CNU 2024

[ah23]

i agree with this. lynchburg did this last year. you will never see a team like tufts, scheduled tough game on the road south of MD in the middle the week.

Tufts is one of the worst teams in D3 to criticize for their OOC scheduling, both in opponent quality and willingness to travel.

1. Tufts @ Stevenson was a Tuesday night road game every single year from 2012-2019 (which produced some great video content before their old channel got taken down for copyright strikes). The Stevenson date was replaced by road games at Gettysburg in 2020, Lynchburg in 2022, and Cabrini in 2023. They’ve also played series with Union, Cortland (when they were still good), and others. They’re playing RIT at the Mustang Classic this weekend. Hopefully this CNU game is the first of a ‘24-‘25 H&H series. Just a very silly criticism overall.

2. On the “road game south of Maryland” thing…someone correct me if my geography is off, but as far as I can tell there is a grand total of one team south of Maryland that would be a good, competitive game: CNU. The Lynchburg H&H series was one-sided (40-15 aggregate); W&L wouldn’t be any better. No one else stands out.

In general, it’s kind of pointless for any school to spend multiple days traveling for a blowout win that does little for them, especially when they can get better OOC games closer to home. Like…there's a reason CNU came up to play Tufts and not Trinity. I assume that’s at least part of why the Tufts-Stevenson series ended; Stevenson regressed a ton as a program from their early/mid-2010s peak, the games became blowouts, and it was no longer worth the trip for Tufts.

In general, the willingness of most top teams to put together aggressive OOC slates despite schedule/travel constraints is (IMO) one of the more entertaining parts of the D-III game. Games are generally fun/unpredictable and add some hype to the start of the season. Credit to CNU and Tufts for scheduling this, hope they run it back in 2025.

[LacrosseGuy804]

Last year, CNU lost the first Salisbury game 16-8. I have no doubt that they will bounce back from this Tufts loss just fine.

[ShoreThingMD]

Well, I'll certainly say, that I didn't expect that outcome... I had thought maybe Jumbos by 4, but not 8. Also, those who tuned in can tell you that the 8-goal differential was more like a double-digit loss given the flow of the game (a few late goals by CNU) and substitutions.

What stood out to me:

CNU
- 25 turnovers... you cannot expect to win (especially against a team of this caliber) with that type of stat line. CNU struggled with pressure and a few uncharacteristic unforced turnovers. Giving the Jumbos offense extra opportunities is a recipe for disaster and it showed.

- The Captains couldn't weather the storm - No pun intended given the weather last night, but when you play a team like Tufts, you know they will go on a run at some point in the game. It's about minimizing that run and rallying back. Tufts had 2 significant runs last night, a 7-1 run that made it 8-3 and an 8-0 run that sealed the deal carrying over into the 2nd half. CNU couldn't stop the bleeding and found themselves down 17-5 midway through the 3rd quarter.

- Shots on goal - With 25 turnovers, you know there will be an impact on offensive production, but 18 shots on goal isn't going to cut it. Cook and Bendes accounted for 10 of the 18. CNU's average SOG was over 33 per game entering the game, which is more than what they had in total shots last night (30).

- Defensive struggles - Close defense couldn't get a stop and looked slow and confused at times (especially on a few odd-man rushes). On top of that, while I'm not singling out Hanway as the reason for the loss, goalie play needs to be stronger than 5 saves and 17 goals against. Certainly, a few times he (Hanway) was left high and dry and he paid the price, but not his best showing.

Tufts
- Offensive Speed - no surprise here, the offense is quick and full of confidence. 11 of the 18 goals were assisted, which is impressive since Regnery's stat line was (5,0).

- Defense stood out - As someone who doesn't typically follow Tufts until May, their defense looked bigger, stronger, and faster than in the previous years. They certainly were more aggressive and at times bullied the CNU players.


