Landmark Conference 2024

[nevadajoe]

Drew (5-5) (0-2) hosts Wilkes (4-5) (1-1) tonight at 7:00 in the game that was moved from yesterday due to the weather.

[nevadajoe]

Drew (6-5) (1-2) broke open a close game by outscoring Wilkes (4-6) (1-2) 6-1 in the fourth quarter on their way to their fist conference win by a score of 13-6. Mike DeMayo and Charlie Collins paced the offense with 3 goals each. Collins added 3 assists and Demayo had 2 of his own. Tommy Larmore chipped in with a hat trick. On defense, Tyler McCarthy caused 2 turnovers and grabbed 8 ground balls. With those 2 turnovers, McCarthy now has 81 for his career and now holds that career record formerly held by Jack Tynan '23 and Michael Lloyd '17. GJ Nazziola was solid at faceoff, taking 13 of 21 with 11 ground balls. Joe Barnish was outstanding in goal for the Rangers with 16 saves.
Austin Sosnovik had 3 goals for Wilkes and Colby Opromolla added a goal and 3 assists. Michael Rauch caused 3 turnovers and had 3 ground balls on defense. Goalie Joe Marino had 18 saves.

[nevadajoe]

Saturday games:

Elizabethtown (4-5) (2-0) is at Drew (6-5) (1-2) at 1:00.

Lycoming (2-5) (0-3) is at Susquehanna (9-2) (3-0) at 1:00.

Goucher (6-5) (0-3) is at Wilkes (4-6) (1-2) at 1:00.

Moravian (6-5) (2-1) is at Juniata (2-8) (0-2) at 1:00.

And in the game of the day at 2:00, Catholic (6-5) (2-1) is at Scranton (5-6) (3-0).

[nevadajoe]

Scranton (6-6) (4-0) used a balanced offensive attack and a stifling defense to take a home victory over Catholic (6-6) (2-2) by a score of 16-8. Nine different players scored for the Royals, led by Kyle Holmes with 5 goals. Alex Eglitis, Myles McCutcheon and Colin Hughes netted 2 goals each with Eglitis adding an assist. Matthew McAree had a goal and 3 assists. On defense, Zach Palinkas caused 5 turnovers and grabbed 7 ground balls and Andrew Lord caused 2 turnovers with 4 ground balls. Colin Pierce won the battle of pre-season All-Americans, holding Victor Rosado scoreless on the afternoon. Pierce caused 2 turnovers and was everywhere on the field, picking up 9 ground balls. Declan Allen was solid in goal with 14 saves.
Cullen Lotz and John Hadden had 2 goals apiece and Steven Dezelic had a goal and 2 assists for the Cardinals.

Elizabethtown (5-5) (3-0) stormed out to a 6-1 first quarter lead and rolled over Drew (6-6) (1-3) 20-6. Riley Langen, with 6 goals, and Reese Levinson, with 3 goals, paced the Blue Jays offense. Tristan Coleman, Colin Johnson and Colin Kondracki had 2 goals each with Coleman adding an assist. Brayden Franey was excellent in goal with 14 saves.
For Drew, Kellum Foster-Palmer and Charlie Collins each had 2 goals and an assist. GJ Nazziola was a bright spot for the Rangers, winning 19 of 27 faceoffs and picking up13 ground balls.

Susquehanna ((10-2) (4-0) handled Lycoming (2-6) (0-4) efficiently on the way to a 15-5 win. Jack Gaillard had a goal and dished out 5 assists. Steven Musser had 2 goals and 2 assists. Brennan Lorrence and Nick Remund each had 2 goals and an assist. The River Hawks went 15 of 20 at faceoff, splitting time between Jared Tavernite (9 of 12) and Garrett Laub (6 of 8). Jozef Korpics continued on with his outstanding performance this season with 18 saves.
Rory Hines had 2 goals for Lycoming and Ben Franco had 15 saves in goal. Franco is ranked in the Top 10 nationally in saves-per-game in Division III.

