ISL

[Laxboy78]

Hey Laxxal

Any info on Sebs/Govs? Seemed like a crazy ending but only saw the updates on Twitter. How did the fogo’s due against each other? Baroni and Dimella were back for Govs.

[eumanne]

Hey Laxxal

Any info on Sebs/Govs? Seemed like a crazy ending but only saw the updates on Twitter. How did the fogo’s due against each other? Baroni and Dimella were back for Govs.

Was at the game. Great game! Back and forth action, all the way to the end. Multiple rain delays, but I don’t believe it had an impact on the game. My take of the face off battle, Umansky won about 60% of the draws, doubled Rideout in both possessions and ground balls. Rideout seemed to be timing the whistle as he went offside 3 times. Umansky won around 75% of the clamps. That said, Rideout had 2 fast breaks one in which he assisted on a goal. He also played attack and did well there, he scored a goal on a fantastic dodge going around a defender like he wasn’t there. At the end, Umansky had crucial turnover where he won the face off and threw the ball away with about 17 seconds left and Aiden McGuire took over ripped the game winner with about4-5 seconds left on the clock.

[Laxboy78]

Thanks for color! Sounds like a great one.

[Laxxal22]

Thanks for the recap eumanne.

Some great games on tap today that will provide an early sense of pecking order as a lot of teams that should end up close to each other in the final standings are squaring off.

Nobles @ Belmont Hill
Seb's @ Middlesex
Tabor @ Govs
Thayer @ St. George's
Rivers @ St. Mark's
Milton @ RL
Lawrence @ BB&N
Brooks @ Groton

I'll post livestream links if I see them.

[Laxxal22]

Do any of you guys have insight into Seb's? They post the gameday roster prior to every game as it seems the bottom of the roster fluctuates a bit. This includes an "injured" section. Attackman Michael Quinn, who I expected to be one of the top sophomores in the league, has been listed as injured every game. Is this something he's expected to come back from or is it a season ender?

[Laxxal22]

Some interesting results today.

Nobles @ Belmont Hill - 14-11 BH. Nobles were up 5-4 at the half, but BH took the lead early in the third and never looked back.

Seb's @ Middlesex - 11-9 Sebs. Sebs lead throughout but couldn't pull away. Apparently Gelinas stood on his head in net to keep Middlesex in it.

Tabor @ Govs - 14-9 Tabor. Tabor got the lead all the way to 13-5 and look very for real.

Thayer @ St. George's - 12-9 St. G's. A preseason fringe team that looks like they could be solidly in the top eight.

Rivers @ St. Mark's - 16-9 Rivers. Rivers offense continues to play well.

Milton @ RL - 7-6 RL.

Lawrence @ BB&N - 15-14 Lawrence.

Brooks @ Groton - Postponed.

[Laxboy78]

Big win for St George’s. They have really turned around quickly! Thayer is a good team.

[Sidelinehorn!]

Thayer is middle of the pack in the ISL...Making strides in the right direction for sure

[Laxxal22]

Hard to define middle of the pack so far this season. The only team that’s really stood out is Tabor.

Umansky from Govs has flipped his commitment from Ohio State to Harvard. Good to see top local talent deciding to stay local.

[eumanne]

Agree, still very early. At this point, Tabor, Thayer and St George’s look stronger than expected with Tabor leading the pack here. The Tabor vs Rivers matchup will be interesting and a test / measuring stick for both teams.

[Floyd]

I love that the league appears to be not as top-loaded as usual, solid slate of games every weekend.

[Laxxal22]

ISL website with stats has started to be updated for the first time since 2019: https://www.islsports.org/page/2907

No Brooks, Groton, or Thayer stats but otherwise looks pretty up to date.

O'Neil brothers are putting up a ton of points Tabor. Pappendick looks like a one man show for BB&N. Torrey at 60% save percentage for Belmont Hill has been impressive considering the competition they've faced. Having watched BH's streamed games, the Deerfield and Avon games are blowouts, and they probably don't beat Hill School without Torrey standing on his head.

[Laxboy78]

Saw Govs/Middlesex live today. Govs seemed in control most of the second half. Owen must have been close to 100%. Seems like the top half of the league have a real chance to win against anybody, and just depends who brings their A game. The parity is refreshing.

[eumanne]

Saw Govs/Middlesex live today. Govs seemed in control most of the second half. Owen must have been close to 100%. Seems like the top half of the league have a real chance to win against anybody, and just depends who brings their A game. The parity is refreshing.

Yes. Umansky’s total domination at the X really choked down Middlesex. Gov’s defense and goalies also played well. I agree that who ever brings it can win on any given day. I also heard that Tabor handled Rivers. Tabor looks like the real deal at this point.

