US Lacrosse Magazine Early Rankings

[jrn19]

I'm surprised that Hobart wasn't among the teams "considered".

They lost like most of their best players to the portal right? Holden and Scott both transferred out.

[Wheels]

Syracuse was the best team last season, and depending on what happens with all of the suspensions, they're a Final 4 team no doubt. Talk about a physically imposing team. Maryland with Bernhardt back will have an offense that will be so difficult to stop. Hope that they have an off day. Their season will come down to the FOGO play. If they get to 50% at the X, get 50% in goal, and clear at 90%, they'll have way too many offensive possessions for nearly any team to beat. Hot take...I think Duke's defense and depth will limit them. Sowers is phenomenal. He will make everyone else on that offense better. But do they have a good 2nd MF line? Can their defense hold up, even with JTG back and a new goalie? Put 'em at #1...that's fine...but I think Cuse and MD are more complete teams.

I think there's a drop between #3 and #4. UNC has a great offense, stop me if you've heard that before. Their style of play always seems to keep other teams in the game. Their defense gets all spread out with defenders on islands and slides having to come from so far away. Still think they're #4 but think they're not in the same class as Duke, Cuse, and MD. Can't get a bead on UVA. They didn't look great without Ryan Conrad last year. Their defense doesn't look like it can hold up well. UVA's style also can keep teams in the game. Love the way they ride and how that can keep them in any game.

Consider me skeptical on DU. IMO, the shot clock has hurt DU more than any other program. They still lack dodgers (something the Yale xfers don't address). Until they show they can beat Georgetown, they belong behind Georgetown.

Agree with previous post about PSU being overrated due to Ament's departure. OSU will finish 2nd in the B1G.

Just tough to tell what's going to happen in the Ivy. They've been gutted from a talent perspective. If Cornell didn't have the new coach, they'd seem on paper like the team to beat in the Ivy.

[jrn19]

Syracuse was the best team last season, and depending on what happens with all of the suspensions, they're a Final 4 team no doubt. Talk about a physically imposing team. Maryland with Bernhardt back will have an offense that will be so difficult to stop. Hope that they have an off day. Their season will come down to the FOGO play. If they get to 50% at the X, get 50% in goal, and clear at 90%, they'll have way too many offensive possessions for nearly any team to beat. Hot take...I think Duke's defense and depth will limit them. Sowers is phenomenal. He will make everyone else on that offense better. But do they have a good 2nd MF line? Can their defense hold up, even with JTG back and a new goalie? Put 'em at #1...that's fine...but I think Cuse and MD are more complete teams.

I think there's a drop between #3 and #4. UNC has a great offense, stop me if you've heard that before. Their style of play always seems to keep other teams in the game. Their defense gets all spread out with defenders on islands and slides having to come from so far away. Still think they're #4 but think they're not in the same class as Duke, Cuse, and MD. Can't get a bead on UVA. They didn't look great without Ryan Conrad last year. Their defense doesn't look like it can hold up well. UVA's style also can keep teams in the game. Love the way they ride and how that can keep them in any game.

Consider me skeptical on DU. IMO, the shot clock has hurt DU more than any other program. They still lack dodgers (something the Yale xfers don't address). Until they show they can beat Georgetown, they belong behind Georgetown.

Agree with previous post about PSU being overrated due to Ament's departure. OSU will finish 2nd in the B1G.

Just tough to tell what's going to happen in the Ivy. They've been gutted from a talent perspective. If Cornell didn't have the new coach, they'd seem on paper like the team to beat in the Ivy.

Caputo-Montgomery-O’Neill will be the Duke 1st MF.

So then you’re probably looking at Leadmon-Badour-Lowrie as the 2nd MF line. Those guys combined for 23 goals and 35 points last year. Badour’s a really good player and was playing 1st MF for them last year. That might have been a stretch for him but 2nd he should fit in nicely and he can dodge. Leadmon is a really good shooter. And then Lowrie used to be a 4th/5th attackmen. I don’t think that line is any worse than Maryland or Cuse’s 2nd midfield lines.

I think you may be understating Morrill as an addition for Denver. He can definitely dodge and was Yale’s best attackmen when they got back to the championship game in 2019. And Hannah really emerged as the conduit for the offense from the midfield last year. So they’ve got him up top and then finally an elite dodger down low so Walker can play off ball and just shoot.

