NCAA Lacrosse Quarterfinals vs UVA

[cornellbigred.com]

tickets from Cornell's allotment available starting Tuesday at 1pm

phillysportsfan
Its a shame Cornell doesnt have a bus or anything going but I guess most students are gone by then

Most students are back on Long Island by then

Anybody have an idea of what time the QF game will be on Saturday?

Noon, I believe.

jeff '84
Noon, I believe.

It was originally announced as noon, but the ESPN graphics yesterday said noon or 2:30, and the bracket says the same thing.

Beeeej
Anybody have an idea of what time the QF game will be on Saturday?

The Hofstra web site says 12:00 noon (EDT). As I write this, the NCAA bracket only says 12:00/2:30 PM, though they have specified teams for the Sunday time slots.

Beeeej
Anybody have an idea of what time the QF game will be on Saturday?

NCAA bracket now shows Cornell-UVA at noon.

David Harding

Beeeej
Anybody have an idea of what time the QF game will be on Saturday?

NCAA bracket now shows Cornell-UVA at noon.

As did recent ESPNU graphic.

Now more about the game. While I would have preferred another battle of the 'nells, I actually think UVa is slightly better for our boys. The Big Red are firing on almost all cylinders now, and this match-up gives us a chance to make up for one of our two losses. We've gained personnel since that game, while UVa has lost some. Although UVa had something to prove after losing the Brattons, that motivation may be getting old. Compared to Bucknell, UVa does have the name, but we're not exactly chopped liver either. I don't think there's any chance our guys will be awestruck at UVa being Big Boyz.

On the other hand, we will have to play better than we did against Hartford. Take better care of the ball on clears, and run through those ground balls. Nonetheless, I really like what we did on faceoffs. And A.J. was solid in goal. The way to Baltimore is paved with a few spectacular saves and doing 50% or better on faceoffs.

ESPNU is having a quarterfinals preview show tonight (Monday) at 10pm. Details here in the Post-Standard:

[blog.syracuse.com]

Latest on the Rhamel Bratton situation in the Baltimore Sun:

[weblogs.baltimoresun.com]

I'll be very surprised if he doesn't play.

Al DeFlorio
Latest on the Rhamel Bratton situation in the Baltimore Sun:

[weblogs.baltimoresun.com]

I'll be very surprised if he doesn't play.

Since they straight-up kicked his brother off the team, I get the sense that the discipline isn't just gamesmanship. If I had to guess, RB is under some very strict behavioral rules and hoping like hell that he complies so they can put him back in the lineup but won't if he doesn't.

Al DeFlorio
Latest on the Rhamel Bratton situation in the Baltimore Sun:

[weblogs.baltimoresun.com]

I'll be very surprised if he doesn't play.

Shocking

Al DeFlorio
Latest on the Rhamel Bratton situation in the Baltimore Sun:

[weblogs.baltimoresun.com]

I'll be very surprised if he doesn't play.

Prepare to be surprised. Won't be activated this weekend, per Starsia.

[insidelacrosse.com]

semsox

Al DeFlorio
Latest on the Rhamel Bratton situation in the Baltimore Sun:

[weblogs.baltimoresun.com]

I'll be very surprised if he doesn't play.

Prepare to be surprised. Won't be activated this weekend, per Starsia.

[insidelacrosse.com]

I am surprised -- but credit to Starsia for doing what he thinks is right for both the team and the player.

He said he has academic issues though, maybe he is ineligible and they couldnt get him to play even if they wanted to?

phillysportsfan
He said he has academic issues though, maybe he is ineligible and they couldnt get him to play even if they wanted to?

That's what it sounds like, although it isn't really clear from Starsia's comment. The decision may have been out of his hands.

Al DeFlorio

phillysportsfan
He said he has academic issues though, maybe he is ineligible and they couldnt get him to play even if they wanted to?

That's what it sounds like, although it isn't really clear from Starsia's comment. The decision may have been out of his hands.

Probably some ornery professor (maybe even a Cornell alum) won't change Bratton's grade to make him eligible.

Lotta love for Cornell in this discussion (maybe too much): [espn.go.com]

Hope they're right.

Al DeFlorio
Lotta love for Cornell in this discussion (maybe too much): [espn.go.com]

Hope they're right.

How can they be right?
Danielle Bernstein picks Hopkins, Maryland, Duke and Cornell for the final four and then later picks Hopkins versus Syracuse for the final. Woweee! That must take some doing. And then Zach Babo says the list for potential impact players is long, so he's going to stick with Seniors - for Cornell, Rob Pannell....and then for Virgina, Steele Stanwick.... Zach, these are Juniors!
A good read but is anybody awake?

uhhh this doesnt look good 6-4 UVA 7:30 left Q2, defense not looking good and offense hasnt scored in 10min

damn, this is getting out of hand 8-4 UVA

phillysportsfan
uhhh this doesnt look good 6-4 UVA 7:30 left Q2, defense not looking good and offense hasnt scored in 10min

Yeah, big momentum shift from the beginning of the game. However, from what I gather, this is LAX and to paraphrase a Sportscenter anchor, "anyone can make a run". Though it would help if we could get the ball down to the other end of the field. 8-4 with just under 4 min left in the 1st half.

4-9 now Ugly!

Offense can't handle the junk defenses and Virginia's ball movement and off-ball movement have been remarkable. Complete reversal from the 2009 semi-final.