Moravian (7-5) (3-1) went on the road and defeated Juniata (2-9) (0-3) 16-6. The Greyhounds offense was led by Aaron Judge, with 4 goals, and Nick Coffaro, with 3 goals and an assist. Trevor Dzama, Nick Sullivan and Brady Quinn netted 2 goals each with Dzama chipping in 2 assists. Thomas Lee took the win in goal with 8 saves.
Kolton Black and Charlie Newman had 3 goals apiece for Juniata. Ryan Madison had a career-high 23 saves in goal.

Looking at a 4-2 deficit at halftime, Goucher (7-5) (1-3) scorched Wilkes (4-7) (1-3) with 6 unanswered third-quarter goals and went on to a 10-5 victory on the road. Trevor May led the Gophers offense with 5 goals while Jacob Morgan added 3 goals and an assist. Aaron Butera won 12 of 14 faceoffs and Jack Smith had 12 saves for Goucher.
Matthew Warns had 2 goals for Wilkes and Joseph Marino had 12 saves.

[NutterButter]

Anyone catch the Catholic/Scranton game? I’m a little taken back by the score but maybe I shouldn’t be?

[nevadajoe]

Anyone catch the Catholic/Scranton game? I’m a little taken back by the score but maybe I shouldn’t be?

Scranton's defense completely stifled Catholic's offense. Catholic was forced into difficult shots at times and Rosado was frustrated by Pierce. Scranton used a balanced offense to find cracks in the Catholic defense and outscored Catholic 8-3 in the second half after a fairly close first half. Scranton's goalie played very well.
These two teams will meet again, Catholic can use this game to make adjustments for the next one. Scranton will have the confidence on an 8-goal victory going into the next one.

[nevadajoe]

Today's Landmark action.

Juniata (2-9) (0-3) is at Susquehanna (10-2) (4-0) at 4:00.

Moravian (7-5) (3-1) is at Elizabethtown (5-5) (3-0) at 4:00.

Scranton (6-6) (4-0) is at Drew (6-6) (1-3) at 7:00.

Catholic (6-6) (2-2) is at Goucher (7-5) (1-3) at 7:00.

Wilkes (4-7) (1-3) is at Lycoming (2-6) (0-4) at 7:00.

[nevadajoe]

Athletes of the Week April 8

Men's Lacrosse Offensive: Brennan Lorence (Susquehanna University)

Lorence propelled the River Hawks to a 2-0 week as SU defeated Catholic University 13-10 and Lycoming College 15-5 to remain undefeated in conference action. Against the Cardinals, Lorence scored seven goals, including four of SU's six fourth-quarter goals to pull off the win after trailing 10-7 after three quarters. He followed that up with a three-point performance on three goals and one assist in the win against the Warriors.

Men's Lacrosse Defensive: Jozef Korpics (Susquehanna University)

Korpics once again had a standout performance in goal for the River Hawks. Facing 87 shots over two games, Korpics made 32 saves for a save percentage of .696 in 120 minutes of action to help the River Hawks remain unbeaten in conference action.

[nevadajoe]

Athletes of the Week April 8

Men's Lacrosse Offensive: Brennan Lorence (Susquehanna University)

Lorence propelled the River Hawks to a 2-0 week as SU defeated Catholic University 13-10 and Lycoming College 15-5 to remain undefeated in conference action. Against the Cardinals, Lorence scored seven goals, including four of SU's six fourth-quarter goals to pull off the win after trailing 10-7 after three quarters. He followed that up with a three-point performance on three goals and one assist in the win against the Warriors.

Men's Lacrosse Defensive: Jozef Korpics (Susquehanna University)

Korpics once again had a standout performance in goal for the River Hawks. Facing 87 shots over two games, Korpics made 32 saves for a save percentage of .696 in 120 minutes of action to help the River Hawks remain unbeaten in conference action.

Second one for Lorrence who is having a monster season and will contend for Offensive POY.

And the third one (second week in a row) for his teammate Korpics, who right now is in the lead for All Conference at goalie.

[LaxCrusader1]

Athletes of the Week April 8

Men's Lacrosse Offensive: Brennan Lorence (Susquehanna University)

Lorence propelled the River Hawks to a 2-0 week as SU defeated Catholic University 13-10 and Lycoming College 15-5 to remain undefeated in conference action. Against the Cardinals, Lorence scored seven goals, including four of SU's six fourth-quarter goals to pull off the win after trailing 10-7 after three quarters. He followed that up with a three-point performance on three goals and one assist in the win against the Warriors.

