W&L 2024

[W&Lacrosse75]

I think there are guys like Datz, Spano, Haley, and Mannino (playing with his brace) who have grit. They just need a few more to to , as you point out, give some rest to some starters. In other words, the team as a whole needs to be known for grit in addition to skill.

I think that they have managed to play many freshmen and seldom used players out of necessity this year, which hopefully isn’t too little too late. But better than them still being unplayed and stuck to the the bench.

[choochooCharlie]

Mendoza is a good but young defensive coach. He will hopefully make adjustments - but it shouldn’t be surprising he has this many injuries.

Mendoza isn’t young anymore. He has been in the coaching business for over a decade, time to figure it out. He does the recruiting there, and he’d be the first to tell you that W&L’s academic reputation recruits for itself (in the country club and boarding school circles).

What this team needs is GRIT, hence all the injuries. Until Mendoza starts actively pulling in kids from some diverse backgrounds, I see them continuing to be plagued by this “injury bug.” He’s a Cortland guy, he should be able to identify scrappy tough blue collar players, and the school’s commitment to bringing in students with a diverse range of backgrounds should help him in the process. Lazy recruiting is to blame for year after year of chronic injuries IMO.

The school easily draws in some of the best talent money can buy (literally), but not an ounce of grit in each class, that’s where his work needs to come in.

I think there are guys like Datz, Spano, Haley, and Mannino (playing with his brace) who have grit. They just need a few more to to , as you point out, give some rest to some starters. In other words, the team as a whole needs to be known for grit in addition to skill.

I think that they have managed to play many freshmen and seldom used players out of necessity this year, which hopefully isn’t too little too late. But better than them still being unplayed and stuck to the the bench.

Exactly. My man with the brace is a warrior. That needs to be more of a team wide persona, and you can’t teach that, you can only bring in more like that and create an overwhelming environment of that, such that all the others follow suit.

[Chinstrap]

Mendoza is a good but young defensive coach. He will hopefully make adjustments - but it shouldn’t be surprising he has this many injuries.

Mendoza isn’t young anymore. He has been in the coaching business for over a decade, time to figure it out. He does the recruiting there, and he’d be the first to tell you that W&L’s academic reputation recruits for itself (in the country club and boarding school circles).

What this team needs is GRIT, hence all the injuries. Until Mendoza starts actively pulling in kids from some diverse backgrounds, I see them continuing to be plagued by this “injury bug.” He’s a Cortland guy, he should be able to identify scrappy tough blue collar players, and the school’s commitment to bringing in students with a diverse range of backgrounds should help him in the process. Lazy recruiting is to blame for year after year of chronic injuries IMO.

The school easily draws in some of the best talent money can buy (literally), but not an ounce of grit in each class, that’s where his work needs to come in.

I think there are guys like Datz, Spano, Haley, and Mannino (playing with his brace) who have grit. They just need a few more to to , as you point out, give some rest to some starters. In other words, the team as a whole needs to be known for grit in addition to skill.

I think that they have managed to play many freshmen and seldom used players out of necessity this year, which hopefully isn’t too little too late. But better than them still being unplayed and stuck to the the bench.

Exactly. My man with the brace is a warrior. That needs to be more of a team wide persona, and you can’t teach that, you can only bring in more like that and create an overwhelming environment of that, such that all the others follow suit.

You guys may want to put down the Old Crow and think about what you are saying. ACL’s are ACL’s no matter where you are from. It’s a rough sport, people get hurt. You get the best kids you can that can meet the academic standard. From there you put the best 10 kids on the field and rotate accordingly. You can do your own research, but I don’t think the 4 you mentioned specifically went to Mean Streets High School. Do you need to be tough? Sure. But I don’t think this team has gotten “beat up on” by anyone this season.

[W&Lacrosse75]

I get your points. I would also say that you don’t have to attend “Mean Streets High School” to have character and grit. For starters, you need some “work ethic” to overcome the inevitable challenges found in high pressure “big games.” And the more they can meet those challenges, the more grit and confidence they will develop to carry them forward.

By the way, Old Crow is not my brand.

[valaxfan]

I am pretty sure I can't add anything to what has already been said. This team has played hard nosed lacrosse this year and been pretty good from where I sit. Look at the aggressive nature of this team on defense, they have committed more penalties in that regard than past teams that i remember. Does that mean they are tough, of course not. But they play hard with what they have and there is an aggressive nature on defense. That has always been W&L's name for the game. At the end of the day, you play with what you have, and this team has made it this far with what they have, and now we have Salisbury in front of us, whom I don't see as being any tougher than W&L, they just have more tools and we have to figure out how to stop it, if we can.

