ODAC lax season is on

[D3 Fan]

Congrats to Bridgewater. In all seriousness, what on earth is going on at Roanoke? Seems they went from perennial top 10 with the occasional team coming mighty close to playing on memorial day weekend (2006 Salisbury Roanoke semi's comes to mind). Seems something is seriously wrong down there. Is it lacrosse related or something more athletic department wide? Just thinking, I personally (as a Gull fan) miss the days when Roanoke was upper crust

[Carroll81]

Love the Roanoke announcers! Their fans reminder me of being at bad summer club tournaments though.

Congrats to Bridegwater.

[Nothinbutthelax]

Congratulations Bridgewater. They moved the ball great and goalie came up big! Pretty sloppy game but NOKE played out of control and chippy and at times like goons. Young, inexperienced, out of shape? They have all off season to think about those 5 man down goals they gave up....

[Dehuntshigwa’es]

Congratulations Bridgewater I was certainly rewarded for having faith in you guys...while Roanoke continues to devolve, Bridgewater is on the rise. Great job by the face off unit and man up group which was 5 of 7 I believe. Smart move to use clock as much as possible. I have to say however that something around 21 turnovers was atrocious. Stick skills are just awful, sorry, but that won’t work in the next round. W&L can match them as a face off unit and I expect that playing from behind using clock won’t carry the day. Generals need to dial in on this game and not be thinking about Lynchburg, who I truly think will be in the finals. Nice win and advance, well executed game plan. Looking forward to a W&L Lynchburg final, Generals will have their hands full. Taylor and Bou will need another big time performance

[Nothinbutthelax]

You called it Dehunt!
I was surprised the TOs were 21-10. Seemed NOKE had just as many..
I hope Coach Pilot can turn things around. Been there since 1982-1. Wonder if there will be a cry for him to step down..

[Dehuntshigwa’es]

You called it Dehunt!
I was surprised the TOs were 21-10. Seemed NOKE had just as many..
I hope Coach Pilot can turn things around. Been there since 1982-1. Wonder if there will be a cry for him to step down..

I’m certainly over my skis on this but thinking W&L final with Lynchburg. In that contest which will be the third meeting of these two teams, ( has that ever happened, maybe 2 ODAC teams could have met for a third time in the ncaa’s?) Lynchburg would certainly be favored. Curious what W&L would bring to that party defensively. I’d be inclined to change it up, don’t chase Lynchburg up top with their weave.Offensively I’d be setting multiple picks playing a two man game inverting the mids all day. Attack their SSDM’s ....Generals don’t have a true X man without Mize. Don’t want Greenspon behind taking 9 shots scoring once keep him on the wing where he’s most efffective.

[JBFortunato]

Everyone needs to calm the fork down about Noke. Due primarily to Covid but also injuries they were without their two leading scorers, Kammerman and Caldwell, their starting goalie, starting FOGO and three poles. What you saw was a bunch of freshman almost pull off an improbable win against a team with a full complement of players and 16 seniors.
If a lot of the many, many seniors at W&L, Burg and HSC don’t come back next season - and I anticipate most will not - Noke has a chance to get a nice little run going in the ODAC for the next couple of seasons.
That may not seem likely tonight. But don’t forget this post next April boys.

[D3 Fan]

Not looking to fight but Roanoke has been on the decline since 2011 (epic team in 2011). That's not COVID. Looking at their record against higher tier teams, it's not that great. Something isn't right down there and "calming the fork down" assumes everything is fine. It is clearly not. Something needs to give. What is going on down there? Not looking to fight, I could really care less since I have no rooting interest in them but it's obvious something isn't right. 2020 and 2021 may be anomalies but the trend has been exacerbated by COVID, not caused by COVID. But keep thinking we need to calm the fork down while in reality the team will continue into mediocrity... again, my initial post was optimistic in the hopes that noke would bounce back. D3 is better (to me) when its traditional powers play well. I could ask this question of other programs too (Gettysburg, Naz, Mids, Stevenson) but since this is the ODAC forum 'noke is the only one that matters

[Dehuntshigwa’es]

Not looking to fight but Roanoke has been on the decline since 2011 (epic team in 2011). That's not COVID. Looking at their record against higher tier teams, it's not that great. Something isn't right down there and "calming the fork down" assumes everything is fine. It is clearly not. Something needs to give. What is going on down there? Not looking to fight, I could really care less since I have no rooting interest in them but it's obvious something isn't right. 2020 and 2021 may be anomalies but the trend has been exacerbated by COVID, not caused by COVID. But keep thinking we need to calm the fork down while in reality the team will continue into mediocrity... again, my initial post was optimistic in the hopes that noke would bounce back. D3 is better (to me) when its traditional powers play well. I could ask this question of other programs too (Gettysburg, Naz, Mids, Stevenson) but since this is the ODAC forum 'noke is the only one that matters

Totally agree with you D3 I’ve been saying this for almost 2 years now. I have no interest in Roanoke other than they are important to the success of the ODAC in being a top 3-5 conference. The conference has been strong with 2 to 4 teams that at times would all be flirting at a top 20 spot or better. The conference has been historically weak past the big 4 teams.Once Successful lax programs such as Washington College abound. The ODAC Needs a strong Roanoke to remain relevant in the national conversation.

[Nothinbutthelax]

Thanks for that clarification JB. Explains the penalties and sloppy D and play at X. Hopefully this young group does work and competes next year. Downward slides like this can have an impact of recruiting, hopefully not negatively. I think anyone who played wants that NOKE rivalry to flourish.

