In this year’s NCAA DIII men’s lacrosse national championship game between RIT and Salisbury, we witnessed an absolutely fantastic battle of wills. Right from the start, you had one team wanting to play fast and chaotic lacrosse, while the other wanted to control the tempo and methodically wear its opponent down.

Forget that RIT was chasing its program’s first title, forget that Salisbury’s seniors were trying to win their class’s only ring, forget all of that…because this was a lacrosse game played by two great teams, and the players on the field decided the winner today. History, records, and firsts had nothing to do with it.

RIT Takes First DIII Men’s Lacrosse Title in Unforgettable Fashion

First Quarter

The game opened with RIT winning the first face off via a false start, but that led to a slower settled possession, where Salisbury was able to earn a turnover. The Gulls proceeded to head right down the field, and Cross Ferrara scored a goal just 1:40 into the contest. RIT evened it up at one goal apiece pretty quickly with a faster-paced opportunity on the next possession as Marley Angus scored, and the contrast in styles was evident to anyone with a pulse. Also evident was that this game would be very, very enjoyable to watch.

The first few minutes were action packed, and almost as soon as it was 1-1, Salisbury went back up, 2-1, with a quick goal by Griffin Moroney, only adding to the electric tempo the contest already possessed. RIT, after winning possession, and by pressing the cage quickly, forced the Gulls to commit a penalty. RIT proceeded to tie it right back up at two off a Dawson Tait strike. It was control ball versus chaos lacrosse from the get go, and RIT was looking in control of the overall chaotic pace. Another quick score from RIT, this time by Quinn Commandant, put the Tigers up, 3-2. Each team had already held a lead (momentarily at least), and the game had been tied three times.

With RIT up one and a frenetic battle for loose balls, it looked like the Tigers would have their way with the tempo battles. But a costly penalty on the ride gave Salisbury a chance to show out offensively, and it did not disappoint, creating a beautiful quick strike on the man advantage, giving Moroney a picture perfect shot opportunity. Salisbury shooters rarely miss shots this good, and this was no exception.

Following a solid defensive stand, RIT drew an offside penalty, but Commandant scored in transition before the flag was needed, and RIT went back up, 4-3. Salisbury then had a nice long possession, but RIT caused a turnover and looked to be pushing transition. Salisbury’s counter ride kept a dangerous situation from evolving, and the Gulls went back on offense, slowly prodding the D and trying to exploit one-on-one matchups. SU was unable to convert, RIT couldn’t make good on a legit chance to end the quarter, and the first 15 minutes saw RIT emerge with the 4-3 lead, and a slight edge in the chaos versus control aspect of the game.

Second Quarter

Salisbury got the first good chance of the second quarter, but Walker Hare turned away the effort. A good hustle play got the ball back for the Tigers, and after a nice little possession of their own, the RIT ball movement got Quinn Commandant a clean look, and he put it past TJ Ellis with sneaky velocity. Down 5-3, Salisbury got a much-needed face off win from Eoghan Sweeney, trying to settle the game back down. A good possession ended up in a turnover with RIT looking dangerous again, but the Gulls counter not only earned the ball back, it also drew a penalty. Moroney got a step up top and let loose a low lefty bouncer to bring the Gulls back within one at 5-4, the push penalty was erased, and RIT would go on to win the ensuing draw.

Almost out of nowhere, Quinn Commandant sold a nice backdoor cut and blew by an overextended defense to catch a nice pass and smoothly score to quickly put the Tigers back up by two. With Salisbury winning the next face off, the Gulls moved the ball around a bit before getting back on the Moroney train. A nice shot off a screen gets SU back within one, and all of a sudden, both Griffin Moroney and Quinn Commandant had each scored four goals, and each had done so on four shots. Before you could blink, Salisbury’s Jack Dowd scored a physical fundamental goal, and the game was tied up at six with just under eight minutes left. After another flag on RIT, but before the slash call is actually called, Josh Melton scores and Salisbury is up, 7-6. It looked like the tide had turned in the Gulls’ favor.

So of course, RIT’s Nick Montemorano won the ensuing man-down draw forward for the Tigers, Salisbury doesn’t slide, so Montemorano pushed down the lane and scored on a mini jumper, knotting the game at seven. A false start on Salisbury gave RIT the ball back, the Tigers killed the rest of the penalty, and then gave the ball back after a good defensive double by SU. A suspect clear worked out for Salisbury, but only momentarily as Walker Hare made a quick save and RIT was back on the offensive end pushing a chaotic tempo. Matt Wiechers let a bouncer loose as he got topside and across the face of the goal and skipped it into the top shelf to put the Tigers back up, 8-7.

RIT earned another chance at the O end and had a solid possession, earning a reset and then a push to retain possession, but the Salisbury defense once again answered the bell, picking off a pass and clearing the ball without any issues. SU got a good look, but Walker Hare was there, and RIT’s ability to answer with transition proved deadly, going up 9-7. After acquiring the ball yet again, RIT called timeout with just 1:26 left in the first half and 73 seconds left on the shot clock. The Tigers let the clock wind all the way down to about 20 seconds before really going to the cage, and Salisbury shut it down to earn a shot clock violation.

Drew Apgar cleared the ball and skipped a shot through a crowd of players, but Walker Hare tracked it, and the half ended with RIT holding a two-goal edge. The battle of chaos lacrosse versus control ball continued throughout the first half, with RIT earning a slight edge in the game’s pace, tempo, and score. Salisbury had 19 shots to RIT’s 15 and held a 16-15 edge in ground balls, but Walker Hare was making big saves, RIT was making good on its chances on the O end, and Salisbury didn’t look 100% comfortable on the defensive side.

Third Quarter

RIT won the first face off of the second half and moved the ball around well, with Dawson Tait almost putting one away. TJ Ellis made a nice save, but RIT kept possession. A bad shot after two minutes of possession allowed for an easy save from Ellis, and Salisbury broke the RIT ride. But SU’s first possession resulted in an over and back, and the RIT offense went right back to work. Yet another nice save from Ellis gave SU another chance, and the confidence that this game was far from over. Jack Dowd then launched a missile of a bounce shot past Hare to pull the Gulls within one, with RIT now leading 9-8.

Cross Ferrara almost tied the game up for Salisbury, but RIT recovered and cleared with five minutes elapsed in the third quarter. RIT earned a reset, but the Salisbury defense looked more comfortable than it had all game. Maybe it was half time adjustments, maybe it was just settling in, but early in the third quarter, the SU defense pressed out confidently and effectively. With 7:34 left in the period, RIT went man up on a hold call. While the Gulls were tested, the defense answered and collapsed, forcing another turnover. RIT made the clear interesting, and then an unforced turnover put Salisbury on its heels before it created another turnover, this time via yard sale… and THEN Moroney scored a low lefty laser from the middle to tie it up at nine. Salisbury was proving it too could play a little chaos ball.

It took nine minutes and 30 seconds of second half game play before we finally got our first goal after the break, and a little jawing between players afterwards led to RIT taking possession without a face off, and before long, Larson Sundown ripped one by Ellis, and RIT was back up, 10-9. Soon after, Salisbury’s Pierre Armstrong took the ball from behind, moved up the wing with speed, and ripped a low shot past Hare. After three goals in about a minute, the game was tied at 10-10.

Looking to retake the lead for the first time since early in the game, Salisbury won the ensuing draw and put a decent shot on right away. Garrett Bromwell would follow that effort up with one that hit the net, and all of a sudden, the Gulls were up 11-10. Control ball had taken over the game, and the Gulls were flying high. It looked like SU would go up by two on the next possession, but Hare made a great save on Bromwell. RIT turned the ball back over quickly, and the SU tempo continued to rule.

With just 45 seconds left in the third quarter, Salisbury started to go to the goal and made good on the effort. But the score was called off on a crease violation. A push was called on RIT instead. Thirty seconds of man up and 23 seconds of quarter saw Salisbury press, but ultimately the quarter ended without a goal. Starting with the ball in the fourth and up a goal, the Gulls were positioning themselves well for a final quarter of lacrosse.

Fourth Quarter

Making good on that positioning, Salisbury scored to go up 12-10 before earning yet another turnover, almost as if proving a point. While RIT got the ball back eventually and got off a solid shot, Ellis was there once again. It looked like SU might turn this into an SU game, but the RIT ride delivered when the Tigers needed it most. A chaotic bounce put the ball in Dawson Tait’s stick, and the score difference was back to one, with Salisbury leading just 12-11.

A long face off ground battle saw Salisbury win possession, but RIT was flying around on the lacrosse field, showing good fight. Salisbury’s Cross Ferrara would then use a right-handed alley dodge from up top to put the ball by Hare’s left shoulder utilizing an overhand shot, and Malamphy took the next face off, giving SU the ball, a 13-11 lead, and a confident position. However, with just fewer than 10 minutes left, RIT picked off a pass and quickly pushed the ball up the field and behind. The possession ended with a Ryan Rosenblum goal off a righty sweep dodge right down the middle where the SU defense failed to collapse.

RIT’s Ryan Barnable followed up Rosenblum’s goal with a score of his own after the Tigers won the draw. Barnable did a wonderful job of getting to the middle, throwing fakes under pressure and finishing. Salisbury won the ensuing draw and slowed it way down – just kidding! With just more than seven minutes to go and the score knotted at 13, Bromwell added another big goal on an incredible shot, and the Gulls were back up by a score.

An RIT face-off win led to an ugly turnover and a near-thrilling ride, but Salisbury weathered the storm as Ellis made a big play to put the Gulls back on O. With a little more than five minutes remaining in regulation, Hare made a high-quality save, but the Salisbury ride earned the ball back this time. After milking the clock and some chaos, SU finally got a good shot off with just more than 3:30 left, but Walker Hare made a clean save. A quick press offense turned the ball over for RIT, and Salisbury took back over, calling timeout with two-and-a-half minutes to go in the game and a one-goal lead, 14-13.

Salisbury milked the clock down quite a bit again, but its offensive overtures didn’t pay off until late in the shot clock, and only by chance. SU managed a good shot out of some chaos, but Hare turned it away, RIT’s Taylor Jensen corralled the rebound, RIT cleared the ball successfully, and Jake Coon called timeout with 1:18 left in the game, 66 ticks left on the shot clock, and only down by one goal.

The next 20 seconds proved to provide some of the most chaotic lacrosse of the entire game, with RIT almost losing the ball via a great takeaway check but regaining possession off a slap pass. The Tigers completed a high cross field pass and got off a great shot, which was saved, BUT they got the ball back off the rebound. They called timeout again. That all happened in under 20 seconds.

Coming out of the time out, Salisbury’s defense was once again called to make what seemed like a final stand, and it answered. It created yet another takeaway, but an offsides call gave RIT the ball back. After a fast restart and a couple quick passes, RIT put the ball away, and we were tied at 14 goals apiece. Who else could have scored it but Quinn Commandant? Madness.

Salisbury was awarded the ball on a face-off violation, and with 12.1 seconds left, Jim Berkman called timeout to draw up some final moment action. It was quick and simple, and it worked with Bromwell getting off a decent shot from the alley, but the RIT never-ever-give-up mentality meant that Hare would heave the ball down the field, which he did. RIT somehow managed to get a shot off, and while it missed the cage by a foot or more, it was a lot closer than anyone wearing gold would have preferred.

What time was it? Overtime! This game deserved nothing less!

First Overtime

RIT won the opening face off out of a chaotic sideline situation and got two really good chances at goal, but Salisbury was able to earn a turnover. However, a gutty ride for RIT got the ball back, and its offense went back to work. Another shot by Barnable went off the side of the net, and while Ellis didn’t make the save, he forced the shot and cleared the ball perfectly. Salisbury called time out with 2:06 left in overtime and 64 seconds on the shot clock, giving it a real chance to impose its brand of lacrosse on RIT in the final minutes.

Salisbury had two excellent shots off at the goal, but neither found the back of the net, with the second being a big rebound save by Hare, which was brought in by the RIT D. A quick clear and Jake Coon used his timeout. In atypical RIT fashion, the beginning of the possession was slow, with Marley Angus just holding the ball up top, waiting for the last shot. With just about 12 second left, Angus went to the cage, but Salisbury snuffed out the situation, and the game was headed to its second overtime period.

Second Overtime

Salisbury won the draw, but a swarm of Tigers overwhelmed the ball carrier and eventually earned a turnover. The Tigers ran through their most conservative and controlled possession of the game, ultimately creating a great chance in short time but missing. Off the endline restart and with just about seven seconds left, Ryan Barnable caught an improbable Dawson Tait endline feed on the crease as he cut from side to side. Barnable finished the ball in the back of the net, delivering RIT the 15-14 double-overtime win and the program’s first-ever national championship in men’s lacrosse.

Congratulations, RIT Men’s Lacrosse!

As usual, the DIII men’s lacrosse national championship game lived up to the hype and was one of the best contests of the weekend. The fans were treated to an unrivaled display of skill, toughness, creativity, and athleticism – all from non-scholarship student-athletes. This is great lacrosse!

Congratulations to both teams on absolutely incredible seasons. There can only be one champion, and this year it took two overtime periods to settle it. A gigantic congrats goes to the RIT Tigers men’s lacrosse team! Enjoy the win, and get excited about 2022, because the season starts now. Well, tomorrow. The season starts tomorrow. Enjoy the win today!

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The DIII men’s lacrosse championship game is one of the most thrilling matchups every Memorial Day Weekend, and this year’s title game featuring RIT and Salisbury will be a contest for the ages. That’s not a prediction; it’s a guarantee!

Both teams get a week to prepare for this one, both come in battle tested, and both boast a ton of talent all over the field. The 2021 DIII men’s lacrosse national championship game comes after a cancelled 2020 season, a year of pandemic, and a wild ride all spring, but high expectations are now abound on both sides of the ball.

These two teams are peaking at the right time, and now we get to see who earns the crown. It’s disciplined, skilled, and hard-nosed Maryland structure ball versus Canadian-infused, Upstate magical movement, and if you know what’s good for you, you’re here for ALL OF IT! This might be the most exciting DIII men’s lacrosse championship matchup we’ve seen in years!

DIII Men’s Lacrosse Championship Preview

Meet the Programs

On one side, you have the RIT Tigers representing the North. This is a team with talent and depth at every position, slick stick skills galore, a bunch of future professionals, a nasty amoeba of a defense, and an ability to outscore just about anybody. They took down a high-flying Tufts team last weekend, 18-16, and are looking to keep that offensive deluge going on Sunday.

Head coach Jake Coon has had this program roaring for well over a decade, and for the past couple of seasons, they have been at or neat the top of the northern heap and downright dominant at times. When it comes to strong RIT teams (and there have been many), and the 2021 group matches up to, or exceeds, every team before it, and that is really saying something. The Roch-Vegas faithful are sure that this is the year they finally enter the hall of champions.

The Salisbury Sea Gulls stand in the other corner, and if you know anything at all about DIII men’s lacrosse, that should be enough, because for SU, every darn years is considered to be the year. Now, if you don’t know about the legendary program that is Salisbury, let me fill you in real quick – since 1994, Salisbury has won 12 DIII men’s lacrosse national championships, 22 league titles, and produced hundreds (yes, hundreds) of All-Americans. In fact, I’m pretty that every four-year player at SU since 1991 has won at least one national crown while at Salisbury.

This is DIII Titletown, and head coach Jim Berkman is the Mayor with a capital M. Skill, athleticism, toughness, and individual stars with a team-first attitude dominant these decades of SU excellence. The 2021 team has some of the past star power, and the overall level of talent may be as deep as it ever has been. And that makes SU a very scary opponent, as usual.

DIII Men’s Lacrosse Championship What to Watch For

RIT Offense vs Salisbury Defense

RIT’s biggest strength is its overall offensive production rate and how it’s able to make it happen. While the Tigers can roll out six top-level scorers and playmakers every single settled possession, transition offense is also quite common for the Tigers as their defensive group is equally dangerous on the O end and likes to push the rock.

Nick Montemorano quickly wins a lot of draws forward and can finish or dish with solid consistency, and this adds another dangerous wrinkle. Off the clear or ride, settled O or face offs, RIT can seemingly score at any moment. Dawson Tait, Larson Sundown, and Quinn Commandant are the three big guns on attack, and all three are lethal playmakers, and the ball moves quickly from stick to stick as the players move and exchange. Ryan Barnable and Spencer Bell provide even more playmaking from the midfield, and Marley Angus and Ryan Rosenblum stretch the D with their dodging and shooting prowess. Don’t be surprised is someone outside of those seven has a big day on Sunday as well, maybe even someone with a long stick. The depth of this high-level offensive talent is very real, which makes RIT constantly dangerous.

Salisbury’s defense has a tall task ahead of it, but this group is no joke. While it’s unlikely to completely shut down the RIT offense, its size, speed, communication, and teamwork allows one to think that SU could potentially limit the RIT offense to a “very bad day,” which would mean RIT scores 10 goals or fewer. There is no weak link in the SU defense as Brad Apgar, Jackson Woodward, Matt O’Callaghan, and Kevin Murphy lead this group of poles, and other than freshman John DeFazio, every other defender is either a senior or graduate student.

The Gulls’ defensive system presses, features great support, and when everyone keys on their responsibilities, it’s as good of a man-to-man D as exists anywhere. When all else fails, SU has TJ Ellis in goal. He understands the shots he will see and has been a consistent force. SU’s Brent Malamphy is less of a scoring threat off the draw than Montemorano, but he is he able to keep RIT away from scoring back-to-back quick goals and can give the Gulls a good number of settled additional possessions on offense, it will help the D out immensely. Defending RIT well on 20-25 possessions is a lot easier than defending RIT on 40-45 possessions. RIT wants the latter. SU will benefit greatly from the former.

Given all the experience both teams possess, look for RIT to bring its offensive A-game on Sunday and for the Salisbury D to answer the bell and put up a great fight. An exciting, talented, and deep offense against a powerhouse team-first defensive group? It’s definitely going to be fun! But I’m not sure it’s where the game will be won or lost.

The RIT offense is consistent, the SU defense is consistent – I don’t see any huge swings in either direction as being all that likely, and RIT will keenly remember 2017 when its offense sputtered in the final against Salisbury in a 15-7 loss.

Salisbury Offense vs RIT Defense

The Salisbury offensive players have put up absolutely gaudy numbers this year, with Cross Ferrara and Josh Melton already eclipsing 90 points each. Four more players have at least 40 points, with Jarrett Bromwell putting up a preposterous 79 points out of the midfield. When this group is flying together, the ball is zinging around, and the system is clicking, it can easily break 20 goals in a game and has reached 30 goals in two of its last four contests.

At the same time, this is not a group that is guaranteed to score in droves. It struggled against Lynchburg and Cabrini early on and never truly got going against CNU in early May. In all three of those games, opponents were able to force Salisbury into settling for lower quality shots and limited the Gulls’ ball movement. Salisbury’s three big guns are REALLY big guns, but if a D can focus on them and other players don’t answer the call, the Gulls offense can stagnate at times.

Like the SU offense, the RIT defense can also be a little up and down, giving up 13 goals or more three times this year. Part of that is a high risk, high reward approach where RIT presses and pressures out, uses some solid zone techniques, generates turnovers, and then very often scores goals. But that same pressure can be exposed. So far, it’s all worked out pretty well, but an aggressive style against highly-disciplined Salisbury could be a different story. SU uses its system to feed on chaos, so the RIT press must remain disciplined, at least for the most part, only taking big risks at the most opportune times. Poles Taylor Jensen, Patrick Shoemay, Alex Maruna, and Tyler Sceviour all feel free to take some risks walking they have Walker Hare in net, and the keep also provides a nice spark in transition.

If RIT can impose its defensive will on Salisbury and keep the Gulls below 10 goals, OR if Salisbury is able to use RIT’s pressure against the Tigers effectively and score quick passing goals, we could be looking at a huge swing in any predicted scoreline. So, while the RIT O versus the SU D may be the most heavily-discussed part of this matchup, the other end of the field might be where the game is won or lost.

Special Teams

Face Offs – Salisbury is a more possession-oriented face off team than RIT, but with Malamphy winning 76% of his draws and back up Eoghan Sweeney winning 67%, it has two good options to roll out against Montemorano’s forward push. While Montemorano only wins about 56% of his draws, his ability to go forward and to goal quickly can be a game changer. He did not convert any draws into goals against Tufts but did take three good shots, putting two on cage, which both required excellent saves. In this game, winning the right face off at the right time and scoring a goal could make all the difference.

