Competing the Z: Did You Hear That Thud?
by Jac Coyne | Lacrosse Magazine Online Staff | Coyne Archive | Twitter
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| Finally, Zazzaro tumbled back to earth after an absurd stretch of success that will likely never be duplicated in this competition. Advantage: Coyne. |
'Competing the Z' is a Men's Division III pick 'em
competition between LMO's Jac Coyne and Dave Zazzaro, a D-III coach
for 17 years and a former member of the NCAA regional committee.
They will be picking five games every week during the course of the
season. Scroll to the bottom for past picks.
Did you hear that thud?
It was Zazzaro finally coming back down to earth.
After going on a ridiculous 18-2 run over the previous three weeks
to effectively put my regular season hopes on ice, Zazzaro
displayed the kind aptitude I was counting on for much of this
competition when he registered a 1-4 mark last week.
It allowed me to cut the gap to 10 games with two weeks to go after
I went 4-1 – my only loss being those confounding Camels
– but more importantly I think it has Z a bit off kilter. He
was very late with his selections this week and he became a
little snippy when I sent him a friendly reminder.
So it’s a good chance he’ll wobble completely off his
axis once the conference tournament and NCAA seasons roll around in
three weeks.
That’s the plan anyway.
With the exception of Zazzaro’s sandbag pick at the end,
we’ve got four pretty decent games with postseason
implications of some kind. We’ll kick it off with Conn.
College again because I want to get on the bandwagon before it gets
too late.
A quick aside: you're probably wondering why we didn't pick the
Salisbury-Stevenson game, but that was only soldified on Wednesday
night - several days after we choose the games for the week
(usually Monday). We'll have to wait until they meet for a third
time.
On to the games...
No. 6 Conn
College (13-0) at Colby (8-5),
1 p.m., Saturday
COYNE: This would again seem like the perfect
time to pick an upset of the Camels – I’ve been doing
it for quite a while now – but they’ve beaten me into
submission. Colby has a dominant face-off man and grind-it-out
approach, but that 12-5 loss to Amherst has me spooked. Plus, Steve
Dachille has proven he can score goals against anyone, so I’m
going with Conn. College in a relatively easy win in Waterville,
10-6.
ZAZZARO: Can anyone beat Conn. College in NESCAC? I see
the amazing undefeated run ending for the Camels in Waterville.
Colby has played everyone tough, coupled with the long road trip to
Maine (Conn College almost lost to Bowdoin on the road), so I see
Conn. College losing, 7-6.
FDU-Florham (8-4) at
Elizabethtown (9-3), 1
p.m., Saturday
COYNE: I thought the MAC was going to be crazy
this year and the conference has not disappointed, especially with
Eastern’s overtime victory over Etown on Wednesday. Now there
are three teams with 7-1 records and two of them are featured in
this game. FDU-Florham is the defending conference champions and
appear to be finally finding their stride after a rough
non-conference stretch. Etown was on an eight-game tear before the
aforementioned setback to Eastern.
This game is for seeding purposes, which with the depth of the
conference doesn’t mean a whole lot since there are six teams
I could envision winning the AQ once it starts. I think something
has clicked with the Devils, so I’m taking FDU by a
deuce.
ZAZZARO: I’ll take Etown in a close one, 9-8. Coach
Corcoran has quietly built a strong program. FDU went to the
tournament last year so this is a must win for either program to
solidify the top spot in the MAC.
No. 17 Washington & Lee (10-4) at No. 12
Lynchburg (11-4), 7
p.m., Saturday
COYNE: Both of these teams are teetering on the
brink of Pool C, only adding to what is a fierce rivalry. My
initial concern is that the Generals will not be able to score
enough goals to stay with the Hornets, but on second thought, I may
not be giving W&L’s defense the credit it deserves. Throw
in the fact that Lynchburg lost all three games in which they
failed to hit double-digits, and I’m thinking W&L has the
ingredients to pull off this mini-upset, even on the road.
Generals, 9-8.
ZAZZARO: This is a huge game (every year it is for these
two teams) as both need to strengthen their Pool C resume if they
don’t win the ODACs. I like the home team. Lynchburg, 10-8.
But I would like to give a quick shout-out to Jason Archbell, the
assistant coach at W&L, who always seems to make a positive
difference wherever he goes. Here’s hoping he is line for a
head coach gig soon; he would be a great pick up for a school.
Coyne’s Pick
WNEC (9-5) at Springfield
(8-4), 4 p.m., Friday
COYNE: WNEC put together a tough schedule,
but they don’t have the conference depth to take five losses
and still be in the Pool C hunt. So this game is all about bragging
rights in the lovely city of Springfield, Massachusetts. It is also
a Springfield Mafia game – WNEC John Klepacki is a former
player for the Pride under current Springfield coach Keith Bugbee
– meaning there will be plenty of incentive to go all out
despite both programs needing their respective conference’s
AQ. Who does that favor?
I like Springfield in a defensive tussle, 8-6.
ZAZZARO: This is a tough game to figure out. The common
opponent information doesn’t match up. I’ll go with the
home team again. Springfield 10-9.
Zazzaro’s Pick
Whittier (8-5) at
Wooster (8-5), 12
p.m., Sunday
ZAZZARO: Pool B Watch. This will go down to the
final weekend, so this game has value. I’ll take Wooster in a
9-5 win. Not sure how to figure out Wooster, but I just don’t
think Whittier has enough firepower to win on the road this late in
the season.
COYNE: It would be stunning if Wooster earned a nod over
Denison for a Pool B berth, but I suppose that head-to-head win
could pay off in a big way. Regardless, I’m not sure if this
really qualifies as a competitive game. This is more likely just
Zazzaro sandbagging now that I’m breathing down his neck.
Typical. Wooster pretty easily.
Previous installments of ‘Competing the Z’
Weekend of Feb.
27
Weekend of March
6
Weekend of March
13
Weekend of March
20
Weekend of March
27
Weekend of April
3
Weekend of April
10
Weekend
of April 17
