CNU 2024

[laxboo10]

Riding the momentum from yesterday I thought i would get the CNU 2024 Forum going.

[Dehuntshigwa’es]

I’ve been following this program 12 years always thought it could be the Salisbury of Virginia, similar model. Shame on you if you don’t win it all this year (jk sort of)

For my pick of the year hands down is CNU 13 grads 12 seniors; 5 yr- Miller 59 games 190 pts, Mercado 37 games, 24 pts, Adam’s, 55 games 86 pts, Wheeler Def, 62 games 61 gbs , Auslander 62 games 210 pts, 74 gbs Brandes 67 games 227 pts 85 gbs, Hannah goalie 60 starts 54% save pct. Foti ? Randy Mac transfer, Cook 42 games 164 pts 47 gbs, kropnski 37 games,25 gbs O’Brien …Brost Def 45 games 62 gbs Young Def, 58 games 164 gbs, 113 cto’s. …. I will be very surprised if they can’t win it all. The saying has always been you win with your seniors , it can be said now you win with your grad students.

[Laxguy703]

CNU scrimmaged Hampton yesterday with a free clinic to the youth of the 757 directly after with all of the players from both teams. An awesome event hosted by both programs in hopes of growing the game with the Hampton roads area.

I wasn’t able to attend the scrimmage but based off texts I have received CNU won the scrimmage by at least 20 and had starters out at in the beginning of the 2nd quarter. Heard great things about the freshman and sophomore classes. The freshman class has a few players who look like they will get good PT this year. The sophomore class all look more experienced and bigger with a year of college lax under their belt. Last year was a rough year in terms of depth, but this year the Captain’s depth may actually be a strength.

[laxdad1434]

CNU scrimmaged Hampton yesterday with a free clinic to the youth of the 757 directly after with all of the players from both teams. An awesome event hosted by both programs in hopes of growing the game with the Hampton roads area.

I wasn’t able to attend the scrimmage but based off texts I have received CNU won the scrimmage by at least 20 and had starters out at in the beginning of the 2nd quarter. Heard great things about the freshman and sophomore classes. The freshman class has a few players who look like they will get good PT this year. The sophomore class all look more experienced and bigger with a year of college lax under their belt. Last year was a rough year in terms of depth, but this year the Captain’s depth may actually be a strength.

The only thing rough about last year was the 3 losses to Salisbury. You’re overthinking this. They will be #1, 2 at the end of the season and it will come down to their matchups with Salisbury…again.

[laxdad1434]

CNU scrimmaged Hampton yesterday with a free clinic to the youth of the 757 directly after with all of the players from both teams. An awesome event hosted by both programs in hopes of growing the game with the Hampton roads area.

I wasn’t able to attend the scrimmage but based off texts I have received CNU won the scrimmage by at least 20 and had starters out at in the beginning of the 2nd quarter. Heard great things about the freshman and sophomore classes. The freshman class has a few players who look like they will get good PT this year. The sophomore class all look more experienced and bigger with a year of college lax under their belt. Last year was a rough year in terms of depth, but this year the Captain’s depth may actually be a strength.

The only thing rough about last year was the 3 losses to Salisbury. You’re overthinking this. They will be #1, 2 at the end of the season and it will come down to their matchups with Salisbury…again.

[MVPiccoli]

CNU scrimmaged Hampton yesterday with a free clinic to the youth of the 757 directly after with all of the players from both teams. An awesome event hosted by both programs in hopes of growing the game with the Hampton roads area.

I wasn’t able to attend the scrimmage but based off texts I have received CNU won the scrimmage by at least 20 and had starters out at in the beginning of the 2nd quarter. Heard great things about the freshman and sophomore classes. The freshman class has a few players who look like they will get good PT this year. The sophomore class all look more experienced and bigger with a year of college lax under their belt. Last year was a rough year in terms of depth, but this year the Captain’s depth may actually be a strength.

The only thing rough about last year was the 3 losses to Salisbury. You’re overthinking this. They will be #1, 2 at the end of the season and it will come down to their matchups with Salisbury…again.

100. No cap. You doin too much. (I don't know what any of those actual mean).

I see a split this year, I don't think the Captains go 0'fer. I think it's better to win the reg season, lose the conf final, and have that hunter edge back for the tourney, a la VillaStevie. Cabrini in 2019 lost to York and the Gulls in the reg season. Scores don't show it but they weren't really ever out of those games. They got healthy and kept that edge in the rematches. I think there is something to that. Wanting your get back. I'm sure they'll all be entertaining, highly contested games. Top end of the Division is going to be really fun this year.

