Podcast: It’s the MIAA playoff preview, favorites and sleepers

Seniors Braden Martin and Kam Tremblay are two reasons why Billerica Memorial is contending again in MIAA D-2. (Brian Kelly photo)

On this week’s episode of New England Lacrosse Journal’s “Chasing The Goal” podcast, hosts Kyle Devitte and Owen Hart break down possible playoff scenarios in the MIAA, and pick their sleepers and favorites for each division.

The MIAA will release brackets for its four state tournaments on Wednesday.

Watch the full podcast below on YouTube. It’s also available on all major podcast platforms. If you enjoy it, please leave a rating and a review. Watch more episodes on the Chasing the Goal podcast channel.

Here are some excerpts from the pod.

Kyle Devitte: Surprise team of the year for you. Go.

Owen Hart: Not to say “surprise,” because they’ve always been in the conversation, but Winchester is 16-1 and was up at No. 2 at one point in the (MIAA Division 1) power rankings. They were leaping teams like (Acton-Boxborough) and Andover and BC High. They were toe-to-toe with every single team and demolished certain teams. Again, respect for that program. Them and (Bishop) Feehan were the two ones that took a leap. But both teams were always in the conversation – Feehan less so, but those two teams have just elevated, and it’s been super-impressive to see.

Kyle Devitte: Yeah, I was gonna say Feehan’s definitely the other one. … The thing with Feehan is they have those three guys that are juniors that are going Division 1 (Adam Hertel, Dexter Izzo and Blake Masso). Like, you’ve got some dudes. At any division, I feel like that’s what it is.

Owen Hart: Agreed.

Kyle Devitte: Division 2. I don’t know who beats Billerica, because that St. John’s Prep game (a 12-11 loss to the perennial D-1 champions on Tuesday) gave them everything they needed emotionally to be ready.

Owen Hart: Yes.

Kyle Devitte: And I think that’s scary. I do think Mansfield is interesting. I’m rooting for a Reading vs. Billerica championship rematch, but emotionally I feel like Billerica’s got the juice now. They know they can stand toe-to-toe with the best team in Division 1 that has more dudes than them. That’s gonna empower them a lot into the playoffs, so I’m gonna pick Billerica as the favorite there.

Owen Hart: I’m just gonna add one thing. It’s fun that all the Patriot League teams are 5-6-7 – Duxbury, Marshfield, Hingham. They all have one loss and one win to the other. They’re all 1-1 against each other. That’s super-fun, right? So, I love parity. Good for the Patriot League.

Kyle Devitte: Got it.

Owen Hart: One team that moved up from D-4 this year that’s right in the top of D-3 is Weston, a team that got upset last year in the D-4 tournament. Now they’re up a division and they’re right there with the big boys. They play in a tough conference, too, and they’re in the top six. They could be coming after some top teams. Right now they’d be slated to play Dracut in the elite eight. That would be interesting.

Kyle Devitte: Some people still have them listed as D-4. I’m looking at a site that has them listed as D-4.

Owen Hart: As I said in our piece the other day: If you were drafting (MIAA) towns you’d want to live in, D-4 has a lot of the top candidates. These towns are great. Ipswich is right by the water. Manchester’s gorgeous. I love D-4 towns. They’re the best.

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