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MLAX 2022 Schedule

With the changes that the CAA is going through it looks like the SoCon lacrosse league is in trouble. CAA expected to add Hampton, which would most likely push them to the CAA for all sports. That leaves the SoCon lacrosse with only 5 teams. You get an extra year or two to get at least another 6th member.

But really, we should be looking to get into another conference, a better, higher standing league. We need it for recruiting, et al. We play a great schedule, but we're not going to get the multiple top 100 kids without a good affiliation. I think it would help keep our coach longer as well...
 
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Yeah I mused about this yesterday in the Monmouth/Hampton/Stony Brook realignment thread over on the football board. I don’t see very many good options of either finding a new lax home or for the SoCon to get back to six.

I suspect our best chance for a quality spot to land is either the Big East or Big Ten takes us as an affiliate. CAA and Patriot are big enough that they don’t have much need for an affiliate, while ACC doesn’t seem possible. ASUN is a mess geographically, and everybody else is NE-centric, though a couple of them do dip as far south as Maryland.

There are also four other SoCon schools in the same predicament if we can’t find a way to hold the conference together.
 
What impetus would SJU have for leaving the NEC? Don’t see a reason to kick them out, and they don’t gain anything by moving to a SoCon on life support.
 
B10 would be the best option. We aren't getting an ACC invite but B10 could be a possibility should they want to expand. May be time for A10 to look into sponsoring it. We have 4 Lax playing members. Need to have what 6 teams to get an auto bid? Add a couple of affiliates. Not ideal but at least stable.
 
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia was voted No. 1 in the 2022 ACC men’s lacrosse preseason poll, while Connor Shellenberger, Cade Saustad and Petey LaSalla were named Preseason All-ACC selections, the conference office announced Tuesday (Feb. 1) following a vote of the ACC’s five head coaches.

Coming off back-to-back national championships in 2019 and 2021, the Cavaliers were also voted No. 1 in the nation according to the USILA, Inside Lacrosse and USA Lacrosse Magazine top-20 polls.

Shellenberger (First Team), LaSalla (Second Team) and Saustad (Honorable Mention) were also named Preseason All-Americans according to Inside Lacrosse. In 2021, Shellenberger and LaSalla garnered postseason all-conference honors.

Virginia opens its 2022 regular season on Saturday (Feb. 5) when it hosts Air Force at Klöckner Stadium at 1 p.m.


2022 ACC Preseason Coaches Poll

  1. Virginia, 23
  2. Duke, 17
  3. Notre Dame, 16
  4. North Carolina, 12
  5. Syracuse, 7
2022 Preseason All-ACC Team

Attack
Chris Gray, Gr., North Carolina
Pat Kavanagh, Jr., Notre Dame
Connor Shellenberger, R-So., Virginia

Midfield
Brendan Curry, Sr., Syracuse
Tucker Dordevic, R-Jr., Syracuse
Nakeie Montgomery, Gr., Duke

Defense
Kenny Brower, Jr., Duke
Arden Cohen, Gr., Notre Dame
Cade Saustad, R-Jr., Virginia

Goalie: Liam Entenmann, Jr., Notre Dame

Face-off: Petey LaSalla, Sr., Virginia

Long-stick midfielder: Tyler Carpenter, Jr., Duke

Long-stick midfielder: Brett Kennedy, R-Sr., Syracuse

Short-stick midfielder: Conner Maher, Sr., North Carolina

Short-stick midfielder: Ryan Hallenbeck, Gr., Notre Dame
 

Richmond​

The Spiders were the team I was able to see least and, as I tweeted prior to the beginning of the event, I arrived most interested in how the team adjusted to graduating the program’s all-time leading scorer in Ryan Lanchbury, as well as last year’s third- and fourth-leading scorers in Ryan Dunn and Luke Frankeny.
Well, Dan Chemotti’s program has been one of the most consistent over the last decade; they’ve won 10, 11 or 12 games and lost 4, 5, 6 or 7 games in six of the program’s nine years of existence, which includes going 4-3 in 2020. Seems prudent to expect a similar output in 2023 (though moving from the SoCon to the Atlantic 10 represents an unknown) and if that happens, senior Dalton Young will have the keys to the offense.
At 6-0, 195 lbs., he looked comfortable in the role. Chemotti says that Young’s opportunity now is to increase his voice — said another way, become a more vocal leader. That’ll be especially important assuming freshman Aidan O’Neil steps in as a starter at attack. He has the frame at 6-0, 200 lbs., and I was impressed by how willing he was to carry into double-teams, absorb contact and pass out of them. His tendency to over-carry wasn’t a surprise and, at this point, I’d probably prefer a freshman who shade that way to one who was more timid or apprehensive
It seems they’re likely to be complimented by junior Lance Madonna, a middie who can play down low, a righty who is two-handed and whose mid-range stroke really stood out vs. Lehigh.
During the stretch I watched, it seemed like sophomore Henry Alpaugh, junior Will Tazewell and freshman Joe Sheridan were running on the first midfield, and Young, Madonna, Alpaugh and Tazewell were on EMO with junior attackman Luke Grayum and sophomore attackman Max Merklinger.
Similarly, the Spiders return starters at the specialty positions in sophomore face-off specialist and redshirt sophomore goalie Zach Vigue. Defensively, there were also familiar faces in redshirt sophomore Braden McClure, redshirt junior Jack Fabean and grad student Jake Saunders. Among other longpoles, I was impressed by freshman Hunter Smith.
 
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