Way to Early Rankings

[River Donkey]

Seems strange??? Thoughts on why teams don't want to travel to Florida and escape the cold weather? Is it two costly? you could get 3 solid games. Tampa, St. Leo, FS on west coast or Rollins, FIT, Lynn, PB central and east or do a 2 game swing Friday & Sunday if money an issue. I would think you're almost guaranteed to get games in and probably come away with some wins, based on predications and current rankings.

Cost is usually the issue but getting the Florida schools to agree to a home and home agreement is also difficult.

[SouthernLaxGenius]

Cost isnt always the rhyme or reason (there are a number of SSC schools who have cut checks for teams if they came down and were not going to reciprocate).

Some coaches view them as "trap" games and while we would all like to think 18-22 year olds would focus on playing lax, we all arent that naieve in that thinking. Business trip turns into vacation for some. Couple that with a number of Florida teams that are out and practicing (and in some cases playing games) before their northern counterparts. (Some) coaches are thinking "what the hell is the point"

[Old&InTheWay]

Not sure I truly follow that line of thinking but it sounds like you know what your talking about. Having games at the end of the week and use the beginning of the week as practice time seems beneficial. I guess southern teams will just have to travel up north for now. I also think some of these northern schools could benefit on the recruiting front by having kids in Florida exposed to their programs. Seems like there is a lot of talent coming out of Florida these days.

[bmorelax]

Tampa and Seton Hill were scheduled to play at US Lacrosse headquarters in Maryland last season before Covid issues forced it to be cancelled.
I hope they have rescheduled for 22.

[Old&InTheWay]

Just for conversations; Way to early rankings for SSC

1. Rollins - maybe this is their year
2. Tampa - new HC might take awhile to get things together
3. Lynn- Could be a shocker and win it all but time will tell
4. FIT- solid team but doesn't seem to get the support they need from the school to compete for the top spot.
5. FS- looks like a rebuilding year but may reload with some D1 transfers in Jan.
6. St.Leo- need to build back up to where they were- seem to have taken a step backwards
7. PBA- seems to be moving in the wrong direction
8. ER- hard to tell what's going on with this program

[pridelax13]

If I was to pick my preseason rankings for the SSC this season...

1. Tampa-think Clarke is EXACTLY what they needed. Lots of talent on the roster and his experience will pay huge dividends.
2. Rollins-return a solid amount of offensive guys, and a lot of the defense. Played Tampa tough in a fall scrimmage.
3. Lynn-lost a lot of production on offense and FO. Defense returns a lot though.
4. Florida Tech- I think Penn has done a really good job recruiting the last few years. Team returns a lot of offense minus Reid Chaconas, defense returns some talent as well. Schedule is brutally tough though with Lenoir-Rhyne, Belmont Abbey, Seton Hill, and Colorado Mesa as the OOC games.
5. Florida Southern-they are scheduled to return as much as anyone in the conference, but this is a program that perennially seems to underachieve relative to their recruiting/talent.
6. Saint Leo-bring back some solid offensive players, but lose a lot on defense. Have not recruited on the same level the last 3-4 years as what they did with Cotter and Burke previously. Hard fall from playing for the National Title in 2018.
7. Embry-Riddle- I think Wims is a good coach and will eventually turn this into a competitive program. They have been hurt early on though by COVID in 2020 taking away year 3 in program history and then the cancelling of athletics due to COVID last year.
8. Palm Beach Atlantic- started off well with some big time recruits and transfers to help get the program established but they have been hurt by administration. Limit on the roster number and limited recruiting budget have really hurt them and now they go into the season with an interim coach.

[D2fan]

Was told that LeMoyne beat up on Canisius and Binghamton at the end of the fall.

I know it is fall ball, but they are probably the preseason #1 and I am interested to see how they look without Hutchings.

[StuckinD2]

Was told that LeMoyne beat up on Canisius and Binghamton at the end of the fall.

I know it is fall ball, but they are probably the preseason #1 and I am interested to see how they look without Hutchings.

I am too.. I’ve heard they’ve lost a lot on defense as well to graduation or transfer. I also heard that Brandow blew out his knee this fall. They’re opening the season with Wingate and Mercyhurst. Two tough early tests to open up the season. Should give us an indication of where they’re at and who has stepped up to fill some key rolls.

[D2fan]

US Lacrosse came out with their preseason poll. They look to be putting a lot of stock in the Southern Teams.

https://www.usalaxmagazine.com/college/ ... son-top-20


Over Ranked
6. Mercyhurst: Final 4 runner up and have one of the best D2 coaches in Ryan, but they graduated 6 All Americans. I can see them taking a step back this year.
10. Mt. Olive: Were never really in the NCAA Playoff game and lost a considerable amount of talent.
RV. Florida Southern: I never understand the love they get.
RV. Florida Tech: Maybe these rankings were considered before the coaching change
Under Ranked
7. Seton Hill: Return almost everyone. Should be in the top 5.
11. St. Anslem: Ward is back. Will be interesting to see them play a full league schedule now
12. Adelphi: They played 3 very close games with Le Moyne. A lot closer than Lenoir Rhyne did. IMO should be a top 10 team

Chestnut Hill should be receiving votes.

[greatwhitenorth]

Do not see either Belmont or MO staying in top 10.