Centennial Conference 2024

[Devil4Life]

Any predictions?

[Laxdds]

Dickinson is the team to beat until proven otherwise.
GO BULLETS!

[ChopMan23]

Dickinson
Swat
F&M
Gettysburg
Ursinus
Muhlenberg
Haverford
WC
McDaniel

[ReturnOfTheWAC]

Ill play

1.Dickinson- The Devils are reigning back to back champions return most of their team and look to be yet again competitive nationally. Replacing their goalie will be tough but I feel like their defensive system really supports their goalie and they will again be the top dog in the conference. Webster is a great coach that always has his team ready and prepared and playing with great pace.
2.Swat- Swarthmore come off a banner season concluding with a disappointing NCAA Tournament loss. Coach Gress is a masterful coach who has developed this program into a top 20 contender. The talent is there to score and score in bunches. Swat can finish as high as 2nd and as low as 5th. 4-1 in 1 goal games last year including 3-1 in OT. I think everything dosent break their way this year and they end up 6-2-5-3 in the conference
3.Gettysburg- The Bullets were the best team in college lacrosse in late Feb early March(including being the only team to beat the National Champions), then something happened and they really struggled down the stretch. Toner no longer has Hanks players and I think there will be some growing pains early with a young team but I expect them to get better especially by the time we hit May. They have a higher ceiling but a lower floor then Swat.
4.F&M- The Dips must replace 2 dynamic freshman who left in the transfer portal. Cavallero is a masterful offensive coach and F&M can also score in bunches. The problem is they seem to have quite a few head scratching performances espcially last season. Was that youth? or something else. I give them the bennifit of the doubt due to coaching and the fact that there are more knowns coming back then the rest of the conference
5. Washington College- Okay here me out, year 3 of Nostrant is the year the Shoremen make it back to the playoffs. The program was on life support at the end of the Shirk era and has been brought back. Coach Tracy will be a huge addition to the coaching staff. Losing Temple on offense stings but I think there will be more balance within it. I loved the up tempo pace they played at last season, there needs to be improvment on defense, it seemed a bit "junky" and we didnt take advantge of the talent we had.
6.Muhlenberg- The Mules are going to be very young after the graduation of last years team. Grossman, May, Dalmonte are all gone and I expect them to have some struggles as the new guys get comfortable. Plunckett and his staff are one of the best in the conference when it comes to player development and I expect them to be contending for a playoff spot next season.
7.Haverford- New coach who I do not know much about but I give The Black Squirrels a ton of credit, as they went 3-5 in conference last season. Their goalie keeps them in games and i am interested to see if they decide to play more like Amherst and not as slow as they have in the past.
8. Ursinus- Alot of names we are used to seeing on running around for the Bears are no longer there. A new staff(newer) gives me pause, Ursinus plays with an attitude that allows them to compete with anyone but also lacks the disipline that leads to head scratching losses.
9. McDaniel- The Terror came close last season to stealing some conference games. This team is very improved under Dibartolo and they play very hard. Looks like they have to replace some guys but Im predicting a conference win or 2 for them. For those of us who remember a strong Western Maryland College means a better conference

[justanotherperson]

New Haverford coach is quite an amazing individual and maybe the highest energy I’ve ever seen in a coach. He really did help Amherst rise from the ashes as well. How that translates into wins at Haverford, I don’t know but coups be a wild card

[GoTerriers8]

1a1b- Dickinson and Swarthmore
Dickinson is back to back conference champions, they have the experience, however the do graduate a very solid chunk. Goalie, fogo, strong middies.
Swarthmore I believe only graduated one middie? They played with fire last season with a large number of 1 goal games, but as long as they don't fall in love with their textbooks even more and forget how to play lacrosse, I think they are the team that can dethrone dickinson.
3- Gettysburg
Toner doesn;t have any of hanks guys any more, and in my eyes he has not recruited well (#s doesn't equal good players) however he does have talent.
4- F&M
lost their talented freshman to transfer portal, but have the coaching
5- Muhlenburg
Graduated Everything
6- Ursinus
Lost center of their team Neal to graduation. New coaching isn't great
7- Haverford
Team was on the upswing, hopefully the new coach can continue it. One red flag, relied very heavily on their goalie to have insane games, If he doesn't, McDaniel could get their first conference W in 6 years
8- WAC
Graduated temple and other stars. Unlike everyone else on this forum, I do not think Nostrant has done that well.
9- McDaniel
Don't really need to explain

[GoTerriers8]

Dickinson
Swat
F&M
Gettysburg
Ursinus
Muhlenberg
Haverford
WC
McDaniel

Explain F&M high ranking

[ChopMan23]

Dickinson
Swat
F&M
Gettysburg
Ursinus
Muhlenberg
Haverford
WC
McDaniel

Explain F&M high ranking

F&M has proved to be a CC contender for the last 6-7 years. They have great coaching and bring in talented players every year. They seem to have no problem getting at least 1 "game changer each year." Unfortunately for them they had to replace their latest sooner than expected....

