ISL 2021

HS Boys Lacrosse
Laxxal22
Posts: 1213
Joined: Wed Aug 29, 2018 4:58 pm

Re: ISL 2021

Post by Laxxal22 »

Updated Nescac commits. Some nice players

Amherst
Andrew Hahm, D, St. Sebastians, Laxachusetts
Tim Souza, D, St. Sebastians, Laxachusetts

Bowdoin
Sam Raye-Steiner ,A, Middlesex, 3D New England

Colby
Alex Vlacich, M, Rivers School, Laxachusetts

Middlebury
Drew Dummer, D, Belmont Hill, Laxachusetts

Trinity
Jack Almeida, M, St. George's, Eclipse

Tufts
Ethan O'Neill, M, Belmont Hill, Laxachusetts
Ben Frisoli, Lsm, St. Sebastians, Laxachusetts

Wesleyan
Lucca Casagrande, D, Milton Academy, Laxachusetts

Williams
Adam Figler, A, Belmont Hill, 3D New England
Last edited by Laxxal22 on Thu Jul 08, 2021 11:57 am, edited 1 time in total.
Unknown Participant
Posts: 613
Joined: Wed Sep 05, 2018 10:31 pm

Re: ISL 2021

Post by Unknown Participant »

Not questioning Amherst's greatness as an elite academic college that will open lots of doors for its grads, but why TF would you want to play lax there with the turd show over the last 2 years and when, presumably, you could commit to Williams, Wesleyan, etc.
Laxxal22
Posts: 1213
Joined: Wed Aug 29, 2018 4:58 pm

Re: ISL 2021

Post by Laxxal22 »

Yeah, Amherst wouldn't be my cup of tea even before the madness of the past two years, but for some private high school and playing a sport like lacrosse is all about trying to get into the "best" college possible. I think this just kind of shows that regardless of how up in arms lacrosse message boards got over how the NESCAC & Ivies handled Covid (and how Amherst handled its other issues) the piece of paper that you get after four years is still what matters most to a lot of very good up and coming players and their families.
Bonkboo
Posts: 29
Joined: Wed Apr 10, 2019 6:19 pm

Re: ISL 2021

Post by Bonkboo »

Out of curiousity. Are all the Laxachusetts guys from the Black team (believe that’s the top one)? Or are some Yellow (again, maybe I have colors wrong.)
Laxxal22
Posts: 1213
Joined: Wed Aug 29, 2018 4:58 pm

Re: ISL 2021

Post by Laxxal22 »

Black is the top squad but Yellow also plays in the AA division at events. I've seen all of these guys play for Black at times, and a few of them play for Yellow other times. One interesting note on how evaluations can differ... of the two St. Seb's defensemen, one got a lot more run with LXC Black last summer while the other got a lot more playing time for the Arrows this spring.
Laxxal22
Posts: 1213
Joined: Wed Aug 29, 2018 4:58 pm

Re: ISL 2021

Post by Laxxal22 »

Final rosters for the 2021 BostonLax All-American game tomorrow night. https://twitter.com/bostonlaxnet/status ... 2324159493

Of the 70 total players selected 27 are from the ISL, 11 from the Catholic Conference, and 1 from Pingree. So about 57% private school players and 43% public. But 60% of the players are from the MIAA as for some reason the Catholic Conference still gets to play for public school state championships.
Can Opener
Posts: 922
Joined: Wed Aug 29, 2018 1:21 pm

Re: ISL 2021

Post by Can Opener »

It looks as if Tate Seeman (Nobles ‘21) is doing a PG year at Deerfield and switched his commitment from Air Force to Villanova.
Laxxal22
Posts: 1213
Joined: Wed Aug 29, 2018 4:58 pm

Re: ISL 2021

Post by Laxxal22 »

