Centennial Conference 2023

[Laxdds]

We are a month out from the start of the season. My thoughts for the season.

Gettysburg and Dickinson will fight it out for the top spot. Dickinson will be looking for revenge for the D3 tournament loss and returns a ton of talent.
The Bullets will make even bigger strides under Coach Toner in his second year. If Coach O'keefe can give the offense more consistency, which they lacked last year, Gettysburg will be a very difficult out come May. I'll give the edge to the returning champs, Dickinson by a whisker.

F&M, Muhlenberg, Ursinus, throw a blanket over these 3. Is it me or does F&M seem to under perform given the talent they have?

Swarthmore, Washington not sure about Swat but I expect to see improvement from the Sho'men.

Haverford, McDaniel???

[Asgot]

We are a month out from the start of the season. My thoughts for the season.

Gettysburg and Dickinson will fight it out for the top spot. Dickinson will be looking for revenge for the D3 tournament loss and returns a ton of talent.
The Bullets will make even bigger strides under Coach Toner in his second year. If Coach O'keefe can give the offense more consistency, which they lacked last year, Gettysburg will be a very difficult out come May. I'll give the edge to the returning champs, Dickinson by a whisker.

F&M, Muhlenberg, Ursinus, throw a blanket over these 3. Is it me or does F&M seem to under perform given the talent they have?

Swarthmore, Washington not sure about Swat but I expect to see improvement from the Sho'men.

Haverford, McDaniel???

I agree that Dickinson and Gettysburg are both loaded. I think that Dickinson has a chance to really make some noise as many of their players are back and they have a good nucleus of players. I thought that Gettysburg lost a couple of key contributors but I think the combo of Toner and O'Keefe keep them in the conversation as a top team.

F&M was hurt somewhat last year by their weak early season schedule so when the played York they had not been as battle tested. I think F&M has a chance to be very good. Ursinus opens with a very tough trip to York and then home to Stevenson these along with games against RIT and SJF will help them when it comes to playing there conference schedule.

[UpperCorner]

We are a month out from the start of the season. My thoughts for the season.

Gettysburg and Dickinson will fight it out for the top spot. Dickinson will be looking for revenge for the D3 tournament loss and returns a ton of talent.
The Bullets will make even bigger strides under Coach Toner in his second year. If Coach O'keefe can give the offense more consistency, which they lacked last year, Gettysburg will be a very difficult out come May. I'll give the edge to the returning champs, Dickinson by a whisker.

F&M, Muhlenberg, Ursinus, throw a blanket over these 3. Is it me or does F&M seem to under perform given the talent they have?

Swarthmore, Washington not sure about Swat but I expect to see improvement from the Sho'men.

Haverford, McDaniel???

I agree that Dickinson and Gettysburg are both loaded. I think that Dickinson has a chance to really make some noise as many of their players are back and they have a good nucleus of players. I thought that Gettysburg lost a couple of key contributors but I think the combo of Toner and O'Keefe keep them in the conversation as a top team.

F&M was hurt somewhat last year by their weak early season schedule so when the played York they had not been as battle tested. I think F&M has a chance to be very good. Ursinus opens with a very tough trip to York and then home to Stevenson these along with games against RIT and SJF will help them when it comes to playing there conference schedule.

Thinking maybe Gettysburg Defense puts them over, any thoughts there?

[Laxdds]

We are a month out from the start of the season. My thoughts for the season.

Gettysburg and Dickinson will fight it out for the top spot. Dickinson will be looking for revenge for the D3 tournament loss and returns a ton of talent.
The Bullets will make even bigger strides under Coach Toner in his second year. If Coach O'keefe can give the offense more consistency, which they lacked last year, Gettysburg will be a very difficult out come May. I'll give the edge to the returning champs, Dickinson by a whisker.

F&M, Muhlenberg, Ursinus, throw a blanket over these 3. Is it me or does F&M seem to under perform given the talent they have?

Swarthmore, Washington not sure about Swat but I expect to see improvement from the Sho'men.

Haverford, McDaniel???

I agree that Dickinson and Gettysburg are both loaded. I think that Dickinson has a chance to really make some noise as many of their players are back and they have a good nucleus of players. I thought that Gettysburg lost a couple of key contributors but I think the combo of Toner and O'Keefe keep them in the conversation as a top team.

F&M was hurt somewhat last year by their weak early season schedule so when the played York they had not been as battle tested. I think F&M has a chance to be very good. Ursinus opens with a very tough trip to York and then home to Stevenson these along with games against RIT and SJF will help them when it comes to playing there conference schedule.

