***********The MIAA "A" Conference 2023**************

[random observer]

I get the inherent desire to point out any possible reason for a less than desired outcome for a team you have a vested interest in. But yet again (as is usually the case when MIAA teams lose OOC), what I'm hearing is "not to make excuses, but...[insert multiple excuses]." It's veiled as just providing facts, but in reality the goal is to diminish Victor's win; they didn't beat the real St. Mary's. No one can ever beat an MIAA team at their zenith because they never show it except in conference, which is awfully convenient.

I'd probably be willing to look the other way and accept that this is something we're all guilty of to some extent, if there was any real acknowledgement of Victor's far greater disadvantages coming into the game. But here I sit, incredulously, reading about St. Mary's having it "tougher" the day before. A hard fought MIAA loss is somehow tougher than Victor making the 6 hr drive down to Baltimore one game into their season to play two top MIAA teams (both a month into their seasons) back-to-back. It's laughable.

LI13 had it right with the SEC comparison...except the SEC will actually take their show on the road to prove their dominance. Bar St. Paul's a couple of times over a decade ago, I can't remember a single MIAA team that was willing to come up and play a North East team on their turf. The best anyone will get is the occasional "halfway" neutral site in Philly.

[Finster]

I get the inherent desire to point out any possible reason for a less than desired outcome for a team you have a vested interest in. But yet again (as is usually the case when MIAA teams lose OOC), what I'm hearing is "not to make excuses, but...[insert multiple excuses]." It's veiled as just providing facts, but in reality the goal is to diminish Victor's win; they didn't beat the real St. Mary's. No one can ever beat an MIAA team at their zenith because they never show it except in conference, which is awfully convenient.

I'd probably be willing to look the other way and accept that this is something we're all guilty of to some extent, if there was any real acknowledgement of Victor's far greater disadvantages coming into the game. But here I sit, incredulously, reading about St. Mary's having it "tougher" the day before. A hard fought MIAA loss is somehow tougher than Victor making the 6 hr drive down to Baltimore one game into their season to play two top MIAA teams (both a month into their seasons) back-to-back. It's laughable.

LI13 had it right with the SEC comparison...except the SEC will actually take their show on the road to prove their dominance. Bar St. Paul's a couple of times over a decade ago, I can't remember a single MIAA team that was willing to come up and play a North East team on their turf. The best anyone will get is the occasional "halfway" neutral site in Philly.

Very good post.

[D2fan]

It is also not a slap in the face to lose to a Victor team who is one of the top teams in New York. Their lineup is insane for Western NY public school.

Attack
Senior Georgetown
Junior Cornell
Senior Stony Brook

Midfield
Senior Maryland
Senior Jacksonville
Senior Stony Brook
Senior Indianapolis
Senior Ithaca
Junior Mercyhurst
Top 50 Sophomore

LSM
Junior Syracuse
Senior Le Moyne

Defense
Senior Stony Brook
Senior Queens

FOGO
Senior Cornell

Goalie
Senior Canisius

[kramerica.inc]

I get the inherent desire to point out any possible reason for a less than desired outcome for a team you have a vested interest in. But yet again (as is usually the case when MIAA teams lose OOC), what I'm hearing is "not to make excuses, but...[insert multiple excuses]." It's veiled as just providing facts, but in reality the goal is to diminish Victor's win; they didn't beat the real St. Mary's. No one can ever beat an MIAA team at their zenith because they never show it except in conference, which is awfully convenient.

I'd probably be willing to look the other way and accept that this is something we're all guilty of to some extent, if there was any real acknowledgement of Victor's far greater disadvantages coming into the game. But here I sit, incredulously, reading about St. Mary's having it "tougher" the day before. A hard fought MIAA loss is somehow tougher than Victor making the 6 hr drive down to Baltimore one game into their season to play two top MIAA teams (both a month into their seasons) back-to-back. It's laughable.

LI13 had it right with the SEC comparison...except the SEC will actually take their show on the road to prove their dominance. Bar St. Paul's a couple of times over a decade ago, I can't remember a single MIAA team that was willing to come up and play a North East team on their turf. The best anyone will get is the occasional "halfway" neutral site in Philly.

I have no interest in St Mary's. At all.

But I would ask- Do you know for sure Victor drove 6 hours and played CH the very same day? Is that fact? Or speculation?

If so, why? What did they expect? General rules for all away games is more than 3-4 hours on the bus means you travel the day before. HS and college. All ADs know that.

