Lax Quarterfinals vs. Princeton

With last weekend's win against Hofstra, Cornell advances to the quarterfinal round of the NCAA tournament for the fifth time since 2002--not bad at all, and a sign of how much things have improved following a down period in the 90's.

There was a great run in the late 80's driven by Tim Goldstein and a high-octane offense that was built around him. The 1987 team was undefeated and made it to the championship game at Rutgers thanks to a thrilling 18-15 semifinal win over Syracuse (we beat them in the Dome that year 19-6). We lost by a goal in the title game (the team looked tired and tight) to a Dave Pietramala-led Hopkins squad. Goldstein had 100 points that year including 73 assists.

The next year, we sqeaked into the tournament with a .500 record (SOS? RPI? Was Richie on the selection committee?) and advanced to the quarterfinals against Carolina. Carolina was coming off three national titles already in the 80's and had yet to lose a playoff game at home. Nobody seemed to give us much of a chance. I went to Chapel Hill for the game (that's the last time I have been able to see Cornell play live), and I remember it was a very hot day at Fetzer Field. Schimoler stood on his head (27 saves?), and we won 6-4. In the semifinals, we blew out Virginia 17-6 before losing to Syracuse and the Gaits 13-8 in the final.

Then came the lost decade of the 90's, with only one tourament appearance: a 1995 first-round loss to Brown.

Pietrama got the team back to the tournament in 2000, but we lost to the G-men in the first round. After Tambroni took over, the 2002 team easily beat Stony Brook in the opening round before losing a heartbreaker to 'Ole Virginny in the quarterfinals 11-10 on a last-minute goal by John Christmas. In 2004 we lost the quarterfinal game at home to Navy 6-5. McMonagle played a great game, and a star was born. Navy went on to make it to the final but lost to Syracuse.

In 2005 we lost to the Duke Dukes in the quarterfinal game 11-8. It was close at the half, but Duke pulled away in the third quarter before we put up some goals later in the game to make the score more respectable.

The 2006 first-round loss to UMass was a great disappointment (to me more so than last year's first-round performance vs. the Ohio State States), because that '06 team seemed to have the potential to make a real push for the finals (Virginia, clearly the best team in 2006, was in the other bracket). Our only losses during the season were at Penn 8-6 and at home against 'Cuse 12-11. But we couldn't seem to win a faceoff against UMass and lost by one. UMass went all the way to the title game before losing to 'Ole Virginny.

For this week's game against Princeton, I don't think we can count on controlling faceoffs and dominating possession like we did at Schoellkopf last month. We need to move the ball a lot on offense and do a better job of finishing our inside chances than we did against Hofstra; hopefully Hurley can return to earlier-season form. We will also need decent goaltending to support what I hope will be another solid effort by our close defense. Does anyone know the latest on Moyer? Princeton will be motivated in light of their last game against us, and their midfielders lit up UMass last week.

FarEastLax
With last weekend's win against Hofstra, Cornell advances to the quarterfinal round of the NCAA tournament for the fifth time since 2002--not bad at all, and a sign of how much things have improved following a down period in the 90's.

There was a great run in the late 80's driven by Tim Goldstein and a high-octane offense that was built around him. The 1987 team was undefeated and made it to the championship game at Rutgers thanks to a thrilling 18-15 semifinal win over Syracuse (we beat them in the Dome that year 19-6). We lost by a goal in the title game (the team looked tired and tight) to a Dave Pietramala-led Hopkins squad. Goldstein had 100 points that year including 73 assists.

The next year, we sqeaked into the tournament with a .500 record (SOS? RPI? Was Richie on the selection committee?) and advanced to the quarterfinals against Carolina. Carolina was coming off three national titles already in the 80's and had yet to lose a playoff game at home. Nobody seemed to give us much of a chance. I went to Chapel Hill for the game (that's the last time I have been able to see Cornell play live), and I remember it was a very hot day at Fetzer Field. Schimoler stood on his head (27 saves?), and we won 6-4. In the semifinals, we blew out Virginia 17-6 before losing to Syracuse and the Gaits 13-8 in the final.

