Spring Scrimmages

[MVPiccoli]

When Stevenson lost in the quarterfinal's to Washington College the year after winning the National Championship I thought that was odd. The next year they hosted Salisbury in the 2nd round after Salisbury had spent hours on a bus stuck in traffic on the Bay Bridge. If I remember correctly the Gulls finally got off the bus around 9 for a 10 pm start and proceeded to walk all over Stevenson that night 12-4.

There are a number of reasons why Stevenson may have dropped off but at the time I felt that was a soul crushing moment for the Stevenson program.

That said, I'm not going to count them out until they start to lose to teams in their conference other than York.

CNU feels like the new Stevenson in a lot of ways. I've made that comparison in other posts. Wonder if Thompson can sustain that thing. This year's Gull matchups should produce fireworks in much the same way the CAC battles with Stevenson did. Omnipotent Berkman outlasting them all.

[Goldenboy]

With both W&L and Lynchburg playing tomorrow, it will definitely be a day to show ODAC supremacy over all conferences and divisions. Name a more complete conference… I'll wait.

Do 2 good teams make a complete conference? If 2 teams is the measuring stick, CLC, Liberty, Centennial, Landmark and NESCAC are better.

I don’t think you really follow college lacrosse if you believe that could be factual. The ODAC is by far thee most dominant conference top to bottom, there are 5 times easily in top 20 by the end and 3 that are on the cusp. Read up bud.

I love the ODAC. But 5 teams in the top 20? Did some new teams join the ODAC this year?

I agree with LAJ, its daydreaming to say the ODAC is the top conference in D3, daydreaming. The NESCAC and Centennial, at the very least, are much better than the ODAC. ODAC has way too many weak teams at the bottom, to overcome any good teams at the top.

valaxfan

valaxfan, I've appreciated your commentary in these forums for some time. But I must politely disagree.

Shenandoah would beat Middlebury/Tufts/Wesleyan by 3-4 goals 9 times out of 10. That's a middle of the ODAC team vs middle of the NESCAC.

Guilford gladly scares off the likes of OWU, Denison, or any other NCAC. I haven't seen any of those teams even try to schedule the Quakers.

Last but not least, has Gettysburg ever beaten Randolph? I'll tell you who has, and their mascot aint the Bullets...

ODAC supremacy confirmed

Not sure what lacrosse your watching maybe your talking a different sport? But in lacrosse Shenandoah has barely gotten over 500 and made their conference playoffs the last 5 seasons. And you think they would beat a NESCAC school by 3-4 goals? Tufts has competed for a natty almost every year the last 10 years. Shenandoah doesn’t even know what the NCAA tournament is like.

Those three NESCAC schools aren’t middle of the pack in the country let alone their conference, they are all usually top 20 teams and each have made runs or won a title in the last 5 years. Legit no comparison between them. NESCAC every year has 3-5 teams in the top 20. Tufts, Middlebury, Amherst, Wesleyan, Williams, Bowdoin.

Man… that joke really soared over your head

[SpartanLaxFanatic]

Well it might be another tough year in Owings Mills for my boys. Hearing they got beat in a scrimmage by St. Mary's yesterday.

Might only be a scrimmage but I can remember the days of yesteryear when Stevenson was a Top 10 team year and year out. Sad alumnus over here

At least you have the hope that things could improve over time. What do you attribute the drop off to? What's the opinion of Cantabene in your world? I don't have a high one, but in fairness, I don't personally know him. He does a lot that's good for the game (i.e. Mustang Classic), but his sideline antics, external communications, and general (perceived) self centered attitude, are turn offs for me. Those are dated experiences though, he might have matured a bit.

Outside in, I feel like he created a reputation amongst the lax community of over recruiting numbers wise, simply to fill a quota for the school, thus creating a cycle of disenfranchised families that retell the same story. That caught up to him, as it's a counter recruiting tactic call it out. IDK. Not looking to tick you off. Generally interested in your take.

Definitely can contribute the drop off to over recruiting to a certain degree. The former president of school was a huge fan of Cantabene's and was very hands on with the team. He went as far as being there motivational speak for the 2013 championship run. The new President is most definitely more of an academic, and less focused on growing the athletic department, however they did just open the East Campus which is strictly athletic facilities, long time coming for the school.

Overall I believe the message may have gone stale, Cantabene still gets highly sought after recruits but what really lacks is the amount of D1 and JUCO transfers. Some serious contributions came from kids who transferred in attributed to that success from 08'-18.'

Stevenson made a killing grabbing numerous AA caliber players from D1 schools and JUCOs like Nassau, Onondaga and Essex. Times seemed to have changed unfortunately.