[Laxxal22]

New England Lacrosse Journal released their ISL poll. List below are there rankings, followed by my thoughts on each. I think they got the right nine teams, but not entirely sure about the order. Imo right now it's Belmont Hill and Tabor at the top, a coin flip for spots 3-6 between Nobles, Seb's, Govs, Rivers, and then a step down spots 7-9.

1. Belmont Hill: I think Tabor should be #1 based solely on 2022 results, but BH has rebounded nicely after their non league schedule and have skill and depth everywhere. Anyone in the ISL will have to play their best to beat them. Huge game Wednesday against Tabor.

2. St. Seb's: Might be a little high given that they just lost in OT to Nobles. This team has some great parts but I'm not sure the overall balance is great. They got zero goals from the attack against Nobles, and while the unit was always going to be young they are starting an 8th grader as a projected starter (and one of the top 5 sophomore attackmen in MA) is out with injury. Defense also hasn't been quite as dominant as expected. Seems like they miss Jimmy Freehill.

3. Nobles: This feels like NELJ justifying their own preseason rankings a bit. Though not a league game they lost to Rivers and haven't been as impressive as Tabor. Still. they're solidly top 6 and their studs have been playing studly.

4. Tabor: I don't understand why the Seawolves aren't #1 or #2 at worst. They've really impressed so far, beating up on Govs and Rivers and having better outcomes against common opponents than both Seb's and Nobles. It's always tougher to track boarding school additions/transfers, but they definitely have some guys who I didn't know about contributing to box scores. Huge test on Wednesday going to Belmont Hill. We'll see how Tabor plays now that they'll be starting to feel some of the weight of expectations.

5. Govs: Seems about the right spot. They were down to Tabor by as many as 8 goals, but played even with Seb's. They have good balance at every position group so it's really about improving and peaking a month from now.

6. Rivers: Has played well so far and should finish in the top 8. Their freshman goalie has established himself as a presence for the next four years. Game against Middlesex on Wednesday will be really important for both teams.

7. St. George's: Surprise team of the season so far. I knew they'd be much improved but a 5-0 start, including 12-9 over Thayer, is better than I expected. They're feeling confident but face a huge test when they host Seb's on Wednesday.

8. Middlesex: They've faced some of the iron of the ISL to start 0-2 with close losses to Seb's and Govs. They've got Rivers and Govs in their next two and will need to win at least one of them to keep a top eight finish in sight.

9. Thayer: Manage a 14-13 win over Lawrence Academy to get to 1-2 in league play, and should have a confidence builder against Groton on Wednesday. I'm sure the three seniors wouldn't want to read this, but 2022 is really a building block towards what should be a title contending team in 2023.

[Can Opener]

Big upset in Milton with the Mustangs prevailing 11-9 over Gov's. What a year in the ISL. I'm glad I'm not trying to make a living betting on these games. The parity and "any given Wednesday" nature of the league this year is a lot of fun.

[Laxxal22]

Big upset in Milton with the Mustangs prevailing 11-9 over Gov's. What a year in the ISL. I'm glad I'm not trying to make a living betting on these games. The parity and "any given Wednesday" nature of the league this year is a lot of fun.

Did not see that one coming. I saw that the Milton goalie had 23 saves or something ridiculous.

Some other interesting scores as well.

Belmont Hill 12 - Tabor 10: 12-7 after three and probably not as close as the final score indicated. I may try to watch the game at some point as it's archived on Bbiglive. BH has cemented their spot as leaders of the pack.

Rivers 13 - Middlesex 7: A little surprised by this margin and Rivers holding Middlesex to 7. Vlacich apparently had six goals for Rivers. That first midfield line is deadly.

St. Seb's 17 - St. George's 3: The Dragons came crashing back down to earth after a 5-0 start to the season, and the Arrows exorcised some demons on offense. Seb's seemingly had been stuck in neutral so far this season and have to hope that was the kickstart for the second half of the season. St. G's had been playing with a lot of confidence but that's the type of margin that could potentially send them into a tailspin.

[Laxxal22]

Big game tonight with a neutral site between Belmont Hill and Seb’s. BH would have a solid track to the #1 playoff seed with a win. Both teams, especially Seb’s, were figuring things out the first few weeks of the season and have been humming lately after games with lower rung competition. The longsticks and midfielders are strengths for each squad but should pretty much cancel each other out. I like BH’s attack better, and Torrey has been outstanding in net so far this season. A Seb’s win wouldn’t surprise me, but BH by a 1-4 goal margin is how I’d bet if I had to make a wager.

[Flag Down]

Here is the livestream link to the game at Regis tonight:
https://bbiglive.com/events/457-belmon ... AS9nKTFiBD

[MA Lax Fan]

Great game at Regis between Sebs and BH.

Sebs could not adjust to the zone and it cost them.

Also, if I hear another sideline fan mention that Frisoli is an 8th grader, I’m going to lose my mind. The kid is an awesome player but he should be in 10th grade.