Then came the lost decade of the 90's, with only one tourament appearance: a 1995 first-round loss to Brown.

Pietrama got the team back to the tournament in 2000, but we lost to the G-men in the first round. After Tambroni took over, the 2002 team easily beat Stony Brook in the opening round before losing a heartbreaker to 'Ole Virginny in the quarterfinals 11-10 on a last-minute goal by John Christmas. In 2004 we lost the quarterfinal game at home to Navy 6-5. McMonagle played a great game, and a star was born. Navy went on to make it to the final but lost to Syracuse.

In 2005 we lost to the Duke Dukes in the quarterfinal game 11-8. It was close at the half, but Duke pulled away in the third quarter before we put up some goals later in the game to make the score more respectable.

The 2006 first-round loss to UMass was a great disappointment (to me more so than last year's first-round performance vs. the Ohio State States), because that '06 team seemed to have the potential to make a real push for the finals (Virginia, clearly the best team in 2006, was in the other bracket). Our only losses during the season were at Penn 8-6 and at home against 'Cuse 12-11. But we couldn't seem to win a faceoff against UMass and lost by one. UMass went all the way to the title game before losing to 'Ole Virginny.

For this week's game against Princeton, I don't think we can count on controlling faceoffs and dominating possession like we did at Schoellkopf last month. We need to move the ball a lot on offense and do a better job of finishing our inside chances than we did against Hofstra; hopefully Hurley can return to earlier-season form. We will also need decent goaltending to support what I hope will be another solid effort by our close defense. Does anyone know the latest on Moyer? Princeton will be motivated in light of their last game against us, and their midfielders lit up UMass last week.

Nice summary.

Fortunately, our midfielders appear to match up better with Princeton's than UMass' midfielders did.

In the game against UMass, Princeton did not dominate. In fact, the stats were much closer than the final score. Princeton's defense did a very nice job of sliding to back up players covering dodgers and double-teaming the ball. Our guys are going to have to move the ball and hit the open man quickly when Princeton slides.

Anyone know of any free (i.e. justin.tv) webcasts?

The audio is on RedCast (not free), although it is currently not up.

Audio is up.

From the teaser just shown, looks like we're wearing white lids on red unis today. Game not starting til 2:46 according to ESPNU.

Looks like traditional red. Good.

Princeton has free audio up and running.

[www.goprincetontigers.com]

Blew too many chances to go three up.

Also need to move the ball better. Too many one on one forays. Happy for the score though.

Would you guys mind posting the occasional score update with your analysis?

Thanks!

3-1 Cornell with 10 min left in 2nd period. Princeton on EMO.

Two goals for the second middies. Nice.

5-1, 3 mins to go in the half.

Incredible defensive effort this half.

Al DeFlorio
Incredible defensive effort this half.

Sounds like Princeton's having trouble on the clear. Is Cornell playing a hard ride, or is Princeton just sloppy?

Tom Lento

Al DeFlorio
Incredible defensive effort this half.

Sounds like Princeton's having trouble on the clear. Is Cornell playing a hard ride, or is Princeton just sloppy?

Tim's watching. I'm not. What say ye, Tim?

Cornell broke up at least 2 clears. They're doing a great job of checking Princeton's hanging/trailing sticks. They have caused several drops that Princeton managed to recover, too, but these induce a certain amount of caution in the ball carriers, so those are still good.

Glynn's goal- bulling through 2-3 defenders and cranking one from 10 yards out was fabulous.

Who's marking Kovler?

What is with all these penaltie? Is this the Tierney effect, or are we really deserving all these?

Scoreless second half for Cornell so far.

Al DeFlorio
Scoreless second half for Cornell so far.

