Originally Posted by Anonymous
Originally Posted by Anonymous
Kings are a good team, but you played them in a playoff bracket. The criticism of rigging the first round is valid. Bethesda LC, MadLax, and Express North are pretty bad in this age group. Those teams combined to score a whopping six goals total in four games against Machine. None of them are competitive on a national level.


How do you rig the first round of a tournament not under your control? This was not a Dynamic event.

Good question, and here is the answer:

(1) lacrosse is a small world and everyone who owns or runs the clubs, tournaments, vendors, etc. all know each other and are former teammates, drinking buddies, etc.
(2) there is a ton of economic cross pollination and people take care of each other business-wise - I am not talking about direct payoffs, but rather by attending tournaments, camps, showcases, buying merchandise, uniforms, video, etc.
(3) the results speak for themselves - the three teams in Machine's bracket were the three weakest in the overall field - none of them won a game except against each other, and MadLax, the team that emerged as the best of the three fillers, was blown out by a combined score of 16-1 by Machine in two games. Think about that, does a team that can't score more than 1 goal in two games belong at NAL, and MadLax was the BEST of those three. Machine got to 3-0 without breaking a sweat.
(4) coincidence or just a lucky draw? Maybe, but it seems to happen at all tournaments for certain programs.

Hope that helps.