FF Semi vs. Duke

[Trotsky]

Cant root for either team tomorrow, we should just pretend there is no game tomorrow, I dont think I can watch it

A tactical nuclear strike would leave a smoking hole where Duke lacrosse, Syracuse lacrosse, and the city of Philadelphia are today.

Just sayin'.

(Too bad the Red Sox - Phillies game is at Fenway.)

[jtwcornell91]

Cant root for either team tomorrow, we should just pretend there is no game tomorrow, I dont think I can watch it

A tactical nuclear strike would leave a smoking hole where Duke lacrosse, Syracuse lacrosse, and the city of Philadelphia are today.

Just sayin'.

(Too bad the Red Sox - Phillies game is at Fenway.)

Well, I was going to say we should root for whichever team is more likely to have an ineligible player, so the title could be vacated, but WHAT THE FRELL ESPNU just listed Syracuse with 11 national titles, including the vacated one.  No, you bastards, that's 10 titles, NOT including the vacated one.  That's what vacated means! ::cuss:::-(::bang::

[Roy 82]

Congrats to the Big Red on a great season and to Rob Panell on a great collegiate career.

I'll root for Syracuse becuase their success just makes us more angry and Duke has enough sports success with bball alone.

[billhoward]

Geez, that hurt seeing Duke hoist the trophy.

Rob, thanks for coming back and giving it the old college try.

[semsox]

At the very least Duke's win should seal the Tewaaraton for Rob. Small consolation for what I'm sure was a fairly emotional weekend for him and the rest of the team.

[Jim Hyla]

You might say the championship game was Saturday.

[ugarte]

You might say the championship game was Saturday.

you might, but Syracuse beat us this year, so I wouldn't

[Towerroad]

You might say the championship game was Saturday.

You can say it but it will not make it true. Syracuse beat 3 teams and got to the finals, we only beat 2. Let's give them the same respect Duke gave them at the end of the game.

[billhoward]

Three of the teams in the final four were lucky to get there. They stumnbled into Philadephia. Syracuse with the advantage of the #1 seed had tournament margins of +5, +1, +1 and -6. Duke had margins of +1, +1, +2 and +6. Cornell had margins of +8, +10, and -2. Denver had margins of +5, +1, and -1. Duke and Syracuse IIRC were not certain of making the tournament at midseason.

No question Duke did a good job shutting off Steve Mock and found a way to get 7 of 8 SOG past our goalkeeping in the third period. We did an amazing job coming back. We can think of plenty of if-onlys: the shot that didn't go just before the half, all the pipes Pannell & co. hit, our playing the All-America FOGO specialist to a near draw and then coming close to winning the crucial faceoff after Cornell draw to within 1, 15-14, with :53 left.

The championship determines a champion if not the best team.

We all have to let off steam because we suspect it may be a while until there's a Cornell team that can seriously contend for the title again. I'm wonder if that's how hockey fans felt in the spring of 1969 with Ken Dryden departed.

[KenP]

Any thoughts on Steve Mock's lower-than-normal productivity?  To the untrained eye he seemed to be standing around in the center of the field.  Was he unable to get open due to Duke's superior defense?  Perhaps he wasn't 100% healthy?

[Rosey]

We all have to let off steam because we suspect it may be a while until there's a Cornell team that can seriously contend for the title again. I'm wonder if that's how hockey fans felt in the spring of 1969 with Ken Dryden departed.

I think a lot of people thought this in 2009 when Max Seibald graduated.

[ugarte]

We all have to let off steam because we suspect it may be a while until there's a Cornell team that can seriously contend for the title again. I'm wonder if that's how hockey fans felt in the spring of 1969 with Ken Dryden departed.

I think a lot of people thought this in 2009 when Max Seibald graduated.

Exactly. Was Buczek a senior? He looked pretty great. There is still talent on this team. I'm not giving up yet.

The differnce in the semi - as someone who only got to watch the 4th quarter, so I'm mostly referring to the almost-comeback - was goaltending, but not ours. Fiore was fine in the time that I watched but Duke's keeper was AMAZING. He stopped a few from point-blank range that I still can't believe. It took that kind of amazing goaltending to preserve that 8 goal lead. Brutal, but it was good to see that the team really kept at it.

On the other hand I had to unfollow Cornell Lax on Twitter because they retweeted every "good job, good effort" tweet and it was making me sick. It was a terrible, brutal loss and I'll need some time before I'm willing to say "good season anyway, guys!" since I know this was a squad good enough to be champions.

[billhoward]

We all have to let off steam because we suspect it may be a while until there's a Cornell team that can seriously contend for the title again. I'm wonder if that's how hockey fans felt in the spring of 1969 with Ken Dryden departed.

I think a lot of people thought this in 2009 when Max Seibald graduated.

It was somewhat different. In 2009 we had a freshman attackman with unlimited potential, RP3. No doubt there are solid freshmen and sophomores to carry Cornell the next 2-3 years especially attackman Matt Donvan, midfielder Connor Buczek, and two-thirds of the close defense, plus face off Doug Tesoriero (who almost played Duke's AA FOGO guy evenly). The team has definite potential in 2014 and even more in 2015. But this is a team that loses 5 of its 6 All-America honorees (1st 2nd 3rd or HM). Beyond Buczek, are there any returnees likely to be on the initial Tewaaraton watch list?

Princeton's first midfield will be world-class next year and Mike McDonald, their sophomore attackman, was more visible I thouught than Matt Donovan; I think they're the Ivy favorite starting the season. Donovan needs to step up on attack again and it will be good to see if rising senior Cody Bremner shows the promise we saw at times his freshman year. AJ Fiore's terrible third quarter may have been a turning point in the Duke game but I think we're still going to miss him.

[billhoward]

Any thoughts on Steve Mock's lower-than-normal productivity?  To the untrained eye he seemed to be standing around in the center of the field.  Was he unable to get open due to Duke's superior defense?  Perhaps he wasn't 100% healthy?

A couple of teams not just Duke clamped down in close and shut off Mock. Pannell-to-Mock is tightly choreographed and sometimes the timing is just off a tad. But Pannell shooting on-goal and the midfield picked up the slack. Almost.

I think we lost because (not sure which order):
* 3-4-5 shots in the first half that really should have gone in, didn't. (When I saw Pannell's pipe and Mock / Donovan missig up close, I thought, no problem, the odds will swing our way, except they didn't.)
* Failure to score and tie at 7-7 at halftime
* Duke scores on 7 of 8 shots in the third (maybe that goes higher)
* Failure to control the faceff following the goal that made it 15-14 with a minute to play
* A couple fourth quarter shots that were either great Duke saves or our shooting at the goalie's stick
* A Duke goal, forget which, that was a half-field pass to an attackman alone on the crease, shades of Memorial Day 2009
* Blown calls?

In comparison, I don't think Duke can point to nearly as many instances where they could have gotten many more goals.