Declining Programs

[LaxDadMax]

What is PSU doing? Watched Colorado beat them Friday. O'Neil barely touched the ball in a close game, I hope she is healthy. Their ranking is probably due to the talent on the team, not the poor coaching. That is a prime job if I'm a coach on the rise to make a great program.

Missy needs to go. Chases off every assistant she has in a year or two and it’s not like they are leaving for better programs. Another new offensive coordinator in this year that’s not allowed to implement the offense she wants to do. Van Thof will be gone on a year. Like everyone else.

agree about PSU and the coaching - with those facilities and backing, there is NO reason why they shouldn't be in the top 10 every year except coaching and recruiting has been subpar, which is kind.

Also, won't be a good year for the Patriot league, every team is worse than than last year, even Loyola - but for them, only slightly.

So I’ve been watching this post and not commenting, but I feel compelled to shed some light. My daughter was heavily recruited by all of the B1G schools, and when we got to PSU for visit, coach Doherty said to her, “I have no idea who you are but my staff says you’re great.” That sealed it. No way was she committing to PSU when she had many better teams and coaches who did the research wanting to coach her. Lazy recruiting, late to the game on the big name players.

As for Florida, my daughter played there 4 years. It’s a culture problem stemming from the HC. Think high school and middle school drama perpetuated by a class system. If you don’t start, you might as well be invisible to the coaching staff. How many girls who played at UF go back and cheer on the team? Not many.

I think that’s really common with a lot (not all) of the older coaches. But you hit PSU on the head for us. At a tourney, If my daughter walks by Katrina Geiger, Shanna Brady, or Nicole Grote they all say hello and call her by name. Missy had no clue who she was. Zero. As many have said. Time for a change. No reason that school isn’t top 15 with what they can offer.

Maybe it is time for a change. My alma mater Brown took forever to make a change. They brought in a great coach in Katrina Dowd and just look at what she has already done with 2 wins over UMASS and Albany. That would not have happened with the old regime. And most importantly - the girls love her and they are having a blast!

Brown looked great yesterday, but I also noticed that they have something like 16 seniors on the roster. That has to be an advantage to any team, even in the absence of good coaching. If the old regime was not good, how did so many girls manage to stick it out?

Good research on the 16 seniors. First of all, I have no idea how that is even possible because the average Ivy recruiting class is about 8-9 kids so that is definitely an anomaly. I can tell you that under the old regime, Brown had the 2nd highest attrition rate in the Ivies (Columbia was 2nd). So many girls quit the program in the past. Players had gone to the alumni and the old AD but nothing was done. It wasn't until the new AD came in that they decided that a change was long overdue.

During Covid, lots of girls took a leave of absence from school to maintain eligibility since Ivies don't allow grad students to play. Penn has quite a few as well.

[LaxDadMax]

Yes, Kellie Young -- for all her foibles -- built the program from scratch to a #5 ranking. She could identify, recruit, and coach talent. Her dismissal may well have been warranted, but Louisville has way too much to offer to be stuck in this downward spiral under Scott Teeter. The facilities are terrific, the school treats its athletes well and prioritizes them, they play in the ACC, and the city has much to offer outside of school. After famously letting it slip a year or two into his tenure that the program will turn around once "his recruits" come on board, Teeter has utterly failed. Many bad losses, virtually no upset wins, and constant underachievement. The tired refrain about his coaching abilities has proven false. It also is no accident that he is the only male ACC women's lacrosse coach. It is well past time for a change.

Curious what him being male has to do with anything?

Has much less (or no) idea how to relate to 18-23 year-old women.

I'm not sure that's relevant as a general statement. Gary Gait had a lot of success with Syracuse. How many years did he coach the Orangewomen?

Gary Gait didnt give off "creeper" vibes.

[intheknow247]

Hoyas = Bottomed out 10 years ago and still there
PSU = Yep
UVA = On the way back up ... lotsa youngsters making contributions, a breath of fresh air at HC, and THE GROUNDS. They will be back in the top 10 in 2026.

Sorry but UVA will not be moving up anytime soon. The AD could not care less about Womens lax and the new staff was hired in a panic move as the firing/ leaving of the previous HC was late to happen . Looks to me like 6 of their top players are done after this year . Sorry but the new HC was not exactly overly successful at her previous program and now is in the ACC which is always brutal. They should have hired a younger big name to turn it around . As far as their youth movement , good luck as I don’t exactly think they are one of the top freshman classes . Making a coaching change just to make a change does not work unless the new coach is better than the old coach.

