Centennial Conference 2019

D3 Mens Lacrosse
mdline
Posts: 30
Joined: Fri Dec 21, 2018 3:24 pm

Re: Centennial Conference 2019

Post by mdline »

Gettysburg/McDaniel, FM/Dickinson, Ursinus/Muhlenburg, WAC/Swarthmore on the slate tonight.

FM and Dickinson the obvious match-up of the heavier hitters, but I'm sure that Muhlenburg has designs on making some noise.
Laxdds
Posts: 336
Joined: Sun Jan 20, 2019 2:57 pm

Re: Centennial Conference 2019

Post by Laxdds »

I'm going to swallow hard and say Go Devils!
GO BULLETS!
overandback
Posts: 92
Joined: Wed Mar 13, 2019 10:31 pm

Re: Centennial Conference 2019

Post by overandback »

Can someone do the math please?
FaithfulFord
Posts: 2
Joined: Sun Apr 21, 2019 12:54 pm

Re: Centennial Conference 2019

Post by FaithfulFord »

Ask and you shall receive overandback!

Here are the standings (tie breakers accounted for) and their upcoming opponents:

F&M (6-1) - Muhlenberg
Gettysburg (6-1) - WAC
Ursinus (5-2) - Dickinson
Dickinson (4-3) -Ursinus
WAC (4-3) - Gettysburg
Muhlenberg (3-4) - F&M - eliminated
Haverford (3-4) - Swat
Swat (1-6) - Haverford - eliminated
McDaniel (0-8) - eliminated

F&M, Gettysburg and Ursinus are locks for the bonus CC lax but the seeding is not yet determined. F&M and Gettysburg are locked in for semi-final home games. Ursinus would clinch the 3 seed with a win.

For the Devils to advance, they need one of the following:
- a win OR
- a 4-4 tie with WAC OR
- a 4-4 tie with WAC AND Muhlenberg
- a 4-4 tie with WAC AND Muhlenberg AND Haverford

For WAC to advance, they need:
- a win AND Dickinson lose

For my Fords to advance, they need:
- 4-4 tie with Dickinson AND WAC (all teams 1-1 but Fords advance via Ursinus win)

Final Standing Prediction:
F&M (7-1)
Gettysburg (7-1)
Ursinus (6-2)
Haverford (4-4)
Dickinson (4-4)
WAC (4-4)
Muhlenberg (3-5)
Swat (1-7)
McDaniel (0-8)

Definitely no bias in the standings above 😉
SpartanLaxFanatic
Posts: 56
Joined: Mon Apr 22, 2019 9:52 pm

Re: Centennial Conference 2019

Post by SpartanLaxFanatic »

Great final saturday of the season for the Centennial. Overall one of the more balanced conferences in the country and I think the playoffs this year have 4 equal squads who all have a chance to take home the CC ship.

#1 F&M vs. Ursinus - UC got the best of the Dips in the regular season in and OT finish. 91 and 1 were beasts for the Bears in the regular seasonr rendition while Keating paced F&M. Was box score scrolling today and saw 13 and 91 had zero points against Dickinson, did they shut them or what? Those are two of the best players in the conference and to see them scoreless was shocking. Overall, I feel like F&M is the better overall team and will advance into the CC Ship, solid goaltending and defense will be key.

#2 Gburg vs #3 Dickinson - Dickinson seems to be a bit undertalented this year. 11 on offense is a good player but they seem like they still haven't filled the roles of last year's senior (Maher, Strods, Finneran). Gburg seems like they are hitting their stride at the perfect time, love that 7 is back in the mix because he is so explosive out of the midfield. Gburg wins comfortably here.

Thoughts?
Laxdds
Posts: 336
Joined: Sun Jan 20, 2019 2:57 pm

Re: Centennial Conference 2019

Post by Laxdds »

I have watched these team play all year and there is not a lot of separation between them but enough.

-Gburg has a few more playmakers than Dickinson, that and home field will make the difference. If Dickinson's goalie is hot all bets are off. Gburg's freshman goalie has looked great at times and looked like a freshman at others, although he has the potential to be a game changer. Gburg 14 Dickinson 10

-F&M is better at both ends then Ursinus and will want revenge. I just don't see Ursinus pulling another upset in Lancaster unless they control the pace of play and keep the ball out of the hands of F&M's attack. F&M 16 Ursinus 12

Should be fun!

