Game Time - A look back at week 5 and a preview of Week 6 of the 2022 season

Intro

SPEAKER_01 0:11

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 let me welcome to the mic the D2 Men's Lacrosse stylings of Danny Moran. How's it going, Dan? Wow. I'm doing well, Kevin. Where'd you grab that one from? I have to admit, I was talking to one of our listeners, Joe Vedovnik, and he said something so funny. He said, Kevin, I always look forward to listening to the stylings of Danny Moran. And I was cracking up. I'm like, Joe, can I use that? He said, Go ahead. That's great. I had to pull it in for this week.

SPEAKER_00 0:55

Well, Kev, I'm doing great. It was kind of like a spring day a little bit up here in Long Island, a little bit today. Kind of got a break from the uh weather. How are you doing in northern Virginia tonight?

SPEAKER_01 1:06

Doing well, doing well. Yesterday was our real spring day. I actually had the top down on the convertible, and uh it was uh nice to do before it started raining. That is uh now we're back to colder weather, but but uh but anyway, let's move on. Let's why don't we get to the week in

Week in Review

SPEAKER_01 1:22

review?

SPEAKER_00 1:23

Oh my god, what a week of quality lacrosse we had. What a week, what a what a weekend of games. It was a great, really good weekend for division two.

SPEAKER_01 1:37

It was it was great, and we have to start with the limestone wing gate game. Some game, boy. That was some game. Yeah, we talk about Barnburner 11-10 over overtime final. Wingate pulls it out, and you were right, you called it as a pick'em game, and that thing was exactly that, is why it went down to down to overtime.

SPEAKER_00 2:04

Two great teams playing real good lacrosse, like there wasn't a lot of crappy lacrosse going on. There's they both teams were well coached, um, disciplined in their play, um, knew where they wanted to go, active, athletic, quick. It had all the aspects of a great like playoff type lacrosse game. It had like that playoff feel.

SPEAKER_01 2:30

Right. And I would say, you know, there were mistakes made by both offenses, but I think those mistakes were created by their defenses.

SPEAKER_00 2:39

Oh, 100%. The defense, both defenses, you know, limestone's got a couple of all-Americans over there on defense, and we know that wingate's defense uh in the close is is young. They're a couple of freshmen and sophomores, but those defensive middies for wingate were outstanding um Saturday night. They were outstanding. Mark Tackard and AJ Lo Mueller. And AJ uhler was out there. I could see him being uh very vocal, pointing to people, just getting that young defense in the right spots all the time. That was that was a really, really good game. How about the goalie for Limestone?

SPEAKER_01 3:22

Well, you know what? They they shared goalies, they had two goalies played. They had um Corey Lyons and they had William Baxter, they shared time, and both of them balled out.

SPEAKER_00 3:36

Yeah, Corey Lyons stopped 70. He had 14 saves on 19 shots on golf. Like, I mean, it's crazy. I mean, he was stopping everything, and you know, wingate, we know that about that attack unit. They were getting their shots off, they're gonna get their shots off. They're they're quick, they're agile, and you know, Bobby Patton, what a game he had.

SPEAKER_01 3:57

You know, he's been a couple assists, I think. Yeah, but I mean he didn't have as many goals, but he had a ton of assists.

SPEAKER_00 4:03

I think he had two goals and five assists. He had a seven-point game. So crazy.

SPEAKER_01 4:08

That's a big game. Let's point out uh the wingate goalies because they typically split as well. But their first goalie, Casey Carlson, got injured early in the first quarter. And so John Capone comes in and has a very, very good game. Has a very good game. He had 15 saves himself. Now he obviously he let in more goals, he let in nine goals. But to come in when you used to playing a half and you take over that whole game, he was making some quality saves as well. Yeah, he played well. He played well. That was that was a good game. Yeah, it was interesting because when Wingate finally got ahead by three goals, there was 842 left on the clock. Right. And to me, it kind of seemed like they took the foot off the gas a little bit. Like, okay, we've got three goals on them, which you cannot do against a team like Limestone.

SPEAKER_00 5:06

There's no way No, no, no, they did take their they did take their foot off the gas, and they've made a couple of stupid mistakes late, you know, just bad shots. They took bad shots in the clock when they should have been maybe maybe working that clock a little bit more to their advantage, you know, um, trying to get down to those last 10 seconds. And they weren't doing that. They made some kind of mental errors late in that game that caused limestone to get back into it late.

SPEAKER_01 5:36

Yeah, and then they limestone scores to tight with 30 seconds left. You kind of think that limestone has the momentum, and then the face-off comes and their guy goes early. And Wingate, Wingate really kind of did a good job then of making sure that they got in their sets. They they did what they wanted to do. Who who has it in the end? But Willie Greco comes around and scores. But I think the interesting thing, I think one of the big differences, Danny, that I saw was Wingate's between the two teams because they were so evenly matched. But I think Wingate, Wingate's ride made a big difference because they held the Saints to only 14 of 23 clears. Yeah, they were causing turnovers.

SPEAKER_00 6:19

They were they're an active, athletic, scrappy defense, Wingate. They're tough, man. It's tough to clear the ball against that team.

SPEAKER_01 6:30

It's tough to match up to that game, but there were some other really good ones. Like Mercy and Lemoyne.

SPEAKER_00 6:39

That was a really good game, too. That was a really, really good game. You know, Mercy, Mercy ran out and got a bunch of goals early in that game, and they were winning at halftime.

SPEAKER_01 6:50

Yeah, so they got up really by four goals in the first quarter. They were they were leading uh 5-1 at the end of one, and then they were leading seven, four at half. So interesting to see how Lemoyne, you know, they stayed calm, cool, and collected, kind of like when we talked to Ben McCurry. And they did they just stuck with their game plan. And so, and their defense started to shut them down, shut down Mercy because if you look at the scoring, five goals by Mercy in the first quarter, two goals in the second quarter, and then the rest of the game, nothing.

SPEAKER_00 7:24

Zero. Held them scoreless. You held the number four team in the country scoreless, yeah. You know, and that's not an easy thing to do. And you know, Mercy had their chances at the end, they had their chances, they threw the ball away. Uh, unforced errors. They probably had three unforced errors in a row. And I'm gonna be honest with you, Coach Levine, go look at the tape. Your your middies were missing open attackmen in front of the net. They were. There was open attackmen from Mercy in front of the net, and they weren't getting them the ball. They had their chances, they had their chances to put Lemoyne away. It wasn't like Lemoy came back and was like roaring back. No, it was a chip. It was that's exactly what it was.

SPEAKER_01 8:10

Because look at seven, it's seven-seven after three, and so it's a chess match in the fourth with one only one goal scored in the fourth quarter.

