May 6, 2007
The brackets come out later on this evening, but I'm taking a shot at both Division III brackets below before the official word. I was pretty close last year on the men's side, having all of the participants while missing a couple of match-ups. I'm not nearly as confident this year and I think there is a possibility of a big surprise.
On the women's side, I feel like I've got a pretty good grasp on things with one exception -- the fourth Pool B pick. I gave it to Claremont but I don't feel good about it. Picking the Athenas allowed me to make everything fit, but if another team earns the nod it would likely blow up many of the pairings. The late addition of Nazareth to the Pool C roll gave me pause, but I don't think the Golden Flyers schedule is strong enough. I wouldn't be stunned if they were included, though.
If you were wondering about Division II, I've taken a stab at that, although it is easier. You can book the women's side (both are below D-3), but the men's side is more complicated. One worthy team is going to be left out and they will likely be howling mad about it.
Alright, here it goes.
Men's Division III Projected First and Second Round Match-ups
May 9
Game 1: Mount Ida (13-3) at Endicott (14-2)
Game 2: Middlebury (10-6) at Ithaca (15-3)
Game 3: Denison (11-3) at Ohio Wesleyan (12-3)
Game 4: Geneseo (9-4) at Merchant Marine (13-3)
May 12
Game 1 winner at Nazareth (15-2)
Cortland (12-5) at St. Lawrence (13-1)
Keene State (15-0) at Wesleyan (16-2)
Game 2 winner at WNEC (16-0)
Game 3 winner at Salisbury (19-0)
Cabrini (15-2) at Lynchburg (13-4)
Widener (12-5) at Roanoke (14-4)
Game 4 winner at Gettysburg (13-2)
Women's Division III
May 9
Game 1: Eastern Conn. (13-5) at Montclair State (12-3)
Game 2: Endicott (13-5) at Colby (12-5)
Game 3: St. John Fisher (14-5) at Union (10-5)
Game 4: Western New England (14-5) at Trinity (11-4)
Game 5: Wooster (12-4) at Eastern (14-2)
Game 6: Claremont (15-1) at Colorado College (8-5)
Game 7: Christopher Newport (12-4) at Washington & Lee (14-3)
Game 8: Drew (15-3) at Mary Washington (14-6)
May 11 or 12
Game 1 winner at Middlebury (14-1)
Game 2 winner vs. Babson (15-2) at Middlebury
Game 3 winner vs. Cortland (14-3) at Hamilton
Game 4 winner at Hamilton (15-2)
Game 5 winner at Franklin & Marshall (17-0)
Game 6 winner vs. College of New Jersey (11-2) at F&M
Game 7 winner vs. Gettysburg (15-3) at Salisbury
Game 8 winner at Salisbury (18-1)
Men's Division II
Le Moyne (13-2) at Bryant (11-4)
Limestone (14-1) at Mercyhurst (12-1)
Women's Division II
Stonehill (17-1) vs. C.W. Post (15-0)
Lock Haven (16-3) vs. West Chester (18-1)
The Big Boys and Girls rule the front pages here - just the nature of the beast - but I'll be keeping a running tab of all the automatic qualifiers given out in D-3 and any new or notes out of D-2, as well. As things take complete shape on Sunday afternoon, I'll whip together my mock brackets for the tourney.
Men's Division III
Who's In So Far: Salisbury (CAC); Nazareth (Empire 8); Merchant Marine (Skyline), Keene State (Little East), Widener (MAC), Mount Ida (NAC), Cabrini (PAC), Western New England (Pilgrim), Geneseo (SUNYAC), Middlebury (NESCAC), St. Lawrence (Liberty), Roanoke (ODAC), Gettysburg (Centennial), Endicott (Commonwealth Coast).
What's Left
Centennial Conference - at Gettysburg
Semifinals (Friday): Gettysburg 12, Haverford 11; Wash. College 9, Dickinson 8
Finals (Sunday): Gettysburg 11, Washington Coll. 4
Commonwealth Coast Conference
Finals (Saturday): Endicott 17, Gordon 3
Liberty League
Semifinals (Friday): St. Lawrence 10, RPI 4; Skidmore 9, Clarkson 6
Finals (Sunday): St. Lawrence 16, Clarkson 3
Little East Conference
Finals (Saturday): Keene State 16, Eastern Conn. 6
Middle Atlantic States Collegiate Athletic Corporation
Finals (Saturday): Widener 9, Messiah 6
North Atlantic Conference
Finals (Saturday): Mount Ida 11, Castleton State 10 (ot).