GO BULLETS!
NYLaxer
Posts: 17
Joined: Mon Apr 22, 2019 9:38 am

Re: Centennial Conference 2019

Post by NYLaxer »

Laxdds wrote: Sun Apr 28, 2019 5:57 pm I have watched these team play all year and there is not a lot of separation between them but enough.

-Gburg has a few more playmakers than Dickinson, that and home field will make the difference. If Dickinson's goalie is hot all bets are off. Gburg's freshman goalie has looked great at times and looked like a freshman at others, although he has the potential to be a game changer. Gburg 14 Dickinson 10

-F&M is better at both ends then Ursinus and will want revenge. I just don't see Ursinus pulling another upset in Lancaster unless they control the pace of play and keep the ball out of the hands of F&M's attack. F&M 16 Ursinus 12

Should be fun!

GO BULLETS!
Agree there: Go Bullets. Their D is excellent. 35 is one tough player.

UC has the best goalie of the 4 today so if game is close as it was a few weeks ago, he will make a big difference. Through the grapevine, I heard 91 blew his knee against DC last Sat, which explains the shutdown. FM offense is impressive. Would love to UC take another game from them. CC is a great conference! Glad it will be on live stream.
~~Played in the days when the helmets weren't nearly as cool!
suthunlax
Posts: 8
Joined: Sun Apr 21, 2019 3:58 pm

Re: Centennial Conference 2019

Post by suthunlax »

Finally got off my duff and joined the new site....sad, I know...time to dive back in...

Been an exciting year for the CC, and the semis continued the trend of close games. G'burg held serve in what was essentially a rivalry game, although I must give the Devils a top o' the hat because I thought it would be more one-sided. Ursinus showed real gumption in pulling it out against F&M.

CC Final and NCAA dance thoughts:
1. A month ago, I felt moderately comfortable saying two CC teams -- possible even, gasp, three -- might dance. Dang...
2. Barring a really lopsided loss to the Bears, I think the Bullets are the one CC team who will get an invite regardless of how Saturday goes. I think they will use their depth and speed to grind down the Bears, who I believe will get solid goalie play, but will be unable to keep up beyond the midpoint of the third quarter. Hank and Co. will want to make a statement and I think they will win by 6.
3. Bears need to win to dance, or an amazing 5OT loss that people will talk about 20 years from now. Great season marred by the loss to the Brotherhood of the Squirrel. Much has been said that that loss was due in no small part to the absence of more than a few key players, coupled with the Squirrels' shocking ability to keep it together for a full 60 minutes. I think the selection cmte will see that loss as indicative of a possible lack of depth on the Bears' roster and will question whether they can keep pace with the top teams. The early wins over Stevenson, Cortland, and CNU look less impressive in the retrospective manner in which I expect the cmte to view them. That said, selection cmtes value grit, and the Bears showed that a-plenty today. They are definitely on the right path, and winning tends to help with recruiting.
4. F&M: I was surprised by what I would call an uncharacteristic lack of discipline on the defensive end in the last quarter, especially at the very end. Granted, I haven't watched a lot of F&M this season, but Coach Cav knows what he's doing and his guys typically finish games better than that. I think they needed to make the finals to continue on and don't at this point see them putting on their dancing shoes. They will be in the mix next year.
5. Red Devils: A once-promising season devolved into a dumpster fire, with a bunch of rodents throwing gasoline onto the flames. I watched the Mustang Classic and the game against Denison still holds up (although the close loss to Midd less so). I also saw the game against Hav and will swear that somebody somewhere turned off the Devils' switch in the second half. They needed the AQ. Webby has some talent on hand and should have a decent team next year.

Your thoughts?
NYLaxer
Posts: 17
Joined: Mon Apr 22, 2019 9:38 am

Re: Centennial Conference 2019

Post by NYLaxer »

Coming back to the F&M/UC game. Grit was the best word to describe that game. Good play on both sides, some better #'s from the home team, but in the end, not the numbers that count. I stated that UC GK would, in fact, make the difference and he truly owned that game. As mentioned, he was the best GK of the final 4, but I think he is best in conf this year.

