NESCAC

[The12lov3]

Have to say that this year's forum has become painful to read. Everyone is reacting to posts that are clearly meant to generate extreme reactions. Lets talk about lacrosse and prediction of the tournament. We have to possible rematches brewing in Middlebury-Bowdoin and Tufts-Wes. We should be talking about that. We should talking about how no matter what team we all cheer for, we should cheer for the NESCAC to beat all the Liberty team and knock off Salisbury. All this stupid banter is kind of annoying for those of us who actually want to talk about the game.

[AlexHamil11]

Agreed. My predictions for the first weekend of NCAAs for the NESCAC squads.

Tufts:
Will be interesting to see how the extra week off has played out. No chance they lose on Saturday, but Sunday will be a big game for them. Do they come out well rested with a chip on their shoulder or ready for next season?

Wes:
Tough draw for both games this weekend. I’m looking forward to Sunday against SLU, both of these teams could make a push and give Salisbury a run.

Midd:
Don’t write the Panthers off just yet because of a loss in the nescac chip. These boys are a solid team and I predict will have another week of lacrosse after a big Dickinson win.

Bowdoin:
Tough to see RPI so early. Not saying they deserve a better matchup, but this is likely the end of the road for a great senior class.

[TucoBPJMRamirez]

Have to say that this year's forum has become painful to read. Everyone is reacting to posts that are clearly meant to generate extreme reactions. Lets talk about lacrosse and prediction of the tournament. We have to possible rematches brewing in Middlebury-Bowdoin and Tufts-Wes. We should be talking about that. We should talking about how no matter what team we all cheer for, we should cheer for the NESCAC to beat all the Liberty team and knock off Salisbury. All this stupid banter is kind of annoying for those of us who actually want to talk about the game.

Pretty well documented that folks with low self esteem troll people they envy as a way to cope. Knowing this, I smile a little every time I see a post by choochoo/laxdad1434/regulator/etc. That said, the trolling has certainly reduced participation by a number of knowledgeable, long-time posters, which is unfortunate.

Anyway, I'd take Bowdoin and Tufts in those rematches. I felt like Wes played a nearly perfect game to upset Tufts earlier this year and I think the weight of expectations are too heavy for the Cardinals in a rematch. Midd got a number of fortuitous bounces early in the Bowdoin game that got the momentum rolling - those didn't happen against Wes and the Panthers reverted to their very predictable pattern where one player takes (and misses) a vast majority of the shots from waaaay outside.

Here's hoping all 4 teams get that far!

[shorelax12]

Agreed. My predictions for the first weekend of NCAAs for the NESCAC squads.

Tufts:
Will be interesting to see how the extra week off has played out. No chance they lose on Saturday, but Sunday will be a big game for them. Do they come out well rested with a chip on their shoulder or ready for next season?

Wes:
Tough draw for both games this weekend. I’m looking forward to Sunday against SLU, both of these teams could make a push and give Salisbury a run.

Midd:
Don’t write the Panthers off just yet because of a loss in the nescac chip. These boys are a solid team and I predict will have another week of lacrosse after a big Dickinson win.

Bowdoin:
Tough to see RPI so early. Not saying they deserve a better matchup, but this is likely the end of the road for a great senior class.

Agree with the Bowdoin take, but the potential 2nd round games for the entire group are no cake walk, and each of these teams has shown the propensity this season to lay an egg when things are not going their way. Last year, Tufts always seemed able to easily overcome their hiccups, you just knew that the team would get their sh*t together and win the game. Even in the NC game, once Tufts settled in, they started to look good, but obviously not enough to catch up to a team like Salisbury. While the talent is there for each of these teams this year when they are on, it just feels like a few bad mistakes throws things completely out of whack. On the flip side, if one of these teams can keep their foot on the gas and minimize the errors, they can definitely make a run.

[The12lov3]

Agreed. My predictions for the first weekend of NCAAs for the NESCAC squads.

Tufts:
Will be interesting to see how the extra week off has played out. No chance they lose on Saturday, but Sunday will be a big game for them. Do they come out well rested with a chip on their shoulder or ready for next season?

Wes:
Tough draw for both games this weekend. I’m looking forward to Sunday against SLU, both of these teams could make a push and give Salisbury a run.

Midd:
Don’t write the Panthers off just yet because of a loss in the nescac chip. These boys are a solid team and I predict will have another week of lacrosse after a big Dickinson win.

Bowdoin:
Tough to see RPI so early. Not saying they deserve a better matchup, but this is likely the end of the road for a great senior class.

Agree with the Bowdoin take, but the potential 2nd round games for the entire group are no cake walk, and each of these teams has shown the propensity this season to lay an egg when things are not going their way. Last year, Tufts always seemed able to easily overcome their hiccups, you just knew that the team would get their sh*t together and win the game. Even in the NC game, once Tufts settled in, they started to look good, but obviously not enough to catch up to a team like Salisbury. While the talent is there for each of these teams this year when they are on, it just feels like a few bad mistakes throws things completely out of whack. On the flip side, if one of these teams can keep their foot on the gas and minimize the errors, they can definitely make a run.

Shorelax well said. I think any of these teams can play with the big boys just a question of which team shows up. I still think Tufts and Wes are the best of these teams but if anyone lays an egg for a quarter, it will come back to bit them.

[Backlax]

Been a coach and teacher for 30+ years. The best way to extinguish poor behavior is to ignore it. If you guys would't respond the dopes would eventually leave. Good luck to the NESCAC teams.

[Can Opener]

Been a coach and teacher for 30+ years. The best way to extinguish poor behavior is to ignore it. If you guys would't respond the dopes would eventually leave. Good luck to the NESCAC teams.

