Declining Programs

[Brownlax]

What is PSU doing? Watched Colorado beat them Friday. O'Neil barely touched the ball in a close game, I hope she is healthy. Their ranking is probably due to the talent on the team, not the poor coaching. That is a prime job if I'm a coach on the rise to make a great program.

Missy needs to go. Chases off every assistant she has in a year or two and it’s not like they are leaving for better programs. Another new offensive coordinator in this year that’s not allowed to implement the offense she wants to do. Van Thof will be gone on a year. Like everyone else.

agree about PSU and the coaching - with those facilities and backing, there is NO reason why they shouldn't be in the top 10 every year except coaching and recruiting has been subpar, which is kind.

Also, won't be a good year for the Patriot league, every team is worse than than last year, even Loyola - but for them, only slightly.

So I’ve been watching this post and not commenting, but I feel compelled to shed some light. My daughter was heavily recruited by all of the B1G schools, and when we got to PSU for visit, coach Doherty said to her, “I have no idea who you are but my staff says you’re great.” That sealed it. No way was she committing to PSU when she had many better teams and coaches who did the research wanting to coach her. Lazy recruiting, late to the game on the big name players.

As for Florida, my daughter played there 4 years. It’s a culture problem stemming from the HC. Think high school and middle school drama perpetuated by a class system. If you don’t start, you might as well be invisible to the coaching staff. How many girls who played at UF go back and cheer on the team? Not many.

I think that’s really common with a lot (not all) of the older coaches. But you hit PSU on the head for us. At a tourney, If my daughter walks by Katrina Geiger, Shanna Brady, or Nicole Grote they all say hello and call her by name. Missy had no clue who she was. Zero. As many have said. Time for a change. No reason that school isn’t top 15 with what they can offer.

Maybe it is time for a change. My alma mater Brown took forever to make a change. They brought in a great coach in Katrina Dowd and just look at what she has already done with 2 wins over UMASS and Albany. That would not have happened with the old regime. And most importantly - the girls love her and they are having a blast!

[watcherinthewoods]

What is PSU doing? Watched Colorado beat them Friday. O'Neil barely touched the ball in a close game, I hope she is healthy. Their ranking is probably due to the talent on the team, not the poor coaching. That is a prime job if I'm a coach on the rise to make a great program.

Missy needs to go. Chases off every assistant she has in a year or two and it’s not like they are leaving for better programs. Another new offensive coordinator in this year that’s not allowed to implement the offense she wants to do. Van Thof will be gone on a year. Like everyone else.

agree about PSU and the coaching - with those facilities and backing, there is NO reason why they shouldn't be in the top 10 every year except coaching and recruiting has been subpar, which is kind.

Also, won't be a good year for the Patriot league, every team is worse than than last year, even Loyola - but for them, only slightly.

So I’ve been watching this post and not commenting, but I feel compelled to shed some light. My daughter was heavily recruited by all of the B1G schools, and when we got to PSU for visit, coach Doherty said to her, “I have no idea who you are but my staff says you’re great.” That sealed it. No way was she committing to PSU when she had many better teams and coaches who did the research wanting to coach her. Lazy recruiting, late to the game on the big name players.

As for Florida, my daughter played there 4 years. It’s a culture problem stemming from the HC. Think high school and middle school drama perpetuated by a class system. If you don’t start, you might as well be invisible to the coaching staff. How many girls who played at UF go back and cheer on the team? Not many.

I think that’s really common with a lot (not all) of the older coaches. But you hit PSU on the head for us. At a tourney, If my daughter walks by Katrina Geiger, Shanna Brady, or Nicole Grote they all say hello and call her by name. Missy had no clue who she was. Zero. As many have said. Time for a change. No reason that school isn’t top 15 with what they can offer.

