NESCAC

[Unknown Participant]

Has anyone talked about how the tufts coach is underperforming? He was gifted a top tier program and has fumbled every year. Only 1 championship game appearance and zero rings… but hey we have a lot of Instagram followers! Look at the talent he has had the past few years and he can’t win the big game. Maybe the tufts admin should not have hired a guy based on what he did as a player.

Yes pretty much every year. Tufts has been to 2 final 4s and 1 NC game last 3 yrs. In D1 lax , success is measured in playing on Memorial Day weekend (and final/frozen four in some other sports). Not in DIII lax tho, it is championship or bust apparently.

[NNELax]

That's such a silly argument....Tufts HC is fine....Only in New England would someone complain about championship droughts..

[RamsFan]

Has anyone talked about how the tufts coach is underperforming? He was gifted a top tier program and has fumbled every year. Only 1 championship game appearance and zero rings… but hey we have a lot of Instagram followers! Look at the talent he has had the past few years and he can’t win the big game. Maybe the tufts admin should not have hired a guy based on what he did as a player.

Please. Lots of people love to hate on the Jumbos, their players, and coaching stafff, but name a D3 coach not named Daly, Berkman or Coon that has a better overall D3 resume than D'Annolfo for the past decade....Yes, Raba has 1 Natty, but I don't think has made a final 4 other than that one year. And I would bet is Raba about 3-10 (or so) all-time against D'Annolfo. And 5/6 on 'Cac championships (every year other than his first). Can't think of ANY other school top tier school academic that wouldnt kill to have that record for their lax program.

Waiting on those names.....

[shorelax12]

Has anyone talked about how the tufts coach is underperforming? He was gifted a top tier program and has fumbled every year. Only 1 championship game appearance and zero rings… but hey we have a lot of Instagram followers! Look at the talent he has had the past few years and he can’t win the big game. Maybe the tufts admin should not have hired a guy based on what he did as a player.

Please. Lots of people love to hate on the Jumbos, their players, and coaching stafff, but name a D3 coach not named Daly, Berkman or Coon that has a better overall D3 resume than D'Annolfo for the past decade....Yes, Raba has 1 Natty, but I don't think has made a final 4 other than that one year. And I would bet is Raba about 3-10 (or so) all-time against D'Annolfo. And 5/6 on 'Cac championships (every year other than his first). Can't think of ANY other school top tier school academic that wouldnt kill to have that record for their lax program.

Waiting on those names.....

I think that, due to the Tufts social media, forums like this and the level of talent on the team, people naturally create an expectation that anything short of a national championship is a failure. While some of this may be the unintended result of Tufts own marketing machine, you certainly are correct that most D3 programs would be thrilled to have this level of success.

[Lacrossefan25]

Has anyone talked about how the tufts coach is underperforming? He was gifted a top tier program and has fumbled every year. Only 1 championship game appearance and zero rings… but hey we have a lot of Instagram followers! Look at the talent he has had the past few years and he can’t win the big game. Maybe the tufts admin should not have hired a guy based on what he did as a player.

Please. Lots of people love to hate on the Jumbos, their players, and coaching stafff, but name a D3 coach not named Daly, Berkman or Coon that has a better overall D3 resume than D'Annolfo for the past decade....Yes, Raba has 1 Natty, but I don't think has made a final 4 other than that one year. And I would bet is Raba about 3-10 (or so) all-time against D'Annolfo. And 5/6 on 'Cac championships (every year other than his first). Can't think of ANY other school top tier school academic that wouldnt kill to have that record for their lax program.

Waiting on those names.....

Ever heard of Steve Colfer buddy? Consistent top 5 team that went on the road to win a national title in 2019 beating a nescac team. Or do you not look south of New York City where real lacrosse is played and national championships are won. All you NESCAC lovers love talking about how your league is the best and if they didn’t play each other they would all be undefeated when in reality the last 10 years the NESCAC hasn’t won anything and is constantly over ranked. Look at NESCAC teams in playoff games vs real coaches who know how to stop gimmick lacrosse. Also if you watched the Salisbury vs tufts NC in 2023, those bury boys our muscled them. Do they have weight rooms up there? Even the Cabrini 2019 game it was men amongst boys.