SPEAKER_00 8:20

Yeah, and I tell you, you know, Lemoyne is a very impressive team. They don't get they don't get rattled, you know, they're down two, three, four goals. It doesn't bother them. They're just gonna be like, hey, we're just gonna play our game. If we get it, we get it. If we don't, we don't. But they always come back. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:39

I mean, if you if you look at it, they're three and oh, and the first three teams they've faced are all top ten teams. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:48

You know, Mercy played well, though. I'm not taking a few. No, no, no, they did. It was a great game. Mercy, you know, Brady Kiernan had two, Andrew Calabria had two, and you know, they had like three or four other players. They they share the rock a little bit, you know. Mercy, they move the ball well, they're quick as hell on offense, they got a stymieing defense, they're a really, really good team. Yeah, they ran into a better team, and they had their chance to win. Mercy Mavericks had their chance to win. It wasn't like I said, it wasn't like Lemoyne was like, uh-oh, it wasn't like that. Yeah, it was like, all right, Mercy's gonna bury one, and they couldn't. And I was like, all right, mercy's gonna bury one, and they couldn't. And then they got the ball back, and I was like, all right, mercy's gonna bury one now. Then they threw the ball away. And I'm like, okay, they got the ball back again. Mercy's gonna bury one, they're gonna bury one, and they couldn't bury one, you know. Nick Arnold and those guys down there that they play really good defense, and I felt that I felt that Mercy made some unforced errors at the end, maybe getting a little nervous, like, hey, what's going on? Maybe they started to feel a little bit of that pressure. It's a possibility, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:02

I it I I don't know. You could be right. I mean, and it happened right at the end of the game, too, because Mercy had the ball with one minute minute left, but then they turned it over. They threw it away again for the dolphins.

SPEAKER_00 10:13

And you could see the frustration on some of the Mavs players. You could see the you could see the body language, you could see it. They were like, Oh, I can't believe we just threw that away. So they had their chances, and I hope you know Mercy learns from this. You know, that's a team that's gonna have to learn. Hey, we had number one on their heels. We could have buried them, we could we couldn't put it away. So yeah, no interesting.

SPEAKER_01 10:40

They'll learn. They'll learn.

SPEAKER_00 10:42

Yeah, definitely, definitely. They'll be fine, they'll be fine, Mercy. Okay, what about uh Lake Erie and Lewis? Hey, we talked about Lake Erie a couple of weeks ago when we did the roundup in the conference roundups. We talked about how the storm was going to be a much improved team. And I I'm right, I'm just gonna say I'm like a little soothsayer on this one. Um, Lake Erie's been balling out and they've been playing well, and they beat a really good Lewis team the other day. They beat a really good Lewis team, they just out-hustled them a little bit. It was like one of those games, it was 13-9, right? It was the final, and you know, Lake Erie just it came to play. It was a good scrappy game, right?

SPEAKER_01 11:28

And so what's interesting was that Lewis scored the first two goals and seemed to me when I was watching it, dictating the play in that early first quarter. But it was almost it was almost akin to the Wingate Limestone game, where Limestone scored two goals quickly, and and then it took Wingate some time to settle in. Same thing with Lake Erie, they finally settled in, and then at half it's tied 5-5. And although Lewis Lewis then comes out, scores the first and the third, but then Lake Erie outpaces the Flyers, outscoring five to two in the third, and then they score the first three in the fourth to kind of just put it away.

SPEAKER_00 12:05

Yeah, kind of put it away.

SPEAKER_01 12:07

Yeah, the score came to play. Dawson Kendall had three goals and two assists. Blaine Wallace had three goals, and Garrett Brockmeyer on D had three cause turnovers. So they had good balance. They had players that were out there hustling, making the plays.

SPEAKER_00 12:22

They also had five more other uh five other players score. They had seven players score that game. So they passed the rock. They don't care who who's who who puts the as long as somebody's putting the biscuit in the basket, they don't care who it is. So they share the rock, Lake Erie. And I think anybody who plays Lake Erie is gonna be in for a ball game.

SPEAKER_01 12:45

Exactly, exactly. I think it'll be really fun to watch them the rest of the season and see what they do. Absolutely, absolutely, 100%. Okay, let's move on to Florida Tech Seton Hill. So at the time, Florida Tech, their two top 20 teams at the time, Florida Tech had just gotten in at like number 20 on the U.S. ILA poll, and Seton Hill was at 15. Right. And Florida Tech beat them 14-6. Now they played the game at a really cool venue, Bill Tierney Field at the U.S. lacrosse complex in Sparks, Maryland. And they just convincingly beat the Griffins by going on a 4-0 run in the second and then a 5-3 run in the third. That was basically all she wrote.

SPEAKER_00 13:32

Man, I don't know what's going on with the Griffiths. They're trending in the wrong direction, Kev.

SPEAKER_01 13:39

Yeah, and and Florida Tech was they they just were relentless. I mean, they held a 11-2 advantage with 130 left in the third. I don't care who you are. You're not coming back. Yeah, you're not coming back from that.

SPEAKER_00 13:52

It's just unbelievable that Seton Hill could be in that position.

SPEAKER_01 13:58

I I would love to I would love to watch that game. I didn't see that it was streaming at all, so I'm getting most of this on recaps. I'm looking at the stats. You know, Florida Tech, once again, all over in their stats. Justin Williams, one goal, four assists. Griffin Bowie, three goals, Bennett Duffy with a hat trick. And then on the defensive side, Josh Vetter, six cost turnovers and five ground balls, and Sam Balch with five cost turnovers and three ground balls.

SPEAKER_00 14:26

That's a good damn D. Both those guys. Both those guys.

SPEAKER_01 14:30

Now it's also even more interesting to talk about, you know, the how the two teams are trending in the opposite directions. You know, you wouldn't expect that to be Florida Tech, and you don't expect Seton Hill going backwards. Florida Tech turned around two days later on Monday and beat Wilmington 1915.

SPEAKER_00 14:48

Yeah, and Wilmington's a not a bad squad. You know, they're trending in the right direction, but Florida Tech looks like they're on a little roll right now. You know, when you beat a team like Seton Hill, that gives the team confidence. You know, they can they want to beat teams like that. And again, right now, I don't know what's up with the grips, man, because they're they're they're trending in the wrong direction, Kevin.

SPEAKER_01 15:12

Yeah, we'll we'll have to see in the next few games if they get it going again.

SPEAKER_00 15:17

Um, yeah, coach is gonna have to turn it around and turn it around rather quickly. Yep, yep. Everybody's gonna be starting conference play now.

SPEAKER_01 15:28

The other game, I know you've got a few you wanted to touch upon, but there's one more that I wanted to talk about, and that really is Florida Southern Lindenwood, because we talked about it on the last uh podcast. Really, about it was a game where you know both those teams really would want the win. And Florida Southern was coming in as number well, the when the new rankings came out, because they just played on Monday also, Florida Southern Southern was ranked 15th, Linenwood 14th. And Florida Southern started off with a quick 3-0 start, but Linenwood just chipped away. And then they were Linen was up 8-6 at half. And Lindenwood finally just kind of pulled away. The mocks started to come back in the third, making it 9-8. So they were they were fairly close. They're one goal away, but then Linenwood D just shuts them down and and they start to move the ball really well, and they they go up 11-8 after three, and and that was about it. Yeah, Lindenwood, you know. You know, when Lindenwood coming back from losing to Limestone, so they had to come east, they go back home, I would assume, and then they come back south to Florida Southern, and they they put on a real good team effort there.

