New England West 2022

[grelch]

Same deal as always, Brunswick defending is just smothering. Hotchkiss scored early in the 1st but I think it was off their only shot in a qtr and a half. And it was from a low percentage angle at that. It's 5-1 with 8 left in the 2nd qtr.

[3rdPersonPlural]

Deerfield beat Taft 9 to 5

Well officiated, well coached, well played, not many critical mistakes. The Big Green is just (once again) better.

Humbug!

[Laxallday]

My predictions for Wednesday's action (winners in bold):

Westminster School (3-4) vs. @Salisbury School (5-0)
Choate (4-2) vs. @Avon Old Farms (3-3)
Berkshire School (2-4) vs. @Hotchkiss (4-0)
Kent School (0-7) vs. @Loomis Chaffee (3-3)
Cushing Academy (1-3) vs.@Northfield Mt Hermon (0-10)
Brunswick School (6-0) vs. @Taft School (5-0) --- Game of the Day
Trinity-Pawling (4-2) vs. @Deerfield (4-1)

Looks like a promising day for the home teams...

How many times are you gonna pick against Wick before you get on Board? Lville last week and Taft this week?

I like an underdog...

We've got some incredible games this weekend... my predictions for Saturday's action (winners in bold):

Berkshire School (2-5) vs. @ Kent School (0-8)
Northfield Mt Hermon (1-10) vs. @ Worcester Academy (3-1)
Salisbury School (6-0) vs. @ Lawrenceville (8-3) --- Game of the Day
Hotchkiss (5-0) vs. @ Brunswick School (7-0)
Loomis Chaffee (4-3) vs. @ Avon Old Farms (4-3)
Westminster School (3-5) vs. @ Trinity Pawling (4-3)
Taft School (5-1) vs. @ Deerfield (5-1)

There’s a difference between rooting and picking winners. Wick hangs a 10 goal loss on Hotch less than 24 hours after beating up Hill.

[PrimeTime21]

My predictions for Wednesday's action (winners in bold):

Westminster School (3-4) vs. @Salisbury School (5-0)
Choate (4-2) vs. @Avon Old Farms (3-3)
Berkshire School (2-4) vs. @Hotchkiss (4-0)
Kent School (0-7) vs. @Loomis Chaffee (3-3)
Cushing Academy (1-3) vs.@Northfield Mt Hermon (0-10)
Brunswick School (6-0) vs. @Taft School (5-0) --- Game of the Day
Trinity-Pawling (4-2) vs. @Deerfield (4-1)

Looks like a promising day for the home teams...

How many times are you gonna pick against Wick before you get on Board? Lville last week and Taft this week?

I like an underdog...

We've got some incredible games this weekend... my predictions for Saturday's action (winners in bold):

Berkshire School (2-5) vs. @ Kent School (0-8)
Northfield Mt Hermon (1-10) vs. @ Worcester Academy (3-1)
Salisbury School (6-0) vs. @ Lawrenceville (8-3) --- Game of the Day
Hotchkiss (5-0) vs. @ Brunswick School (7-0)
Loomis Chaffee (4-3) vs. @ Avon Old Farms (4-3)
Westminster School (3-5) vs. @ Trinity Pawling (4-3)
Taft School (5-1) vs. @ Deerfield (5-1)

There’s a difference between rooting and picking winners. Wick hangs a 10 goal loss on Hotch less than 24 hours after beating up Hill.

I called a 10 goal win v Hotchkiss. Hotchkiss beating Wick? That's incredibly funny. This ausus guy knows absolutely nothing about lax or probably sports more broadly. I would love to be his bookie.

[PhishFall97]

Watched most of the Taft @ DA game... Most complete game by the Big Green all season, imo.

