Tourney time continues! A look back at week 13 and preview/predictions of Conference Tournament play

SPEAKER_03 0:00

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INtro

SPEAKER_01 1:35

And with me as always is our recent road warrior, Danny Moran. Hey Danny. Hey Kevin, how's it going tonight in Northern Virginia? I'm not in Northern Virginia. I'm in San Antonio, Texas. So you travel back from North Carolina. Let's talk about our trials and tribulations on the road. So it started way back early in the season when I went to AIC Caldwell, and the game got moved from Saturday to Sunday. Didn't mess up what we were doing for the podcast, but finally it came to bite us because you went down last week and you got stuck coming back. You got back really late. You went down this week for the SAC championship to watch them on Friday, and yet the dates moved. And when those dates moved from Friday to Saturday, that means there's no Sunday game. It goes to Monday. And when do we do our podcast usually and record? On Monday. On Monday and Tuesday. And usually on Monday, we are doing our recordings with the coach's spotlight and the player spotlight. Well, we had to make some adjustments this week. It finally bit us after a year and a half, two years, Danny. So we have no player spotlight. It's been a good run. It's been a good run. It's been a good run. If we had a better, if we had an executive producer, not just a producer, maybe we could have fixed this thing. But uh very true. Very true. We had no player spotlight this week. We have to move that to next week because we couldn't. He had the player we're gonna have on. He's thinking about his classes. He had a class all night tonight, six to ten. So we couldn't do it tonight with him on Tuesday when we're recording. I did the coach's spotlight as you were still in North Carolina. I had to fly solo on that one. So we'll see what the fans think about that without you in there.

SPEAKER_03 3:26

Should be interesting.

SPEAKER_01 3:28

Now I'm not home. You are, and I'm in San Antonio on business.

SPEAKER_03 3:32

Yeah, it's it's been a whirlwind of a week. Last eight, nine days, right? A bit of a whirlwind. Yeah. A lot of lacrosse has gone down, and we had some big upsets, and there's a lot of stuff to talk about.

SPEAKER_01 3:46

There is. There's a lot. So do you have a top 10 roundup this week? Of course I do.

Top 10 Roundup

SPEAKER_01 3:52

The top 10 roundup.

SPEAKER_03 3:59

All right, Kev, this week's top 10 roundup. Number one, Lemoyne was idle this week, but they play St. A's coming up this week in the NA10 tournament. Number two, Wingate lost to the number 13 Limestone 22-15 in the uh South Atlanta Conference semifinals, Kev. Rollins beat Florida. Number three, Rollins beat Florida Southern 13-7 in the Sunshine State Conference Championship. And Rollins is your SSC champs for 2023, Kev. Big stuff for Rollins. Number four, U Indy beat Quincy 18 to 4. Number five, a Delphi beat Southern New Hampshire 21-4 in any 10 first rounds. Number six, LR. And they had two games since we last spoke, Kev. They uh beat Newberry 17-8 in the sack semis and uh earned the right to go to the uh SAC championship, where they got upset by uh uh a very hot limestone sink team 14-8. And limestone now, Kev, is your Sunshine State Conference champions for 2023. Lot to talk about with them. Number seven, Tampa lost to Florida Southern 12 to 10 in the SSC semis. Big, big shocker. Yeah, yeah. Number eight, Mercy Hearst beat Wheeling 21 to 6, and they just keep rolling along the Lakers. Number nine, Mercy beat Malloy 24-10. And number 10, Bentley beat Southern New Hampshire in the N10 first round.

SPEAKER_01 5:39

So that's your top 10 roundup.

Week in Review

SPEAKER_01 5:46

All right, Danny, now let's get into the week in review. And as we will see in our review, we got a lot of our predictions wrong. At first, I thought it was just because we suck. But the more I think about it, I think it goes back to what we've seen this season and the parody that's in this division. At least that's my excuse for these rounds.

SPEAKER_03 6:12

No, I couldn't agree with you more. There is a lot of parody in division two this year, especially amongst the big boys.

SPEAKER_01 6:19

And I think the Sack Championship is a perfect example. And we'll get into that one in a little bit, but let's talk about one that we had as one of the last regular season games in conference. It was Frostburg against Roberts Wesleyan. At the time, Roberts Wesleyan was sitting seated, really sitting at the number two seed, and Frostburg had to beat them to get there. And that's exactly what they did, Danny. They beat Roberts Wesleyan 18 to 16. They pulled off on senior day right there in Frostburg. And it started off as a back and forth game. Frostburg opened it up to be 6'3 after one. Redhawks came back, tied it up. It was 7-6 at half. This is where, Danny, though, it kind of broke it open. And Frostburg really broke it wide open. They were leading 18-12 with 244 left in the game. But Roberts Wesley and didn't go away. And they went on a four-goal run, but just did not have enough time and ended up 18-16. Jake Bowman had four goals, two assists. Owen McCallum had three goals. And Austin Sipes for Frostburg had three goals and one assist. And I think one of the biggest stats, Dan. Did Jekyllski out of the game? Yeah. Another one. What what did he end up with? Six and one. That kid has balled out all year. That kid can play, man. So it was a good game. It just Frostburg just kind of opened it up in the in the second half.

SPEAKER_03 7:55

Yeah, could have been anybody's game. Frostburg, you know, had had kind of like a weird season. Beat some great teams, beat Tampa early in the year, and had some kind of upset, kind of weird losses. But to come back and beat, you know, a good Roberts Wesleyan team that they're probably going to have to meet in the uh 20 years coming up.

SPEAKER_01 8:12

And we'll get into that when we we talk about games to watch, without a doubt. And you know what? Frostburg better watch out because Ross, you know, Roberts Wesley's a good squad. Yeah. It can go either way that game. It can go either way. Okay, so you already talked about the other one in the ECC that happened with Mercy against Malloy. So let's move on to the tournament play that happened this past week and weekend. Let's start with the SAC. So when last one we already talked about the quarterfinals. Now we're in the semifinals that happened, ended up happening on Saturday. Let's talk about the first game, Wingate against Limestone. Limestone puts a beating on them in the fourth quarter to win 22 to 15. Oh, is it 7-1? They outscored him in the fourth quarter? Outscored him seven to one in the fourth quarter. I had notes right off the bat that limestone was playing fast, and I thought that Wingate was making too many mistakes early on. Sloppy passes. They just didn't seem to be in it.

SPEAKER_03 9:17

Yeah, Wingate just looked out of sync completely on both sides of the ball, Kev, if you ask me. They just weren't in sync offensively. I mean, Willie Greco didn't even have a goal. I mean, he's the all-American, all-everything first team sack player of the year. Didn't have a goal. And that's unlike him. That's uncharacteristic. But what's even more uncharacteristic of him, he only had two assists. He's averaging like five, six assists a game. Then you got the other um attackman, uh all-American, Danny Riley. He struggled throughout the game. I mean, he had like three goals, but he he wasn't the same. And he was they forced passes and they just did things that were uncharacteristic of a Wingate Bulldog team, even on defense, too. Defense, I felt there was uh I felt that Wingate was a lot of sticks and not playing defense with their feet and their bodies. And Limestone came to play.

SPEAKER_01 10:14

Their defense was strong. They were very their sticks were very active, their feet were active. Zach Terry ended up with five goals. Yeah, he had a great game. He played very well. And and I think there's some key stats. Clears. Wingate only went 17 for 22. And that kind of shows you the struggles between the that limestone really didn't struggle that badly, and Wingate did. And they were in the game, it was close until the the end of the third, beginning of the fourth. And then I would say, man, yeah, both went 50%, but limestone had six chances.

SPEAKER_03 10:54

Yeah. So two-minute unreleasable. Yeah. You know, again, Wingate's a very good team. They already beat Limestone in the middle of the year pretty good. And they beat Lenore Ryan pretty good in the year. But Limestone came to play and smacked around Wingate. Yeah, and they played.

SPEAKER_01 11:12

Smacked around Lenore Ryan. And when I remember we talked about it last week when we made the predictions, we both said Wingate. And I said, we talked about that Wingate went on these runs against every top team. This time Limestone turned it around. They did the same thing against Lenore Ryan. We'll get to that in the championship. But first, there was another semifinal, and that was Lenore Ryan against Newberry in the evening. And they won 17 to 8. And this was my note was basically it was really all Lenore Ryan. I mean, he was 8-2 at half. It wasn't that Newberry wasn't a quality team. They're a very good team, but Lenore Ryan just really dominated that the play of the game.