[Finster]

I get the inherent desire to point out any possible reason for a less than desired outcome for a team you have a vested interest in. But yet again (as is usually the case when MIAA teams lose OOC), what I'm hearing is "not to make excuses, but...[insert multiple excuses]." It's veiled as just providing facts, but in reality the goal is to diminish Victor's win; they didn't beat the real St. Mary's. No one can ever beat an MIAA team at their zenith because they never show it except in conference, which is awfully convenient.

I'd probably be willing to look the other way and accept that this is something we're all guilty of to some extent, if there was any real acknowledgement of Victor's far greater disadvantages coming into the game. But here I sit, incredulously, reading about St. Mary's having it "tougher" the day before. A hard fought MIAA loss is somehow tougher than Victor making the 6 hr drive down to Baltimore one game into their season to play two top MIAA teams (both a month into their seasons) back-to-back. It's laughable.

LI13 had it right with the SEC comparison...except the SEC will actually take their show on the road to prove their dominance. Bar St. Paul's a couple of times over a decade ago, I can't remember a single MIAA team that was willing to come up and play a North East team on their turf. The best anyone will get is the occasional "halfway" neutral site in Philly.

I have no interest in St Mary's. At all.

But I would ask- Do you know for sure Victor drove 6 hours and played CH the very same day? Is that fact? Or speculation?

If so, why? What did they expect? General rules for all away games is more than 3-4 hours on the bus means you travel the day before. HS and college. All ADs know that.

I don’t follow a lot of high school lacrosse but it’s always interesting to see a New York public play an MIAA team. If it’s any consolation, the Victor middie who scored the game winner is attending Maryland next year.

Anyway, I found this write up; obviously St Mary’s was missing sone pieces, but it’s best to never make excuses. Next man up mentality.

75F5D5BC-3600-4347-AB05-33A1D5C75FC3.jpeg (202.81 KiB) Viewed 2306 times

[fordmaddoxford]

Victor is not unaccustomed to dominating faceoffs. It is the alma mater of TD Ierlan.

[random observer]

I get the inherent desire to point out any possible reason for a less than desired outcome for a team you have a vested interest in. But yet again (as is usually the case when MIAA teams lose OOC), what I'm hearing is "not to make excuses, but...[insert multiple excuses]." It's veiled as just providing facts, but in reality the goal is to diminish Victor's win; they didn't beat the real St. Mary's. No one can ever beat an MIAA team at their zenith because they never show it except in conference, which is awfully convenient.

I'd probably be willing to look the other way and accept that this is something we're all guilty of to some extent, if there was any real acknowledgement of Victor's far greater disadvantages coming into the game. But here I sit, incredulously, reading about St. Mary's having it "tougher" the day before. A hard fought MIAA loss is somehow tougher than Victor making the 6 hr drive down to Baltimore one game into their season to play two top MIAA teams (both a month into their seasons) back-to-back. It's laughable.

LI13 had it right with the SEC comparison...except the SEC will actually take their show on the road to prove their dominance. Bar St. Paul's a couple of times over a decade ago, I can't remember a single MIAA team that was willing to come up and play a North East team on their turf. The best anyone will get is the occasional "halfway" neutral site in Philly.

I have no interest in St Mary's. At all.

But I would ask- Do you know for sure Victor drove 6 hours and played CH the very same day? Is that fact? Or speculation?

If so, why? What did they expect? General rules for all away games is more than 3-4 hours on the bus means you travel the day before. HS and college. All ADs know that.

A fair point. I was speaking more generally about the rigors of a long road trip, but there is a good chance that they bused down the day before. It's still a big disadvantage to spend multiple days living out of a hotel room rather than your own bed, especially for high school kids who aren't used to it. I've always been impressed by the way Hill and Culver manage their grueling spring road trips (albeit mitigated by the fact that they have myriad advantages over most other schools, including the MIAA teams that they face).

[gymman1031]

So, predictions right now for which six teams, out of eleven, make the 2023 playoffs? I say, in no order:


St. Mary's
McDonogh
Boys' Latin
Loyola
St. Paul's
Gilman

[MDlaxfan76]

I get the inherent desire to point out any possible reason for a less than desired outcome for a team you have a vested interest in. But yet again (as is usually the case when MIAA teams lose OOC), what I'm hearing is "not to make excuses, but...[insert multiple excuses]." It's veiled as just providing facts, but in reality the goal is to diminish Victor's win; they didn't beat the real St. Mary's. No one can ever beat an MIAA team at their zenith because they never show it except in conference, which is awfully convenient.