[GoTerriers8]

I am so excited to watch this team. hey were dominant in every game other than the Gulls. The Captains graduate their 1st team AA d-mid, while the Gulls graduate Cross and the defense. Please correct me if I am wrong with graduations. The CNU also capitalized on maybe the last year of the COVID transfer portal bs. I want to see CNU win this year. However, the Gulls always figure it out. I hope this CNU talent doesn't go to waste due to lord Berkman.

[Asgot]

CNU should have a huge year and if they can get over the Salisbury hump they very well may be playing on Memorial Day. They have talent all over the field especially in the goal and at the faceoff X. I am super excited to see how the season plays out for them.

[aroundtheoutside]

A few thoughts on the Captains as we head into the season...

-The amount of 5th-years sticking around is remarkable. I think that's a credit both to the academic opportunity at CNU as well as the culture MT has created. These guys clearly want another swing at the ship. I'm surprised more didn't try to transfer for a D1 opportunity like Pozin did. Speaking of...

-I think the loss of Pozin is going to hurt more than many expect. Top SSDM in the country is just the beginning of his contribution to the team the past few years. He was an energy guy, a ground ball machine, a one-man clear, a key cog in an excellent man down unit, and a demon on wings. Frankly he was my favorite Captain to watch. He's the kind of guy that can't be replaced by one person, so it'll put a demand on the rest of the midfield and defense to step up collectively.

-The player I'm most excited to watch this season is Brett Jackson. He's one of the best shooters I saw across the entire D3 landscape last year. The big question is can he create? If he can evolve beyond being (mostly) a finisher, it'll be devastating for CNU's opponents and also setup the team for a softer landing after the entire rest of the offense graduates after him.

-It's clear that CNU is setup for Championship or bust. The usual suspects (SU, Tufts, RIT, etc) will always be good, but no one brings back as many starters as CNU. The expectation should be the win it all. How they handle the pressure of that will be interesting AND...

-I'm very curious to see how MT manages the roster this year. Obviously he wants to maximize the graduating talent he has, but he also doesn't want to set himself up for a full rebuild for next year. So working in younger guys to get quality minutes in real moments, not just garbage time clean up against Grove City, will be crucial for the future.

-Salisbury is the elephant in the room, the monkey on their back. To me it comes down to two issues. The first is psychological. Can the guys keep their composure and block out the narrative that they can't beat Salisbury? The second, and in my opinion more important, is coaching and gameplan. Every time they played SU last year, they got a little closer. But it can't take til playoffs for them to figure out how to be competitive. Also, to me the biggest thing that stood out about the Salisbury games is that SU had an excellent gameplan for minimizing Cook, and that the Captains didn't seem to have much of a gameplan at all for dealing with it. There were times where the offense seemed to grind to a halt without their main catalyst sparking things. Auslander thrives as a feeder. Brendes and Jackson thrive as finishers. Someone else needs to set up to breakdown the defense other than Cook. And the coaches simply can't settle for Cook being bottled up by a face guard or an early slide. They need more tools in the toolkit for this scenario.

[satstorm]

A few thoughts on the Captains as we head into the season...

-The amount of 5th-years sticking around is remarkable. I think that's a credit both to the academic opportunity at CNU as well as the culture MT has created. These guys clearly want another swing at the ship. I'm surprised more didn't try to transfer for a D1 opportunity like Pozin did. Speaking of...

-I think the loss of Pozin is going to hurt more than many expect. Top SSDM in the country is just the beginning of his contribution to the team the past few years. He was an energy guy, a ground ball machine, a one-man clear, a key cog in an excellent man down unit, and a demon on wings. Frankly he was my favorite Captain to watch. He's the kind of guy that can't be replaced by one person, so it'll put a demand on the rest of the midfield and defense to step up collectively.

-The player I'm most excited to watch this season is Brett Jackson. He's one of the best shooters I saw across the entire D3 landscape last year. The big question is can he create? If he can evolve beyond being (mostly) a finisher, it'll be devastating for CNU's opponents and also setup the team for a softer landing after the entire rest of the offense graduates after him.

-It's clear that CNU is setup for Championship or bust. The usual suspects (SU, Tufts, RIT, etc) will always be good, but no one brings back as many starters as CNU. The expectation should be the win it all. How they handle the pressure of that will be interesting AND...

-I'm very curious to see how MT manages the roster this year. Obviously he wants to maximize the graduating talent he has, but he also doesn't want to set himself up for a full rebuild for next year. So working in younger guys to get quality minutes in real moments, not just garbage time clean up against Grove City, will be crucial for the future.

