Cornell-Syracuse Postgame

Ouch

Cornell had the game in the bag: all they had to do was not turn over the ball and wait out the clock. In both instances—at the end of regulation and the end of the game—they failed to do this and Syracuse struck gold. They deserved to lose with that kind of sloppy play.

That was about our typical game for the year, except they combined all the mistakes into the last 3 minutes.

I didn't think anything would ever come even close to the pain of the 2006 hockey game against Wisconsin.

My favorite teams are the Mets, Jets, Rangers, and Cornell.

What do all 4 have in common?

After all the pain I have endured in the last 12 months, I was expecting a choke job

But after that turnover, I thought we were in the clear. MOYER! WHY DIDN'T YOU CLEAR IT?

Cost Cornell a national title and Seibald the POY award

Physical fatigue led to mental mistakes. That ball has to get over the midfield line with 15 seconds left, whether in a Cornell stick or in the air.

That sucked.

oceanst41
Physical fatigue led to mental mistakes. That ball has to get over the midfield line with 15 seconds left, whether in a Cornell stick or in the air.

That sucked.

Well said

The only consolation I can find for myself is that this is only sports and doesn't really matter (though I don't think this will help people here).

12 months? Some of us are Bills and Sabres fans. Its been like this my entire life.

Well, that was a crappy ending to an intense game. I really feel for the guys on the team. To give up a game like that hurts bad - they should've won, they had plenty of opportunities, and they came up short. They'll be kicking themselves over every mistake throughout the game, replaying that in their heads all the way home. They earned that lead with stellar team defense against a deeper, more talented Syracuse team, and only gave it back as they were running out gas, but that's small consolation in the short term.

Whatever you do as a fan, don't blame Moyer for the loss due to that final botched clear. Yes, it was a terrible mental mistake, but he wasn't the only one who failed there. Someone with a short stick had to be helping him out. Besides, the guy made several potentially game-saving plays earlier in the 4th quarter despite requiring surgery on both of his knees. Running around on a torn meniscus is no joke. Running around on two of them - ugh. I'm amazed at how good he was.

I'll miss seeing Glynn and Seibald on the field. Glynn in particular was playing like a man possessed today. Pannell is amazing and I hope for more televised games so I get to watch him play over the next few years. For all the problems Cornell had in goal this year, Myers was stellar throughout the tournament. He made a lot of good saves to keep Cornell in the game.

Most painful stat of the weekend - apparently Cornell never trailed in the NCAA tournament until OT of the championship game.

On the bright side, maybe Hillel will start providing lax analysis again.

Tom Lento
Whatever you do as a fan, don't blame Moyer for the loss due to that final botched clear. Yes, it was a terrible mental mistake, but he wasn't the only one who failed there. Someone with a short stick had to be helping him out.

I wanted to second this. My earlier comment wasn't meant to single anyone out. As a team, Cornell needed to get that ball over the line in some fashion and they couldn't get it done.

Tom Lento
Pannell is amazing and I hope for more televised games so I get to watch him play over the next few years.

Pannell has noticeably improved by the postseason. Freshman mistakes are fewer and further between. He'll be great to watch. The next Seibald or Greehalgh.

Did we still have a time out at the end of reg?

Jim Hyla
Did we still have a time out at the end of reg?

We used it after the tying goal.

thats the lacrosse equivalent of BU and Miami

Kyle Rose
all they had to do was not turn over the ball and wait out the clock. In both instances—at the end of regulation and the end of the game

Obviously, this was not what I meant to say. Temporary mental retardation, resulting from a combination of disbelief and apoplexy. That said, it seems like I wasn't the only one suffering from that.

This team is going to be much different (read: probably a lot less successful) without Siebald and Glynn. However, I wasn't sure the team would come back so quickly after losing McMonagle to graduation, yet they made the national championship game in only two years. Despite the heartbreak today, hopefully this is the (re-)start of lasting success for Cornell lacrosse.

Well, to me the only good thing coming out of this loss, is if all those hockey fans who think we should be able to compete year after year will take note. To compete with the scholarship schools and win an NCAA championship, it takes a perfect series. We had that yesterday, but sadly not today. Less than perfect is usually not enough. In hockey it's even harder, considering all the big time schools playing. Just look at all the talent schools like SU have. Hell, our goalie transferred because he got beat out at SU. But then Galloway beat that guy out. We just can't get the depth of players, so we need to be perfect. Is there anyone out there who wasn't worried that SU could tie it up? We lost our gas and then mental focus. Too bad.