SPEAKER_03 11:52

Yeah, they're a better team than Newberry.

SPEAKER_01 11:54

Newberry's still up and coming.

SPEAKER_03 11:56

They're very good. Yeah. You know, great attack unit, good, good, good goalie. But they're still they're still a player or two away from being real, real good.

unknown 12:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:06

But you know, and Lenore Ryan's, there's studs all over the field. Their defense was stifling once again, just like Limestones was against uh against uh Wingate and Pensa Benny had another great game in goal.

SPEAKER_03 12:19

Yeah, he's been playing real. He's been playing great. Newberry, they're gonna struggle against teams like Lenore Ryan still. I mean, they'll play them competitively, but again, they're not, you know, and I was surprised that Newberry even got the three, the uh seed in that sack.

SPEAKER_01 12:36

Well, like we talked about, it all came down to goal differential. Yeah, yeah. So let's let's go to the final that happened just yesterday. Lenore Ryan against Limestone. Limestone did the same thing they did to Wingate against Lenore Ryan in the fourth quarter.

SPEAKER_03 12:53

What did they go on a 6-1 run in the fourth?

SPEAKER_01 12:56

They went on a 6-0 run in the fourth.

SPEAKER_03 12:59

Yeah, limestone looked very good this weekend. They had a hot weekend, man. They came in.

SPEAKER_01 13:04

They came in. We talked about them that they were on the rise, that they really, you know, since losing to Anderson, they kept on looking better and better, and they showed it. They came, they came to play this weekend. I'll tell you, it was funny. I wrote a note. I was watching the game in the middle of the third, and the game seemed so intense to me. It felt like every shot was the last shot that had to go in to win the game. This is right when it was still close. It was like a one-goal, two-goal game. And then I look up and I see that still eight minutes left in the third. Like, why am I so tense? There's a lot of time left. And it was just that kind of a game. It was it was a fairly frantic pace that they were playing for a long time. And then Limestone, when they got about a three-goal lead, they seemed to settle down more on offense when they played, which I wasn't sure was smart at first, but it worked out great for them.

SPEAKER_03 13:57

You see the play where uh the the goal Pennsylvania made this save and it rolled out in front. And the defenseman for Lenore Ryan, I forget his name, picked it up and he went to roll it back to the Pennsibeni. Uh yeah. You know, this was only like three feet in front of the goal, and the limestone attackman picked it up, you know, intercepted this little rolling pass. It was a mistake on the defense part of Lenore.

SPEAKER_01 14:24

It was Liam Fair that tried to shovel it back, and Lamero. Well, and then another time, Pennsibenny moves out of the crease to clear the ball, and Tom Forty stick checks the ball out. That was a good one. Scores on the crease. So that was a great play. Yeah. I mean, that's how heads up aggressive plays that that limestone was doing.

SPEAKER_03 14:49

Yeah, limestone looked good, man. Like you can't take anything away from him. But I will say that in the wingate game, that's it's very uncharacteristic of Wingate's play. They did not play like the Bulldogs have been playing all year, and they gave up 22 goals when they average about nine goals, you know. So I'm not so sure that you know uh wingate had their best game against Limestone, but Limestone certainly wanted it more.

SPEAKER_01 15:20

Well, and this is what I'd say, Danny, and I think we've talked about this before. You get these three teams in the sack, you've got to be at the top of your game every time when you play each other, or you're gonna lose. Yeah, man. Limestone is a like I would I had questions about them beginning this season because they had lost so much on both sides of the ball. Well, they figured it out. Yeah. If you look at the offensive talent they've got with McGarry, Tom Forty, and and Zach Terry, just the three of them, and Lamro. I mean, you you start to name it's like it's like you're naming off the same ones at Wingate and and Larn Lenore Ryan.

SPEAKER_03 16:00

McGarry's a beast, man. He's a big boy.

SPEAKER_01 16:03

And then Corey's goal against Lenore Ryan had a great game, especially that first half. He was stopping shots in the third quarter, too. He was stopping shots that you know, four in a row that uh Lenore Ryan could have had goals on.

SPEAKER_03 16:17

Hey, limestone will always be limestone. If it wasn't for limestone, there wouldn't be a north and a south region, right? Okay, so limestone's got five or more maybe championships under their belt. They're always a top-notch team. Even when they're young and not limestone-like, which was kind of like the beginning of this year, they're not used to losing two, three, four games. They're always a one two-loss game, if any. And you know what? They got hot at the right time. And maybe these two teams were looking past limestone a little bit since both of them had beaten beaten limestone in the season.

SPEAKER_01 16:59

And limestone needed to win the conference to seal their bid to the NCIAs. And that's exactly what they did. So hats off to them for that. Oh, yeah, hats off to them.

SPEAKER_03 17:16

They played like they wanted it, they went out and they got it. And that's what you want out of your team, yeah. Yeah, that's what you want out of your team. You know, big teams play big in big games. But what's great is that it's really cool is that these three teams that we've just discussed all from the same conference, all top 10 elite programs, they're all going to the big dance. All three of them. Yep. So they might meet each other in the big dance.

SPEAKER_01 17:46

100%. 100%. All right, let's move on to Conference Carolinas. They had their semifinals. What a surprise, huh? This was pretty surprising. So, first of all, North Greenville plays Mount Olive and they win in the in the semis 17-15. Mount Olive got off to a really hot start and held the lead all the way until the fourth quarter, Danny. Wow. North Greenville took its first lead with 121 remaining. And then after a Joe Amichi save, Anthony Pecerrero stealed the deal with a goal. So they were down, they were up one, and then Pecorrero steals it with a second goal, and that was it. 121. They take the lead, they get a second goal after that, and that's it. That's how close that was. Wow. Cool. That's great. It's a great game. And then Belmont Abbey against Barton. So pulls it out 10-7. We, you and I both said, it goes back to the parody in the league. You and I both said, but Belmont Abbey is going to win the Conference Carolina tournament. But what we didn't realize once again is that in the regular season game, Barton took Belmont Abbey to three overtimes.

SPEAKER_03 19:07

Yeah, that's right. You know, Barton's upcoming.

SPEAKER_01 19:09

I think even if I had seen that, I would have said Belmont Abbey is going to win the conference tournament, just based on play. Me too. But Barton came in with a great game plan to really stymie uh Belmont Abbey's defense. I mean, they did a great job. Matt Clary broke a three-all tie in the second quarter. Bulldogs went on to score two more and then held at least a two-goal advantage the rest of the game. So they they just had a great game plan going in and took care of business with Belmont Abbey. Amazing. Amazing. So then we get to the final. This was a barn burner of a game, Danny.

SPEAKER_03 19:54

I I thought it was going to be North Greenville and Belmont Abbey. That's who I thought. So did I be. And I and I really honestly thought Belmont Abbey, it was theirs to lose. And they lost. Good for you guys. Congratulations.

SPEAKER_01 20:12

Yeah, they go. So it's 9-8. Barton wins the championship. Both teams are vying for their first championship ever. 9-8. Wow. And I think the defense on both sides were playing really, really good. The first goal didn't come until North Greenlee Greenville scored with 5-24, 10 minutes into the game left in the first. It was 2-1 after the first quarter with North Greenville up. So and then I saw North Greenville starts moving the ball well and getting Barton D to move and getting some step downs and hands-free shots. So they they went up 5-1 with four 454 left in the second. And so it was 5-1 at half. It stayed that way. It was 6-4 after 3. And then Bart outscores the Crusaders 3-1 in the third. And North Greenville still has the advantage, but Barton now has the momentum at this point. Barton then scores for their first lead to go up 8-7 with 6-05 to go. And they were down at one point, Danny, 6-1. So they came back from 6-1 to take a lead and finally go up 8-7.

SPEAKER_03 21:29

That's amazing.

SPEAKER_01 21:32

So it's just an amazing game. That's amazing. Wow. Wow. That's shocking, actually. And it what was really interesting was, and the announcer really even said it, and you could tell they were playing with Seth Mandrick in their hearts. They held up Seth's jersey after the win. And so that's That's a great story and a great comeback by Barton in that game.

SPEAKER_03 22:04

Yeah, congratulations, Bulldog Barton, Bulldogs, you guys. Wow. What a great, what a great way to end the season for them, huh?

