NCAC 2023

[bulldodge97]

Hurts to say it as a Wooster guy, but it is good to see Kenyon getting in and the NCAC back as a two bid league. Best d3 conference west of the Appalachians right here. Good luck to the NCAC in the tourney

[JustWatching]

I'm a Big Red fan, but Kenyon deserves the spot they earned in the tournament. I sincerely hope both Denison and Kenyon advance and are able to entice some of the traditional east coast teams to come to Ohio for a long weekend of two good games in future seasons.

[Nosey Ned]

I'm a Big Red fan, but Kenyon deserves the spot they earned in the tournament. I sincerely hope both Denison and Kenyon advance and are able to entice some of the traditional east coast teams to come to Ohio for a long weekend of two good games in future seasons.

Happy for the Kenyon Owls and very good for the NCAC as a whole to get an At Large bid. Now both Denison and Kenyon need to compete.

As for getting East Coast teams to come to Ohio, a couple of years ago Middlebury came to Granville to play Denison. I thought that might develop in to a nice annual back and forth but no such luck.

Have always thought a weekend multi game lacrosse showcase say at the Columbus Crew Stadium would be great for MidWest lacrosse. Like the one in DC a couple years back. Get some D1 (OSU, ND, Michigan) and D3 (Denison, Kenyon OWU v some beasts from the East) teams together. Would be well attended I'm sure.

[BigRed73]

Well, I AM shocked that the NCAA chose 2 teams from the NCAC (it’s done it just once before) but am thrilled that Kenyon made it. The Owls are a terrific team and deserve to be there. Hope both teams play well.

[redhoya]

I was surprised (and pleased) as well. Looking at the two draws (and assuming nothing about preliminary match-up successes), I think Denison has the clearly more difficult path forward given Tufts presence.

[Nosey Ned]

I was surprised (and pleased) as well. Looking at the two draws (and assuming nothing about preliminary match-up successes), I think Denison has the clearly more difficult path forward given Tufts presence.

I think both paths are equally daunting. Kenyon needs to beat 2 very good programs (Stevens and most likely Dickenson) on the road to survive the trip to PA. Their prize will be another long trip to most likely Va to face CNU.

On the other hand, Denison got what is for all intents and purposes, the 8th seed (better than I anticipated and I'm sure geographic considerations came in to play here). So the good news is they get to host. The bad news is, should they survive the weekend at home (against IWU/AU winner and most likely Lynchburg) they would be slotted to play the winner out of the overall #1 seed location - most likely Tufts!

Tough sledding for both. When you consider being home vs being on the road, I'll take the home cooking to start.

I will be happy if the Big Red get a chance to "slay the Giant" in Tufts. But let's worry about that David vs Goliath matchup later. First there are 2 games at home to worry about against some very good teams. Take them 1 at a time ... don't over look anybody this time of year.

Both NCAC teams have their work cut out for themselves.

Just remember boys .... you get to enjoy at least another week together so get ready, have fun and go compete. Do your schools and your conference proud.

Good luck to both squads.

Go Big Red

[redhoya]

"Tough sledding for both. When you consider being home vs being on the road, I'll take the home cooking to start."

Good points all around. No question, the Big Red (and the Lords, err,... Owls) will have their work cut out for them beginning Day 1 of the tournament. No one to overlook here. GBR!

[oldtimelax]

Congratulations to the Denison Big Red on the NCAC Championship and congrats to the Kenyon Owls on their NCAA selection. I can imagine the Kenyon players were dying until 9PM last night. The final was a tremendous game and both sides gave their all in a classic match-up.

The addition of Kenyon (who will play Stevens in the second round at Dickinson) is a tremendous sign that the NCAC is becoming more nationally relevant. With six teams competing for the NCAC tournament this season and a three-way tie for first place in the regular season, the future looks bright for the NCAC becoming a very competitive conference.