10-4 at the half, defense getting shredded

That shot off the post would have been a timely goal
At the X uva seems to be improving as well
I would expect some fo variety in the 2nd and the big question is whether coach goes to West in goal (more to wake up D than a statement on AJ's play)

11-7 uva lead end of 3rd

12-7 uva lead with 9:27 left in 4th
Cornell fails to capitalize on unsettled situation during failed UVA clear

12-9 1min remaining

13-9 final, really disappointing result considering the streak we were on

That big fat 0 in the 2nd quarter really hurt, especially when put against Virginia's 9 straight goals. Ouch.

Really thought we could have made a game of it in the 2nd half. We had so many chances to cut the lead to three, but couldn't do that until the game was practically over. Just inexcusable to give up 9 unanswered goals and go more than 22 minutes without scoring.

Well, that was disappointing but let's remember where we started. At the beginning of the season there were lots and lots of questions about this team?

1. Can Cornell survive the loss of Tambroni - Yes!
2. Can Deluca make his mark on this team? - Yes!
3. Can we play defense - Yes!
4. Can we score - Yes!
5. Can we play at the X - Mixed but we did well today.

I really like watching this team particularly when there is a loose ball.

So a very big THANK YOU SENIORS for 4 great years of Cornell Lax. You have restored Cornell to the elite of College Lax.

Remember, this was the rebuilding year!

I've been hearing that Starsia is going to step down after this year. When I saw during the Bucknell game that he needed one more win to tie Emmer and two to pass him, it caused me to worry. The late UVA rally to beat Bucknell and their superb game plan and execution today, plus the announcers' comments about never having seen Starsia so emotional during a game, tell me there was a lot of additional motivation for the team--above and beyond the obvious Bratton situation.

Great season. Difficult finish. On to next year.

In the huddle after the game, Dom Starsia got his team to chant "Virginia (garbled garbled) Cornell." Anyone know what he was saying?

After looking at the replay, it sounded like Virginia run on Cornell?


Also watching this JHU Denver game, does Tierney ever stop whining? I guess they call him the Coach K of lacrosse according to the announcers for a reason. I hope JHU wins

So Syracuse is now relieved that they won't have to face us in the final, if they get there.

Tough way to go out. Can't see why DeLuca didn't sub out Fiore during the nine-goal run, at least temporarily. What goalie has a weak spot on the high stick side??? Some of those were defensive faults, but still, with Stanwick posted up and stalemated by Feely, he leaps upward to shoot- and those shots are rarely low or bounce shots- Fiore's gotta save those. After the midpoint of that run, seemed like the D lost confidence in their slides and just didn't play the pressuring game that they had such success with all year. Offense missed a lot of shots, but they always have. More critical today since they had less possession time.

On the positive side, we lose only 3 seniors with significant minutes. Feely on D, with good replacements already on the roster in Keith and Freshour; Lau at attack with a ton of backups- Gillum, Bremner, Austin, Taylor, and Thompson; and Dudly, backed up by Tesiriero, Restaino, and Levine. Shane O'Neil also goes. He's usually not as bad as he was today, but he's not as key as the other three either, being junior Langton's backup.

Also, loved the new gear - clean red and white - no black. And red facemasks. Haven't seen that before on any team.

Pretty disappointing way to end the season. Credit to UVA, they played well on offence and defence, and their goalie was stopping almost everything we threw at him. We looked decent from faceoffs, but the attack was just out of sync after the early minutes. I thought DeLuca should have pulled Fiore after the seventh or eighth goal.

An aside: the in-stadium announcers were terrible. One guy insisted on giving running statistics throughout the whole game, and the other one wouldn't shut up during stoppages, so the band kept having to wait before playing. Also, did anyone watching in TV see someone waving a Cornell flag? (I'd like to know if I've had my 3 seconds of fame.)

Yeah they showed the guy with the Cornell flag at least once, the replay is up on espn3.com

TimV
Also, loved the new gear - clean red and white - no black.

Agree wholeheartedly. Wish we'd drop the black trim around the numbers on football jerseys, too. The red, however, seemed a little off. More like cherry than the usual Cornell red.

There's a fun setting on your flat screen for that Al- look for tint. I like to make Harvard uniforms look cyan.

TimV
There's a fun setting on your flat screen for that Al- look for tint. I like to make Harvard uniforms look cyan.

Right. But the "new" red differs from the "old" red, and it doesn't look like Cornell.

Why would they change uniforms now in the 2nd round of the tournament? arent most athletes/coaches superstitious?

phillysportsfan
Why would they change uniforms now in the 2nd round of the tournament? arent most athletes/coaches superstitious?

Why would a team switch from man-to-man to zone defense in the 2nd quarter of a tournament game? That just seems... oh, never mind.

arugula
In the huddle after the game, Dom Starsia got his team to chant "Virginia (garbled garbled) Cornell." Anyone know what he was saying?

I thought it sounded something like "We love Cornell". Probably not correct but obviously it was some good sportsmanlike thing.

Roy 82

arugula
In the huddle after the game, Dom Starsia got his team to chant "Virginia (garbled garbled) Cornell." Anyone know what he was saying?

I thought it sounded something like "We love Cornell". Probably not correct but obviously it was some good sportsmanlike thing.