[justanotherperson]

Not so scientific rankings for 4.25.2022

D1 - shuffling continues with Deerfield beating Taft but still no one touching 'Wick as they easily handled Hotchkiss and has beaten Hill and Taft. Unclear why the 'Wick doubters on this thread - maybe personal and I am no fan of them but clearly the best team. The next 4 teams are bunched together and interchamgeable. The rest are not contenders from AOF down. AOF and TP need quality wins. Loomis and Choate are uneven. Westy moving into the relegated status. NMH and Kent do not play each other - we need a game to determine the bottom of the barrel

D2 - Big win by Canterbury against Millbrook which fell to 4. The top 3 are all interchangeable. I think Gunnery will be the best team but based on results I have Wilbraham first but Canterbury remains a potential sleeper. Williston may be better than their record indicates but not a contender. St Lukes beats Rye Country Day in a close one. Bottom 3 teams fighting to be last though I think Suffield is better than KO and HH

D3 - I can't find any scores. I think Wooster is probably the best team

Current Last Week School Record Comments

Division 1
1 1 Brunswick (9-0) taft hilll hotchkiss. 'Nuff said
2 4 Hotchkiss (5-1) no huge wins, needed a closer game against 'wick
3 5 Deerfield (6-1) 5 in a row with a big win over taft
4 3 Salisbury (6-1) close loss to L'Ville
5 2 Taft (5-2) 2 losses in a row but the deerfield moves them down
6 6 Avon Old Farms (5-5) 2 in row.
7 8 Trinity Pawling (5-3) good early win vs Tabor, nothing else convincing
8 9 Loomis Chaffee (4-4) close win Berkshire, close loss AOF
9 7 Choate (4-3) 3 losses in a row. Not close against AOF
10 10 Westminster (3-6) 3 losses in a row
11 11 Berkshire (3-5) no major wins
12 12 Northfield Mount Hermon (3-10) 3 in a row!!! Albeit against not very good teams
13 13 Kent (0-9) not sure why they dont play NMH to determine the bottom


Division 2
1 2 Wilbraham & Monson (5-1) easy schedule so far
2 3 Gunnery (5-1) also an easier schedule as well
3 5 Canterbury (6-2) needed the millbrook win to confirm they are legit
4 1 Millbrook (4-3) big loss to Canterbury 5-11
5 4 Albany Academies (3-4) loss to HIll, beat a bad cushing team
6 8 Williston (3-4) beat hopkins handily
7 7 Greenwich Country Day (3-1) no problem with St Lukes 24-8, loss to canterbury
8 6 Greens Farms Academy (5-0) not a hard schedule so far
9 9 Cheshire Academy (3-4) uneven. Big loss to gunnery
10 10 Brunswick B (not JV) (1-3) beat Hopkins in a close won
11 11 Hopkins School (3-4) 2 OT losses, but got beat bad by Williston
12 13 King School (3-1) no convincing wins
13 14 St Lukes (2-2) close win vs rye country day
14 12 Rye Country Day (2-3) 3 losses in a row
15 15 Suffield Academy (0-5) GF-GA 30-67, close loss to hopkins
16 16 Kingswood-Oxford (0-4) GF-GA 32-64
17 17 Hamden Hall (1-4) GF-GA 29-90

Division 3
1 1 Wooster (3-2) beat Forman
2 2 Harvey (3-2) beat masters
3 5 Forman (1-3) loss to Woositer
4 3 Hoosac (0-1) loss to dublin school
5 6 Storm King (0-0)
6 4 Masters (0-2)
7 7 Marvelwood (0-3) GF-GA 6-42

[3rdPersonPlural]

..................

Now to the important stuff:

Taft has grown their profile in just a few years, from an upper-midpack NEWest squad to a serious contender by doing that High School Showcase every year and (dammit!) winning it. IIRC (and someone will point it out if I don't) Taft was the 3rd best team in the NEWest last year, losing soundly to 'wick and Deerfield, and then beat all the top I-95 corridor teams the following month. Now the experts here rank them just behind the 'wick Juggernaut.

Any color on the Rhinos? They graduated like a dozen D1 recruits, some of whom are already playing serious minutes, and I was worried that they'd slip back. I know they still have that great goalie, but they seem to be putting up points and playing good D and.....are they still THAT good?

