Game Time - A look back at week 4 and a preview of Week 5 of the 2023 season

Intro

SPEAKER_04 0:08

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 the voice of D2 Men's Lacrosse, Danny Moran. How's it going, Danny?

SPEAKER_02 0:25

Hey, Kev, how's it going with you? Everything's alrighty, alrighty here on Long Island. How's things with you on uh Northern Virginia this evening?

SPEAKER_04 0:34

Everything's just ducky here in northern Virginia. It's raining a little bit, so I thought I'd put that in there. Yeah, we're supposed to get some snow tonight. So that's what I hear. Fairly big storm. My daughter was telling us that uh she sits there at Hoster University. All right, Danny. Before we get to the week in review, we actually had some games that happened after we recorded our podcast, but before the podcast came out. So as always, it's those Wednesday games. To start with, there were some thrillers that Wednesday night. I went to one of them. We'll get to that in the week of review. To start with, though, Bridgeport, Bridgeport matched what Malone did in their first game ever by winning it. First game. Which is incredible. And you actually, when we were talking about Malone, asked the question how often does that really happen? And it does not happen that often, but I have to say something. Coach Mitchell of Anderson was kind not to berate us for not remembering. Because in their first season, they started up two and oh and actually got to four and one, which tells you why they are where they are right now, just in three years. But what's even funnier is we had him on as one of the first coaches ever, and that's what we talked to him about. But he's so kind, he's not gonna text me and say, Hey, knucklehead.

SPEAKER_02 2:05

Yeah, yeah. Do you think you remember? That's because he's a nice guy, he's a nice guy. But yeah, you know what? Congratulations to Bridgeport getting that first program, you know, first win in program history. It's an awesome thing, it's one of many to come and a brand new program. And uh congrats to those guys. I uh, you know, it's an awesome thing. And that those kids are gonna remember that day forever. Exactly, exactly.

SPEAKER_04 2:30

So, with that said, Danny, before we go to weekend review, you have a new segment you want to break

Top 10

SPEAKER_04 2:37

out.

SPEAKER_02 2:38

Yes, sir, Kevin. It's something that's been on my mind. I think it's a cool idea. And uh tonight we're gonna showcase for the first time our top 10 Roundup. Yeah, the top 10 roundup week three. Number one, Tampa was off this weekend, Kev, but they sit at 4-0. Number two, Lemoyne beat Kataba 16-4 at Homewood Field, the story field at Johns Hopkins University. Number three, Mercyhurst beat Wilmington this past weekend 15 to 8, and Mercy Hearst sits at 2-0. Number four, Adelphi was down in Florida for a week, had a couple of games down in Florida, beat Lynn 15 to 6, and Adelphi currently sits at 2-0. Number five, Lenore Ryan beat a good Lewis team 15 to 5, and LR sits at 3-1 right now. Number six, Mercy beat George and Court rather handily, Kev 18 to 8, and the Mavs sit at 3-1 as well. Number seven, UIndy beat Montevallo 12-4, and U Indy is undefeated at 4-0. Number eight, Wingate beat Tusculum 20 to 8 and sit at 3 to 1. Number 9, Rollins had two games this week and looked really good. They beat number 15, Anderson 17 to 10, and they beat the number 17 Newberry Newberry Wolves 22 to 12. And Rollins slips into the top 10 and they sit at 3-0. And at number 10, St. Anselms in the N. They have not played a game yet. So they're still waiting to start their season. But there's your uh top 10 roundup.

SPEAKER_04 4:27

So regal, Danny. That's so regal. A little something different. What the hell? I like it. I like it. I like it.

Week in Review

SPEAKER_04 4:36

Okay, okay, so let's move into the weekend review. And let's just start right off with Bridgeport's win against AIC. It was a nine to eight final. Unfortunately, I didn't get to watch it, so I had to kind of pull the notes. Purple Knights actually led 3-0 after one, and they pushed that to 4-0 until AIC finally got on the board. But they maintained a three-shot lead going into the half five to two. Then AIC outscored Bridgeport four to two to tie it up 6-6 going into the fourth. So it's a it was a tight game, Danny. It was a tight game. Uh and yes, but Bridgeport's Dewey Schoenfelder knocks his third goal of the game with 317 to play to give the Purple Knights the game-winning goal. Wow, there you go, man. Sounds like a good game. Yeah, yeah. I actually, while I was up in uh Springfield area, I was having dinner with a buddy and I ran into one of the refs that coached that ref that game.

SPEAKER_02 5:34

Really?

SPEAKER_04 5:35

Yeah, yeah, it was pretty exciting. He and he talked about it, and he talked about some of the calls, and he talked about talking to the two coaches afterwards, it's pretty cool. I will tell you what, I think Ken Coach Tampone, if you look at the roster, has done a good job of adding in six transfers to his roster to give some experience. Two of them, oh, by the way, are coming from his old job down at uh Palm Beach Atlantic, including their goalie Pete Nazario, who had 15 saves on 23 shots. So that certainly helps having a little bit of that depth there on an experience.

SPEAKER_02 6:08

Oh, that that's definitely a hundred percent. Having, you know, a new program, having a couple of transfers come in and add that depth and you know, just add so much, Kevin. It makes a coach's job a little bit more easier. Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_04 6:23

So on the same night, and this is why I couldn't watch that Bridgeport game, I went to Homewood Field and watched Frostburg State against St. Rose. That was a good game. That was a good game. 11-10 final, frostburg pulls it out. I I have to say, before we even start, before the game even started, the Bobcats presented St. Rose with a Frostburg game jersey with Matt Frankel's number. As you remember, Matt Frankel passed away in August. So that really shows you how much these coaches respect each other and their teams. It was a really cool moment. Yep, 100%. It was a cool moment. But that was a good game. That was a very physical game, Danny. Lots of body checks, lots of checks on sticks, which caused turnovers, had turnovers. How many times did you see that? Did you watch that game?

SPEAKER_02 7:21

No, I watched the other Frostburg. I watched Frostburg make here.

SPEAKER_04 7:25

Well, I'll tell you what, there were a lot of balls going back and forth right in the middle of the field. It was like a little bit like watching a soccer game now and then, the way it was happening. Uh, but it was it was frantic. I mean, they the teams were going after it. When we get Coach Garnelman on, I'll have to ask him this question when we have him on next week. They have a short stick D Middy. He does more than just that for Frostburg. Evan Deere, he's five foot three, Danny. But he plays and hits like he's six foot three. He is fast, he is aggressive, he doesn't let anyone get by on him. Then on St. Rhodes' side, their short stick D-mitty, Mike Costelli, he also packs a punch, and he's only 5'7. So the two small guys that can really, really change it. And I think that's um that was kind of indicative of the play, you know. Um I'll tell you that uh Bobcats uh looked strong in the first quarter. They went up 4-0. St. Rose kind of punched back. They went on a 5-1 run in the second to tie it up 5-5 at half, and then it was kind of just back and forth. Rossburg gets to go man up with about 140 on the clock, and they ran the EMO really well, moving the ball until the D shifts a bit too much to the right, skip past an open shot, and a goal on the left side. And that's that was it. Yeah, and I think for this game, the big difference was turnovers and man up. So Frostburg went two for four in the man up, and St. Rose was 0 for three. And interestingly, on the turnovers, Danny, when I talked to uh Coach Williams about this after the game, he's like, Yeah, turnovers or the next day that he said the turnovers are what killed us. And in my mind, they were pretty darn close. But when you look in the stats, St. Rose had 25 turnovers uh to Frostburg's 14, and then the cause turnover, St. Rose had five, but Frostburg State had 10. Yeah, so there's the difference right there.

SPEAKER_02 9:30

Yeah, Frostburg does a good job of you know not turning the ball over. They're a pretty good team. I watched them play against Lake Erie Sunday night. Now, I don't know if you watched that game, but I did. I watched the airport coming home. Dude, it looked freezing cold, man. Everybody was bundled up. It looked like brick cold, but that was a game that went back and forth. Lake Erie was pretty, pretty impressive in that game, you know. They they did some really good things offensively and defensively. Um, you know, Lake Erie, Brandon Luthard had five goals, man. He was on fire. And Dawson Kendall Kendall had four, and Connor Dent had three. So Lake Erie played really, really well. They turned the ball over too many times, Kev. They turned the ball over at the end of the game when they had a chance to perhaps put it away. Lake Erie outscored him four to two in the first quarter. And then it was 7-6 at halftime, Lake Erie. So I was like, man, this is a game. Yeah. And and then Frostburg put up five to only Lake Erie's two. And then in the fourth quarter, it was just the opposite. Lake Erie put up another five to only Frostburg's two. So it was a game that went back and forth, went back and forth. It looked like Frostburg took a three-goal lead towards in the middle of the fourth quarter, but man, Lake Erie came flying back. They came flying back. And um, for Frostburg, Jake Bauman had him had himself a game. He had three goals. And I think the kid with the best name in all of Division II, Bubba Love. Yeah, he had he had three goals. Owen McCallum had two goals. And the defenseman ready for this, Seamus Carney. I love those Irish kids. Seamus Carney. Cap he had four ground balls and three course turnovers. He was really, really good for Frostburg State. Um, came down to turnovers, you know, 19 turnovers that Lake Erie had, and Frostburg did a good job of holding on to the ball. So it was a 15-14 win for Frostburg on Lake Erie and a one goal win over St. Rose. So they won some tight ones and got themselves into the top 20. So congratulations to Frostburg.

SPEAKER_04 11:51

Yeah, without a doubt, Danny. I'll tell you what we didn't say at the beginning. The thing I was thinking about about this past week is when you look at the top 10 teams, once again, they kind of showed in the results, as you showed in the results in the top 10 roundup, why they're in the top 10 by the scores. But other than that, there were so many damn close games. We just talked about four of them, really. Now there's two more, and it's with one team playing that I was looking at as we talked about last podcast. Westminster goes on their GLVC kind of uh swing and see what they can do. So, first game they had was against Maryville. Did you get to watch this one at all?

