|
|
When the NCAA Division III Men’s Lacrosse Committee voted in December to grant 28 D3 conferences automatic qualifiers for the 2023 NCAA tournament, it reduced the number of available at-large berths from 11 to 10. This means only 10 schools that do not win their conference championship will get into the NCAA tournament. The Coastal Lacrosse Conference, which does not have an AQ this year, is included in the group of 10, meaning perennial powers CNU and Salisbury must compete with everyone else for those coveted at-large spots.
Now that two preseason Top 20 polls are out (Nike/USA Lacrosse Magazine and Inside Lacrosse), we can get a sense of how difficult the road Lincoln Financial Field will be. For example, the NESCAC (Amherst, Bowdoin, Tufts, Wesleyan), the Centennial (Dickinson, Franklin & Marshall, Gettysburg, Ursinus), the Liberty (RIT, RPI, St. Lawrence, Union), and the ODAC (Hampden-Sydney, Lynchburg, Roanoke, Washington & Lee) each have four teams ranked in at least one of the polls. In addition, with Stevenson and York both battling for the MAC Commonwealth championship, combined with the aforementioned Coastal powers, there is a really strong chance that at least five or more of these ranked schools will be left on the sideline come May.
In an attempt to boost their resumes for the selection committees, many institutions are playing brutal non-conference schedules which got us thinking… What school has the hardest schedule? Here are our Top 10.
#1 Christopher Newport University = Playing in a non-AQ conference, nothing is guaranteed for the Captains. As a result, Coach Mikey Thompson is effectively saying, “Bring it on.” Non-conference games include preseason ranked teams Salisbury, RIT, Lynchburg, St. John Fisher, Dickinson, Hampden-Sydney, Stevenson, Washington & Lee, plus 2022 tournament teams Catholic, Grove City, Stockton, and Southern Virginia. Yikes. Games against ranked opponents: 8.
#2 University of Lynchburg = We know the ODAC is always a dogfight, so what better way to curry favor with the selection committee then by playing CNU, Tufts, Salisbury, Cabrini, Stevenson, St. Lawrence, and Franklin & Marshall out of conference? Throw in 2022 tournament team Catholic as well as ODAC foes Hampden-Sydney, W&L, and Roanoke, and the Hornets do not seem to have an off week. Games against preseason ranked opponents: 10.
#3 York College = We imagine that Coach Brandon Childs is saying, “what about us?” And, well, he’s right. Look at this schedule to open the season: Ursinus, W&L, RIT, Salisbury, F&M, Amherst, and Grove City. Throw in games later against Gettysburg, Denison, and rival Stevenson and the Spartans play nine ranked opponents plus a 2022 tournament team. Sheesh. Games against ranked opponents: 9.
#4 Stevenson University = The Mustangs opening gauntlet is every bit as tough as York's with Ursinus, CNU, Catholic, Gettysburg, Lynchburg, Dickinson, RIT, and Salisbury to begin before hitting MAC Commonwealth play. Rival York awaits on April 26. With the Mustangs playing eight games against preseason Top 20 and another against a 2022 tournament team, Coach Paul Cantabene has a backup plan if York wins the MAC Commonwealth again this year. Games against ranked opponents: 8.
#5 RIT = The challenge of being a two-time defending NCAA champion is that each opponent will circle the matchup as a chance to knock off the top dog, er, Tiger. They make our list because of not only what they will face that every week, but because Ursinus, York, Stevenson, St. John Fisher, and CNU give them five out-of-conference ranked opponents, plus Liberty League foes Union, St. Lawrence and RPI as well as tournament team SUNY Cortland. Games against ranked opponents: 8.
#6 Catholic University = Two-time defending Landmark Conference champion Cardinals have loaded their non-conference with seven ranked teams, most of them on the road. In the span of a month, Catholic draws W&L, F&M, Stevenson, CNU, Hampden-Sydney, and Gettysburg. Survive that stretch, and Coach Jon Sax’s team will get conference rivals and Salisbury to end the year. For a team seeking to win a third straight conference title, the Cardinals non-conference schedule is tough. Games against ranked opponents: 7.
#7 Salisbury University = As a non-AQ team, the Sea Gulls might need a strong schedule to impress the committee. As a top-5 preseason team, they probably don't but they have it anyway. Ranked opponents Roanoke, Gettysburg, Lynchburg, York, Stevenson, Cabrini, and CNU stand out, but so, too, do 2022 tournament teams Stockton, Catholic, and SUNY Cortland. Games against ranked opponents: 7.
