Pre-season Poll - Who will be ranked in the Top Ten?

by **CATLAX MAN** on Tue Sep 27, 2005 4:07 pm

Just to spark some debate, here's my completely unofficial Pre-season Top 10 for 2006.

1. Colorado State - They will be very motivated to make up for last year's fiasco. Look for some blowouts as they take their frustrations out on some opponents.
2. Sonoma - Lost some to graduation, but the core is still solid. Defense carries this team far.
3. BYU - Also will want to make amends for tourney failure. Will have to sort out player coming & goings. Still think that they should settle on 1 goalie.
4. Michigan - Is this the year they finally break through? Maybe, but need to plug defensive holes due to graduation.
5. UCSB - Always tough, but they were decimated by graduation. They may not make it to the final, but won't fall far though, as they still have a lot of talent.
6. Colorado - Gave SSU all they could handle in the 2005 tourney. Will see if they can make the next step as they always seem close.
7. Oregon - Another team that is on the edge of breaking through like Colorado. Still have something to prove before they join the next tier.
8. Florida State - Had nice run in tourney, but Sonoma exposed their defensive deficiencies. Need to correct this before they get any farther.
9. Lindenwood - With a year of tourney experience under their belt, they will have a better idea of what they need to do. Another team that had defensive problems at the tourney.
10. UCSD - Nick Dean might just be the best player in the MDIA. They need to find him some more help to continue their success from last year.

**Sponsor**

by **cjwilhelmi** on Tue Sep 27, 2005 4:10 pm

Mark this down in history.... a WCLL person giving love to the GRLC!

by **CyLaxKeeper00** on Wed Sep 28, 2005 7:33 am

I thought the preseason and post tourney polls were dumped.

by **John Paul** on Wed Sep 28, 2005 10:13 am

Sonny,

How about just deleting this thread except for the first two posts and starting over?

JP

by **mholtz** on Wed Sep 28, 2005 12:25 pm

John Paul wrote:Sonny,

How about just deleting this thread except for the first two posts and starting over?

JP

Done.

by **byualum** on Wed Sep 28, 2005 2:31 pm

I'm not smart enough to rank individual teams, but I'd imagine it will shake out something like this...

1-3: CSU, BYU, Sonoma - All three should be at the top of the polls all season long. Each had some key losses and some nice additions, but I don't know that anything will outweigh the chip on CSU's shoulder.

4-6: UCSB, Michigan, CU - UCSB lost a ton, but should still be among the elite. Michigan and CU will both be very good. Look forward to the BYU/CU scrimmage on Friday.

7-8: Oregon, FSU - Both teams coming off good seasons, both with good wins over BYU in the tournament. Not sure if either is ready to consistently be among the top 3-4.

9-11: UCSD, Arizona, Lindenwood

Early picks for Final 4: CSU, Sonoma, BYU and CU

by **slider** on Wed Sep 28, 2005 2:36 pm

Watch for Cal Poly-SLO and Utah to make a run at the top 10, as well.

by **wheelz33** on Wed Sep 28, 2005 2:58 pm

i am in NO way trying to slam lindenwood, im just curious as to peoples reasons. what have they done to justify a top 10 ranking? i have not seen them play or any of that, and im not trying to start a fight. im just curious.

by **CATLAX MAN** on Wed Sep 28, 2005 3:22 pm

wheelz33 wrote:i am in NO way trying to slam lindenwood, im just curious as to peoples reasons. what have they done to justify a top 10 ranking? i have not seen them play or any of that, and im not trying to start a fight. im just curious.

You pretty much answered your own question here by saying that you hadn't seen them play. If you had seen them play, you wouldn't be asking this question. I was among the doubters last year also as I wanted to see them in against some ranked competition first.

I saw them at the tourney last year against some pretty good teams and they accounted for themselves pretty well facing top competition for the first time. This is a team that has both talent and deficiencies. I suspect that by gaining the experience they acquired at the tourney, they should be able to focus on the things that they need to do to continue to improve. In my opinion, the most important thing they need to do is get a lot better and quicker on defense.

by **bste_lax** on Wed Sep 28, 2005 7:43 pm

CATLAX MAN wrote:I saw them at the tourney last year against some pretty good teams and they accounted for themselves pretty well facing top competition for the first time. This is a team that has both talent and deficiencies. I suspect that by gaining the experience they acquired at the tourney, they should be able to focus on the things that they need to do to continue to improve. In my opinion, the most important thing they need to do is get a lot better and quicker on defense.

CATLAX, didn't they have a decent goalie last year? Or does their "better on defense" comment stay strictly to close defense and midde defense?

I didn't see them last year and they had a different goalie two years ago when I did last see them play.

by **CATLAX MAN** on Wed Sep 28, 2005 8:07 pm

I was not impressed with their goalie play especially in the area of clearing. There was one sequence, in particular, against Colorado where the ride left the goalie uncovered and picked up everyone else. He seemed very tentative with the ball and ended up throwing it right to a Colorado player who immediately put it in the open net. This was just one isolated example, but I thought that their clearing on the whole needed improvement.

I also thought that their close defenders were slow afoot and had trouble covering quicker attackmen, leading to lots of sliding and, eventually, to a good look to an open attacker. Then again, I've become used to watching UCSB & Sonoma play defense, so perhaps it is a little unfair to stack them up against that standard.

by **bste_lax** on Wed Sep 28, 2005 8:14 pm

CATLAX MAN wrote:I also thought that their close defenders were slow afoot and had trouble covering quicker attackmen, leading to lots of sliding and, eventually, to a good look to an open attacker. Then again, I've become used to watching UCSB & Sonoma play defense, so perhaps it is a little unfair to stack them up against that standard.

Based on what I saw and played against two years ago, their offense was better than their defense (and this was even before Combs and the other transfer plus their freshmen class last year were on the team). We just didn't have any form of an offense to attack their defense and test them. But their defense didn't overly impress me compared to their offense.

I can also see what you mean after seeing UCSB and Sonoma play a couple games last year.

Hopefully Troy and Co. can improve things this year and play deeper into the tournament if they make it. Any way to make the GRLC look stronger, I am all for it.

by **CATLAX MAN** on Wed Sep 28, 2005 8:49 pm

I've seen a lot of UCSB & Sonoma games over the last 4-5 years and, with the possible exception of Michigan and, when motivated, CSU, nobody consistently plays the level of defense these 2 teams do game in and game out. It's no accident that these teams are consistently at the top. The old axiom proves true once again that "Offense wins games, but Defense wins championships."

by **LaxRef** on Wed Sep 28, 2005 8:54 pm

CATLAX MAN wrote:I've seen a lot of UCSB & Sonoma games over the last 4-5 years and, with the possible exception of Michigan and, when motivated, CSU, nobody consistently plays the level of defense these 2 teams do game in and game out. It's no accident that these teams are consistently at the top. The old axiom proves true once again that "Offense wins games, but Defense wins championships."

I thought it was "Offense sells tickets, but defense wins championships."

by **SElaxalum** on Wed Sep 28, 2005 10:23 pm

Why is everyone so positive that Florida State and Oregon are not permanent top 5 teams? Both have done what nobody else has...go from very weak teams to very strong teams in only 2 years. With that progreesion, why wouldn't those two teams get better again this year? I know this is hard to take for the west coasters- but I think the days of MDIA west coast dominance are over. Rome was not built over-night, but it wasn't even built as fast as these two programs. FSU will be incredibly stacked this year, both offensively and defensively. They have also added valuable knowledge amongst the coaching staff. I cannot speak for Oregon- but I would expect a similar situation. Heres to a good year.