ISL

[Laxxal22]

A whole slate of games but two very important match ups are on the docket.

Govs @ Nobles: Nobles really need the win while Govs can move to 4-0 in league play already having Ws over (Tabor, Thayer, and Nobles). No stream.

RL @ Tabor: RL have the chance to solidify upper tier status with a win, and Tabor are in a similar camp to Nobles as a talented team that needs to start stacking ISL wins. Stream is available (3:30 start) but requires subscription: bbiglive.com/events/1321-tabor-academy-vs-roxbury-latin-2024-04-17

The next best option, and the game I'll have going on a laptop tab, is Milton @ Seb's (3:30 start). Would definitely be an upset but Milton look frisky so far this season: youtube.com/watch?v=JvgDLe-HnQI

[Laxxal22]

A whole slate of games but two very important match ups are on the docket.

Govs @ Nobles: Nobles really need the win while Govs can move to 4-0 in league play already having Ws over (Tabor, Thayer, and Nobles). No stream.

RL @ Tabor: RL have the chance to solidify upper tier status with a win, and Tabor are in a similar camp to Nobles as a talented team that needs to start stacking ISL wins. Stream is available (3:30 start) but requires subscription: bbiglive.com/events/1321-tabor-academy-vs-roxbury-latin-2024-04-17

The next best option, and the game I'll have going on a laptop tab, is Milton @ Seb's (3:30 start). Would definitely be an upset but Milton look frisky so far this season: youtube.com/watch?v=JvgDLe-HnQI

Seb's 18 - Milton 13: Spirited game in Needham. Since Youtube streams let you pause, resume, and fast forward I was able to catch all of this. The Arrows would get up by a healthy margin, but then get a little lackadaisical with fundamentals and the Mustangs would creep back. Final separation came with about five minutes left. Milton have a lot of fight and play a lot of young guys (same with Seb's to be fair), but they'll be tough the rest of the spring and in the future. Great battle at the faceoff. Hahm had the better of it, but Lavalee won his share as well.

Nobles 17 - Govs 10: Big bounceback for the Dawgs. There's a lot of talent and athleticism on that team. As guys gain confidence in new roles they once again could be the squad no one ones to see in May.

Tabor 10 - RL 8: Seawolves needed this one and they got it.

I'll update this post with the rest of today's scores as I see them pop up.

[porkchop]

Groton over Thayer, 7-5 or something like that.

[Laxxal22]

Groton over Thayer, 7-5 or something like that.

Nice upset for the Zebras. A great example of how games are not played on paper. We could be heading towards a very difficult sorting process of which teams make the top eight playoff bracket.

Other scores...
Belmont Hill 17 - St. George's 4
Rivers 17 - St. Mark's 5
Middlesex 16 - Brooks 7
Lawrence Academy 7 - BB&N 6

[bloboll123]

Seems like the league is truly evening out, and any game is up for grabs. If the Milton Mustangs can work out some of their kinks they will be very promising this year.

[bloboll123]

Groton over Thayer, 7-5 or something like that.

Is Thayer facing injuries??

[Superlite]

This season for the ISL is a great reminder why games are not played on paper. Great to see the teams that are not "anointed" get upsets.

[porkchop]

Not that I am aware of. Tabor v Thayer this weekend is a big game.

[Laxxal22]

Rivers at Middlesex this afternoon. No stream, so I'm actively rooting against Middlesex until they start putting them up.

If you're still on Twitter/X Kevin Stone will be covering. He typically provides quarterly updates. witter.com/kstone06

[Laxxal22]

Rivers at Middlesex this afternoon. No stream, so I'm actively rooting against Middlesex until they start putting them up.

If you're still on Twitter/X Kevin Stone will be covering. He typically provides quarterly updates. witter.com/kstone06

I take it back. Apparently there is a stream. https://fan.hudl.com/usa/ma/concord/org ... ZmRhM2I%3D

[Laxxal22]

Middlesex 13 - Rivers 9. Entertaining one. Middlesex jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first quarter and it looked like the rout was on. Scoring slowed in the second, and after MX got it to 6-0 Rivers began clawing back. I believe it was 6-3 at the half. Tons of penalties in the third. Rivers got it to 9-9 with about five to go before the momentum swung back in the Zebras favor, notching the final four goals.