#8 Washington & Lee University = In addition to ODAC teams Hampden-Sydney, Lynchburg, and Roanoke, the Generals will take the field against York, CNU, Gettysburg, and Denison. Toss in 2022 tournament teams Catholic and Grove City and W&L will have a strong resume come May. Games against ranked opponents: 7.
#9 Tufts University = NESCAC teams, with their later season start, historically have 1-2 fewer games than their D3 opponents. And, with 11 schools in the NESCAC, Tufts' 15-game schedule has fewer non-conference opportunities. With three ranked conference foes, plus Hamilton which received votes, it would be understandable that the Jumbos would seek to take it easy out of conference. Not so fast. Games against ranked teams Union, Lynchburg and Cabrini plus the 2022 tournament team Stevens Institute of Technology means Coach Casey D’Annolfo is doing everything he can to ensure his team is in the tournament. Games against ranked opponents: 6.
#10 Ursinus College = Who schedules their opening two games against York and Stevenson? The Bears do. They follow that up with a three-week March road stretch against RIT, St. John Fisher, and Gettyburg. Add in Dickinson, F&M, and Colorado College, and Coach Corey Shaffer has seven ranked opponents and one 2022 tournament team. Games against ranked opponents: 7.
#HM Denison University = The Big Red rolled through the NCAC last year and while they might do the same in 2023, the non-conference schedule does not have an easy game on it. Ranked foes Hampden-Sydney, W&L, Gettysburg, and York highlight the schedule that also features 2022 tournament teams Albion, John Carroll, and Grove City. Their only two other non-conference opponents, Baldwin Wallace and St. Mary’s College of Maryland, both played in their conference championships. We award honorable mention to Denison. Games against ranked opponents: 4
#HM Southern Virginia University = Wait. What? Hear us out on this. The Knights play CNU and Hampden-Sydney, both ranked teams. Grove City reached the 2022 tournament. In addition, SVU will play Baldwin Wallace and Centre, teams that won their 2022 regular season conference titles but lost in their tournaments. Finally, St. Mary’s College of Maryland won the United East tournament last year but failed to get an at-large berth. Maybe this schedule does not match the others in tradition, and there are probably more difficult ones out there, but for a non-major program which went undefeated in conference and made the tournament a year ago, SVU scheduled some strong below-the-radar programs. We also award honorable mention to SVU. Games against ranked opponents: 2.
Now that two preseason Top 20 polls are out (Nike/USA Lacrosse Magazine and Inside Lacrosse), we can get a sense of how difficult the road Lincoln Financial Field will be. For example, the NESCAC (Amherst, Bowdoin, Tufts, Wesleyan), the Centennial (Dickinson, Franklin & Marshall, Gettysburg, Ursinus), the Liberty (RIT, RPI, St. Lawrence, Union), and the ODAC (Hampden-Sydney, Lynchburg, Roanoke, Washington & Lee) each have four teams ranked in at least one of the polls. In addition, with Stevenson and York both battling for the MAC Commonwealth championship, combined with the aforementioned Coastal powers, there is a really strong chance that at least five or more of these ranked schools will be left on the sideline come May.
In an attempt to boost their resumes for the selection committees, many institutions are playing brutal non-conference schedules which got us thinking… What school has the hardest schedule? Here are our Top 10.
#1 Christopher Newport University = Playing in a non-AQ conference, nothing is guaranteed for the Captains. As a result, Coach Mikey Thompson is effectively saying, “Bring it on.” Non-conference games include preseason ranked teams Salisbury, RIT, Lynchburg, St. John Fisher, Dickinson, Hampden-Sydney, Stevenson, Washington & Lee, plus 2022 tournament teams Catholic, Grove City, Stockton, and Southern Virginia. Yikes. Games against ranked opponents: 8.
#2 University of Lynchburg = We know the ODAC is always a dogfight, so what better way to curry favor with the selection committee then by playing CNU, Tufts, Salisbury, Cabrini, Stevenson, St. Lawrence, and Franklin & Marshall out of conference? Throw in 2022 tournament team Catholic as well as ODAC foes Hampden-Sydney, W&L, and Roanoke, and the Hornets do not seem to have an off week. Games against preseason ranked opponents: 10.
