NCAC 2019

[BigRed73]

“And yes, it made me recall my childhood when I saw Denison thrash OSU in Granville.“

I remember those days, too, but it stopped happening in ‘73!

[FannOLax]

Denison's 2019 schedule posted. Dropped from 2018: Amherst and Middlebury (no NESCAC this coming year); Franklin & Marshall added in Mustange Classic; W&L and Roanoke again from the ODAC, and Stevenson to visit Granville; rivalry game with OWU now last scheduled game.
https://www.denisonbigred.com/sports/ml ... 9/schedule

[seacoaster]

I have to confess I'm kind of disappointed that DU has no NESCAC team on the schedule this year. Nice to see Stevenson come to Granville.

[oldtimelax]

Kenyon is playing Haverford and Roanoke OOC and Wooster has a March trip to Connecticut to play Trinity and Western Connecticut and is also playing St. John Fisher

https://athletics.kenyon.edu/schedule.aspx?path=mlax
http://www.woosterathletics.com/sports/ ... 9/schedule

[FannOLax]

Yes Seacoaster, I agree about Denison and the NESCAC. Looks like Salisbury dropped Kenyon; but the CAC (Salisbury's conference) web site shows OWU at Salisbury on March 3; looking forward to seeing the rest of OWU's sked. Wittenberg has a schedule posted, but it looks very incomplete.

[ergit]

As an outsider who has no connection to NCAC (although my son visited a couple NCAC schools), I suggest you don’t look to the NESCAC for validation.
As they say, ‘you do you...’
NESCAC last year had three teams that were ‘national championship relevant’. NCAC had two, not bad really.
DU and OWU put together solid schedules every year and are good enough to beat any team on a given day.
The next tier in the NCAC has a ways to go but with baby steps, they may get there. They have to develop a culture of winning which takes stability and some time. This comes ahead of recruiting IMHO. A good program doesn’t have to challenge for a national championship every year. A developing program should get a little better every year and at some point be able to maintain that excellence year-in, year-out.
Personally, I think a team is better off playing Stevenson this year than Middlebury if you are looking for a challenge.
It’s nice to play Amherst because they are a good team and the way they play the game. All the teams at the Mustang Classic present a different challenge and the high-pressure environment is second to none..
Good luck to all in the season ahead.

[seacoaster]

Thanks Ergit; appreciate the thoughts, and agree. But even though DU got smoked a bit by Amherst, I really enjoyed the measuring stick, and loved watching Amherst play. The game with Stevenson last year in Maryland was a rough back and forth affair, and you are probably right that Stevenson may be a better measuring-up event for Denison than Middlebury in any event.

[FannOLax]

OWU schedule posted: https://battlingbishops.com/schedule.aspx?path=mlax
Very similar to 2018, with RIT, Salisbury, Illinois Wesleyan and Cabrini OOC; Messiah again, with location "TBA" although Messiah's web site lists location as Pittsburgh, PA. Alma (Michigan) dropped in favor of RPI at a neutral location; probably a step up.

[oldtimelax]

OWU schedule is a tough one....playing #2, #4 and #7 (Salisbury, RIT and Cabrini) plus Messiah, RPI and Illinois Wesleyan....three games back east.

[oldtimelax]

I once again think that OWU has the the much tougher out-of conference schedule vs. Denison....

Bishops are playing (IL pre-season ratings) #2 Salisbury (#4) RIT and (#7) Cabrini along with RPI (12-4 in 2018 and ranked in Top 20), Messiah (10-6 in '18) and Illinois Wesleyan (16-4). Two teams that were in the D3 Final Four.

Big Red are facing there usual schedule...an over-rated W&L (#8), Stevenson (#18), Roanoke (#15), Dickinson (#14) and F&M (#16). Only one team that is rated higher than 10th ranked Denison.

Caravana's squad is loaded -- why doesn't he ever want to play the Top 10 teams?

[FannOLax]

I once again think that OWU has the the much tougher out-of conference schedule vs. Denison....

Yes, I agree that OWU's schedule is tougher. The Big Red has been playing W&L and Noke for many years (and OWU has seemingly been playing Salisbury forever). Not sure how match-ups are assigned at the Mustang Classic, but with the likes of York, Amherst and RIT regularly involved, Denison seems to get a soft touch there (maybe because of their 2 lossses there last season? to Amherst and Dickinson). RPI is definitely a good addition for OWU.

As for why Caravana would want his schedule, perhaps the calculation is that getting wins against teams ranked 8 through 20 gives Denison a better chance of (if needed) an at-large bid than going 0-3 or 1-2 against teams ranked 1 through 7. Plus, in general, winning builds confidence, makes people feel good.

