LIBERTY LEAGUE 2019

[Nothing But Net]

Ithaca has a great communications school, with an outstanding TVR program. You'd think they could spring for some damn audio on their otherwise-decent livestream.

You need to up tuition, fees & board to $75k a year to get the extras $65k is a year is a Bargain

[TopShelf585]

Congrats to the Dutchmen for beating Middlebury
Bombers pull the upset over the Saints in 2OT. Great win
Liberty is going to be a dog fight.

[Nothing But Net]

Congrats to the Dutchmen for beating Middlebury
Bombers pull the upset over the Saints in 2OT. Great win
Liberty is going to be a dog fight.

Union looks good and a very good win against Middlebury, plus that 1 point loss on the Road at William is not going to hurt them. Williams is a Legit top 10 team and Union should be getting their due and placement in the top 20. I have watched a lot of the games this year... the Dutchman are better than a lot of the team on IL list. They are better and IMO hands down beat teams like GBerg, Denison, Dickinson, W&L, F&M. Its time that the voters actually start doing eye test of these teams, rather than just go by reputation.

[ctbagataway]

Let's not get out over our skis, NBN. Middlebury is 3-4. One quality win over Dickinson, on the second day of the Mustang Classic which has historically been a day of upsets. I'm not sure that win makes Union a top 20 team. I agree that Williams is playing great, but their OOC schedule is fairly weak, so we don't know how good they actually are yet. Wins over RPI and Union don't make them a top 10 team yet. The good news is Union has plenty of chances coming up to prove they belong in the top 20. But if they really want to be known as a top 20 program, they need to strengthen their OOC schedule.

[ICGrad]

I dunno, I think Union looks pretty solid so far this season. Probably my pick fr #3 in the LL, after RIT and RPI.

I thought Union were underrated last year; they were regionally ranked, and Ithaca's win over them was one of the deciding factors in them getting the Pool C. I'm not going to be surprised at all if they beat Ithaca this year.

Top 20? I don't see why not. Unfortunately for them, they'll play Ithaca, SLU, and RPI all on the road in a span of 11 days. Guess we'll know by then.

[Nothing But Net]

Let's not get out over our skis, NBN. Middlebury is 3-4. One quality win over Dickinson, on the second day of the Mustang Classic which has historically been a day of upsets. I'm not sure that win makes Union a top 20 team. I agree that Williams is playing great, but their OOC schedule is fairly weak, so we don't know how good they actually are yet. Wins over RPI and Union don't make them a top 10 team yet. The good news is Union has plenty of chances coming up to prove they belong in the top 20. But if they really want to be known as a top 20 program, they need to strengthen their OOC schedule.

What about Williams win over Bates? And only loss on opening day to Wesleyan by 2 ....Their resume is better than that of serveral in the T10 right now

[TopShelf585]

Union is solid and will definitely be in the Top 20 next week.

[LibertyL]

St Lawrence has one loss by 1 goal in OT2 on the road

All this Union love is great but LL is tough in the top 4

When the north country thaws expect changes

[richard]

SLU lost one that they probably shouldn't have. Last year they lost two that they shouldn't have. The result was no tournament. There is not much room for error. Union was the other loss last year that left SLU on the outside. Heads have to be in the game.

[Tigerlax70]

With one loss in conference, SLU will have to run the table and win the LL AQ in order to make the D3 Tournament. Their OOC schedule is a joke and they only have themselves to blame. RPI and Union actually have elevated their OOC schedules. Oswego, Plattsburgh, Potsdam from SUNYAC and NESCEAC bottom feeder Bowdoin is not going to get it done. The only ranked teams on SLU’s schedule are teams they must play within their league, RPI and RIT.

[ICGrad]

With one loss in conference, SLU will have to run the table and win the LL AQ in order to make the D3 Tournament.

I'm not sure I'd go that far. First of all, they also have a convincing win over Middlebury, and I'm not sure I'd call Bowdoin an NESCAC bottom-feeder.

I think any non-RIT school has to make the LL finals in order to get in, just like last year. Possible exception is RPI, who might get in if they run the non-RIT portion of their remaining schedule and get bumped off in the semis...but even then, I absolutely wouldn't want to leave that to chance if I were them. I guess Union might find themselves in a similar position, though I think it's unlikely they'll run that Ithaca-SLU-RPI 11-day road trip gauntlet.

The LL is widely acknowledged as one of the top conferences in d3. It's not the NESCAC, but it's directly in that next tier of conferences. I don't think they're guaranteed 2 berths in the tourney, but I'd be surprised if they didn't get two. And I'd be equally surprised if the selection committee reached below the winner and the runner-up to determine who gets in.

So I think any of the non-RIT contenders have a pretty clear path: take care of business (no ugly losses, win at least one or two of the in-conference games against the other top 5 teams), and then make some noise in the LL tourney. In other words, follow Ithaca's blueprint from last year, where even two ugly-ass losses against RIT didn't prevent them from getting in.

[ICGrad]

Naz/Ithaca is a great stream. And with sound! Thanks, Naz!

EDIT: Well, the stream was great for a half, then video-free for the second half.

Ithaca jumped out to a 9-3 lead just after half, surrendered 6 straight goals to allow Naz to tie it, then pulled away with 7 of the last 8 goals. A familiar pattern: large lapses that allow opponents to hang around far too long. c.f. Vassar game. Still, a win over rival Naz is always a welcome relief, even when they're ahving an off year.

I'm not optimistic about this weekend's Union game, but then I wasn't optimistic about the SLU game either. This Ithaca team goes through stretches where they look great, with an explosive offense and solid defensive intensity, and stretches where they just look lost.

I'm interested to see how the RIT/Cortland game turns out tonight. I'm guessing RIT big, but you never know with Cortland...