[Wheels]

Caputo-Montgomery-O’Neill will be the Duke 1st MF.

So then you’re probably looking at Leadmon-Badour-Lowrie as the 2nd MF line. Those guys combined for 23 goals and 35 points last year. Badour’s a really good player and was playing 1st MF for them last year. That might have been a stretch for him but 2nd he should fit in nicely and he can dodge. Leadmon is a really good shooter. And then Lowrie used to be a 4th/5th attackmen. I don’t think that line is any worse than Maryland or Cuse’s 2nd midfield lines.

I think you may be understating Morrill as an addition for Denver. He can definitely dodge and was Yale’s best attackmen when they got back to the championship game in 2019. And Hannah really emerged as the conduit for the offense from the midfield last year. So they’ve got him up top and then finally an elite dodger down low so Walker can play off ball and just shoot.

Isn't Morrill the guy that during Yale's runs that the ESPN crew kept talking about how un-athletic he is? Like, literally making fun of how slow he was? Wasn't Brandau more of their speed guy (with Reeves being that real dodger the year before)? Morrill is no doubt a coach on the field player. Always makes the right play. But can he consistently beat an opponent's top cover guy? Consider me skeptical. Otherwise, that offense just endlessly spins the ball around the field. Walker can sling it for sure, and Hannah has developed really well. But that's it for them. Again, until they can beat GU, they don't belong ahead of the Hoyas.

With Duke, the lack of a true fall season and a strange start to the spring is going to slow some of the progress with the super frosh. Will be run on that first line? I like Duke's first line. Sowers covers up all of the issues they had at attack. He covers up a lot of issues for an entire offense. Their D, though? Gonna be interesting. The xfer FOGO will have a lot of weight on his shoulders for sure.

I do hope Cuse gets all of their guys back. At full strength, that Cuse team will be so good through the middle of the field. How great would it be to see a FF of Duke, MD, Cuse, and UNC? Gonna be a great season!

[jrn19]

Caputo-Montgomery-O’Neill will be the Duke 1st MF.

So then you’re probably looking at Leadmon-Badour-Lowrie as the 2nd MF line. Those guys combined for 23 goals and 35 points last year. Badour’s a really good player and was playing 1st MF for them last year. That might have been a stretch for him but 2nd he should fit in nicely and he can dodge. Leadmon is a really good shooter. And then Lowrie used to be a 4th/5th attackmen. I don’t think that line is any worse than Maryland or Cuse’s 2nd midfield lines.

I think you may be understating Morrill as an addition for Denver. He can definitely dodge and was Yale’s best attackmen when they got back to the championship game in 2019. And Hannah really emerged as the conduit for the offense from the midfield last year. So they’ve got him up top and then finally an elite dodger down low so Walker can play off ball and just shoot.

Isn't Morrill the guy that during Yale's runs that the ESPN crew kept talking about how un-athletic he is? Like, literally making fun of how slow he was? Wasn't Brandau more of their speed guy (with Reeves being that real dodger the year before)? Morrill is no doubt a coach on the field player. Always makes the right play. But can he consistently beat an opponent's top cover guy? Consider me skeptical. Otherwise, that offense just endlessly spins the ball around the field. Walker can sling it for sure, and Hannah has developed really well. But that's it for them. Again, until they can beat GU, they don't belong ahead of the Hoyas.

With Duke, the lack of a true fall season and a strange start to the spring is going to slow some of the progress with the super frosh. Will be run on that first line? I like Duke's first line. Sowers covers up all of the issues they had at attack. He covers up a lot of issues for an entire offense. Their D, though? Gonna be interesting. The xfer FOGO will have a lot of weight on his shoulders for sure.

I do hope Cuse gets all of their guys back. At full strength, that Cuse team will be so good through the middle of the field. How great would it be to see a FF of Duke, MD, Cuse, and UNC? Gonna be a great season!