-Salisbury is the elephant in the room, the monkey on their back. To me it comes down to two issues. The first is psychological. Can the guys keep their composure and block out the narrative that they can't beat Salisbury? The second, and in my opinion more important, is coaching and gameplan. Every time they played SU last year, they got a little closer. But it can't take til playoffs for them to figure out how to be competitive. Also, to me the biggest thing that stood out about the Salisbury games is that SU had an excellent gameplan for minimizing Cook, and that the Captains didn't seem to have much of a gameplan at all for dealing with it. There were times where the offense seemed to grind to a halt without their main catalyst sparking things. Auslander thrives as a feeder. Brendes and Jackson thrive as finishers. Someone else needs to set up to breakdown the defense other than Cook. And the coaches simply can't settle for Cook being bottled up by a face guard or an early slide. They need more tools in the toolkit for this scenario.

Agreed. Everything will run through the Gulls and more importantly Berkman.

Need to just run a constant two man game with Cook to get involved against the Gulls (they truly eliminated him in 2023). Not sure how maybe things like GLE Razor Picks hoping to get the defense off their plan. Hard off ball picks to force unfavorable switches. Utilize Cook crashing on clears how York has done in the pst with O-Mids… so many ways to create offense. I’m sure they will throw the kitchen sink this year after sustained poor results against the Gulls. Obviously never want to bend your style of play to beat another team but it will have to happen to beat Salisbury IMO.

You would also hope with the depleted depth on defense of Salisbury and other top teams it will be advantageous for guys like Jackson and Brendes to step up big time.

[Laxattackjack]

Nice review. I agree that CNU is in the talk of the 4 teams most likely to win it all. The problem for CNU isn’t just playing Salisbury 2-3 times. It is how Salisbury will dominate the planning /minds of CNU. The concern for CNU is that stretch in March leading up to Salisbury.
Starting with a trip to Medford, the captains will have 5 very tough straight games (3 in a row on the road). Anything could happen here.

Best case for CNU… they go undefeated and play at home til the finals. Worst case, they lose 6 games. I think realistically, CNU gets through the season with 2 or 3 losses and having to go on the road to Tufts or Salisbury to reach the finals.

I also agree, the freshman and sophomores need to get more involved in real games. Only one more year of 5th years after this season. I would expect CNU to carry double digit grads again next season. If those younger players don’t get involved soon, CNU could be facing a rebuild with Salisbury in two

[aroundtheoutside]

Anyone on site for the scrimmages today that could provide some observations?

[BigMoose9]

Anyone on site for the scrimmages today that could provide some observations?

Can’t give any detailed observations since I wasn’t there, but heard CNU beat Penn (non-starters) 7-5 and tied Lynchburg 5-5 in a game where both teams played non-starters. Both games were only 3 quarters.

[Laxguy703]

I was able to attend the scrimmages today. Hats off to Episcopal for hosting such an awesome event. Tons of fans watching both games which led to a great environment.

Each game was 3 quarters. Played like a normal game with stoppage and everything.

Keep in mind these notes are coming from a CNU Homer so I’m going to be mainly CNU focused.

LYN Vs. CNU notes:
- Only a 2 or 3 starters played in this game from either team since they are playing in the regular season.
- 5-5 final.
- Lynchburg looked fairly small but they all had slick sticks and capitalized on a lot of their looks.
- CNU had a lot of looks but could not bury them. Either missing the cage or shooting straight to the keep.
- New VMI transfer for CNU looked great at close D.
- Not a ton to take from this game considering it was mainly bench guys.

CNU Vs. PENN
- CNU played their starters this whole game.
- A couple starters played for Penn but it was mainly bench guys.
- CNU won either 8-5 or 7-5. Can’t remember the exact final..
- CNU looked as advertised. The offense looked smooth and generated a ton of looks. If it weren’t for some great goalie play(and a couple poorly placed shots) the score could’ve been a lot worse. Outside of some early transition looks, the defense played extremely well and didn’t really get beat in 1v1’s.
- Both teams played with a ton of energy and CNU physically matched Penn pretty well.
- #28 #56 #20 #24 #21 stood out the most in this game for the captains. Most of them are known commodities within D3 lacrosse so it was great to see them looking like their usual form.

Didn’t get to watch much of the UVA vs. LYN game but based off the score board it was 17-3 UVA…. Lynchburg played their starters for that game and UVA played backups.


Overall an optimistic day for the Captains. Obviously there was some sloppy mistakes that will happen in February but for the most part they looked great. Big season opener next weekend at HSC(who lost by 10 to UMW today..). Hopefully the Captains don’t overlook them and continue to dominate the Tigers per usual.

[Goldenboy]

Anyone on site for the scrimmages today that could provide some observations?

Can’t give any detailed observations since I wasn’t there, but heard CNU beat Penn (non-starters) 7-5 and tied Lynchburg 5-5 in a game where both teams played non-starters. Both games were only 3 quarters.