As far as Mendoza, he will probably leave soon for his own coaching job, just like all assistants do. I think he's done a great job in Lexington, again, with what he has. He's a very good recruiter, despite how some see W&L as an easy recruiter for just the country club type, I understand that thinking but I've met these kids, I've met and know some of the parents and the ones I know don't come to games with wine glasses in one hand, and pinkies up in the other. They come to play and that's all we can want.

And all I want is to see them play a competitive game against the Number 1 team in the nation, and let the chips fall where they may. Go Gennies!!!

valaxfan

[5Star]

I don’t know much about the nitty gritty of any of this. But if this team has sustained tons of injuries and still gotten this far I’d say they’re pretty gritty.

If they’ve rallied back from a bad Stevenson loss and 4-3 start to have a 9-0 ODAC record. Rallied after a disappointing performance against RMC in ODAC tournament to make it to another NCAA quarterfinal while defeating their arch rival on the road. All the while sustaining more season ending injuries. I’d say this team has plenty of grit and toughness.

They’re young, they’ll make mistakes, but there’s not much quit in this group. That is a reflection of the character of the young men and the culture that the staff has created. Good luck tomorrow and hopefully Sunday.

[W&Lacrosse75]

100% on point. Go Generals!

And let’s hope Mendoza stays a little while longer. The highly successful W&L soccer program just lost their long time coach and it is not clear how that will effect them going forward. The truth is that the better the coach, the harder they are to keep, and the more difficult they are to be made whole with a plug and play replacement.

[EasternShoreLaxGuy]

Just don't know about questioning college kids grittiness the day before an elite 8 game where they need no distractions to have a small chance at advancing. Pretty poor IMO and also shows how much confidence you have in them. A knee brace doesn't make you gritty by the way. getting your nose over a 2v1 groundball does or coming across the crease to score when you know the end result is getting put on your back. What a rough alumni group to try and impress for these kids that I'm sure are already nervous going into the game

[Motorman]

I get your points. I would also say that you don’t have to attend “Mean Streets High School” to have character and grit. For starters, you need some “work ethic” to overcome the inevitable challenges found in high pressure “big games.” And the more they can meet those challenges, the more grit and confidence they will develop to carry them forward.

By the way, Old Crow is not my brand.

Please tell us what lax program has any players from the “ mean streets”. Seems as if you are pointing toward any non-private college or university. We understand what you are implying.

[valaxfan]

Just don't know about questioning college kids grittiness the day before an elite 8 game where they need no distractions to have a small chance at advancing. Pretty poor IMO and also shows how much confidence you have in them. A knee brace doesn't make you gritty by the way. getting your nose over a 2v1 groundball does or coming across the crease to score when you know the end result is getting put on your back. What a rough alumni group to try and impress for these kids that I'm sure are already nervous going into the game

I hope you understand that W&L fans are not questioning this teams grit, that was someone else in this thread, hope you understood that.

valaxfan

[LexVegas]

I never said grit. I said complacency. You don’t lose twice in three years in the conference championships game against the lowest seed as the outright number one seed as a fluke.

This team is plenty tough - just a bit overworked and that is a shame because they have depth.

I think my point was to try and look beyond the predictions and put the Gulls game in perspective- especially if you look at last year.

If they weren’t tough, they wouldn’t have beaten their rival in Lynchburg with the injuries and the new players stepping up in the way they did.

The players are smart enough not to be reading or caring about our posts here- but hopefully no one thinks I was being critical. My point was the opposite- we have lots of talent and we beat ourselves in games like the Randy Mac loss.

[W&Lacrosse75]

Just don't know about questioning college kids grittiness the day before an elite 8 game where they need no distractions to have a small chance at advancing. Pretty poor IMO and also shows how much confidence you have in them. A knee brace doesn't make you gritty by the way. getting your nose over a 2v1 groundball does or coming across the crease to score when you know the end result is getting put on your back. What a rough alumni group to try and impress for these kids that I'm sure are already nervous going into the game

I hope you understand that W&L fans are not questioning this teams grit, that was someone else in this thread, hope you understood that.

valaxfan

Thank you VALAXFAN.

[Dehuntshigwa’es]

I don’t know much about the nitty gritty of any of this. But if this team has sustained tons of injuries and still gotten this far I’d say they’re pretty gritty.

If they’ve rallied back from a bad Stevenson loss and 4-3 start to have a 9-0 ODAC record. Rallied after a disappointing performance against RMC in ODAC tournament to make it to another NCAA quarterfinal while defeating their arch rival on the road. All the while sustaining more season ending injuries. I’d say this team has plenty of grit and toughness.