Man Up/Man Down – Both teams put up a lot of goals on the extra man, and a team that scores on 50% or more of its chances if always worth noting (both teams do this as well). However, Salisbury is almost allergic to getting penalties in title games, at least historically, and the last time these two sides players for a title, RIT committed six infractions to SU’s one, and Salisbury walked away with it. It didn’t make or break the game, but it didn’t help RIT’s cause. SU is a disciplined team, and this is an area where it usually pays dividends. RIT cannot get into penalty trouble, but if it does, Salisbury has to convert.

Riding/Clearing – Both teams have seen pressure rides, high-pace clears, and transition on their road to this game, and both teams do what they do reasonably well. RIT clears proficiently but not perfectly. However, it makes up for this with the goals it scores off of clears. Again, there is some risk and some reward to the team’s approach. Its ride is solid and full of energy, but better teams were usually able to break it. Salisbury clears the ball a little more efficiently but don’t generate the same offensive production from its clear that RIT does. The Tigers will thrive in a chaotic clearing and riding game, but the Sea Gulls will do everything they can to impose order in the middle third of the field. It should make for some exciting plays via contrasting styles.

DIII Men’s Lacrosse Championship Potential X-Factors

The Salisbury Streak – While grad students like Kevin Murphy were part of the team that won a title in 2017, seniors like Cross Ferrara were not, and that would make the Class of 2021 the first class in decades to not a win a DIII men’s lacrosse championship while at SU. I can’t believe that’s even possible, and it speaks to the strength of what Jim Berkman has built, but it also adds a little extra motivation for this year’s seniors (even if they come back as grad students next year). Most of the contributors to this current SU team were around in 2018 when the Gulls lost in the title game, so they’ve been here before, and they know what it feels like to just come close.

The Larson Sundown Experience – Larson Sundown has played in a LOT of championship games. He’s won some, he’s lost some, but he knows his way around a title game experience. Very few of the current RIT players even touched the field in 2017 against Salisbury in RIT’s last showing in the DIII men’s lacrosse championship game, so this team doesn’t have a ton of experience in title games. But Sundown does. Can he help this RIT program to get over the runner-up hump?

Final Thoughts

While RIT has never won a DIII men’s lacrosse championship, it has come awfully close a couple of times, and in my humble opinion, this might be the best RIT team ever. This makes the Tigers a very slight favorite to win their first title. They are not the favorites by a large margin, but the overall expectation from so many in DIII lacrosse circles is that 2021 is the year RIT breaks through and takes home the hardware.

However, and this is a BIG however, if there is one DIII team in the country this year that can potentially impose its will on RIT, keep the scoring a little lower, and emerge with a hard-fought W, it’s Salisbury. The fact that SU expects to win it all each years helps with its approach, but because the Gulls haven’t won a title since 2017, this game golds additional significance for the program and the players, especially the seniors.

This is exciting stuff!

It will be nothing but A-game lacrosse on Sunday from both teams. There is pressure on RIT to break through and win it all, but the Tigers embrace it. There is pressure on Salisbury and its seniors to cement their dynastic legacy once again, and they embrace it. Only one of these teams will emerge victorious, while the other will suffer heartbreak. But for the rest of us, it’s simply a great game we get to enjoy, and it absolutely promises to deliver.

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Editor’s note: This post was originally published on September 5th, 2011, and in some small way, we hope it helps the lacrosse community and the wider world to keep this amazing story in our collective minds. We will republish “The Man In The Red Bandana” every September 11th to serve as a reminder that in tragedy, there can also be triumph, unquestionable character, and real life heroism.

If you’d like to get involved with positive projects being done now in Welles’ name, please consider donating to the Welles Remy Crowther Charitable Trust.

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If you don’t watch Outside The Lines on ESPN, you may have missed a special segment they recently aired titled “The Man In The Red Bandana“.  If you did happen to miss it and you’re a lacrosse fan, or just a fan of humanity rising to unthinkable challenges, the video below is something you need to see.

The memories will never fade, and the scars that 9-11 left on so many may never truly heal, but stories like this remind us all that there is a lot of good in the world still, and that this goodwill of men can pop up when things look darkest. It can exist in the people right next to you, even if you’ve never seen it. All it takes is the right person, in the right place, at the wrong time.

Welles Crowther was a former BC lacrosse player from Nyack, NY, working in the World Trade Center on September 11th. Welles was put in an extraordinary situation, and reacted with the heroism we all hope we possess somewhere inside. His example gives us all a model to live by, and something to shoot for. It’s an amazing and true story; one I will never forget.

Remember Welles’s story. Pray and work so that another 9/11 will never occur again. And believe, above all else, that you would react in a similar fashion if it did. We will never forget Welles Crowther, or how he chose to spend his last hour on Earth.

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Earlier this year, Nike sent over a brand new pair of their Alpha Huarache 7 Pro lacrosse cleats, and seeing as the Swoosh has long crafted top notch footwear, I was obviously excited. My current cleats are a more basic pair of Nike lows, and while I really like them, I’m always excited to see what Nike’s top of the line products have in store – they consistently put an extra bit of attention into the form and function of their footwear and it usually results in a fantastic product. It’s a lot of pressure, but if any brand can live up to its past successes, it’s Nike.

I opened the box, marveled at the frosty limited edition design quickly, and then brought my old cleats and the new cleats out to a field, and did some agility work in both sets of shoes. While I still haven’t been able to wear the new cleats in a game, I got a good feel for what these boots are all about, and it’s good. It’s really good.

Appearance

Before we talk performance, let’s get the aesthetics covered, because these cleats are certainly head turners. I’m not entirely sure what the color combos will be for the retail versions of the cleat, but if the promo cleats give us any indication it’s that these cleats will look good no matter what.

My reasoning for this is that there are a lot of small details, but the overall look is super clean. The promo cleat is almost all white, and this makes the smaller detailing aspects really pop. The patterning on the back of the heel, the shimmer of the large green swoosh, the small Huarache and Nike logos, the faded NIKE on the inside of the foot, and the lace ends are all powerful, but none are overwhelming. It’s a great mix of bold and classic, and has a super premium overall appearance. The lightly colored (but shimmering!) sole of the cleat really stands out as well with the deep patterning, but we’ll get to that more later!

The single-piece toe has light patterning, but like the rest of the shoes, there are VERY few seams. This will make the cleat easy to clean, and should also keep more water out than your normal cleats on a muddy or soaked field. Overall this cleat will certainly earn you a double take or two.

Comfort/Weight

The Huarache 7 is certainly lightweight, but it doesn’t feel flimsy like some other super light cleats can feel, so I was curious if something so seemingly strong and rigid could also be comfortable. Lightweight materials can be super stiff, so I had to put them on and run to see what was happening.

To my surprise, the cleat was pretty much ready to go right away, and the biggest reason for this was the flex that the cleated sole of the shoes allows. With almost every pair of cleats I’ve ever owned, it took some time to break them in. The uppers had to soften and mold to my foot, but the cleat plate also needed to break in. Like a face off head, the plastic in a cleat plate eventually breaks down and gets softer, and then those are your favorite cleats.

In this case, the Huarache 7s felt more broken in than your average cleat, and that flex point right under the ball of my feet was already there. Within a couple minutes, it felt like I’d had the cleats for a month. My older cleats took time to break in, but these were much closer right away.

The upper is a snug fit, and while my foot felt very locked in and secure, there wasn’t a hint of constriction or discomfort. Whether I was running in a straight line, at an angle, sideways or backwards, I felt very secure in knowing that these cleats were ready for it all, and my feet felt great. The lower part of the upper is less breathable, but the top portion, and the tongue are both breathable, allowing your feet to be protected and stay dry, without overheating.

Stability/Traction

Nike used flywire all over this shoe, but they locked it down with additional stitching and the cleat feels extremely stable, no matter what movement is being done. As I said above, it’s a great cleat right out of the box, and a big part of this not only the comfort, but also the function and performance. From a stability standpoint, this cleat is superb.

On the traction front we come back to the cleated sole of the shoe yet again, and there is really good reason for this – this sole is truly something else. The organic looking indents that run throughout the bottom allow for strength as well as flex, and it looks like a bee’s honeycomb in many ways. Nature provided inspiration and Nike ran with it. Now we can too. It’s cool stuff, and it works.

The actual cleat points are also different. Gone are the old circular cleat cones, and in their place we see more triangular cleat heads. Seeing as lacrosse movements are often multi-directional, and require agility and quickness at the drop of a hat, this approach makes a ton of sense. A sharp edge allows a push in any direction, and the edge corresponds with the movement that would be made. It’s a REALLY well designed cleat pattern and it delivers on connecting a player to the ground.

Durability

I’ve only possessed these cleats for a couple of days, so commenting on actual durability would be impossible. I can say that the limited seam approach in the design really intrigues me. Almost of the stitching, seams, and material joining sections have been covered, and while I definitely believe this will make the shoes easier to keep clean, I’m curious to see if it also provides improved durability. We will have to wait and see on this one, but I don’t see any areas on the cleat that create a cause for concern.

Value

This is definitely a premium, lacrosse-specific product, and it’s going to have a higher price point than your average lacrosse cleat or athletic shoe. Quite frankly, it’s a great product, so a higher price point seems fair. There is a lot of really good stuff going on here, so the question becomes – how important is a great pair of cleats to YOU? If you’re looking for a pair that can deliver in every way, then the Huarache 7s are going to be your best option.

Overall

Have I always loved and almost always worn Nike cleats? Yes, yes I have. I’m not ashamed to admit it, and it doesn’t make me biased. I’ve done my research, and over the years, I’ve dabbled with other brands, but I always come back to the Swoosh. There is a consistency of quality and a mix of form and function you just don’t get in many other places. The Nike Alpha Huarache 7 Pro takes this existing legacy to the next level, and I’m pretty sure the vast majority of players who can wear these will wear these.

I personally find the design and look these cleats to be stunning and done without any gimmicks. They’re bright and bold, and yet classic and timeless, and this appeals to me. If that doesn’t appeal to you, that’s fine, because the function of the cleats certainly will. The fit is certain and snug, but also supportive and comfortable. The cleat plate is a game changer, and while it adds something to the look, the real benefit is seen in how it performs. This is a dynamic cleat, and it’s going to raise the bar in the lacrosse footwear game yet again for Nike.

Other Alpha Huarache 7 styles:

Let us how your feel about the Nike Huarache 7 Cleats below!

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Editor’s Note: Have you ever wanted to play lacrosse in Australia? We’ve got a very exciting interview for you today with Rodney Maher, a representative of the Altona Lacrosse Club based in Victoria, which accepts visiting players and coaches to play and coach with the team as part of program. Players like Micheal Rhoads from the University of Virginia have played in seasons past, as well our publisher Connor Wilson! Below is a transcript of an email interview that Connor did with Rod about the Altona Lacrosse Club. Make the trip to the southern hemisphere and play the great game of lacrosse in the land down under.

Altona Lacrosse Club Interview With Rodney Maher

Connor Wilson: Can you provide some insight into the Altona Lacrosse Club? Where is it located? When was the club founder? What league do you play in? How many members are there in the club? What age groups do you have teams playing? Is there a women’s side to the club?

Rodney Maher: The Altona Lacrosse Club was established in 1964.  After several years of being moved to different locations in the municipality, we were finally provided with a permanent home in 1984. Perhaps it was a fear of again being uprooted that the club has always leased its grounds all year round. Altona’s foresight and sacrifice is evident when you consider Altona is the only club in Victoria to have its grounds all year round.  As a result we are often called upon to assist Lacrosse Victoria and the Australian Lacrosse Association in running tournaments on their behalf. We are known for our ability to run great tournaments, which is a testament to the professionalism of the committee and hard work by our volunteers. In 2018, Altona held the biggest Under 15 lacrosse tournament ever held in Australia.  Our grounds and clubrooms are among the best lacrosse facilities in Victoria.

Altona is a bayside suburb which is why we chose the mascot “Vikings” in recognition of our proximity to the sea. Our original colors were purple and gold but 30 years ago, purple colored uniforms were difficult to get in a consistent quality so we changed to our current colors of sky blue, navy blue, silver and white. When we see how good the Iroquois look in purple and gold, however, we may well use that color combination again, at least for some of our junior sides.

Altona is a large club by Australian lacrosse standards with over 100 male and female players. For 2020, we will have sides in U11, U13, U15, U17, Division 3, Division 2 and State League for men. We also have one senior women’s side but we hope to add another senior women’s side and a girl’s side for the current season.

Altona’s top side plays in the State League Competition. The State League competition is the highest standard of Australia Lacrosse. It is a tough competition with many NCAA Division 1 standard players joining the best Australian lacrosse players. In this competition, Altona is the youngest side but we have huge potential with some of the best younger players in the country. The field lacrosse season runs from late April until early September.

There are short introductory videos of our teams on our webpage at https://www.altonalacrosse.com.au as well as a lot of information for overseas players thinking of making the trip down under.

We also have our own you tube channel, Vikings Lacrosse TV, which has lots of videos of our sides in action and was voted in the top 30 lacrosse video channels in the world in 2018.

CW: Can you describe the local Australia lacrosse scene in Victoria? How many clubs are there? How long has lacrosse been played in Victoria? Who are the other Australian states that offer lacrosse? How does Vic stack up with the other big Australia Lacrosse states?

RM: Victoria has the strongest competition, having won the Australian National Championships for the last 4 years and more titles overall (32) than South Australia and Western Australia combined.

There are 16 lacrosse clubs in Victoria (12 are male and female clubs, two are male only clubs and two are women only clubs). Only nine clubs however play in the top competition – Altona is the newest member of this exclusive club having been in the top level for just four years.

Western Australia and South Australia have established lacrosse competitions. Queensland has a dedicated group looking to establish a base in that State but they do not have enough teams for an established, regular competition at this stage.

CW: How does the visiting player/coach process work with Altona? What roles and responsibilities does a visiting player or coach take on with Altona? What kind of support is there at the club for a visiting player? How do you bring a new member of the club into the social fold?

RM: At Altona, international players are treated as one of the family.  Players are taken in by a host family, or a senior player, and offered free room and board. Typically, some of the single men and women will take you out and show you around town early in your stay.  You will most likely be taken to an Aussie Rules football match and some players will demand you barrack for their Aussie Rules side (you have to have an Aussie rules side!). Given Victoria has some of the best surf beaches in the world, recent overseas players have been taught how to surf by Altona players or, if you like, you will get the opportunity to visit some of the beautiful tourist attractions we have in Victoria, or just take some time to enjoy the quiet serenity of the outback.  There are also overseas players at all the other State League clubs so there will be opportunities to catch up with them – especially at the annual USA v Australian players lacrosse match held during 4th of July week.

At Altona you will be made to feel very welcome, there are player testimonials on our website from two of our most recent overseas players, Mike Rhoads (University of Virginia) and Adam Ceribelli (Towson University).  We have been very lucky in having some fine young men play at our club and we appreciate the players we have been fortunate enough to have come and play or us. Invariably, players we have hate to leave.

When at the club, overseas players are offered free meals after training on Thursday nights and on many other nights different players and families will invite you round for regular meals. There is also always someone at the club on a Thursday and Saturday night ready to buy you a beer and have a chat. There are also enough single men and women at the club to show you around Melbourne’s nightlife.

International players are often provided with a vehicle to enable them to get to lacrosse training games and clinics and there is plenty of time during breaks in the season to do the tourist things you want to do. Often members of the club of around the same age as the overseas players, will introduce you to some of the great experiences our wonderful country has to offer.

We cannot guarantee jobs but the chances of us finding jobs for overseas players is really high.  We have excellent arrangements in place with a casual hire company and the club has tradesman who may also be able to assist in work and the American accent is always popular in the hospitality trades. The club will arrange and pay you to undertake clinics at primary and secondary schools on behalf of our club. There is also often the opportunity of work from Australian Lacrosse Association and Lacrosse Victoria in assisting them with clinics they organize to introduce lacrosse to school children.

What we expect from you is to coach or assistant coach one of our junior sides, to attend all club training sessions (Tuesday and Thursday nights) and be a leader on the field as well as a positive role model around the club.  We also expect you to undertake school clinics for the Club in attempts to recruit new players. For the clinics, you will be paid by the Club.

CW: If a visiting player/coach needs to find some extra work, can that be arranged? Is there a special Visa that needs to be applied for by the player/coach?

RM: If you wish to play and work in Australia, the most likely visa you will require is a “First Work and Holiday visa” with this visa you can do short-term work in Australia and travel to and from Australia as many times as you want within a 12-month period. To be eligible for this visa, you must have a passport from an eligible country (like the United States or United Kingdom!) and be between 18 and 30 years old (inclusive). You must apply from outside Australia and not have previously entered Australia on a subclass 462 or 417 visa (if you have you will need a different visa like ‘Second Work and Holiday Visa”). Further details are available at https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-finder/work.

CW: What have former visiting players said about playing with Altona?

Making the life changing decision of traveling down to Melbourne and playing for the Altona Lacrosse Club has been by far, the best move that I’ve ever made. The level of play is very competitive and the Saturday games with minimal subs leave you exhausted for the next couple of days. We practice twice a week so you have a lot of free time to either travel, surf or work. After four years of playing college lacrosse. Lacrosse became more of a job than a game; but the first game down in Australia brought the fun and enjoyment right back into the game. The club and families that keep it organized/managed couldn’t have taken any better care of me. They helped me find work during the season, gave me a place to stay, and literally did not stop feeding me! I was welcomed into their homes and immediately became a part of their family. Going down and playing for Altona Lacrosse Club is so much more than just continuing your lacrosse career or travelling down to Australia to party…you’ll have to make that leap and buy a plane ticket to see for yourself.’

– Michael Rhoads (University of Virginia)

Interested in playing lacrosse for Altona? Contact the president of Altona Lacrosse Club, Mark Lewer, via phone by clicking the button below:

Call Mark Lewer

Or, contact Altona Lacrosse Club’s secretary Susie Struhs via email by clicking the button below:

E-Mail Susie Struhs

NOTE: Resumes of playing experience can also be sent to this email address.

On The Web

Find the Altona Lacrosse Club on the web and social media in the following places:

Website

Altona Lacrosse Website

Facebook

Altona Lacrosse Facebook

YouTube (Vikings Lacrosse TV)

Vikings Lacrosse TV

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EDITOR’S NOTE: This article originally entitled, ‘Top 10 Lacrosse Legends — Men Who Played’ was published on August 5, 2011 at 5:44 p.m. It has been updated to provide the most value to the lacrosse community.

Top 10 Lacrosse Legends time! I’ve been involved with the sport of lacrosse, at some level, for over 20 years straight.  And in my time, I’ve heard a TON of stories having to do with lax.  Some of them are most likely 99 percent true, while others are probably pure fabrications.  My interest here isn’t necessarily in the truth, but in the “legend” of these players.  And as we know, legends are usually much more than the truth. And COMPLETELY relative.

Top 10 Lacrosse Legends Video

A legend to me may not be a legend to you.

But I think most people can come up with a list of 10 amazing players who they have heard stories about, or seen play in person.  Some lists will only feature recent players, while others will be stacked with names like Turnbull, Lewis, and Brown.  There is no perfect list, but there are a lot of right answers.

So we here we go, my…

Top 10 Lacrosse Legends  – Player Edition!

10. Jason Coffman

Jason Coffman played at Salisbury University (back then it was Salisbury State). He was a four-time first-team All American, and his legend status notoriety comes from scoring a preposterous number of points in college, and doing so without being the biggest or fastest player.  Coffman was little, strong as an ox, and had GREAT hands. He made everyone around him better and could finish inside as well as anyone.  451 points in college says this guy is a legend.  Doing it at Salisbury doesn’t hurt either!  Coming off of 249 goals and 202 assists is even better!  That’s balance!

9. Jim Thorpe

Thorpe is regarded as pretty much the best American athlete of all time. His ability to play a multitude of sports, and excel at them all, is still unparalleled. Jim Brown, Deion Sanders, Bo Jackson… they’ve got nothing on this guy.  So OK, he only played lax in high school, but that alone gets him on my legend list! He played a lot of sports, and lax was one of them. Because of his sporting stature overall, he makes my list.  I’m only imagining what he did on the lacrosse field. But it’s impressive nonetheless.

See? Legend is all in our minds, but to be fair, there is not another athlete on this list that gets in on reputation alone.