Dodged a bullet at the end of the third, but Princeton's got all the momentum and Cornell can't score. 5-3 Big Red.

Shots 9-3 Princeton in the 3rd. Gotta start taking it to the goal.

Princeton with the ball with two minutes left, empty Princeton net. Cornell with the 6-3 lead.

Beeeej
Princeton with the ball with two minutes left, empty Princeton net. Cornell with the 6-3 lead.

Make that Cornell with the 6-4 lead; Kovler scores for Princeton with 1:32 left. We need this next face-off.

6-4, Cornell needs a faceoff win.

Edit: Cornell EMO!

Cornell with the ball and an empty net, and flags flying everywhere - Princeton committing penalties by the dozen. 40 seconds left.

Cornell wins! Going to Foxboro!

Beeeej
Cornell with the ball and an empty net, and flags flying everywhere - Princeton committing penalties by the dozen. 40 seconds left.

Well... the officials had to get in some make-up calls.

A great defensive effort for the Big Red. We also had two key plays go our way. The first was when Princeton shot a split second too late at the end of the third quarter. If that goal had counted, our lead would have been down to 5-4 going into the final period and the momentum would have been even more on Princeton's side than it was. The other key play, when it was still a 5-3 game, came on a point-blank save by Meyer after Princeton won a faceoff and found a player all alone in front.
We also did a great job of killing off a myriad of Princeton man-ups. I believe they were only 1-for-7 on them.
We'll need to score more than 6 goals to make it past the next round, but it's great to have us back in the Final Four for the second time in three years!

Postgame: Awesome defensive effort by Cornell, helped by the pipe 3 (?) times in the first half, though we hit some pipes of our own.

5-1 at halftime felt like we were on the way, probably, to the final four, except ... we missed chances in the third and early in the fourth to extend the lead and put away Princeton.

Once again we had a pretty good near-stall / deliberate offense, this time controlling the last five minutes, except when we lost the ball (again) and allowed Princeton to score and make the comeback seem maybe possible. Again I wonder about Cornell's special ability to control the majority of faceoffs why we didn't fire into an open net, and I know the statistics say it's not the thing to do.

Seibald got shut out for the first time in 49 games. He had a couple blasts just wide. It's going to reopen the question of whether Max peaked earlier in his career or, more likely, we expect too much improvement each season to make the last one look merely average. In the fourth, though, he took the ball inbounds in the corner guarded by two Tigers and I thought, Princeton's outnumbered. Max in fact broke loose easily, circled the box, stepped in, and then (I believe it was Max), lost the ball.

Fioritio, Princeton's goalie, is the real deal. He's amazing. Myers had some nice saves for us and he also muffed - it seemed, from the 50-yard-line, that the last Princeton goal was a very save-able shot.

Rob Pannell (3A) is an amazing ball-handler. He helped keep Princeton's hands off the ball those last 5 minutes.

Among the 11,000 at the game (attendance for both games in a 15,000 seat stadium at Hofstra) was Richie Moran, the Cornell coach who hoisted Cornell's first (and the NCAA's first ever) NCAA champsionship flag here 38 years ago. It is great to see a link to Cornell's storied past.

On to Boston. LGR!

Al DeFlorio
What is with all these penaltie? Is this the Tierney effect, or are we really deserving all these?

No comment on the Tierny effect, but it seemed as if the refs decide any modersately hard smacking of the stick against the body. The kinda 'rough stuff' that is usually a normal part of the game was called repeatedly. It was quite unfortunate to play a quarterfinal game under a different interpretation of the rules than the rest of the season. At least that's how it appeared to me.

Kudos for a complete team effort. Best I've ever seen Romero play, and excellent contributions from the 2nd midfield. Moyer has been amazing with two bum knees, and Derkac is an unsung hero. Great to see Meyers come up big in the big spot. Amazing hustle overall to once again dominate in ground balls.

The final four will be wide open -- why not us?

