Washington & Lee 2022

[Asgot]

If you can make CNU play 6v6 you will have a chance they are so dynamic in The unsettled that they make it tough to stay with them. They are a team of energy and runs you have to limit their runs of you want to have a chance. Lynchburg was down 4-2 and had a man up. CNU got a stop and a run out for a goal and 2 minutes later it was 7-2 CNU. Lynchburg got back when they started winning faceoffs. If you can do that you can limit their time of possession

[mdlaxdad]

After losing in a close battle last year, I hope they are fired up for wednesday. Spagnoleti has played at an All-american level for most games, but they cannot rely on him to make 15+ saves every game. Mccabe has definitely found a competent offense that they can build on from Randolph-Macon. I would like to see more depth on both sides, as they have struggled to put a full effort for 60 minutes. Knowing CNU loves to push transition, the Generals will have to control the pace to even have a chance. Big week that could create momentum to finish out the gauntlet in their schedule and cruise into hosting the ODAC tournament. Go Generals!

[generalsfan01]

As a graduate of W&L, I still like to follow the athletics as I loved to watch games as a student and I currently have a son who hopes to wear the trident some day (potential 2035 recruit?). Although I did not play lacrosse there, I was in one of the “lacrosse” fraternities at the time. I was close with a lot of the players and still keep in contact with many of them. I have also been following the team more and more, starting to even because a super fan . This past weekend, I had a conversation about the Generals with someone that is close with the athletic department. I have followed this forum for a while, but wanted to contribute my opinion. Here are some thoughts that I would love to hear some replies on:
- I was surprised to hear that many alums are not happy with the performance of Coach McCabe over the last few seasons. Not just because they are failing to dominate their conference, but also losing key out of conference games such as Denison (this game showed a lot about the program losing to two former assistants).
- The game has dramatically changed since the hiring of Coach McCabe. I remember there was some hope of getting Coach Mike Pressler '82, but the athletic department was hesitant given his history at Duke. It seems like every other power house (Tufts, RIT, Lynchburg) is adjusting to the new era, however, W&L is still playing in the past and does not seem to want to make changes.
- They have had trouble retaining players, whether to transfers or just quitting. Looking back on my time, I do remember there were times when my athlete friends were upset about not being able to go out on some nights, or having no free time in-season. However, I had many friends who played scout teams for all four years and still loved their time. Obviously there is more than lacrosse at W&L, but playing-time should not be the deciding factor to whether people quit. A coach should be able to keep some kids based on their strong relationship by senior year.
- They rushed last fall to hire an offensive assistant with one year of collegiate lacrosse playing experience who also played defense. I understand they had a short window to find the right guy, but they could do better. This hiring has proven to fail so far as seen in the offenses struggling performance.
- If the head coaching job did open, it would be a hot commodity across the lacrosse community. Whether the school is too ignorant to admit this or not, high-level coaches would come here if they had the opportunity. Looking at the history of assistants (more recently Koch, Corrigan), they have the brand to find a coach that can establish the program as elite.

While the program continues to stay around the top 25, it sounds like a change is going to happen sooner than some people expect.

[InsiderRoll]

As a graduate of W&L, I still like to follow the athletics as I loved to watch games as a student and I currently have a son who hopes to wear the trident some day (potential 2035 recruit?). Although I did not play lacrosse there, I was in one of the “lacrosse” fraternities at the time. I was close with a lot of the players and still keep in contact with many of them. I have also been following the team more and more, starting to even because a super fan . This past weekend, I had a conversation about the Generals with someone that is close with the athletic department. I have followed this forum for a while, but wanted to contribute my opinion. Here are some thoughts that I would love to hear some replies on:
- I was surprised to hear that many alums are not happy with the performance of Coach McCabe over the last few seasons. Not just because they are failing to dominate their conference, but also losing key out of conference games such as Denison (this game showed a lot about the program losing to two former assistants).
- The game has dramatically changed since the hiring of Coach McCabe. I remember there was some hope of getting Coach Mike Pressler '82, but the athletic department was hesitant given his history at Duke. It seems like every other power house (Tufts, RIT, Lynchburg) is adjusting to the new era, however, W&L is still playing in the past and does not seem to want to make changes.
- They have had trouble retaining players, whether to transfers or just quitting. Looking back on my time, I do remember there were times when my athlete friends were upset about not being able to go out on some nights, or having no free time in-season. However, I had many friends who played scout teams for all four years and still loved their time. Obviously there is more than lacrosse at W&L, but playing-time should not be the deciding factor to whether people quit. A coach should be able to keep some kids based on their strong relationship by senior year.
- They rushed last fall to hire an offensive assistant with one year of collegiate lacrosse playing experience who also played defense. I understand they had a short window to find the right guy, but they could do better. This hiring has proven to fail so far as seen in the offenses struggling performance.
- If the head coaching job did open, it would be a hot commodity across the lacrosse community. Whether the school is too ignorant to admit this or not, high-level coaches would come here if they had the opportunity. Looking at the history of assistants (more recently Koch, Corrigan), they have the brand to find a coach that can establish the program as elite.

