Inside Lacrosse Podcasts

PLL Whipsnakes beat reporter Adam Lamberti joins IL's Kevin Brown to preview one of the most highly anticipated draft classes in professional lacrosse history. They get into the debate of who should go first overall between Brennan O'Neill and Connor Shellenberger, what players will be value picks later in the draft and add some player comparisons for some of the top prospects.

The 2024 PLL Draft will be broadcast on ESPNU on Tuesday, May 7, at 7 p.m.

IL's Terry Foy and Nick Ossello once again record while watching the end of a Notre Dame game, this time the Irish's 15-12 win over Duke (though Duke's three-goal run to it 11-11 is worth the listen for those who download for the schadenfreude).

Mixed in, they discuss Hopkins' 9-8 overtime win vs. Penn State in Baltimore, Colgate's upset of Army, Virginia's domination of North Carolina and much more.

When the calendar turns to April, you start thinking about May. It’s not because you want to skip over April, it’s just that you to think about the postseason. Watercooler conversations change from hoops to lacrosse Bracketology and the RPI. Conference races and seeding are shaping up. All focus goes to your single opponent this coming weekend.

The weekend is finally here and D-Fly & Dixie are here to get you ready for a big weekend of action which includes a pair of Top 20 matchups on Saturday and the long-awaited rematch of last year’s title game when No. 1 Notre Dame travels to No. 3 Duke in the biggest game of the weekend.

This week the guys are joined by star Notre Dame attackman, Chris Kavanagh. The junior leads the Fighting Irish in scoring and talks to the guys about how hard it is to win a championship, the team mindset coming back in 2024, growing up Kavanagh, the uncanny success of the Irish EMO, the Notre Dame assistant coaches, the upcoming game against Duke and so much more. 

MARQUEE MATCHUPS
Saturday, April 6
No. 12 Penn (7-3, 3-0 Ivy) at No. 10 Yale (6-2, 2-1 Ivy), noon, ESPN+
No. 20 St. Joseph’s (6-3, 1-0 Atlantic 10) at UMass (5-4, 1-0), 1 p.m., ESPN+
Bellarmine (7-4, 3-1 ASUN) at Air Force (5-4, 4-0), 1 p.m., ESPN+
No. 8 Penn State (7-2, 1-1 B1G) at No. 7 Johns Hopkins (7-3, 2-0), 2 p.m. ESPNU
Colgate (6-4, 3-1 Patriot) at No. 5 Army (8-1, 3-1), 3 p.m., ESPN+

Sunday, April 7
No. 1 Notre Dame (6-1, 1-0 ACC) at No. 3 Duke (10-2, 0-1), noon, ACC Network

GIVE & GO
And finally, in a Gerry Byrne-inspired Give & Go, they talk about those famous assistant coaches who become as well known or maybe as synonymous with their team as the  head coach.

Director of ILPreps  Dan Kaplan links up with Loomis Chaffee (Conn.) head coach Bill Ball to summarize some early action, highlight players and discuss some of the exciting challenges that lie ahead of them this season.

This week features a pair of heavyweight contests with Trinity-Pawling (N.Y.) on Wednesday and Brunswick (Conn.) on Friday. Ball also talks about the development of the program since he took over as head coach ahead of the 2022 season and highlights the strong work ethic and commitment of the players while emphasizing the value of being a well-rounded athlete and the importance of playing multiple sports.

Ball also gives some detail on a few key players on the team and their contributions, including seniors like attackman Nate Cobery (Harvard), face-off specialist Joe Hobot (Johns Hopkins), defenseman Kaleb Griffith (Richmond), junior attackman Anthony Rodriguez (Georgetown) and many more.

11:30 Introduction and Start of the Season
13:40 Program Development and Team Buy-In
15:36 Value of Playing Multiple Sports
20:38 Key Players and Contributions
25:04 Strong Defense and Leadership
34:49 Importance of Midfield Play
42:00 Underrated Defensive Midfielders

IL's Terry Foy and Nick Ossello wish you a very Happy Easter and can't wait to unpack this weekend, starting with No. 1 Notre Dame's 14-12 win over No. 3 Syracuse, Hopkins' second-straight 15-11 win over Michigan, Virginia's epic comeback over Harvard and much, much more.

Have we really reached the midpoint of the 2024 regular season? Yes. Yes, we have. Time flies when you are having fun.

As we close out March we have a pretty good understanding of the college lacrosse landscape, including which teams are shaping into contenders and which players are shaping into stars. Many of those contenders will sharpen their iron in another weekend featuring half a dozen Top 20 matchups. D-Fly & Dixie will set the table for big weekend ahead.

One of those stars is Penn State attackman, TJ Malone, who’s No. 4-ranked Nittany Lions have somehow seemed to fly under the radar in 2024. They’ll emerge in the spotlight come Sunday night in a marquee nationally-televised Big Ten game against No. 12 Maryland. Malone joins the guys this week to discuss the Nittany Lions quest to return to Championship Weekend, how the team refocused after a season-opening loss to Colgate, ‘gratitude practice’ and life lessons learned during injury rehab, Drake coming to State College this Sunday night, Panzermonium and much, much more.

