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

Okay, finally some real results to talk about. Weekend action from NL March Invitational and Spring Thaw. Rankings are US Club Lacrosse FWIW. Results from Tourney Machine:

Hawks 16-0 NXT (68)
Hawks 15-2 Barnstormers (nr)
Hawks 11-4 Freedom (14)

Crabs 16-0 Barnstormers (nr)
Crabs 6-5 Freedom (14)
Crabs 16-1 NJ Express (89)

ML 6-11 Freedom (14)
ML 7-1 NJ Express (89)
ML 8-6 NXT (68)

NL 3-6 DCE (24)
NL 3-9 Red Hots (4)
NL 8-6 Clippers (56)
NL 4-5 FCA (not sure why but nr; if I'm guessing I put them 10-15)
NL 4-10 Leading Edge (3)

FCA 3-5 Leading Edge (3)
FCA 5-4 NL (19)
FCA 8-3 Clippers (56)

91 3-10 Red Hots (4)
91 8-2 NJ Riot (59)
91 3-8 Nationals LC (nr)

Clippers 6-8 NL (19)
Clippers 4-9 Leading Edge (3)
Clippers 3-8 FCA (nr)

DCE 6-3 NL (19)
DCE 4-9 Leading Edge (3)
DCE 2-4 Red Hots (4)
DCE 12-6 Nationals LC (nr)

Observations

--Level of competition was higher at NL March Invitational. Hard to gauge Crabs/ML/Hawks versus some of the teams they played other than Philadelphia Freedom.
--Clippers went 0-3 but overachieved, kept it close versus some good teams.
--NL needs to fix things quickly, 1-4 at their own tournament, still having trouble scoring.
--Expected bigger margin of victory from FCA.
--DCE looking like a top 4 Hoco team at the expense of NL and ML. Early Hoco playoff predictions are (1) Hawks, (2) FCA, (3)/(4) DCE/Crabs.

Usual caveats that the weather was terrible and that teams are still experimenting with schemes and personnel.

It was great to get back to lacrosse this weekend, but not a lot of competition among the HoCo teams themselves, so it's hard to draw any conclusions as to who is hot and who is not. But here is my best shot at rankings.

Tier 1 - Hawks

Tier 2 - Crabs, FCA

Tier 3 - DCE

Tier 4 - Next Level

Tier 5 - Madlax, 91, Team Money

Okay, finally some real results to talk about. Weekend action from NL March Invitational and Spring Thaw. Rankings are US Club Lacrosse FWIW. Results from Tourney Machine:

Hawks 16-0 NXT (68)
Hawks 15-2 Barnstormers (nr)
Hawks 11-4 Freedom (14)

Crabs 16-0 Barnstormers (nr)
Crabs 6-5 Freedom (14)
Crabs 16-1 NJ Express (89)

ML 6-11 Freedom (14)
ML 7-1 NJ Express (89)
ML 8-6 NXT (68)

NL 3-6 DCE (24)
NL 3-9 Red Hots (4)
NL 8-6 Clippers (56)
NL 4-5 FCA (not sure why but nr; if I'm guessing I put them 10-15)
NL 4-10 Leading Edge (3)

FCA 3-5 Leading Edge (3)
FCA 5-4 NL (19)
FCA 8-3 Clippers (56)

91 3-10 Red Hots (4)
91 8-2 NJ Riot (59)
91 3-8 Nationals LC (nr)

Clippers 6-8 NL (19)
Clippers 4-9 Leading Edge (3)
Clippers 3-8 FCA (nr)

DCE 6-3 NL (19)
DCE 4-9 Leading Edge (3)
DCE 2-4 Red Hots (4)
DCE 12-6 Nationals LC (nr)

Observations

--Level of competition was higher at NL March Invitational. Hard to gauge Crabs/ML/Hawks versus some of the teams they played other than Philadelphia Freedom.
--Clippers went 0-3 but overachieved, kept it close versus some good teams.
--NL needs to fix things quickly, 1-4 at their own tournament, still having trouble scoring.
--Expected bigger margin of victory from FCA.
--DCE looking like a top 4 Hoco team at the expense of NL and ML. Early Hoco playoff predictions are (1) Hawks, (2) FCA, (3)/(4) DCE/Crabs.

Usual caveats that the weather was terrible and that teams are still experimenting with schemes and personnel.

FCA looked good, but DCE was decidedly better and more athletic. NL probably should have beat FCA. Went into OT but could have gone either way.

A few thoughts, Freedom has not practiced before this weekend, they play town until about now. Don’t read too much into their scores.

I’m guessing the DCE parents on here are the former MadLax parents. Have done nothing of note and are pounding their chests.

A few thoughts, Freedom has not practiced before this weekend, they play town until about now. Don’t read too much into their scores.

I’m guessing the DCE parents on here are the former MadLax parents. Have done nothing of note and are pounding their chests.

Well there’s an airbag full of excuses… nobody has practiced much. It’s early March. None of these teams have played since November.

How did 91 look? Apparently didn't add much talent from the scores.

Thought they looked ok but played way up in competition w RH and Nationals. Both very good Circuit teams. RH is just loaded. A. It silly really, for them to be playing in a local shoring warmup tourney with their kids from all over

Yeah Red Hots are a good team, very strong D and good goalies, hard to score against. FWIW 91 didn't do any worse against them than NL did.

