Game Time - A look back at week 7 and a preview of Week 8 of the 2022 season

Intro

SPEAKER_03 0:11

Welcome, welcome, welcome to another episode of In the Crease with Danny and Kevin, a coast-to-coast discussion of Deep Two Men's Lacrosse. I am Kevin Stenstrom, and with me as always is my favorite co-host, Danny Moran. How's it going, Danny?

SPEAKER_01 0:26

Kevin, and you're my favorite co-host.

SPEAKER_03 0:29

What are you doing? Wait, I gotta tell you something. I was gonna go back to the great Karnak because if you remember some of your predictions from last podcast, guess who's in the top five now?

SPEAKER_01 0:41

Limestone. I told you, man. I told you. I know I was with you on that.

SPEAKER_03 0:47

I was with you, but you're the one that that verbalized it, vocalized it, and there it is.

SPEAKER_01 0:51

And the other thing Limestone is playing quality, lacrosse, big time. You're right.

SPEAKER_03 0:59

And then look at your surprise teams and what they did over the weekend. Rollins handed it to Rockhurst, and they're still on the field. Yep. Meryville, a win over Montevallo. Good game. I watched that game. It was a good game, but Meryville controlled it in the second half. And then Anderson.

SPEAKER_01 1:22

Yeah, the Anderson game, the big upset, big upset. And a big win for the Anderson uh Trojans, a big win for the program, no doubt.

SPEAKER_03 1:30

Really big. So that probably it tops it off. That statement win that Anderson had, and plus like three other games that went down to less than 30 seconds with a with a goal to kind of change the direction of the games a little bit. It was just a crazy weekend.

SPEAKER_01 1:48

Yeah, you know what? You know, the division two lacrosse has been really good. Like the last couple of weeks, there's been some upsets and some tight games with really good teams, and and teams that were not expecting to do well are doing well and and creeping into the top 20 now. It's a really cool time right now. And you know what? Things are starting to shape up a little bit. I know it's a little early, but these conferences they're starting now, they're starting to play each other, and and these games are big, like the Anderson game,

Week in Review

SPEAKER_01 2:21

like you said.

SPEAKER_03 2:21

Yeah, so let's get into that with weekend review. We already called it, I called it another statement win by the Trojans that brought them into the top 20 at number 19. But I tell you, I was talking to someone a day before the game, and I was calling this game a trap game for for Wingate because they had just finished playing Queens, you know, last Wednesday. It was a tough, tough game. They pulled it out in the fourth quarter, but that was a lot of effort. And I'm sure that they probably came to and playing Anderson of, you know, we just beat Queens, we've got this. But the matchup wasn't good for Wingate, not with Cam Weeks at face-off. So Wingate had, yeah, and they they struggle there at face-off, and so they had to have their D shut down the number number of possessions that that Anderson would have. And they didn't do that. I think it was just a matchup nightmare, in my opinion.

SPEAKER_01 3:22

You know what? They just went the Bulldogs got dominated at faceoff, they just got dominated, and that was that was a big part of the game, Kevin. Wingate struggled to get possessions, and you know, um, they're going to have to do better at the face-off wingate. I mean, we had Coach Boyle on in the conference previews, and um he even told us that you know Wingate was trending in the wrong direction as far as as face-off, and they were looking to get possessions in other ways. Um, it didn't work against Anderson. Anderson was ready for the game, and they were excited, they had a big crowd there. There was a lot of noise.

SPEAKER_03 4:01

Um, but Cam Weeks showed he's an all-American. Oh, he had so much grid. You saw him at the end of the game, right? He was hurt, he was injured. Yeah, and he was and we have to give kudos to their goalie, Joey Heckle. 22 saves. Yeah, he had a great, he had a great game.

SPEAKER_01 4:19

I mean, Wingate gets their shots off, don't get me wrong, right? You know, they they just didn't go in the basket this time, you know. And then they're gonna learn from that game. Wingate's gonna learn their that defense is young, they probably did some things that they didn't want to do. And um, Anderson came to play. And you know what? We've said it so many times on this podcast, any given Sunday, no day, any given day, yeah. You know, and you know, you you mentioned earlier, you know, talking to me, and just about especially in the in this South Atlantic conference, you can't take a game off in that conference.

SPEAKER_03 4:54

Well, look who who's leading in the conference right now, what teams are leading the conference? There's four tied at three and one. Two you would suspect Lenore Ryan and Wingate. Then you've got Anderson and Newberry.

SPEAKER_01 5:11

Yeah, and there you go. There's there's the the new of the newer teams that were talked about, like how they were up and coming, and there's Newberry out of the South Atlanta conference, and they're making noise that whether they're they're ranked number 18 in the country right now, right? So, so you know, a conference game in this in this in the SAC is important, so yeah, it's you got some guys at the top, but they're gonna beat each other up. So it should be interesting. So, you know what? Congratulations to Anderson. That was a statement program win. Yeah, and now now Anderson's number 19 in the country, and this is the first time in the program's history that they've been ranked. And coach Mitchell's only been in the division. How many years now? Second year, buddy. Yeah, yeah, that's pretty crazy. So he's doing a phenomenal there.

SPEAKER_03 6:00

So let's talk about another uh conference matchup this time in the NE10. Lemoyne against St.

SPEAKER_01 6:06

Anselm. Good game, Kev. That was a good game. I like I I like St. Anselm's. I like that team. I think it's the team to watch out for, to be honest with you. They have them at they have him at 11th, and you know, ranked 11th in the country right now. I think they're much, I think they're much better than that. That's the one I was scratching my head on. Yeah. Um, you know, when I I was watching this game, I wrote down what a well-played game by both teams. Both teams disciplined, well coached, not a lot of mistakes being made, you know, just good lacrosse quality. Oh, where's my bell? I turned it off. It was quality, it really was quality lacrosse. There, there we go. Um, both defenses are really good on the you know, LeMoyne's defense is look at when there's a game that ends up 7-5, you know it's a defensive struggle. Yeah, you know, because both teams have scorers all over the place, you know. They can both teams can score.

SPEAKER_03 7:15

Here's what I would say that I saw in the stats Saint A's actually outshot Lemoyne 52 to 31, but Lemoyne was much more efficient. Their shots on goal was 22 to 19 for Saint A's, and I that's what I saw a little bit in the second half with Saint A's that they were getting their shots off, but they were wide.

SPEAKER_01 7:36

Yeah, well, Delia in goal had 14 saves out of the 19 shots on goal. So Le Moyne, Le Moyne's Lemoyne's you know, goalkeeper had a really, really good day as well. And CJ Hart had 16 saves and 22 shots on goal. So he had a phenomenal game. So he had two stellar goalie play, and that's great, you know. That's and that's what you want out of really good lacrosse teams. You want your goalies to step up, you know, you want them to play big in big games, and both of these teams did, you know, and I tell you, man, uh the defenseman Kyler Fisher for St. A's, he's a beast, man. What do you have? Three course turnovers and foreground balls. Like he played really well for St. Anne's. So, you know, Lemoyne, though, they led the entire game. They never let up the lead. It was only 3-2 and half. And you know, Coach Sheehan, hey, you're only gonna let us score six goals, we're only gonna let you score five. You know, that's they we don't have to score, we don't have to score 19 goals to win games. If we we can score six and hold you to five, we got ourselves a W. And that's what Coach Sheehan is all about. Yeah, he's all about that defense and all about that W.