OWU will be represented in the NCAAs by Carter Haskell, who is grad student going for his MBA playing for Stevens Tech. An All-NCAC (HM) LSM last season, Haskell has started 18 games for the Ducks at Defense-LSM and has had a stellar season with 5 goals, 7 assists, 27 GBs, and 15 CTO. He will get to play against Kenyon again and should provide some helpful insights for the Stevens coaching staff.

[Cheeseandcrackers]

Seems like NCAA did not let geography override fairness this year. In the past when 2 teams from NCAC get in there has been a "midwest regional" culminating in a NCAC 1 vs 2 rematch. They could have done that again with Denison, Kenyon, Lake Forest, John Carrol, Ill Wesleyan, and Aurora. Instead Kenyon is headed to Jersey (plane ride?) and Denison gets home game to start. Winner of John Carrol vs Lake Forest will be headed to Dickinson.

[D3LaxFan2]

Seems like NCAA did not let geography override fairness this year. In the past when 2 teams from NCAC get in there has been a "midwest regional" culminating in a NCAC 1 vs 2 rematch. They could have done that again with Denison, Kenyon, Lake Forest, John Carrol, Ill Wesleyan, and Aurora. Instead Kenyon is headed to Jersey (plane ride?) and Denison gets home game to start. Winner of John Carrol vs Lake Forest will be headed to Dickinson.

Kenyon and Stevens are playing at Dickinson. Google Maps says it is about 350 miles, 5.5 hour drive. That is not a flight, by NCAA policy.

[FannOLax]

Kenyon and Stevens are playing at Dickinson. Google Maps says it is about 350 miles, 5.5 hour drive. That is not a flight, by NCAA policy.

Having driven (and as a cild having been driven by my parents while I was confined to the back seat) from Central Ohio across Pennsylvania more times than I care to remember, I can assure you that all routes pass through the Twilight Zone where time slows to a muddy sludge slog; let those NCAA rule makers drive it themselves and find out just how badly it can warp a mind.

[BigRed73]

Any opinions on our NCAC boys having back-to-back games this weekend? The Big Red seemingly, on paper, has an easier Saturday game than the Owls who hasn’t seen the likes of the competition Stevens has. But if both NCAC teams get through Saturday, Denison may have not had to expend the amount of energy to win as much as Kenyon is likely to.

[Nosey Ned]

Any opinions on our NCAC boys having back-to-back games this weekend? The Big Red seemingly, on paper, has an easier Saturday game than the Owls who hasn’t seen the likes of the competition Stevens has. But if both NCAC teams get through Saturday, Denison may have not had to expend the amount of energy to win as much as Kenyon is likely to.

This is one of the reasons I was disappointed in Denison not participating in this year's Mustang Classic. The experience gained from playing 2 games in 2 days would be valuable this time of year. Not just for the players, but a young coaching staff as well.

That said, these are young athletes that will have had almost a week off so, snap your chin straps and roll the ball out there. It's time to compete and play for more time with your teammates!

Go Big Red

[BallHunt]

Kenyon and Stevens are playing at Dickinson. Google Maps says it is about 350 miles, 5.5 hour drive. That is not a flight, by NCAA policy.

Having driven (and as a cild having been driven by my parents while I was confined to the back seat) from Central Ohio across Pennsylvania more times than I care to remember, I can assure you that all routes pass through the Twilight Zone where time slows to a muddy sludge slog; let those NCAA rule makers drive it themselves and find out just how badly it can warp a mind.

I have done many long slogs up, down, and across the east coast and can definitely relate this but your trips sound a bit more taxing.