[nelaxman]

I'm not sure why there are attacks on D’Annolfo, and the remarks from “Ramsfan” about Raba (Wesleyan) are not true. Since you made me do a deep dive since D’Annolfo arrived at Tufts, they have a 6-6 record against Wesleyan, not 3-10. From looking at website Raba has been to four final fours. Absolutely still one of the very best coaches in all of D3. These boards are bad because no one does homework they just say what ever comes to their mind. Can anyone give meaningful and truthful insight on these forums anymore?

[ah23]

where real lacrosse is played and national championships are won

Look at NESCAC teams in playoff games vs real coaches who know how to stop gimmick lacrosse

High-level combination of ignorance and arrogance, gotta respect the effort.

[Unknown Participant]

Has anyone talked about how the tufts coach is underperforming? He was gifted a top tier program and has fumbled every year. Only 1 championship game appearance and zero rings… but hey we have a lot of Instagram followers! Look at the talent he has had the past few years and he can’t win the big game. Maybe the tufts admin should not have hired a guy based on what he did as a player.

Please. Lots of people love to hate on the Jumbos, their players, and coaching stafff, but name a D3 coach not named Daly, Berkman or Coon that has a better overall D3 resume than D'Annolfo for the past decade....Yes, Raba has 1 Natty, but I don't think has made a final 4 other than that one year. And I would bet is Raba about 3-10 (or so) all-time against D'Annolfo. And 5/6 on 'Cac championships (every year other than his first). Can't think of ANY other school top tier school academic that wouldnt kill to have that record for their lax program.

Waiting on those names.....

Ever heard of Steve Colfer buddy? Consistent top 5 team that went on the road to win a national title in 2019 beating a nescac team. Or do you not look south of New York City where real lacrosse is played and national championships are won. All you NESCAC lovers love talking about how your league is the best and if they didn’t play each other they would all be undefeated when in reality the last 10 years the NESCAC hasn’t won anything and is constantly over ranked. Look at NESCAC teams in playoff games vs real coaches who know how to stop gimmick lacrosse. Also if you watched the Salisbury vs tufts NC in 2023, those bury boys our muscled them. Do they have weight rooms up there? Even the Cabrini 2019 game it was men amongst boys.

"consistent top 5 team" ... nice imagination. Maybe you are right, let's see how it does this year and next.

[ah23]

These boards are bad because no one does homework they just say what ever comes to their mind.

Much easier to go full pray n’ spray with made-up hot takes than spend time/effort getting informed before forming an opinion.

[The12lov3]

Since 2010, There is have been 8 NESCAC team in the NC games with 4 wins. The only league that has that resume is Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference (Salisbury). The other league that has significant representation is the Liberty at 5 with RIT and Union in the NC game. If you go back to 1999 and you start including Middlebury in the discussion then you have 13 times in 25 years that the NESCAC has been in the NC. No other league besides Salisbury has more. Net of it is that Salisbury is the dominate force in division 3 and then the NESCAC. The proof is in the data. For all those who say that NESCAC is not the top league in division 3 lacrosse is kidding themselves. While they may have had some off years. no other league has that representation IN NC games.


2023 Salisbury Jim Berkman 17-12 Tufts Philadelphia
2022 RIT (22-1) Jake Coon 12-10 Union (NY) East Hartford, Conn.
2021 RIT (14-0) Jake Coon 15-14 (OT) Salisbury East Hartford, Conn.
2020 Canceled due to Covid-19 -- -- -- --
2019 Cabrini (22-2) Steve Colfer 16-12 Amherst Philadelphia
2018 Wesleyan (CT) (19-3) John Raba 8-6 Salisbury Foxborough, Mass.
2017 Salisbury (22-1) Jim Berkman 15-7 RIT Foxborough, Mass.
2016 Salisbury (23-1) Jim Berkman 14-13 Tufts Philadelphia
2015 Tufts (21-2) Mike Daly 19-11 Lynchburg Philadelphia
2014 Tufts (21-2) Mike Daly 12-9 Salisbury Baltimore
2013 Stevenson (22-2) Paul Cantabene 16-14 RIT Philadelphia
2012 Salisbury (23-0) Jim Berkman 14-10 SUNY Cortland Foxborough, Mass.
2011 Salisbury (18-3) Jim Berkman 19-7 Tufts Baltimore
2010 Tufts (20-1) Mike Daly 9-6 Salisbury Baltimore

[callaxdad]

Has anyone talked about how the tufts coach is underperforming? He was gifted a top tier program and has fumbled every year. Only 1 championship game appearance and zero rings… but hey we have a lot of Instagram followers! Look at the talent he has had the past few years and he can’t win the big game. Maybe the tufts admin should not have hired a guy based on what he did as a player.