SPEAKER_02 12:33

I watched a little bit of it. I didn't catch the whole game.

SPEAKER_04 12:36

Here's here's the real bummer of this. I got to watch all of this except the very end when the when the finale was was decided because I had to go to a reception. But 12-11, Maryville wins. Westminster scored. Well, first of all, Maryville got the lead and went up 8-4 early in the third. But then Westminster, so Westminster then scored the next three to get within one, but could not close that gap until 11-10 left in the fourth quarter. And they tied it up then 11-11. There it and so that's still early in the fourth quarter, but no one scored the entire quarter until Maryville scores with 26 seconds left. Wow. To win the game. So I left at the end of the third quarter, could not see the fourth quarter. Pretty exciting. I think some of the differences that it's weird, it was a close game and score, but maybe if that turned the tide, Maryville had 34 ground balls to Westminster's 21. If they got some more ground balls, maybe they could have turned them into goals. However, their goal, Westminster's goalie, Jacob Miller, had 17 saves in the loss. Wow, that's a good game. And and Merritt McMahon for Westminster had five goals. So they had some good production. But here's the other difference, I think. Meryville had eight goal scores. So I think that with ground balls, along with obviously having more shots that go with getting those ground balls, made the difference.

SPEAKER_02 14:13

Yeah. Westminster's a good team. Although they're one and two right now. I mean, they came back and they came back and to beat Rockhurst on side.

SPEAKER_04 14:21

Rockhurst, and and get this, they turned the table. It's like flipping the record, Danny. It's side two. They lost him to Meryville. They win with less than one minute left against Rockhurst.

unknown 14:38

Yeah, I know.

SPEAKER_04 14:40

Yeah, they came back, they were down eight, four heading into the fourth. And they outscored Rockhurst six to one in the fourth quarter to win that one.

SPEAKER_02 14:49

They only lost to U Indy by four, Westminster. They only lost by four. I mean, they're they're a team, they're good. You know, they might be one of the better one and two teams in the country.

SPEAKER_04 14:59

Yeah, without a doubt. Without a doubt. What other what other games you got on week of you?

SPEAKER_02 15:06

The other games that I watched, basically, I watched the Rollins games because I just felt that those games were really important. When Rollins beat Limestone, and I watched that whole game, I was like, wow, I was pretty impressed with Rollins. And then I wanted to watch the Anderson game because Anderson was 4-0 or 5-0 at the time. 5-0. 5-0, putting up 21, 22, 23 goals a game, just lighting, lighting things up. And I said, All right, I felt that Anderson was going to be tested. And boy, were they tested. Rollins beats Anderson 17-10 in the pouring rain. Yeah. The pouring rain. I mean, when the ball, when when a player would throw the throw a pass and the other player would catch it, just a spray of water would come flying off the stick. It was that, it was just bad. I hate that.

SPEAKER_04 16:00

It was crazy. I got to watch that on replay, but yeah, I it was crazy.

SPEAKER_02 16:06

Rollins, you know, here's Anderson who's who's just been lighting it up. And they were only held to 10 goals, Kev. And three of those goals came in the last three minutes of the game against backups. Okay. So basically the starters held Anderson starters to seven goals. Yeah. Which was astonishing to me. Again, Rollins gets there, sticks in lanes, they knock down passes, they slide, they press out. They make offenses have to work. They have to work to get quality shots. And here's that, yeah. And you know, Rollins, they worked all night to get quality shots, and they had their troubles, man.

SPEAKER_04 16:52

Um, yeah, it's funny though. It's funny though. So it was seven, five at half. So Anderson was in it. Rollins, Rollins was winning. Yeah, Rollins was winning, but it was only a two-goal difference. But when you've got that kind of pressure, guess what happened in the third? Anderson run.

SPEAKER_03 17:08

Yeah, scored an eight to one.

SPEAKER_04 17:11

Yeah. So I mean, I I totally agree with you. It it didn't show up necessarily in the score by half, but that kind of pressure, the rope defense, was out pressuring the guys at at the midline practically.

SPEAKER_02 17:27

I'm telling you, these guys press out, man. They come out, they make offenses work. You know what? And the midfielders who are pretty good for Anderson, they had a tough job. They had a tough day. The attackmen, you know, they had a tough day. Matty Rogers, who's been lighting it up, was only held to one goal. I mean, so you know, Ryan Baldron for, you know, uh Anderson had two goals. Bo Henson had two, Calabries had one, Logan Gaddis and Matty Rogers had one apiece. I mean, those are their guys, and they were pretty quiet. That defense held them pretty quiet. When on the other side for Rollins, um there were four guys with three goals and an assist. Grant Hansen, Mikey Berkman, Jack Johnstone, Billy Metz all had three. Yeah. Catch a Dorian, catch a Dorian had 13 saves.

SPEAKER_04 18:18

This is my note that I wrote down. I said, Shah Hey, Catchadorian. Enough said.

SPEAKER_02 18:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 18:25

He made it now. I agree with you. Their defense is so good, it probably puts the ball in even easier spots for him. But he makes it, he is so fluid when he moves. He's he's just great to watch. Justin Eisenhower on defense for Rollins, four ground balls and three cross turnovers.

SPEAKER_02 18:43

Yeah, yeah, man. You know what though? Cam Weeks injured his foot again on the very first play cut. On the very first faceoff of the game, Cam went limping off. And I was like, oh, this kid's injured again. But Coach Mitchell kept rolling him out there, and he was limping out, almost like what he did against Wingate last year. Yeah, yeah. I was watching that. He was limping out and winning face-off. He was winning face-off, but he was struggling. You could tell he was not the same. They kind of in the middle of the third quarter were able to wear Cam down a little bit. I think that injury was getting the better of him. And I think that Rollins started to win some key faceoffs, and that was it.

SPEAKER_04 19:33

Once the tie, I think there was some time in the fourth where he did not come back. And the other thing I would point out is even though he was winning, if you look at Cam when he's at the top of his game, when he's not injured, he will bring the ball down and shoot and score, or bring the ball down. He it adds an extra element. He could not do that in the in the Rollins game, right? If he got the he had to immediately get it and then dish off and hobble off the field because he he just couldn't run down.

SPEAKER_02 20:04

Well, once Rollins saw that he was hurt, I mean, you know how it goes. They they just come in for blood, you know. So those they were coming in hard for the 50-50s. So if Cam wasn't winning the clamp hard 50 right out of the gate, yeah, he was struggling because he just didn't have the foot. And I hope, you know, it was it was bothering me. I'm like, why is Coach Mitchell throwing this kid back out there? He's obviously injured. Uh would you take a chance on injuring your top dog? This kid's the best in the country, maybe in out of all three divisions, Kev. That's how good he is.

SPEAKER_03 20:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 20:38

His face-off percentage is amazing. And he is nothing short of uh one of the best face-off kids I've ever seen. Yeah. He just doesn't lose. Yeah. He's f he's fast, he's strong, he's got all the all the attributes for a great face-off kid. And he's a big reason why Anderson's where they are because he gets them possession after possession. And you could tell like Cam Cam Weeks was hurting at the end of that game. He was not the same face-off kid. And and Rollins, you know, what'd they do? Two days later, traveled up to Newberry and just smoked them. Yeah, 22 to 12. Smoked them. And Newberry was undefeated. Yeah. So that was my big game. You know what? Another game that I watched, I watched the Limestone Florida Southern game. And Limestone they won that game, but Florida Southern gave them a game, man.

SPEAKER_04 21:38

Well, Florida Southern had the lead almost the whole game. They uh Limestone had the lead two zero on the first, and then Florida Southern came back and they had the lead, and it until Limestone tied it going into the fourth, thirteen thirteen.

SPEAKER_02 21:56

Yeah, limestone's defense put that clamp down in the fourth quarter, too. And held Florida Southern to only two goals. But, you know, for Florida Southern, that kid Flamenspeck is good, man. I like watching him play. He's a baller, man, and he's got he's got swag to his game. So Matt Flamin's Speck had four, Sean Nolan had three, and Nolan Ty had three for the for Florida Southern and uh for limestone. Zach Terry had a gun, had a game. He had four. Caden Golka had four. Mike McGarry. He's we're just gonna be calling his name all season long. It's gonna be on the stat sheet every week. Yeah, that kid's a baller. Carter Brand had three. And Corey Lyons in goal had 17 saves. And my new boy, Jack Beechley, the defenseman at uh Damatha High School had three ground balls and two calls turnovers for Limestone. So he had a good game. But you know what? This was an even game. When you look at the stats, it was almost even on turnovers. Limestone, you know, had the edge on the ground ball war, a little edge on the face-off war, but both teams did well on the man-ups. Limestone went three for four, Florida Southern went three for five. You know, take a few turnovers and a few lost face-offs, and that's a different game. So I give I'll give my hats off to Florida Southern. They gave Limestone a game. Like you said, it was it was a pretty close game up until that fourth quarter.

SPEAKER_04 23:28

Right. And then and that's what I didn't get to watch the game, so I went back and looked at the stats and and the recap and everything. And I went in with the impression that maybe Limestone had to lead most of the game, but Florida Southern had it most of the time. So you we've talked about the Florida Southern team. They you cannot count them out, you've got to play for play hard against them. Limestone did that. Give the credit to Limestone and doing that because they had to come back as well, right? From a loss from Rollins, like we talked about last week, you know.

SPEAKER_02 23:58

Yeah. And you know what? Limestone's got a big game next week against Wingate.

SPEAKER_04 24:03

Wingate is the Creek Brown Classic. We'll be getting to that, I'm sure, when we talk about games to watch.

SPEAKER_02 24:11

So that's they have, you know, they got some games on their schedule, Limestone there. You know what? They're just maybe a half a step of what they were last year. I don't know. I think they're missing something, even though they're three and one and they're ranked 10th or 11th in the country. Yeah, there's something missing out of limestone right now. I can't remember.

