Welcome to a special JuCo Report where we cover the week’s action, polls, video, etc, AND share a really cool story about NJCAA Lacrosse Expansion. In 2017, the NJCAA men’s lacrosse will expand to… Indiana!
Sorry for missing last week. I got busy, things slipped, and the JuCo Report was one of the victims. MY APOLOGIES TO ALL! Seriously, I hate to let the NJCAA lacrosse crew down. So to make up for it, I put together a killer JuCo Report for this week. Enjoy!
Ok, back to the stories…
That’s right, thanks to a tip from Brian Welch (he left a comment on the last JuCo Report), I learned that Ancilla College in Indiana, will be adding NJCAA men’s lacrosse for 2017. This is exciting news! I’ll cover it more below, but first, let’s take a look at the most recent NJCAA Men’s Lacrosse Top 10 Poll.
NJCAA Top 10 – April 25th, 2016
1) Nassau (60) 12-0 – Last week’s #1
2) Onondaga (54) 10-1 – Last week’s #2
2) Essex (48) 13-2 – Last week’s #3
4) Genesee (41) 11-3 – Last week’s #4
5) Howard (37) 10-3 – Last week’s #5
6) Union County (30) 15-2 – Last week’s #6
7) Harford (20) 7-6 – Last week’s #7
8) Anne Arundel (18) 8-6 – Last week’s #8
9) Suffolk (9) 8-5 – Last week’s #9
10) Ocean County (8) 11-3 – Last week’s #10
Also receiving votes: Monroe 10-4 (5)
There was ZERO movement this week, and zero last week. In fact, almost every team garnered the same amount of points the past three weeks. “The Order of Things” seems to be set in stone right now, but we all know anything can happen in 2016.
Almost all of the regular season games have been played now, and that means it’s Region Tournament time! I’ll preview each region below, but first check out a GROW THE GAME story from the NJCAA! This is exciting news.
NJCAA Lacrosse Expansion – Ancilla College
Ancilla Domini College is a two year, liberal arts, Catholic junior college located in Donaldson, Indiana. The school was established in 1937, and the literal Latin translation of the school’s name is “Handmaid of the Lord”. Originally, the school was more limited in scope, but it has grown and expanded pretty consistently since the 1960s, and now offers a range of liberal arts courses, and degrees.
Ancilla is a full member of the NJCAA, and a part of Region 12, along with other CCs in Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio.
Other Region 12 schools include: Alpena Community College, Delta College, Glen Oaks Community College, Grand Rapids Community College, Henry Ford Community College, Jackson College, Kalamazoo Valley Community College, Kellogg Community College, Kirtland Community College, Lake Michigan College, Lansing Community College, Macomb Community College, Mott Community College, Muskegon Community College, Oakland Community College, Schoolcraft Community College, St. Clair Community College, and Wayne County Community College.
Since none of these schools offer varsity lacrosse right now, Ancilla will play as an NJCAA Independent in men’s lacrosse, AND they will play a partial NJCAA schedule, and fill out the rest of their games with (relatively) local D2 and D3 games.
Ancilla currently offer 8 sports for men and 8 for women, and lacrosse will make it 9 on the men’s side. If you’re wondering how Brian Welch knew about this announcement, it’s because he’s the head coach at Ancilla! Welch has coached a lot of high school lacrosse, is a Notre Dame graduate, and has a huge task ahead, but he seems up to the job, and I’m excited to see what he can do at Ancilla, where he also works as the Associate Dean of Student Success and Retention.
Good luck to Ancilla as they start up their NJCAA program. It’s the first program in Indiana, and the most Western NJCAA lacrosse school ever. NOT BAD AT ALL!
NJCAA VIDEO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCzcP27MSxI
NJCAA Regional Tournament Previews
Region 3 – Onondaga is the heavy favorite to win Region 3. Genesee is really the only team that could potentially give the Lazers any problems. OCC won the regular season match up 15-10. It’s looking like OCC is headed back to nationals.
Region 15 – Nassau is in all the way. Done deal. I simply can’t see them losing now!
Region 19 – Union County is the heavy favorite in Region 19 due to their dominating 14-4 regular season win over Ocean County. Did OC improve enough to give Union a great game? Can they win? It’s not out of the question, but would take a supreme effort from the Vikings to happen. Region 19 is quickly improving, with two Top 10 teams, and could be a real source of competitive lacrosse for years to come.
Region 20 – CCBC Essex didn’t lose a Region 20 game all year, but 4 goals wins over Howard and Harford mean we will see some good games down in Region 20. Essex remains the favorite, but on a good or bad day, anything could happen to anyone. This is the kind of excitement NJCAA lacrosse needed, and big props go to Harford and Howard for picking up their programs! Can they win a Region 20 playoff now? I’m incredibly curious to see!
Independent – Delhi is the only independent this year, and they have a 7-8 record.
Quick National Tournament Predictions
Right now if I had to guess at six teams making nationals it would be: Nassau, Onondaga, Union County, Essex, Howard, and Genesee. They are the top six teams in the polls for a reason, and Nassau, Onondaga, Essex, and Union County can all win their regions. If they don’t? Chaos could ensue! That wouldn’t really surprise me too much at this point!
As a reminder, the above is what everyone is shooting for!
