Lax Cornell 11 Loyola 10 (3 OT) & other NCAA 1st round

billhoward · May 15, 2010, 05:18:02 PM

Whew, what a game. First half, I thought Cornell would do well next week against (one presumes) Syracuse. Second half, it seemed likely Cornell's season would end next week at Stony Brook if not at Schoellkopf. We are not a second-half, hold-that-lead team. I think "choke" is the word the rest of the lax world might use.

It's one more game that shows the conventional wisdom to hold the ball late with a narrow lead does not work, at least not in Cornell's case.

Awesome take-away play by AJ Fiore when Loyola threw a lazy pass in the 3rd OT behind the cage. It would have been more impressive if Cornell went upfield and scored off that play in the final OT, not the next (?) possession? To their discredit, Loyola could not manage the end-of-period clock in OT. To our discredit, our leadership on offense did not step up at the end. Unlike last week, a bobbled Pannell-Hurley pass didn't lead to the other team getting possession in OT and scoring.

I'm heading to Stony Brook next weekend for the quarterfinals but I'll feel the same way I did heading to the Carrier Dome for the Cornell-Kentucky game. You go because you love Cornell sports. You hope for an upset. In the case of lax, you would be excused for thinking how much more mature this team will be in 2011 and wonder what miracle finds Tambroni will make on the recruiting trail. Given how many players we lost from last year's amazing season, even making it this far was an accomplishment.

Hey, did TV color man Jack Emmer (ex Cortland / Army coach) with the sniffles sound like Jack Nicholson winding down (sniff ... sniff) from a cocaine high? ,,, and what a nice job ESPN did milking the Virginia tragedy (not that most viewers aren't morbidly curious) ... also, thank you for showing us the end of the '09 Syracuse title game again. And again. And again.

Josh '99 · May 15, 2010, 05:20:30 PM

Quote from: billhowardHey, did TV color man Jack Emmer (ex Cortland / Army coach) with the sniffles sound like Jack Nicholson winding down (sniff ... sniff) from a cocaine high?

No.

dbilmes · May 15, 2010, 06:05:43 PM

Quote from: billhowardHey, did TV color man Jack Emmer (ex Cortland / Army coach) with the sniffles sound like Jack Nicholson winding down (sniff ... sniff) from a cocaine high?

His commentary was pedestrian and added nothing to the game. I guess it's hard to find good TV announcers when ESPNU is stretched so thin covering so many lacrosse games on the same day. The guys in the studio are good.
As I was watching the game, and seeing so many game shots where it looked like Schoellkopf was completely empty, I was wondering if perhaps Cornell should build a lacrosse stadium, which could also be used for soccer, similar to what many other schools have. Back in the 70s, when we used to get 15 to 20,000 fans for big games like Hopkins, Hobart and NCAA tournament games, we needed to play in a football stadium. But those days are long gone.
I was watching the game on TV at a friend's house whose daughter is a Cornell freshman and a big enough sports fan that she had season hockey tickets her freshman year. He emailed her when the game began asking if she was there. She said she was on her way back from the Farmer's Market and wanted to know which sport Cornell was playing today! That's why we don't need to play our lacrosse games in a football stadium (for that matter, we don't need to play our football games in a football stadium either, but that's a whole other story).

phillysportsfan · May 15, 2010, 06:54:23 PM

Quote from: dbilmes
Quote from: billhowardHey, did TV color man Jack Emmer (ex Cortland / Army coach) with the sniffles sound like Jack Nicholson winding down (sniff ... sniff) from a cocaine high?
His commentary was pedestrian and added nothing to the game. I guess it's hard to find good TV announcers when ESPNU is stretched so thin covering so many lacrosse games on the same day. The guys in the studio are good.
As I was watching the game, and seeing so many game shots where it looked like Schoellkopf was completely empty, I was wondering if perhaps Cornell should build a lacrosse stadium, which could also be used for soccer, similar to what many other schools have. Back in the 70s, when we used to get 15 to 20,000 fans for big games like Hopkins, Hobart and NCAA tournament games, we needed to play in a football stadium. But those days are long gone.
I was watching the game on TV at a friend's house whose daughter is a Cornell freshman and a big enough sports fan that she had season hockey tickets her freshman year. He emailed her when the game began asking if she was there. She said she was on her way back from the Farmer's Market and wanted to know which sport Cornell was playing today! That's why we don't need to play our lacrosse games in a football stadium (for that matter, we don't need to play our football games in a football stadium either, but that's a whole other story).