As I said before the game, best of seven, SU wins; one game, we could have done it.

To me I saw two games out there today..

Game 1: A magnificant 9-6 win played in 56 minutes-
*We got out to the critical early lead and held it
*Myers made some monster saves, some of which came at crucial times
*The senior leadership got involved (i.e. Glynn, Max, & Moyer)
*We got our share of ground balls and got almost 50% on faceoffs
*We didn't let 'Cuse make any big runs and gain any momemtum
*We took care of the ball and didn't make that many turnovers
*Tambroni outcoached Desko
*We imposed out style of play and played with poise

Game 2: a 4-0 tragic meltdown played in 5 1/2 minutes (4 reg + 1 1/2 ot)-
*We couldn't keep control of the ball and coughed it up 3-4 times with simple "poke" checks
*Desko outcoached Tambroni. ex. we didn't use our time-outs wisely including not calling one with 28 seconds left to set up the clear
*We couldn't stop them from playling their style of run n gun and they pumped in 2 within 50 seconds
*We didn't get any key loose balls
*We didn't play with poise

Unfortunately the combination of the two is a 10-9 heartbreaking loss. Argueably the toughest loss in the program's history. (Close to the '87 loss anyway) These guys will remember this for the rest of their lives. It cost Max the T-award (I'm guessing) and it cost Glynn the player of the game. Can't believe they gave the award to Jamison.

I guess we have to give credit to Cuse. They didn't panic. The fact that they were here last year obviously paid dividends.

We still had a great season. Before it begin did anybody think we could make it to the finals? I admit I didn't.

Watching the bench jump up and down with 5 minutes left celebrating was really ominous. I was yelling at the TV, slow down, 5 minutes left guys, let's keep it together. As a previous poster said, being a Bills (and CU hockey) fan, I was waiting for the gut-wrenching SU comeback. Too bad.

I'll mention though, on a brighter note, the terrific CU sports year especially considering the inherent difficulties we have in competing on a national scale. In sports I follow closely:

Hockey - ECAC runner-up and "Top 8" NCAA finish.

Wrestling - Ivy and EIWA champ, 5th in NCAA (behind Iowa, Ohio St., Iowa St., and Nebraska) including 1 individual national champ and 4 all-americans (Top 8 for those unfamiliar)

Lacrosse - Ivy champs, NCAA runnerup.

This one hurts, but its been a good year. Hoping for more like it in the future.

imafrshmn
The only consolation I can find for myself is that this is only sports and doesn't really matter (though I don't think this will help people here).

Leesa: "It's just sports, for cryin' out loud, it's not the Paris Peace Talks."
Dana: "Ah, get yourself a real name."

Andy '07
Watching the bench jump up and down with 5 minutes left celebrating was really ominous. I was yelling at the TV, slow down, 5 minutes left guys, let's keep it together. As a previous poster said, being a Bills (and CU hockey) fan, I was waiting for the gut-wrenching SU comeback. Too bad.

I'll mention though, on a brighter note, the terrific CU sports year especially considering the inherent difficulties we have in competing on a national scale. In sports I follow closely:

Hockey - ECAC runner-up and "Top 8" NCAA finish.

Wrestling - Ivy and EIWA champ, 5th in NCAA (behind Iowa, Ohio St., Iowa St., and Nebraska) including 1 individual national champ and 4 all-americans (Top 8 for those unfamiliar)

Lacrosse - Ivy champs, NCAA runnerup.

This one hurts, but its been a good year. Hoping for more like it in the future.

Don't forget Ivy titles in softball and basketball, and Ivy runner-up in baseball.

jtwcornell91

Andy '07
Watching the bench jump up and down with 5 minutes left celebrating was really ominous. I was yelling at the TV, slow down, 5 minutes left guys, let's keep it together. As a previous poster said, being a Bills (and CU hockey) fan, I was waiting for the gut-wrenching SU comeback. Too bad.