#3 York College = We imagine that Coach Brandon Childs is saying, “what about us?” And, well, he’s right. Look at this schedule to open the season: Ursinus, W&L, RIT, Salisbury, F&M, Amherst, and Grove City. Throw in games later against Gettysburg, Denison, and rival Stevenson and the Spartans play nine ranked opponents plus a 2022 tournament team. Sheesh. Games against ranked opponents: 9.
#4 Stevenson University = The Mustangs opening gauntlet is every bit as tough as York's with Ursinus, CNU, Catholic, Gettysburg, Lynchburg, Dickinson, RIT, and Salisbury to begin before hitting MAC Commonwealth play. Rival York awaits on April 26. With the Mustangs playing eight games against preseason Top 20 and another against a 2022 tournament team, Coach Paul Cantabene has a backup plan if York wins the MAC Commonwealth again this year. Games against ranked opponents: 8.
#5 RIT = The challenge of being a two-time defending NCAA champion is that each opponent will circle the matchup as a chance to knock off the top dog, er, Tiger. They make our list because of not only what they will face that every week, but because Ursinus, York, Stevenson, St. John Fisher, and CNU give them five out-of-conference ranked opponents, plus Liberty League foes Union, St. Lawrence and RPI as well as tournament team SUNY Cortland. Games against ranked opponents: 8.
#6 Catholic University = Two-time defending Landmark Conference champion Cardinals have loaded their non-conference with seven ranked teams, most of them on the road. In the span of a month, Catholic draws W&L, F&M, Stevenson, CNU, Hampden-Sydney, and Gettysburg. Survive that stretch, and Coach Jon Sax’s team will get conference rivals and Salisbury to end the year. For a team seeking to win a third straight conference title, the Cardinals non-conference schedule is tough. Games against ranked opponents: 7.
#7 Salisbury University = As a non-AQ team, the Sea Gulls might need a strong schedule to impress the committee. As a top-5 preseason team, they probably don't but they have it anyway. Ranked opponents Roanoke, Gettysburg, Lynchburg, York, Stevenson, Cabrini, and CNU stand out, but so, too, do 2022 tournament teams Stockton, Catholic, and SUNY Cortland. Games against ranked opponents: 7.
#8 Washington & Lee University = In addition to ODAC teams Hampden-Sydney, Lynchburg, and Roanoke, the Generals will take the field against York, CNU, Gettysburg, and Denison. Toss in 2022 tournament teams Catholic and Grove City and W&L will have a strong resume come May. Games against ranked opponents: 7.
#9 Tufts University = NESCAC teams, with their later season start, historically have 1-2 fewer games than their D3 opponents. And, with 11 schools in the NESCAC, Tufts' 15-game schedule has fewer non-conference opportunities. With three ranked conference foes, plus Hamilton which received votes, it would be understandable that the Jumbos would seek to take it easy out of conference. Not so fast. Games against ranked teams Union, Lynchburg and Cabrini plus the 2022 tournament team Stevens Institute of Technology means Coach Casey D’Annolfo is doing everything he can to ensure his team is in the tournament. Games against ranked opponents: 6.
#10 Ursinus College = Who schedules their opening two games against York and Stevenson? The Bears do. They follow that up with a three-week March road stretch against RIT, St. John Fisher, and Gettyburg. Add in Dickinson, F&M, and Colorado College, and Coach Corey Shaffer has seven ranked opponents and one 2022 tournament team. Games against ranked opponents: 7.
#HM Denison University = The Big Red rolled through the NCAC last year and while they might do the same in 2023, the non-conference schedule does not have an easy game on it. Ranked foes Hampden-Sydney, W&L, Gettysburg, and York highlight the schedule that also features 2022 tournament teams Albion, John Carroll, and Grove City. Their only two other non-conference opponents, Baldwin Wallace and St. Mary’s College of Maryland, both played in their conference championships. We award honorable mention to Denison. Games against ranked opponents: 4
#HM Southern Virginia University = Wait. What? Hear us out on this. The Knights play CNU and Hampden-Sydney, both ranked teams. Grove City reached the 2022 tournament. In addition, SVU will play Baldwin Wallace and Centre, teams that won their 2022 regular season conference titles but lost in their tournaments. Finally, St. Mary’s College of Maryland won the United East tournament last year but failed to get an at-large berth. Maybe this schedule does not match the others in tradition, and there are probably more difficult ones out there, but for a non-major program which went undefeated in conference and made the tournament a year ago, SVU scheduled some strong below-the-radar programs. We also award honorable mention to SVU. Games against ranked opponents: 2.
|
|