Thinking maybe Gettysburg Defense puts them over, any thoughts there?

The Bullets have a great core of Sophmore's ( Marquet D, Ciccarone LSM, Barbera D) all played significant minutes last year and looked very good. The returning upperclassman are also very solid, Fox LSM, Puckhaber D, Harrigan LSM. I haven't seen any of the freshman D play but they are big, Hedley 6'2"/215 and Bambrick 6"3"/195. Goalie will be interesting reports from the fall RIT scrimmage were that one of the goalies looked great before succumbing to RIT's offensive barrage. The defense will also need to take a step forward to help the new goalie, if they do and the offense can be just a little more potent, they have a chance to be very dangerous.

[LILaxGuy08]

I think Gettysburg is far and away the #1 team with everything they bring back - outstanding young defense, athleticism and shooting on offense plus FOGO and D Mids. Have to replace goalie and one attackman but definitely have the talent/depth. Mac O'Keefe should help open up the offense plus he shoots on the goalies every day!

Dickinson #2 - have to replace two stud defensemen (DPOY) as well as best middie and top D mids. Last year was a magical run - will definitely see more losses this year.

Ursinus #3 - return many key starters and Neal/Ojert are a force at attack. Top assistant takes over for Mercadante - do not anticipate any drop off.

Muhlenberg #4 - heard they have some big time transfers coming in on defense to replace Lando/Seeber. James Dalimonte will be OPOY - heading to Penn State after this spring to finish playing career. Unstoppable from the midfield. Need to find some more reliable scoring options plus FOGO. ONe of two Centennial schools with graduate programs - using it to their advantage.

F&M #5 - as someone mentioned, underachieving with all their talent the last 5 years. Will have to reload on offense with Rigsby/DeMuth graduating but have some nice pieces coming back at all positions.

Swarthmore
Haverford
WAC
McDaniel

[SixBySix]

Swarthmore, Washington not sure about Swat but I expect to see improvement from the Sho'men.

I'm expecting Swat to finally break through the RV morass and be ranked for the first time since coach Gress took the reins (as far as I know). A small number of seniors have graduated, but Ingersoll (SSDM) and Paulson (FO) will leave huge shoes in the "essential, but often underappreciated" aspects of the game.

Offensively, they lose their #2 midfielder and attackman in Seivold and Schaffer, but return the big guns of the offense in Strauch and Mabbs, as well as essentially all of the offensive depth--231 of 290 points (80%) return. On the defensive side, one starter graduates in Drake, but Strauch, Toomey, Kolyer, and Halstead will swing the long-poles, and Ginsburg and Woerner will provide above-average SSDM play. Though statistically the goalkeepers appeared to have a decent season in 2022 (51.5% save percentage as a team), the quality of shot that the defense was allowing was well below average. Nachshen has a full year of experience under his belt now and should be in good position to take the next step as a sophomore. FO is the biggest question mark, with only 7 conference draw wins on the returning roster.

This is easily the best schedule the Garnet have faced in a long time and they will have opportunities in the non-conference to clearly earn a spot in the #20-#25 range if they can win out. Widener, Eastern, and Vassar are perennial, if inconsistently challenging, foes, followed by a massive upgrade in SOS with Roanoke, Elizabethtown, and Stockton that will provide a real test of the talent on this roster. Finally, a trip to Arcadia, who were fairly good in 2022 (12-6 and nearly upset Stevens in the MAC-F championship), rounds out the non-con.

I'm predicting 11-4 (5-3) and a berth in the CC playoffs.

[ReturnOfTheWAC]