8. John Grant, Sr.

Everyone knows about John Grant, Jr these days, and they have for years. His stick skills are the best in the world, he epitomizes one-handed box lacrosse effectiveness. But, he learned it all from his dad. At least that’s what I’ve heard, and it only adds to the legend of SENIOR!  A legendary lacrosse-playing man passing his skill on to his son is legendary in all the right ways… awesome.  And John Grant, Sr. did such a good job that John Grant, Jr. would probably show up on most people’s lists.  So, John, Sr. makes mine.  He’s a legend in Canada, and deservedly so. With the exponential increase in Canadians in the NCAA, Senior’s importance to the game will only INCREASE. Legend.

7. Paul Gait

It’s tough to put Paul at No. 7. It really is. But honestly, in my mind, he gets overshadowed by Gary.  Probably not fair at all, but again, legend status is all about perception. For me, Paul is less of a legend through story. It’s more personal, yet limited than that. Like I’ve said before, I got to cover Paul Gait once at Placid.

It was… a learning experience for me.

His ability to dictate play, see things 3-4 steps before they happened and simply dominate with one hand was magical to behold. I had to remind myself to cover him and not watch him more than once. His exploits at ‘Cuse, in the MLL, for Team Canada AND in box lacrosse are all impressive. His willingness to play second fiddle to Gary at times is almost more impressive, and it shows he wanted to win, above all else.  Marks of a legend!

6. Dave Pietramala

The man simply changed the way defense was played in the sport of lacrosse. I’ve heard offensive players were terrified to run against him, and entire clears were designed to keep the ball away from Petro. He could run with anyone on the field and had a mean streak a mile wide. He was FEARED and respected, and played like a caged animal. He was precise and punishing, and made defense a lot more glamorous. The days of playing physical body only were departing… and Petro was ushering in a new era. It was the time of the takeaway defenseman. Changing the game is legendary.

5. Mike Powell

I have to be honest… I miss watching Mikey Powell play lax. At least he still writes some awesome stuff! He was so diverse in his skill set, so athletic and extremely selfless.  He took big hits, drew a ton of attention and either smoked his man or found an open teammate.  I saw him make looping feeds from 30 yards away to a cutting middie well before the play had developed.  But the passes always found their mark.  A friend of mine played at ‘Cuse with him for a year and said MP won EVERY running test/conditioning drill they ever did.  And he did so easily.  MP did a front flip in a game ONLY for the ‘Cuse fans. He was a showman, a winner, came from a legendary lax family, and at his height, he gave it all up to pursue a music career.  And people STILL talk about him as the lax messiah. Legend.

The only reason Mikey Powell isn’t my No. 1 player of ALL TIME is that he didn’t play as much out of college as some other guys, didn’t play box lacrosse and has less international experience than some of the guys below. Also, some of the guys below are much older, and my list trends toward older players. I’m old, deal with it. I would also feel remiss if I didn’t mention Casey and Ryan Powell here. How did I not rank either of them? Honestly I’m not sure… but I can say that about 10 guys at least, and yes, I feel guilty about it. For me, MP was the best one of the bunch though. Maybe you feel differently. That’s fair.

4. Oren Lyons

Sure, Oren was, and is, a legendary lacrosse goalie. Even in his late 80s he would probably be better than most in between the pipes. He was an All-American at Cuse, played for an undefeated team his graduating year, and played a lot of club ball afterwards. But to me, what makes him a legend is his refusal to give up on the style of lacrosse with which he was raised.

Lyons tended goal in the typical box style, even when he was playing field.  He loved to save the ball high with his elbows, shoulders, chest, and even his head. He still jumped in net at well over 70 years old, and anyone who will do that gets my undying respect. He has even played games on Onondaga Nation in recent years, where the “old” men play the “young” men with wooden sticks and no pads. Lyons is a faithkeeper for the Iroquois, has given more back to the game than most, pushes for Native rights and recognition and should be on everyone’s legend list.

3. Jim Brown

Jim Brown is super famous for his glory on the football field, along with all of the amazing charitable work he has done. And his acting. That was pretty good, too! He is a man that believes in helping his community and all of that makes him a legend in general. But he also loved lacrosse.

I’ve heard that he said, “If pro lacrosse had been an option, I would have chosen that over football”.   The Great Jim Brown would have played lax. For some reason that makes me feel good. But, I’ve also heard he just clamped the stick to his chest and was a better athlete than everyone else.  And then you see clips of him playing, you’re impressed and you learn that last part of the legend isn’t really that true.  But it only makes him bigger in my mind, and an even better player.

[fvplayer src=”https://youtube.com/watch?v=-gHcnPAhXWY” splash=”https://i.ytimg.com/vi/-gHcnPAhXWY/hqdefault.jpg” caption=”Jim Brown (Syracuse -Lacrosse).mov”]

Here’s something kind of amazing… the underhand submarine shot wasn’t huge in the college game when Brown was playing. But, he employed it, would skip the ball off the turf at 90 MPH and would score a number of goals that way. He also traveled to Onondaga and played box lacrosse. Jim Brown was and is truly a man ahead of his time.

2. Gary Gait

Gary obviously had to be on the list. The Air Gait is still the most memorable lacrosse moment in recent history. Gait played FOREVER, for every sort of team under the Sun. He won EVERYWHERE. Now he coaches women’s lacrosse, where he also wins. He was the face of the sport for what seemed like eternity, and no one wanted to change that.

He is friendly, signed autographs and just wowed people every single time he went on the field.  As he aged, he got “bigger” but was no less effective.  In fact, he might have even improved quite a bit!  Gait could still go out and play in the MLL RIGHT NOW if he wanted to.  He’s just that good.  The stories are numerous, the name recognition undeniable.  His status as a legend is set in stone. So how is he No. 2 on my list?

1. Jimmy Lewis

Yup. My No.1 legend is a bit different than most people’s. Jimmy was a three-time All-American at Navy. The only reason he wasn’t a four-time All-American is because freshman couldn’t play varsity lax back then. He was dominant. And to those that know the history of the game, he is well qualified to be No. 1. But he is also the No. 1 LEGEND to me for a different reason.  Lewis is credited by many as one of the guys who made smaller, box style heads more popular in the US college game. Along with is brother, John (my high school coach, RIP), he would go to the stick manufacturer’s warehouse and pick out the most well-balanced, and just as importantly, SMALLEST, sticks he could find.  They would spend HOURS going through sticks, finding the right ones.  Why?  Because Jimmy and John recognized the importance of a good stick, a good pocket, and how it related to playing with skill. And this changed things.

People saw Jimmy’s success, and they wanted to mimic it. They too wanted smaller lacrosse sticks that were more maneuverable in traffic and lighter. They too wanted to play like Lewis, and so the game changed in a MAJOR WAY because of a single man. The Edge was introduced to us, the consumers. In Jimmy’s case, the manufacturers were introduced to the idea, but by a player. He took the sticks people didn’t want to use for field and made them normal.

I only met Jimmy Lewis once or twice. I never asked him if this story was totally true, but like everything I mentioned above, I choose to believe that it is, because these are my heroes. On top of that, Lewis was a Top Gun pilot after leaving the US Naval Academy, AND while at Navy, he scored the ONLY goal in Navy’s ONLY national championship… in MEN’S SOCCER. So he was a three-time All-American lacrosse player, national championship winning striker on the soccer team, a Top Gun pilot, AND he changed the game of lacrosse forever.

That’s why he’s my No. 1!

Guys Who JUST BARELY Missed the Cut:

Ryan Boyle – Love how he played, very cerebral. He is the epitome of a modern-day, team lacrosse player, and made a strong transition to box with little to no experience. He knows and sees the game inside and out like few others.

Brian Dougherty – Best goalie I’ve ever seen play in person. Total winner, total talker, legendary player and character.

Brodie Merrill – Probably my #11. Seriously, this guy is a monster with a d-pole, or as a box defender, transition, offensive player.  I love a guy that can do it all, both indoors and out. Plus, he is an excellent coach.

Lyle Thompson – I know, perhaps a bit premature. But see above. He too can do it all. And his long hair and Native American roots give him a platform to perform some amazing feats of inspiration for his people. Plus he comes from a total lacrosse family. If he wins a World Box or Field Championship with the Iroquois he will be a legend instantly. Think about that.

Kyle Harrison – Another one of those guys that can do it all.  He’s a great athlete, can face off well, shoots and passes and makes teammates better.  He’s all over the world growing the game and doing his thing.  And it’s all with a smile on his face.  I’ve met Kyle, seen him in action and know he’s the real deal.  Definitely on the top 20 list!

Casey and Ryan Powell – Sometimes I call Casey the GOAT. His brother, Ryan, was no slouch either. How did they not make my top-10 list? That is a fantastic question… I might need to revamp the whole thing.

Del Dressel – Four-time first teamer not on the list? Crazy, I know. But that’s just how tough this is! Is Hopkins-legend Dressel on your list? That would be fair!

So who did I miss?  Ok, let me have it.

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A couple of months back, we put up a couple of tradmesh pockets photos on Instagram that I dubbed Trameshional. Perhaps that name is stupid, but I’d never seen this variation of tradmesh done before, even though I’m sure it has been. People asked for a tradmesh stringing tutorial, I took my sweet time in making one, and now it’s here. Maybe you’ll still care?

Trameshional Tradmesh Stringing Tutorial

Here’s the lowdown on this trameshional pocket:

– The ball tends to sit right where the mesh intersects with the traditional. If you want a high pocket, use four or five mesh rows. If you want a mid pocket, use five or six mesh rows. For a low pocket, use 6 or 7 mesh rows. Whatever your preferred set up may be, it could take a couple attempts to get this one right.

– I tend to use a softer mesh for this, like old broken in regular mesh, StringKing soft, or broken in wax mesh. Hard mesh should work too, but I haven’t tried it. Let me know how it goes if you do.

– Baggy traditional will be disastrous. The transition from sitting on traditional to shooting off mesh needs to be seamless, so you don’t develop a jerky motion or thrown unpredictable passes. Make sure the traditional portion (in particular the runners) is not too loose.

– Channel that mesh! If you can string a good channel pocket you’re halfway there. Just don’t give it too much channel. There is such a thing by the way.

– Try new things. The world according to this variation of the pocket is only starting to unfold before us. Come up with your own improvements, and find another way of solving the same problems. This is only the beginning as one of you will come up with something crazy. I can feel it already.

For more stringing videos, check out our Tutorials sections on LaxAllStars and YouTube:

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Major Series Lacrosse is the official name for Ontario’s Senior A summer box league. This is absolutely top level lacrosse, with a TON of history behind it, where many of the game’s best players compete year in and year out. If you haven’t heard of MSL before, now is your chance to learn more. If you already knew about MSL, now is your chance to get updated on the 2019 season. It’s been an up-and-down affair already and we’re lucky enough to have an interview with Doug Luey, the commissioner of MSL, to answer some questions and get everyone up to speed.

CW: The season is off and running. From your perspective, how’s it going so far?

Doug Luey: I’m very happy with the start to the 2019 MSL season. Three teams sitting at 5-2 kind of speaks for itself. We talk a lot about the parity in Major Series lacrosse, and the results of the games so far have emphasized this with some really close scores across the board. It should also be noted that the Cobourg Kodiaks, who are entering their fourth year in MSL, are off to a really great start. Jeff Teat is a rookie this year and is sitting with 29 points for third place in league scoring. And it’s great to have Lyle Thompson playing MSL with 24 points in six games so far. The players in this league are phenomenal and there is a lot of talent everywhere. It makes for great, competitive lacrosse.

CW: MSL has always been a great product, but it seems like there is a renewed effort to get MSL in front of new fans. How are you going about that?

DL: The first thing that comes to mind is the use of social media to get our brand out to people new to not just the game, but out to new Canadians as well who may not know about lacrosse at all. We must continue to attract more and more people to our game. Lacrosse has long been called the fastest game on two feet. When you combine the foot speed, hand-eye coordination and the physical aspect of lacrosse, what general sports fan wouldn’t fall for this game? We believe we just need  people to see the game once and they will come back time and time again.

CW: You also have an exciting partnership set up for the 2019 season, which will allow fans around the world to watch games. Can you tell us a little bit more about that, and where people can watch MSL games for the rest of the summer season?

DL: Lacrosse fans, for the first time in Major Series Lacrosse history, can watch the best lacrosse players in the world from anywhere. We are very excited about this new opportunity to showcase the league and the sport of box. This set up is made possible by our partnership with Lacrosse-TV, who are streaming all the games live. With numerous packages available, fans can see every minute of action, and pick and choose what they want to watch. We love a packed house for MSL games, but we understand that not everyone can make it to every game, and many people live outside of Ontario. By offering this digital product we hope to grow our brand, and provide another resource for everyone around the world to watch the best in the business go to work and put on a show.

CW: What does the exciting start to the 2019 season mean for the playoff push, and then the playoffs?

DL: With only two points separating the top four teams the race for positioning down the stretch should make for an exciting second half of the season. The league is thrilled with the exposure in North America and worldwide our league is getting with Lacrosse-TV, and we encourage people to tune in and watch the best box lacrosse players in the world all summer long.

CW: Many thanks to you Doug, and best of luck the rest of the way!

You can watch MSL games HERE, on Lacrosse-TV.

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Earlier this week, the governing body for international lacrosse renamed and rebranded itself, moving to their new name, World Lacrosse (WL), from the Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL). World Lacrosse made the announcement at a meeting of Sport Accord in Australia, they released a written announcement to the international community, and they did a good job of explaining the change, and why it’s a step forward for the international game.

At the same time, when there is a change like this, there are very often more questions than answers, so here are my thoughts on the rebranding effort, why it was done, and what it means moving forward for the world of international lacrosse.

Why Change The Name To World Lacrosse At All?

The vision for growing lacrosse into a truly international game has been around for a long time, and over the years, a lot of steps have been taken to reach this goal. For example, in 2007, the FIL did not exist. The men’s game was managed by the ILF, and the women’s game was managed by the IFWLA. In 2008, the two groups came together to form the FIL under one board, and one roof. This was a huge step in bringing all of the different versions of the game under one set of leadership, and it created the first ever singular governing body for international lacrosse.

For about 11 years, the FIL name ruled the roost and most people rallied behind it. The only problem with the FIL name would come up in the next steps of the governing body’s evolutionary process – gaining admission to the Olympic Games.

It turns out that each Olympic sport must have a shortened name that can be used to represent the governing body, and while FIL fits that mold, the three-letter name was already taken by the Federation of International Luge. If international lacrosse wanted to continue down the Olympic path, a name change was in order. Enter World Lacrosse.

World Lacrosse is a big change from the FIL, but World Lacrosse is not a completely new naming style for an international governing body. World Sailing and World Archery both come to mind as existing and popular Olympic examples of the “World (Sport)” moniker. And now when the governing body hosts world championship events, they can just be called the World Lacrosse Championships. It’s simple and it works!

Beyond that, I believe we are going to see some big changes from World Lacrosse moving forward, so a name and logo change make sense to mark the big shift underway. We have already seen new rules proposed for the Olympic version of the game, continued growth and presence on the world stage, and additional development work to push the game forward. A new name is not only necessary, but it’s also fitting given the proposed trajectory.

What’s Up With That Logo?

Personally, I like it. It will look good on a shirt or hat, and it’s very much in line with other modern international governing body sporting logos. There is some interesting meaning behind the logo, and it’s worth reading up on that HERE. From an aesthetic standpoint I am a fan of its simplicity. It’s clearly a lacrosse stick holding a ball that is also the Earth. The Olympic colors are all there, which means the World Lacrosse logo has at least one color from every flag of every member nation, so it’s also pretty inclusive.

When it comes to the text, it’s a good blend of edgy and legible. It’s tempting to go truly weird or wild, but if you can’t read it, what good does it do? And if it’s too boring, it slips from memory quickly. The World Lacrosse text is clean and simple, but also has a stylized aspect to it, which makes it memorable.

What Does This Mean For The Future?

The brand name, logo design, and logo colors make it very clear that the Olympics will be a huge part of future development goals for World Lacrosse. The logo and name also speak to another element in our game, and in all world games, which is even more important, and that is cohesiveness.

Although a small sport, lacrosse has long been a divided game. Whether it was First Nations players being barred from competition, or disagreements over pro vs amateur status in Canada, or the largest stick factory burning down, or reckless violence turning people off in the US, lacrosse has often been held back the most by its own members. The sport was even played in the Olympics in the past, but couldn’t hold on to the spot and grow.

The sport has been poised for success and growth before, but more often than not factions inside have fought over crumbs instead of baking a bigger pie. In order for the sport to elevate itself, the community will be required to come together, find reconciliation on big issues and problems, and act as one unified body. While the name and logo for World Lacrosse are just that – a name and a logo – they also speak to something that is incredibly important for future success, and is clearly on the mind of World Lacrosse.

Divided, the sport of lacrosse will fail again. United, lacrosse can truly be a wonderful world sport. The new logo and name for World Lacrosse suggest that is the path forward, now the real work begins to ensure that it comes to fruition.

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This is usually the point in the NJCAA season where teams have settled into their spots, and we can pretty much tell who is going to be around and competing in the latter stages of the season. I say usually because there have been plenty of surprises in the past, and 2019 is looking like it could hold a couple more twists and turns for us before it’s all said and done.

This week’s JCR contains: the new Top Ten Poll, recent scores, recaps from important games, next week’s big game schedule, and some chatter about the 2019 NJCAA season, and who is likely to make the playoffs play in mid-May! To see the JCR Mid-Season All Americans from last week, click here.

This is really where the beating heart of the NJCAA season begins, and it only gets more exciting from here on out.

NJCAA Top 10 Poll – 4/8/2019

# – Team (Record) – Poll points – 1st place votes – last poll rank

1– Nassau (9-1) – 60 – 6 – 1st
2 – Harford (7-1) – 54 – 0 – 2nd
3 – Onondaga (6-2) – 48 – 0 – 3rd
4 – Howard (7-2) – 42 – 0 – 4th
5 – Anne Arundel (4-5) – 31 – 0 – 5th
6 – Suffolk (4-2) – 27 – 0 – 8th
7 – Essex (6-2) – 25 – 0 – 6th
7 – Genesee (3-4) – 25 – 0 – 6th
9 – Mercer (5-5) – 12 – 0 – 9th
10 – Potomac State (5-2) – 4 – 0 – 10th

Others Receiving Votes: Hudson Valley (5-3) 1 point, Monroe (3-4) 1 point

2019 NJCAA Playoff Predictions

This year, six teams will make the NJCAA playoffs and compete for a national title. It’s a similar set up to last year, but if you’re not familiar with it, it can be a little confusing, so here is a recap:

There are four (4) NJCAA Regions that sponsor lacrosse. Regions 3, 15, 19, and 20. Each Region hosts a playoff, and each champion goes to the NJCAA playoffs. That gives us 4 playoff teams.

However, any Region which has two Districts within its membership gets an additional bid to the NJCAA playoffs. In 2018 and again in 2019, that is Region 3. This is the fifth playoff team.

The final spot is an at-large bid, given to the next best team that did not earn a Region bid, and this team is selected by the NJCAA Men’s Lacrosse Committee.

Now let’s get to the predictions!

Region 3 Winner – Onondaga – The Lazers slipped a little early on, but they definitely still look like the class of Region 3 right now. They’re gelling and looking like the old OCC, and that’s good news for a playoff push.

Region 15 Winner – Nassau – I love what Suffolk is doing this year, but NCC looks like the class of the NJCAA right now and they certainly look like the class of Region 3, so to go anywhere else for a Region Champ at this point would be silly. There are still games to be played, but Nassau is truly on fire.

Region 19 Winner – Mercer – For a first year team to be in the Top 10, and looking like their Region favorite is nothing short of amazing. As this Region grows and improves, it’s going to be an exciting place for NJCAA lacrosse.

Region 20 Winner – Harford – The Fighting Owls will have to win in the most competitive top to bottom Region in all of NJCAA men’s lacrosse, but they look like they can do it, and it’s going to help them long-term to get great playoff games, assuming they can win of course!

Region 3 Second Place – Genesee – The Cougars start slow, but they build up in amazing ways during the year, so I fully expect to see this group in the Region 3 title game, and then involved in the playoffs and making their end of season run.

At-Large Bid – Howard (or perhaps Suffolk!) – There is a lot of lacrosse left to be played, and I can’t rule out Essex or Anne Arundel here, but Howard looks like they are starting to peak and find their rhythm right now and if they can win out, they make a strong case. The other team I’m really thinking about here is Suffolk, and the Sharks can make their with out of Region games against Howard, Essex, and Harford. Beat Howard and Essex and Suffolk can earn that spot. Beat all three teams and Suffolk seems like a no-brainer to earn that single at-large bid.