I....don’t recall? I wouldn’t say that’s necessarily accurate if true. I mean Morrill had 94 points in 2019. He was the #1 guy in that offense. Brandau is probably the better athlete and a beast but in 2019 Morrill was the lynchpin of that offense and put up 7 points vs Penn State, 6 vs Cornell, 5 vs Georgetown, 7 vs Penn, 5 vs Penn State again. Thats against some pretty top notch defensemen - Gibson Smith is as good as it gets, Cardile is great. Maybe he’s not the most athletic attackmen in the world but he has taken on #1 attackmen and beaten them before. He’s an amazing player. And will certainly make Denver better.

[HopFan16]

With Duke, the lack of a true fall season and a strange start to the spring is going to slow some of the progress with the super frosh. Will be run on that first line? I like Duke's first line. Sowers covers up all of the issues they had at attack. He covers up a lot of issues for an entire offense. Their D, though? Gonna be interesting. The xfer FOGO will have a lot of weight on his shoulders for sure.

Duke's D was starting to play better towards the second half of 2020 before Covid ended everything. According to Lax Reference their adjusted defensive efficiency rating was better than Maryland's and not that far off from Syracuse's. Not a *strength* but also not something that I think is going to drastically hinder them—especially now that they are bringing in one of the best goalies in the country in Adler to shore up a position that was a weakness for them last year (their carousel of goalies combined for below 50%).

Sowers is a transcendent talent. If any top 5 team added him during the offseason, I'd probably rank that team #1. Duke had a couple early season blips like they always seem to do, but they also did beat Denver at Denver and Loyola at Loyola. Dyson Williams is going to score 60 goals with Sowers serving him up crease dunks on a silver platter.

Syracuse looked great, but relative to Duke they were untested. As we're all well aware Hop was a mess so that win doesn't mean a whole lot. Their only other win over a good team was Army (who had just gotten spanked by Marist the week before). Hard for the Black Knights to beat a team like Cuse when they can't win a faceoff. I think that combined with the uncertainty surrounding the midfield with these possible suspensions is enough to push the Orange to 2 or 3, but not further than that.

[ohmilax34]

With Duke, the lack of a true fall season and a strange start to the spring is going to slow some of the progress with the super frosh. Will be run on that first line? I like Duke's first line. Sowers covers up all of the issues they had at attack. He covers up a lot of issues for an entire offense. Their D, though? Gonna be interesting. The xfer FOGO will have a lot of weight on his shoulders for sure.

Duke's D was starting to play better towards the second half of 2020 before Covid ended everything. According to Lax Reference their adjusted defensive efficiency rating was better than Maryland's and not that far off from Syracuse's. Not a *strength* but also not something that I think is going to drastically hinder them—especially now that they are bringing in one of the best goalies in the country in Adler to shore up a position that was a weakness for them last year (their carousel of goalies combined for below 50%).

Sowers is a transcendent talent. If any top 5 team added him during the offseason, I'd probably rank that team #1. Duke had a couple early season blips like they always seem to do, but they also did beat Denver at Denver and Loyola at Loyola. Dyson Williams is going to score 60 goals with Sowers serving him up crease dunks on a silver platter.

Syracuse looked great, but relative to Duke they were untested. As we're all well aware Hop was a mess so that win doesn't mean a whole lot. Their only other win over a good team was Army (who had just gotten spanked by Marist the week before). Hard for the Black Knights to beat a team like Cuse when they can't win a faceoff. I think that combined with the uncertainty surrounding the midfield with these possible suspensions is enough to push the Orange to 2 or 3, but not further than that.

I think you're showing Syracuse a lot of respect. We don't know who they'll lose in the midfield, so maybe you're kind of hedging. Their first midfield was great, and that was the big separator between them and other teams. They're good up and down the roster, but 1st midfield is where they separated themselves. If they lose 2 players from their 1st midfield, forget top 5, they are top 12. As we all know, SU doesn't have a great attackman who can create offense (we'll see about Hiltz), so without a dominant 1st midfield, I think they drop off big time. The 2019 Syracuse team is probably a good comparison. They were good all over the field, but they weren't dominant on offense, so they lost to Loyola in the playoffs.

Duke is an interesting case, because they stopped playing in March, and we usually don't see the real Duke team until April or May. Add on all the incoming transfers, and we really have no idea what they'll look like. Their midfield, even last year, had lots of guys getting playing time. Reilly Walsh was a 3rd line midfielder. I always like hearing how Duke runs their program. Their fall league sounded really interesting, and I'm curious to see how it benefits them in the spring.

