US Lacrosse Community Forum Forums MID-ATLANTIC LACROSSE MARYLAND FORUM Boys 2028 Grads - Mid Atlantic Region

Frankly will be the team to beat with their additions, I smell some the grass, and it isnt better somewhere else. ML will be stacked

Their sizes of boys will make the difference, #77 looks like he could be a sophomore in high school. Looks like lots of very big boys.

I wonder what happens to CM and ML when the dozens and dozens of texts and emails threatening kids becomes public?

Who is he threatening? Current players? Is this the same DCE dad trying to continue to bring down ML when his kid had a starting spot and now among others, won’t play?

I'm not sure if he did this (I haven't seen any evidence), but even if he did I think the answer is that nothing will happen as long as the team is winning. None of the behavior is new, and all of the now-DCE and NL parents rolled their eyes but dealt with it for years and years -- it wasn't until the team started losing more frequently that they actually made a change. It's not like they all took some principled stand at the first (or second or third) sign of trouble.

You could argue that the erratic behavior made it hard for the team to recruit and over time that's what resulted in their fall from being a top 10 or 20 team, but that's a different question.

For lots of people the idea that playing for ML will give them more exposure or a leg up in HS admissions, recruiting or whatever else, is enough that they will deal with the silliness.

The only people that think that the player you reference was the best player on that team is his mom and dad.

Actually, I’m an opposing parent and he stood out to me more than anyone else. But whatever.

The Hawks stomped ML

Not a ML parent, but wasn't it 3-8? Not sure I'd call that a stomping, and it's actually better than ML did against them in HOCO last year.

No they didn't

So the Hawks parents now beat their chests about beating B teams? Be better.

What was the score? don't they pretty much stomp everyone?

Score was 9-3, butnit was posted 8-3. Not really a stomping.

So it looks like the demise of MadLax was exaggerated. If they are coming within 5-6 goals of the Hawks they will be fine going forward. CM has been doing this for years and he knows how to backfill with new players. Same with the 2026 team, they lost all their starters to VLC and Next Level but are still fielding a competitive team. You can detest ML all you want but the train keeps on rolling!

You know there are an endless amount of ML haters on here. Prob not a Hawks parent.

Actually 9-3 is a stomping.

If Madlax and Hawks were there, why did DCE play their Orange team? That is their "B" team, right?

So true. He is a survivor and a very cunning and smart business person and it’s impressive. It does say something about the type of parents who have their kids play for Mad Lax though. Historically it was I will tolerate my child and myself being associated with a club with this reputation because they are good at college recruiting but is that the case still?

Let’s be clear. There was originally a AA division with Madlax, Hawks, Duke’s, and DC Orange. Madlax refused to play the Orange team. So they jumbled them all together.
Not sure why DCE didn’t play, but they already played 2 events and have one more. Maybe 3 is enough.

And Madlax did everything they could to keep DCE 2028 from playing in NAL next weekend. All the other DCE teams are playing. Little Madlax Man didn’t want to play them. Says it all.

This is pretty comical. They beat up on B teams (and C teams in the case of Aloha) and lost 9-3 to the Hawks and they’re pounding their chests??
No idea if DCE is any good, but NL is definitely good. Either way, they maintain a healthy rivalry, lot of kids from both teams go to school together. Madlax has quickly alienated themselves, and will continue to do so. And we will watch their teams continue to unravel the older they get, just as it has happened with 24 and 26 teams. They’ll fly in a bunch of unassuming kids from random places like Kentucky or Michigan or FL to stopgap the leakage, but it’s a [Censored] product and the parents who have stuck around know it.

My kid was playing at the field next to that game and it was a hohum game so I watched the Hawks/ML game. It was a stomping. If I had to estimate the numbers I would say Hawks held ball for 75% of the game, outshout ML 40-8, and won 94% of FO's....The only thing that kept the score from being 20-3 was the ML goalie who played extremely well. It also appears that both teams were subbing everyone liberally up and down the bench. Saw a lot of True helmets on ML.

I saw all the top 6 teams this fall and here’s how I think it shakes out:

Hawks. Saw nothing that would suggest they aren’t the front runners. Not a lot of new additions, but strong players all over the field.

Crabs. Most improved team. Great size and athleticism, but especially in the midfield. Will challenge for second.

FCA. Rumors of their demise overstated. Strong group, but maybe did not improve as much as Crabs and NL. Will be in the running for second and co-favorites with Crabs for that position.

NL. Goalie, FO, and defense have always been strong. Attack has historically been their weakest group. They looked better on the attack line this fall. I still think they are a little thin in the midfield in terms of top end talent. Will challenge for second, but I’d give better odds to both FCA and Crabs come spring.