Yeah but they said Virginia something something Cornell

Greenberg '97

phillysportsfan
Why would they change uniforms now in the 2nd round of the tournament? arent most athletes/coaches superstitious?

Why would a team switch from man-to-man to zone defense in the 2nd quarter of a tournament game? That just seems... oh, never mind.

Huh? That is an in game adjustment. Just seems weird to me to wait till the 2nd round of the tournament to change uniforms, why not wait till next year

phillysportsfan

Greenberg '97

phillysportsfan
Why would they change uniforms now in the 2nd round of the tournament? arent most athletes/coaches superstitious?

Why would a team switch from man-to-man to zone defense in the 2nd quarter of a tournament game? That just seems... oh, never mind.

Huh? That is an in game adjustment. Just seems weird to me to wait till the 2nd round of the tournament to change uniforms, why not wait till next year

Nike probably wanted to get the image of the new uniforms out there, hoping that a Cornell win would help sales. Soccer teams usually wear their jerseys for the following season for a few games before the end of the current one.

phillysportsfan
Why would they change uniforms now in the 2nd round of the tournament? arent most athletes/coaches superstitious?

I said that in the stands when the game began -- where's the silly "C" on the back? Why change now?

scoop85

phillysportsfan
Why would they change uniforms now in the 2nd round of the tournament? arent most athletes/coaches superstitious?

I said that in the stands when the game began -- where's the silly "C" on the back? Why change now?

Since we are playing "fashion police", I just tuned into the Syracuse - MD game and a lot of the Orangemen have very bright yellow high top "cleats"(?). I don't remember them from the game last week, though I admit, I tuned in/out of the game v. Siena. I think I would have noticed them, because they are that bright yellow that I would expect on a certain college team from Eugene, Oregon.

BTW, Syracuse just pulled within 1 with 1:46 left in the 3rd.

Well at least Syracuse lost

phillysportsfan
Well at least Syracuse lost

It must have been the shoes. Maybe Duke will also have new unis for their game.

I assume it wasn't anything obnoxious, but still curious...

phillysportsfan

Roy 82

arugula
In the huddle after the game, Dom Starsia got his team to chant "Virginia (garbled garbled) Cornell." Anyone know what he was saying?

I thought it sounded something like "We love Cornell". Probably not correct but obviously it was some good sportsmanlike thing.

Yeah but they said Virginia something something Cornell

I assume it wasn't anything obnoxious, but still curious...

Ben

phillysportsfan

Greenberg '97

phillysportsfan
Why would they change uniforms now in the 2nd round of the tournament? arent most athletes/coaches superstitious?

Why would a team switch from man-to-man to zone defense in the 2nd quarter of a tournament game? That just seems... oh, never mind.

Huh? That is an in game adjustment. Just seems weird to me to wait till the 2nd round of the tournament to change uniforms, why not wait till next year

Nike probably wanted to get the image of the new uniforms out there, hoping that a Cornell win would help sales. Soccer teams usually wear their jerseys for the following season for a few games before the end of the current one.

Doesn't Nike usually ADD black to unis?

phillysportsfan
Well at least Syracuse lost

And you were cheering for Maryland and the ACC? Oh well.

Yeah it is hard to root for any of the remaining teams but Maryland hasnt won a championship in awhile, Syracuse won 2 recently including 1 that should have been ours

arugula

Ben

phillysportsfan

Greenberg '97

phillysportsfan
Why would they change uniforms now in the 2nd round of the tournament? arent most athletes/coaches superstitious?

Why would a team switch from man-to-man to zone defense in the 2nd quarter of a tournament game? That just seems... oh, never mind.

Huh? That is an in game adjustment. Just seems weird to me to wait till the 2nd round of the tournament to change uniforms, why not wait till next year

Nike probably wanted to get the image of the new uniforms out there, hoping that a Cornell win would help sales. Soccer teams usually wear their jerseys for the following season for a few games before the end of the current one.

Doesn't Nike usually ADD black to unis?

Looks like Duke's wearing a royal blue version of the uni Cornell wore yesterday. Again, no black. We'll see if the new uni jinx befalls Duke, too.

For those still wondering, it's "Virginia rah rah Cornell". Just a simple cheer at the end of the game to recognize the opponent. Nothing to see here, folks.

Seeds 1-2-3-4 lost in the QFs so No. 2 Cornell has company. Syracuse's orange-yellow shoes and socks perhaps presaged a nickname change to the Fighting Ducks? (One time I will not praise high-def.) I feel a little bad all the NYS teams are out of the playoffs; with CU ouit it made me unsure whether to root for Maryland or Syracause. There is a Cornell connection in the final four with the Terps coach John Tillman Hotel '91. Much as we love to hate Duke, Danowski (father) has shown what he can do at the highest level after all those years at Hofstra. Bill Tierney did an amazing job to take Denver to the final four; hey, nice guys can finish first (and so can the other types). Before Denver, I'm trying to recall how many FF teams in the NCAA's 40 years of lax tournaments have been from outside the Eastern time zone (Notre Dame and South Bend is at the very western edge of ET). Maryland's plodding attack does not make the Terps look like a team that will win it all.

