The strongest conference in D3

[ChopMan23]

NESCAC, Liberty, CC right behind, nothing else comes close

CLC

They’re behind ODAC. Until one of the bottom feeders takes out SU/CNU, I can’t see putting them above the ODAC. HSC/Noke have way better chances at winning ODAC compared to Stockton/msu/kean/MW chances of winning the CLC.

MW killed HSC yesterday 22-11 and your saying none of the clc teams can win the odac when HSC has a chance

Overestimated HSC maybe. But just a scrimmage result nonetheless.

[Jumbo]

NESCAC, Liberty, CC right behind, nothing else comes close

CLC

They’re behind ODAC. Until one of the bottom feeders takes out SU/CNU, I can’t see putting them above the ODAC. HSC/Noke have way better chances at winning ODAC compared to Stockton/msu/kean/MW chances of winning the CLC.

MW killed HSC yesterday 22-11 and your saying none of the clc teams can win the odac when HSC has a chance

Not putting too much into a scrimmage until I know if both teams played the scrimmage like a game. Lots of coaches use scrimmages to work on specific things. Two examples for you
Last week. York and Wagner played. Both teams played starters the full first half. Both teams treated that half like a real game.
This weekend, York played Harford community college. York mixed up players and lines. Clearly working on something the score was close. This doesn’t mean that these two teams are comparable

Unless MW significantly improved, or HSC Significantly declined, I would look at past results. From 2023. For all similar opponents, HSC had better results.

[MVPiccoli]

I used to really think it mattered if your program was in a nationally competitive conference. Somehow, winning that conference meant you were better prepared for the tournament. Coaches installed strong OOC schedules to combat it. IDK anymore. I think it's just about being healthy and prepared to take on the back-to-back weekend games in the NCAA now. That's brutal. I don't think it really rewards the best coaching and teams in the same way. Your legs are not going to be 100% regardless of your teams conditioning, for that Sunday game, especially if you like upsets. You can't really prepare for three potential opponents with any level of depth. The coaches scheduling a mock tournament run with two games in 3 days and maybe forcing your staff and team to prepare for three potential opponents in order to get ready for it...I just don't enjoy the rushed nature of it all.

The NESCAC contains the highest level of conference lacrosse by a wide margin. That typically translates to final four and NC appearances, but not Natty's. Assuming that's the output you're targeting.

[Asgot]

I've seen some good debate on this bubbling up a few places and thought it'd be fun to start its own thread. Is NESCAC the best conference pound for pound, or has Liberty taken that throne? ODAC has a storied history but is it a shadow of its former self? How do you rank a conference like C2C that has a couple whales and then a big drop off?

NESCAC, Liberty, Centennial, ODAC, and then everyone else. CLC has 2 superior teams and 4 ok teams that would compete in the middle of these conferences. If MW results from this weekend stand then laxdad is going to be in for another long season

[MVPiccoli]

Just looking at the last 10 years, Natty by conference. CLC/CAC - 4; NESCAC - 3; Liberty - 2; CSAC (THE LEAST COMPETITIVE CONF EVER) - 1

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

[valaxfan]

NESCAC, Liberty, CC right behind, nothing else comes close

CLC

They’re behind ODAC. Until one of the bottom feeders takes out SU/CNU, I can’t see putting them above the ODAC. HSC/Noke have way better chances at winning ODAC compared to Stockton/msu/kean/MW chances of winning the CLC.

MW killed HSC yesterday 22-11 and your saying none of the clc teams can win the odac when HSC has a chance

Overestimated HSC maybe. But just a scrimmage result nonetheless.

HSC beat the Generals last year in regular season in 4 OTs, at home. Then get beat 16-4 by the Generals in ODAC playoffs, at home. Point is, anything can happen, any team can get on a run, so i would not count HSC out just because of this score, its a scrimmage, just like the NFL, its the regular season that matters.

valaxfan

[MVPiccoli]

NESCAC, Liberty, CC right behind, nothing else comes close

CLC

They’re behind ODAC. Until one of the bottom feeders takes out SU/CNU, I can’t see putting them above the ODAC. HSC/Noke have way better chances at winning ODAC compared to Stockton/msu/kean/MW chances of winning the CLC.

MW killed HSC yesterday 22-11 and your saying none of the clc teams can win the odac when HSC has a chance

Overestimated HSC maybe. But just a scrimmage result nonetheless.

HSC beat the Generals last year in regular season in 4 OTs, at home. Then get beat 16-4 by the Generals in ODAC playoffs, at home. Point is, anything can happen, any team can get on a run, so i would not count HSC out just because of this score, its a scrimmage, just like the NFL, its the regular season that matters.

valaxfan

As a player, I do think there is something to the preseason stuff. You're gauging where your team is at. No, it's not a death blow if you get molly walloped, but it's mentally frustrating to be non-competitive in any situation. Tons of factors present in pre-season that are off the table in the regular season too. I.e. maybe you were working on a slide package and didn't care if you gave up certain looks, just that your defense was executing the concept. Same with offense, we were instructed to go heavy iso in our preseason games, and generally rolled the ball out. Idea being you were existing in that "got to have one" moment of competition, just seeing another jersey. Versus how you call a game for a specific opponent play wise. Sometimes just working on how we worked the substitution game over every other offensive aspect. We weren't scouting and hunting match-ups.

I agree with you VAlaxfan. No reason to count any team out based on a pre-season result. Def more concerned with specific outputs than outcomes this time of year.

[Laxfans]

NESCAC, Liberty, CC right behind, nothing else comes close

CLC

They’re behind ODAC. Until one of the bottom feeders takes out SU/CNU, I can’t see putting them above the ODAC. HSC/Noke have way better chances at winning ODAC compared to Stockton/msu/kean/MW chances of winning the CLC.

MW killed HSC yesterday 22-11 and your saying none of the clc teams can win the odac when HSC has a chance

I agree some with your comments about the clc but we’re talking about a scrimmage here. Scrimmages a lot of the time don’t really mean anything at all.

[Unknown Participant]

Just looking at the last 10 years, Natty by conference. CLC/CAC - 4; NESCAC - 3; Liberty - 2; CSAC (THE LEAST COMPETITIVE CONF EVER) - 1

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

Perhaps, a better metric is NCAA appearences by conference, or some subset such as final 4 appearances.

[RE6ULATOR]

Just looking at the last 10 years, Natty by conference. CLC/CAC - 4; NESCAC - 3; Liberty - 2; CSAC (THE LEAST COMPETITIVE CONF EVER) - 1

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

Perhaps, a better metric is NCAA appearences by conference, or some subset such as final 4 appearances.

“Better” meaning…

[JPAtlantic]

USA Lacrosse Poll has these totals by conference (including honorable mentions)
NESCAC - 5 Teams - Avg Rank 8
Liberty - 5 Teams - Avg Rank 14
Centennial - 5 teams - Avg Rank 17
ODAC - 3 teams - Avg Rank 12
Coastal - 2 teams (The top two) - Avg Rank 1.5