Recent NJCAA Results/Recaps

Last week’s results were interesting and show a couple teams starting to make a late season push as they rack up some wins. Nothing too shocking happened, but there were plenty of quality contests.

Ocean 25, ASA 6
Essex 30, Finger Lakes 3
Brookdale 13, Delaware Tech 7
Mercer 29, Sussex 1
Hudson Valley 13, Herkimer 7
Howard 23, Anne Arundel 13
Tompkins Cortland 17, Mohawk Valley 2
Onondaga 34, Finger Lakes 4
Howard 12, Genesee 6
Harford 26, Anne Arundel 10
Ocean 12, Delaware Tech 7
Nassau 17, Army Prep 11
Essex 25, Potomac State 7
Monroe 16, Jefferson 7
Union 15, Finger Lakes 6
Monroe 22, Herkimer 5

Big Upcoming Games

Wednesday, April 10th
Mercer vs Union – New Jersey NJCAA lacrosse is really taking off, and this is a game that means a lot now, and it will only mean more in the future.
Onondaga vs Herkimer
Brookdale vs Ocean
Jefferson vs Finger Lakes
Hudson Valley vs Mohawk Valley
Harford vs Essex – This is a huge in-region game for both teams, with Essex looking for a big win, and Harford looking to prove they’re the best in the South.

Saturday, April 13th
Genesee vs Finger Lakes
Essex vs Union
Anne Arundel vs Southern Maryland
Herkimer vs Tompkins Cortland
Potomac State v Mercer
Ocean vs Harford
Howard vs Nassau – Nassau is looking to cement their spot at the top and a win over Howard is another step, but Howard needs a W too, so expect an all out battle.
Onondaga vs Monroe
Hudson Valley vs Jefferson

Sunday, April 14th
Potomac State vs Brookdale
Howard vs Suffolk

There is still plenty of time left for teams to make a move, and in the playoffs there can always be surprises, so while things may look settled, that is far from the case. Big games need to be won on the field, and we have a great number of contests left on the schedule. And THEN the playoffs start.

Here is to a strong finish, and a great rest of the month of April! Best of luck to everyone out there playing the game!

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The Cascade S helmet is the first new helmet offering from Cascade in six years, and it replaces the R as the best lacrosse helmet in the game. The R will undoubtedly retain a lot of users, as the Cascade it has been incredibly popular with lacrosse players. It had the modern look, the comfort, the protection, the custom color options – the R really had it all as a product. I think this helps explain why it took Cascade around three years to introduce their newest lid, the S helmet, to the lacrosse market. If you’ve got an almost perfect product, which people love, you don’t switch it up until you’ve got something truly excellent coming down the line.

Of course there is always somewhere to go and some way to design a better product when it comes to lacrosse gear. However, getting to that next level can be tough, and ensuring that enough big improvements can be made is a challenge, so while the S might not look all that different from the R at first glance, there are a surprising number of detailed changes and differences between the two helmets, making the S another notable leap forward in the helmet game.

Thinking on this track I started looking backwards at the lineage of Cascade helmets, how each Cascade has really been the best helmet on the market at any given time, and then how they got to their newest helmet, the S.

I got to ask Geoff Legg, Senior Brand Manager for Cascade, some questions about the new S helmet, but we also got to touch on the evolving helmet production process at Cascade, and his answers really shine a nice light on the highly evolved design process taking place in Liverpool, NY, and how it resulted in the new S helmet.

While we have become accustomed to lots of new products every year in the lacrosse market and plenty of competition, the Cascade R has been the top of the line helmet on the market for three years (from 2013 to 2016) – so I wanted to know what allowed the R to be the best helmet option for so long, and what attributes Cascade was most proud of.

Geoff Legg: “When the R helmet launched it was a game changer. The impact management system blended with an aggressive design that was distinctively Cascade. The R conveyed speed, power and performance, and players responded.”

If the R was the starting point for the S, what were the key aspects that made it great, and how did that inform the process for creating the S?

Geoff Legg: “Performance. Simply, we are focus on delivering dependable performance in each product.  The S helmet represents the culmination of industry leading research and development, lab & field-testing and world class partnerships with lacrosse’s best players.”

Ok, so my original thought that the S wasn’t about a different “look” was spot on. The look was good, so it was more about what’s going on under the hood, if you will. What specific technology and design elements truly set the S helmet apart from the R helmet? Here is where Cascade really opened up.

Geoff Legg: “The S helmet outperforms the R helmet in every facet. Most importantly, the Tri-Liner impact attenuation system — it’s a system of game changing technologies that manage both high and low impacts.

“The S helmet was injected with performance enhancing features such as the new VisionBar mask, which decreases wire diameter and improves sight lines while also increasing the facemasks’ rigidity. The front of the S has been given the new S-Series Jaw which is a reinforced dual-material chin piece providing improved stiffness in key areas.

“Players have definitely called out the noticeable difference the XFlo Ventilation has added to their overall comfort. The S helmet is twice as breathable as the R.”

The guys at Cascade sent over these helpful images along with the above answers to help show the differences, and as you can see in the photos, there is a lot going on.

It seems like Cascade was very happy with the general look of their product, and for the past six years, they’ve simply been trying to find ways to make it function even better. I got to test out an S this past year and I’ve been thoroughly impressed.

On a longer term view, I’m always curious to know how the R to S development aligns with past innovations, and how these new advances relate to the overall legacy of helmet design at Cascade.

Legg kept it simple in his response:

“Our many advances are the bi-product of American innovation.  Cascade’s team is passionate, knowledgeable, and dedicated. We take pride in every helmet, and we are committed to our guiding principles: “passion to protect”. Staying true to that mission will define our legacy.”

The Cascade helmet has undergone massive changes over the years. New technologies, materials, and design elements have constantly kept them at the top of the game. The new S helmet fits the traditional Cascade mold, in that it delivers the best a lacrosse player could ask for, but it also shatters the old mold in terms of deliverables, protection, and performance.

If you think back, Cascade has never produced a “dud” of a helmet. Ever. The S is no different, and it really is a big step forward in helmet design when you look at it a little closer.

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In addition to the Top 10 poll, recent scores, upcoming games, and social media gems, I’m also handing out some midseason awards. They may not be official awards, but it’s worth noting some of the players that are putting up unreal numbers and/or having really great seasons so far. Let’s start with the poll, get to some awards, and then talk about last week’s and next week’s games.

NJCAA Top 10 Poll – 4/1/2019

# – Team (Record) – Poll points – 1st place votes – last poll rank

1– Nassau (8-1) – 60 – 6 – 1st
2 – Harford (6-1) – 54 – 0 – 2nd
3 – Onondaga (5-2) – 48 – 0 – 3rd
4 – Howard (5-2) – 42 – 0 – 4th
5 – Anne Arundel (4-3) – 33 – 0 – 8th
6 – Essex (5-2) – 26 – 0 – 5th
6 – Genesee (3-1) – 26 – 0 – 6th
8 – Suffolk (4-2) – 23 – 0 – 7th
9 – Mercer (4-5) – 11 – 0 – 9th
10 – Potomac State (5-1) – 6 – 0 – 10th

Others Receiving Votes: Hudson Valley (4-3), 1 point

Mid-Season NJCAA JCR Awards

Today I hand out some Junior College Report mid-season awards, and while these players might not be the guys who deserve these awards at the end of the season, right now they are. If you’re an NCAA coach, these are guys you definitely want to check out. Give their NJCAA coaches a call, and if they’re already committed somewhere, I’m willing to bet the NJCAA coach has another guy (or two or three) that will be of interest as well.

I’m a traditionalist when it comes to awards, so we’re going with TEN TOTAL players on the Mid-Season JCR All-American list. 3 Attack, 3 Midfielders, 3 Defensemen, 1 Goalie. If a FoGo, SSDM, LSM, or any other specialist out there wants to make the list, they just have to be really good, like everyone else!

Mid-Season NJCAA Attack
Owen Consoletti – Harford – 24 goals and 7 assists means Consoletti is a finisher, and his 52% shooting percentage backs that up. 19 ground balls help make the case for this efficient player and his ability to string together consecutive goals makes him a back breaker for opposing defenses.
Percy Booth – Onondaga – Booth is starting to make a real mark for the Lazers, and he’s doing so in big games. Booth has 27 points on 18 goals and 9 assists right now, with only 5 of those points coming in recent blow out wins for OCC. 22 points against Harford, Nassau, Howard, and Genesee is nothing to scoff, and Booth is averaging 5.5 points per game against top level teams.
Justin Roderka – Nassau – Roderka can finish with flair, and leads #1 Nassau offensively in points, but he is surrounded by talent, and the great thing about Roderka is how he allows that talent to shine, and everyone benefits. It’s a team thing at Nassau, so honestly picking one guy was hard and Dan Rooney was right there too.

Mid-Season NJCAA Midfield
Jeremy Sforzo – Howard – With 19 goals and 22 assists in just 7 games on only 42 shots, and Sforzo has proven himself to be a truly multi-talented player. Sforzo has scooped up 31 ground balls, and he has scored two man down goals. Sforzo also shows up in big games, and produces even in losses.
Chandler Schmidt – Harford – Schmidt may be more of an attackman, but Harford has him listed as both, and he loves a short stick match up, so I’m listing him as a midfielder at this point. 23 goals and 5 assists mark Schmidt as another scorer for the Owls, and his ability to constantly move keeps the defense guessing for the team’s benefit, making those around him better.
Kollin Vaught – Essex – Vaught has won 100 of 128 face offs taken, and has scored 10 points on 7 goals and 3 assists only on 14 shots. 59 ground balls and very few turnovers make Vaught a game changer as a face off midfielder, and a player other teams really need to play for. Oh, and he’s a freshman.

Mid-Season NJCAA Defense
Aiden Conk – Nassau – Ground balls, caused turnovers, man to man cover, picking off passes… Conk has been doing it all at a high level and helping to lead the way for an impressive team unit on Long Island.
Brian Schafer – Nassau – Schafer is not the flashiest player on the field, and doesn’t put up eye popping stats, but he’s a leader, true team guy, and one of the most important cogs in Nassau’s tough defensive unit. It’s no stretch to say that a number of Nassau’s poles could have occupied either of these two spots. There is talent and depth out there but Schafer brings serious consistency.
Shaun Vines – Harford – Vines can put the ball on the carpet and then pick it up, and he does an excellent job of staying out of the penalty box even as he gets aggressive. 5 caused turnovers in one game against OCC is never bad either.

Mid-Season NJCAA Goalie
Nicholas Lovaglio – Suffolk – Lovaglio’s 10+ goals against average doesn’t look all that great, but then you see his 72% save percentage, 89 total saves (in just 190 minutes of action over six games), and THIRTY saves against Nassau in a 12-5 loss, and you start to see why I’m impressed. 30 saves. In a game. Against Nassau. In games where Suffolk is winning big, Lovaglio gets pulled, but if he stayed in, his GAA numbers would be just as amazing as all the other ones are, and the fact would still remain that he is an incredible stopper.

10 players, from 6 different teams made my mid-season list. Nassau and Harford led the way with three players each, and Onondaga, Howard, Suffolk, and Essex each landed a guy on my team of ten. Could you pick another list, with ten totally different players on it, and could that list be equally excellent and talented? Yes, and yes. If you want to give it a shot, tweet your list to me @ConnorWilsonLAS on Twitter! I’d love to see it!

Were there other excellent deserving players at every position? Of course there were! Was this hard to do? Absolutely. Is it for fun, and pretty meaningless? Also absolutely. Anyone who feels slighted has plenty of time left in the season to prove me wrong. That’s the best thing about all of this!

Recent NJCAA Results/Recaps

There were a couple of important games last weeks, and some tight contests that deserve a deeper look, so let’s get back to what’s happening on the field.

Nassau 24, Brookdale 1

Union 14, Sussex 2
Finger Lakes 22, Mohawk Valley 7
Hudson Valley 17, Tompkins Cortland 4
Howard 23, Ocean 3
Suffolk 17, Mercer 6 – Suffolk showed they are an elite level team with a comfortable win, as Mercer continued to impress in year one for the program. Suffolk was up 9-2 at the half, 9 different players scored for Suffolk, Patrick Doyen scored 5 goals and 2 assists and had a hat trick in the first quarter.
Onondaga 29, Jefferson 0
Hudson Valley 16, Monroe 14 – HVCC earned their first win over Monroe in 10 years with a big comeback, and it’s worth checking out the school’s recap, HERE, for more. Nathan Bruce and Austin Hinderliter combined for 10 goals on the day to lead Hudson Valley.

Onondaga 22, Tompkins Cortland 1
Harford 30, Union 1
Anne Arundel 13, Essex 9 – Essex was up 3-1 after the first quarter, but Anne Arundel clawed back, taking an 8-7 lead after three quarters. A 5-2 4th quarter pushed the lead and sealed the big win for Anne Arundel. 4 players on AACC combined for 42 shots, and 12 went in, with Stephen Moheiser leading the way with 5 goals. Hugh Edwards made 12 big saves for the win, while Dylan Fahey made 15 saves in the loss for Essex.

I don’t know who runs the below Twitter account, but they tweet about NJCAA lacrosse, and I like it, even if they stole their name from my post titles. It’s all good, you can follow me now.

Nassau 12, Suffolk 5 – We don’t have a ton of accessible info for this game, which is a shame, because it was clearly a good one! The Nassau defense has shown they are consistently able to answer the call, and while they don’t always blow people out, the end score lines are convincing. Scoring on Nassau is a puzzle every team in the NJCAA will need to figure out if they want to win a title this year. The Lions are rolling.

Herkimer 12, Jefferson 9
Genesee 30, Mohawk Valley 3
Nassau 23, Mercer 2

Big Upcoming Games

Tuesday, April 2nd
ASA vs Ocean
Essex vs Delaware Tech

Wednesday, April 3rd
Brookdale vs Delaware Tech
Sussex vs Mercer
Herkimer vs Hudson Valley
Howard vs Anne Arundel – This is a big one with AACC’s recent win over Essex, can they keep the momentum going?
Tompkins Cortland vs Mohawk Valley

Friday, April 5th
Onondaga vs Finger Lakes

Saturday, April 6th
Genesee vs Howard – Both of these teams are looking to find their groove, and take that groove to a couple big wins. This is a huge test for both programs to see where they are in early April.
Anne Arundel vs Harford – Two days after they face Howard, AACC, takes on surging Harford. Can they bring the Owls down to Earth? This just became a really, really interesting game, instead of just a really interesting game.
Ocean vs Delaware Tech
Nassau vs Army Prep – Army Prep isn’t an NJCAA team, but who cares? These are usually great contests, steel sharpens steel, etc.
Potomac State vs Essex – This is a BIG Region 20 game of course, but can we pause for a minute and talk about how great Region 20 is this year? Harford, Howard, Anne Arundel, Essex, Potomac State… each of them has been in the Top 10 this year (that’s 50% coming from ONE region) and it speaks to the unreal depth that the Maryland Junior College scene is seeing right now. It is more than worth it to pay attention to this Region heavily. It’s great lacrosse!
Monroe vs Jefferson

Sunday, April 7th
Finger Lakes vs Union
Herkimer vs Monroe

Plenty of NJCAA action for the first week of April, and there are important tests ahead for many of our teams, regardless of where they sit in the rankings. Nassau and Onondaga seem like the top teams up North, but Suffolk and Genesee can’t be counted out. Region 20 absolutely dominates the rest of the competitive field, with Harford leading the way, with Howard, Anne Arundel, and Essex not all that far behind. Who makes the playoffs will be determined this month, and then a second mini-season begins, and the hardware gets handed out. Only 47 days until we have a 2019 national champion!

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EDITOR’S NOTE: This article originally entitled, ‘Youth Lacrosse Problems… And Solutions’ was published in 2014. It has been repurposed to best serve the lacrosse community.

This fall we have all read a number of articles talking about youth lacrosse problems, and problems that face almost all youth sports. The specific topics covered were diverse, and the entire collection of readable material paints an interesting picture.

Sports Illustrated’s Chris Ballard wrote a piece for ExperienceLife.com about putting fun back into youth sports. US Lacrosse posted a story about the 15 keys to selecting a youth lacrosse program. Lacrosse Magazine posted an article about “taking a break to prevent injuries“. Trevor Tierney posted an article about how pursuing wins can hinder development. Even the NY Times got in on the action, and in June they published a story by David Epstein titled Sports Should Be Child’s Play.

All of these articles address youth lacrosse problems in one way or another, and all of them provide useful perspective and guidance for parents, coaches, and players. Give them a read to really get to know what’s going on out there before you continue on below to my opinions and observations on the matter.

When it comes to problems in youth lacrosse, there are many, but the majority of them have been around in one form or another for decades. So what are the major problems facing youth lacrosse?

Coaching

There are more players today than there are experienced coaches. The same is often true with referees. As our sport has grown, demand has simply outstripped supply. Good coaching is a valuable commodity, and parents and players feel the pressure to find it however they can. Sometimes this means joining an elite travel team. Sometimes it means making weekly road trips in the family car of over an hour for practice under “good coaches”. Sometimes it means giving up the sport altogether to either focus on something else or find something new and enjoyable.

The other major problem with coaching is “big name” vs “not big name”. People are entranced by big name players and coaches, and have been for a long time. Many of the materials that teams send out to prospective players hits on their coaching staff and its many big name players. But that doesn’t always mean great coaching. Sometimes it just means great marketing! Does the big name player coach a lot? Is this their profession? Will they be there for events? Or is their name just being used?

If a club team has 14 teams and seven really big time coaches, are you guaranteed to get one or more of them? Or will you get a local college drop out who is just coaching for now to pay the bills? Maybe that college drop out will be a superb coach… but have you ever heard of him or her before? Could the big name be an awful coach? Could the director never show up to your child’s team’s events? It’s all possible and confusing, and a major problem.

Peer Pressure

Pressure used to occur in the form of direct head-to-head competition. I wanted to be better than my friend Rob, he wanted to be better than me, and we both played for the same town team, as it was our only option. Nowadays, Rob and I would still be locked in competition, but we would probably play for different club programs, and we would base a lot of our supposed success off of how good “our” program was. We no longer compare two players with peer pressure, but entire programs, their reputuations, tourney wins, famous alumni, and coaching staffs. This latter peer pressure makes everything seem bigger than it really is.

There is also pressure to play “better” competition, and not just in a league with “a couple town teams”. A town league is fine for beginners, but once your kid hits the 4th grade, it’s time for travel lacrosse! We need to travel to play the other best kids out there, right? The peer pressure of today says yes, you absolutely need to do that.

Keeping up with the Joneses used to be about the family next door, now it’s about keeping up with any person named Jones anywhere in the country. Who cares if your kid is better than the Jones next door… there is a Jones in Oregon that is still better! That attitude is simply not healthy in my estimation, as someone out there is ALWAYS going to be better than you in some way. Why extend it so far, and at such a young age? This is one of the major contributors to youth lacrosse problems in the U.S.

The Crush Of Gear

You used to sign up for youth sports and you got your uniform on the first day of practice. It was usually pretty basic (because you’re a kid), and your greatest hope was that the jersey would actually fit you. Didn’t get “your” number? Tough luck, kid. It’s just a number, and you’re 11 years old. I think you’ll be ok.

But now? Forget about it. Kids see basic uniforms, or don’t get the number they want and it’s game over. Parents can be irate that their kids are wearing mesh jerseys and don’t get team shorts. No custom helmets? Well, looks like we’re playing for someone else! Really? REALLY? Since when did youth sports become all about gear and uniforms? Why do more people ask about custom bags than ask about your development plan for their kids?

(The gear in the photo above was picked up over 20 years by a pro player, Randy Fraser. I know of some 14 year old kids with an equally impressive gear collection. Is there something wrong with that? I think so!)

It’s because we are all being sold a false bill of goods. Look good, play good is the bane of my existence, and it’s totally backwards. Play good, look good is the way it used to be. Teams with ugly uniforms that won games looked good. Teams that lost games looked bad, no matter what their choice of uniform happened to be. The focus was on playing the game, not walking down a runway, turning, and sashaying away. Do I blame gear companies for this? To a certain extent, yes. But I really blame the coaches and club team organizers, because they don’t have to buy in to all that stuff.