I have always been surprised how few students go to the games considering how good the team usually is, there is always a lot of the players families there.

billhoward · May 15, 2010, 09:05:08 PM

Upper Alumni Field is called that because there used to be a Lower Alumni Field, a gem of a grass field that could have been the equivalent of Princeton's 4000-seat Class of 1952 Field, perfect for the non-football sports, and close to the main campus. Alas, it became Comstock Hall, the one next to Teagle / across from Barton. The soccer field at the far end of Upper Alumni Field has crappy stands and it's a long haul from the dorms. It's how not to encourage attendance. It would have been better to have taken a chunk of Upper Alumni Field but the promise at the time was that if Lower Alumni Field went bye-bye, Upper Alumni Field would be forever green. Hah!

ugarte · May 16, 2010, 09:32:56 AM

Go Army.

billhoward · May 16, 2010, 09:40:14 AM

Four of the ESPN top ten hightlights are lacrosse including the conclusion of Max Feely's end-to-end run for the winning goal at No. 3. The behind-the-back goal by Stony Brook was No. 1. I suppose it's just coincidence that ESPN-U broadcast the lax games and the highlights are on ESPN. I'm surprised one of the highlights wasn't the ESPN-U announcers talking about the Virginia women's team preparing for today's game.

scoop85 · May 16, 2010, 10:23:41 AM

Quote from: billhowardThe behind-the-back goal by Stony Brook was No. 1.

That goal was sick.

Cornell95 · May 16, 2010, 11:44:33 AM

has the coach considered not taking the team to the locker room during halftime?
I mean maybe he could just huddle them on the sideline and pretend it is still the transition between the first and second quarters =P

Jim Hyla · May 16, 2010, 12:31:26 PM

Article about the game in The Syracuse Post-Standard and a nice human interest story about two SU lacrosse moms in The New York Times.

ajh258 · May 16, 2010, 01:48:29 PM

Can't wait for the game next weekend. If 'cuse wins, there will be a lot of people at Stony Brook because many Long Islanders go/went to both schools.

LGR!

Al DeFlorio · May 16, 2010, 02:16:28 PM

Quote from: ajh258Can't wait for the game next weekend. If 'cuse wins, there will be a lot of people at Stony Brook because many Long Islanders go/went to both schools.

LGR!

According to some folks on the laxpower fora, there are less than 4,000 tickets left and it's expected to be a sell-out. If form holds today, Stony Brook, Virginia, Syracuse, and Cornell will make for a very attractive field in the eyes of lacrosse fans on the Island.

billhoward · May 16, 2010, 02:26:46 PM

Quote from: Jim HylaArticle about the game in The Syracuse Post-Standard and a nice human interest story about two SU lacrosse moms in The New York Times.

First time in three weeks the NYT didn't have a big sports story on a present or former Princeton coach or team.

DeltaOne81 · May 16, 2010, 04:35:40 PM

Notre Dame eliminates Princeton, 8-5

billhoward · May 16, 2010, 05:11:52 PM

Notre Dame 8, Princeton 5. A small part of me feels sad that the Ivy League only has one team moving into the quarterfinals. The rest of me rejoices. Princeton has twice as many NCAA titles as Cornell, but they're getting to be old, too [the last in 2001]. If you want to play Ivy lacrosse at the highest caliber anytime since then, go to Cornell. I still love their stadium, though. And their big stadium will be pretty empty without Princeton fans to boost the gate, such as they have fans. (I see the Princeton band finally made it to a lax game today.) Imagine how much worse Princeton would feel if Bill Tierney got Denver past Stony Brook.

I'm trying to recall how often (seldom) Princeton has made the final four since that run of six titles in a decade. I believe they had FF appearances the next 2 years (2002, 2003), then missed the next 2-3 years, and then the Princeton record book online is blank for 2006 and beyond. They lost to us 6-4 last year in the quarters with a team that arguably was third best in the country after Syracuse and Cornell. And they won't be in the FF this year.

I wouldn't mind borrowing their freshman midfielder, Chanenchuk, for next week's game.