Maybe we're bitter from Cornell going down (and still playing what-if about Bucknell not taking down Virginia the week before), but over the weekend's broadcasts I thought I sensed the announcer's desire to see bad breaks or human interest from the southern schools' POV and a lot of talk time went to lamenting how bad Maryland must have felt being unseeded going in to the tourney just because they had four losses going in including the season finale to Colgate. Quint Kessenich and Eamon McEenaneney (announcer) pale in comparison to Mike Emrick calling the Stanley Cup playoffs. Also fascinating to see Quint backpedal quickly from the previous two weeks when he and others declared Rob Pannell the best attackman of the decade and the Tewaaraton already decided. Not that it makes a huge difference either who wins compared to our not being in the FF. The Tewaaraton shouldn't be decided based on one game, but it might. Steele Stanwick, the only one of the five finalists to make the FF, looked great vs. Cornell. Others have noted this was supposed to be a rebuilding year for Cornell and we should be happy we got this far. I suppose so. Meanwhile, who else was at the the 1977 title game at Viginia [edit fixing year: 1976 & 1977 we won, 1978 we lost the title game] ... and who then would have suspected 1977 would have been the last time Cornell hoisted an NCAA team championship trophy in any of the sports we care so much about?

Fascinating to see what the final lax poll will look like.

Bill, I think I was in Charlottesville in 1977 when Cornell won its last one, unless you're aware of another that I'm not.

Of course you're right. In 1978 we played Hopkins for the title at Rutgers (and they reversed the previous year's outcome). The back to back titles were 1976 and 1977, the senior years respectively for French and McEneaney. And then it was a decade to Cornell's next title appearances (1987, 1988), and then two decades (2009). My fondest recall is, at the end of OT vs. Maryland in 1976, when we gave up the first goal and then rolled up a commanding lead (in OT before this stupid sudden victory stuff) and in the waning moments McEneaney got a 2-on-1 fast break and it was a thing of beauty for Cornellians and hopelessness for the Terps to see McEneaney pass off to French for the score.

Just to go back to the game for a moment, I thought the turning point was the shot that Ghitleman picked up off the line in the middle of the second quarter. I think it was 4-6 or 4-7 at that point, and getting a goal back would have been huge. I was sitting nearer our goal, but it looked very close to being over. Oh, what could have been....

Ben
Just to go back to the game for a moment, I thought the turning point was the shot that Ghitleman picked up off the line in the middle of the second quarter. I think it was 4-6 or 4-7 at that point, and getting a goal back would have been huge. I was sitting nearer our goal, but it looked very close to being over. Oh, what could have been....

Maybe, but our first four goals came off of several UVa miscues. Once they settled down, our defense looked terrible, and our offense looked as if it did not know how to attack the zone. UVa clearly outplayed and outcoached us.

As Ben said, we had real bad luck in the offensive zone, but good teams make their own luck. As is, we came back to make the score respectable. Hopefully, next year the team will be more mature (physically, mentally, working together, working at this high level, and in coaching) and live up to the advanced billing that the preseason favorites will be Duke, JHU, and us. Hopefully Harvard, Penn, and Princeton will be better and give us better preparation (but we'll still be the favorite to win the Ivies). Hopefully the schedule will include a few more elite teams to help us prepare.

In the last few weeks we did seem to address our problems at faceoffs, and with four goalies we should be able to address that too. (I like Fiore, but hope he improves his game on high shots, clears, and becomes a bit quicker.) And besides the obvious studs like Connor Buczek, with Cornell's approach of recruiting our style of players, who knows what diamonds-in-the-rough will come off this year's bench or next year's frosh.

Next year's team should be even better.

Swampy
In the last few weeks we did seem to address our problems at faceoffs...

Tesoriero did look really solid on Saturday, maybe one silver lining to come out of it anyway.

"Good teams make their own luck." The opposite also rings true, that luck makes good outcomes for teams. Maybe we had more bad luck, or bad bounces, than on the typical Saturday this past spring. At least after that amazingly lucky-for-Cornell Virginia givaway for our first goal (didn't Quinnipiac do something equally horrible in the mid-2000s against us in NCAA first round hockey?). But some of our pipe shots would've gone in.

We could have beaten Virginia Sunday if this was a best of two (three) series. We were good enough, just not on Saturday. And we were not alone in having a crappy quarterfinal game.

Did anyone else have the same feeling as last year vs. Notre Dame, that the Cornell team felt it had the skill and the time to catch up and then, oops, all of a sudden the margin was too much and the time too little. On the rebroadcast, I heard the announcers talking about how Lau (?) wanted to drive for the goal while Pannell was more laid back, and Kessenich (?) said, "The time is now." For all the silly platitudes we heard (how many times "worm burner"?), that was right on.

The forum is taking this loss pretty stoically. Because it's lacrosse not hockey? Because Virginia plain-out whupped us and we can't think of enough if-onlys to make up a four-goal margin? And the heart of the team returns in 2012, so there always is next year. In the meantime, we're likely to have one of the lowest-rated incoming classes (proving only the value of those lists) although we'll still be on everyone's radar.

I suppose we should feel sorry for our neighbors to the north and their Class of 2011 that only made two final fours and, uh, two titles, IIRC. Maybe the Syracuse seniors get to keep the orange-yellow socks and shoes.

