanswered goals, but Lenore answered with three of their own, but it just wasn't enough. And so Tampa wins. But the other I think the most interesting thing is once again, Tampa holds a prolific scoring team to under 10 goals.

SPEAKER_03 7:34

Yeah, man, that defense is legitimate. I mean, Tampa's legitimate team. Everybody's got to look at Tampa right now. Everybody, yeah, everybody in the country. Yeah, because that's what that defense is doing. So, like you just said, prolifically, you know, teams that can score and score in bunches, they're holding to less than 10. And, you know, they have one of the best goalies in the country and Blake Omer. We had him on the show last week. And that team, they're they're gonna be good, Kev. They're gonna be in the mix at the end. Oh yeah, oh yeah. So I want to touch on. And Lenore Ryan, and Lenore Ryan loses their second game.

SPEAKER_01 8:11

Yeah, they're they're two and two, but I'm not counting them out for anything. They're they're still gonna be in it.

SPEAKER_03 8:19

But it doesn't get much easier for them. They still have some big dogs on their schedule as well.

SPEAKER_01 8:24

That's right, including all their conference games. Okay, let me talk about St. Rose and Malloy. Did you get to that game? Did you get to see that? No, because it started earlier than I thought. That's what I was afraid when I finally saw that. I'm like, I don't think he's gonna be able to get there.

SPEAKER_03 8:40

Yeah, I thought it was a four o'clock start. It was a three o'clock start, so I would have never made the game after work. But hey, congratulations.

SPEAKER_01 8:48

Yeah, so Saint Rose wins in overtime 12-11. This game was a barn burner. I watched it. Uh, I was on travel. I got to my hotel and I turned it on as I was doing emails, and I'm watching it. Malloy goes up 6-3 beginning of the third, but Saint Rose goes on a six-goal run and ends up nine six ahead of Malloy at the end of the third. But then Malloy comes back and scores the next three in the first three minutes of the fourth. And then basically went back and forth, back and forth. Saint Rose is up by one and has the ball with less than one minute to go. And I think it was Malloy's short stick D mini, Scott Capiccioni. He causes a turnover, gets the ground ball, passes to Chris Delaney, who scores with time running out. I mean, I was like, oh my God, I couldn't believe it. It was amazing. Yeah. Then we go to overtime. Saint Rose wins the face off. And Malloy played great D in overtime, but Saint Rose kept on getting them backing up their shots to reset the clock. And they took the first three plus minutes on that side, and they finally scored with 102 remaining in overtime. So I I you know that's like three, four minutes of Malloy defense trying to hold hold themselves up and and get them back. That's I think that was just the difference. But it was a great game. And then, like you said, Malloy comes back and beats St. Michael and gets their win. And then St. Rose played really tough against Mercy. Yeah, 11-8. So I know, yeah. St.

SPEAKER_03 10:24

Rose is a good team, and congratulations to Coach uh St. Rose. Yeah, Coach Williams, and getting that W on the first one for him. So that's awesome.

SPEAKER_01 10:35

Do you want to talk Belmont Abbey Florida Southern? Yeah, let's do that. Now, so here's something I've got to say. When I was at the game, uh a listener of ours came up, came up to me and was like, Why are you guys so high on Florida Florida Southern? I said, Have you watched them? They score and score in bunches. Yeah, and then you watch his Belmont Abbey game and they win 21-13. Yeah, they smoked Belmont Abbey.

SPEAKER_03 11:01

Thomas Frank with six, Sean Nolan with five. I mean, they had some scary. Yeah, that's 21 for 31 at the 22 for 31 at the X. And they outshot Belmont Abbey 62 to 36. Kev, Florida Southern is getting the ball and they're getting shots off. Yeah. They're getting shots off. So, you know, this is a team that both of us have said, you know what, let's keep our radar on this team. And look what they did to Belmont Abbey. They smoked them.

SPEAKER_01 11:34

Yeah, then they come back and they play limestone after that game, and they only lose by one goal. 12-11.

SPEAKER_03 11:43

By one goal to rank limestone. So, you know, the Florida Southern's a really good team. You gotta, you gotta say that they're a good team. Without a doubt.

SPEAKER_01 11:54

Without a doubt. I want to also touch upon the Lindenwood Rockhurst game. Surprised, huh? Were you surprised? Well, it was a game of two different halves. It was two different games. First half really close, both teams having great ball movement. The game is eight, seven at half. Both teams are really showing their offensive prowess. If you look at how they were scoring, it was just really pretty to watch. And then in the second half, it is all Linenwood. They just dominate and end up winning 20 to 8.

SPEAKER_03 12:29

Dominated and they outscored them 12-1 in the second half. Yeah. Completely different team almost.

SPEAKER_01 12:37

You know? It was. It was two different games in the same game.

SPEAKER_03 12:42

Freshman Ryan Kemp with four goals, Pat Kashawk with five goals, and seven other players scored. You know? And Lindenwood's ride was working because Rockhurst was having trouble clearing, you know?

SPEAKER_01 12:56

Yeah. Yeah. So that was an interesting game. It'll be great to see what Lindenwood does uh going forward. That's one of the games I've had on my my list uh for the next week. Okay, Danny, let's move on to our coach's spotlight. So last week we got to talk to Coach Wims, whose team had not played a game in almost two years. Tonight we're kind of continuing that trend by speaking with the head coach of the UDC Firebirds program, Coach Roger Colbert. Hey coach, welcome. How are you doing tonight?