SPEAKER_00 16:39

Absolutely, absolutely. You know, Lindenwood, I guess, you know, they announced that they were going to D1 and they had lost to Limestone the week before. And I was wondering, hey, was it going to be a distraction? Was it going to be a distraction? Where were they going to be after that kind of a week? And, you know, we talked about how good Florida Southern's been and how, you know, how the how that how they've been playing, and that a win for Florida Southern could really propel that team with a lot of confidence going into you know Sunshine State Conference play. And uh Lyndon Wood said, uh-uh, not today, boys. Yep, exactly right. Not today. You know, you're gonna you're gonna have to come back another time to try to beat us. And Lyndon Wood, hey, give you a lot of credit. You know, it's been a hell of a week for you guys to go up and beat an and and beat a good Florida Southern team. Good for you guys. And now I think they've got Tampa next.

SPEAKER_01 17:34

Yeah, good luck. Yeah, yeah. Well, but that's what makes it so exciting, the games like this, Florida Southern and Lynn Wood, and even the Seaton Hill, Seton Hill game. I mean, it's just you there's such good parody, like uh Williams was saying that it's it's just fun, fun to watch. So I know you had a few you wanted to touch upon.

SPEAKER_00 17:54

Well, I you know, I watched a bunch of games this week because you know, some of the southern schools are going to be on on spring break. So they're playing a lot of games. They're playing Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. There's like games all week. So last week, a Delphi got started, and I wanted to watch Adelphi, and they played Georgian court, and a Delphi looked scary good, Kevin. I know Georgian court's struggling right now, but hey, on on that side of the coin, Coach Hover has four top 10 ranked teams in his first four games. So I know he's owing four, but he's playing all big dogs, you know. But Adelphi looks scary good. And um what's what was interesting to me about Adelphi is that their attack unit is brand new and their close D is brand new. Okay, so this they graduated a heck of a lot of players last year, and they've brought in 18 transfers, Kev. Wow, yeah, and these kids are good, man. These kids are good. So I think the country's got to watch out for a Delphi a little bit. But I'm gonna say one thing, and I'm gonna I'm probably gonna get some hate mail for it. They have a very favorable schedule. And the reason being, from what I understand, is Coach Purdy had so many new guys on the squad. He didn't do too many out of conference, too many games this year. Yeah, he took took games off his schedule to more or less get these guys gelled and get them ready. Yeah. So they do have a favorable schedule. So that's the one thing, but they look scary good. They look deep at the midfield, they look really good on defense, like really good. So keep an eye on a Delphi. And um, I watched St. A's this week, and um, they played Georgian Court as well. Poor Georgian Court, they had a rough week, but hey, but again, I give Coach Holder all the credit in the world. Exactly. We talked to them about the dog. Yeah, and and you know what? I I feel sorry for the CACC when you know George. Yeah, when when games start mattering the conference, they're gonna be really battle tested. So so good good for Georgian court, but they had to face St. A's and Adelphi in the same week. And St. A's look really good, Kevin. They look really good. Their defense is very good. CJ Hart in goal. They that's a team that just I don't know, man. Yep, they look good, they're in the top ten, and there's a reason for that. They look good to me. They look good, they look good, they look polished and ready to rock and roll. So those, you know, there were some great, great games this week. And a lot of, you know, a there's a lot of games going on because pretty much everybody's rolling now.

SPEAKER_01 21:03

And so before we head on to the coach's spotlight, I just have two shout-outs. Uh, one is to Franklin Pierce, they got their first win under interim head coach Devin Callahan, beating Dominican 14-4. So, congratulations to them as they're they're they're just starting the season of their first game, but that's great for their interim head coach. And then, man, we've talked to a couple of times on the podcast from Post, Coach John Jez. They got their first win today against St. Thomas Aquinas. So, congratulations to Post on getting their win.

SPEAKER_00 21:34

Coach Jez, good for you, buddy.

SPEAKER_01 21:36

You know, they had no wins last year, so there you go. They've got their first win in their in their pocket and they're ready to move on and build from there.

SPEAKER_00 21:44

I I predicted that they would definitely not go uh winless this year. I predicted that. So I'm happy for Coach Jez. He's a great guy, and again, he's got his work cut out for him a little bit over there post, but he knows what. Do but he's got that first win, and congratulations to Post and Coach Jess. Good job.

Coach's Spotlight

SPEAKER_01 22:06

Okay, Danny, let's move on to our coach's spotlight. You know, every coach we've talked to on the earlier shows, we invited back, but we really haven't had anyone back yet. And that's a lot of it because we're trying to still spread the love, get other teams on, other coaches. But I thought it was about that time. And I also thought it'd be really cool to talk with this coach who has guided his team to quadruple the number of wins that they had last year. That's right. And already in this young season, and that's Coach Alex Williams of St. Rose. Hey coach, how you doing?

SPEAKER_03 22:45

I'm doing well, guys. How are you guys doing tonight?

SPEAKER_00 22:48

Good coach. Thanks for coming back on. We really appreciate you taking the time.

SPEAKER_03 22:53

Of course. Glad to be here. You know, love to talk some shop with you guys and keep spreading the love for D2. There we go.

SPEAKER_00 22:59

Coach, Coach, you got your first dub, man. How does it feel? How'd it feel to get that first one?

SPEAKER_03 23:05

Uh it was it was a great game. Um it was. It it uh you know, we we got there a little early. We're you know, we're I guess Long Island was bad in a little bit of weather, so we actually didn't even know uh prior to that game, so we actually didn't even know if we were gonna get that game in that day. And uh Malloy did a great job, their facilities clearing the the Rockville Center Park Sports Complex. And um, you know, from from the jump, you know, those guys are battle, they they battled. And uh, you know, you know, we we learned a lot in that first game. And and to be able to come out in my uh in my first game as a head coach and get a win and get it in overtime, you know, one thing that we talked about is why would it be easy for us, right? You know, and um and and so it was it was it was a great win. We learned a lot from it. And uh, you know, I think it kind of has has spoken to um just who we are as a program of always battling, never quitting the sideline. Never got down when we were, you know, down, you know, three goals or whatever it was to start the second half. And so um it was just it was very fitting and and you know, very blessed uh to have the opportunity to be here, let alone win my first game as a as a head coach uh with this program.

SPEAKER_01 24:15

Yeah, that was cool. I actually said to Danny on a previous podcast that like that was that was a barn burner of a game, the way that Malloy closed it at the end uh to tie it up and go into overtime. And I even said that you know, your team looked a little sloppy that first half of that game, and then but then you seem to improve, you seem to fix some things and and write the ship. And it almost seems like you've done that every game. There's been I've seen some improvement when I've been able to watch some of your games. Do you think it's that never quit uh attitude, or is it something else that you're you and even in-game, it seems like you're improving. What do you attribute that to?

SPEAKER_03 24:53

Yeah, I think I think you know, first it's uh the guys that we have, right? They, you know, from day one have been vocal about you know where they want to be as a program. And uh, you know, I I think that the the maturity we have and and and talent that we have is there. And so there's definitely some learning curves, right? You know, in terms of you know, and some habits. So sometimes we revert back to those, but uh, but realistically, you know, these guys they they want to work and and and they're willing to to put their trust in us and and listen. So whether it's an in-game adjustment or um or you know, just you know, a different way to come out and practice, um, you know, in that mercy game, we got out groundballed. Um, you know, I think we almost got doubled up. And so, you know, one thing we talked about is we're never gonna get out groundballed again. Uh you know, we're gonna we're gonna attempt to to not get out ground balled and really compete, could compete in that fashion.