SPEAKER_01 22:13

Yeah, just amazing. Just amazing. Nine-eight. Wow. Okay, so now let's go to Peach Belt. Oh, first of all, the quarterfinals happened like we thought. Alabama Huntsville beat Young Harris 18 to 5, and then Montevallo beat Shorter 26-8. So that brought a Lander UAH semi that happened on Sunday. And then Flagler Monavalo. So let's talk Lander UAH. Lander has an 8-4 lead at half, and they really controlled the first half pretty well. Every time that Alabama Huntsville starts to close the gap, Lander has an answer. So it's 11-8 after three. Well, Lander scores again to go up 12-8 with 1145 to play in the fourth. Then Alabama Huntsville shuts Lander down the rest of the way and crawls back in 12-9 at 8 minutes, 12-10 at 4.46, 12-11 at 3.05. I mean, it was almost it was it was like methodical, right? It was every few minutes, every three or four minutes, they scored and just brought it back. They have a couple of chances at the end, but they force some passes and turn it over. They have one more chance with 17 seconds left. And after taking a timeout, they get a nice shot off, but it's saved by the lander goalie, Nicholas Page, and that's it. Wow. 12-11. Flagler now plays Montevallo. And that ended up with Flagler winning 15-13, Danny. I told you, man. I like this flagler team. It was at Flagler. Now I'm sure it was a great crowd at the lander game, but where the camera is, all I see are the players. I don't see the crowd, right? This way I get to see the crowd where the camera is for the flagler game. Stands were packed. And it was either red or purple. That's awesome. Stick your side, people. We're going down. That's awesome. And it was it was great. Flagler takes the early lead, and then it's 3-2 after one. And it kind of was going back and forth. I'll tell you what, Flagler was playing fast, but I I felt that they got chaotic. I felt the same thing when they played Lander. Like sometimes they they start to play so fast they can't calm their minds down, so they start to make errant passes. You know, when you watch like a it's a difference when you watch a team like Flagler at their stage right now, being very young, and watching a team like Limestone, who I saw playing very fast. They play very fast, but they're my the game is slow in the players' minds and eyes. Right. In Flagler, I kind of saw the opposite. You know, they're playing fast, and you can see Coach Duncan like, slow it down, guys. Let's, you know, let's just be calm here. Um but every time it's the same thing. Every in this game, just like the lander UAH game, every time Montevala claws its way back in within one, Flagler had an answer. So it's 11-10 after three, and and then Flagler holds off. There seemed to be a lot of mental mistakes in the third. And I actually wrote down who's going to be most poised in the final quarter, and that ended up being Flagler. They're able to uh hold them off, and they're able to win at 15-13. So they are going to the final against Lander.

SPEAKER_03 25:48

I think Flagler has a hell of a coach. I think Coach Duncan is doing some really, really, really remarkable things in a very, very short amount of time.

SPEAKER_01 25:58

Well, and I'll tell you what, Coach Lapore at Lander, he's doing the same things. He's got his team in the top 20 for the first time. In five years, he's got his team in the top 20.

SPEAKER_03 26:09

Yeah. And they they're much more veteran laden than Flagler. So they're gonna meet, they'll meet for the Peach Belt Championship.

SPEAKER_01 26:20

And uh we'll talk about we'll get our predictions when we get to the the games to watch, okay? Yeah. Okay, Sunshine State Conference, Danny. Did you watch these semifinals? Kev.

SPEAKER_03 26:34

I was on the road, I was with friends, I was away from work. The answer is no.

SPEAKER_01 26:40

All right, so Rollins St. Leo is what we expected, right? Rollins took it away 79. It was it it's kind of like the Lenore Ryan Newberry game. Young team, not totally there yet, not at that level. They they couldn't really compete. They gave a good shot. They they tried, but we knew it was gonna be. But here's the game Tampa, Florida, Southern. Wow. When we talk parody once again, Danny, we thought it'd be Tampa Rollins in the final.

SPEAKER_03 27:10

Uh-huh. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 27:12

The interesting thing about this game, you know when we talked to Coach Jorgensen, and he's like, oh, there's gonna be weather on Thursday and we don't know, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Both games are going on simultaneously, or about an hour, about a difference, or maybe about the same time. So I'm trying to watch both games. By the end of the third quarter in Tampa, the wind is blowing and the rain is just it's torrential downpours. So at the end of the third, they suspend the game for a while. I saw that. And I kind of think that made the difference. I mean, it was it was eight, eight, I think, at that point. It was a tie game at that point. But then Florida Southern comes out of the weather delay and puts on a show and outscores the Spartans four to two in that fourth quarter to win 12 to 10.

SPEAKER_03 28:05

You know, Florida Southern's a spunky team, man. They're pretty good. They got some good players, man. Sean Nolan, Nolan Ty, Jack Fraze, they're all good players. They've been playing very well all season. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 28:17

But I did not expect Well, I'll tell you, I'll I'll tell you when I watched this game, Danny, Dan Tampa was up early five to two, and I thought Tampa looks unstoppable. Florida Southern doesn't have that in their mind whatsoever. They came back and tied at five to five, and from that point on, it was back and forth until the fourth quarter. The mocks buckled down, and they knew they could hang with the Spartans. And they took them to them in the fourth quarter when they came back.

SPEAKER_03 28:48

Amazing. I mean, again, that's just that was this big shocker. That was just as much a big shocker as Barton.

SPEAKER_01 28:56

Yeah. Yeah. And like I said, I think it's great in a lot of ways because it really shows the parody that's going on in this league. Now let's get to the final, though. Now it's Rollins against Florida Southern. Rollins pulls it out 13-7.

SPEAKER_02 29:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 29:15

I I thought as the game started, both teams were playing a little tight. Rollins opens up a two-goal lead, and there's some early caused turnovers and stolen passes by Katchadurian and Eisenhower on for Rollins. They had really active sticks. Both of those players lived up to their reputation. Yeah, that this game. It's three to two after one. Tars own possession in the second. So it's it's nine-three at half. Mox just were not looking crisp on offense when they did have the balls. And the Tars D was we've talked about their D before. You've they've got a lot of firepower in offense, but their D, their sticks are in every lane. They were just doing the same thing to them this game.

SPEAKER_03 30:00

Yeah, their defense is very good. Ketchadorian in goal has been phenomenal all year. The big diesel. And uh, you know, Rollins, Rollins looks real, real good, Kev. They've been like, I think they're the surprise team of the year.

SPEAKER_01 30:16

Well, I thought, I'll tell you what, Danny, when we did the conference previews and I saw their lineup, I was pretty convinced this was their year. I didn't know how good they were gonna be, but they deserve their number one ranking in the South region.

SPEAKER_03 30:31

Oh, yeah, 100%. Yeah. Couldn't agree with you more. So watch that. Congrats to them.

SPEAKER_01 30:36

They they rode their way right in. And it was funny. We talked about this last week when we said Tampa Rollins in the finals. That's what we thought it was gonna be. And I picked Rollins, but I what did I say? I said tough to beat a team twice. Well, they didn't have to face beat Tampa twice, they didn't have to face Tampa.

SPEAKER_03 30:54

Yeah, they were lucky in that respect, in a way.

SPEAKER_01 30:57

They were because Florida Southern played really well. Florida Southern did reserve that win against against Tampa, and they just didn't have enough against Rollins.

SPEAKER_03 31:06

Yeah, yeah. Congratulations to the Rollins. They played well all year, and they're gonna be sitting in that one seed, I think, out of the South region.

SPEAKER_01 31:15

Definitely. All right, a couple other notables, Danny, just to go over quickly. And this started off with the quarterfinals for the NE10. It was Adelphi against Southern New Hampshire. Lousy weather up in New York this week when they played. Uh, but a Delphi took care of them 21-4. They they really just took care of their uh Southern New Hampshire. Southern New Hampshire just didn't have enough juice to play against a good Adelphi team. And like we've said before, Danny, you know, a team like Adelphi, when you lose, you come out angry the next game.

SPEAKER_03 31:52

Oh yeah. Southern New Hampshire didn't have a chance.

SPEAKER_01 31:56

No. No. The other game was Pace St. Anselm. St. Anselm, once again, lousy weather, Danny. Lousy weather. Saint A's pulls it out 15 to 12. This was a close game, and they really pulled it out near the end. But it was a great game. So that was just the quarterfinals for the N10. And then one last one, it was you know what's a sad sad part about that base loss?

SPEAKER_03 32:22

The big rag goo. Yeah, that's his last game, man. Hey Louis Ragusa, this bud's for you, kid. You've had one hell of a career at pace. So we're giving you an early shout out. Congratulations, son. I know you came up a little bit short, but my God, what a career you have. We at In the Crease love the big Rocco.