Look at the Duke’s LC outside of Philly. No custom helmets, no custom gloves, no swag. No sublimation, no team shorts, no silly BS. They wear navy mesh reversibles that say “Duke’s” on them in white and have a number. That’s about it. Their “swag” comes from their talent. Kids want that Duke’s pinnie because it stinks of success, and not fashion. Duke’s has made their mesh pinnie cool, they aren’t cool because of their pinnie! To me, that’s an important distinction.

The Great Scholarship Lie

I still hear parents talk about lacrosse scholarships like they grow on trees. They do not. Many D1 schools offer scholarships, but many do not due to league restricitions or funding issues. If you average it out, there are maybe 180 12.5 total, 3 per class, 67 teams) scholarships per class of kid at the D1 level. With around 1300-1400 D1 freshmen going through the ringer each year (20 per team, 67 teams), less than 15% of the kids are getting money. Freshmen, unless they are highly talented, also rarely get any dollars, so even that 15% is high.

Then look at these scholarships overall when compared to how many potential lacrosse players there are out there in any class on any given year. You have as many as 10,000 kids looking to play college lacrosse, and they are all vying for only 180 potential scholarship spots? You’re down to 1-2% of the players now getting money. The lure of scholarships should not even be discussed! It’s a rare thing, a shot in the dark, and a deep hope. It is NOT why any child should be playing lacrosse.

To me, Quality Coaching (or a lack thereof), Peer Pressure to keep up, a huge focus on Gear, and the Lies of Scholarships are the main problems facing youth lacrosse. They corrupt what should be a fun and engaging experience for kids in many different ways. They detract from the importance of improvement, teamwork, and community and bring unneeded and harmful competition into everything.

So what can we do about it?

Solutions to Youth Lacrosse Problems

When it comes to Coaching, parents need to get re-involved in their kids’ lives. If you can spend countless hours sitting in a car on the way to practices and tournaments, and you can spend additional hours on the sidelines watching, you can find the time to get involved and help your local lacrosse scene. And before you say, “I never played lacrosse, so I can’t coach,” let me tell you right now that this statement is 100% false.

Mike Daly has won two national titles as the Head Coach for Tufts University. He played at Tufts, but he didn’t play lacrosse, he played baseball. Erin Quinn won three straight national titles as the head coach at Middlebury. He never played lacrosse either. Dom Starsia learned the game in college, and so did a number of other top D1 coaches. If they can do it at that level, YOU can learn how to coach 12 year olds. That is a fact.

If you don’t feel like you can coach your own kids, then coach up or down an age bracket. Hopefully, another dedicated mom or dad will do the same thing and coach your kids. Don’t want to coach? Be a team manager and help out in other ways, like organizing. Get involved, and not as a member of the sideline parent cabal. Get involved as a coach or volunteer. Time is your most valuable gift, so give it to your kids!

Peer Pressure can be a little harder to deal with. It takes time to see truly inarguable results, and when the Jones family comes home from a great weekend of tryouts, and you can feel yourself slipping, even if you’re not. In reality, you’re not slipping at all. But you tell yourself that you are.

Avoid this lack of self confidence! If the Jones family just spent an hour in the car, then two hours for a tryout or practice, and then another hour sitting in traffic, and your kid spent ALL of that time playing wall ball, or playing mini lacrosse in the park with friends, the Jones family is actually playing catch up to YOU. Look at the Thompsons, look at the Powells. They all got good by playing the game A LOT, and not just for club teams. The backyard lacrosse they played paid off in a big way, and it can work for you too.

It takes a certain passion for the game to be able to have the drive to play that much lacrosse. A gratitude, if you will. These are the people who can’t stay away from the game even after their playing days are over. Take the Powell family, for example. The Powell’s started Powell Lacrosse, to help provide top-of-the-line gear to the masses of lacrosse players that they knew would need to play well and look good doing it. They love the game so much that they are making their post-playing career work to stay involved in lacrosse.

GET 22% OFF YOUR ENTIRE ORDER AT POWELL LACROSSE USING THE CODE ‘POW22’ FOR A LIMITED TIME. BUY A CUSTOM SWITCHBACK STICK OR THE PROTECTIVE-YET-COMFORTABLE SWITCHBACK GLOVES (Read our review here!) ALL AT A LOW PRICE. YOU WON”T WANT TO MISS THIS DEAL!

Find a local club team or town team instead of traveling to find a “better” team. Spend less time in the car, searching for the best. Spend your time on the field or on the wall, trying to BECOME the best. Have confidence, put in the work, and don’t always jump to the bigger, better deal. Sometimes you need to work to make your deal as good as it can be first.

The Scholarship Lie is the last issue I’ll talk about today, and this is how you get around it… focus on your GOSH-DARNED ACADEMICS! Statistically speaking, you are not going to get a scholarship for lacrosse. Since many coaches only heavily recruit 20 of the 100+ kids who contact them each year, statistically speaking again, you might not even get heavily recruited! This is probably THE BIGGEST issue of all of the youth lacrosse problems we have discussed.

This means you MUST focus on your grades. Get a 4.0 GPA and coaches will look at you more closely. Get a 4.0 and the school might give you money. Get a 3.5 and coaches will be more likely to call you back. Get a 3.0 and they’ll know you can at least do the work. Dip below that and you can kiss a lot of opportunity goodbye.

If you’re willing to spend over $15,000 over four years on lacrosse, you should be willing to spend just (or divide the total in half if  you only have $15k for 4 years) as much on academic tutors, SAT prep, and Summer educational opportunities.

Focusing on grades will do FAR more for you than just focusing on lacrosse. Coaches want good student-athletes on their rosters. Graduation rates matter in lacrosse. Since you can only make about $10,000 playing pro lacrosse, graduation itself really matters… for YOU. Focus on academics because you’re going to an academic institution. That makes sense, right?

The other answer here is to focus on having fun. No kid plays lacrosse because they think they might get a D1 scholarship. Yes, some kids may say this is why they play, and if that is true, they will either burn out or quit soon. For the ones who say it, but don’t mean it, they are saying it because they think it’s the right thing to say, when in actuality, they just like their sport. They think that by projecting a higher goal (the scholarship) that others will allow them to continue to play. But don’t turn your kids into liars. Let them play for fun. It’s the parents job to worry about paying for college. It’s the kid’s job to be a kid. Always play for fun, not for college dollars.

The Big Picture

Too often we run to find the “next big thing” instead of working on the big thing which already lies directly in front of us. We see the shining potential from afar, and flock to the newly celebrated answer. In actuality, the vast majority of the clubs and options out there are all very similar, and each will only give back to you if you pay in to the system in the right way.

The keys to making what YOU have work the best is to 1) Get involved, 2) Be confident, 3) Don’t worry so much about appearances and short term commodities, and 4) Keep the focus where it should be; on academics and fun.

This year I have started working for Doc’s NYC Lacrosse along with LC New York. Doc’s is a town team modeled program for NYC youth players. LC New York is an elite training team. Both of these programs focus on the keys I’ve listed out above, and I hope that I am able to help both programs continue to move in the right direction. I also hope that these two programs can become solid examples of how to do things right.

But here is something that may sound crazy… if you live outside of NYC, even if it’s in New Jersey or Long Island, I DON’T want you and your kids to come play for us. WHY? Because then you would spending too much time in a car. You wouldn’t be promoting the game in your own community… you would be looking for the bigger, better deal too. And when you got here, you’d see that things aren’t all that different from what your own town program or elite team could be.

What I am promoting for youth sports is a local flavor of opportunity and dedication.

We need to get back to the days of kids playing sports in order to have fun. You don’t get that with hours in the car every single weekend. You don’t get that with flashy jerseys and team gear. You don’t get that by only having famous lacrosse players coach your kids.

Kids have fun when they play the game. Kids have fun when they want to play so much that they choose to go and play with their friends. Kids get better when they go an play on their own. Kids love seeing their parents giving back to the game. Kids love representing their town and talking about the weekend’s game on Monday in school. Kids love lacrosse. The best way to overcome these youth lacrosse problems? Have well-rounded kids that love a variety of things.

So let’s let them get back to it, and strip away a lot of this silly big time framework we have created. Play local, get involved, enjoy the game, focus on skill over gear, and forget all about the Jones family. Hopefully they are doing the same thing you are and then you can sit with them at the end of year team picnic. If the Jones aren’t doing what you’re doing, don’t worry so much… because soon enough they’ll be trying to keep up with you.

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Editor’s Note: This article, originally entitled ‘The Best Players You’ve Never Heard Of’ was originally published on December 15, 2015 at 8:00 a.m. It has been repurposed to best serve the lacrosse community.

Who are the best players you have never heard of? But really, how would you know unless you had already heard about them?

You could spend hours doing research, but it might take you awhile to come to a conclusion. That’s where I come in. I wrote the following post to bring to your attention the best lacrosse players you have may have never heard of. Test yourself. See how many of these guys you actually recognize. I have to be honest, a few of them snuck up on me…

The Tewaaraton Foundation hands out an annual honor called the Tewaaraton Legend Award, and it is a great way to connect the present to the past. The Tewaaraton was created in 2001, to honor amazing players like Jim Brown, Mike French, Frank Urso, Doug Trumbull and hundreds of others could be recognized that never had the chance to win it. The Legend Award changes that as each year a player from pre-2001 is, and will be, honored with the retroactive award. If they give out one award per year, this could last for decades.

So far, Jim Brown (Syracuse), Eamon McEneaney (Cornell), Joe Cowan (Johns Hopkins), Jimmy Lewis (Navy), and Brad Kotz (Syracuse) have all been awarded Tewaaraton Legend status.

Everyone knows of Brown as he’s in a couple halls of fame already (lacrosse and football). McEneaney was a man playing amongst boys for the Big Red, and was a gift to the game. Cowan is a Hopkins legend from the late 60s, and was a pure scorer. Jimmy Lewis was the best attackman in the game for three years, flew Top Gun style for the Navy, AND scored the only goal in Navy’s only national championship ever… in soccer! Kotz was a four-time All American, and a prolific producer for the Orange, respected by all in the community.

Basically, in order to win this award you need to be one bad man out on the lacrosse field! So who else out there from years past could qualify? Who are some of the other legends of the game? And which ones deserve to win a Tewaaraton Award retroactively for their efforts on the lacrosse field?

Ok, let’s start out in the most obvious place… the four-time FIRST Team All-Americans. There are only SIX of them, and one of them played Division III. Another actually won TWO Tewaaratons, so you know these guys are an absolutely elite bunch.

The Best Players You’ve (Maybe) Never Heard Of

Doug Turnbull – Johns Hopkins – 1922, 1923, 1924, 1925 – One might think that the attackman of the year award for Division I, the Turnbull Award, is named after Doug, but it’s not. It’s named after Doug’s brother, Jack! Both played at Hopkins and if you’re talking skill, the award could really be named for either of them. Jack Turnbull is also obviously on this list! Doug was the first-ever four-time first-teamer. Turnbull also played football at Hopkins, leading the country in placekicking in 1923 and playing halfback. He also played any position on the lacrosse field except for goalie. Seriously. Turnbull passed away in 1996, but would be a magnificent honoree.

Everett Smith – St. John’s – 1934, 1935, 1936, 1937 – Smith twice led the country in goals, once as a freshman, and once as a sophomore. A native of Annapolis and graduate of the Severn School, he was an all-around athlete, and played four years of varsity in high school as well. Smith served three years in the Coast Guard doing troop transport during World War II, and had continued to play club lacrosse in Montclair, NJ up until that time. This was WAY before SJU dropped their program and then revived it. It’s an amazing piece of history.

Frank Urso – Maryland – 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976 – In 1973, Maryland went 10-0 and won a title. In 1975 they won another title. The other two years, Maryland made it to the Division I finals. Urso was midfielder of the year in ’74 and ’76 and player of the year in ’75. There is simply no way he wouldn’t have taken the award in at least one of those years! He was a devastating player for Team USA as well, and has an accomplished high school coaching record.

Del Dressel – Johns Hopkins – 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986 – Yes, Dressel played at the same time as Brad Kotz, who already won the award, but Dressel could have taken the hardware a couple of those years. It makes sense seeing as he was a four-time first teamer, and won titles his sophomore and junior seasons. He was also twice named midfielder of the year in Hop’s back to back title runs. Dressel was also a two-time All-American in high school. For those keeping count, that’s six All-American awards in total.

Jason Coffman – Salisbury – 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996 – Sure, Salisbury is Division III, but Coffman was a four-time first-teamer, won two national titles, AND was a two-time player of the year. Oh, and did I mention his career point total of 451 is by far and away the most absurd stat ever? Salisbury played a lot of games back then, but 451 is ridiculous, and Coffman’s younger brother Josh was a star at Syracuse, so don’t knock the Division III hustle here. Coffman went on to play pro box lacrosse and I don’t think his record will fall any time soon, unless college teams start playing 25 games a year and Lyle Thompson is reincarnated as a 13-year old.

Mike Powell – Syracuse – 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 – Powell was a four-time All-American, but did you know he was ALSO a four time winner of the Turnbull Award? Unreal. Never been done before, never been done since. He was the top attackman in the game for four straight years, made the Tewaaraton finalist list all four years and won the award twice, becoming the first person to ever hit the double. He won two titles with Syracuse, and the Orange advanced to the semifinals each year he was there. He’s also the all-time leading scorer for the Orange. I’m going back to four time attackman of the year though… He was truly a world apart in college.

Powell obviously won two Tewaaraton Awards, but NONE of the other five four-time first-teamers have been given a Legend Award. Might be time for that to change! I have my money on Urso being up next, but all five would be overwhelmingly deserving.

So, Who Else Is There?

OK, this list is FAR from complete, but it’s a pretty solid compilation of some truly amazing players from days gone by. You don’t have to be a four-time first-teamer to be a Legend!

Casey Powell – Syracuse – Definitely a guy you know! But still, Casey was a four-time All-American, and three of those years were on the first team. The fourth was on the second team. Oh well! He was the player of the year as a sophomore and senior, and attackman of the year as a junior. Did I mention he was also midfielder of the year as a freshman? Yeah, wow. That’s unreal. Powell was also a four-year fixture on the NCAA all tourney team. Someone give another Tewaaraton Award to the Powells! True legend status.

Fun fact: the Powell’s have started their own lacrosse company Powell Lacrosse where they make lacrosse gear as great as the Powell’s play was on the field. Lacrosse All Stars has partnered with Powell Lacrosse to help Grow the Game buy providing quality, affordable lacrosse gear to the masses. Visit Powell Lacrosse‘s website to take a look at some sweet merch, like the Switchback Player pack. It includes the Switchback complete stick along with the Switchback gloves at a discounted price. Read our review of the Switchback gloves here.

Ryan Powell – Syracuse – RP is the last guy who can really make the cut in terms of timing, as his career ended in 2000, the year before the first Tewaaraton. Powell was a four time All-American, player of the year in 1999 and attackman of the year in 2000. He started playing organized lacrosse in middle school (see, you can start late!) and played midfield and attack for the Orange, winning a title in 2000. Do three brothers really deserve Tewaaraton Awards? In this case, YES!

Milt Summerfelt – Army – 1932, 1933 – Not only was Summerfelt an All-American football player, but he was also a monster on defense for Army, earning All-American honors twice. He went on to become a Brigadier General in the US Air Force. I know defense guys aren’t your typical winners, but Summerfelt was not your typical player.

Pete Swindell – Johns Hopkins – 1935, 1936, 1937 – Swindell was a three-time All-American defender for Hop, a two-time captain for the Blue Jays, played for Team USA, and served as a captain in World War II. He is a member of the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame, as many of these men are! In the late 30s, you did not want Swindell covering you.

John Rust – Army – 1947, 1948, 1949 – Rust served as the captain of the Army team his senior year and was a three-time All-American in goal (once on the first team, twice on the second team). His record was 32-11-1 and he played in the North-South game. His 451 saves still rank in the all-time top ten in the NCAA and Army honors their top defensive player with an award in Rust’s name.

Bill Hooper – Virginia – 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951 – Hooper was a four-time All-American as he made garnered those honors twice on the second team and twice on the first. His high school team went 59-0 in his four years of varsity lacrosse. He was a two-time captain at the University of Virginia, and had five assists for the South in the annual Senior game. Hooper went on to coach and officiate the game of lacrosse after graduating, but he was a four year terror for the Cavaliers.

Mike O’Neill – Johns Hopkins – 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978 – O’Neill was a three-time first teamer, and still ranks highly all-time at Hopkins for scoring. He was the player of the year in ’78 when Hop won the title and he led them to the finals in 1977 as well. He was also the MVP of the 1978 NCAA tourney and went to be an assistant college coach for six years after graduating. He had a scoring touch like few others.

Paul and Gary Gait – Syracuse – More people you know! All-Americans, title winners, scorers at every single level. They are on the list through and through! They were just that good, and if the award were given out back then, the Thompsons might not have been the first brothers to share the award. I’d write more, but both Gaits easily qualify, and you already know this.

As I said above, this list is FAR from exhaustive. Lacrosse has been played since the early 1900s at US colleges, so to go all the way back you would need about 80 names! I came up with a bunch, now who do you have?

The Tewaaraton Award is open to suggestions, so if you have someone who really deserves a Legend Award, tell the Tewaaraton about it, maybe they will be honored in the future!

Please reach out to us on social media to suggest who YOU think the Tewaaraton Foundation should honor with the Tewaaraton Legend Award.

Via my Twitter, I had received some great additional names. Frank Urso had been called out, so has Oren Lyons. I also got a reply asking for someone from Hobart! That’s a great idea, but WHO?

Over on the LaxAllStars Facebook Page, people had dropped some GREAT names! In addition to who I named above we’ve gotten calls for Roy Colsey, AJ Haugen, Charlie Lockwood, Tom Marechek, Mark Millon, Kevin Lowe, Tim Goldstein, Tim Nelson, Petro, Larry Quinn, Tim Sears, Mark Douglas, Scott Bacigalupo, Jesse Hubbard, Jay Jalbert, Billy Miller, Devin Arkison, Brendan Schneck, Sal LoCasio and a BUNCH of other good suggestions all got laid out. Well done commenters!

Help me out here with some more suggestions! Comment away…

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This week’s Junior College Report will take a slightly different approach to covering NJCAA lacrosse. Don’t worry, I will still include the poll as well as provide links to game reports and upcoming game schedules at the end, but seeing as how we are about 1/2 way through the regular season (games started about a month ago and the regular season ends in about a month), it’s time to hand out some midterm grades for the teams in the Top 10. Let’s see which teams are looking like contenders right now, and which ones have some work to do if they want to fight for the hardware in May.

First up, the official Top 10 poll itself…

NJCAA Top 10 Poll – 3/25/2019

# – Team (Record) – Poll points – 1st place votes – last poll rank

1– Nassau (5-1) – 60 – 6 – 1st
2 – Harford (5-1) – 54 – 0 – 2nd
3 – Onondaga (3-2) – 48 – 0 – 3rd
4 – Howard (4-2) – 40 – 0 – 5th
5 – Essex (5-1) – 38 – 0 – 4th
6 – Genesee (2-3) – 30 – 0 – 6th
7 – Suffolk (3-1) – 23 – 0 – 7th
8 – Anne Arundel (3-3) – 19 – 0 – 8th
9 – Mercer (4-3) – 12 – 0 – 9th
10 – Potomac State (5-1) – 5 – 0 – 10th

Others Receiving Votes: Ocean (2-2), 1 point

Only a little bit of movement so far, so let’s get to the midseason grades.

Mid Season NJCAA Grades

Be forewarned, I do not grade on a curve, and there is only one A right now. Do not have your parents call me, do the extra credit, earn your grades.

Nassau: Grade: A
Big Wins: Harford 11-6, ACC 17-1, Onondaga 12-4, Genesee 10-5, Essex 20-5
Loss: Stevenson JV 9-7
The Lions’s only loss this year was to the Stevenson JV team, 9-7. While this was an official game, and counts towards Nassau’s overall record, I don’t put as much stock in these NJCAA vs NCAA JV teams as I do full NJCAA games, so I’m pretty much writing the loss of, because when I look at the rest of Nassau’s results, they are nothing but A-level material. On average, they are outscoring opponents at a 2-1 clip, and playing very good teams.

