Virginia will win it all this year.

[Espositos Chops]

and Canadian frosh Garrett Billings will blow people's minds as the most explosive surprise since the Gates. I saw the kid play and he's as sick as they come. Those are my predictions. Bring it on. Im ready...I think! :) Ha!

[Eclipse]

Hmmmm. Lets not forget that Duke, the team who made it to the chip, only graduated one starter. They are basically the exact same team they were last year. I wouldnt count on anyone beating them.

[HdGLaxWarrior]

Yeah Eclipse is right. Duke will win it.

[robi]

I think Eclipse is right too but I'm still hoping the Cavaliers will win.

[Formerlaxdemon]

I absolutely hate UVa (Go Navy for DI LAX), but they really do have a powerful team coming up this year. I am going to watch the scrimmage UVa is having in February versus Navy and will have to see for myself what they are capable of this season. Duke and John's Hopkins are my two contenders for the crown though, although I would love to see Richie Meade get a championship.

[Hooligan]

Hmmmm. Lets not forget that Duke, the team who made it to the chip, only graduated one starter. They are basically the exact same team they were last year. I wouldnt count on anyone beating them.
Duke should be great. Lets not forget about another Canadian star in the making that plays for them: Zach Greer. Man, I can't wait til he makes it to the NLL...

[goalieskcickay]

I'm seeing a Navy Final Four appearance, they have Dingman back, obviously Russel will be a difference maker, Steve and Billy Looney, heck, they have William Wallace! :grin:

[ColtsLax]

Its gona be duke, they have everyone back, and i love they way they play, im sure that they have a legit challenge in UVa, but i still think Duke is the team.
Duke, UVa, Hop, Cuse in the final four, BTW

[dram183]

virginias gonna be pretty solid this year. duke on the other hand, not sure. they still have all their starters true, but they lost a first team all american goalie who made a lot of big saves for them. If they can keep the ball on the offensive side more, then theyll be fine.

for duke, im expecting a lot of closer games with a lot of goals scored on both sides.

[Lax101]

Duke doesn't have Fenton back, let's not forget. Fenton was quietly their most valuable player. He was won the award for the best goalie in the NCAA, and was lights-out during the tournament. Yes, Duke has a lot of firepower, but a goalie is always needed to win a championship. Cuse has Pfeiffer for years. UVA had Tillman. Princeton had Tierney, etc. Hopkins had Schwartzman (tournament MVP last year). Who does Duke have? Traditonally, teams need a strong goalie to win it all.

Also, Esposito Chips-you sure you don't have a UVA bias? First the Matt Ward outcry, now this? UVA just lost Christmas and Yevoli.

[Espositos Chops]

oh yea and Duke's gonna be the biggest dissapointment of the year. They will always fall short as long as coach K is still at the healm of their basketball program...by the way, I think the greatest thing I ever witnessed (I went to Carolina fyi, so please understand the hatred runs deep :)) - anyway I think the greatest moment in sports I ever witnessed was when carolina played duke at duke and rasheed and stack were frosh - it was hilarious - at the opening tip-off, Sheed goes up to all the Dookies - smilin and shakin their hands and says to each of them in an off-hand way "just so you all know, as long as Stack and I are at Carolina we will never lose in Cameron." And they never did! Ha!

[WHEELAX2]

um... Duke has Loftus who made a good impression in a few games last year... Goalie is one of the most attended to positions in lacrosse.. it's like recruiting quarterbacks.. you know when your starter is going to leave (graduation/nfl), so you are always prepared with whomever you recruit..

Duke will have no problem in goal this year I assure you..

[Espositos Chops]

Christmas couldn't hit water if he jumped out of a boat...Yevoli, yea...what the hell really went down with that. Just weird - is he a basket case or was Starsia that much of a tool?

[laxkid891]

yeah im with duke all the way, greer, danowski, zash, flannery, mcdevitt, im all for duke :agree:

[RockfordAttack9]

I agree, Duke has everthing, the Players, the Coaches and the talent to win it all this year.

