Loyola Reconsiders Schedule in Light of Snub
by Steven Russolillo | Special to Lacrosse Magazine Online
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Despite strong numbers (strength of schedule, RPI), Loyola did not receive an at-large berth to the NCAA tournament, leaving head coach Charley Toomey "confused" as to how to schedule opponents for upcoming seasons. © John Strohsacker/LaxPhotos.com |
The NCAA Division I men's lacrosse committee's new "human
element" to the selection process left Loyola on the outside
looking in when the bracket was announced last Sunday.
The Greyhounds (9-5, 6-1 ECAC) featured the ninth-best strength of
schedule and ranked 10th in RPI. But they lacked a signature win
against a top opponent and, in this new era in which the selection
process incorporates subjective criteria, Loyola will watch the
16-team tournament unfold on from afar.
Loyola points to its schedule and how competitively it played
against some top teams. The Greyhounds lost by one goal each to
Notre Dame, Syracuse and to Johns Hopkins in a double-overtime
heartbreaker, while also hanging tough against Duke and UMass --
losing by two goals apiece.
With a significantly weaker strength of schedule, Brown (12-3)
snatched up the final spot in the tournament, which seems in large
part due to its signature win over Cornell, as well as an
impressive victory against UMass. Conversely, Loyola's most
impressive win was Penn State.
In years past, Loyola probably would've been prepping for the
tournament. But the committee made a concerted effort to consider
other measures in the selection process, including the regional
advisory committee, head-to-head competition, results against
common opponents and game locations. Choosing Brown shows the
committee stuck to its guns.
"I don't want to sound like a guy on the outside crying, but I'm
just a little confused, as I think a lot of coaches are," says
Loyola head coach Charley Toomey. "We're all trying to figure out
what the committee wants."
Loyola -- the highest-ranked squad not to get invited to the
tournament at No. 14 in this week's USILA poll -- finished the year
with an identical conference record as ECAC champ UMass. The
Minutemen won the tiebreaker by virtue of its 8-6 win at Loyola on
March 21. That loss was the first and only conference home loss
Toomey has suffered in his four years as Loyola's head coach.
Loyola won the ECAC title last year and appeared in the NCAA
tournament the last two seasons. But not getting at least one win
against the top competition on its schedule ultimately proved why
the Greyhounds didn't get a third consecutive invite.
"We know we were in every one of those games, and we needed to
pull one off. But when it came down to the bubble teams, we
certainly had a resume that would've warranted being included in
the tournament," Toomey says.
To make matters worse, Loyola's strength of schedule may take a
hit next year with Georgetown moving to the Big East and Syracuse
unable to schedule the Greyhounds due to Big East commitments.
UMass and Penn State are also moving to the CAA, leaving Loyola and
the rest of the ECAC adopting a few GWLL squads.
Loyola has one open spot on its schedule, but in light of its
recent snubbing from the tournament, Toomey says he's not sure what
type of team to schedule.
"When you're putting together a schedule for your program, do you
play mid-level teams that'll help you get 10 or 12 wins and then go
after one or two tough teams, or will you be rewarded for playing
tough games every Saturday? That is the confusion and the
frustration for me," he said.
