Landmark Conference 2024

[nevadajoe]

Wilkes (4-5) (1-1) won their notched their first Landmark Conference win with a 12-9 victory over Juniata (2-9) (0-2). Colby Opromolla le the offense with 4 goals and an assist. Tim Hartka had a goal and 3 assists and LSM Matthew Warns netted 2 goals to go along with a caused turnover and 5 ground balls. Luke Wawrzyhek dominated at faceoff for the Valiants winning 16 of 22 with 6 ground balls.
Juniata made it a closer game scoring 6 goals in the fourth quarter. The Eagles were led on offense by Aidan Duran who had a hat trick. Rueben Stoll had 2 goals and an assist along with 2 caused turnovers and 6 ground balls. Ryan Madison had 20 saves.

Scranton(4-6) (2-0) looked in championship form with a 16-8 road win over Goucher (6-4) (0-2). The Royals were led on offense by freshman Myles McCutcheon with 5 goals. Matthew McAree and Alex Eglitis each had 2 goals and an assist and Kyle Holmes added 2 goals. John O'Connor was dominant at faceoff winning 26 of 28 and scooping up 15 ground balls. On defense, Andrew Lord caused 2 turnovers and grabbed 5 ground balls.
James Dugan with 4 goals and Dylan White with 2 goals and an assist paced the Gophers offense. On defense, Sean Nolan caused 2 turnovers and had 2 ground balls. Freshman keeper Jack White had a career-high 19 saves.

[nevadajoe]

Elizabethtown (4-5) (2-0) dominated Lycoming (2-4) (0-2) on both sides of the ball to secure the 18-2 win. Colin Kondracki and Ryan Flanegan had 3 goals each with Kondracki adding an assist. Riley Langen pitched in with a goal and 4 assists. The Blue Jays defense limited Lycoming to just 20 shots and was led by D middies Evan Youndt and Connor Stewart who had 2 turnovers apiece. Brayden Franey was solid in goal with 7 saves. TJ Chapman won 10 of 12 faceoffs.
Joey Hoover had both goals for Lycoming. Goalie Ben Franco, who is 5th in the nation in average saves per game had 18 saves.

Susquehanna (8-2) (2-0) road a very strong defensive effort to a 13-3 victory over Moravian (5-5) (1-1). Junior Brennan Lorrence netted 3 goals and is now the all-time program leader in goals with 126. Steven Musser and Rob McCullough had 2 goals each. On defense, Aiden Kennedy caused 4 turnovers and LSM Ted Zaborowski caused 6 turnovers, grabbed 6 ground balls and also had a goal, his 5th of the season. Jared Tavernite won 11 of 16 faceoffs and had 7 ground balls . Jozef Korpics was outstanding in goal for the River Hawks with 12 saves.

[LaxCrusader1]

Moan should be considered for COY, he has no staff and is doing this on his own with a part time assistant.

Cannot agree with you more.

Keeping in mind, Moan lost arguably his best offensive player in Chris Ciccarello just before the regular season. And, i'm not exactly sure what happened with the freshman defender from last year, Manfredonia, but he was potentially SU's best cover defender and he isn't playing this year.

If Moan has those two pieces this year I would make an argument that SU could compete with the likes of Scranton and Catholic for the title. Heck, they still might who knows...

Tip o' the hat to coach Moan and the Riverhawks for a strong season so far. Hope they can make some noise in playoffs and give us an interesting Landmark Conference playoffs this year. Like we used to have back in the day!

[nevadajoe]

In a game that Drew (5-5) (0-2) led 5-3 at halftime, Catholic (6-4) (2-0) held the Rangers scoreless and scored 10 goals of their own to take the win by a score of 13-5. Victor Rosado had 3 goals and 4 assists for the Cardinals. Ian Wick, Mike Mulligan and Fitz McLaughlin had 2 goals apiece. Ryan Macksoud won 13 of 21 faceoffs and had 7 ground balls. Mike Tayloe had a monster game on defense, causing 7 turnovers and grabbing 6 ground balls. Freshman Tyler Merchant was outstanding in goal with 15 saves.

Brent Stafford had 2 goals for Drew. On defense, Tyler McCarthy caused 2 turnovers and had 5 ground balls. Freshman goalie Joe Barnish was also outstanding with 14 saves.

[nevadajoe]

Moan should be considered for COY, he has no staff and is doing this on his own with a part time assistant.

Cannot agree with you more.

Keeping in mind, Moan lost arguably his best offensive player in Chris Ciccarello just before the regular season. And, i'm not exactly sure what happened with the freshman defender from last year, Manfredonia, but he was potentially SU's best cover defender and he isn't playing this year.