The Lions are winning 65% of their draws, and clearing the ball around 93%, while causing almost 10 turnovers per game, and keeping their penalty minutes low, even as they play a tough form of cohesive team defense. This team has depth, some experience, and plenty of grit. When it comes to naming a contender as the clear cut favorite, the smart money right now has to be put down on Nassau. Coach Savage has done an incredible job in his time as Head Coach, he has embraces the F.A.M.I.L.Y. mentality 100% (as do the players), and the Long Island beast looks fully awake and oh so hungry for another title. And you know what? I’m not sure this Nassau team will be satisfied with an A grade. This might be an A+ kind of team. We will see if that’s the case over the rest of the regular season and the early playoff push.

Harford: Grade: B+
Big Wins: Onondaga 12-8, Howard 11-6
Loss: Nassau 11-6
The Fighting Owls didn’t just knock on the door of the elite levels of NJCAA men’s lacrosse as they had in past years. In 2019, they simply opened it up, walked right in, and made themselves at home and they don’t show any signs of letting up. Yes, this team lost to Nassau to open the season, but it was a competitive 11-6 game – Nassau’s closest of the year so far, and right now the Lions set the bar. Now back to the Owls; they can score goals, and are outscoring opponents at an almost 3-1 pace. Their man up is clicking, and notching goals on more than 40% of their chances. Almost half of Harford’s goals are assisted, and the Owls are winning a shocking 73% of their face offs.

Harford’s clearing game is solid at 86%, but could use some tightening up, and 28 penalties in 6 games is a risky way to live and another area the Owls may want to clean up. Something I really like about Harford’s offense is their depth. They have no players with more than 25 points, but seven players with 10 more more, and 4 more with at least 5 points. Goal scoring depth can be huge, and Harford has it. Defensively, Harford does not give up a ton of shots in general, and they get solid goaltending when the D does give up a look. Overall this is a very good team, and if they can clean up a couple areas, we are talking about an A level program here. There is plenty of time left for this B+ to become an A.

Onondaga: Grade: B
Big Wins: Anne Arundel 16-6, Howard 21-11, Genesee 17-5
Losses: Harford 12-8, Nassau 12-4
Two straight losses had some people worried that OCC wasn’t going to show up for school this year, but their next two games changed that opinion around quickly and Onondaga brought their average up for the semester really quickly. They had fallen to 6th in the poll, but two convincing wins over higher ranked teams popped OCC right back up, and after a little bit of an early season stumble the Lazers look to be back, the offense is gelling, and they seem ready to press on for the rest of the season. With a new Head Coach for the first time in 17 years, I’m able to look past it. Eric Miccio seems to have found his groove now, and while OCC is looking a little less dangerous than they did in the past, maybe that makes them even more dangerous?

You never looked past OCC in the past, so don’t do it now. This is a very good team and they are more than capable of pushing their B+ to an A+ if it all comes together. OCC does have some potential holes when it comes to face off wins, and their clearing game needs to be more consistent. The team will also need to be a little more focused on winning ground balls and will definitely need to cut down on penalties, but their man up is absolutely deadly, and almost a guaranteed Lazers goal, and a general offensive potency that is potentially excellent.

Essex: Grade: B-
Big Wins: Mercer 29-12, Genesee 14-7
Losses: Onondaga 21-11, Harford 11-6
Essex has racked up 5 solid wins, and most have been by impressive margins. The 15 goal loss to Nassau shows there is a gap between Essex and the top level right now, but with 4 games against Top 10 teams still on their schedules, the Knights can certainly improve their standing this season and get to true A-level lacrosse. Essex has a lot of guys who can put up points and outside of the Nassau game, their D has been very stout. They average over 23 goals per game, and just over half of those goals are assisted. Their man up is impressive and converts on well over 50% of chances, but their man down will need to be better than 50% to win big games later on. The good thing defensively is that Essex does not commit a lot of fouls, so this may be less of an issue for them than other teams. Clearing the ball at 81% is good, but this is one of the most underrated areas of the game when it comes to winning small battles, so getting to 90% or better has to be the goal. Teams that need to make up ground simply must focus on the detail issues like clearing. Winning face offs at around 70% is a great example of this attention to detail, and if Essex can keep that up it can be a game changer.

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Howard: Grade: B-
Big Wins: Mercer 28-5, Monroe 28-7, Potomac 22-3
Losses: Onondaga 21-11, Harford 11-6
Howard has some A-grade material on display, and it’s truly beautiful stuff, but they also have some homework that was may have been copied on the back of the bus on the way to school. It’s just inconsistent as to which Howard will show up for class, and that makes it harder to give out a good grade, or a bad grade. Sometimes HCC scores 20, sometimes they give up 20. Sometimes they score 6. I just don’t know what to make of this team right now, and I don’t know if they do either. Of course that is very much OK, even expected, at this point in the season, and there is no reason to think the Dragons can’t turn things around and get back to the A territory they’ve earned in the past.

But there is work to do, and it all has to do with consistency. It might not look that way, as Howard is really pretty solid when you look at their statistics, and game over game, they are not all that different, but that is not what I’m talking about here. What I’m talking about is the ability to string together those good moments consistently, and produce goals, or get defensive stops in high pressure situations, game after game. It’s about coming to play every day, pulling in the same direction as a team, and building off that common ground. Howard saw a good deal of turnover from last year, so I would not be surprised to see them pull it together as the weather warms and find their groove, but it’s not going to simply happen. The players will have to make it happen. The talent is there, so now we wait and see what they do with it over the course of the next month or so.

Genesee: Grade: C+
Big Wins: Monroe 18-9
Losses: Essex 14-7, Nassau 10-5, Onondaga 17-5
GCC is likely better than a C+ team, but they don’t have any wins over current Top 10 teams, and while they can be a notoriously slow starter, the recent 12 goal loss to OCC doesn’t inspire additional confidence. Scoring has been an issue for Genesee this year, and as with some other teams, a lot of it seems to come down to consistency. Genesee is able to put up pretty decent stats, and they look good for much of the time on the field, but there are moments where a couple mistakes can string together and it can change the result of games for the Cougars. Attention to detail and buying in fully can change all this, as there is talent in Batavia, NY, but you simply can’t win grinder games without consistency.

For example, it’s not about putting up lots of shots (which GCC does), it’s about putting up as many good shots as you can generate. For a team with a lot of freshmen playing big roles, this may take time to figure out, and this can extend to every portion of the game. It will take leadership from more experienced players to make sure it happens, but I wouldn’t say GCC is a year away and give up on the Cougars just yet. Genesee has a solid slate of winnable games where they can also improve as they need to, and come playoffs you could see a very different GCC. Plenty of work to do, but it’s not impossible to stretch this C to an A by the end of the spring.

Suffolk: Grade: C+
Big Wins: Monroe 16-5
Losses: West Point Prep 15-12
Suffolk is a C+ right now, but that could change quickly as they really haven’t been asked to submit all that much work. Right now I’d say they are about 25% done. Now the real work starts. They will now be asked to do the vast majority of their heavy lifting starting soon, as they face ranked teams Mercer, Nassau, Howard, Harford, and Essex in consecutive games. 5 ranked teams in a little less than a month and Suffolk could be anywhere from an A to D. Talk about backloading your schedule this semester! In all seriousness, I kind of like this approach for a team that is trying to build up and compete with county rival Nassau. Start slow, build, build, build. We’ll see if it’s paying off soon.

Anne Arundel: Grade: C+
Big Wins: Mercer 14-12
Losses: Nassau 17-1, Onondaga 16-6
With Essex, Howard and then Harford up next, AACC can up their C+ quickly with a win or two. Three wins completely changes their GPA. Defensively, Anne Arundel has a solid base, and their man down performs pretty well. The other side, on the man up, needs some work. AACC isn’t a powerhouse scoring team, so the man up needs to be deadly to notch a couple extra goals where possible. Face offs are another area where a really cohesive team approach can generate extra possessions, and these are the kinds of things the Riverhawks will need to improve on in their coming three game gauntlet if they want to earn wins and climb the class ladder.

Mercer: Grade: C-
Big Wins: None
Losses: Anne Arundel 14-12, Essex 29-12, Howard 28-5
Don’t take offense to a C- for Mercer. MCCC is like a 14 year old kid who graduated 8th grade, skipped high school altogether, and jumped to Harvard. This is their first year playing games, they’re competing with other Top 10 teams, they’re showing good discipline and power in dispatching other programs that have existed for years, and their program is doing PROGRAM THINGS.

Mercer hasn’t earned a signature win yet as a program (that day may be coming soon!), but they are handing in all their work on time, getting their citations right, and making serious progress. Games against Suffolk and Nassau in the span of 5 days will be important to see if Mercer has made a serious jump already, then the season tails off with 4 more winnable games. When you look at Mercer compared to Nassau, there is a big gap, but when you look at Mercer compared to other first year programs in recent memory, MCCC is really doing some phenomenal stuff. Remember, this isn’t a grade on how good of a first year team they are, it’s a grade on how close they are to competing for a national title… in their first year.

Potomac State: Grade: C-
Big Wins: None
Losses: Howard 22-3
PSC is enjoying their best start ever, and whether they’re grinding out wins or winning by 10, they are finding a way to get it done and have earned a Top 10 spot. The recent big loss to Howard gives me some reason for concern, but if PSC wants a chance to climb the class rank ladder they certainly have the opportunity, but it means they have to beat Essex, Harford, or Anne Arundel.

They can also make a statement with a big win over Mercer, but that can work the other way too with a big loss. Potomac State plays good team lacrosse, and if they can keep improving there and find a new level, they can continue to jump. It’s often harder to improve as a team than as individuals, but they pay off can be that much greater if a team can do both. Reducing turnovers, scoring more man up goals, and winning more face offs will all play in to this.

I’ll do another grade report later in the season, before the playoffs start, and we can see who hit the books (and the gym and the field) with intent, and who just kind of skimmed the required reading. Lots of school analogies in here, eh?

Ok, now on to the games from last week, and the games for next week!

Surprise – you can find all this info on the NJCAA Men’s Lacrosse website, and it is an amazing resource!

I highly recommend checking it out often. There are game recaps, box scores, live video links, photos, and more. It’s killer and the NJCAA does a great job of keeping it pretty darn up to date. Also, it’s FREE! Who hates free? Check it out HERE – the “SCORES” section is great.

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The Federation of International Lacrosse sent out a press release today that outlines the process to create a new set of rules for the sport of lacrosse in the Olympic Games.

While the inclusion of lacrosse in the Olympics is still an ongoing process, the FIL has created a working group to flush out the details of how lacrosse could be played at the Olympics, should the governing body of the sport gain the ultimate approval for inclusion that it currently seeks.

Check out the full press release below, and then read on for some additional thoughts and comments! Feel free to chime in with your own ideas in the comments section. We are VERY curious to hear what people think about all this!

Federation of International Lacrosse Launches Membership Consultation Process In Development of New Discipline and Playing Rules

New York, NY – The Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL), in partnership with its member-National Governing Bodies, is initiating a consultation process through which members are being asked – entirely on a voluntary basis — to experiment with a new discipline and related set of playing rules for the sport of lacrosse.

The new discipline and draft playing rules have been developed by the FIL Blue Skies Working Group, which is responsible for examining innovative ways to best position the sport of lacrosse for continued growth in the 21st Century, including the long-term ambition of returning lacrosse to the Olympic Games. This approach is consistent with work done by other leading international sport federations, including World Rugby and the International Basketball Federation, which have introduced new disciplines or other modifications to their sports while maintaining the integrity and traditions of their games.

The Blue Skies Working Group, which is chaired by FIL Vice President Steve Stenersen, began its work in September 2018. Through a series of in-person meetings, conference calls and consultation with players, coaches and officials, a new discipline and initial set of playing rules has been developed. In January 2018, the FIL Board of Directors endorsed the direction of the Blue Skies Working Group and recommended that FIL members be asked to experiment with the new discipline and playing rules.

Earlier this month, FIL members received the draft playing rules and have been asked to trial the new discipline, and provide feedback, during the next two months.

Based upon feedback from the FIL membership and further revision to the discipline and playing rules, the Blue Skies Working Group intends to present a final proposal for approval at the FIL General Assembly, August 12-13 in Peterborough, Ontario.

If approved, the new discipline will be a complement to the current field and indoor disciplines sanctioned by FIL, and in no way will replace those disciplines. The new discipline pertains to both men’s and women’s lacrosse, and is not a unified or coed division.

Appointed by FIL President Sue Redfern, members of the Blue Skies Working Group are:

Steve Stenersen – FIL VP / Working Group Chair
Fiona Clark – FIL Competition Director
Dana Dobbie – Athlete Counsel Representative
Terry Harding – Men’s Official
Jane Powell – England High Performance Manager
David Ryan – FIL Independent Director
Jim Scherr – FIL CEO
Scott Seymour – Octagon Executive
Mara Wager – Women’s Official

“The development of new, complementary disciplines of lacrosse is integral to the achievement of the FIL’s strategic plan,” said (FIL) Vice President Stenersen.  “Our Blue Skies Working Group has had the unique opportunity to re-imagine the sport based on the goals of fueling continued international growth, increasing spectator appeal and maximizing media exposure.  The rule drafts will continue to be refined based on feedback from our member nations, and we look forward to presenting final recommendations at the General Assembly in August.” 

Key considerations being examined by the Blue Skies Working Group in developing the new discipline and playing rules include (in alphabetical order):

Competition equity
Degree of gender consistency
Game duration
Linear and digital media appeal
Pace of play
Player appeal
Rule simplicity
Spectator appeal
Sport growth
Sport integrity
Team size
Tournament duration

Overarching principles:
Men’s Discipline
· Eliminate violent collision
· Maintain current protective equipment
· Eliminate long sticks
· Maintain other current stick specifications
· Goalie stick specifications identical between disciplines
Women’s Discipline
· Maintain current restrictions on body contact and stick checking
· Maintain current protective equipment and require eyewear for field players
· Maintain current stick specifications
· Goalie stick specifications identical between disciplines

Summary of Trial Rule Recommendations:
· Field size — 70 meters X 36 meters
· Field markings – perimeter markings, goal circles/creases, goal line, midline, draw circle, substitution and player boxes
· Goals – maintain current specifications
· Game structure – four 8-minute periods: running clock; 5-minute halftime and 2 minutes between quarters
· Time clock stops for a timeout, end of a quarter, injury, or during a dead ball within the last two minutes of the fourth quarter
· Shot clock – 45 seconds; resets on every possession change
· Game and shot clocks stop for a timeout, injury, or during a dead ball within the last two minutes of the fourth quarter; resets following the end of a quarter
· Two 30-second timeouts for each team per half
· Squad size – 10; 6 + 4 subs (allow up to two alternates in the case of competition-ending injury TBD)
· On-field players – 6 on 6; goalie and five field players on the field at one time
· On field staff – two coaches and one medical
· Substitutions – on the fly
· Offside – both teams must hold back two players behind the midline
· Over-and-back – prohibited
· Ball out-of-bounds – when the ball goes out of bounds for any reason, including a shot, it is awarded to the team that did not touch it last
· Goals – if a player is fouled in the act of shooting, the goal will count
· After a goal – goalies have 5-seconds to put the ball in play be either passing it or running it out of the goal circle
· All defending players can run through the crease but cannot act as a goalie
· Draws – at start of each period and OT
· OT – sudden victory
· Officiating – 2 officials per game
· Penalties – major/minor/technical fouls and related mechanics as close as possible between disciplines
· Pre- and post-game officiating mechanics identical across disciplines

Additional Comments/Thoughts

Phew! That was a LOT of info to digest, but considering we’re working in the world of sports, where big announcements are usually kept tight to the chest, I actually find the FIL’s transparency on this issue to be very refreshing. It’s a BIG change for sure, but the FIL isn’t trying to hide it, or pull a fast one on anyone. The members have now known for a while (and been invited to participate in the process) and now we the public officially know as well. And it’s still a work in progress. But when it comes to transparency, this is a move that really should to be applauded. Creating a new version of your game is a tough thing to do, but the FIL isn’t ducking it.

The first thing that comes to mind is that set-in-their-ways reactionaries and traditionalists are going to hate these rules and probably flip out on Twitter and/or Facebook, and here are the questions they will likely ask:

“Why can’t the men’s and women’s games just stay as they are?” Have you ever watched the Olympics? Do men’s and women’s sports REALLY look that different to you? No, they don’t. Sure, there are some differences, but they are typically small, like limiting contact in hockey or adding rings for male gymnasts. Overall, the differences are minute. If lacrosse, a NEW SPORT TO THE GAMES, wants to get admitted to the Olympics, do you think it will need to be more like other Olympic sports in terms of rules similarity between the genders, or less? The answer is more. There is really no getting around this, and you can see the evidence of it in many of the points about a need for similarity between the men’s and women’s disciplines.

It’s also important to recognize that these rules would ONLY APPLY TO THE OLYMPIC GAMES.

This portion of the press release makes that pretty clear: “If approved, the new discipline will be a complement to the current field and indoor disciplines sanctioned by FIL, and in no way will replace those disciplines. The new discipline pertains to both men’s and women’s lacrosse, and is not a unified or coed division.“

“Why can’t we just play the men’s (or women’s) game?“ Seriously? There is going to compromise here, on both sides. There simply has to be. Expecting the men to play the women’s game, or expecting the women to play the men’s game is quite silly, extremely divisive, and will NEVER HAPPEN. Please move on and save us all the headache.

“Why doesn’t everyone play box lacrosse instead?” Less countries play box than field, few women outside of Canada play box, there are no FIL championships for women’s box or the U19 box for either gender, and building rinks creates headaches, costs, and hassles that field sport events do not create. If lacrosse can be played on a field that can also be used for Rugby 7s, that’s a win for everyone. Building boxes at every Olympic location is not a cost-effective option, and it also means that the Olympic version of the sport can only be played in countries that have access to box facilities.

A small field on the other hand can be found in any country in the world right now. It’s going to be a field version of the game for all these reasons. Also, look at the emphasis on hitting. My guess is that doesn’t change no matter what the other rules are. It’s the way the game is going. And box without crosschecks and hitting isn’t really box. Who wants to do that?

“Why are we changing anything? Lacrosse has never changed!” Well, first off lacrosse has ALWAYS changed. College rules change all the time, MLL created new rules for their league, men’s field used to have 12 players a side, you could put 12 poles on the field at a time, women in Massachusetts used to wear helmets, fields used to be giant ovals with boards around them, women didn’t have boundaries, the shot clock wasn’t a thing, box players didn’t wear helmets, box wasn’t a thing before the 1930s… the list goes on and on and on. The game of lacrosse has ALWAYS changed. Many of the First Nations in North America had their own version of stickball, and they were all different. There is a long history and legacy of a changing game in lacrosse. You can fight it if you want, but don’t be ignorant to history.

And listen, I gt it… For a long time, I was a field traditionalist myself. It’s what I played, it’s what I knew, and it was the game I appreciated. I thought it was the purest form of the game, because it was the only form I’d ever played. Then I played box. It was fun, a new challenge, and a great sport. I love box, but I also love field. Then I played some short side lacrosse. It was also fun, and another new challenge. And this has held true with any version of the sport I’ve ever played. I played a women’s game once, and surprise surprise… it was fun! Have you ever played snow lacrosse, or beach lacrosse? When was any of it bad? For me, it never was.

The elements of lacrosse that make it fun – the skill, the athleticism, the toughness, the trickery, the teamwork required to win – none of these things have ever left the game, no matter how it’s been played. Does anyone really believe these things will disappear with the above proposed rules and changes to the game?

Yes, the game will be different and it will change, but nothing in the above rules makes me think the essence of lacrosse will be missing in any way, shape, or form.

At the end of the day, I’m keeping an open mind to these new rules, and this new direction for Olympic lacrosse, simply because I have yet to encounter a version of the game that I did not like. If it works out, and kids around the world see a short-sided game being played, and it makes them want to play, what’s the harm? To me, that sounds great. If it means that more kids in New York City or Paris or Hong Kong can play the game on smaller urban fields, then that’s great too. If an Olympic short-sided game makes it easier for kids in small town Iowa or Bavaria or Mozambique to play lacrosse, then I am absolutely all for that as well.

My personal experiences with short-sided lacrosse have been extremely positive. It’s fun to play, exciting to watch, and easier to understand for people who are new to the game. It keeps costs for national teams down, and allows the sport to continue to focus on growth around the world by introducing a new version of the game that can be played anywhere by anyone.

I try to live by the Grow The Game motto, and ask myself if I think something will help the game grow, or hinder efforts to see it expand. When it comes to a short-sided version of the game for the Olympics, I really don’t see much downside at all and I would definitely tune in to watch every 4 years when it was on the Olympic stage.