Pre-Season Ranking

1. Gettysburg- Was the most talented team last year, yet had some perplexing losses(Swarthmore), struggled to click for most of the season on offense, some due to injuries, others due to what looked like a bit of lack of scheme on offense. Defense was big athletic and mean, only real losses were Knife(attack),MacMillian(goal),Gallagher(Midfield). If new offensive coordinator can come in and improve things and goalie can step up in big games, the Bullets are a legit top 8 team in NCAA.Toner has put together a staff that shares his vision, I think they will be really tough to beat.
2. Dickinson- 19-1 is pretty impressive but it has to sting to take the L vs an arch-rival in the NCAA to end the season. Dickinson played the most together of any team I watched in the conference last year but are not as talented pound for pound with Gettysburg. Losses include some defensive pieces who really helped play a role in their defensive success, along with Booth(A/M). The Red Devils were very young last year and I expect them to be again very high flying. Biggest loss to this team will come with 2 new assistant coaches. I think they take a step back in scheme as the assistants get their bearings, but Webster is a master at bringing his teams together and having them play with energy .
3. Muhlenberg- I have no idea if their 5th years are coming back again but this team was 1 goal away from the CC championship last year and it looks to me that they bring back a very complete team. They have a very dangerous midfield and can score goals in bunches. On defense they have a bunch of guys who look all the same but really make you work to get a good shot off. May is a multi year starter who has been through the battles. Plunkett has kept his staff intact for a good while now and I think this really benefits this program in development of their players.
4. F&M- Nobody was harder on F&M then I was for their softer out of conference schedule that I believe didn't prepare them of the grind that is the CC. They graduate a ton of points on offense(Target,Rigsby) but Cavallaro recruits some of the best offensive playersin all of d3 and will have them scoring goals again this year im sure. They took a step back on defense last season, reminding me of the F&M of 2018/2019 where they made simple mistakes at really important times. I think they have to much talent on the roster to slip past 4th in the conference and I trust this staff more then Ursinus.
5. Ursinus- The Bears check in at 5 with an absolutely brutal out of conference schedule. I give them a ton of credit for how they prepare for the conference but I do have my concerns, starting with losing their HC. Schaffer has been there since Mercandante took over but there is a big jump to first chair in the competitive CC. Ursinus always plays hard and gives you its best shot but they are also one of the least discipline teams in the conference(example fouling in the CC semi finals last season costing them the game). I do not think they lost much from last year and could see them knocking off Both Muhlenberg and F&M but I do not see them cracking the top 2.
6. Washington College- A rough start to last season turned into what I would call fairly respectable based on expectations. In Coach Nostrant we trust as he brings back our once storied program. There were some young pieces to build upon on the offensive side of the ball and the defense had their moments. Reports say there are a few transfers and new faces that will be making appearances on the field come spring time. Faceoffs are a concern as is replacing the goalie. I would love to see WAC sneak into a playoff spot and I think they can do it.
7. Swarthmore- Pat Gress does more with less then almost anyone in d3. This isn't the old Swarthmore though, Mabbs(midfielder) is going to be a force to reckon with for the next 3 seasons. Swarthmore just needs to find an upset or 2 to really shake up the conference. Goalie was a weakness last year but whoever is in the cage has a solid set of defenders in front of them for support. Swarthmore is the team that scares me the most because I think they really do play up to their opponent.
8 Haverford- Only got to catch the Fords twice last season so im not as confident in my knowledge of them as other schools in the conference. It looks like they lost a small but important senior class and I hope they were able to solidify the goalie position which saw 2 freshman struggle at times last year. Much like Swarthmore Haverford can be a thorn in the side to some pretty good teams(Winning vs Stevens Tech and having competitive games vs CC playoff teams).If they can solidify the defense I think they could find a way to pull an upset or 2.
9.McDaniel- My assessment is the same as Haverford, don't know a ton about personnel. Watched them 2 times last year and they looked really scrappy and played hard no matter the score. Loss of their goalie hurts bad. They were young all over the field which could be a good thing as far as experience. All I've ever heard about Dibartolo as a coach is that players absolutely love him. I think they can take another step forward in being competitive.

[HomerCoach]

Good analysis in this thread. With the addition of a 5th tournament team, the 3rd seed is going to be of significance with hopes of getting more than two into the NCAA Tournament. Here are my rankings:

1. Dickinson (8-0)
2. Gettysburg (7-1)
3. Muhlenberg (5-3)
4. Ursinus (5-3)
5. F&M (4-4)
6. Swarthmore (3-5)
7. WAC (2-6)
8. Haverford (2-6)
9. McDaniel (0-8)

I think 1, 2 can be interchanged

any combination of 3, 4, 5

any combination of 6, 7, 8

[Laxdds]

Practice officially starts tomorrow for the Centennial

[westernbestern]

Ursinus vs York scheduled for 2/11 postponed to 2/22 due to conference rules. Interesting.