I think the 3 and 4 spots are a complete toss up between the dips, bullets, UC, and Muhlenberg. Gettysburg loses a good amount and they really seemed to drop off at the end of last year. However, like F&M, they do not have trouble reloading. Both F&M and Gettysburg field great teams every year and it seems as if they are their own enemies when it comes to losing late in the season.

Overall I think we will see a very competitive conference. Dickinson is definitely ahead of the pack, Swat's resume can lead us to assume they will have another good year, unless last year was a fluke. I think the bottom three, WC, Haverford, McD can sneak up on any of the top teams in this conference if taken lightly. WC will back to winning ways soon, Nostrant is doing a great job establishing a new culture in C-Town. The wins will come, but this years team is young and inexperience will hurt them. They have a great OOC to get ready for CC play.

[Laxdds]

I don't understand the F&M has "great" coaching statement. "Very good" coaching, "solid" coaching I can see, but "great" coaching? As was stated above they do bring in tons of talent every year and seem to under perform regularly vis-a vis the talent, that's on the coaches. It is a shame they lost the attackman to the portal he was fun to watch. Sorry his name escapes me right now.

[ToeDipper78]

Dickinson & Swat will be top teams. Not sure who has better regular season or wins playoffs.
Getty and F&M have a ton of bodies but Tier B this year. Will win games but need to pull an upset to get to finals.
Mules, Wash, Ursinus will score some upsets but also lose some stinkers. A lot needs to happen to be that team that makes playoffs.
Haverford is biggest question mark. Don't see them winning a lot but will play faster.
McD trying to rack up pre-conference wins and get some momentum.

And dont be thrown off by early season records. Dick, Swat, Getty, Muhl, Urs all play very tough opponents before conference play happens. Those teams entering the meat grinder.

[kirbysmart14]

Swat definitely has everyone returning, theres no debating that. But it will be interesting to see how they fare in 2024 with all the close games they had in 2023. Excited for their game against Amherst. Big Centennial vs NESCAC implications there.

[ChopMan23]

Swat definitely has everyone returning, theres no debating that. But it will be interesting to see how they fare in 2024 with all the close games they had in 2023. Excited for their game against Amherst. Big Centennial vs NESCAC implications there.

We need more nescac vs centennial!

[Devil4Life]

1a1b- Dickinson and Swarthmore
Dickinson is back to back conference champions, they have the experience, however the do graduate a very solid chunk. Goalie, fogo, strong middies.
Swarthmore I believe only graduated one middie? They played with fire last season with a large number of 1 goal games, but as long as they don't fall in love with their textbooks even more and forget how to play lacrosse, I think they are the team that can dethrone dickinson.
3- Gettysburg
Toner doesn;t have any of hanks guys any more, and in my eyes he has not recruited well (#s doesn't equal good players) however he does have talent.
4- F&M
lost their talented freshman to transfer portal, but have the coaching
5- Muhlenburg
Graduated Everything
6- Ursinus
Lost center of their team Neal to graduation. New coaching isn't great
7- Haverford
Team was on the upswing, hopefully the new coach can continue it. One red flag, relied very heavily on their goalie to have insane games, If he doesn't, McDaniel could get their first conference W in 6 years
8- WAC
Graduated temple and other stars. Unlike everyone else on this forum, I do not think Nostrant has done that well.
9- McDaniel
Don't really need to explain

Dickinsons FOGO is back

[notjeffshirk]

NJS here,

1) Dickinson
2) Swat
3) GBurg
4) WAC - Controversial I know
5a & 5b) F&M, Ursinus
7) Haverford
8) Muhlenberg
9) McStinkers

My humble opinion..

NJS out

[notjameschakey]

Nakeys Preseason Rankings are live

Gburg
Dickinson
Swat
WAC
F&M
Muhlenberg
Haverford
Ursinus
McDaniel

[westernbestern]

Dickinson
Gburg
Swat
F&M
Ursinus
WAC
Muhlenberg
Haverford
McDaniel

[GoTerriers8]

Nakeys Preseason Rankings are live

Gburg
Dickinson
Swat
WAC
F&M
Muhlenberg
Haverford
Ursinus
McDaniel

Need an explanation on Gettysburg. Haven't been able to beat dickinson or nerdmore. They graduate everyone where dickinson graduates only some and swat nobody

[ChopMan23]

any word out of Lancaster on how the dips are looking this spring?

[notjeffshirk]

Nakeys Preseason Rankings are live

Gburg
Dickinson
Swat
WAC
F&M
Muhlenberg
Haverford
Ursinus
McDaniel

Need an explanation on Gettysburg. Haven't been able to beat dickinson or nerdmore. They graduate everyone where dickinson graduates only some and swat nobody

NJS here,

Dickinson without Brandau is troubling. Also graduated a lot of key players.

NJS out.

[JPAtlantic]

DeeThreeLax.com has this prediction.
1. Dickinson
2. Swarthmore
3. Gettysburg
4. Muhlenberg
5. Franklin & Marshall
6. Ursinus
7. Washington College
8. Haverford
9. McDaniel

More details here:
https://deethreelax.com/centennial-conference