Nitty Gritty on the Rules

OK, my general feeling is positive on the rules, and obviously the change to 6v6 is huge and has big implications, but here are a couple detail points that interest me greatly. I definitely want to see more, and how some of the rule changes could play out!

Less Face Offs – Draws will only take place to start the 8 minute quarters, or to start OT. This basically means there are only 4-5 draws in any game, and after every goal the goalie picks the ball up and puts it back in play within 5 seconds. I like face offs personally, but they do slow the game down and can confuse people who don’t understand them well. This approach simplifies the game, but keeps draws in the sport as a compromise. It will also reduce goal celebrations, as action picks up right away. The hardest thing for fans will be to tell what was a goal and what wasn’t when crease violations happen and a goal is scored, but not counted. Referee mechanics will be very important there for players and fans alike. Will people be mad about less draws in the game? FoGos certainly will be.

No Longsticks – As a former longstick I… actually kind of like this rule? That was weird, and I can see where people will disagree with me, but again it simplifies the game and makes it more approachable to fans. Goalies can still use goalie sticks, but like hockey, lacrosse defenders and attackers will use the same sticks. It makes some sense really. But when you look at some of the other rules, and how they could layer on top of each other, I’m not completely sold on this idea. A great longstick is a great asset and is fun to watch.

Less Big Hits – There will still be bumping of hips, ball focused collisions, and plenty of physical play, but the idea of lining someone up and knocking them off their feet is not going to be part of this game. Olympic hockey is similar in this regard where huge hits have been limited or reduced. It does seem like the men will have more contact and padding than the women, but Kyle Devitte asked a good question to me on Twitter here: Does NO big collision stuff change the men’s game too much by taking out the threat of a big hit? It’s a fair question to be sure, but the women’s game seems ok without it.

45 Second Shot Clock – With a short field, the shot clock can be at 45 seconds and teams can still run a cohesive O and force teams to play good defense. How different teams use the clock on O and D could be really exciting and even lead to upsets. I like it. No clearing clock with such a short shot clock, but it does seem to take effective riding approaches out of the game to some extent.

Offsides – UPDATE: The old offsides interpretation was wrong. Here is the correct one: The intention is that a team must always keep at least two players on its defensive half of the field (typically a goalie and one field player)…and at least one player on its offensive half of the field…resulting in 4-on-4 play in the offensive half of the field, in addition to a goalkeeper.  Of course, a time serving penalty would great a “man-up” offensive opportunity. Both teams need to keep two players back, and if I’m reading this correctly, that means that each team will have 4 players on offense, and 3 field players and a goalie on defense. That means each O possession will in essence be man up, and every D possession will be man down. This one is interesting, and I really want to see how this plays out. I’m not sold on it yet, but it intrigues me greatly. You’d certainly see a lot of scoring if every possession is a 4 on 3 AND there are no longsticks. Definitely need to see this rule in practice.

Shot Back Up GONE – If you shoot the ball out of bounds, the other team gets it. Last one to touch it loses it. With a shot clock, and constant man up, this only seems fair. It also makes WAY MORE sense to the average sports fan. Team A threw the ball out of bounds, Team B now has the ball. That’s not how we’ve played the game, but it is much more simple and consistent across the sport and other sports. With a shot clock, teams HAVE to shoot the ball or drop it in the corner. Will we see more shots on cage, or less? Another one that has me all sorts of curious to see how it plays in practice.

The biggest issue for me on truly judging these rules is that I have not seen them in action with my own eyes. As we see more of that, it should be clear what works well and what does not. Having this preliminary info is great though, and it’s an interesting look into how the FIL is looking at the game of the future.

Overall there are a number of major changes, but as I said above, I’m not sure any of them (or the sum of them) truly changes lacrosse to anything other than lacrosse. The process here will take time, and even after a “final” set of rules has been agreed upon there could still be changes (see our current NCAA rules as an example of constant tweaks and changes). The rules may or may not appeal to you personally, but for the growth of the game they could do a lot of good, and it seems like the worst case scenario is that a new fun version of the game gets invented. At the end of the day, that’s pretty good.

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Parity has come to NJCAA men’s lacrosse, change is in the air, and the early season has become absolutely unpredictable and awesome! In the past, a lot of these games were largely decided before they were played and things tended to heat later in the season, but now? Now we see top teams winning and losing, lots of movement in the Top 10 Poll, and exciting games pretty much across the board.

Welcome to 2019, where anything can happen.

NJCAA Top 10 Poll – 3/18/2019

# – Team (Record) – Poll points – 1st place votes – last poll rank

1– Nassau (4-1) – 60 – 6 – 1st
2 – Harford (3-1) – 54 – 0 – 2nd
3 – Onondaga (2-2) – 45 – 0 – 6th
4 – Essex (3-0) – 44 – 0 – 3rd
5 – Howard (2-1) – 34 – 0 – 3rd
6 – Genesee (1-2) – 33 – 0 – 5th
7 – Suffolk (1-0) – 22 – 0 – 8th
8 – Anne Arundel (1-2) – 18 – 0 – 7th
9 – Mercer (4-2) – 14 – 0 – 9th
10 – Potomac State (4-0) – 6 – 0 – Not Ranked

Others Receiving Votes: Monroe (1-2), 2 points

Nassau stayed at #1 and Harford stayed at #2, but Onondaga jumped up the polls three spots to 3rd, while Essex, Howard, and Genesee all fell a spot or two. Suffolk popped up a spot with a win, Anne Arundel is still in there, and Mercer is looking solid as the rack up wins. Speaking of racking up wins, Potomac State makes the first appearance in the Top 10 that I can remember, so a tip of the hat goes to Keyser Boys and their perfect start to 2019.

Recent NJCAA Results/Recaps

You want good games? There were a bunch last week!

Potomac State 17, Finger Lakes 7 – PSC went up 3-0 after one quarter, 7-1 at the half, and then won each of the last two quarters 5-3, for a pretty dominant performance. Ben Blodgett went off with 6 goals and 3 assists, and Nick Erhardt (2 goals, 3 assists) and Titus Thind (2 goals, 2 assists) also had big days. Nathan Woodhill made 13 saves in only 45 minutes of action for the win. Big win for PSC, and part of the reason why they are in the Top 10 now.

Harford 30, Williamson Trade 1 – Ten different players scored for Harford and they were dominant from start to finish in this one. Owen Consoletti scored six goals (and added an assist) on seven shots. Zach Brooks won 12 of 13 face offs for Harford.

Ocean 10, Union 3 – Ocean was up 7-0 at the half, and while the second was much more even, the big gap allowed Ocean to walk away with a comfortable win. Dillon Clark scored 4 goals and added an assist and Tyler Palmer made 8 saves on 11 shots faced.

Tompkins Cortland 14, Finger Lakes 13 – WHAT. A. GAME! TC went up 4-2 after one, FLCC pulled it to 6-5 at the half, then TC went back up 10-7 after three, and FLCC came out HOT in the 4th scoring the first 4 goals of the quarter to take an 11-10 lead on a Henry Millard goal. FLCC has been up 2-1 early on, but had not held a lead since the 5:07 mark of the first. Pat Harnett scored off a Dante Cuttino feed to tie up, and Millard answered to put FLCC back up 12-11. Cuttino would then score two goals of his own to put TC up 13-12, but with 2:35 left Millard would notch another to tie it up yet again, this time at 13 apiece. With 6 seconds left in the first OT, TC’s Jacob Lewis would get the game winner, and surprise surprise, the assist would be from Cuttino. Millard finished with 6 goals on the day for FLCC, Pat Harnett scored 4 goals and had 4 assists for TC, and Dante Cuttino poured in a number of his 4 goals and 3 assists when TC needed it most and the Panthers got a thrilling OT win.

Potomac State 12, Hudson Valley 11 – If you thought the above OT was good, then you’ll think this one was pretty amazing too. PSC comes out guns blazing and goes up 5-2. HVCC rallies to close the gap to 6-5 at halftime. The third quarter sees the game tied at 9, and the 4th was as exciting as it gets, even if each team only scored two goals. Overtime came and PSC pulled out the win as both teams had chances. Huge road win for PSC!

Mercer 17, Brookdale 1 – MCC went up 6-0, 12-0, and 13-1 after each respective quarter break and tacked on a 4-0 4th to coast to a big win. Jack Earley led the way with 5 goals on 7 shots, while adding 3 assists. Consistent and unselfish stuff right there.

Genesee 18, Monroe 9 – GCC shook off their opening loss with a solid win over Monroe. The tale of the game was set in the first quarter when Genesee would go up 6-0 after 1, and 10-0 before Monroe would score their first goal. GCC played with passion and purpose. Monroe would pick it up and made some runs, but GCC always seemed to have an answer, easing their way to a 9 goal win, as the Cougars got back on the right track. Jason Chiodo’s six goals and an assist led all scorers.

Southern Maryland 13, Union 11 – SM took a 5-1 lead early on, and pushed it to 8-2 before Union really sparked and started putting in some goals. Southern Maryland was able to counter these runs effectively, and when Union did put a couple together, SM answered well and fought off a hard nosed Union team to earn a big 2 goal win. Jordan Sinclair pumped in 7 goals and Will Meadows added 3 more for the bulk of Maryland’s scoring. Union got 6 goals and an assist from Greg Vecchia, and Greg Scaturo also had a day, scoring 4 goals and adding an assist.

Ocean 11, Finger Lakes 6 – Ocean continued their excellent week with another quality win over FLCC. This was a very tight game in the first half, but Ocean used a 5-1 3rd quarter to create some breathing room, and Shawn Poole’s 5 goals and 1 assist led the way. James Manzo also had a day with a goal and 4 assists. Justin Closser had a hat trick for FLCC, and Dan VanNostrand made good on 4 assists on the day. Mike Dhondt (FLCC) had 15 saves, and Tyler Palmer (OCC) made 14 saves, and excellent net-minding was definitely on display.

Harford 30, Brookdale 2 – I don’t mean any disrespect to either team here, but games like these probably won’t get many write ups in the future, just score lines. The individual stat lines are always insane, but I’m going to recap more competitive games when I can. Needless to say, this was a bit of a rout.

Monroe 22, Tompkins Cortland 9 – After losing to Genesee in convincing fashion, MCC really rebounded nicely with this win. This not only speaks well to their talent, but also their mindset. TC battled throughout, but Monroe did a great job of staying focused and winning the next play, which was good, because this game was 3-3 early on, and TC scored the first goal of the game. Monroe stayed composed, and finished the first quarter with a 5-0 run and an 8-3 lead. MCC was led by Brett Cunningham’s 5 goals and 4 assists, but also got a great effort from Mitchell Summers with 4 goals and 3 assists. Cruz Mayberry also went for 2 goals and 3 assists out of the midfield. Pat Harnett went for 4 goals and an assist for TC and while Ben Pallone gave up 22 goals, he also made 19 saves. If you don’t know, that’s a lot.

Mercer 16, Delaware Tech 6 – DTech hung around and kept this one close for a while, but Mercer put the pedal to the metal in the 4th, winning that quarter 8-0, to push an 8-6 game to a much wider margin. 4 of those 8 goals were scored on the man up, as MCC went 4 for 5 on the day on extra man chances. Nick Parente had 5 goals and 3 assists, Isaac Lieboff had a goal and 5 assists, Justin Brown scored 4 goals, Brady Moore went 3 and 1, Tom Harnett had 2 goals and 3 assists as the usual cast of characters for Mercer took over the scoring game.

Jefferson 17, ASA 7 – ASA made their official return after two years off, and while numbers were thin, and the start wasn’t ideal (going down 5-0), ASA showed great fight and got the game to 7-3 at the half. Shel Herring was a bright spot for ASA winning 28 of 31 face offs (not bad!), and a big congrats to Jefferson on a well earned win on the road.

Essex 31, Brookdale 3 – A dominant win for Essex as they roll along in 2019.

Potomac State 17, Union 8 – If you thought PSC’s weekend was over, you were wrong as they played a Sunday game against Union and won yet again to remain perfect. After an effort like that, how do they not get into the Top 10? Answer is, they do! It was 4-1 after the first, and 9-3 at the half and PSC looked good all game long, even though they had already played two games this week. Titus Thind (5g, 2a), Nick Erhardt (4g, 1a), and Ben Blodgett (3g, 2a) led the way again on offense, and Nathan Woodhill made 10 saves on 14 shots (played 40 minutes).

Suffolk 31, Jefferson 1 – Earlier I was questioning Suffolk and where they were at, but this blowout should tell us something. Jefferson beat ASA by 10 the day before, then lost by 30. I don’t love comparative scoring, but this tells me Suffolk is next level from where they were.

Onondaga 21, Howard 11 – Just when you’re ready to write off OCC because they have two losses, they go down to Maryland and just smack around Howard. This is impressive because Howard simply does not get smacked around very often, if at all. Usually they are the ones doing the smacking! OCC came out hot, dominated early, and looked like the Lazers of old. Of course no one REALLY thought OCC was done, but maaaaaybe they weren’t that great? WRONG. Howard is good and I expect them to bounce back, but OCC is also good and they do not want any of us to ever forget it! OCC had 10 different scorers and Percy Booth had a coming out party scoring 5 goals and adding 4 assists. OCC also got big time scoring from Gavin Kesserling as he went for 3 goals and 3 assists, and Phil Barrila had 4 goals and one helper. Jeremy Sforzo had two goals and an insane 6 assists for Howard. Frank Delia mad 18 saves for OCC before being relieved by Christian Hunt and Nick Martino. Zack Van Valkenburgh went 17 for 25 on draws for OCC as they announced they can dominate all over when needed. I’d tell you more about this, but Howard’s highlight video is really all you need to see! Killer work as always HCC video crew!

Nassau 10, Genesee 5 – This game was played at Hofstra, and while it started out as a defensive battle with both offenses having a hard time finding the back of the net, Nassau’s offense picked up in the second half and they earned a big early season win at home on Long Island. Both teams have big games coming up in the next couple weeks and Nassau hosting Essex certainly qualifies. The great NCC defense and goalies will need to continue to show up, create transition, and be the bedrock for this program.

Big Upcoming Games

Tuesday, March 19th
Essex vs Southern Maryland – Big game for Essex and SMC, but you’ve got to think Essex pulls out a solid win here.
ASA vs Finger Lakes – Can ASA pull together now that they’ve really formed up and show improvement against FLCC? For a returning program sometimes it’s just about laying the proper foundation day after day.

Wednesday, March 20th
Anne Arundel vs Ocean – Good chance for AACC to get a win against a good team, get back to the W column, and work out some kinks. Or Ocean can play spoiler and make a name for themselves in 2019!
Union vs Brookdale – Union looks to get a win here, and it’s needed.
Genesee vs Hudson Valley – HVCC fell out of the pollsters minds last week, a win, or even a tight game, in this one could change that.
Jefferson vs Tompkins Cortland – TC wants this win, and needs it to stay where they want to be. Jefferson will come in fired up.
Finger Lakes vs Army Prep – It’s not an official NJCAA game, but it’s an official game, so it’s here!
ASA vs Mercer – Back to back games for ASA and the second one is against high flying Mercer. A great test, but it should be a solid win for MCC.
Howard vs Potomac State – PSC has already made a statement in 2019, can they make an even bigger one and knock off a perennial power? It’s a big ask, but that’s why we play the games!

Thursday, March 21st
Suffolk vs Army Prep – Back to back games for Army Prep but I feel that won’t be an issue. This should be a fun game to watch and I have no idea what will happen. Not an official NJCAA game, but an official game, so this will be heated as pride is on the line.

Friday, March 22nd
Anne Arundel vs Navy Prep – They just keep coming, and I like it!
Howard vs Harford – In years past, Howard entered this game as the heavy favorite, but now Harford is in that spot, cruising it seems, and Howard just lost to OCC by 10. All this combines to make me think that this game will be an epic battle with huge hits and unreal goals, but gritty plays making all the difference. It’s going to be the little things, and it should be gosh darned glorious NJCAA men’s lacrosse!

Saturday, March 23rd
Anne Arundel vs Brookdale – I’ll go with AACC comfortably here.
Essex vs Nassau – Played at Hofstra, going to be good for sure!
Union vs Suffolk – I’m excited to see more of Suffolk. Still a bit of an enigma to me, but I’m ok with that. I like surprises.
Onondaga vs Genesee – I don’t know which game is the best of the weekend, but this has to be up there.
Finger Lakes vs Williamson Trade – I’ll take FLCC here.

Woof, that was a lot of action, and we’ll only see more as the regular season rolls on. There are TONS of webcasts this year. Go search for them for games you want to watch. Well worth it!

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Another week of NJCAA Men’s Lacrosse and we get another week of excellent games, big early season upsets, and plenty of movement in the polls! We haven’t seen anything like this in the Junior College ranks in… maybe forever? I’ve been officially covering the NJCAA for a number of years now, and I followed it pretty closely before that, and I can’t remember a single season where we saw this many upsets, or this much movement in the polls, and it’s never happened this early in the season.

If there is a year to get on the NJCAA train, 2019 just may be that year.

First Things First Though…

Before we get to our continued celebration of the 2019 NJCAA season, I want to bring up a fellow NJCAA lacrosse player, and his family, because they need YOUR help.

Robert Gilman is a sophomore defender for the Anne Arundel CC men’s lacrosse team, and according to news making the rounds on social media, on Friday evening Robert and his family were in their car, and hit head on by an impaired driver.

A GoFundMe has been set up to help the family, and I think it would mean a lot, not only financially but also for our community, if every NJCAA men’s lacrosse team out there could rally together to help Robert and his family with a donation, whether it be large or small. The important thing is helping out however we can and showing the Gilmans that people around the country and world care about them.

I hope we can all rally and help the Gilman Family in their time of need.

NJCAA Top 10 Poll – 3/11/2019

# – Team (Record) – Poll points – 1st place votes – last poll rank

1– Nassau (3-1) – 60 – 6 – 1st
2 – Harford (1-1) – 49 – 0 – 3rd
3 – Howard (2-0) – 47 – 0 – 4th
3 – Essex (2-0) – 47 – 0 – 6th
5 – Genesee (0-1) – 34 – 0 – 2nd
6 – Onondaga (1-2) – 33 – 0 – 5th
7 – Anne Arundel (1-2) – 22 – 0 – 7th
8 – Suffolk (0-0) – 19 – 0 – 8th
9 – Mercer (2-2) – 13 – 0 – 10th
10 – Monroe (0-1) – 3 – 0 – 9th
10 – Hudson Valley (2-1) – 3 – 0 – 10th

Nassau stayed at #1, Harford and Howard moved up a spot each as Genesee fell 3 spots, and Essex moved up 3 spots for their win over Genesee. Onondaga dropped another spot to 6th, while Anne Arundel and Suffolk stayed put for another week. Mercer jumped up to 9th place, which is their highest Top 10 ranking ever (this is their first year, but still a cool note), and Monroe dropped to 10th, tied with Hudson Valley, who is back in the Top 10 for another week. Lots of movement, some new faces, and we’re still only in early March. I get the feeling it only gets better from here.

Recent NJCAA Results/Recaps

While there were not any games played last week between Monday and Friday, Saturday saw a ton of big games, and some surprising results. It gave us movement in the polls, and plenty to digest as we look forward into the rest of March.

Essex 14, Genesee 7 – I was pumping Essex’s tires early on this year, and they validated my praise with a huge win on the road over #2 GCC. I got to watch this game thanks to Genesee’s excellent video feed (which was free! Love it!) and Essex came out hot, scoring the first two goals of the game. Genesee evened it up at 2, and then Essex went on a run and looked really good doing so. Their defense is fast and physical and very solid one-on-one. Genesee struggled to generate good team looks in their first game of the year, and transition play really allowed Essex to shine. It was 7-2 at the half, 13-4 after three quarters, and Essex very much looked for real from start to finish in this one.

Nassau 12, Onondaga 4 – The last time these two teams played, it was for the 2018 national championship. Onondaga won that one, but the Lions of Nassau validated their 2019 new #1 ranking last week with a dominant win over the Lazers this past weekend. Nassau controlled the pace of the game, dictated how it would be played, and proved they can really lock down on D and limit chances. The first quarter saw some jitters, and Nassau was up 3-2, but in the second quarter the Lions turned up the heat, scoring 3 goals to OCC’s zero, and heading in to the break with a 4 goal lead, at 6-2. Five different players scored goals for Nassau with Justin Roderka’s 3 goals (and 2 assists) leading the way. The Nassau goalies split time in cage, and the real star of the show had to be the Nassau defense. What’s even more amazing about this group is that most of them are FRESHMEN. Another year for this group is scary! But let’s stay focused on 2019, ok Connor? Sorry I’m talking to myself, but impressive defensive efforts do that to a former college long pole.