[richard]

SLU gets through a midweek game vs North Country foe Plattsburgh. Down 4 at the half. Really lousy ball handling skills, heads not in the game etc. etc. Like I said, there is little room for error with this team and their ooc schedule. They will need to win one of their games vs RPI, Union, RIT. Then get to the Liberty finals. Not an easy row to hoe.

[sguy9]

NESCEAC bottom feeder Bowdoi

I am not sure I would characterize Bowdoin as a "bottom feeder" they are usually on the edge if not in the top 20. This year that have had a few bumps, but are still an excellent squad. And, regional rankings are not just based on your opponents records, but also you opponents opponents records. Bowdoin could go 0-fer in the NESCAC and still help the Larries OOC SOS.

[TopShelf585]

SLU gets through a midweek game vs North Country foe Plattsburgh. Down 4 at the half. Really lousy ball handling skills, heads not in the game etc. etc. Like I said, there is little room for error with this team and their ooc schedule. They will need to win one of their games vs RPI, Union, RIT. Then get to the Liberty finals. Not an easy row to hoe.

Credit a windy cold night to a lackluster and sloppy offensive output for SLU. Saints have gotten off to a slow start in all but one game this season. Goalie who has been solid all year wasn’t seeing the ball and was pulled after first five shots he faced went in. He came back in later and shut down the Cards in the second half. Saints strategy of running four lines of middies is very confusing. The first & second lines touched the field twice in the first half even when they were down 6-1. They shortened the bench and rallied in the second but that won’t work vs RPI, RIT, & Union. One other stat to note, or forget, is that SLU’s EMO was 0-5 last night and that puts them 4 for 27 or .148% on the year- which places them 218 out of 230 in D3.
Time to change things up.

[richard]

I was happy to see Mahoney switch goalies quickly. At times in the past he has been reluctant to do that. Still, the first half was pretty bad and Platty had no problems with the weather. I agree about the four midfield lines. It's nice to have a deep bench but if guys are on the bench it's tough to get into the flow of the game.

[Tigerlax70]

NESCEAC bottom feeder Bowdoi

I am not sure I would characterize Bowdoin as a "bottom feeder" they are usually on the edge if not in the top 20. This year that have had a few bumps, but are still an excellent squad. And, regional rankings are not just based on your opponents records, but also you opponents opponents records. Bowdoin could go 0-fer in the NESCAC and still help the Larries OOC SOS.

Hey, I’m sorry for picking on Bowdoin. I could have used 3-8 Nazareth or 4-5 Plattsburgh. My real point was to emphasize how weak SLU’s OOC schedule is. Bowdoin still sits at #8 in an 11 team conference, but oh what a conference, so I suppose there are no bottom feeders in the NESCEAC. Although SLU currently sits at 8-1, the combined record of their opponents is 30-37. Not exactly a juggernaut of a schedule. With RPI, Union and RIT still on their regular season schedule and then the LL Tournament to follow, they are going to really need to step up their game. My comment was directed more at their need to schedule a Tufts or a Cabrini or York OOC instead of all the SUNYAC schools which really add no value come selection time. Hell, if you need a SUNYAC school, schedule Cortland.

[TopShelf585]

Not exactly a juggernaut of a schedule. With RPI, Union and RIT still on their regular season schedule and then the LL Tournament to follow, they are going to really need to step up their game. My comment was directed more at their need to schedule a Tufts or a Cabrini or York OOC instead of all the SUNYAC schools which really add no value come selection time. Hell, if you need a SUNYAC school, schedule Cortland.

Agreed with the soft OCC Schedule- No team located below the NYS Thruway wants to travel to Canton to play in March & early April- so there has always been an understanding with the North Country Schools that they will try to always play each other because it is hard to get teams to venture up there consistently - so the Oswego, Postdam, Plattsburg, Clarkson (LL), remain on the schedule. SLU has yet to add SUNY Canton- but Clarkson did.

[richard]

Not exactly a juggernaut of a schedule. With RPI, Union and RIT still on their regular season schedule and then the LL Tournament to follow, they are going to really need to step up their game. My comment was directed more at their need to schedule a Tufts or a Cabrini or York OOC instead of all the SUNYAC schools which really add no value come selection time. Hell, if you need a SUNYAC school, schedule Cortland.

Agreed with the soft OCC Schedule- No team located below the NYS Thruway wants to travel to Canton to play in March & early April- so there has always been an understanding with the North Country Schools that they will try to always play each other because it is hard to get teams to venture up there consistently - so the Oswego, Postdam, Plattsburg, Clarkson (LL), remain on the schedule. SLU has yet to add SUNY Canton- but Clarkson did.

Like Big Five B-ball in Philly it is a good thing. The teams seem to always get up for the games. And just like most years with any teams that you schedule in advance you can never be sure what you are going to get. Bowdoin, Middlebury, Naz, and WNEU are generally a good lineup.

[ICGrad]

The Liberty League got a shout-out in Inside Lacrosse's "10 Things People Should Be Talking About More" article, which looks at underreported/discussed aspects of the college season so far across all divisions. Not surprisingly, most of the slides focused on D1 stories; I think this was one of two slides that focused on DIII.

https://www.insidelacrosse.com/slidesho ... 10?slide=3

For the lazy:

The Quality of the Liberty League in DIII

Four teams — RPI, RIT, Union and St. Lawrence — in the Liberty league have just one loss halfway through the DIII season. Additionally, only the NESCAC has more teams ranked in the top 20 as RPI, RIT and St. Lawrence have been fixtures in the Top 20, while Union and Ithaca have also received votes each week. There is no doubt that the Liberty League will have more than one representative in the DIII tournament this May.