I'll mention though, on a brighter note, the terrific CU sports year especially considering the inherent difficulties we have in competing on a national scale. In sports I follow closely:

Hockey - ECAC runner-up and "Top 8" NCAA finish.

Wrestling - Ivy and EIWA champ, 5th in NCAA (behind Iowa, Ohio St., Iowa St., and Nebraska) including 1 individual national champ and 4 all-americans (Top 8 for those unfamiliar)

Lacrosse - Ivy champs, NCAA runnerup.

This one hurts, but its been a good year. Hoping for more like it in the future.

Don't forget Ivy titles in softball and basketball, and Ivy runner-up in baseball.

FYP

It's not that I don't want to drink the cool-aid and I do think we had a great run to the finals. I never thought we'd even get to the finals. But...if we can't close out a game like the game we played today then when? If we can't win a game in which we have a 3-goal lead with the ball with under 4 minutes to go then when? If we can't do it when we have the perfect blend of talent and heart on the team at the same time then when?

This was the year where the stars were aligned and we gave it away. (What I mean by that is we didn't execute in the closing minutes) Yes, our program appears to be back among the elites and, yes, we have Panell for 3 more years but THIS was the year. Who knows how long it will be before a trio like Seibald, Glynn, and Moyer play at Cornell for 4 years.

This is going to sting until we finally win it. Hopefully that time will come soon because getting so close only to lose it in the fashion we did today is certainly going to leave a scar.

That was awfully hard to watch. We played so well for most of the game and got ourselves into a position to win. You can't ask for a better opportunity than that: having the ball with less than half a minute. Just have to hold onto the ball and you win a national championship. Once Syracuse tied it up, I didn't think Cornell could win.

Regardless, I hope this run has proven that our program belongs in the top tier, and it might take a few more years, but I think we'll be back.

Remember what we were saying last year?

J
Now I don't claim to say we will no longer be competitive, but I'm afraid we may be slowly sliding downhill. I hope I'm wrong, but there are just not that many players available.

Is it October yet?

ebilmes
That was awfully hard to watch. We played so well for most of the game and got ourselves into a position to win. You can't ask for a better opportunity than that: having the ball with less than half a minute. Just have to hold onto the ball and you win a national championship. Once Syracuse tied it up, I didn't think Cornell could win.

Regardless, I hope this run has proven that our program belongs in the top tier, and it might take a few more years, but I think we'll be back.

Remember what we were saying last year?

J
Now I don't claim to say we will no longer be competitive, but I'm afraid we may be slowly sliding downhill. I hope I'm wrong, but there are just not that many players available.

I'll admit to that and I still have the same worry. The point is similar to what I was making above. We'll only get a few selected very good players, and many like Pannell, will need to be under the radar players. Other schools, like SU, have a much easier time recruiting. Once the participating schools expand, such as to the Big Ten, we'll then be in the same position as hockey, without Canada. So, I'm still overall pessimistic, and it will take a perfect game to win.

Finally got home and watched the game and ... ugh. So brutal.

I'd blame Moyer for the failed clear if there was ANYONE helping out near the ball. As someone else mentioned, I wish he had made it a ground ball in the Syracuse end rather than let everyone collapse on him at the midfield line. Still, Syracuse got awfully lucky to put that ball in - a perfect over the shoulder pass followed by a deflection that fell into Nims' stick (though only players as good as them would have been able to make that luck count).

Next year probably isn't going to be our year but I don't think it will be as long to get back as some. In particular I thought Lau and Meyers showed a lot of promise for the future.

ugarte
Next year probably isn't going to be our year but I don't think it will be as long to get back as some. In particular I thought Lau and Meyers showed a lot of promise for the future.

If you mean Jake Myers, he's a senior.

Pannell, Hurley, Lau, Lang, Ritchie, Thomson, O'Neill, Derkac, MacDonald, Feely, Howe, Boykin, and, we hope, the incoming freshman Fiore in goal are the promise for next year.

Al DeFlorio

ugarte
Next year probably isn't going to be our year but I don't think it will be as long to get back as some. In particular I thought Lau and Meyers showed a lot of promise for the future.

If you mean Jake Myers, he's a senior.

Oh, booooooo! For some reason I thought we still had him for another year or two.

