The Rest of the Schedule

Can Lehigh get back to the NCAA postseason?
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TMH
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The Rest of the Schedule

Post by TMH » Fri Apr 09, 2021 3:04 pm

I'll preface what I'm about to say by fully acknowledging that every game is won or lost on the field so letting up is not an option. Plus one never knows what scenarios Covid can provide... but with that being said, the remaining schedule seems to me be laid out fairly well for Lehigh.

In terms of the Patriot League, the game with Navy tomorrow is big. There should be no looking ahead for Lehigh as our next 3 games are with Lafayette (2 X) and Holy Cross. Navy on the other hand, has Lehigh followed by another game with Loyola and then Army. This game is at home and if we use comparative scores, Lehigh should be favored fairly heavily. Navy appears to be play in a style much like Army. They are a very good defensive team who is among the leaders in points allowed and caused turnovers. Hopefully, Lehigh learned something from last week. Lehigh has not done a particularly good job clearing the ball so far this year. Hopefully that was a point of emphasis this week.

Lehigh ends it's regular season with #20 Villanova which should be good preparation for the PL tournament. Lehigh is in the driver's seat for the tournament with head to head wins over both Loyola and Army. Even a loss to Navy should not affect that but it could have a major national implication.

The NCAA is taking 10 teams into their tournament this year (5 conference champs and 5 wild cards). There are 4 teams in the ACC ranked ahead of Lehigh. Most likely 3 of them will be wild cards. A loss in the PL tournament may or may not eliminate their chances. Add any loss prior to the PL and Lehigh will be eliminated.

Of course, this is only my opinion and there is quite a bit lacrosse yet to play and absolutely anything can happen.


TMH
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Re: The Rest of the Schedule

Post by TMH » Sun Apr 11, 2021 1:44 pm

I went to the Navy game on Saturday and I'm not sure what the "official" attendance policy is but they had stands just outside the fence and it was pretty crowded on a beautiful spring afternoon. There were also quite a few people around the fence. The real stands did not have many people and the middle section appeared to be roped off. I'm looking forward to going again next Sunday.

Lehigh has officially captured the top seed in the South .
Unless something drastic happens, Lehigh should also get the #1 overall 1st seed and the home field advantage that goes with it. Big games this weekend Army-Boston U and Loyola-Navy. Army beat Boston U 12-10 the 1st time.
grad81
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Re: The Rest of the Schedule

Post by grad81 » Mon Apr 12, 2021 2:44 pm

I believe the only Patriot League game left on Lehigh's schedule that has any conference impact is the game against Lafayette on Sunday, April 18th. The game against the Pards on Friday 4/16th was an add on game and is effectively no more than a scrimmage and does not count in the standings. The Sunday game is the one that counts. Neither game should be close. Per the Patriot League, every team officially plays one opponent in their own division twice. In Lehigh's case, that team is Bucknell, however, the first game played is the one that has conference seeding implications and Lehigh won the first meeting going away. As a result the upcoming Army-BU game and Loyola-Navy game have no conference implications either. Army and Loyola both won the first time around. Of course a loss could impact national rankings.

Also TMH, the D1 tournament will have 16 teams, not 10. In past years, there was actually a play in game for the 16th and final team but that won't happen this year. With the Ivys sitting it out, there is a very good chance that the PL will get a second team into the tournament in addition to the AQ. A win over Lafayette next Sunday guarantees Lehigh the #1 overall PL seed and host of the tournament. Their most likely semi final opponent will be BU although I think it's possible they could play Loyola. I don't think a loss in the PL tournament will be fatal to their chances of getting into the NCAA field but who knows. If they win out, they will be in the top 8 and will host a first round game like in 2012. Obviously this is no time to let up!
TMH
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Re: The Rest of the Schedule

Post by TMH » Mon Apr 12, 2021 4:11 pm

Thanks for straightening me out grad81 :-)