Roster still aligned terribly. To win in this league, you need beastly poles and SSDM. Taft, as usual, is a step behind. ................

I watched Taft vs 'wick and Deerfield in the live feeds and was actually impressed by the rope units. #17 is a beast, and the rest of the poles stickhandle like an attackman and seem to be ACC sized. Big and rangy. Their slides are unusually crisp and precise for a prep-aged team, although their clearing game becomes a bit choppy when they get fancy.

Has anyone else held 'wick to less than a dozen goals?

[PrimeTime21]

..................

Now to the important stuff:

Taft has grown their profile in just a few years, from an upper-midpack NEWest squad to a serious contender by doing that High School Showcase every year and (dammit!) winning it. IIRC (and someone will point it out if I don't) Taft was the 3rd best team in the NEWest last year, losing soundly to 'wick and Deerfield, and then beat all the top I-95 corridor teams the following month. Now the experts here rank them just behind the 'wick Juggernaut.

Any color on the Rhinos? They graduated like a dozen D1 recruits, some of whom are already playing serious minutes, and I was worried that they'd slip back. I know they still have that great goalie, but they seem to be putting up points and playing good D and.....are they still THAT good?

Roster still aligned terribly. To win in this league, you need beastly poles and SSDM. Taft, as usual, is a step behind. ................

I watched Taft vs 'wick and Deerfield in the live feeds and was actually impressed by the rope units. #17 is a beast, and the rest of the poles stickhandle like an attackman and seem to be ACC sized. Big and rangy. Their slides are unusually crisp and precise for a prep-aged team, although their clearing game becomes a bit choppy when they get fancy.

Has anyone else held 'wick to less than a dozen goals?

This year is better for Taft, but the Rhinos are still a step behind. Taft has to eat that loss and hold the L again for 330+ days, no second bites of the apple. I don't think Taft has beaten Wick in now over a decade, and cross-admits never choose Taft. Waterbury and surroundings is a major yikes.

[b1w7o9y7h]

Just noticed something: No Deerfield vs. Exeter game listed on DA's schedule. Was that rivalry game nixed? Shame if it was.

[grelch]

Supposedly Deerfield played Andover today. If Exeter has been dropped its probably to accommodate the prep "nationals". The use of "nationals" cracks me up.

[Sportin' Life]

DA whipped Andover 15 -1 and Loomis topped Exeter 11 - 6 today.

[PrimeTime21]

Just noticed something: No Deerfield vs. Exeter game listed on DA's schedule. Was that rivalry game nixed? Shame if it was.

Not a shame. Exeter getting beat by Loomis? Not a loss. DA needs to schedule more national powers.

[b1w7o9y7h]

Just noticed something: No Deerfield vs. Exeter game listed on DA's schedule. Was that rivalry game nixed? Shame if it was.

Not a shame. Exeter getting beat by Loomis? Not a loss. DA needs to schedule more national powers.

Well, it would appear that such a scenario might just become the case. Between the Prep Nationals and Founder's bifurcation situation, I'd kind of wonder about DA lax thinking "half historic rivalries" and half "curated out of league challenges" might be a good path to drawing matriculation interest from some of those Fairfield/Westchester kids who used to go to boarding school, but instead now choose in many instances to stay home and attend Brunswick. If DA played traditional opponents and dropped the unchallenging games, the team could then travel/host (or meet neutral) with (in addition to Lawrenceville) the likes of Delbarton, Haverford, and even an MIAA/IAC opponent. That would spice up the challenge level, and pique interest from players seeking to play the best while also getting a premier educational/college entrance opportunity. At this point, it feels the air is somewhat out of West I, and the mixing of wheat and chaff teams is making for a good deal of uninteresting/blowout games. What the hell...perhaps the time has come for a tradition respecting yet at the same time independent and free to roam approach for the Big Green lax team.

[3rdPersonPlural]

I just reviewed Inside Lacrosse's top 25 ratings. ( https://www.insidelacrosse.com/recruiti ... ational/22 ) and was surprised to find my beloved Rhinos 4 places ahead of the loathed Deerfield Big Green.

