Seeded 7th -- Facing Loyola

[scoop85]

So, we get a 7th seed and a home game against Loyola.  Tough test, but certainly a winnable game.  

The biggest result of today's loss is that, had we won, we'd be a 6th seed and projected to face MD in a second round game. The Terps are darned good, don't get me wrong; but now, if we're fortunate enough to beat Loyola, we'll almost certainly get SU in the quarters.

[Jordan 04]

Looking wayyyy ahead, but a Cornell/SU and SBU/UVA double-header @ Stony Brook would be a lot of fun.

[phillysportsfan]

Looking wayyyy ahead, but a Cornell/SU and SBU/UVA double-header @ Stony Brook would be a lot of fun.

That is looking way ahead but would be amazing to have a chance to get some revenge against Syracuse for these past two losses. You would think the lacrosse gods have to give us a break against them once in awhile.

But isnt the other game at Stony Brook the winners of (3) Maryland Hofstra and Notre Dame (6) Princeton


The next game would be in Stony Brook though right, because cornellbigred.com says it would be in Princeton?

[Greenberg '97]

But isnt the other game at Stony Brook the winners of (3) Maryland Hofstra and Notre Dame (6) Princeton

Princeton and Stony Brook are both bracketed to play the second round at home.  Given the fact that lacrosse needs to make its own attendance, I would guess the rules are more like hockey (hosting school MUST play at home) than basketball (hosting school CANNOT play at home).

Here's the official bracket from ncaa.com:

http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ncaa/sports/m-lacros/auto_pdf/MLax-D1-2010Bracket.pdf

[ben03]

The biggest result of today's loss is that, had we won, we'd be a 6th seed and projected to face MD in a second round game.

I totally agree we got (arguably) a more favorable draw than had we won today. I'll change my tune from earlier when I was less than pleased with our finish. Loyola looked very weak in their game against JHU ... and having taken SU to the final shot I think we have reason for a solid feeling about our chances in this tourney.

Bring on the Greyhounds!

LGR!

[dbilmes]

That is looking way ahead but would be amazing to have a chance to get some revenge against Syracuse for these past two losses. You would think the lacrosse gods have to give us a break against them once in awhile.

After what has happened against Syracuse the last two times we have played them, and what happened against Princeton on Sunday, it appears the lacrosse gods are content to tantalize us, only to ultimately punish us at the last possible second.

[Al DeFlorio]

The biggest result of today's loss is that, had we won, we'd be a 6th seed and projected to face MD in a second round game.

I think we'd still have drawn Syracuse as a potential quarterfinal opponent.  Princeton's win yesterday moved the Tigers ahead of Duke to #5 in RPI.  That boosted Syracuse's quality win score (Princeton was now in the 1-5 band, not 6-10) and lowered Maryland's (Duke was now in the 6-10 RPI band not 1-5).  This gave the committee the leeway to move Syracuse ahead of Maryland to the #2 seed.  

The committee would have wanted Syracuse and Cornell playing at Stony Brook in the quarterfinals and Maryland playing at Princeton.  They'd have achieved that regardless of who won the Ivy AQ game yesterday, because the #2 and #3 seeds would have been flipped had Cornell won.

[scoop85]

The biggest result of today's loss is that, had we won, we'd be a 6th seed and projected to face MD in a second round game.

I think we'd still have drawn Syracuse as a potential quarterfinal opponent.  Princeton's win yesterday moved the Tigers ahead of Duke to #5 in RPI.  That boosted Syracuse's quality win score (Princeton was now in the 1-5 band, not 6-10) and lowered Maryland's (Duke was now in the 6-10 RPI band not 1-5).  This gave the committee the leeway to move Syracuse ahead of Maryland to the #2 seed.  

The committee would have wanted Syracuse and Cornell playing at Stony Brook in the quarterfinals and Maryland playing at Princeton.  They'd have achieved that regardless of who won the Ivy AQ game yesterday, because the #2 and #3 seeds would have been flipped had Cornell won.

That makes sense. So, yesterday's result had little practical impact regarding the NCAA's -- but it still sticks in my craw!

[Jim Hyla]

The biggest result of today's loss is that, had we won, we'd be a 6th seed and projected to face MD in a second round game.

I totally agree we got (arguably) a more favorable draw than had we won today. I'll change my tune from earlier when I was less than pleased with our finish. Loyola looked very weak in their game against JHU ... and having taken SU to the final shot I think we have reason for a solid feeling about our chances in this tourney.

Bring on the Greyhounds!

LGR!

SU has improved tremendously over the season. They've been able to put middies and attack together, something I haven't seen from us. We don't seem to be able to put a whole game together, especially second half. I don't see the same kind of improvement with us as with SU. I don't see us having a great chance against them, unless they look past us. I doubt that, since we were so close to beating them.

But then again, I don't know what you mean by "solid feeling".

[ben03]

The biggest result of today's loss is that, had we won, we'd be a 6th seed and projected to face MD in a second round game.

I totally agree we got (arguably) a more favorable draw than had we won today. I'll change my tune from earlier when I was less than pleased with our finish. Loyola looked very weak in their game against JHU ... and having taken SU to the final shot I think we have reason for a solid feeling about our chances in this tourney.

Bring on the Greyhounds!

LGR!

SU has improved tremendously over the season. They've been able to put middies and attack together, something I haven't seen from us. We don't seem to be able to put a whole game together, especially second half. I don't see the same kind of improvement with us as with SU. I don't see us having a great chance against them, unless they look past us. I doubt that, since we were so close to beating them.

