MAC 2024

[StevieUAlum]

Thrilled by the showing my Stangs put on last night. Showed a lot of resilience against a good Muhlenberg team. Down 9-5 at one point and end up winning 15-10 really showcased this teams mentality early on.

Really encouraging to get a ton of points from Freshman and Sophomores. Racich, Gossen, Bryant, Curtis are all in their first or second year. Those four combined for 10 points. 9 goals total.

Defensive and Face-off were the strengths as predicted. Scorese with 12 saves, one goal allowed in the 4th quarter and Halpin winning 22/28 faceoffs was the huge difference. Biggest takeaway from the stat sheet was the 52-27 groundball advantage Stevenson had, need to work on the clearing game, 12/18 in that department will lose us games to better teams.

Overall the MAC showed out this weekend, really hoping to show the country the continued growth of this conference. There is so much potential from 3/4 teams in this conference to make serious noise come late April and early May. Excited for the action!

[DeepPocket]

Another interesting week of MACtion.
Games of note;

Wednesday
Eastern vs Swarthmore
Arcadia vs F&M
DeSales vs Stockton

Saturday
DeSales vs RPI
York vs F&M
Stevenson vs CNU
Stevens vs Springfield

Give me 4-3
Eastern
F&M
DeSales
RPI
York
CNU
Stevens

My obvious hot take is Eastern over Swarthmore. This was a 5 goal game in 2023, that Eastern lead by 3 goals through the half and were down just 2 coming into the fourth. Both teams return a lot, and likewise are all another year older. What I’m leaning on is Eastern’s key returners being grad aged, and Swarthmore still being in the musical goalies stage of their season.

[DeepPocket]

Swarthmore over Eastern 16-12.

Eastern jumped out in front 2-0 early and lead the majority of the game by a goal. The Eagles entered the fourth frame trailing the Garnets by 1, 12-11. They fell prey to a consistently strong ride that really started taking effect in the third, causing failed clears and the Eagles lost it in the fourth.

These two teams were very even 6v6, and the majority of the time having a 1 goal differential reflected that. Swat dominated the faceoffs the whole game, and somehow that failed to be reflected in the score sheet. If Eastern lost that many draws to a true top 20 team there’s no way this game is this close.

My takeaways are; Eastern is what folks have been saying- much improved, Swarthmore isn’t a top 20 team, and both should be in the 30-21 range with Swarthmore sitting some spots ahead of Eastern.

[SixBySix]

Swarthmore over Eastern 16-12.

Eastern jumped out in front 2-0 early and lead the majority of the game by a goal. The Eagles entered the fourth frame trailing the Garnets by 1, 12-11. They fell prey to a consistently strong ride that really started taking effect in the third, causing failed clears and the Eagles lost it in the fourth.

These two teams were very even 6v6, and the majority of the time having a 1 goal differential reflected that. Swat dominated the faceoffs the whole game, and somehow that failed to be reflected in the score sheet. If Eastern lost that many draws to a true top 20 team there’s no way this game is this close.

My takeaways are; Eastern is what folks have been saying- much improved, Swarthmore isn’t a top 20 team, and both should be in the 30-21 range with Swarthmore sitting some spots ahead of Eastern.

Interesting take. I think it played out fairly similarly to my pregame prediction in the CC thread (close for the majority of the game, Swat pulls away second half, expected ~18-10 final), though obviously a good bit closer final score. Swat's offense looked much uglier than usual, some of which I credit to Eastern's poles doing a fantastic job knocking down skip passes and a reasonably good job stopping the dodge on-ball. Overall, stick handling was sloppy on both sides, more or less as per usual for a cold, February, early-season game.

I don't think we will really know what to do with the Garnet rankings-wise until the Amherst game. I think Eastern has the experience and some talent on offense to carry them to a lot of wins and would expect them to hang out in the RV 20-25 range for at least a good chunk of the season. At this point, I'd expect them to wind up somewhere between 13-4 to 11-6 (likely won't beat Stevens/Stevie/York, should be good games with UMW/Cabrini/Stockton, and small to large favorites in the remainder).

[DeepPocket]

Swarthmore over Eastern 16-12.

Eastern jumped out in front 2-0 early and lead the majority of the game by a goal. The Eagles entered the fourth frame trailing the Garnets by 1, 12-11. They fell prey to a consistently strong ride that really started taking effect in the third, causing failed clears and the Eagles lost it in the fourth.

These two teams were very even 6v6, and the majority of the time having a 1 goal differential reflected that. Swat dominated the faceoffs the whole game, and somehow that failed to be reflected in the score sheet. If Eastern lost that many draws to a true top 20 team there’s no way this game is this close.