[GBaschski]

Clearly Duke is the favorite this year...and thats why I'll be pulling for UVA. Underdogs for the win.

[shiftylax]

I think duke is a favourite this year. Hop lost a lot, but even though Petro is over the hump with his championship, don't expect him to lighten up.

Darkhorse pick? How about Navy? Young Talent, Meade at the helm, a great goalie, one of the best midfields in lacrosse...

Actually, they're hardly a darkhorse.

MD and UVA are solid, too. Should be a great year for NCAA lax.

[laxkid891]

which ncaa games come on espn during the season, i know final 4, semi-finals and championship but do any other games come on espn or any other channel?

[Trilax03]

which ncaa games come on espn during the season, i know final 4, semi-finals and championship but do any other games come on espn or any other channel?
cstv puts on some games during the season...it's not a cable channel tho :-/

[laxkid891]

yeah i got cable...dont like it...only get to see the MLL season and 4 ncaa games.

[tomahawks11]

duke virginia, and syracuse will all make it close this year i think.... i hope dartmouth wins it though but they really dont have a chance

[Lax101]

Dartmouth? I'll be pleased if they crack the top 15.

Final Four Picks: JHU (Schwartzman, Rabil, et al), Cuse (retooled and angry), Navy (Russell, Middies, Dingman), UMD (Walters, Alford, McGlone)

Dark Horse: Princeton. They had a VERY strong recruiting class this year, they played like a real Bill Tierney team in the 2nd half of the season, and Bill Tierney will not let his team have two mediocre seasons.

[Eclipse]

oh yea and Duke's gonna be the biggest dissapointment of the year. They will always fall short as long as coach K is still at the healm of their basketball program...by the way, I think the greatest thing I ever witnessed (I went to Carolina fyi, so please understand the hatred runs deep :)) - anyway I think the greatest moment in sports I ever witnessed was when carolina played duke at duke and rasheed and stack were frosh - it was hilarious - at the opening tip-off, Sheed goes up to all the Dookies - smilin and shakin their hands and says to each of them in an off-hand way "just so you all know, as long as Stack and I are at Carolina we will never lose in Cameron." And they never did! Ha!


Im gonna say having coach K be at the helm of the basketball program has nothing to do with them falling short as a lacrosse team. At all.

[Espositos Chops]

maryland consistently folds faster than my grandmother doing the laundry after drinking 5 red bulls....Princeton will be lucky to make the tournament - two more years and they will be great. But in the end I agree with Tomahawks11, Dartmouth wont just destroy every team in its path this year...I think this is the year that Dartmouth goes down as the greatest team in history. ;)

[truste1]

I am going to watch the scrimmage UVa is having in February versus Navy and will have to see for myself what they are capable of this season.


Where are they playing?

[Formerlaxdemon]

Where are they playing?


at UVa, February 4th, at 1pm unless something happens to disturb the schedule. Where exactly on the campus I don't know yet. I need to call UVa and the Navy Lacrosse friends etc. to find that part out.

[cbhslacrossemid]

I know fall ball makes absolutly no difference but for kicks lets look at how Navy faired this fall. I attended the fall face-off classic in St.Louis and Navy played Notre Dame and got absolutly killed 11-3. Navy struggled in transition and Russell couldn't make some of the easiest shots. Then Navy played UVa in fall ball and again it wasn't nearly a game, Navy lost something like 18-9. Not too impressive. I try not to be bias, heck I'm a huge Navy fan and hope they pull it out, but for the time being it doesn't look too good.
I predict the final four to be Duke, UVa, UMD, and Georgetown (yes, I'm serious).

[laxpro]

i think that 'cuse could be the team to be
perritt and hardy and leveille

[cbhslacrossemid]

'Cuse is not going to be as good as people say, freshman middies don't make much of a difference. (unless you name is Paul Rabil). I expect them to have a year like Princeton did. Everyone thought they were gonna do awesome but they had a 5-7 season.

[truste1]

at UVa, February 4th, at 1pm unless something happens to disturb the schedule. Where exactly on the campus I don't know yet. I need to call UVa and the Navy Lacrosse friends etc. to find that part out.