SPEAKER_03 8:56

Well, here's where they made, I think they made up their um, they're I think they made up their some cheese on this game is man up. So their extra man offense, Lemoyne went three for four, Saint A's was oh for four. So two things, right? They they in the final score seven five. So they scored when they had their chances, and they stopped Saint A's from scoring when St. A's had their chance.

SPEAKER_01 9:23

When they had the advantage, you know, they couldn't they couldn't put the biscuit in the basket. And you know what? That's the difference in the game a little bit. I think it might be those couple of penalties given given a good team like Lemoyne uh an extra chance, you know, an extra man opportunity. That was a great game. It really was well played, you know. It was just even CNA State came back to bring a 5-4 with 631 left in the game. It was like, oh boy, yeah, this is a game, you know. But yeah, just an all-out great game. It was a really, really good game. Well played, top-notch quality, division two, division one, division three, division seven. I don't give a crap what division. That was a great game by two really good teams.

SPEAKER_03 10:08

Yeah, so let's talk about Lindenwood U Indy. So, Danny, this was a game of runs. It was crazy. First three goals scored by U Indy. Next three goals, Lindenwood. Then it's 3-3. Next three goals, U Indy. So now they're up 6-3. Guess who scores the next three goals? Lindenwood. 6-6. Then Lindenwood scores with 2-14 left to play. And it looks like, oh, they're gonna have a good shot at winning this game. They're up 7-6. This is one of the games. U Indy scores with less than 30 seconds left on the clock. Tie it up. So now you think, okay, there's a momentum shift. You know, right? Nope. Linenwood comes back on a skip pass to a man on the wing at GLE. The U Indy's defense did not match up with that player, who then snuck open, snuck down in the back of the net. And there you go. Linenwood beats U Indy 8-7 in overtime. Really cool game. Wow.

SPEAKER_01 11:20

Lindenwood's 5-2, and and they're ranked 10th in the country right now. And you know, to be behind U Indy. Yeah, you know, Undy dropped to eight with that loss. But um, I didn't watch the game, but we know how good Glindenwood is and and Undy is that these guys are gonna go after it. Um that sounded like a really exciting game.

SPEAKER_03 11:45

It was a great game to watch, it was really, really evenly matched. It was a lot of fun. But here's a game I didn't get to watch. I had it, and I hadn't been able to find it once again, as we talked about um in on demand yet, and that's post-Georgian Court. But I was watching the scores, it was a 15-14 final post-wins, but they rallied from seven goals down to defeat Georgian Court. And this is the first CACC opener for both teams, right? Post was behind 7-0 after one. Then they basically traded goals, it was 9-3 at half. Georgian Court scored the first goal in the third to go up by seven again, but then Post begins their run and closes it to 12-9 after three. But get this, they're down 14-11 with 440 left. And Nick Meyer scored a pair of goals in 29 seconds. Oh well. And then Dylan Heald comes in, he scores the uh the winner with 22 seconds left. 22 seconds left. 1540. Wow.

SPEAKER_01 12:54

Post goes to three and three now.

SPEAKER_03 12:57

Yeah, they were 0-8 last year, and now they're at 500.

SPEAKER_01 13:02

That's coach Jez, man. There you go. And you know what? They they still have an uphill battle, you know.

SPEAKER_03 13:08

But pretty cool to see Nick Meyer, seven goals. Dylan healed, four goals, two assists.

SPEAKER_01 13:16

Both good games from those fellas, both good games.

SPEAKER_03 13:19

How about Seton Hill Mercy? You want to talk about that one?

SPEAKER_01 13:23

Yeah, that was a really good game. I watched that one. It was in the rain, Kev. Yeah, we're playing in the wind, the wind, and the cold and the rain. It looked just crappy out. I was like, man, I hate playing in the rain. I hated coaching in the rain, I hated practicing in the rain. I I just hate everything about the rain because you know what? La Crosse is a fast game, and I just think rain slows the game down, you know. It might might even the playing field for some teams, you know, and and and that might have been the case here because Seaton Hill kind of hasn't been having the year that the Griffiths are used to having, but they fell short 10-8 in that game.

SPEAKER_03 14:05

And Mercy's really down, they were down eight to two going into the third. So they they scratched and clawed back.

SPEAKER_01 14:14

Yeah, but Seaton Hill had five straight unanswered to begin the third and brought it back to eight to seven. Yeah, you know, like they, you know, mercy, you know, stepped on the gas in the first half, second half it was all defense by Seton Hill. Their defense stepped up big time in the in the in the second half, especially in the third quarter, held them scoreless in the third quarter. And Mercy's a team that scores in bunches and quickly their attack units, very good. They're they're they're a very good team. And you know what? Seton Hill gave them a ball game, you know. Yeah, it was just a the Mavs defense stepped up forcing in the forced the Griffiths at the end of the game into three consecutive turnovers. Seton Hill had that momentum, and they were getting the ball, and and they caused him to three consecutive turnovers. So the Mavs D stepped up big time in the last couple of minutes in that game. And you know what? Mercy held on. They held on. Seton Hill played played well, and it was a good 10-8 game.

SPEAKER_03 15:22

All right, so I've got one more, then I know you've got one. So let me talk about this one Florida Southern versus Lynn. I turned this game on because I saw the score, and Lynn was up nine to three. Nine to three, and I thought, same sort of thing. You know, they just beat Lemoyne, maybe a little hangover, a little tough. So I started watching the game. Lynn still held the lead going into the fourth, they were up 13 to 8. But going into the fourth, in the fourth, Florida Southern scores 11-11 unanswered goals.

SPEAKER_01 16:01

Yeah, well, they have one of the best face-off kids in the country, so they're gonna they're gonna get possessions, you know, Florida Southern. But you know what? Lynn Lynn's been struggling and and at two and six right now. But they gave Florida Southern a game, man. Yeah, they did. They did.

SPEAKER_03 16:19

It was it was fun to watch. I in some respects, I was rooting for Lynn based on how their season has gone, but Florida Southern just opened the floodgates with scoring in that fourth, and they beat him 19-14. Good game, though. Well, let's talk about another Sunshine State game there that you watched, and then I watched also, and that's St. Leo against Frostburg State.

SPEAKER_01 16:42

That Kevin was one of the best games I've seen in a long time to watch. If you're a fan of lacrosse, if you're just a fan of lacrosse, those are the kinds of games that you want to be a part of and love to watch. And if you're on the losing end of a game like that, that's like, oh man, what a game! But that was an 1817 overtime thriller. Yeah, that's the only way I could, you know, could really describe that game. For you know, Frostburg State came out with that win, traveling, you know, down to the Sunshine State. They got a couple of games down in Florida, and you know, that to go in the first game like that. Let me tell you something. That was such a great game. Frostburg State, ready for this, Kevin? Had 13 different scorers. Wow. 13 different kids put the biscuit in the basket for them. That's that's just phenomenal to me. Um, and for St. Leo, uh, Tyler Ames and Guy Bistro. Guy Bistro's a sophomore from Jacksonville for St. Leo. He's an attackman. He had five goals and two assists. This kid is a beast, man. Yeah, he he he had a great game, and he's got a cannon for a shot. So Frostburg, it was eight, two after one. Frostburg, okay. Saint Leo at one point in the second quarter was down 10 to 2. Eight, down eight goals. And then they went on their run. And at halftime, it was 11-8. After the third, it was 15-13. I was like, holy mackerel, we got a game. And then it comes down to the end. Bubble Love causes a huge turnover, scramble for a ground ball. Frostburg comes up with the ball, and who catches the pass from the assist from the original cause turnover was Bubble Love. Turns around, fires, and ties the game up for Frostburg with nine seconds left. After Ryan Merrick scored for St. Leo and put St. Leo ahead for the first time in the game, 17-16 a minute before that. I know it was crazy. Here you got St. Leo down 10, almost 10 goals. They come back. They actually took the lead with 90 seconds left. This kid Bubble Love comes up with a cause turnover to scramble for the ball. Frostburg comes up with the ball, back to love, bag, he turns, boom, scores. We send it to overtime. And Frostburg came came up big in the in the overtime. And it was great.

