NESCAC

[shorelax12]

I think people have given multiple answers, travel/location being the biggest issue—Midd and Bowdoin are far from everything. It's akin to Notre Dame only playing 11 regular season games a year and relying on the strength of ACC schedule wins/competition to carry them into playoff consideration.

I surprised that the disparity between the Midd. men's and women's teams is such a mystery. The women's team is a perennial NESCAC and national powerhouse, that success draws a lot of interest and funding.

Though the guys that played then are starting to get gray hairs there was a time when the Middlebury men's team was pretty decent too... I'm sure it's a combo of multiple reasons why the paths of the programs went different ways. This is probably the closest in ranking Middlebury's men's and women's programs have been in the preseason for quite awhile.

Finally. A few decent responses. Thank you Laxxal.

Hoping for the players that the team gets some more funds, in order to give them the memories of team travel and variety of opponents, so as to make their experience as enjoyable as possible.

While I agree that more funding would be great, I'm curious as to why you think that the memories and experiences of the players are impacted by the scheduling. How the team and the NESCAC operate and schedule is certainly not a mystery to any of the players when they make the decision to attend Middlebury. If you have some inside information that players are dissatisfied, that is one thing, otherwise, this seems to be a non-issue. When my son was going through the process with the NESCACs, we certainly were not thinking about OOC strength of schedule, we were more focused on the academic advantages, and the fact that travel would be less of a burden was a huge positive. I suspect that most of the players are very happy with their current situation.

[laxdad1434]

I know nothing about Cleveland state, but I doubt they played starters deep, they open the season this Saturday, 2/3.

York is a very good team, well coached. Wagner is a mess and lost a lot of kids, including their goalie and ssdm, both went to Ohio St, a pole that went to Kean, and an LSM whereabouts unknown. Wagner may not win a game this year, so I'm not surprised at all.

I went the NJIT/Sacred Heart scrimmage this past Saturday, and they're much better then 2022-23. They may win 4-5 games this year, but if you drop them in a D3 conference, other than CLC, Liberty, they win the conference. NESCAC would be tough, but Tufts lost too much.

That’s your argument?!? The Cleveland State coach scheduled a scrimmage a week before their first game and you think it was so he could rest his starters? Yet that NJIT scrimmage was very instructive…please go home troll this has gone on for a month now.

It's an open discussion, didn't know I was arguing with anyone.

I'm here to stay Skippy, just to piss your sorry ass off.

[RE6ULATOR]

I think people have given multiple answers, travel/location being the biggest issue—Midd and Bowdoin are far from everything. It's akin to Notre Dame only playing 11 regular season games a year and relying on the strength of ACC schedule wins/competition to carry them into playoff consideration.

I surprised that the disparity between the Midd. men's and women's teams is such a mystery. The women's team is a perennial NESCAC and national powerhouse, that success draws a lot of interest and funding.

Though the guys that played then are starting to get gray hairs there was a time when the Middlebury men's team was pretty decent too... I'm sure it's a combo of multiple reasons why the paths of the programs went different ways. This is probably the closest in ranking Middlebury's men's and women's programs have been in the preseason for quite awhile.

Finally. A few decent responses. Thank you Laxxal.

Hoping for the players that the team gets some more funds, in order to give them the memories of team travel and variety of opponents, so as to make their experience as enjoyable as possible.

While I agree that more funding would be great, I'm curious as to why you think that the memories and experiences of the players are impacted by the scheduling. How the team and the NESCAC operate and schedule is certainly not a mystery to any of the players when they make the decision to attend Middlebury. If you have some inside information that players are dissatisfied, that is one thing, otherwise, this seems to be a non-issue. When my son was going through the process with the NESCACs, we certainly were not thinking about OOC strength of schedule, we were more focused on the academic advantages, and the fact that travel would be less of a burden was a huge positive. I suspect that most of the players are very happy with their current situation.