Can Opener wrote: Wed Jul 28, 2021 8:57 am It looks as if Tate Seeman (Nobles ‘21) is doing a PG year at Deerfield and switched his commitment from Air Force to Villanova.
There's usually a few ISL guys that take a PG year but a bunch from the class of 2021. At least two to Deerfield, two to Exeter, one to Salisbury. A lot of it is probably Covid related, not getting the looks they wanted last summer and possibly letting the college rosters with five years of players thin out a little.
Laxxal22
Posts: 1213
Joined: Wed Aug 29, 2018 4:58 pm

Re: ISL 2021

Post by Laxxal22 »

Just saw on Inside Lacrosse that Jack Frisoli (St. Seb's 2017, Harvard 2021) will be a grad transfer at Duke. I believe he was a starting SSDM for the Crimson in 2019 & 2020, and should have two years of eligibility if he wants. His younger brother Will is an LSM for the Blue Devils as well.
Can Opener
Posts: 922
Joined: Wed Aug 29, 2018 1:21 pm

Re: ISL 2021

Post by Can Opener »

Laxxal22 wrote: Thu Aug 26, 2021 9:09 am Just saw on Inside Lacrosse that Jack Frisoli (St. Seb's 2017, Harvard 2021) will be a grad transfer at Duke. I believe he was a starting SSDM for the Crimson in 2019 & 2020, and should have two years of eligibility if he wants. His younger brother Will is an LSM for the Blue Devils as well.
Those boys are good at lacrosse.
Laxxal22
Posts: 1213
Joined: Wed Aug 29, 2018 4:58 pm

Re: ISL 2021

Post by Laxxal22 »

WIth September 1 recruiting about to begin for the juniors here’s where the seniors have committed so far and a quick look at how each team looks for 2022. Please let me know if I’m missing anyone.
Laxxal22 wrote: Thu Jun 03, 2021 8:29 pm D1
Charlie Cave (mid) - Belmont Hill/3D New England - Brown
Tom Goguen (def) - Belmont Hill/Fighting Clams - Dartmouth
Jack Pappendick (mid) - BB&N/3D New England - Duke
Thomas Porrell (mid) - BB&N/3D New England - Notre Dame
Ian Olenik (def) - Govs/Twisters - Providence
Ben Baroni (def) - Govs/NH Tomahawks - Villanova
Patrick Eldridge (mid) - Groton/NH Tomahawks - Colgate
Gavin Begonia (att) - Lawrence Academy/NH Tomahawks - Ohio State
Jack Taylor (mid) - Lawrence Academy/Fighting Clams - Jacksonville
Zach Auble (mid) - Lawrence Academy/Fighting Clams - UMass
Oran Gelinas (goal) - Middlesex/Laxachusetts - Ohio State
Chad Palumbo (att) - Nobles/Fighting Clams - Princeton
Will Potter (def) - Rivers/Laxachusetts - Utah
Tim Evnin (att) - St. George's/Express North - Hobart
Jack Rideout (faceoff) - St. Seb's/Laxachusetts - Michigan
PJ McKeigue (def) - St. Seb's/Laxachusetts - Penn
Aidan Maguire (mid) - St. Seb's/Laxachusetts - Duke
Aidan O'Neil (att) - Tabor/Laxachusetts - Richmond (Originally committed to Utah)
Tim McNamara (goal) - Tabor/Laxachusetts - Denver

D2
Fenix Wheelden (att) Brooks/Twisters - Bentley
Dom Pasquale (goal) - Rivers/Fighting Clams - Colorado Mesa
Tyler Vigeant (def) - St. George's/RI Bulldogs - Saint Anselm