SPEAKER_04 24:32

Well, like we said, you know, I think I think they had enough, lost enough players that just like we talked about Belmont Abbey a year ago. Yeah, right. That was gonna take them a little time to get up on that glide slope and up at altitude, as we say in aviation, you know, getting up into cruising altitude. And they're they're still trying to get there, I think, a little bit.

SPEAKER_02 24:57

Yeah, yeah. They better get there soon because they got some big games coming up.

SPEAKER_04 25:01

Yeah, oh yeah. All right, I got a few other games. One we talked about was because Colorado Mesa started their Conference Carolina swing and it's against Belmont Abbey. And we basically said they need to win another close game, Danny. 12-11 final, Belmont Abbey, the Crusaders pull it out. They seem to big win for Belmont Abbey. It is because they seem to have this one in hand, but Colorado Mesa made it really interesting down the stretch. Belmont Abbey outscored the Mavs 4-1 in the third to go up 11-7. And that's when you think, okay, because this is back and forth, maybe a four-goal lead is enough. They bring it to 12-8 with 539 left. The Mavs score three times in three minutes to get within one goal. But then Thomas Sullivan, Sully, their goalie, who he had 21 saves on the day. He made three crucial saves in those last two minutes to stave off the comeback. So really good game. Sully in the pipe in the pipes. Yeah, it was it was good. The other game I want to talk so two games I got left. One I just have to shout out to Malone. Malone played Felician and beat them. 17 to 8. They led the whole game. So here's here's another new program. They've got two wins under their belt already. So you have to, and Felicians not a a walkover.

SPEAKER_02 26:35

No, Malone's a new program, Kev, with 17 kids on the team.

SPEAKER_04 26:41

Yeah, you talk to Talon Heath, he's like, Yeah, our three guys on the on the bench were going nuts.

SPEAKER_02 26:47

You know, you know, so hey, you know, yeah, Malone wins their second program, second game in program history in three games. Coach Campbell, good job, buddy. Keep it going, Kenny Kaiser with four goals and a decisive 17-8 win on the road, yeah, over Felician. So good for Malone, good for them, man. Big shout out to that guy and uh Coach Campbell there for starting out two and one. It's it's remarkable.

SPEAKER_04 27:17

It is, it is okay, Danny. We talked about this last week. This is the game I went out to see back to my old stomping grounds in Springfield, Massachusetts. AIC against Caldwell, Coach Spallone, who was a freshman at St. Joe's when Coach Lopes was a senior, and supposedly the trash talk was going all during the week, back and forth between the two. I bet that's awesome. That's awesome. So I'll first of all I have to say this. It got warmer. I mean, it when I get up there on Saturday, it's snowing, it's 22 degrees. I'm listening to the Lynn game where the the announcer's saying, Oh, the breeze off the ocean has stopped. So it's really hot down here in Boca Ratone. And I'm thinking, and it's freezing up here. So the game, it was good they moved the game to Sunday because it warmed up to about 40. But that 40 is not a warm 40. I'll tell you right now. It they had a great crowd, especially with the weather. Not only AIC fans, but a great Caldwell fan base that came out. So that was that was great. I will tell you, this was one hell of an exciting game. Cougars get going and they go up for zip. Their attackman, Owen Healy, scores scores the first four goals of the game. This guy is good. Unfortunately, he got injured sometime in the first half, and he came back in in the second half, but you could see just have didn't have the same same movement, you know. And he I don't think he had another goal. I have to go look at his stats. I've got that later on thing. But I'll tell you, Caldwell really they really dominated the possession in the first quarter. And and you know, Sal Amaral of AIC, he he scores their first goal. Uh, it's 5'1 after one. AIC had some chances. It once again, it was a game of pretty physical, a lot of turnovers, a lot of cause turnovers.

SPEAKER_03 29:17

Uh those games, though.

SPEAKER_04 29:19

They had some they had some interesting plays that you know you can see as a young team these happen. So AIC has a long stick mini. I think he's a long stick mini, Takari Johnson. He's a freshman. He played pretty well. In fact, I think his stats for the day, he had three ground brow balls and two cost turnovers, which is pretty darn good. A freshman playing in there, he gets a takeaway, he gets a cause turnover, but then he passes straight to a cougar, and then no one else around, and the guy just got a free shot at the goal. So and that's in the first half. But guess what? He comes back and takes care of it. This game was back, it was eight for a half, and you're still thinking, here's the other thing I'd say Caldwell played well. Played, it was a very even game. They're very evenly matched. When it went 4-0 in years past, that would have been it for AIC. You might as well just said, forget about it. But they came back, they kept on plugging. They they they kept on plugging. So it's 10-8 after three. Caldwell is on an extra man opportunity, start of the fourth, but they turn it over, and Nick McKay, who's one of their defensive players on on uh AIC, sends it a long pass. I mean, we're talking the full field to Jason Vickery. Now no one's around him, and he goes in to score and makes it 10-9. It was that's the kind of game it was. It was just really crazy. They end up, Danny. They Brian McCollan goes ahead, freshman scores to tie the game, and then they score the next AIC takes the lead for the first time with 10 minutes left. That was 11-10. They score another one, make it 12-10. I mean, they just shut them down six on six defense in the second half. Caldwell could not score against AIC. All their goals in the beginning of the game were unsettled or transition goals, and that's where they made their hay. But if it was six on six, they couldn't do anything against AIC. So AIC, Sal Amaral, he's a graduate student. He had five goals, one assist, Rusty Stone had three goals, and like I said, Takara Johnson, three goal ground balls and two caused turnovers. The goalkeeping was pretty good. Tim Livingston of Caldwell had 16 saves. He had a great game. He made some saves in the first half that you're like, this game would be tired if he wasn't making those saves. Right. And like I said, Owen Healy had four goals. Now they're the AIC's goalkeeper, Hayden Godet, if you look at his stats, not that great. But he made critical saves right at the stretch, down the stretch, uh, for them to win that game. So, I mean, I went a little bit long on this one, but it was exciting to see for both. It was it was really exciting, I think, for the AIC fans who've been waiting for something like this. And then I have to give a big shout out to Coach Spallone, assistant coach Don Moriarty, Seth Dussalt, who's our communications director, and the voice of the Yellow Jackets. I complimented him on his play-by-play because I couldn't do what he does. And also Coach Coach Lopes of Caldwell. They were all very given to their time when I was there to talk to me, even after the game. And you know how that is. Yeah, Coach Lopes was very magnanimous standing there talking to me for five, 10 minutes about the game and where they need to go and how they need to improve. And you know, he has a young team and he's trying to change it. The same thing with Coach Spallone. I think these are two programs that are that are definitely on the up.

SPEAKER_02 32:56

Well, you know what? We've had both coaches on, and and you know, they're really good guys. Kevin, I said last week's podcast, these coaches are really good guys when you get down to it. They're just they're regular people, you know what, and they love lacrosse like you and I, and they'd be happy to talk lacrosse in a win or a loss, but you know, it's cool that you got to go to the game and hang out and be in the cold press box. And uh, it's cool, man. It's great. And then you went to Homewood the other night. So, you know, this division, this division too, it's been it's a lot of fun, man. It's really, you know, even though AIT and Caldwell might not be fighting for conference championships or NTAA births, they're fighting for pride. And you know what? And and these kids play with a ton of intensity and a ton of pride, and they want to win those games, man. And exactly. You can get some really, really, really good games at you know what we would probably consider the lower level of D D Division II, you know, and and these these kids can play their ass off, Kev.

SPEAKER_04 34:03

They really can kids want it, and the coaches want it. The same thing when I watched Frostburg and St. Rose. I got there late because of traffic, an hour, Danny, a usual hour commute. I forgot I was doing it during rush hour. Took me two hours to get to the game, so I got there before the game started. I got to shake their hands after the game, but you know, they're you know, Coach Williams was was Coach Gardelman's assistant. So I'm like, I don't want to bother them, let them talk to each other. They don't want to talk to me. They were great, they talked to me and everything. But uh that but you're right, these teams want it, the players want it, the coaches want it. Both, I'll tell you, all Gardelman, Williams, Spallone, and Lopes. They I I can this is a coach Spallone said, and I will tell you, each one of these coaches, I probably could say it's a quote from them. He's like, I want a championship ring, and no one's just gonna give it to me. That's right.

SPEAKER_02 34:59

You know what? That's what they're in the business for, that's what they're getting paid to do. Chasing rings, man. And that's that's what it's all about. You know, you got to start somewhere. Some of these programs are smaller in numbers, and and you know, it might be a little difficult to play against some of the big boys right now, but again, with these guys at the helm and maybe with the right resources, a good athletic director, and a good, you know, a good, you know, a good support system from their un, you know, university, these these programs can go places without a doubt.

SPEAKER_04 35:34

Without a doubt.

Coach's Spotlight

SPEAKER_04 35:36

Okay, Danny, let's move on to our coach's spotlight. We are bringing back a coach who probably did not have the season he wanted last year, but his team has started this season 2-0. So let's just bring him in, see how he's feeling about the 2023 season. Coach Steve Gardelman of Frostburg State.

SPEAKER_02 36:00

Coach Gardelman, how's it going, man? Good to see you again.

SPEAKER_00 36:04

Danny, Kevin, thanks for having me. Good to hear you guys and good to see you guys. Appreciate you having me on.

SPEAKER_02 36:08

Kevin, Kevin's making like the East Coast rounds. He's going to games at Homewood. He's going to games. He's all over the he's all over the East Coast, man.

SPEAKER_04 36:16

Yeah, I have a little more free time now that my son's not playing anymore, so I can uh I can get around a little bit more instead of either going down to his home games or watching them on streaming live. So, coach, I have to start off. I was very touched by the beginning of the the Saint Rose game when your team presented a Frostburg game jersey with Matt Frankel's number on it to the St. Rose team. That was just a great moment in sports.

