The Turf Wars Cup

Welcome to the Turf Wars Cup. 

As we have shown, there are more college lacrosse players from different regions of the country than ever before. 

That got me thinking, what if we pooled players from different regions and had a tournament against the other regions. After all, compiling cumulative statistics is still a mathematical game. What if it was a best on best format? 

Fans and families of high school athletes will know that this sort of thing already exists on the recruiting trail, the Under Armour Underclass games. I want to be clear, this article has no affiliation with that tournament, but we are going to borrow their regional apportionments. In no order, here are the 12 regions that will make up the tournament. 

• Long Island 
• Upstate New York 
• Conny (Connecticut and West Chester, NY)
• Philadelphia 
• South (Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and others)
• Southwest (Texas, Utah, Colorado and others)
• New England (Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and others)
• Baltimore 
• Washington 
• New Jersey 
• West (California, Oregon, Washington)
• Midwest (Michigan, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri and others)

And yes, there is no Canadian team here. Somehow I am sure I will be accused of not acknowledging the Canadians. Check the game notes before you come for me. 

As always, there were some tricky allocations. Most of these came from the Annapolis area, which is neither necessarily part of Baltimore nor Washington. The players from that area were dealt with on a case by case basis. 

I followed a few other rules for this. The first is that injury status does not matter. For example, Yale’s Chris Lyons scored more than 60 goals last season but has missed the season this year. The same is true for Ohio State’s Bobby Van Buren who has only played three times. This is a video game with injuries turned off. Both of those guys can play. 

The next rule is that I tried to keep to true positions (i.e middies playing midfield), but made some exceptions. The exceptions were mostly due to either exceptional players being the same position, or to really fun possibilities. As the tiktok kids say, when it adds to the plot, we broke the rules. 

A few times I added two players at the same position. This was mostly due to there being extremely minor differences between the two, and not wanting to choose.

Lastly, for some added fun, I threw in some celebrity coaches and gave each team a signature beverage to celebrate with after the game. It’s a regional tournament after all.

The plan for this article is to walk through the rosters this week, then we will have a vote on the bracket next week. Stay tuned to LCD socials for those announcements. 

Lets start with the bottom four seeds. 

12. New England 

Head Coach: Bill Belichek 

Assistant Coach: Ryder Garnesy  

Play Style

This team will need to scheme their pants off, which Belicheck will help with. Licata (Sandown, NH), Joseph (Longmeadow, MA), and Carroll (Milton, MA) present a first midfield that is lighter than some on playmaking, with a combined 29 assists between the three of them. They will need quick ball movement and to scheme some easy looks. 

They will lean on faceoff wins. 

How Will They Win?

It’s going to be tough for this group in this tournament. They have a number of nice pieces but lack the outrageous star power of the top teams. Their best bet is a monster performance from one of their two options at goalie. Connor Theriault (Mount Herman, Mass) has potential to steal games like few others. He’s had games of 18 and 16 saves this season, despite not playing to his normal standards on the year. In 2022, he made 24 saves against Cornell. That’s the sort of effort these boys will need. Merrimack’s Henry Vogt (Stratham, NH) is a battler who could fill in as well. He saved 53% last year and has done admirably this season facing huge volume. 

The defence is led by Essex Junction, Vermont native Chris Davis who is currently a captain for the Cornell Big Red. He will give them solid play from the SSDM position, but the rest of the defence is talented but perhaps slightly underwhelming compared to the rest of the tournament. 

Bryant’s Nathan Laliberte (Auburn, NH) is one of the best in the nation, and arguably this team’s best player. He will need to be excellent. 

How Will They Lose?

They lack the star-power and depth of the other teams. This team suffered significant losses in the last few years with Will Bowen and John Piatelli among others, and will take some time to recoup. 

As a bonus, without Canadians in this tournament, the New Englanders are in contention to win the post-game (Midwest and Upstate are strong candidates as well). 

Post-Game Beverage of Choice

Sam Adams Boston Lager.

Had to go with the classic here. With a high ABV, it packs a punch in the summer. If you aren’t from New England… be careful.

11. Midwest

Co-Head Coaches: Jason and Travis Kelce

Assistant: Connor Buczek

Play Style

With Stathakis (Northville, MI) providing great hope at the faceoff X, this team will look to play at a methodical pace. Boehm (Rocky River, OH) and Bundy (St. Louis, MO) are the headliners, and give this roster at least two All-American level talents. Coach Buczek (Cincinnati, OH) will have the midfielders dodging hard and making the simple plays. This offence has several guys with strong assist numbers, and they will need to use that vision to get open looks against some of the better defenses. 

The defence is stout and will be tough as nails when coached by the Kelce’s. They also have the most powerful back-pocket option which is to unleash the Swifties. You thought lacrosse twitter was toxic? The swifties will take the kid gloves off. 