Maybe it is time for a change. My alma mater Brown took forever to make a change. They brought in a great coach in Katrina Dowd and just look at what she has already done with 2 wins over UMASS and Albany. That would not have happened with the old regime. And most importantly - the girls love her and they are having a blast!
[/quot

Love to hear this, especially the FUN part. Three contemporaries of my daughter chose Brown ... and only one managed to survive the former coach and play all four years. The culture there was pretty notorious. Welcome to the Ivies, Katrina!

[spidey44]

spidey44--

You need to expand on this one a bit more!

I will!!! in 6 years

WE need you to create a burner account!

What? This isn't burner enough? LOL. These examples are too specific and I don't want to out anyone else until they've used up eligibility We were just really surprised at the way some schools went about with recruiting. Some blew us away, and some we were like "are you even trying?" Again, in a few years I can give some examples

[LaxPundit07]

Penn State. They reinvested in lacrosse a while back and brought in Tambroni and Missy at the same time. It was supposed to be a rebirth of the sport there. It was certainly a rebirth for the men. Not exactly sure what Missy has done to keep her job during this tenure.

[lacrossemwj]

What is PSU doing? Watched Colorado beat them Friday. O'Neil barely touched the ball in a close game, I hope she is healthy. Their ranking is probably due to the talent on the team, not the poor coaching. That is a prime job if I'm a coach on the rise to make a great program.

Missy needs to go. Chases off every assistant she has in a year or two and it’s not like they are leaving for better programs. Another new offensive coordinator in this year that’s not allowed to implement the offense she wants to do. Van Thof will be gone on a year. Like everyone else.

agree about PSU and the coaching - with those facilities and backing, there is NO reason why they shouldn't be in the top 10 every year except coaching and recruiting has been subpar, which is kind.

Also, won't be a good year for the Patriot league, every team is worse than than last year, even Loyola - but for them, only slightly.

So I’ve been watching this post and not commenting, but I feel compelled to shed some light. My daughter was heavily recruited by all of the B1G schools, and when we got to PSU for visit, coach Doherty said to her, “I have no idea who you are but my staff says you’re great.” That sealed it. No way was she committing to PSU when she had many better teams and coaches who did the research wanting to coach her. Lazy recruiting, late to the game on the big name players.

As for Florida, my daughter played there 4 years. It’s a culture problem stemming from the HC. Think high school and middle school drama perpetuated by a class system. If you don’t start, you might as well be invisible to the coaching staff. How many girls who played at UF go back and cheer on the team? Not many.

I think that’s really common with a lot (not all) of the older coaches. But you hit PSU on the head for us. At a tourney, If my daughter walks by Katrina Geiger, Shanna Brady, or Nicole Grote they all say hello and call her by name. Missy had no clue who she was. Zero. As many have said. Time for a change. No reason that school isn’t top 15 with what they can offer.

Maybe it is time for a change. My alma mater Brown took forever to make a change. They brought in a great coach in Katrina Dowd and just look at what she has already done with 2 wins over UMASS and Albany. That would not have happened with the old regime. And most importantly - the girls love her and they are having a blast!

Brown looked great yesterday, but I also noticed that they have something like 16 seniors on the roster. That has to be an advantage to any team, even in the absence of good coaching. If the old regime was not good, how did so many girls manage to stick it out?

[MolonLaxe]

Say what you want about ol' Johnny, but he still has the best single season record (2018) in Tech history (14-7 5-2 vs ACC [regular season]) which included wins over #17 Notre Dame, #18 Syracuse, #17 Virginia and #10 Duke, who they beat again in the ACC tournament. They won a first round game in the ACC conference tournament and a first round NCAA win over Georgetown. It didn't end well for Sung, but he had a solid team in 2018.