D3
Drew Dummer (def) - Belmont Hill/Laxachusetts - Middlebury
Ethan O'Neill (mid) - Belmont Hill/Laxachusetts - Tufts
Liam Horkan (mid) - Belmont Hill/NH Tomahawks - Conn College
Adam Figler (att) - Belmont Hill/3D New England - Williams
Aidan Shea (def) - Brooks/HGR - Conn College
Travis Foster (faceoff) - Lawrence Academy/NH Tomahawks - Endicott
Jack Cunningham (att) - Lawrence Academy/Fighting Clams - Centre College
Ian Curley (att) - Lawrence Academy/Fighting Clams - Drew College
Sam Raye-Steiner (att) - Middlesex/3D New England - Bowdoin
Rex Mabbs (mid) - Middlesex/Fighting Clams - Swarthmore
Lucca Casagrande (def) - Milton Academy/Laxachusetts - Wesleyan
Ben Clarke (def) - Nobles/Fighting Clams - Colorado College
Roman Tacelli (mid) - Nobles/Laxachusetts - Colorado College
Josh Gangi (att) - Nobles/3D New England - Union
Peter Del Col (goal) Nobles/Fighting Clams - Haverford
Alex Vlacich (mid) - Rivers/Laxachusetts - Amherst (Originally committed to Colby)
Luke D'Orisi (att) - St. Mark's/Fighting Clams - Babson
Jack Almeida (mid) - St. George's/Eclipse - Trinity
Riley Zeer (att) - St. George's/Legends National - York
Andrew Hahm (def) - St. Seb's/Laxachusetts - Amherst
Tim Souza (def) - St. Seb's/Laxachusetts - Amherst
Ben Frisoli (def) - St. Seb's/Laxachusetts - Tufts
Griffin Cusack (def) - St. Seb's/Laxachusetts - Colorado College
Tim Browne (mid) - St. Seb's/Laxachusetts - Colorado College
Cormac Wright (mid) - St. Seb's/Piatelli - Conn College
Griffin Hough (lsm) - Tabor/Laxachusetts - Gettysburg
Cooper Manzi (att) - Tabor/Laxachusetts - RPI
Jonny Seero (def) - Tabor/Penguins - Clarkson
Ted Wilson (mid) - Thayer/Laxachusetts - St. Lawrence
Colin Whitmore (att) - Thayer/Laxachusetts - Colorado College
Interesting group of seniors. Not as heavy on coveted LSM/Close D or goalie recruits as usual, but this looks like a very strong group at attack and midfield compared to recent years. 12 NESCAC commits (so far) is very high even for the ISL. Per usual, I think some players who are going D3 will be day one impact players for their programs. Still another dozen or so guys I could see making a commit, a handful of them should have some D1 options imo.

Belmont Hill: BH is like a factory at this point, churning out 7-9 very good players in every class. Lost two starters at close D, goalie, and faceoff specialist so the defense will need some retooling. But two starters are back at attack, as well as the 3rd starter for the final few games of the year, and there’s enough talent in the midfield that the 2nd line will be a top 10 line for the entire ISL - and probably closer to 5 than 10.

Brooks: I think they return a lot of guys but it’s tough to tell where they stood with the schedule they played. Some solid players but probably not enough talent or depth to make the top 8 playoffs.

BB&N: Had high hopes for 2021 but suffered some injuries and got slapped around a bit in an ISL only scheduled. They have two of the league’s very best players, and a third who is top 30ish, but I haven’t seen that they have the other pieces to be relevant in league play.

Govs: Most of the defense returns, including the goalie and pair of D1 committed longsticks who can both make plays all over the field. Junior transfers are pretty rare in the ISL but Govs got two good ones; a big two-way middie from St. Mark’s and the faceoff specialist from MA state champs St. John’s Prep.

Groton: The class of 2021 had to be Groton’s best ever, their “what if…” with regards to Covid is as interesting as any team in the ISL. There are still talented players, but not at the level and number to be a factor against the top half of the league.

Lawrence Academy: A young coach and their best group of seniors in the past 6-7 years by far. A strong fogo and a starting six on offense that’s on par with the league’s best, depth and defense are the questions but the program is headed the right way.

Middlesex: Graduated a huge class from what would've been a title contender. Still some nice pieces, and some good younger players have enrolled per the MX social media accounts, but probably not in the league’s top tier this season.