My takeaways are; Eastern is what folks have been saying- much improved, Swarthmore isn’t a top 20 team, and both should be in the 30-21 range with Swarthmore sitting some spots ahead of Eastern.

Interesting take. I think it played out fairly similarly to my pregame prediction in the CC thread (close for the majority of the game, Swat pulls away second half, expected ~18-10 final), though obviously a good bit closer final score. Swat's offense looked much uglier than usual, some of which I credit to Eastern's poles doing a fantastic job knocking down skip passes and a reasonably good job stopping the dodge on-ball. Overall, stick handling was sloppy on both sides, more or less as per usual for a cold, February, early-season game.

I don't think we will really know what to do with the Garnet rankings-wise until the Amherst game. I think Eastern has the experience and some talent on offense to carry them to a lot of wins and would expect them to hang out in the RV 20-25 range for at least a good chunk of the season. At this point, I'd expect them to wind up somewhere between 13-4 to 11-6 (likely won't beat Stevens/Stevie/York, should be good games with UMW/Cabrini/Stockton, and small to large favorites in the remainder).

It sounds like we watched the same game, and it appears the only part of my summary you take issue with is describing Swarthmore as “not a top 20 team.”
I suppose I could’ve added “right now” to it.

It goes without saying that every team grows and evolves over the course of a season. I’m not saying today is their ceiling. They can get better in any one of a number of ways between now and Amherst, and at that moment that’s who they’ll be, but the team I saw just now, today, IMO wasn’t a top 20 team.

[Laxattackjack]

i agree with deeps views on this. i watched the game. i thought eastern played better 6v6. swarthmore dominated on faceoff and eastern struggled on clears.

looking at Easterns remaining games, i would expect them to be favored in all but three games (stevens, stevenson, and york)

for a team that was 9-9 last year, i expect them to have a much better season this year.

[ShotGunTrad]

Tale of two halves. Eastern is a very good team and they moved the ball well. Scored through great feeding for much of the first half. Swat d was slow to adjust to covering behind cage and was cherry picked alot. Swat first half they could could not find a settled offense due to forcing the ball resulting in turnovers. Goalie with first start looked decent but no support. Second half tells the tale. Pretzer was on fire. 2 goals for Eastern all 2nd half due to adjustments on d and faster slides. Offense slowed it down and finished exceptionally well through midfield. Clears were much improved and riding with 9 and 10 man ride showed up. Eastern ran out of gas.
Impressed with Easterns start and without a doubt working on much better energy H1. But, swat came out flat and then adjusted as one would expect from a team with such a high powered offense. Typical goals being scored by their top crew of Mabbs, Strauch and Almgren. They did not show up at all on EMO though. I think I counted 3 shots in 3+ mins of penalties. Easterns big win at WAC will not be their last, Swat seems like they can ball and if they pull it all together for a full 60 mins could be a test for some of the higher ranking teams.

[DeepPocket]

Tale of two halves. Eastern is a very good team and they moved the ball well. Scored through great feeding for much of the first half. Swat d was slow to adjust to covering behind cage and was cherry picked alot. Swat first half they could could not find a settled offense due to forcing the ball resulting in turnovers. Goalie with first start looked decent but no support. Second half tells the tale. Pretzer was on fire. 2 goals for Eastern all 2nd half due to adjustments on d and faster slides. Offense slowed it down and finished exceptionally well through midfield. Clears were much improved and riding with 9 and 10 man ride showed up. Eastern ran out of gas.
Impressed with Easterns start and without a doubt working on much better energy H1. But, swat came out flat and then adjusted as one would expect from a team with such a high powered offense. Typical goals being scored by their top crew of Mabbs, Strauch and Almgren. They did not show up at all on EMO though. I think I counted 3 shots in 3+ mins of penalties. Easterns big win at WAC will not be their last, Swat seems like they can ball and if they pull it all together for a full 60 mins could be a test for some of the higher ranking teams.

You could definitely see the difference in rides affecting Eastern’s clear attempts starting in the third quarter. The entire Swarthmore team didn’t collectively flip a switch. I credit the skill and IQ of a 28 year coach making those adjustments at half, and facing the limitations of a first year head coach unable to counter. Time of possession skewed heavily in Swats favor from that point on. But remember, as lopsided as the play was, this was still a 1 goal game coming into the 4th. Eastern’s goalie stood on his head for several of the shellings. Swats goalie also came up with some great saves, on some of the same shots that were goals in H1.