IIRC,, the same ref called nearly every penalty on Cornell, and came in far from the sideline to overturn a possession call behind the Cornell net in the 3rd period.

Vegas have a line on this game?

scoop85
Kudos for a complete team effort. Best I've ever seen Romero play,

And much of it after he got his bell rung pretty emphatically when he was led blindly into a defender with a pass in the midfield.

Jordan 04

scoop85
Kudos for a complete team effort. Best I've ever seen Romero play,

And much of it after he got his bell rung pretty emphatically when he was led blindly into a defender with a pass in the midfield.

That was literally the last thing I saw. As I walked out of the stadium, Cornell had an awesome scramble/clear as one of the long sticks made a crazy (behind the head?) pass to Romero, who dished it off himself before getting hammered. He was still on the ground when I left the stands.

Very frustrating to hear over the PA that princeton cleared and then scored with 18 seconds left. I heard another loud cheer shortly after; I assume that was the no-goal at the end of the 3d.

I was really impressed with the passing, defense and goaltending of both teams today. I'd say the Princeton goalie actually had the better game but Meyers definitely held his own. Princeton also definitely seemed to have more speed guys who could generate instant offense but the Cornell D was stout. Hard checking, impressive persistence on forcing ground balls and then really, really impressive in scooping them up.

As for the Princton EMOs, most were bullshit, I thought. The only one that made any sense to me was after the first Princeton goal where I think the goalscorer got laid out after he put the ball in the net.

Great game. So glad I went even though I had to spend $35 on a cab out to Queens and had to leave with a minute left in the third quarter.

Chris'03, Danny is a goddamn cute kid.

Jordan 04

scoop85
Kudos for a complete team effort. Best I've ever seen Romero play,

And much of it after he got his bell rung pretty emphatically when he was led blindly into a defender with a pass in the midfield.

The pass was a pretty, behind the back kind of deal, but the kind that sets up the receiving player to have his clock rung. I didn't notice who made the pass, but I bet a few teammates spoke to the guy on the way home.

Swampy

Jordan 04

scoop85
Kudos for a complete team effort. Best I've ever seen Romero play,

And much of it after he got his bell rung pretty emphatically when he was led blindly into a defender with a pass in the midfield.

The pass was a pretty, behind the back kind of deal, but the kind that sets up the receiving player to have his clock rung. I didn't notice who made the pass, but I bet a few teammates spoke to the guy on the way home.

It was right after a scramble for a ground ball and he had to get rid of the ball quickly. I thought the play was fantastic. Romero probably doesn't even remember it.

Swampy

Jordan 04

scoop85
Kudos for a complete team effort. Best I've ever seen Romero play,

And much of it after he got his bell rung pretty emphatically when he was led blindly into a defender with a pass in the midfield.

The pass was a pretty, behind the back kind of deal, but the kind that sets up the receiving player to have his clock rung. I didn't notice who made the pass, but I bet a few teammates spoke to the guy on the way home.

I want to say it might've been Moyer; I'm pretty sure it was a long stick. And considering he's playing on two bum knees and still had a phenomenal game, I don't think anyone is giving him any shit at the moment.

Jordan 04
IIRC,, the same ref called nearly every penalty on Cornell, and came in far from the sideline to overturn a possession call behind the Cornell net in the 3rd period.

That possession call was the weirdest thing IMO. Honestly I have a hard time picking out most stick fouls in lacrosse (I cannot for the life of me figure out what the deal is with all the slashing) but that one was puzzling. Cornell player shot, Fiorito got a piece of it (I think, or maybe it was a defender) then came out to try to back it up. The ball didn't have a whole lot on it and it seemed like someone would catch it before the end line, Fiorito got his stick on it and it went out off him. Is there some rule that if it's not a controlled touch (a la delayed penalties in hockey) then it's considered a continuation of the shot and therefore was backed up by Princeton? Because it looked pretty clearly like Fiorito tried to scoop the ball and just missed and shoveled it out.

