Lacrosse 2015 NCAAs

Cornell gets in as the last home seed (strongest SOS in Ivies)
From Ivies, Yale, Brown and Cornell but not Princeton.
From New York State, Syracuse, Cornell, Colgate, Albany, Marist (play in)

For all our griping about Cornell's season being below expectations, think how Princeton (possible first team out) feels about the last decade: 2006 7-seed lose second round to Syracuse, 2007 lose first round to Georgetown, 2009 4-seed lose second round 6-4 to Cornell, 2010 6-seed lose first round to Notre Dame, 2012 lose first round to Virginia. 2010-2015 four no-invites plus two one-and-dones.

The NCAA wants bus trip games first round (or is the round of 16 now the second round?) where possible, but are they also telling Cornell: You beat Albany once, you have a home not neutral game this time, prove your worth, do it again. And as a reward you get to play (most likely) 1-seed Notre Dame in the quarterfinals.

NCAA printable bracket: [cdn.assets.insidelacrosse.com] (Actually, Inside Lacrosse bracket. NCAA's didn't load.)


(First team hosts)
Denver bracket
1. Notre Dame (10-2) vs. Towson (11-5, CAA)/High Point (10-6, SoCon) Saturday, 5 p.m., ESPNU [play-in game for Towson/High Point]
8. Cornell (10-5) vs. Albany (15-2, America East) Saturday, Noon, ESPNU (Albany losses 16-9 to Cornell at Dallas, 17-12 at Syracuse.)
Winners play in Denver

5. Duke (12-5) vs. Ohio State (11-6) Saturday, 7:30 p.m., ESPNU
4. Denver (13-2, Big East) vs. Brown (12-4), Sunday, 3 p.m., ESPNU
Winners play in Denver Saturday


Annapolis/Navy Marine Corps Stadium bracket
3. North Carolina (12-3) vs. Colgate (10-5, Patriot) Sunday, 5:15 p.m., ESPNU
6. Maryland (12-3) vs. Yale (11-4), Saturday, 2:30 p.m., ESPNU

7. Virginia (10-4) vs. Johns Hopkins (9-6, Big Ten), Sunday, 1 p.m., ESPNU
2. Syracuse (12-2, ACC) vs. Marist (13-3, MAAC)/Bryant (8-9, NEC), Sunday, 7:30 p.m., ESPNU
Winners play Sunday

What are the potential first round upsets? I like Yale against 6 Maryland esp. since Yale beat them 10-6 in the RS back in February. Could Ohio State get lucky against 5 Duke? Brown get incredibly lucky against 4 Denver?

Three rematches (winner first):
Cornell - Albany
Yale - Maryland
Virginia - Hopkins

This is the 40th anniversary of Maryland's last NCAA title. Since then, seven trips to the title game and bubkes.

Wait, lax has a play-in now? I wonder, if the MAAC autobid situation in hockey happened now, if they would have let us go from 12 to 13 teams with a playin...

jtwcornell91
Wait, lax has a play-in now? I wonder, if the MAAC autobid situation in hockey happened now, if they would have let us go from 12 to 13 teams with a playin...

You only get a playin if the number of autobids > number of tourney slots / 2. That is, at least half the participants (in the main tourney) have to be at large. Lacrosse has 10 conferences and a 16-team tourney, so they have 2 playin games among the four lowest-rated conference champions.

And, if I might add, it was heart-warming to hear everybody involved with the Syracuse lax program whine and moan on TV last night, after being insulted by a #2 seed in the tournament.
I guess being "great" is meaningless unless the world repeatedly tells you that you are??

Looked at Syracuse roster and they are carrying 61 on their roster with one-quarter being "redshirts". I guess Desko is stockpiling talent and at the same time keeping other teams from getting talented players. The same strategy that Bear Bryant used at Alabama back in the day.

rss77
Looked at Syracuse roster and they are carrying 61 on their roster with one-quarter being "redshirts". I guess Desko is stockpiling talent and at the same time keeping other teams from getting talented players. The same strategy that Bear Bryant used at Alabama back in the day.

Why go there and be deep on the depth chart than another top school and start?

also have to wonder about red shirting close to 15 kids when you only get a limited number of scholies..

Albany 11, Cornell 3 at the half. From 2-0 Cornell to 11-2 Albany. Ouch!