SPEAKER_03 13:27

I'm well. Thanks for having me, guys. Hey, Coach Colbert

Coach's Spotlight

SPEAKER_03 13:31

from the UDC Firebirds. Thanks so much for taking the time and coming on the Indec tonight. We really appreciate it. Appreciate you.

SPEAKER_01 13:38

Okay, coach. Just to start off first, tell us what it was like to be able to get back on the field and play a game after almost two years.

SPEAKER_02 13:47

Um relieving. I think you know, our kids were in between getting in trouble evading the pandemic, uh, COVID-19, uh, and driving their coaches and parents crazy. So I think it was most, most, most than anything, it was relieving. Um, it also showed us, you know, a myriad of things that we have to work on. So it was a learning experience as well.

SPEAKER_03 14:11

The kids must have been amped up for that first game, though, huh, coach?

SPEAKER_02 14:15

No, I think when in retro, when you watched the film, I think they were nervous. You know, they spoke about being amped up on the bus ride. That first that first whistle, they were nervous. They were nervous.

SPEAKER_01 14:26

I could watch it. Yeah, and that because that was a on neutral site in Richmond when you played. I got to watch that game. And I have to tell you though, I you yes, you have things probably to take away. But even though you lost, I think you have things to build on. I mean, the game was closer than the score indicated to me. I mean, I thought your defense played pretty well after that first quarter. You know, your goalie, Matthew Miller, had 18 saves. And and that's a good day. Yeah, Jacob Saunders had like eight ground balls. So you, you know, and then on offense with Xander Torres, I think he had like four goals. So, I mean, yeah, I think you know, there's a lot to build on. What do you think about that?

SPEAKER_02 15:05

How how are you gonna go forward from that game to to your next I I am so glad you guys are positive because you know, as coaches, we you know, sometimes when we think think that game through, you know, we want to start with uh the negatives and what we can do better, right? Um, but the truth is we were very athletic in between the lines, we just had too many turnovers in between the lines. Uh, and so what we go, where we go next is you know, we continue to work on the clearing game. If we if we clean up the clearing game, you'll see a different side of UDC, right? And our goalie might have had 18 stays, but he had at least seven turnovers in the court, right? And so the balance of balancing those numbers out leads us to where we need to get to where we need to go. Um but again, you know, two man down, I think that Xander Torres, being one Canadian, uh, and Joey Coda, they sort of opened up the game for us a little bit. And just as coaches, putting those players in position uh to do better and execute on offense will get us to where we need to be. It's gonna take some time being off for a year and a half, two years. But uh I think with our athleticism, and we have, you know, we have older gentlemen on our team, I think we'll be able to figure it out.

SPEAKER_01 16:22

Yeah, you have a good mix on your roster from seniors all the way down to freshmen. And I guess what surprised me is you have a small roster, like 24, 25 guys, and you're playing a team that had has a fairly big roster in Barton, right? And yet you hung with them. And that's when you look at it, not playing for two years, and you got a team like Barton that's coming on strong every year they've been coming on, and you're you're starting almost from scratch again after two years. That was I that's what I was looking at. I was I I did not to be honest, I didn't think it would be as close as it was. So I was pleasantly surprised to see where your team was.

SPEAKER_02 17:02

That's interesting. I I'll share that with the boys because that'll that'll get them excited, man. But we you know, we honestly believe we can we have a talent that can compete with those size rosters. We'll see those size rosters all year, right? Yeah, whether or not we're in shape uh and whether or not we execute, like our our margin of error is smaller than most of us because we don't have as many players. So we have to we have to work on execution, and and that's essentially what we do. And they understand the mission, they realize that we've been watching film for the last four days because we have that much time between now and the Chestnut Hill game.

SPEAKER_03 17:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 17:39

But ultimately, you know, they see, and it's you practice like you play, and you play like you practice, and they're starting to understand what that means after seeing themselves on film and realizing, oh, that's what coach keeps saying in practice. Well, if you do it there, you're going to do it in the game.

SPEAKER_01 17:55

So Yeah, and that's what I was going to next was actually your next opponent, which is in two days in Chestnut Hill. Now they're a very tough opponent.

SPEAKER_02 18:04

Kevin, we got we have them on uh March 2nd.

SPEAKER_01 18:08

Oh, that's in a little oh, a little bit farther out. That's right. I was already a week ahead. So you're you've got a you've got about another little over a week left. You see, I'm calm, right?

SPEAKER_02 18:21

I got a little time, right? I got a little time to be worked up, but yeah, so that's you know, and and they understand who Chestnut Hill is, what type of uh team they are, and you know, we anticipate them being better than our last opponent in Barton, just based on uh history, right? That UDC has never beaten Chestnut Hill. Um, so the challenge, the challenges just get greater. And so if we if we have high expectations for the young men, if they realize what's going on uh and and that they need to get better every single day, then we'll be fine as this two or three months progresses.

SPEAKER_01 18:55

Yeah, so moving on, coach, UDC has a very unique history and and mission as a public historically black urban focused land grant university and an HBCU. Right in the nation.

SPEAKER_02 19:09

He memorized that or did he read that? He read it. All right, cool.

