Philly Phour Phocus: Trust The Process

One team has a win in the Philly area. The other three are winless. Scrap the season now.

Welcome to another edition of the Philly Phour Phocus, which is properly spelled for the occasion. Once again, we're following all four Philly teams throughout the season, and updating their chances of repping the great city in this year's Final Four in...Foxborough.

Last week, we had our first Big 5 (it’s a basketball term non-Philly people) lacrosse game of the season, and also our first win of the season (thanks Penn)! Everyone else lost. Could they all lose this weekend? To the Big Board we go! This week's Philly Phour Phocus Big Board is sponsored by the French Quarter. The French Quarter: Wait, we have one of those?

Drexel

The Dragons opened up their season with an 18-14 loss to Virginia. And Drexel was very competitive throughout, even making it a one-goal game early in the fourth quarter. Robert Frazee led the way for the Dragons with three goals and two assists, while Marshal King and Cole Shafer each had a hat-trick and an assist. Jimmy Joe Granito did fairly well, as he made 12 saves on the day. The face-off department went 13-of-36 from the X, spearheaded by Ian Foster (6-of-15) and Jimmeh Koita (6-of-18). The Dragons had seven failed clears and eight more turnovers than the Cavaliers, and also went 1-for-5 on man down defense. The Dragons host Albany this afternoon.

Current Big Dance Chance: 35%. I don’t think people thought Drexel would beat Virginia at home in their season opener, but keeping it very close throughout was kind of impressive. Sure Virginia isn’t running a “normal” offense the Dragons will see for the most part this season, but could we be underestimating what the Dragons bring to the table? Albany should be a great test to see where they’re at, and also have Villanova on Wednesday. Even without one of their top young guys in Matthew Varian for the season, Drexel fans should...Trust The Process.

Penn

The Quakers opened 2017 with a 10-5 win over fellow Philly team St. Joe’s last weekend. Alex Roesner had a hat-trick, while Simon Mathias recorded a goal and a pair of assists, and Tyler Dunn and Reilly Hupfeldt each notched a pair of goals. Reed Junkin made 15 saves in the game, but Chris Santangelo went 8-of-17 from the face-off X. Penn led St. Joe’s, 7-1, at halftime, which included scoring all three of the first quarter goals. Speaking of Virginia, whom we already mentioned, the Quakers will host the Wahoos later today in the first ever meeting played at Franklin Field.

Current Big Dance Chance: 55%. I am a huge fan of this Penn team because of the young talent they possess. Will it be enough to compete with the likes of Brown and Yale this year, maybe not, but time will tell. If they play like this for the entire season, they’ll definitely be considered for an at-large bid come May. But with this young and talented team, fans should...Trust The Process.

St. Joe’s

On the other side of that 10-5 loss are the Hawks, who are now 0-2 to start the season. Midfielder Kevin Reidinger led the way with a pair of goals, while Jason Kelly, Kyle Cain, and Hayes McGinley also appearing in the goal column. T.J. Jones made 15 saves in the game, while Danny Manning (5-of-10) and Mike Lanham (4-of-7) helped even out the face-off wins with Penn. St. Joe’s offense got off to a very slow start, but improved or equaled their shots from the previous quarter into the next. The Hawks did go 10-for-13 on clearing the ball and were beaten in the ground ball department, 26-15.

Current Big Dance Chance: 60% (down from 65% last week). St. Joe’s should be one of the better teams in the NEC, which should give them an opportunity at the conference’s automatic qualifier. The Hawks have Duke this afternoon, before easing their schedule with St. John’s on Wednesday and a few other weaker nonconference teams before opening up NEC play in a little over a month. Just be patient and let the wins come to you, and also...Trust The Process.

Villanova

The Wildcats lost to Yale at home, 16-11, who was without Ben Reeves for the majority of the game. Christian Cuccinello led all Nova scorers with four goals and two assists, while Jake Froccaro added a hat-trick and an assist on 15 shots (#ShootersShoot), and Danny Seibel had a pair of goals and assists in the losing effort. Froccaro also went 5-of-6 from the face-off X. Nick Testa started in goal this week over Dan Willis, but gave up 15 goals and made just seven saves. Willis came in with 8:26 left in the game, but it was too late. I’m not sure who’s starting in net today against Villanova, but the goaltenders need to get their stuff together. Luke Palmadesso went 10-of-23 from the face-off X himself. The Wildcats outshot the Elis 45-30, and also went 4-of-6 on the extra man, scoring on their first three opportunities as well, while not committing a penalty in the game.

Current Big Dance Chance: 35% (down from 45% last week). I’m not so sure an at-large bid for the Wildcats is possible this early because of the Monmouth loss, but anything can happen in February. Penn State is a very dangerous team, especially on offense, and with the goalie situation on the Main Line, it might be feastings for the Nittany Lions today. It’ll get easier with Drexel on Wednesday and Delaware next weekend, but Villanova really needs a win here. I guess they just have to...Trust The Process.

Let’s dance!

And perhaps...yes...Trust The Process?