Deerfield BEAT Taft 9 to 5 a few weeks back. Deerfield has one fewer loss (as both schools lost to 'wick earlier in the season) and, as it bears repeating, almost doubled up the Rhinos AND held that prolific attack to just 5 goals AND I believe that they played in Watertown.

I had read somewhere that IL sort of adopted the old LacksPower algorithm for calculating power rankings but I can't recall such an egregious error.

Can one of the clever old goats on this page help clarify this?

[Kismet]

I just reviewed Inside Lacrosse's top 25 ratings. ( https://www.insidelacrosse.com/recruiti ... ational/22 ) and was surprised to find my beloved Rhinos 4 places ahead of the loathed Deerfield Big Green.

Deerfield BEAT Taft 9 to 5 a few weeks back. Deerfield has one fewer loss (as both schools lost to 'wick earlier in the season) and, as it bears repeating, almost doubled up the Rhinos AND held that prolific attack to just 5 goals AND I believe that they played in Watertown.

I had read somewhere that IL sort of adopted the old LacksPower algorithm for calculating power rankings but I can't recall such an egregious error.

Can one of the clever old goats on this page help clarify this?

No idea how IL would have procured the detailed code from LP. Perhaps they attempted to reconstruct what they "thought" the code would look like.

[3rdPersonPlural]

Just noticed something: No Deerfield vs. Exeter game listed on DA's schedule. Was that rivalry game nixed? Shame if it was.

Not a shame. Exeter getting beat by Loomis? Not a loss. DA needs to schedule more national powers.

Well, it would appear that such a scenario might just become the case. Between the Prep Nationals and Founder's bifurcation situation, I'd kind of wonder about DA lax thinking "half historic rivalries" and half "curated out of league challenges" might be a good path to drawing matriculation interest from some of those Fairfield/Westchester kids who used to go to boarding school, but instead now choose in many instances to stay home and attend Brunswick. If DA played traditional opponents and dropped the unchallenging games, the team could then travel/host (or meet neutral) with (in addition to Lawrenceville) the likes of Delbarton, Haverford, and even an MIAA/IAC opponent. That would spice up the challenge level, and pique interest from players seeking to play the best while also getting a premier educational/college entrance opportunity. At this point, it feels the air is somewhat out of West I, and the mixing of wheat and chaff teams is making for a good deal of uninteresting/blowout games. What the hell...perhaps the time has come for a tradition respecting yet at the same time independent and free to roam approach for the Big Green lax team.

Let me be the first to wave a haughty dismissive hand at the whole idea of breaking up the old boys club as it is constituted. Bah! Humbug....


We are dealing with century old rivalries in a tradition-obsessed community

I'm trying to think of a polite way to reference elitism enhanced by parochialism. I guess I'll just skip that part...

Let's remember that these NEW1 rivalries live in dozens of sports over 2 genders and have been cultivated for decades. We can't just yank Lax out and continue along as if nothing happened.

Remember the kids have to be back on campus by dinner time. Tough to get to SHP and play a lax game and get back before the dining hall closes. (things may have evolved since the '70's, but I doubt it...)

Let's not forget that these schools are principally academic institutions so missing dinner may be objectionable but missing study hall is a non starter.

[3rdPersonPlural]

I just reviewed Inside Lacrosse's top 25 ratings. ( https://www.insidelacrosse.com/recruiti ... ational/22 ) and was surprised to find my beloved Rhinos 4 places ahead of the loathed Deerfield Big Green.

Deerfield BEAT Taft 9 to 5 a few weeks back. Deerfield has one fewer loss (as both schools lost to 'wick earlier in the season) and, as it bears repeating, almost doubled up the Rhinos AND held that prolific attack to just 5 goals AND I believe that they played in Watertown.

I had read somewhere that IL sort of adopted the old LacksPower algorithm for calculating power rankings but I can't recall such an egregious error.

Can one of the clever old goats on this page help clarify this?