SPEAKER_03 19:32

Imagine the roller coaster of emotions for both teams that last minute and then going in overtime. I'm like, you don't want to see anyone lose when you watch a game like that.

SPEAKER_01 19:42

No, like again, if you're just a fan of lacrosse, and you know, just that game had everything, just excitement, fast moving, fast paced, caused turnovers, big saves and big moments, you know, breakaway, a breakaway fast break, boom, doorstep save. Like, uh-uh, it was just great. It was a really good game. And you know what? St. Leo's a pretty good squad, man. They're a good squad. You know, they got players down there. And uh that Sunshine State Conference, boy, oh boy, they got some good squads there for sure. Oh yeah, Kev, you know what I forgot? I got I have one more game I'd like to talk about. You know what? There's a team that we don't talk about very much. And I was thinking about it, I was like, man, we've we've talked about every every squad, and we talked about the ups and downs. And you know what? We don't talk about a Delphi that much. And here's a Delphi sitting at number three after this week. They're four and oh, they're four and oh. So I've been watching, you know, here's the funny thing. Living on Long Island, I never watched a lot of a Delphi, and I don't know why. I always felt that I don't know, they got those Long Island kids. And, you know, since you know Dallin closed its doors and tech no longer has a team, and and you know, LIU post went division one. I just felt like you know, a Delphi was like easy pickings for a lot of kids. It was just an easy place to go. And Coach Purdy didn't have to do much, and I never really gave them much credit. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, if it makes any sense. I just you know, if there's not a lot of kids from out of state on the team, you know what I'm saying? It's not like you know, they recruit hard out of state. It's a Long Island-based team. So, but I watched three of their games this year. Boy, oh boy, they're a good squad. They're a good squad. You know what? They have midfielders for days. They just keep bringing on midfielder after midfielder after midfielder. So the last couple of games, they've held on to win. I mean, they they put a game on their schedule recently that wasn't on their schedule originally. They played Connecticut College, a Division III score. Okay. So I'm like a Delphi, a Delphi is gonna wipe a wipe out the boards, you know, with this with this team. Well, let me tell you something. That Connecticut game that was a good game. Those were scrappy kids. Those D three kids did not lay down. They did not lay down at all. And then they had to play Southern New Hampshire. Okay. Not the greatest middle of the road any 10 team right now. Right. Middle of the road team, you know, not ranked or anything like that. And man, Southern New Hampshire gave them a game. They did. They gave them all they could give them. The penmen are really good. You know, uh their LSM defender, Sean McGovern, he's really good, man, for a Delphi. He's really good. Their defense is pretty good, their attack is good, but they're they're deep at midfield. They got lots of fresh legs, you know. They just keep bringing in those midfielders. So I felt that that Connecticut College was a scrappy team and gave a Delphi a hell of a game. And I felt that Southern New Hampshire gave a Delphi a really, really good game. I didn't feel that a Delphi was dominant in either of those two games. And then I think their first game was against AIC. So their game really is next week when a Delphi's got to play CNA's, and and then in two weeks they have to play pace. So we'll have a better idea of where a Delphi is after those two games, I think. You know, I think them being ranked at three is a little high for me right now. Just eye candy, seeing what I saw, the games, and you know, the caliber of the teams that they played. But um, I would keep my eye on the Delphi, they're a good squad. Yeah. And like I said, they got midfielders for days. I think they played like 20 something kids the other day. Like they just keep bringing in those middies, fresh legs, fresh legs. So keep my eye on the Delphi.

SPEAKER_03 24:15

I agree. I think what's interesting that you said that maybe they shouldn't be at three. Um, maybe limestone should be higher. I think it's I agree. You could do those, say those sort of things, but that's what makes it so tough. Uh you know, within the top 12 teams, you know, there's there's easily you could justify movement. Probably everything from Florida Southern down justify a lot of different movement and where they could be. And it'll be really interesting in if once we get through the meat of the conference play, uh, where it stands when they get to the NCAA rankings.

SPEAKER_01 24:53

Right. Now, you know, okay, so now this week we had some big shakeups in the in the in the NCAA rankings this week. You know, Lemoyne after that loss is no longer at number one. And they've been number one for many, many, many, many, many weeks. So now Tampa, and deservingly so, yeah, moves into the number one spot. Le Moyne runs the two. USA I L A has uh Delphi at three. Again, I'm not so sure I agree with that right now, just from the eye candy from what I saw of a Delphi. Are they good? Absolutely, they're good. Haven't played anybody yet. Okay, they need to play somebody. They only have four games under their belt. Some teams have seven, eight already, Kev. You know, limestone's coming in at four. You know, we just had Kendall Collins on. He he's the limestone's falling out, Kev. They look as good as anybody in the country right now, to me. To me. Yeah. Mercy is at five. And again, this team is very, very good. Defense steps up when they have to step up. You know, um, their their one loss came came to Lemoy. Yep. And they had their chance to win.

SPEAKER_02 26:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 26:04

So Mercy's a good team. Wingates drops to six after that, you know, big upset loss to Anderson. Mercy Hurst is sitting right there at seven. Still lurking. Just sitting right there. Yeah. Like that, you know, like the shark just circling the duck at the top. Just, you know, it's just and where are they going to be at the end? You know they're going to be there. Now U Indy drops to eight, okay, after their overtime loss last week. So now they're in the, they've dropped down. Pace is at nine. They got some good teams to play. The NE10 is coming up. Yep. Lyndonwood is playing great. They're at number 10 after that big U Indy win. Right. So we got some movement just going in the top 10. Yeah. Now here's where I don't get. You got St. A's at 11. If anybody's watched St. St. Anselms, how they're at 11 right now is beyond me. I just don't know. They're they're a much better team than that. And they gave Lemoy the other day everything. Everything they can handle. Yeah. Everything they could handle. It was a great game. And then you got undefeated Rollins. Right. You know? Holy crap, 7-0 or 6-0, 7-0. 7-0, I think. 7-0. So then you got Florida Southern at coming in at 13, and Florida Tech is up there now. And the surprise to me is LR being so far back at 15. But you know what? They got conference play, tournament play. Who knows? Maybe they can turn things around. They're not out of it. No, no, no way.

SPEAKER_03 27:44

I mean, as we just talked about, they're at the top of the sack right now with three other teams. So they just have to keep that going.

