LaxPower Back-Up Stick

Towson has what you need to get to FF - studs at fogo/ssdm/attack/close, a core of solid keepers, team offense, team defense, and leadership.

Drexel and Towson have been putting up some mad points, with Fairfield not far behind. Every team but Hofstra are letting the shots fly - 44-45 vs a more traditional 35.

Fairfield and UD are playing the cleanest games so far, averaging 2-3 minutes per game. Towson has been in the bin a lot this season, which I suspect will resolve it self as the season goes on. Turnovers are eye popping...UMASS under 15 ane Drexel over 19. Under 15 may be tough to achieve and maintain due to current style of play.

1. UMass 5 74 14.80
2. Delaware 6 95 15.83
3. Hofstra 5 80 16.00
4. Fairfield 4 70 17.50
5. Towson 4 71 17.75
6. Drexel 4 77 19.25

FOGO is all about match ups and betting hot...I doubt anyone will get the best of Woodall.

UD may have the best goalie in the league.

Hard to run the CAA...Towson can do it and someone could take them down. Need to see the first round of match-up, which I am assuming a home seed.

All baring injuries...the '19 version of Woodall back in '17

This league has been very fortunate with top goalies.
Three really good ones this year, Canto, Sconone, DeLuca.
You had Concannon, Tyler White the past couple years.
Wouldn’t be surprised to see the top goalie this year come out of the CAA.

runrussellrun wrote: ↑Thu Mar 07, 2019 9:26 am

Nassaufan wrote: ↑Wed Mar 06, 2019 7:19 pm I think Towson will go 5-0 in the CAA and sweep the CAA playoffs en route to another Final Four appearance.

I think Towson will loss at least two CAA games, one in the CAA finals. Could this be the year where a deserving CAA gets two invites? Don't think that has ever happened.

CAA has had two bids 2 or 3 times. I can’t find the years because laxpower is gone. I remember a year when Delaware won the CAA and Hofstra got an at large.

Btw it’s way too early to call for anyone to sweep the CAA. Towson and UMass are at the top of the class right now. UMass won’t lose another game before the CAA. Should have beaten Army and Yale but couldn’t close. Whoever stays healthy will have an advantage. Delaware and Hofstra seem pretty balanced. Drexel’s defense is dreadful. Over their last 8 games going back to last year they are giving up on average 15+ a game. Not sure what to think of Fairfield. We shall see.

CAA had two in 2013.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_NC ... ampionship


Drexel’s idea of defense is the
Watford Long John Silver Impersonators
strategy - if anyone remembers this
Monty Python bit.

https://montypython.fandom.com/wiki/Lon ... ecologists


Loyola is getting wiped out by Duke.
So its looking like Towson - Duke is going to be the
validation game, the measuring stick.

People thought Yale was unbeatable till Villanova beat them. People thought Duke was unbeatable till High Point beat them. People thought Loyola was unbeatable till Towson (and now Duke) beat them.

Nobody is unbeatable. Look for the CAA team that wins the conference to have 2-4 losses on the season. They’ll still be VERY good.

If you follow SE PA lacrosse, which really is, Tri State area lacrosse, the Philly four tournament starts today at Villanova.
Two former CAA members, Villanova and St. Joe’s along with Drexel and Penn. Then two more games Sunday at Vidas, with (a plug) the new Fink family (as in legend Dennis Fink) scoreboard.
Hopefully a good turnout of area prep players.
LSN will carry all games.

10 Stone5

One quick correction. Looks like LSN is covering three of the four games this weekend. The Nova-Penn game tonight will be on the pay for play Villanova network. Crappy!

Thanks.
Drexel with their third goalie of the year, starting the freshman. Maybe 3rd time is the charm.

Yeah I’m looking@ the Drexel/Jax stats. Jax scores 19 and Drexel couldn’t not stop a beach ball. That is why I was asking in a previous post !!

Tigers do not look like they’re having all that much trouble with Jax, a 6-1 start, but of course, don’t sleep on Jax.

8-5 Tigers half.
6-6 DU SJU 4Q.

10 stone5

I think I was wrong on the Villanova Penn game. The announcers keep saying they have the second game. The link on Inside Lacrosse was taking me to the Villanova PPV.

So that is good. Should be an awesome game.

That was close.
Tigers could not put that team away, but 15-13, a W.

Drexel wins, and the goalie actually made a few saves.

Who is this guy, Jack Dolan ?
Jacksonville, he lit up Drexel for 8 point, and just lit up the Tigers for 7 points, guess he gets to light up Penn State next.

Last two games, teams seem to have figured out the Tigers defense, and then of course, Cornell against Woodall offset his advantage at faceoff by staying on the man and causing turnovers off the face off. Still, great run to number one in the nation by the Tigers. Turn things around against Duke, get back to that physical play of the first four games.

Overall, a 5 and 3 weekend.
The games against top ranked opponents were pretty much wipe outs, Georgetown, Cornell, Ohio State, with the one top win being Drexel against Villanova.

Welp, back to the grind.
Here’s hoping the Tigers can turn things around against Duke, Duke who is playing as well as anybody, maybe as of right now, the top team in the country.

A prop, just one, Drexel’s Collin Mailman.
A sort of prototypical Western/Central PA football player. Over 2,000 receiving yards in high school, hybrid football-lacrosse player.
Played defensive mid for two years as he developed his stick skills.
When they opened up the offense this year, shot clock, taylor made for this type of player.

Mailman had an end to end against Villanova, blew by 5 Nova players like they were standing still for the end to end goal.
Could have the best juke move in the league, 4 goals yesterday against Nova.

10 stone5

I know that you are a big Drexel supporter. I was watching the game vs Villanova (thank you LSN) and in the first quarter said to myself, "here we go again! 12 minutes in and Drexel's given up five goals with virtually no defense."

Suddenly, as if a switch was turned on, the Dragons started playing intense team defense led by stud senior SSDM, Cam Harris and Will Stabbert and Sean Quinn at close defense. And more importantly, Blumenthal started making saves. Koita also did a nice job at the face-off X.

Nobody has ever questioned the offensive potential of the Dragons. But if they can start playing some defense, they could have a nice season. Before this weekend, Drexel had given up an average of 15 goals a game over the previous 8 contests going back to last season. Tough to win games when you have to score 16 every time.

Crazy turnaround.

Harris is well thought of, judging from the comments I’ve seen here and on the former LP. He won the Michigan game.

Given Voelker’s background, a hall of fame defenseman, you’d think they would stress defense. But for the most part, a few exceptions, that hasn’t really been the case during Voelker’s tenure.

Three wins yesterday.
That’s good. That’s solid.
Especially with difficult games against Duke, Hopkins, Georgetown this weekend.
Hard to believe but three teams are already half way through their schedule.

Of the three wins yesterday, I am especially interested in Fairfield's. As the Stags also beat Sacred Heart, I'm starting to wonder if Fairfield plays better, more like a true team with every player being important, than they did with the erstwhile freshman phenom from Cold Spring Harbor, Long Island. It will be interesting to see how Fairfield fares in conference play. It almost goes without saying, but all eyes on Towson and how the Tigers bounce back from that first defeat, with tough OOC games against Duke and Denver.