We need more depth at midfield. Can't do it with only 3-4 guys contributing on a consistent basis. Cuse had more depth and,in the end, that made a big difference. They also showed poise when it counted. (ie. they never panicked or lost composure)

Can't even think of blaming Moyer. Without him 'Cuse would have had more possessions and probably 1-2 more goals. Tambroni failed to call a TO with 28 seconds to go to set up a play and (more importantly) settle the guys down. But even if he did Cuse still might have found a way to win.

That was a very tough ending. I guess that is another reason why we are called the "Big Red", huge heartbreak losses that leave your bleeding heart lying in the open.

This makes three straight years of really bad endings in the NCAA tournament for the Big Red. I guess every ending is bad if you don't win it all but the last three have been particularly heartbreaking.

Tambroni will have to deal with this stinger for another 9 months. I'm confident Pannell, Hurley, and Co. will come back hungry next year. I know we did it this year after last year's collapse against Ohio State but remember we had 16 seniors this year.

Was last year heartbreaking? Disappointing, sure, but I don't know about heartbreaking.

During the game I was yelling that they shouldn't use the timeout on that last clear until they got it in the box, but in hindsight it probably would have been a good idea to set up a good plan for the clear. The other time I think they may have used the timeout was the turnover before that when Lang was stuck in the box being the posession guy when he is normally a ssdm. He had to either get the ball to Pannell or they needed to use a timeout so he didn't have it anymore, and his turnover led to the goal before the tying one. Hindsight is always 20/20 though.

Germ
We need more depth at midfield. Can't do it with only 3-4 guys contributing on a consistent basis. Cuse had more depth and,in the end, that made a big difference. They also showed poise when it counted. (ie. they never panicked or lost composure)

Can't even think of blaming Moyer. Without him 'Cuse would have had more possessions and probably 1-2 more goals. Tambroni failed to call a TO with 28 seconds to go to set up a play and (more importantly) settle the guys down. But even if he did Cuse still might have found a way to win.

Physical fatigue leads to mental errors. The real mistake was the coaches not calling TO when we got possession with 28 seconds to go. Call it and tell them to pass it in defensive zone till 15-20 sec used up. Then flip it down field and you're almost certain to win. Just can't flip it OOB, as you don't want any time to stop.


I hope the coaches take the blame off the players minds.

Yeah but... As the coach, Tambroni should have been able to see that things were not "settled properly" at both of those moments. I'm not blaming him though. He normally is spot on with his timing of the TOs. (ex UVA and Princeton games)

It will just go down as one of the many "strange but true" things that happened during the last 4 minutes of play.

A few other thoughts:
Moyer is our MVP. Without him our defense is not the same and we could not dominate as we did in the tourney. He will be missed.

I hate sudden death in lacrosse. It's much worse than in hockey. Hockey has a lot of puck possession changes, not so in lacrosse. I'd rather go to the 2 OTs then sudden death. I know that in that option the team that gets the face-off just tries to hold for the last shot, but it's better than this.

Between Hockey and Lax we have two pretty big pills to swallow. It's almost as if there's a curse on us or something. Like the "curse of the Bambino" that plagued the Red Sox until 2004. In fact, this game reminds me of the famous Sox-Mets game 6 of the '86 ws. (Sox one out away from winning the series, nobody on base, two strikes on the batter, etc, etc)

Let's hope we don't have to go 86 years like they did to break the curse.

I am not convinced this is true. Not long ago Princeton dominated lacrosse and they have no scholarships either. If Tambroni can build on the reputation he has created, the recruits will come. We can be elite. Maybe not as dominant as Syracuse, but then again nobody else is quite Syracuse.

It was great to be one handhold from the mountaintop and crushing to not scale it completely. This is going to rank as one of the all-time Cornell heartbreakers along with having a 3-goal lead on Wisconsin in the NCAA hockey semis (1973) in the third period and getting tied with 5 seconds in regulation, then losing 6-5 in OT. (The other bracket was weaker so that was sort of the title game. This WAS the title game.) What else is this devastating? OK, Duke two years ago in lacrosse but that was a semifinal and that was one where we were primed to lose until that miracle comeback; here I think we felt as if we could win and it slipped away. Losing the 1987-88 lax title games maybe wasn't so heartbreaking because we really weren't expected to win (maybe more so than this year) or maybe because so much time has passed.

