Cornell-Syracuse Postgame

[Rosey]

[quote Kyle Rose]all they had to do was not turn over the ball and wait out the clock.  In both instances—at the end of regulation and the end of the game[/quote]
Obviously, this was not what I meant to say.  Temporary mental retardation, resulting from a combination of disbelief and apoplexy.  That said, it seems like I wasn't the only one suffering from that. :-/

This team is going to be much different (read: probably a lot less successful) without Siebald and Glynn.  However, I wasn't sure the team would come back so quickly after losing McMonagle to graduation, yet they made the national championship game in only two years.  Despite the heartbreak today, hopefully this is the (re-)start of lasting success for Cornell lacrosse.

[Jim Hyla]

Well, to me the only good thing coming out of this loss, is if all those hockey fans who think we should be able to compete year after year will take note. To compete with the scholarship schools and win an NCAA championship, it takes a perfect series. We had that yesterday, but sadly not today. Less than perfect is usually not enough. In hockey it's even harder, considering all the big time schools playing. Just look at all the talent schools like SU have. Hell, our goalie transferred because he got beat out at SU. But then Galloway beat that guy out. We just can't get the depth of players, so we need to be perfect. Is there anyone out there who wasn't worried that SU could tie it up? We lost our gas and then mental focus. Too bad.

As I said before the game, best of seven, SU wins; one game, we could have done it.

[Germ]

To me I saw two games out there today..

Game 1: A magnificant 9-6 win played in 56 minutes-
*We got out to the critical early lead and held it
*Myers made some monster saves, some of which came at crucial times
*The senior leadership got involved (i.e. Glynn, Max, & Moyer)
*We got our share of ground balls and got almost 50% on faceoffs
*We didn't let 'Cuse make any big runs and gain any momemtum
*We took care of the ball and didn't make that many turnovers
*Tambroni outcoached Desko
*We imposed out style of play and played with poise

Game 2: a 4-0 tragic meltdown played in 5 1/2 minutes (4 reg + 1 1/2 ot)-
*We couldn't keep control of the ball and coughed it up 3-4 times with simple "poke" checks
*Desko outcoached Tambroni. ex. we didn't use our time-outs wisely including not calling one with 28 seconds left to set up the clear
*We couldn't stop them from playling their style of run n gun and they pumped in 2 within 50 seconds
*We didn't get any key loose balls
*We didn't play with poise

Unfortunately the combination of the two is a 10-9 heartbreaking loss. Argueably the toughest loss in the program's history.  (Close to the '87 loss anyway) These guys will remember this for the rest of their lives.  It cost Max the T-award (I'm guessing) and it cost Glynn the player of the game. Can't believe they gave the award to Jamison.  

I guess we have to give credit to Cuse.  They didn't panic.  The fact that they were here last year obviously paid dividends.

We still had a great season.  Before it begin did anybody think we could make it to the finals?  I admit I didn't.

[Andy '07]

Watching the bench jump up and down with 5 minutes left celebrating was really ominous.  I was yelling at the TV, slow down, 5 minutes left guys, let's keep it together. As a previous poster said, being a Bills (and CU hockey) fan, I was waiting for the gut-wrenching SU comeback.  Too bad.  

I'll mention though, on a brighter note, the terrific CU sports year especially considering the inherent difficulties we have in competing on a national scale.  In sports I follow closely:

Hockey - ECAC runner-up and "Top 8" NCAA finish.

Wrestling - Ivy and EIWA champ, 5th in NCAA (behind Iowa, Ohio St., Iowa St., and Nebraska) including 1 individual national champ and 4 all-americans (Top 8 for those unfamiliar)

Lacrosse - Ivy champs, NCAA runnerup.

This one hurts, but its been a good year.  Hoping for more like it in the future.

[jtwcornell91]

[quote imafrshmn]The only consolation I can find for myself is that this is only sports and doesn't really matter (though I don't think this will help people here).[/quote]

Leesa: "It's just sports, for cryin' out loud, it's not the Paris Peace Talks."
Dana: "Ah, get yourself a real name."

[jtwcornell91]

[quote Andy '07]Watching the bench jump up and down with 5 minutes left celebrating was really ominous.  I was yelling at the TV, slow down, 5 minutes left guys, let's keep it together. As a previous poster said, being a Bills (and CU hockey) fan, I was waiting for the gut-wrenching SU comeback.  Too bad.  

I'll mention though, on a brighter note, the terrific CU sports year especially considering the inherent difficulties we have in competing on a national scale.  In sports I follow closely:

Hockey - ECAC runner-up and "Top 8" NCAA finish.

Wrestling - Ivy and EIWA champ, 5th in NCAA (behind Iowa, Ohio St., Iowa St., and Nebraska) including 1 individual national champ and 4 all-americans (Top 8 for those unfamiliar)

Lacrosse - Ivy champs, NCAA runnerup.

This one hurts, but its been a good year.  Hoping for more like it in the future.[/quote]

Don't forget Ivy titles in softball and basketball, and Ivy runner-up in baseball.