SPEAKER_04 19:13

I just want to make sure that he read it. He ain't that it's all up here, it's all up here, coach.

SPEAKER_01 19:20

With a little help from my monitor next to me, but uh he's got like four monitors. I got like a little iPad and a and a and a soup table over here.

SPEAKER_04 19:28

I said that flowed just too well. Go ahead, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:31

Yeah, so but now I'm totally lost, and I gotta start. Maybe I'll start now.

SPEAKER_04 19:36

Uh you threw his whole mojo off, coach.

SPEAKER_01 19:39

Coach, I know you were you're an educator, you're past as an educator um before becoming a head coach. And as a coach, how do you incorporate what that mission and the history behind UDC in with what you what you're trying to do in your culture for your team?

SPEAKER_02 20:00

I haven't thought that deep. You know, I was just gonna say that's deep. No, no, no, but but I I get it in a sense, right? So what we're promoting is everyone, everyone has an opportunity, right? That's what we're promoting. And it's what you do with that opportunity that will make us a team that wins and a culture that wins or a community that wins, or not. Because we're never going to have the 40, 45-man roster. That's not gonna happen down here at the U.S. Right. It's just not gonna happen. But if you have 24 to 30 people marching in the same direction, then you can notice that you can notice your impact on the culture, right? An impact on the culture is probably the more profound way to say it. And so these young men want, they want to make an impact, um, but from an educative standpoint, they don't know how to, right? So my job is to sort of figure out or push them towards how to meet that success. And I will say the biggest challenge is that the child changes, right? The, the, the student, the the student dynamic changes, right? 18 to 22-year-olds 20 years ago aren't the same. They don't meet the same issues, they don't have the same hurdles. So as a coach or as an educator, you have to be malleable, right? You have to transcend, you have to, you have to do your research, right? What is mental health? What is the effects of mental health? Um, how does that uh affect how you coach, right? So if you're an alpha that's aggressive and in in in someone's face all the time, Kevin, um, well, my kid, my kid Maxwell on our team might not, he might not do well with that. So how do you know how do you adjust? So the idea is to have an impact. If they see their lead man impacting them and showing them how to win within the community, which, you know, whether it be nonprofit working with winners lacrosse in Washington, D.C., you know, and And having them volunteer with winners, they're now making impacts on more than just the field. They're impacting outside of the field as well. So absolutely. You got to grow yourself through growing the game with me.

SPEAKER_03 22:14

That's so well said, coach. Wow. That's great. And the nonprofits, you know, getting the youth involved in lacrosse is such an important thing for the game, for the game. And a lot of not a lot of neighborhoods or towns or areas have lacrosse, but more and more they're coming into the to the inner cities. More and more, you're seeing more diversity in the lacrosse field at the youth level, not like it was 15 years ago. It's definitely going in the trending in the right direction. Do you see that?

SPEAKER_02 22:47

Absolutely, right? And you know, other side of that is my wife's an educator. She's a professor at Georgetown. So, you know, surrounding them by that, right? Those models is just as important as promoting them as models.

SPEAKER_03 23:04

Interesting.

SPEAKER_01 23:05

Yeah. And then with that, coach, one of the only HBCUs that has an NCAA lacrosse program is UDC. What is that like? What's that experience like? What's that journey like for you?

SPEAKER_02 23:19

Um, I don't know how to bluff or be political. It's uh bittersweet. In what way? Yeah, you know I'm coming with it, Danny. Don't worry. I'm coming with it, don't worry. Um the idea that you know being one of, you know, not many is is awesome, right? You know, everyone wants to feel special. But I think our kids look at other schools within um the conference, the division. Uh and the bitter part is that feeling as if they had the same resources, they'll be able to compete better. Right. So that's not, you know, no one's a victim. I'm not trying to get to that point, but it's all it's almost like, you know, what's available has no field, right? No field to practice on consistent. Yeah. No what's it's like what's available to them, you know. Yeah, yeah. And so that's uh that, you know, it uh but but it's a challenge every day, and that and that's what makes it uh even sweeter. Um but we would like we would like more consistency and and we would like to we would like to have more of an impact, but that comes with hard work, so they're not gonna shy away from that. Um and then the last part, which I've highlighted before, is you know, I think there's some biases in the amount of players that we have versus other teams. So the expectation on the field is sometimes that we won't live up to the tab level. And so our kids see that, and then our kids see that they can compete at the level and they realize that that imbalance is happening. And, you know, I've had to address that. Um, and everyone's been receptive, but you know, I'm 42 years old. I am a Georgetown graduate with a master's from Harvard, and you know, I've still had to be recognized as the head coach when they go up to my assistant coach, who's a white man that's 32, assuming that he is the head coach of our team. No, Jesus Christ, it's crazy. No, no, and but that's why I chose to be here because I can handle it, but 18 to 22-year-olds cannot.

SPEAKER_03 25:47

Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_02 25:48

That's a lesson within that's the bittersweet lesson of being. And that's not that's not a victim. That's that's real life, that's reality.

