Centennial Conference 2023

[Dips_lax]

Muhl v F&M feels like a seeding game . both WAC and Fords have a hard journey to 5th spot.

WAC would need to win out and F&M need to lose both. Not completely unreasonable but no gimmes
Haverford would need to win out and F&M needs to go 1-1. tall order with Swat and Dickinson

Assuming F&M splits - they hold the head to head vs both WAC and Haverford.

[SexyBaldMan]

If Haverford goes 1-1 over next two and F&M beats Muhlenberg, Fords have the tie breaker in head-to-head vs Mules and would get the 5th spot, assuming WAC is not in the mix. Am I looking at that correctly?

[Dips_lax]

that sounds about right.

[WashedUp06]

Mules v F&M is going to depend on goalie play and shooting for the Mules - in their 2+ goal losses (lost to RIT by 1 and G'burg by 2) the opposing goalies stood on their heads (RPI - 18 svs, 75% ; Swat -16 svs, 67%; Haverford - 26 svs, 84%).

This is both a testament to some outstanding individual performances by the goalies but also poor shot selection and shooting by the Mules. If F&M can save at 65%+ clip (their avg is ~56%) then they take this game, but under that and I think the Mules win with quality defense and timely offense.

[HomerCoach]

Standings and (remaining Centennial games):

Playoffs:
1-3 seeds:
6-1 Dickinson (Ursinus)
6-1 Swarthmore (Haverford)
5-2 Gettysburg (WAC)

4th seed:
5-3 Muhlenberg (none)

5th seed:
3-4 F&M (McDaniel)
3-4 Haverford (Swat)
2-5 Washington (Gettysburg)
2-5 Ursinus (Dickinson)
0-7 McDaniel (F&M)

[SpartanLaxFanatic]

Standings and (remaining Centennial games):

Playoffs:
1-3 seeds:
6-1 Dickinson (Ursinus)
6-1 Swarthmore (Haverford)
5-2 Gettysburg (WAC)

4th seed:
5-3 Muhlenberg (none)

5th seed:
3-4 F&M (McDaniel)
3-4 Haverford (Swat)
2-5 Washington (Gettysburg)
2-5 Ursinus (Dickinson)
0-7 McDaniel (F&M)

Just to clarify, only Dickinson and Swarthmore can earn the 1 or 2 seeds and Gettysburg is locked into the 3 seed.

[WashedUp06]

Looking like the battle is now for the 5th seed -

Dickinson is #1 if they take care of business at Ursinus
Swat is 2
G'Burg 3
Mules 4

F&M has the easiest path to the 5th seed w/their game against McDaniel. Haverford would need to pull off a big upset to lock into that spot and need F&M to lose due to the Head to Head.

Excited for this year's playoffs, feels like of the top 4 any one of them could go for a run with all of them beating each other at one point.

Favorite has to be dickinson, G'burg's weakness in net is hurting them big time down the stretch .

[laxdad4394]

It's a shame, I read so much about how WAC was going to improve in year 2 of Nostrant. Was really hoping they would succeed, but sadly it does not seem so. Ending the season 0-7 is tough for a program trying to grow.

[InsiderRoll]

It's a shame, I read so much about how WAC was going to improve in year 2 of Nostrant. Was really hoping they would succeed, but sadly it does not seem so. Ending the season 0-7 is tough for a program trying to grow.

I think they did improve quite a bit. Unfortunately so did the rest of the league.

You’re right about the hill being hard to climb.

[laxdad4394]

Does anyone know anything regarding the age of Gettysburg/Dickinson/Swarthmore players? Will this trio be competitive again next year?

[mjp318]

Dickinson graduates 4 seniors which include Brandau and Will Farrell.

[SpartanLaxFanatic]

Does anyone know anything regarding the age of Gettysburg/Dickinson/Swarthmore players? Will this trio be competitive again next year?

Gettysburg has the most impact seniors out of the top three. If you expand to top 4 then Muhlenberg would probably have the most, 5 out of their top 6 offensive players graduate this year alongside their starting goalie and some starters at close D. GBurg graduates a lot on offense as well as losing two starters on close. Swarthmore easily the youngest of the group, best three players are juniors with a bunch of sophomores and freshmen mixed in. Dickinson also doesn't lose much and will be back again next year, biggest hole will be replacing Brandau.

[Slim]

WAC is moving in the right direction under Nostrant. It takes more than two years to develop into a true contender, but look at the scores of games. They are in most, just slipping down the wire in a few. Gotta take care of ball, make some key stops, win faceoffs consistently when game is on the line, etc. They probably need a couple studs on offense and defense if they are going to make the next step. I think that is the coaching staff's focus moving forward. Be patient, I believe we will see even more improvement next Spring.