Who should we root for this weekend? Starsia and Virginia because the man is a class act and Ivy Leaguer (Brown) or Maryland and Cornellian coach John Tillman? Denver to show the lax establishment how the sport has changed again, just as those Cornell teams 1970-77 showed the Mint Julep lax crowd that the center of the sport had shifted north? (Plus we all love Bill Tierney.) Or the Ivy League of the South and Duke? Which has a pretty decent coach in Danowski. I don't think Maryland showed enough last weekend to be the winner and Denver has got to fall to earth sometime. If this is Starsia's finale, maybe he deserves to go out on top.

billhoward
Seeds 1-2-3-4 lost in the QFs so No. 2 Cornell has company. Syracuse's orange-yellow shoes and socks perhaps presaged a nickname change to the Fighting Ducks? (One time I will not praise high-def.) I feel a little bad all the NYS teams are out of the playoffs; with CU ouit it made me unsure whether to root for Maryland or Syracause. There is a Cornell connection in the final four with the Terps coach John Tillman Hotel '91. Much as we love to hate Duke, Danowski (father) has shown what he can do at the highest level after all those years at Hofstra. Bill Tierney did an amazing job to take Denver to the final four; hey, nice guys can finish first (and so can the other types). Before Denver, I'm trying to recall how many FF teams in the NCAA's 40 years of lax tournaments have been from outside the Eastern time zone (Notre Dame and South Bend is at the very western edge of ET). Maryland's plodding attack does not make the Terps look like a team that will win it all.

Maybe we're bitter from Cornell going down (and still playing what-if about Bucknell not taking down Virginia the week before), but over the weekend's broadcasts I thought I sensed the announcer's desire to see bad breaks or human interest from the southern schools' POV and a lot of talk time went to lamenting how bad Maryland must have felt being unseeded going in to the tourney just because they had four losses going in including the season finale to Colgate. Quint Kessenich and Eamon McEenaneney (announcer) pale in comparison to Mike Emrick calling the Stanley Cup playoffs. Also fascinating to see Quint backpedal quickly from the previous two weeks when he and others declared Rob Pannell the best attackman of the decade and the Tewaaraton already decided. Not that it makes a huge difference either who wins compared to our not being in the FF. The Tewaaraton shouldn't be decided based on one game, but it might. Steele Stanwick, the only one of the five finalists to make the FF, looked great vs. Cornell. Others have noted this was supposed to be a rebuilding year for Cornell and we should be happy we got this far. I suppose so. Meanwhile, who else was at the the 1977 title game at Viginia [edit fixing year: 1976 & 1977 we won, 1978 we lost the title game] ... and who then would have suspected 1977 would have been the last time Cornell hoisted an NCAA team championship trophy in any of the sports we care so much about?

Fascinating to see what the final lax poll will look like.

billhoward
"Good teams make their own luck." The opposite also rings true, that luck makes good outcomes for teams. Maybe we had more bad luck, or bad bounces, than on the typical Saturday this past spring. At least after that amazingly lucky-for-Cornell Virginia givaway for our first goal (didn't Quinnipiac do something equally horrible in the mid-2000s against us in NCAA first round hockey?). But some of our pipe shots would've gone in.

We could have beaten Virginia Sunday if this was a best of two (three) series. We were good enough, just not on Saturday. And we were not alone in having a crappy quarterfinal game.

Did anyone else have the same feeling as last year vs. Notre Dame, that the Cornell team felt it had the skill and the time to catch up and then, oops, all of a sudden the margin was too much and the time too little. On the rebroadcast, I heard the announcers talking about how Lau (?) wanted to drive for the goal while Pannell was more laid back, and Kessenich (?) said, "The time is now." For all the silly platitudes we heard (how many times "worm burner"?), that was right on.

billhoward
The forum is taking this loss pretty stoically. Because it's lacrosse not hockey? Because Virginia plain-out whupped us and we can't think of enough if-onlys to make up a four-goal margin? And the heart of the team returns in 2012, so there always is next year. In the meantime, we're likely to have one of the lowest-rated incoming classes (proving only the value of those lists) although we'll still be on everyone's radar.

I suppose we should feel sorry for our neighbors to the north and their Class of 2011 that only made two final fours and, uh, two titles, IIRC. Maybe the Syracuse seniors get to keep the orange-yellow socks and shoes.

Who should we root for this weekend? Starsia and Virginia because the man is a class act and Ivy Leaguer (Brown) or Maryland and Cornellian coach John Tillman? Denver to show the lax establishment how the sport has changed again, just as those Cornell teams 1970-77 showed the Mint Julep lax crowd that the center of the sport had shifted north? (Plus we all love Bill Tierney.) Or the Ivy League of the South and Duke? Which has a pretty decent coach in Danowski. I don't think Maryland showed enough last weekend to be the winner and Denver has got to fall to earth sometime. If this is Starsia's finale, maybe he deserves to go out on top.

We're so quiet because you're using up all the internets.

billhoward
The forum is taking this loss pretty stoically. Because it's lacrosse not hockey? Because Virginia plain-out whupped us and we can't think of enough if-onlys to make up a four-goal margin? And the heart of the team returns in 2012, so there always is next year. In the meantime, we're likely to have one of the lowest-rated incoming classes (proving only the value of those lists) although we'll still be on everyone's radar.

Maybe this past weekend and a recent Memorial Day I'm trying to forget prove that those lists do have some value after all. We do great recruiting guys under the radar, developing them, and putting together a TEAM that's among the elite. But in both loses it seemed raw talent won the day.

