OK, first things first: The Cornell game against Syracuse tomorrow night at 7 p.m. is going to be televised by Time Warner Syracuse, which means you can see it on Time Warner Ithaca's channel 26.
Due to Syracuse's high RPI rank, the Syracuse game could make or break Cornell's season. A win isn't a guarantee of an at-large NCAA bid, but let's just say Cornell ain't gonna get an at-large bid without a win in the Dome.
Time for pre-SU-game foreplay …er… a midseason report...
Just before the season, a blowhard idiot wrote the following:
[Q]Hillel Hoffmann: Ball movement will not be Cornell's strength, which may make their even-strength offense even more exasperating to watch. [/q]
Wrong as usual, punk. Cornell seems to have found its offensive soul during a string of intraconference buttkickings. What happened? Lots. Tambroni has successfully reprogrammed Cornell's three big guns -- A Kevin Nee, A Sean Greenhalgh, and M Joe Boulukos -- to think "feed" without losing their killer shooting instincts. And what instincts! If you're a goalie, you do NOT want to face this team now. In addition to the high-percentage shots you expect from this offense, Cornell throws a mess of unconventional shots at you: lots of left hands (Greenhalgh, Nee), outrageously improbable angles (Greenhalgh), rebounds, and quick-release darts and bombs from everywhichwhere. And just when you expect one of CU's big guns to blast you, they ignore the scouting report, dish, and Bam! -- you're dead.
But the biggest change to Cornell's modus is the arrival of a transition game. Did I just say that? Thanks to aggressive, intelligent riding and strong play by defensive middies Dave Bush (SSDM), Cameron Marchant (SSDM), and Mike Pisco (LSM), Cornell has been getting as many fast-break goals as any team in the nation in the last three games. The d-mids are easily the most improved unit on the team. Bush is particularly explosive. With the help of strong riders such as Greenhalgh, Cornell is now among the national leaders in busting opponent's clears.
What's so remarkable about this 15 gpg mini-binge is that it's happening while the extra-man offense is in an unexpected slump. If the EMO unit starts clicking (as hinted in the Harvard game), look out.
Syracuse will be tough, but not for the usual reasons. They have a great goalie in Pfeifer (from Baltimore?!), a great freshman attacker in Leveille, and a mess of tall, sturdy, physical midfielders who are hard to knock off course. What will surprise you if you haven't seen SU recently is their overall size. What may also surprise you is the lack of swagger. Unfortunately, reports suggest that the swagger seemed to be returning on Saturday when they spanked Loyola on the road.
A big variable in tomorrow's game will be the play of McMonagle, who’ll be making his first appearance in the Dome. It's a notoriously hard place for young goalies because the unusual lighting makes it hard to find the ball. The good news is that he’s the only CU starter who fears the place. If he plays big, Cornell can win. Will win.
This is fun.
Tomorrow night should be interesting. The usual SU suspects on the Syracuse and Laxpower forums are strangely quiet. Are they concerned?
SU is coming off a win over a poor Loyola team. We don't have much to show yet against top competition, other than a win over ND (slipping lately) and a very good showing, albeit in a scrimmage, against JHU.
BTW, Cornell now 8th in the (meaningless) media poll.
http://www.insidelacrosse.com/page.cfm?pagerid=2&news=fdetail&storyid=86914
Also the meaningless coaches poll: http://www.laxpower.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=5714
and the meaningless LaxPower Forum poll: http://www.laxpower.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=5147
Meaninglessly consistent, at least. ::nut::
[Q]peterg Wrote:
Tomorrow night should be interesting. The usual SU suspects on the Syracuse and Laxpower forums are strangely quiet. Are they concerned?
[/q]
I think SU fans are very concerned about this year & have been for each game thus far. This is the year to take a whack at the Orange. The swagger is missing...they're spotty once more at the faceoff...they're looking for some offensive leadership. It's as if they're hoping to get through this year, somehow, without missing their annual Final Four party.
SU's top 6 scorers account for about 90% of the offense this year (that compares to about 80% for Cornell) and they lose only one of those kids. If Jamie Ireland (last year's JC midfielder of the year) gets his stuff together and can play next year -- along with the class they have lined up, and some kids that can't even get on the field this year -- I'm guessing the swagger returns.
how many people are making the trip to SU for the game? I am contemplating it, though driving home after nine on a junior license is bad idea.