He had such gravitas when he started his mission. The faceoff GOAT taking on the challenge of building (then) VJC into something that could slay the Gulls. I wonder if the 'ship was too satisfying for him personally. Maybe refocused on life and family. Nothing wrong with that. No love lost between our programs. So again, grain of salt with how I feel about the guy. Appreciate you taking that in stride and sharing your thoughts.

Stevenson raised admissions standards. Harder to get some of those "questionable academics" into the University and even harder to package them in the ever competive admissions environment. Also JUCO has died in the last 5-7 years. Its now just Hartford and then everyone else(until someone takes the reigns). Those kids are being looked everyone and unlike the JUCO of the past(when students went to JUCO to get their grades up) now those student athletes are also looking for free college. Thats why you see D2 doing so well in JUCO transfers, they are throwing money at those kids hand over fist. Stevenson simply cant offer that.Same with the transfer portal, I would estimate any D1 portal entry gets atleast 20 good programs reaching out to them within 2 hours of being in there. Finally the biggest thing that has hurt Stevenson is..... The rise of York. Stevenson can no longer sell a garenteed ticket to the NCAA Tournament.Pre York, I dont believe Stevie had ever lost a MAC game. Thats probably the biggest thing hurting the program as it stands

Id agree with this take. York has handled Stevie from about 18' up until now. Pre York entering the MAC, Stevie treated them as their little brother up North.

Childs is hands down one of the best coaches in D3 currently, the guys play hard for him and he's able to get some serious talent up there.

Will be interesting to see how York rebounds this year with losses to graduation, portal, etc.

Lots of good points here. I think more than anything else, the D3 lacrosse landscape has changed and has impacted Stevenson as much as any school in the game. Stevenson used to feast of public school kids from the mid-atlantic region of the country and really didn't have a ton of competition for those kids. With the rise of programs like York and CNU, who offer similar or better facilities as well as academics it has given some of these recruits options. CNU is most likely coming a significantly cheaper price tag as well. Combine that with schools in the CC such as Ursinus and Muhlenberg breaking into that similar market (specifically in NJ and PA) with some success and the recruiting trail has probably been more difficult than Stevie than it was in their heyday.

COVID and the portal have probably both helped and hurt the Stangs. On one hand, they have been fortunate to have some phenomenal players stick around for 5th and 6th years. The unintended consequence of this is that they will be extremely young this year, especially on the offensive end on the field due to some guys leaving for the first time since 2018. Also, with the rise of popularity of the portal, another recruiting area that a school like Stevenson used to dominate now has many more suitors interested. Almost every D3 school is using it to help build their roster which means a lot of those kids who would make their way to Owings Mills are now either re-surfacing at another D1 or a finding a different D3 other than Stevie.

[aroundtheoutside]

When Stevenson lost in the quarterfinal's to Washington College the year after winning the National Championship I thought that was odd. The next year they hosted Salisbury in the 2nd round after Salisbury had spent hours on a bus stuck in traffic on the Bay Bridge. If I remember correctly the Gulls finally got off the bus around 9 for a 10 pm start and proceeded to walk all over Stevenson that night 12-4.

There are a number of reasons why Stevenson may have dropped off but at the time I felt that was a soul crushing moment for the Stevenson program.

That said, I'm not going to count them out until they start to lose to teams in their conference other than York.

CNU feels like the new Stevenson in a lot of ways. I've made that comparison in other posts. Wonder if Thompson can sustain that thing. This year's Gull matchups should produce fireworks in much the same way the CAC battles with Stevenson did. Omnipotent Berkman outlasting them all.

I think it's a safe bet that CNU is here to stay amongst the top programs in D3. The overall athletic department at CNU is one of the absolute best in D3. Nearly every sport is consistently ranked and many consistently contend for championships. Before Mikey Thompson, MLax at CNU was an aberration in being one of the only mediocre teams at the school. Now MLax has just risen to the standard that CNU has come to expect from all their teams. The investment from the university, the quality of facilities, and cheap in-state tuition for Virginia athletes all position CNU to be a persistent competitor in the top tier of D3. Thompson has clearly built an excellent recruiting pipeline. There's no better overall option for Virginia HS lacrosse players than CNU, except for the top 1% that will go play at the big D1's.

The biggest threat to CNU's future would be Thompson wanting a step up in his career and taking a job somewhere in D1.

[MVPiccoli]

When Stevenson lost in the quarterfinal's to Washington College the year after winning the National Championship I thought that was odd. The next year they hosted Salisbury in the 2nd round after Salisbury had spent hours on a bus stuck in traffic on the Bay Bridge. If I remember correctly the Gulls finally got off the bus around 9 for a 10 pm start and proceeded to walk all over Stevenson that night 12-4.