SPEAKER_00 25:46

You gave mercy all they could handle, man. You gave them all they could handle. I mean, that was the number four team in the country, and they're still a very, very good team. But I mean, you gave them boys a game.

SPEAKER_03 25:58

Absolutely. And and uh again, like you guys are saying, you know, there was some some moments, and you know, we were able to get, you know, uh, you know, for lack of a better word, get back in the lab the next day and get in film and see where our mistakes were. And you know, we feel if if if we could, you know, have maybe 20 minutes back, you know, 15 minutes back and and make some of those adjustments that you know we'll continue to, you know, compete. And um and uh you know, just proud of the guys, like that, like like you know, Kevin was saying, you know, that never quit attitude is definitely apparent. And um, I I think part of it too is is a little bit of unfamiliarity with these games, right? Being in a game with a number four team and and being that close at the end. Um it's just something you have to be in those positions in order um to really have that feel and that comfortability and then take that next step. And so, you know, we're excited for it, guys. They're building confidence. You know, we've got some great guys in the locker room that are that are are playing well, and uh and and I believe that we'll continue as we get into this NA10 schedule to play that, you know, that championship brand of lacrosse that we keep talking about and uh and and keep you know making those those steps forward.

SPEAKER_00 27:06

Yeah, you know, and you've been winning games. I mean, after the mercy game, then you had you finally came home and got a home game and you kind of stepped all over Georgian court a little bit. I feel sorry for those guys. You still put beating on them boys, but you know what? That's what it takes to get that team to the next level. They got to feel that confidence. And uh then you went on the road again. You beat Dominican, then you're back home and you beat Post Coach. You're on fire. I mean, guys are balling out. What would you say is the one area that surprised you the most that you're doing so well in that surprised you?

SPEAKER_03 27:44

Yeah, I I think the the area that surprised me the most is our um the steps we're taking in in our in our tempo and our speed of play. Um we're really doing a great job of each week of of connecting our defense to our offense in in transition and in unsettled situations, excuse me, and just you know, playing a little bit faster and faster every day. You know, I think the last two two to three games we've we've gotten 60 shots off and close to 40 shots on goal. Um, and so you know, that just kind of shows that you know these guys are buying into that fast-paced uh tempo and um style that we want to play, that that coach Gardelman, uh, that Frostburg State uh kind of field that we had that that you know I learned from. And I think that's a that's a fun way to play. And you know, these guys are constantly asking questions like, so can I can I go do this? You know, if there's space over here, can we attack in this area? It's like, sure. You know, if you're comfortable and it's balanced, the field is, you know, so having those IQ moments for these guys is also another another step, right? Because they're starting to fully understand what we're what we're trying to do.

SPEAKER_00 28:53

Yeah, coach, you know, you're getting shots off, but you know, your defense is getting you possessions, Dominic Miola, Luke Pemmer, Walter Ross, these guys are getting ground balls and causing turnovers, like they're getting you possessions, you know, and they're taking away offensive possessions from your opposition. I the defense is doing a really good job. You're holding teams to like 10, seven, eight goals.

SPEAKER_03 29:17

Yeah, we are. You know, and um it's been awesome to see because uh, you know, in the past, these guys have played a little bit more of a compact, uh um uh, you know, less of an opportunistically aggressive defense, and they've really taken that mindset and taken the finish mentality to the next level. And um, it's been great to see, like you said, you know, we you know, it's a short season, you know, we we still are are taking some risks here and there, and and um, you know, we're learning from those and uh when the right opportunities are. But you know, in uh in five games, we uh uh you know, I think we're down to holding teams, you know, to seven, seven and a half. And and our team average, our team goal is to you know be a top 10 scoring defense. You know, we want to be with the style of play and aggressive. We know that you know there's gonna be risks taken. So we want to be a top 10 man down unit um as well. And so these guys are are really buying into that finish mentality and and and supporting the offense. And then with that finish mentality, um, you know, you're gonna see guys like Tom Yola and Walter Ross. Uh Eddie Wurst is another one that you didn't mention, but those guys are gonna take off, and you're gonna see sometimes two poles in in lanes and transitions getting in in early offense and things like that. And so it's just you know, the whole team, the team dynamic is really coming together well. And I think it's you know, we're you know, you don't want to be the best team in February. Um and so we're we're we're really trending in the right direction, and you can see these guys' confidence uh you know really starting to uh to take shape here as we get really close here to uh uh to the uh to conference play in a couple of weeks.

SPEAKER_01 30:52

Yeah, that was what I was gonna touch on, touch on, coach, the the looming NE10 schedule. And I think what you said is, and I'll key off of it and see if you agree, is your team is building confidence in these new, I'll call them schemes, your new concepts of how you want to go from defense to offense, how you want to run a more aggressive D, how you want to play fast on offense. And now you're really gonna put that to the test in the NE 10. Is that correct?

SPEAKER_03 31:19

Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. And and uh, you know, I talking to some of these coaches and and listening to some of these guys talk, it's um, you know, everyone talks about the uh the the bear of the NE10 and and and you know being the granddaddy of them all, like you guys call it. And yep, uh I you know, I I really didn't uh fully appreciate it until I started trying to plan our rest days and when we were gonna be able to get film in because it's literally one tough team after another. You know, we go Tuesday, Saturday, Wednesday, Saturday. And so um, you know, I think we've done a good job uh of using our non-conference to to prepare us for that. And and these guys have have gotten familiar with um our preparation in short time periods, right? We just finished three games in six days and we're gonna play four games, four games in 10. So um it's really just everything is is has been building to set us up. And and Kevin, I think you're you're absolutely right, you know, and so um we want to make sure we have that the confidence and and have gotten some things out of the way early so that when we do go up against these NA10 teams that are um you know more you know veteran you know led teams or you know senior teams that you know we're we're prepared and that we're comfortable and confident in in what we're trying to uh accomplish.

SPEAKER_01 32:42

Yeah, it seems to me, like you said, coach, you were trying to break some old habits. I won't necessarily call them bad, but old habits of how they some of your players may have played or how they did the schemes. And as you've built them and now they've grown in confidence in your schemes, now you want to use that muscle memory when you get into those tough situations, even muscle memory like you talked about in the short turnarounds and how you guys practice in those shorter days, right? If that still builds the same way, then when they get into a tough uh situation, adversity against a Bentley or against a Mer um Lemoyne, you know, or a Delphi, they now will hopefully that muscle memory of what you wanted to do by going back to their old habits will kick in.

SPEAKER_03 33:26

Yeah, absolutely. And I think a key point to that is that we're we're really trying to play to our guys' strengths, right? And so a lot of their habits are how we we we you know, we try to we're we're trying to play to their strengths and and and and find success in that. So sometimes in those moments of adversity, um it's easy for them just to be confident and play, right? Because they can just make it they can make a decisive move that that they're you know comfortable with, and that'll fit in the balance of what we're trying to do, right? And and um so that's been really exciting to see. And you know, we want to be in multiple how we attack and defend, and and so um, you know, that all plays a piece into to that. And um, and so far it's been we've been finding success early in the year. Still got a long way to go, you know, 17 game, 17 game season. Um, and and we're uh you know, we're what four and one right now, so five games in.

