Teams on the verge of something....

[Laxattackjack]

Kenyon is on the rise with young talent, and could be a problem for Denison this season and the next several. I would love to see this game in person. Both could upset some traditional powers if the opportunities come.

RPI is once again strong, but I haven't seen them win consistently. If they finally beat Union and Williams maybe they turn the corner.

Babson is great to have in the conversation, definitely on the rise the last few seasons. However, I wonder if they plateau this season having lost their big shooters (Price and Span). I have heard they have some solid transfers, so maybe they keep building.

MIT? Gebhart is gone, and with him goes a lot of offense. Not as on the verge now I believe. I hope I am proved wrong as having MIT and its level of academics also putting out a high caliber lax team is just great.

Swarthmore will be fun to watch this season and the next few to see if they become more predictable in W column. Can they win the Centennial? Obviously there are a few teams in the way.

RPI could be tough to beat this year. they appear to have (one of ) the best goalie in D3. they have a very good fogo. He went 10 of 16 against york fogo who has been one of the best in D3. any teams with one of the best goalies and best fogos will be tough to beat.

[justanotherperson]

Agree with all of these. Swat, RPI and Babson have been trending up for a couple of years and I like their outlook. Gress is a class act and seems to have put some pieces together. Dont disagree with Kenyon either and it will be interesting to see if they can jump to the next level. Haverford has a great new coach who can recruit as well. Obviously this year is not his recruits but I think they will surprise. Finally with MIT, their success from year to year s purely dependent on who meets the academic requirements to get in. O'Keefe may have the toughest job in lacrosse; I dont know if any other colleges where recruiting is as academically stringent as theirs. I had heard Williams only gets allocated 6 student athletes and the rest have to get in on their own but I am not close to their process. It is only one player but MIT does have their big sophomore middie who is an absolute beast and was previously committed to yale whom I would expect to take a bug jump this year after a successful freshman campaign.

[VTLaxGuy]

Good list. Thanks to everybody for chiming in. I always like watching these teams to see them building to something special.

RPI certainly moved themselves to the top of this list this weekend. Wow. Big win.
Swarthmore is interesting too. If I'm not mistaking, the Vassar loss last year was in a blizzard...they still played the game, and lost but I think the rest of their season showed who they really are. Two wins vs Gettysburg is crazy. Very curious to see how they do this year.

The team I'm putting on everybody's radar....and let me be clear, this is a 3-4 year radar....is the University of Hartford.

Transitioned from D1 to D3 over the past two years, just brought in 30 something freshmen this year. I believe they will work their way towards the top of the non-NESCAC New England list in short time. Likely a notch below the Endicott / Sprinfield / WNE / Babson's of the region....They'll be in the CCC with the Gulls and Bears; I say in 4 years they're playing both teams tough.

Great location. Close proximity to a lot of really good high school lacrosse. Literal D1 facilities at a D3 school. Could be a great recipe for success.

[SaltCounty]

Speaking of CCC Lacrosse
If the Conference Championship is Endicott or WNE - it will be that team's 11th CCC Championship.
Both currently have 10.

Since joining the league in 2008, WNE has won 10 of their 15 Conference Championship Games.
9 of them against Endicott, the other against Roger Williams in 2013.

On the other hand, Endicott has won 5 of their 15 Conference Championship Games (the other 5 came before 2008)
4 of them against WNE, the other against NEC in 2010.

I am not ready to say Hartford is 3-4 years away.
I think RWU is clear and away that next team.
And believe that Coach Gould can get them over the hump and back into the CCC Final

[laxxer27]

I am not ready to say Hartford is 3-4 years away.
I think RWU is clear and away that next team.
And believe that Coach Gould can get them over the hump and back into the CCC Final

i dont know but RWU did not look good at Bentley on saturday. they got plastered.

[creasecranker]

I think a few teams in the SAA are on the verge... Rhodes, Sewanee, and Centre all could make that leap in the next year or so. Multiple first-round tournament wins out of the conference and it is only getting stronger.

[ShotGunTrad]

Skidmore and Vassar.
Skidmore OOC games are nothing to write home about, They could enter conference games maybe undefeated then we will see. They have always been well coached. Depth could be a problem.
If the Vassar administration wants it mens lacrosse could rise. Look at Swarthmore. And , Vassar handled Swat last year. This year they might surprise some Liberty teams.

Other teams would include Baldwin Wallace, John Carroll and Allegheny.

Vassar beat Swat on a snow covered Vassar field where the Swat guys were not allowed to wear cleats. Total circus. I think this year will show a different story.

[SaltCounty]

Skidmore and Vassar.
Skidmore OOC games are nothing to write home about, They could enter conference games maybe undefeated then we will see. They have always been well coached. Depth could be a problem.
If the Vassar administration wants it mens lacrosse could rise. Look at Swarthmore. And , Vassar handled Swat last year. This year they might surprise some Liberty teams.

Other teams would include Baldwin Wallace, John Carroll and Allegheny.

Vassar beat Swat on a snow covered Vassar field where the Swat guys were not allowed to wear cleats. Total circus. I think this year will show a different story.

Vassar & Swat play every year.
They know the surface they're playing on.

[SixBySix]

Vassar & Swat play every year.
They know the surface they're playing on.

Sure, but the issue wasn't the field surface. It was the 4 inches of wet snow on top of it. Realistically, if the schools were closer there is no way they would have played in those conditions (though it wouldn't be the first time that match-up has been moved significantly due to weather).

[shorelax12]

I think a few teams in the SAA are on the verge... Rhodes, Sewanee, and Centre all could make that leap in the next year or so. Multiple first-round tournament wins out of the conference and it is only getting stronger.

They have certainly been aggressive on the recruiting front and social media, especially Centre. I do not have time to look at rosters, but where are most of their players coming from. While it may be harder for them to recruit a kid form the Northeast because of geography considerations, as the sport grows, they may have access to more regional talent.

[laxdad1434]

Skidmore and Vassar.
Skidmore OOC games are nothing to write home about, They could enter conference games maybe undefeated then we will see. They have always been well coached. Depth could be a problem.
If the Vassar administration wants it mens lacrosse could rise. Look at Swarthmore. And , Vassar handled Swat last year. This year they might surprise some Liberty teams.

Other teams would include Baldwin Wallace, John Carroll and Allegheny.

Skidmore does not look good against a very bad Emerson team. If they play like that against Kean, they lose by 10-15 goals.