Thanks for the minor concession, that more funding would be great (seems pretty universal, right?). As for the lack of traveling and how it affects player experience, I guess you’ve never traveled with a team before. It’s memories. On the bus. In the hotel. At meals. It’s an exponentially different tier of bonding than in life together on campus. It’s a layer to the college athlete experience that I suppose last year’s Middlebury lacrosse grads were fortunate to have had just the one time in their 4 year careers.

As for their expectations, it might not have been high on their thought process as they selected their college (if it even registered at all, given all to consider) BUT just like you suspect that they are happy, I suspect that if you told the current senoirs as they were coming in that they would play NESCAC plus RPI, Union, Babson, St Lawrence, and Springfield AND NOBODY ELSE for their entire career, they might be a tad underwhelmed. Throw in the whole 1 trip in 4 years thing and I think some might say they would like someone somewhere to think about changing it up.

I would call the scheduling “lazy,” is that unfair? Middlebury women’s lacrosse can travel and mix up their competition. The players are customers of the school. Figure it out.

[RE@ULATOR]

I'm here to stay Skippy, just to tick your sorry ass off.

Mr. Leventhal appreciates your dedication to trolling the NESCAC thread during business hours.

[RE6ULATOR]

I'm here to stay Skippy, just to tick your sorry ass off.

Mr. Leventhal appreciates your dedication to trolling the NESCAC thread during business hours.

Had to create an alternate account to try to “dox” someone. Classic.

“Sir or Madam,
Im a poster on an Internet forum, and there’s this guy who hurt my feelings by not acknowledging the prestige of _____ college. Make him stop.
Sincerely,
Unnamed coward.”

[TucoBPJMRamirez]

Wild that people with no ties to the players/schools would be so infatuated with NESCAC lacrosse.

[shorelax12]

I think people have given multiple answers, travel/location being the biggest issue—Midd and Bowdoin are far from everything. It's akin to Notre Dame only playing 11 regular season games a year and relying on the strength of ACC schedule wins/competition to carry them into playoff consideration.

I surprised that the disparity between the Midd. men's and women's teams is such a mystery. The women's team is a perennial NESCAC and national powerhouse, that success draws a lot of interest and funding.

Though the guys that played then are starting to get gray hairs there was a time when the Middlebury men's team was pretty decent too... I'm sure it's a combo of multiple reasons why the paths of the programs went different ways. This is probably the closest in ranking Middlebury's men's and women's programs have been in the preseason for quite awhile.

Finally. A few decent responses. Thank you Laxxal.

Hoping for the players that the team gets some more funds, in order to give them the memories of team travel and variety of opponents, so as to make their experience as enjoyable as possible.

While I agree that more funding would be great, I'm curious as to why you think that the memories and experiences of the players are impacted by the scheduling. How the team and the NESCAC operate and schedule is certainly not a mystery to any of the players when they make the decision to attend Middlebury. If you have some inside information that players are dissatisfied, that is one thing, otherwise, this seems to be a non-issue. When my son was going through the process with the NESCACs, we certainly were not thinking about OOC strength of schedule, we were more focused on the academic advantages, and the fact that travel would be less of a burden was a huge positive. I suspect that most of the players are very happy with their current situation.

Thanks for the minor concession, that more funding would be great (seems pretty universal, right?). As for the lack of traveling and how it affects player experience, I guess you’ve never traveled with a team before. It’s memories. On the bus. In the hotel. At meals. It’s an exponentially different tier of bonding than in life together on campus. It’s a layer to the college athlete experience that I suppose last year’s Middlebury lacrosse grads were fortunate to have had just the one time in their 4 year careers.

As for their expectations, it might not have been high on their thought process as they selected their college (if it even registered at all, given all to consider) BUT just like you suspect that they are happy, I suspect that if you told the current senoirs as they were coming in that they would play NESCAC plus RPI, Union, Babson, St Lawrence, and Springfield AND NOBODY ELSE for their entire career, they might be a tad underwhelmed. Throw in the whole 1 trip in 4 years thing and I think some might say they would like someone somewhere to think about changing it up.

I would call the scheduling “lazy,” is that unfair? Middlebury women’s lacrosse can travel and mix up their competition. The players are customers of the school. Figure it out.