There are a number of reasons why Stevenson may have dropped off but at the time I felt that was a soul crushing moment for the Stevenson program.

That said, I'm not going to count them out until they start to lose to teams in their conference other than York.

CNU feels like the new Stevenson in a lot of ways. I've made that comparison in other posts. Wonder if Thompson can sustain that thing. This year's Gull matchups should produce fireworks in much the same way the CAC battles with Stevenson did. Omnipotent Berkman outlasting them all.

I think it's a safe bet that CNU is here to stay amongst the top programs in D3. The overall athletic department at CNU is one of the absolute best in D3. Nearly every sport is consistently ranked and many consistently contend for championships. Before Mikey Thompson, MLax at CNU was an aberration in being one of the only mediocre teams at the school. Now MLax has just risen to the standard that CNU has come to expect from all their teams. The investment from the university, the quality of facilities, and cheap in-state tuition for Virginia athletes all position CNU to be a persistent competitor in the top tier of D3. Thompson has clearly built an excellent recruiting pipeline. There's no better overall option for Virginia HS lacrosse players than CNU, except for the top 1% that will go play at the big D1's.

The biggest threat to CNU's future would be Thompson wanting a step up in his career and taking a job somewhere in D1.

All great points. He seems like the kinda coach the boys really enjoy playing for as well. Proof in the 5th years staying put, fantastic underclassmen waiting their turn. There are a lot of examples of high level D3 coaches sticking it out for the long haul too. Assuming their schools continue to support them and they have other ways to generate revenue a la camps and all that. I know first hand that Colf at Cabrini flirted with multiple D1 job offers, but the stability, community, and model for success won out over his ambition. Gotta think Berkman, Caravana, a handful of others have had the same external interest and internal dialogue.

[Laxaholic123]

When Stevenson lost in the quarterfinal's to Washington College the year after winning the National Championship I thought that was odd. The next year they hosted Salisbury in the 2nd round after Salisbury had spent hours on a bus stuck in traffic on the Bay Bridge. If I remember correctly the Gulls finally got off the bus around 9 for a 10 pm start and proceeded to walk all over Stevenson that night 12-4.

There are a number of reasons why Stevenson may have dropped off but at the time I felt that was a soul crushing moment for the Stevenson program.

That said, I'm not going to count them out until they start to lose to teams in their conference other than York.

CNU feels like the new Stevenson in a lot of ways. I've made that comparison in other posts. Wonder if Thompson can sustain that thing. This year's Gull matchups should produce fireworks in much the same way the CAC battles with Stevenson did. Omnipotent Berkman outlasting them all.

I think it's a safe bet that CNU is here to stay amongst the top programs in D3. The overall athletic department at CNU is one of the absolute best in D3. Nearly every sport is consistently ranked and many consistently contend for championships. Before Mikey Thompson, MLax at CNU was an aberration in being one of the only mediocre teams at the school. Now MLax has just risen to the standard that CNU has come to expect from all their teams. The investment from the university, the quality of facilities, and cheap in-state tuition for Virginia athletes all position CNU to be a persistent competitor in the top tier of D3. Thompson has clearly built an excellent recruiting pipeline. There's no better overall option for Virginia HS lacrosse players than CNU, except for the top 1% that will go play at the big D1's.

The biggest threat to CNU's future would be Thompson wanting a step up in his career and taking a job somewhere in D1.

All great points. He seems like the kinda coach the boys really enjoy playing for as well. Proof in the 5th years staying put, fantastic underclassmen waiting their turn. There are a lot of examples of high level D3 coaches sticking it out for the long haul too. Assuming their schools continue to support them and they have other ways to generate revenue a la camps and all that. I know first hand that Colf at Cabrini flirted with multiple D1 job offers, but the stability, community, and model for success won out over his ambition. Gotta think Berkman, Caravana, a handful of others have had the same external interest and internal dialogue.

He is also from the VB area, so just another reason he would stick around.

[ODACtionEmpire]

With both W&L and Lynchburg playing tomorrow, it will definitely be a day to show ODAC supremacy over all conferences and divisions. Name a more complete conference… I'll wait.

Do 2 good teams make a complete conference? If 2 teams is the measuring stick, CLC, Liberty, Centennial, Landmark and NESCAC are better.

I don’t think you really follow college lacrosse if you believe that could be factual. The ODAC is by far thee most dominant conference top to bottom, there are 5 times easily in top 20 by the end and 3 that are on the cusp. Read up bud.

I love the ODAC. But 5 teams in the top 20? Did some new teams join the ODAC this year?