(14-7, 5-2 ACC)

Feb. 9 #8 USC L 5-11
Feb. 14 at #8 James Madison L 11-16
Feb. 17 Old Dominion W 20-3
Feb. 21 Campbell W 17-8
Feb. 24 #10 Duke* W 17-14
Feb. 28 George Mason W 9-8 (OT)
Mar. 4 at Colorado L 3-18
Mar. 7 at #16 Denver W 11-5
Mar. 11 #17 Notre Dame* W 9-6
Mar. 18 Delaware W 17-10
Mar. 21 VCU W 22-7
Mar. 24 at Elon W 14-12
Mar. 28 at #5 UNC* L 12-13
Mar. 31 at Louisville* W 15-14
Apr. 7 #18 Syracuse* W 15-14(2OT)
Apr. 14 at #2 Boston College* L 7-9
Apr. 21 at #17 Virginia* W 16-12
Apr. 26 vs Duke^ W 13-12
Apr. 27 vs #5 North Carolina^ L 8-14
May 11 vs Georgetown $ W 13-10
May 13 vs North Carolina $ L 8-17
^denotes conference tournament played in Durham, North Carolina
$denotes NCAA tournament played in Raleigh, North Carolina

In this clip, Virginia Tech finished off Notre Dame for the first time in program history with a 9-6 victory. Marissa Davey scores the Hokies 9th on a beautiful goal.

He turned around a Carthage team that wasn't so great. 16-3 in his last full season (2022) before leaving for an AD role. I know who he is, I've met him, but not every kid would like him. I can understand why he may have been asked to leave VT.

[8meterPA]

Penn State. They reinvested in lacrosse a while back and brought in Tambroni and Missy at the same time. It was supposed to be a rebirth of the sport there. It was certainly a rebirth for the men. Not exactly sure what Missy has done to keep her job during this tenure.

well they beat Pitt on Monday, so Missy's job is safe for another year!!

[intheknow247]

You would have to include Louisville on the team on the decline list except they haven’t been good for a long time if at all. They don’t have a lot of talent or coaching.

They won the Big East in 2014 and were in the top 20 for like 4 years in a row and top 10 for one of those. Then there was the coaching mess and transfer of a bunch of players around 2017. They also had the basketball scandal and AD stuff at the same time hurting the school name.

But that was 6 seasons ago, time enough to rebuild. Only one winning season since 2018, which was a shortened COVID season were they didn't play most of the ACC games. Just 4 ACC wins since 2018. And they just lost to 2nd year in D1 Lindenwood.

I think they had the first women's lacrosse-only stadium in the country. That seat's gotta be getting hot.

Yes, Kellie Young -- for all her foibles -- built the program from scratch to a #5 ranking. She could identify, recruit, and coach talent. Her dismissal may well have been warranted, but Louisville has way too much to offer to be stuck in this downward spiral under Scott Teeter. The facilities are terrific, the school treats its athletes well and prioritizes them, they play in the ACC, and the city has much to offer outside of school. After famously letting it slip a year or two into his tenure that the program will turn around once "his recruits" come on board, Teeter has utterly failed. Many bad losses, virtually no upset wins, and constant underachievement. The tired refrain about his coaching abilities has proven false. It also is no accident that he is the only male ACC women's lacrosse coach. It is well past time for a change.

Geeesh...no worries about throwing out some discriminatory sex abilities here...Gary Gait and Joe Spallina might have something to say about that!

Read my previous response. This was not a general comment claiming that men can't successfully coach women.

Not doing a dig, you can...here is your quote - "It also is no accident that he is the only male ACC women's lacrosse coach".

[Brownlax]

What is PSU doing? Watched Colorado beat them Friday. O'Neil barely touched the ball in a close game, I hope she is healthy. Their ranking is probably due to the talent on the team, not the poor coaching. That is a prime job if I'm a coach on the rise to make a great program.

Missy needs to go. Chases off every assistant she has in a year or two and it’s not like they are leaving for better programs. Another new offensive coordinator in this year that’s not allowed to implement the offense she wants to do. Van Thof will be gone on a year. Like everyone else.

agree about PSU and the coaching - with those facilities and backing, there is NO reason why they shouldn't be in the top 10 every year except coaching and recruiting has been subpar, which is kind.

Also, won't be a good year for the Patriot league, every team is worse than than last year, even Loyola - but for them, only slightly.