While the program continues to stay around the top 25, it sounds like a change is going to happen sooner than some people expect.

I think like Hopkins, Navy, and Cuse the alums have a very romanticized expectation for what this program is capable of in todays era. The alums should realize that it’s never been a consistent top 5 team. The Greek life drastically effects their ability to keep the back half of the roster engaged and actually hurts their recruiting quite a bit. They also get very little admissions support compared to their Nescac counterparts. Programs like tufts are getting 2/3s of their class that W&L admissions would say no to. It doesn’t matter who the coach is, if admissions won’t play ball then you’ll struggle. It should be noted that Corrigan was well liked, but he recruited most the offensive players on their roster now, and they’re not all that talented.

[ilovethegenerals!]

I wake up everyday proud to be a General fans!

[NJlxrdad]

As a graduate of W&L, I still like to follow the athletics as I loved to watch games as a student and I currently have a son who hopes to wear the trident some day (potential 2035 recruit?). Although I did not play lacrosse there, I was in one of the “lacrosse” fraternities at the time. I was close with a lot of the players and still keep in contact with many of them. I have also been following the team more and more, starting to even because a super fan . This past weekend, I had a conversation about the Generals with someone that is close with the athletic department. I have followed this forum for a while, but wanted to contribute my opinion. Here are some thoughts that I would love to hear some replies on:
- I was surprised to hear that many alums are not happy with the performance of Coach McCabe over the last few seasons. Not just because they are failing to dominate their conference, but also losing key out of conference games such as Denison (this game showed a lot about the program losing to two former assistants).
- The game has dramatically changed since the hiring of Coach McCabe. I remember there was some hope of getting Coach Mike Pressler '82, but the athletic department was hesitant given his history at Duke. It seems like every other power house (Tufts, RIT, Lynchburg) is adjusting to the new era, however, W&L is still playing in the past and does not seem to want to make changes.
- They have had trouble retaining players, whether to transfers or just quitting. Looking back on my time, I do remember there were times when my athlete friends were upset about not being able to go out on some nights, or having no free time in-season. However, I had many friends who played scout teams for all four years and still loved their time. Obviously there is more than lacrosse at W&L, but playing-time should not be the deciding factor to whether people quit. A coach should be able to keep some kids based on their strong relationship by senior year.
- They rushed last fall to hire an offensive assistant with one year of collegiate lacrosse playing experience who also played defense. I understand they had a short window to find the right guy, but they could do better. This hiring has proven to fail so far as seen in the offenses struggling performance.
- If the head coaching job did open, it would be a hot commodity across the lacrosse community. Whether the school is too ignorant to admit this or not, high-level coaches would come here if they had the opportunity. Looking at the history of assistants (more recently Koch, Corrigan), they have the brand to find a coach that can establish the program as elite.

While the program continues to stay around the top 25, it sounds like a change is going to happen sooner than some people expect.

I think like Hopkins, Navy, and Cuse the alums have a very romanticized expectation for what this program is capable of in todays era. The alums should realize that it’s never been a consistent top 5 team. The Greek life drastically effects their ability to keep the back half of the roster engaged and actually hurts their recruiting quite a bit. They also get very little admissions support compared to their Nescac counterparts. Programs like tufts are getting 2/3s of their class that W&L admissions would say no to. It doesn’t matter who the coach is, if admissions won’t play ball then you’ll struggle. It should be noted that Corrigan was well liked, but he recruited most the offensive players on their roster now, and they’re not all that talented.

I wonder how challenging it is to hire assistants to W&L. its probably gotta be the right fit given the rural campus and small community. Corrigan was only coaching for 2 years so the current group was at most half his kids and my impression was Koch did most of the recruiting. I honestly think that the D hasn't missed a beat with Mendoza from Koch, the O is, and has been the issue recently through more than one coach. Something there needs to change but I can't point fingers to a first year OC yet.

