Cornell v. UMASS: Game thread & FREE on some access

[DeltaOne81]

UMass sneaks one in the far post, 9-9

[Liz '05]

Audio's back on All-Access

[DeltaOne81]

10-9 UMass, and they win the faceoff

under 2 minutes left

[Al DeFlorio]

Gonna take a miracle to pull this one out

[Al DeFlorio]

UMass simply moves the ball better in the offensive end, creating open looks against our very aggressive D.

[DeltaOne81]

we have the ball, 1 minute left

[DeltaOne81]

Cornell ball, 30 seconds now, after we took a shot and UMass got it back...

UMass wins

[Al DeFlorio]

I really have to question the way we played that last minute.  Very disappointing way to deal with our last opportunity in such an important game.

[DeltaOne81]

[quote Al DeFlorio]I really have to question the way we played that last minute.  Very disappointing way to deal with our last opportunity in such an important game.[/quote]

Absolutely.

Encapsulated the game, IMHO. Bad shot choice, couldn't create any chances, couldn't keep possession. If only there was a faceoff to lose.

Just didn't play a very good game, and all our weaknesses showed - faceoffs, offensive creativity, and time of possession.

[Jacob '06]

They also didn't use their last timeout when they got the ball with 30 seconds left which I thought was dumb. A lot of passes thrown away, what i'm guessing was our worst clear percentage of the year was the biggest problem. The terrible clears were uncharacteristic and really hurt our offense. Seibald was awesome in the 4th, but he couldn't carry the team all by himself.

[Jordan 04]

Sounded like a good game and a heckuva 4th period.

Would have loved to have been in the crescent to watch, but the deer that I hit flush at 70 MPH on I-81 south of Binghamton forced a 4 hour delay in our arrival time to Ithaca.

[billhoward]

Sad way to end a season that had so much promise. Maybe we thought too much of ourvselves, but even when UMass went up in the fourth quarter, it felt as if we'd ultimately tie it up and go ahead by a goal or two and that would be the way the game turned out.

Explosive as the Cornell offense was this year, one of Hillel's warnings was that we lacked a finisher like Greehalgh or Nee. Wonder if it was one of them circling the cage with 15 seconds to play, or taking a feed, that the shot would have gone in.

Can't lose that many faceoffs and expect to win a close game. Cornell's clears weren't like they were the rest of the season (although UMass seemed to throw even more passes out of bounds on clears).

Can't complain about the seeding. Yes, we should have been seeded higher and gotten a lower-ranked opponent, but if we couldn't get past UMass, we just plain didn't have it, at least not Saturday.

Heck of a way to go out. Before the season, maybe we were somewhere in the top ten. Midway through the season, the hope we could go all the way, at least as far as the final game. Now, sort of back where it all began.

[billhoward]

This diving shot by David Mitchell tied the game at 10 with about 15 seconds to play. Or would have had it gone in. Damn! Pics of Cornell's other goals posted offsite at http://www.howard.photosite.com/CornellUMass/

[David Harding]

Thanks for sharing your photos, Bill.

[Hillel Hoffmann]

Just got back from Ithaca.

That was heartbreaking. I feel so bad for the seniors.

Massachusetts deserved to win. They exposed almost all of Cornell's weaknesses, as Fred said.

Sure, there were some uncharacteristic mental hiccups (most of them from Cornell's upperclassmen), but that mustn't obscure the fact that Massachusetts' players had superior skills in certain key areas. It's most obvious at the faceoff X, of course, but if you taped that game and watch it in replay, focus instead on the stick skills of Massachusetts' close defenders. Or watch that guy Jacovina, Massachusetts' designated ball carrier -- he is a ground ball machine and clearmeister.

Don't waste any energy getting upset about Cornell's draw.

Next year Cornell has the potential to be a truly great team.