So I’ve been watching this post and not commenting, but I feel compelled to shed some light. My daughter was heavily recruited by all of the B1G schools, and when we got to PSU for visit, coach Doherty said to her, “I have no idea who you are but my staff says you’re great.” That sealed it. No way was she committing to PSU when she had many better teams and coaches who did the research wanting to coach her. Lazy recruiting, late to the game on the big name players.

As for Florida, my daughter played there 4 years. It’s a culture problem stemming from the HC. Think high school and middle school drama perpetuated by a class system. If you don’t start, you might as well be invisible to the coaching staff. How many girls who played at UF go back and cheer on the team? Not many.

I think that’s really common with a lot (not all) of the older coaches. But you hit PSU on the head for us. At a tourney, If my daughter walks by Katrina Geiger, Shanna Brady, or Nicole Grote they all say hello and call her by name. Missy had no clue who she was. Zero. As many have said. Time for a change. No reason that school isn’t top 15 with what they can offer.

Maybe it is time for a change. My alma mater Brown took forever to make a change. They brought in a great coach in Katrina Dowd and just look at what she has already done with 2 wins over UMASS and Albany. That would not have happened with the old regime. And most importantly - the girls love her and they are having a blast!

Brown looked great yesterday, but I also noticed that they have something like 16 seniors on the roster. That has to be an advantage to any team, even in the absence of good coaching. If the old regime was not good, how did so many girls manage to stick it out?

Good research on the 16 seniors. First of all, I have no idea how that is even possible because the average Ivy recruiting class is about 8-9 kids so that is definitely an anomaly. I can tell you that under the old regime, Brown had the 2nd highest attrition rate in the Ivies (Columbia was 2nd). So many girls quit the program in the past. Players had gone to the alumni and the old AD but nothing was done. It wasn't until the new AD came in that they decided that a change was long overdue.

[Relax77]

spidey44--

You need to expand on this one a bit more!

I will!!! in 6 years

WE need you to create a burner account!

What? This isn't burner enough? LOL. These examples are too specific and I don't want to out anyone else until they've used up eligibility We were just really surprised at the way some schools went about with recruiting. Some blew us away, and some we were like "are you even trying?" Again, in a few years I can give some examples

[Relax77]

spidey44--

You need to expand on this one a bit more!

I will!!! in 6 years

WE need you to create a burner account!

What? This isn't burner enough? LOL. These examples are too specific and I don't want to out anyone else until they've used up eligibility We were just really surprised at the way some schools went about with recruiting. Some blew us away, and some we were like "are you even trying?" Again, in a few years I can give some examples

Haha. I gave them all up in the recruiting page. USF is a turd show as discussed ad nauseum. Rutgers was a turd show.
Albany and UMass seemed like had no clue what they are doing and must be family with IL. PSU as discussed is a joke. Richmond. “We love your daughter. Here’s the offer. She has three days to accept.” 1st week of Sept.
The good experiences. JMU, Michigan, JHU, ND and plenty of schools outside top 30. The schools outside the top 30 were great with the exception of one or two.

[Kleizaster]

Penn State. They reinvested in lacrosse a while back and brought in Tambroni and Missy at the same time. It was supposed to be a rebirth of the sport there. It was certainly a rebirth for the men. Not exactly sure what Missy has done to keep her job during this tenure.

it's funny because Penn State could have easily went the opposite way and been successful. They had the recruiting. They had some impressive wins. and then momentum just..died. It's really odd. I have no idea what happened. It's kind of frustrating and i'm not even a Penn State fan.

[Finster]

What is PSU doing? Watched Colorado beat them Friday. O'Neil barely touched the ball in a close game, I hope she is healthy. Their ranking is probably due to the talent on the team, not the poor coaching. That is a prime job if I'm a coach on the rise to make a great program.