I understand what life is like to travel with a team, but that is not relevant to the discussion. You seem to be suggesting that a recruit should factor in travel memories as part of their college decision process, this not only makes no sense in general, it definitely makes no sense in the NESCAC forum. I imagine that none of the kids that play for Middlebury thought twice about having travel memories when they chose Middlebury, those memories are just a part of playing sports, but certainly not the motivation behind choosing a school. I find it hard to believe that any NESCAC recruit sat down with their parent and had travel memories on their pros vs. cons list.

As far as the MIddlebury men's vs. women's teams and scheduling, I would guess that the women's team may see more alumni funding because of the team's performance, there by affording them more opportunities to travel, and they may be a more attractive add schedule-wise for OOC opponents because of that success, probably the same for Tufts men.

[Laxxal22]

I'm here to stay Skippy, just to tick your sorry ass off.

Mr. Leventhal appreciates your dedication to trolling the NESCAC thread during business hours.

Had to create an alternate account to try to “dox” someone. Classic.

“Sir or Madam,
Im a poster on an Internet forum, and there’s this guy who hurt my feelings by not acknowledging the prestige of _____ college. Make him stop.
Sincerely,
Unnamed coward.”

I was really confused by this exchange for a moment before seeing the "@" in the burner account name.

[RE6ULATOR]

…As for their expectations, it might not have been high on their thought process as they selected their college (if it even registered at all, given all to consider) BUT just like you suspect that they are happy, I suspect that if you told the current senoirs as they were coming in that they would play NESCAC plus RPI, Union, Babson, St Lawrence, and Springfield AND NOBODY ELSE for their entire career, they might be a tad underwhelmed. Throw in the whole 1 trip in 4 years thing and I think some might say they would like someone somewhere to think about changing it up.

I would call the scheduling “lazy,” is that unfair? Middlebury women’s lacrosse can travel and mix up their competition. The players are customers of the school. Figure it out.

I understand what life is like to travel with a team, but that is not relevant to the discussion. You seem to be suggesting that a recruit should factor in travel memories as part of their college decision process, this not only makes no sense in general, it definitely makes no sense in the NESCAC forum. I imagine that none of the kids that play for Middlebury thought twice about having travel memories when they chose Middlebury, those memories are just a part of playing sports, but certainly not the motivation behind choosing a school. I find it hard to believe that any NESCAC recruit sat down with their parent and had travel memories on their pros vs. cons list.

As far as the MIddlebury men's vs. women's teams and scheduling, I would guess that the women's team may see more alumni funding because of the team's performance, there by affording them more opportunities to travel, and they may be a more attractive add schedule-wise for OOC opponents because of that success, probably the same for Tufts men.

On your first paragraph point, I don’t think I ever suggested they should consider opponents or trips, but I was hypothesizing that they wouldn’t have been ecstatic to hear what their future held had they been told.

I can however see that as far as the $ point on your second paragraph. That makes sense.

S hame how this devolved into doxing and the like.
M ust’ve really been a traumatic conversation to have
o n account of the the things that were said. It’s not likely
o ne scenario applies to all the teams in this conference.
V ery telling how some respond to minor criticisms when
A reasonable person would think nothing of any of it.

[shorelax12]

…As for their expectations, it might not have been high on their thought process as they selected their college (if it even registered at all, given all to consider) BUT just like you suspect that they are happy, I suspect that if you told the current senoirs as they were coming in that they would play NESCAC plus RPI, Union, Babson, St Lawrence, and Springfield AND NOBODY ELSE for their entire career, they might be a tad underwhelmed. Throw in the whole 1 trip in 4 years thing and I think some might say they would like someone somewhere to think about changing it up.

I would call the scheduling “lazy,” is that unfair? Middlebury women’s lacrosse can travel and mix up their competition. The players are customers of the school. Figure it out.