Heard the same, also heard CNU’s defense is significantly better than last years

[aroundtheoutside]

I was able to attend the scrimmages today. Hats off to Episcopal for hosting such an awesome event. Tons of fans watching both games which led to a great environment.

Each game was 3 quarters. Played like a normal game with stoppage and everything.

Keep in mind these notes are coming from a CNU Homer so I’m going to be mainly CNU focused.

LYN Vs. CNU notes:
- Only a 2 or 3 starters played in this game from either team since they are playing in the regular season.
- 5-5 final.
- Lynchburg looked fairly small but they all had slick sticks and capitalized on a lot of their looks.
- CNU had a lot of looks but could not bury them. Either missing the cage or shooting straight to the keep.
- New VMI transfer for CNU looked great at close D.
- Not a ton to take from this game considering it was mainly bench guys.

CNU Vs. PENN
- CNU played their starters this whole game.
- A couple starters played for Penn but it was mainly bench guys.
- CNU won either 8-5 or 7-5. Can’t remember the exact final..
- CNU looked as advertised. The offense looked smooth and generated a ton of looks. If it weren’t for some great goalie play(and a couple poorly placed shots) the score could’ve been a lot worse. Outside of some early transition looks, the defense played extremely well and didn’t really get beat in 1v1’s.
- Both teams played with a ton of energy and CNU physically matched Penn pretty well.
- #28 #56 #20 #24 #21 stood out the most in this game for the captains. Most of them are known commodities within D3 lacrosse so it was great to see them looking like their usual form.

Didn’t get to watch much of the UVA vs. LYN game but based off the score board it was 17-3 UVA…. Lynchburg played their starters for that game and UVA played backups.


Overall an optimistic day for the Captains. Obviously there was some sloppy mistakes that will happen in February but for the most part they looked great. Big season opener next weekend at HSC(who lost by 10 to UMW today..). Hopefully the Captains don’t overlook them and continue to dominate the Tigers per usual.

Great report! Thanks so much for sharing some insights for those of us who weren't there.

[Laxguy703]

Not a great opener for the Captains today. They looked like they came into the Game expecting things to be easy and got punched in the mouth. HS-C clearly outworked them. Reminded me a lot of that 2022 game against RM-C where CNU came into the game highly regarded, went down early and then had to scrape together a 14-12 win. I do have to give credit to the Captains for settling down after that slow start. Great teams keep composure in situations like that and that’s what we say today.

Initial thoughts:
- Great goalie play is the recipe for an upset and HS-C goalie played out of his mind. 20 saves and he made 5-6 point blank saves that were huge momentum killers. Without him I think CNU wins this game by 10+.
- The known commodities played well. Cook is Cook, Auslander distributed, the attack held their own. Hanway and Cabbanis dominated.
- Robby Adams was a pleasant surprise with 3 goals. Slick player who will score a lot this year.
- Defense played sloppy and will be cringing at the film. Bad approaches, missed cutters, and stupid passes every where. That stuff won’t work against top 10 teams.

Overall I think CNU will be fine.. it’s February and they played a team running a good zone with a hot goalie and still won by 6. Need to clean up little things and they will.

[Laxattackjack]

i watched the game. i actually had to check cnu roster page to make sure they were playing the starters. they looked rusty. yes, they looked better in the second half, but they were playing an unranked HSC and the game was close. at one point in the 4th, HSC scored and got within 2 goals, then they overturned the goal.

CNU has more talent than almost every other team. they have a great coach. doesn’t make sense that they were not prepared for that game.

they better figure this out soon. stevenson plays strong against good teams. then grove city is getting better. and then SU.

[BigMoose9]

Offense looked very clunky, couldn’t really tell what sets they were trying to run. Looked like didn’t expect to see a zone which is surprising. Could definitely tell the zone offense had no been practiced much. I was pleasantly surprised by HSC. They will surprise people this year and have the ability to upset some good teams. Camera work was awful and hard to see a lot of specifics.

[Laxattackjack]

Offense looked very clunky, couldn’t really tell what sets they were trying to run. Looked like didn’t expect to see a zone which is surprising. Could definitely tell the zone offense had no been practiced much. I was pleasantly surprised by HSC. They will surprise people this year and have the ability to upset some good teams. Camera work was awful and hard to see a lot of specifics.

got to give hsc credit for trying. they had three cameras set up. but for the first half, my feed kept locking up. the end line cameras were too far away. the mid line camera couldn’t keep up with the speed of the game. the audio was about 5 seconds ahead of the video, so i would hear the cheer and the announcer say “goal”, then two passes later, i see the shot.