SPEAKER_01 27:51

Yeah, you know, those sack teams are going to beat up on each other. So someone's going to have Bentley goes to 16. We talked about Bentley being a good squad, you know, like here we go. Like and now Queens, Queens is playing good ball now, moving to 17. You know, Queens from Charlotte. Um now you got Newberry getting into the mix now at 18. Anderson. Coming in at 19, first time in program history. I mean, what Coach Mitchell's doing there is just an amazing, amazing thing. And there you your lone western boy, Colorado Mesa. So it's been a great week of lacrosse. Actually, the past three weeks have been just phenomenal. And things are starting, things are starting to take shape a little bit.

Coach's Spotlight

SPEAKER_03 28:47

Okay, Danny, let's move on to our coach's spotlight. I am really excited to talk with this coach. He started the program at Roberts Wesleyan uh about 10 years ago. And if you look at what they've done, it's really been a steady building process for this program, which is really neat to see. To me, it looks like they kind of turned the corner around 2019, which is what I want to, one of the things I want to talk to Coach about. But now his team is ready to take on the rest of the ECC with a four-and-one record. They're really balling out this year as they head into conference play. So let's welcome the Red Hawks coach, head coach, Rocky Delfino. Welcome, Coach. How are you doing?

SPEAKER_04 29:30

I'm great, guys. Thank you very much. Appreciate it.

SPEAKER_01 29:37

You guys are off to a four-and-one start. Really hot coach. Um you're only loss coming to number one Lemoyne, and you know, they they beat up a lot of teams, so it's not so bad. But um they're pretty good. They're pretty good. Yeah, they're they're a pretty good squad. Yeah, definitely, definitely. Um, but uh what do you attribute your hot start to?

SPEAKER_04 29:59

Uh, you know, I mean, we have a lot of kids who decide to come back for that fifth year they got, and um, we truly appreciate that. Um, you know, it's a it's a it's a great asset, you know, and I think it speaks for the school itself. You know, people want to come back and enjoy another year at the college itself. Uh they want to help the program, so that's been very helpful, you know, give the program and you know extra boosts. And when you have all that senior leadership, you know, it makes my job a lot easier.

SPEAKER_03 30:30

How many uh returning fifth years or graduate students do you have uh on the team this year?

SPEAKER_04 30:36

We have five.

SPEAKER_03 30:39

Okay. We have that's a good number. That's a lot of uh senior leadership right there to bring you into the 2022 season.

SPEAKER_04 30:47

Yeah, and in in like you said, it's definitely leadership. And you know, even if they're not, you know, Hunter is a captain, uh, Mitch Street's a captain, and Nancy D'Amico's a captain, and they're all fifth-year kids, but you know, even the fifth-year guys who aren't captains, you know, just kids look up to them, you know, and uh it that's a big help.

SPEAKER_03 31:09

Yeah, so let's just roll back a little bit because we've had other coaches on that have started their program, some just recently in the past year, two years, three years. You started it for Roberts Wesleyan about 10 years ago. I think you're hired in 2011, first season was 2012. Can you just go through what that was like for you at Roberts Wesleyan, how you got there? And then I saw based on, and I'm only doing it based on your record, I really saw a turning point right around 2018-2019 where you can see that progression where you were always under 500, then all of a sudden 2019 you're at 500 above, and then since then you've always been one of those you keep on progressing up more and more. I'm just interested in in that perspective.

SPEAKER_04 31:52

Well, yeah, I came to Roberts from Reno Community College. I was a head coach there for 10 years uh previously, and um I loved it in Minotaur Community College. I had a great team, great teams. I mean, I just have great players, you know. I uh, you know, it doesn't say anything about my coaching ability. I used to be great players, you know, and you know, guys like Hunter make me look really good. Um, you know, my wife says it all the time, you know, you just keep getting good players, you know, make you look good. Uh, but um, you know, you know, at the community college level, you know, you only have the kids for two years. And you know, you don't get to know them that well. And what was happening is I was sending those kids, I really put the focus on you guys. This is a transfer institute. You gotta go on, you know, and I kept putting kids to good programs. But a lot of kids just kept coming back and saying, Coaches, I wish MCC was a four-year program, you know, I wish it was a four-year program, you know. So finally, when I got the opportunity, I said, you know, let me make it so these kids I could get them, see them the whole way through, you know, see them from freshman year to graduation, you know, make sure I'm there for them the whole time instead of just two years and then ship them off. So that was probably one of the main reasons why I left. And plus, Roberts is, you know, they have a it's a very value-laden school. And it it's it's really different, you know. And it doesn't matter.

SPEAKER_01 33:19

In which way, Coach? What do you mean?

SPEAKER_04 33:20

Well, it's it has the Christian background. Okay. And you can ask, you can ask Hunter, they don't waver that much from those Christian values. You know, Hunter who who hasn't missed the chapel service in his five years at the college, okay. Um, but you know that helps. I mean, even the kids who don't come there for the faith, they they get a certain feel for it. And I kind of enjoyed that, you know, background a little bit. And uh, you know, I I think our kids benefit from it. And um, you know, so I've been here for like 10 years and I've I've enjoyed it. Like you said, we've progressed. I mean, it wasn't easy. My first year I had 13 kids on the team.

SPEAKER_01 34:01

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 34:03

You know, and I play teams like Lemoyne, and you see, you know, over 60, you know, and you know, we we have one, we're down to one goalie, and Lemoyne's is you know, they had six, seven goalies. You know, I was just like, Coach, you wanna give us one? We'll take, you know, if you if we can borrow, I mean, you know, um, so it's been a lot of fun. And like I said, you know, just being able to be with these kids for four or five years has been it's been great for me. I really enjoyed it.

SPEAKER_03 34:37

That's awesome to hear. It's kind of funny, coach. I went to a uh a Jesuit college in Massachusetts, and every time my parents call, my my roommate would tell them I was in church. So I I feel for your students. Yeah, it was always a good cover. So as Danny said, you know, you're starting off to a hot start four-and-one, and now you're heading into conference play. Tell me what that battle's like in playing ECC teams, and especially this year, coming out of, you know, really the last year of COVID, coming in this year, and where you guys sit right now.

SPEAKER_04 35:10

Well, you know, the ECC sees a lot of has seen a lot of change, you know, since I've been here, and even like the past four years. I mean, you had schools like Dowling, who ended up closing LIU Post, the one Division I. Yeah, you know, so it it's it's seen some change. I mean, you know, some schools that have been charter members and left. So, you know, we've been some changes, but like a school like Mercy, who's been in there for the long haul, really good, draws a lot from the island. I mean, you know, those kids are loyal to the island to go to Mercy. Um, you know, Coach Jordan does a great job with them. So, you know, that's always oh, and and you know, thankfully, we've been very competitive with them. You know, last year we played them twice, really, really close games. Um, you know, so they've kind of taken control, you know, of our conference. And uh, you know, NYT was up there and and they kind of put a squash on their new cross program. You know, division two is a division two is a different union, you know, you people focusing on division two, you know it. I mean, a lot of small schools.

SPEAKER_02 36:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 36:20

And you know, tough, tough times, you know, our presidents have to work really hard to keep our doors open.

SPEAKER_01 36:28

You know, right, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 36:29

You're seeing that. And uh, so uh, you know, we're really working hard, and we feel very fortunate they're still backing our athletic programs, you know, the schools that are still in it.