7 EMOs for Princeton, 2 for Cornell. Was that discrepancy really merited? I defer to people who know lax better than I do. Although to be fair, after Kovler scored (a soft goal, but maybe the only blemish on an otherwise stellar day for Myers*), Princeton still had a shot until the refs decided to call all the penalties Princeton might have gotten away with earlier in the game all at once, and basically ended the game.

* As the ESPNU guys pointed out, while Myers may not be the best goalie in terms of SV% (though he was fine today), he's really an asset on clears.

Very brief game highlights here on ESPN.com: [espn.go.com]

I think the highlights may have moved since you posted it. They're now here: [espn.go.com]. The commentator clearly knows absolutely nothing about lacrosse, but does a decent job filling up the airtime with words.

Josh '99
[That possession call was the weirdest thing IMO. Honestly I have a hard time picking out most stick fouls in lacrosse (I cannot for the life of me figure out what the deal is with all the slashing) but that one was puzzling.

I agree that stick fouls in lax leave me puzzled much of the time, but here's the rulebook wording:

SECTION 7. Slashing includes the following actions:
a. Swinging a crosse at an opponent’s crosse or body with deliberate
viciousness or reckless abandon, regardless of whether the opponent’s
crosse or body is struck.
b. Striking an opponent in an attempt to dislodge the ball from his crosse,
unless the player in possession, in an attempt to protect his crosse, uses
some part of his body other than his head or neck to ward off the thrust of
the defensive player’s crosse and, as a result, the defensive player’s crosse
strikes some part of the attacking player’s body other than his head or
neck.
c. Striking an opponent in any part of the face, on the neck, in the chest,
on the back, on the shoulders, in the groin or on the head with the crosse
(including its butt end), except when done by

At literally written, b) allows for a lot of things to be slashes. Usually they reserve it for a nice two-handed wound-up whack, or a shot to the head. One ref apparently decided that any of those meaty whack to the arm you usually see a dozen of a game was now a penalty.

Josh '99
Cornell player shot, Fiorito got a piece of it (I think, or maybe it was a defender) then came out to try to back it up. The ball didn't have a whole lot on it and it seemed like someone would catch it before the end line, Fiorito got his stick on it and it went out off him. Is there some rule that if it's not a controlled touch (a la delayed penalties in hockey) then it's considered a continuation of the shot and therefore was backed up by Princeton? Because it looked pretty clearly like Fiorito tried to scoop the ball and just missed and shoveled it out.

Seems that was definitely the argument:

A.R. 32. Deflected shot at goal, the ball rolling toward boundary line. A1, in trying to
pick up the ball, does not gain possession, and the ball goes out of bounds. A1 is nearest
to the out-of-bounds spot. RULING: Ball awarded to Team A.
A.R. 33. A1 shoots at goal, and the ball goes over the goal toward the end line. A2 tries
to catch the ball in flight, and the ball hits his crosse and goes out of bounds. A2 is nearest
to the out-of-bounds spot. RULING: Ball awarded to Team A.

I'd have to see it again to see if Fiorito had it in his stick enough to call it possession, but I guess not.

DeltaOne81
Seems that was definitely the argument:

A.R. 32. Deflected shot at goal, the ball rolling toward boundary line. A1, in trying to
pick up the ball, does not gain possession, and the ball goes out of bounds. A1 is nearest
to the out-of-bounds spot. RULING: Ball awarded to Team A.
A.R. 33. A1 shoots at goal, and the ball goes over the goal toward the end line. A2 tries
to catch the ball in flight, and the ball hits his crosse and goes out of bounds. A2 is nearest
to the out-of-bounds spot. RULING: Ball awarded to Team A.

I'd have to see it again to see if Fiorito had it in his stick enough to call it possession, but I guess not.