I understand what life is like to travel with a team, but that is not relevant to the discussion. You seem to be suggesting that a recruit should factor in travel memories as part of their college decision process, this not only makes no sense in general, it definitely makes no sense in the NESCAC forum. I imagine that none of the kids that play for Middlebury thought twice about having travel memories when they chose Middlebury, those memories are just a part of playing sports, but certainly not the motivation behind choosing a school. I find it hard to believe that any NESCAC recruit sat down with their parent and had travel memories on their pros vs. cons list.

As far as the MIddlebury men's vs. women's teams and scheduling, I would guess that the women's team may see more alumni funding because of the team's performance, there by affording them more opportunities to travel, and they may be a more attractive add schedule-wise for OOC opponents because of that success, probably the same for Tufts men.

On your first paragraph point, I don’t think I ever suggested they should consider opponents or trips, but I was hypothesizing that they wouldn’t have been ecstatic to hear what their future held had they been told.

I can however see that as far as the $ point on your second paragraph. That makes sense.

S hame how this devolved into doxing and the like.
M ust’ve really been a traumatic conversation to have
o n account of the the things that were said. It’s not likely
o ne scenario applies to all the teams in this conference.
V ery telling how some respond to minor criticisms when
A reasonable person would think nothing of any of it.

I certainly appreciate the point, perhaps I am looking into your use of "underwhelmed" and "entire career" too deeply. If I misinterpreted your point, that's on me, but your comments seemed to suggest that there may be some second guessing by players, which I do not thin k is the case. Either way, I am just happy to be discussing something other than NJIT, baby steps

[SouthieLax]

…What exactly is it you want them to do or have Midd/NESCAC fans answer for?

Again… this isn’t something I “want NESCAC fans to answer for.”

It just stands out. Them and Bowdoin. But Bowdoin isn’t consistently touted as a top10 team the way Middlebury is. And no, I haven’t looked to see if there is a similar disparity between man’s and women’s lacrosse travel at Bowdoin. It’s not the the lack of an answer that is a problem for me, so much as it’s a denial of the question entirely.

Hard to follow everything discussed on this in between the NJIT nonsense but I don’t agree with your semi-criticism of Midd’s scheduling. They have had at least one interesting trip all but one season in recent history and that was the “return from COVID” season where the Administration put the clamps down:

2018- Ohio
2019- Mustang Classic and Carrier Dome game
2020- were set to go to Tampa to face Union, season canceled
2021- season canceled
2022- no extra trips
2023- Texas
2024- Maryland

Midd’s SOS is almost always in the top-10 and a lot of their games require lengthy bus rides (Maine schools, Connecticut schools etc….).

[RE6ULATOR]

I'm here to stay Skippy, just to tick your sorry ass off.

Mr. Leventhal appreciates your dedication to trolling the NESCAC thread during business hours.

Had to create an alternate account to try to “dox” someone. Classic.

“Sir or Madam,
Im a poster on an Internet forum, and there’s this guy who hurt my feelings by not acknowledging the prestige of _____ college. Make him stop.
Sincerely,
Unnamed coward.”

I was really confused by this exchange for a moment before seeing the "@" in the burner account name.

Sorry. It jumped out at me so assumed everyone else saw too. Maybe I should’ve put a ? At the end of “Had to create an alternate account to try to “dox” someone”

One specific NESCAC poster logged back in at 1pm just after the burner Re@ulator posted, revealing the likely culprit... can’t buy class apparently.

[BallHunt]

First games predictions anyone?

Bates vs Emerson
Williams vs Babson
Trinity vs Bowdoin
Conn College vs Tufts
Wesleyan vs Colby
Hamilton vs Bates (3rd game)
Amherst vs Middlebury

[ChopMan23]

First games predictions anyone?

Bates vs Emerson
Williams vs Babson
Trinity vs Bowdoin
Conn College vs Tufts
Wesleyan vs Colby
Hamilton vs Bates (3rd game)
Amherst vs Middlebury

Bates
Babson
Early season Trinity upset
Jumbos
Colby
Hamilton
Midd in OT

[smoova]

Hamilton vs Bates (3rd game)

Hamilton

This game is interesting. I feel like Hamilton lost a lot to graduation and Bates gets a 2-game head start to work out the kinks. Not sure that is enough to erase the 11-goal differential from last year's game, but Bates could certainly make an early splash with a win.

