NCAC 2023

[LaxRatinOH2]

Mazel

[boredatwork]

Well this thread has gotten weird.

On the eve of conference play opening up, it seems like the 6 teams all potentially vying for a playoff spot face off together

Denison v. Wittenberg
Kenyon v. Owu
Oberlin v. Wooster

I have Denison as the clear cut favorite for the 1 seed, Wittenberg as the 6 best, the other 4 all could intermix of the remaining 3 playoff spots.

[LaxRatinOH2]

Denison
Kenyon
OWU
Wooster
Oberlin
Witt

According to Switzerland might as well have the other 3 especially the Terriers not even play the remaining conference schedule. Although 2 of the 3 have drastically improved and will narrow the gap. Guess no one will see the intangibles of those individuals and programs

[bulldodge97]

Jacked up for conference play to start up and to see how this battle for the 2 seed shapes up. Predictions for the weekend below:

Denison 18, Witt 6
Kenyon 14, OWU 10
Wooster 12, Oberlin 8
Wabash 22, Hiram 17
Depauw 11, Earlham 3

Let's ride

[Rebo]

Heading into conference play this is what I see;
Denison- better than the rest
Kenyon -better than everyone but Denison
Wooster- seems to have improved greatly and a notch above OWU and Oberlin
OWU/Oberlin- can't believe I'm saying this but, a toss-up for the last playoff spot.
Other teams are improving but no real shot at a playoff spot this year (sorry Rat)

Big playoff implication games to start the conference matchups, Wooster vs. Oberlin and OWU vs Kenyon .
Oberlin coming off 2 losses and Wooster staying undefeated with 2 good wins over Colorado College and Mount Union. Oberlin needs to play its best to win.
OWU just not looking good but maybe saving it all for conference play. Kenyon has played well all year against some very good teams.

Predictions:
Wooster over Oberlin by 2.
Kenyon over OWU by 6
Denison over Witt by a lot
Wabash over Hiram by 2
Depauw over Earlham by a lot

[Not Suitable]

Loving seeing the growth of the Wooster Fightin' Scots. I see a championship game in their future.

[LaxRatinOH2]

Rebo, no apologies . I just see that both Wabash and Hiram have improved significantly against the teams they have normally done not so well or below average against. I'm not saying that they are going to upset the upper half, but I do see them closing the gap in margin.

[Nosey Ned]

Rebo, no apologies . I just see that both Wabash and Hiram have improved significantly against the teams they have normally done not so well or below average against. I'm not saying that they are going to upset the upper half, but I do see them closing the gap in margin.

Both of these programs with new coaching staffs - we should all wish them luck and hope they can start to be competitive in conference sooner than later. The first “hurdle” is to increase the roster size! You can’t even scrimmage yourself in practice with less than 20 guys! Hiram with 18 total (7 1st yrs and 7 Soph) and Wabash with 19 total (10 1st yrs) are still way short of a competitive roster but look to be moving in the right direction with the recent recruiting class(es).

[LaxRatinOH2]

Ned definitely right about both with getting their roster size up. Both Burke and Welch are tireless recruiters and will get them up. Just happy to see them both having early success in their programs. Both previous staffs didn’t seem to have similar success against common opponents. As a Hiram alum it’s refreshing to see a renewed energy to the program and having alumni involvement. Something special is happening on the hill!

[Nosey Ned]

Ned definitely right about both with getting their roster size up. Both Burke and Welch are tireless recruiters and will get them up. Just happy to see them both having early success in their programs. Both previous staffs didn’t seem to have similar success against common opponents. As a Hiram alum it’s refreshing to see a renewed energy to the program and having alumni involvement. Something special is happening on the hill!

Rat .... I for one am happy to have new blood on the NCAC thread, especially one from an under represented program. Welcome!

And best of luck to your team and all NCAC teams as we get conference games kicked off in earnest. I think strides have been made by many NCAC teams and here's hoping it shows on the scoreboard too. Afterall, high water raises all boats!

GO BIG RED

[Switzerland]

Denison
Kenyon
OWU
Wooster
Oberlin
Witt

According to Switzerland might as well have the other 3 especially the Terriers not even play the remaining conference schedule. Although 2 of the 3 have drastically improved and will narrow the gap. Guess no one will see the intangibles of those individuals and programs

Contrary to Lax2's impressions, I do think it's good to see the bottom-half/third of the conference, or any conference for that matter grow and close gaps. I feel like there aren't many instances in the lacrosse landscape where you see the 4 seed beat the 1, then the 2 to get a bid (if we are talking conf. tourney). And how often do you see the 8th team in the conference beat the 4-ish in just standard play?

It's also interesting, and unfortunate, to see OWU take a step down, as well as Witt who has seemed to gradually slip. Yes, the growth and comparison against non-conference teams is one measuring stick, but how big of one? Now teams are opening up, it will be interesting to see how the next month or so plays.

