But did Shires, and Middleton get adequate playing time to really show how much potential they have? They got time when Johnson and another were injured. But where do they fit in now, with Railey, Johnson, Mcnulty, Hughes (if he's 100% healthy)Peter Brown wrote: ↑Thu Sep 05, 2019 9:02 amNovaHound wrote: ↑Thu Sep 05, 2019 8:18 am You forgot Railey. Handled the position very well after missing two full seasons. I think he's going to be a confident and vocal leader out there because he's gone through 1 full season and got his chops in. And I don't think he'll be concerened about reinjuring anything. Also - He plays smart defense.
I've heard good things about LeBlanc and he's also battled injuries. Seems like half of Toomey's defensemen have had their share of injuries but someone always seems to step up. That's good coaching and recruiting.
Have not heard how Hughes is doing after his injury. If he's 100% watch out. And I do like the 4 SSDMs you mentioned. I think a couple of them got dinged up last year too. Depth is so important.
Anyway - great lax discourse.
An area where this thread has forgotten to discuss (have we?...I am too tired to read back too many pages) is LSM. I actually think this is our greatest strength.
McNulty, Middleton, Shires, and the kid, vandenHeuvel. These four guys are beyond legit. When you pair any of these guys with our SSDM, that is a phenomenal squad with actual depth, not pretend depth. If one guy goes down with an injury, we won't lose much in production.
Btw, I note that the roster page has Pacheco at FO, not middie, even though I think Toomey will use him more at middie provided he doesn't go at .600+ when he takes FO's, then it's on like donkey-kong among Pacheco, Savio, and Cottone for the starting FOGO role.
Vandenheuvel- hes the rookie here. All we have is highlights, which is just to show exactly highlights of performance in games. A small sample.
Slight problem with the SSDMS- Boland and Higgins are seniors and Benus is a junior. In one year we will lose the senior defensive midfielders, this position needs to be addressed
On another note I will give credit to Toomey, the fact that many defenseman/players were nicked up and the team was still able to make a quarterfinals run albeit it with the greatest player to ever play for Loyola along with a top goalie, shows that maybe if fully healthy they can replicate success.
We only know weekend games and their on field results, but we don't know the extent of locker rooms, player dynamics, treatment, injuries, and on field practice (UNLESS one of us actually attends practices to watch)
The only one that knows what it's like on the inside for college athletics is thatsmell as he actually played for Evergreen, at least i think so.