Cornell v Yale 5/2 ILT SEMI

[mike1960]

I'm surprised Yale is not posting a shooter in the center of the zone.

The best way to beat a zone is usually place 2 in the crease. Pulls in the far side defender. Attack Bow tie/pick  off each other.

At least one. Throwing the ball in puts tremendous stress on the defense and opens up shooters.

[mike1960]

What a lacrosse player.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DJKsjYoyd87/

[Swampy]

When we're in man-to-man, Yale is working hard to get the short stick matchups for a reason.

The reason being that two of our top SSDMs, Box and Bozzi, are not playing. Box has not appeared, and Bozzi had some shifts at the start but then stopped. Neither played against Dartmouth.

Yeah, the reason I was thinking is that we're getting beat.

Edit: But I want to add, SSDM is a difficult and usually thankless position to play. You only get noticed by couch potatoes (like me) when your man scores.

The hardest position, IMHO. Unless you cause a turnover or cause your opponent to make a pass to safety, you can only fail. Furthermore, you're mainly reacting to what the man you're guarding does.

[MattShaf]

21-14 Cornell. Final Score
Goldstein 5G, 3A; Long 4G, 4A; Kirst 3G, 6A. Big night for the attack trio.
Knust 15 saves. 52%
Cornell Faceoff crew wins 22 of 38. 11 of 15 in 2nd half
Cornell picks up 39 GBs and is +3 in turnover battle.

Once again, opponents get close to Cornell in 2nd half and Cornell goes on run to pull away. (Big Red score 8 of 9 goals from 11minute mark of the 3rd until 6:54 left in the 4th).

Princeton Harvard up next. Starting at 9p.

Syracuse beats ND 14-11 and with Army loss, probably lock up the last at-large bid.

[chimpfood]

When we're in man-to-man, Yale is working hard to get the short stick matchups for a reason.

The reason being that two of our top SSDMs, Box and Bozzi, are not playing. Box has not appeared, and Bozzi had some shifts at the start but then stopped. Neither played against Dartmouth.

Yeah, the reason I was thinking is that we're getting beat.

Edit: But I want to add, SSDM is a difficult and usually thankless position to play. You only get noticed by couch potatoes (like me) when your man scores.

They had rayhill getting some SSDM shifts, he's usually an LSM

[BearLover]

I really hope the missing D are able to return. The defense is our biggest weakness right now. Though we are up to #1 in the computer rankings now, just based on talent and how they've played this season I think there are 5 or 6 teams we could very easily lose to. I don't think our attack is going to be enough.

[djk26]

I think there are 5 or 6 teams we could very easily lose to.

...except you could say the same thing about every other team in the tournament. There are no super teams this year. I, too, worry about the defense, but I try not to let that distract me from the enjoyment of watching the offense hum.

The field is wide open this year. Cornell has as good a chance as any other team, and a better chance than most of them. That's all you can ask as a fan.

[BearLover]

I think there are 5 or 6 teams we could very easily lose to.

...except you could say the same thing about every other team in the tournament. There are no super teams this year. I, too, worry about the defense, but I try not to let that distract me from the enjoyment of watching the offense him.

The field is wide open this year. Cornell has as good a chance as any other team, and a better chance than most of them. That's all you can ask as a fan.

I agree. But we've been #1 in the country for like 8 straight weeks so it would be nice to be a clear favorite, rather than on the same level as six or so other teams. Or at least alone at the top with just Maryland. If our defense is healthy we can get there, but right now we are too reliant on our offense scoring 15+ goals.

[BearLover]

When we're in man-to-man, Yale is working hard to get the short stick matchups for a reason.

The reason being that two of our top SSDMs, Box and Bozzi, are not playing. Box has not appeared, and Bozzi had some shifts at the start but then stopped. Neither played against Dartmouth.

I went back and watched highlights of the goals and Bozzi did not appear to be on the field for any of them. So seems he barely played at all.

[Jim Hyla]

I think there are 5 or 6 teams we could very easily lose to.

...except you could say the same thing about every other team in the tournament. There are no super teams this year. I, too, worry about the defense, but I try not to let that distract me from the enjoyment of watching the offense him.

The field is wide open this year. Cornell has as good a chance as any other team, and a better chance than most of them. That's all you can ask as a fan.

I agree. But we've been #1 in the country for like 8 straight weeks so it would be nice to be a clear favorite, rather than on the same level as six or so other teams. Or at least alone at the top with just Maryland. If our defense is healthy we can get there, but right now we are too reliant on our offense scoring 15+ goals.

Learn to enjoy the life you have, rather than constantly wishing it was better.

Good coaches assess what they have, emphasize the positives and work to minimize the negatives.

But never do they fixate on the negatives; that's a sure way to end up losing.

Fans should do the same thing, they'd be a lot happier if they did.

That's exactly what the broadcast crew did last night. They kept pointing out how good was our offense and showing why the extreme variety of the offense made it so good.  Yes at appropriate times they remarked upon defensive weaknesses, but they also said how much fun it was to watch Cornell.

I got worried each time it looked like Yale was coming back. But I doubt the team was worried. I don't think the offensive talent spent any time complaining about the defense. They knew that they had the talent to recover and went out to do that.

That strategy in life makes each day more enjoyable. (At least for me it does.)

[upprdeck]

I prefer to look at the D for what they are.