Milton Academy: The junior class looks like the best one the Mustangs have had in awhile. Program looks to be moving in the right direction and this team could have an outside shot at making the top playoff bracket.

Nobles: Nobles will again be the team most likely to execute a BTB pass to a between the legs feed to an around the world shot for a goal. We’ll find out shortly but Nobles might have the ISL’s two most sought after offensive players when recruiting begins for the juniors.

Rivers: Graduated a very small class of contributors and the team’s top attackman missed his junior year in 2021, so they’ll have a lot of experience plus a boost returning for 2022. The specialists are back as well and they have some very highly regarded juniors.

Roxbury Latin: The Foxes have some nice individual players, especially on the defensive side, but overall they haven’t kept pace with Seb’s, Nobles, Belmont Hill who were peer programs until about 3-4 years ago.

St. George’s: With Covid limiting interstate options the Dragon’s had a very limited schedule in 2021. They have a strong group of seniors and it seems like there is more talent there overall than a few years ago.

St. Mark’s: Graduated some strong players and lost their best junior to Govs. Their 2020 team was my dark horse to win the league, and now it looks like the roster could be quite thin. Things change quickly.

St. Sebastian’s: Seb’s class of 2022 looks a lot like the very strong classes of 2017 or 2019 that won titles. In the discussion for league’s best at midfield, longsticks, goalie, and faceoff. Attack will be young but the potential starters all have very high ceilings.

Tabor: Graduated a nice group but the program consistently has 5-6 strong players in each class at this point. Will have one of the top attack units and goalie in the league which will keep them competitive in any given game.

Thayer: Lost a big class, and might be a year away, but the junior class is very big and talented. Also, and who knows how relevant this really is, their JV squad rolled teams last spring. That leads me to believe they had more varsity caliber talent than jerseys last spring.
Last edited by Laxxal22 on Thu Dec 02, 2021 10:00 am, edited 9 times in total.
Can Opener
Posts: 922
Joined: Wed Aug 29, 2018 1:21 pm

Re: ISL 2021

Post by Can Opener »

Thank you, as always, Laxxal for the insightful comments. I don't see any errors or omissions in the commitment list. I will get you a few thoughts on the early 2022 ISL analysis. Should be a fun year with playoffs (finally!) going into place.
Laxxal22
Posts: 1213
Joined: Wed Aug 29, 2018 4:58 pm

Re: ISL 2021

Post by Laxxal22 »

Can Opener wrote: Tue Aug 31, 2021 6:24 pm Thank you, as always, Laxxal for the insightful comments. I don't see any errors or omissions in the commitment list. I will get you a few thoughts on the early 2022 ISL analysis. Should be a fun year with playoffs (finally!) going into place.
Looking forward to your thoughts. I feel like I know the seniors well, but the last 18 months has definitely affected my knowledge of the juniors and sophs. I really only know about the guys who got minutes and put up stats for the top 6-7 teams last spring, and I definitely have less of a handle than I did a year ago on how many junior commits and to what caliber of programs we'll see this fall.

Definitely excited for playoffs. We had a nice appetizer in 2021 with a lot of teams playing each other more than once. I feel good about predicting BH and Seb's to nab the top two seeds - looks like a true coin flip of a match up between them talentwise in 2022. A real cloud of dust after that but probably 12 teams with a realistic shot at making the top 8 playoff bracket.
Laxxal22
Posts: 1213
Joined: Wed Aug 29, 2018 4:58 pm

Re: ISL 2021

Post by Laxxal22 »

https://twitter.com/TheKyleDevitte/stat ... 6504053766

Interesting news, Coach Moreland (Govs) is heading to Tufts to be the OC. Govs will now be looking for their third coach in five years after Bidstrup held the role for over 20 seasons and had a dynastic run in the late 00s. I wonder if there are expectations or leftovers from that legacy that have made it tough for new coaches, or if they just got great other offers after not being at Govs very long. They definitely have a contending team on paper for 2022 so I hope they find the right coach.
Sidelinehorn!
Posts: 184
Joined: Tue Oct 20, 2020 9:37 am

