SUNY 2024

[Dadlax]

It’s almost our favorite time of year. What are we thinking about this year’s schedules? And how will our teams fair this upcoming season?

[Leonard Washington]

In the "final" year of the SUNYAC Conference as we have known it, I think it's going to be more of the same that we saw from last year.

Cream of the Crop
1-Geneseo (Find a replacement for Pav in the cage and they should be just as dangerous; Even with the loss of McCumisky the offense is going to take a pretty big step as Sullivan and Atkinson are a great dynamic duo at attack; Teams will pole Boneillo early but there are a number of guys ready to take advantage of their short stick matchups).

2-Cortland (Challenging schedule and could mirror what St. John Fisher went through out the gate last year. May have to lean on the defense while the offense gets its legs under them. Last year should have been a cold wakeup call for the Red Dragons. New coach can definitely recruit. The question is, can he consistently motivate these young men throughout the year and "bring Cortland back").

Contenders for conference playoffs
3-Oneonta (Same old Red Dragons for the past numerous years aka no higher than the third spot; New Paltz and Oswego upsets last year said a lot. Back to back years would speak volumes; O'Neill will definitely be better his sophomore, which is scary. As everyone knows and says WAY TO MUCH TALENT to constantly put out the product they do year in and year out).

4-Oswego (Elston not returning but could be sneaky good and competitive with everyone they have coming back. Getting New Paltz at home this year is definitely an advantage for them after beating them on the road last year).

5-New Paltz (Steinhart will keep them in games, especially early, while the offense works on its chemistry. Coach Neisler is exactly what this program needed and has them headed in the right direction).

Hoping to not finish in last place
6-Potsdam (As Berkman prepares to ride off to the sunset, I wish they would challenge themselves a bit more out of conference early in the season. Everything seemingly will run through Walsh. Faceoffs will be improved. Can't play musical goalies and expect to be successful).

7-Brockport (If Kuznair returns between the pipes and they run that zone, they will be in some games. If he does not, then they could just as easily finish in last).

8-Plattsburgh (Not a ton of talent up there. Hope they can get 4 total wins this year. Seemed more competitive towards the end of the year).

[Lax37258]

McCumisky is still at geneseo for a 5th year

[Lax37258]

In the "final" year of the SUNYAC Conference as we have known it, I think it's going to be more of the same that we saw from last year.

Cream of the Crop
1-Geneseo (Find a replacement for Pav in the cage and they should be just as dangerous; Even with the loss of McCumisky the offense is going to take a pretty big step as Sullivan and Atkinson are a great dynamic duo at attack; Teams will pole Boneillo early but there are a number of guys ready to take advantage of their short stick matchups).

2-Cortland (Challenging schedule and could mirror what St. John Fisher went through out the gate last year. May have to lean on the defense while the offense gets its legs under them. Last year should have been a cold wakeup call for the Red Dragons. New coach can definitely recruit. The question is, can he consistently motivate these young men throughout the year and "bring Cortland back").

Contenders for conference playoffs
3-Oneonta (Same old Red Dragons for the past numerous years aka no higher than the third spot; New Paltz and Oswego upsets last year said a lot. Back to back years would speak volumes; O'Neill will definitely be better his sophomore, which is scary. As everyone knows and says WAY TO MUCH TALENT to constantly put out the product they do year in and year out).

4-Oswego (Elston not returning but could be sneaky good and competitive with everyone they have coming back. Getting New Paltz at home this year is definitely an advantage for them after beating them on the road last year).

5-New Paltz (Steinhart will keep them in games, especially early, while the offense works on its chemistry. Coach Neisler is exactly what this program needed and has them headed in the right direction).

Hoping to not finish in last place
6-Potsdam (As Berkman prepares to ride off to the sunset, I wish they would challenge themselves a bit more out of conference early in the season. Everything seemingly will run through Walsh. Faceoffs will be improved. Can't play musical goalies and expect to be successful).

7-Brockport (If Kuznair returns between the pipes and they run that zone, they will be in some games. If he does not, then they could just as easily finish in last).

8-Plattsburgh (Not a ton of talent up there. Hope they can get 4 total wins this year. Seemed more competitive towards the end of the year).

Mccumisky is taking a 5th year

[Leonard Washington]

McCumisky is still at geneseo for a 5th year

Didn't know he returned as I was told he was looking to go to grad school.

Well that definitely makes me feel a more confident in my (current) pre-season ratings

[MVPiccoli]

Much like WAC and Roanoke for my age group, it's still weird not to think of Cortland as a perennial national power. They were so good for so long. Truly hope Rogers can bring them back to NCAA relevance. I don't think that roster is that far off.

[D3LaxFan2]

Much like WAC and Roanoke for my age group, it's still weird not to think of Cortland as a perennial national power. They were so good for so long. Truly hope Rogers can bring them back to NCAA relevance. I don't think that roster is that far off.