They’re young, they’ll make mistakes, but there’s not much quit in this group. That is a reflection of the character of the young men and the culture that the staff has created. Good luck tomorrow and hopefully Sunday.

Totally agree. At the beginning of the season when they posted the schedule I thought it was the toughest schedule I could recall. This isn’t just a physically tough team but a mentally tough group. Season opener 1 goal loss to York, losing 2 games in the Mustang Classic , losing to that team in the ODAC a lot of teams might fold. Best was beating Lynchburg 2x at their place and advancing in the NCAA. I believe Lynchburg is a great team and as mentally tough as they come. Despite injuries and 5th year rosters they’ve gone against out of what about 270 teams there are only 8 left. Don’t know the outcome of this game but whatever it is these guys fight. Good luck !

[W&Lacrosse75]

Thanks Dehunt for setting the record straight.

I’m not sure why there are people out there whose position on W&L when they win is “yes, but….” And if they lose it is “see I told you.”

But, I really don’t care. Everyone has a right to their opinion.

Go Gennies!

[MVPiccoli]

Can your Generals be the bully? If they can establish a physical presence and finish their opportunities, anything can happen. 50/50 ground balls. Fill slides. Clears. De Cain has to have a day.

In short answer...no

W&L defense doesn't have the horses on defense to keep up with salisburys 1st midfield line for 60 mins

Culturally, the Gulls S&C focus always fascinated me. The preseason tests (BW flat bench, dips, pull-ups, etc.) were the documented expression of that. Not saying W&L doesn't train off the field, every program does. If I were a DIII HC, I'd be stealing and adapting to that training cadence.

I hate blaming referees- but it’s tough to win on the Eastern Shore and let’s give W&L some credit - last year was a close game.

Save one game in 2003 (Gulls vs Poets), I've always been watching the Gull home games in person with Cabrini glasses on. I've always found a little bit of home cooking to be apparent. It's no excuse, it's just an observation. I'll give you my favorite example: 2019 NCAA SF game. Bobby Cressman, Cabrini SSDM and one man clear, gets the ball on the near sideline and starts up the field. He lowers his shoulder on the Gull attackman and runs him over/causes the player to be offsides, which was not called. As he jogs off the field he looks at the player he ran over. There is a ref about 10 yards away, who does nothing. The ref on the far sideline, 40ish yards away, sprints over while throwing a flag for unsportsmanlike conduct.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkEmLmWv_Aw Around 53:05

[richard]

MVP cmon, people have feelings. You can’t say that about people from chicken land.

Hey the gennies need a big chip on their shoulder going into this game. Get pissed.

[Motorman]

MVP cmon, people have feelings. You can’t say that about people from chicken land.

Hey the gennies need a big chip on their shoulder going into this game. Get pissed.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fe9eDaDdsZc

[valaxfan]

MVP cmon, people have feelings. You can’t say that about people from chicken land.

Hey the gennies need a big chip on their shoulder going into this game. Get pissed.

Exactly Rich, every little bit helps!

valaxfan

[easymoneysniper]

Great to get a chuckle reading the forum fodder on this Friday afternoon. "W&L has no grit," more Mendoza shade, and the implication that wearing a knee brace gives you said grit. LOL! I assure you if a knee brace gave you grit "big money W&L" would pay to have all of their players in two of them! I would say go back to rabble rousing in the NESCAC forums, but it made me laugh and that's certainly not in the spirt of Washington and Lee Southern Hospitality.

Even better to see the seasoned posters come together to dispel such nonsense. It's the Elite 8. W&L is part of it -- for the second year in a row. Aren't Coach K's boys known for their grit? Lot of respect for them, but the boys in blue beat them twice this year. ODAC hardware would've been nice, but climbing the stands to celebrate a second straight Elite 8 birth on Shelly with your fraternity brothers ain't bad either.

Lot of predictions thrown around and it's definitely an uphill battle, but let's not forget that W&L gave Salisbury their closest game since March 2023. You never know -- that's why you play the game. So let's roll the ball out and hope the Generals come together just like the forum posters!

Terribly excited for tomorrow though I lament a drive across the Bay Bridge.

Gennies Nation stand up!!

[MarionBarry]

I'll contribute to the hate...
Nice work getting to the quarterfinals again, I will give them some credit. They are soft and had the least hardest path, I won't call it easy cause it never is, so least hard. Same as last year. #13 v #16 for a quarterfinal birth. I know there is travel etc when the committee puts it together. Feel free to tell me I'm idiot and just like hating on the generals!