NESCAC

[justanotherperson]

Anyone see both Midd-Bowdoin games? What changed that Bowdoin had so much trouble second time around? Also doesn’t seem like Bowdoin has ever been to a final 4 in school history, so even more on line for them. But a 8 hour bus ride from Maine is brutal. Let’s just hope Tufts gets by Salisbury and it is somehow an all Nescac final. That will shut up the haters

Among other things, Midd's loss of Simpson and Zink preseason made them unavailable for the first matchup.

Agreed, let’s ignore the nonsense and talk about 3 teams in the Elite 8, something most conferences have never and will never accomplish.

This is a great point on Zink/Simpson, arguably their two best players right now and they’ve only played in the same game 7 times this year. Within those 7 games are wins over Dickinson, Bowdoin, Amherst, Geneseo. The Panthers are a different team right now than when they struggled early season.

Zink, Simpson, Dummer and Hickey all out for the first Bowdoin game...in other words Zink and half the defense. Simpson was 3rd in NESCAC last year in caused turnovers. Curran, Tarr, and Dummer are all top 20 this year. A healthy Midd defense has been pretty formidable down the stretch, and having Zink back adds a new element on offense. It's not the same Midd team that Bowdoin faced in Week 3.

I do worry about Simpson being off and on with injuries this season, anyone else think his fitness has been lacking? Maybe a few too many Magic Hat's up there in VT coming for his waistline, one heck of a stick though

Sadly Magic Hat is no longer brewed in VT near Middlebury as they brew out of state. I’m partial to Long Trail and Fiddle head anyways. Both tough on the waistline.

#9 was an original. Love me some Fiddle.

But the hands down faves right now are Foam and HIll Farmstead

[choochooCharlie]

Tufts 23 SJF 12
Midd 11 Bowdoin 10
RIT 17 CNU 14
Sal 18 W&L 11

Sunday
Salisbury 15 tufts 8
RIT 17 midd 5

[BallHunt]

Anyone see both Midd-Bowdoin games? What changed that Bowdoin had so much trouble second time around? Also doesn’t seem like Bowdoin has ever been to a final 4 in school history, so even more on line for them. But a 8 hour bus ride from Maine is brutal. Let’s just hope Tufts gets by Salisbury and it is somehow an all Nescac final. That will shut up the haters

Among other things, Midd's loss of Simpson and Zink preseason made them unavailable for the first matchup.

Agreed, let’s ignore the nonsense and talk about 3 teams in the Elite 8, something most conferences have never and will never accomplish.

This is a great point on Zink/Simpson, arguably their two best players right now and they’ve only played in the same game 7 times this year. Within those 7 games are wins over Dickinson, Bowdoin, Amherst, Geneseo. The Panthers are a different team right now than when they struggled early season.

Zink, Simpson, Dummer and Hickey all out for the first Bowdoin game...in other words Zink and half the defense. Simpson was 3rd in NESCAC last year in caused turnovers. Curran, Tarr, and Dummer are all top 20 this year. A healthy Midd defense has been pretty formidable down the stretch, and having Zink back adds a new element on offense. It's not the same Midd team that Bowdoin faced in Week 3.

I do worry about Simpson being off and on with injuries this season, anyone else think his fitness has been lacking? Maybe a few too many Magic Hat's up there in VT coming for his waistline, one heck of a stick though

Sadly Magic Hat is no longer brewed in VT near Middlebury as they brew out of state. I’m partial to Long Trail and Fiddle head anyways. Both tough on the waistline.

#9 was an original. Love me some Fiddle.

But the hands down faves right now are Foam and HIll Farmstead

Must keep the Double Fiddle away from open flames, strong juice!

[Devil4Life]

Tufts 23 SJF 12
Midd 11 Bowdoin 10
RIT 17 CNU 14
Sal 18 W&L 11

Sunday
Salisbury 15 tufts 8
RIT 17 midd 5

I’ll take MC plus 12 goals vs anybody
Wick is nasty inside

[choochooCharlie]

Tufts 23 SJF 12
Midd 11 Bowdoin 10
RIT 17 CNU 14
Sal 18 W&L 11

Sunday
Salisbury 15 tufts 8
RIT 17 midd 5

I’ll take MC plus 12 goals vs anybody
Wick is nasty inside

Well my RIT CNU score was close enough at 19-15

We shall see. I could be wrong, but I think think the Hyde half of midd shows up.

[choochooCharlie]

1-0 midd more than half way through the first. Super sloppy. Back to the Duke game I go.

[choochooCharlie]

Could the #downyear end with an all-NESCAC final?
The plot thickens.

[Leonard Washington]

Could the #downyear end with an all-NESCAC final?
The plot thickens.

In a word...No

In two words... Probably not

In three words...Maybe next year

[The12lov3]

Guess Tufts had a down year. Lets see if they can bring one home for the NESCAC.

[SouthieLax]

Jack Boyden gets a hattrick for UVA in their 11-10 2OT win over Hopkins in D1 Quarters on same day Tufts heads back to the D3 National Championship. Meanwhile all the graduate students from CNU/Salisbury etc…can only watch lacrosse from home. Tufts still has to get through the grads at RIT, but I think it’s time to pump the brakes on bashing the head coach at Tufts. What an impressive reload this year.

[ergit]

Jack Boyden gets a hattrick for UVA in their 11-10 2OT win over Hopkins in D1 Quarters on same day Tufts heads back to the D3 National Championship. Meanwhile all the graduate students from CNU/Salisbury etc…can only watch lacrosse from home. Tufts still has to get through the grads at RIT, but I think it’s time to pump the brakes on bashing the head coach at Tufts. What an impressive reload this year.