Missy needs to go. Chases off every assistant she has in a year or two and it’s not like they are leaving for better programs. Another new offensive coordinator in this year that’s not allowed to implement the offense she wants to do. Van Thof will be gone on a year. Like everyone else.

agree about PSU and the coaching - with those facilities and backing, there is NO reason why they shouldn't be in the top 10 every year except coaching and recruiting has been subpar, which is kind.

Also, won't be a good year for the Patriot league, every team is worse than than last year, even Loyola - but for them, only slightly.

So I’ve been watching this post and not commenting, but I feel compelled to shed some light. My daughter was heavily recruited by all of the B1G schools, and when we got to PSU for visit, coach Doherty said to her, “I have no idea who you are but my staff says you’re great.” That sealed it. No way was she committing to PSU when she had many better teams and coaches who did the research wanting to coach her. Lazy recruiting, late to the game on the big name players.

As for Florida, my daughter played there 4 years. It’s a culture problem stemming from the HC. Think high school and middle school drama perpetuated by a class system. If you don’t start, you might as well be invisible to the coaching staff. How many girls who played at UF go back and cheer on the team? Not many.

I generally only discuss men’s lacrosse since it’s what I know. But I was intrigued by this thread.

Regarding your post, I have a very good friend whose daughter was recruited heavily by many D1 schools. I told her to go to Maryland whose coach just seems beloved by her girls; I’m fanatical about going to schools where the coach is a proven leader. She chose Florida. I’m not sure I’ve seen a young lady regret a decision more. Awful to spend four years in any program that you don’t like.

[eastcoastlax]

Hoyas = Bottomed out 10 years ago and still there
PSU = Yep
UVA = On the way back up ... lotsa youngsters making contributions, a breath of fresh air at HC, and THE GROUNDS. They will be back in the top 10 in 2026.

Sorry but UVA will not be moving up anytime soon. The AD could not care less about Womens lax and the new staff was hired in a panic move as the firing/ leaving of the previous HC was late to happen . Looks to me like 6 of their top players are done after this year . Sorry but the new HC was not exactly overly successful at her previous program and now is in the ACC which is always brutal. They should have hired a younger big name to turn it around . As far as their youth movement , good luck as I don’t exactly think they are one of the top freshman classes . Making a coaching change just to make a change does not work unless the new coach is better than the old coach.

[Brownlax]

Hoyas = Bottomed out 10 years ago and still there
PSU = Yep
UVA = On the way back up ... lotsa youngsters making contributions, a breath of fresh air at HC, and THE GROUNDS. They will be back in the top 10 in 2026.

Sorry but UVA will not be moving up anytime soon. The AD could not care less about Womens lax and the new staff was hired in a panic move as the firing/ leaving of the previous HC was late to happen . Looks to me like 6 of their top players are done after this year . Sorry but the new HC was not exactly overly successful at her previous program and now is in the ACC which is always brutal. They should have hired a younger big name to turn it around . As far as their youth movement , good luck as I don’t exactly think they are one of the top freshman classes . Making a coaching change just to make a change does not work unless the new coach is better than the old coach.

Way to come out swinging on your first ever FanLax post

[LaxGnome22]

Hoyas = Bottomed out 10 years ago and still there
PSU = Yep
UVA = On the way back up ... lotsa youngsters making contributions, a breath of fresh air at HC, and THE GROUNDS. They will be back in the top 10 in 2026.

Sorry but UVA will not be moving up anytime soon. The AD could not care less about Womens lax and the new staff was hired in a panic move as the firing/ leaving of the previous HC was late to happen . Looks to me like 6 of their top players are done after this year . Sorry but the new HC was not exactly overly successful at her previous program and now is in the ACC which is always brutal. They should have hired a younger big name to turn it around . As far as their youth movement , good luck as I don’t exactly think they are one of the top freshman classes . Making a coaching change just to make a change does not work unless the new coach is better than the old coach.

Way to come out swinging on your first ever FanLax post

Come on bro. That's not his first post. It’s his first post under that screen name.