SPEAKER_00 36:44

Yeah, thank you. And I can't take full credit for that. It was something that we were talking to the guys about. We we'd like to do something. And then one of the guys came back after we had that talk and said, Coach, uh, I think it'd be important. 26 was a big number for Matt and that program. So if we have one, can we can we bring that to him? And um, we asked Coach Williams, I didn't want to throw a wrench in their game day operation and and and and throw a hiccup in the game for them, but I did want to make the gesture. And you know, I love Coach Williams and their program. So um the guys thought up the idea and you know, we went forward and it was it was nice, it was simple, it was direct, and it was definitely something we wanted to not leave uncovered there to make sure that Matt got that that honor.

SPEAKER_04 37:18

Yeah, yeah, we just went over that in the weekend review, and I said in that coach, that you could really tell the respect from both teams in that gesture.

SPEAKER_00 37:29

Yeah, absolutely. No, it was before the game, you know, so everything was a little bit more level-headed than after the game, but you know, there's there's no doubt the respect was there, and that's why the game looked the way it did. It's because two teams that respect each other and respect the game, so you go out there and compete.

SPEAKER_04 37:41

Yeah, exactly. So, like we said in the intro, you have started 2-0, very solid wins against your old assistant and your old team, both one goal games, coach. What is it like to start your season? Really, I have to I didn't realize it until after you played Lake Erie that you started your season playing against your old assistant coach and your old team. What was that like?

SPEAKER_02 38:06

He's good, he needs an EKG with games like that.

SPEAKER_00 38:10

Yeah, we're going by the Cardiac Cats these days. It's not something I want to get used to, but but I think the title fits.

SPEAKER_03 38:16

Right. That's awesome.

SPEAKER_00 38:18

It feels good. Um, you know, just to get the wins, no matter who it is, what it is, it's it feels good to start the season that way. And um, one of the things that we preach with our guys is we never want perfection, we don't want to hunt perfection. That's maybe an uh unrealistic goal for us. We want to hunt improvement. Um, so we maybe the scoreboard didn't exactly show what we improved. It was a one-goal win both ways, but we felt like we put better product on the field in you know, two competitive games and um you know, found a way to win two different games to start the season. And against two really good teams, two great coaches, and you know, stuff that we know that you can't just walk out there and win, even though you think you can. You still go out there and do it. And evidence of that that they didn't give us anything easy and we had to go out and fight for every inch.

SPEAKER_02 38:56

Yeah, I watched the Lake Erie game, it looked mad cold that game.

SPEAKER_00 39:01

It was, it gave the guys here in Frostburg a taste of it can be colder.

SPEAKER_02 39:05

Yeah, because where you're at, coach, it's definitely cold. That's that game looked really cold. It was at night, people and gloves, the refs had gloves, the coaches had gloves. I'm like, the coaches have gloves. It's it's a cold night there.

SPEAKER_03 39:18

Oh, yeah. So it certainly was. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 39:22

So you touched on it, coach, a little bit uh in what you said in the beginning, and then that of you know, not chasing perfection, but looking for improvement. So give us your assessment of where your team is at right now, especially as you prepare to play the number one team in the division.

SPEAKER_00 39:40

Yeah, it's an exciting opportunity for us to have this week of preparation and that game to finish the week. Um, but our guys are as as of fall, you know, September 1, whenever we started things up through now, it seemed like they came onto campus, new guys and returners just completely bought in. They they were bought in last year, but they're a little bit you know, upset with how we finished and how we played last year, that you know, thinking that we could have and should have, and all those things that come into reflection. Um, but the guys are so bought in and so connected, it seems like um this year especially that they are thinking similarly. They're walking around campus in groups of 10 instead of groups of two. And you're just sitting with each other more often, more connected, more bought in. Um, we were able to throw a lot more in the playbook where you know we had a lot more of the guys digest early on in the fall. So we have a few more pages to use on both offense and defense early in the season this year, which I think is helping us win some of those games where in the first half we're getting a few goals or not getting a few goals. Let's flip the page and we have a little more of the arsenal early on for us to hit the ground running. So I'm really proud of where these guys are at um in both chemistry and execution.

SPEAKER_02 40:45

That's that's fantastic, and you're gonna need it, but because Tampa's a good team, man, I watched them play a couple of times. I'm sure that you've seen them play, but I think you got the advantage because them Florida boys got to come up, up, up to your part of town, and it's cold, and they're not used to that.

SPEAKER_00 41:03

Yeah, we like to think it's gonna be a normal day for us and something different for them. But right, and when it comes down to game time and that whistle blows, adrenaline kicks over and they'll take those man, this is cold to man, let's play ball. And I'm sure they're gonna give their best, and we'll do the same to them. So uh, while we do want to think that a little bit, we don't necessarily want to put our eggs in that basket all the way.

SPEAKER_03 41:21

Right, right, right.

SPEAKER_00 41:22

Yeah, they're so they're as talented as they get, that's for sure.

SPEAKER_02 41:26

Yeah, they're good, they're good. They're deep too, you know. They're just a deep team, and you know, we got about 93 guys on the roster or something like that. We won't say anything about that. So you know what? I'm looking at the rest of your, you know, your your schedule, and you got Malone, which is the new, a new program. Well, what do you think about that coming into the into the division two ranks?

SPEAKER_00 41:52

We're we're excited to see the growth there, you know, with with some of the teams choosing to go division two, which is exciting for them to see that you know our level can compete at that level, which is exciting for us. Um, but it's tough to lose some quality teams in the division, so it's good to see more teams growing behind them so we can kind of keep the depth and the growth we've we've built to so far. Um and they're out there, you know, they're they're mixing up. I think that they've um you know played a few teams real good here in the start of the season. And it's now something that we have in the GMAC, a few more teams in that conference where selfishly for Frostburg, we have an agreement to play ECC and the GMAC schedule. So we get these teams to come into this the conference, help us with our schedule, you know, being consistent so we can build around that and know that adding this team out of conference is really going to help knowing that we have this in conference. So I like seeing the got the guys grow Midwest and North and all the stuff that comes with it. And you know, then they put get our schedule and give us a chance to play some new faces, some new teams. So I think it's beautiful. I think it's excellent.

SPEAKER_04 42:48

Me too. I agree. I have to switch a little bit and talk about some of your players, but one in particular, I need to know more information. You gave me in your conference preview notes the heads up, but when I actually saw him on the field, I was blown away. You have some great talent with Austin Sipes, offensive talent. Austin Sipes, Jake Bowman, Bubba Love, best name in Division II. Bubba Love, you gotta love that name, man. And Noah McCallum. But the player I'm talking about is number 52, Evan Deere. When I was in the stands at Homewood, I'm up there and he's on the sidelines, and he's basically up on his toes, tapping a player on the on the helmet. And I'm like, who is this kid? I look him up and I'm like, okay, I get that now. He it's listed as 5'3 on your roster, but then I watched him. He may be 5'3, but he plays and hits like he's 6'3. I mean, he is so aggressive on the ball, and he's like you said, he is fast. And does he just bring that kind of he's also a senior, right? He brings leadership. Is he kind of one of those main leaders? And he's like a spark plug for your team, it seems. Like.

SPEAKER_00 44:01

Absolute tone setter. You know, he's a guy in the weight room. He squats 400 pounds, benches 350 plus, cleans over 200 something pounds. Like he can do pull-ups for hours at a time. And when he finishes the team workout, he grabs a bite to eat and goes back for another workout and goes for a run around the trails. And the guy never stops. And it's contagious. We've got a few guys that have transferred in or that have been freshmen sophomores that are now kind of taking a liking to how he goes about his business. So that's what you saw in Evan in the game. His positive energy and tapping guys and hooting guys up. And then his ground ball effort, hustle, creativity, and intensity. That's every day. He's out there lighting people up to practice, you know, and getting ground balls and you know, hooting and hollering. And he is the kind of the tone setter for us. We we love what he does, and he's a powerful punch in a small package. It's it's kind of uh unassuming, and then all of a sudden he could just take off and go, and he is so dang quick.

SPEAKER_04 44:54

Oh, yeah, Danny, seriously, you have to watch when he's gonna be able to do it.

SPEAKER_00 44:58

I watched him, I watched him play the other night.

SPEAKER_04 44:59

He he had some face-offs, I think, against Lake Erie, didn't he?

SPEAKER_00 45:02

Clutch, clutch face-offs, yes.

SPEAKER_04 45:04

Yeah, and so no, very impressive. He definitely seems like the tone setter for your team.

SPEAKER_00 45:10

Yeah, all the way to the point where when we go pregame, right before we come out for like our live stuff in our pregame moment, um, he kind of keeps a tradition that's been going on since Jordan Edwards when I took over the program here. Jordan Edwards was doing a pregame backflip for the team to get hyped up, and now Evan Deere worked with acrobatics and tumbling over the fall, and now he's doing our pregame backflip.

SPEAKER_02 45:31

Uh a la Ozzy, right? Ozzie Smith from the old days.

SPEAKER_00 45:36

Full pads, full helmet. That's how explosive he is. He can do that all padded up.

SPEAKER_02 45:40

He sounds like an amazing athlete, like just one of those kids that could just kind of do it all, huh?

SPEAKER_00 45:45

Absolutely. Absolutely. We we love our uh we love our guy Evan Deere. He he can do it all and he keeps us light and keeps us uh laughing too. He's a free spirit in a good way. All right, good man.

SPEAKER_04 45:55

It's good to hear. Good to hear. So uh I okay we we spent a little bit of time on that and we talked about some of your offensive firepower. What about on defense? Um what you name some of the players there that you you really like what they're doing right now, and and maybe some players that you were surprised at from the you know coming in and from the fall and have taken up uh good good value for the team.

SPEAKER_00 46:20

Yeah, certainly. Um, I think we have a two-headed monster at our LSM position. We've got number five and number 49. Uh Matt Sharky's a fifth year senior coming back from an ACL last year. He's playing phenomenal across, um, such a dynamic stick and dynamic player, really smart, knows to anticipate the game. Seamus Carney is uh a sophomore LSM, number five, long hair. He looks like one of the uh the people from uh Game of Thrones, and he loves that.