Huh. Thanks for looking into that, Fred. I don't think he had possession, and if he didn't then I guess Princeton ball was the right call.

Other quarterfinals update:
UVa leads JHU 12-4 at the half

DeltaOne81
Other quarterfinals update:
UVa leads JHU 12-4 at the half

Now 15-4. Couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of fans.

Al DeFlorio

DeltaOne81
Other quarterfinals update:
UVa leads JHU 12-4 at the half

Now 15-4. Couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of fans.

so true ... now the only issue is trying to match up with UVA next weekend!

ben03

Al DeFlorio

DeltaOne81
Other quarterfinals update:
UVa leads JHU 12-4 at the half

Now 15-4. Couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of fans.

so true ... now the only issue is trying to match up with UVA next weekend!

Big change for today's game is playing the Brattons together on the same midfield line. They're killing Hop. Shamel has five goals after three quarters, Rhamel at least two.

Well UVA is certainly showing that we probably can't score 1 goal in the 2nd half and win next weekend.

first, i'm a bit put off by Starsia's need to hang 19 on Hop (or anyone for that matter)! i mean i hate Hopkins as much as the next fan of lacrosse but this was more than a bit classless. second, mr. myers better bring his harvard-style A+++ game next weekend or we won't have a shot past the first 10 minutes.

19-8 was the final. Duke/UNC should be underway momentarily, I guess.

3-0 Duke still in the first

Josh '99

DeltaOne81
Seems that was definitely the argument:

A.R. 32. Deflected shot at goal, the ball rolling toward boundary line. A1, in trying to
pick up the ball, does not gain possession, and the ball goes out of bounds. A1 is nearest
to the out-of-bounds spot. RULING: Ball awarded to Team A.
A.R. 33. A1 shoots at goal, and the ball goes over the goal toward the end line. A2 tries
to catch the ball in flight, and the ball hits his crosse and goes out of bounds. A2 is nearest
to the out-of-bounds spot. RULING: Ball awarded to Team A.

I'd have to see it again to see if Fiorito had it in his stick enough to call it possession, but I guess not.

Huh. Thanks for looking into that, Fred. I don't think he had possession, and if he didn't then I guess Princeton ball was the right call.

He definitely never had possession. In fact it looked like he was trying to help push it out. Not that I think he was, but definitely no possession.

Jim Hyla
He definitely never had possession. In fact it looked like he was trying to help push it out. Not that I think he was, but definitely no possession.

That's the reason I don't really like this rule, although I admit it is the way the rule was written. It gives you the option to intentionally knock it out of bounds as get the ball back as part of a 'shot'. Seems to me the standard for the end of a shot should be something less than 'possession' (but more than a deflection/contact).

DeltaOne81

Jim Hyla
He definitely never had possession. In fact it looked like he was trying to help push it out. Not that I think he was, but definitely no possession.

That's the reason I don't really like this rule, although I admit it is the way the rule was written. It gives you the option to intentionally knock it out of bounds as get the ball back as part of a 'shot'. Seems to me the standard for the end of a shot should be something less than 'possession' (but more than a deflection/contact).

I'd vote for a deflection in the air doesn't count, but if you touch it on the ground, then it's off you.

Al DeFlorio
3-0 Duke still in the first

Duke held off UNC 12-11 to advance to play 'Cuse.

Helluva final four. Cornell beat Duke but lost to Virginia and Syracuse. Syracuse beat Cornell but lost to Virginia. Duke beat Virginia [twice] but lost to Cornell. Virginia beat Syracuse and Cornell but lost to Duke [twice]. [Writing that made me dizzy.]