SPEAKER_00 34:19

So so but the improvement has been amazing. The improvement, you know, just what you what you've brought to the table, coach. I mean, to be honest with you, it's it's it's a lot of it's has to do with you. You know, a lot of those players were there before you got there. So now they're doing new things and good things. Yeah, with you know, the any tennis tough you got La Moine, Delphi, St. A's, Base, all those guys are ranked, you know, and they're on your schedule. But those are the types of teams you want to play. Those are the types of, you know, like when I coached, I coached football, I always wanted to play the big boys. I always did, man. I always wanted to scrimmage the big guys. Let me scrimmage number one and number two. You know, the other coaches would be like, What are you crazy? I'm like, No, man, that's that's where you want to be, you know. So you want to play those teams. And you know, go ahead. Go ahead. I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_03 35:12

No, no, no. I I I was just agreeing with you. You're right, you know, and that's that's you know, the the mindset that we have here. And um, you know, we we actually got really we're really fortunate. We were able to scrimmage Sienna this this uh this spring in uh in a in uh in an exhibition game. Um and it was our only spring scrimmage, and you know, it was their second or third, but that was the first time in the program that we've gotten invited to play a Division I school. Um, and you know, unofficially the score was um, you know, you know, 15 to 9 or something like that. And and and so these guys were like, oh, that's that's down the road from us, you know, and and and that kind of just sparked the season off. And um, so absolutely, you know, and just like you're saying, the number one teams, you know, we want to be in that that conversation um and and and playing at that that level as well.

SPEAKER_01 36:01

Like you said, you're off to a good start. You've got a lot more games behind uh in front of you, I should say. If you got a lot more games in front of you, you got to take care of, Coach, but we really appreciate you coming on, just getting your insight on what you're trying to do, especially from we talked to you, you know, last I think around fallball season. It's been fun to watch on screen, and it was even better having you kind of give your insight and thoughts on where you guys are. So really appreciate you coming on.

SPEAKER_03 36:30

Yeah, I I appreciate you guys having me on again. Uh, like I said, I I uh you know, I really appreciate what you guys are doing for D2 and bringing the light. And uh, you know, so far I've enjoyed you guys dropping dropping your episodes so I can uh you know fill the bus uh the bus trips um with with some fun fun stuff to listen to and and hear uh hear what you guys are uh are seeing. Um I know right before we turned on the uh what was it, the Lynn went uh Westminster game was playing, and it was like a 12-11 game going into the fourth quarter. So um, you know, just good lacrosse being played at this level, and we we really appreciate you guys and and sharing the light.

SPEAKER_01 37:10

Yeah, I had to turn that game off so I could talk to you, coach. So I'm gonna look go watch it uh in replay now.

SPEAKER_03 37:16

There you go. Awesome. Well, thanks again, guys. I really appreciate it.

SPEAKER_00 37:19

Coach Williams, really appreciate it. Continue success. Keep calling them out, keep coaching them up, and uh we'll get you back on again. We'll see you at the end of the season again. Can't wait. Sounds good. Thanks, guys. All right, thanks, Coach.

SPEAKER_01 37:33

Coach Williams St. Rose. Thanks.

Games to Watch this Week

SPEAKER_01 37:36

That was so great to catch up with Coach Williams. He got me really pumped to talk about games to watch this week.

SPEAKER_00 37:44

Yeah, man. I like Coach Williams. Uh, what a great guy. Awesome, awesome. So, yeah, let's get let's get into this week's uh what we think is this week's games to watch, folks.

SPEAKER_01 37:54

Okay, I've got an early one, and then I'll I'll shoot it to you to what you're what you're looking at. But uh the early one comes this Friday on 11 March, and that's Felician against Roberts Wesleyan. Now, why did I pick that? Really, because both teams are playing pretty darn well. Felician's 3-1 and playing pretty good ball, but they just lost to Wheeling. That was their first loss. They were three and oh, and then Roberts Wesleyan, they just rallied five goals down to beat Chestnut Hill. So now they're three and oh. Of course, they have to take on Lemoyne this week, this Wednesday, and then they got to turn around two days later and play Felician. I actually think that may help them than hurt them. You know, play again as long as they stay injury free, play against the team. Yeah, you know, learn some lessons and roll into Felicia. So that was kind of one of the games I was looking at.

SPEAKER_00 38:46

Yeah, Felicia's been playing very good, and we're not used to seeing that. We're not used to seeing Felician play as well in the beginning of the season as they are. So yeah, awesome stuff. I'm telling you, this year is so different this year, Kev. It's so different. There's different teams making moves, and some of the teams that we're used to seeing in the big spots aren't there anymore or they're turning in the wrong direction. And you got these young teams that maybe in the past didn't do so great. You're seeing them start to start to make some noise. It's it's like fun to watch. It's a lot a lot more parody, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 39:23

Okay, what are you looking at?

SPEAKER_00 39:24

Who else you who else you got?

SPEAKER_01 39:26

Okay, well, uh, I have on Saturday, I have Mercy and Bentley. Yeah, that's that's that's on my list. Yeah, Bentley's a good team. Bentley's a very good team. They're 2-0 right now. After they got to play Georgian Court, they beat Georgian Court and they and they beat St. Michael's. So this is gonna be kind of that ECC versus NE10 matchup with that strong Mercy team that just lost to LeMoyne, but we know how good they are going against a really good NE10 team.

SPEAKER_00 39:58

Yeah, you know, Bentley hasn't been tested yet. So nope, nope. Here come the Mavs. Here come the Mavs. Yeah, and I'm sure that I'm sure that that loss is not gonna sit well with them. I'm sure no. I'm sure it's gonna be I I don't know. I don't know if I'd want to be Bentley this week, you know. So Bentley's gonna have to ball out to just to stay competitive. I think Mercy's gonna come out with a I I said in the beginning of the season, they're gonna have a chip on their shoulder. You know, they they took little mowing right to the right to the edge. So that's a game, you know. Mercy and Bentley is definitely a game to watch. That's definitely a game to watch. Okay, what other ones are you looking at? Well, I was looking at another team that's really trending in the right direction that we really don't talk about very much, and that's Rollins. Rollins plays Westminster. Yeah. And you know, and Westminster just beat Lynn. They just beat Lynn. That's right. So there's two teams that we really don't talk about very much, trending in the right direction. And they play each other. And those games, those kind of games, Kev, are usually great games. Yeah. Usually. Because each team's got something to prove. You know what I'm saying? That like they want to make that next step. So they're gonna come out with a little bit of different fire, a little bit of different things.

SPEAKER_01 41:28

Sure, if we're gonna, you know, Westminster lost to Colorado Mesa. Now they come east, they beat Lynn. They want to keep that going. They don't want Rollins to stop them, and Rollins is undefeated. That's right.

SPEAKER_00 41:40

They're undefeated.

SPEAKER_01 41:41

Who thought they they want to continue that going right into the their conference play.

SPEAKER_00 41:48

Which starts next week, I think, for them as well.

