MIAA A Conference

[Slim]

today's predictions;

StP's high-flying offense picks apart Gilman's D. Crusaders 11-7
BL edges StM behind Pietramala, Smith, and Spencer. Lakeshow 9-8 (maybe ot)
Loyola over MSJ in rout. Dons roll 13-3
CHC sleepwalks over Severn in Naptown. Cards 12-4
McD coast past JC. Eagles 11-6

[viper]

Calvert Hall 7, Severn 2 at the half.

[gymman1031]

Question. Is SP's Peter Sheehan the son of former legendary SP and UVA goalie Peter Sheehan?

As for John Carroll, the bright future for them reflects, at least partly, on how much Bel Air has grown.

[viper]

Calvert Hall 7, Severn 2 at the half.

Final CHC 13 - Severn 5

[Juslaxin16]

McD gets the upset win over JC 16-6. The eagles are back.

[viper]

McD gets the upset win over JC 16-6. The eagles are back.

Is that sarcasm????

[get it to x]

today's predictions;

StP's high-flying offense picks apart Gilman's D. Crusaders 11-7
BL edges StM behind Pietramala, Smith, and Spencer. Lakeshow 9-8 (maybe ot)
Loyola over MSJ in rout. Dons roll 13-3
CHC sleepwalks over Severn in Naptown. Cards 12-4
McD coast past JC. Eagles 11-6

Right score, wrong team. Saints 9, Lakers 8. From the twitter feed it looks like it was nip and tuck the whole way.

[get it to x]

BL led 7-5 at the half and it looks like their only goal of the second half came in the final minute with StM up 9-7.

[Slim]

So close! Almost a sweep!! Lakers let me down.

[Juslaxin16]

100% sarcasm.

McD gets the upset win over JC 16-6. The eagles are back.

Is that sarcasm????

[DarkHorse25]

First win for the Saints in Lakerland since 91 I think, kids from Annapolis could surprise a lot of people this year....

[Peter Brown]

I watched the SP/Gilman game on the Corrigan Sports channel, and I don't know if it's just me or what, but I thought the game was an incredibly sloppy affair and Booker/Bobby couldn't criticize as much as they wanted.

SP threw the ball away a ton; boneheaded penalties; their general athleticism was lacking imo. Their goalie and FOGO were outstanding, I'll give them that. But looking at the two teams and how they roll, it was surprising to not see Gilman on top here. In the middle of the field, Gilman to me was superior.

I'm an MIAA guy, but if we're being brutally honest, from what I've seen this year on the field of four MIAA games, I feel like the MIAA has taken steps backward on the national stage talent-wise. Not Calvert Hall, which plays like they mean it and commit relatively few unathletic mistakes, but the rest of the squads seem to be not as good as perhaps a decade ago. I thought earlier this year that anyone could beat CHC, but now I just don't know, and it's not because CHC is so great, it's that the others just aren't good.

I just don't recall this many games where teams threw the ball away even half as much as SP did yesterday in just one game. It's not surprising that Culver and Hill roll into town and win most of their contests against the MIAA. Maybe I'm simply catching these games when the kids are having off days...

[Raescreek]

I watched the SP/Gilman game on the Corrigan Sports channel, and I don't know if it's just me or what, but I thought the game was an incredibly sloppy affair and Booker/Bobby couldn't criticize as much as they wanted.

SP threw the ball away a ton; boneheaded penalties; their general athleticism was lacking imo. Their goalie and FOGO were outstanding, I'll give them that. But looking at the two teams and how they roll, it was surprising to not see Gilman on top here. In the middle of the field, Gilman to me was superior.

I'm an MIAA guy, but if we're being brutally honest, from what I've seen this year on the field of four MIAA games, I feel like the MIAA has taken steps backward on the national stage talent-wise. Not Calvert Hall, which plays like they mean it and commit relatively few unathletic mistakes, but the rest of the squads seem to be not as good as perhaps a decade ago. I thought earlier this year that anyone could beat CHC, but now I just don't know, and it's not because CHC is so great, it's that the others just aren't good.

I just don't recall this many games where teams threw the ball away even half as much as SP did yesterday in just one game. It's not surprising that Culver and Hill roll into town and win most of their contests against the MIAA. Maybe I'm simply catching these games when the kids are having off days...

For playing so bad, SP beat Gilman by 3 goals. What does that say about Gilman.....

As far as the national stage goes, McDonogh was #1 IN THE COUNTRY after playing their out of conference/national schedule, including a win over top ranked Culver, and has gone 2-4 in the MIAA since...The top half of the MIAA is some of the best lacrosse in the country every single year and those teams beat up on eachother.