MARQUEE MATCHUPS
Saturday, March 30
No. 6 Army (7-1) at North Carolina (6-3), noon, ACCN+
No. 2 Virginia (8-1) at No. 16 Harvard (6-2), noon, ESPN+
No. 14 Michigan (6-3, 1-0 B1G) at No. 8 Johns Hopkins (6-3, 1-0), noon, ESPNU
No. 7 Cornell (5-2, 2-0 Ivy) at No. 15 Penn (6-3, 2-0), 1 p.m., ESPN+
No. 3 Syracuse (9-2, 1-0 ACC) at No. 1 Notre Dame (5-1, 0-0), 2 p.m., ACC Network

Sunday, March 31
No. 12 Maryland (5-3, 0-1 B1G) at No. 4 Penn State (7-1, 1-0), 7 p.m., Big Ten Network


GIVE & GO
And finally, in a Quiet Riot-inspired Give & Go, they talk about walk-up songs, goal music and the other bangers that routinely rock stadiums across this fine nation.

Kap and Caleb hit the studio to reflect on a week of results and look ahead at the biggest games ahead. The guys officially launch a POTY of the year campaign, touch on an underrated and under-the-radar goalie to know, and hint at a request for Salisbury on behalf of DIII fans.

The pod includes a shout out to Ohio Northern for their win over John Carroll, and discussion on CNU's late-game comeback — one of the most memorable 15 minute of DIII lacrosse in recent game action.

IL's Terry Foy and Nick Ossello are back in the shade of the midseason mark, starting with High Point's incredible upset of North Carolina (and they're joined by audacious attackman Brayden Mayea to discuss) and then moving through the weekend's action. They dive into Michigan's third-straight win over Maryland, sort out Duke's 11-7 win over Denver and slice up Princeton 14-11 win over Harvard. They end by welcoming in Boston University's Ryan Polley, whose Terriers unseated No. 1 Army on Friday night on Nickerson Field.

When it comes to pure drama, sports fans can’t beat the NCAA Basketball Tournament. March Madness always delivers. Similarly, the 2024 lacrosse regular season keeps delivering on a weekly basis. Aren’t we lucky? Whether it’s the down-to-the-wire games, the SportsCenter-worthy highlights or the stunning upsets, lacrosse fans have to be delighted in the action to date.

This upcoming weekend will be no different, and D-Fly and Dixie are here to walk you through it and get you excited for the biggest games of the week. There are six legitimate Top 20 matchups in store for you. They’ll also look back on the previous week, along with some mid-week upsets.

TOP 20 MATCHUPS
Saturday, March 23
No. 8 Yale (4-1, 1-0) at No. 12 Cornell (4-2, 1-0), noon, ESPN+
No. 14 Princeton (4-3, 0-1) at No. 16 Harvard (6-1), noon, ESPN+
No. 7 Maryland (5-2) at No. 19 Michigan (5-3), 2:30 p.m., Big Ten Network
No. 10 Georgetown (5-2) at No. 17 Richmond (5-3), 6 p.m., FloSports 

Sunday, March 24
No. 4 Duke (8-2) vs. No. 9 Denver (6-1), 2 p.m., Severn, Md. 
No. 11 Johns Hopkins (5-3) at No. 18 Rutgers (6-2), 4:30 p.m., Big Ten Network

GIVE & GO
And finally, in a March Madness-inspired Give & Go, they talk about the wonders of the NCAA basketball tournament and share their bracket predictions and stone cold locks.

What's up ILPreps Nation? Host Dan Kaplan is here to deliver a massive pod, diving in on game coverage with Terry Foy, and zooming in on both the 
Valor Christian (Colo.) and Malvern Prep (Colo.) programs via conversations with each head coach.

Kaplan and Foy hit St. Anthony’s (N.Y.) victory over Culver (Ind.) at Rutgers on Sunday, Hill Academy's (Ont.) win at Calvert Hall (Md.) on Tuesday and a few impressive performances from Lawrenceville (N.J.) following
their showing vs. the Cardinals last Friday, as well.

Valor coach Jeremy Noble joins to provides plenty of insight on current Valor players, and discuss how, as a program, the Eagles continue to strive to meet their goals in their own unique manner.
Malvern coach Matt Mackrides shares some of the aspects that make the Friars unique, expresses excitement to be host Valor on Monday and peels back the curtain on the message he’s sending to his locker room by scheduling a stretch 
consisting of Calvert Hall, Valor, Boys’ Latin (Md.), St. Anthony’s and Lawrenceville.

Each coach also discusses thoughts and expectations ahead of Monday’s contest. Valor's trek East features not only a game between two Atlanta Blaze teammates, but Academy New Church (Pa.), as well.

Chapters:
0:00- 5:00: Intro & some quick results
5:00- 34:00: Recap segment with Terry Foy. 
34:00- 1:19:50: ILPreps Podcast welcomes Valor Christian’s Jeremy Noble
1:19:50- 1:39:00: ILPreps Podcast welcomes Malvern’s Matt Mackrides