I may have Blue and White goggles but I think the school has a ton to offer and should be high on top kids lists. I don't have any insight into the admissions support but we know all the kids on the team were excellent HS students but is that really different from the NESCACS? I seriously don't know. Geography may be the hardest obstacle to recruiting. As for kids leaving/quiting, I'm not sure thats not just an indication of a larger trend. There is a lot more competition for kids time and attention and I also feel like there has been a movement away from "team" mentality to more "I" mentality today. I see kids as far less satisfied just being on the team, they want to play or they go find other uses for their time or transfer. I cant think of any kid who quit or transfered who was a major contributor (maybe 1). I do think injuries have hurt but not much you can do there. In fact the roster has been so large that not everyone travels to away games.

One thing I agree with is Greek Life does cause issues. The timing of pledging really affects the first year's opportunity to step in and contribute. Combine that with what I do think is a little bit of a bias toward upperclassman and you don't see impact freshman very often. Not much can be done there. My son was pretty useless for the first 2 months of practice his freshman year!

I sure would like to see a better Non ODAC record. I do wish they would up the competition in the pre-season, I haven't felt like the team was ready to go for their first game the past 4 years, maybe the staff thought Catholic would offer an easier game than York, but not this year. A little more adversity and competition in the pre-season might help.

[smoova]

They also get very little admissions support compared to their Nescac counterparts. Programs like tufts are getting 2/3s of their class that W&L admissions would say no to.

This is the opposite of my experience with four recruits in the 2022 class.

[NJlxrdad]

They also get very little admissions support compared to their Nescac counterparts. Programs like tufts are getting 2/3s of their class that W&L admissions would say no to.

This is the exact opposite of my recent experience with four kids in the 2022 class.

Quadruplets???

[smoova]

Quadruplets???

Ha! Four 2022 recruits ... with different mothers.

[NJlxrdad]

Quadruplets???

Ha! Four 2022 recruits ... with different mothers.

Just to be clear, your experience has been the admissions support has been there for W&L recruits?

[Can Opener]

Quadruplets???

Ha! Four 2022 recruits ... with different mothers.

Smoova is the Antonio Cromartie of the lacrosse world. Well done, man!
https://twitter.com/Singlemaltfiend/sta ... ie-kids%2F

[smoova]

Quadruplets???

Ha! Four 2022 recruits ... with different mothers.

Just to be clear, your experience has been the admissions support has been there for W&L recruits?

Yes. In the small group I had direct experience with, W&L admissions support for lacrosse recruits is just as strong as many NESCAC schools (and significantly stronger than some). It is interesting to compare the size of the respective 2022 commit classes at W&L, Tufts, Midd, Bowdoin, etc on Inside Lacrosse.

[ctbagataway]

Be very careful when you use the IL (or any other) list of "recruits" as your barometer. Many/most of those players are not receiving support from the school. As for McCabe, he has always been able to attract high quality assistants and has grown a nice coaching tree. Arguably, W&L is a good place to start as an assistant, as lacrosse is definitely a priority at the school, the town is great and the cost of living is reasonable. There are many facets to being judged a great head coach, and it is always a balancing act for an administration. There's the recruiting aspect, X's and O's, and then the character building/team culture component. Very few coaches in any division excel in all three of those--I would argue it is less than a handful. So as a parent, if I have to pick which is most important, it would definitely be the coach who cares for his players and teaches them to be purposeful men, and that is where McCabe excels. So he builds a good staff and develops a strong team culture, it could be way worse.

[NJlxrdad]

Be very careful when you use the IL (or any other) list of "recruits" as your barometer. Many/most of those players are not receiving support from the school. As for McCabe, he has always been able to attract high quality assistants and has grown a nice coaching tree. Arguably, W&L is a good place to start as an assistant, as lacrosse is definitely a priority at the school, the town is great and the cost of living is reasonable. There are many facets to being judged a great head coach, and it is always a balancing act for an administration. There's the recruiting aspect, X's and O's, and then the character building/team culture component. Very few coaches in any division excel in all three of those--I would argue it is less than a handful. So as a parent, if I have to pick which is most important, it would definitely be the coach who cares for his players and teaches them to be purposeful men, and that is where McCabe excels. So he builds a good staff and develops a strong team culture, it could be way worse.