[SouthernLaxGenius]

Even though the talent/recruiting pool is bigger to grab student athletes, there are a number of other options and places for these players to attend (I know its not rocket science).

Maybe Randy-Mac and Bridgewater have "caught up" and are nipping on the heels of the Maroons while CNU, Sydney, Burg and W&L have passed them for the foreseeable future

Am I the only one who thinks Hampden-Sydney has a good shot of upsetting Lynchburg tomorrow?

[Dehuntshigwa’es]

Even though the talent/recruiting pool is bigger to grab student athletes, there are a number of other options and places for these players to attend (I know its not rocket science).

Maybe Randy-Mac and Bridgewater have "caught up" and are nipping on the heels of the Maroons while CNU, Sydney, Burg and W&L have passed them for the foreseeable future

Am I the only one who thinks Hampden-Sydney has a good shot of upsetting Lynchburg tomorrow?

Obviously HSC could win the game I just don’t believe it’s likely. The primary reasons I’d provide are the depth in the senior and 5th year class ( btw it’s a trend if managed properly may keep them as the conf favorite the next few years). That leadership showed up in the 4th qtr of what could have been an HSC win. I also think that from the eye test if I had to pick a starting team from a combined Lynchburg/HSC team the hornets would carry the day in at lest 6 or more spots along w the majority of the roughly 21-22 players that see the field. The last piece is their culture or maybe it’s their coach that inspires them to never ever quit. I’ve watched them too many times when I thought it was over and they’ve come back from the dead. It will take an extraordinary effort or A+ game to beat them. W&L won the first round because Taylor stood on his head. He had 19 saves in round 1 and even 18 when they lost, Hornets scored 10 and 13 goals respectively. I’m not sure W&L can score more than 10 which they will need to win should they face them. Good luck to HSC I’ll be rooting for them in this game hope they can pull it off

[SouthernLaxGenius]

Obviously HSC could win the game I just don’t believe it’s likely. The primary reasons I’d provide are the depth in the senior and 5th year class ( btw it’s a trend if managed properly may keep them as the conf favorite the next few years). That leadership showed up in the 4th qtr of what could have been an HSC win. I also think that from the eye test if I had to pick a starting team from a combined Lynchburg/HSC team the hornets would carry the day in at lest 6 or more spots along w the majority of the roughly 21-22 players that see the field. The last piece is their culture or maybe it’s their coach that inspires them to never ever quit. I’ve watched them too many times when I thought it was over and they’ve come back from the dead. It will take an extraordinary effort or A+ game to beat them. W&L won the first round because Taylor stood on his head. He had 19 saves in round 1 and even 18 when they lost, Hornets scored 10 and 13 goals respectively. I’m not sure W&L can score more than 10 which they will need to win should they face them. Good luck to HSC I’ll be rooting for them in this game hope they can pull it off

As always, I appreciate the insight and info Dehunt.

I am hoping for another great game. I dont feel like HSC gave their last encounter with the Hornets away, I feel like Lynchburg took it from them.

Hopefully the feeling of "being that close" and not "finishing the deal" on the road can help fuel them to pull off a win.

Gut says a 12-10 Tiger victory is looming, head says 14-9 Hornets win.

[2laxers]

When Lynchburg's offense gets rolling especially at home they start putting up goals in bunches and that carries over to all aspects of the game. I thought HSC did a great job not letting the LYN offense get going, but was also helped with the poor SOG% from LYN. Their SOG% for the season is 62% with the 50% included from HSC. I hoping for another good game tomorrow night.

[ConcordetoODAC]

Love the Roanoke announcers! Their fans reminder me of being at bad summer club tournaments though.

Congrats to Bridegwater.

Game is still available via stream, the Roanoke announcers are some fun good old boys. There are a few Noke fans who obviously never played and the "bad summer club tournament" is perfect description. Worth streaming just for the unintended comedy of the "lax dads"

[Nothinbutthelax]

I especially enjoyed the dad calling the ref “#85” on a ball he though was out of bounds

I also watched the HSC v LYN game again (all game are on utube and can be pulled up from the video on their schedule)
LYN really dominated most of that 1st half even while not playing that great. They shot very poorly and made some really bad mistakes.. I’m hoping for a good game and hope Brumwell is healthy enough to compete at the x.. If not and LYN comes out focused they could roll the Tigers.

[droliver]

Not so surprised by Bridegewater knocking off Roanoke. their attackman Eric Husselbaugh should get strong consideration for AA & offensive POY in the conference

[ShoreThingMD]

I especially enjoyed the dad calling the ref “#85” on a ball he though was out of bounds

I also watched the HSC v LYN game again (all game are on utube and can be pulled up from the video on their schedule)
LYN really dominated most of that 1st half even while not playing that great. They shot very poorly and made some really bad mistakes.. I’m hoping for a good game and hope Brumwell is healthy enough to compete at the x.. If not and LYN comes out focused they could roll the Tigers.

tuned in because I saw the halftime scoreboard. Stayed for Tim and Tickle from moonshiners in the stands ragging the refs haha

[Dehuntshigwa’es]

I’m sure HSC will be ready tonight. They will be seeing a large dose of the weave up top. They did a great job overall for 3 1/2 qtrs then were gassed I thought in the 4th. Can HSC slow the game down employing some zone d at times in this game.

[JackieMoon]

It will be interesting to see what combination HSC uses on the dot & wings tonight. Their defense showed they can cover anybody in the country but will they get enough opportunities for Medwar and Hayden to get going? Hoping for another tight contest in whats seems to be the ODAC Championship game tonight.