2015 Pride Mens Lacrosse

[LaxPhan]

Couldn't care less what the previous coach did or didn't do. I just don't think it's as easy as it sounds adding SOS to the HU schedule. I am not saying top D1 teams are afraid of HU, what I am saying is if an ACC team has a choice, given they all have great SOS to begin with, why would they pick an out of conference game against a team that has a tendency to rise to the occasion? Plus, there may be travel issues and the terms an ACC team may present to ST just may not be worthwhile. For example, in a 2 year commit, maybe HU has to travel for both games. Going down to North Carolina or Virginia to play might be an issue given the team may need to charter a jet. I am the first to admit, if it were up to me, looking from the outside in, I would welcome one more high profile opponent to the HU schedule. I would like to play Maryland, Virginia, Loyola for example.

[Jojogunne]

The ACC teams -- which now include Syracuse and ND in addition to Duke, UNC and UVA (MD is in the Big 10 now) -- play each other twice and in the ACC playoffs. They don't want to add any games they might lose.

JHU (Big 10 affiliate starting in 2015) and Loyola (Patriot) make a point of playing other MD teams.

We continue to play strong Ivies every year (Princeton, Cornell, Harvard, Penn -- pick two), as well as competitive programs like Georgetown and Ohio State.

In 2016 Stony Brook should be back on our schedule. I wouldn't mind adding Albany and Bryant, two up-and-coming programs, or a team like Lehigh.

Even with an 18-team NCAA playoff bracket (there were two play-in games for the four weakest AQs last year), the CAA is a one-bid conference until the bracket expands to 24. Would that be good for the sport? I think so, but purists probably disagree.

[joeg1]

Haven't we gotten at large bids in the caa era? I think we get extra consideration based on our pedigree - otherwise it is a one bid lax league

[LaxPhan]

Great points all JoJo. Cornell, Princeton, Ohio State are solid teams. CAA perennials like Drexel, UMASS, Towson, UDel, while up and down at times, are also tough opponents. There is also the other side of it is if ST devised too ambitious a schedule for the team.

To Joeg, unfortunately the CAA can't rely on an At large. The ACC gets all its team in, the Ivy's usually grab 2, the new Big 10 will get 2 if not 3. Hofstra had an argument for one last year, but fell short in the committee's eyes due to one or two stinkers (Marquette, SJU). Ancient history now.

This team should play angry, and hungry given how things played out. I see them doing very well and must start strong.

[Polito]

fair point, can't expect (and don't need) to play top 10 team every week - HOWEVER that's no excuse for a weak OOC - yes, the CAA is fairly strong so that helps - but get some top programs on the calendar, and get some top home games - been done before, can and should be done again

LaxPhan, you prob have some better insight and knowledge than I, so if you think we're lucky to have ST I'm somewhat inclined to be on board with that, to a certain extent - I will say though to counter, that I feel I could say the same to him - to me, he's lucky to be the HC of a traditionally strong/ranked D1 program with great facilities, tremendous internal support, a hungry local fanbase, in the hotbed of the sport



look, he's here to RESULTS - agreed, off the field positive is important and should be commended - but the program needs to win and be a regular in the NCAA, not a surprise to make it - this is no start-up, this is a program with HISTORY

bottom line is this: it's YEAR 4 - NO excuses, PRODUCE - it's NCAA or BUST. Looking forward to a big year that, as you said, is a team that plays hungry and angry.

[Polito]

2015 schedule has been released - thoughts???

I have mine, both positive and negative, but curious to the feelings of those more 'in the know' first...

[Jojogunne]

I like having two home scrimmages and seven home games to watch.

It will be tough to play our most competitive OOC opponents on the road and also tough to end the season with three away games. Glad to play Drexel and UMass at home.

Let me know what games you plan to attend, Polito, and we'll meet up.

[Polito]

Agreed, scrimmages look strong, esp like seeing 'Cuse as one

Although I'd like more balance, I do get the use for local teams on the sched - just seems like a lot considering they add absolutely ZERO help to SOS (and forget it if they drop to any of them) - granted I also understand not every opponent can be a UVA

Speaking of, not one ACC team on the regular season sched? Would like to see that resolved next time.

And that brings me to the fact that once this stupid series is done, Marquette should NEVER be on again unless they somehow become a top 10 program - if HU wants to play a western team, then play Denver for goodness sake - at least play a team that's legit and won't hurt your program


Biggest Like:
I think it's a slightly better schedule than last yr as far as opponents/strength

Biggest Dislike:
What is up with road games? Totally for playing tough games away, but almost every major/tough/marquee matchup is on the road?? Not cool


So all in all, IMO, it's improved over last year, I just don't want the program to have to choose between having a worthy SOS or marquee home games - should really be able to accomplish BOTH, as has been done successfully before.

[stuball888]

Polito how often has Seth played his uncle. I dont think Denver will happen anytime soon. How about getting Notre Dame back on the schedule.