More foreplay.
Today's preview coverage:
http://www.syracuse.com/sports/poststandard/index.ssf?/base/sports-0/1113295201315492.xml&coll=1
http://www.ithacajournal.com/news/stories/20050412/localsports/2110472.html
http://www.cornellsun.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/04/12/425b5afce10b1
Unintentionally funniest moment from the Sun article above: "Twelve-of-the-16 Red goals were assisted, as the team scored almost willingly against the then-eighth best defensive unit in the nation."
Oops, I don't know how I missed this article about Derek Haswell in today's Post-Standard. Haswell is making a (Section 3) homecoming of sorts.
http://www.syracuse.com/sports/poststandard/index.ssf?/base/sports-0/1113294969315490.xml&coll=1
Coverage of lacrosse at the P-S is solid.
Is there anyone here who's gonna be listening to the game, either over the air or over the internet. I probably shouldn't, being at work, and both schools charge for audio anyone. Still, I'd love updates.
Edit: oh wait, something made me think the game was a 4 o'clocker. Hmmm, now I guess I have to pay for audio ;)
[Q]DeltaOne81 Wrote:
Edit: oh wait, something made me think the game was a 4 o'clocker. Hmmm, now I guess I have to pay for audio
[/q]
Does that mean you'll be posting updates here? ::help::
[Q]Al DeFlorio Wrote:
[Q2]DeltaOne81 Wrote:
Edit: oh wait, something made me think the game was a 4 o'clocker. Hmmm, now I guess I have to pay for audio
[/Q]
Does that mean you'll be posting updates here?[/q]
Probably. I can't guarantee I won't doze off when I get home and miss a little while, but I'll do my best :-D
I'm awake, paid, and tuned in.
alright fred, for those of us without tv/audio access you're our guy ... :-)
[Q]DeltaOne81 Wrote:
I'm awake, paid, and tuned in.[/q]
I'm awake, cheap (refuse to pay for audio), and hitting "refresh." :-P
I haven't ever paid for audio yet, I figured I could part with $7, or maybe $14 or $21, depending how much I want to keep up with the rest of the season, audio-wise.
Game on, Orange win the opening face off
1-0 Orange, 1:18 in, Brooks
and they win the next faceoff
2-0 Orange after a couple McMonagle saves, after a failed Cornell clear, 3:51 in
and Syracuse wins it again
but Cornell gets the ball
BOULUKOS! 2-1 Orange
time out on the field
Cornell picks up the faceoff, wide shot, Cornell keeps the ball
It's April 12, and it's snowing on Cape Cod. :-/
Too bad they aren't playing here.
3-1 Syracuse
Cornell loses possession on a moving screen call, sounds to me like they're just tossing it around outside forever and not shooting - possession of 2:30 there without a shot
and 4-1 Orange, 3:07 in the quarter
Haswell scores!!! 4-2
Haswell from Georgalas! "they lulled them to sleep" while Cornell was clearing it, Syracuse playing a man to man on the clear and it was going slow, but McMonagle makes the breakout pass for a quick score
4-2 Orange, Orange gets the ball on a procedural call
end of the quarter, Cornell 2 for 4 on shots this quarter, so the 4 is the bigger problem than the 2
Syracuse gets the first man up opportunity of the game
Thanks for the updates...keep 'em coming.
and that didn't take long, 5-2 Cuse
and Syracuse wins the faceoff again, that's the other problem, Cornell is about 1 or 2 for 6 or 7 on faceoffs
Boulukos! 5-3
and Cornell is finally more than half way to Syracuse's score ;)
but Syracuse takes it *right* back, after, guess what? winning the faceoff
and they win it again
shots, 14-7 Syracuse
faceoffs, 9-1 for Syracuse
Glynn! first varsity goal!
Cornell now at least 4 for 8 on shots
Cornell loses another faceoff on procedure, and Syracuse scores, 1 for 11(?) on faceofs, 7-4 Syracuse
Sounds like no "D" is the problem right now. And faceoffs. Latter's been killing us for two years now.
Dave Bush gets leveled and Cornell will get their first man-up of the game
but they make an unforced error to lose possession and Tambroni calls a time out
Boulukos!! Gets the hat trick, after Haswell hits the post! 7:00 left in the half, 7-5
and Cornell :-O wins the faceoff on a call against the Orange
Greenhalgh finally cashes in tonight!! 7-6 and we have a game here!
possession ruled to Cornell, lose ball push
shots 15-12 Syracuse
Rommel for Syracuse, Cuse opens it back up to a 2 goal game
1 minute remaining in the quarter, 1 minute...