One more thing...the players get great jobs upon graduation!!

[ctbagataway]

Maybe the most important thing!

[InsiderRoll]

Be very careful when you use the IL (or any other) list of "recruits" as your barometer. Many/most of those players are not receiving support from the school. As for McCabe, he has always been able to attract high quality assistants and has grown a nice coaching tree. Arguably, W&L is a good place to start as an assistant, as lacrosse is definitely a priority at the school, the town is great and the cost of living is reasonable. There are many facets to being judged a great head coach, and it is always a balancing act for an administration. There's the recruiting aspect, X's and O's, and then the character building/team culture component. Very few coaches in any division excel in all three of those--I would argue it is less than a handful. So as a parent, if I have to pick which is most important, it would definitely be the coach who cares for his players and teaches them to be purposeful men, and that is where McCabe excels. So he builds a good staff and develops a strong team culture, it could be way worse.

This is a very fair assessment. W&L has never won a national championship in any team sport in its entire history. The admin want a cleanly run program, that box is being checked. I believe most of the coaches are faculty as well, you will not be able to just rid the school of faculty members cause some alums may be unhappy. The schools mission with athletics has far more to do with a completion of well rounded education than it does with filling the trophy cases. Just because some alums lose sight of that doesn’t mean the admin will.

[Faxlax]

The prior post incorrectly ignores that W&L won team championships in men's tennis (1988) and women's tennis(2007).

However, it undeniable, that the lacrosse program has fallen off in the past several years, and unfortunately, there does not appear to be upswing in the near future.

[NJlxrdad]

However, it undeniable, that the lacrosse program has fallen off in the past several years, and unfortunately, there does not appear to be upswing in the near future.

Why do you think this? The program appears to be conisistant if anything.

[InsiderRoll]

The prior post incorrectly ignores that W&L won team championships in men's tennis (1988) and women's tennis(2007).

However, it undeniable, that the lacrosse program has fallen off in the past several years, and unfortunately, there does not appear to be upswing in the near future.

“Team Sports” those are individual sports.

[InsiderRoll]

However, it undeniable, that the lacrosse program has fallen off in the past several years, and unfortunately, there does not appear to be upswing in the near future.

Why do you think this? The program appears to be conisistant if anything.

The numbers say they are about the same as they’ve ever been. Certainly isn’t an. Up year right now.

Vs D3s best + ODACS all time

Cabrini 1-1 (lost in 2007 when Cabrini wasn’t even good yet)
Cortland 3-2 (last win was 1976)
Denison 5-13 (have never won back to back, currently have lost 4 in a row. Pretty standard pace for them)
CNU 6-3 (have lost 1 in a row, last loss was in 2021 in overtime)
Dickinson 3-1 (haven’t won since 2001, Dickinson was terrible back then)
F&M 16-18 (have really struggled vs them. F&M was a cellar dweller for a long time)
Gettysburg 11-17 (had a good stretch in the late 90s, have struggle to win this one consistently over the last 25 years)
Hampden-Sydney 27-15 (consistent pattern)
Middlebury 4-5 (most wins in the late 80s)
OWU 3-7
RMC 37-2 (25 game win streak)
RPI 0-2
Roanoke 37-27 (4 year win streak currently, struggled in the mid 2000s)
Salisbury 3-5 (1-5 since 2000, lone win vs Berkman was under McCabe)
Union 1-0 (game was in 1950)
Lynchburg 30-19 (7-3 since 2016, 2 losses were in 2021)
WAC 30-34 (10-3 since 2009)
Williams 3-3
York 3-7 (currently on a 7game losing streak - all wins date back pre Brandon Childs era when it was a young program.

W&L has had some great teams from time to time, but the numbers point to them consistently losing big games over the last 50 years then winning them… even in their D1 days they rarely beat big opponents.

Cornell 0-5
Duke 25-14 (Duke was abysmal until the late 90s)
Hofstra 4-16
Hopkins 1-9
Loyola 11-13
Princeton 2-1 (early 70s)
Rutgers 6-0 (70s)
Hobart 0-1 (lost by 23 in 1988)
Syracuse 1-5
Towson 13-10
Navy 3-8
Maryland 1-21
UNC 18-13 (most wins were pre 1964)
Virginia 9-40
VMI 20-2

The history shows they are consistently solid for the last 50 years, a few good years mixed in. It’s an historic program that’s really always a bridesmaid and never a bride.