SPEAKER_01 32:46

You bet. Okay, last game, just as a notable, is the first round in the CACC post beat Dominican 12 to 10. They were the four and the five seed. Uh so Dominican doing a great job of getting into the tournament. This was post first win in in the conference tournament. And get this, Danny. They went 10 and 5 this year. They're 10 and 5 so far, 5-2 in the conference. Last year they were four and eight and two and four in the conference. That's what a coach like Jez does.

SPEAKER_03 33:27

We knew it was gonna take a little bit, but we didn't think they were gonna be this good that fast. You know, hey, coach Jez is a phenomenal coach, and he's gonna do good things there. And you know, they're on Long Island where the players are, he doesn't have to go far looking for really top-notch players. So I expect Post to be even a better team next year. Yeah. But there's they're moving on, man. They're gonna be moving on.

SPEAKER_01 33:54

Okay, let's move on to our coach's spotlight. Now I have to fly, as we said earlier in the in the program, I have to fly solo tonight. Uh Danny's not here, but I get to talk to a coach that has been with his program for 35 years. Not only that, but he lettered in both hockey and lacrosse as a student for this same school. And his team

Coach's Spoltight

SPEAKER_01 34:16

is always competitive and have made it to the quarterfinals of his conference tournament, I think, for the last at least the last three years. So let's welcome him in. Coach Paul Conkins, head coach of the Southern New Hampshire Penman, which I by the way, I love that name, Coach. Welcome.

SPEAKER_00 34:34

Well, thanks for having me. Uh, yeah, it's the only penman in the country that's uh pretty unique, you know. So where does that name come from? So it derives from um when this school first opened up, it was the New Hampshire Accounting School. So it's actually uh uh an accountant. If you look at our mascot and it's got that fountain pen in there and everything, so yeah, nobody else has it, it's unique.

SPEAKER_01 34:59

That's awesome. So we gotta start off, coach. We got you right after playing uh a Delphi in the quarterfinals, and I'll tell you what, I'm sitting here watching the game. I've got two screens going, okay, and I've got the the your game with a Delphi on one, and I've got the uh the semifinals, I think it was of the sack tournament going on the on the other. And it's beautiful weather, sunny, people are in shorts, and then on yours, it's pouring rain, wind is blowing, just nasty. What's it like playing in that kind of weather?

SPEAKER_00 35:33

Uh well, I don't know what it's like playing in it, but I can tell you right now, coaching and it was pretty wet. Um, and I I give my one of my assistant coaches a lot of credit, Matt Johnson. He's there in shorts and and uh and he's got his shorts on and he's soaked. I'm gonna go, Matty, are you okay with your shorts? Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm fine. No, we were soaked. It was uh it was kind of tough. You know, we as I as I said before, we were kind of outmatched and uh we limped into the playoffs with some some injuries, but you know, take no nothing away from Adelphi. They're a great program, great team. Um, it just didn't help with having crappy weather either.

SPEAKER_01 36:12

Right. Just it kind of everything adds on top of each other when you limp in and you've got crappy weather. Now they're playing in the crappy weather too, but at the same time, yeah, when they're running, it seems like one line after another, and their their defense is so stout. It's it's a tough, tough thing to go into their place.

SPEAKER_02 36:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 36:31

Every time I see a team go into uh their field, I'm I I feel sorry for them because I think it's just a such an advantage for them.

SPEAKER_00 36:40

Yeah, they're um, like I said, they're they're a great program, great team. And um, yeah, we just we certainly didn't show up that day. But they're you know, I I wish we wish we had some nice weather and and gave them a little bit more of a fight. You know, I know Gordon, yeah, I'm great friends with Gordon and Coach Kat, and and I just apologize to them after I go, man, we didn't play all that great, but you know, we'll we'll be back. And and and that's that's the beauty of this game, is it it's a tough day for us, you know. We lose those seniors, those guys that aren't coming back, and it's kind of a you know uh emotional day at the end, but in the end of the day, we know what we have, uh know who we are, and we'll be back. You know, we always say that.

SPEAKER_01 37:19

So yeah, so let's talk about some of your players. I've been looking at obviously like Chris Valentine, Ryan Auger, Cam Coate, just really, really stellar players on your team. What's it like? Were they really your core? I don't know what I know. Ryan and Chris are seniors or or graduates, and I can't remember. It's Cam a junior.

SPEAKER_00 37:39

Yeah, so so Cam Cody is man, he's our mainstay on defense. I I believe he's the best LSM in our conference and one of the best in the country at D2. He's um he's a tough guy to beat. Um, he's got a variety of checks. He's you know, he's he's there, he's a leader for us too defensively. Um, so he's he's back, um, which is great. Uh Chris Valentine, 10, and number three, Tristan Peets. Those guys have been with the program. They're both grad students and moving on. Um so we're certainly gonna miss those guys. And they're and they're leaders too, and they've had some great, you know, both in a hundred-point club in our program. Um, fortunately for us, 16, Ryan uh Ozier is coming back. He's gonna do his fifth year. Um, and yeah, he actually has two more years of eligibility. So we'll see how long we can keep him around. But um, and then 20, Jennaro Mara is our face-off guy who didn't have a great year, but had a great year last year. Um, he had a bullseye on his back. He's coming back for another year. So those those are guys that we want back with the program without a doubt. We want them all back, but yeah, we know some of them are gonna exhaust their eligibility. But um uh having those guys come back is that's the main core of our team right there.

SPEAKER_01 38:53

Yeah, that that's awesome. And I appreciate you correcting me on their last names as you listen to this podcast. We screw it up all the time. So I appreciate it. I'll I'll try to remember it when I when I say Ryan Osher's name and Cam Cody's name next year when we're watching them. It's it's good.

SPEAKER_00 39:09

Hey, when they come they come in as freshmen, I screw it up right away too. Don't worry.

SPEAKER_01 39:15

So now let let me ask you, uh, as I said, been there for 35 years and you played and went to school there. So tell me what that has been like.

SPEAKER_00 39:27

Oh man, it was um, you know, when I when I came here, came from upstate New York, Syracuse area, Baldwinville, actually, and uh just loved everything about New Hampshire and and loved the school. It was New Hampshire College at the time. Um, you know, played, played some hockey and played lacrosse and you know, met my my my first wife here and had three great boys. And um, and then you know, as as time went on, I was like, I I actually was coaching part-time. I was the part-time uh head coach here at the university for my God, I would say long time. Long time. Yeah, I've only been full-time at the university for about 17 years, so so all those other years were part-time, having a full-time job, doing my duties as a dad and in a in husband and all that stuff, and then trying to get off to practice, writing practice plans on a piece of cardboard at the on the construction site for the day. It was kind of crazy, but um, you know, certainly it's been great. The university has been great to me. And you know, when they made a full-time position for me and and said we got to bring you on full-time, it was it was a dream. That's what it that's what I always dreamed of doing.

SPEAKER_01 40:41

So right, uh right. And I I would have I'd have to think that that just helps the program when you're I mean, uh like we were saying before we started recording, like I I wish the podcast was my day job, but it's not, it's my you know, it's my my pastime. My wife call calls herself a lacrosse widow now because I do this so much. But you know, when you I think of you and having a full-time job and and coaching is like a hundred times more than what I do on the podcast, you know, and have to when I get ready and yeah, do my homework on it. And you're doing it's it's just amazing. So I think that's gotta have helped your the program there at Southern New Hampshire when you went full time, right?

SPEAKER_00 41:19

Yeah, with without a doubt. I mean, I think you know, it it was able to put like uh when you come out full time in most of these situations, you you're given other duties, and then you know, eventually those duties got taken away from me. And I've just basically been coaching lacrosse for probably eight, maybe nine years now. So my focus is every day is you know, the the day-to-day stuff, ins and outs, making sure guys are you know, classes, lifting schedules, all that stuff, travel schedules. We don't have like a director of operations to do that for us. So it's me, I'm doing all that planning. So there's a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff, right? And then you still try to get practice plans, making sure that you know, uh uh everybody's healthy for practice, touching base with the trainers and all that stuff. So yeah, it's a it's it's a lot of work, but you know what? I love it. It's just something I've always dreamed of doing and and love doing this.

SPEAKER_01 42:11

And and so let me ask you this because you you've been around D2 for a long, long time, and I'll add it, I'll ask you two different things. One, what have you seen as far as growth changes for D2 lacrosse over the years, and then also the growth and changes in your program at Southern New Hampshire?