SPEAKER_01 41:51

Yeah, I have to check. I think it's actually later later in the month, but uh check that. But yeah.

SPEAKER_00 42:01

Yeah, so we got Bentley in Mercy, we have Rollins in Westminster, which we think is gonna be a very good game. I I'm gonna be interested to see how that goes.

SPEAKER_01 42:10

And now here is one that I think you and I are both looking at that's a conference matchup in the sack limestone against Lenore Ryan.

SPEAKER_00 42:18

Huge matchup, huge matchup. Okay. Limestone's already got a conference loss because they lost to Wingate last just Saturday night. So that was a conference game. That's an SAC. Limestone's in the SAC again, folks. If you haven't forgotten, if you haven't remembered, they're in the SAC now. So that was a loss. And uh Lenore Ryan has a loss, but it's not a conference loss.

SPEAKER_01 42:45

They're actually four and two now. That's right. That's right. So now they just beat Coker this weekend handily, 22-2, which you would kind of imagine. Coker young uh small roster going against the big bad Lenore Ryan. So now they've got their tests with Limestone and they're playing at Limestone.

SPEAKER_00 43:07

I was just gonna say, you know, Lenore Ryan's got to travel to Limestone. You know, limestone's uh fan base travels big, travels a lot, they're loud, and Lenore Ryan's gonna be in for a hell of a game because if anybody watched that game Saturday with Wingate, Limestone's a good team, guys. So yeah, that's gonna be that's gonna be a barn burner. That's gonna be a barn burner for sure. I think that's I think that's the number one game to watch, actually.

SPEAKER_01 43:42

Now, another Saturday matchup that I've got on my list is Pace Wilmington. And the reason why I say that is Pace has started out 2 0, beating Caldwell and Dominican handily. Wilmington, although they've got a losing record right now, they lost two great teams Mercy and Florida Tech. Uh I think Wilmington really is giving is going to be the first test for Pace. And it's a CACC against any 10 matchup, which you know the CACC wants to make noise and and show what they're what they can do up in the north. Uh kind of one of those games that they got to do it in. So I think it'll be really uh that could be a good game. Yeah, it's I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 44:22

I think pace has the edge on this. Oh, I do too.

SPEAKER_01 44:24

I I think they do have the edge, but uh you know, Wilmington has been playing other teams tough, they played mercy tough. So I think it could be a good game in the end. I think pace, you're right. I would, I would, I would if I had to pick them, I'd pick Pace. Yeah, the other one uh that this coming weekend is Emory Riddle Lewis, and that's just because it's a Barrett Disciples matchup with Coach Perousie and Coach Wims.

SPEAKER_00 44:50

Yeah, the Coach Barrett, the Coach Barrett tree is it's spread out all over the country, for God's sake. It's awesome. So yeah, these two guys, I'm sure they know each other. Peruzi and Wims. I'm sure they do. Yeah, we're sure they know each other.

SPEAKER_01 45:05

Coach Wims talk talked to us about that. So they they they do know each other, and so it'll be it'll be a good, good, good game to watch. Now, where is that game though? Where is it? They're actually playing, I think, at Meryville. They're doing a couple games there. Yeah, I think that's what it is. They're actually it is Emory Riddle going out there.

SPEAKER_00 45:26

Oh, I feel bad for the Emory Riddle kids now because they're gonna be cold. You got kids. They ain't used to that. You got the Floridian Florida kids from Belray, you know, they're going out to St. Louis out there. It's gonna be a little chilly out there for the boys. I don't know if uh them Florida boys can handle it. Yeah, but um they got some northern boys on that team. Um they'll be fine, they'll be fine.

SPEAKER_01 45:52

Yeah, so I've got two others that happen next week. Um, and based on when usually we get the podcast out, I just wanted to mention them. One is Frostburg Chestnut Hill, both good teams that surprisingly, right now, have losing records early in their seasons. So both teams will really want this. Now, Chestnut Hill, this will be their third game in six days. So they're going on a roll coming up, like you talked about. You know, spring break time. They're playing Devil on March 9th, and then St. Michael's on March 12th, and then they play Frostburg. And guess where they're playing? Homewood Field. Really? The game at Homewood Field again. So pretty cool. Fun game to watch on a Tuesday night. So there you go. No doubt. No doubt. Last one I would say is next Wednesday, and that's Wingate against Queens. Another sack matchup. These two teams always play each other close. Number three against number 12. Need we say more?

SPEAKER_00 46:53

No, they hate each other. Yeah, those two schools hate each other. They go, they get after it. Those two. I I've seen some great Wingate Queens games over the years. They just, you know, they're not far from each other. Um, basically recruit from the same area. Yeah. So so yeah, those two schools, they get after it. Those are always good games to watch. And you know what? It's SAC play. And you know, arguably from top to bottom may be the best conference, top to bottom, maybe arguably. You know what? We got we got a lot going on, like the Sunshine State conference really looks good right now with four teams in the top 20. In the top 20. And um we we weren't talking about that last year like this. No.

SPEAKER_01 47:45

And they got hurt with just in-conference play. And because what's gonna happen that that conference, when they start playing conference games and they're just playing in conference, boy, they're gonna beat each other up.

SPEAKER_00 47:57

Yeah, they're all gonna beat each other up. Yeah, so that that that that conference is looking good this year.

SPEAKER_01 48:04

They are any other games, Danny?

SPEAKER_00 48:09

That's about it for right now. I mean, there's a lot of games coming up this week again, with with the spring break in the southern schools and the northern schools all going now with Franklin Pierce and um and those guys, UDC and all these guys getting rolling now, you know. So pretty much every squad has at least one or two games under their belt now. That's right. That's right.

Player's Spotlight

SPEAKER_01 48:34

Okay, now on to the player spotlight, Danny. Your favorite part. Well, you're gonna like this one even better because we've talked about this player. In fact, you gave him a shout-out, and then I mentioned his uh goal that went kind of viral out there in in the social media. So I thought, or actually, we both thought it'd be fun to get him on and actually make sure all the fame hasn't gone to his head. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_00 48:58

Yeah, we'll we'll soon find out what we know. I I bet she's a really good kid. I bet. I'm gonna bet dollars to donut that Zach's an awesome kid.

SPEAKER_01 49:06

Yeah, so let's bring him in. Welcome in, Zach Kerrigan from Mars Hill. Hey Zach, how you doing?

SPEAKER_00 49:12

Good, how are you? Thanks for having me. Zach Kerrigan, Mars Hill Lions. He's been bawling out, ladies and gentlemen. We're really glad to have him on. Thanks for coming on, Zach. Thank you very much.

SPEAKER_01 49:23

Okay, you have to answer this question to me first and give me an honest answer. All right, what did Coach Turner say to you right after you made that goal?

SPEAKER_02 49:34

Nothing. Honestly, he said he said nothing to me. What's he gonna say?

SPEAKER_00 49:43

The whole place is was stunned and silenced.

SPEAKER_01 49:45

I know because I'll me, and of course, it's probably why I wasn't a coach. I was like, no, no, no. Okay, that was good.