[Antonio114]

With Duke, the lack of a true fall season and a strange start to the spring is going to slow some of the progress with the super frosh. Will be run on that first line? I like Duke's first line. Sowers covers up all of the issues they had at attack. He covers up a lot of issues for an entire offense. Their D, though? Gonna be interesting. The xfer FOGO will have a lot of weight on his shoulders for sure.

Duke's D was starting to play better towards the second half of 2020 before Covid ended everything. According to Lax Reference their adjusted defensive efficiency rating was better than Maryland's and not that far off from Syracuse's. Not a *strength* but also not something that I think is going to drastically hinder them—especially now that they are bringing in one of the best goalies in the country in Adler to shore up a position that was a weakness for them last year (their carousel of goalies combined for below 50%).

Sowers is a transcendent talent. If any top 5 team added him during the offseason, I'd probably rank that team #1. Duke had a couple early season blips like they always seem to do, but they also did beat Denver at Denver and Loyola at Loyola. Dyson Williams is going to score 60 goals with Sowers serving him up crease dunks on a silver platter.

Syracuse looked great, but relative to Duke they were untested. As we're all well aware Hop was a mess so that win doesn't mean a whole lot. Their only other win over a good team was Army (who had just gotten spanked by Marist the week before). Hard for the Black Knights to beat a team like Cuse when they can't win a faceoff. I think that combined with the uncertainty surrounding the midfield with these possible suspensions is enough to push the Orange to 2 or 3, but not further than that.

I think you're showing Syracuse a lot of respect. We don't know who they'll lose in the midfield, so maybe you're kind of hedging. Their first midfield was great, and that was the big separator between them and other teams. They're good up and down the roster, but 1st midfield is where they separated themselves. If they lose 2 players from their 1st midfield, forget top 5, they are top 12. As we all know, SU doesn't have a great attackman who can create offense (we'll see about Hiltz), so without a dominant 1st midfield, I think they drop off big time. The 2019 Syracuse team is probably a good comparison. They were good all over the field, but they weren't dominant on offense, so they lost to Loyola in the playoffs.

Duke is an interesting case, because they stopped playing in March, and we usually don't see the real Duke team until April or May. Add on all the incoming transfers, and we really have no idea what they'll look like. Their midfield, even last year, had lots of guys getting playing time. Reilly Walsh was a 3rd line midfielder. I always like hearing how Duke runs their program. Their fall league sounded really interesting, and I'm curious to see how it benefits them in the spring.

Cuse has the potential to have a really good defense this year. Kennedy is getting used to his role at close D and the unit of Kennedy, Murphy, DePietro has plenty of quality experience. I think Murphy especially is underrated. All four of the SSDMS are back, and at least Olodumoye, Dearth, and Aviles looked high quality. Wycoff should fill in the loss at LSM nicely. I think Porter is without question one of the top goalies. Holding Army to 7 is impressive, especially since they were out for blood after the Marist embarrassment. Granted they could have easily had a couple more if not for Porter. Army put up 17 on UMass, who was able to hold OSU to 7 and Yale to 10. If not for that pesky Marist game I would be especially optimistic!

With the D, who are supposedly not implicated in the covid stuff, plus the very promising reports about Hiltz, we will still be a strong contender, even if the school actually does drop the hammer.

[LRoggy]

While we already know the Top Five to be released tomorrow, in no known order, hear is where I would have put the Top 25, for what it’s worth:

Air Force
Hobart
Brown
Navy
Richmond
Rutgers
Penn
Lehigh
Mass
Hopkins
Loyola
Army
Villanova
Ohio State
Notre Dame
Denver
Georgetown
Yale
Penn State
North Carolina
Maryland
Cornell
Virginia
Duke
Syracuse

C'mon man.

I think it was listed as 25 to 1, what's the issue?

[LRoggy]

I'm surprised that Hobart wasn't among the teams "considered".

They lost like most of their best players to the portal right? Holden and Scott both transferred out.