SPEAKER_00 42:32

I think in all of D2, you're seeing so many good teams. Um, you know, you think about even just my conference. I I do a lot of folks on the conference. You got St. Mike's, uh St. Rose, Assumption, these are all great teams. I I can remember, you know, I was talking with uh Coach Purdy about this, is that way back in the day, you know, AIC is is got some players there now, and they will struggle to get guys there in the past. And and even now you you gotta come you gotta prepare for everybody to go to battle, and every team is good. Um, and as I'm on the I'm on the poll committee, and I I I research every week what teams are doing what, and you got teams like lander, where do they come from? Where's North Greenville? All these teams coming from. It's like there are a lot of good teams, and I it and my wife it calls me crazy because you you say you're a lacrosse, you know, your wife's a lacrosse with a woman. My wife does the same thing. I got every app of every conference on my uh uh my Amazon fire stick. So I'm kind of tuning into you know, what's Wingate, my buddy down there, boy, you know, Timmy Door. You know, these guys do it, you know. So I want to kind of you know make sure I know enough about all these teams, and there's just so many good teams, you know. Uh Newberry, you know, all these guys are so good.

SPEAKER_01 43:52

Yeah, it's it's it's fantastic. I have to agree with you. That's why Danny and I started this podcast. But our sons played D2 look. Cross, we felt it wasn't getting the love it deserved, and so we started talking about it. And I call the NE10 uh the granddaddy of them all as far as conferences, right? But if you look at all the other conferences coming up, and I just watched Lander win the peach belt, and you watch all those guys, or actually, they haven't watched going into the finals against Flatbury. You watch both those games, yeah. They're good games. You watch Lingstone and Lenore Ryan, the the the sack championships going on as we're talking, just finishing up. Unbelievable teams, and then you look at your conference and you just mention them, and it's not just a Delphi and Lemoyne. No, you just mentioned them. You got St. Mike's, Franklin Pierce, St. Rose, Assumption, AIC. I went up to a game because I grew up in near Springfield. I watched what Coach Spallone is doing there before when their teams were down by four, they wouldn't, they would just pack it up. They came back back and beat Caldwell the day I was there. So talk to me. And you, your team, survived all of the I would call them like we kind of call like the mid-pack of end 10. And like that, to me, that's not the first step, right? You want to get and be the champion of the mid-pack because then you got to you, then you got to play the the big dogs and try to compete with them. And you guys had some barn burners with those teams this year and came up on top. So, what was that like for your team?

SPEAKER_00 45:23

Um, you know, it just showed you know the resilience of my guys and our team. And I and we try to instill in their minds that there's this you know work ethic uh mentality, you know, you want to continue to work from the start to the finish, um, and don't ever give up and never hit a panic button. That's the big thing. Yeah. Think about like our pace game, for example. We're down four, we we spotted them four goals in the first quarter, and then we outscored them 11-8, the final three. And that just resilience of our guys to never give up and never pack it in. And you know, unfortunately, you know, unfortunately for our guys, we a couple mishaps at the end and they scored, you know, two goals to tie it up and go ahead and and win the game. But we know where we are, and that's we talk about the growth of our program. We know what we're about. We're not quite there yet. We feel that we could compete with the the you know, all those big dogs. Yeah, my six losses are against all those guys. I keep telling everybody, my six losses are against top 15 teams for crap. Yeah, yeah, you exactly. So, so we we know we can compete with those guys. It's just now we just gotta we gotta focus on the recruiting part to get over that hump and get those two to three to four more players that are gonna make us get there and then be able to say, hey, listen, Adelphi, this is a one-goal game or a two-goal game or whatever it is, and and just be able to compete at a little higher level with those. St. A's has been, you know, one of those teams that's kind of built like that. Like what they built it like Merrimack did when Merrimack was in our conference, and they've been building, building, building. And they're they're they're good, solid, they're well coached. Um, it's just it's a tough, and I think that's the thing with our conference. So many great coaches, Coach Murphy, Coach Mariano, these guys are all great coaches.

SPEAKER_01 47:09

So yeah, yeah, I I I totally agree. And I think what you just said um about you know trying to get to the next level, it's several things, like you said, it's having the depth of players to go against those top teams that keep running out other players. It's like having enough fresh legs. Would you agree with that?

SPEAKER_00 47:31

Oh, without a doubt. It showed in our final like two games when um going against Bentley and a Delphi, we we didn't have enough, we didn't have the horses uh at midfield to kind of stay with those guys. There, you know, Bentley was just kept coming. They had two really good solid lines who kept bringing guys, and their defense is stout, and we just couldn't get any traction, so to speak. And and the same thing with a Delphi. We just we we didn't have enough offensive chances. We had some early on. The next thing you know, they they disappeared quick. We know that we need a depth. Um, you know, once we can get to the where we're at the midfield depth, I think we're we'll be fine. And we we're we were close this year. We had a second midfield line that we felt we sprinkled in there, especially in that those five-game winning streak. We had those guys getting some good runs in there, and they gave us some good minutes. Um, but they're all little guys too. We don't have those six foot two guys out there running around. Well, so we're getting bumped around a little bit.

SPEAKER_01 48:29

Well, I'll tell you though, coach, I've watched some of your games, probably watched more last year I got to than this year, but every time I've watched your team, like you said, resilience. Yeah, never stop, always playing hard. Yeah, and that's I think half the battle. So let me ask you this question: what has been the best moment for your team this season, you think?

SPEAKER_00 48:54

Oh, I I I gotta go to you know, the the Franklin Pierce game, um, you know, that and the St. Mike's games is is I let me tell you this. Franklin Pierce, the last four games with Franklin Pierce have been one goal games, and the last three have gone to overtime. Wow. I don't know what it is that's turned out to be like this major rivalry with those guys. We have a lot of guys on our team that have a ton of friends over on that team. So um, no matter where we are, if at our place or their place, we know it's gonna be a bad, and we went up big on them early, and then next thing you know, they just fight back. They're another team that likes to fight back. Blue-collar guys, yeah, you know, grind it out. Um, and you know, to go to overtime and to have Tristan Peets, who won it for us last year in overtime and won it again this year in overtime, um that's quite a moment for him. I mean, I've his ironically, Tristan dad played for me many years ago. So then Tristan came to school and played for me here too. So so it's certainly it was a it's a great moment to have that happen. And but yeah, the Frankl Pierce game is probably the one game this year that just showed that even though we weren't we didn't have our way in that fourth quarter, we kept giving up goals. Frankl Pierce kept coming back, and that's what they're supposed to do. And then uh we scored with, I think um, we scored and then we we went to overtime with those guys, and Tristan won it right away for us. So it's good to have Gennaro Mara winning those face-offs and overtime quick timeout and set something up.

SPEAKER_01 50:30

That's awesome. That's I did not know that story that yeah, it'll last several games have gone overtime and then uh scored the overtime goal on both of them. That is that is awesome. So I'm gonna end you with with this question because I want to leave it up to you. You talk about recruiting. Tell us why you think Southern New Hampshire is special and what your program brings to players who are looking to go play at the next level.

SPEAKER_00 50:55

Um, I think you know, the one thing that we talk about with our program and when we're out recruiting with with young men out there is that we I'm a real firm believer that everything has to fit. And when I sit down with families and I sit down with recruits and I talk to them about, you know, our program. Yeah, of course I'm gonna pump up our program, the conference we play in, uh the competition, our facilities are amazing, all that stuff. But the bottom line is this is the fact that in four years, your education is the most important piece to all of this. The lacrosse is gonna be a big part of your your four-year career here. But if you if you take lacrosse off the table when you choose your institution, it has to have the right academic fit for you. It's got to have the right social environment for you. Um, and it's got to be a place that if you weren't a player, could you see yourself there as a student? You know, and and that's really like my biggest pitch with these guys. And and and I'm a this is who I am. I'm I'm that guy when you sit in an office and you talk to me. Um I I'm gonna be, you know, the guy that leaves the door open for you all the time. Come and sit and talk to me about whatever you want. But you know, at the end of the day, our goal, our mission is to make sure that we provide you with the greatest student athlete experience you could possibly have. And our university is you know, does a great job all around with the academic piece of it, you know, the social aspect of it, and then throw in the athletics with the competition that we have. Yeah. And to boot its only $15,000 tuition model here.