[HofstraHockey]

Georgetown and Ohio State are return games. Not sure why they're going to Princeton again though. And hopefully a trip to Cornell means they come to LI next year.

[Jojogunne]

Polito how often has Seth played his uncle. I dont think Denver will happen anytime soon. How about getting Notre Dame back on the schedule.

They played each other every year when Bill Tierney coached Princeton. Denver is a different story. Very costly for either team to travel to the other.

[HofstraHockey]

If you're going to South Bend, you might as well go to Denver.

[Polito]

I don't think it's a travel issue, at least that's not what I'm speaking to - this is really more about scheduling proper opponents

there is NO reason whatsoever to add travel/costs to play a start up program from Wisconsin - IF you are going to travel that distance, you do it for a program like ND or Denver - that's my point

HU plays plenty of local/bus-distance schools every yr, they can afford the minimal major travel each yr - there are few worthy lax programs outside of the northeast/mid-atlantic - so again, my point is, when you do it, make sure it's WORTH its

quite frankly, they got what they deserve, the staff went weak and added a whack OOC team to an already weak sched, and they got burned with a BRUTAL loss to a no-name in lax

I hope it's lesson learned - they should never play again unless MU turns into some perennial power 10 team.

I guess my overall point, and my very strong desire for this year, is for HU to realize THEY were and can/SHOULD still be a Top 10-15 program, and they should start acting like it again.

[Dutchman57]

I see that former HU great, Jay Card, has joined the staff of NJIT's first year program. Good luck, Jay.

<hhttp://www.njithighlanders.com/coaches.aspx?ro ... &path=mlax>

Dutchman

[LaxPhan]

Polito: I believe HU will be a top 15 team this season. I also see them taking the CAA. No surprise there, I am very biased. I admit it. But seriously, here's my reasoning:

Strong core of top notch senior's in key skill positions: Goalie - Selva, LSM - Reilly, Midfield - Malave, SSDM- Reicherter, Romano.
Solid options to add depth to midfield, Begley Aldermann.
All American attackman Llinares with some nice looking new faces like Cavanaugh, Kopecky replacing Varn, Yapor.
Top tier FOGO, Clarke, now a seasoned sophomore who appears to be taking to the new rules well.
Strong anchor defenseman, Finn Sullivan and great defensive coaches.
Drexel graduated a ton of senior offensive talent, that should help HU.

I don't expect HU will start in the Inside Lacrosse or coaches polls top 15, that's fine. No argument the MU loss in last season's opener was brutal. The team paid dearly for it. I suspect they won't repeat that mistake this year. I would guess that HU signed a 2 year deal with MU in which both games are at Shuart.

It's probably not as easy as it seems to make major enhancements to the schedule. Travel is an issue, I can see budget for one away game that requires a flight, this year its Ohio State, a strong opponent. Cornell and Princeton are solid opponents for sure, so to are many of the CAA teams, if not all this coming year. Ideally a Maryland or UVA would have been in the 2015 spot that Providence or Marist or Manhattan have taken. Just didn't work out. HU is going to have to win the CAA to get into the big dance anyway.

[Polito]

LaxPhan, I'll take a top 15 ranking and CAA champ all day baby!

I like your reasoning, and appreciate the better insight - mine is purely as a fan that never played

From your mouth to Gods ears!

[LaxPhan]

Polito: I don't think I am looking at this through rosy glasses. The talent is there, now the team needs to execute and finish. They need to avoid losses like the one to Marquette last year...and I think they will. My hunch is the core group of talented seniors isn't going to allow that type of lapse. I also think they will beat Princeton and instead of starting off 0-2, the Pride will be 2-0. Again, the seniors need to set the tone. Last year the Pride let Princeton claw their way back in the second half. I admit, Princeton had Tom Schreiber and other very talented players but the Pride had the game in their grasp. For the team to be successful this year they need to put away the teams they are clearly better than and also show some toughness beating better teams like Ohio State, Princeton, Cornell and the tougher CAA opponents especially a rebuilt Towson squad. Steely determination!!!

[BringBackFootball]

Polito: I don't think I am looking at this through rosy glasses. The talent is there, now the team needs to execute and finish. They need to avoid losses like the one to Marquette last year...and I think they will. My hunch is the core group of talented seniors isn't going to allow that type of lapse. I also think they will beat Princeton and instead of starting off 0-2, the Pride will be 2-0. Again, the seniors need to set the tone. Last year the Pride let Princeton claw their way back in the second half. I admit, Princeton had Tom Schreiber and other very talented players but the Pride had the game in their grasp. For the team to be successful this year they need to put away the teams they are clearly better than and also show some toughness beating better teams like Ohio State, Princeton, Cornell and the tougher CAA opponents especially a rebuilt Towson squad. Steely determination!!!

Wish I was as optimistic as you. I'll even stay away from the elephant in the room (The Head Coach) as I am not a fan and do not believe in him at all. I'll keep it to player personnel.

