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Small College Scoop: Conference Collapse?
April 3, 2008
by Jac Coyne, Lacrosse Magazine Online Staff Anyone familiar with Division III women's lacrosse knows all about the New England Small College Athletic Conference. The teams in that conference have gobbled up as many as nine spots in the weekly polls and four berths in the NCAA tournament. Since NESCAC teams became eligible for the tourney in 1993, one of its teams has won six of the 15 national titles, and six different programs have qualified for the postseason. There were very few cogent arguments disputing the 10-team league was collectively the dominant conference in the nation. But is it still? The IWLCA rankings are still littered with NESCAC teams - eight this week, five more than any other conference - but is that really accurate? If actual results are any indicator, this spring shows a marked deterioration of the NESCAC's primacy. No. 6 Middlebury, the flag bearer of the NESCAC and winner of 72 straight conference games, has already lost twice to teams in the South: No. 5 Washington & Lee handled the Panthers relatively easily, 14-8, while No. 2 Gettysburg edged Middlebury in overtime, 19-17. No. 12 Trinity, the only other NESCAC squad to make the NCAAs last year, has lost to No. 11 Babson and No. 7 Hamilton. No. 10 Bowdoin, another annual contender for an NCAA bid, was nearly doubled up by No. 1 Salisbury. No. 15 Colby, No. 17 Wesleyan and Nos. 20 (tied) Tufts and Williams have proven they are not among the country's elite anymore. In fact, it would appear any acclaim for the latter three is more a matter of reputation than achievement. (Williams' inclusion in the Top 20 at 1-3 is bordering on negligence by the poll voters).
Even No. 9 Amherst, the lone undefeated team left in the NESCAC, has been less than dominant in its run. The Lord Jeffs were taken to overtime by conference foes Wesleyan and Connecticut College and had less than overwhelming wins against Claremont and Bates. To be fair, Amherst does have impressive road victories over Babson and Trinity.
While NESCAC teams have suffered early losses in the past, they have not come with such frequency or by such lopsided scores (like Williams' 16-7 loss to Union) as this spring. What's the reason? It could be a hangover of sorts from the NESCAC's annual late start - the conference doesn't start practice until a month after most NCAA teams, but this isn't a new development. It could be an anomaly, a one-year downturn within the conference, much like what Cortland (which fell out of the poll for the first time in years this week) is experiencing in the SUNYAC. Or, taking a more macro view, it could be that the NESCAC was the benefactor of being on the ground floor of the women's lacrosse boom. Now that more programs are getting their foundation in the sport they are siphoning off some of the talent once funneled into the NESCAC. This raises the real possibility that the NESCAC will no longer be seen as the ascendant league in Division III, but rather another good one in a level field. The NESCAC, once thought of as the overwhelming power in Division III, is third on my list of power conferences. The Centennial, anchored by the second- (Franklin & Marshall) and third-ranked (Gettysburg) teams and bolstered by No. 16 Dickinson, is clearly the top league. The Liberty League (No. 7 Hamilton, No. 8 Union and No. 13 William Smith) has the programs to take the second spot. And right behind the NESCAC is the Capital Athletic Conference, with No. 1 Salisbury, No. 14 Mary Washington and No. 18 St. Mary's. Being a NESCAC grad and having worked in the conference, I like to see it do well nationally in every sport. As much as I and others in the conference would like to believe in its supremacy, it is clearly no longer the case. At least for this year, anyway.
Building an Empire? The Pioneers have never managed to crack the upper echelon in the E8 and make the four-team conference playoffs. The closest they came was 2006, when they tied for fourth, but were edged out of the tourney by St. John Fisher. Under the direction of Mike Parnell, who is in his third year as head coach, however, Utica has made gains. The most recent example of this was the Pioneers' stunning upset of then-No. 9 Nazareth on March 26 - their first-ever victory over the Golden Flyers. "We came out with a lot of intensity and enthusiasm, and we were playing for each other," said Parnell, who still owns the school record for most goals (eight) in a game. "It was really the first time we played together in terms of teamwork. Everyone was on the same page." Having a cohesive team is the bedrock of Parnell's philosophy as he attempts to start, as he said, "climbing the ladder." "Play together as a team when things are good and when things are bad," said Parnell. "If we play together as a team, regardless of the outcome on the scoreboard, we can't lose. We play together and stick together." This motto was put to the test at the beginning of the season, as the Pioneers stumbled to an 0-5 start, which included losses to Geneseo and Stevens Tech. Keeping his team focused on the positives, Parnell managed to keep his troops on the right path. Using the offense of Michael Bulger (11g, 9a), Tanner Stewart (15g) and Dave Misiaszek (13g, 2a), along with the solid goalie play of junior Travis Wright, who was recently named the E8 Goalie of the Week, the Pioneers picked up their first win against Vassar on March 18. Utica won two of its next three contests. "After the Nazareth game, we were very excited about the win and talked about the next step," said Parnell. "When we play together as team, we play very well. We think we have a good team, and we're just learning how to compete with some of the powerhouse teams in Division III lacrosse." The Pioneers had some of their momentum stemmed Wednesday in a 16-6 loss to No. 6 and E8 rival Ithaca. Utica actually held a 3-2 lead over the Bombers after the first quarter, but could not keep up with Ithaca for the final three frames. The setback drops Utica (3-7, 1-2) to sixth in the conference, putting the Pioneers in a familiar place - likely, out of the conference playoffs. It would be nice to increase the number of teams in the E8 tourney, considering the wealth of quality teams in the league, but despite the realities for his team, Parnell is okay with the current set-up. "I think that's a good thing," he said. "It lets the top teams, the guys who are playing the best day-in and day-out, represent us in the Empire 8 tournament."
Slides & Rides - With the implosions going on in the NESCAC and ODAC, the Villa Julie men are looking pretty good for a Pool C bid right now (sorry, I don't see them beating Salisbury for the CAC crown quite yet). The Mustangs' schedule is tough enough, and they are winning the games they should. If they can finish 13-4, which would include loses to Salisbury in the regular season and presumably again in the CAC tourney, it would be tough to leave them out. - The New Haven women were 7-10 last year, losing five of their last six games of the season. The Chargers are a team renewed here in 2008. After their victory over then-No. 3 Stonehill last week and two victories since, the Chargers are now 7-1 and have cracked the Division II polls for the first time in school history. With just three seniors on the team this year, next year holds a lot of promise for No. 9 New Haven, but don't write it off as just a nice story quite yet. Assuming they can hold serve against non-ranked teams, the Chargers' could conceivably put themselves in the driver's seat for a postseason bid if they can defeat East Coast Conference foe Adelphi this weekend. - At the time, I was willing to chalk up Nazareth's loss to Utica as one of those fluky games. After being destroyed by Cortland on Wednesday, 21-5, it appears Naz's problems may be a bit more serious. The Golden Flyers had trouble clearing the ball (18-of-25), were dominated in faceoffs (11-of-29), and went 0-for-6 on the man-up. Granted, the Red Dragons are a beast, especially when player of the year candidate Ryan Heath goes for 10 points (5g, 5a), but Naz usually isn't 16 goals worse than anybody. - Remember in 1992-1995, when William Smith was in every Division III women's lacrosse national championship game, only to lose to the College of New Jersey (then Trenton State)? Well, it looks like the Herons are trying to relive the days of yore, as they have sprinted out to a 6-0 start and could be 11-0 before it meets its first test in Liberty League foe Hamilton on April 18. Look for Pat Genovese and William Smith, currently ranked No. 13, to crack the Top 10 by then. Have an idea for the Small College Scoop? Email Jac Coyne
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