SPEAKER_01 52:35

So wow. There you go. Maybe I'll show up there. Maybe uh I wish could have convinced my daughter to go there instead of Hofster, maybe. But uh, no, coach, I think you hit the nail on the head. We had uh the founder of uh an organization called Athletes to Athletes, who talks about that. That when he sits down with with high school players, he says, Let's forget about your sport. Everyone knows what you can do there. Let's talk about other your other interests to see what the real fit is emotionally, uh socially, academically. And I think you saying that to players and parents is probably the most important thing. So I think that's great. I I really thank you for coming on tonight. It was great to have you. I'm sorry Danny couldn't be on. He's you know, like I said, he's stuck down in North Carolina right now. We're trying to regroup.

SPEAKER_00 53:24

Um that's true.

SPEAKER_01 53:28

That's true. But uh it's been it's been fantastic, and uh, we're gonna enjoy watching the penmen uh for years to come. And I'm so glad I know what the what the mascot's name came to be.

SPEAKER_00 53:37

There you go. Well, I appreciate you having me on, Kevin. This has been great. And um, you know, anytime um I'm always you know grateful uh talking about my program and our university. It's been 35 years, uh I stayed for a reason, you know. So exactly. You know, so it's been it's been great. And someday I'll have to retire, but who knows when.

Games to watch

SPEAKER_01 53:59

All right, Danny. We've got several of the conference tournaments in the south done, but we've got several more to go this next week. First conference is still in the south, and that's the peach belt. And that's lander against Flagler. Wow.

SPEAKER_03 54:16

I mean, hats off to Flagler. Coach, Coach Don, man. You've been Doncan, you just bought had that team, not even a 500 team, but gets their team to the Peach Belt Championship. Now, Lander beat them up pretty good earlier in the season, Cap. So I think Lander's got a little bit more in in in the in their suitcase than Flagler does, but Flagler just to get there is great. I think it's great. I just something about this program I loved it. I really love Duncan. I like the way, and he's a good coach, man. He's got the kids playing pretty good. Yeah, yeah. All freshmen and sophomores, Kev. Just freshmen and sophomores. He's got one or two, you know, older fellows, but basically they're all freshmen and sophomores at Flagler. So hats off to Coach Duncan and Flagler, but I have a feeling uh Land was gonna come out on top on that one. Yeah. But that should be that should be a fun game to watch. I mean, the game the Peach Belt's a really cool conference, and don't they just I just like that conference.

SPEAKER_01 55:24

It's got a cool vibe to it. All right, so let's move on to the GLVC. And their semifinal is May 4th, and that's that's gonna be UND against Lewis and Rockhurst against Maryville. Who you picking there?

SPEAKER_03 55:42

Well you gotta go with Undy over Lewis, you know, you gotta do it. You know, I I just I just don't think any of the other teams in that conference are at Undy's level. I agree. I agree. You know, it's you indie, and then there's a big difference between the rest of the the conference. So I mean, I think they're gonna take care of Lewis. And then you got Rockhurst against Maryville.

SPEAKER_01 56:12

I don't know, man. This is a pick'em. It is a pick'em game. I'm gonna go with Maryville. Rockhurst just recently lost to Davenport, which surprised me. I don't know if they're injured again or not. Maryville and Rockhurst always play fairly close games. Maryville lost to Rockhurst, I think, this season in the regular season. But I think Maryville goes to the final against UND.

SPEAKER_03 56:44

Yeah, I I'd probably agree with that. I I would say Maryville will be Rockhurst. And uh and Undy's gonna walk away with that. It's really not like again, I just think it's Undy, and then there's a big gap, and then the rest of the the conference.

SPEAKER_01 57:01

I just they're not on that level of UI. That's all. Yeah, I think UND wins it on the sixth, without a doubt. Okay, let's go.

SPEAKER_03 57:08

No, it's not like the sack where like you got three teams that are can considering each one of them. It's there, it's just not that kind of a conference. Right. They're getting there, but it's not there yet.

SPEAKER_01 57:18

Okay, let's talk about the Armac. Armac's got uh it's Colorado Mesa facing Adam State on the fifth and Westminster facing CSU Pueblo. I I think obviously it's gonna be uh Westminster against Colorado Mesa in the final.

SPEAKER_03 57:40

This is another conference that struggles a little bit, Kevin. You know, you have one team that's pretty much on the top, and it's very good, and then the other teams are just not on that level. Yeah, you know, some you know and I was looking at Colorado Mesa's schedule because they've been considered for the for the NCAA tournament, but I just don't think they have the strength of schedule to get in, even if they win their conference, I just don't know if their strength of schedule is gonna get them in.

SPEAKER_01 58:16

Yeah, we'll talk about that in a little bit. I I'll have to go through the who's in there. I thought if they ran the table, I did not think limestone was gonna do what they did. If they if Colorado Mesa ran the table, they had a good shot, they had a shot at making the six. I don't know now. I have to go back and look at that list.

SPEAKER_03 58:35

I totally agree with that. I totally agree with that. I think before Limestone, if if you know if Limestone lost either one of those games, some people think of you know just the Wingate win because Wingate was ranked number two, was enough to get him in, which could have could be, but I think Colorado Mesa had a strong case for that six, yeah, just based on record. But um just now, I don't know. So they're gonna win their conference. That these other teams aren't on their level, Captain.

SPEAKER_01 59:07

I think Westminster is closer. I but I I think they're I think Colorado Mesa wins it this year. I agree. All right, let's talk about the CAC. So in the CACC on the semifinals now, it's George and Kurt against Post on Friday the 5th, and Chestnut Hill against Wilmington. I gotta go with Georgian Court in the first semifinal.

SPEAKER_03 59:35

They are playing strong. I do too. They're playing very well.

SPEAKER_01 59:39

Then it's Chestnut Hill against Wilmington. Wilmington's been struggling a little a little bit this year. Yeah. I'm gonna go with I do too. I think it's gonna be Chestnut Hill against Georgian Court. Who do you gotta bring? Who do you think is gonna win it?

SPEAKER_03 59:56

I think the coach of the year out of that that conference, Mickey Hover and Georgian Court's gonna win it. I agree.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:03

I agree. I think Chestnut Hill is gonna play him tougher this the second time around, but I think I think Georgian Court takes it.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:14

You got a couple of seniors on that team that want it at Georgian Court. They want it. So that should be a good one, though. You know what? That should be a pretty good game to watch.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:24

It'll be a very good game to watch.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:26

Playoffs, baby.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:28

Okay, ECC. Mercy is playing Malloy again. It's funny, the matchups of the last game of the season are the same ones that are playing. So it's Mercy against Malloy, and it's Roberts Wesleyan against Frosper State.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:46

Well, you know what, Malloy, as much as as much as they improved this year, they're not a match for Mercy. We just gotta lay it on the table. They're just not. Mercy stacked both sides of the ball. And um I don't see Malloy, I can see them being competitive a little bit, but I don't see them beating Mercy.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:08

I agree. And then Roberts Wesley and Frostburg State. This is a pick-up game, I think.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:15

Now, this is a different story altogether with this game. This game could be the game to watch. Yeah. The number one game to watch this way this week. Because there's a lot at stake for both teams. They're both very evenly matched. You know, Frostburg again had some good wins, really great wins this year. But they also had some kind of crazy losses where Roberts Wesley's just kind of been steady across the board. Uh I don't know, man.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:52

What do you think? I I'm gonna go with Frostburg State to beat Robert Wesleyan. Um man. This is a tough one. It is. I think it's a pick'em game. I think either one can pull it out.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:09

I think they match up well against each other. Um oh boy, I don't know, man. What's pull up that schedule again from Frostburg last night? So tough one, brother. Tough one. I'm gonna say the former C Seaford High School star, now coach at Frostburg State, Dave Gardelman. I think Gardelman and Frostburg squeak it out in a close one. That's what I'm gonna say.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:45

Okay, all right. So now we've got the matchup for the final. It's gonna be on the on the sixth. Mercy against Frostburg State. Mercy. Yeah, I say mercy too.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:57

All day, every day, and if it's on a Sunday, it'll be twice on Sunday. It's not a Saturday, but it could be on a Sunday.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:04

You never know with the brother these days. Are you traveling there?

