With the NCAA Division 2 Lacrosse post-season just around the corner, I wanted to bring all of you non-DII Lax Enthusiasts up to speed on exactly what is going on in the NCAA Division 2 Lax world. We’ll start with the tradtional big boys… so First up is the East Coast Conference!
The ECC is pretty consistently one of THE best confrences in NCAA DII, and maybe even all of college lacrosse.
They have traditional powers like C.W. Post, Mercyhurst, New York Tech, and Dowling. And those are just the established teams on Long Island. They also have a host of other top notch programs.
For the 2011 season, the ECC has been back and forth and up and down. And because of this, there are definitely some teams that I think stood out in this confrence (and this list is besides the year in, year out ECC stalwarts like Post, Tech, etc.)
The two teams I was most impresed with were newbies: Mercy College and Chestnut Hill College.
I have talked a little bit about Mercy this year but still feel they are simply not getting the recognition they deserve.
Just to give you some idea of what type of program is being built there:
Last year was their first year as an NCAA program and they went 5-10 with a close loss to Dominican of California. This year they are 11-2, with thier only losses coming to CW Post and Mercyhurst. The scores were 7-9 and 12-15 respectively. They are pretty much third in the ECC, and somehow, they were NOT ranked for much of the season. Just in case you were wondering, the USILA has Ranked Mercy 6th in the Nation right now.
This team looks like they are ready to take the ECC by storm. Whatever coach Manitta is doing, it’s working and I am super pumped with what is going on out there. I will definitely be rooting for this new and exciting team to possibly make the tournament this year! Let’s Go MAVS!!!
Chestnut Hill College is another ECC team that has had a solid turnaround season. Coach Brian Dougherty has really changed the culture in Philly in only one year and these boys have been winning games left and right. Their 2010 record was 4-11, but they are currently at 7-6 overall and will be going up against Lake Erie next. Good luck to the Griffins in their last game of the season. Give yourselves a pat on the back boys hopefully more good things to come in 2012!
ECC BREAKDOWN:
If all goes according to plan, the Pioneers of CW Post will be winning the ECC. Their only loss came at the hands of Dowling. They still play a hard-nosed Molloy team, and if playing in the ECC tells you anything, it’s that any team can win any given day, so watch out for this match up.
Mercy plays Dowling, a win there and a CW Post loss to Molloy, could secure a two-way tie at the top of the ECC. What further complicates things is that a Mercyhurst win over Dominican College could create a three-way tie if Mercy wins and Post loses.
SO WHAT DOES THIS ALL MEAN? It just means that the ECC is wide open between Mercy, Post, and Mercyhurst. So I’m clearly looking forward to what will be happening here in the next few days.
My Predictions:
Post gets upset by Molloy, Mercy wins a tight one over Dowling, Hurst Beats Dominican.
DII Notes:
DOMINICAN BEATS NDNU IN FIRST EVER BATTLE OF THE BAY. Domican won 9-3 with an inspired effort and now this game, which has been lopsided in the past, is turning into a serious rivalry! Great things for the WILA, and West Coast NCAA lacrosse in general!
Thanks to Dan Faricy for the kick ass photos! Full photo gallery from NDNU – Dominican here.
Happy bday to a well known and fellow Lax Blogger. Won’t release the identity but he is from a city that has a rather dominant ice hockey team.
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