Selva showed flashes, but has been inconsistent. Wish he played every game like he played against Cornell. He needs to step up his game in a BIG way for goaltending to be considered anywhere close to a 'strength' for Hofstra.

Selva even had the advantage of playing behind a strong defense. I was looking forward to two more years of Satterthwaite and Finn Sullivan together. Unfortunately, Hofstra's only impressive Freshman (Satterthwaite) has transferred. Wonder why, since it certainly wasn't about playing time as he was leaned on heavily for a freshman. So now not only do they need to replace Caputo but also Satterthwaite. In front of an already shaky goalie. I was not blown away by Schilling last season. In any case I'm feeling pretty uneasy about the D/G situation only really having faith in Sullivan at this point.

The Rope unit (Rielly, Reicherter, Romano) is as good as it gets. Hopefully they stay healthy this year. All are seniors and boy is the program going to have a job ahead of itself trying to replace these guys after this season but I look forward to watching these guys do battle 16-20 more times. Question is, where is the depth, if there is an injury who can step in like Zappone did so well last year?

No depth at Midfield is a major concern, after Hendrickson and Malave there seems to be a lot of question marks and players who failed to produce in their opportunities. I don't have much faith in Von Bargen and Altmann didn't look like anything to get excited about.

At Attack Llinares is a phenom. The team has a great QB but who is the big body/big shot that can rip 30+ goals and take a beating like Torin Varn? The team is going to miss his presence down low and miss that shot. Yapor was an excellent third option but can probably be replaced easier than Varn given his style of play. Again, to me Brier Davis didn't look like anything to get excited about, and to say Begley was a disappointment would be a colossal understatement.

I'm seeing a lot of talent.... but not much depth and a lot of question marks and holes.

EDIT: Satterthwaite was not the 'only' impressive freshamn.... Clarke did a great job at FOGO, that's a clear strength for the team.

[Polito]

well I love any team with experience/seniors - that alone should be solid advantage, and the fact that they have talent is another big plus

I would agree that depth is a concern, and mainly to me that's a question around recruiting - I have real concerns about the quality of recruiting in recent and current yrs - and IMO there's no excuse for HU not to land top talent - I'm talking top 100-150 type guys - should have them in every class

there's only 60 D1 lax schools, and really only about half are relevant - I know the number of players is somewhat limited and everyone has off yrs, but lax talent as a sport is growing all over the country so there's no reason for any significant gaps in talent

if basketball can do do it competing against 351 other teams, then certainly HU lax (a higher tier program in their sport) should be able to do so with dare I say a level of ease

[LaxPhan]

I am a fan and supporter of ST. I think he gets a bit of an unfair rap. The facilities, academic and alumni support are top notch and would not be what they are without him. The team stays out of trouble and the headlines and represents the university very well. HU has kids of character that by and large are excellent representatives of the school. I get the frustration around performance, I think ST takes too much of the blame for that. My observation is that the team is always a critical few plays, a game or two away from the prize and often times its poor play, not coaching that does the Pride in. Players, especially senior ones need to lead and execute at crunch time.

I don't want to get into the names, or criticize specific players, but Satterhwaite left on his own for a supposed 'more rigorous academic institution'. Perhaps he used HU as a prep school to make the jump into the Ivy's. That's his choice, so be it, good luck, but don't lay it on the coach. Since the Pride aren't in the ACC, every game counts to a selection on an At Large basis. Case in point 2014. Outside of Llinares' stellar play, the attack had several chances to put away Princeton last year with point blank shots but missed. They also set a moving pick that took the winning goal away from the Pride against Drexel. Don't lay this on the coaches. Again, it's execution at crunch time, 4 and 5 year starters shouldn't make these mistakes.

Regarding depth - tell me how many teams have it to the degree desired? I think the HU second midfield line will be good. I think we will see the attack fill in too.

Regarding Selva, come on, he's top notch. If there is a fault its that you can't win in D1 with a PPG under 10. That's an area that needs improvement and I think we will see it.

Regarding recruiting, again, sounds easier than it really is. Until some other issues change, all out of ST's control, it will be tough to recruit all the high profile names. But don't be fooled by inside lacrosse recruit rankings etc. There are numerous examples of top tier recruits flaming out. The jump from high school to D1 is huge, most don't make it. I would argue ST has done a good job getting top talent. Selva, Sullivan, Reilly, Romano, Malave, Hendricksen, Reciherter would be starters any where else and were under appreciated during the recruiting process. Llinares and Clarke were top recruits in their positions that selected HU. Clarke was the top FOGO in his class. Llinares was the player of the year for Suffolk County as a senior. HU is not going to get a ton of prep school stars, that audience has its eyes set on the Ivy's. Many other top tier players want the ACC. My feeling is HU is doing what it can to be an attractive draw, namely improving the academics (new medical school), the overall college experience with investments in facilities, the Bball team etc.