If Moan has those two pieces this year I would make an argument that SU could compete with the likes of Scranton and Catholic for the title. Heck, they still might who knows...

Tip o' the hat to coach Moan and the Riverhawks for a strong season so far. Hope they can make some noise in playoffs and give us an interesting Landmark Conference playoffs this year. Like we used to have back in the day!

Coach Moan certainly deserves consideration for another COY (he and his staff won in 2011 and 2016) but also has really had a stellar Landmark Conference career. In 15 years of conference play, his team has made the playoffs 10 times, has been to the championship game 4 times and has won 2 championships, back-to-back in 2013 and 2014.

In 2013, Susquehanna lost its regular season game to Scranton 9-3 but then turned around a few weeks later to defeat Scranton 7-4 in the semi-finals and then went on to win the championship with a 6-3 win over Merchant Marine.

In 2014, Susquehanna lost 13-7 to Goucher in the regular season and then a few weeks later beat the Gophers in the championship game 9-5.

I was at both of those championship games and it was clear that Coach Moan out-coached his opponents, taking the lessons from the regular season losses, making adjustments in his game plan and then encouraging his teams to execute that plan. Great defensive schemes prevailed in both games and a new offensive strategy worked against the same defenses the team had seen just weeks before.

Bets of luck to the River Hawks and Coach Moan for the remainder of the season.

[D3hero]

My predictions for the conference games on Wednesday 4/3:

Susquehanna @ Catholic - Easily the best matchup of the midweek slate. If this game was in Selinsgrove I might just pick Susquehanna to steal this one, but the combination of the strong Catholic defense and DMV traffic on a Wednesday night will just be too much for the Riverhawks. Catholic wins 11-8

Moravian @ Goucher - Two teams that will be fighting for the 5/6 playoff spots. Goucher hasn't beat Moravian since 2018. Good opportunity for the Gophers to show the progress they've made. Goucher wins 10-8

Lycoming @ Scranton - The defending champs roll past the conference newcomer. Scranton wins 17-4

Juniata @ Elizabethtown - Etown scored a conference record 32 goals in this game last year. Coach McGuire seems to have little issue with running up the score. Etown wins 26-3

Wilkes @ Drew - The Rangers get their first conference win of the season. Drew wins 16-9

[nevadajoe]

Wednesday conference games today.

Susquehanna (8-2) (2-0) is at Catholic (6-4) (2-0) at 4:00 in a game that will be a factor in the championship seedings in three weeks.

Moravian (5-5) (1-1) travels to Goucher (6-4) (0-2) at 7:00 in a game which could be a factor in which team makes the playoffs and which team doesn't.

Wilkes (4-5) (1-1) is at Drew (5-5) (0-2) at 7:00 looking for their second Landmark win. This is an early season must-win for Drew.

Scranton (4-6) (2-0) hosts Lycoming (2-4) (0-2) at 4:00.

Juniata (2-8) (0-2) is on the road at Elizabethtown (4-5) (2-0).

[nevadajoe]

My predictions for the conference games on Wednesday 4/3:

Susquehanna @ Catholic - Easily the best matchup of the midweek slate. If this game was in Selinsgrove I might just pick Susquehanna to steal this one, but the combination of the strong Catholic defense and DMV traffic on a Wednesday night will just be too much for the Riverhawks. Catholic wins 11-8

Moravian @ Goucher - Two teams that will be fighting for the 5/6 playoff spots. Goucher hasn't beat Moravian since 2018. Good opportunity for the Gophers to show the progress they've made. Goucher wins 10-8

Lycoming @ Scranton - The defending champs roll past the conference newcomer. Scranton wins 17-4

Juniata @ Elizabethtown - Etown scored a conference record 32 goals in this game last year. Coach McGuire seems to have little issue with running up the score. Etown wins 26-3

Wilkes @ Drew - The Rangers get their first conference win of the season. Drew wins 16-9

D3-
Great picks. I agree that if the Susquehanna-Catholic game were in Selinsgrove, the River Hawks might have a chance at an upset. Catholic will have to play better than they did last week against Drew or Susquehanna will take advantage of that.

The other interesting game is Goucher-Moravian. Each team has been inconsistent in their early conference games. I think the home field helps out the Gophers here in what should be a very close game.

And Drew needs the win today to get back on track for earning a playoff spot. Wilkes has a solid defense and an athletic goalie so they have a chance in this game.