[oldtimelax]

Young OWU Bishops get their first signature win over previously undefeated Kenyon, 10-8.

Down 4-0 after first quarter, Bishops offense came alive in second frame and closed to 7-5 at the half. Second half, was all OWU, as defense and goal tender Nathan George allowed only one goal and Bishop offense went to work with five more scores. Great effort by Noah Citek at the x against Thomas Morgan, who was winning at a 75% clip. Carson Geier and Spencer Amacher both had fourth period goals to seal the win. Two goals each by Amacher, Geier and Cooper Braet. Clutch goals by Vincent Leonardi, Malik Sillah, Will Siegenthaler, and Garrett Smith. Nine out of ten of Bishops top scorers are either sophomores or freshmen.

[BIGDAWG]

To all those disrespecting the Bishops going into today, you can kick rocks and have proved you truly don't know ball. Making out Kenyon to be world beaters when their 7-0 was against junk teams is laughable to someone like me who knows the game. Also shoutout to my fighting scots who are a wagon and will beat junk Kenyon. Also shoutout the lil giants, as it seems they woke up. If I was associated with Kenyon or put out any take about Kenyon being good I would be embarrassed, luckily though I am not.

[WhiteCarrera]

DAWG, were you mistreated as a child or something? You seem to carry around a lot of angst.

[Nosey Ned]

My calls for this weekend NCAC games

Denison over Wittenberg 15-5 the Big Red are just better
Kenyon over OWU 13-9 the Bishops aren't there yet
Wooster over Oberlin 14-13 in OT huge seeding game
Wabash over Hiram 12-8 Terriers stats start going south
DePauw over Earlham 15-3 an OOC game that will not make the Tigers any better - why even schedule it?

How’d we do?

Denison ran over Witt 20-7 As expected
OWU hangs 1st loss on Kenyon 10-8 Bishops with big 2nd half saying the “reports on (their) death are greatly exaggerated!”
Wooster beats Oberlin 11-7 no xtra period needed
Wabash triples up Hiram 21-7 Wabash improving quicker than the Terriers apparently
DePauw shuts out Earlham 16-0 nothing more to say here

Went 4-1

[bulldodge97]

Jacked up for conference play to start up and to see how this battle for the 2 seed shapes up. Predictions for the weekend below:

Denison 18, Witt 6
Kenyon 14, OWU 10
Wooster 12, Oberlin 8
Wabash 22, Hiram 17
Depauw 11, Earlham 3

Let's ride

4-1 for the dodge on his picks this weekend
Denison 20, Witt 7 - almost had this one spot on
OWU 10, Kenyon 8 - put some respect on the Bishops' name
Wooster 11, Oberlin 7 - almost spot on, don't let me (or the Scots) get hot
Wabash 21, Hiram 7 - does Wabash make the push into the 7 spot in the NCAC this year??
Depauw 16, Earlham 0 - this game tells us nothing. Earlham is a doormat

Another big NCAC weekend on tap
Depauw vs. Wooster
Witt vs. OWU
Kenyon vs. Denison
Oberlin vs. Hiram

LFG

[BIGDAWG]

DAWG, were you mistreated as a child or something? You seem to carry around a lot of angst.

Yes White I was severely abused by my Uncle Chuck, thanks for bringing up past trauma... jerk.

[Nosey Ned]

Full slate of NCAC games this weekend so here's how I see them ...

Wooster over DePauw 14-5 the Scottish Terriers (just announced new mascot) will be too much for the Tigers this year.

OWU over Wittenberg 12-9 the Bishops will keep the momentum going from last weeks huge comeback over Kenyon

Denison over Kenyon 14-9 the Big Red will want to establish themselves as top of the conference again this year but the Owls will have something to say - just not enough

Oberlin over Hiram 17-2 the Yeoman appear to be off the pace they set last year but will still have more than enough here.

Go Big Red!

[bulldodge97]

Thanks for the post, Nosey. Like some of those predictions. FWIW here's what I got -

Wooster 18, Depauw 6. Depauw's depleted looking sideline won't be able to keep up with the 10-0 Scots.
OWU 14, Witt 7. Think that Kenyon W last week is gonna put some wind into the Bishops' sails.
Denison 11, Kenyon 7. Kenyon is gonna give the Big Red all they can handle, but ultimately the Red have enough to get it done.
Oberlin 18, Hiram 3. Don't need to elaborate too much on this one.

Cheers!

[Rebo]

A lot to agree with in the predictions. I agree with the outcomes, my score predictions are:

Wooster 21 - DePauw 4 .... Wooster is very good and Depauw just can't keep up
OWU 17 - Witt 6 .... OWU surprised me last week. If they are as good as they were last week this is a runaway
Denison 14 - Kenyon 8 .... Denison is the real deal and if Kenyon couldn't play a full game against OWU; they won't against Denison
Oberlin 19 - Hiram 5 .... Oberlin's 3 game losing streak ends here