SPEAKER_01 36:38

So it's got such great pedigree, Coach Robert Swesson. He's been around a long time. Great pedigree, great school up in Rochester, a little cold, a little cold up there. How was the weather up there today?

SPEAKER_04 36:50

Uh today we had a little cold and rain, but uh we're used to it. Ask Hunter. I mean, they uh I tell the guy as soon as I recruit them, make sure uh Santa brings you a lot of under armor for Christmas because you know we don't have indoor facilities. So we have the best grounds crew in America. My guy will plow the field before he before the parking lots are even finished.

unknown 37:15

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 37:16

We'll be out there. And you know, Parker always says, Coach, we're you know we have an indoor center down the road, and Parker will text me on a cold day, a snowy day, and goes, Coach, uh TSC? I said, No, Parker, they'll get the fit, they'll get the fit, they'll get the field done, don't worry about it. And he looked at me and said, damn, man, you're right.

SPEAKER_01 37:36

That's awesome. That's awesome. That's great stuff. So your players this year, you got some players that are balling out. You got Hunter Lemieux, of course, and Reed Jekowski, Jordan Deetz, Nate Maloney, Michael Pearick, all putting the biscuit in the basket and assisting and double digits in all categories. Coach, you're balling out. You're sharing the rock. Uh are you pleasantly surprised?

SPEAKER_04 37:59

You know what? You know, and again, I think, you know, you look at Hunter, Hunter, and his assist numbers are way up this year because, you know, Hunter, you know, they're they're, you know, Hunter gets drafted, and of course, he's gonna draw so much attention. Hunter's not a secret anymore. He was a secret when I got him, but that secret's out of the bag. And Hunter is probably one of the most unselfish kids I've ever had that he'll distribute. And now that he's getting, you know, a kid like Reed is just benefiting tremendous from Hunter because you know, Hunter's drawing a lot of attention. So now that's why you're seeing those other kids, and those other kids are very capable too. But you know, it starts with 66. They're you know, no, and he'll tell the kids. I mean, he'll he was talking in our fast break the other day in a break. He said, guys, don't feed me on the fast break because you know you got to go the other way, you know, and and Hunter knows. I mean, this is a very smart intelligence.

SPEAKER_01 39:00

That's IQ right there. That's IQ, you know.

SPEAKER_04 39:03

Much higher than mine. Much higher than mine. And he'll tell you that he's been the academic, academic player of the week numerous times.

unknown 39:10

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 39:12

Well, I'm looking forward to definitely speaking with Hunter, but um, I'd like to keep speaking with you. You know, like I said, all your players are playing well and playing well together. Um, is there any area in the game that you're pleasantly surprised with? Like, you know, sometimes you go into the season saying, Man, I wish I could have this, I wish I could have that. And then something makes, wow, that's working. Is there something like that going on right now with the team?

SPEAKER_04 39:39

Well, you know, um, you know, I have really two good assistant coaches that are great coordinators. Uh Billy Lombardi, who played at Penn State, he was Penn State's face-off kid with our senior boy. And uh Billy, Billy was actually a running back for me at Aquinas uh during our heydays back there playing coaching football. But um, you know, he's got, you know, he's worked with his brother who plays a Cornell, and you know, we've helped incorporate, you know, different types of offense for our personnel. And, you know, I've always not tried to put a score peg in a round hole. We basically form our offense each year around our personnel. And you know, we have second line guys scoring, we have second line guys playing the ball, and so that's helping very surprisingly. You know, but like you mentioned, you mentioned Michael Pirog, you know, a Canadian, you know, a Canadian uh that you know we we found, and uh, you know, he's really come into his own, uh, you know, and they all feed together. And like I said, it's been helpful that they've been playing together and somebody new coming in, you know, they work with and you know uh they just kind of fit right in, you know.

SPEAKER_01 40:54

So chemistry.

SPEAKER_04 40:56

Yeah. And we work hard at the chemistry. I mean, you know, Division II Lacrosse, we're on a bus all the time.

SPEAKER_01 41:02

Yeah, yep, yep.

SPEAKER_04 41:03

You know, there's no close besides Le Moyne and Mercyhurst, everything's a bus ride in an overnight. So these guys live, eat, sleep together, and um, you know, if they don't become close, you know, it's a long year. So they do a great job as a team and you know, becoming close and working on their chemistry.

SPEAKER_03 41:23

Coach, uh just going off what Danny said about what you thought worked well this season, is there anything that you see that you're you're still working for improvement on?

SPEAKER_04 41:37

Um, you know, you always want to say communications. Um, you know, uh, you know, you need to communicate. Um, you know, offense, pretty experienced. Defense, we have a lot of experience, uh, close defensemen. Um, you know, uh, you know, goalie, you know, we gotta get we're you know, working with our goalie, we got a new goalie that, you know, again, we got to continue to work, we gotta continue to coach, you know. He had a very good game, you know, uh against uh Chestnut Hill that helped us. I mean, we needed to I mean we needed him to play uh a lot better in the first in the first two games, and he came through for us in that game. But you know, he'll have to keep playing down the road here, you know, and and help us. And he's working really hard.

SPEAKER_02 42:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 42:25

You know, so hopefully, you know, but he's needs, you know, it's it's tough for our young goalie, you know, to come in and you know, talk to and lead that charge down at that other end.

SPEAKER_01 42:36

Yeah, well, you got number eight Mercy Hearst coming up, you got number six Mercy in the ECC, like he was just talking about, and a really good St. Rose team on your schedule and and the ECC. So you the meat and potatoes of your schedule is coming up, wouldn't you say?

SPEAKER_04 42:53

The St. Rose coach, of course, played for me and coached for me. So uh Williams. Yeah, yeah, I didn't know that.

SPEAKER_01 43:00

I did not know that.

SPEAKER_04 43:01

Yeah, he's a former player of mine. Uh he he coached, he played for me for four years. He was actually there for five years. He spent a lot of the time in the training room. Um, ACL, uh, oh boy.

SPEAKER_01 43:16

All right, all right.

SPEAKER_04 43:17

But yeah, he he coached with us for a couple years, then he got the assistant job at Frostburg, and then he finally got the St. Rose job. So he's yeah, uh, we're we're root for him. He's we'll root for him except next Wednesday.

SPEAKER_01 43:30

That's when the root stops. Well, we've had Coach uh Coach come on uh twice, actually, and um we love him. My product, of course.

SPEAKER_04 43:41

You have him out twice. Look at that, Hunter.

SPEAKER_01 43:44

Hunter, we didn't we deserve that, Kev. We deserve it. We got but you know what? We liked him so much, and you know what, his team got off to a hot, a really hot start as well. And he's a first-year head coach, so just getting him back on, you know, just wanted to talk about his hot.

