2024 Season Predictions

[Dr. Tact]

Love reading the predictions about the upcoming season. Don't need to make crazy picks just for click bait, like Loyola not winning the Patriot League.
Loyola has a top 4 coaching staff that recruits great fits for their system. Did you watch any of their games against the Patriot League teams, it's varsity versus JV. I know Army has 1 real nice player, doesn't mean they have a chance to beat Loyola! Army had several close Patriot league games last year. Loyola lost 3 games last year against Florida, Cuse and Northwestern. The safest bet in all of womens' lacrosse is Loyola winning the Patriot, I am happy to give anyone 10-1 odds for the rest of the Patriot league if you want to give away money. I am a huge fan of both programs, but it's comparing apples and oranges. Just one guys opinion.

Nope...2 guys opinions

[Dr. Tact]

Hell I’ll take it. 10$ to your 100$. Good odds. Loyola obviously is the favorite, but Loyola is not going to be as good as previous years. I also think Florida struggles. That game is a toss up this year. Think Hopkins and possibly Penn State beat them. I can see them losing 4-5 this year and I don’t think their schedule is toohard. Think they fall out of the top 15. Can Army beat them? Probably not but I think they have a shot in one game. Will it happen, probably not. But I’ll take your odds. Funny thing is my best friends daughter plays there. Now I gotta root against her. I should also get a kicker. A 10$ bonus if some other team in the weak Patriot beat them.

So, how???....every team loses great players. Loyola loses 2 AA players from last year, who knows about who is waiting to replace them. Loyola loses AAs every year....

I used to say that when UNC was winning everything, the 2nd best team in the country was their scout team.

[Relax77]

Love reading the predictions about the upcoming season. Don't need to make crazy picks just for click bait, like Loyola not winning the Patriot League.
Loyola has a top 4 coaching staff that recruits great fits for their system. Did you watch any of their games against the Patriot League teams, it's varsity versus JV. I know Army has 1 real nice player, doesn't mean they have a chance to beat Loyola! Army had several close Patriot league games last year. Loyola lost 3 games last year against Florida, Cuse and Northwestern. The safest bet in all of womens' lacrosse is Loyola winning the Patriot, I am happy to give anyone 10-1 odds for the rest of the Patriot league if you want to give away money. I am a huge fan of both programs, but it's comparing apples and oranges. Just one guys opinion.

Nope...2 guys opinions

Ok. Another 10 for a 100. It’s a long shot. Is Loyola gonna win. Yeah. Most likely. But it’s one game, anything can happen. It’s not like they are gonna wind up playing American. Gonna play Army. I think Army is gonna be strong again this year. Worth the ten in my opinion. Kinda hoping Outta drinks tonight and gives me the 100-1 odds he said he wouldn’t t take. I’ll bet you a dollar outta.

[user1020]

Love reading the predictions about the upcoming season. Don't need to make crazy picks just for click bait, like Loyola not winning the Patriot League.
Loyola has a top 4 coaching staff that recruits great fits for their system. Did you watch any of their games against the Patriot League teams, it's varsity versus JV. I know Army has 1 real nice player, doesn't mean they have a chance to beat Loyola! Army had several close Patriot league games last year. Loyola lost 3 games last year against Florida, Cuse and Northwestern. The safest bet in all of womens' lacrosse is Loyola winning the Patriot, I am happy to give anyone 10-1 odds for the rest of the Patriot league if you want to give away money. I am a huge fan of both programs, but it's comparing apples and oranges. Just one guys opinion.

Nope...2 guys opinions

Ok. Another 10 for a 100. It’s a long shot. Is Loyola gonna win. Yeah. Most likely. But it’s one game, anything can happen. It’s not like they are gonna wind up playing American. Gonna play Army. I think Army is gonna be strong again this year. Worth the ten in my opinion.