Said it before the hire and nothing's changed: Kerwick is an average coach and he'll turn Cornell into an average program.

Every so often - less than once per generation - a player, coach, or team introduces something new that fundamentally alters the way the game is played. No, I'm not talking about Lyle Thompson's amazing performance and career - I'm talking about the 2015 Cornell offense, who will go down in history as the unit which caused the NCAA to start keeping track of a new stat: the Shotover. Shots so poorly conceived and executed that they would have been better off just throwing the ball out of bounds so the defense can at least get set.

Cornell's offense was just unbelievably bad - it was perfectly clear that they were only thinking one step at a time, and if that move didn't work, they had no clue what to do next, so they either had to pull it back to midfield to start over or take the terrible shot anyway. Ugh. Nobody was cutting, there was no movement whatsoever. One dodger (usually from 40 yards out) and 5 spectators. I'm not sure I remember making Albany pay for an early slide a single time - we just waited for the double team and shot right into it. The shots they managed to take were late, slow, and off balance with no leverage. That's a recipe for wasting a dominating faceoff performance every time.

All season, Cornell's offense has found ways to be less than the sum of its parts. If I were coach, this summer's practices would all take place on a basketball court so the offense can figure out how to create space that's not 30 yards away from the goal.

ithacat
Said it before the hire and nothing's changed: Kerwick is an average coach and he'll turn Cornell into an average program.

Unfortunately, I'm close to agreeing with you.

Robb
Every so often - less than once per generation - a player, coach, or team introduces something new that fundamentally alters the way the game is played. No, I'm not talking about Lyle Thompson's amazing performance and career - I'm talking about the 2015 Cornell offense, who will go down in history as the unit which caused the NCAA to start keeping track of a new stat: the Shotover. Shots so poorly conceived and executed that they would have been better off just throwing the ball out of bounds so the defense can at least get set.

Cornell's offense was just unbelievably bad - it was perfectly clear that they were only thinking one step at a time, and if that move didn't work, they had no clue what to do next, so they either had to pull it back to midfield to start over or take the terrible shot anyway. Ugh. Nobody was cutting, there was no movement whatsoever. One dodger (usually from 40 yards out) and 5 spectators. I'm not sure I remember making Albany pay for an early slide a single time - we just waited for the double team and shot right into it. The shots they managed to take were late, slow, and off balance with no leverage. That's a recipe for wasting a dominating faceoff performance every time.

All season, Cornell's offense has found ways to be less than the sum of its parts. If I were coach, this summer's practices would all take place on a basketball court so the offense can figure out how to create space that's not 30 yards away from the goal.

You are so spot on; we devolved into the type of "offense" that you so well described. The sad fact is -- and what seems to be a damning indictment of the coaching -- is that earlier in the season (think Yale) we actually showed some fluidity on offense. I frankly have ho idea what the hell happened to this team.

Robb
Every so often - less than once per generation - a player, coach, or team introduces something new that fundamentally alters the way the game is played. No, I'm not talking about Lyle Thompson's amazing performance and career - I'm talking about the 2015 Cornell offense, who will go down in history as the unit which caused the NCAA to start keeping track of a new stat: the Shotover. Shots so poorly conceived and executed that they would have been better off just throwing the ball out of bounds so the defense can at least get set.

Cornell's offense was just unbelievably bad - it was perfectly clear that they were only thinking one step at a time, and if that move didn't work, they had no clue what to do next, so they either had to pull it back to midfield to start over or take the terrible shot anyway. Ugh. Nobody was cutting, there was no movement whatsoever. One dodger (usually from 40 yards out) and 5 spectators. I'm not sure I remember making Albany pay for an early slide a single time - we just waited for the double team and shot right into it. The shots they managed to take were late, slow, and off balance with no leverage. That's a recipe for wasting a dominating faceoff performance every time.

All season, Cornell's offense has found ways to be less than the sum of its parts. If I were coach, this summer's practices would all take place on a basketball court so the offense can figure out how to create space that's not 30 yards away from the goal.

Sounds like hockey!