Trinity vs Bowdoin

Early season Trinity upset

That is a hot take. It would be shades of 2023 for Bowdoin - high preseason ranking but shocked in the opener. I don't think Mason gets ambushed twice.

[NNELax]

Bates vs Emerson
Williams vs Babson
Trinity vs Bowdoin
Conn College vs Tufts
Wesleyan vs Colby
Hamilton vs Bates (3rd game)
Amherst vs Middlebury

[VTextrasharpcheddarr]

It's fair to say that the long trips to play noteworthy teams from different regions is a complete balancing act. Sure the team gets to spend a lot of time together, but I guarantee you no one would prefer to have any more than two 6+ hour bus rides throughout the season (excluding any NCAA trips). I'm certain no one scratches their head when they come out of those trips with a big win, but it doesn't always go that way. Take Lynchburg last season...they got manhandled by Tufts and SLU over their spring trip up north. I imagine it probably wasn't the most enjoyable experience for those guys, and then throw in a long bus ride home. Not surprised they don't have either of those teams scheduled for 2024. But those are the questions the coaches, ADs, and captains have to think about.

When Middlebury flew down to Texas and play the NCAA runner-up, I think that's a no brainer. A) highly competitive game, B) no one enjoys VT in March, C) a flight down to UT is much more of an experience than sitting on a bus for 10+ hours. That being said, those funds aren't easy to come by. We are talking about D3 lacrosse here. Bowdoin used up a flight and their spring trip to play UNE down in FL. Granted UNE made a run at the end of the year, no brownie points were earned there (at least at that point in the season). Looks like they may be doing the same this year. After being on the outside looking in last May, why wouldn't they change it up? I've heard there may have been a lack of available teams, but curious to hear any other intel out there.

[HereForIt]

First games predictions anyone?

Bates vs Emerson
Williams vs Babson
Trinity vs Bowdoin
Conn College vs Tufts
Wesleyan vs Colby
Hamilton vs Bates (3rd game)
Amherst vs Middlebury

Bates
Babson
Early season Trinity upset
Jumbos
Colby
Hamilton
Midd in OT

Love these takes. Just the right amount of controversial. Felt the need to offer my two cents and more color. More reactions to the above than predictions/arguments.

Bates over Emerson - Obvious choice. Bates is building. Seem to be well coached, but were very young and inexperienced last year. Their offense looked decent, but defense could be improved. Hopefully this team continues in the right direction.

Babson over Williams - This is a juicy one. For Babson, may take time to mesh as a team that has taken a lot of 5th years historically. They were good last year, but graduate a lot, and bring in a lot. Just the reality. You never know until you know with them. Williams may have (ever so slightly) regressed in recent years, but still a force to be reckoned with, and a very well run program. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think they graduated too much last year and had some very strong young talent, especially in the midfield. Expect them to come out and look better than Babson early in the year.

Early season Trinity Upset over Bowdoin - Really juicy one and just as my username would imply, I love it. Last year, Trinity improved drastically from game 1 to the end, and if this year’s team is anything like the team everyone saw late last year, they just don’t quit. Nonetheless, hard to pick against the Polar Bears in the Tundra in early February. Really like what Coach Mason has done up in Brunswick the last 3 years, and also pretty cool that Donal Mullane has joined their staff as he was one hell of an X attackman. Just to keep it interesting, this pick gets my co-sign.

Tufts over Conn - Maybe Conn’s Will Rice makes 30 Billion saves again like he did in last year’s regular season game. Tufts lost a lot to graduation, but I don’t think it’s a question. They are probably well reloaded and ready to go like always.

Colby over Wesleyan - Gonna have to disagree with this one. Wesleyan may have had a down year last year, and props to Colby for an absolutely incredible hire this offseason, but it’s gonna be hard to beat Wesleyan. I do expect to see Colby surprise a lot of people this spring, but I don’t see Wesleyan losing this one.