SPEAKER_03 1:03:07

I know, right? The weather's been crazy, but you know what? I just mercy's that good. I just yeah, you know, Frostburg, they're they would have to play the game of their life to beat them. That's and you know what they're it's possible.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:20

Yeah, they beat Tampa. It's possible, but just mercy's good. I like Mercy. Okay, G Mac. G Mac. Seton Hill against Walsh in the semis on the third. Mercy Hearst against Lake Erie.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:37

All right, Mercy Hearst big over Lake Erie. Let's just get that out of the way. Lake Erie was a good team this year. They gave some team to gave Mercyhurst a game a couple of weeks ago.

unknown 1:03:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:49

Is that Mercy Hurst they played? I forget. I've watched so much LaCraw has Kevin. I can't one game's a running into the other. It's like I imagine myself making the donuts. But um yeah, yeah, that mercy hearst big over Lake Erie and um Seton Hill.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:08

Oh, it's Seton Hill over Walsh. So then they it goes Seton Hill Mercyhurst in the final on the sixth.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:17

How do you not go with Seton Hill? How do you not?

SPEAKER_01 1:04:23

They seem to have the Lakers number, man. I know, but I'm gonna go with Mercyhurst, and I'm gonna do this because just when Lenore Ryan had Wingate's number for for so many games, Wingate finally pulled it out this year. I think Mercyhurst turns it around. I can't see Mercyhurst losing to them again. I just can't. But they can. I mean, they can. Could it that's gonna be a good game, too?

SPEAKER_03 1:04:50

Yeah, that should be a really good game. Um, again, these two teams, I think they match up well. I think it's just a it's a matchup. It's a great rivalry. It's a great rivalry, yeah. But I'm talking about players on the field, deep deep holes against Midi's, deep hole. I just think it's a good they match up well, they match up well against the the Lakers. Yeah, so I'm gonna say that Seton Hill pulls it out and gets that conference championship again. But I might be Ethan Crow afterwards. We'll find out. Well, we split this time, so one of us will be right.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:22

Okay, this is fun. This is fun. This is what I like. The final one, the final conference tournament for the NE10. We're at the semifinals, and they are Wednesday, May 3rd. So it'll be after this podcast, before this podcast is released. It's Lemoyne against St. Anselm and Bentley against Adelphi.

SPEAKER_03 1:05:48

Well I just Bentley's a very capable team. They're a very they're a team that's capable of beating good teams if they play. Great and they have great players on that team and they beat a Delphi already. And they beat a Delphi already, and they're well coached. I do not see them beating a Delphi again.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:11

I don't either. I think that's a tough task for any team. We talk about this all the time. We talked about it with Tampa. We talked about it with so many other teams. When you play that team twice, you can't, it's very tough to beat them twice. And I think in this case, Bentley played a phenomenal game against a Delphi. They did everything right. They did. I just I think a Delphi is going to come out with extra extra motivation not to let that happen again. And they agree with you. They've got the players to do it. So I think a Delphi will pull this out. What about Lemoy against St. A's?

SPEAKER_03 1:06:55

I think it's going to be a close game. They're a good team, man. But Lemoyne with that defense and the way they play lockdown, St. A's would have to be they'd have to play real, real fast. And I just don't know if they play at that speed to beat a little. I think they would have to be like really quick transition. They would have to look to get unsettled goals because I think if St. A's gets in a 6v6, it's it's it's Lemoyne.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:34

Yeah, I think St. Anselm, they usually take a lot of shots. That's their modus operandi. But this time against Lemoyne, their shot percentage on goal has got to be higher, and they've got to be really more efficient. And I I don't see that with Lemoyne's defense being able to do that. No, I just don't see him winning out in the end. I think you know you can kind of say that St. Ace hasn't played four good quarters against Lemoyne. I think that's tough against them in their defense. I your shooting percentage has got to be so on. And when you've got a defense that can press you out and you're taking shorts shots farther out than you want, and you've got to be able to really dodge and be able to get shots on the crease and really be able to move that ball, which St. Ace can do. I just don't see it. Their goalie play, Le Moyne's goalie play has been good this year. I just think in the end, uh Lemoyne wins that game. So I think I agree with you. So now we've got Lemoyne against the Delphi.

SPEAKER_03 1:08:42

Oh man, that was such a great game last week, two weeks ago. That was such a great game. Like I said on the last podcast, that was the best game in Division II that I saw all year. Two very, very well-coached teams, two teams stacked on both sides of the ball with a lot of talent, Kev. These kids are not only big, strong, and fast, but they're talented with the stick. They're good lacrosse players, high IQ. I just, you know, a lot of these players could be playing at a Division I level squad. That's that's how good both both these teams are. Oh, yeah. I I have to give I'm gonna say a Delphi pulls it out. I think they have the better face-off guy.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:36

And I think goalie, I think Adelphi pulls it out. And if we are wrong, if Lemoine wins, I think Lemoyne proves again that they're the best team in Division II. Yep, yep.

SPEAKER_03 1:09:58

If they beat a Delphi, they're hands down the number one team in the country. Play a very hard schedule. And again, they don't win sexy, they just don't let you score. They just don't let you score. They play lockdown when they play lockdown. They're very good. They're just a high IQ team. Just, just, you know, just I think well, like I said, when I watched that game last week, I was there. I felt like I was watching a Division I level playoff game. It had that kind of atmosphere, had got that kind of speed, that kind of aggressiveness, um, just the high IQ of all the players on the field. But what I like about Adelphi in this game is Dylan Renner in goal has been, in my opinion, he's probably goalie of the year. He's gotta be. He's gotta be at least in the conversation. He's in the conversation without a doubt. Yep. You know, and then with Mr. Hoarder at at the faceoff, that kid's an animal, man. He's just a really, really good player. And I think that the edge goes to a Delphi at those two key spots.

SPEAKER_01 1:11:08

Yeah, I hear you. I hear you. So let's move on, though. So those are all the tournaments and the games that are left until we get to the NCAA tournament. And we've got the rankings that came up with strengths of schedule. They haven't updated them. I think they don't update them until later on this week. But let's go through and kind of talk about where we think the final six are going to be. So if you look at the eight in the North region right now, it's Lemoyne, and this is in one to one to eight. Lemoyne and then Adelphi at two, Mercyhurst at three, Mercy at four, Pace at five, St. Anselm at six, Seton Hill at seven, and Bentley at eight. Could you repeat those, please? Lemoyne, Adelphi, Mercyhurst, Mercy, Pace, St. A's, Seton Hill, and Bentley.

SPEAKER_03 1:12:10

Okay. If if Lemoyne wins out, they'll definitely be a they'll they'll definitely be the one. Yep. I think with a win or a loss, Adele finds the two. I I really do. I agree. I agree. And the only the only thing that would maybe stop them from being the two is their strength of schedule. Because it's not on par with some of the other teams. They're definitely, if you look at the massey ratings, their strength of schedule is not in the top ten. So if anything keeps them out of the two a Delphi, it would be their strength of schedule.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:52

Well, I think if they lose to Bentley in the semis, they won't be two. Oh, no, no, no. But if we go with what we what we're saying is uh let's go with what we consider our projections for these tournaments, I agree with you. It's Lemoyne and then a Delphi. I think Mercy may be at three after this weekend. Seton Hill and Mercyhurst are probably at the four and five level. And then I think St. Anselm goes the sixth, is the sixth spot.

SPEAKER_02 1:13:27

Hmm.

SPEAKER_03 1:13:29

You know, Seton Hill's got a they got a strong chance, man. If they beat Mercyhurst, I think.

SPEAKER_01 1:13:38

Oh, I think if think if they beat Mercyhurst, I think they're in. And I think their Mercyhurst and them are like at the four and five level. I think if St. A's, I think St. A's where they sit right now. I think will be the sixth.

SPEAKER_03 1:13:53

Like Mercy's a lock, right? Yeah. So let's let's let's talk about the locks. LeMoyne, Adelphi, Mercy are locks for sure. Yes. Now the next three, you know, Mercyhurst with a 10-2 overall record, with a pretty difficult schedule.

SPEAKER_01 1:14:12

Yep. Pace at the five, they lost. Yeah, they're out. So they're 10 and yeah, yeah. So they're so now you got St.

SPEAKER_03 1:14:23

A's with a seven and three record. And they they would have if Seton Hill can beat Marcy Hust, I said I say they go in and St. A's is out.

SPEAKER_01 1:14:36

No, I I think St. Ace stays in. It's Pace that's out. Pace is at five right now. I think Seton Hill. Seton Hill's now. The only one that I think that could change that is if Bentley beats Adelphi and St. A's loses, then I think maybe Bentley is in and St. A's is out. And Seton Hill and Mercy Hurst are still in with Mercy.

SPEAKER_03 1:15:01

So this is actually last week's NCAA rankings, right? Right. Okay, so these are gonna change. Um so Lemoyne's a lock, Adelphi's a lock, mercy's a lock. Mercyhurst is a lock. And it's gonna we'll see what happens with St. A's, Seton Hill. I see you know, St. A's, if if you know St. A's might go to the five spot if they can play well, but if Seton Hill wins out, if they beat Mercyhurst, uh they might even take the four. It could screw a lot up.