Re: ISL 2021

Post by Sidelinehorn! »

I've heard Sampson is taking over.....He's been Steve's right hand man since Andover and helped him build the Twisters...He will do a great job if this info is correct!
Laxxal22
Posts: 1213
Joined: Wed Aug 29, 2018 4:58 pm

Re: ISL 2021

Post by Laxxal22 »

St. Seb's had a ninth senior make a commitment this week (Duke, Penn, Michigan, Tufts, Connecticut College, (2x) Amherst, (2x) Colorado College). There have definitely been recent classes around the league that had a bit more pop at top with 4-5 D1 commits, but in terms of overall quantity of guys committing to very good to elite programs nine is the most I've seen in the ISL in the past 5-6 years. Does anyone with a history that goes back further than that remember a school/class with more?
Laxxal22
Posts: 1213
Joined: Wed Aug 29, 2018 4:58 pm

Re: ISL 2021

Post by Laxxal22 »

Sidelinehorn! wrote: Wed Sep 15, 2021 11:44 am I've heard Sampson is taking over.....He's been Steve's right hand man since Andover and helped him build the Twisters...He will do a great job if this info is correct!
https://twitter.com/tbsamp

Looks like you're right. Fantastic for them to maintain a familiar face and have a seamless transition.
RandomActofLaxness
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed May 13, 2020 9:48 pm

Re: ISL 2021

Post by RandomActofLaxness »

"]St. Mark’s: - Graduated some strong players and lost their best junior to Govs. Their 2020 team was my dark horse to win the league, and now it looks like the roster could be quite thin. Things change quickly."

Ironic last words about how things can change quickly. Can someone confirm that St. Marks released their head coach and the assistant coach?
Can Opener
Posts: 922
Joined: Wed Aug 29, 2018 1:21 pm

Re: ISL 2021

Post by Can Opener »

RandomActofLaxness wrote: Mon Oct 11, 2021 12:58 am "]St. Mark’s: - Graduated some strong players and lost their best junior to Govs. Their 2020 team was my dark horse to win the league, and now it looks like the roster could be quite thin. Things change quickly."

Ironic last words about how things can change quickly. Can someone confirm that St. Marks released their head coach and the assistant coach?
I had not heard that, but I wouldn't be shocked. Not because he was a bad coach, but just because it is sometimes hard to create a strong connection with the school and the lacrosse program when you are not on the faculty. I don't think it's a coincidence that the two strongest programs in the ISL right now are run by excellent coaches who are fully integrated into the Bel Hill and Seb's communities. That was also true for many years when Gov's was dominant. The exception that proves the rule is probably Nobles, but they have their own dynamic in which the coach also runs one of the two best club programs in the state, keeping him engaged with most of his players year round. For a young coach looking to make a name for himself, St. Mark's has all of the raw materials necessary for success -- beautiful campus that is centrally located, very good athletic facilities, ability to recruit nationwide with boarding option, reasonable admissions standards, and generous aid packages available.
Laxxal22
Posts: 1213
Joined: Wed Aug 29, 2018 4:58 pm

Re: ISL 2021

Post by Laxxal22 »

I can't confirm a coaching change, but the St. Mark's lacrosse social media accounts have been more active in the past week than in the previous five months - so something's different.

I agree with Can Opener's assessments on successful ISL models and that St. Mark's could be a pretty attractive job with a lot of building blocks in place. Also, though the history is getting a bit dusty, they won 10 titles (ISL & pre ISL) from the 60s-80s. With lacrosse alums from the glory days at or approaching "significant gift" age I wouldn't be surprised to see some interest in getting the program back towards its former heights.
Post Reply

Return to “HS BOYS LACROSSE”