NESCAC

[JumboFan4]

A full D3 team/roster at the very top of the division would get annihilated by a top 30 D1 team. Blown out of the arena. Might hang in there for a while with 31-50 roster but not for long. Size, speed, quickness, depth differential would get exposed very quickly. Again - that’s not to slight D3. It’s just reality. Every D3 coach in America will tell you that if they can grab 1 or 2 borderline D1 kids each season then they’ll be very, very good. That’s what they’re trying to do - grab a few low D1 kids to bolster their roster.

I agree if you are talking "Cuse/Duke/ND, but I've been watching the Fairfield games this year against Delaware, Providence & Layfayette and Tufts would roll all of them. I am certainly not a Tufts fan, but they averaged 80 shots/25 goals a game last year, putting up 25 vs Amherst.

Maybe its the rust from not playing, but I'm not impressed with any of those D1 teams, too many turnovers, bad shots and general lack of hustle.

Can't say a NESCAC team like Weslyan (not a fan either) is grabbing a few borderline D1 kids, 6 kids from Chaminade and more from the top Private/Founder's league schools. I know the waterboy at Chaminade gets D1 looks & every kid from a school like Deerfield is recruited before they step on the field for them.

I get what you are saying, but a kid like Colin Minicus gets recruited by every top D1 program out of HS, goes to Amherst & gets drafted in the MLL, he's undersized as well.....

I don't think that's an anomaly, just a shift to the D1 talent, D3 lifestyle movement I see going on

Unless your dad is really pushing you to go D1 for ego reasons, I think the prospect of winning a championship is more powerful than playing at a 15-30 ranked D1 team and when you talk about the academic caliber, alumni base, generous financial aid, and facilities of the schools in the NESCAC, it's not really a surprise to see guys like Minicus at Amherst. It's a sales pitch that resonates a lot better than the mid tier D1's.

[jusreLaxin]

Salisbury played Drexel a few weeks ago.
12-5 Salisbury

https://www.hudl.com/video/2/75464/603b ... 13ec982615

[ah23]

I don't think D-III teams could match up except maybe at the extremes (eg., Salisbury/Tufts/maybe a few more vs. the middle/bottom of D-I). However, I don't think it's a stretch to say that plenty of individual D-III players - and not just 1T AAs - have D-I ability but never considered (or were not recruited to) mid/low tier D-I schools when the alternative was playing competitive lacrosse at a high performing D-III school. This season has been a solid example of that!

More anecdotally: not sure how many D-III alums are in this forum, but I'd imagine that most, if not all, played with someone/multiple people in HS or on a recruiting team who went D-I despite being the same or worse than D-III guys they encountered. That's not meant as a slight against the D-I guy; it's just meant to point out that there are plenty of legit D-I caliber recruits who aren't in D-I for reasons other than talent.

[Patlaxer]

I respectfully disagree.
1 There is a vast difference in the skill levels of both D1 and D3 teams that are top 10 vs 20-30
2 In the early 2000s every year Middlebury would play Dartmouth in a “scrimmage “ conducted under game conditions.
Middlebury was winning D3 championships and Dartmouth was often ranked back then in the top 10 of D1.
The games were remarkably competitive with Middlebury winning often enough that the series was stopped.
3 Many D3 players when given a chance have held their own in the MLL
4 The massive proliferation of lacrosse at the high school level in the past 20 years produces annually far more gifted athletes then spots on top 10 D1 rosters. Many of those athletes choose to play on top D3 programs rather then mid or lower level D1 programs

I believe that top D3 teams would be competitive with D1 teams ranked below the top 20.

[georgeoar394]

chlastawa is a great example..pulling weight on d1 field and is no bigger than 5’6” 160. He plays big

[Heyward]

2 In the early 2000s every year Middlebury would play Dartmouth in a “scrimmage “ conducted under game conditions.
Middlebury was winning D3 championships and Dartmouth was often ranked back then in the top 10 of D1.
The games were remarkably competitive with Middlebury winning often enough that the series was stopped.

Well, I must disagree with this. My son played for Dartmouth then and I saw every game and scrimmage. There was one year in which Middlebury played them very close but they lost by a couple in 4 quarters. Middlebury won the 5th in clear the bench time. I have read for years on Laxpower and the old Inside Lax board how Middlebury won, but with the top players in they didn’t. They played well that day and frankly Dartmouth didn’t. That was a good Middlebury team. The next year the score was 14-0 when coaches went to the benches. The series wasn’t stopped because Middlebury won “often enough” as they never did “win.” With that Dartmouth coach it was hard to know why anything was done. I do believe the top D3 teams could fair well with the lower end of D1, but I always felt the drop off in depth was the real differential. That was the historical problem for teams like Dartmouth as they tried to compete with top teams in the Ivies. The ‘05 team beat then #2 ranked Maryland on a neutral field. They just couldn’t withstand injuries to key players and certainly couldn’t platoon FOGOs like Hopkins would then. D3 teams would face the same issues over the course of a season

[Can Opener]

In the ‘80s and early ‘90s, Middlebury played Dartmouth in actual games every year. The Dartmouth series ended a little earlier than the UVM rivalry. In ‘91 and ‘92, Middlebury beat Dartmouth. In ‘93 and ‘94, the last two years of the series, Dartmouth beat Middlebury by a couple of goals. In the last five games of the Vermont series, which ended in 1999, Middleberry won four out of five.

[Laxxal22]

Those scrimmages were very close but they were also always after Midd had at most 3-5 practices with coaches involved. Quote from one of Dartmouth’s captains in 01 to one of the Midd captains (buddies from growing up) was more or less, “We’d want no part of you guys in April.”