SPEAKER_03 44:00

start but him coming from you that's that's awesome i mean it all kind of he didn't say anything huh he didn't say anything he didn't he didn't and i'm gonna break his i'm gonna break his chance about that i promise you i promise we will get him on a third time yeah go ahead we we deserve every bit of it i'm sorry that's great well coach we really appreciate you coming on especially giving us giving us brief for for uh not staying on top of coach wins for you but we wish your team uh all the best uh throughout the rest of the season and we'll be watching thank you appreciate it guys hey you're doing a great thing here keep it up all right thanks coach we really appreciate it and you know what I'm making a promise to you and I don't make too many promises at all in life I promise you I'm gonna get you back on I promise that's a promise okay no because serious no podcast fans he just gave me the you know the old roll in the eyes kind of look you know for the for everybody out there in podcast laugh so no okay definitely we're definitely gonna get Delfino back on because you know why you you are a great guest tonight and I have to say it's St. Patti's Week and we didn't have an Irishman on we had an Italian come on tonight so Coach Rocky Delfino from Roberts Wesley and the Redhawks continue success coach and uh we'll speak to you soon thank you appreciate it

Games to Watch this Week

SPEAKER_03 45:33

so one editorial note here Danny is that we just finished the coach's spotlight and obviously people probably realize as they're listening to it that we actually recorded that last week the same time we were uh recording with Hunter Lemieux I love Coach Delfino and his candor and his honesty he was awesome yeah he was yeah he was a cool guy and I didn't realize that coach Williams played for him so that how how cool was that that was you know it's so funny I've got to go back and listen to the first time we had coach Williams on because he may have mentioned that he was at Roberts Wesley and okay we focus so much on uh him being with Gardelman at Frostburg true true but I I love coaches uh coach's reaction was just so much fun yeah coach Delfino was great he was a great great guest he really was I liked him a lot but now it's time to talk about games to watch this next week well kev you know what there's been a lot of games going on for us I mean almost so many almost too many um this week as I look down the list I don't see a whole lot of great great great games uh ahead not a lot just a couple actually um the one game we gotta watch is the adelphi St.

SPEAKER_01 47:00

Anselm's game that's that's gonna be the first two tests for a Delphi and if St. A's uh can knock off a Delphi then you got to take Saint A's then St. Anselm has to be taken very seriously yeah in the in the country because they're playing as good as anybody too their defense is great um again a Delphi is very deep at midfield they just keep bringing those fresh legs um I don't think they've been tested yet so I think that's gonna be a good game so I I got a Delphi and St.

SPEAKER_03 47:31

A's who do you have next so a game I'm looking at is Mount Olive Belmont Abbey and let me tell you why because both have struggled surprisingly this season Mount Olive's at four and four but they're one and oh in the conference and they really killed Emmanuel in their first conference opener. Belmont Abbey has a losing record right now they're three and four but they're one and oh in conference and they just beat Barton 9-8 in their conference opener. So I think this is kind of the matchup last you remember last year they actually played their conference game late and now they're playing their conference game early in the conference schedule and I think this is going to shape up to who is going to be the top seed. Yeah this could you know this could have uh conference tournament uh ramifications this game so that's that's again neither neither team is playing great right now but that's an important game to both teams exactly important game it's important game yeah so where else are you looking what other games did you have on your list um the other game is LR and Queens yeah that was on my list a sack matchup uh queens has been playing really really good uh the ranked 17th LR hasn't been playing that great but they've been kind of trending downwards they're at 15 I think this could have everything of a stellar uh conference uh matchup yeah and the same sort of thing we just talked about with Mount Olive and Belmont Abbey so Queens is two and one in conference play Lenore Ryan is three and one and at the top so Queens really wants this and Lenore really wants this Lenore Ryan really wants this to stay on top because they they both kind of need it to go forward.

SPEAKER_01 49:28

Again conference games Kev they're very very important very important I mean it means a lot especially teams that are looking to maybe try to make that tournament at the end of the season the big tournament I'm talking the NCAA tournament exactly so they're gonna have to beat up each other and then they're gonna have to beat up each other again when conference tournament time starts.

SPEAKER_03 49:50

So this should be should be a good game yeah so I've got another one that's actually on Tuesday and that is pace against Le Moine. Yeah Le Moyne just beat St. A's and they're playing Southern New Hampshire on Saturday which the Penman played well against a Delphi which you've already talked about and pace is sitting at five and oh and they're playing AIC on Saturday which they should be six and oh after that game so it's undefeated team coming after an a very very good any 10 team coming after Le Moine again. I think that'll be a great game to watch yeah that should be a great that I watched that game last year and it was a good game so um again if you ask me Le Moy's the big dog if you ask me I think still I agree you cannot you can't count that team out I mean I think they're gonna be in it at the end they've been in some tight games but guess what they're closing them out exactly so again so this you know pace and Lemoyne should be a great game Adelphi Saint A should be a good game the LR Queens got a lot a lot riding on that game and like you said Mount Olive and Belmont Abbey you know again conference uh ramifications and there's another one in the GLVC that's happening next Wednesday and I and that's Maryville Linenwood so Maryville is the next uh GLVC opponent for Lindenwood now they play I think they play Alabama Huntsville on Saturday before they they play Maryville but Maryville's at seven and one and they have to handle Rockhurst first so they've got another GLVC game first but I think really it's the Maryville Lindenwood game. I foresee Maryville taking care of Rockhurst and I see the Maryville Lindenwood game as being a key matchup in the conference I agree I agree Maryville I don't know we'll see I think you I think Linda Wood's gonna mop the floor with them that's my prediction Karnak I'm holding the I'm holding the thing to my hand well then I can't go against it I was just about to say I think it's gonna be a close game but you're the great Karnak speaks so I'll just shut up I think Linda Wood goes to town on them.

SPEAKER_00 52:24

That's just my opinion I don't know watch it be a 5-4 ball game watch it

Player's Spotlight

SPEAKER_00 52:32

okay on to the player spotlight yes sir so this player Danny was a listener and a coach's request to come on the show he has had a very unique yeah he's had a very unique career having to deal with a lot of adversity to keep going he was an all-American in 2019 as a junior then you know here comes 2020 as a senior it's cut short because of COVID he still received USILA scholar all American so not only is a good player he's pretty damn smart as well so obviously he comes back in 2021 raring a go only to not play because of an ACL injury yeah so now he's back again as a graduate finishing up his eligibility and I really I can't wait to get his perspective on his perseverance over the past three years having to deal with that and all the adversity so let's welcome limestone defenseman Kendall Collins how's it going Kendall it's going great thank you for having me on excited to be here Kendall Collins the 6'1 defender out of early New York yeah upstate kind of like near Woodstock Saugardy's up that way right yep 10 minutes from Woodstock a little all right cool cool cool how you doing tonight Kendall doing great uh we actually just got done with our defensive dinner which we do before our uh our games the next day so you know it's good to uh sit around the guys you know hash it out watch some lacrosse play some video games had a scary time every time so just got done with that that's awesome that is awesome to hear well like I said in the intro can you at first just take us through the past three years for yourself and having to deal with so much adversity to come back for this season what was that like for you um yeah you know uh as you said uh started with 2020 um you know I call it my first senior year um but um you know nobody uh really knew what was going on with the COVID situation. Um you know we were about four or five games in at that point we just had played a little more mine um tough loss for us but um you know we were hearing some rumors that stuff was shutting down um we saw a lot of D1 programs where you know Syracuse I think was the first one we all saw and we were like oh shoot like this is legit you know that's our uh senior years kind of limiting as all seniors were so it's you know it's scary um not knowing what the future holds and um you know just getting through that the getting that you know that gut wrenching news um where you don't know if they're gonna give us another year of eligibility or what is going to happen after that. So you know we all kind of came together um you know obviously hung out as much as we could because we didn't you know we wanted it to keep going. Obviously you know we were on a pretty good streak there at that point. That was my class before it really got broken up. So you know seeing guys like Tyler Papa, um Larson Sundown Clark Walter um those are my last you know kind of team moments of them being in the locker room. So it was it was a tough you know tough week and a half whatever it was just sitting there with pins and needles waiting for that news um you know and then trying to figure out you know finally hearing all right we're gonna get a year back of eligibility. So trying to get the band back together seeing who we can pull back um you know got a lot of guys back thankfully you know because we had some unfinished business we believed um and as you said you know going into 2021 um I was very excited great to be back at limestone you know I can't get enough of this place it's just small town in Ghapney uh South Carolina which a lot of people don't know about but you know I love it it's got a special place in my heart um right so you know that was that was it was definitely tough uh trying to hash that out but um you know coach clerk gave me an opportunity to come back um couldn't have been you know more appreciative of that um the school obviously would have loved to have us back and it gave me an opportunity to get my uh my master's in business administration as well which is obviously you know a huge part so yeah so that's that's great I appreciate that this season let's talk about this season a little bit you already have 23 ground balls which is your highest in any season and we're only about halfway through and you have nine cost turnovers that's got to be gratifying after all you've been through um you know like uh as a defender you kind of really don't look at stats unless it's you know goals against in my opinion um because obviously you want to keep that very low so your offense can you know succeed and obviously win games but um you know we always have a saying within our defense you know whatever the team needs us to do to win we're gonna do it um thankfully I have you know a great goalkeeper behind me and Will Baxter obviously great teammates all around me um very good very good put the ball on the ground um that's our that's always been you know our our main initiative is like the most ground balls out of you know win the ground ball battle every game you know one ground ball at a time win the possession get extra possessions for our offense you know have the ball in their stick because you know they're they're the guys that are there to score not us. So that's that's the biggest thing is you know being able to have that opportunity if it's if it's there for me I'll take it great now I'm very excited to do that.