Let me know the details when you get them please. I saw the Virginia/Navy scrimmage when they played at the Virginia Beach Sportsplex and that was pretty great.

[philly_bloont]

Princeton had to cope with losing Boyle last year and did not have anyone who could come close to replacing his dodging and feeding skills. Boyle created scoring chances, drew the opposing teams top pole, and stepped up when it counted. Doneger was supposed to fill some of the void, but he's just a finisher so Princeton got left in the dust.

Cuse adds Yevoli- who's great at creating opportunities- to Leville, Crocket, Rommel, and Bucktooth. They lost Pheipher and Park, but Panarelli is one of the top poles in the nation and their other poles aren't bad either. Cuse may struggle early on, as this team has not played together all that much and replacing a goalie like Pheipher and a GB hog like Park is never easy, but by the end of the year the offense and team should be among the best.

Maryland has not had outstanding recent success, but with Alford in goal, Walters running the offense, and multiple starters returning in key roles, I like them to advance to the final 4 as well.

[nemesis562]

Duke doesn't have Fenton back, let's not forget. Fenton was quietly their most valuable player. He was won the award for the best goalie in the NCAA, and was lights-out during the tournament. Yes, Duke has a lot of firepower, but a goalie is always needed to win a championship. Cuse has Pfeiffer for years. UVA had Tillman. Princeton had Tierney, etc. Hopkins had Schwartzman (tournament MVP last year). Who does Duke have? Traditonally, teams need a strong goalie to win it all.



aaron fenton was in my top 3 for favorite goalies last year , but i have to say that he didnt even have the starting spot at the start of the season. he got it last year, and had to RE-earn it this season. its tough to loose someone like that, but duke has some great goalies coming up and i am posative that they will be able to fill the gap. he wont be missed that much , but i would like to say again that i really liked him as a player.

think about this : Tillman Johnson leaves virginia , and obviously people thought that bud petit was gonna get the job( at least i did) but kip turner took it, who wasnt talked up that much and had a great season. i predict this to happen to whoever steps in for duke. just my 3 cents.

[CoUgArLAX18]

I think Syracuse has a pretty solid team but so does Duke and VA. This is gonna be an intersting NCAA Lax season

[_lax4life_]

Christmas couldn't hit water if he jumped out of a boat...Yevoli, yea...what the hell really went down with that. Just weird - is he a basket case or was Starsia that much of a tool?

lol. Just wanted to point out that John Madden says that in Madden 06.

[Espositos Chops]

ya know who seems like the absolute greatest guy - totally humble, etc...is Roy Simmons-he was joking about how even during their rivalry, the Gaits and Petro were totally friends and tight. You'd never know...

[Formerlaxdemon]

Let me know the details when you get them please. I saw the Virginia/Navy scrimmage when they played at the Virginia Beach Sportsplex and that was pretty great.


As soon as I find out I will let you know then.

[ttacka]

Dukes gunna win it. If they dont, it will be the biggest disapointment in lax history.
final four-duke, uva, umd, syracuse

but im gunna root for princeton and notre dame. :)

[DukeLax2]

uva is strong but besides ricky smith their d isnt great

[ekajsk8er]

Duke's probably going to do it, but I gotta support my boys in orange. Leveille is going to have an amazing season. Bucktooth and Crocket were very, very, very dissappointing last year. Hopefully, they will do much better. I can't wait to watch them this year.

The final four will look something like this Duke, UMD, Virginia, and either 'Cuse or JHU, hopefully SU.

Dartmouth? I'll be pleased if they crack the top 15.

Final Four Picks: JHU (Schwartzman, Rabil, et al), Cuse (retooled and angry), Navy (Russell, Middies, Dingman), UMD (Walters, Alford, McGlone)

Dark Horse: Princeton. They had a VERY strong recruiting class this year, they played like a real Bill Tierney team in the 2nd half of the season, and Bill Tierney will not let his team have two mediocre seasons.

No Duke? Thats pretty ballsy.

[ekajsk8er]

Mods, delete please.