[ReturnOfTheWAC]

Weekend Preview coming for the CC

-Haverford vs Cabrini- Haverford tends to play teams very well in the early season, A nice win last year out of conference should give them confidence going forward. Questions about replacing their big gun on offense and figuring out if they can get saves remains a concern. Cabrini coasts 16-8
-Ursinus vs Stevenson- Was looking forward to watching Ursinus play York over the weekend only to be disappointed the game was moved back. Ursinus brings back a lot of talent but last years team was lacked the discipline when they needed it in big games, turnovers, fouls, bad shots. Add on top that they now have a new coach could be a a recipe for disaster. The good news is they play a team in Stevenson who is everything I described above and then some. Ursinus wins a shootout 15-12
-Stevens Tech vs Dickinson- Dickinson wiped the floor on Stevens last year in the NCAA. This is a much different Stevens team with some big transfer adds. Im interested to see how the new Dickinson coaching staff has meshed with the team after a banner season. Give me Stevens in an upset 13-12
-Lebanon Valley vs F&M- F&M doing everything they can to not play anyone difficult in week 1. F&M 23-4
- Messiah vs McDaniel- McDaniel upset Messiah last season, a lot of talk on the boards of Messiahs transfers. Messiah 12-8
-WAC vs Eastern- This is a much more realistic schedule for a rebuilding Washington College. Eastern is a tough enough opponent to test them for awhile before hopefully the Shoremen pull away. WAC 14-8
-Gettysburg vs DeSales- Interested to see the new look offense for Gettysburg. Goalie won't be tested at all. Gettysburg 23-5
-RIT vs Muhlenberg- This has to be the game of the week and credit the Mules for playing a tough opponent out of the box. Ill bite Mules have the experience Mules 16-15

[SixBySix]

Weekend Preview coming for the CC

-Haverford vs Cabrini- Haverford tends to play teams very well in the early season, A nice win last year out of conference should give them confidence going forward. Questions about replacing their big gun on offense and figuring out if they can get saves remains a concern. Cabrini coasts 16-8
-Ursinus vs Stevenson- Was looking forward to watching Ursinus play York over the weekend only to be disappointed the game was moved back. Ursinus brings back a lot of talent but last years team was lacked the discipline when they needed it in big games, turnovers, fouls, bad shots. Add on top that they now have a new coach could be a a recipe for disaster. The good news is they play a team in Stevenson who is everything I described above and then some. Ursinus wins a shootout 15-12
-Stevens Tech vs Dickinson- Dickinson wiped the floor on Stevens last year in the NCAA. This is a much different Stevens team with some big transfer adds. Im interested to see how the new Dickinson coaching staff has meshed with the team after a banner season. Give me Stevens in an upset 13-12
-Lebanon Valley vs F&M- F&M doing everything they can to not play anyone difficult in week 1. F&M 23-4
- Messiah vs McDaniel- McDaniel upset Messiah last season, a lot of talk on the boards of Messiahs transfers. Messiah 12-8
-WAC vs Eastern- This is a much more realistic schedule for a rebuilding Washington College. Eastern is a tough enough opponent to test them for awhile before hopefully the Shoremen pull away. WAC 14-8
-Gettysburg vs DeSales- Interested to see the new look offense for Gettysburg. Goalie won't be tested at all. Gettysburg 23-5
-RIT vs Muhlenberg- This has to be the game of the week and credit the Mules for playing a tough opponent out of the box. Ill bite Mules have the experience Mules 16-15

Swat will also be kicking off the season against Widener. I don't know why, but ~1/2 of their schedule isn't on the Centennial conference site (they will also play Vassar and Arcadia.

[SpartanLaxFanatic]

CC Weekend Predictions

In order from least to most interesting games:

F&M/LVC - Feels like the Dips could find a better opponent week 1. Regardless, won't be close. Dips 16-6
GBurg/DeSales - Gburg opens with a middle of the road test before they pick up in a week or two. Bullets are my pick to be the class of the conference this year, they come out strong. Bullets 20-5
McDaniel/Messiah - McDaniel still in a rebuild, this was a big win for them last year. I think Messiah gets some revenge - Messiah 13-7
Swarthmore/Widener - An annual opener for the Garnet. Swarthmore has some huge dark horse potential as the roster is loaded with talent coming off a solid '22 campaign. Widener always seems to give them trouble, would love to see Swat take control early. Garnet 15-10
Haverford/Cabrini - Haverford is a tough team to read. Had a good start to the season and struggled once conference play began. Had trouble in cage, hopefully that has been sured up. Cavs just have more talent and experience across the board. Cabrini 14-7
Dickinson/Stevens Tech - Dickinson returns almost everything on offense, should be the best unit in the conference. Defense loses 2 big time seniors from last year with Brandau back in cage. I agree that the coaching staff consistency will be interesting after losing their top 2 assistants. Ducks bring in a ton of transfers that was needed to a team that I didn't think was great last year, stop Crowley and the Devils will cruise. Devils 16-9
Ursinus/Stevenson - Ursinus coming off an interesting '22, felt like a talented team that struggled to get over the hump against a brutal schedule. Stevenson and York in 4 days is a tough test. Stevenson brings back a ton in the way of 5th years, I think they might be flying under the radar a bit in terms of the national scene. This has become one of the best Week 1 games in D3. Stevenson 14-12
RIT/Muhlenberg - Shoutout to the Mules who have bumped up their OOC strength of schedule the past couple of years. Mules coming off a great year, RIT coming off the best year imaginable. Mules put up a good fight but the Tigers just play at such a different style and pace than you can attempt to replicate in practice, especially in early February. RIT 17-11