How Will They Win?

Boehm will get himself some short stick matchups and Bundy will score a few from the restraining line. Last year he scored 45 goals but took 127 shots to do it. He will need to be more efficient here, but could rise to the occasion. The former Team USA athlete has not lost very many games in the last four years. 

Hackett (Winnetka, IL) is another hard dodger but he has an unusually high number of assists for a middie. That should benefit Bundy and Luke Reiter (Madison, Wi). Bo Lockwood (Hartland, MI) is another good feeder as well. If they can draw slides, they are a tough out. 

How Will They Lose?

Goaltender Tommy Kunz (Birmingham, MI) will need to be big, and outplay his statistics from this season. In a field of unbelievable goaltenders, he will be hungry to show he belongs. Foley, DiPonio and Nelson had good pedigree and play for sound defences. But this tournament is a best on best on best, and this team will fall slightly short of the others. 

Post-Game Beverage of Choice

Budweiser.

Anheuser-Busch calls the midwest home. This felt like an easy fit.

10. Southwest 

Head Coach: Mark Cuban

Assistant Coach: Asher Nolting

Play Style

With Jake Taylor (Denver, CO) in the middle of the offence, this team has some fun possibilities. Cole is the headliner here. He’s also an interesting case for this tournament. Cole lists his hometown as Dallas, Texas, but attended high school at the McDonough School in Maryland. We are going to stick with hometowns for this assignment, and Cole gives the Southwesters a legit dodging presence. He will have eyes for Taylor, who has a flair for the dramatic unlike many we have seen in recent memory. 

Cuban is transitioning out the basketball business, and will have this group travelling in style. Just wait until the refs make a bad call.

How Will They Win?

The back end is stout. Nunes (The Woodlands, TX) has been excellent this year and has played in more big games than most. Fournier (Austin, TX) is the starting LSM on what was recently the best team in the country. Hangland (Centennial, CO) and Mercurio (Reno, NV) form two parts of another close defensive unit that has spent time with the nations top spot this season. 

Beau Pederson (Park City, UT) is one of nation’s best at SSDM. After an outstanding career at Princeton, he’s finishing up now at Michigan. In 8 games, he has 5 points, 8 caused turnovers, and 14 ground balls. That’s great production for a short stick. 

How Will They Lose?

Faceoffs are the biggest issue for this group. Pacheco (Castle Pines, CO) is a scrapper but has a notably lower win percentage than some of the other big dogs in this tournament. Giving extra possessions to some of the higher powered offenses will be a losing strategy. 

And the first midfield has less pop comparatively to some of the other groups. Again, this tournament is a tough bracket. 

Post-Game Beverage of Choice 

Coors Light.

Don’t think I need to explain this one.

9. Upstate 

Head Coach: Tom Coughlin 

Assistant Coach: John Galloway

Play Style

In true upstate fashion, this team will play good, sensible lacrosse. Simply put, they are a math problem with some of the best specialists in the game. Jake Piseno (Liverpool) has the fastest rising stock of any player in the nation, and gives this team some needed swag against the top groups. 

On my drive home from Cornell, I passed through Waterloo, New York. They had one of those “home of” signs when you drive into town. In their case, it was for two-time Super Bowl head coach Tom Coughlin. He returns to his roots here and leads this group. 

How Will They Win?

Their defence is nasty, and they have two goalies who can go sicko mode. Chayse Ierlan (Victor) and Logan McNaney (Corning) are two of the best in the business, and other than Piseno would likely constitute the two best players in Upstate. 

Only one can play, but you make the decision. Alongside being great players and good people, Chayse and Logan are friends of mine. They both play in this fictional tournament. 

Pat Hackler (Skaneateles) and Piseno make arguably the best rope unit in the tournament, and Hudgins (Syracuse) gives them a legit cover man against the top dogs. 

Morin (Auburn) is one of the most underrated players in the country. Like Piseno, he gives this team of two-handed, fundamental studs some flair. He’s dynamic on the ball, and can shoot the (insert whatever adjective you thought of first) out of the ball. 

Wambach (Pittsford) is having one of the best seasons in all of Division I, and has some great linemates on the wings. Did you know he’s Abby Wambach’s nephew? You do now. 

How Will They Lose?

Burek (Fairport), Dattellas (Camillus) and Olmstead (Binghamton) have all had nice years and are great players, but they lack the game breaking ability of some of the other units. The rest of the offence is solid but still proving themselves at the highest level. 

But with that D and goaltending, this team is frisky. 

Post-Game Beverage of Choice

Genesee Light

If you’ve never tried Genny Light, you should. It’s terrible, in a beautiful, awesome kind of way. Upstate water!

Stay tuned through the rest of the week as we preview the top seeds in the tournament.