SPEAKER_03 25:59

Well, and that's like that's I coached youth. Let me just talk for one second, Kev. I coached youth football for many, many years, coach. And part, a good part of the team came from uh housing projects. They came from the projects of Queens, New York, okay. And uh these kids didn't have much, and they would come to the game and they never had their mom or their dad with them. You know, they would come to practice eight, nine, ten years old. Man, my heart was so open to these kids that I would go out of my way. I would take them back to back to home, you know, because they didn't have a ride, they'd be walking back to practice uh, you know, back to the housing projects. You know, it's nine o'clock at night, it's cold. I'd put four or five kids in the back of my Jeep. And my two kids were like as white as white can be with the blonde hair and the blue eyes. And we pull into the parking lot and I let the five kids out. And I became a part of their life and and and impacted those kids. And like I said, I know what it's like. And even though I'm a white guy, I can talk about this and I feel confident talking about it because I know where I came from and what I've been able to do with kids of color who maybe didn't come from the resources and stuff. I would give extra to those kids. I would get down on my knee and be even with them when I talk to them and if I wanted something more out of them on the field. So I understand, in a way, in the opposite way where you are, if uh if that makes any sense.

SPEAKER_02 27:41

No, I'm I'm I'm hit, you know, and and here's the thing, and I'm gonna press back on you real quick, Dad, because you know, I want to make sure that I'm clear about the context of my of my team. So I am the young man that you just explained, right? That was that had the coach that took me everywhere, that had the family, who had the well, I still call it to my brothers to this day, they didn't have blonde hair, but they had black hair. Um, but I was a cardiologist. And so I never really had, you know, they they took care of Roger as part of the third person, but they made sure I was okay uh in things and ways in which my mother couldn't. The dynamic of our team, um, when you look at it from a uh a money standpoint, the social economic status class is a middle class team.

unknown 28:29

Right.

SPEAKER_02 28:30

Their parents are middle class. Yeah. So it's still the resource thing applies, but I want to make sure that because we have we're gonna have this conversation on so many levels. When we talk about this thing, it's so many levels. It's not black and white, it's socioeconomic class, it's public versus private schools. Yeah, there's a ladder to this, right? You know, you're looking at a Newark, New Jersey boy who went to prep schools from 13 until he finished graduate school, right? Because someone plucked him and said, Oh, wait, you can do the work, you need to go to boarding school, right? So, so we have, you know, when we talk about our impact on our culture, because I'm in South East DC, Northeast DC with the boys that are on UDCT, but some of them boys haven't even grown up in that environment. So it's a blessing for them as well, like that it's transcending their mind as well. So I appreciate that, and Danny, the the thought process, but I want to make sure we know that all of that is combined within the UDC as well. But specifically, most of these kids are middle class, man. Um, and so that that's also been a shift for me because I'm now essentially middle class, right? So this is the growth we're talking about. Exactly, right? Because I've now I'm like, oh wait, I get to use coupons at the grocery store that apply to my gas. Like, oh that's that's 30 language. That's 30 cents off the gallon.

SPEAKER_03 29:57

Yeah, yeah, no, no doubt, no doubt, no doubt. Coach, excellent stuff, man. Excellent stuff. I am so happy we got you on the show tonight. I really am. I I learned a ton from you, and I'm looking at your schedule, man. You got some games coming up, man. You got Calwell, Malloy, St. Thomas, Aquinas. They need to start playing some big boys later on. Frostburg State, they're good, coach. And then you got Mercy, Mercy. That's a really good schedule. I love it.

SPEAKER_02 30:26

You know, they uh it's only 10 games, but I feel like because of that difficulty in the two years off, that I thought that was a good landing spot for us because we're, you know, we need this two weeks after the Barton game to really go into the meat of our season. That marks, yeah, that marks schedule is when we start, you know, we have to run.

SPEAKER_01 30:45

Hitting it. And the ECC, Danny and I have talked about this on the podcast. It's had better times as far as being renowned for the teams that are in there. But the ECC is a good conference, and you everyone's gonna come to play, and it's you're gonna bring your best and see what you're saying about where you are with your boys and try to get them to that next level when you're playing. And when you're out of conference, you've built a tough out of conference so that when you get in conference, you'll be ready for it.

SPEAKER_02 31:17

That's it. That's it. You know, you you haven't even mentioned Roberts Wesley. That's gonna be that's gonna be a sneak attack. Yeah, he's got a couple things up there that you whoa, hold on. So you're right. I think the skip it hasn't been where it was when the NYITs and the LIU posts were winning all their championships. Um, but Mursty is gonna be a perennial top 10 team. Trosburg State will be a perennial top 10 team. Um, again, RWC, I think, is going to be a really good team this year. Um, so at least two or three top 15 teams will come from the ECC. Um, the hope is that you know we we make waves within the conference so that you know we're not in that bottom third anymore. We don't want to be there any longer.

SPEAKER_03 32:05

Yeah, I hear you. Well, I wish you all the best of luck, coach. It was been a great, great this segment tonight having you on. I really wish you all the best in UDC. Well, I'm gonna be watching for sure.

SPEAKER_02 32:16

Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 32:16

Yeah, and coach, with me being uh so close in Northern Virginia, I'm gonna come to try to come to some of your home games to watch in person. It's so much better in person live than it is uh streaming, you know, especially depending on how the stream is going when it when it when it's buffering half the time. So but I would love to come see some games, so I'll I'll like I said, and maybe I'll try to sneak. I hope my boss isn't listening to this. I may try to sneak out on a Wednesday afternoon to come watch a game.

SPEAKER_02 32:45

Get it, get it, get it.

SPEAKER_01 32:47

Thanks a lot, Coach. It was great having you.