[OuttaNowhereWregget]

Sorry but UVA will not be moving up anytime soon. The AD could not care less about Womens lax and the new staff was hired in a panic move as the firing/ leaving of the previous HC was late to happen . Looks to me like 6 of their top players are done after this year . Sorry but the new HC was not exactly overly successful at her previous program and now is in the ACC which is always brutal. They should have hired a younger big name to turn it around . As far as their youth movement , good luck as I don’t exactly think they are one of the top freshman classes . Making a coaching change just to make a change does not work unless the new coach is better than the old coach.

Welcome eastcoastlax. Great first post. Unvarnished, direct, cutting, interesting. Hopefully more to come (regardless of screen name).

[MolonLaxe]

Hoyas = Bottomed out 10 years ago and still there
PSU = Yep
UVA = On the way back up ... lotsa youngsters making contributions, a breath of fresh air at HC, and THE GROUNDS. They will be back in the top 10 in 2026.

Sorry but UVA will not be moving up anytime soon. The AD could not care less about Womens lax and the new staff was hired in a panic move as the firing/ leaving of the previous HC was late to happen . Looks to me like 6 of their top players are done after this year . Sorry but the new HC was not exactly overly successful at her previous program and now is in the ACC which is always brutal. They should have hired a younger big name to turn it around . As far as their youth movement , good luck as I don’t exactly think they are one of the top freshman classes . Making a coaching change just to make a change does not work unless the new coach is better than the old coach.

Way to come out swinging on your first ever FanLax post

Come on bro. That's not his first post. It’s his first post under that screen name.

Definitely a burner and they don’t have Lamonica on their Christmas Card list.

[NULax2]

Hoyas = Bottomed out 10 years ago and still there
PSU = Yep
UVA = On the way back up ... lotsa youngsters making contributions, a breath of fresh air at HC, and THE GROUNDS. They will be back in the top 10 in 2026.

Sorry but UVA will not be moving up anytime soon. The AD could not care less about Womens lax and the new staff was hired in a panic move as the firing/ leaving of the previous HC was late to happen . Looks to me like 6 of their top players are done after this year . Sorry but the new HC was not exactly overly successful at her previous program and now is in the ACC which is always brutal. They should have hired a younger big name to turn it around . As far as their youth movement , good luck as I don’t exactly think they are one of the top freshman classes . Making a coaching change just to make a change does not work unless the new coach is better than the old coach.

Way to come out swinging on your first ever FanLax post

Come on bro. That's not his first post. It’s his first post under that screen name.

Definitely a burner and they don’t have Lamonica on their Christmas Card list.

+1

[Womenslaxxfan]

Hoyas = Bottomed out 10 years ago and still there
PSU = Yep
UVA = On the way back up ... lotsa youngsters making contributions, a breath of fresh air at HC, and THE GROUNDS. They will be back in the top 10 in 2026.

Sorry but UVA will not be moving up anytime soon. The AD could not care less about Womens lax and the new staff was hired in a panic move as the firing/ leaving of the previous HC was late to happen . Looks to me like 6 of their top players are done after this year . Sorry but the new HC was not exactly overly successful at her previous program and now is in the ACC which is always brutal. They should have hired a younger big name to turn it around . As far as their youth movement , good luck as I don’t exactly think they are one of the top freshman classes . Making a coaching change just to make a change does not work unless the new coach is better than the old coach.

Way to come out swinging on your first ever FanLax post

Come on bro. That's not his first post. It’s his first post under that screen name.

Definitely a burner and they don’t have Lamonica on their Christmas Card list.

+1

Time will tell. I’ve heard good things coming from Charlottesville in terms of players and parents views of the new coaching staff. I happen to think their frosh talent is performing well so far and Stanford and Princeton, while not top 20 programs this year, aren’t cupcakes either.
I don’t underestimate the attraction of uva for the lacrosse recruit demographic in all sorts of ways—reputation of school, fun factor, geography, etc. . I don’t know about 2026, but I think uva will find their way into the top 5, 10, 15 again.

And agree that poster seems to have an axe to grind with the coaches, not the school itself.