Lots of firepower coming back and arguably the best recruiting class in the D1 era:

https://hwsathletics.com/cumestats.aspx ... &year=2020

[ohmilax34]

While we already know the Top Five to be released tomorrow, in no known order, hear is where I would have put the Top 25, for what it’s worth:

Air Force
Hobart
Brown
Navy
Richmond
Rutgers
Penn
Lehigh
Mass
Hopkins
Loyola
Army
Villanova
Ohio State
Notre Dame
Denver
Georgetown
Yale
Penn State
North Carolina
Maryland
Cornell
Virginia
Duke
Syracuse

C'mon man.

I think it was listed as 25 to 1, what's the issue?

It might just be a play on words with the original poster's username.

[DMac]

Which is exactly what it is coming from a person who puts no stock in polls.

[jrn19]

I'm surprised that Hobart wasn't among the teams "considered".

They lost like most of their best players to the portal right? Holden and Scott both transferred out.

Lots of firepower coming back and arguably the best recruiting class in the D1 era:

https://hwsathletics.com/cumestats.aspx ... &year=2020

Holden was their best player the last 2 seasons and transferred out. And Scott might have been their best midfielder and he transferred out as well. Those are two tough losses and the Top 20 is really deep this year.

[jrn19]

With Duke, the lack of a true fall season and a strange start to the spring is going to slow some of the progress with the super frosh. Will be run on that first line? I like Duke's first line. Sowers covers up all of the issues they had at attack. He covers up a lot of issues for an entire offense. Their D, though? Gonna be interesting. The xfer FOGO will have a lot of weight on his shoulders for sure.

Duke's D was starting to play better towards the second half of 2020 before Covid ended everything. According to Lax Reference their adjusted defensive efficiency rating was better than Maryland's and not that far off from Syracuse's. Not a *strength* but also not something that I think is going to drastically hinder them—especially now that they are bringing in one of the best goalies in the country in Adler to shore up a position that was a weakness for them last year (their carousel of goalies combined for below 50%).

Sowers is a transcendent talent. If any top 5 team added him during the offseason, I'd probably rank that team #1. Duke had a couple early season blips like they always seem to do, but they also did beat Denver at Denver and Loyola at Loyola. Dyson Williams is going to score 60 goals with Sowers serving him up crease dunks on a silver platter.

Syracuse looked great, but relative to Duke they were untested. As we're all well aware Hop was a mess so that win doesn't mean a whole lot. Their only other win over a good team was Army (who had just gotten spanked by Marist the week before). Hard for the Black Knights to beat a team like Cuse when they can't win a faceoff. I think that combined with the uncertainty surrounding the midfield with these possible suspensions is enough to push the Orange to 2 or 3, but not further than that.

I think you're showing Syracuse a lot of respect. We don't know who they'll lose in the midfield, so maybe you're kind of hedging. Their first midfield was great, and that was the big separator between them and other teams. They're good up and down the roster, but 1st midfield is where they separated themselves. If they lose 2 players from their 1st midfield, forget top 5, they are top 12. As we all know, SU doesn't have a great attackman who can create offense (we'll see about Hiltz), so without a dominant 1st midfield, I think they drop off big time. The 2019 Syracuse team is probably a good comparison. They were good all over the field, but they weren't dominant on offense, so they lost to Loyola in the playoffs.

Duke is an interesting case, because they stopped playing in March, and we usually don't see the real Duke team until April or May. Add on all the incoming transfers, and we really have no idea what they'll look like. Their midfield, even last year, had lots of guys getting playing time. Reilly Walsh was a 3rd line midfielder. I always like hearing how Duke runs their program. Their fall league sounded really interesting, and I'm curious to see how it benefits them in the spring.

I don't think there's really a way to rank Cuse on the assumption guys may transfer out/leave. Obviously if they lose a lot of the first midfield and 2nd as well they'd drop out of the Top 10. But for now they're still on the roster so you kinda just gotta take them as they are right now and they're still a Top 5 team as presently constructed. We'll see what happens when more news breaks on what's up with those guys.