Gimme a break, Coach D is in his 8th season at Tufts, his overall record is 117-17, an .873 winning percentage. In the previous 7 seasons, minus the Covid cancelled year, he's won 5 of the last 6 NESCAC Championships, including 5 in a row. He's won a lot of big games. He inherited a top tier program and has maintained that excellence. There have been countless examples in college sports where that hasn't been the case. Haters gonna hate. Roll bos!!!

[callaxdad]

where real lacrosse is played and national championships are won

Look at NESCAC teams in playoff games vs real coaches who know how to stop gimmick lacrosse

High-level combination of ignorance and arrogance, gotta respect the effort.

I think the phrase, frequently wrong, never in doubt applies to our boy Lacrossefan25!!! Roll Bos!!

[SixBySix]

"consistent top 5 team" ... nice imagination. Maybe you are right, let's see how it does this year and next.

Ooof, savage.

[SaltCounty]

Has anyone talked about how the tufts coach is underperforming? He was gifted a top tier program and has fumbled every year. Only 1 championship game appearance and zero rings… but hey we have a lot of Instagram followers! Look at the talent he has had the past few years and he can’t win the big game. Maybe the tufts admin should not have hired a guy based on what he did as a player.

Gimme a break, Coach D is in his 8th season at Tufts, his overall record is 117-17, an .873 winning percentage. In the previous 7 seasons, minus the Covid cancelled year, he's won 5 of the last 6 NESCAC Championships, including 5 in a row. He's won a lot of big games. He inherited a top tier program and has maintained that excellence. There have been countless examples in college sports where that hasn't been the case. Haters gonna hate. Roll bos!!!

"Inherited a top tier program and has maintained that excellence" is a great way to put it.
And a challenge in itself - to your point about examples where it goes the opposite way

He's continued to recruit highly skilled players away from D1 & the competitors to bring them to Tufts.
He made probably one of his best decisions as HC, and hired Steven Toomey / has been able to keep him on his sideline.
And he presents himself and the program well - not as authentic as Coach Daly & his teams, but still positively and professionally

As for X's & O's, wrinkles & adjustments, breaking down the game, etc...
Unless someone wants to step out and say they've been in that locker room or on that sideline - none of us are in position to judge.

You can say a lot of people would have done well as Tufts HC
Based on what we know, you can also say this coach would have done well at a lot of places

[The12lov3]

Has anyone talked about how the tufts coach is underperforming? He was gifted a top tier program and has fumbled every year. Only 1 championship game appearance and zero rings… but hey we have a lot of Instagram followers! Look at the talent he has had the past few years and he can’t win the big game. Maybe the tufts admin should not have hired a guy based on what he did as a player.

Gimme a break, Coach D is in his 8th season at Tufts, his overall record is 117-17, an .873 winning percentage. In the previous 7 seasons, minus the Covid cancelled year, he's won 5 of the last 6 NESCAC Championships, including 5 in a row. He's won a lot of big games. He inherited a top tier program and has maintained that excellence. There have been countless examples in college sports where that hasn't been the case. Haters gonna hate. Roll bos!!!

"Inherited a top tier program and has maintained that excellence" is a great way to put it.
And a challenge in itself - to your point about examples where it goes the opposite way

He's continued to recruit highly skilled players away from D1 & the competitors to bring them to Tufts.
He made probably one of his best decisions as HC, and hired Steven Toomey / has been able to keep him on his sideline.
And he presents himself and the program well - not as authentic as Coach Daly & his teams, but still positively and professionally

As for X's & O's, wrinkles & adjustments, breaking down the game, etc...
Unless someone wants to step out and say they've been in that locker room or on that sideline - none of us are in position to judge.