+1

[Nescac12001]

Been a coach and teacher for 30+ years. The best way to extinguish poor behavior is to ignore it. If you guys would't respond the dopes would eventually leave. Good luck to the NESCAC teams.

Thank you for saying this, agree wholeheartedly

[twohandsonestick]

NESCAC first round picks:

- Midd wins 17-8
- Bowdoin wins 15-11
- Wes wins 9-7 in a close one
- Tufts stomps IWU by 15+

[Backlax]

I think Tufts, Midd, and Bowdoin should all win. Wesleyan could be in a dog fight, although they should win. Also like Babson - their keep is lights out.

[choochooCharlie]

False (as usual). If only every Region I team could have just played Christopher Newport (#2 in Region 3) this year, it would have been win after win. Or Swarthmore (#3 in Region 3), or Gettysburg (#5 Region 3).

Bottom line Region 1 team are 5-1 against Region 3. Babson or Endicott would have had little problem with a team like Christopher Newport. Just look at Williams.

Bout to get REAL, Babson will meet Denison and Endicott Swarthmore. Guess we will get to see how they actually stack up.

[CentennialPundit]

False (as usual). If only every Region I team could have just played Christopher Newport (#2 in Region 3) this year, it would have been win after win. Or Swarthmore (#3 in Region 3), or Gettysburg (#5 Region 3).

Bottom line Region 1 team are 5-1 against Region 3. Babson or Endicott would have had little problem with a team like Christopher Newport. Just look at Williams.

Bout to get REAL, Babson will meet Denison and Endicott Swarthmore. Guess we will get to see how they actually stack up.

What an epic opportunity for this guys hypothetical scenario. Rarely do you get to see such a bold claim put to the test

[Laxattackjack]

False (as usual). If only every Region I team could have just played Christopher Newport (#2 in Region 3) this year, it would have been win after win. Or Swarthmore (#3 in Region 3), or Gettysburg (#5 Region 3).

Bottom line Region 1 team are 5-1 against Region 3. Babson or Endicott would have had little problem with a team like Christopher Newport. Just look at Williams.

Bout to get REAL, Babson will meet Denison and Endicott Swarthmore. Guess we will get to see how they actually stack up.

if babson losses to denison, that will be an embarrassment. i don’t see it happening. denison doesn’t have a good win all year

[choochooCharlie]

False (as usual). If only every Region I team could have just played Christopher Newport (#2 in Region 3) this year, it would have been win after win. Or Swarthmore (#3 in Region 3), or Gettysburg (#5 Region 3).

Bottom line Region 1 team are 5-1 against Region 3. Babson or Endicott would have had little problem with a team like Christopher Newport. Just look at Williams.

Bout to get REAL, Babson will meet Denison and Endicott Swarthmore. Guess we will get to see how they actually stack up.

if babson losses to denison, that will be an embarrassment. i don’t see it happening. denison doesn’t have a good win all year

FWIW laxreference has Denison winning 74 times out of 100 sims vs Babson.

[choochooCharlie]

False (as usual). If only every Region I team could have just played Christopher Newport (#2 in Region 3) this year, it would have been win after win. Or Swarthmore (#3 in Region 3), or Gettysburg (#5 Region 3).

Bottom line Region 1 team are 5-1 against Region 3. Babson or Endicott would have had little problem with a team like Christopher Newport. Just look at Williams.

Bout to get REAL, Babson will meet Denison and Endicott Swarthmore. Guess we will get to see how they actually stack up.

What an epic opportunity for this guys hypothetical scenario. Rarely do you get to see such a bold claim put to the test

100%. It couldn’t be that Bowdoin was down. The narrative HAD to be that these teams were suddenly contenders. Keyboards wrote the checks. Now the it’s time for some cashing.

Babson and Endicott are both ranked in arguably D-III’s deepest region!

#downyear #CNUbyaBillion

[SixBySix]

FWIW laxreference has Denison winning 74 times out of 100 sims vs Babson.

I think LaxReference has improved a lot this year, but their Elo model has failed to adequately account for the geographic imbalance in D3 lacrosse for years. They consistently have Midwestern teams wildly overrated and the correction factors when they get smoked by mediocre OOC opponents is way too low. Massey has the Beavers as 72% favorites and Laxpower has them as 3.5 goal favorites, which I think is a much more accurate assessment.

[choochooCharlie]

FWIW laxreference has Denison winning 74 times out of 100 sims vs Babson.

I think LaxReference has improved a lot this year, but their Elo model has failed to adequately account for the geographic imbalance in D3 lacrosse for years. They consistently have Midwestern teams wildly overrated and the correction factors when they get smoked by mediocre OOC opponents is way too low. Massey has the Beavers as 72% favorites and Laxpower has them as 3.5 goal favorites, which I think is a much more accurate assessment.

Fair. Does Massey have a result prediction for Endicott Swarthmore?

[SixBySix]

Fair. Does Massey have a result prediction for Endicott Swarthmore?

Expecting a barn burner, 58% Garnet, 14-13 projected final. https://masseyratings.com/game.php?gid=940476613

[choochooCharlie]

Fair. Does Massey have a result prediction for Endicott Swarthmore?

Expecting a barn burner, 58% Garnet, 14-13 projected final. https://masseyratings.com/game.php?gid=940476613

Spicy. Also seeing 68% 2 goal diff now for Babson. Maybe it’s changed. https://masseyratings.com/game.php?s0=5 ... &oid1=2139

Glad it’s actually happening. That will tell the tale

[choochooCharlie]

Been a coach and teacher for 30+ years. The best way to extinguish poor behavior is to ignore it.

What? You’re ignoring bad locker room behavior as a coach?
You’re ignoring the behavior of the bad kid in class as a teacher?
Youve been ignoring it for 30 years? How’s that working out?