Last weekend the announcers were saying it seemed only Lang was dodging from the midfield. Wouldn't it have been nice to have a couple of other middies posing serious scoring threats and clocking a few UVa guys on the defensive slides?

In the current NC format, we're bound to run into a team with blue-chippers at just about every position. We have our share of blue-chippers, and the rest of the team is not exactly chopped liver. But if we allow for a rotation of two offensive midfields, 4 attackers, 4 defenders, and say 5 defensive midfielders, plus a keeper, that's twenty player seeing serious playing time. If we face a team with more raw talent at say 12-14 of those positions, we will always have to play our system better than they play theirs, and we will almost never be able to win despite a sub-par performance like the one we had Saturday.

In short, we need to be the team with the better personnel at 60%+ of the positions.

Swampy

billhoward
The forum is taking this loss pretty stoically. Because it's lacrosse not hockey? Because Virginia plain-out whupped us and we can't think of enough if-onlys to make up a four-goal margin? And the heart of the team returns in 2012, so there always is next year. In the meantime, we're likely to have one of the lowest-rated incoming classes (proving only the value of those lists) although we'll still be on everyone's radar.

Maybe this past weekend and a recent Memorial Day I'm trying to forget prove that those lists do have some value after all. We do great recruiting guys under the radar, developing them, and putting together a TEAM that's among the elite. But in both loses it seemed raw talent won the day.

Last weekend the announcers were saying it seemed only Lang was dodging from the midfield. Wouldn't it have been nice to have a couple of other middies posing serious scoring threats and clocking a few UVa guys on the defensive slides?

In the current NC format, we're bound to run into a team with blue-chippers at just about every position. We have our share of blue-chippers, and the rest of the team is not exactly chopped liver. But if we allow for a rotation of two offensive midfields, 4 attackers, 4 defenders, and say 5 defensive midfielders, plus a keeper, that's twenty player seeing serious playing time. If we face a team with more raw talent at say 12-14 of those positions, we will always have to play our system better than they play theirs, and we will almost never be able to win despite a sub-par performance like the one we had Saturday.

In short, we need to be the team with the better personnel at 60%+ of the positions.

I've been wondering this as well. I keep thinking that at some point we'll start getting those blue-chip recruits based upon our success in the past. Cornell's got to be a pretty desirable program for high school recruits. Particularly given the struggles Princeton has had in the last few years, Cornell is THE choice for a blue-chip recruit who wants to play in the Ivies and have a chance to compete for a NC.

As of yet, I'm not sure we've really seen an impactful boost to our recruiting. Someone feel free to disagree, but it seems like we're still hunting under the radar guys. Maybe our coaching staff needs to change its approach and get in the mix for some of the best recruits in hotbed areas. We're a lot more attractive than we were 10 years ago...

CUontheslopes

Swampy

billhoward
The forum is taking this loss pretty stoically. Because it's lacrosse not hockey? Because Virginia plain-out whupped us and we can't think of enough if-onlys to make up a four-goal margin? And the heart of the team returns in 2012, so there always is next year. In the meantime, we're likely to have one of the lowest-rated incoming classes (proving only the value of those lists) although we'll still be on everyone's radar.

Maybe this past weekend and a recent Memorial Day I'm trying to forget prove that those lists do have some value after all. We do great recruiting guys under the radar, developing them, and putting together a TEAM that's among the elite. But in both loses it seemed raw talent won the day.

Last weekend the announcers were saying it seemed only Lang was dodging from the midfield. Wouldn't it have been nice to have a couple of other middies posing serious scoring threats and clocking a few UVa guys on the defensive slides?

In the current NC format, we're bound to run into a team with blue-chippers at just about every position. We have our share of blue-chippers, and the rest of the team is not exactly chopped liver. But if we allow for a rotation of two offensive midfields, 4 attackers, 4 defenders, and say 5 defensive midfielders, plus a keeper, that's twenty player seeing serious playing time. If we face a team with more raw talent at say 12-14 of those positions, we will always have to play our system better than they play theirs, and we will almost never be able to win despite a sub-par performance like the one we had Saturday.

In short, we need to be the team with the better personnel at 60%+ of the positions.

I've been wondering this as well. I keep thinking that at some point we'll start getting those blue-chip recruits based upon our success in the past. Cornell's got to be a pretty desirable program for high school recruits. Particularly given the struggles Princeton has had in the last few years, Cornell is THE choice for a blue-chip recruit who wants to play in the Ivies and have a chance to compete for a NC.

As of yet, I'm not sure we've really seen an impactful boost to our recruiting. Someone feel free to disagree, but it seems like we're still hunting under the radar guys. Maybe our coaching staff needs to change its approach and get in the mix for some of the best recruits in hotbed areas. We're a lot more attractive than we were 10 years ago...

And we have no scholarships. That can make a big difference. Most lax players don't get free rides, but they do get some support. Put that together with a more difficult curriculum, and we are never going to get the number of "best recruits" that a place like SU or Maryland, or probably even Duke can get. I don't think our coaches go out of their way to not recruit "the best". If those guys want to come and they fit into Cornell, not like some recent UVA students, they for sure will take them. I don't think we need to tell the coaches how to change their recruiting.