Tufts supporters are pumping everything but brakes. It’s been that way for years…

[LongPoleGuy]

Jack Boyden gets a hattrick for UVA in their 11-10 2OT win over Hopkins in D1 Quarters on same day Tufts heads back to the D3 National Championship. Meanwhile all the graduate students from CNU/Salisbury etc…can only watch lacrosse from home. Tufts still has to get through the grads at RIT, but I think it’s time to pump the brakes on bashing the head coach at Tufts. What an impressive reload this year.

Illinois Wesleyan, St John Fisher, Stevenson, and Washington & Lee…they could not have had an easier path to the finals. But hey, they’re there and let’s hope they bring one home for the NESCAC. What a crazy year for D3 lacrosse.

[Laxguy703]

Tufts must of let out of the biggest sigh of relief when they saw W&L upset Salisbury

Coming from a CNU fan, Salisbury was the best team all year and W&L had to play damn near perfect to win that game. Kudos to the Generals on gutting out one of the most important wins in their program history, but I know the Tufts faithful would rather see W&L ten times out of ten over the Gulls.

National Championship is going to be a barn burner.

[ah23]

Funny to think about a road that was too tough for Salisbury/Wesleyan/St. Lawrence being viewed as an easy run, but it definitely was.

Only team I’d push back on is W&L: no one lucks into outplaying Salisbury on their own field the way they did. Tufts‘ first three games though…complete cakewalk.

[jumpman23]

Funny to think about a road that was too tough for Salisbury/Wesleyan/St. Lawrence being viewed as an easy run, but it definitely was.

Only team I’d push back on is W&L: no one lucks into outplaying Salisbury on their own field the way they did. Tufts‘ first three games though…complete cakewalk.

Too bad Bowdoin couldn’t pull off the all-NESCAC championship game. For being a team that many thought should not get a bid, they really shut everyone up with a great run. I watched and they dominated Midd in that 4th quarter yesterday after a huge win at RPI. As a NESCAC guy, gotta hesitantly pull for Tufts over RIT.

[RetroChode]

Funny to think about a road that was too tough for Salisbury/Wesleyan/St. Lawrence being viewed as an easy run, but it definitely was.

Only team I’d push back on is W&L: no one lucks into outplaying Salisbury on their own field the way they did. Tufts‘ first three games though…complete cakewalk.

Too bad Bowdoin couldn’t pull off the all-NESCAC championship game. For being a team that many thought should not get a bid, they really shut everyone up with a great run. I watched and they dominated Midd in that 4th quarter yesterday after a huge win at RPI. As a NESCAC guy, gotta hesitantly pull for Tufts over RIT.

As a nescac guy, *gotta pull for anyone but tufts*. there, i fixed it for ya.

Too bad theres no wes/bowdoin/midd to matchup or also represent as well. Here’s to the Tigers from canada getting it done and casey having more sleepless nights

[The12lov3]

Funny to think about a road that was too tough for Salisbury/Wesleyan/St. Lawrence being viewed as an easy run, but it definitely was.

Only team I’d push back on is W&L: no one lucks into outplaying Salisbury on their own field the way they did. Tufts‘ first three games though…complete cakewalk.

Too bad Bowdoin couldn’t pull off the all-NESCAC championship game. For being a team that many thought should not get a bid, they really shut everyone up with a great run. I watched and they dominated Midd in that 4th quarter yesterday after a huge win at RPI. As a NESCAC guy, gotta hesitantly pull for Tufts over RIT.

As a nescac guy, *gotta pull for anyone but tufts*. there, i fixed it for ya.

Too bad theres no wes/bowdoin/midd to matchup or also represent as well. Here’s to the Tigers from canada getting it done and casey having more sleepless nights

RetroChode - Why you such a Casey D hater? Seems like it bothers you that he is one of the best coaches in Div3 lacrosse. Just curious as to why?

[ah23]

Yeah…no shot I’m rooting for a team to win three in four years instead of a team to break through after years of knocking on the door. I don’t think it will happen (think RIT will jump out early and win by 5+), but Tufts is a much better story.

[HockeyLaxGolf42]

If Tufts loses, do the jumbos call Daly? Championship is the standard up in Mass. CD hasn’t been able to finish

[choochooCharlie]

If Tufts loses, do the jumbos call Daly? Championship is the standard up in Mass. CD hasn’t been able to finish

This is exactly what some posters seem to struggle with. Success is relative, as is failure. Salisbury losing in the elite 8 to W&L won’t go down as a successful season for a variety of reasons. But go look at the W&L board from before the game. For a program like W&L, just MAKING the elite 8 was being viewed as a success.

Tufts has had fantastic talent and great years, and as such, dropping the games they have this year, and not even making the NESCAC championship at all, constitutes a down year FOR THEM. If they win the NC, OF COURSE that narrative changes. Anything short of that and it’s just a down year that they happened to make the most of down the stretch.

Yeah…no shot I’m rooting for a team to win three in four years instead of a team to break through after years of knocking on the door. I don’t think it will happen (think RIT will jump out early and win by 5+), but Tufts is a much better story.

To ah23’s point, it is a unique quandary. RIT would be winning 3 in the last 4. People generally don’t like that level of dominance unless it’s their team, and USUALLY the arrogance such a team carries. Not the case here, RIT and their staff has never been suggested to behave in a way other than classy. Conversely, Tufts, the would be “break through” team, has both staff and players that have carefully crafted a persona that is VERY unlikable from anyone outside of their circle (a circle that ironically includes these same posters that just can’t bring themselves to acknowledge the relativity of “success”).

Shouldn’t be so tough to pick, I’ll take a classy program sustaining their success over… well you get it.