No idea how IL would have procured the detailed code from LP. Perhaps they attempted to reconstruct what they "thought" the code would look like.

We all knew that the LP guys were closing out and retiring and my observation was that they were open to adding a few bucks to their retirement fund. Nobody thought the less of them for that.

IL had just absorbed a big PE inward dollop of cash and....well.....ya know....I'm just following a thread of logical conclusions with no conclusive evidence, all colored with wishful thinking that the LP legacy didn't just exit stage right.

[b1w7o9y7h]

Just noticed something: No Deerfield vs. Exeter game listed on DA's schedule. Was that rivalry game nixed? Shame if it was.

Not a shame. Exeter getting beat by Loomis? Not a loss. DA needs to schedule more national powers.

Well, it would appear that such a scenario might just become the case. Between the Prep Nationals and Founder's bifurcation situation, I'd kind of wonder about DA lax thinking "half historic rivalries" and half "curated out of league challenges" might be a good path to drawing matriculation interest from some of those Fairfield/Westchester kids who used to go to boarding school, but instead now choose in many instances to stay home and attend Brunswick. If DA played traditional opponents and dropped the unchallenging games, the team could then travel/host (or meet neutral) with (in addition to Lawrenceville) the likes of Delbarton, Haverford, and even an MIAA/IAC opponent. That would spice up the challenge level, and pique interest from players seeking to play the best while also getting a premier educational/college entrance opportunity. At this point, it feels the air is somewhat out of West I, and the mixing of wheat and chaff teams is making for a good deal of uninteresting/blowout games. What the hell...perhaps the time has come for a tradition respecting yet at the same time independent and free to roam approach for the Big Green lax team.

Let me be the first to wave a haughty dismissive hand at the whole idea of breaking up the old boys club as it is constituted. Bah! Humbug....


We are dealing with century old rivalries in a tradition-obsessed community

I'm trying to think of a polite way to reference elitism enhanced by parochialism. I guess I'll just skip that part...

Let's remember that these NEW1 rivalries live in dozens of sports over 2 genders and have been cultivated for decades. We can't just yank Lax out and continue along as if nothing happened.

Remember the kids have to be back on campus by dinner time. Tough to get to SHP and play a lax game and get back before the dining hall closes. (things may have evolved since the '70's, but I doubt it...)

Let's not forget that these schools are principally academic institutions so missing dinner may be objectionable but missing study hall is a non starter.

No breakups. Just some post-modern dance moves to avoid the wall flowers and maximize time with the alpha girls. Rivalries (a hypothetical DA schedule) intact: Choate, Taft, Avon, Hotchkiss, Loomis, Andover, Exeter, Lawrenceville, Salisbury, Brunswick. That’s 10 rivalry games, and all the 200 year old traditions intact. Sorry Westy, Kent, Berkshire, NMH etc. Now get clever, shuffle short Saturday trips to Wednesday with your newfound freedom, and schedule the prep big boys for Some Saturdays. Some teams like Hill Will show up any day of the week you suggest. Like Wednesdays. And Wednesday/Saturday dinner late or on the road will build character. Core long standing rivalries unchanged. Prep Nationals dissolved. A game or two less per season. Quality and challenge amplified.

[Sportin' Life]

I generally agree about the value that NE prep schools place on playing each other across the spectrum of athletics. Dropping home and home series with the weak sisters of NE W1 in favor of neutral site games vs. Delbarton and MIACC, IAC or PA-based Inter-Academic League schools would require a significant increase in travel for DA, the allure of which would fade after a season or two. I just can't see it signing up to play Brunswick in CT every other year as well as L'ville plus two or three other games on neutral sites in CT or farther south each season. However, DA could add a few games vs. ISL powerhouses (i.e. St. Sebs and Nobles in addition to BH, which it has played the last few years) that are only two hours away. They would certainly prove to be more challenging than the likes of NMH, Kent and Berkshire.