I'd probably be willing to look the other way and accept that this is something we're all guilty of to some extent, if there was any real acknowledgement of Victor's far greater disadvantages coming into the game. But here I sit, incredulously, reading about St. Mary's having it "tougher" the day before. A hard fought MIAA loss is somehow tougher than Victor making the 6 hr drive down to Baltimore one game into their season to play two top MIAA teams (both a month into their seasons) back-to-back. It's laughable.

LI13 had it right with the SEC comparison...except the SEC will actually take their show on the road to prove their dominance. Bar St. Paul's a couple of times over a decade ago, I can't remember a single MIAA team that was willing to come up and play a North East team on their turf. The best anyone will get is the occasional "halfway" neutral site in Philly.

I have no interest in St Mary's. At all.

But I would ask- Do you know for sure Victor drove 6 hours and played CH the very same day? Is that fact? Or speculation?

If so, why? What did they expect? General rules for all away games is more than 3-4 hours on the bus means you travel the day before. HS and college. All ADs know that.

A fair point. I was speaking more generally about the rigors of a long road trip, but there is a good chance that they bused down the day before. It's still a big disadvantage to spend multiple days living out of a hotel room rather than your own bed, especially for high school kids who aren't used to it. I've always been impressed by the way Hill and Culver manage their grueling spring road trips (albeit mitigated by the fact that they have myriad advantages over most other schools, including the MIAA teams that they face).

This discussion is bit fruitless, as Victor was evidently the better team on the field that day.
Congrats on beating a good MIAA team.

I do object to the cracks about southern teams not traveling north...anyone else have a clue as to why that may be other than southern teams fearing northern competition???

I've played in both the north and the south...pretty obvious why we traveled from the north. sheesh.

[kramerica.inc]

MD teams will play anyone. But it's always about the schedule and weather.
If they were scared of a loss, they wouldn't play Hill/Everest/Culver/Philly schools etc. every single year.
The northern states don't start until mid March, early April.
By then, the private league is well into 10 straight Tue/Fri conference games and then playoffs.
So I guess, its possible for the Southern teams to travel north in late May, early June.
But I'd imagine that's right in the middle of their league considerations and playoffs too.

[get it to x]

Loyola 14 - McDonogh 13. Dons were up 11-2 midway through the third and Eagles tied it at 13.

[blue angels]

Loyola 14 - McDonogh 13. Dons were up 11-2 midway through the third and Eagles tied it at 13.

When was the last time an MIAA team went undefeated? Mcdonogh had multiple losses last year and were champions. What a tough league.........

[gymman1031]

Loyola 14 - McDonogh 13. Dons were up 11-2 midway through the third and Eagles tied it at 13.

When was the last time an MIAA team went undefeated? Mcdonogh had multiple losses last year and were champions. What a tough league.........

The last time a team went undefeated was BL in 2014. And they were undefeated the previous year before losing to Loyola, 10-9, in the title game.

[DeadPhish]

Loyola 14 - McDonogh 13. Dons were up 11-2 midway through the third and Eagles tied it at 13.

I was there — it was like watching two different games. It would have been a crusher for LB if they couldn’t have held on for the win.

[LaxDad6969]

Not even halfway thru MIAA play and mentioning the Dons going undefeated? Best league in the country and still a long month ahead of us

[kramerica.inc]

I think that BL 2014 team was the last one to go truly undefeated.
CH went undefeated in conference in 2019. Their only loss otherwise was to Hill from Canada.
Loyola is undefeated in conference right now but already has 3 out-of-conference losses to Hill, Haverford and Georgetown Prep.

[suitcase10]

What were yesterdays scores ? Thanks

[kramerica.inc]

What were yesterdays scores ? Thanks

A good place for score updates.

https://twitter.com/scores_lax?lang=en

[Andersen]

Mount Saint Joe and John Carroll play this Friday. Both are winless at the this point, which surprises me a bit, since I was led to believe both were improving.. Any insights or analysis on this?

[wahoomurf]

I'm watching the game between CHC and McDonogh. Talent abounds....26 recruits is astounding. Top to bottom the MIAA is, IMHO, the best conference in America.

Lagniappe, I got to hear the mellifluous voice of Shriver.