Cornell lacrosse 2022

[Al DeFlorio]

Yale 12-11 over Penn in OT.  Home teams have won every Ivy game between C, P, Pr and Y.  Only one left is C at Pr in Tigertown.  Y and Pr have the advantage of two of three at home.

[CU77]

Looking WAY ahead ...

If the Ivy Fantastic Four (C,Y,Pr,Pe) wins every remaining game against the Sidekicks (H,B,D), as Massey predicts, then it all comes down to Cornell @ Princeton.

If the Big Red takes that (after, in this scenario, beating Harvard and Brown), then Cornell and Yale are tied at the top of the Ivy standings at 5-1, and Cornell holds the tiebreaker! The Ivy seedings are C,Y,Pr,Pe.

But if the Tigers win, then Yale stands alone at 5-1, with C,Pe,Pr all at 4-2. Then, since C will have lost to both Pe and Pr, the seedings are Y,Pr,Pe,C.

[mike1960]

Looking WAY ahead ...

If the Ivy Fantastic Four (C,Y,Pr,Pe) wins every remaining game against the Sidekicks (H,B,D), as Massey predicts, then it all comes down to Cornell @ Princeton.

If the Big Red takes that (after, in this scenario, beating Harvard and Brown), then Cornell and Yale are tied at the top of the Ivy standings at 5-1, and Cornell holds the tiebreaker! The Ivy seedings are C,Y,Pr,Pe.

But if the Tigers win, then Yale stands alone at 5-1, with C,Pe,Pr all at 4-2. Then, since C will have lost to both Pe and Pr, the seedings are Y,Pr,Pe,C.

As the saying goes, every dog has his day, but that seems especially true this year in the Ivies. I would not be that surprised to see any Ivy team beat another going forward.

[mike1960]

Instead of working today, I was thinking about Cornell's offense, and I would like to see them also spread the offense out a little bit and send a cutter or successive cutters in front of the goal. Right now, they run a little bit of a box offense. They like to pass around and squeeze the defense down to have a shorter shot from outside that might be screened by all the bodies in front. But this style also clogs the middle and makes it difficult to find an open cutter. When they tried hitting the cutter against Darthmouth after compressing the defense, there was just not enough space to fit it in. This might have been most evident in the man-up offense. The defense was packed in and we had a difficult time finding a good shot.

[billhoward]

... I was thinking about Cornell's offense, and I would like to see them also spread the offense out a little bit and send a cutter or successive cutters in front of the goal. Right now, they run a little bit of a box offense. They like to pass around and squeeze the defense down to have a shorter shot from outside that might be screened by all the bodies in front. But this style also clogs the middle and makes it difficult to find an open cutter. When they tried hitting the cutter against Darthmouth after compressing the defense, there was just not enough space to fit it in. This might have been most evident in the man-up offense. The defense was packed in and we had a difficult time finding a good shot.

The current coaching wisdom is the top attackmen—Piatelli 30G, Kirst 29G (no other player > 14)—will get their goals regardless (probably)  ... and if the other team's defense compresses, midfielders can shoot from closer range although into a more closely packed defense?

It seems as if Cornell's two biggest challenges remain team depth and faceoffs.

[upprdeck]

Faceoffs against Dart were bad much of the game but then they caused TO and limited shots too to get the ball back, .. the Dart goalie was saving around 70% to keep them in the game. but we compounded issues with a bad clearing game..

We will not survive against the better teams at under 40% most of the time at the X no matter how well the D plays.

[semsox]

Issues aside, I continue to think that we haven't played what anyone feels close to our full potential and we're still sitting at 8-1. Gotta keep improving.

[billhoward]

Faceoffs against Dart were bad much of the game but then they caused TO and limited shots too to get the ball back, .. the Dart goalie was saving around 70% to keep them in the game. but we compounded issues with a bad clearing game..

We will not survive against the better teams at under 40% most of the time at the X no matter how well the D plays.

Gavin Adler, please stay healthy.