With LeMoyne and CW Post in the DII title game and SUNY-Cortland in the DIII title game, New York state can go for the three division sweep

FarEastLax
The next year, we sqeaked into the tournament with a .500 record (SOS? RPI? Was Richie on the selection committee?) and advanced to the quarterfinals against Carolina. Carolina was coming off three national titles already in the 80's and had yet to lose a playoff game at home. Nobody seemed to give us much of a chance. I went to Chapel Hill for the game (that's the last time I have been able to see Cornell play live), and I remember it was a very hot day at Fetzer Field. Schimoler stood on his head (27 saves?), and we won 6-4. In the semifinals, we blew out Virginia 17-6 before losing to Syracuse and the Gaits 13-8 in the final.

Uhhh...not to state the obvious but we play Virginny in the semis and if we win we could play Cuse in the finals. Could be "deja vu all over again". Except this time it would be nice to take out Cuse.

Hopkins got blown out today (as expected) showing just how overrated they trully are. The announcer said it was Hops' worst loss in the tourney since 1977. That was the year we "took them out behind the woodshed" and drubbed them 16-8.

Jim Hyla

DeltaOne81

Jim Hyla
He definitely never had possession. In fact it looked like he was trying to help push it out. Not that I think he was, but definitely no possession.

That's the reason I don't really like this rule, although I admit it is the way the rule was written. It gives you the option to intentionally knock it out of bounds as get the ball back as part of a 'shot'. Seems to me the standard for the end of a shot should be something less than 'possession' (but more than a deflection/contact).

I'd vote for a deflection in the air doesn't count, but if you touch it on the ground, then it's off you.

After thinking about it, the thing that sits best with me is that if you have the ball in the pocket off your crosse, however briefly, the 'shot' is over. That way if its deflected or swatted at, its still a shot, but if you have a little control over it such that its in your crosse, its out off of you.

Tom Pasniewski 98
With LeMoyne and CW Post in the DII title game and SUNY-Cortland in the DIII title game, New York state can go for the three division sweep

Actually, Central NY sweep. Don't forget OCC ( Onondaga Community College ) has already won the JCAA (Junior College Athletic Association) title, both men's and women's.

ben03
first, i'm a bit put off by Starsia's need to hang 19 on Hop (or anyone for that matter)! i mean i hate Hopkins as much as the next fan of lacrosse but this was more than a bit classless.

I was thinking about this during the game, but I disagree. During the regular season, I would obviously agree with you, but when you're one of the final 8 teams in the country, playing for a national chamionship, why should you pull your starters and such when the other team fails to show up. It's not as if Hopkins can't play with Virginia (they did earlier in the season). Just because the game is over doesn't mean you should stop playing hard (that goes for BOTH teams today, although you can make the argument Hop never actually started playing...)

Germ
Uhhh...not to state the obvious but we play Virginny in the semis and if we win we could play Cuse in the finals. Could be "deja vu all over again". Except this time it would be nice to take out Cuse.

Hopkins got blown out today (as expected) showing just how overrated they trully are. The announcer said it was Hops' worst loss in the tourney since 1977. That was the year we "took them out behind the woodshed" and drubbed them 16-8.

The looks on the faces of Virginia fans after that 1978 game was priceless.

Unfortunately, today's loss to Virginia will go in the record books as Hopkins's worst tournament loss thanks to the five goals scored late against Cornell's bench in the 1977 game. 16-3 it was when Richie called off the dogs. Thanks, Eamon.

Al DeFlorio

Germ
Unfortunately, today's loss to Virginia will go in the record books as Hopkins's worst tournament loss thanks to the five goals scored late against Cornell's bench in the 1977 game. 16-3 it was when Richie called off the dogs. Thanks, Eamon.

Wasn't French on that team too? My guess is that he scored a good portion of those 16 goals on feeds from Eamon.

We have Panell for 3 more years. We now need to find a guy he can feed to. Hurley will be gone after next year.

Germ
Wasn't French on that team too?

No, French graduated in 1976. He scored seven in that year's championship win over Maryland.

ben03
first, i'm a bit put off by Starsia's need to hang 19 on Hop (or anyone for that matter)! i mean i hate Hopkins as much as the next fan of lacrosse but this was more than a bit classless. second, mr. myers better bring his harvard-style A+++ game next weekend or we won't have a shot past the first 10 minutes.