I was thrilled to be there. Saturday it was great to see us do the (according to the experts) impossible against Virginia. Monday it seemed like the dream would be, could be, realized when we went up 9-6. I'd do it again, pay those lofty ticket and bottled water prices, read the stupid $8 ode-to-the-NCAA official program, just to see Cornell play.

It was a small victory to see NYS teams sweep the board: JC title (Onandaga), DIII (Cortland St), DII (CW Post), DI. Except for LeMoyne (of Syracuse) being unable to undo CW Post (LI), it was an all-upstate affair for (men's) lacrosse championships. The Syracuse fans was almost universally friendly before, during, and after the game. It was nice that it was't Duke, Virginia, or Hopkins in the title game. (And the Virginia fans who came back Monday were complimentary.) Much as we love to hate Bill Tierney, I think Princeton belonged in the Final Four in place of probably Duke or maybe Virginia. The season-end poll should be 1 Syracuse, 1A Cornell, 3 Princeton.

I know what Tambroni did wrong in the last 20 seconds of the game (after seeing what we did do didn't work out) and what he should have done once we got possession in OT. I'm a little less certain I know how he got us to 13-3 heading into the title game. Michigan State football coach Duffy Daughterty said, more or less: Any fool can tell the coach what play he should have called come Monday morning. Try picking the right play in25 seconds Saturday afternoon."

One of the things that makes sports great is there's no scripted ending. Every movie, the hero nails the bad guy and gets the girl. Here, it isn't over till it's over.

Seems as if 2010 will be a rebuilding year. But then this wasn't supposed to be a final four year either and then along came Rob Pannell. This year's midfield goes away but two-thirds of the starting attack is back. We lose Matt Moyer but we always lose our best defensement and recover. We lose the goalie but that was a weak spot all season. Except in the last two games. Myers definitely did not lose the game for us and I thought that might well have been the difference in why we would have gone down to Virginia. He becamed a different player after Hofstra.

The mid- to long-term key to Cornell's future is keeping Jeff Tambroni at Cornell. If you can't give scholarships to the players, compensate as best you can by having the best coach.

ugarte
Was last year heartbreaking? Disappointing, sure, but I don't know about heartbreaking.

Yep, heartbreaking because any time we get schooled 15-8 at home in the NCAAs to a lower-seeded Great Western team it breaks my heart.

gored
I am not convinced this is true. Not long ago Princeton dominated lacrosse and they have no scholarships either. If Tambroni can build on the reputation he has created, the recruits will come. We can be elite. Maybe not as dominant as Syracuse, but then again nobody else is quite Syracuse.

The recruits HAVE come (Seibald, Glynn, Mcgonagle (sp), Hurley, Pittard, Mitchell, Moyer, Belisle, Pannell, etc) and we ARE elite (depends on how you determine elite I suppose). But all this won't bring a championship. Just look at what happened in '07 and now '09.

We didn't need any other players than those that were on the roster today. (three 1st team AA, one 3rd team AA was as good as any other team) Title game, 3:50 to play, up by 3, and we have the ball. We just didn't get it done.

A lot of people have mentioned that Tambroni should have called time out to set up the clear but nobody has asked why nobody called time when Moyer got trapped at the midfield line. Would it have been legal for Siebald (for instance) to call time before Syracuse knocked the ball free, giving Cornell a restart with 15 or so seconds remaining?

ugarte
A lot of people have mentioned that Tambroni should have called time out to set up the clear but nobody has asked why nobody called time when Moyer got trapped at the midfield line. Would it have been legal for Siebald (for instance) to call time before Syracuse knocked the ball free, giving Cornell a restart with 15 or so seconds remaining?

No, you have to wait until the ball gets past the top line of the restraining box, either in the alley or the box itself.

I have the end of the Duke game from two years ago on my Tivo along with the new Syracuse game. I now torture myself and flip back and forth between the end of both games. It is pretty painful.

Moyer simply made a bad decision not to throw the ball downfield. I am not fully aware of lacrosse strategy, but why didn't a long stick throw the ball in to Seibald? Wouldn't that make more sense? Is that allowed?

I do believe that Cornell started celebrating their victory too early. They played with a lack of urgency towards the end of the game. It was almost as if they didn't want to believe they could actually lose the lead.