New England Small College Athletic Conference - at Tufts
Semifinals (Saturday): Middlebury 8, Tufts 7; Wesleyan 8, Williams 0
Finals (Sunday): Middlebury 11, Wesleyan 6
Old Dominion Athletic Conference
Finals (Sunday): Roanoke 11, Lynchburg 9
Pennsylvania Athletic Conference
Finals (Saturday): Cabrini 16, Wesley 0
Pilgrim League
Finals (Saturday): Western New England 8, Springfield 6
State University of New York Athletic Conference
Finals (Saturday): Geneseo 15, Cortland 14
Who's Sweating
Wesleyan (16-2) -- The Cardinals aren't too worried because they're in, but they just ruined RIT's day. Ithaca (15-3) -- just a couple of beads, really. The Bombers look like a Pool C lock.
Cortland (12-5 -- Cortland has played the best schedule in the country, and it's important to remember they are 12-3 in region (12-5 overall) And they have a rout of Ithaca on the resume. I'll have to punch some numbers, but I'm not sure these guys can be left out.
RIT (12-3) -- Wesleyan knocked RIT out of the tourney last year in the second round. The Cardinals bounced RIT this year before the tourney started by losing in the NESCAC finals.
Tufts (12-4) -- Losing to Middlebury in the NESCAC semis is a killer for the Jumbos, as RIT now has the upper hand in head-to-head comparisons. Tufts needs Lynchburg to win the ODAC so the Jumbos' win over Roanoke will come into play.
Stevens Tech (13-4) -- The Ducks played a great schedule, but they may be squeezed out after losing the Merchant Marine in the Skyline finals. The win over Villa Julie is a nice rebound, but is not pertinent
Hampden-Sydney (12-3) -- Sydney has a nice record and a nice ranking (9th), but losing in the ODAC semifinals will probably prove costly.
Women's Division III
Who's In So Far: Franklin & Marshall (Centennial), Babson (NEWMAC), Washington & Lee (ODAC), Christopher Newport (USA South), Salisbury (CAC), Endicott (Commonwealth Coast), Hamilton (Liberty), Western New England (NEWLA), Eastern Conn. (Little East), Drew (MAC), Wooster (NCAC), Eastern (PAC), Cortland (SUNYAC), Middlebury (NESCAC), St. John Fisher (Empire 8).
What's Left
Capital Athletic Conference
Finals (Saturday): Salisbury 14, Mary Washington 11
Commonwealth Coast Conference
Finals (Saturday): Endicott 13, Gordon 12
Empire 8 -- at Nazareth
Semifinals (Saturday): St. John Fisher 14, Ithaca 12 (ot); Nazareth 20, RIT 3
Finals (Sunday): St. John Fisher 9, Nazareth 8 (ot)
Liberty League -- at Hamilton
Semifinals (Friday): Hamilton 19, Vassar 5; Union 13, William Smith 7
Finals (Saturday): Hamilton 10, Union 5
Little East Conference
Finals (Saturday): Eastern Conn. 10, Plymouth State 9
Middle Atlantic States Collegiate Athletic Corporation
Finals (Saturday): Drew 15, FDU-Florham 12
New England Small College Athletic Conference -- at Middlebury
Semifinals (Saturday): Middlebury 15, Williams 5; Colby 10, Amherst 8
Finals (Sunday): Middlebury 10, Colby 8
New England Women's Lacrosse Alliance
Finals (Saturday): Western New England 14, Worcester State 10
North Coast Athletic Conference -- at Ohio Wesleyan
Semifinals (Friday): OWU 16, Kenyon 7; Wooster 19, Denison 12
Finals (Saturday): Wooster 13, OWU 10
Pennsylvania Athletic Conference
Finals (Saturday): Eastern 12, Cabrini 11
State University of New York Athletic Conference -- at Cortland
Semifinals (Friday): Cortland 10, Oneonta 5; Brockport 11, Geneseo 10
Finals (Saturday): Cortland 12, Brockport 3
Who's Sweating
Gettysburg (15-3) -- This is a technicality. The Bullets are in.
Colby (12-5) -- The White Mules got off to a brutal start, but finished strong to get themselves into the tourney.
Trinity (11-4) -- There is a precedent for NESCAC teams getting bounced in the quarters and still making the tournament (Colby last year), but the Bantams are a toss-up right now. I don't think they can be left out.
Union (11-4) -- It's not how you start, it's how you finish and the Dutchwomen were good enough in my eyes. They deserve a bid
Nazareth (13-2) -- The Golden Flyers could not tame Fisher in the E8 title game and they are the bubble with a pretty weak schedule.