Men's Lacrosse Defensive: Jozef Korpics (Susquehanna University)

Korpics once again had a standout performance in goal for the River Hawks. Facing 87 shots over two games, Korpics made 32 saves for a save percentage of .696 in 120 minutes of action to help the River Hawks remain unbeaten in conference action.

Second one for Lorrence who is having a monster season and will contend for Offensive POY.

And the third one (second week in a row) for his teammate Korpics, who right now is in the lead for All Conference at goalie.

Joe, just wanted to give you your flowers man. You are an absolute beast on this forum (as always) and i know all of us laxrats appreciate it. Thank you!

[Tightyrighty]

^ Amen!

[laxdad30]

^ Amen!

+1

[nevadajoe]

Elizabethtown (6-5) (4-0) defeated visiting Moravian (7-6) (3-2) by a score of 17-7. Riley Langen led the Blue Jays offense with 5 goals and an assist. Gavin Gismondi netted 3 goals and had 3 assists while Colin Kondracki also had 3 goals and added an assist. On defense, Ben Clark caused 2 turnovers and grabbed 5 ground balls. SSDM Connor Stewart cause 3 turnovers and had 3 ground balls. Brayden Franey was solid in goal with 15 saves.
Ryan Kokoszka had 3 goals for Moravian and Dan Kelly added 2 goals. A bright spot for the Greyhounds was Gannon Mesko at faceoff, winning 16 of 26 with 6 ground balls.

Susquehanna (11-2) (5-0) won their fifth straight conference game easily handling Juniata (2-10) (0-4) by a score of 19-4. The River Hawks were led on offense by Brennan Lorrence who poured in 4 goals. Jack Gaillard, Connor Aitken, Charlie Haines and Kieran Thomas had 2 goals each, with Gaillard chipping in 2 assists. Matthew Faggiloi had 4 assists for Susquehanna. Garrett Laub dominated at faceoff, winning 23 of 26 with 19 ground balls. On defense, Dylan New caused 3 turnovers and grabbed 3 ground balls. Auggie Granatelli earned the win in goal with 6 saves.
Charlie Newman had 2 goals for Juniata and LSM Matt McCleary caused 2 turnovers and scooped up 5 ground balls.

[nevadajoe]

Catholic (7-6) (3-2) raced out to a 5-0 first quarter lead and defeated Goucher (7-6) (1-4) by a score of 14-9. The Cardinals were led on offense by Victor Rosado with 3 goals and 2 assists. Steven Dezelic also netted 3 goals and Brady McMahon had 2 goals and 2 assists. Tyler Merchant was strong in goal with 13 saves.
Jacob Morgan, with 4 goals and an assist, and Tyler May with a hat trick, led the Gophers offense. Defenseman Sean Nolan caused 4 turnovers and grabbed 2 ground balls. Jack Smith had 14 saves in goal.

Scranton (7-6) (5-0) won their fifth straight game with a 17-6 victory over Drew (6-7) (1-4). Freshman Myles McCutcheon was outstanding on offense with 4 goals and 4 assists. Matthew McAree and Kyle Holmes had 4 goals each. McAree added an assist. The defense was solid, led by Connor Cole, with 3 caused turnovers and 2 ground balls, and Colin Pierce, who caused 2 turnovers and had 5 ground balls. John O'Connor did a great job at faceoff, winning 14 of 21 with 7 ground balls. Declan Allen took the win with 9 saves.
Tommy Larmore had 2 goals for Drew.

Lycoming (3-6) (1-4) won their first Landmark Conference game with a 13-9 win over Wilkes (4-8) (1-4). Rory Hines led the Warriors with 4 goals and an assist. Joey Hoover and Sean Farrell had 2 goals and 2 assists each while Patrick Dwyer chipped in 2 goals. On defense, Jakob Switzer caused 4 turnovers and grabbed 4 ground balls. Ryan Farrell was solid at faceoff, taking 14 of 20 with 10 ground balls. Ben Franco was outstanding in goal with 16 saves.
Tucker Parmer, Joseph Markey and Tim Hartka had 2 goals apiece for Wilkes. Anthony DelDuca had a goal and 2 assists. J'vier Johnson caused 4 turnovers on defense.

