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PREVIEW OF 2012 LANDON LACROSSE SEASON and republication of BSN “editorial policy”
A recent visit to Bordley Stadium immediately creates the impression, that even days before the final roster, there are a plethora of able Bears on the field. While watching the drills, it is evident that the collective level of skill is very high. A review of the 2012 schedule indicates that all of that speed, passing skills, shooting accuracy, great footwork and physical ability will be tested over the course of 17 games (plus the IAC playoff).
SCHEDULE::
Mark your calendar for March 23; on that date, the 2011 #1 Haverford School team (23-0) will come to US Naval Academy to play the Bears. The Philadelphia InterAc League is now the equal of the Baltimore, Long Island and Upstate New York lax bastions. SEE BELOW FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THIS GAME AND THE SPRING CLASSIC.
The Hill Academy of Ontario, Canada famed for sending box players (their senior class includes 4 heavily recruited studs and the team includes 11PG players), is coached by Georgetown LSM All American and MLL/NLL all star, Brodie Merrill.
The Gilman School is another test of the Landon team; the Greyhounds have sent their alumni to all of the major college lacrosse powers and were #13 in the 2011 Lax Power’s national rankings.
The Calverton School, 11-4 last year, will challenge the home team as they did in 2011.
Saint Mary’s School of Annapolis is another program known for its talent (12-6 last season and #3 in MIAA) and their games with Landon are always close.
The Bears will play California powerhouse Coronado High School (#5 there per Lax Power) which is coached by Landon and Notre Dame Alum Alex Cade (as well as successful Adrenalin entrepreneur).
The WCAC lax teams are always known for their athleticism and Landon will play DeMatha, Good Counsel, Paul VI and Gonzaga teams filled with highly recruited lacrosse players. The Purple Eagles are the current hot team in this league.
Once upon a time, Coach Bordley scheduled the teams from NoVa as a means of expanding the lax interest in that region; now those seeds have grown into some major talents playing at the next level. This spring, the Bears will play Oakton and Robinson.
Finally, the games that mean the most—the IAC. Saint Stephens/ Saint Agnes has one of the area’s top midfielders (UNC recruit Brent Armstrong, M) and benefits from a very able coach. The coach (Scott Conklin) of THE HIGH SCHOOL, a/k/a Episcopal, gets a lot out of his players. Saint Albans, with 11 returning seniors, always gets up to play the Bears and their current schedule includes a week to prepare for a game on their rocky home field. Bullis has three returning and one transfer recruits on their squad; so another battle can be expected at Landon. Little needs be said about RP except Beat Prep.
2012 ROSTER:
As that famous lax scribe wrote in The Tempest— “What is past is prologue”. Twelve Landon 2011 seniors were a major reason for a very successful 19-3 season. As proof of their collective and individual ability, these boys are getting significant minutes at major Division I and III programs. Position-by-position the losses include attackmen (OWU, NAPS and transfer), midfielders (Penn, Princeton, W&L)) and defensemen (UMd, OSU). So how can the Bears fill those obvious gaps?
There are an even larger number of very talented seniors, juniors and sophomores (probably freshmen, too, but it is too early to identify who they are) who return. Last year’s bench includes a number of boys who may step up their game and the Landon tradition attracted at least one player from another school. From that cadre of attackmen, midfielders, defensemen and goalie, the college coaches have already committed to 12 Bears that they want them to contribute to their universities successes (Delaware, Drexel, Fairfield, Georgetown, Johns Hopkins, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Penn State, Princeton and Virginia; sources: WaPo, LaxPower, Baltimore Sun).
The Bears will have a fast and athletic attack featuring returning starter Peter Laco. Transfer Taylor Valencia and Matt Potolicchio will probably be the other points on that triangle. A couple of young snipers, like Sean O’Brien and Zach Buller may provide more depth there.
The midfield will be deep and fast with known offensive weapons and players who need not get off the field when the opponents gain possession (i.e. these boys can and will play defense). The known entities include (alphabetical order) Hank Brown, Robbie Dunigan, Jack Falk, Garrett Fellows, Sam Lamson(also a F/O man),Sam Lynch, Philip Pena, Marshall Petersand Charlie Schnider. During the practice, it appeared as though a couple of boys, not on last year’s roster, may contribute.
The Defensive group (both close D men and LSMs) lost a lot of talent. Mark Strabo is the only returning pole who stays close to the goal, but Michael Rhoads and Sellers Garrettlook like they may be the other primary members of the Protect Joyce Society. Alex Povich is a returning LSM, whose footspeed and nasty stick cause opponents to be concerned when he gets on the field. Not clear whether Robert Leachman, recovering from knee surgery and now with a boot on, will be available to help in the rotation. There were a number of anonymous (unnamed pinneys) people carrying long poles, who showed ability in the drills.
The last line of defense is the Goalie and Landon is blessed with a very strong two year starter, Alex Joyce, at that position. He has VERY quick hands that will frustrate a lot of opposing offenses. He is the 3rd Joyce to stand between the Bear pipes! He is ably backed by Jack Putting.
All of this talent benefits from an incredibly knowledgeable coaching staff who teach the boys techniques and strategies that are more sophisticated and complex than many colleges. These teachers/mentors/coaches can be seen at future opponents’ games, sometimes in the odd weather of DC’s springs; there they catalogue the strengths/weaknesses of players and diagram rides, clears, EMOs, EMDs and basic offenses/defenses. Coaches Bordley, Bordley, Barter, Cassidy, Horsey, Leachman, Padalino and Shooshan are major reasons why the Bears excel at Landon and beyond. They are a HUGE plus every year.
INFORMATION ON THE SPRING CLASSIC–INFORMATION ON THE SPRING CLASSIC–
a) press release:
b) ticket info:
Schedule
March 23rd Friday Schedule: 7pm: #1 Haverford School v Landon School
March 24th Saturday Schedule: 12 pm: Upper Arlington High School v Loyola Blakefield
2 pm: Upper Darby v James Madison High School (Girl’s)
4 pm: Gonzaga College High School v Wootton High School
6 pm: Germantown Academy v Bullis School
8 pm: Woodrow Wilson High School v Baltimore Polytechnic Institute
EDITORIAL POLICYEDITORIAL POLICY
It’s a little presumptuous to even pretend that this silly little “blog” merits anything called an editorial policy, but I cannot think of a more apt phrase to introduce an explanation of why BSN covers Bear Sports News in a peculiar style. Hopefully, the below paragraph will explain to new readers what’s going on in this space; further, the “policy” makes some important admissions (maybe even a priori apologies) and makes clear how welcome your comments, criticisms, corrections and the occasional compliment(s) are welcome!!!!
(a) the content is mine, does not reflect the opinion of Landon, Coach Bordley or anyone directly related to Landon,
(b) that any errors that may exist are mine, inadvertent and correctable (please let me know and I will make ALL corrections);
(c) that the author (me) is a huge disciple of the Landon team concept and that I will do everything that I can do to mention all the players; however, universal coverage is not really possible through this medium. If someone believes that a player or group (Attackmen, Middies, Defensemen, Goalies, FOGOs, LSMs, SSDMs, etc.) should receive greater attention, I am open to such suggestions. I will TRY not to mention referees at any time and will limit references to the opposition.
(d) that BSN is a volunteer publication and that as the editor, publisher, statistician and writer [me], I am all too fallible and I apologize in advance for any error.
(e) TO REPEAT– BSN gladly welcomes all comments, criticisms and corrections; usually the right version is incorporated in the text. SO PLEASE FEEL FREE TO GIVE ME ALL FORMS OF FEEDBACK (GOOD AND BAD).
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