[laxdad4394]

Can WAC succeed next year without Temple? He is graduating if I am corrrect.

[LILaxGuy08]

Nostrant is doing an amazing job!

However, they might have a couple more years of a serious rebuild in arguably a top 3 conference in D3. It usually takes a new coach 5 years to establish culture/recruit solid players.

Attack loses 2 starters

Midfield loses 2 starters

Defense loses 2 starters

Goalie graduates

Lots to replace for a team that is currently at the bottom of the conference.

[WashedUp06]

Patience for the Shoremen is key! The Mules were the below the bottom of the conference a number of years ago, went winless for a number of consecutive years, but Plunkett was able to change the culture and recruit well and that has turned the team into a competitive one. It certainly didnt happen overnight, as this is Plunkett's 7th year at the helm and the team didnt make CC playoffs until last year.

WACs starting point was not nearly as bad as the Mules and WAC has a brand name that can still resonate with recruits. They will be "back" sooner rather than later and D3 will be better for it!

[JustOneTime]

I don't think the WAC name resonates with recruits the way it did 10, 15, 20 years ago. Perhaps with the recruits father. WAC is in the same boat as Cortland, Nazareth and Roanoke. Kids nowadays have a much shorter time frame. They look to what schools done in the past couple of years. It's a tough sell to ask them to be a part of a rebuild. Coaches will need to be really good at developing what they get rather than relying on bringing in blue chip recruits. It will definitely take some time and it starts by winning some of the close games they were in this year.

[ReturnOfTheWAC]

Lets get some picks in for the week


Wednesday
Muhlenberg vs Stockton- The Mules come off a strong performance vs F&M to lock themselves into the CC playoffs for the second strait year. The offense does seem to not show up vs lesser competition but I am hopeful they can take this mid week game seriously since many of these players have former club and HS teammates playing at Stockton. Give me the Mules in this OOC late season dual 15-11

Friday

F&M vs McDaniel- Man oh man F&M has been up and down this year. Some very young promising talent on the offensive side of the ball that at times has looked incredible but at other times has struggled to score. On defense they have regressed as the season has gone on with missed slides and poor goaltending. I think F&M is in the playoffs regardless of the outcome but if your the staff you need to build some momentum going into a 4-5 game rematch vs Muhlenberg. On the other side McDaniel comes in 7-9 on the year and has really shown improvement, I give them a ton of credit as they have been destroyed every game at the face-off dot in conference and have continued to make games competitive. A win for them would be a huge boost going into the offseason as they are on the right track. F&M 16-9

Saturday

Washington vs Gettysburg- A lot of talk on the board about the Shoremen and their improvement this year. The fact is everyone in the conference is improved from last season(maybe not Ursinus and F&M) I give the staff a ton of credit for what they have done, Defensively they have struggled at times but so has everyone in the shot clock era. Gettysburg comes in looking a bit wounded in their past few performances, everyone knows their goalie is their weakness. If The Shoremen can get some shots on net they will go. This will be close but I don't think Gettysburg slips here as much as I hope they do. Bullets 14-12

Swarthmore vs Haverford- Swarthmore got back on the horse and really took it to McDaniel last week, this team can score but I am concerned about their defense, it is very hot and cold especially in CC. Haverford has gone almost exclusive to zone and invert offense over the last few weeks. If they can slow the game down and their goalie gets hot this could be close. Add in the rivalry between these two and it may be the game of the week. I like Swat to win 18-8

Dickinson vs Ursinus- Two teams that seasons flipped about half way through. Ursinus has shown they can play in big games and are a really tough out they just lack consistency. Dickinson has gotten hot on both sides of the ball and have really taken it to their last few opponents. This is close for a half but Ursinus ultimately falls apart and loses 20-12

[laxdad4394]

Who is competing for the 4 and 5 seeds? Are there any important seeding games today?

[InsiderRoll]

Patience for the Shoremen is key! The Mules were the below the bottom of the conference a number of years ago, went winless for a number of consecutive years, but Plunkett was able to change the culture and recruit well and that has turned the team into a competitive one. It certainly didnt happen overnight, as this is Plunkett's 7th year at the helm and the team didnt make CC playoffs until last year.

WACs starting point was not nearly as bad as the Mules and WAC has a brand name that can still resonate with recruits. They will be "back" sooner rather than later and D3 will be better for it!

The challenge with WAC is due to some financial missteps at the college they are struggling to create competitive financial aid offers. In many cases their packages are a few thousand dollars below competing schools. That may take some time to correct.