Ford's Liberty League Rankings

The Liberty league is a gritty conference in upstate New York full of machines who can sling the rock just as well as they can sling their rope.  There is a huge dropoff when it comes to quality of lacrosse in this conference like many of the other D3 conferences I did though.  This conference is also home to some of the best teams in college lax, and some of the worst.  You get baghounds who would get instabids to Pike at Arizona State, and some guys who would be GEEDs anywhere else.  

1. St. Lawrence

These guys probably hit the slopes more than any other team.  Brantford Winstonworth is an alum of this great program, and they still crank out guys who are stallions on and off the field. They graduated Judge Murphy and Ben Hutchinson, but they got a ton of young hungry guys ready to take the reins.  I heard Daniel Mahoney was in Cabo and got bailed out by his dad after getting caught buying bag from a cop pretending to be a cartel member last winter, and Cam Croasdaile did his semester abroad in Thailand so he could tear it up with the lady(boys).  This is a group that still has a great goalie and defense, and has the potential to dominate the liberty league this year.  

2. RIT

RIT is a great team full of nail guns north of the border.  But unfortunately, they don’t get the number one spot this year because they graduate with so much talent.  On the defensive end, they lose Michael Grace who was one of the best defenders in D3, and offensively, they lose pretty much the bulk of their production.  8 of their 10 best producers are gone, but given that they have been a perennial powerhouse since before my playing days, I give these guys the number two ranking.

3. Union

One word to describe these guys: Baghounds.  My colleague Greg Swisher was an alum, and from what I’ve seen, their team culture hasn’t changed one bit since he graduated. Emmett Lyne has been known to ski before he hits the blackjack table, and Hazen Pike wheels birds by telling them about his 3 story house on the Cape.  They may graduate some nail guns, but rest assured, this squad is excellent at developing talent given that they are always a threat to win the natty.   You would be hard pressed to find a team that gets better pre game muff, even if they are in buttfuck New York.  Their keeper Dan Donahue saved almost 60% last year, and with a solid defense behind him, the Dutchmen are in a good position to get back their former glory.

4. RPI

These guys retain some talent, but they lose 4 of their best offensive options, including their Luke Murphy who had almost twice as many points as the next best guy.  It will be a very steep uphill battle without him, but they still have some hungry sophomores looking to step up.  They have a great goalie situation so far, so as long as Joseph Perry stays healthy the boys are looking good.

5. Vassar

The Vassar Brewers might be one of the most frat teams in college lacrosse.  The only standout win they have is against Hartford which used to be D1, but apparently those guys can’t keep up with the grit found at the D3 level.  This squad is full of New York nailguns, and although they haven’t seen a ton of success recently, that is subject to change.  This team also loses some key senior production, but Gavin Arcuri, TJ Carl, and Baker Morton should be ready to shoulder the burden.  They also have a nasty goalkeeper who is still around in Drew Quinn.

6. Clarkson

Unfortunately, this was a very senior heavy team, so it will be tough to replicate the success they had last year (which wasn’t even that great).  This is a team that can go blow for blow with Muhlenberg and drop a game to Nazareth.  Speaking of blow, it is few and far between uo here because these guys are so isolated up north.  There is some potential in the back end with a sophomore keeper who had 54% though.  But time will tell what the knights can do, but it doesn’t look great.

7. Ithaca

These guys actually keep a lot of their production, but they graduate a pretty good goalie.  They were one of the worst teams last year, but they keep Jace Dockx who is absolute nails and switches between pole and shorty like it's mens league, and still balls out.  These guys will need to booze harder and try to sneak into some cornell sorority mixers before each game, and then they might be set to surprise a lot of people.

8. Skidmore

They also keep some of their top scorers, and a fraudulent win over Trinity last year is definitely something.  But these guys never see their season go anywhere, and I don’t think that will change this year either.  They also lose their starting goalie, and that is why they get the bottom ranking.