The second half stats, with Swat winning faceoffs 9 to 2, out ground balling 27 to 15, keeping the opponent at 50% or less on clears, out shooting 26 to 9 show just how lopsided the play became. But with those great stat lines, they should have a greater score margin than 1 goal lead heading into the 4th, and winning by 4. They out shot Eastern 13 to 6 in the third but only out scored them 3-1, and out shot 13 to 3 in the fourth and outscored them just 4-1. Something needs to click with offensive efficiency before I can classify them as “high power.”

Felt every bit to me like two evenly matched teams at 6v6, where having a dominant FO player and superior coaching was the difference over 4 quarters. Two #30-21 range teams. Just my opinion.

[ShotGunTrad]

Long season ahead. You seem pretty committed to your placements. My view is you are under representing Eastern which is shading your view of Swarthmore. I doubt the placements across most of the rankings will stay concrete. I also think you could take a top 25 and insert it anywhere in the top 15 so the idea of where a team sits is really not super relevant. Not exactly a science as evidenced by WoW changes for teams moving 4+ spots without even a game yet.

[DeepPocket]

Long season ahead. You seem pretty committed to your placements…

Not at all. As I stated above, it goes without saying that teams grow and evolve over a season. This isn’t the ceiling for either of these teams.

… My view is you are under representing Eastern which is shading your view of Swarthmore…

There is irony here, in that I have been one of a small group of people defending the belief that Eastern is very good this year. Please read back a few pages and check out my Eastern roster breakdown. I am quite high on Eastern. (man, where were all you Centennial folks to help with defending Eastern then?) FYI, I actually predicted that Eastern would win.

… I doubt the placements across most of the rankings will stay concrete. I also think you could take a top 25 and insert it anywhere in the top 15 so the idea of where a team sits is really not super relevant. Not exactly a science as evidenced by WoW changes for teams moving 4+ spots without even a game yet.

This is where we agree 100%. Rankings are both arbitrary, and irrelevant. It’s just a way for each person or entity (in this case, me) assembling a list to try and piece the picture together.

I guess that’s why it’s so puzzling, that me saying I personally don’t think the performance of Swarthmore I saw yesterday was that of a top 20 team, has drawn such a backlash.

[StevieUAlum]

Long season ahead. You seem pretty committed to your placements. My view is you are under representing Eastern which is shading your view of Swarthmore. I doubt the placements across most of the rankings will stay concrete. I also think you could take a top 25 and insert it anywhere in the top 15 so the idea of where a team sits is really not super relevant. Not exactly a science as evidenced by WoW changes for teams moving 4+ spots without even a game yet.

I don't think any "under representing" is transpiring here. I think Eastern has gotten more love and attention on this forum than ever before.

They are most definitely improving as a program. My only draw back is that they were placed by some in the same tier as York/Stevens/Stevenson in the MAC going into this year. Until you win a conference championship or multiple, you don't get that distinction.

Eastern will compete on the Commonwealth side per usual and be with 5-7 goals of York & Stevenson, no surprise there. York and Stevenson both already have Top 20 wins on their resume this year. That speaks for itself regardless if those teams they beat were ranked 15 and 19 in those matchups, wins are wins.

[StevieUAlum]

Long season ahead. You seem pretty committed to your placements. My view is you are under representing Eastern which is shading your view of Swarthmore. I doubt the placements across most of the rankings will stay concrete. I also think you could take a top 25 and insert it anywhere in the top 15 so the idea of where a team sits is really not super relevant. Not exactly a science as evidenced by WoW changes for teams moving 4+ spots without even a game yet.

I don't think any "under representing" is transpiring here. I think Eastern has gotten more love and attention on this forum than ever before.

They are most definitely improving as a program. My only draw back is that they were placed by some in the same tier as York/Stevens/Stevenson in the MAC going into this year. Until you win a conference championship or multiple, you don't get that distinction.

Eastern will compete on the Commonwealth side per usual and be with 5-7 goals of York & Stevenson, no surprise there. York and Stevenson both already have Top 20 wins on their resume this year. That speaks for itself regardless if those teams they beat were ranked 15 and 19 in those matchups, wins are wins.

Would also like to add that Swathmore has taken a giant leap as a program. Playing in the Centennial is no joke and they have managed to not only hold their own but win games and stay ranked.

When you look at their roster composition, it is made up of a large group of kids from the Western US. Amazing to see the games growth and the talent coming out of that region.

[JustOneTime]

I think the Muhlenberg win for Stevenson will end up being somewhat meaningless. I don't think Muhlenberg is as good this year as they have been the last few years. My feeling is Muhlenberg will not be regionally ranked come April so while it's nice to win the game the win will not really mean anything when it comes time for the NCAA bids to be handed out.
The York win over W&L will probably pan out to be much more significant.