SPEAKER_01 58:03

But at the same time it's you know for us it's more of the uh the group stats than the uh individual stats Matt let me ask you something Kendall you know you're from early New York which is upstate a little bit a little bit above the Gipsie kind of near wood stock yeah how the heck did you get down the limestone? How'd that happen?

SPEAKER_00 58:22

So it's um in that area where I was playing um obviously you know it's in between Albany and Long Island um two hotbeds of you know lacrosse in general not just New York um so you either had to go to Long Island or New York really to get looks um and I I don't say it's a late start but I started playing in eighth grade so you know it's later compared to most people in New York um and I actually on a whim went to it was like the underarmor underclass tryouts um in Geneva at Hobart and me and uh Jay Kratzer who graduated last year um went up together skip school that's uh not our part but skip school to go up to these tryouts um and obviously you know you want to make the team but it's more for these college looks and the meet coaches and you know see where you kind of stand with these other guys. And you know luckily got a lot of uh feedback there and uh coach Doyer actually when he was uh an assistant coach at first at limestone reached out to both of us um you know that's when we started doing our digging as I said you know we at at the time we had no idea where limestone was um like Pennsylvania or something um looking into it and then just seeing like you know the story history of the program that was obviously catched your eye immediately and at that time um you know 2015 they had just won back to back national titles so that was it was very exciting you know and obviously school you want to look into at that rate so yeah pretty cool story pretty cool story um I know coach storier I've met him a uh one time a long time ago I always I really liked him one thing I know about him he's a great recruiter yeah he's a great recruiter so when JB got the call and went over to Tampa and Coach Storier was coming what'd you say to yourself I was very excited um obviously like it said you know getting recruited by him he's an upstate New York guy as well um always had a great relationship with him uh players coach you know loves to have a nice personal relationship with you as well you know off the field um which I think is very important with anybody especially as you said you know with recruiting that's a huge thing as well and you can see it you know it translates um and you know it just it's at the time it was hectic you know because everything's up in the air um obviously it was coming back from an injury so it you know it was um didn't know what the the future held at this point um but to have him back and kind of didn't skip a beat you know that was the greatest thing about it um especially being a limestone alumni too he kind of just gets it you know he has limestone through and through so I was very excited about that that's a cool story so your team is six and one now your only loss is to wingate and Danny and I have talked about this on the on the podcast that we cut we call that the a pick em game even I mean even the wing gate won but that was a pick'em I mean it was that close that was an awesome game and your defense is stifling you talked about it from team stats right team stats that must be and team dinners so how do you feel as you head into kind of the meat of conference play I mean you've already played some big dogs in both Wingate and Lenore Ryan but you've got a long way to go in conference and and the SAC is no joke.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:51

So how does you how are you guys feeling about that?

SPEAKER_00 1:01:54

You know we uh we always say too you know take it one game at a time um obviously you know the SAC it's like you said it's a grueling conference um and you know it's hard to look not look ahead you know and see these teams that are like all right they're talked about all throughout media and everything um but you can't look past that next game and that's been the biggest thing for us um you know game planning obviously our coaches do a great job with that um situational awareness um just having that ready to go for you know whoever the opponent may be um we don't have to adjust too too much but obviously you know with player personnel and stuff like that um stuff always changing week by week so you know just very thankful that we have the coaches that we do and that the uh players have the attention to detail that we have so that's definitely a testament to everybody.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:41

Yeah plus you got ballers there at limestone you got some ballers man let me tell you something um I really like the way limestone's playing right now just playing sharp and quick and fast and very aggressive on defense um and I've been saying all year don't don't put limestone man up you know consoletti's gonna bury it I mean these you you guys are lethal on man up um you're just playing a really good brand of ball and you guys moved into the uh fourth spit fourth spot and personally I I think it should be higher and I'm gonna be honest with you you know I think they have a Delphi in there at third and a Delphi's been kind of holding on a little bit and they haven't really played anybody but still limestone's playing really good ball you just beat Lenore Ryan you just you know I mean you smacked Lenore Ryan around how was that game how'd that feel um the wind that day was actually uh pretty treacherous um you know coming into it the whole week it's 75 and sunny you know perfect conditions um and then once Saturday it is we go out for shoot around it's 30 degrees windy you know sunny can't beat it but um I think everybody was in shock a little bit at first um you know communication wise you're kind of screaming to the guy next to you to try and get the message through to him um but as you said you know we we uh we stuck to our game plan we stuck to what we know um our principles that we work on every week um and ended up working out for us you know we have guys step up there a lot of these young kids who are stepping up for us you know freshmen and sophomores um I couldn't be more proud of them obviously will I mean every game's a great game for him I can't you know talk more enough about him but um you know it's just we've uh you know been I would not being in the sack you know the last couple years we've obviously played them regardless um so they've always been the middle we're kind of have that familiarity with each other but um definitely uh it felt good after you know losing two straight to them the past couple years to get that one back. Yeah the last couple of years they've been really really good and and you know what you guys have been too you know yeah it's not no shame in losing to a team that goes to the national championship if you ask me you know what I'm saying but limestone right now is as good as anybody in the country and I really do believe that I've watched just about everybody there is to watch a couple of times I've watched limestone three times uh I've watched Le Moyne three or four times now watched Mercy Hurst all the big dogs you know I've watched and as far as I'm concerned like when I look at the eye candy you know limestone right now is just playing as good as as anybody in the country and um we wish you continued success this season Kendall really does thank you very much I I definitely appreciate that uh now now so uh I don't know if you've noticed this Danny but he's all team he is a team guy and totally but guess what there is no team with the firing round yeah he knows it's coming he knows it's coming oh yeah because he's a listener all right Kendall Collins is six one to defender From Limestone Saints, All American. Kid's just an amazing kid. He's in the firing line now. 10 questions, fire him off the top of your head. What was the first sport you picked up?