They basically have not won a single ranked game since 2017. And their 4 leading scorers were seniors or 5th years.

[MVPiccoli]

Much like WAC and Roanoke for my age group, it's still weird not to think of Cortland as a perennial national power. They were so good for so long. Truly hope Rogers can bring them back to NCAA relevance. I don't think that roster is that far off.

They basically have not won a single ranked game since 2017. And their 4 leading scorers were seniors or 5th years.

2017??? That's mind blowing. Witnessing the ebbs and flows of our division make me appreciate Berkman that much more. No one outside of Dave Ulrick can claim to have been so consistent and enduring.

[Leonard Washington]

Truly hope Rogers can bring them back to NCAA relevance. I don't think that roster is that far off.

They are closer to falling back to the pack as opposed to reclaiming the #1 spot (in SUNYACS) for this year. Cortland is lucky that Geneseo is going to the Empire 8. As for NCAA relevance, IMO, isn't in the cards anytime soon.

That being said, the only two teams that can "challenge" them in the (near) future in conference would be Oneonta and Oswego and the other Red Dragons and Lakers are not particularly close to them (Cortland) either.

[Macdaddy17]

The season is upon us! Not sure about you guys but I am pumped to see what will transpire this upcoming 2024 season. Last year of the true 'SUNYAC', as we know many teams will be leaving next season. Any predictions? things to look out or players to look out for? Hard to knock Geneseo off the top, after an unbelievable season last year. How will cortland respond/differ with new coach? New Paltz on the rise? how will 2nd year Brockport coach fair?

[kuzandrat]

7-Brockport (If Kuznair returns between the pipes and they run that zone, they will be in some games. If he does not, then they could just as easily finish in last).

Kuzniar is not going back for a Covid year. He graduated after the fall semester and moved onto teaching and helping coach his high school hockey (goalies) and lax (goalies)

[Leonard Washington]

Kuzniar is not going back for a Covid year. He graduated after the fall semester and moved onto teaching and helping coach his high school hockey (goalies) and lax (goalies)

Thank you for the update.

Big shoes to fill.

[dp68]

Truly hope Rogers can bring them back to NCAA relevance. I don't think that roster is that far off.

They are closer to falling back to the pack as opposed to reclaiming the #1 spot (in SUNYACS) for this year. Cortland is lucky that Geneseo is going to the Empire 8. As for NCAA relevance, IMO, isn't in the cards anytime soon.

That being said, the only two teams that can "challenge" them in the (near) future in conference would be Oneonta and Oswego and the other Red Dragons and Lakers are not particularly close to them (Cortland) either.

I agree, but I'll also point out that the right coach can make a huge difference. Look at Cortland football in 2019 - good but not great team, sometimes won the Empire 8 and sometimes finished 3rd, pretty good roster but not considered a true eastern power.

Coach Fitzpatrick takes over. In his very first season, they run the table in the Empire 8 with a lot of the previous coach's players, make the NCAA playoffs, win the first round, then lose in the quarterfinals in a squeaker to a team which recovered all four lost fumbles (combined) in a single game.

Two years later, Cortland football does the unthinkable and captures the NCAA championship. I'm still in disbelief. BTW, they still haven't lost a conference game under Fitzpatrick. Nobody has come close. Not even a very stout Brockport team.

I'm not saying Rogers is necessarily Fitzpatrick or Joe Brown (baseball), but his track record through 2005 says he might be. And Rogers has Geneseo at home while he looks to rebuild the roster.

Geneseo is my pick to win the SUNYAC, but I believe Rogers will get a ton more out of his kids that his predecessor did. Cortland lax is back. It might take a few years before the dividends start rolling in, but I'm positive they will.

[Leonard Washington]

Truly hope Rogers can bring them back to NCAA relevance. I don't think that roster is that far off.

They are closer to falling back to the pack as opposed to reclaiming the #1 spot (in SUNYACS) for this year. Cortland is lucky that Geneseo is going to the Empire 8. As for NCAA relevance, IMO, isn't in the cards anytime soon.

That being said, the only two teams that can "challenge" them in the (near) future in conference would be Oneonta and Oswego and the other Red Dragons and Lakers are not particularly close to them (Cortland) either.

I agree, but I'll also point out that the right coach can make a huge difference. Look at Cortland football in 2019 - good but not great team, sometimes won the Empire 8 and sometimes finished 3rd, pretty good roster but not considered a true eastern power.

Coach Fitzpatrick takes over. In his very first season, they run the table in the Empire 8 with a lot of the previous coach's players, make the NCAA playoffs, win the first round, then lose in the quarterfinals in a squeaker to a team which recovered all four lost fumbles (combined) in a single game.