I’m not worried about Loyola at all. They lose arguably their two best players, but they get 2 good players back from injury and a good freshmen. They’ll lose a few regular season games but won’t have trouble with the patriot league. Army and Navy are finally going to improve the next 2-3 years IMO because they both had good freshmen classes but still won’t beat Loyola this year. The hounds did great last year after losing an insanely good senior class.

[Dr. Tact]

Love reading the predictions about the upcoming season. Don't need to make crazy picks just for click bait, like Loyola not winning the Patriot League.
Loyola has a top 4 coaching staff that recruits great fits for their system. Did you watch any of their games against the Patriot League teams, it's varsity versus JV. I know Army has 1 real nice player, doesn't mean they have a chance to beat Loyola! Army had several close Patriot league games last year. Loyola lost 3 games last year against Florida, Cuse and Northwestern. The safest bet in all of womens' lacrosse is Loyola winning the Patriot, I am happy to give anyone 10-1 odds for the rest of the Patriot league if you want to give away money. I am a huge fan of both programs, but it's comparing apples and oranges. Just one guys opinion.

Nope...2 guys opinions

Ok. Another 10 for a 100. It’s a long shot. Is Loyola gonna win. Yeah. Most likely. But it’s one game, anything can happen. It’s not like they are gonna wind up playing American. Gonna play Army. I think Army is gonna be strong again this year. Worth the ten in my opinion.

I am not a betting man.....Army may have the most dynamic player in the PL. But, she didnt light up the Hounds in 2 games last year and unless they have found a few more of her, I dont think they are there yet.

[Relax77]

Love reading the predictions about the upcoming season. Don't need to make crazy picks just for click bait, like Loyola not winning the Patriot League.
Loyola has a top 4 coaching staff that recruits great fits for their system. Did you watch any of their games against the Patriot League teams, it's varsity versus JV. I know Army has 1 real nice player, doesn't mean they have a chance to beat Loyola! Army had several close Patriot league games last year. Loyola lost 3 games last year against Florida, Cuse and Northwestern. The safest bet in all of womens' lacrosse is Loyola winning the Patriot, I am happy to give anyone 10-1 odds for the rest of the Patriot league if you want to give away money. I am a huge fan of both programs, but it's comparing apples and oranges. Just one guys opinion.

Nope...2 guys opinions

Ok. Another 10 for a 100. It’s a long shot. Is Loyola gonna win. Yeah. Most likely. But it’s one game, anything can happen. It’s not like they are gonna wind up playing American. Gonna play Army. I think Army is gonna be strong again this year. Worth the ten in my opinion.

I am not a betting man.....Army may have the most dynamic player in the PL. But, she didnt light up the Hounds in 2 games last year and unless they have found a few more of her, I dont think they are there yet.

probably not yet. But would be great if it happens. Well not for buddy. I didn’t love Loyolas current recruiting class. I’m thinking a shift may be coming.

[Relax77]

I was hoping Lehigh and BU would take a step forward in he Patriot. BU and Lehigh have strong men’s programs, not sure why the women seem to lag behind.

[Dr. Tact]

probably not yet. But would be great if it happens. Well not for buddy. I didn’t love Loyolas current recruiting class. I’m thinking a shift may be coming.

I know zippo about the last 2 years recruiting class, so you may be right....just guessing that JA knows what she is doing and finds a few gems. I know the 2017 class may not have been highly regarded, but they turned out to be pretty good.

[Dr. Tact]

I was hoping Lehigh and BU would take a step forward in he Patriot. BU and Lehigh have strong men’s programs, not sure why the women seem to lag behind.

yeah...that is a head scratcher

[user1020]

I was hoping Lehigh and BU would take a step forward in he Patriot. BU and Lehigh have strong men’s programs, not sure why the women seem to lag behind.

yeah...that is a head scratcher

Lehigh has potential as they’ve had good seasons and beaten good teams, but they have been so inconsistent.