Rivers have a lot of young contributors. Not much solace to the seniors but the future looks bright for them. My preseason concern for Middlesex was the depth, and I don't know if they're dealing with injuries but they don't play many guys - starting attack and close d played the whole game, 4 omids, 2 dmids, sparingly played a second lsm. Obviously they were able to beat Nobles but I'm interested to see how they do against Belmont Hill and Seb's who both run 20+ guys a game without much of a drop off.

[Unknown Participant]

Middlesex 13 - Rivers 9. Entertaining one. Middlesex jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first quarter and it looked like the rout was on. Scoring slowed in the second, and after MX got it to 6-0 Rivers began clawing back. I believe it was 6-3 at the half. Tons of penalties in the third. Rivers got it to 9-9 with about five to go before the momentum swung back in the Zebras favor, notching the final four goals.

Rivers have a lot of young contributors. Not much solace to the seniors but the future looks bright for them. My preseason concern for Middlesex was the depth, and I don't know if they're dealing with injuries but they don't play many guys - starting attack and close d played the whole game, 4 omids, 2 dmids, sparingly played a second lsm. Obviously they were able to beat Nobles but I'm interested to see how they do against Belmont Hill and Seb's who both run 20+ guys a game without much of a drop off.

Read that. Just letting you know.

[Laxxal22]

Today's games

Groton @ Belmont Hill - 3:00: https://fan.hudl.com/usa/ma/belmont/org ... y-lacrosse
Roxbury Latin @ Nobles - 7:30
Lawrence Academy @ St. Seb's - 1:00: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmuIawl7IiI
Brooks @ St. George's - 3:45: (potentially streaming) https://www.youtube.com/@StGeorgesAthletics/streams
BB&N @ Milton Academy - 1:00
St. Mark's @ Govs - 2:15: (potentially streaming) https://www.youtube.com/@govsvarsitylac ... 08/streams
Tabor @ Thayer - 2:00: https://fan.hudl.com/usa/ma/braintree/o ... ademy-high

The two most intriguing match ups of the day are RL/Nobles and Tabor/Thayer. Signs of life from Nobles after the beating Govs by a large margin. The loser of Tabor/Thayer will be under a lot of stress for the rest of the regular season.

[Laxxal22]

Today's games

Groton @ Belmont Hill - 3:00: https://fan.hudl.com/usa/ma/belmont/org ... y-lacrosse
Roxbury Latin @ Nobles - 7:30
Lawrence Academy @ St. Seb's - 1:00: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmuIawl7IiI
Brooks @ St. George's - 3:45: (potentially streaming) https://www.youtube.com/@StGeorgesAthletics/streams
BB&N @ Milton Academy - 1:00
St. Mark's @ Govs - 2:15: (potentially streaming) https://www.youtube.com/@govsvarsitylac ... 08/streams
Tabor @ Thayer - 2:00: https://fan.hudl.com/usa/ma/braintree/o ... ademy-high

The two most intriguing match ups of the day are RL/Nobles and Tabor/Thayer. Signs of life from Nobles after the beating Govs by a large margin. The loser of Tabor/Thayer will be under a lot of stress for the rest of the regular season.

Belmont 17 - Groton 9
Nobles 13 - RL 10
St. Seb's 25 - Lawrence 4
St. George's 12 - Brooks 9
Milton 7 - BB&N 6
Thayer 16 - Tabor 8

Since we're through the first five games of the 11-game league schedule I'll try to get up a midseason report before Wednesday's games.

[Laxxal22]

A quick look at the contenders (as well as their remaining games) after six rounds of league games, and a few important weekend matchups. Crazy how fast the season goes by.

1a. Belmont Hill (6-0)- They’ve had some close games but just like every year, their record in 1-2 goal games is great. Losing to IMG perhaps relieves a little pressure to be perfect. (St. Mark’s, Nobles, Seb’s, Middlesex, BB&N)

1b. St. Seb’s (6-0) - Perhaps they deserve to be the top team, but have played the majority of the season without two of their captains/top players and idk if they’re coming back. As always they play fast and loose. I’m wary of how that does against teams of equal caliber who value possession a bit more. (Middlesex, Tabor, Belmont Hill, Brooks, Nobles)

3. Nobles (4-2) - Perhaps controversial as they’ve lost to teams I’m putting below them. But the past two years they’ve looked vulnerable early and then gained steam on the march to winning ISL titles. They also have a big, athletic, and deep midfield which is so important at this level. (Thayer, Belmont Hill, Tabor, BB&N, Seb’s)