[i live 4 lax]

oh yea and Duke's gonna be the biggest dissapointment of the year. They will always fall short as long as coach K is still at the healm of their basketball program...by the way, I think the greatest thing I ever witnessed (I went to Carolina fyi, so please understand the hatred runs deep :)) - anyway I think the greatest moment in sports I ever witnessed was when carolina played duke at duke and rasheed and stack were frosh - it was hilarious - at the opening tip-off, Sheed goes up to all the Dookies - smilin and shakin their hands and says to each of them in an off-hand way "just so you all know, as long as Stack and I are at Carolina we will never lose in Cameron." And they never did! Ha!
whoa whoa whoa. this is my state AND team ur talking about buddy. duke is gunna blow uva way outta the water. and basketball and lacrosse have nothing in common. sounds like uve just been beatin in this argument. oh and.. HOW BOUT THEM BLUE DEVILS?!?!

[Formerlaxdemon]

As Eclipse and others have stated, Duke really has alot of things going for themselves this coming season. I don't even like Duke, but I prefer them over UVa any day of the week. As for my prediction of the Final Four for NCAA Div. I Lacrosse,

Duke
John's Hopkins
Maryland
Navy

The Cavaliers, such a misnomer, may make it to the Sweet Sixteen, but I do not foresee them going to the Final Four unless they just run the clock against every team as soon as they gain an advantage like they did against Navy last year

[wannalaxnow]

I thought Bucktooth and Crocket had a pretty good season last year...

[James]

a one man team never wins. I know va is a great team but you make it sound like he is going to win it by himself

[Mad-Max]

and Canadian frosh Garrett Billings will blow people's minds as the most explosive surprise since the Gates. I saw the kid play and he's as sick as they come. Those are my predictions. Bring it on. Im ready...I think! :) Ha!


Right off you have no idea what your talking about, its Gait, not Gate.

[marflax33]

Duke should be great. Lets not forget about another Canadian star in the making that plays for them: Zach Greer. Man, I can't wait til he makes it to the NLL...
Duke shall never fall. Hopkins got lucky, The mighty blue devils shall prevail.

[RyanMcD29]

How bout Cornell for a dark horse? They've started to make some noise in the polls and they've done well against Princeton and Syracuse as of late.

[Eclipse]

I bet you were picked on as a little kid weren't you?

Likely not considering his profile says he was born in '92. As far as im concerned he still is a kid. And he still owned you.

[cbhslacrossemid]

I'm telling you guys I saw Navy play 3 months ago and it looked like they didn't know how to play. (Attackmen were dodging north-south but would never go to the goal.) Dingman has been out of the game for awhile, so we'll see about him. I love Navy but I don't think they'll get to Philly.

[i live 4 lax]

i cant wait for ncaa to start its gunna be a GREAT season.

[Cornell79]

Since we're making picks for the final 4 I'll toss in mine:
1) Maryland - outstanding seniors, Alford steps up
2) Duke - very good but won't sneak up on anybody this year
3) UVA - lots of talent but often seem to be less than the sum of the parts
4) Syracuse - may stumble around early but could create havoc by Tournament time

[quakerlaxattack]

Hmmmm. Lets not forget that Duke, the team who made it to the chip, only graduated one starter. They are basically the exact same team they were last year. I wouldnt count on anyone beating them.

And not to mention that they are the only team that has 3 preseason all-americans in every position (except goalie). Replacing Fenton will be there only issue, and even that can't hold them back. Their depth and talent is going to make them unstoppable.

[quakerlaxattack]

Hopkins was a better team, but they graduated two incredible defenders (Watson and Garvey). And offensive players like Kyle Harrison and Rewkowski, and now that the only team capable of beating duke has graduated key players, Duke will be unstoppable.

[quakerlaxattack]

and Canadian frosh Garrett Billings will blow people's minds as the most explosive surprise since the Gates. I saw the kid play and he's as sick as they come. Those are my predictions. Bring it on. Im ready...I think! :) Ha!

