Too much hype for Sals

[reLAXer14]

For off, their goalie is mediocre at best. Anyone in the state would look great standing in the net watching Kirkpatrick strip kids left and right. DId he make a save last season? Although Walker has a lot of talent, Blundin practically put him on his back and carried him to an All-State award last year. And he can't go left. Don't get me wrong they are the best in the state but their out of state schedule this year is the toughest its ever been so we'll see how they react.

 

[mrgaLAXy]

Sallies is over-rated? Walker, Giampietro, Barone, Seuffert, Veratti, Freibott, Gangemi and more going to division one colleges and they are over-rated? I see the sals running over competition except maybe with Tower Hill who's had their number in the past. Walker for POY, with Revak in close second

 

[Care2Cradle]

My two year old daughter could score on Barone. What is a Merist? If they try that hidden ball trick one more time, Garrahan will swipe and tear up this inexperienced Sals defense. I feel bad for the coach who has to deal with a team that thinks they can just waltz into the State championship game. Archmere, tower hill, and probably even Charter can hand Sals a loss. Just be ready for a disappointing season. Oh and someone teach Walker how to go left.

 

[ManuelsMammals]

@reLAXer14 First of all, your grammar is atrocious. I myself am a fan of Salesianum sports programs and firmly believe in Walker's dress game. The kid has swagger.

 

[laxkeep98]

There is actually some intelligence in this post. Barone had the best defense in the state last year and it showed. I'd agree with him being slightly overrated but not by much. He's a good goalie. They have two players committed to division 1, freibott (sp?) and seuffert that didn't seem to do anything last year. I've got to be fair to freibott though, he was only a freshman. Dillon Walker is a great finisher, not necessarily a great dodger. Don't get me wrong, he's not a bad dodger, but he committed to Marist for his midrange and in-close shot, along with his vision and field-intelligence, not because of his dodging abilities.

More on Barone- he was one of the top goalies last year (obviously because he got all-state) and two others return along with him in Davis Russell and Max Davis. I know that Stephen kullman didn't get all state but he had a very strong end of the year. I'd have him or Montgomery from tatnal in the honorable mention spot this year. The other three I really can't seperate though. At times, Barone Russell and Davis were all very good in their first years as starters. I'd say that Russell and Davis will eventually be better because they are only juniors.

All this being said, they are certainly the most beatable they've been in a while. And next year Archmere and Tower Hill lose everyone so that just leaves Friends and Cape to offer them any in-state competition whatsoever. This years for you Archmere/Tower/Friends.

 

[Jule2211]

alright Care2Cradle inexperienced defense really umm obviously you havent heard of justin verratti warrior 40 ranked as one of the top defenders in the nation right now going to loyola he is hand down the best defender in the state righ now as for the rest chase cowan and zac kelly have alot of experience, they have both started since they were sophmores and yes its not like there the best defenders compared to pa teams such as malverns defensive unit but there still probably better than any other defenders in delaware, and even if they dont go d-1 they will go top d-3 or 2 which again is better than any other school in delaware and again friebott is young as well but still probably has more experience and more talent than any other school out there, I dont see any other school testing themselves with tough out of state competition when towerhill and friends play someone better than worcester than talk

 

[laxevo]

This is the funniest post ever in the history of this blog. I beleive Walker has been All-State ever year since he was a freshman, the goalie is going to play DI in the fall, their defense may be better than last year, that Loyola pole started at ST joes as a sophomore so I assume he is legit, that #28 is hands down the best player in the state and I think is going to play at Ohio State or Penn State, on phillylacrosse it has some kid Gangemi going to Loylola as well, dont know anything about the other kids mentioned in teh other post, but that is five DI kids on the field. Oh yeah, they are defending champs, they have some of the best coaches in the state, and if Calvert Hall puts you on a schedule its not to "just get a game", number one teams in teh nation dont typically play overrated Delaware teams to boost their rankings. NO dount that team lost alot with Blundin and Kilpatrick but they will not skip a beat.

Sallies would beat Charter by 15 goals.

 

[axnq92]

Laxevo has got a clue here, haven't we learned that talking sh*t on Sals only gets them more hype.Walker is a solid DI player who can take whatever role is needed to win, and that D could be better, even after graduating the best DI prospect the state has ever produced. Malvern Prep, Calvert Hall, Chatham, etc. they will be battle tested by the playoffs. Get used to it boys, that program is stacked with talent and coached up, they will just reload for the foreseeable future. They are a blue collar team with blue chip players, they might lose 5 games, but, not to anyone in DE.

 

[reLAXer14]

Clearly none of you were at the state championship last year when the sallies kids needed new shorts at halftime because they were wetting the bed. Put Tracy from friends on Walker and he's shut down. Shoot a ball with a little mustard on it and it's by the goalie. Sallies is clearly the most talented but this all seems a little too much like two years ago for me

 

[DEPhenom72]

They have more D1 players on there roster then all the teams in the state combined. They will not lose a game in the 302 area code this season and maybe next. They are building such a good rep that they will continue to get out of state players, we could be looking at a dynasty in the next couple seasons.

 

[reLAXer14]

I acknowledge that Veratti is a player, but can you really expect a kid like Cowan to fill in for Kilpatrick? The mail clerk at my office has a better 40 time then him, and he doesn't have a left leg.

 

[laxkeep98]

Well they aren't going to be the same high-pressure defense that they were before, but they will still be a solid defense that gives away low percentage shots. I think we'll see just how good Barone is this year, and I'm assuming he'll stand up to the test. Tower Hill will probably have the best balanced D in terms of pressure and off ball play. Archmere will have the potential to be a great defense but I expect them to play badly off-ball and give up all kinds of inside looks against the top teams because of bad slides. We'll see how it works out.