SPEAKER_02 32:50

Thanks, gentlemen.

SPEAKER_01 32:52

Coach Colbert was so powerful, Danny. We got into some topics that are tough to talk about, but I think are so important to talk about.

SPEAKER_03 33:03

Oh, 100%. That wasn't the avenue that I thought that we were gonna go when we started talking to Coach. But you know what? It went to an area that, you know, you're right, needs to be discussed. We don't have enough diversity and that kind of thing. And, you know, the inner city kids and what they have to deal with and everything like that. And just, you know, Coach Colbert, what he's doing there at at UDC is a little bit more than just being a head across coach. You know, and um again, I felt like I couldn't sit at the same table with that man. He he's uh he was very admirable, and I admire everything about him. And I'd love to sit down and meet him really someday and just just talk and shake his hand because he, you know what? I think we're kind of like, I don't know, just I don't know. I just really he resonated with me, I guess you could say.

SPEAKER_01 33:56

Well, I think in the end, to me, the more you talk about the subjects that we talked about, the more every side understands better. And I think that's kind of what I loved about it and would love to continue the conversation with him sometime.

SPEAKER_03 34:12

Yeah, and I think uh it would be great to have another conversation with Coach sometime in the future. And I wish his firebirds, I wish his firebirds all the best, you know. I'm most partial to Firebirds since my son's high school is the Firebirds. Oh, that's awesome.

SPEAKER_01 34:28

I didn't I forgot about that. That's awesome.

SPEAKER_03 34:30

Yeah, so yeah, it was great to have him on, and uh hopefully we can have him on again soon.

SPEAKER_01 34:35

Yeah, so let's move on and let's talk about games to watch this week. You know, the North Region conferences they're heating up even more this week with some first-time games. The first one I have, Danny, on my list is on Friday, the 25th of February, and that's Felician against Deuville. It's a first game for the pro due De Uville program and head coach Cameron Prince. So that's

Games to Watch

SPEAKER_01 34:58

excited for him. Yeah, and now he's playing Felician. They've already played one game and they beat Alden Aldison Broadis pretty convincingly, but they're another young team. So right, will a little experience win out over kind of the the hype, the spirit that uh Deuville is going to come in with our first game in D2? I think it's gonna be interesting to watch.

SPEAKER_03 35:19

Oh, I totally agree with you. You know, we had Cameron on with us, and uh he was such such an uh an amazing young man and uh so pumped about his program. And he he made me feel like I wanted to dress up and get out there and play for him, except that he's up in Buffalo, and that's far too cold for a guy like me. But you know what? I wish him all the best of luck. He's a really good guy, and that should be a like you said, that should be a good good game.

SPEAKER_01 35:48

I think so. I think so. The next one I had on my list. Yeah, the next one I had on my list was goes into Saturday, and that's Frostburg, Lake Erie. Now it's Frostburg's first game of the season, and Gardelman is facing his old team of Lake Erie.

SPEAKER_03 36:05

Yeah, and Lake Erie's, you know, they've they've have a few under their belt, and you know what, they're not struggling, but they're they've been really competitive.

SPEAKER_01 36:13

Well, you look who they played. They played U Indy and Maryville, and they played both of them pretty damn close. Exactly. That's what I'm saying.

SPEAKER_03 36:20

They've been competitive in their first two games, and and and you know what? It that should be that should be a really good game.

SPEAKER_01 36:27

That should be a good one. It should be, it should be. The other one on Saturday that's really gonna be interesting is the top five matchups with Mercy Hurst and Lemoyne.

SPEAKER_03 36:36

Yeah, that's my number one game of the week to watch. That's that's the number one, you know what? Um those guys they go at it every year just about Lemoyne and Mercyhurst. So this should be a great game, and unlike any other. And uh, you know, that's what these young guys and these big programs strive for is to play games like that against teams like this. So it's at it's at Mercyhurst. So does Mercyhurst have the edge, or does Lemoyne, you know?

SPEAKER_01 37:10

It's interesting, you know. Mercy Hurst lost to Wingate, Le Moyne just beat him, but then Mercyhurst came back and and beat Lewis convincingly, 17 to 5. So Yeah. You know, and that was and Mercyhurst playing Wingate was their first game on the road down there. Now they're in their own home field. Right. It'll be close.

SPEAKER_03 37:30

That's gonna be that's gonna be a game I'll watch for sure. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 37:35

How about Limestone Linenwood? Number eight against number 10.

SPEAKER_03 37:39

That should be a really good game. Yeah, no, that was not number three on my list, Kev. That was number three. So, yeah, you know, limestone hosts Lindenwood, so Lindenwood's traveling. They're coming out east, and um, they just come off a big week, and uh this should be a really good one to watch.

SPEAKER_01 37:58

Yeah, limestone playing really well so far, but had a close one against Florida Southern, as we discussed. Right. And Lindenwood showed what they're made of. This would be a good matchup. Yeah. What so what was your number two game? You said that was number one, number three. What's your number two?

SPEAKER_03 38:14

U Indy hosts Seton Hill. Ah, yeah, that should be a really good game. That should be a good game. Two two really fast teams, two teams that play fast. So I like that kind of game. You know, I like when they get up and down like that, man. I like that, I love those kind of games. So I'm gonna be looking forward to to seeing how that game turns out as well. So those are my three Mercy Hearst LeMoyne game, the Undie Seaton Hall game, and Limestone hosting Lindenwood. Those are my big three. Yeah, so again, and Deuville's up there on there because it's their first game for their program and Coach Prince.