SPEAKER_02 46:44

Love the Irish kids. Love the Irish kids.

SPEAKER_00 46:47

And he those two guys are so athletic and rangy and dynamic. They're also two of our better creators with the ball in their stick, you know, so they're not just defensive players, um, but but they're kind of also the sparks for what we do and how we play. Jake Sprecker is playing his best across his career as a fifth-year senior. He is um doing all the pieces right. He's off ball sound, he's on ball sound, he communicates, kind of our leader down there. Um, so those are the guys we kind of expected. Luke McCullough is a captain for us, 44. Uh, another guy who's just all energy and all effort. Landon Bruce is the other starting defenseman, though that unit of polls, those five guys are just absolute, absolute buzzsaw kind of guys where they they can play physical, they can play knockdowns, they can play smart, and they can handle the ball. And then the guys who kind of sneak in there, maybe a little bit less notice, is is the short sticks. We talked about Evan Deere. Hayden McCullough is a freshman for us, number six. He's a long rangey guy. Actually, played football in the fall and started a couple of games for them, played outside linebacker and safety for them. So he's no shy guy to when it comes to contact and that piece of ball. Yeah. And then uh Dom Saracini, Dom Saracini is a senior for us as well. Very smart, very savvy, great on the ground, great in the you know, knockdown lanes, and those guys are solidifying things for us. And then Nick Aggressed is a transfer from Wiggate, who is in that rotation. He hasn't gotten massive minutes, but the minutes he's gotten, he's played really, really well. And it's a way for us to keep these guys fresh and keep these guys motivated. Is you got somebody there challenging you, and then you know, in the minutes you need a breather, we step him in, and there's no fall off at all. We really like those five, six, seven poles that are rolling out. Then they're doing a great job as a unit. That's the most important thing. When we said chemistry for our team, you can't talk about one guy, you gotta talk about all of them, and then Mitch Meckley anchoring it in the goal, he's doing a great job too.

SPEAKER_02 48:32

And and then and it's veteran leadership too, which is you know, it's you know, you can't get enough of that.

SPEAKER_04 48:39

And like, and like Danny and I have talked about, you know, when you've got that many guys that you can roll in, especially I think on defense, fresh legs are critical, especially when you get in the second half like that. If you're giving your starters some breathers and then they come back, especially you got long, and there was some long in the game I watched, right? You had some time where you were on defense, both teams were on defense for a while, you know. And and your goalie, Meckley, you're right, he seemed to stop everything in the first quarter of that game. It was just it was great. So you've got a really solid defense and a great offense with some really fun players to watch. And so, Coach, I mean, I just want to say thanks for coming on. This has been a lot of fun. I'm glad you get on, give us an update on your team. You started off really well. Close, exciting games. We're looking forward to see you play Tampa and the rest of the season.

SPEAKER_00 49:33

Thank you guys so much. It's always a blast chatting with you guys, and I appreciate giving me the chance to showcase our program and our guys.

SPEAKER_02 49:39

Hey, Frostburg, you know, coach, when you came on last year, you you left uh an indelible mark on Kevin and I. We we we talk about you all the time off camera, like hey, Coach Carlman did this, Carlman did that. I see on Instagram with your kid. It's so cute, it's awesome, man. I really I love it. But I like what you do at Frostburg State. I like what I see when I lot watch your games. Even last year, after meeting you for the first time, then I started watching your games. And I had a feeling that maybe you were down a player or two, maybe from injury or something like that. Maybe that's not, maybe that's the reason why you didn't have the season that you were hoping for. But man, you've come out, two great games. You got Tampa this week, but you got good guys on your on your roster. You got some big boys, you got Mercy and Mercy Hurst, and and even Roberts Wesley and there's a good team, and like you got some big boys, so you're definitely looking to turn that corner with Frostburg State. You got yourselves into the top 20 this week. Congratulations. Thank you so much. Gotta get the applause and and well deserved. And again, thank you so much for coming on. We really enjoyed having you again. We love we love watching you guys play, and uh good luck this week.

SPEAKER_00 51:00

Yeah, thank you very much. Appreciate the compliments and the fandom, and hopefully we can put on good shows. That's all we're trying to do, is get a good look across on the field, and hopefully that turns into wins.

SPEAKER_02 51:08

Well, you're on your way, coach. 100%. You're on your way.

Games to Watch

SPEAKER_04 51:13

All right, Danny. Uh how about we switch to what games we want to watch this week?

SPEAKER_02 51:21

Well, week four Kev, we got some good, we got some good ones coming up. Uh the first one on my docket is uh Mercy versus Seton Hill. I think this is gonna be a very good game. I think Seaton Hill looks very, very good. Uh Mercy's a very good team. I think these two teams are gonna go at it. They went at it pretty well last year. So this should be this should be a barn burner, as they say.

SPEAKER_04 51:46

Without a doubt, I agree. Seton Hill beat Chestnut Hill seven to four. It was a low-scoring contest, but Seton Hill really kind of handled that game all the way through. They were ahead, they it wasn't like it was really that much in danger, right? Mercy obviously lost to Lemoyne, and that's their one tick mark. But this is gonna be a close game. Close game. Number six and number one.

SPEAKER_02 52:18

It's basically a number top top ten matchups. Yeah, it's basically a top ten, and both teams need the win. So it's a big one. It's a big one for both programs. Uh, next game on my docket is uh the Wingate Limestone in the Crown Classic, Kev. Last year, this game this game went into overtime. Um, the Crown Classic is a cool thing. They have uh Division I men's team game in the afternoon, and I think it's High Point Jacksonville playing, if I'm not mistaken. I believe so. And then there's a division one girls team, ladies playing. And then division two. So there's three games. So it's like a lacrosse afternoon at the uh American Legion Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. Great. And that's where yeah, that's where Wingate and Limestone will get it on, man. This is uh it's got it's got sack implications and national implications.

SPEAKER_04 53:16

So it's a big game. You talk about Barnburner, Danny. This is another one. And I will tell you, the Crown Classic is a great, like you said, it's a great event. The venue is phenomenal. I was there last year. I think I think this is gonna be another unbelievable game. I'm I'm glad it's probably at it, I'm pretty sure it's at a different time than the Mercy Seaton Hill game. So I don't have to have two screens going at the same time because I want full focus on both of those games.

SPEAKER_02 53:45

Well, I'm gonna be at the game flying down Friday, uh meeting a bunch of friends down there. A couple of friends of mine are actually on the limestone side. Guys I work with, these kids are playing. So we're gonna meet up and uh maybe have a pretzel and uh and a high seat, a high C and a beverage, and a beverage, perhaps, but I'm looking forward to it. That's uh like you said, you went last year, I wasn't there. I'm looking forward to seeing this matchup and just another D2 Barn burner.

SPEAKER_04 54:18

Yeah, well, here's another top 10 matchup, Danny. Same day on Saturday, Lemoyne against Undy. And they're in a neutral sleep site in Cleveland. Yeah, it's gonna be great.

SPEAKER_02 54:31

So I think that that helps Undy. 100%. 100%. Watch, Undie fans are gonna come out in droves to that game.

SPEAKER_04 54:40

Without a doubt. It's gonna be a phenomenal game to watch. I I can't believe that those three games are on the same exact day. Yeah, number two versus number seven. Yeah, it's it's it's it's gonna be it's like you said, it's another barn burner. We got three barn burns, we got three must-watch games, but here's some other ones that I think Danny will be really, really good. On Friday, before those games, Emory Riddle against Lander, both from the Barrett coaching tree. Yep, and it's continuing the Peach Belt Sunshine State Conference Challenge. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 55:22

Yeah, Emery Riddle's growing up before our eyes. We said that last week. This should be a pretty good game, Cap. And let me tell you something. If Emory Riddle can pull this out over Lander, they're on their way.

SPEAKER_04 55:35

Yeah, yeah. They're gonna gain confidence, they're gaining experience against really good teams, and it'll be it'll be interesting to see where they can go for the, especially in conference. That's gonna be the critical thing for them. They didn't do that great in conference last year, and I guarantee they want to be in that conference championship and they they want to see what they can do.

SPEAKER_02 55:55

Tell you the Sunshine State conference is pretty good, man. We talked about that in the preview, and even like Coach Jurgensen and St. Leo, they're one and two, but geez, they're another team that's maybe one of the better one and two teams in the country.

SPEAKER_04 56:11

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 56:11

And you got Emory Riddle making noise, you got Florida Tech making noise, you got Florida Southern making noise, you got Rollins, and then Tampa at the top. What a conference, man.

SPEAKER_04 56:21

Those guys are tough this year. You don't want to play them if you're if you're in conference, you're like, I've got to play them. But if you're out of conference, you're like, oh my god, here comes another Sunshine State conference team. I have to play.

SPEAKER_02 56:32

That's right.

SPEAKER_04 56:32

It's great. It's great to see. Yeah, another one. Wilmington on Saturday, Wilmington against Pace.

SPEAKER_02 56:39

Yeah, that's on my list, too. I think that's gonna be a good game. I like Pace in this one a little bit.

SPEAKER_04 56:46

Uh just you know, but I'll tell you what, Wilmington, Wilmington's taking their lumps a little bit with these top ten teams and but sharpens the iron. Exactly. Exactly. And and Pace is gonna be playing, I think, their second game of the season. Correct. So maybe Wilmington gets them at the right time because Wilmington is a tough team. They've got good defense and they've got scores.

SPEAKER_02 57:11

Yeah, yeah. No, they're 100%. Wilmington made a lot of noise last year, Kev. They were, you know, man, knocking on the door for the NCAA. So they're a formidable squad. They got the biggest.

SPEAKER_04 57:22

Pace has got one of our best goalies, though. Pace has got one of our best goalies in the big ragu. They've got Anthony Caputa, they've got guys on the on the offensive sky side that can score too. It's gonna be a good game.

SPEAKER_02 57:33

Yeah, Caputa's a stud, man. That kid's a good, that's that kid's a good player. I just he's got game for days in the big ragu in between the pipes there for Coach Mariano. And I, you know what? That should be a really good game. That should be a good game.