What younger, big name?

[LaxDadMax]

Hoyas = Bottomed out 10 years ago and still there
PSU = Yep
UVA = On the way back up ... lotsa youngsters making contributions, a breath of fresh air at HC, and THE GROUNDS. They will be back in the top 10 in 2026.

Sorry but UVA will not be moving up anytime soon. The AD could not care less about Womens lax and the new staff was hired in a panic move as the firing/ leaving of the previous HC was late to happen . Looks to me like 6 of their top players are done after this year . Sorry but the new HC was not exactly overly successful at her previous program and now is in the ACC which is always brutal. They should have hired a younger big name to turn it around . As far as their youth movement , good luck as I don’t exactly think they are one of the top freshman classes . Making a coaching change just to make a change does not work unless the new coach is better than the old coach.

Way to come out swinging on your first ever FanLax post

Come on bro. That's not his first post. It’s his first post under that screen name.

Definitely a burner and they don’t have Lamonica on their Christmas Card list.

+1

Time will tell. I’ve heard good things coming from Charlottesville in terms of players and parents views of the new coaching staff. I happen to think their frosh talent is performing well so far and Stanford and Princeton, while not top 20 programs this year, aren’t cupcakes either.
I don’t underestimate the attraction of uva for the lacrosse recruit demographic in all sorts of ways—reputation of school, fun factor, geography, etc. . I don’t know about 2026, but I think uva will find their way into the top 5, 10, 15 again.

And agree that poster seems to have an axe to grind with the coaches, not the school itself.

I'd argue they are a top 15 team now. Will probably take a while for them to break through from a talent perspective, unless they get very aggressive from a transfer perspective. Next year's freshman class is relatively weak (at least by UVA standards)

[eastcoastlax]

Yes that was my first post and maybe it came across a little harsh toward the new coaching staff . Personally I have heard they are nice people just not great coaches or recruiters from many Towson families and its not intention to disparage them personally. That said I find it ridiculous when parents can not help themselves and proclaim a freshman class to be the saviors of a program . think Stanford of old. Facts tell you that at least 6 -7 of their top players are gone next year , not many sophomores or juniors are contributing significant minutes and the incoming recruiting class is not very highly ranked . As far as the freshmen , they have played well for freshmen but not exactly the top unit in the country and actually remind me of the senior group at UVA now which had more help from the classes above them than this group seems to have. I know that the womens lacrosse program at UVA is not exactly a priority . This year they should finish top 15 but seems to me that the future looks like a rocky road.

[laxfan9999]

The biggest difference in UVA this year vs last year apart from a change in coaching, is that they are getting good goaltending from the redshirt freshman, Mel Josephson. I thought she was one of the better 2022 goalies when i watched her. I couldn't figure out why she didn't play last year. I know it is early but she has a 57 percent save percentage vs last years starter at 35 percent.

[hmmm]

Yes that was my first post and maybe it came across a little harsh toward the new coaching staff . Personally I have heard they are nice people just not great coaches or recruiters from many Towson families and its not intention to disparage them personally. That said I find it ridiculous when parents can not help themselves and proclaim a freshman class to be the saviors of a program . think Stanford of old. Facts tell you that at least 6 -7 of their top players are gone next year , not many sophomores or juniors are contributing significant minutes and the incoming recruiting class is not very highly ranked . As far as the freshmen , they have played well for freshmen but not exactly the top unit in the country and actually remind me of the senior group at UVA now which had more help from the classes above them than this group seems to have. I know that the womens lacrosse program at UVA is not exactly a priority . This year they should finish top 15 but seems to me that the future looks like a rocky road.

I'm sure you'd agree that it will be much easier to convince HS girls to commit to UVA as opposed to Towson? Tough to question someone's recruiting acumen when they were at Towson.

[Dr. Tact]

I'm sure you'd agree that it will be much easier to convince HS girls to commit to UVA as opposed to Towson? Tough to question someone's recruiting acumen when they were at Towson.

good point

[NattyBohChamps04]

I generally only discuss men’s lacrosse since it’s what I know. But I was intrigued by this thread.