SPEAKER_01 38:52

So I'm I'm just looking at a few others that it's their first game coming up in this week during this podcast cycle, this episode cycle, and that's St. A's against Chestnut Hill, Pace against Caldwell and Adelphi next Wednesday, 2nd of March, against Georgian Court. All kinds games to watch because it's their first game. The only other game I kind of had on my list is on Sunday, and that's because it's an early RMAC game, and that's Colorado Mesa against Westminster. Yeah. First real game of the season for Westminster. They've had some exhibition games, and that's a tough way to open. Gosh, you know, they're coming against Colorado Mesa's already has three games under their belt, but can they bring back that magic they had in the championship last year? Let their guys play loose and go against Colorado Mesa. It should be fun. Yeah, that should be good. That should be another good one. So that's about it, Danny, for I think our roundup. I think we went through it uh and caught a lot of good games. It's going to be another great week.

SPEAKER_03 39:53

Yeah, you know, it's like I said, it was a busy weekend this weekend, probably one of the busiest weekends we've had since, you know, pre-pandemic as far across all three divisions. If you think about division one and division three, you know, a lot of games were played this weekend. And it's great to see lacrosse, you know, back at full swing. It really is. And it's been great. There's been some great games and some upsets, Kev, and close ones. And and you know, that the North is just really starting to get going now. So it's we've had one versus two, two versus five, three versus five. You know, we've really it's been really good so far. I mean, you know, surprisingly, surprisingly fun in the first three weeks. And here we go into week four, and we got more good ones to come.

SPEAKER_01 40:45

Now on to what is quickly becoming my favorite segment, the player spotlight. Tonight we're really lucky to have a player on the on such an unbelievable team. But his credentials are amazing themselves. In 2021, he was named to the USILA All-American First Team and NY10 All-Conference

Player's Spotlight

SPEAKER_01 41:07

first team. And he is a preseason All-American pick this year. And to be honest, in his first game, he did not disappoint against Wingate. I think he had three goals and an assist, which is not bad for your first game out the shoot. So let's welcome Le Moyne Dolphins MIDI, Ben McCreary. Hey Ben, how you doing?

SPEAKER_00 41:29

Good are you? Thanks for having me.

SPEAKER_01 41:31

Oh, it's great to have you on.

SPEAKER_03 41:33

This is the first player that Kev that we've had that's actually held up the national championship trophy. How cool was that, Ben?

SPEAKER_00 41:42

That was probably like a story, but getting into that type of season. I mean, going undefeated, 15-0, um, doing that in Connecticut, raising raising the trophy up. I remember that was probably the coolest moment of my life, I'd say, so far.

SPEAKER_03 41:55

Yeah, the weather was in your favor for sure. Them Lenore Ryan fellas, they did not dig that weather at all. But hey, you know what? You played a really good game, that game. And you know what? I've been watching you play for a couple of years now, and there's just something about your game that it just I really like. And you know what it is? It's your calmness. Is that if that makes any sense? You you seem to be in charge, calm, cool, collected, know where you want to be. Your dodges are north and south. Um, you're looking to get to a spot. If your drawing doubles, bam, that ball comes out of your stick and you're into the open guy's stick quickly. Um, how long have you been playing lacrosse? Like, how old were you when you started?

SPEAKER_00 42:42

I would say I mean, I played hockey on the res. Um, it started on like when I was three or four years old. And then my dad was like, why don't you play box across? And so they had that always going on the summer. So I tried that out when I was like five, I believe five. And then um I don't think I started playing field until I was about 13, 14, and started out like playing at a ULA league stuff like that, and then um played modified at CBA up to JV, and then I uh had the chance to play Rick Beersley. Um he'd be mad if I didn't give him a shout-out on this.

SPEAKER_04 43:15

All right, awesome, awesome.

SPEAKER_00 43:17

Played with him. He was my coach on varsity, and then um was fortunate enough to make it to Moyne and uh be coach by Sheehan.

SPEAKER_03 43:24

Wow, wow, that's really that's a that's pretty cool, Ben. That's pretty cool for sure. Um, what's it like a day as a dolphin uh on the lacrosse team? What's a day like for you? What's your what's your day like? Uh I would say, I mean, um it's definitely five up at 5 30 for Lynx, right?

SPEAKER_00 43:50

5 30. Um definitely an intense practice, I would always say, but like always loose and we're we're always having fun. We always have a lot of enthusiasm at practice. Um, we got the music playing all the time. Um, intense, competitive, always hooting and hollering at each other. I would say that like that would that kind of day.

SPEAKER_01 44:12

Awesome, awesome. I'm gonna try to chime in here because Danny was so enthralled to get you on and talk to you. I'm gonna try to ask you a question myself. So, first of all, congrats on the first win of the season for you against Wingate.

SPEAKER_00 44:24

Appreciate that. Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 44:26

How did that feel to get the season rolling with that win with your team?

