Mount Olive has been a solid program in Conference Carolinas for the last five seasons, consistently challenging perennial champion Limestone for top honors. The Trojans have also started to garner some attention on the national landscape, dancing in and out of the bottom half of the Nike/US Lacrosse Top 20 rankings.
But breaking through to the NCAA postseason is still unchartered territory for the seventh year program, and highlights the importance of games like this past Monday’s match-up against No. 6 Rollins. The Trojans were more than willing to make the six-hour trip from their North Carolina campus to Baltimore for the neutral site match-up against the nationally-ranked Tars at US Lacrosse Headquarters.
“We jump at the chance to get games like this,” said Mt. Olive head coach Grant Kelam. “We know that we have to beat a top 10 program to get consideration at selection time.”
Like many leagues, there is an imbalance within Conference Carolinas that handicaps the better teams. Practicing for five or six days for a lopsided victory against a weaker member of the league does not benefit a program hoping to break into the next echelon.
“Playing in those types of games can actually create some bad habits,” Kelam said.
Despite the 14-6 loss against Rollins, Kelam found many positives.
“I thought our defense played phenomenally well against a fantastic offense that has been scoring goals against everybody,” he said. “Playing against a disciplined, well-coached, and solid all-around team makes us better. I thought we actually matched-up well. We just didn’t create enough opportunities.”
A Claim for the Best
The Sunshine State Conference has four teams ranked among this week’s Nike/US Lacrosse Top 20, and a fifth that just slipped out this week. Dennis Short, head coach at No. 6 Rollins may be biased, but he may also be right, when he says that the SSC is the best league in the country.
“We’re fortunate that most of our programs have good resources and funding, which leads to good strength of coaching in our conference,” he said. “You don’t see a lot of our coaches leaving for other jobs, and that consistency in leadership is one of the things you need to build strong programs.”
Warm weather also doesn’t hurt in attracting players to the South. Short’s 36-member roster includes 16 players from the states of Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and New York.
“Recruiting to Florida is easy,” said Short, himself a transplanted Pennsylvanian who is now in his 11th year with the Tars.
His 2019 squad may be his best team since his national semifinal teams of 2012 and 2013. Rollins improved to 7-0 with Wednesday’s 16-6 victory over Wingate.
“This is an experienced team that puts its full focus on each game,” Short said. “They understand that it’s a long season and they don’t get ahead of themselves. It’s a special group.”
No Hangover
The No. 1 Le Moyne Dolphins show no ill effects from last year’s national championship after moving to 4-0 on the season. The most impressive element of Le Moyne’s start is that all four victories have come against ranked opponents.
The Dolphins have launched their 2019 campaign with non-conference wins over No. 8 UIndy, No. 3 West Chester, No. 5 LIU Post and No. 10 Mercyhurst. It’s one of the toughest early schedules in coach Kathy Taylor’s collegiate career.
“With these types of early games, win or lose, we walk away with a clear idea of where we are,” Taylor said. “We like to play against the best.”
Having now won 14 straight non-conference regular season games, Le Moyne faces its first unranked opponent Saturday, hosting Stonehill in its NE10 opener.
Weekend Preview
Florida Tech lost just three games last year, all against Sunshine State Conference foe Florida Southern. The SSC rivals meet again Saturday for the first of their two regular season match-ups. No. 5 FSC is 6-1 overall, while FIT is 5-3 with a modest three-game winning streak.
Other games of note include No. 13 Mercy against No. 16 Bentley, No. 17 Pace visiting Merrimack, and No. 4 West Chester beginning PSAC play by hosting Slippery Rock.