Amherst (9-7) -- The Lord Jeffs needed to get to the championship game, but fell to Colby. Gotta think they're a stretch now.
William Smith (10-6) -- The Liberty is bulky enough to get one at-large, but two is wishful thinking.
Dickinson (10-6) -- The Red Devils are a good club, but they have one too many losses. That early season setback to Messiah will prove costly.
Saturday's Men's Thoughts
* You always like to play your best in the important games and that's exactly what Geneseo did to win the SUNYAC over Cortland. Erich Dehm had only five goals this season for the Blue Knights, but his fifth will be one he remembers for a while -- he buried it with 2.3 ticks left to win it for Geneseo, 16-15. Congrats to Jim Lyons and his troops.
As for Cortland, I've written before about the admiration I have for the Red Dragons and the schedule they played. They could have taken their trophy and played softies, assuring themselves a return trip, but their non-conference sked is nonpareil. They are now 12-5, but 12-3 in the region with a massive win over Ithaca. We'll see how the QoWI shakes out, but it's tough to believe Cortland's numbers aren't outstanding. I'm not sure what the criteria mandate right now, but the Red Dragons must be in this tourney.
* It's nice to see that a "mid-major" can play some tough games during the regular season and see it pay off during crunch time. That's what happened with Widener. They were the No. 3 seed in their own tourney, but they leaned on the experience they gained from playing Salisbury, Roanoke and Cabrini out of conference and it resulted in a 9-6 win over Messiah in the MAC title game. Whoever draws the Pioneers in the tourney better make sure they get a good night of sleep because Jamie Lockard's kids always come to play.
* If a team wins a game by 20 goals, it is a message sent. If a team shuts out their opponent, you know they mean business. There was not one but two shutouts in conference tourney action on Saturday. In the NESCAC semifinals, Wesleyan blanked a Williams squad with wins over Tufts and Middlebury, 8-0. The zone defense is a bear, but a shutout means the Cardinals are ready to muscle away the NESCAC title. Cabrini's 16-0 win over Wesley is less impressive -- the Cavaliers beat the Wolverines, 11-1, during the regular season -- but the statement has been made nonetheless.
* WNEC's 8-6 win over Springfield was a great one for the program. In terms of the tournament it was inconsequential as the Golden Bears were in, but John Klepacki's team needed to establish there was a new sheriff in town after going undefeated in the regular season. If it had lost that game, WNEC would be reeling heading into the tourney.
* Middlebury has been playing like a cornered animal the last week and now Tufts has the claw marks to prove it. And the scars may be fatal for the Jumbos. Now, instead of Wesleyan having the motivation to avenge their only loss of the season against Tufts, they will face a Panther squad that will leave everything on Sunday's neutral field. I would love to be at the game tomorrow.
* If I'm a coach in the North, I'm not feeling overly confident if I see Keene State as my opponent. Same with Endicott. With the growth of the sport there are very few soft conferences left.
* After Denison's impressive, 11-1 win over Kenyon, Pool B is pretty much locked up with OWU and the Big Red heading to the dance.
Saturday's Women's Thoughts
* Colby's win over Amherst might be the nail in the coffin for the Lord Jeffs. Amherst is a solid team, but at 9-7 it's really tough seeing them get through. As a result, instead of the four bids it received last year, the NESCAC will likely get three -- Middlebury, Colby and Trinity.
* Gladly jumping into Amherst's spot in the tourney as an at-large is Union out of the Liberty. They lost to Hamilton in the conference finals, but the Dutchwomen deserve to go.
* So let's look at Pool C right now: Gettysburg's in, Colby and Trinity are in (assuming Middlebury wins tomorrow, which they will) and Union's in. One spot is left and I think it comes down to Dickinson and Mary Washington. I'm inclined to go with the latter.
* Congrats to Eastern and their goalie, Jenn Van Ness. After missing last year because of her commitment to her athletic training curriculum, Van Ness made 16 saves, including several clutch second-half stops, to give herself a chance to visit the Big Dance.
* There are four Pool B bids up for grabs in women's D-3, but three are accounted for -- College of New Jersey, Montclair State and Colorado College. Who's the fourth? Claremont is 15-0 (still waiting for a score on Saturday's score with CC) against a pretty weak schedule. Rowan is out at 7-9. Another possibility is Bridgewater (Mass.) State, which has played a solid schedule and is 8-6. This one is tough to call.
Contact Jac Coyne at jcoyne@uslacrosse.org.