[Relax77]

I was hoping Lehigh and BU would take a step forward in he Patriot. BU and Lehigh have strong men’s programs, not sure why the women seem to lag behind.

yeah...that is a head scratcher

Lehigh has potential as they’ve had good seasons and beaten good teams, but they have been so inconsistent.

They dropped their schedule recently. Looks just like last year. Looks like they are happy with being around top 40. Couple of good games. Couple of clunkers. Wasn’t surprised they scheduled Penn State. Their offensive coordinator left to go to Lehigh.

[laxdadpat]

"Red Army won 45 straight games then ran up against some boys from Minnesota, Michigan and Boston."

I love the reference Relax! The problem the game is being played at West Point, not Lake Placid. Can Army change the venue a little north to Lake Placid to add even more juice to the game? hahah

I am so impressed with how well Loyola recruits, they have proven it year after year. I may be wrong, but I think Army's best player was recruited by the previous coach, feel free to confirm or refute.

[user1020]

I was hoping Lehigh and BU would take a step forward in he Patriot. BU and Lehigh have strong men’s programs, not sure why the women seem to lag behind.

yeah...that is a head scratcher

Lehigh has potential as they’ve had good seasons and beaten good teams, but they have been so inconsistent.

They dropped their schedule recently. Looks just like last year. Looks like they are happy with being around top 40. Couple of good games. Couple of clunkers. Wasn’t surprised they scheduled Penn State. Their offensive coordinator left to go to Lehigh.

Solid OOC schedule with Penn State, Georgetown, Jacksonville, Delaware. I wish they had a Saint Joseph’s or Drexel instead of ODU and Wofford.

[Kleizaster]

probably not yet. But would be great if it happens. Well not for buddy. I didn’t love Loyolas current recruiting class. I’m thinking a shift may be coming.

I know zippo about the last 2 years recruiting class, so you may be right....just guessing that JA knows what she is doing and finds a few gems. I know the 2017 class may not have been highly regarded, but they turned out to be pretty good.

you're right they hit on a couple players in the 2017-2018 classes. Bur Relax77 is also right. i had Loyola as a loser in 2025 recruiting. For all the progress they've made on the field, they havn't translated it to recruiting compared to programs like Dartmouth, Denver, JMU, Hopkins, etc. They have good coaching and a good system in place but that won't be enough if they want to take a step forward

[jff97]

probably not yet. But would be great if it happens. Well not for buddy. I didn’t love Loyolas current recruiting class. I’m thinking a shift may be coming.

I know zippo about the last 2 years recruiting class, so you may be right....just guessing that JA knows what she is doing and finds a few gems. I know the 2017 class may not have been highly regarded, but they turned out to be pretty good.

you're right they hit on a couple players in the 2017-2018 classes. Bur Relax77 is also right. i had Loyola as a loser in 2025 recruiting. For all the progress they've made on the field, they havn't translated it to recruiting compared to programs like Dartmouth, Denver, JMU, Hopkins, etc. They have good coaching and a good system in place but that won't be enough if they want to take a step forward

What Loyola has been very good at in recent years is turning their highest ranked recruits into studs. You saw it with Detwiler and Wilson last year and the same thing is happening with players like Latch, Black, Boyle and Spence. It's good enough to be in that Stony Brook and JMU category of a mid-major with a vey high floor but it's hard to break through into that upper echelon. Loyola still recruits better than 90 percent of Division I schools, but the talent level hasn't spread out in women's lacrosse the way it has in other sports. The top tier is reserved for a few select teams, and it's hard to break in.

[Relax77]

I was hoping Lehigh and BU would take a step forward in he Patriot. BU and Lehigh have strong men’s programs, not sure why the women seem to lag behind.

yeah...that is a head scratcher

Lehigh has potential as they’ve had good seasons and beaten good teams, but they have been so inconsistent.

They dropped their schedule recently. Looks just like last year. Looks like they are happy with being around top 40. Couple of good games. Couple of clunkers. Wasn’t surprised they scheduled Penn State. Their offensive coordinator left to go to Lehigh.