SPEAKER_00 1:06:11

Um played T-ball, so baseball. Um my dad was a football player, um, football coach for a very long time. So, you know, he uh he just wanted to be around us, and that was the uh the first step and what was available in our area. So uh I played baseball until about eighth grade.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:29

Okay, great. Um, who's your favorite pro athlete?

SPEAKER_00 1:06:33

That's tough. I would probably say Jacob deGrom, the New York Mets.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:38

Wow, okay. PlayStation or Xbox?

SPEAKER_00 1:06:44

PlayStation.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:45

Okay, favorite TV show.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:49

Probably curb your enthusiasm.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:51

Great, great choice. I like you, man. Yeah, that's good. That's a great show. Okay, runs or lifts? Runs. Runs. Okay, it's so funny. Everybody, everybody's been like a little different. It's so funny. See, it's cool. Um, okay. Chet, you've been talking about your teammates. Let's talk about who's the funniest guy on the team.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:15

That's a tough question, and because there's a lot, there's a lot of funny guys. Um, probably have to go. I there's a couple of guys though that that are in the elite group that it's tough to uh you know break out.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:28

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:29

I would probably number 17, Ethan Stenard. He's uh witty, he's quick. Um, you if you're in a room with him, you just everything he says, I just can't stop laughing and smiling. It's just it's just hilarious every time being around him.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:45

I love those guys. Ethan got a big shout out from your boy Kendall. Good job, good job. All right, who's the best all-around athlete on the team? Best all-around athlete.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:58

Probably number 60, Brandon Rabbit. Uh, we called the eliminator. He's just everything he does, he's elite. Um, you see him in the weight room, he's throwing up, you know, three plates, four plates. Everything's easy to him, it seems like. Um, you know, I'm very glad he's on.

SPEAKER_03 1:08:14

Very easy to do. I hate guys like that.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:16

I hate guys like that.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:18

Yeah.

unknown 1:08:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:19

Okay. What what kind of music do you listen to, Kendall?

SPEAKER_00 1:08:24

I'm kind of all over the place. Um, very fortunate that my mother uh she gave me a great taste in music. Um, you know, so kind of an old soul. She uh put me onto you know, some like 90s alternative classic rock, uh, a little bit of rap, so all that kind of stuff.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:42

Okay. Kendall Collins, you are a good kid because you just gave a shout out to your mom. All right. So she's you're gonna get a really good dinner, I'm sure, the next time you come home. Great job. Um, so what was the last song you listened to?

SPEAKER_00 1:08:59

I think it was uh hanging around by the Count and Crows.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:03

Okay, yeah, it's a good tune, actually. I like that. All right, here's a good one. Give us your best impression of Coach Storier.

SPEAKER_00 1:09:12

This might get me in trouble here. Uh no, it won't. Yeah, because I we can personally call him. We can tell you I'll text him.

SPEAKER_03 1:09:19

I'll text him. This is the free zone in this one. That's right.

SPEAKER_00 1:09:23

I mean, whenever we're in a situation where we want to, you know, attack, whether it's transition or uh, you know, doubling a guy on ball, um, he's very, you know, vocal. Go, go, go, attack, go get him, go. And it's, you know, I can always count on that every time, whether we you know know or don't know in that situation, but it's it's great to have him, you know, into it with us. So love that.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:46

All right, cool, cool. All right. And last question, what's your plans after graduation?

SPEAKER_00 1:09:52

Um, you know, I I love the game of lacrosse, obviously. So I'd love to coach after the fact. Um, I'm finishing up my master's here in business administration, have uh one class left actually. So again, towards the end of that. Um, but yeah, no, I'd love to, you know, give back to the game. Um, hopefully there's opportunities out there once I'm done at my time at Limestone, but uh, I'd love to coach after the coaching at the college ranks, you're saying?

SPEAKER_01 1:10:17

At the college ranks? Yeah, okay, okay, awesome. Well, Kendall, you've been a great guest tonight. We really appreciate you taking the time tonight and coming on. And um, limestone's a great team. You've been balling out, you're a great player. We love them, we love them defenders, man. You know, offense wins games, defense wins championships, kid. Don't let anybody ever tell you anything different. Really appreciate you taking the time with us.

SPEAKER_03 1:10:43

Yeah, and I think, Kendall, what you want to do, there will be teams knocking on your door because of your maturity, your leadership, and your skill all wrapped into one. So we wish you the best.

SPEAKER_00 1:10:57

Oh, yeah. Thank you very much uh for the kind words, obviously, for having me on. Um, as you said, you know, listener of this podcast, it's great to see it in action. Um, and obviously the spotlight, you guys give the detail. It's it's an amazing, you know, treat to be on this. So thank you very much for having me.

SPEAKER_01 1:11:13

Uh Kendall, it was our pleasure. It really was. You made our night, believe you me. Believe you me. And uh love to see you up in Woodstock sometime, you know. I think you're old enough to have a cocktail now.

SPEAKER_00 1:11:25

So I'll be there. You know, I'll be 24 once summer comes around. So I'll be there for sure.

SPEAKER_01 1:11:30

Okay, Kendall Collins, defenseman, limestone saints. One more time.

SPEAKER_03 1:11:34

Thanks again. We appreciate

Final Thoughts

SPEAKER_03 1:11:36

it. What do you say, Danny? That was great talking with Kendall Collins.

SPEAKER_01 1:11:41

Yeah, he's a good kid. I liked him a lot. What kind of kid gives a shout-out to his mom? He's a good kid to me. You know, that's a that's a good kid. I just liked his whole demeanor, and he's a baller and he's a really smart kid, scholar all American. So Kendall's got it going on.

SPEAKER_03 1:12:00

I love what he talked about. It's all about the the uh the team stats on defense, not individual.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:06

You know, he's a good-looking kid, surfer kind of looking kid. He had the flow going, you know, upstate New York kid wants to give back to the game. So many, so many good aspects about Kendall. And again, all American at limestone. And limestone's just playing as good as anybody in the country, Kevin. I really mean that. Yeah, all right.

SPEAKER_03 1:12:25

Well, that Danny, you know, we saw the last couple weeks. It seems like it gets crazier and crazier. And now we are in conference play in earnest. And I think it might just get even crazier.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:41

Yeah, conference play is it is crazy, and and it's so important in conference games, you know. And even the uh the little dogs in the conference bite big when they start playing conference games. And ask ask Wingate about conference games. Ask Lenore Ryan how important, you know, ask these, you know, these ask Lamar, ask any and ask any of them, ask you, Wendy how important uh conference games are. So we're in the meat and potatoes of the season, Kev. Things are starting to uh take shape. Some teams are you know better than others. Um some teams are looking to trend up, some teams are trending in the wrong direction. But the big dogs are who we kind of thought they were, you know, and um my my my my lookout team is St. A's. That's that's my lookout team. Look out for that team. I just think at the end they're gonna make noise.

SPEAKER_03 1:13:45

Yeah. Well, with that, Danny, I mean, all we can say is I can't wait for next week. And I think this is week. It's a wrap. That's a wrap, guys.