I agree with LAJ, its daydreaming to say the ODAC is the top conference in D3, daydreaming. The NESCAC and Centennial, at the very least, are much better than the ODAC. ODAC has way too many weak teams at the bottom, to overcome any good teams at the top.

valaxfan

valaxfan, I've appreciated your commentary in these forums for some time. But I must politely disagree.

Shenandoah would beat Middlebury/Tufts/Wesleyan by 3-4 goals 9 times out of 10. That's a middle of the ODAC team vs middle of the NESCAC.

Guilford gladly scares off the likes of OWU, Denison, or any other NCAC. I haven't seen any of those teams even try to schedule the Quakers.

Last but not least, has Gettysburg ever beaten Randolph? I'll tell you who has, and their mascot aint the Bullets...

ODAC supremacy confirmed

Not sure what lacrosse your watching maybe your talking a different sport? But in lacrosse Shenandoah has barely gotten over 500 and made their conference playoffs the last 5 seasons. And you think they would beat a NESCAC school by 3-4 goals? Tufts has competed for a natty almost every year the last 10 years. Shenandoah doesn’t even know what the NCAA tournament is like.

Those three NESCAC schools aren’t middle of the pack in the country let alone their conference, they are all usually top 20 teams and each have made runs or won a title in the last 5 years. Legit no comparison between them. NESCAC every year has 3-5 teams in the top 20. Tufts, Middlebury, Amherst, Wesleyan, Williams, Bowdoin.

Not to be confrontational, but let me handle the ODAC and I'll let you handle D2 stuff. Shenandoah would double up ANY D2 school besides maybe a team like Tusculum, Mars Hill, etc.

Also, let's have some class in these forums and make sure our grammatical errors are limited. It's a reflection of our fine liberal arts educations from institutions of higher learning. I like to think my HSC degree means something.

[MVPiccoli]

With both W&L and Lynchburg playing tomorrow, it will definitely be a day to show ODAC supremacy over all conferences and divisions. Name a more complete conference… I'll wait.

Do 2 good teams make a complete conference? If 2 teams is the measuring stick, CLC, Liberty, Centennial, Landmark and NESCAC are better.

I don’t think you really follow college lacrosse if you believe that could be factual. The ODAC is by far thee most dominant conference top to bottom, there are 5 times easily in top 20 by the end and 3 that are on the cusp. Read up bud.

I love the ODAC. But 5 teams in the top 20? Did some new teams join the ODAC this year?

I agree with LAJ, its daydreaming to say the ODAC is the top conference in D3, daydreaming. The NESCAC and Centennial, at the very least, are much better than the ODAC. ODAC has way too many weak teams at the bottom, to overcome any good teams at the top.

valaxfan

valaxfan, I've appreciated your commentary in these forums for some time. But I must politely disagree.

Shenandoah would beat Middlebury/Tufts/Wesleyan by 3-4 goals 9 times out of 10. That's a middle of the ODAC team vs middle of the NESCAC.

Guilford gladly scares off the likes of OWU, Denison, or any other NCAC. I haven't seen any of those teams even try to schedule the Quakers.

Last but not least, has Gettysburg ever beaten Randolph? I'll tell you who has, and their mascot aint the Bullets...

ODAC supremacy confirmed

Not sure what lacrosse your watching maybe your talking a different sport? But in lacrosse Shenandoah has barely gotten over 500 and made their conference playoffs the last 5 seasons. And you think they would beat a NESCAC school by 3-4 goals? Tufts has competed for a natty almost every year the last 10 years. Shenandoah doesn’t even know what the NCAA tournament is like.

Those three NESCAC schools aren’t middle of the pack in the country let alone their conference, they are all usually top 20 teams and each have made runs or won a title in the last 5 years. Legit no comparison between them. NESCAC every year has 3-5 teams in the top 20. Tufts, Middlebury, Amherst, Wesleyan, Williams, Bowdoin.

Not to be confrontational, but let me handle the ODAC and I'll let you handle D2 stuff. Shenandoah would double up ANY D2 school besides maybe a team like Tusculum, Mars Hill, etc.

Also, let's have some class in these forums and make sure our grammatical errors are limited. It's a reflection of our fine liberal arts educations from institutions of higher learning. I like to think my HSC degree means something.

I don't think he got the humor. But I did, and it was delightful.

[Dlaxva5]

RIT - 1 5 1 3 - 10
Le Moyne - 3 0 2 0 - 5

Plus a 5th quarter

mid-50's in Syracuse!

[bonesnjnts]

at trinity this weekend

10 am Trinity versus University of Saint Joe's (CT)
12 pm Trinity versus Vassar
2 pm Vassar versus SUNY Maritime
4pm Trinity versus SUNY Maritime