[Jim Hyla]

[quote jtwcornell91][quote Andy '07]Watching the bench jump up and down with 5 minutes left celebrating was really ominous.  I was yelling at the TV, slow down, 5 minutes left guys, let's keep it together. As a previous poster said, being a Bills (and CU hockey) fan, I was waiting for the gut-wrenching SU comeback.  Too bad.  

I'll mention though, on a brighter note, the terrific CU sports year especially considering the inherent difficulties we have in competing on a national scale.  In sports I follow closely:

Hockey - ECAC runner-up and "Top 8" NCAA finish.

Wrestling - Ivy and EIWA champ, 5th in NCAA (behind Iowa, Ohio St., Iowa St., and Nebraska) including 1 individual national champ and 4 all-americans (Top 8 for those unfamiliar)

Lacrosse - Ivy champs, NCAA runnerup.

This one hurts, but its been a good year.  Hoping for more like it in the future.[/quote]

Don't forget Ivy titles in softball and basketball, and Ivy runner-up in baseball.[/quote]FYP:-D

[Germ]

It's not that I don't want to drink the cool-aid and I do think we had a great run to the finals.  I never thought we'd even get to the finals. But...if we can't close out a game like the game we played today then when?  If we can't win a game in which we have a 3-goal lead with the ball with under 4 minutes to go then when?  If we can't do it when we have the perfect blend of talent and heart on the team at the same time then when?

This was the year where the stars were aligned and we gave it away.  (What I mean by that is we didn't execute in the closing minutes)  Yes, our program appears to be back among the elites and, yes, we have Panell for 3 more years but THIS was the year. Who knows how long it will be before a trio like Seibald, Glynn, and Moyer play at Cornell for 4 years.

This is going to sting until we finally win it.  Hopefully that time will come soon because getting so close only to lose it in the fashion we did today is certainly going to leave a scar.

[ebilmes]

That was awfully hard to watch. We played so well for most of the game and got ourselves into a position to win. You can't ask for a better opportunity than that: having the ball with less than half a minute. Just have to hold onto the ball and you win a national championship. Once Syracuse tied it up, I didn't think Cornell could win.

Regardless, I hope this run has proven that our program belongs in the top tier, and it might take a few more years, but I think we'll be back.

Remember what we were saying last year?

Now I don't claim to say we will no longer be competitive, but I'm afraid we may be slowly sliding downhill. I hope I'm wrong, but there are just not that many players available.

[Rosey]

Is it October yet?

[Jim Hyla]

[quote ebilmes]That was awfully hard to watch. We played so well for most of the game and got ourselves into a position to win. You can't ask for a better opportunity than that: having the ball with less than half a minute. Just have to hold onto the ball and you win a national championship. Once Syracuse tied it up, I didn't think Cornell could win.

Regardless, I hope this run has proven that our program belongs in the top tier, and it might take a few more years, but I think we'll be back.

Remember what we were saying last year?

Now I don't claim to say we will no longer be competitive, but I'm afraid we may be slowly sliding downhill. I hope I'm wrong, but there are just not that many players available.

[/quote]I'll admit to that and I still have the same worry. The point is similar to what I was making above. We'll only get a few selected very good players, and many like Pannell, will need to be under the radar players. Other schools, like SU, have a much easier time recruiting. Once the participating schools expand, such as to the Big Ten, we'll then be in the same position as hockey, without Canada. So, I'm still overall pessimistic, and it will take a perfect game to win.

[ugarte]

Finally got home and watched the game and ... ugh. So brutal.

I'd blame Moyer for the failed clear if there was ANYONE helping out near the ball. As someone else mentioned, I wish he had made it a ground ball in the Syracuse end rather than let everyone collapse on him at the midfield line. Still, Syracuse got awfully lucky to put that ball in - a perfect over the shoulder pass followed by a deflection that fell into Nims' stick (though only players as good as them would have been able to make that luck count).

Next year probably isn't going to be our year but I don't think it will be as long to get back as some. In particular I thought Lau and Meyers showed a lot of promise for the future.

[Al DeFlorio]

[quote ugarte]
Next year probably isn't going to be our year but I don't think it will be as long to get back as some. In particular I thought Lau and Meyers showed a lot of promise for the future.[/quote]
If you mean Jake Myers, he's a senior.

Pannell, Hurley, Lau, Lang, Ritchie, Thomson, O'Neill, Derkac, MacDonald, Feely, Howe, Boykin, and, we hope, the incoming freshman Fiore in goal are the promise for next year.

[ugarte]

[quote Al DeFlorio][quote ugarte]
Next year probably isn't going to be our year but I don't think it will be as long to get back as some. In particular I thought Lau and Meyers showed a lot of promise for the future.[/quote]
If you mean Jake Myers, he's a senior.[/quote]
Oh, booooooo! For some reason I thought we still had him for another year or two.

[Germ]

We need more depth at midfield.  Can't do it with only 3-4 guys contributing on a consistent basis.  Cuse had more depth and,in the end, that made a big difference.  They also showed poise when it counted. (ie. they never panicked or lost composure)

Can't even think of blaming Moyer.  Without him 'Cuse would have had more possessions and probably 1-2 more goals.  Tambroni failed to call a TO with 28 seconds to go to set up a play and (more importantly) settle the guys down.  But even if he did Cuse still might have found a way to win.