[oldtimelax]

All NCAC Teams are announced...

https://northcoast.org/documents/2023/5 ... CAC_23.pdf

[oldtimelax]

Three Denison players get All-American Honors (US Lacrosse) -- Darragh (G) - Second Team, Fisher and Tyack (A) -- Honorable Mention...One Kenyon...Nelson (FO) - Second Team....all well deserved. Congratulations!

https://www.usalaxmagazine.com/college/ ... RBPK0Z7vfM

[Laxgopher69]

Thank you for the updates Old. I have been taking a much needed respite from the forums since that whirlwind day last Sunday (the old lady has gotten more than she bargained for this week with all the free time I've had, wink wink nudge nudge). I reenter to fold to share my gripes with the All-NCAC teams. While naturally selecting all-conference teams is difficult, full of politics, backroom deals, and handshake agreements, I personally, from an unbiased perspective, believe many Owls were placed too low or snubbed entirely. I don't wish to speak ill towards any of these fine young men; however, to begin with, David Chintala being deemed a 3rd team player seems outright criminal. The kid put up 52 and 11 and seemingly lost out to an Oberlin attack man who put up 53 and 3. Continuing on another freshman Owl Colin Mccarthy had a stellar season, even being out for some time, and was not included on any all conference team. While I gather that voting takes place before the conference tournament game, Thomas Nelson is an 2nd team ALL-AMERICAN and 2nd team in his conference which seems a bit odd. Beyond this, while stats don't lie, they sometimes mislead, I think Michael Bazzano was easily the second best d-mid in the conference this year, if not tied for first with Finn Murray, a case which is compelling. Beyond that the Owls close D unit played better the entire year than their stats entail. Jake Donaldson-Reid pretty much shut down Luke Fisher (ever heard of him) in the conference championship and was locking kids up all year long. Graham O'Brien was a dog all year, dog and should be higher placed as well. Finally, I think we can all agree Wooster as coaching staff of the year feels a tad silly. I, an owls fan, would argue for OWU perhaps as the coaching staff there was able to pull together a young team and improve greatly throughout the year, a trend that Wooster completely flipped, or even Denison who made great adjustments throughout the year.

[Laxgopher69]

My apologies if my prose is not up to the usual Gopher standard, I'm heated. Apologies as well for not signing off, as is polite.

Best,
Gopher

[Can Opener]

Three Denison players get All-American Honors (US Lacrosse) -- Darragh (G) - Second Team, Fisher and Tyack (A) -- Honorable Mention...One Kenyon...Nelson (FO) - Second Team....all well deserved. Congratulations!

https://www.usalaxmagazine.com/college/ ... RBPK0Z7vfM

No offense to the very talented Kenyon FO specialist, but it seems that USA Lacrosse missed the mark on this one. Denison's freshman FO sensation Grant Larson was first team NCAC and Specialist of the Year for the conference. He had a 76.6% win rate in the NCAC vs. 72.6% for the Kenyon FOGO. In the two head-to-head games, Larson went 28 of 45 (62.2%) while Kenyon's guy went 16 of 38 (42.1%). In Denison's upset win over then #2 Gettysburg, Larson was 13 of 17, so it wasn't as if he was just racking up stats against weaker opponents.

[Nosey Ned]

Agreed..... the Conference got it right.

Now for this weekend predictions ....

Denison over IWU 17-11. The Big Red is 2 for 2 against the Spartans in the Tournament and this year they make it 3 for 3. This one will be closer than the other 2 but like those games, Denison will show they're just more talented top to bottom.

Stevens over Kenyon 14-12. I hope I'm proved wrong but I think Stevens experience shows through and they prove to be too "Jersey Strong" for the Owls.

Now for the other side of the Denison pod ....

I have Lynchburg winning 14-13 in 3OT. Ok so I'm hoping for multiple OT frames so it makes the winners legs heavier the next day! Haha All kidding aside, I see this just about a "pick 'em" game but I think the Hornets are more battle tested down the stretch by their ODAC slate/tourney and their coaching staff will help them find a way to pull it out. In addition, I'm sure the Hornets want another crack at the Big Red to avenge the loss they suffered on this very field in 2017, when the Big Red doubled them up to earn a spot in that year's Final Four.