The Nuances of Schedule

"Sometimes you can observe a lot by just watching." - Yogi Berra 

There's an old saying, "you have to play the schedule." That may serve as an apology for perceived weakness in a team's competition (e.g. the Patriots' AFC East competition). 

But examine your opponent's schedule to see how tough their non-league schedule is to gauge their competitiveness. It reveals their attitude about competition.  

Notre Dame of Hingham plays Barnstable, Medfield (2), Westborough, Hopkinton, Frontier, Canton, Melrose, Winchester, and Burlington among others. They will be battle-tested by the playoffs. 

Melrose's non-league schedule includes Notre Dame, Central Catholic, Bishop Fenwick, AC, and Frontier. Teams that aspire to deep playoff contention must "ante up" during the regular season. When Melrose won the state championship, they battled Newton North in the final regular season game. A hard-fought loss proved a decisive advantage. 

The Lady Raiders' next match in Friday, September 8th, at 5:00 at Arlington. 

I'm not old enough to sing the blues
But I wore the holes in the soles of these shoes
You can roll the dice 'til they call your bluff 
But you can't win until you're not afraid to lose 
- Bon Jovi, Just Older