Princeton wasn't blessed with all the best either; they had a system and got players who would fit the system. It will be interesting to see how his recruiting continues at DU; I suspect he will have much more high profile recruiting classes than he did at PU. Easier to get students in, easier to give them money, better classes.

the new financial aid policy may help then as it matches all the Ivies + Duke, hopefully the school finds a way to keep that policy

[cornell.edu]

Sidelines interview with Richie Moran

phillysportsfan
[cornell.edu]

Sidelines interview with Richie Moran

Am I crazy, or did Richie segue directly from the 1971 NCAA semifinal win over Army at West Point to the 1976 NCAA championship win over Maryland at Brown?

For those of you who haven't seen it, there's an interesting, more in-depth discussion of Cornell's lax recruiting on the Laxpower Cornell 2012 forum. A poster named "another fan" has a particularly interesting breakdown of the incoming class. It does look quite strong.

Two other things that stand out and are worth bearing in mind. (1) There is a difference between the published rankings and various high school AA lists versus who the top prep players actually are. (2) Lacrosse especially is a sport that can be learned and in which a player can improve tremendously in a short time with coaching tuned to the system and level of play: witness Doug Tesoriero's improvement at the X this year. The trick for any college coach is to discern a player's potential for 2-3 years down the road.

So in several sports, including our traditional focal sports and others that are quickly joining the traditional ones, we're coming close to winning the NC and have become regular contenders. We're almost there, and it's really frustrating to get so close without the cigar.

I think in lacrosse recruiting, winning one NC will put us over the hump -- both in the sense of knowing how to do it and getting a steady stream of players who can do it more than once every two decades.

SU Coach Desko on the slow down in lax, as reported in The Syracuse Post-Standard. There's a podcast here.

Al DeFlorio

phillysportsfan
[cornell.edu]

Sidelines interview with Richie Moran

Am I crazy, or did Richie segue directly from the 1971 NCAA semifinal win over Army at West Point to the 1976 NCAA championship win over Maryland at Brown?

Those were quiet years following the NCAA title in 1971. Imagine what Cornell could have done in 1974 with its All-America attackman Jim Trenz '74 (transfer from Penn State) and soon-to-be AA sophomore Mike French had freshmen (Eamon McEneaney) been eligible.

Josh '99
We're so quiet because you're using up all the internets.

That might even better explain the skips, stalls, and image quality of the hockey broadcasts. Say, have I told you about RPI's video quality lately?

Too bad Bucknell didn't take down Virginia and then Cornell took down Bucknell and Denver. Then the 40th anniversary of the first, 1971, NCAA title game would again have been Cornell-Maryland. Virginia looked overpowering in bringing Denver and Bill Tierney back to earth. Duke looked terrible in losing to Maryland. Maryland had a bruising defense and that same slow-paced offense as last week. Virginia looks as if it's going to make Dom Starsia a happy man Monday. Virginia 14-8 over Denver (9-2 at the half), Maryland 9-4 over Duke.

billhoward
Too bad Bucknell didn't take down Virginia and then Cornell took down Bucknell and Denver. Then the 40th anniversary of the first, 1971, NCAA title game would again have been Cornell-Maryland. Virginia looked overpowering in bringing Denver and Bill Tierney back to earth. Duke looked terrible in losing to Maryland. Maryland had a bruising defense and that same slow-paced offense as last week. Virginia looks as if it's going to make Dom Starsia a happy man Monday. Virginia 14-8 over Denver (9-2 at the half), Maryland 9-4 over Duke.

Or Cornell take down Virginia.

I've got to give Starsia credit though. After imposing discipline on the Bratton twins, he held Colin Briggs out of the game yesterday for violating team rules. Either UVa has become scary good, or discipline has its benefits. Maybe both.

Swampy

billhoward
Too bad Bucknell didn't take down Virginia and then Cornell took down Bucknell and Denver. Then the 40th anniversary of the first, 1971, NCAA title game would again have been Cornell-Maryland. Virginia looked overpowering in bringing Denver and Bill Tierney back to earth. Duke looked terrible in losing to Maryland. Maryland had a bruising defense and that same slow-paced offense as last week. Virginia looks as if it's going to make Dom Starsia a happy man Monday. Virginia 14-8 over Denver (9-2 at the half), Maryland 9-4 over Duke.

Or Cornell take down Virginia.

I've got to give Starsia credit though. After imposing discipline on the Bratton twins, he held Colin Briggs out of the game yesterday for violating team rules. Either UVa has become scary good, or discipline has its benefits. Maybe both.

Or maybe one leads to another. Since the Bratton's exit was due to rules that the team voted for, having them around must have affected the team.

Jim Hyla

Swampy

billhoward
Too bad Bucknell didn't take down Virginia and then Cornell took down Bucknell and Denver. Then the 40th anniversary of the first, 1971, NCAA title game would again have been Cornell-Maryland. Virginia looked overpowering in bringing Denver and Bill Tierney back to earth. Duke looked terrible in losing to Maryland. Maryland had a bruising defense and that same slow-paced offense as last week. Virginia looks as if it's going to make Dom Starsia a happy man Monday. Virginia 14-8 over Denver (9-2 at the half), Maryland 9-4 over Duke.

Or Cornell take down Virginia.

I've got to give Starsia credit though. After imposing discipline on the Bratton twins, he held Colin Briggs out of the game yesterday for violating team rules. Either UVa has become scary good, or discipline has its benefits. Maybe both.

Or maybe one leads to another. Since the Bratton's exit was due to rules that the team voted for, having them around must have affected the team.