Two years later, Cortland football does the unthinkable and captures the NCAA championship. I'm still in disbelief. BTW, they still haven't lost a conference game under Fitzpatrick. Nobody has come close. Not even a very stout Brockport team.

I'm not saying Rogers is necessarily Fitzpatrick or Joe Brown (baseball), but his track record through 2005 says he might be. And Rogers has Geneseo at home while he looks to rebuild the roster.

Geneseo is my pick to win the SUNYAC, but I believe Rogers will get a ton more out of his kids that his predecessor did. Cortland lax is back. It might take a few years before the dividends start rolling in, but I'm positive they will.

Fitzpatrick isn't a re-tread hire and was actually able to get his team an NCAA Championship. Maybe things come full circle and (LR) can catch lighting in a bottle and make a run with someone else's players? Almost two decades have passed. Hopefully Coach Rogers has evolved and will put his ego aside and make the adjustments needed for Cortland to get over the RIT/NESCAC hump. Unfortunately , I doubt that it will happen.

Hope im wrong but 11-6 record with a loss in the SUNYAC title game, seems about right this year.

[dp68]

Hard for me to call a guy a retread when he was terrific in D3, went to Syracuse, and came back. It’s not like he’s a lifetime middling coach who keeps getting hired because he’s always available.

[Leonard Washington]

Hard for me to call a guy a retread when he was terrific in D3, went to Syracuse, and came back. It’s not like he’s a lifetime middling coach who keeps getting hired because he’s always available.

We will agree to disagree as some one who was "terrific" as a head coach in DIII was almost 20 years ago. A few quarter final appearances and a final 4 are solid. That being said this isn't (only) the Ithaca, Middlebury and Nazareth show anymore. There are a plethora of teams that are a) ahead of the Red Dragons or b) give them a run for their money (or run them off the field) in the "north".

Amherst, Babson, Bowdoin, Clarkson, Endicott , Geneseo, Ithaca, Middlebury, RIT, RPI, Fisher, SLU, Stevens, Tufts, Wesleyan, Williams and Union just to name a few. (And that's without me including any Centennial teams or York).

I'm not drinking the Kool-Aid quite yet. Sorry, I'll believe it when I see it. Will Cortland run though the SUNYAC conference in the near future, highly probable. The same answer could be attached to the question, will they continue to be one or (if they are lucky) two and done in the NCAAs.

[richard]

[quote=dp68 post_id=513930 time=<a href="tel:1706494225">1706494225</a> user_id=2497]
Hard for me to call a guy a retread when he was terrific in D3, went to Syracuse, and came back. It’s not like he’s a lifetime middling coach who keeps getting hired because he’s always available.

We will agree to disagree as some one who was "terrific" as a head coach in DIII was almost 20 years ago. A few quarter final appearances and a final 4 are solid. That being said this isn't (only) the Ithaca, Middlebury and Nazareth show anymore. There are a plethora of teams that are a) ahead of the Red Dragons or b) give them a run for their money (or run them off the field) in the "north".

Amherst, Babson, Bowdoin, Clarkson, Endicott , Geneseo, Ithaca, Middlebury, RIT, RPI, Fisher, SLU, Stevens, Tufts, Wesleyan, Williams and Union just to name a few. (And that's without me including any Centennial teams or York).

I'm not drinking the Kool-Aid quite yet. Sorry, I'll believe it when I see it. Will Cortland run though the SUNYAC conference in the near future, highly probable. The same answer could be attached to the question, will they continue to be one or (if they are lucky) two and done in the NCAAs.
[/quote]

Leonard, is it the coaching aspect that you question or is it the competition for talent that leads you to believe Cortland can’t step up?

[Leonard Washington]

Leonard, is it the coaching aspect that you question or is it the competition for talent that leads you to believe Cortland can’t step up?

They can step it up, I just do not believe they will step it up unless the current coach has evolved and realizes this isn't 2004.

[richard]

Kind of vague but I expect there has been some personal interaction there. That aside what will he bring to the table that wasn’t already there with Beville? I can’t believe the Cortland administration would have hired him unless they thought he brought something different to the table.

[Leonard Washington]

Kind of vague but I expect there has been some personal interaction there. That aside what will he bring to the table that wasn’t already there with Beville? I can’t believe the Cortland administration would have hired him unless they thought he brought something different to the table.

Vague? What would you like me to say? You asked a two pronged question and I answered it. No need to be specific at this point. Time will tell. Cortland administration can do whatever they would like when it comes to hires whether it's the easy/familiar route or not. What will he bring to the table that Beville didn't? Not much, especially if he doesn't get out of his own way. From what I have been told it was a great pool of candidates , but I digress. It's not what you know , sometimes it's who you know. Well who you know and who you go out and play golf with