Yeah Red Hots are a good team, very strong D and good goalies, hard to score against. FWIW 91 didn't do any worse against them than NL did.

NL parent here. I know most of the kids on ML and DCE and am also familiar with the ongoing feuds with CM. All I can say is the DCE team is deep. I wasn't keeping tabs on every player, but in our game they had kids rolling in and out of every positions and quick mid line adjustments between offense and defense. They are just very solid at all phases of the game.

I know the ML parents will cry, but we've bested them the last couple of years. It's pretty clear to me -- regardless of how you feel about ML or any other team for that matter -- that DCE picked up some very skilled players from ML and elsewhere (?) because they are a strong team at a pretty early point in the season.

ML report. I saw them play Freedom last weekend. Talent wise I think they are as good as any team in the DMV (I would say Crabs and Hawks are better as is usually the case with Baltimore teams) the Xfactor is coaching - sloppy box management and relentless yelling by the coach cost that team at least four points. At one point during the game (and possibly more (I wasn’t watching that closely) ml had a short stick and a long stick stuck in the box for at least 20 seconds which created a double man down situation. Adding to that chaos the coach was constantly directing the players which was distracting at best.

On the plus side most of the players were good sized, quick with excellent stick skills. Long poles and midfielders were more than competent. The goalie was directing the defense and made some good saves (although I thought he had some problems with low shots- again I didn’t see enough to make a realy informed judgement) there was talk on the sideline about a strong attack I thought they were good but shooting needs work. But easily fixable. Also one of thier attack turned the ball over several times (probably new to the team and just needs to get comfortable)

All in all, a team with potential I’m looking forward to watching my son play them this weekend.

ML report. I saw them play Freedom last weekend. Talent wise I think they are as good as any team in the DMV (I would say Crabs and Hawks are better as is usually the case with Baltimore teams) the Xfactor is coaching - sloppy box management and relentless yelling by the coach cost that team at least four points. At one point during the game (and possibly more (I wasn’t watching that closely) ml had a short stick and a long stick stuck in the box for at least 20 seconds which created a double man down situation. Adding to that chaos the coach was constantly directing the players which was distracting at best.

On the plus side most of the players were good sized, quick with excellent stick skills. Long poles and midfielders were more than competent. The goalie was directing the defense and made some good saves (although I thought he had some problems with low shots- again I didn’t see enough to make a realy informed judgement) there was talk on the sideline about a strong attack I thought they were good but shooting needs work. But easily fixable. Also one of thier attack turned the ball over several times (probably new to the team and just needs to get comfortable)

All in all, a team with potential I’m looking forward to watching my son play them this weekend.

Freedom and crabs played a few weeks ago in Philadelphia.

nice informative post

What/where are the events this weekend for the local 2028 teams?

Bmore Bloom at Troy Park:

Hawks play Leading Edge and Chain Bridge All Stars

Crabs play Madlax, Chain Bridge All Stars, and Leading Edge

Leading Edge plays Chain Bridge, Hawks, and Madlax

Nobody seems to know who Chain Bridge is… but they’re running into a buzz saw

FCA getting way too much credit. Barely handled NL, who is a shell of the team they used to be. Haven’t seen them score 5 goals in about a year.
DCE and Crabs should be ahead of them. DCE the big surprise upstart. The Nationals team was no pushover, they blew out Team 91 MD and DCE ram them off the field.
Hawks clearly the leader well out in front of the pack.

Chain Bridge Road is in McLean so from teams not there I would speculate NOVA kids on DCE and NL, but those also seem to be pretty vocal parents so I'm sure they'll let us know if that's right or not.

Per usual, crabs added several holdbacks this year, but only look marginally better with slight improvements in the middle and defensive sides of the field. FCA and hawks will yet again have their way with them.

Wait, are you saying that age in and off itself isn't an absolute determiner of skill and ability? Say it ain't so.

Chain Bridge Road is in McLean so from teams not there I would speculate NOVA kids on DCE and NL, but those also seem to be pretty vocal parents so I'm sure they'll let us know if that's right or not.

My memory of this team name is from McLean box lacrosse in years past and as I recall it was mostly MadLax helmets. Maybe this is a different group.

Like he said, DCE and NL.

Hmmm all 4 teams playing eachother except…

Madlax not playing Hawks.

Hmmm all 4 teams playing eachother except…

Madlax not playing Hawks.

Hmmm all 4 teams playing eachother except…

Madlax not playing Hawks.

Madlax is playing 2 games - Madlax is playing 2 games - Crabs and Leading Edge. Crabs and Hawks are each also only play 2 games (both play Chain Bridge All Stars and Hawks plays Leading Edge while Crabs play Madlax). The only teams playing 3 games are LE and CBAS. Stop making up narratives.

Thanks

Good question. Why are all the teams playing 3 games except ML? How was that explained away to the parents?

You ML haters are just embarrassing yourselves now. You don’t even basic due diligence before spewing. Check the schedule.

You ML haters are just embarrassing yourselves now. You don’t even basic due diligence before spewing. Check the schedule.