2012 College Lacrosse Thread

[89Hen]

Wear them down. The Hens play them on Tuesday.

[Seawolf97]

StonyBrook dropped it's season opener this afternoon to Fairfield. Final fairfield 13 SBU 10. Next week the Seawolves travel south to take on Virginia.

[danefan]

Albany opens up at he Dome against Syracuse tomorrow. Homecoming for the Thompson family. Shoulb be interesting

[bluehenbillk]

Ugly one for UD on Saturday - losing 13-8 to #13/#16 Loyola. UD was up early & Loyola owned the 2nd & 3rd quarters.

Hens play tonight on ESPNU against top-3 ranked Hopkins.

[andy7171]

Ugly one for UD on Saturday - losing 13-8 to #13/#16 Loyola. UD was up early & Loyola owned the 2nd & 3rd quarters.

Hens play tonight on ESPNU against top-3 ranked Hopkins.

Don't sleep on the greyhounds.


JHU v. DU on now.

Insult intended. But I'm rooting for you.

[clenz]

Hopkins starting to take control over UD...just scored their 5th goal in a row as I type this message.


UM dropped their first two varsity games.

[Seawolf97]

Not looking forward to this Saturday when we take on Vitginia. 0-1 StonyBrook might be in for trouble. Biggest weakness this year is no face off guy - we only made 27 % against Fairfield last Saturday.

[93henfan]

Hens got back within one of Hopkins 7-6, but give up the empty-netter late to lose 8-6.

Close but no cigarfuckhopkins.

[bluehenbillk]

Not into moral victories but that's as well as we've played against Hopkins in a while. Mt. St. Mary's at the Tub on Saturday.

[Ivytalk]

Not into moral victories but that's as well as we've played against Hopkins in a while. Mt. St. Mary's at the Tub on Saturday.

How the hell did UD lose to those guys today?

[Seawolf97]

StonyBrook lost at # 1 Virginia this afternoon 12-5. The Seawolves are 0-2 so far and play Marist next Saturday at home.

[bluehenbillk]

Ugh. UD loses 12-10 at home to Mount St Mary's - bad loss. Win the CAA or bust.

[andy7171]

Towon got shelled at Loyola this weekend. Looks like yet another rebuilding season.

[clenz]

At least you could beat Michigan....

I knew it would be a jump...didn't think it would be that much of a jump.

[andy7171]

At least you could beat Michigan....

I knew it would be a jump...didn't think it would be that much of a jump.

Are any other schools in the Big Ten going to start a lacrosse program? Ohio State Michigan and Penn State. One more and it's your own Big 10 league.

[clenz]

At least you could beat Michigan....

I knew it would be a jump...didn't think it would be that much of a jump.

Are any other schools in the Big Ten going to start a lacrosse program? Ohio State Michigan and Penn State. One more and it's your own Big 10 league.

I don't see it happening any time soon, but I'm not too "up to speed" with what other B10 schools are thinking


Here is a great article from when it was announced UM was moving up to "big boy LAX" as it get's called.


http://www.greatlaxstate.com/2011/big-ten-lacrosse-2" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

With Michigan’s promotion to a varsity lacrosse program, there has been a lot of talk about the Big Ten forming a lacrosse conference. Of course, this is going to be a lot farther into the distant hypothetical future than my idea for a rebirth of the GWLL.

As the hockey talk has taught us (funny enough, I composed this post long before the Big Ten Hockey Conference had been announced), the Big Ten requires six Big Ten squads in order to sanction conference play in any given sport. Conveniently, that’s also the required number of teams for a conference to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. (There’s been lots of talk about “well the ACC doesn’t need an autobid,” but the Big Ten can start showing that level of hubris once they have enough cachet the get at-large bids for every team in their league).

Michigan makes it three Big Ten squads playing Big Boy lacrosse. As you math majors may note, three is less than six. This means we need to come up with three more teams. First, let’s familiarize ourselves with the world of club lacrosse, and what varsity conferences look like.

...

Every Big Ten school outside of Northwestern (which only has a recreational-level club team) fields a lacrosse team that competes on the MCLA level.

...


Division 1 lacrosse conferences have a wide variety of looks, with the ACC containing only four teams (though not carrying an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament), and several teams tied for the largest at seven. Should the ECAC expansion happen as expected, the ECAC would become the largest conference at 10 teams. The Big Ten would absolutely need to have at least 6 teams, both for an automatic bid and to comply with Big Ten bylaws.

Would this Hypothetical Big Ten Lacrosse Conference be competitive? Penn State and Ohio State are both middle-of-the-pack or slightly better Division 1 teams at this time, and I remain convinced that Michigan will be immediately competitive (perhaps not tournament-caliber, but not VMI either).

The remaining teams would make or break the strength of the league. In that respect, it’s all about timing. Would a Big Ten Conference be formed before some new additions to Division-1 have a chance to get their footing? Waiting until there are six established programs to form the league would be to everyone’s benefit. Regardless of which teams end up in the conference, all of their programs would probably be enhanced by additional exposure (hellllllooooooooo Big Ten Network), and the name cachet that the league naturally brings.

....


Michigan State

Current Team: MCLA. Back-to-back MCLA Tournament bids.