You can say a lot of people would have done well as Tufts HC
Based on what we know, you can also say this coach would have done well at a lot of places

Coach D also turned around the Taft program. When he took the helm, it was one of the worst in the country and when he left they were a top high school team. See record below.


2006-07 3-10 2007-08 4-10
2008-09 10-5 2009-10 10-6
2010-11 5-10 2011-12 10-7
2012-13 13-5 2013-14 12-4
2014-15 8-9 2015-16 15-3
2016-17 11-6 2017-18 12-3
2018-19 10-6 2020-21 9-2
2021-22 16-3 2022-23 16-2

[choochooCharlie]

While everyone is talking about how great Bowdoin is this year, the loses to both Endicott and Babson will hurt their chances.

Babson and Endicott are both ranked in arguably D-III’s deepest region!

Here we go again………

They’re just not that good, and that’s the problem. Maybe that means that the region isn’t as deep as you think. There is more parity than ever. Endicott, Babson Wesleyan, even Trinity are all up a tad, tufts, Middleburg, and Bowdoin are all down quite a bit. The fact that they can all get a win off each other doesn’t translate into them all being equally fantastic. Quite the opposite actually. Take off the kaleidoscope goggles.

Neither Endicott nor Babson would be ranked in region III

[Laxguy3]

Moving off the Coach Gameday J's conversation... The Amherst Tufts game this weekend ended in a 14-13 win for tufts after #8 for Amherst seemingly hit a pipe on what would have been a game-tying goal with 20ish seconds left.

However, if you go to the Tufts highlight video (minute mark 3:16) (https://youtu.be/dtWPHE3A5hM?si=92dkGn6rVxcNUP01) it appears that the shot actually went in. The ball clearly does not hit the vertical pipe. Not blaming the refs on this one because it can be extremely difficult to tell but what a brutal break for the Jeffs. A win would likely have secured them for an NCAA tourney bid.

[Harlem-lax19]

While everyone is talking about how great Bowdoin is this year, the loses to both Endicott and Babson will hurt their chances.

Babson and Endicott are both ranked in arguably D-III’s deepest region!

Here we go again………

They’re just not that good, and that’s the problem. Maybe that means that the region isn’t as deep as you think. There is more parity than ever. Endicott, Babson Wesleyan, even Trinity are all up a tad, tufts, Middleburg, and Bowdoin are all down quite a bit. The fact that they can all get a win off each other doesn’t translate into them all being equally fantastic. Quite the opposite actually. Take off the kaleidoscope goggles.

Neither Endicott nor Babson would be ranked in region III

Well Babson is ranked 11 in the USILA poll, and Endicott is ranked 17.
In region 3 there Babson is ranked higher than Stevens (14), Gettysburg (20) and Stevenson (Unranked), and Endicott is ranked higher than Gettysburg (20) and Stevenson (Unranked). So something tells me that both Endicott and Babson would be ranked in Region 3.

[choochooCharlie]

Neither Endicott nor Babson would be ranked in region III

Well Babson is ranked 11 in the USILA poll, and Endicott is ranked 17.
In region 3 there Babson is ranked higher than Stevens (14), Gettysburg (20) and Stevenson (Unranked), and Endicott is ranked higher than Gettysburg (20) and Stevenson (Unranked). So something tells me that both Endicott and Babson would be ranked in Region 3.

And those “rankings” mean absolutely zilch. SOS and regionally ranked wins are what matters for NCAA regional rankings. Stevenson will be out today in region III, and York will be last in.

Endicott’s SOS is trash, and they have 1 regionally ranked win. No shot.

Babson’s SOS is better than Endicott’s, but pales in comparison to York’s. With 2 regionally ranked wins, same as York, who is to be last in in region III rankings. More of a shot than Endicott, probably would get a side by side look vs York for that last spot, but me thinks no. SOS not close.

Region I has parity, even beyond the NESCAC, that it hasn’t seen in some time. But the overall level of play, and just where that parity lies, isn’t where it has been for some time either.

[The12lov3]

Prediction for the Tufts - Bowdoin game. A lot on the line tonight.