[Cricket410]

^ Amen!

X2

[nevadajoe]

Crusader, Tighty, laxdad and Cricket.

Thanks. I appreciate it.

Halfway through the conference schedule with three undefeated teams as expected. Critical game coming up on Saturday as Scranton will travel to Elizabethtown.

Halfway awards:
Offensive Player - Brennan Lorrence - Susquehanna
Defensive Player - Colin Pierce - Scranton
Rookie of the Year - Myles McCutcheon - Scranton
Coaching Staff - Susquehanna

This could be Susquehanna's year although they will have to get through Scranton to do it. Looking forward to that game on April 20. The River Hawks will also face Elizabethtown the next week. And although Catholic has looked average at times, they have the talent to be a force in the playoffs.

The other interesting part is to see which team will get the #5 and #6 seeds to make the playoffs. Right now, Moravian has the inside track with a conference record of 3-2. But they still have to face both Catholic and Scranton. It will then come down to either Drew or Goucher, both at 1-4. Drew has Lycoming, Moravian, Goucher and Juniata left to face. Goucher still has Juniata, Susquehanna, Drew and Lycoming to face. The winner of the Drew-Goucher game will most likely determine the #6 seed. In either case, it would be good for their respective programs to make the playoffs.

[LaxCrusader1]

Alright, no one asked for them. So here you have them...

My mid-conference thoughts and rankings:

#1) Scranton - The class of the conference, the defending champs. They played the toughest OOC schedule, and have the best losses hands down. Until someone else proves otherwise Scranton is the presumptive Conference champs.

#2) Elizabethtown - I was tempted to pick SU here for a millisecond, but the Riverhawks haven't beaten Etown since 2018 and history is on the Blue Jays side. They have some incredible offensive pieces, a defense, a goalie, and good coaching. Still, something just doesn't feel quite like years past. Until proven otherwise they are the #2, but this is the Landmark and it's always interesting. It will all come down to Senior Day in Selinsgrove. 1pm April 27th, mark your calendars.

#3) Susquehanna - The easy sleeper pick of the conference with talent in every phase of the game. They are the only LC team with double digit wins, and are knocking on the door for a program record in wins. Some will chalk their success up to weak OOC schedule and say they're still untested. Unfortunately for SU, no one is going to sleep on them after beating Catholic. That Haverford win looks better with age, but the back to back championship days are a decade ago, and SU hasn't had a shot like this since 2019. Nut up or shut up time is coming after a few cupcake games for their 2nd and 3rd stringers. Can they be a Cinderella? Or will they turn into a pumpkin before midnight?

#4) Catholic - The Cards' confidence has taken a hit coming off a dominant run of the LC for years. A bounce back win against Goucher is just what the doctor ordered, but somehow a 14-9 win feels lackluster. The first of the top-4 with 2 conference losses leaves Catholic without a first round bye and with some soul searching to do. A team that I bet is begging for a rematch with Susquehanna - Catholic needs to find their identity if they want a chance at going back to the LC championship.

#5) Moravian - Some questionable losses, some ok ones. Some questionable wins, no good ones. Dzama is a player, for sure; with hopes of receiving some conference accolades. Despite the likelihood this team will be overmatched in the playoffs, they seem like the conference's best shot at taking down the top 4, it will come down to some serious game-planning if the hounds want to see the Semi's.

#6) Goucher - My heart wanted a sleeper pick to knock a would-be contender out of the LC playoffs, and I thought Goucher would be it. But they are in a tough spot after dropping their game against Moravian. Hannan is back in MD and the Gophers are back on the winning side of the record. They are an up and coming team with a great coach, a potential all-conference sophomore attacker in Jack Morgan, and a stellar freshman goalie in Jack Smith. A gopher playoff win would be a huge lift for the program, but the Moravian loss will be difficult to stomach. They will likely face SU - or Etown - in the first round, and that seems a bridge too far for coach Hannan's team this year.