4. Govs (5-1) - Don’t really know what to make of Govs. They’ve had some great performances mixed with poor ones. The scheduling really broke in their favor though and they could still end up as a top two seed. (St. George’s, Milton, RL, Groton, Middlesex)

5. Middlesex (5-1) - As I’ve said, their top 14ish players match up very well with anyone and have served them well so far. They face a very tough close to the schedule though and I worry a pretty top-heavy team will get grinded down. (St. Seb’s, Groton, Thayer, Belmont Hill, Govs)

6. Milton Academy (4-2) - The surprise team so far, getting it done with some great play from senior specialists and some freshmen and sophomores in key roles. Huge game this afternoon and a challenging but not overbearing schedule to round out the season. (RL, Govs, Lawrence, Thayer, Groton)

7. Thayer (3-3) - Could be finding their form after a three game losing streak earlier. I mentioned preseason that they could take some early lumps as they graduated a lot and added a couple of transfers. Still a scary roster if it all clicks. (Nobles, Rivers, Middlesex, Milton, Lawrence)

8. Roxbury Latin (3-3) - A gritty squad that played both Nobles and BH very close, but the old “horseshoes and hand grenades” adage applies here. They’ve got strong seniors and a schedule that should allow them to get in if they win today. Could be the team that pulls the round 1 upset in the playoffs. (Milton, Lawrence, Govs, St. Mark’s, St. George’s)

9. Rivers (3-3) - A team that’s really playing to its potential with a lockdown defense and a strong faceoff guy. A favorable closing schedule gives them a real shot of making the playoffs. (Groton, Thayer, St. George’s, Tabor, Brooks)

10. Groton (3-3) - The Zebras fight hard every game and they scored a big win over Thayer, but in catching portions of their games against BH and Seb’s the opponents’ depth eventually ran them into the ground. With the remaining schedule, the consolation bracket looks likely. (Rivers, Middlesex, BB&N, Govs, Milton)

11. Tabor (2-4) - A bit of an enigma of a team. Wins over Avon and IMG were nice but ultimately meaningless. There is obviously talent, but it’s not clicking on a game-to-game basis. It’s close to win-out or you’re out, but that will be hard to do. (BB&N, Seb’s, Nobles, Rivers, St. Mark’s)

The three biggest games of the weekend all take place this afternoon.

St. Seb’s @ Middlesex at 5:00 - If the Arrows can turn this into a track meet then I like them to win by a handful. If the Zeebs can slow it down then they definitely have a puncher’s chance. fan.hudl.com/usa/ma/concord/organization/4784/middlesex-high-school

RL @ Milton at 4:30 - Should be a very tight game. I lean towards RL as they’re more senior laden, probably have a slight edge at the faceoff, and frankly just need it more.

Nobles @ Thayer at 6:00 - This should be an absolute battle. Nobles are finding their groove, and Thayer are close to being a cornered animal. Honestly a coin flip for me if they both play to their potential. The Thayer livestream is pretty much unwatchable but here it is fan.hudl.com/usa/ma/braintree/organization/7736/thayer-academy-high

[Can Opener]

Thanks for the excellent update, as always, Laxxal. I know that your analysis is widely distributed among the players and families.

Two nail-biter games yesterday with Seb's and Milton winning in OT. Chris Merageas led the Arrows with 7 (!) goals to take over the ISL lead in that category. Milton went to double OT and it took numerous saves from Silas Hamblett to keep their hopes alive while waiting for the game-winning goal from Natty Mason (2G, 1A). Hamblett finished the day with 13 saves (68%). As you forecast, 9th and 10th graders also contributed for Milton.

Milton seems to be doing more with less while Thayer is experiencing the opposite phenomenon. They lost 17-4 at home to Nobles. Didn't see that one coming. Thayer is now 3-4 in the ISL, but I still wouldn't count them out. With all of the talent on that roster, even if they don't completely figure out the chemistry issues, they can still make some noise down the stretch.

Two huge games on the horizon with Nobles hosting Bel Hill on Wednesday and then Seb's hosting Bel Hill on Friday night at 5:00 pm. The latter matchup is one of the best rivalries in all of New England sports. The "get back coach" for Seb's will have his hands full keeping the student body in check on the sidelines. That's a problem most schools in the ISL would love to have!