One question. How do they decide the #3 and #4 seed for the PL tournament? BU has 1 loss (Army) which is in the division. Loyola has 2 losses (Lehigh and Army) with only Lehigh being in the Division. Is there a tie-breaker or just the decision of PL officials?
grad81
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Re: The Rest of the Schedule

Post by grad81 » Tue Apr 13, 2021 11:08 am

The Patriot League guidelines are below. I stand corrected in that the second game played between two opponents is not meaningless in that it counts towards overall league winning percentage. The first game counts for divisional standing purposes. If I interpret that correctly, Lehigh could lose the overall #1 seed in the PL tournament if they were to lose their last two games against Lafayette and Bucknell and Army wins out. Not a likely scenario but theoretically possible. I think the only way Army is not the #2 overall seed is if they lose the rest of their games. I think #3 and #4 are up for grabs. Right now, BU is 4-1 in the conference with their only loss to Army. Assuming they lose to Army again, they will have 2 conference losses. Loyola has 2 losses as well. Unless Loyola loses to Navy, I am not sure who gets the #3 seed. In any case, Lehigh will be playing BU or Loyola in the tournament semi finals unless something crazy happens and they end up with Army in the semis.


Patriot League men’s lacrosse will consist of one five-team division and one four-team division while women’s lacrosse will consist of two five-team divisions in 2021. The top-two teams in both the North and South Division will qualify for the Patriot League Men’s and Women’s Championship fields. The first game played against a divisional opponent counts toward the divisional standings. Additional games against the same divisional opponent would count toward the overall League winning percentage, which could be utilized for tiebreaking purposes.

Each divisional winner will earn a spot in the tournament. The divisional winner with the best overall winning percentage will receive the No. 1 seed, with the second-best winning percentage of the divisional winners receiving the No. 2 seed. The second-place team in each division will also earn a spot in the tournament with the second-place team with the best winning percentage earning the No. 3 seed and the remaining team receiving the No. 4 seed.
ngineer
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Re: The Rest of the Schedule

Post by ngineer » Sat Apr 17, 2021 11:48 pm

Looking forward to another thrashing of the Leotards on Sunday! Friday night's scrimmage did have Casesse scrambling to reinstate his starting lineup after pulling them a bit early in the second half, after the Spotted Pussies scored six goals. With Sisselbeger and company back on the field, LU reeled off four straight goals to put it away. Would like to see 'em put up 20 on them.
TMH
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Re: The Rest of the Schedule

Post by TMH » Sun Apr 18, 2021 9:25 pm

I'll let grad81 tell me for sure but it looks like Loyola will be Lehigh's opponent in the PL Tournament after their loss to Navy this weekend.

Lehigh's women team it appears to have the #3 seed sewn up and will probably face Army.
grad81
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Re: The Rest of the Schedule

Post by grad81 » Sun Apr 18, 2021 9:53 pm

If I understand the seeding parameters correctly, I believe you are correct that Loyola will be the 4th seed and Lehigh’s semi final opponent. BU has an overall better record in the PL than Loyola and because Holy Cross canceled the rest of their season, BU has no more games left on their schedule. They have 2 PL losses (both to Army) while Loyola has 3. After never beating Loyola, it would be nice to beat them twice in the same season!
TMH
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Re: The Rest of the Schedule

Post by TMH » Mon Apr 19, 2021 10:18 am

Lehigh moves up to #6 in the rankings after Denver's loss to Georgetown.

Despite the fact that 4 of the teams ahead of us are in the ACC and will continue to snipe each other, I don't see us getting much higher. Notre Dame plays both Duke and North Carolina this week.
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Re: The Rest of the Schedule

Post by ngineer » Tue Apr 20, 2021 1:39 pm

FOCUSFOCUSFOCUSFOCUSFOCUSFOCUSFOCUSFOCUSFOCUSFOCUSFOCUSFOCUSFOCUSFOCUSFOCUSFOCUS!!
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