#7) Drew - I struggled with if I wanted to go with Goucher at 7 or Drew at 6, and it wasn't until I got here that I realized that someone is going to be on the outside looking in of the playoffs. The Rangers are the only team that has played all 4 of the top teams, and a win against Wilkes. Using the Wilkes games as a barometer to compare the #5-7 teams, Drew (Won 13-6) is behind Moravian (Won 13-3) and slightly ahead of Goucher (Won 10-5). That said, someone had to go... and right now it's the Rangers. Sorry Jersey...

#8) Lycoming - The first of the worst, and I take no pleasure in saying that about any Warrior. Lycoming has had some solid teams in the past that would have given some old LC teams some problems. This year, they are 3-6 with no competitive games against the top teams, and a win against Wilkes for their first conference win. The newcomer to the LC is going through some growing pains at the moment, but I expect Lyco to be a solid middle of the pack team in the LC in the years to come.

#9) Wilkes - The Colonels have their first conference win at the hands of Juniata. That's pretty much the story until someone comes into the program and makes it worth more discussion on this forum.

#10) Juniata - In the same spot as Wilkes, and will be in a battle with the colonels for the #9 spot for the foreseeable future until recruiting wakes the Eagles lacrosse program up.

That's all I've got for today. Criticism and comments welcome.

[nevadajoe]

The Juniata at Elizabethtown game that was postponed on April 3 has been rescheduled for Tuesday, April 23 at 7:00 PM.

[nevadajoe]

Mid-conference season All-Conference candidates.

Attack
Brennan Lorrence, Susquehanna
Riley Langen, Elizabethtown
Victor Rosado, Catholic
Matthew McAree, Scranton
Trevor Dzama, Moravian
Jack Gaillard, Susquehanna
Jacob Morgan, Goucher

Middies
Alex Eglitis, Scranton
Kieran Thomas, Susquehanna
Brady McMahon, Catholic
Aaron Judge, Moravian
Charlie Collins, Drew
Tyler May, Goucher
Nick Remund, Susquehanna
Joe Boyle, Scranton
Tommy Larmore, Drew
Colby Opromolla, Wilkes

Defense
Colin Pierce, Scranton
Mike Tayloe, Catholic
Zach Palinkas, Scranton
Sean Nolan, Goucher
Aidan Kennedy, Susquehanna
Sam Pikul, Catholic
Tyler McCarthy, Drew
Jason Levy, Moravian

LSM
Ted Zaborowski, Susquehanna
Andrew Lord, Scranton
Matt Baer, Moravian
Jordan Wilson, Drew
Matthew Warns, Wilkes
Matt McCleary, Juniata

SSDM
Connor Stewart, Elizabethtown
Jack Dwyer, Catholic
Kyle Weiss, Moravian
Marshall Woodrowsky, Susquehanna

Faceoff
Ryan Macksoud, Catholic
GJ Nazziola, Drew
Jared Tavernite, Susquehanna
Gannon Mesko, Moravian
TJ Chapman, Elizabethtown
John O'Connor, Scranton

Goalie
Jozef Korpics, Susquehanna
Brayden Franey, Elizabethtown
Declan Allen, Scranton
Ben Franco, Lycoming

Rookie of the Year
Myles McCutcheon, Scranton
Tyler Merchant, Catholic
Reese Levinson, Elizabethtown
Tristan Coleman, Elizabethtown
Jack Smith, Goucher
Austin Sosnovik, Wilkes

Coaching Staff
Susquehanna
Scranton
Goucher

A lot will depend on performances in the last games of the conference schedule. And of course, the coaches nominate and vote so they have much more insight than anyone.

Have I missed someone? Comments and upgrades are welcomed.

[nevadajoe]

The Landmark Conference career record for assists could be broken this weekend.

With his next assist, Trevor Dzama of Moravian will set the all-time career assists record for the Landmark Conference. He currently has 119 career assists, tied with Kyle Boncaro of Goucher who set the record in 2009-12. Also in this hunt is Riley Langen of Elizabethtown, who sits at 118 career assists during his 3 years at Elizabethtown.
Interestingly, if you count the 3 assists Langen had with Scranton in the 2021 season before transferring to Elizabethtown, he is technically the career leader in assists with 121.