Anne Arundel 14, Mercer 12 – AACC won the first and third quarters by two goals each, and Mercer won the other two quarters by 1 goal each, and the result was a pretty evenly matched, back-and-forth, exciting game. Connor Mackrell, Ethan Gaeng, and Caden Cote each had a hat trick for Anne Arundel and Cote added 4 assists for 7 total points. Greg Connelly got the win in goal, even though he only played one quarter, making 6 big saves on 10 shots in the 4th. Chris Greenstein won 17 of 25 face offs for AACC. Mercer was led by Brady Moore (3 goals, 1 assist) and Jack Earley (3 goals), but the team struggled on face offs, and got too many penalties with too few saves, to pull off the upset.

Howard 28, Monroe 7 – I was curious to see if Monroe was ready to make the jump up into the Top 5 area of the poll this year, but if the Howard result says anything, MCC may be a year off. Howard scored the first 4 goals of the game, led 8-2 at the end of the first quarter, and tacked on a 9-0 second quarter to make this one 17-2 at the half, and in the books. Monroe did win 24 of 36 face offs in the game, and Reed Perestram going 10 for 12 was a nice compliment to Tucker Hill’s 14 for 24 effort. Howard was led by Colvin Prosser’s 11 point day on 9 goals and 2 assists. Joe Montesano went for 4 goals and 2 assists, Jeremy Sforzo went for 4 and 1, and Jack Watsic also had 5 points on 2 goals and 3 assists. Cruz Mayberry led the way for Monroe with 3 goals. You want to see how it all went down? Howard crushes it with highlight videos, so here you go!

Hudson Valley 6, Ocean 4 – I thought this could be a really game, and it was, but I’ll be honest that I did not think this would turn into a defensive battle like it did. Both teams got a number of penalties in this one, but Ocean really hurt themselves with over 6 minutes on 12 different penalties. While HVCC did not covert on a lot of their man up chances, it did prevent Ocean from playing offense, and in a game where goals are hard to come by, every extra O set helps the cause. Face offs were even at 7 wins apiece, and each team had one player score a hat trick as Darren Nagy led HV and Gavin Murphy led Ocean. Ocean was up 2-0, and 3-2 at the half, but adjustments led to a strong 4-1 second half for HVCC (Hudson Valley scored 4 straight as well), and the Vikings pulled out the come from behind win.

It should be noted, there is a strong smell of sarcasm and fun to the HVCC instagram account. Don’t take it too seriously, or do, and then plaster it all over your locker room! These guys are having a little fun, and I appreciate the effort. They called Mercer “decent”, and then told PSC they are “on the clock”. This is just a little classic ribbing, but not over the top. Good stuff. Sports are supposed to be fun after all, right?

Union 17, Delaware Tech 9 – Union went up 6-4 after one quarter, and it looked like this might be a tight game, but then UC went on a 7-1 run in the second quarter, putting the game out reach. The teams traded 3-1 quarters in the second half, and Union walked away with an 8 goal win. Joe Stulec notched 5 goals, Evan Vecchia added 4 goals to go with an assist, and Greg Scaturo had a 6 point day on 3 goals and 3 helpers. Michael Yasco won 15 of 26 face offs, and 3 goalies saw time for Union, combing to make 14 saves. Wuilber Romero made 4 of those saves in just six minutes of action.

Mercer 17, Hudson Valley 7 – Both of these teams entered last week tied at 10th in the Top 10 poll, so this was going to be a heated game no matter what. Add in that Mercer has lost to AACC 14-12 the day before and that HVCC had beaten Ocean 6-4 the day before, and this game would also test both teams’ depth and mental toughness. Back to back games are tough, but I kind of love that both of these programs chose to play two games in two days to get the game in. Respect! Now when it comes to who won the day on the field, it was Mercer, and it happened early and often.

Mercer went up 5-0 before Hudson Valley scored their first goal of the game, with under 2 minutes left in the first quarter. A 3-0 second quarter put the margin at 8-1, and Mercer was able to cruise a little bit in the second half to win by 10. Hudson Valley had six goal scorers on their 7 goals, which showed good depth, and Mercer had 8 goal scorers, led by Isaac Lieboff’s 5 goals. Brady Moore had 4 goals and added 4 assists for 8 points for Mercer and MCC won 18 of 26 draws on the day.

Big Upcoming Games

Monday, March 11th
Potomac State vs Finger Lakes – I’m thinking this could be a good game, especially for a Monday! Who can show up ready to roll? Big test for both squads looking to earn some wins.
Brookdale vs Delaware Tech – See the above statement, same hold trues really!

Wednesday, March 13th
Ocean vs Union – This game is always a grudge match, even though its history is not all that long! I like Ocean in this one, but Union can make a big statement with a win.
Tompkins Cortland vs Finger Lakes – I’ll take TC to win here, but there is the potential for an upset in this one. This is a great midweek game and very important for both teams as they look to move up in region.
Suffolk vs Morris – Suffolk is still a bit of an enigma right now, but we’ll start to learn more when they take on Morris, who is also a bit of an enigma. I’ll take Suffolk to win, as I think they may be on the right track this year.
Potomac State vs Hudson Valley – HV is pretty strong defensively, and PSC can put up goals, so this should be a really good battle as these teams match up strength to strength. If it’s high scoring PSC takes it, if it’s lower scoring, HV wins.
Brookdale vs Mercer – Mercer is slowly moving up the polls and I don’t see them slipping up here, but if Brookdale wants to make a statement, this is a great opportunity.
Genesee vs Monroe – GCC will be looking to be bounce back hard, and Monroe needs to do the exact same thing. GCC is still favored heavily, but when teams need wins, it can lead to great games, and anything can happen.

Saturday, March 16th
Ocean vs Finger Lakes – Without seeing this week’s earlier results for both teams it’s really hard to say what will happen here, but early indications are that this could be a tight one.
Brookdale vs Harford – Harford has really moved up the polls quickly, the program is showing all sorts of new life, and this is the kind of game where they can dominate.
Tompkins Cortland vs Monroe – We will see how the Monroe/GCC game goes, but no matter what happens, MCC is a top 10 team when this game gets played. If TC wants a big early win and to enter the polls, this is a game they have to win.
Mercer vs Delaware Tech – Mercer is cruising along nicely and this is a game they should win comfortably.
Jefferson vs ASA – ASA has had a couple of games postponed, but it looks like this could be the first time we see them, which is exciting. Should be a manageable game back in the NJCAA against Jefferson, but this year I am not really sure about anything (which is fun!) so I’ll leave the door open here for Jefferson.

Sunday, March 17th
Union vs Potomac State – Union is likely favored here, but not by much. This is a big “up/down” game in the middle tier where a big win can open people’s eyes to a new program.
Genesee vs Nassau – Nassau is going to be heavily favored in every game they play from here on out, but that sort of takes the pressure off other teams and it can let them play loose. If GCC just started slow (it happens sometimes), this could be a thriller. If Nassau is just as real as they look, maybe not.
Jefferson vs Suffolk – Back to back games for Jefferson and I’ll lean heavily towards Suffolk in this one.
Essex vs Brookdale – Essex has looked very real so far, and I don’t expect that to stop here. CCBC Essex is definitely back, and in a big way.
Howard vs Onondaga – Howard is the favorite here, and by a good margin. I feel insane just writing that, but based off of this year’s results it’s more than fair. OCC really needs a win here, Howard really, really wants a win here, and it should be pretty epic because how could it not be? Bummed you can’t watch it in person? Well… THERE IS A LIVESTREAM FOR THIS GAME! I yell when I get excited.

Here is the Howard vs Onondaga livestream link.

Obviously there are a ton of great games coming up, and we’re now entering the heart of the regular season where teams have practiced, played some games, and shaken off all the cobwebs. The big question moving forward is not who is good now, but who can GET BETTER over the next 4-5 weeks, and be in prime position to make a playoff run. Teams need to win games now to get there, so there is a balancing act to be done between wins and improvement at this point, but even the best teams right now won’t be the best teams in May if they don’t keep their noses to the grindstone.

As the weather warms, I’ll add in some additional articles and content pieces surrounding NJCAA men’s lacrosse that fall outside of the weekly Junior College Report. You keep playing and/or reading, and I’ll keep putting it out there.

Good luck to all the teams, and make sure you buckle down because the pace only quickens from here.

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Welcome to another exciting edition of the Junior College Report! We’ve got scores, great video highlights, previews for big upcoming games, and a NEW NUMBER ONE TEAM IN THE NJCAA, plus all kinds of movement in the polls! I’m screaming because we have not seen a team other than Onondaga in the #1 spot since 2017, so this is big news. Nassau is now occupying the top spot, looking tough, and NJCAA lacrosse has never been so exciting as a bunch of other teams move up and down the rankings.

In case you missed last time’s Junior College Report, read it here.

Let’s kick things off in the Junior College Report with a brand new Top 10.

NJCAA Top 10 Poll – 3/4/2019

# – Team (Record) – Poll points – 1st place votes – last poll rank

1– Nassau (2-0) – 60 – 6 – 2nd
2 – Genesee (0-0) – 51 – 0 – 3rd
3 – Harford (1-1) – 46 – 0 – 5th
4 – Howard (1-0) – 45 – 0 – 4th
5 – Onondaga (1-1) – 38 – 0 – 1st
6 – Essex (1-0) – 29 – 0 – 8th
7 – Anne Arundel (0-2) – 21 – 0 – 6th
8 – Suffolk (0-0) – 20 – 0 – 7th
9 – Monroe (0-0) – 12 – 0 – 9th
10 – Mercer (1-1) – 4 – 0 – 10th
10 – Hudson Valley (1-0) – 4 – 0 – Not Ranked

Not only did Nassau move up to No. 1, and Genesee moved up to No. 2, but Onondaga dropped from the top spot (which they occupied for all of 2018) to No. 5 and Harford jumped up two spots to #3. Essex also popped up two spots from No. 8 to No. 6. Anne Arundel lost two games and still moved up a spot, as those losses were to top level teams. Mercer held on to their Top 10 spot, but they were joined at No. 10 by previously unranked Hudson Valley. So it’s a Top 11 this week, which seems fair given everything that went on.

How did all this early season poll movement happen? Let’s get into it!

Recent NJCAA Results/Recaps

Harford 12, Onondaga 8 – I liked Harford coming in to the 2019 season, but even I did not expect this type of statement win, nor did I expect it this early on. Did anyone in the NJCAA? Anyways, with all that being said, I am obviously really impressed by this win for the Fighting Owls. OCC was up 2-1 after the 1st, and 5-3 at the half, But Harford won each of the quarters in the second half by 3 goals (4-1 and 5-2) and proved they can not only score, but also make adjustments and clamp down on D.

Chandler Schmidt led the way for the Owls as he scored 5 goals on 6 shots while adding an assist, and Harford got goals from six different players. Eli Doyle had three of them. Harford peppered the net with shots, and OCC’s Frank Delia made 19 saves, but Harford’s tough D and 12 goals were enough to earn a great win for the program.

Essex 29, Mercer 12 – Essex put in work this weekend and won this game in truly dominant fashion, and after 3 quarters it was 23-3. A tip of the hat to Mercer for never giving up and putting in a strong 4th quarter effort, winning that one 9-6, but the biggest tip goes to Essex, who straight up announced that they are back and for real on both sides of the ball. 9 different players scored for Essex, but 13 points on 7 goals and 6 assists from TJ Ross was just unreal. 6 goals and an assist from Kyle Guenther wasn’t too shabby either! I’m kidding, it was impressive! Travis Pereira made 7 saves while only giving up one goal during his stint in goal, and the Essex D is clearly motivated and tough.

Hudson Valley 19, Union 7 – Hudson Valley turned a tighter 4-2 game after one quarter into a convincing victory, especially in the third quarter, where they outscored Union 7-1. 6 different players scored for HV, with Austin Hinderliter’s 6 goals leading the way. Darren Nagy also had 4 goals, but the real pot stirrer for Hudson Valley may have been Nick Malatesta who scored 3 goals on 5 shots, while adding 4 assists. Trevor Ham made 10 big saves for the win in net and Kerry Blackwood was 19-for-29 on draws.

Potomac State 25, Southern Maryland 10 – A 6-5 opening quarter gave PSC a one goal lead, and they extended it to 7 at halftime, winning the second quarter 8-2. They followed that up with a strong 7-1 third quarter, proving they had found their game legs. Ben Blodgett notched 7 goals to go with 3 assists, and both Titus Thind and Nick Erhardt notched 5 goals apiece, with Earhardt adding 3 assists, and Thind assisting on one goal. PSC was also 4-for-5 on man up chances and close to perfect on clears.

Sussex Vs Tompkins Cortland – This game was postponed, to be made up later I believe.

Nassau 17 vs Anne Arundel 1 – Nassau was absolutely dominant in this game and the amazing thing is that even though they scored 17 goals, no Lions player scored more than 5 points, and only two players scored more than 4 points. Dan Rooney (4g, 1a) and Tanner Germain (1g, 3a) may have led the way, but NCC had 10 different goal scorers and 11 players registered at least one point. Obviously the defense also came to play this year as well, and Nassau was tough to beat on draws, or anywhere really. Are the old glory days of big bad Nassau back? It sure looks that way right now!

ALSO! This Nassau goal was just ridiculous on at least thirteen different levels. Even the hockey assist was behind the back. If you’re out on Long Island, maybe think about making a trip to see the Nassau team play? Probably worth your time!

Big Upcoming Games

Wednesday, March 6th
Sussex vs Union – Usually I’d say Union will win, but at this point I trust nothing and no one, anything can happen and Sussex might win the national championship. Ok, that last bit may be going too far, but until we see more from 2019 teams, making predictions that stick will be tough. I am excited to see what Sussex brings to the table, and how Union bounces back from a tough opening loss.
ASA vs Suffolk – Ok, this is a big one as it looks like new teams in 2019 can win big games, but Suffolk has also been a little under wraps and going through some changes, so WHO KNOWS? What I do know is that this is a big Region 15 game and it could be a thriller or a bloodbath. The end result will be great NJCAA lacrosse, and that’s enough for me.

Saturday, March 9th
Essex vs Genesee – We will see GCC step onto the field for a real game here, and we will see just how good Essex really might be. I’d expect nothing less than an absolutely awesome game here so if you’re in or around Batavia, NY on Saturday, try to check it out!
Nassau vs Onondaga – OCC has fallen in the polls, Nassau is the new #1, and these two teams have a history of battling to the bones in huge games. What more do you need? Syracuse vs Virginia has nothing on this one. Give me Nassau/Onondaga any day of the week.
Sussex vs Finger Lakes – Big test for both teams, and a chance for either one to make a statement.
Suffolk vs Brookdale – I’ll take Suffolk here comfortably, but my predictions clearly mean little to nothing at this point. I used to be so good at picking NJCAA games! What happened? Parity. Love it.
Mercer vs Anne Arundel – AACC needs a win, Mercer needs a big win over a ranked program, and this game should be superb entertainment.
Monroe vs Howard – Monroe can be a new Monroe with a win here. Howard can be the same old dominant Howard with a win here. The thing is, I’m not sure either one is coming easy. This will be a battle, where Howard still holds the edge… but it will be a battle. Count on it.

Sunday, March 10th
ASA vs Potomac State – PSC put up big numbers early on, does this continue as the face newly reformed ASA? Good chance for a nice statement win on either side of the ball.
Union vs Southern Maryland – Both of these teams will be pretty well tested at this point, but I’ll give Union a slight edge here.
Hudson Valley vs Mercer – With these two programs currently tied for 10th in the most recent NJCAA poll we can expect a lot of pride and emotion in this one. There are certainly higher ranked teams playing each other this upcoming weekend, but HV vs MCC may just be the game of the weekend.

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As the 2019 Gear Reviews roll on, we’ve got another set of products to check out from Maverik Lacrosse. This time we’re talking about their shafts, with a specific focus on the 2019 metal offerings that Maverik has on tap, and how the consistency of a great metal shaft is a truly wonderful thing.

For Maverik’s shafts in 2019, one thing was clear before I even picked one up — the look is super toned down and streamlined, and each and every Maverik shaft for 2019 is a sleek approach to lettering, logos, and branding. Giant graphics, bright colors, and over the top looks are nowhere to be found, and what we’re left with is a professional looking simplicity that I find really attractive. I got to check out the Union, Apollo, and Caliber shafts, and each of them is has a really clean and classy look.

Union Shaft from Maverik Lacrosse

The Union shaft is part of the traditional line of shaft shapes that Maverik offers, meaning the octagonal walls of the shaft are relatively flat and without any concave areas. It’s the most common and standard shaft wall design on the market, but the Union does stand out in a couple places and one of those that jumps out immediately is the bead blasted finish, which gives the shaft a great grippy feel, without the need for much tape, if any. Picking the shaft up, you feel an instant connection with the stick, and you know your hands will never slip.

The other impressive attributes of this shaft don’t jump out at you visually, but there is plenty of other good stuff going on. The material used (Scandium/Titanium alloy) is tough and strong, but the dynamic wall taper aspect of the stick is really cool and explains how the shaft is so light, and yet so strong. What is happening here is that when the shaft is extruded, certain portions of the shaft get more material and are thicker, while other parts get less and are thinner. This allows the areas of the shaft that take the biggest beating to also be the strongest areas, and when it comes to durability and strength for a light shaft, this is a big advantage.

This is a great shaft for midfielders or attackmen who play and ride physically. It will stand up to the rigors of playing defense and throwing hard checks, but when you switch to offense you can still rip rope, dangle, and show out on the other side of the ball. The Union brings it all together in one place, and it’s a great option for the do-it-all grinders and it comes in classic silver, black, and gunmetal options.

Apollo Shaft from Maverik Lacrosse

The Apollo is Maverik’s lightest shaft, and it’s REALLY light. My first concern was that the shaft wouldn’t last very long, simply because it is so light, but to my surprise it held up well. For an offensive player looking to get the lightest shaft they can, the Apollo is a great option.

The Apollo shaft is part of Maverik’s “Speed Shape” line, meaning the two wider walls of the shaft on either side bow inwards. This allows for less metal to be used, and creates a unique shape that scorers like Joey Sankey have come to love. The shaft comes in a smooth finish or a bead blasted finish, and that extra level of choice is nice. The Apollo, like the Union shaft, also incorporates the dynamic wall taper of the shaft through the metal extrusion process, and this keeps the Apollo super light, but reinforced just enough in the right places.

Scorers, shooters, magicians – this Scandium Titanium alloy wand is for you and it comes in classic gold, silver, black, and gunmetal colors. I like options!

Caliber Shaft from Maverik Lacrosse

The Caliber shaft is Maverik’s strongest shaft. They sent me this d-pole to check out and while I feel like I could definitely do some damage with it, I was also impressed at just how the light the full length pole turned out to be. My first test of a pole is to bend it, I just can’t help myself, and when I did this with the Caliber, it really did not flex very much at all. As a former college defenseman, this made me happy. When I throw a check, I want it to stick, and I need it to matter. A stiff shaft helps my cause! There was nothing worse than a wet noodle for a pole.

The signature shape of the shaft is also interesting, as each of the four corners bow inwards at a 90 degree angle. This produces strength in the shaft design, but I also really like the feel of the indented corners, particularly for a longstick. The finish is bead blasted but feels relatively smooth, and once again, the graphics are toned down and classic.

The Caliber comes in silver or black so whether you’re looking to keep it light and classic or all black, you’re good to go. This shaft can help you hand out a good defensive beating, but it won’t hold you back one bit when you’re clearing the ball or pushing transition.

Final Thoughts

While all three of the shafts I reviewed are very different, they each maintain a couple of very important aspects when it comes to quality. Each is designed for a different purpose, and different player, but all three are stiff, strong, and very light. Each shaft design is clean and simple, and each one takes a military grade metal and applies it seamlessly to lacrosse. Add on the ABE (adjustable butt end) that comes with each shaft and we are talking about a really high-level, complete product.

Whether you’re a scorer looking for the lightest shaft out there, a grinder who does it all who wants a shaft that can do the same, or a defender looking to make a big impression, Maverik has a metal shaft that will match up with your needs.

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