[ReturnOfTheWAC]

Weekend Preview coming for the CC

-Haverford vs Cabrini- Haverford tends to play teams very well in the early season, A nice win last year out of conference should give them confidence going forward. Questions about replacing their big gun on offense and figuring out if they can get saves remains a concern. Cabrini coasts 16-8
-Ursinus vs Stevenson- Was looking forward to watching Ursinus play York over the weekend only to be disappointed the game was moved back. Ursinus brings back a lot of talent but last years team was lacked the discipline when they needed it in big games, turnovers, fouls, bad shots. Add on top that they now have a new coach could be a a recipe for disaster. The good news is they play a team in Stevenson who is everything I described above and then some. Ursinus wins a shootout 15-12
-Stevens Tech vs Dickinson- Dickinson wiped the floor on Stevens last year in the NCAA. This is a much different Stevens team with some big transfer adds. Im interested to see how the new Dickinson coaching staff has meshed with the team after a banner season. Give me Stevens in an upset 13-12
-Lebanon Valley vs F&M- F&M doing everything they can to not play anyone difficult in week 1. F&M 23-4
- Messiah vs McDaniel- McDaniel upset Messiah last season, a lot of talk on the boards of Messiahs transfers. Messiah 12-8
-WAC vs Eastern- This is a much more realistic schedule for a rebuilding Washington College. Eastern is a tough enough opponent to test them for awhile before hopefully the Shoremen pull away. WAC 14-8
-Gettysburg vs DeSales- Interested to see the new look offense for Gettysburg. Goalie won't be tested at all. Gettysburg 23-5
-RIT vs Muhlenberg- This has to be the game of the week and credit the Mules for playing a tough opponent out of the box. Ill bite Mules have the experience Mules 16-15

Swat will also be kicking off the season against Widener. I don't know why, but ~1/2 of their schedule isn't on the Centennial conference site (they will also play Vassar and Arcadia.

Give me Swat over Widener 13-10

[secondarybreak]

Swat 16-8
Good squad.

[BallHunt]

Dickinson opener vs Stevens might be more interesting than the Red Devils expect. The Ducks put up 25 on Drew, who is clearly no Dickinson, but I'm wondering how that Stevens goal output translates for Saturday. I plan on being in Carlisle for that one.

[HomerCoach]

Dickinson opener vs Stevens might be more interesting than the Red Devils expect. The Ducks put up 25 on Drew, who is clearly no Dickinson, but I'm wondering how that Stevens goal output translates for Saturday. I plan on being in Carlisle for that one.

Dickinson 15-8

[River Donkey]

Dickinson opener vs Stevens might be more interesting than the Red Devils expect. The Ducks put up 25 on Drew, who is clearly no Dickinson, but I'm wondering how that Stevens goal output translates for Saturday. I plan on being in Carlisle for that one.

Stevens 11-7

[secondarybreak]

Dickinson by 5
Haverford vs Cabrini- Cabrini by 12
-Ursinus vs Stevenson- Ursinus by 4
-Lebanon Valley vs F&M- F&M cruises
- Messiah vs McDaniel- Messiah by 4
-WAC vs Eastern- WAC by 7
-Gettysburg vs DeSales- Gettysburg cruises
-RIT vs Muhlenberg - RIT by 5

[WashedUp06]

Dickinson by 5
Haverford vs Cabrini- Cabrini by 2
-Ursinus vs Stevenson- Ursinus by 4
-Lebanon Valley vs F&M- F&M cruises
- Messiah vs McDaniel- Messiah by 4
-WAC vs Eastern- WAC by 7
-Gettysburg vs DeSales- Gettysburg cruises
-RIT vs Muhlenberg - RIT by 5

on board with this take, hoping the Mules can keep it closer, especially since they are at home this time around, but RIT has a ton of veteran fire power still. Iron sharpens Iron, so good to get some early season competition. The Mules OOC schedule is up there as one of the more competitive with RIT, Colorado College, RPI, & St John Fisher - they will enter CC play battle tested for sure this year.