[Peter Brown]

Raescreek: don't get me wrong, I pull for and support the MIAA (I'm an MIAA grad), but man, yesterday's game was atrocious, especially from SP's side (they won because their goalie had about a *billion* saves, plus they won almost every FO). But the dropped passes, awful clears, defensive positioning, and such were tough to stomach for the MIAA fan in me. Watch the rewind...it's just brutal, especially the first half.

Another example of the MIAA's current standing: BL got absolutely smoked by a team from CT earlier this year, and that game score could have been much worse except the CT coach took his team's foot off the gas...I mean, mercy rules for MIAA squads weren't very popular when I was a kid. My observation is that with the sole exception of CHC, the MIAA is going through a trough of talent not just lax-skill wise but athletically too.

MCD, since that early burst, has lost MIAA games, for sure, but I am not sure that's a good thing.

I'm not here to criticize but rather to say we need a wake up call...

[viper]

I thought earlier this year that anyone could beat CHC, but now I just don't know, and it's not because CHC is so great, it's that the others just aren't good.

CHC is not rolling because the remainder of the MIAA-A is weak. Remember they did beat Gonzaga, Bullis in scrimmages, beat Malvern Prep and took Hill to OT.

[PrimeTime21]

100% accurate Peter!

MIAA and Baltimore get overrated by Ty Xanders and Inside Lax. League has lost a step for sure. I’m not sure if Calvert Hall would even be 3rd best in New England West this year

[ultimatelaxbro]

Not sure where all this MIAA bashing is coming from. Seems to me that throughout the season multiple MIAA teams have knocked off other top 25 teams both inside and outside of the conference. There has also been growth and development of quality high school lacrosse outside of the traditional pockets over the past 10 years. The MIAA A conference still shines nationally. Plus, by the time playoffs come around very few teams across the country will be as battle tested and prepared handle the most important part of the season.

[Peter Brown]

Not sure where all this MIAA bashing is coming from. Seems to me that throughout the season multiple MIAA teams have knocked off other top 25 teams both inside and outside of the conference. There has also been growth and development of quality high school lacrosse outside of the traditional pockets over the past 10 years. The MIAA A conference still shines nationally. Plus, by the time playoffs come around very few teams across the country will be as battle tested and prepared handle the most important part of the season.

Let's distinguish PrimeTime21 from me; he might be a bit of a troll, whereas I am simply a concerend MIAA grad and fan.

For starters, I think Ty Xanders does a great job, as do Inside Lacrosse. Let me get that out of the way. I am a fan of both and think they put in tons of hours to give the fan information we never had before.

My point about yesterday's game and the MIAA in general is I was sort of shocked at how St. Paul's in particular played. I expect MIAA to be tops, especially at the little things like throwing and catching, basic stick skills, staying onsides, not causing avoidable penalties, good body positioning on defense, slides, etc... My expectations are high because some of the best high school lacrosse I've ever seen have been games played by MIAA teams, and I assume we get better, not worse.

What I saw yesterday was play which was, to be frank, embarrassing, certainly not what I hope to be MIAA caliber. I bet SP gave the ball up on unforced turnovers at least 15x in the first half...it was downright ugly lacrosse. And you have the right to wonder why or how Gilman could not beat that level of play, but I'm skipping past the SP goalie and FOGO, who did wonderfully and are excellent competitors and essentially saved the game for the Crusaders.

I just wonder if our kids in MD have the same drive we did when we were kids...playing wall-ball for hours, cranking shots in our backyards til the night fell. Because, and again excepting CHC, my own observation is MIAA caliber play has slipped noticeably the past few years. Yesterday really drove it home for me. The MIAA will always have excellent individuals, such as Pat Spencer, but what used to be a more evenly distributed level of skill across all teams, seems to be less evenly distributed, and the play is suffering as a result.

And let's also be real: I could have caught yet another game where I saw only the worst plays. What makes me skeptical that I only catch the few bad minutes is knowing that a team from Connecticut literally crushed Boy's Latin and would have run up the score way worse than it was were it not for the decency of an opposing coach. That alone should wake some folks up.

[get it to x]

Not sure where all this MIAA bashing is coming from. Seems to me that throughout the season multiple MIAA teams have knocked off other top 25 teams both inside and outside of the conference. There has also been growth and development of quality high school lacrosse outside of the traditional pockets over the past 10 years. The MIAA A conference still shines nationally. Plus, by the time playoffs come around very few teams across the country will be as battle tested and prepared handle the most important part of the season.