Give Starsia credit for the being about the only person, during the 2006 Duke flap, to speak his mind and be right on the main issue: Notwithstanding the later-discredited sexual assault charges, this was a team apparently out of control off the field.

But, yeah, you probably don't need to roll it up even on Hopkins. In a year or two it could be Hopkins' turn.

billhoward

ben03
first, i'm a bit put off by Starsia's need to hang 19 on Hop (or anyone for that matter)! i mean i hate Hopkins as much as the next fan of lacrosse but this was more than a bit classless. second, mr. myers better bring his harvard-style A+++ game next weekend or we won't have a shot past the first 10 minutes.

Give Starsia credit for the being about the only person, during the 2006 Duke flap, to speak his mind and be right on the main issue: Notwithstanding the later-discredited sexual assault charges, this was a team apparently out of control off the field.

But, yeah, you probably don't need to roll it up even on Hopkins. In a year or two it could be Hopkins' turn.

I don't know enough about the history between the two schools to say for sure, but perhaps a few years ago it WAS Hopkins' turn and yesterday was payback?

Josh '99

billhoward

ben03
first, i'm a bit put off by Starsia's need to hang 19 on Hop (or anyone for that matter)! i mean i hate Hopkins as much as the next fan of lacrosse but this was more than a bit classless. second, mr. myers better bring his harvard-style A+++ game next weekend or we won't have a shot past the first 10 minutes.

Give Starsia credit for the being about the only person, during the 2006 Duke flap, to speak his mind and be right on the main issue: Notwithstanding the later-discredited sexual assault charges, this was a team apparently out of control off the field.

But, yeah, you probably don't need to roll it up even on Hopkins. In a year or two it could be Hopkins' turn.

I don't know enough about the history between the two schools to say for sure, but perhaps a few years ago it WAS Hopkins' turn and yesterday was payback?

When it comes to the sports version of ethnic cleansing, the other guy always started it. To our credit, Tambroni's troops did not put in that seventh goal in the last five, ten seconds with an open net and Seibald needing a point to keep his record intact. Bill Tierney seems the sort who'd remember a grudge. Wonder what his blood pressure reached Q4 Saturday?

billhoward

Josh '99

billhoward

ben03
first, i'm a bit put off by Starsia's need to hang 19 on Hop (or anyone for that matter)! i mean i hate Hopkins as much as the next fan of lacrosse but this was more than a bit classless. second, mr. myers better bring his harvard-style A+++ game next weekend or we won't have a shot past the first 10 minutes.

Give Starsia credit for the being about the only person, during the 2006 Duke flap, to speak his mind and be right on the main issue: Notwithstanding the later-discredited sexual assault charges, this was a team apparently out of control off the field.

But, yeah, you probably don't need to roll it up even on Hopkins. In a year or two it could be Hopkins' turn.

I don't know enough about the history between the two schools to say for sure, but perhaps a few years ago it WAS Hopkins' turn and yesterday was payback?

When it comes to the sports version of ethnic cleansing, the other guy always started it. To our credit, Tambroni's troops did not put in that seventh goal in the last five, ten seconds with an open net and Seibald needing a point to keep his record intact. Bill Tierney seems the sort who'd remember a grudge. Wonder what his blood pressure reached Q4 Saturday?

i cannot disagree with most of what's been said re:running it up. on the whole body of work Starsia is a standup guy ... in fact he's better than most. but what bugged me most was seeing the Bratton twins on the field and shooting with under 3 minutes to play up by 13 or 14 goals! really ... you need to be shooting up by that many?!?! c'mon ... regular season or playoffs that's just low class. Starsia may not have been telling them to shoot as payback but he sure didn't tell them not to. if i can give bill the loudmouth tierney any credit it's that he will not run up the score.

just my $.02