SPEAKER_04 57:47

Yeah, yeah. Okay. One on Sunday I've got marked off, and that's March 5th, is Mars Hill against Alabama Huntsville. So Coach Turner of Mars Hill, he's hosting his former team. And the guy he coached with, Coach Doyle. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 58:05

They're friends, Kev. They're friends, so they're they're friends for a long time.

SPEAKER_04 58:09

So that that that's one of those games I'm sure they're chirping at each other right now.

SPEAKER_02 58:15

Yeah, Marshall got their first win last week, you know, but they're struggling a little bit right now. And we knew that they were gonna struggle. And and Coach Turner, you know what? He he's a great coach, and you just keep grinding up there at Mars Hill, you lions up there. You just keep grinding. But that should be that should be a great game.

SPEAKER_04 58:33

It's Alabama Huntsville, Marshall. It should. The last one I've got is on Monday, the sixth, and that's Westminster against CSU Pueblo. So Westminster just getting rid of their GLV GLBC swing. They went one and one, and we talked with Coach Blair. What can the Thunder Wolves do in the RMAC this year? This is their first test. So I want to see what they can do. I think obviously the Griffins have the advantage. Yeah. But let's see what let's see what the Thunder Wolves can do. I I'd love to see a good game and a close game there.

SPEAKER_02 59:06

Yeah, that's you know, I don't know. I kind of like Westminster in that one. I think they their irons have been sharp in the four or four-goal loss to you, Indy, and a one-goal loss. You know, they're they're just a good team that's been in games that they've lost.

SPEAKER_04 59:21

Yep. Yep. Okay. Any other games? No, that's all I have for now, Kev. Okay, so before we move on to the player

DII Newsal Thoughrs

SPEAKER_04 59:29

spotlight, we have a little D2 news. Concordia University Irvine announced it is moving into D2 next season and will be joining the RMAC, Danny.

SPEAKER_02 59:45

D2 just keeps growing and growing. I'll tell you, it's awesome.

SPEAKER_04 59:49

It's awesome.

SPEAKER_02 59:54

As well, yep.

SPEAKER_04 59:55

We got several next year. We've got several that are going to be in the 2024-2025 season. This one was came out of nowhere for me to see, and I see that's all those other ones. So say the name again, Kevin. Concordia University Irvine out of Irvine, California. They're currently an NCLA D2 program, and they won that championship in 2017. And they appeared in the national playoffs last year in 2022. So they're stepping up to D2 lacrosse and they're growing the RMAC. Tell you what, get another, get let's get the six in the RMAC. That's what I love to see. But this is the this is breaking the ice. We talked with Coach Smith, remember, from uh St. Mike's, and he said it kind of looked like there was gonna have something, and now it's kind of slowed down. Well, it was almost like he was fortuitous, it broke the ice.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:48

Just thinking the same thing. Because he was said he he said, I'd love to see it grow more out west. And here we go. Here we go with a California team. We had a California team a couple of years ago, Kev, Notre Dame Des Namours. Right. And and they seem to have stopped their program. They did. They didn't. So now we got a new one coming in, coming in next year. We've got a couple of more coming in next year. Uh Nova Southeastern down there in Port Lauderdale, the Hollywood area of Florida, real nice area. And then you got Thomas Moore coming in next year. William Jewell. William Jewel. So holy family. We got a holy family. Holy family. Holy mackerel. I can't believe I forgot that. Going straight to hell.

Player's Spotlight

SPEAKER_04 1:01:42

All right. Let's move on to the player spotlight. My favorite part, Kev. My favorite part. I was waiting for you to say that. This week we are moving from offense to the defensive side. And Danny, you know how we love our goalies.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:00

Yep, love goalies, man. Yeah. They're sick, crazy individuals, and they're my kind, my kind of people.

SPEAKER_04 1:02:08

It's the kind of guy you want them to have your back by you standing behind their back, like you know, one. And this guy would stop everything coming. He had a great first game in his D2 debut with 14 saves against Limestone. But not only that, he fouled that up with 13 against Anderson and 10 against Newberry. And that's only because he didn't play both those games all the way through.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:38

Patty got in there at the end.

SPEAKER_04 1:02:39

Yeah. So he that culminated in him being named SSC Defensive Player of the Week. That's awesome. Let's welcome him in. Shahe Catchadurian.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:54

Shahe, how are you? I'm doing well. How are you?

SPEAKER_02 1:02:57

Doing good. Shahe Catchadurian from the Rollins Tars. Dude, a graduate student, a Syracuse transfer. Coming down to getting very smart, getting his masters in the warm weather after playing in the cold weather for so many years of his life. He's a smart young man. Not only that, Shahe, you have been on fire with a team that's really made a lot of noise in their first three games. The Rollins Tars have beaten three ranked opponents in a row, limestone being one of them. How are you doing, man? How's it going? How do you feel? Is the ball like a big old balloon right now for you? Because you look really good engaged.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:44

I appreciate it. Yeah, I like to think that. I mean, I've got a great support cast around me. Like I have to give all the props in the world to my defense and whatnot. But uh I'm just having fun. I'm enjoying being down in Florida. A great group of guys, great coaches, and uh really nothing, nothing more I could ask for.

SPEAKER_04 1:04:04

Hey, so let me ask you this. I I had another question first, but I have to ask you that you talk about a great group of guys. When we did our conference preview and we asked coaches to send in information on their team, Coach Lewis actually said that there were several goalies, some that had been there last year that got playing time, that were all in competition, you being one of them. So talk about coming from Syracuse and entering this goalie room. What's that like? How was the integration and what's it like being with them right now?

SPEAKER_01 1:04:36

Yeah, the integration was super easy. I mean, um from the first day I got here, everyone was so welcoming, especially those goalies. They were some of the first guys who came up and talked to me like in our first team meeting, introducing themselves and making me felt feel welcome to the whole team. So I give those guys props to how they've they've handled it. And uh it's fun. I mean, the fall we all competed and uh things shook out to to where they are now. And I think that we all really support each other and and uh we all have each other's backs day in and day out, and that's how a goalie room should be. So I'm blessed to be able to share a room with those guys.

SPEAKER_04 1:05:14

That's awesome. That's awesome. But before we go on, I have to ask you about a play in the limestone game. You had a bang bang save against limestone. You stop a goal, you go on an outlet pass, and it was intercepted by a limestone player on the crease who then tried to just shoot it right back in. Quick sticked it, quick stick it, and you stop that one. What was going through your mind, if anything, when that was happening in that sequence?

SPEAKER_01 1:05:43

Yeah, one of the guys was joking with me after the game. He was saying, I know you did that on purpose, you're just trying to pad your stats.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:50

But uh, that's funny.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:52

But yeah, but honestly, I mean, uh, I had an open guy in front of me. I I might have been a little lazy with the outlet pass, and like the attacking made. A good play and I was able to just react quickly to it. I think he just tried to beat me to the jump and put it by me, but I was able to get my stick there. So it was it was awesome for sure.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:10

Yeah, you know what? The defense for Rollins, you know, when I watch a game, I look for eye candy, okay? That's the first thing that I look for. There's certain things that just kind of stand out. Numbers are numbers and stats are stats, and the numbers never lie. But some things that you see on the field don't pertain to the numbers, so to speak. What I'm seeing out of this Rollins defense is a team that's really playing together and working as a defense together. I see you guys knocking balls down, you're getting your sticks in lanes, you're getting your sticks on hands, you're forcing bad shots. What do you attribute that to? Coach Lewis or just a really bunch of great athletes out there on the defensive side for Rollins?

SPEAKER_01 1:06:59

Yeah, I mean, first and foremost, I attribute all that to our defensive coach, Coach D. Clemente. I mean, he does a great job day in, day out, just giving us the scout, giving us uh pointers, and we go over film all the time, and he's pointing out stuff we need to do better as a whole and individually. And I think this year um we just we have a lot of guys who are bought into his system. We trust whatever he puts on that scout. And we'll we'll we'll ride with that guy to for whatever. And um, and yeah, I mean, all of our guys are bought in and and we know we have to play as a team to be a great defense, and like there's no one player who's gonna who's gonna shine, and and we really we've we've built a good group and we just gotta keep building day in and day out.

SPEAKER_04 1:07:43

Excellent. Yeah, that's that's amazing. Are you leading the defense and putting them in places where then you you know it makes it easier for you to see the shot coming, or or is there is there someone on the you know on close D that's running that that set?

SPEAKER_01 1:07:59

Yeah, I mean, uh we have a very talkative and and uh a great communicative defense, but one guy I'll give props to is our our captain uh Justin Eisenhower. I mean, he communicates every play, no matter what it is. He's he not only knows his job, but he knows every position on the field at all times. And he's really helpful with uh with getting guys in position and and kind of just creating that cohesive defensive unit that we need to be a great defense. So I gotta give him props for that.

SPEAKER_04 1:08:27

Yeah, and he's having an outstanding season too. Outstanding.

SPEAKER_02 1:08:31

The defense is hitting on all eight, Kev. I don't know if you've watched I've watched all three games. Um the defense is hitting on all eight. Dude, they were pressing out at the 45-yard line. I was like, look at these D-mittis, man. These guys are like wreaking havoc now. Shahe, I gotta ask you, coming from Syracuse, and I know you got some run up there, and um, you know, when you're playing against that level at practice and in games at the Division I level, and then you come to Rollins, what do you see? Do you see a lot of the same type of level of lacrosse?

SPEAKER_01 1:09:09

Yeah, I'd say the biggest difference from Division I to Division II for me is the athleticism, I'd say. Um I would I would practice with guys like Brendan Curry, Tucker Dordovic, who were running probably sub-440s and shooting the ball with the quickest hands I've ever seen. So maybe that's a little different, but um the skill we have on our team and in practice, I see obviously I play with Mikey and uh and Grant and Justin White, and they're all D1 guys and Billy Mets as well. Um, but we have I we have plenty of guys who could play on a number of Division I teams, and and we all know that, and we believe that.