I just read Adler's stats. He's 5-foot-8 and a defenseman and considered on the of 3 or 4 best defenders in lacrosse. Freaking Jeff Teat was 5-foot-10 although 10 pounds lighter and got pushed around occasionally.

[Swampy]

Faceoffs against Dart were bad much of the game but then they caused TO and limited shots too to get the ball back, .. the Dart goalie was saving around 70% to keep them in the game. but we compounded issues with a bad clearing game..

We will not survive against the better teams at under 40% most of the time at the X no matter how well the D plays.

Gavin Adler, please stay healthy.

I just read Adler's stats. He's 5-foot-8 and a defenseman and considered on the of 3 or 4 best defenders in lacrosse. Freaking Jeff Teat was 5-foot-10 although 10 pounds lighter and got pushed around occasionally.

One of the great things about lacrosse is that -- unlike basketball, football, or hockey -- players can be all sizes. Nonetheless, it seems lacrosse has certain archetypes:

• The archetypical attackman is either tall and lanky or a short dodger, with a low center of gravity.
• The archetypical middie is short (5' 7"+ and very fast and quick -- think Billy Coyle) or something like 6' 2" and low 200 lbs. (think Max Siebald or Connor Buczek)
• The archetypical defender is big. Because offensive players want to retain the ball, they try to avoid physical contact with defenders. OTOH, defenders often initiate contact with the opposing team's offense. So, they tend to be big. Adler is exceptional with his speed, quickness, and (most of all) stick-work. He's also listed at 180 lbs, which is pretty heavy for someone 5' 8". If the listed weight is accurate, then given his play, it must be all muscle. It's testimony to his athletic ability that he's able to guard guys 6-8 inches taller.

[Trotsky]

One of the great things about lacrosse is that -- unlike basketball, football, or hockey -- players can be all sizes.

"They took tennis.  They took golf.  Thank God there is still a sport for middle-sized rich white boys."

[nshapiro]

Interesting dynamic among top lacrosse teams:

Maryland - Undefeated with quality win over Penn

Princeton/Georgetown/Cornell/Penn/Yale - Each team has at least one win and loss among the group, and the only loss to a team below them is the Yale loss to 2-8 Penn State

Rutgers - Lost to Princeton, but no losses to anyone not listed.

Every other school has a loss to someone not listed above.

If Rutgers manages to beat Maryland this weekend, and everyone else continues to win games they should, then all 7 teams would have at least one win and loss within the group.

At this point, it would be fair to say that all other teams are on the outside, although RPI has Virginia and Hahvahd above Rutgers and Cornell.

After all those years of feeling frustrated by the ACC superiority because they were winners of the few significant OOC games, it is nice that the tables are finally turned and the Ivies are the ones benefiting.

[Al DeFlorio]

Interesting dynamic among top lacrosse teams:

Maryland - Undefeated with quality win over Penn

Princeton/Georgetown/Cornell/Penn/Yale - Each team has at least one win and loss among the group, and the only loss to a team below them is the Yale loss to 2-8 Penn State

Rutgers - Lost to Princeton, but no losses to anyone not listed.

Every other school has a loss to someone not listed above.

If Rutgers manages to beat Maryland this weekend, and everyone else continues to win games they should, then all 7 teams would have at least one win and loss within the group.

At this point, it would be fair to say that all other teams are on the outside, although RPI has Virginia and Hahvahd above Rutgers and Cornell.

After all those years of feeling frustrated by the ACC superiority because they were winners of the few significant OOC games, it is nice that the tables are finally turned and the Ivies are the ones benefiting.

Hard to believe Harvard's RPI is higher when they have yet to play a top ten team.

[billhoward]

Hard to believe Harvard's RPI is higher when they have yet to play a top ten team.

Harvard asked MIT for help optimizing the numbers.

[upprdeck]

Big game today.. another sucky weather day..  Beat Harvard/brown and its Princeton to decide the Ivy title. Lose today and its not even a given we finish top 4..

[mike1960]

Watching Yale-Dartmouth. The cameraperson is still experimenting with the genre.