I'm looking to expand lacrosse content a bit, so I'll have a couple of these before posting the OSU specific preview before the first game in a few weeks. I want to see what happens in the scrimmages before talking about the Buckeyes.
This post will cover what's new in the men's lacrosse world in 2019. A lot has changed, and it pays to be informed. Let's get to it.
Expansion:
St. Bonaventure - The Bonnies of St. Bonaventure are one of two new teams added to the D1 ranks this year. A very small school (student pop: 2,100 grad and undergrad) in upstate New York, St. Bonaventure is an interesting choice for D1 expansion.
Right next to the Pennsylvania border, and only a few miles from Allegany State Park, the school is most known for occasionally slipping into the NCAA basketball tournament every few years.
Really, the big push for this program is the fact that it's a phoenix-like return for a program of yesteryear. The Bonnies existed as a Hampton-like team from 1989 to 1993, but ultimately were moved to club status. This year is the first time the Bonnies will be D1, and it will set up an interesting paradigm in upstate New York.
St. Bonaventure will be competing against a slew of upstate opponents annually, on the field and on the recruiting trail. The Bonnies will now have to compete against the likes of Hobart, Siena, SUNY Binghamton, Hofstra, Albany, Syracuse, Canisius, Marist, and Cornell for recruits, attention, and wins, just amongst upstate teams. With Long Island University going D1 in a couple years (2021), and Manhattan already in NYC, the competition in New York will be fierce at the D1 level.
This doesn't even account for the numerous D2 and D3 schools dotting the landscape in upstate NY who manage to pick off lacrosse players with subpar grades or who don't want to get burnt out by the D1 grind.
Leading the Bonnies is their head coach, Randy Mearns. The head coach of Team Canada at the last World Championships, Mearns has already added a slew of Canadian players to the Bonnies' roster. If Mearns can have early success, especially on the recruiting trail, then the Bonnies may be a power sooner than later.
Of course, worst case scenario is a NJIT situation, where there is little tradition (club to D1), little draw academically or athletically, and a whole lot of losses. Hopefully St. Bonaventure can hit the ground running.
Utah Utes
Utah had been a well-known secret candidate for expansion ever since Dom Starsia was forced out a few years ago. The Utes are definitely the highest-profile expansion team in a long time, as they're a big school (student pop ), are part of a big conference (most national titles in non-money sports pretty much annually), and are easily the western-most D1 school in the country.
It's only a matter of time before Oregon (Knight money) and one of the California schools follow suit, but for now Utah is its own Pac-12 lacrosse power. Utah was a mediocre club team until the announcement came of their future D1 status, when they got some D1 talent in the ranks to get some seasoning.
The Utes lost in the semifinals of the MCLA tournament last year to BYU, bowing out of club status with their best season. Coached by Brian Holman and several current professional players, the Utes are a bit unique in terms of their staff makeup.
Jacksonville University has a current pro as their head coach, but no other university has 3 current professional players as their assistants to my knowledge. It will be interesting to see how this translates to recruiting, though Utah has a surprisingly vibrant high school lacrosse scene. Several Utah natives are on D1 rosters, with Bubba Fairman helping Maryland win their first title in decades.
In their first year, Utah will play a hodgepodge of D1 schools. The western schools (Air Force, Denver) make an appearance, as well as some national powers (Virginia, Duke) and a sprinkling of lesser teams. After a 16-5 loss to UMBC in the fall, we will see if Holman got the team turned around to be competitive.
With the fertile West Coast in close proximity, I would imagine Utah will be a good team sooner rather than later.
New rules:
Shot clock
The NCAA approved an 80 second shot clock for each team, with 20 seconds to clear. If the clearing team fails to advance across the midline in 20 seconds, it is a turnover. This is a change from the previous clearing rule, requiring a team to get the ball into the opponent's box for a successful clear.
Upon crossing the midline, teams have the remaining time to get a shot on cage. The rule goes more toward box lacrosse, which lacks any restraining zone, but requires teams to cross the midline in a certain number of seconds (varies by league and country).
At this point, then, the only functions of the restraining box I can see is faceoff restraints and the over-and-back rule, which is a problem. The timer WILL add some standardization to each possession, and remove the subjectivity of the previous "timer-on" rule, a great thing for everyone.
I think that riding will be greatly impacted, however. Teams will have to either go all in on the 10 man ride, or cede clears immediately and sub through the box. A simple crossing of the midline is good enough to get the remaining time on the clock, and failure to advance will no longer apply, I believe, making the ride an all-or-nothing proposition.
Sending an agile pole long, crossing the midline, then pulling back to use the remaining time to sub and get organized would be a good strategy to easily retain possession, then transition to O. Especially if the D is just going to sub anyway.
There will be more tinkering in the future to make the game flow, with either the over-and-back rule or the time. Personally, I think they should do the box lacrosse over-and-back rule with a shorter clock.
Dive is back
The news everyone was waiting to hear finally came. The Dive is back! Mostly. Diving "away from the goal mouth" is now legal, while a dive towards the goal mouth gets the O team a penalty.
To count, a goal must be scored BEFORE the diver touches the crease, i.e. the ball crosses the plane before the diver lands after leaving his feet.
This will make Canadian and American box players even more valuable. The dive favors their style of play, and they'll have years of practice with it as well. Makes agile, physical players really, really handy on O. And vital for defense.
Get ready for some more lacrosse on Sportscenter!
Replay, Sub box
Video replay will now be used when available. The NCAA will be surveying D1 teams for access, because I am reasonably sure most small schools will need to have a system set up.
Also, the sub box will shrink, which will impact transition subs some, but won't have any impact on settled situations. Teams sub across midfield almost exclusively when in secure possession, so that part of the game won't change much.
Chaos will become more chaotic, however, making the 2-way middie worth his weight in gold.
All in all, the changes made to lacrosse at the NCAA level were outstanding. The faceoff remains mostly untouched, thankfully, providing continuity after several consecutive years of overhaul. The Dive is back and will be better than ever. Each day brings us closer to the season. I am excited for it!
Next post will be a (rudimentary) statistical analysis of what it takes to be a top tier team.