Solid OOC schedule with Penn State, Georgetown, Jacksonville, Delaware. I wish they had a Saint Joseph’s or Drexel instead of ODU and Wofford.

Just looked at their schedule from last year. They played Wofford in SC. Not sure if that’s just a reciprocal deal. I agree with Drexel. And It’s close travel. They played St Joes last year as well so who knows. Not ready yet to get aggressive I guess. They have a 15 game schedule as well. I wouldn’t be shocked if they schedule another game while in Florida.

[laxdadpat]

Loyola is just not the draw as many other lower/higher ranked womens' lacrosse programs. The coaches have made it their home and have created a top notch program. I was kind of hoping the Loyola coaches (JA DD) were going to take the Ohio State or Virginia jobs last year. If that happened, every recruit in the country and/or down under would have been in play if Jen or Donna was interested in them. It would have kept someone I know on the hook.

[Dr. Tact]

you're right they hit on a couple players in the 2017-2018 classes. Bur Relax77 is also right. i had Loyola as a loser in 2025 recruiting. For all the progress they've made on the field, they havn't translated it to recruiting compared to programs like Dartmouth, Denver, JMU, Hopkins, etc. They have good coaching and a good system in place but that won't be enough if they want to take a step forward

^^This is very smart^^. I am not sure that Loyola can break out/in. Elite 8 seems to be their ceiling. In many ways, the Patriot League keeps Loyola from advancing. Sure, they win it all the time, but after the initial OOC slate, there is no toughness or challenge in their opponents (except Navy/Army).

Recruits see that they dont play BC, UNC, MD, NU, SBU, Denver, etc. on any regular basis. To get to the blue blood level, they have to get really lucky and win all their OOCs while getting somewhere in the NCAAs, EVERY YEAR. Best recent finishes were Quarters/Elite 8 against BC and against NU. Did that help recruiting? Probably not...

I cant figure out exactly why the other schools you mention out-recruit Loyola. I think each of those offer something Loyola doesn't, but the Hounds should be competing with those and others for those fringe top 20-40 recruits.

[whyamihere]

you're right they hit on a couple players in the 2017-2018 classes. Bur Relax77 is also right. i had Loyola as a loser in 2025 recruiting. For all the progress they've made on the field, they havn't translated it to recruiting compared to programs like Dartmouth, Denver, JMU, Hopkins, etc. They have good coaching and a good system in place but that won't be enough if they want to take a step forward

^^This is very smart^^. I am not sure that Loyola can break out/in. Elite 8 seems to be their ceiling. In many ways, the Patriot League keeps Loyola from advancing. Sure, they win it all the time, but after the initial OOC slate, there is no toughness or challenge in their opponents (except Navy/Army).

Recruits see that they dont play BC, UNC, MD, NU, SBU, Denver, etc. on any regular basis. To get to the blue blood level, they have to get really lucky and win all their OOCs while getting somewhere in the NCAAs, EVERY YEAR. Best recent finishes were Quarters/Elite 8 against BC and against NU. Did that help recruiting? Probably not...

I cant figure out exactly why the other schools you mention out-recruit Loyola. I think each of those offer something Loyola doesn't, but the Hounds should be competing with those and others for those fringe top 20-40 recruits.

one of the reasons is Loyola is a very small school located in a residential area of Baltimore city. There is not much of a campus life and no main street type area by campus for the kids to hang out at. And not many parents are crazy about sending their kids to a school in Baltimore City. Johns Hopkins has the same issues but they do have the JHU degree that helps draw some of the recruits in. Loyola will be able to recruit well enough to continue winning the Patriot and make it to round of 16 and occasionally the round of 8.

[Relax77]

Yep. Same with Towson. Ate at the IHOP across the street on a visit and said Nope. You’re not coming here. Think there was a shooting there the same night.