Box players are always questioned about how they will adapt, but don't forget UVA also has the number one pick in Danny Glading who has already proven himself as an incredible midfielder/attackmen. He will definately make a big splash at UVA.

[TearOWrist]

Have you heard of UVA's new freshman: Matt Kelly. Huge, fast, sick lax player great athlete. Will put Duke to shame.

[vcu_lax20]

i think eclipse is right. duke is hands down going to be NASTY this year. but you can expect a lot from uva and syracuse. they have some nice recruits coming in and lots of depth.

[merrychristmas]

Billings will not get major PT at UVA because he is lost away from the crease. UVA could win it all. Duke will not win the title....they lost twice to a Hopkins team in the finals that had 6 of its 9 offensive players (attack and middies) injured and Duke couldn't win the game. They didn't score a goal for 30 minutes? Dowd is a nice first middie but he is a complimentary player. Zash does a lot and is very good but not outstanding at anything. Lamade doesn't do well against top LSMs. Grier is not going to do as well as last year. Petro undressed him twice. Danowski is the best in the game and Flannery is outstanding. W/o Fenton they will not be any better because he keyed the transition and might they be worse. Duke can be beaten by at least 5 teams on any given day. They will have another gawdy record and probably be the 1 seed but they won't win.

[bloodilax977]

Duke wins it all. No doubt in my mind.

[Espositos Chops]

carolina will beat duke this year

[i live 4 lax]

carolina will beat duke this year
:lol: JOKE!! carolinas gunna get WIPED

HOW BOUT THEM BLUE DEVILS BOYYYYYY

[DukeLax2]

have u heard of danny gladding???? will dominate this year, much bigger for uva then rabil was for hpkins

[BearLaxAlum]

Darkhorse is UMASS[U] and Morris win Teewarton.

[raykessler]

as much as i would love hopkins to win again, im gonna have to say duke is gonna win it, it was close last season, and that was a matchup of duke's amazing offense against hopkins amazing defense, hopkins lost some of its defense, and duke has almost all its offense back

[Levin]

I'm going to be hopin and prayin for Navy this year.

[Formerlaxdemon]

I'm going to be hopin and prayin for Navy this year.


Definitely. I really hope they win this year.

[badland]

UVA has Giannone and Gladding. I saw them play fall ball, these two will dominate D-1 defenses for the next four years. After seeing the new recruiting class, I really think Virginia will take the title at least twice in the next four years.

[merrychristmas]

UVa got some stud recruits but you have to also account for who they lose this year and next...speaking of classes have you seen JHU's class for next year??? I wouldn't be handing out titles too fast...Syracuse has those three fresshmen and they will be there for the next 4 years...going to be a lot of competition for those titles.

[merrychristmas]

I woudn't book those titles too quickly. Syracuse has 3 freshman that are great not two and they have some pretty fair lax players too. Have you looked at Hopkins' class for next year? One of the best I have seen on paper for any year. Not even talking about Duke, Cornell, GT...titles are harder to win now.

[quakerlaxattack]

virginias gonna be pretty solid this year. duke on the other hand, not sure. they still have all their starters true, but they lost a first team all american goalie who made a lot of big saves for them. If they can keep the ball on the offensive side more, then theyll be fine.

for duke, im expecting a lot of closer games with a lot of goals scored on both sides.

Aside from Fenton LSM/D Nick O'Hara along with Casey Carrol and Tony McDevitt are enough to anchor any defense.

[quakerlaxattack]

Darkhorse is UMASS[U] and Morris win Teewarton.
I think teewaarton goes to Walters

[vikinglax3522]

i hope its ganna be syracuse takin it all but a smart bet would probably be duke because zash is most likely ganna win over 60% of his faceoffs so i think they will do pretty good. syracuse though is ganna be very tough because theve got some talent with greg rommel and brian crockett both returning plus dan hardy to carry on the 22 leagacy

[mb5]

Billings will not get major PT at UVA because he is lost away from the crease.

I can assure you that this is not true.

[EphLax26]

The final four is going to be Duke, Hopkins, Georgtown, and Virginia.