 

[Alaxer46]

Sallies's defense will be nowhere close to what it was last year. C'mon now, Kilpatrick was arguably the best defenseman in DE lacrosse history, and Leeder was very good as well. I'm sure they'll do a great job with the players they have, but it won't compare. The Sals bring back a lot, but their system and great coaching wins championships, not the individuals.

Archmere loses their best two defenders, Thomson, and several middies, but Garrahan and Revak should have tremendous years. Look for Russell to have a strong season in goal. It's hard to remember the last time a team returned two All-Americans - Sallies in '08 possibly? I can't remember but I doubt it.

Tower returns everyone from a top defense with Stone and Schleppler leading the way that held Sallies in the Championship to one of their lowest scores of the season. Mette is a great dodger/shooter who really came on late last season, and everyone knows what Pettit is capable of. Their offense has centered around Robino for two years now, and he and Luft have been a huge part of it for 4 years, so it'll be interesting to see how Tower adjusts.

Friends returns virtually everyone outside of Sam Davis, a midfielder who contributed mostly with his leadership, his absence shouldn't be felt this season. Tracy is a very good pole, and the offense has several good weapons such as Kirkpatrick and several other shooters who should make them dangerous.

My Top 5
1. Sallies
2. Tower
3. Archmere
4. Friends

I'll put Cape as a wildcard for the semi finals, they could knock off one of those teams outside of Sallies.
Unless something crazy happens, these should be your four (plus maybe Cape) teams in the semis no matter how you look at it. If you think otherwise, you didn't watch much DE lax last year. CR losing Brooks Johnson will really hurt their defense, his brother comes back but they've been on the decline since '08. Tatnall has steadily been getting worse since '09 with Fragomele. Brandywine losing Zach Johnson kills their D, although they return their best attackman. Charter lost Rittenhouse, I think they return Mergenthaler at D but they shouldn't contend for the title.

No matter what, the state championship will run through Sallies, just as it has since 2008.

 

[axnq92]

"everyone knows what Pettit is capable of" Idk, It will be interesting to see him against the quality #1 poles of the other 3 teams of your top 4. Robino and Luft drew the 1 and 2 for years, how this works out will be the key for TH.

 

[laxkeep98]

Well pettit wont be drawing the best on ball poles, they'll go to will mette. But that doesn't necessarily mean he's drawing everyone's number two. I'm assuming that there are defenders out there who may not exactly be the fastest or the strongest, but has good skills and is good off ball. I'm sure that there are many defenders out there that are up to the task.

 

[DEPhenom72]

I agree with laxkeep, mette is more of a dynamic player then pettit, though he is a solid attackman. Mette's presence in the midfield should draw attention away from pettit so he should contribute alot more. Teams may put their most talented defenseman up to play mette while pettit may have that teams best technical defenseman. There is alot of ways to play those two players from TH, it will be interesting to see how they do with the spotlight this season.

 

[Alaxer46]

axnq92, I disagree in that Luft has drawn the #2 poles of teams for years. 3 years ago, Dedominicus drew the #1 pole while Robino had the #2, 2 years ago Robino had the #1 while Ripley Nielson had the #2, and last year, Robino had the #1 while Pettit or Mette had the #2. Luft had the #3 or #4 pole his entire career at Tower, he was absolutely the 3rd attackmen last year. Pettit is at his best off ball, making cuts in front of the crease, receiving quick passes, finishing very well, and playing very well on fast breaks - this is what I was referring to.

 

[Alaxer46]

I did not hear about Revak until recently, a real shame to hear that, huge loss for Archmere and Delaware high school lacrosse in general. Choosing between Revak and Walker, I'd pick Revak as the best attackman in the state.

 

[laxpro99]

Pettit was the leading goal scorer for TH upfront for the last two years. Scoring a ton in playoffs for them as well. This year actually gets to play natural right side. Sallies has seen enough of him over last two years. This year will be interesting for TH as a team. Should be one of the best, but who knows how it will all shake out. Sallies still the team to beat in DE.

 

[LaxMoney47]

k
This post was edited on 3/4 6:21 PM by LaxMoney47

 

[laxdeusa]

mrgalaxy says five kids from Sallies are going D1. Who are the schools recruiting these guys? I assume Petite from TH is going D1 as well. Who is recruiting him?

 

[heresathought]

Count again.

 

[DEPhenom72]

Heres the D1 kids in the state this year so far

Sallies: Dillon Walker,Marist; Justin Verratti and Kyle Gangemi,Loyola; Matthew Barone,Marquette; Sean Giampetro and Freddy Freibott,Ohio State; Graham Seuffert,Bryant; Troy Reeder,UNC.

Tower Hill: Stone Lieberman,Vermont; Will Mette,Colgate; Micheal Pettit,Siena

CR: Ryne Johnson and Alden Clapp ,Mount St. Marys

Friends: Brett Tracy,Towson

Archmere: Bryan Garrahan,St. Joes

Information from: laxpower.com and phillylacrosse.com

 

[laxdude1269]

I doubt a team that's been to the state finals for the past..what?? five years...can be too hyped up?

Sals will be good always just based on numbers alone...how many kids to they have on their team Vs the majority of other schools?

 

[White_Mike52]

laxdude-

Exactly. It's hard not to be surrounded by hype when you are the dominant team in the state with so few challengers (Tower Hill and...)

 

[laxdeusa]

Sals beat Worchester Prep 11 to 6. Sals were up 11 to 2 then sent in 2nd/3rd team including 5 or 6 freshman. Reeder from Sals is a very stong kid. Defenders just bounce right off him.