It's also interesting that two Ivy League grads are coaching tomorrow. Maybe there's something to this "let's put athletics in its proper place" stuff. (Now watch me eat my words when one of them is hit with a recruiting violation. The Courtney Yeardley Love tragedy did take place on Starsia's watch.)

Swampy

Jim Hyla

Swampy

billhoward
Too bad Bucknell didn't take down Virginia and then Cornell took down Bucknell and Denver. Then the 40th anniversary of the first, 1971, NCAA title game would again have been Cornell-Maryland. Virginia looked overpowering in bringing Denver and Bill Tierney back to earth. Duke looked terrible in losing to Maryland. Maryland had a bruising defense and that same slow-paced offense as last week. Virginia looks as if it's going to make Dom Starsia a happy man Monday. Virginia 14-8 over Denver (9-2 at the half), Maryland 9-4 over Duke.

Or Cornell take down Virginia.

I've got to give Starsia credit though. After imposing discipline on the Bratton twins, he held Colin Briggs out of the game yesterday for violating team rules. Either UVa has become scary good, or discipline has its benefits. Maybe both.

Or maybe one leads to another. Since the Bratton's exit was due to rules that the team voted for, having them around must have affected the team.

It's also interesting that two Ivy League grads are coaching tomorrow. Maybe there's something to this "let's put athletics in its proper place" stuff. (Now watch me eat my words when one of them is hit with a recruiting violation. The Courtney Love tragedy did take place on Starsia's watch.)

Don Starsia was at the Pamela Anderson roast?

(Yeardley Love was the tragedy you're thinking of.)

ugarte

Swampy

Jim Hyla

Swampy

billhoward
Too bad Bucknell didn't take down Virginia and then Cornell took down Bucknell and Denver. Then the 40th anniversary of the first, 1971, NCAA title game would again have been Cornell-Maryland. Virginia looked overpowering in bringing Denver and Bill Tierney back to earth. Duke looked terrible in losing to Maryland. Maryland had a bruising defense and that same slow-paced offense as last week. Virginia looks as if it's going to make Dom Starsia a happy man Monday. Virginia 14-8 over Denver (9-2 at the half), Maryland 9-4 over Duke.

Or Cornell take down Virginia.

I've got to give Starsia credit though. After imposing discipline on the Bratton twins, he held Colin Briggs out of the game yesterday for violating team rules. Either UVa has become scary good, or discipline has its benefits. Maybe both.

Or maybe one leads to another. Since the Bratton's exit was due to rules that the team voted for, having them around must have affected the team.

It's also interesting that two Ivy League grads are coaching tomorrow. Maybe there's something to this "let's put athletics in its proper place" stuff. (Now watch me eat my words when one of them is hit with a recruiting violation. The Courtney Love tragedy did take place on Starsia's watch.)

Don Starsia was at the Pamela Anderson roast?

(Yeardley Love was the tragedy you're thinking of.)

Thanks. I am so out of it.

Well, at least we lost to the national champs.

Hmm. That didn't make me feel better at all.

Maryland breaks a tie with Cornell for a 5-game Final losing streak. Like Colorado College in Men's Hockey, Maryland is saving us from being "on the clock," as their last championship was in 1975.

From a write-up of the final:

College lacrosse may be transformed in coming years after the University of Michigan said May 25 that it will spend as much as $10 million on men’s and women’s varsity lacrosse facilities, joining Penn State and the University of Florida as traditional college athletic powers pouring resources into the sport.

The interest from state schools -- with their booster clubs, conference television packages and football revenue -- may threaten the dominance of private schools such as Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and Cornell in Ithaca, New York.

The University of Florida spent $15 million on a stadium and fielded its first varsity women’s team two years ago. The Gators were ranked as high as No. 2 this season and made it into the quarterfinals of this year’s NCAA tournament.

RichH
The University of Florida spent $15 million on a stadium and fielded its first varsity women’s team two years ago. The Gators were ranked as high as No. 2 this season and made it into the quarterfinals of this year’s NCAA tournament.

And were beaten by Cornell, 9-6, in Ithaca.

Al DeFlorio

RichH
The University of Florida spent $15 million on a stadium and fielded its first varsity women’s team two years ago. The Gators were ranked as high as No. 2 this season and made it into the quarterfinals of this year’s NCAA tournament.

And were beaten by Cornell, 9-6, in Ithaca.

After three starters left early with frostbite.

billhoward

Al DeFlorio

RichH
The University of Florida spent $15 million on a stadium and fielded its first varsity women’s team two years ago. The Gators were ranked as high as No. 2 this season and made it into the quarterfinals of this year’s NCAA tournament.

And were beaten by Cornell, 9-6, in Ithaca.

After three starters left early with frostbite.

Cold as a gator's ...

billhoward

Al DeFlorio

RichH
The University of Florida spent $15 million on a stadium and fielded its first varsity women’s team two years ago. The Gators were ranked as high as No. 2 this season and made it into the quarterfinals of this year’s NCAA tournament.

And were beaten by Cornell, 9-6, in Ithaca.

After three starters left early with frostbite.

It was a bitterly cold 62 degrees at game time, they can't be expected to deal with such conditions!

Don't worry. I hear they're planning to spend another $75 million next year on weather modification systems to make it 90 degrees and humid for every road game.