[A10WLaxFan]

Does anyone know which NESCAC schools will be "test optional" next year (for hs class of 2022)?
Will coaches prefer or maybe still require prospective student/athletes to take the SATs or ACTs anyway?
Thank you for any insight.

[Laxwizard]

From what I'm reading SATs are still getting canceled. This means all the schools that were test optional this year will remain so for applications for class of 2026.

[FCIAC LAX]

My advice is if your child can score well, have them take the test; by the schools saying the test is optional does not mean no one is taking the tests.

Your child risks being compared to someone that has scored well on the "optional" test.

All thing equal, your child doesn't get an offer.

However we know things aren't equal and you therefore you need strong guidance from the coach, if they give a commitment they are almost certain your child will be accepted, I don't beleive that they would offer a commitment without having the application pre-vetted.

The coach will guide you to submit the test or not

[VTLaxGuy]

Don't be shocked if "test optional" becomes a regular thing for a lot of these schools.

Going test optional allows the schools to admit lower band kids without having it throw off the "average SAT score" that these schools all like to brag about. Those reported average SAT scores will go higher when more schools become test optional, as the only kids reporting test scores are the ones who have scores worth bragging about.

It's a win-win for the schools since they can now report a higher average SAT score* and ultimately improve their ranking in all those US News and Princeton Review type things.

*Average score is only from reported SAT scores

[UpperCorner]

Outside of Trinity schedule - and no NESCAC schools on that schedule - there are no other schools with any schedules up. Has anyone heard anything about what anyone is planning? And Trinity first game Saturday against Castleton then Tuesday against Endicott... don't know anything about them - will these be games to watch?

[VTLaxGuy]

Outside of Trinity schedule - and no NESCAC schools on that schedule - there are no other schools with any schedules up. Has anyone heard anything about what anyone is planning? And Trinity first game Saturday against Castleton then Tuesday against Endicott... don't know anything about them - will these be games to watch?

Castleton - No; they're not anywhere close to Trinity's level. Knowing a few families with kids on the team, it sounds like they have about half their team on campus this spring and will struggle as a result. Hat tip to them for playing games, and for scheduling Trinity but this one could be ugly.

Endicott - Yes; always a top, Non-NESCAC New England team. This should be a good game. In 2019, Endicott played three NESCAC teams: Beat soundly by Tufts, Lost 12-10 at Amherst and 8-7 in OT at Bowdoin....also worth watching to see if freshman D Pole #51 Rex Bruschi (son of former NFL LB Teddy Bruschi) makes an impact.

[Dave]

Conn has WNE on Saturday at 1pm. Should be a competitive game. WNE is on par with Endicott I would say. They beat Endicott the last couple years to win the CCC to then lose to Wesleyan in competitive games in the first round of the NCAA tourney. Last year WNE beat Wesleyan, and Bates and was up on Amherst at the half before losing 14-8. I hear Conn will be getting some good contributions from the freshman and sophmore class. Conn lost to Wesleyan by 2 last year in the last game pre-covid.

Frustrating that no-one has rosters or schedules up though. Be interesting to see how Endicott does v Trinity...

[ah23]

Does anyone know which NESCAC schools will be "test optional" next year (for hs class of 2022)?
Will coaches prefer or maybe still require prospective student/athletes to take the SATs or ACTs anyway?
Thank you for any insight.

Can’t imagine any coaches would actively require it when recruiting. It’s more likely that they would ask so they could use it as leverage when trying to get recruits through admissions. A great SAT score minimizes potential GPA/other issues during the admissions process and makes the coach’s job easier if there is a reach they want to advocate for.

[ah23]

Not sure if this has already been mentioned, but Midd and Amherst are confirmed out.

[pcowlax]

Does anyone know which NESCAC schools will be "test optional" next year (for hs class of 2022)?
Will coaches prefer or maybe still require prospective student/athletes to take the SATs or ACTs anyway?
Thank you for any insight.

Can’t imagine any coaches would actively require it when recruiting. It’s more likely that they would ask so they could use it as leverage when trying to get recruits through admissions. A great SAT score minimizes potential GPA/other issues during the admissions process and makes the coach’s job easier if there is a reach they want to advocate for.

I believe that currently it is up to the applicant whether they want to submit it after taking it. I cannot see any downside (other than the cost of registering for the test I supposed) to taking it and seeing how you do. If you score well, there can't possibly be any downside in submitting it and it might give a coach more ammo to try to get you in. If you decide not to submit it I don't think schools are made aware of that. Generally, I hate the idea of eliminating the test requirements. As someone who has had to interview and rank applicants at several levels of academia having an objective test score, which only one measure among several, is invaluable, especially for graduate schools in the current age of grade inflation.

[Dave]

My son went through this recently....definitely take the test. But for NESCAC schools it will only help if its above 1400. They will advise you not to submit if its below that...crazy to think that 1350 is an insufficient score.

The reason I'm told its being phased out or becoming 'optional' is b/c some kids have resources to take SAT prep courses so as to be able to score better and some kids don't. So in effect its not really a accurate barometer, since some kids are merely learning how to take the test vs demonstrating aptitude. Personally I hate standardized tests that try to trick you into answers - that's not real life. I prefer the kids be evaluated on an overall body of work with course load and GPA...seems to be a better representation in my mind....but everyone has a different take on it...

[Laxwizard]

Dave is right. a $3500 tutor can raise your score between 100-200 points. You have to be committed to the work though, so in that sense a high score does show some level of commitment to succeeding, but the SAT/ACT is inequitable. Having good grades and being a recruited athlete is the best way to get into A highly competitive school. The smaller NESCACs are 33% recruited athletes - seems like the easiest path. Lacrosse is more fun than getting an A+ in linear algebra.