SPEAKER_02 1:09:48

Yeah, I believe it too, and it shows in the play, it really does. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:09:53

So just going on that again, why the switch from either Syracuse down to Rollins? Was it just the weather?

SPEAKER_01 1:10:03

Uh not only the weather, but that was the cherry on top for me. Yeah. Um, no doubt. Um, yeah, I mean, obviously COVID happened, and um we had a crazy four years at Syracuse, and I had the best time of my life, like made lifelong friends that I'll have with me forever, and I'll always cherish like the memories I have there. Um for me, I had a little salty taste in my mouth just because obviously I didn't get to to play as much as I wanted at Syracuse. So to have the ability, put my name in the transfer portal. Um, and I was looking for some kind of MBA program. I I know I want to do business, so um that was a huge sell for me here. We have a great program, and um, you know, Coach D reached out, and uh obviously my good friend Mikey, who's right behind me, uh he was also he grew up in the area, so he uh we talked and you know everything kind of just fell right into place. And uh I'm so happy I made the decision. I'm I'm having the time of my life down here.

SPEAKER_04 1:11:03

So so was it a was it a two for Rollins that got both of you in the same time?

SPEAKER_01 1:11:10

Yeah, I mean I wouldn't call it a package deal, but pretty much, yeah. We uh he grew up just down the road from uh Rollins and uh he grew up with Justin Eisenhower actually. So um we knew him and uh it all kind of fell into place and yeah, it just worked out perfectly.

SPEAKER_02 1:11:28

It's great when things just kind of fall into place like that. And not only that, you get to you get to this team, man. Like I said, I said in our last podcast, I told Kevin, I said, Kevin, the country needs to watch out for Rollins because what you did in the last three games is nothing short of like really, really impressive stuff. Now you're in the top 10, guys. You know, you're in the top 10. What does that bring to the table now? Is it a little bit more intensity or is everything just going to be status quo week by week?

SPEAKER_01 1:12:04

Yeah, I wouldn't say it brings any more intensity. Um, we've had we've had talks all year about how we want to, as a group, attack every week like it's the national championship game, like it's the biggest game of our lives. So it's nothing different for us. I mean, it's obviously great to see us climb the ranks and to beat three ranked opponents in eight days was was huge for us. And to be able to to dominate those teams this past two teams, it was it was definitely awesome to see. But we we don't put any more pressure on ourselves with the ranking and whatnot being in the top ten. Um we know what the end goal is, and and uh you know we got some names circled on our calendars that that we're looking forward to. So we're we're really not uh not pressuring ourselves.

SPEAKER_02 1:12:47

Is one of them on April 1st?

SPEAKER_01 1:12:49

Yes, one of them is on April 1st, that's for sure.

SPEAKER_02 1:12:52

Yeah, that's gonna be one hell of a game right now. I just I was not scheduled today, and I was like, that's the game I really, really want to see because that's gonna be a true test for both squads. I think uh we'll get to that when we come to it. But um, I just love the way Rollins is playing right now, especially defensively. I told Kevin last week in the podcast that I really like the defense, short stick D mid, he's getting after it. I love that. You know, the polls, um, really, you know, sliding quick, double teaming, getting after guys, sticks, balls on the ground, just wreaking havoc out there, man, like a good defensive team does. And uh I had very smart man tell me offense wins games, defense wins championships. Which brings me to my next thing. Now, I don't know if you're aware of this, but in division one, they have automatic qualifiers, and in division two, they don't. So there's a bunch of algorithms involved. So the teams that you play, and the more, you know, the better you are, and the better you, the more wins you get is brings you closer to a chance that at the NC at the NCAA title. And uh I think if Rollins keeps doing what they're doing right now, they got a real legitimate shot. That's what I'm seeing out of Rollins.

SPEAKER_01 1:14:15

Yeah, no doubt. I mean, I give props to our coaches for uh for scheduling these first three games. I mean, three great opponents in South Carolina, SAC opponents, and uh it was really it was really great for us to get off to the 3-0 start. And uh, you know, we at the end of the day, we're not focused on the algorithms and whatnot. Like we're every day just gonna play lacrosse and enjoy being with our boys and you know, just just enjoy enjoy every moment. We we talk all the time about being present. So we we try not to let everything down the road get in the way of our mental headspace. And I think our team now has has done a great job of uh of carrying that mantra and just going day by day, and everything else is gonna take care of itself.

SPEAKER_02 1:14:57

Wow, great job.

SPEAKER_04 1:14:58

Spoken like a true veteran. That's right. That's right. Now, Shahe, you stop almost everything comes to you, but we've got another round for you. It's the firing round with Danny Moran, and it's coming right now. Are you ready?

SPEAKER_01 1:15:14

Hell yeah, let's do it.

SPEAKER_04 1:15:17

So you can see Danny, he's a smart, smart kid. He does his homework, right? He listened to one podcast, he knew this was coming.

SPEAKER_02 1:15:24

So listen, I I I have a new nickname for Shahe, and it's called the Diesel.

SPEAKER_01 1:15:32

I love it, I love it.

SPEAKER_02 1:15:34

The Diesel in the cage for the Rollins Tars, the Diesel, Shahei, catch you during, and just setting, just on you're on fire, bro. It's been fun to watch you guys, and really uh and exceptional to watch you again. 14 saves against Limestone, 13 against Anderson, 10 against Newberry. You've just been phenomenal. But now you're in the best part. All right, gonna shoot out 10 questions, Shahe. Just give us your quickest answer. You ready? Yes, sir. Let's do it. Okay. Favorite ice cream.

SPEAKER_01 1:16:12

French vanilla.

SPEAKER_02 1:16:13

French vanilla, all right.

SPEAKER_01 1:16:15

Classic. A classic.

SPEAKER_02 1:16:18

Yes. Favorite TV show?

SPEAKER_01 1:16:22

Oh, that's a hard one. Right now I'm watching Drive to Survive the F1 series, and I love that stuff, so I'll say that.

SPEAKER_02 1:16:28

All right. Favorite cartoon as a kid?

SPEAKER_01 1:16:32

Ooh, cartoon? That's a hard one. Does Phineas and Ferb count? Yeah, that counts. Oh yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:16:38

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:16:39

That's a great one. Morning bird or night owl? Oh, night owl for sure. Xbox or PlayStation?

SPEAKER_01 1:16:49

I'm a PlayStation uh PlayStation guy. I always have been.

SPEAKER_02 1:16:53

Okay. Favorite type of music?

SPEAKER_01 1:16:56

Uh I'm a rap guy. Old hip hop. I love the throwback stuff, but I keep ready to rap.

SPEAKER_02 1:17:02

What was the last song you listened to?

SPEAKER_01 1:17:05

Last song I listened to, I think it was uh Pink Slip by Lil Baby. You should you should listen to that one. It's a good one.

SPEAKER_02 1:17:11

All right, I'll check it out. Pink Slip by Lil Baby. Okay. Uh favorite class at Rollins. Ooh.

SPEAKER_01 1:17:19

That's a tough one.

SPEAKER_02 1:17:21

You're in the Master's Program.

SPEAKER_01 1:17:23

They're all so good.

SPEAKER_02 1:17:24

That's smart, man. Hope the professors are listening.

SPEAKER_01 1:17:30

Yeah, give me some extra bounty points here.

SPEAKER_02 1:17:32

That's right.

SPEAKER_01 1:17:35

I'd say my finance class.

SPEAKER_03 1:17:37

All right.

SPEAKER_02 1:17:41

Favorite football team, pro.

SPEAKER_01 1:17:44

New York Giants. Go big blue.

SPEAKER_02 1:17:47

Favorite football team college.

SPEAKER_01 1:17:50

Gotta go with the cues there.

SPEAKER_02 1:17:52

Oh, that's a good man. I like it. Favorite thing to do when you want to relax.

SPEAKER_01 1:18:00

Um, oh, that's easy. Playing FIFA with my two roommates.

SPEAKER_02 1:18:04

All right, cool. Funny it's uh no, runs or lifts?

SPEAKER_01 1:18:09

Oh, lifts, no doubt. You should know that answer. Yeah, yeah, look, yeah, look at him.

SPEAKER_02 1:18:14

At 6'4, 280. The diesel's not gonna say runs.

SPEAKER_04 1:18:18

Which type of lift is your favorite? Not runs and lifts.

SPEAKER_02 1:18:22

I mean, that's great. That's great. You're a funny kid, man. All right. Speaking of funny, who's the funniest kid on the team?

SPEAKER_01 1:18:31

Funniest kid on the team. I gotta give it to my roommate, Mikey Berkman. This guy makes me laugh all day and night long.

SPEAKER_02 1:18:38

Yeah, what's so funny about Mikey?

SPEAKER_01 1:18:41

I don't know. You just gotta meet him. Maybe get him on here. He's just he's got something about him.

SPEAKER_02 1:18:46

He may have to do that. He's certainly lighting it up. So well, that's something in the future. So Mikey Burkman gets a shout out. Who's the one kid on the team you would never let date your sister, even though you have three other brothers, right? It's four four boys in your family.

SPEAKER_01 1:19:02

Yep, I'm the youngest of four. Yes, sir.

SPEAKER_02 1:19:05

Good. And and let me ask you, are your brothers as big as you?

SPEAKER_01 1:19:12

So crazy enough, being the youngest, I'm the biggest one right now. Okay, right now, we'll say that. Um, but yeah, we got some pretty big bodies in our household for sure.

SPEAKER_02 1:19:22

All right, Mrs. Ketchadorian raising the big boys. So, who's the one kid on the team you would not let date your sister if you had one?

SPEAKER_01 1:19:33

That is gonna be Justin Eisenhower.

SPEAKER_02 1:19:36

Justin Eisenhower. Well, he's a bad boy, lady killer type of guy.

SPEAKER_01 1:19:42

No, no, he's a great guy. Great guy.