[Laxxal22]

Thanks CO. This post may be a little redundant, as I was typing it before I saw your thoughts, but I don't feel like editing .

Nobles 17 - Thayer 4: This is a scary result for the rest of the league, as Nobles appear to be firing on all cylinders. According to the Nobles Twitter account it looks like Gilbane had a breakout game after a somewhat quiet season so far. The sum is looking less than the parts for Thayer at the moment.

Milton 7 - Rl 6 (2OT): Huge win for the Mustangs as they move to 5-2 and should win at least two of their final four games. Not to take anything away from Milton, but I wonder how much RL had left in the tank after a battle with Belmont Hill on Wednesday. The Foxes are 3-4 in league play now. Though a 6-5 team will probably make the tournament, winning out is their best option and is very doable. The Govs game next Saturday looms large.

Rivers 10 - Groton 6: No real details on this one. with a 4-3 record if Rivers can beat Thayer or Tabor in their final four games then they look good for playoffs. Groton fall to 3-4 and it'll be tough climb out for them.

St. Seb's 13 - Middlesex 12 (OT): Caught the stream for this one. It just felt like the lacrosse gods wanted Middlesex to have this one, as I counted about 7-8 shots from Seb's that hit the post. Kudos to Middlesex for battling. Every time it seemed like the dam was about to break in favor of Seb's MX would make a play or two to stop it. The intensity of this one really felt like a playoff game. Rath was great in net for the Zebras, I believe Thibodeau had four goals, and Nick Moore and Egan logged a lot of minutes in the midfield. For Seb's, Merageas had seven goals, Walsh had (I believe) 2,2 including the game winner, and I thought George Kelly did a great job covering Crann. He's really stepped up as the #1 cover guy in Fulham's absence.

[Laxxal22]

Two huge games on the horizon with Nobles hosting Bel Hill on Wednesday and then Seb's hosting Bel Hill on Friday night at 5:00 pm. The latter matchup is one of the best rivalries in all of New England sports. The "get back coach" for Seb's will have his hands full keeping the student body in check on the sidelines. That's a problem most schools in the ISL would love to have!

Real tough week for BH but they essentially get a test run of what playing the semis and title game would feel like. New England forecasts can't be trusted, but it looks like ideal days to bring out great crowds/atmospheres. I imagine the seating that Seb's built into the hill will be full.

[bloboll123]

Two huge games on the horizon with Nobles hosting Bel Hill on Wednesday and then Seb's hosting Bel Hill on Friday night at 5:00 pm. The latter matchup is one of the best rivalries in all of New England sports. The "get back coach" for Seb's will have his hands full keeping the student body in check on the sidelines. That's a problem most schools in the ISL would love to have!

Real tough week for BH but they essentially get a test run of what playing the semis and title game would feel like. New England forecasts can't be trusted, but it looks like ideal days to bring out great crowds/atmospheres. I imagine the seating that Seb's built into the hill will be full.

I would be willing to bet it becomes a really tough week for Sebs and Nobles, who has been bested by BH much more often than not in the past 15 years.

[bloboll123]

Thanks for the excellent update, as always, Laxxal. I know that your analysis is widely distributed among the players and families.

Two nail-biter games yesterday with Seb's and Milton winning in OT. Chris Merageas led the Arrows with 7 (!) goals to take over the ISL lead in that category. Milton went to double OT and it took numerous saves from Silas Hamblett to keep their hopes alive while waiting for the game-winning goal from Natty Mason (2G, 1A). Hamblett finished the day with 13 saves (68%). As you forecast, 9th and 10th graders also contributed for Milton.

Milton seems to be doing more with less while Thayer is experiencing the opposite phenomenon. They lost 17-4 at home to Nobles. Didn't see that one coming. Thayer is now 3-4 in the ISL, but I still wouldn't count them out. With all of the talent on that roster, even if they don't completely figure out the chemistry issues, they can still make some noise down the stretch.

Two huge games on the horizon with Nobles hosting Bel Hill on Wednesday and then Seb's hosting Bel Hill on Friday night at 5:00 pm. The latter matchup is one of the best rivalries in all of New England sports. The "get back coach" for Seb's will have his hands full keeping the student body in check on the sidelines. That's a problem most schools in the ISL would love to have!

Milton is undoubtedly the most thrilling team to watch in the league right now. I think their intangibles are setting them apart right now, and I don't really see a reason for that to stop.