[LI_Lax14]

I would challenge the idea that if this game was at Susquehanna that it would be an upset. Catholic beat Susq by 7 last year on the road and I would argue that this is an improved CUA team vs LY. Catholic did sleep walk in the first half against Drew but when they finally woke up and realized they were playing they shut Drew out 10-0 in the 2nd half. I think Catholic wins big despite the weather in DC.

[nevadajoe]

Wednesday conference games today.

Susquehanna (8-2) (2-0) is at Catholic (6-4) (2-0) at 4:00 in a game that will be a factor in the championship seedings in three weeks.

Moravian (5-5) (1-1) travels to Goucher (6-4) (0-2) at 7:00 in a game which could be a factor in which team makes the playoffs and which team doesn't.

Wilkes (4-5) (1-1) is at Drew (5-5) (0-2) at 7:00 looking for their second Landmark win. This is an early season must-win for Drew.

Scranton (4-6) (2-0) hosts Lycoming (2-4) (0-2) at 4:00.

Juniata (2-8) (0-2) is on the road at Elizabethtown (4-5) (2-0).

Wilkes at Elizabethtown has been postponed and will be scheduled at a later date.

Wilkes at Drew has been rescheduled to Thursday at 7:00.

[nevadajoe]

Landmark Conference Athletes of the Week - April 1

Men's Lacrosse Offensive: Victor Rosado (Catholic University)

Rosado had a big week for the Cardinals, netting hat tricks in both games while also handing out four assists in the come-from-behind conference victory over Drew on Saturday. On Wednesday night, the junior scored three times and provided two helpers in the loss to the top team in the country Salisbury. Rosado either scored or assisted on all but one of Catholic's tallies against the Sea Gulls. Then on Saturday, after Catholic trailed 5-3 at halftime to the Rangers, Rosado led the second-held fightback that saw the Cardinals outscore their opponents 10-0 after halftime. Rosado notched six of his seven points in the second half, including a hat trick in less than six minutes of game time in the fourth quarter to secure the win.

Men's Lacrosse Defensive: Jozef Korpics (Susquehanna University)

Korpics helped the River Hawks to a 13-3 conference victory against Moravian University last week. Korpics allowed just the three goals and made 12 saves in the win.

[Tightyrighty]

Remeber when I got crucified for calling Catholics win vs Cabrini not “that” good… Then get beat at home mid week to susq which hasn’t happened since 2019. I take apologies here, postal, person, carrier pigeon. Congrats to susq that lotrence kid could be OPOY

[D3hero]

good call tighty

[D3hero]

I would challenge the idea that if this game was at Susquehanna that it would be an upset. Catholic beat Susq by 7 last year on the road and I would argue that this is an improved CUA team vs LY. Catholic did sleep walk in the first half against Drew but when they finally woke up and realized they were playing they shut Drew out 10-0 in the 2nd half. I think Catholic wins big despite the weather in DC.

Looks like we were both wrong... it didn't matter where the game was played. Susquehanna was gonna get it done either way!

Big W for the Riverhawks. Brennen Lorrence was phenomenal. Hats off to Coach Moan for preparing his team well. Those Moan coach of the year suggestions are looking spot on at the moment.

[NutterButter]

I would challenge the idea that if this game was at Susquehanna that it would be an upset. Catholic beat Susq by 7 last year on the road and I would argue that this is an improved CUA team vs LY. Catholic did sleep walk in the first half against Drew but when they finally woke up and realized they were playing they shut Drew out 10-0 in the 2nd half. I think Catholic wins big despite the weather in DC.

Looks like we were both wrong... it didn't matter where the game was played. Susquehanna was gonna get it done either way!

Big W for the Riverhawks. Brennen Lorrence was phenomenal. Hats off to Coach Moan for preparing his team well. Those Moan coach of the year suggestions are looking spot on at the moment.

Coach moan COTY, Donley hot seat?? that’s an embarrassing loss

[LaxCrusader1]

I would challenge the idea that if this game was at Susquehanna that it would be an upset. Catholic beat Susq by 7 last year on the road and I would argue that this is an improved CUA team vs LY. Catholic did sleep walk in the first half against Drew but when they finally woke up and realized they were playing they shut Drew out 10-0 in the 2nd half. I think Catholic wins big despite the weather in DC.

Looks like we were both wrong... it didn't matter where the game was played. Susquehanna was gonna get it done either way!

Big W for the Riverhawks. Brennen Lorrence was phenomenal. Hats off to Coach Moan for preparing his team well. Those Moan coach of the year suggestions are looking spot on at the moment.