[mtownlax]

let us not forget about UMASS, they have two players in the pre-season first team all americans, sean morris and jack reid

[UNCdefense]

:idea: i wish i could edit the title of this thread & put JK at the end :nahya: :agree:
haha, being serious they might make it i dunno, 3 of my final four prediction is maryland, syracuse & duke.....3 options for hte 4th spot are UNC( :worship: that'd be awesome) VA or JH

[camthraxFHK]

Isnt Ian Dingman like 26 now haha? Thats gotta be awkward on campus.

My final 4 picks: Duke, Hopkins, Virginia and Syracuse. No surprises

Tewaaraton goes to Walters. You can't deny him that. Made Team USA for a reason.

[Formerlaxdemon]

Let me know the details when you get them please. I saw the Virginia/Navy scrimmage when they played at the Virginia Beach Sportsplex and that was pretty great.


Okay I spoke with Mr. Russell about the scrimmage. It will begin at 9am at the outside turf field near the basketball arena. The weather looks like it will be great in the 50s.

[wilsontopowell]

i hope its ganna be syracuse takin it all but a smart bet would probably be duke because zash is most likely ganna win over 60% of his faceoffs so i think they will do pretty good. syracuse though is ganna be very tough because theve got some talent with greg rommel and brian crockett both returning plus dan hardy to carry on the 22 leagacy

its gonna be interesting to see how hardy does

[iTaylor_686]

[QUOTE=quakerlaxattack]Box players are always questioned about how they will adapt, but don't forget UVA also has the number one pick in Danny Glading who has already proven himself as an incredible midfielder/attackmen. He will definately make a big splash at UVA.[/QUO


Ya Box players are usually questioned but like when ever Us (Canadian's) COme down to play feild as in like little kids even they often play teams a year older and still destroy most of them... We aso play feild in the spring :bye:

[merrychristmas]

Against UVA maybe....but they beat Duke twice...once in the big one when Duke forgot how to play the game...bad passes...bad shots.....inept offense....the same thing they showed against MD when they lost to them earlier in the season....Duke wasn't much better against the top teams than anyone else and they came up empty in their two biggest games of the season....they deserved second place....they weren't good enough to win the title

[i live 4 lax]

im going to say this until im blue..... DUKE WILL WIN!

[CBBB0206]

I agree with
Duke
Maryland
Hopkins
Virginia

No way Navy, 'Cuse, or Princeton make it to the final 4. And Maryland and Duke will play for the Championship with Duke winning it all. Most of my friends went to Carolina between '00 and '04, and I hate Duke, but I think the returning talent is undeniable. And I didn't think Fenton was that good either, and apparently neither did any team in the MLL as he was picked up in the expansion draft out of the MLL player pool (undrafted last year) in Round 13 (final round) by San Francisco. So I don't think the heart and quiet MVP of Duke last year was Aaron Fenton. But thats just what I think.

[pipes man]

I don’t know I went to the UVA lax camp over the summer and they seemed pretty fired up about the loss to Hopkins and I would not be surprised to see them win it all.

[Espositos Chops]

i heard jj reddick's gonna walk on to play attack

[holyschnikes101]

Have you heard of UVA's new freshman: Matt Kelly. Huge, fast, sick lax player great athlete. Will put Duke to shame.


hey....thats the brother of my league founder. or something like that, some relation. anyone ever heard of a guy named Ryan Kelly? ^^ so true.
since it seems we are doing final 4 picks, in gonna say Duke, UVA 'Cuse, and Navy. Duke only graduated Fenton, so they are good, uva has got a powerhouse of new talent, cuse is just gonna be cuse, and then im totally hoping for navy, my dad was in it.

[tomahawks11]

i certainly hope they dont win it all this year.... GO DARTMOUTH

[Monzo]

Maryland, Duke, and Virginia are all going to be tough.
Go Cavs

[laxgod1790]

What are everybodys predictions of Syracuse nest year. I hear they picked up some sick freshman.

[laxn]

What are everybodys predictions of Syracuse nest year. I hear they picked up some sick freshman.
start a thread on it ^