I think CNU is better than what they showed last night, but I think Tufts could also be as good as advertised. Both teams are headed to the Mustang Classic, which is always a great event. The Tufts/RIT match-up should be a good one.

[Dehuntshigwa’es]

I’ve seen enough, and with a roster loaded with 5th years, last night said more about CNU I believe than it does about Tufts. For a second game of the year Tufts was throwing hay makers. CNU with 5 games under their belt showed nothing. Tufts and Gulls are in a league of their own CNU is not. Maybe RIT is within sight of that group, we will see. Maybe a 60 plus roster isn’t good after all, maybe the 5th years already checked out and are finally thinking about the real world. The Natty is a 2 1/2 horse race Tufts, Gulls for sure with RIT on the horizon. CNU should beat Dickinson coming off a come from behind win against Kenyon and they will handle St Lawrence. They are not beating Salisbury this year when it counts

[Laxdds]

The roster size is by design. CNU loses 25 players next year and only brings on 15 freshman. MT knows what he is doing. Btw, just to clarify, CNU does not have any 6th year players on the roster this year.

He may know what he is doing but what's his rationale for a roster this size? So next year he goes from 62 to 52 players on the roster what's the meaningful difference? Is it all caught up in the NCAA COVID debacle?

[EasternShoreLaxGuy]

Last year, CNU lost the first Salisbury game 16-8. I have no doubt that they will bounce back from this Tufts loss just fine.

Did they? Bouncing back would mean competing for a win atleast 1 of the 3 times. The overhype of this team is due to the fall off of Lynchburg, W&L, and Stevenson. These players have been rewarded for it also

[JPAtlantic]

Last year, CNU lost the first Salisbury game 16-8. I have no doubt that they will bounce back from this Tufts loss just fine.

Did they? Bouncing back would mean competing for a win atleast 1 of the 3 times. The overhype of this team is due to the fall off of Lynchburg, W&L, and Stevenson. These players have been rewarded for it also

W&L and Lynchburg were ranked #8 and #9 in the final 2023 poll. By "fall off", do you mean not in the top 5?

[ergit]

No connection to program but championships are won in May.
No time to panic. This early season loss may be more valuable than a win.

[Bananas4Lax3]

Overrated team. Overrated staff. This team will always beat up on less superior opponents but when the lights come on and they play a top team they fail to get the job done time after time. A team with this many 5th years and this much experience shouldnt be losing that badly and look that unprepared.

[Nothinbutthelax]

LYN and W&L haven’t fallen off much.. maybe not as much as CNU goal situation.
It’s early but getting into the meat of schedule now. Have to wonder if the 5th year situation is making for tough sledding in locker room…?

[EasternShoreLaxGuy]

Last year, CNU lost the first Salisbury game 16-8. I have no doubt that they will bounce back from this Tufts loss just fine.

Did they? Bouncing back would mean competing for a win atleast 1 of the 3 times. The overhype of this team is due to the fall off of Lynchburg, W&L, and Stevenson. These players have been rewarded for it also

W&L and Lynchburg were ranked #8 and #9 in the final 2023 poll. By "fall off", do you mean not in the top 5?

I’m just saying, plenty of people tried grouping them with the top dawgs. To be up there you have to be better than 1-9 vs bury

[LacrosseGuy804]

CNU beat RIT last year in the Mustang Classic and every other top 20 team they played except Salisbury (they beat Salisbury handily the 1st time they played in 2022). Let’s just wait and see where it falls out this year in the Tournament. CNU will be there again.

[ChopMan23]

No connection to program but championships are won in May.
No time to panic. This early season loss may be more valuable than a win.

Agreed. I think an underrated turning point in the game was a few saves the tufts goalie made in the first half. He played a terrific game, definitely stole a few early and that gave the jumbos the momentum they needed. Sometimes, good teams need a beatdown like that to understand where they are. Have no doubts the captains will make a run in May.