[StevieUAlum]

I think the Muhlenberg win for Stevenson will end up being somewhat meaningless. I don't think Muhlenberg is as good this year as they have been the last few years. My feeling is Muhlenberg will not be regionally ranked come April so while it's nice to win the game the win will not really mean anything when it comes time for the NCAA bids to be handed out.
The York win over W&L will probably pan out to be much more significant.

Ranked wins are ranked wins, take them when you can get them. However I'd agree that the win most likely won't mean much come the end of the year the way the Centennial is shaping up.

I'd also make the argument that W&L might have a tougher year in the ODAC than some anticipate. Teams like RMC and HSC are very much capable of winning games and have tons of talent on their rosters. RMC boat raced Ursinus this past weekend, HSC played a loaded CNU team to 6 goals . The ODAC might have be a tight race this year with more surprises than the years of the past.

[ShotGunTrad]

Long season ahead. You seem pretty committed to your placements…

Not at all. As I stated above, it goes without saying that teams grow and evolve over a season. This isn’t the ceiling for either of these teams.

… My view is you are under representing Eastern which is shading your view of Swarthmore…

There is irony here, in that I have been one of a small group of people defending the belief that Eastern is very good this year. Please read back a few pages and check out my Eastern roster breakdown. I am quite high on Eastern. (man, where were all you Centennial folks to help with defending Eastern then?) FYI, I actually predicted that Eastern would win.

… I doubt the placements across most of the rankings will stay concrete. I also think you could take a top 25 and insert it anywhere in the top 15 so the idea of where a team sits is really not super relevant. Not exactly a science as evidenced by WoW changes for teams moving 4+ spots without even a game yet.

This is where we agree 100%. Rankings are both arbitrary, and irrelevant. It’s just a way for each person or entity (in this case, me) assembling a list to try and piece the picture together.

I guess that’s why it’s so puzzling, that me saying I personally don’t think the performance of Swarthmore I saw yesterday was that of a top 20 team, has drawn such a backlash.

Hard pressed to call it backlash, only disagreement on you making a call out that a team which was ranked by 3 separate entities in 15-17 spot is over represented due to a shaky start against a strong Eastern team that I think is in the 20-25 range. Onward!

[DeepPocket]

Hard pressed to call it backlash, only disagreement on you making a call out that a team which was ranked by 3 separate entities in 15-17 spot is over represented due to a shaky start against a strong Eastern team that I think is in the 20-25 range. Onward!

Someone once told me the rankings aren’t really super relevant…

… the idea of where a team sits is really not super relevant. Not exactly a science as evidenced by WoW changes for teams moving 4+ spots without even a game yet.

I’m not going to argue the semantics of what constitutes backlash. Instead I’ll ask you, did you watch the game? And if so do you think that Swarthmore performed like a top 20 team in that game?

I don’t think they did, and it’s ok if you disagree with that. And while I’d love to hear your actual answer to the above questions, the reality is that whether you think they did or they didn’t, I’m ok with that too. All good.

[DeepPocket]

Notable MACtion this week;

Wednesday
Messiah vs F&M

Saturday
Stevenson vs Gettysburg
York vs RIT
Messiah vs Stevens

[StevieUAlum]

Just got a look at the Eastern/MW box score and I have to say I'm very surprised.

[Duckdad]

Ducks played a dominate defensive game in the second half and outscored messiah 10-0 in second half after only being up 4-2 at half. Driving rain!

Nice to see York almost take down RIT and Stevenson almost take down GBURG.

[DeepPocket]

Ducks played a dominate defensive game in the second half and outscored messiah 10-0 in second half after only being up 4-2 at half. Driving rain!

Nice to see York almost take down RIT and Stevenson almost take down GBURG.

I was very impressed by Stevens’ showing versus a Messiah team that’s on the rise.

MACtion of note this week;

Wednesday
Arcadia vs Cabrini
Eastern vs Ursinus

Saturday
York vs Salisbury
Stevenson vs Dickinson
Stevens vs Oneonta
Eastern vs Arcadia
Messiah vs Mary Washington
DeSales vs Colorado College

Entertaining read on Twitter this weekend, catching Widener staff member losing composure and getting into a relatively one sided “Twitter beef” with Cabrini alum and Podcast personality Matt Nestler on the heels of Cabrini’s victory over the Pride. (Coincidentally Nestler’s brother played at Widener, so unsure of why the bad blood)