SPEAKER_02 1:19:46

Okay, all right. And uh last but not least, um, any hobbies outside of lacrosse?

SPEAKER_01 1:19:54

Uh yeah, so I grew up skiing my whole life and uh in the winter time, definitely skiing. Um and then golf recently in the past two years, like when COVID happened, my brothers and my dad, we all tried to get into golf, and I've been loving it so far. I mean, the game does not love me back as of now, but I'm trying to work on it.

SPEAKER_04 1:20:15

Yeah, but when you get a hold of one, a good drive, it always brings you back. And you probably can, when you get hold of one, look out.

SPEAKER_02 1:20:23

All right, last question. Give us give us your best impression of Coach Lewis.

SPEAKER_01 1:20:29

Coach Lewis?

SPEAKER_02 1:20:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:20:32

Uh oh, this is hard. This is hard. I don't even know how I'm gonna do this. I'm not good at I'm not good at impressions. Alright, guys. Alright, guys. Let's go out there, let's have fun, let's do our things. You guys are amazing. He's always complimenting us. Whether it's a good practice or bad practice, this guy is the most positive human being I've ever been around. Just always uh boosting us up and making us feel like kings. So that's probably the best I got right there.

SPEAKER_02 1:21:04

That's good. I like it. Well, that's awesome. Shahei, catch it, Dorian. Uh, you did a great job on the firing round. We appreciate you so much for coming on the Indec podcast with the two knuckleheads. Um, wish you nothing but continued success, young man. You're on you're on you're on fire, kid. And so is the team. And it's been a lot of fun to watch. And again, uh wish you nothing but success. Kev?

SPEAKER_04 1:21:30

Yeah, thanks, Shahe. Really appreciate it. Lots of fun having you on. And like Danny said, we'll be watching you the rest of the season and your team, and we're excited to see where you guys go.

SPEAKER_01 1:21:41

Hey, thank you guys for having me on. Uh, I really appreciate it. Our team as a whole, I know appreciates it a ton, all the support, and uh, you know, we're looking forward to the rest of the year, whatever it

Final Thoughts

SPEAKER_01 1:21:52

holds.

SPEAKER_04 1:21:53

That's Shahe, kid. He was fun to talk to.

SPEAKER_02 1:21:58

He's a beast, man. Oh my lord. 6'4, 280. I don't know. We nickname him the Diesel. We gotta call him the Diesel from now on. Hey, he's just been playing. He was a great guest, he's humbled, he knows what he's got going on there at Rollins. He's I think he's happy, I think he's having fun. He's he looks really comfortable back there, and he was a great guest. And I'm glad uh Shahai came on with us tonight.

SPEAKER_04 1:22:28

Yeah, I loved his insight, and I had some of the same questions, and you got to it like what's the difference between D1 and D2? And you know, I think he knew the nail on the head when he said overall they're probably more athletic, more athletic guys, numbers-wise, but it's not like you don't have him in D2. And he he just rattled off names from his from his team. Obviously, some of them are D1 transfers, but there's plenty of guys like that. And I thought it was really interesting. You can see the smile on his face when he was talking about Rollins, he was wearing a Rollins shirt, he was representing on the podcast with us, no one else could see it but us. And it's just great to see. And we've talked about this before, Danny, right? I mean, you can go to a D1 school and and sit on the bench, maybe, and contribute that way. It's not like you're not contributing in practice and doing things, that's the important stuff. But if you want to play, if you want to play, why not give D2 a shot?

SPEAKER_02 1:23:30

It's gotta be tough, I think, for any player to sit. I think you know, players, you know, they they come from high school, they're all stars in high school, they're all stars in high school. That's why they get to recruit it into college. And when you get recruited into a Division I school, that's amazing. But a Syracuse that's the upper echelon of college lacrosse. The pedigree of Syracuse Lacrosse goes back 40 years, Kevin. Starting starting with a guy by the name of uh, oh yeah, what's his name? Simmons? No.

SPEAKER_04 1:24:10

Who's the greatest running back in the NFL? Oh, you mean player? Well, that goes well beyond 40 years, my friend. Well, that's how you're dating yourself now. Well, that's how far Syracuse back goes back, you know. So well, 40 years ago was 1980. Yeah, I guess I am Jesus Christ.

SPEAKER_02 1:24:33

Listen, don't rub it in, okay. Hey, I'm right there with you, buddy. I still feel like I'm 25. My humor suggests I'm 12, but my body's telling me, are you dead yet? No, that's right. You know, it goes back to Jim Brown. Syracuse goes, you know, it goes back a long way, the pedigree of Syracuse. So here comes Shah, you know, goes up to Syracuse. If you read his bio, he was all everything in high school: Under Armour All American, NXT All-Star, just all-state, all-section, all regional. The kid was just a beast in high school. I'm sure he got multiple offers at the Division I level. Chose to go to Syracuse, makes sense, right? He's from upstate New York. Yep. Chose to go up there, makes sense. Doesn't see the field. But you know, again, like he's playing against guys like Tucker Jordanic, who's like one of the best in the world. Not just the United States, just like one of the best players in the world. You know what I mean? Yeah. So that's what kind of players go to Syracuse. And I guess, you know, he had the year from um COVID. He had a year left over and decided, hey, I can go somewhere warm, get my masters, and play. And that's what he did. And it's turned out to be a big, big home run for him, man, because he's playing at an elite level. I think he's in the top 10 right now in Division II for save percentage and saves. He's like just balling out. His team is 3-0 and moving and moving up the ranks, and a lot of it's a good thing.

SPEAKER_04 1:26:10

And you got to give a lot of credit to those coaches and the culture they've built. If you bring in players like Shahe and the team welcomes them, when you've got about four other goalies that are competing for that spot, and they all get along and they they have that team mentality, that's just great to see. And you know, I've seen that. That's not the only team I've seen that with, and I think that's that's really cool.

SPEAKER_02 1:26:37

Yeah, you know, let's say you're on a team and you know, the your team trades three guys for LeBron, and LeBron comes in, and you're, you know, you're just winning game after game after game. You you accept those guys, you know, you accept those guys that are gonna help your program and get you that ring, you know, because then and ultimately that's what they're looking for. They're looking for a championship, whether it be a Sunshine State Conference Championship or a national championship, they're in the hunt.

SPEAKER_04 1:27:05

Yeah, they are. They are. All right, Danny. Before we close out, just a reminder us a shameless plug once again for everyone out there to pass this along as uh another podcast I listen to called uh the Lax Factor Podcast. As he always says, share the crap out of this podcast, please. I steal his quote because I would love to see this go out to more people. I'll tell you what, I shared this. This I I was at this reception the other night, and I was talking to this woman whose son is a baseball player and wants to play college, and not sure that they're stressing about that and what to do. I said, Hey, I'll just send you the link to this one episode that we did with Reed Meyer on really focusing on what's important when you look at. That for colleges, and it isn't the athletics the first thing. She emailed me back and said, This was the best thing I could have listened to. And I made my son listen to it and I shared it with all the other parents that I know. And I'm not saying we're the best or anything like that, but I just think there's some things that we share on this podcast that are worthwhile. So I hope that people are getting our our fans, our listeners are getting what they want out of it. And uh so I just asked them to keep sharing with people they know.

SPEAKER_02 1:28:32

Yeah, couldn't say more. That couldn't be better, man. And um, you know what? That was a good that was a good podcast with Reed Meyer. I I learned a lot that evening, you know, it's pretty interesting. He was an interesting guy, you know what? And we're we're promoting division two, and but we're promoting good things too, Kevin. If we can help people by pointing them in the right direction, that you know, we're we're using our platform to do that, and we're using it to help people, really. We're bringing, you know, subjects that are important up, you know, such as mental health and and and where to go to college and how to get recruited and and all sorts of things. So if we can help in any way, it's great.

SPEAKER_04 1:29:13

Yep, yep, exactly. We're trying to just expose people to a lot of different things and really trying to expose them to what really our our message of what D2 can bring. And that's why we're bringing on these players and these coaches, and like we said last podcast, if you have suggestions, DM us. You know how to get in touch with us through Instagram, through, through Twitter, through Facebook, um, through the podcast in the you know, leave a comment in the show notes and we'll get to it. So we really would we like we've always said we love the feedback from the fans and just let us know how we can make this even better for you.

SPEAKER_02 1:29:47

100%. You know, the feedback from the fans and the listeners is really important to us, and we listen like we do every time, and people come up with some great ideas, and it's it's been great so far. And Kev, before we leave tonight, I got a couple of quick shout-outs. I gotta shout out to the Deuville Saints, okay? Oh, yes, yes, yes. They won their first game in program history, beating Dominican 13-12. Steve Lucas led the Saints with two goals and three assists. Trishaan Ecklehart had three and one, and Resek had 10 saves in between the pipes for the W for the Saints. How about that?

SPEAKER_04 1:30:25

That is good. He is he played well last year and he's playing well this year. And I thank you for that shout out. I feel like an idiot that we didn't do it in the in the week in review.

SPEAKER_02 1:30:35

Again, a shout out to Malonewood in the second in the program history, Coach Campbell with Kenny Kaiser and four goals, a big 17-8 win. They're two and one in their first three games of program history. How's that? That's awesome. A big shout out to uh freshman face-off Dylan Rupreck from Wingate, who went 10 out of 12 at the dot the other day for Wingate and became uh the SAC specialist of the week. So shout out to Dylan and remember a couple of weeks ago, I gave a shout out to my son's high school friend who's at St. Leo. Well, Thomas Nealon, a freshman attack at St. Leo, scored his first NTAA points last Saturday, had two goals and assists against PBA. So shout out to Thomas Nealon. I'm happy for you guys. Happy for the Saints, happy for the Pioneers and Dylan Repert at Wingate. Guys had a great week. Good job, fellas.

SPEAKER_04 1:31:34

And with that, Danny, I thank you for those shouts out and saving my butt for the UV game. That's a wrap.

SPEAKER_02 1:31:43

That's a wrap. Week four, Kevin.