Why?: The Spartans played Division-1 lacrosse until the mid-90s, when Title IX compliance forced them to drop some men’s sports. Without their top rival playing in the MCLA, the Spartans’s interest in re-promoting the program could ramp up. This is also one of the few Big Ten schools, under the leadership of Dwayne Hicks, that I could see promoting a club program, rather than starting from scratch.

Northwestern

Current Team: NCLL.

Why?: The Wildcats are the only Big Ten school without an MCLA team. While this may seem like a negative, it actually means that they wouldn’t have to discontinue the club program when they start a varsity team (per MCLA rules). Also, the Wildcats are one of the few Big Ten schools sponsoring women’s lacrosse, so the transition to men’s would be logical. Also, NU has an academic profile that is very appealing to the lacrosse demographic.

Wisconsin

Current Team: MCLA

Why?: Though the Badgers aren’t one of the most successful teams in the MCLA, geography works to their advantage. They have a natural rival built-in with Marquette, and Notre Dame isn’t a long trip from Madison either. A couple nearby Division-1 teams, in addition to the Big Ten squads, could help push the Badgers toward forming a varsity team.

Minnesota

Current Team: MCLA

Why?: Similar to Michigan State’s relationship with Michigan, the Badgers stepping it up could convince the Golden Gophers to take the next step as well. A Minnesota varsity team would likely be contingent on Wisconsin taking the plunge first. There is some good talent in the twin cities for the Gophers to have a homegrown talent base.

Illinois, Indiana, Purdue

Current Teams: MCLA, GRLC

Why?: These teams are further down the totem pole in terms of likelihood. None of these schools have hockey, and I’d guess that they’re more likely to add that sport first, as a Big Ten Hockey Conference already exists. They are also traditionally-mediocre MCLA squads, so they don’t have the “break through the ceiling” motivation that a team like Michigan did. Still, lacrosse is a much cheaper sport to add than hockey (oh hey, building an ice rink), so these are a possibility, though much further down the road.

Iowa, Nebraska

Current Teams: MCLA, GRLC 1-AA

Why?: These teams strike me as the least likely to make the promotion. Like the schools in the tier above, they don’t have hockey yet (even though Iowa is weirdly a recruiting hotbed for puckheads). They also compete in a lesser tier of the MCLA, the 1-AA distinction of the Great Rivers Lacrosse Conference. They’re a long way from even thinking about making the jump.




....


I’ve laid out what the conference would need in order to exist (six Big Ten schools playing lacrosse), and who is the most likely to fill the remaining required slots. If I had to guess, it will be a little while before any more Big Ten schools add the game. Michigan State, Northwestern, and Wisconsin seem to be the schools most-poised for making a jump.

Should my GWLL-rises-from-the-ashes scenario arise, it could ease the transition for some of these teams, as would continued growth of the game in the West (USC, anybody?). Michigan has been considered the first domino to fall in a new wave of westward expansion, but the second domino likely won’t come from the Big Ten. Of course, Big Ten Network money could be the first factor in changing all of that…














I left some stuff out of the link, so if you want to read the full article click the link. If it was a more recent link I wouldn't have posted as much as I did, but at this point a few clicks from the 8 people on this thread isn't going to help click/money wise...

[bluehenbillk]

Not sure how good Cuse will be this year - saw they squeaked by Army with a one-goal win. Penn State upset Notre Dame 4-3. Maybe it's just me but a 4-3 lax game is just boring - need more goals. UMass looks good too - beat Ohio St up pretty well this week, UMass & PSU look to be early CAA powers this season.

Anyone know why there is no shot clock in NCAA lacrosse? I think it'd make the game better.

[GannonFan]

Not sure how good Cuse will be this year - saw they squeaked by Army with a one-goal win. Penn State upset Notre Dame 4-3. Maybe it's just me but a 4-3 lax game is just boring - need more goals. UMass looks good too - beat Ohio St up pretty well this week, UMass & PSU look to be early CAA powers this season.

Anyone know why there is no shot clock in NCAA lacrosse? I think it'd make the game better.

I agree with the shot clock idea - a lot of these games are actually just flat out boring to watch. The indoor game is so much better from a viewing perspective.

[Seawolf97]

StonyBrook dropped it's 3 straight game today losing to Marist. Final Marist 10 StonyBrook 9.

[93henfan]

Hens b-slap #8 Villanova.

[bluehenbillk]

UD fell behind formerly #8 ranked Villianova 6-0 and came back to win 13-9, shoving it down the Main Liners throats!!

UD now ranked #18 in the coaches poll.

How bout Lehigh knocking off UNC? Told ya I don't think as much about the ACC this season.

UMass up to #5 & Penn State still the ugliest lax team in the land - a 5-2 winner over OSU this weekend.

UVA beat a down Cuse team 14-10 yesterday on TV.

[andy7171]

Towson downed #18 Mount St. Marys, 10-8

Love the new white helmet!

[Seawolf97]

StonyBrook topped Delaware today 7-6 ! That is StonyBrooks first win of the season and makes them 1-3. The Seawolves will be home to face St Johns this Wednesday.

[danefan]

We suck. We lost to a MAAC team today.

Our coach has some of the best recruits in the country but can't win anymore.

[clenz]

Michigan is starting to look competitive these days...and finally picked up their first varsity win - even if it was against what I assume is a hapless Mercer program.