SPEAKER_01 1:15:42

Yeah, it could screw a lot up. I I think that my my take for the North, and let's not talk about the final rankings, but it's gonna be Lemoyne, Adelphi, Mercy, Mercyhurst, Seton Hill, and St. A's. That's what I'm thinking. Yeah, you know what?

SPEAKER_03 1:16:00

I want to see what Seton Hill does in the conference tournament. Yeah. That's a big that's a biggie, because that that game could change a lot of stuff up in that three, four, five years. Oh, yeah. So uh okay, so what about the South? Okay, got Rollins in the one, right? Yeah. Tampa at the two, they're gonna be out of the two. They're not gonna be the two. You got Wingate at the three with all with a 12-2 record, U Indy at the four, Lenore Rhine's right now at the five, Colorado Mesa at the six, limestone at the seven, Newberry at the eight. Newberry's out. Yep. Colorado Mesa at the end of the day.

SPEAKER_01 1:16:45

I think limestone, yeah. I think limestone's now in. I think those six are locked in right now. It's just what's the ranking? Right. Because I I think Mesa's out.

SPEAKER_03 1:16:56

I you know what? They're a good team. They just don't play this, they just don't have the strength of schedule as these the sack teams. You know, they just don't.

SPEAKER_01 1:17:04

I I think, like I said, if Limestone had not won the sack tournament, the Colorado Mesa could have stayed in. But limestone winning the whole thing pulls them up. And I think it could be it could be Rollins one, UND two, Wingate three. Jeez, and I don't know. It's Tampa, Lenore Ryan, and Limestone. And I don't know how I don't understand their IPAs, RPIs, and how they do the strength of schedule algorithms.

SPEAKER_03 1:17:37

Wingate beat, yeah, Wingate beat Undy. Wingate beat Lenore Ryan, Wingate beat limestone.

SPEAKER_01 1:17:43

You know, so I think they can be the two as well.

SPEAKER_03 1:17:46

I mean they could be the two. You're right. I think I you're you're right. Limestone's in, mace's out. Does Limestone go to the five and Lenore Ryan go to the six?

SPEAKER_01 1:18:05

I think that could be it. I think I think it'll be Tampa four, limestone five, LR six.

SPEAKER_03 1:18:16

Now you now U Wendy's strength of schedule is pretty good. They played good teams out of conference. Right. And and you know And they're gonna win their conference championship.

SPEAKER_01 1:18:25

So they're they're gonna be the three, I think they're gonna be the three of the two seed.

SPEAKER_03 1:18:29

Yeah, but in that conference championship, they're not playing anybody. You know what I mean? Whereas some of these strength of schedule, right? Right, right. Where you know when a Delphi and Lemoyne play each other, it means something. These two top two, three teams. So even in the sack with the the three win wingate limestone and Lenore Ryan, that when they play each other, they're boosting each other's RPI and and and strength of schedule. Yep. And I don't know, man. You know, you Indy lost to Wingate, so it's it's possible Tampa gets the two still. It's still possible because their strength of schedule is pretty hard.

SPEAKER_01 1:19:11

I I don't I don't see that with them losing to Florida Southern. Yeah, Wingate lost to Limestone. I think Limestone was ranked a little bit higher than Florida Southern. I think that's a tougher game. I think I think Wingate is above Tampa. I I Tampa could be the three. Maybe Wingate's the two. I someone was asking me this the other day, and I you know I keep waffling back and forth. But here's what I say it's gonna be. I could be totally wrong. So Rollins one, Wingate two, Tampa three, Undy four, limestone five, Lenore Ryan six. Say it again, do it one more time.

SPEAKER_03 1:19:55

You might get it right the same way, you're right. I'm looking at it.

SPEAKER_01 1:19:59

All right, Rollins one, Wingate two, Tampa three, U Indy four, limestone five, LR six.

SPEAKER_03 1:20:11

You're saying Wingate gets the two, huh?

SPEAKER_01 1:20:15

I think they get it, I think they're above Tampa. I think I still think U Indy could be the two, but like I said, you're you've got a good point on strength of schedule.

SPEAKER_03 1:20:24

Especially in the conference tournament, you know. Uh you know, UIndy plays a tough schedule, but I just think that tournament doesn't help them.

SPEAKER_01 1:20:35

They win, they won and like Wingate didn't. I don't know what that means. I don't know, I don't know if that even goes into it, but I guess we've got to get a real expert on here. Someone from the NCA, come on and tell us what's going on.

SPEAKER_03 1:20:49

Yeah, it's it's but this is what makes it so much fun when you and I can sit down and you know think about, you know, you you and I we've watched a lot of lacrosse, Kev. We we got our nose pretty dug in, you know. And our predictions have been pretty close so far, and a couple of misses here and there, but those were upsets, you know. So I like Rollins at the one. They're gonna be tough, but they're beatable. I think they might put you Windy at that two. I'm just having a feeling. I think Wingate gets the three, Tampa gets the four, limestone gets the five, and Lenore Ryan gets the six. I I can see that too. I can see that too. I say I think they're gonna give you Windy the two. I don't know why. I don't because I don't know. Wing beat four of those teams, you know what I mean? Like they beat those teams, so it's gotta count for something.

SPEAKER_01 1:21:54

It's gotta count. Well, let's see. Let's see who gets that number two. That is the real team.

SPEAKER_03 1:21:59

See, like that that's what I would love to be the fly on the wall when they talk about it at the committee meetings and see what they talk about because you don't know what they're gonna do. Yeah, I had pe I had people on Facebook yesterday. What do you think? Owen Consoleti. Remember Owen from yeah, limestone? He just hit me up, hey Danny, what do you think? You know, and I was like, hey, Owen, you never know what the committee's gonna say. You know, you just don't.

SPEAKER_01 1:22:26

So I mean, yeah, it's I Clay James hit me up on Facebook and he called us. I can't wait to hear what the duo duo gurus say.

SPEAKER_03 1:22:36

What a good guy. All right, so yeah, you know, I I love the Adelphi Lemoyne matchups, those are really good, and those two teams, those two teams, one of those two teams is going to the national championship. Yeah, yeah. But Le Moine or Adelphi, one of those two teams out of the South, I don't know. I literally don't know because I think any one of these, any one of these teams are capable of beating the other.

SPEAKER_01 1:23:11

It's gonna be crazy in the South region this year. Crazy.

SPEAKER_03 1:23:15

You know, Rollins got that number one defense, man. Tampa's got a number two defense. Lenore Ryan, I look wingate's got a top 10 defense and a top four offense. Like what the I don't know out of the south. I really couldn't tell you. But all I know is that Lemoyne and either Adelphi or Le Moyne out of the north, and it's a I don't know out of the south.

SPEAKER_01 1:23:42

Yeah. Okay, Danny. We have no player spotlight, so we're going right to the shout-outs.

Shout Outs

SPEAKER_01 1:23:52

Shout outs, here we go. All right, I'll start off. We got some more career milestones, and this time it's on one team. So shout out to TJ Hyder for 101 career goals and his teammate, Brady Kiernan, for 304 career points.

SPEAKER_03 1:24:17

Wow. The two of them balling out. Yeah, man. Good for those guys. What do you have? My shout out goes out to Mickey Hover, the head coach of Georgian Court. I mean, just what he's been able to do this year, I just think it's he's had a great year. I love what they're doing. Good job, Mickey. We love you over here at In the Creese.

SPEAKER_01 1:24:40

That's a good one.

SPEAKER_03 1:24:41

That's a good one. Do you have any others? I'm gonna shout out to the Limestone Saints. They deserve a shout out, Kev. They came to the SAC and kicked everybody's ass. They deserve it. So shout out and applause to them. Limestone Saints. Good job, fellas.

SPEAKER_01 1:25:03

Okay, and the final shout out goes to our sponsor, Scorebreak. As Coach Duncan of Flagler said, it really helps, it really helps their team, but he's not the only D2 coach using Scorebreak. Here's some of the list of the others: St. Rose, St. Michael's, Caldwell, Bentley, Limestone, St. A's. So if you're a coach out there, I'm sure if you reached out to any of these coaches, they would tell you what a great product and tool it is for their team. So check it out at www.scorebreak.io. And with that, Danny, that's a wrap. That's a wrap. It's tournament time.