[bananas]

The return of Bernhardt places Maryland in the conversation with Duke. UNC talents are a year older, their starting six on offense can compare with any. UVA were the defending champs and Cormier will more than replace Aiken . they missed Greco experience , their D will be better with Saustad returning. Placed Syracuse at 5 with or without Refhuss , no other of their players are in portal so they'll be back. Maybe too low for a strong and experienced throughout but no alpha at attack who can change a game by himself. If Sowers had transferred there instead of Duke (or if they had a dodger ie Bernhardt, Gray . Moore ) they'd be preseason my #1 . Some buzz about fr. Hiltz but always remains to be seen what a frosh brings in first year. If he turns out to be a Epstein then they will be as good as any. Denver added some high end vets to go along with high end players in Hannah, Turner and some good youngsters. Not sure you can every call Denver a sleeper but talent could come together quickly under Tierney,

[oldbartman]

I'm surprised that Hobart wasn't among the teams "considered".

They lost like most of their best players to the portal right? Holden and Scott both transferred out.

Yes Holden and Scott are doing graduate programs at UMD & Delaware. They were important pieces, but hardly the only thing that drove Hobart's success. A lot of scoring coming back as well as some great freshman as well. SJU has to find a replacement for their goalie (now at Duke) Adler......

[Farfromgeneva]

I'm surprised that Hobart wasn't among the teams "considered".

They lost like most of their best players to the portal right? Holden and Scott both transferred out.

Not really. The team had been built for both not to be here in 2021 anyways with a number of guys there:

Jason Knox (36,5,41 as FR in 19, 18,3,21 in 5gms in 20)
Run Archer (IL #59 son of Jamie, CNY POY, 45,38,93 in 35 games)
Derek Madonna (Mid-23,9,32 in 19 as FR, 8,2,9 in 3gms in 20)
Tommy Mott (A/M, 21.25,46 in 32gms)
John Herlihy a AA out of a Lincoln Sudbury was 12,1,13 in 20 5gms (Mid)

All close D returning. Two FOGOs returning. Not to deny Holden and Scott will be missed but this was prepared for by Raymond IMO

[jrn19]

I'm surprised that Hobart wasn't among the teams "considered".

They lost like most of their best players to the portal right? Holden and Scott both transferred out.

Not really. The team had been built for both not to be here in 2021 anyways with a number of guys there:

Jason Knox (36,5,41 as FR in 19, 18,3,21 in 5gms in 20)
Run Archer (IL #59 son of Jamie, CNY POY, 45,38,93 in 35 games)
Derek Madonna (Mid-23,9,32 in 19 as FR, 8,2,9 in 3gms in 20)
Tommy Mott (A/M, 21.25,46 in 32gms)
John Herlihy a AA out of a Lincoln Sudbury was 12,1,13 in 20 5gms (Mid)

All close D returning. Two FOGOs returning. Not to deny Holden and Scott will be missed but this was prepared for by Raymond IMO

I'm not questioning that they'll be a solid team; but it's a really deep Top 20 and they lost some key contributors. Wouldn't be shocked if they found their way into some people's Top 20 come the season but also don't think it's egregious or anything that they're not in there.

[Farfromgeneva]

I think the point your missing is that they were graduating anyways and the program has been building for this. Chris Aslanian ended up as the D1 scoring leader at Hobart and graduated the year prior. It’s not a one off talent comi Nd through. Next man up is here in Geneva. They’ll be in the mix in or out at year end so consideration is reasonable

[10stone5]

I'm surprised that Hobart wasn't among the teams "considered".

They lost like most of their best players to the portal right? Holden and Scott both transferred out.

Not really. The team had been built for both not to be here in 2021 anyways with a number of guys there:

Jason Knox (36,5,41 as FR in 19, 18,3,21 in 5gms in 20)
Run Archer (IL #59 son of Jamie, CNY POY, 45,38,93 in 35 games)
Derek Madonna (Mid-23,9,32 in 19 as FR, 8,2,9 in 3gms in 20)
Tommy Mott (A/M, 21.25,46 in 32gms)
John Herlihy a AA out of a Lincoln Sudbury was 12,1,13 in 20 5gms (Mid)

All close D returning. Two FOGOs returning. Not to deny Holden and Scott will be missed but this was prepared for by Raymond IMO

I’d like to see how Troy Barthelme progresses.
Reminds me of Brendan Sunday,
maybe he can make a similar progression.
6’6” / 6’7”, up to 225-230, hopefully thats mostly
muscle.