LaxPower Back-Up Stick

Agree with much fairer brackets than last year. The Wes bracket is brutal in that even this Sundays' games are competitive. Not many other competitive games until regional weekend when the rubber hits the road. I think region finalists are pretty solid for the Midd (Ithaca), F&M(Tufts) and Salis...

Wes men hosting its pod. While Wes men and women play on different fields, hotel accommodations might factor in. 6 visiting teams in one weekend is a lot.

What a great weekend of games! I was able to watch several over the weekend. The best game was F&M and Bullets going back and forth all game. F&M took advantage of strong 1 v 1 moves from its attackers for a key 6-0 run in the 4th. I think F&M should host but see them as 5-6 ranked team....

Good points on Wes/Tufts hosting analysis. In 2022 Salisbury was #1 going into NCAAs but share the stadium with the men and the men hosted (surprise surprise) and women were sent to TCNJ. Likely same deal this year in Salisbury as the men are #1 . Also F&M has great facilities but has not hosted...

Babson schedule is too weak and yes...too close to other likely hosts.

Salisbury and Ithaca are maybes as you point out. I also agree on no mid-west team hosting this year.

Best games for the upcoming weekend are Tufts/Wes in NESCAC semis and likely GBurg/F&M in Centennial (if all goes chalk) Tufts looking for revenge after giving up 6 unanswered goals in the 4th to lose the first game. Last year Wes also won the regular season math but lost conference semis and th...

AND Pamona-Pitzer loses to a team in the NESCAC (Williams) who is teetering on even making an 8 team NESCAC conference playoff. Someone voting is sweet on PP! Still ranked too high and after the loss the holdout #1 voter for PP had to stop voting for them.

Keep in mind that coaches make up a large part of the voting block for IWLCA rankings and there is always some bias. F&M and Salisbury are perennially overrated. Why does Tufts outrank Wes and F&*M outrank the Bullets when head to head both higher-ranked teams lost? The only rankings that ma...

York is always better than their record....a tough out come tournament time due to their tough OOC schedule.

Midd squeaked by Tufts, Wes beats Smith...now for Bullets F&M Wednesday! Wes zone D effectively limited both Tufts and Smith's dodgers who are the keys to both teams' attacks. Once that route was shut down, Smith's key attackers forced bad shots (4 of 8 shots on goal by one) and were neutralized...

This matchup shows why no lead is safe in this great game. Very fan friendly. The best move was to eliminate the shot clock in 2017 and 2018. Win the draw, score and repeat. it was a very entertaining game to watch. What surprised me was the shaky goaltending on both sides. I have seen many games th...

I believe they usually pick a returning national POY. Colson from Gettysburg in 2019, and Early from Middlebury in 2022 and 2023. Not sure about 2021 and 2022 after covid years. The WS player is a grad student and is returning. Though they could have chosen the Midd attacker, but she is only a junior.

Great player and nominee. However, the charade of including one D#3 player every year on this list is lip service for this division.....

Agree on Bullets win. Their only remaining tough games are with F&M and will likely be pivotal on who hosts regions come playoff time. Two key NESCAC games tomorrow. Wes at Midd and Wes/Tufts. Wes lost to Colby in week 1 but handled a good Salisbury team in MD. Tufts beat W&L in a shootout b...

Willams convincingly beat Pomona-Pitzer in Cali last night. I suspect the only IWLCA First place vote that did not go to Middlebury these last few weeks will now.... or not.

York usually schedules great OOC games. Since leaving the conference with Salisbury, they play excellent OOC teams since they will roll through their conference schedule. Don't let the record fool you, they are a team that will improve and be a tough "out" in May. They had some bad unforce...

Salisbury Smith game was close all game. I think the difference was the Smith goalie outplayed Gulls goalie. The stats were pretty even otherwise. The Herons have a pretty easy schedule from here to the end of the season with the exception of SJF and Wesleyan (SJF lost two one-goal games to the Hero...

Gulls looked great after first Q. Good adjustments faceguarding Bullets leading scorer and Bullers had no response. Shut out in the second half? Amazing in college lacrosse. Both goalies suspect in first Q. Gulls goalie played better in the rest of the game, Bullets goalies not so much. Smith/Salisb...

Wesleyan handled Salisbury at Gull stadium on Sunday. Not surprised by the win but Wes dominated the second half. Gull shad difficulty with Wes zone and turned it over too much. The win makes the Colby win v Wes more impressive. Colby/Tufts will be a good game. Both teams will likely be unbeaten for...

Agree on the scoring burden on two players. WS coach is excellent and will straighten that out over the season. I'm glad these teams played. A great OOC game for both.