Saturday
Albany 19, Cornell 10 - hard to overcome an 11-goal run by Albany, No. 1 Notre Dame (or Towson?) gets Lyle Thompson and the Great Danes next week in Denver.
Maryland 8, Yale 7 - Yale can't hold a 7-4 lead, hits the pipe final 10 seconds. Question on whether Yale tied late and refs missed the goal [www.insidelacrosse.com]. Ivy hopes now ride on Brown.
#2 Notre Dame 12, Towson 10 - who'd have thought so close against Towson, which needed the play-in to make the field
Ohio State 16, #5 Duke 11 - Defending champ Duke's season last 7 hours longer than Cornell's.

Sunday
Denver 15, Brown 9 - Three one-and-dones for the Ivies. Only Yale came close.
Hopkins 19, Virgina 7 - It was 13-2 at the half. Hopkins does peak later in the season, it seems. Started 4-6.
North Carolina 19, Colgate 12 - Colgate led 4-3 early
Syracuse 20, Marist 8 - Good, now two games where the winning margin was worse than Albany-Cornell.

Next weekend:

#2 Notre Dame vs #6 Albany 3:00 Saturday
#15 Ohio State vs. #3 Denver 5:30 Saturday

#2 Syracuse vs. Hopkins 12:00 Sunday
#3 UNC vs. #6 Maryland 2:30 Sunday

Well, Cornell lax made Deadspin.

This is today's game, this is the whole season. [screengrabber.deadspin.com]

ugarte
Well, Cornell lax made Deadspin.

This is today's game, this is the whole season. [screengrabber.deadspin.com]

True and disgusting

To say that "this is the whole season" is nonsense. It is also a gratuitous, needless, and embarrassing (to you) insult to the players.

This year's Cornell men's lacrosse team was co-champ of the Ivies and a top-8 seed in the NCAA tournament.

Yes, they lost a first-round NCAA tournament game. So did Virginia (national champs in 2011, 2006, 2003, ...) by a worse score than Cornell lost by. Virginia's goalie had zero saves against 13 goals in the first half.

Good teams can lose, sometimes badly. Are you (or were you) on a Cornell varsity team that had anywhere close to the accomplishments of this year's lax team?? I didn't think so.

CU77
To say that "this is the whole season" is nonsense. It is also a gratuitous, needless, and embarrassing (to you) insult to the players.

This year's Cornell men's lacrosse team was co-champ of the Ivies and a top-8 seed in the NCAA tournament.

Yes, they lost a first-round NCAA tournament game. So did Virginia (national champs in 2011, 2006, 2003, ...) by a worse score than Cornell lost by. Virginia's goalie had zero saves against 13 goals in the first half.

Good teams can lose, sometimes badly. Are you (or were you) on a Cornell varsity team that had anywhere close to the accomplishments of this year's lax team?? I didn't think so.

Oh shut up.

CU77
Are you (or were you) on a Cornell varsity team that had anywhere close to the accomplishments of this year's lax team?? I didn't think so.

This is an instance of the dumbest class of fallacies in sports fandom.

Kyle Rose

CU77
Are you (or were you) on a Cornell varsity team that had anywhere close to the accomplishments of this year's lax team?? I didn't think so.

This is an instance of the dumbest class of fallacies in sports fandom.

I was on the championship intramural softball team my senior year. Does that count?

toddlose

Kyle Rose

CU77
Are you (or were you) on a Cornell varsity team that had anywhere close to the accomplishments of this year's lax team?? I didn't think so.

This is an instance of the dumbest class of fallacies in sports fandom.

I was on the championship intramural softball team my senior year. Does that count?

Was your GPA and good works (more than walking a drunk back to campus) enough to get you nominated for Lowes Senior Class Award?

billhoward

toddlose

Kyle Rose

CU77
Are you (or were you) on a Cornell varsity team that had anywhere close to the accomplishments of this year's lax team?? I didn't think so.

This is an instance of the dumbest class of fallacies in sports fandom.

I was on the championship intramural softball team my senior year. Does that count?

Was your GPA and good works (more than walking a drunk back to campus) enough to get you nominated for Lowes Senior Class Award?

Or were you responsible for a documented miracle?

Denver chokes up a 4-goal lead late in the 4th, Notre Dame ties at 10 with about :10 to play. Denver wins OT faceoff, loses ball, ND brings ball into attack box and gets it stick-checked away, Denver clears as far as midfield and loses ball but ND called for procedural problem, Denver gets into box, time out, time in, score, 11-10 win. Shades of the 2009 final except the team that gave up the lead eventually won. Stands did not look overly full and only the lower deck appeared open.