Syracuse has possession
hits the post and Cornell gets position with 33 seconds left
NEE ties it!!!!!!!! with 1 sec. remaining in half!!!!!!!!
BOULUKOS!!!! 11 second left in the half, 8-7 Syracuse lead
NEEEEE!!!!!! TIE GAME WITH 1 SECOND in the half!
Helluva comeback. Hope they can keep the momentum. This team is good enough that they shouldn't have to resort to that stall-ball stuff against Syracuse.
The faceoff situation sucked that half. Those procedure violations didn't really make any sense.
and we're back in play, Syracuse loses their early faceoff win and Cornell gets it
HASWELL!!! Picks up an errant pass and scores!! 9-8 Cornell, first lead of the game!!
Cornell gets the ball back off a push, causing a man up for Cornell (30 seconds), 1:35 into the third
Boulukos on the man up! 1:51 into the 3rd and Cornell leads 10-8, wow :)
possession to Syracuse off the faceoff
McMonagle the save on a "wicked shot", apparently then off the crossbar, Syracuse keeps possession... and scores... 10-9 Red
Syracuse gets possession once again, but Cornell gets it back on a bad pass
Haswell!!!! again! hat trick!! 11-9 Red
Cornell gets possession on the procedure call
Greenhalgh!! after some back and forth action and a couple Cornell shots
announcer confused me cause he said "McMonagle" instead of the Syracuse goal for a sec
12-9 Red! Orange call a time out
Something seems wrong with my audio feed. It has Cornell leading Syracuse by a couple goals in the Carrier Dome. Anyone else getting audio like this?
But as the announcers just said, "We have an eternity of time left in this lacrosse game."
This does not sound like the team that stumbled against Army and NC.
Crocket (sp) scores for Syracuse, 12-10... Cornell gets possession
Syracuse scores again, 12-11 Red
Syracuse gets possession on the push, but Cornell gets it back on the save attempt (save from going out of bounds) that went wild
and Syracuse gets it back on the missed pass
end of the 3rd quarter
:-( :-( LGR!!! :-( :-(
Thanks for the updates, Fred! :-)
no problem... 12-12 now, early 4th
Syracuse gest possession, a minute into the 4th
but Syracuse throws it away
Um...Bill...things haven't gone so well since your semi-woof. ::yark::
HASWELL from Greenhalgh!!!
13-12 Cornell
Cuse wins the faceoff (of course)
Cornell gets the man up, push on the transition, 30 second man up
"lucky deflection" for syracuse and the man up ends
Syracuse scores, excellent shot apparently, timeout on the field, 8:18 left
shots even at 28, score even at 13
say it with me... "Syracuse wins the faceoff"
but Cornell gets it back and goes the other way
BOLOUKUS!!!! 14-13 Cornell!
goal at 6:25 left, Cornell wins the faceoff :-O
Cuse ties it again
Syracuse gets the possession
Cornell possession now - 2:55 left
NEE!!!!! 15-14 Cornell!
Cornell wins the official faceoff, now a scramble... possession to Cornell!
2:01 left
BOLOUKOS!!!!! 1:27
16-14 Red... "1:27 is a lot of time"
and... "Syracuse wins the faceoff" - timeout Syracuse, 1:13 left
Belisle slaps the ball away to kill time, McMonagle gets the ball
Greenhalgh in the offensive end, :20 seconds!!!
:18! timeout Cornell!!!
c'mon boys hang on :-(
well the announcers seem pretty sure they will, but of course Cornell got 2 in 0:11 before, so... we'll see...
10 seconds, 5...
When is the last time a Cornell midfielder had as many goals as Joe Boulukos? Simply amazing.
Stop teasing ... is it over?
GAME OVER!!!!
Boulukos end with the ball and flings it way into the air! the 18 (?) year drought is over!!
Great effort!! 16 goals against Pfeifer is some doing.
Spectacular win. While I want to sweep the Ivies ang get the autobid, the victory certainly will help our chances if an at-large berth is needed.
Hard to believe this team could only manage 5 goals against North Carolina; Tambroni must have rally done something to get the offense going.