SPEAKER_00 49:53

Yeah, so if anybody hasn't seen the goal, Zach has his man behind X. He gives a joke step to the right, gets his defensive player to move. He swims back left, goes to goal line extended, maybe three yards past goal line extended, maybe five and three. Had his back to the goal, fading away, had his head away from the goal and shot it between his legs, no look, and it went top left. It was an amazing goal. So let's let's recap that. Jugged his man right, swam left, got his man to goal line extended. The defender was all up in his mug, bang, threw his legs, back with his back to the goal in the upper shelf. What'd you think when you were letting that goal go, Zach?

SPEAKER_02 50:49

Um, honestly, I was I did a speed dodge uh when the ball went out of bounds and I didn't beat him. I was like, oh, well, went up always left-handed, so I gotta go up that side. And uh I don't I don't even remember trying thinking about it, and I just had my back to him and I was like, this might work. Shot it, and I was like, I'd surprise myself. I was like, what did I just do?

SPEAKER_01 51:13

Well, one of your assistant coaches had the best look because he had his hands on top of his head and his eyes just were bulging out at that point. It was awesome.

SPEAKER_02 51:22

Coach Coach Stack's the best hype man for sure.

SPEAKER_01 51:24

Yeah, yeah. So did you see that it got carried? What I found really, and I loved it, it got carried on U.S. lacrosse magazine when they do their dialed-in episode every every day on their on their magazine.

SPEAKER_02 51:37

I actually didn't see that. It was on US Magazine.

SPEAKER_01 51:39

It was really cool because that's what I mentioned last week. You got to go uh look it up. Just look up U.S. lacrosse magazine and go to dialed in for last Monday, and you're at the bottom, and they're like, I have no words for this goal. I can say nothing.

SPEAKER_00 51:55

Well, that's you know what? Kev, this is the only one of many, many goals for Zach so far in the season.

SPEAKER_01 52:02

Yeah, 31 goals and 10 assists. Uh did I get that correct?

SPEAKER_00 52:06

Uh yes. Yeah. Yeah, he's got 41 points. He's like leading the nation in top two, top three in the nation right now in division two. Um, in six games. He's led the Lions to a ready for this? He's led the Lions to a roaring four and two start. That's right. He's a massive outstanding 41 points with 31 goals and adding 10 assists. He had five goals against Montevallo, 10 against Lee's McRae, five and three against Shorter, three against Young Harris, two against Manuel, and three goals and an assist in a tough road loss against Tusculum. Dude, you've been balling out, man. Well, how are you feeling out there? Like you're feeling like loose and free.

SPEAKER_02 52:50

And yeah, start of the season, I was feeling like just a normal, normal across games, just playing. And I usually I love scoring goals, so you know you want to put it in the back of the net as much as you can. So and uh the new offense we have with Coach Turner going through. I've been through three coaches while I've been here. It's been it's been going well with our we have a lot of young guys, and there's a lot more creativity flowing now with the guys that they're coach storyers, recruits, but it we're all molding together, it's feeling nice. Been on a bad shooting throughout the last two for myself, put but put myself up to a high standard, not shooting as well as I want to, but just rep that out and fix that.

SPEAKER_00 53:34

Yeah, okay. That's it. That's it, that's it. Work, I think.

SPEAKER_01 53:38

Yeah, yeah. And and like Danny said, you guys are now four and two. A very good start for Miles Hill, Mars Hill, excuse me. How does that feel as you head in to the meat of your SAC play?

SPEAKER_02 53:49

Well, you know how good the sack is. So we had we needed some confidence to get get started in this in our conference play, but uh it was a tough loss to Tusculum, but um we're not a fan of them over here, so yeah, makes us more hungry. We're ready.

SPEAKER_00 54:07

There you go. The the SAC is tough, Zach. That's a tough conference. Um from top to bottom, it may be the best conference in all of Division II lacrosse. Would you agree with that?

SPEAKER_02 54:18

I 100%. I think it's yeah, I think it's the top conference, but the uh the Florida guys will say different, obviously.

SPEAKER_00 54:26

Yeah, so the guys from the NE10. Yeah, the any the NE10, they got they got a lot to say though. There's there's some ballers up there, but the Sunshine State Conference as well has been doing really well. But you know, right now Martins Hill is they're on fire, they're doing really, really well under your new coach uh and coach Turner. Tell us how's that going?

SPEAKER_02 54:48

It's good. I I love him. He's a great guy.

SPEAKER_00 54:51

It always takes a while with a new coach to get to get the feel of things, but well, I wouldn't know because I never played, I never played uh college ball, but you know, to having I I must be tough going through three coaches, you know, you get recruited by one and you're there, and then bang, another one. But Coach Storier's a good coach as well.

SPEAKER_02 55:10

Yeah, I had a really good relationship with him, still do. Um, he he taught me a lot. He pushed me really hard, which was really good for me. Coming from I was more of a box across player, right? Until I played midfield from until that like halfway through last season. So it was a little bit of a switch, but he thought it was a midi. Now I'm an attackman.

SPEAKER_00 55:34

So okay. So and now Coach Turner, you just you love him, you said, right?

SPEAKER_02 55:39

He's a he's a great guy. Uh like really good to just talk to him and about anything like offense. He's our old guy now. He's our old coach, so I'm always around him. And he's really good with the younger guys because we got a bunch of younger guys.

SPEAKER_00 55:55

Interesting.

SPEAKER_01 55:56

Yeah, so I see the Canadian flag behind you. Why don't you tell us a little bit about how you got started uh in in lacrosse, all the way up there in Halifax, Nova Scotia? Is that where you live all your life?

SPEAKER_02 56:09

Yeah, uh my parents still live there. Um, so when I was around it was like 2007, so seven years old, the box across World Box Across Championships were in Halifax. Okay. So my dad took me out and uh I absolutely fell in love with lacrosse right there. And then in my home where I played junior, our home arena, uh Team Iroquois was practicing there, and they had to come out and try lacrosse with them, and then that's when that's when it all I was like, well, gotta stick with this sport. Played hockey until I was finished high school, but lacrosse and hockey were my main two.

SPEAKER_01 56:51

So when did you start field lacrosse? Do you you started box, obviously, right? Did you start field at the same time, or was it much many years later?

SPEAKER_02 57:01

It was I would say I was 13 when I started playing field lacrosse. But it was pretty like it was it's Canada, so it's bought more box, especially in North. Right. It's just growing really big in Nova Scotia. The Thunderbirds is great for it. But uh yeah, it was just uh some Sunday field league I started playing, and then Team Nova Scotia would send a team to nationals every year, and I then I started to play every year for that team, box and field.

SPEAKER_00 57:32

Wow. Now, Nova Scotia, that's like a port city, a lot of boats, a lot of fishing. Am I correct? Yeah, yeah. Now that's that seems to me like the blue-collar type, tough kind of mentality. Would you say that that you got a little that Halifax in you, that little toughness that comes along with being that from the you know, from a blue-collar kind of tough community?

SPEAKER_02 57:56

Yeah, I feel I feel like that. I try and rep Nova Scotia as much as I can because there's not there hasn't been that many guys to go play NCAA. So only one guy in the pros right now from Nova Scotia.

SPEAKER_00 58:11

So wow. So now now let me ask you this: how did you get down to Mars Hill?