Hamilton over Bates - Fair. Like I said before, expect Bates to trend in the right direction, but Hamilton has been a great mid-tier NESCAC team for the past few years.

Midd in OT over Amherst - Early pick for game of the year. Two great teams with a chance to prove it early. Would look at how Amherst handles Middlebury’s 10 man ride early in the year and in the cold (that is if Middlebury has it installed). Ride/clear is always one of those pesky factors/stats that can make or break a game early in the year. Side note: Massive believer in the 10 man ride, wish more teams would ingrain it into their identity. If you have the speed and the horses, I don’t see why you wouldn’t test opposing defensive personnel’s stick work and see how many long passes they can string together. Back to the point, I like this one to go into OT, could be anyone’s game.

[RE6ULATOR]

... After being on the outside looking in last May, why wouldn't they change it up? I've heard there may have been a lack of available teams, but curious to hear any other intel out there.

Couldn’t agree more.

[choochooCharlie]

First games predictions anyone?

Bates vs Emerson
Williams vs Babson
Trinity vs Bowdoin
Conn College vs Tufts
Wesleyan vs Colby
Hamilton vs Bates (3rd game)
Amherst vs Middlebury

Bates
Babson
Early season Trinity upset
Jumbos
Colby
Hamilton
Midd in OT

Love these takes. Just the right amount of controversial. Felt the need to offer my two cents and more color. More reactions to the above than predictions/arguments.

Bates over Emerson - Obvious choice. Bates is building. Seem to be well coached, but were very young and inexperienced last year. Their offense looked decent, but defense could be improved. Hopefully this team continues in the right direction.

Babson over Williams - This is a juicy one. For Babson, may take time to mesh as a team that has taken a lot of 5th years historically. They were good last year, but graduate a lot, and bring in a lot. Just the reality. You never know until you know with them. Williams may have (ever so slightly) regressed in recent years, but still a force to be reckoned with, and a very well run program. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think they graduated too much last year and had some very strong young talent, especially in the midfield. Expect them to come out and look better than Babson early in the year.

Early season Trinity Upset over Bowdoin - Really juicy one and just as my username would imply, I love it. Last year, Trinity improved drastically from game 1 to the end, and if this year’s team is anything like the team everyone saw late last year, they just don’t quit. Nonetheless, hard to pick against the Polar Bears in the Tundra in early February. Really like what Coach Mason has done up in Brunswick the last 3 years, and also pretty cool that Donal Mullane has joined their staff as he was one hell of an X attackman. Just to keep it interesting, this pick gets my co-sign.

Tufts over Conn - Maybe Conn’s Will Rice makes 30 Billion saves again like he did in last year’s regular season game. Tufts lost a lot to graduation, but I don’t think it’s a question. They are probably well reloaded and ready to go like always.

Colby over Wesleyan - Gonna have to disagree with this one. Wesleyan may have had a down year last year, and props to Colby for an absolutely incredible hire this offseason, but it’s gonna be hard to beat Wesleyan. I do expect to see Colby surprise a lot of people this spring, but I don’t see Wesleyan losing this one.

Hamilton over Bates - Fair. Like I said before, expect Bates to trend in the right direction, but Hamilton has been a great mid-tier NESCAC team for the past few years.

Midd in OT over Amherst - Early pick for game of the year. Two great teams with a chance to prove it early. Would look at how Amherst handles Middlebury’s 10 man ride early in the year and in the cold (that is if Middlebury has it installed). Ride/clear is always one of those pesky factors/stats that can make or break a game early in the year. Side note: Massive believer in the 10 man ride, wish more teams would ingrain it into their identity. If you have the speed and the horses, I don’t see why you wouldn’t test opposing defensive personnel’s stick work and see how many long passes they can string together. Back to the point, I like this one to go into OT, could be anyone’s game.

So, purely hypothetical here, I don’t see any of these teams beating NJIT.

Hear me out, there is a distinct size and speed difference when going between divisions. A player or two makes a lion out of Bates. Imagine an entire roster of them, wearing NJIT uniforms. Oh wait they’re out there. On NJIT. Mic Drop.