Regarding your post, I have a very good friend whose daughter was recruited heavily by many D1 schools. I told her to go to Maryland whose coach just seems beloved by her girls; I’m fanatical about going to schools where the coach is a proven leader. She chose Florida. I’m not sure I’ve seen a young lady regret a decision more. Awful to spend four years in any program that you don’t like.

Friend of mine played for her at Yale and did not enjoy her time there. And obviously it's Yale so there's not much incentive to transfer away.

[watcherinthewoods]

Hoyas = Bottomed out 10 years ago and still there
PSU = Yep
UVA = On the way back up ... lotsa youngsters making contributions, a breath of fresh air at HC, and THE GROUNDS. They will be back in the top 10 in 2026.

Sorry but UVA will not be moving up anytime soon. The AD could not care less about Womens lax and the new staff was hired in a panic move as the firing/ leaving of the previous HC was late to happen . Looks to me like 6 of their top players are done after this year . Sorry but the new HC was not exactly overly successful at her previous program and now is in the ACC which is always brutal. They should have hired a younger big name to turn it around . As far as their youth movement , good luck as I don’t exactly think they are one of the top freshman classes . Making a coaching change just to make a change does not work unless the new coach is better than the old coach.

I stand by my statement(s) above.

[flushlax77]

Florida has studs and just knocked off MD…I think their demise is over exaggerated.

[LaxDadMax]

Florida has studs and just knocked off MD…I think their demise is over exaggerated.

Talent has never been the issue at Florida..

[Relax77]

Florida has studs and just knocked off MD…I think their demise is over exaggerated.

I don’t think anyone thinks demise. The school will always have kids wanting to go there. Are they top 10. Absolutely not.

[Kleizaster]

Florida has studs and just knocked off MD…I think their demise is over exaggerated.

Florida is objectively in a worse state currently compared to prior years. They used to be a perrenial top 15 program. One Win over an embattled Maryland program doesn't change that. I don't think stating that the program has declined is an exaggeration.

They'll always have decent talent. It's the coaching, culture and other things said about the program that keeps knocking them down.

[fanlaxUN]

subjectively. Not sure how Fla can be written as such at this point in the year
Florida just beat MD
MD beat Syr at Syr
Syr beat ND at ND
ND beat No. 1 NU

So much sage opinion in the early part of the year. Funny.

[LarryGamLax]

Hoyas = Bottomed out 10 years ago and still there
PSU = Yep
UVA = On the way back up ... lotsa youngsters making contributions, a breath of fresh air at HC, and THE GROUNDS. They will be back in the top 10 in 2026.

Sorry but UVA will not be moving up anytime soon. The AD could not care less about Womens lax and the new staff was hired in a panic move as the firing/ leaving of the previous HC was late to happen . Looks to me like 6 of their top players are done after this year . Sorry but the new HC was not exactly overly successful at her previous program and now is in the ACC which is always brutal. They should have hired a younger big name to turn it around . As far as their youth movement , good luck as I don’t exactly think they are one of the top freshman classes . Making a coaching change just to make a change does not work unless the new coach is better than the old coach.

I stand by my statement(s) above.

And I agree with WITW. If hiring The Lamonicas was a "Panic Move", then maybe they should have panicked 5-6 years ago.

[Dr. Tact]

subjectively. Not sure how Fla can be written as such at this point in the year
Florida just beat MD
MD beat Syr at Syr
Syr beat ND at ND
ND beat No. 1 NU

So much sage opinion in the early part of the year. Funny.

Ah the Transitive property of early season Lacrosse.....therefore Florida is better than Cuse, ND and NU

[lacrosselaxin20]

You’re naming a new head coach at Duke tomorrow. Who do you pick?

[Brownlax]

You’re naming a new head coach at Duke tomorrow. Who do you pick?

Maybe Kristen Skierra from VTech - she’s an alumnus.

[LaxDadMax]

You’re naming a new head coach at Duke tomorrow. Who do you pick?

I'd think Michele T at Army would be the first call. Not sure any alums would be anxious to take the job if they run KK out of town.

I'd think Eustace, Katrina Dowd would also be top candidates. Also, wouldn't be surprised if top assistants like Kerrigan Miller, Adam Sear and Jen Kent get a look.