[Unknown Participant]

I understand making a tough schedule but why would CNU agree to a tough game against a momentum driven team that’s 10 HOURS AWAY. ON A WEDNESDAY. Recipe for disaster

i agree with this. lynchburg did this last year. you will never see a team like tufts, scheduled tough game on the road south of MD in the middle the week.

That is nonsense. Some research would go a long way on these boards. See Tuesday March 22, 2022, when Tufts traveled to Lynchburg (south of MD I believe) to crush the hornets, a top 10 team at the time at least. Not Tufts fault Cabrini sucked last year they were supposed to be good. The only highly rated Southern team left to play is Salisbury.

[Laxattackjack]

and where did they travel last year? or this year. just saying that tufts has the upper hand when they are home mid week, and other teams are having to fly up to play them. don’t get me wrong. tufts was the better team last night. cnu is having a hard time getting the season started. if these to teams meat agin in a neutral site, or even at CNU, i would expect different results.

[Unknown Participant]

and where did they travel last year? or this year. just saying that tufts has the upper hand when they are home mid week, and other teams are having to fly up to play them. don’t get me wrong. tufts was the better team last night. cnu is having a hard time getting the season started. if these to teams meat agin in a neutral site, or even at CNU, i would expect different results.

Cabrini, Stevens (this is a perennial event due to an annual alumni meet up) Union.

This year, Stevens, Mustang Classic.

2022 Lynchburg Stevens Babson (but that's right down rte 16).

As was more artfully written somewhere in this forum today. Tufts will go almost anywhere to play a quality opponent. Away games against teams that become non-quality opponents, Stevenson, Cabrini, Gettysburg, Lynchburg, are dropped. I think the goal w/CNU was to bring a top opponent in so Tufts could sharpen its game. Didn't turn out that way last night, but I know Coach D likes teams that push the Jumbos. I assume Tufts is at CNU next year (unless it does Mustang Classic again). I have seen polls (I think) and many users of this board (altho maybe not today) have/had top 4 Salisbury, CNU/RIT, Tufts with Tufts at 4. So Tufts planned to play 2 of the top 3 teams this year. Idk why Tufts never plays Salisbury in season. Since Berkman is lord of dIII per some users, I am sure he could make it happen if he wanted to. I have to assume Berkman does not want to.

[SouthieLax]

if these to teams meat agin in a neutral site, or even at CNU, i would expect different results.

Yes, I think everyone's take away from last night’s matchup is that if these teams meet again on a neutral field CNU will win.

[The12lov3]

if these to teams meat agin in a neutral site, or even at CNU, i would expect different results.

Yes, I think everyone's take away from last night’s matchup is that if these teams meet again on a neutral field CNU will win.

Is that sarcasm? Lets face it. CNU got their butts handed to them last night. A 12 goal deficit is not home field and it not travel. It is a better team. CNU is a fine team but Tufts looks to have much more depth on the second snd third lines then CNU. Starter might match up well but clearly Tufts had the advantage because their backups are just as atheletic then starters which explains why they dont have 5 amd 6 year player on the team. Kids that never played last year will be AA this year and that is what seperates RIT, Salisbury and Tufts year in and year put - depth.

[Unknown Participant]

if these to teams meat agin in a neutral site, or even at CNU, i would expect different results.

Yes, I think everyone's take away from last night’s matchup is that if these teams meet again on a neutral field CNU will win.

Is that sarcasm? Lets face it. CNU got their butts handed to them last night. A 12 goal deficit is not home field and it not travel. It is a better team. CNU is a fine team but Tufts looks to have much more depth on the second snd third lines then CNU. Starter might match up well but clearly Tufts had the advantage because their backups are just as atheletic then starters which explains why they dont have 5 amd 6 year player on the team. Kids that never played last year will be AA this year and that is what seperates RIT, Salisbury and Tufts year in and year put - depth.

It was sarcasm. Southielax is one of us I believe.

[ah23]

and where did they travel last year? or this year.

Multiple people have explained it to you multiple times. You just don’t like the answer.