WRITTEN BY: BRENDAN CHAMBERLAIN
With a new year upon us I’m going to dive right in and predict who will win their conference titles in 2014.
ACC—This is going to be a slugfest between all six teams in this conference. Syracuse and Notre Dame are new to this league but I’m going with North Carolina as my ACC Champion, based on their depth on defense and strong goaltending by sophomore Kiernan Burke.
America East—It’s Albany’s race to lose, I expect Albany to go wire to wire as champions. The Great Danes are led by all three Thompsons in Miles, Lyle and Ty, but I expect a huge season out of midfielder Ryan Feuerstein.
Atlantic Sun—The new kids on the block are going to have some competitive contests in 2014, and I’m predicting second year program High Point to win the inaugural Atlantic Sun Championship. Attackman Dan Lomas, Midfielder Mitchell Dupere and Goalie Austin Geisler are difference makers for the Panthers.
Big East—This is going to be another great conference to watch with Denver now in this conference. My prediction is for St. John’s to win the Big East. The Red Storm is led by Senior Attack trio of Kieran McArdle, Kevin Cernuto and Colin Keegan.
CAA—*PENN STATE, oh wait they’re not eligible to play for the CAA championship, because they’re joining the Big Ten in 2015 and being punished for it with No Automatic Qualifier in 2014. With no Nittany Lions to choose from, I like Hofstra in a highly competitive CAA. Sam Llinares is living proof that great lacrosse players come in all sizes, at 5’9 155 pounds he is fast going to the goal.
ECAC—The Ohio State Buckeyes are the clear favorites to win the AQ in the last year of the ECAC. Nick Myers and his staff have stockpiled defensive talent in Columbus with the trio of Joe Meurer, Dominic Imbordino and Robby Haus. Add the strong play of senior goalie Greg Dutton and the Buckeyes defense will be the difference in ECAC play.
Ivy—Cue up the Aretha Franklin Chorus, R-E-S-P-E-C-T, just a little bit. In a talented league top to bottom, I’m predicting the Yale Bulldogs to win the Ivy League. Dylan Levings controlling faceoffs and Brandon Mangan’s scoring is a great combo for Andy Shay’s squad.
MAAC—This conference has some exciting teams in Siena, Marist and Detroit. My dark horse pick is Quinnipiac in their first year in the conference; the Bobcats played a ton of close games in 2013 and have an excellent junior class led by Attackman Michael Sagl. Goalie Gill Conners is capable of keeping his team in every game.
NEC—Mike Pressler and Bryant are building a great program up there on Rhode Island with a strong defense and faceoff play behind Kevin Massa. With a strong challenge from league newcomer Hobart, the Bryant Bulldogs are still the team to beat in the NEC.
Patriot—I love this league and it’s going to be battle for the six spots in the playoffs. When the dust settles, league newcomer Loyola will be the victors over a very strong Lehigh squad. Defenseman Joe Fletcher could easily be the #1 pick in this week’s MLL draft. The senior is still in the running to be on Team USA in the summer. (Fletcher is the only college player left in the tryout pool.)
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