Let's distinguish PrimeTime21 from me; he might be a bit of a troll, whereas I am simply a concerend MIAA grad and fan.

For starters, I think Ty Xanders does a great job, as do Inside Lacrosse. Let me get that out of the way. I am a fan of both and think they put in tons of hours to give the fan information we never had before.

My point about yesterday's game and the MIAA in general is I was sort of shocked at how St. Paul's in particular played. I expect MIAA to be tops, especially at the little things like throwing and catching, basic stick skills, staying onsides, not causing avoidable penalties, good body positioning on defense, slides, etc... My expectations are high because some of the best high school lacrosse I've ever seen have been games played by MIAA teams, and I assume we get better, not worse.

What I saw yesterday was play which was, to be frank, embarrassing, certainly not what I hope to be MIAA caliber. I bet SP gave the ball up on unforced turnovers at least 15x in the first half...it was downright ugly lacrosse. And you have the right to wonder why or how Gilman could not beat that level of play, but I'm skipping past the SP goalie and FOGO, who did wonderfully and are excellent competitors and essentially saved the game for the Crusaders.

I just wonder if our kids in MD have the same drive we did when we were kids...playing wall-ball for hours, cranking shots in our backyards til the night fell. Because, and again excepting CHC, my own observation is MIAA caliber play has slipped noticeably the past few years. Yesterday really drove it home for me. The MIAA will always have excellent individuals, such as Pat Spencer, but what used to be a more evenly distributed level of skill across all teams, seems to be less evenly distributed, and the play is suffering as a result.

And let's also be real: I could have caught yet another game where I saw only the worst plays. What makes me skeptical that I only catch the few bad minutes is knowing that a team from Connecticut literally crushed Boy's Latin and would have run up the score way worse than it was were it not for the decency of an opposing coach. That alone should wake some folks up.

I haven't seen enough live MIAA lacrosse this year to draw any firm conclusions, but if you are right think of how many of these kids are playing school/club/indoor year round. You would think we would get the kind of polished lacrosse you alluded to in your post. Of the video I have seen I was very impressed by how well St. Mary's ran their transition offense, especially against Loyola.

[3rdPersonPlural]

I just wonder if our kids in MD have the same drive we did when we were kids...playing wall-ball for hours, cranking shots in our backyards til the night fell. Because, and again excepting CHC, my own observation is MIAA caliber play has slipped noticeably the past few years. Yesterday really drove it home for me. The MIAA will always have excellent individuals, such as Pat Spencer, but what used to be a more evenly distributed level of skill across all teams, seems to be less evenly distributed, and the play is suffering as a result.

A bad day on the lacrosse field. The MIAA is no longer any good, let alone the gold standard for pre-college lacrosse. Maryland kids just don't spend the time on the wall that they used to. Before you know it, there'll be a kid from Utah and a kid one from Florida leading the Terps attack!

Peter, have you watched any top level lax games besides MIAA games lately? I have. MIAA is still the gold standard, with Nassau County NY, Suffolk County NY, and the IAC in DC crowding the space. NEWest I teams get competitive by the end of the season. Every year there's a team or two from the frontier that could give the MIAA champ a scare, but as far as leagues go, from the beginning of the season to the end of the season, from the top team to the team that lost every game, nothing compares to MIAA.

A dear friend of mine from one of the western hotbeds was in MD and officiated a JV game between 2 MIAA teams. His conclusion was that MIAA JV kids are better lacrosse players (mebbe smaller and slower) than varsity players from out of the hotbeds. This isn't to say that lax out of the 4 sections I'd mentioned is dismal, but the MIAA JV kids knew the game and knew how to play it. Really well. He was astonished.

Also, MIAA is not stocked each year by transcendent teams. CHC is one of the top 3 teams in the nation, this year. Ask one of the MIAA experts on here to show you the season records for the past 10 years. CHC has had a few good years, sure, but so have everyone in the league. Remember the year that St Marys had the best FOGO and the best goalie in the country and nothing but average MIAA quality players otherwise? I'd bet that the experts here do.

As to the crummy play. OK, these are 15 to (barely)19 year old kids. Lacrosse is a mentally and emotionally challenging game. If a key player has just gotten a dear john from his GF or is limping around on a high strain in his ankle, everything can go to rubbish. Elite HS lacrosse requires all 19 or so kids who contribute every game to be ready to play and focused. The beauty (and ugliness) of lacrosse is that it's a team game, and if one cog is distracted or limping, the whole team effort folds.