Both teams deserve credit, it was great lacrosse.

Huge shout to the home team for the absolute best video feed in probably all of D3 sports. The facility is top notch, but since I could not be in Lancaster, that feed was incredible.
~~Played in the days when the helmets weren't nearly as cool!
CTlaxer12
Posts: 63
Joined: Mon Apr 29, 2019 11:07 am

Re: Centennial Conference 2019

Post by CTlaxer12 »

suthunlax wrote: Wed May 01, 2019 10:21 pm Finally got off my duff and joined the new site....sad, I know...time to dive back in...

Been an exciting year for the CC, and the semis continued the trend of close games. G'burg held serve in what was essentially a rivalry game, although I must give the Devils a top o' the hat because I thought it would be more one-sided. Ursinus showed real gumption in pulling it out against F&M.

CC Final and NCAA dance thoughts:
1. A month ago, I felt moderately comfortable saying two CC teams -- possible even, gasp, three -- might dance. Dang...
2. Barring a really lopsided loss to the Bears, I think the Bullets are the one CC team who will get an invite regardless of how Saturday goes. I think they will use their depth and speed to grind down the Bears, who I believe will get solid goalie play, but will be unable to keep up beyond the midpoint of the third quarter. Hank and Co. will want to make a statement and I think they will win by 6.
3. Bears need to win to dance, or an amazing 5OT loss that people will talk about 20 years from now. Great season marred by the loss to the Brotherhood of the Squirrel. Much has been said that that loss was due in no small part to the absence of more than a few key players, coupled with the Squirrels' shocking ability to keep it together for a full 60 minutes. I think the selection cmte will see that loss as indicative of a possible lack of depth on the Bears' roster and will question whether they can keep pace with the top teams. The early wins over Stevenson, Cortland, and CNU look less impressive in the retrospective manner in which I expect the cmte to view them. That said, selection cmtes value grit, and the Bears showed that a-plenty today. They are definitely on the right path, and winning tends to help with recruiting.
4. F&M: I was surprised by what I would call an uncharacteristic lack of discipline on the defensive end in the last quarter, especially at the very end. Granted, I haven't watched a lot of F&M this season, but Coach Cav knows what he's doing and his guys typically finish games better than that. I think they needed to make the finals to continue on and don't at this point see them putting on their dancing shoes. They will be in the mix next year.
5. Red Devils: A once-promising season devolved into a dumpster fire, with a bunch of rodents throwing gasoline onto the flames. I watched the Mustang Classic and the game against Denison still holds up (although the close loss to Midd less so). I also saw the game against Hav and will swear that somebody somewhere turned off the Devils' switch in the second half. They needed the AQ. Webby has some talent on hand and should have a decent team next year.

Your thoughts?
Sun, like you I finally got around to joining the new site. I think your observations are spot on. I have a few of my own:

1. Gburg, not as strong as they once were, but still the class of the conference on an average year. Some of the other programs have made strides in chasing down the top team (namely F&M which has a very strong recruiting pipeline). I think they likely win the CC championship game going way. However, a loss would be the only way I see the CC getting two bids (the AQ and Pool C). Expect them to make some noise in the tournament and possibly another run into May. Should be strong again next year, as they return many key contributors.

2. Ursinus, very very nice bounce back year. Two gritty wins at a very good F&M team when facing 4th qtr deficits. I don't see them getting in but for the AQ, but you never know. Some of their big out of conference wins don't have the same luster as they may have in years past (see F&M 2018, whose wins over Cortland and Lburg in down years weren't enough to convince the committee of a Pool C). Not sure of next year's team, but I believe they are losing a couple of large contributors?