SPEAKER_02 58:18

So I actually went to prep school in West Virginia for two years. Okay, and I just went to a couple showcases, and I think it was I went to a I went to High Point on like a visit plus showcase type of deal. Right. Uh Coach Herman saw me, who's assistant coach at the time, saw me at the showcase, and I was talking to a bunch of SAC schools, and Marshall stuck out the most to me.

SPEAKER_00 58:47

Good choice, good choice.

SPEAKER_01 58:49

So I don't know, Danny. Do you think he's ready? You think he's ready for the firing round?

SPEAKER_00 58:55

So I think he's ready. He's definitely ready. He's a tough kid. He's from Halifax, Nova Scotia. They don't mess around in Halifax. It's a tough blue-collar community, and he's a box to cross player, so you know he's a physical kid. So I think he'll mix it up. I think he'll be able to handle a the firing round. So look, he's laughing at everybody. He's laughing out there at podcast laughing. All right. 10 questions. They're quick fire. You're gonna ask your question, just come off of the top of your head with the first answer. You ready? Yeah, okay. Canadians or leaf?

SPEAKER_02 59:39

Neither. Oh I'm a penguin.

SPEAKER_00 59:46

Penguins, yeah, Sydney Crawley. Oh, wow. I didn't expect that at all. So what was the first sport you picked up?

SPEAKER_02 59:57

Was it lacrosse? It was hockey. I played, I've been playing hockey since I was three or one.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:03

Very good. Who's your favorite pro athlete?

SPEAKER_02 1:00:09

That's a tough one. That's a tough one for me. I'm gonna go LeBron. LeBron. All right. Favorite TV show. At this moment, house of cards right now.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:23

Okay, house fun. Favorite kind of music, Zach.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:27

I go back if it's warm country music, uh, and then rap music.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:33

Country music. He's another seasonal guy. He's a seasonal guy there. Yeah, that's all right. So, what was the last song you listened to? I have to look.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:42

I'm gonna look right now. It was Freight Train. Uh it's Alan Jackson, I think.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:51

All right. There we go. A little country music. There you go. All right. For your teammates now. Who's the funniest guy on the team, Zach? Who's the funniest guy?

SPEAKER_02 1:01:03

Uh I gotta give it to Zach McMahon, another Canadian. He's a BCE boy.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:10

Okay. What makes him so funny?

SPEAKER_02 1:01:13

He's a bit he's a I like to call him a meathead. Loves the work out, and he's just all he's just always like that meathead mentality. It makes me laugh.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:25

Okay, good. Who's the best all-around athlete on the team? The best all-around athlete.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:32

Uh, one of our LSMs, uh, Jalen Gaines, super freak athlete. He's super strong and uh just yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:43

Jalen. Jalen getting a shout out. Okay, ready? This is a good one. Give us your best impression of Coach Turner. Oh, he's thinking about this, ladies and gentlemen in podcast land.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:00

He's you need uh you need some you need some context. We always who's gonna walk through, he always goes, Who's gonna walk through fire? Okay, and uh one day, one day he's just he's it he's heated and he goes, Who's gonna walk through water? Everybody was dying. We still say it now. Who's gonna walk through water?

SPEAKER_00 1:02:21

That's great. That's great.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:24

Let me ask you this, Zach.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:26

What's your plans after graduation?

SPEAKER_02 1:02:29

Um, right now I plan on going home back to Halifax, and then the NLL drops in September. I'm gonna put my name in there. All right, and then we'll see, we'll see where I end up. I'm hoping.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:44

I've been gonna put his name in the NLL draft. Well, congratulations. That's awesome. I that's a great plan for after graduation. That's awesome.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:54

Probably go to chiropractic school somewhere along the lines there. Probably take a year off of school, okay, before that.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:02

But that's awesome. All right, Zach. You you handled the 10 question firing around with no no problem whatsoever. Yeah, good job, buddy. Good job. Appreciate it.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:15

Hey Zach. Well, it was great having you on, and as your team goes into sack play, conference play for the rest of the the season. We wish you all the best, and and and we'll be watching some Mars Hill games. So thanks for coming on.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:29

Thanks so much for having me. Thanks, Zach, and uh continued success and keep falling out, kid. I love watching the way you're playing, man. Keep it up, keep it up. And mom, you'd be proud of Zach back in Halifax. He did a great job tonight. She's gonna did a great job on In the Crease. Yeah, give a shout out to mom. Go ahead. Yeah, shout out Melanie, Melanie and Sean.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:50

They're coming down, they're coming down uh on Friday. They haven't been here for three years, so we're fired up about that.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:56

Yeah, tell them to bring their flip-flops in their shorts because it's nice and warm down there. Yeah, way better. Yeah, yeah, good job, Zach. Appreciate

Final THoughts

SPEAKER_00 1:04:06

it. How about that, Zach Garrigan, Danny? I'm a good kid. I I enjoyed talking to Zach. He's a good kid, good ball player, Canadian kid coming to the States, getting his education and getting to play ball. And you know, now he's with Coach Turner, and he that shot was ridiculous. He's having a great season so far, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:26

And that we talked about, I almost felt like we talked about or I talked about that shot too much because it was so cool. But he has so much other talents that he's shown on the field and off the field and what he's trying to do. So I think that's really cool.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:40

Yeah, good luck to Zach, and I'm glad he came on.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:43

It was fun, it was fun to have him on. Yeah, so before we go, Danny, I just want to thank our listeners who have sent us recommendations on players and coaches to get on the podcast. And I just want to say, look, it we've heard you, we're trying to work them into the schedule. It gets so you have to just be patient. I'm doing this via an email. These teams are busy. We are gonna get them on. I promise you we'll try to get them on as long as everyone's willing. But keep them coming. If if you've got a coach or a player that you think is having a great season, or you think we haven't talked about that team enough, we'd be happy to bring them on and just uh let us know. You can find us in the crease on both Instagram and Facebook now. And you can reach me, you can DM me on Twitter at Coach Stenny, which is kind of funny because that handle has nothing to do with coaching lacrosse. That's when I used to coach marathons, so there you go. But we love spreading the love across as many teams as possible.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:46

Oh, yeah, absolutely. We want everybody, yeah. We'd like to get everybody on if we could. I mean, Kevin, we didn't know this was gonna happen this way when we started this podcast. You know, we we'd had no idea, and now now we're getting coach after coach, and they want to come on, and we're now we're getting players to come on, and and now we've asked people to give us their give us their two cents worth. Hey, what do you think of the show? What should we do? Give us your ideas, and people people are doing it, it's crazy. Yeah, and they're you know giving us ideas and they're telling us about players, so keep it coming, you know. We love the comments, like we've always said, love the comments, yeah. Either good or bad, no matter what you feel, you know, just keep them coming. And if we can get them on, we'll try if we can. That's exactly right. I don't think I have anything else to say, Danny. How about you? No, it was a good day. It was a good day, good week, lacrosse, and I hope your son is doing better. I know he had surgery this morning, and I hope he's doing better and uh give him my best, okay?

SPEAKER_01 1:06:52

I definitely will. He's he's on the men, let's put it that way. So, with that, Danny, I think that's a wrap. It's a wrap, guys.