Looking at the stats it looks like the game came down to two things: goalies, and Catholic's shooting. Korpics had 14 saves to 10GA, Merchant had 10 saves to 13GA. Catholic had 54 shots to SU's 39, but Shots On Goal was only a 24-23 advantage to catholic.

Put this way, SU had the better goalie today, and SU was much more efficient in their shooting. Korpics was at 58% and Merchant was at 43%. SU's SOG% was at 59% to Catholic's 44%.

Catholic won nearly every other statistical category except turnovers where the cards were -2. Everywhere else they won. +3 in the clear, +7 on GBs, +6 on FOs (not sure if that's where the GB difference is hiding, could essentially be the same stat).

Last statistical note here is that SU put up a goose egg in man-down situations. Catholic went 0-4 while SU went 1-2. Could be the game just in that column right there. 6-0 run for the hawks in the 4th quarter is a scary stat for the cards tho...

Huge win for the hawks. Excited to see how the rest of conference play shakes out!

[Bots Tavern]

Susquehanna gets their first win over one of the dominant three programs since 2019. Driving down to DC on a Wednesday, getting delayed an hour, and beating a tough Catholic squad is no small victory.

Coach Moan instituted an invert-heavy offense for the first time this season which put the cardinals on their heels. Catholic hopped in a zone once they realized they couldn’t guard Brennan Lorence (who had SEVEN goals), but the River Hawks shooters (specifically Lorence) proved too much for Catholic’s keeper. Aiden Kennedy did a great job guarding a very talented attackman (Rosado), and Koerpics (Susqu goalie) was the best player on the field alongside Lorence. Koerpics stood on his head, had an assist vs. the 10-man, and almost had a goal too (drew a flag which led to a goal).

The hawks have 4 heavily-favorited games before they meet Scranton and Etown at the end of conference play. Excited to see what these guys got.

[River Donkey]

“Bots Tavern” I love it.
Moen COY.

[Bananas4Laxx]

Riverhawks are 9-2. That has to be the best start in a decade for the program right? Moan on basically a one man staff completely out coaches a former alumni of his and it should now be a battle with Scranton for the 1 seed. Lorrence is the front runner for the POY and this is a dangerous team down the stretch.

[nevadajoe]

In the first game between the top 4 championship contenders, Susquehanna (9-2) (3-0) trailed Catholic (6-5) (2-1) on the road by 3 goals going in to the fourth quarter before scoring 6 unanswered goals in the final quarter to win 13-10. Brennan Lorrence showed why he is one of the best offensive players in the conference put in in 7 goals, including 4 in the fourth quarter. Matthew Faggioli and Connor Aitken chipped in 2 goals apiece. Jozef Korpics was outstanding in goal with 14 saves. The River Hawks defense was led by Aidan Kennedy, with 4 caused turnovers and 2 ground balls, and Ted Zaborowski, with 3 caused turnovers and 5 ground balls.
For Catholic, Victor Rosado, Steven Dezelic, Brady McMahon and John Hadden had 2 goals each. Ryan Macksoud was solid at faceoff, winning 16 of 26 with 8 ground balls. On defense, Sam Pikul caused 2 turnovers and grabbed 4 ground balls. Goalie Tyler Merchant had 10 saves.

Moravian (6-5) (2-1) overcame an early three-goal deficit on the road to defeat Goucher (6-5) (0-3) by a score of 10-7. Dan Kelly, Connor James and Aaron Judge each had 3 goals with Kelly adding an assist. The Greyhound defense was strong, led by Matt Baer, with 3 caused turnovers and 7 ground balls, and Jason Levy, who caused 4 turnovers and scooped up 3 ground balls. Gannon Mesko dominated at faceoff. taking 16 of 20 with 6 ground balls. Thomas Lee had 10 saves to earn the win.
Goucher was led on offense by James Dugan and Tyler May, who had 2 goals each with Dugan adding an assists. Jacob Morgan had a goal and 2 assists. On defense, Sean Nolan caused 2 turnovers and had 2 ground balls. Freshman goalie Jack Smith had 14 saves.

Scranton (5-6) (3-0) rolled over Lycoming (2-5) (0-3) 24-6. Freshman attack Myles McCutcheon continued on with his impressive first year, netting 5 goals with 2 assists. Seamus O'Callaghan, Kyle Holes and Alex Eglitis each had a hat trick for the Royals. Three different faceoff men wnet 29 of 33, with John O'Connor a perfect 8 for 8.
Joey Hoover and Sean Farrell had 2 goals each for Lycoming. Goalie Ben Franco had 16 saves.