3. F&M, very disappointing end to the year for a good team. They will be extremely strong again next year, returning their entire attack unit and some quality midfielders. No shot at a Pool C, just not enough quality out of conference wins. Disappointing is the only way to describe the season I think. They had trouble holding leads in the second half and in particular the 4th qtr in some games, blew lead to Lburg, nearly blew a 6 or 7 goal lead at W&L, a 6 goal lead at Dickinson, blew a 5 goal lead to Ursinus and a lead again last night. Perhaps one explanation is that the team had trouble adjusting to the the shot clock. They desperately need to figure out their keeper and defense situation to be among the nation's elite, of which I think they are knocking on the door and ready to explode. They have a tremendous amount of talent on that end, but allow a lot of goals. Also, tough to beat a quality national opponent when you are consistently below 50% in the net and other teams are above that mark and giving up. If they can sure up both areas of the defense, they are my early pick as number 1 in CC next year as when it all comes together they are tough to beat ( see Gburg game this year).

4. Dickinson, another team that suffered a disappointing year. Not much to say other than they really trailed off mid to late year. They looked fantastic early on in the Mustang Classic, but seemed to not be able to replicate that level of play in some of the conference games. Unfortunately, the CC tends to cannibalize each other during regular season play, so you really need to bring your A game each week. If you don't some team will knock you off as the CC, much like NESCAC and Liberty have teams below the top 4 that are very competitive which is what happened in the Haverford game to the Red Devils. Expect them to return talent and be top 4 again next season.


The rest of the conference is a bit of enigma. Some teams getting better and its possible one joins the top 4 next season, although tough to imagine, but Ursinus surprised us all this year. WAC is particularly interesting because this one Goliath of a program has fallen on hard times. I wonder if they are simply going forward as a mediocre program or if they resurrect themselves. Swat made some strides this year and I expect the Mules to continue to improve. Here's looking to a great final CC weekend!
tdaussie
Posts: 18
Joined: Mon Mar 25, 2019 11:57 am

Re: Centennial Conference 2019

Post by tdaussie »

Suthunlax and CT,

Spot on analysis.

1. GB wins championship comfortably. Ursinus best chance is G Kirk making those 5 to 10 tough saves that can flip the scoreboard.
2. UB gets a sniff at Pool C if this is a close game (see 2015) AND all AQs are won by the favorites.
3. F&M are on life support. Hard to see them in as Pool C.

Bit irksome that ODAC might get 2 teams in and the Centennial only 1. That doesn't pass the smell test.
Laxdds
Posts: 336
Joined: Sun Jan 20, 2019 2:57 pm

Re: Centennial Conference 2019

Post by Laxdds »

Congratulations to Ursinus, their goalie made 22 saves just not the Bullets day. They are now 1-20 against Gettysburg. I knew it was over when Ursinus's goalie (who was outstanding) stuffed Fletcher on the 1 on 1 breakaway and Ursinus scored with 5 secs remaining in the third on a somewhat lucky half field heave. I expect the Bullets to be shipped north.
GO BULLETS!
NYLaxer
Posts: 17
Joined: Mon Apr 22, 2019 9:38 am

Re: Centennial Conference 2019

Post by NYLaxer »

Watched on GB feed and UC GK was out of this world. Could not believe how many he stopped at immediate range. Been around this sport for 30 yrs+ and that was probably the best GK I have ever seen. You'd be happy to rip a 73.3% game against any old team, but against GB is unreal. Hats off to him. Wish I could have been there to see it in person.
~~Played in the days when the helmets weren't nearly as cool!
Dips_lax
Posts: 25
Joined: Fri Dec 14, 2018 8:59 am

Re: Centennial Conference 2019

Post by Dips_lax »

Congrats to Ursinus. Great showing in cage and seamlessly replacing DeSimones presence. This is a very gritty team. Everyone keeps talking about G'burg as the lone pool c. Is this on reputation only? They share the same top 20 out of conference win with F&M (W&L), got smoked by Salisbury and lost to York pretty convincingly, and lost head to head to F&M solidly.

You can't say they belong because they are always there. I think they were rated too highly all year on perception alone. Big issues in cage, FO and didn't dominate like in years past. Expected them too but they didn't - thats the reality. Seems to me the regular season CC title and two conference losses to eventual champion need to account for something. F&M improved their SoS significantly including Amherst and Denison. 2 losses to CC conference tournament champs and one bad loss to Lynchburg early.

CC should be a 3 team tourney bid. Last year for sure. If Ursinus didn't run the table i'd say 2 this year too - Haverford loss hurt and the early out of conference wins don't seem as impressive this year.