As far as all the Fairfield Cty talent being scooped up by Brunswick, I don't think DA really cares. It knows that it will get its share of top-flight student-athletes and, while it's nice to have been the top dog in NE prep school lax for so many years, these things ebb and flow as demonstrated by other sports it formerly dominated and is now in the mid-pack. DA is much more focused on enhancing its overall academic and extra-curricular experience than on preserving the competitiveness of its lax program.

[justanotherperson]

5.2.22 Not so serious rankings

Division 1 - a little movement below "Wick. Deerfield continues to play strong. Taft moves up with a strong win against Hotchkiss which is coming back to earth. Their game against AOF will determine the best of the middle teams. I am not sure Berkshire is the 8th team but they had a huge win against TP who is down as well as Choate. Poor Kent isnt even close to a win and has lost against 3 Division 2 teams.

Division 2 - Wilbraham remains the top team. Canterbury probably would have moved into that spot with their win over Gunnery (which falls to 3) but they lost to Albany Academies (by 1). King making a push with 6 wins in a row. Cheshire Acdemy suppose to be in the upper Div 2 tier but very uneven winning close games against lower D2 teams and not coming close against upper D2 teams keeps them with the lower D2 teams

Division 3 - Still having trouble getting scores but Harvey win over Wooster moves them up to #1 spot

Current - Last Week - School - (Record) - Comments

Division 1
1 1 Brunswick (10-0) Darien and Salisbury games are looming
2 3 Deerfield (8-1) loomis and Andover wins
3 5 Taft (7-2) big win againast Hotchkiss moves them over Salisbury
4 4 Salisbury (6-1) no games this week
5 2 Hotchkiss (6-2) coming down to earth going 1-2 in last 3 and big Taft loss
6 6 Avon Old Farms (7-5) 4 in a row but no huge win.. Hkiss game determine 5-6 spots
7 8 Loomis Chaffee (5-5) Loss to deerfield, win against Exeter
8 11 Berkshire (5-5) 3 in a row with a win over TP leaps them over Choate
9 7 Trinity Pawling (5-5) free fallin going 1-3 in last 4, held Wick to 8
10 9 Choate (4-4) 4 losses in a row
11 10 Westminster (3-7) 4 losses in a row
12 12 Northfield Mount Hermon (3-11) loss to St Paul and a Div 2 team Albany Acadmies
13 13 Kent (0-12) Losses not close with a loss to Div 2 Gunnery


Division 2
1 1 Wilbraham & Monson (7-1) more clear #1 with other teams losing and millbrook win
2 3 Canterbury (7-3) close loss to Albany and then huge win over Gunnery
3 2 Gunnery (7-2) loss to Canterbury hurts
4 4 Millbrook (4-4) 2 losses in a row, close loss to Wilbraham
5 5 Albany Academies (5-4) big win to Cbury huge. Loss to Mbrook hurts
6 6 Williston (3-6) losses to Berkshire and Pomfret
7 8 Greens Farms Academy (7-0) no losses yet moves them up, easy schedule though
8 12 King School (6-1) 6 wins in a row vaults them 4 spots
9 7 Greenwich Country Day (5-2) big loss to King
10 9 Cheshire Academy (3-4) wins against teams theys should win are close. Losses are big
11 10 Brunswick B (not JV) (2-3) no huge wins
12 11 Hopkins School (3-6) tough stretch against upper Div 2 team
13 13 St Lukes (3-3) close win against KO, loss to GFA
14 14 Rye Country Day (3-6) losses to Hackley, GCDS, King
15 15 Suffield Academy (0-7) close loss to Cheshire Academy
16 16 Kingswood-Oxford (0-7) GF-GA 46-87
17 17 Hamden Hall (1-8) GF-GA 44-142, only win is against Div 3 team

Division 3
1 2 Harvey (4-3) big win against Wooster
2 1 Wooster (3-5) 1-4 in last 5
3 3 Forman (1-4) loss to Woositer
4 4 Hoosac (0-1) loss to dublin school
5 5 Storm King (0-0)
6 6 Masters (0-2)
7 7 Marvelwood (0-3) GF-GA 6-42