SPEAKER_00 44:31

Uh, I think we had um a lot of question marks, not question marks going into the season. Um we I coach Gene could say we could run four MIDI lines. We're we're dangerous, definitely all over the place on offense. Um, bringing back players like Nate, Nate Arnold. We got um two All-Americans at short stick, D MIDI. So our defense is always solid. Um, I think it was just great to finally get out there and play a meaningful game again, um, no matter who it who it is against. Yeah. Um playing at a place like uh Hopkins at homewood field, that was it was so cool just to play there. And that might be a good one.

SPEAKER_01 45:07

Yeah, that was my next question to you, Ben. How was that? That must have been in that place. That was so cool.

SPEAKER_00 45:13

It looked a lot bigger on TV, it'd have to say, but uh I gotta be honest. Uh being there, um the fans were packed, uh the stands are packed. It was really an amazing experience, especially for my first game in my last year.

SPEAKER_03 45:27

Wow, I think the first game was 1898 in that field, on that field. 1898. So they've changed the stand since then, though. Yeah, they might have once once or twice. But you know what, Ben, it was a really good game to watch. I again I felt that you were in charge. Um, I've never seen Lemoyne play in person either. I've watched him on TV many, many times. Um, but to watch you, I I kept saying to people, watch number 12, watch number 12, watch what he does, just emulate him. There was a kid there that was an incoming freshman for Wingate. And I was like, you want to watch that kid. You want to watch that kid. Forget, forget Wingate MIDI. Watch that kid. That kid is good, you know. And um, I just love your game. I think MIDI's rule. I think MIDI's, you know, the attackmen get all attackmen, are like the wide receivers and the quarterbacks. They get all the girls and they get all the accolades and the scores and all of that. But it's the middies. You guys are like, you guys are like in the trenches. You guys are the ones that get it done. Would you agree with me?

SPEAKER_00 46:36

Uh, I mean, I'd hate I'd I gotta give credit to the short stick middies. I think those are the most underrated um players of the game. I mean, I I'm personally only play on offense midi. I I will get back on D, but I gotta give credit. Like the short stick D midis don't get any credit at all. Like, those are the most important players, I think, uh, of a team, I would have to say.

SPEAKER_01 46:58

Ben, I'm glad I like what you said that because when I see a short stick D MIDI basically scrumming it all the time, they don't get credit, but you see them grab some ground balls and the way they have to really fight all the time. I agree. It's it's it's fun to watch. I have to ask you this. Oh, go ahead.

SPEAKER_00 47:14

I was gonna say their plays of the games are like getting it running for end lines, yeah, getting ground balls, and then just giving it to the offense and running off the field. So, I mean, they don't get a lot of credit, and I I gotta give all the credit to our demands, adept.

SPEAKER_03 47:26

Wow, your boys are gonna love you, man. Yeah, boys are gonna love you, giving a lot of shout-outs.

SPEAKER_01 47:31

You're a smart young man. He Danny, he did not bite on on your little teaser there. I like it. He's he's a smart kid. That's all I'm gonna say.

SPEAKER_03 47:40

Yeah, he's definitely smart as a graduate student. Of course, he's a smart kid.

SPEAKER_01 47:44

Yeah, I have to ask you this. Um, I hope you're willing to share it. I know that the number you wear, number 12, is special to you. And I I hope would you be willing to share that story with us?

SPEAKER_00 47:54

Yeah, absolutely. Um, so about um, it's coming up on two years, uh, March 13th. Uh, one of our players, Caden Tubert, he was probably one of my best friends on the team. He's my housemate, my roommate. Um, he tragically passed away um by suicide. And uh I wear his number to the day, uh, number 12. And we have it painted on the field. We have I'm wearing a wristband right now for him, and um just kind of represent him and to have him on my chest. Kind of always always makes me feel like he's playing with me. I feel like I'm playing with an extra man almost. Um, but it's dangerous. Yeah, it is special to have him, and I know he's uh he's still there with me. So it is nice.

SPEAKER_03 48:37

It's very admirable of you, Ben. Very admirable.

SPEAKER_01 48:40

Yeah, that's I heard that story. I just felt that I wanted to share that with our listeners on this podcast. And it's funny you said that because when after I heard that story, I went back on the Le Moine rosters. I'm like, yep, last year wore number 12. Oh, year before that, I think it was number seven, right? Is that correct?

SPEAKER_00 48:58

Yeah, changed three times, coach Coach Littman.

SPEAKER_01 49:01

But it's that's very special, and I'm sure the family is very thankful and proud that you're doing that. Um, that means a lot to to families when you do something like that because they remain a part of it too. And I I just I I thank you for doing something like that. That that takes some courage and and really some grace to to do something like that. And that's just it was uh that's why I wanted you to share I wanted to share that story.

SPEAKER_00 49:29

No, it helps me out too. I would say it's not just the family. I mean, it is everybody. I like keeping him his memory alive and just wearing his numbers still. It helps me too, just as much as does the family and everyone else.

SPEAKER_03 49:40

Oh, that's that's great, Ben. That's great stuff. But you know, it's heartwarming stuff. That's kind of like the stuff you get on on NBC on the sports, you get those heartwarming stories on the side. And I like that kind of stuff, though. I really do, and that's very admirable of you. Really cool stuff.

SPEAKER_01 49:56

Okay, and Danny, now that he's warmed up, do you think he's ready for the lightning round? I think he's warmed up, I think he's comfortable enough.

SPEAKER_03 50:04

Are you ready for the?

SPEAKER_00 50:08

I'm ready.