Just my 2 cents. We'll see at 9pm
HappyGilmore
Posts: 118
Joined: Sat Mar 30, 2019 5:33 pm

Re: Centennial Conference 2019

Post by HappyGilmore »

Yes, it is based on reputation and F&M has a reputation of not being able to win the big game. Throw in poor coaching and it results in not getting a pool c bid.
CTlaxer12
Posts: 63
Joined: Mon Apr 29, 2019 11:07 am

Re: Centennial Conference 2019

Post by CTlaxer12 »

Dips_lax wrote: Sun May 05, 2019 9:52 am Congrats to Ursinus. Great showing in cage and seamlessly replacing DeSimones presence. This is a very gritty team. Everyone keeps talking about G'burg as the lone pool c. Is this on reputation only? They share the same top 20 out of conference win with F&M (W&L), got smoked by Salisbury and lost to York pretty convincingly, and lost head to head to F&M solidly.

You can't say they belong because they are always there. I think they were rated too highly all year on perception alone. Big issues in cage, FO and didn't dominate like in years past. Expected them too but they didn't - thats the reality. Seems to me the regular season CC title and two conference losses to eventual champion need to account for something. F&M improved their SoS significantly including Amherst and Denison. 2 losses to CC conference tournament champs and one bad loss to Lynchburg early.

CC should be a 3 team tourney bid. Last year for sure. If Ursinus didn't run the table i'd say 2 this year too - Haverford loss hurt and the early out of conference wins don't seem as impressive this year.

Just my 2 cents. We'll see at 9pm
Unfortunately, though I’d like to see CC a 3 team league it just won’t be. Not enough quality out of conference wins for f&m, and as another pointed out, right now the reputation is that they can’t win big games. Had a number of either near collapses or actual collapses late in games. This will all weighs negatively against the Dips. They have a lot to clean up next year to be among the nations elites, of which I think they are fully capable. But another disappointing end.
SpartanLaxFanatic
Posts: 56
Joined: Mon Apr 22, 2019 9:52 pm

Re: Centennial Conference 2019

Post by SpartanLaxFanatic »

OK
Last edited by SpartanLaxFanatic on Wed Sep 01, 2021 5:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.
SixBySix
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Joined: Tue Mar 05, 2019 12:42 pm

Re: Centennial Conference 2019

Post by SixBySix »

Going to be fun to watch the Centennial do some damage to the North side of the bracket!
ergit
Posts: 296
Joined: Sun Nov 25, 2018 8:41 pm

Re: Centennial Conference 2019

Post by ergit »

Yes, easier path to the championship, no doubt ... ;)
CTlaxer12
Posts: 63
Joined: Mon Apr 29, 2019 11:07 am

Re: Centennial Conference 2019

Post by CTlaxer12 »

I was equal parts surprised and thrilled that the CC has three teams representing the conference in the tourney. I think Ursinus winning the CC helped F&M tremendously. Three favorable second round match-ups for the CC, all home games all very winnable.

- Ursinus v. Springfield: Springfield a historically strong program that struggled this year. They struggled a fair amount against good teams this year and coupled with the trip to PA, I think Ursinus wins this one by a few. I like the Ursinus "grit" and think they have one of the best keepers in the country.What is the status of DeSimone, I understand he was out and possibly for the season?

- Gburg v. SJF: Admittedly, I do not have a lot of knowledge about SJF, but from reading about them a bit, they should pose a challenge to the Bullets. SJF had a good year, and had a great victory at the end over Stevens. However, a trip to PA against a battle tested Bullet team that has been there and done that, should result in the CC moving on here.

- F&M v. Stevenson: This is not a vintage Stevenson team, and one that struggled away from the "friendly" confines of the MAC. F&M was on a roll until the "collapse" against Ursinus. F&M can score with anyone, but I sometimes worry about shot selection with them, which has come back to haunt them late in games. Can F&M play enough defense and get enough saves to thwart the Mustangs? Can they close out a team in the 4th qtr? This is the closest of the three games to me and may very well be a "pick-em." However, if we can see the F&M that showed up against Gburg, and for 3 1/2 qtrs against Dickinson, Ursinus, and W&L they can win convincingly.

Good luck to all three, and here's hoping all three advance!
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