But then again, I don't know what you mean by "solid feeling".

our failure to put together a complete 60:00 minute game is our Achilles heel. what i meant by "solid" was that we have competed with and taken SU to the brink. this can play both ways ... (1) they will not let it get there again < or > (2) we will make sure it gets there again. either way, we cannot look past past Loyola and they can't look past us ... but if we meet them again it's not likely to be a blowout a la UVA. i think it will take a complete 60:00 minutes (not a second less) if we're going to win.

at least we know we can get to 59:59.:-P

LGR!

[Al DeFlorio]

at least we know we can get to 59:59.:-P

Right.  Plus, I'm encouraged by the domination of Brown for three quarters and Princeton for a half.  This team is now showing that when the middies and attack play together, they really can do some stuff.  The problem seems to be that, with a lead, the middies sit back and let the attack--meaning, to a large degree, Rob Pannell--do all the initiation, and that results in leads disappearing.  It may be that this team simply cannot play a full 60 minutes, as described by Jim.  But I think we've also seen that they are capable of a very high level of play when they put their minds to it--a level that can make them dangerous against almost anyone.

[scoop85]

at least we know we can get to 59:59.:-P

Right.  Plus, I'm encouraged by the domination of Brown for three quarters and Princeton for a half.  This team is now showing that when the middies and attack play together, they really can do some stuff.  The problem seems to be that, with a lead, the middies sit back and let the attack--meaning, to a large degree, Rob Pannell--do all the initiation, and that results in leads disappearing.  It may be that this team simply cannot play a full 60 minutes, as described by Jim.  But I think we've also seen that they are capable of a very high level of play when they put their minds to it--a level that can make them dangerous against almost anyone.

Al, I have the same impression.  The past two games we've had long stretches where we've been able to play at an extremely high level -- higher than any part of our performance in this season's Syracuse game.   In both the Brown and Princeton games, their goal tending was superb; while we were able to overcome that against Brown, Princeton obviously was a different result.  

That being said, we will be tough for anybody we play -- we just have to play that "complete game."  But I am excited about our skill level and the way we hustle.

One thing no one has mentioned:  While Fiore played decently yesterday, he hardly ever makes a "clean" save with his stick that allows him to retain the ball; instead, he relies on his body to stop the ball (ouch!), with no rebound control.  In the second half it seemed Princeton had numerous 2nd and 3rd possessions that drained the defense and kept the ball away from our offense.  Fioroto, on the other hand, seemed to make his stops with his stick, and we had very few second-chance opportunities.

[Towerroad]

It looked to me like we had a change in strategy after the half against Princeton and I suspect the same thing happened last year against SU. It looks we had a big lead and tried to slow down the tempo of the game to use the clock. That worked last year against Princeton but that was a very different team.

From my perspective you just can't do that against high quality teams especially teams as dangerous as SU eventually they will find a weakness and strip the ball. Relentless scoring pressure coupled with solid D is the only way to win against first ranked teams.

I was really impressed with the ground ball game against the Tigers.

[Jim Hyla]

at least we know we can get to 59:59.:-P

Right.  Plus, I'm encouraged by the domination of Brown for three quarters and Princeton for a half.  This team is now showing that when the middies and attack play together, they really can do some stuff.  The problem seems to be that, with a lead, the middies sit back and let the attack--meaning, to a large degree, Rob Pannell--do all the initiation, and that results in leads disappearing.  It may be that this team simply cannot play a full 60 minutes, as described by Jim.  But I think we've also seen that they are capable of a very high level of play when they put their minds to it--a level that can make them dangerous against almost anyone.

I agree totally. However, as the season has gone on,  SU has shown that they can, and do, put their middies with their attack. That was a big question when the season started, and they've solved it. Until we show the same I'm not optimistic. It's possible for us to win, but I do think we have a chance of being blown out by SU as well.

[ben03]

at least we know we can get to 59:59.:-P

Right.  Plus, I'm encouraged by the domination of Brown for three quarters and Princeton for a half.  This team is now showing that when the middies and attack play together, they really can do some stuff.  The problem seems to be that, with a lead, the middies sit back and let the attack--meaning, to a large degree, Rob Pannell--do all the initiation, and that results in leads disappearing.  It may be that this team simply cannot play a full 60 minutes, as described by Jim.  But I think we've also seen that they are capable of a very high level of play when they put their minds to it--a level that can make them dangerous against almost anyone.

I agree totally. However, as the season has gone on,  SU has shown that they can, and do, put their middies with their attack. That was a big question when the season started, and they've solved it. Until we show the same I'm not optimistic. It's possible for us to win, but I do think we have a chance of being blown out by SU as well.

I agree 100% that they link the Mids and Attack as well as anyone in the country. To me, the most impressive thing about this year's SU squad (having watched them from the time i was 5, so 25 years) is not the offense but their defense. Back in the Simmons era ... a win was a win as long you had one goal more than they did. He didn't care if the score was 29-28. They always had the goal scorers and some great take away guys and stonewall goalies < but > never really never played solid team-D. This SU team has shown the ability to play shutdown D. If Galloway is seeing the ball and playing lights out it'll be a tough day for any opposing team.

All that having been said, they have looked beatable (see Hobart, JHU and Us) ... we have a shot but have to get past Loyola first.