They make mistakes

But they held Yale to 5 in the 2nd half
Dart to 3
Harv to 4
SU to 1 in the 4th
Brown to 3
Penn to 4
Princ to 4
PSU to 4 until the epic penalty drive last 3+ min
Rich to 3
Hobart to 2
Denver to 4
Lehigh to 5

Only yale the first game scored more than 5 and that was mostly the game was out of hand at that point

if we continue to hold teams to 5 or less in the 2nd half our offense can win the game

[Scersk '97]

I prefer to look at the D for what they are.

They make mistakes

But they held Yale to 5 in the 2nd half
Dart to 3
Harv to 4
SU to 1 in the 4th
Brown to 3
Penn to 4
Princ to 4
PSU to 4 until the epic penalty drive last 3+ min
Rich to 3
Hobart to 2
Denver to 4
Lehigh to 5

Only yale the first game scored more than 5 and that was mostly the game was out of hand at that point

if we continue to hold teams to 5 or less in the 2nd half our offense can win the game

The broadcasters remarked that we were a deep team and run a number of defensive lines. That manpower and conditioning advantage is huge. And, dare I remark upon it on any eLynah forum, the coaches are likely assisting in making adjustments. Even when our offense takes the foot off the pedal a bit and the opposing offense is pushing, we are able to minimize mistakes as the game goes on.

I like it when we're the best conditioned team on the field. A lot. There's no Adler on D this year, but defense doesn't need stars, no matter how much they help. And in Knust I trust.

[mike1960]

I think there are 5 or 6 teams we could very easily lose to.

...except you could say the same thing about every other team in the tournament. There are no super teams this year. I, too, worry about the defense, but I try not to let that distract me from the enjoyment of watching the offense him.

The field is wide open this year. Cornell has as good a chance as any other team, and a better chance than most of them. That's all you can ask as a fan.

I agree. But we've been #1 in the country for like 8 straight weeks so it would be nice to be a clear favorite, rather than on the same level as six or so other teams. Or at least alone at the top with just Maryland. If our defense is healthy we can get there, but right now we are too reliant on our offense scoring 15+ goals.

Learn to enjoy the life you have, rather than constantly wishing it was better.

Good coaches assess what they have, emphasize the positives and work to minimize the negatives.

But never do they fixate on the negatives; that's a sure way to end up losing.

Fans should do the same thing, they'd be a lot happier if they did.

That's exactly what the broadcast crew did last night. They kept pointing out how good was our offense and showing why the extreme variety of the offense made it so good.  Yes at appropriate times they remarked upon defensive weaknesses, but they also said how much fun it was to watch Cornell.

I got worried each time it looked like Yale was coming back. But I doubt the team was worried. I don't think the offensive talent spent any time complaining about the defense. They knew that they had the talent to recover and went out to do that.

That strategy in life makes each day more enjoyable. (At least for me it does.)

We play beautiful offensive lacrosse. It indeed has been a joy to watch. Whatever else happens this season, that will be at or near the top of my memories of this amazing team.

[margolism]

I prefer to look at the D for what they are.

They make mistakes

But they held Yale to 5 in the 2nd half
Dart to 3
Harv to 4
SU to 1 in the 4th
Brown to 3
Penn to 4
Princ to 4
PSU to 4 until the epic penalty drive last 3+ min
Rich to 3
Hobart to 2
Denver to 4
Lehigh to 5

Only yale the first game scored more than 5 and that was mostly the game was out of hand at that point

if we continue to hold teams to 5 or less in the 2nd half our offense can win the game

The broadcasters remarked that we were a deep team and run a number of defensive lines. That manpower and conditioning advantage is huge. And, dare I remark upon it on any eLynah forum, the coaches are likely assisting in making adjustments. Even when our offense takes the foot off the pedal a bit and the opposing offense is pushing, we are able to minimize mistakes as the game goes on.

I like it when we're the best conditioned team on the field. A lot. There's no Adler on D this year, but defense doesn't need stars, no matter how much they help. And in Knust I trust.

The first half is clearly the shakiest for our defense.  HOWEVER, the coaching staff does an amazing job making halftime adjustments, as these numbers show.  I would also argue that these stats probably underestimate our defensive performance in the second half, when we have a formidable lead, the game is already way out of hand, subs are coming in, and the focus is on minimizing injury risks versus an additional goal or two.

If we score 14 or 15 goals, chances our we will win.  The most goals we have given up all season is 14 goals, to the same team (Yale),

Sunday vs. Princeton should be fun.  When was the last time that a conference tournament (any tournament, not necessarily Ivy) was basically a potential preview of a national title game, with the two top teams in the national rankings facing one another?

[BearLover]

I prefer to look at the D for what they are.

They make mistakes

But they held Yale to 5 in the 2nd half
Dart to 3
Harv to 4
SU to 1 in the 4th
Brown to 3
Penn to 4
Princ to 4
PSU to 4 until the epic penalty drive last 3+ min
Rich to 3
Hobart to 2
Denver to 4
Lehigh to 5

Only yale the first game scored more than 5 and that was mostly the game was out of hand at that point

if we continue to hold teams to 5 or less in the 2nd half our offense can win the game

It makes more sense to look at both halves because both halves count the same. Cornell's defense has been pretty good this year, and Knust has been solid. In the last few games though, particularly against Harvard and Yale, we've had a lot of lapses. Maybe due to injury. Seems we let a lot of opposing attackmen dodge freely into the slot area (to use a hockey term).