SPEAKER_03 50:11

All right, we're just gonna shoot 10 quick questions at you. All real fun. Just hit us back as quick as you can. You know what? The first two questions actually you went into first sport you got and that type of thing, and who you looked up to. So we'll just go into question number three. Ready, Ben? You ready for the firing route? Ready. PlayStation or Xbox? Xbox. Favorite pro athlete.

SPEAKER_00 50:40

Oh my god, Josh Allen. Okay, that's good. Favorite TV show? Uh Game of Thrones.

SPEAKER_03 50:47

Okay. There you go. Runs, runs or lifts?

SPEAKER_00 50:51

Runs.

SPEAKER_03 50:53

Oh, that's that's a first. Who's the funniest guy on the team?

SPEAKER_00 50:58

Uh I'd have to say uh I'll give it to Devin Andrews. Why? Why? Uh he's he's a kid easy to pick on, so he kind of gives it back and forth. So I'll give him that.

SPEAKER_03 51:09

Okay. All right. Devin got a shout out from Ben. Okay, ready? Here's a here's here's one that some of you guys are gonna give you a hard time for. Ready for this one? Who's the best all-around athlete on the team? The best all-around athlete.

SPEAKER_00 51:23

I gotta give uh Joel Firth. He's um he's a junior, he works his uh his butt off. I don't want to say swear, but you can say it. You can say it. He works his ass off and easily team and does not get enough credit ever. And he should be playing right now. So I gotta give it to Joel Firth.

SPEAKER_03 51:41

Okay, all right. Joel gets a shout out. Ben, you you're really good to your teammates, man. I I I that's really cool. So, what kind of music do you listen to?

SPEAKER_00 51:52

I would uh rap right now, but country in the summer.

SPEAKER_03 51:56

Rap and country, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 51:58

It's definitely two polar ops.

SPEAKER_03 52:00

It's seasonal, it's seasonal, Danny. It's seasonal. Okay, so what was the last song you listened to? Pump it up. He's smiling, he's smiling, listeners. He's trying to think.

SPEAKER_00 52:15

Uh it's pump it up. It's kind of like an electronic dance techno music.

SPEAKER_03 52:19

Like okay, I'll check that out. I'm gonna have to check that out. All righty. This is gonna be a tough one. I don't know if you've listened to any of the past player spotlights, but give us your best impression of Coach Sheehan.

SPEAKER_00 52:33

I would like simple.

SPEAKER_04 52:35

That's all I have. Simple. Simple? What do you mean talking? You have to go in depth. Explain that to me. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 52:43

Um, I think uh Coach Sheehan's biggest thing is just playing playing hard and playing like the simplest game possible. So like his big line is just oh, he's screaming simple. Keep it simple is engraved on the inside of our rings. That's I was the first to notice that.

SPEAKER_01 52:59

I have to tell you, Ben, when I was in naval flight school, it was actually the KISS principle, which is keep it simple, stupid, because we weren't as smart as you in flight school, you know. We we we were pretty dumb. So that was the last part we were called stupid.

SPEAKER_03 53:12

Yeah, okay, Ben. The very last question, okay, in the firing round. What's your plans after graduation?

SPEAKER_00 53:21

Um, I got one semester left uh here at Le Moine, finishing out my MBA and uh just kind of weighing out my options after and just seeing where the future uh goes from there.

SPEAKER_03 53:31

Well, guess what, Ben McCreary? You got a good head on your shoulders, and you're a hell of a lacrosse player, one of the best I've ever seen with my own eyes. You're a really, really good player. You're on a phenomenal team that just does phenomenal things year in and year out. And we couldn't be more happier to have you on our show tonight. We appreciate you coming on.

SPEAKER_00 53:52

Thank you very much. Thank you for having me.

SPEAKER_01 53:56

Danny, what do you think about Ben McCreary? That was a great, great discussion with him.

SPEAKER_03 54:01

Oh, Ben's a good kid, and again, a great player. I've been watching him for a couple of years. I just love the ways his game is his IQ. He's just a really, really, really one of the best, one of the best players I've ever seen in Division II, in my opinion. Yeah, he's

Final Words

SPEAKER_03 54:18

just to have him come on was great. I mean, he's a good kid at a good school from a good family, and uh it's all good.

SPEAKER_01 54:27

It is, it is. So, as we end the show, I have to give a shout out to my son Ronan, the one who got me so hooked on lacrosse and in general, indeed to lacrosse specifically. So please indulge me for a minute here, Mr. Moran. He tours ACL ACL last week in practice, which basically puts an end to his lacrosse uh college career. So I just want to say to Ronan that you're an amazing young man. You know, you were recruited late in your class, so all the athletic scholarships were taken, yet you didn't let that deter you. You worked hard to get on the field and contribute sp significantly for your team, especially last year. But as much as your mom and I are proud about what you did on the field, it's what you do off the field that really makes us proud and what's so impressive about you. You take care of your teammates when they're in need, and no one really knows about that except for you. But more importantly, you stick to your principles and your core values, even when many times it's so much easier to go with the crowd, especially at the age you're at. And that takes guts and courage. So, yes, I'm gonna miss seeing you play in the field, but I know that the attributes and actions that you display daily will take you farther than any lacrosse field will. Love you, bud. So thanks for that moment. I just wanted to pass that on to my son. That's a right, yeah.