IMHO, Pfeifer is a sieve and has been his whole career ... he has not and should not ever be an AA goalie. his mechanics are some of the worst i have ever seen at any level. yes, he has talent but he is also probably the most inconsistent collegiate goalie playing today. lest i forget to mention his tendency to guess on shot placement rather than reaction as is the case with most goalies. great win for the Red, you have to love it when we (or anyone for that matter) can win in the Dome. Bring on the Green!
for those who get CSTV, Maryland v. Navy is being rebroadcast from last weekend.
Well that was well worth my $7 :-D
and yeah, Pfeifer didn't seem all that great, but the big turning point was when we started winning a decent amount of faceoffs, and stopped giving up stupid turnovers. The two goals going into the half obviously seemed to spark them.
Boulukos, of course, is player of the game
can't enjoy this one too much, with Dartmouth coming up, but enjoy it tonight, guys!
btw, I wasn't just teasing with that 10, 5... thing. there ball went out of bounds and the clock stopped, so I decided to post it and then do a final one
Sorry for my impatience, Delta. Thanks to you and the others who kept us posted.
Now we can dream a bit, can't we? The season seems to be setting up pretty favorbably.:-)
Thirty goals and multiple lead changes among two top-ten teams in the country and one of them is the defending national champ on its home turf where Cornell hasn't won since the 1980s. Oh, yes, it's coming back now why lacrosse in the spring can be just as much fun as hockey in the winter. It took Cornell and its opponents the last eight games of the season to amass that many hockey goals. Wouldn't it be nice if we could play a home-and-home series with defending champ Denver at mid-season in hockey (and nicer still if it only took an hour to drive to Denver) the way we do with Syracuse and Princeton?
I like hockey more, but I find that I miss lacrosse more when the season ends. In part that has to do with the fact that after hockey, I can turn my attention to lacrosse. But lacrosse is also more non-stop action in a way hockey just isn't.
And when lacrosse ends, I don't have anything. Well, except baseball, but May/June baseball just isn't the same as September/October baseball.
Thanks for the updates. Scrolling through them from the top was almost as good as listening to the game.
http://www.syracuse.com/sports/poststandard/index.ssf?/base/sports-0/111338176069810.xml&coll=1
>>> Through the 60 minutes of lacrosse just completed, Boulukos was every inch the Cornell warrior his appearance suggested. He scored a career-high seven goals against Syracuse to lead his Big Red to a thrilling 16-14 win in front of 4,027 Dome patrons, a clot of them cheering for Cornell.
A clot of them?
[edit] Story also notes Syracuse going in had won 91% of games in the Dome and now this year is 2-3 at home.
Interesting bit of Cornell hockey/lacrosse synergy:
http://www.dailyorange.com/news/2005/04/12/Sports/Cus-Sean.Greenhalgh.Grew.Up.With.Hockey.Now.He.Excels.At.Lacrosse-920679.shtml?page=1
I can't believe that game.
Some perspective: Cornell scored 16 goals and came from behind to beat Syracuse in the Dome...
... DESPITE being totally dominated at the faceoff X and getting little help from FO wings.
... DESPITE Syracuse more or less successfully neutralizing Cornell's two best offensive players and noted Orange-killers, Justin Redd (0-1) and Sean Greenhalgh (2-1).
... DESPITE partially reverting to some bad offensive habits (note the lack of assisted goals).
... DESPITE McMonagle's weak play -- OK, maybe he made one or two big saves.
... DESPITE getting frequently outworked for ground balls.
... DESPITE getting negligible production from the second midfield line (points from this unit was a stated pre-game goal).
So what does this mean? Cornell can freaking shoot the lights out. Cornell has so many weapons that you can't neutralize them all. Cornell is so well-coached that they can make adjustments on the fly to create more favorable match-ups on defense and offense. Cornell is so confident and resilient that falling behind on the road doesn't fluster them.
It's all true.
But they won't beat Dartmouth or go very far in the playoffs if they play that way again.