[oldtimelax]

I still believe there's great value in playing top teams early in the season, even if you probably will lose, especially for a team like OWU. It sets a tone that you aren't that great and you better work your ass off if you want to be a ranked team. The Bishops have played Salisbury over 30 times and have only won 8. That's not great, but that's a better record than most teams have against the Gulls and they always play them tough all the way, even if they are down by 10 in the fourth quarter.

[MrLax2U]

Greetings Oldtimer and Happy New Year,
You're correct; OWU is the Gulls third oldest rivalry, after only in state rivals St.Mary's College and Washington College. 2018 was the Bishops' eight victory and the first year since 1998 that the Gulls made the trip to Delaware, Ohio. The Bishops won that 1998 game 16/15 marking the only loss for the Gulls until the NCAA semi against Washington College which won the NC that year.

According to local lore the Bishops put a cap on their 1998 victory by attacking the Salisbury players after the game in a wild melee lead by the Bishops' band. Berkman's discipline held and his men huddled together attempting to ward off a numerically superior mob of Battling Bishops attempting to do them harm.

On the long bus ride home the bruised and beaten Salisbury players understand that sobriquet.

Hope you make the trip to this season's game. Gull defense is young but is led by three potential AAs; a monster pole, a rope who's mean as a rattlesnake and the goalie. Offense is also young but hungry as Berkman pits them for PT. No standouts just solid performers. And second line equal and interchangeable with the first.

[FannOLax]

Long time, no D3 comment. Any word from Granville, Gambier, Springfield or Delaware, Ohio? From Greencastle, Indiana? A year or so ago, over on LaxPower, there were comments about Wittenberg catching up to OWU; then the Bishops had a surprisingly strong season and Wittenberg disappointed. How long will the eternal two rule the NCAC? Denison and OWU have been good, but not quite good enough (it's been over 25 years since OWU played in a D3 title game; in 2016 and 2017 the Big Red gave Salisbury all they could handle in the NCAAs, but...). Anyway, February is now less than a month away. Happy New Year!

[seacoaster]

Recruiting video from Denison:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NsET9LC6o8

[oldtimelax]

Lest we not forget....the Bishops took two out of three vs. Denison in 2018....highlights from 3rd Round NCAA Playoff Game....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAjMuNlAvpg

Also US Lacrosse just came out with their preseason poll....OWU is #11 and DU is #12:

https://www.uslaxmagazine.com/college/m ... son-top-20

[laxdudeguy43]

The middle three (Wooster, Kenyon, Wittenberg, and kind of Depauw) are only going to keep getting better. Denison/OWU are due for an upset, just hopefully happens in the NCAC playoffs to shake things up a bit. More parity in the conference benefits everyone.

[Clambake]

Hey, fellow-lax fans. East coast dad here. My kid recently committed to play for an NCAC school. Really excited and proud of him. Don't know much about the NCAC though, apart from from the fact they have great schools. From what I gather, Denison and OWU are the kings of the hill. But others are getting more and more competitive? Are these others anywhere close to being able to compete with either Denison or OWU? And how "good" are Denison and OWU. I played NESCAC a generation ago so that is my only real frame of reference. Looking forward to being a part of the NCAC community!

[seacoaster]

"Lest we not forget....the Bishops took two out of three vs. Denison in 2018....highlights from 3rd Round NCAA Playoff Game...."

No one is forgetting; everyone remembers. And I expect we will see some form of this split this year as well. Both teams have some big shoes to fill, and I think replicating the tough, tough play of Hamblett and Shulte will be the challenge for OWU. The regular season game is in Delaware this year.

Clambake, welcome. There are a few guys much more qualified than me to tell you about NCAC teams other than OWU and Denison. But it will suffice to say that these two are the relative royalty of the conference over the past five or more years. Congrats to your family and your son. It'll be great to be part of this league.

[FannOLax]

Hiya Clambake... and welcome. Following up on Seacoaster's post, I'd say that OWU and Denison have been the NCAC royalty since the conference was founded in the mid 1980s. These days, until proven otherwise, the NESCAC is the best D3 conference and the top NESCAC teams are a clear cut above Denison and OWU (with the cut being finer some years). In 2016 and 2017, Denison lost by one goal at eventual national champion Salisbury, in an NCAA quarterfinal 2016 OT game, and in the 2017 NCAA semi's. In 2015 and 2018, OWU beat Salisbury in OT regular season, then lost to Gettysburg in the NCAA quarters. OWU had glory years in the 1980s under Mike Pressler, getting to the D3 final three consecutive years, losing to Hobart every time, which also happened in 1993 when OWU was coached by Lelan Rogers. I hope your son enjoys his college years, Clambake; whatever NCAC school he attends, he can get a very good education. Tough to say how competitive in lacrosse the other NCAC schools are getting; my impression is that the overall level of play continues to improve across D3, so that teams need to improve just to tread water. It would be great for the conference to be stronger top-to-bottom, like the NESCAC, or least have four strong teams like the ODAC.