After ND goes down, announcers note there'll be a B1G Ten final regardless of who wins in the second game, Hopkins or Maryland. Sort of like the Soviet Union saying the 1960 Olympic women's 4x100 clean-and-jerk was an all-USSR podium after they held Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Armenia, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Ukraine and Uzbekistan post WW-II.

Longish piece in Saturday NY Times about attendance peaking circa 2007 then slipping each year in final, NCAA concedes mistakes were made such as jacking up ticket prices. "Any publicity is good if they spell your name right."

NYT: As Lacrosse Rises, Its Final Four Falls Fast

billhoward
Longish piece in Saturday NY Times about attendance peaking circa 2007 then slipping each year in final, NCAA concedes mistakes were made such as jacking up ticket prices. "Any publicity is good if they spell your name right."

NYT: As Lacrosse Rises, Its Final Four Falls Fast

Once Syracuse stopped being an automatic attendee, SU fans stopped making plans to attend every year on the reasonable expectation they'd see their team there.

billhoward
NYT: As Lacrosse Rises, Its Final Four Falls Fast

So that's what happened to Phil "Joey" Buttafuoco...

Denver cruises to its first NCAA lax title and Bill Tierney's seventh. So we don't like Tierney because he's said to be somewhat abrupt with people who cross him, or that's just his nature. It's still pretty amazing what he's done at two different schools. Sort of, ah, Harkness-like.

Maryland remains the championship-winning lax team with the longest drought since hoisting the trophy, last in 1975, and 0x7 since including three fails this decade. Cornell last won in 1977 and is 0x3 since. Assuming you believe 2009 happened.

Attendance reported:

Saturday    29,123    D1 semifinals, announced
Sunday      19,559    D2, D3 finals, announced
Monday      24,215    D1 final, announced 
Total       72,897

No offense, NCAA, but 20,000 people were in attendance Sunday for D2 / D3? I know a lot of Limestone / LeMoyne fans left after the first game (D2), but still. Lincoln Financial Field holds 69,1976. Nobody was (allowed?) in the end zone seats, there was virtually no one in the upper half, and even between the 30-yard lines, there were clumps of seats opens between groups of spectators. Below, photo at start of the second game, Tufts-Lynchburg. At this level of attendance, the championship game could be played on a lot of college campuses: Maryland (54,000), Rutgers (54,000), maybe even Princeton (30,000) in the corridor between Washington and New York.

However many turned out for D2/D3, it was easy to park (and under a shaded canopy), plenty of space for tailgating, easy to get through security, and it was pretty much open seating. I went with a group from Lynchburg, our son's school, their first lax title game. Everyone was excited. An alum is said to have underwritten the free barbecue (racks of ribs, chicken, chicken wings, burgers, pulled pork, brisket) and beer bash. They were excited because they hadn't yet learned the many ways your dreams get crushed, like when you go up 4-0 then get ouscored 10-2, or you lose 75% of your faceoffs, or D3's leading single-season goal scorer ever (107 G this year) shoots 2x17.

If Cornell makes a regional next year, Cornell might consider the deal Lynchburg had for students still around, and townies: thirty bucks for a bus there and back, and the game ticket (nominally $25) and that barbecue. Dying to hear about the Cornell lax Class of 2019 and if they're going to help Cornell get into and past the first round in 2016. Lot of sticks to replace.

[edit add] Reported attendance at the two regional quarterfinal sites was:
13,076 Denver (DU, Ohio State, Albany, Notre Dame)
10,235 Annapolis (UNC, Syracuse, Hopkins, Maryland). You can almost walk from Hopkins and Maryland to the Annapolis site.

billhoward
Cornell last won in 1977 and is 0x3 since. Assuming you believe 2009 happened.

Think we lost championship games in 1978, 1987, 1988, and...if I think about it real hard...2009.

And I think Maryland is now 0 for 8 since 1975.

Al DeFlorio

billhoward
Cornell last won in 1977 and is 0x3 since. Assuming you believe 2009 happened.

Think we lost championship games in 1978, 1987, 1988, and...if I think about it real hard...2009.
And I think Maryland is now 0 for 8 since 1975.

You're right, there was the 1978 loss following the two title years.