[Q]Al DeFlorio Wrote:
Interesting bit of Cornell hockey/lacrosse synergy:[/q]
In case you want to read the second page without registering, just use email address:
justme@mailinator.com
(courtesy BugMeNot)
More Daily Orange articles here: http://www.dailyorange.com/sections/275751.html
[Q]Hillel Hoffmann Wrote: ... .So what does this mean? Cornell can freaking shoot the lights out. Cornell has so many weapons that you can't neutralize them all. Cornell is so well-coached that they can make adjustments on the fly to create more favorable match-ups on defense and offense. Cornell is so confident and resilient that falling behind on the road doesn't fluster them. [/q]Maybe Coach Tambroni could bring in Coach Schafer for a talk with the team on the merits of solid defense, and then Coach Tambroni could return the favor in the fall at Lynah.
Meanwhile, does TBRW have a page devoted to great Cornell hockey players who never picked up a lacrosse stick on East Hill (Niewendyk, Moulson, et al) and possibly the opposite?
Who's putting out the Daily Orange? Doesn't Syracuse have graduation like the first week in April or hoops Final Four weekend, whichver comes first?
Note the top story is not all the "Cornell has Pfeifer seeing double" stuff but that one of the football players in back is class after being arrested.
sweet! for some reason i thought the game was 2nite? dont ask me why! awesome game I am sure, wish i coulda been there.
LGR!
Very nice article on goalie Kyle Miller in today's Sun.
http://www.cornellsun.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/04/13/425c9f319a005
[Q]billhoward Wrote:
Meanwhile, does TBRW have a page devoted to great Cornell hockey players who never picked up a lacrosse stick on East Hill (Niewendyk, Moulson, et al) and possibly the opposite? [/q]
Nope, although I suspect that breaks down to Cornell players before and after about 1973.
http://www.lax.com/stories/1396
Newsday's dorky lacrosse pundit Tom Rock did an interview with Joe Boulukos today. Link: http://www.newsday.com/sports/lacrosse/ny-lax-x0414,0,1734976.story?coll=ny-lacrosse-headlines (There's a reference to another interview with JB last year. Don't remember that.)
Here's one telling bit. When Rock asked Boulukos why the team's gpg had jumped from 9.5 in 2004 to 12.5 so far this year, Joe said: "I think the biggest change has been that we're really moving the ball better and sharing the ball better this year. Last year we were kind of stagnant where one or two guys would be moving and the other guys would be kind of getting in each other's way."
Also, in case you missed it, insidelacrosse.com, an overrated but occasionally useful site, recently posted an article written by Richard Belisle, the father of Cornell sophomore close defenseman Mitch Belisle. It's very long, but it communicates just how remarkably cohesive this team is -- and how effective and adaptable Jeff Tambroni and Ben DeLuca have become. Here's the link: http://www.insidelacrosse.com/page.cfm?pagerid=2&news=fdetail&storyid=80845
"Lacrosse already feeling a loss as Gait closes" see: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/2005-04-13-gary-gait_x.htm?csp=22_gapsb
a nice article -
The article says Boulukos has 31 goals. He has 31 points, with 21 goals.
[Q]Hillel Hoffmann Wrote:
dorky lacrosse pundit[/q]
Tautology. ;-)
[Q]Trotsky Wrote:
[Q2]Hillel Hoffmann Wrote:
dorky lacrosse pundit[/Q]
Tautology. [/q]
Word
[Q]Hillel Hoffmann Wrote:
[Q2]Trotsky Wrote:
[Q2]Hillel Hoffmann Wrote:
dorky lacrosse pundit[/Q]
Tautology. [/Q]
Word
[/q]
4 syllable word.
And isn't "dorky lacrosse pundit" redundant?
word adv. I agree, I concur, well said, affirmative. Addendum from the Urban Dictionary: Used often by "clueless suburban whites."
dorkylacrosse adj. Syn.: See Hillelhoffmann
[Q]Jeff Hopkins '82 Wrote:
And isn't "dorky lacrosse pundit" redundant?[/q]
...which is another word for this particular meaning of tautology. So you're being redundant. B-]
Beeeej
[Q]Hillel Hoffmann Wrote:
word adv. I agree, I concur, well said, affirmative. Addendum from the Urban Dictionary: Used often by "clueless suburban whites."[/q]
Wiggity Word. Fer Shizzle.
"Bling bling. 1997-2003"
For the love of god, just let this line of conversation die already.
[Q]jmh30 Wrote:
For the love of god, just let this line of conversation die already.[/q]
Don't hate the playa. Hate the game. ( :Sweet smile: )
"word" I understood.
I didn't have time to look up "Tautology" but I suspected it meant redundant. Went for it anyway.
Took a chance. Lost.