DCE. Good team. Lots of depth. Missing the very highest end talent you often need to win against the top 4 teams. Their roster from like 6-16 is probably close to the top 4 based on the limited amount I saw, but they don’t have quite as many difference makers as the top 4. Floor is probably 5th in HoCo but that might also be close to the ceiling.

Madlax. They will cobble together a team for HoCo, but I don’t see them doing better than 6th. I would be really impressed if Cab can somehow get into the top 5. Can’t really analyze the roster because who knows what it will be in the spring. I haven’t seen 91 MD so hard to say how they stack up relative to 91.

Those True helmets are probably from the Chesapeake team.

I saw the same thing. Hawks pulled back and rotated in second and third line. Two of the three goals scored by ML were from the big kid on true. I don’t think he is even on the ML roster

Just want to make sure everyone on here knows that this is the same poster who caused a storm of goalie comments the last time he posted about 2 "best goalies". No it was not the goalie dad. It is a former Madlax parent, now on DCE black. Please, do sell that helmet and stop trying to stir the pot by focusing on the goalie.

How can you even claim to know who any poster is??? Could be anyone.

You are wrong. DCE Black was not playing this past weekend.

I disagree with most of your analysis. Time of possession was fairly even with the Hawks having an edge. Madlax might have equaled the number of shots The hawks took. the difference was the hawk’s Shots were better, and the Hawks goalie was amazing. Particularly the last goal where the Hawks goalie fended off three shots in succession - possessed the ball and then cleared it to the midline catching a middy in mid-stride creating a man up situation that Madlax was unable to defend.

Face offs for ML was a problem - with ML winning no more than two face offs. However, madlax did a good job getting the ball back. My take away:

1. the Hawks are still the best team south of the mason Dixon line
2. ML is much better than many suggest
3. The Hawks transition game will be hard to beat by any team in the area
4. ML has a key weakness at FO
5. The Hawks may have the most effective goalie in the area
6. ML’s defense and goalie is very good - it’s amazing they kept the Hawks to eight goals with way they were losing faceoffs.
7.ML has to improve the quality of its shots if it wants to be competitive. I would say at least four of MLs shots were effectively pool jerks to the Hawks goalie.
8. I think it’s gonna be a very competitive hoco season.

I am wondering if the breakdown of he game is accurate????

So you agreed with him that Hawks were dominant at FO then say possession was a slight edge and shots were even??? I have a hard time believing that ML turned them over that much after FO's....I gotta think the first poster may have been a little more correct in his estimations.

absolutely. plus, the other programs are not saints either. so 1 + 1 = MadLax will be fine.

hilarious. no parent walks away from their own kid's game because it is [Censored]-hum so they can go take stats (94%??) on the game next door.

I agree 100%....the score was 9-3 which is 12 FO's and add 2 for each half...that's a total of 14...and since another poster said that ML won 2 of those that would mean it was 12/14 on FO's which is only 86%....what kind of fool estimates 6% higher!!!! Not to mention the impossibility of watching another game separated by 12 yards of turf. I call foul on that estimator!!!!

I watched the game. ML got worked. Hawks were playing fall ball and putting in a lot of the weaker players. Not sure why parents continues to cheerlead for this owner. I know several of the True kids on ML for fall will not be playing for ML in the spring. I hope CM (or more specifically the ML goalie dad) has made that clear to the other parents because several of the ML legacies will be leaving after Fall. Shorthanded and no loyalty. ML28s will be milktoast for good. Much like the 24 and 26s post the breakups. T

After Fall Tournaments you can expect 1-3 kids from each team to move to another team. Either due to playing time issues, coaching issues or the talent is not what you expected. Happens every year. Have a feeling Madlax will have the most kids looking to move before Spring.

Word on the street is that the ML parents are going to sit tight for spring. Expect big moves if ML has a tough spring. HOCO will decide if ML 28 survives at the elite level. So far all of the parents are happy with the new coaches and see the team getting better. Super team DCE black lost to Orange Crush and both DCE and NL have huge rosters so no one wants to face that. The wildcard is next week’s NAL tournament- if ML screws the pooch there we could be looking at another implosion. Book it.

We were at the same tournament with the 28 Hawks. My kid is on Prostart, for what it's worth. I am not as familiar with lax as others are. I spoke with a couple of dads on our team who said a bunch of high school coaches were watching the Hawks team. Is this really a thing that happens?

Where would ML players go? As you mention DCE and NL are full-up, and I'm not sure what better options there are in the NOVA/DMV area. VLC imploded, True VA is weak, True Chesapeake blew up, Top Caliber still hasn't been able to field a 2028 team - where would they go?

We have already seen how much influence CM has with NAL so I am sure no pooch will be screwed. Mad Lax will ‘randomly’ draw the easiest teams - just like all their other tournaments this fall with the exception of ONE team which was the Hawks this past weekend.

Red Hots 2029