Those are the kinds of strategies that looked good now that we know Moyer didn't complete the clear. (Give ball to Seibald, let him run it up solo worked spectularly earlier in the game.)

No! Cornell was not celebrating early. I don't think anyone at the game had that feeling. I had a sense of incredible relief when Moyer turned out to be closest to the ball - "we dodged a bullet" - on the Syracuse close-in shot that went wide with about :10 left and we got possession. Relief that the game wasn't tied then and there, relief that Syracuse wasn't getting another possession starting out behind the net. Not relief that the game was effectively over.

I was there, and thankfully had my daughter with me to make the long trip home palatable. We were seated in the endzone in the fourth quarter and OT behnnd the SU goal, so I did not get a great look during live action at what happened on the tying goal. Seeing the replay, I was surprised how severely Moyer was held, but not surprised there was no flag. Most painful to me was how close Lang got to snagging the ball, or even just being able to deflect the ball out of harms way. That's the image that will stick in my mind.

No discussion of this game can be complete without saluting John Glynn, who was without question the best player on the field yesterday.

This ranks with the toughest Cornell loss in my 28 years(!) following the Red. I think it's worse than Wisconsin, where we were outplayed (although we had our chances) and McKee kept us in it. Yesterday we played sound, smart, tough lacrosse, only to see it melt away.

Kudos to the entire team and coaching staff for a memorable season and a return to the upper echelon of the sport. It has been a joy to watch, and time will help ease the bitterness (at least a bit). We will surely miss this awesome senior class; for all of Siebald's absolute star power, I think Glynn might be the biggest hole to fill. Kudos to both Glynn and Moyer for playing through serious injury, and a tip of the hat to Jake Myers, who played wonderfully in the tournament.

We certainly have some tremendous players returning, led by the magical Rob Pannell, and by all accounts have some excellent recruits on the way. I love the job Tambroni has done, and have every confidence that he will keep us among the top teams year in and year out.

That's the spirit.

I woke up this morning thinking maybe it was Groundhog Day again and we got to start the day over again. Too bad life isn't like the movies.

You're right about the Wisconsin loss being a heartbreaker, and you don't need to be nearing retirement age to recall that one. (Half of all Cornellians graduated since 1990.)

Al DeFlorio

ugarte
Next year probably isn't going to be our year but I don't think it will be as long to get back as some. In particular I thought Lau and Meyers showed a lot of promise for the future.

If you mean Jake Myers, he's a senior.

Pannell, Hurley, Lau, Lang, Ritchie, Thomson, O'Neill, Derkac, MacDonald, Feely, Howe, Boykin, and, we hope, the incoming freshman Fiore in goal are the promise for next year.

Inside Lacrosse thinks we'll still be strong in 2010: [blogs.insidelacrosse.com]

Tom Lento
Whatever you do as a fan, don't blame Moyer for the loss due to that final botched clear. Yes, it was a terrible mental mistake, but he wasn't the only one who failed there. Someone with a short stick had to be helping him out. Besides, the guy made several potentially game-saving plays earlier in the 4th quarter despite requiring surgery on both of his knees. Running around on a torn meniscus is no joke. Running around on two of them - ugh. I'm amazed at how good he was.

Agreed completely. Moyer was matched with Nims for much of the game and that tying goal was his only point of the day - this is a first-team All-American who led the entire NCAA with 4.25 points per game we're talking about. He really did have an incredible game, even including the bad clear there.

Field Of Dreams

Ray: So what was that like?

Doc: It was like coming this close to your dreams...and then watching them brush past you, like a stranger in a crowd.

Ray: It would kill some men to get that close to their dream and not touch it. They'd consider it a tragedy.

Doc: Son, if I'd only gotten to be a doctor for five minutes...now that would have been a tragedy.

RichH

Field Of Dreams

Ray: So what was that like?

Doc: It was like coming this close to your dreams...and then watching them brush past you, like a stranger in a crowd.

Ray: It would kill some men to get that close to their dream and not touch it. They'd consider it a tragedy.

Doc: Son, if I'd only gotten to be a doctor for five minutes...now that would have been a tragedy.

A lot of those guys better go to medical school.

An excerpt from an Inside Lacrosse piece by Dave Ryan, who broadcast the game on ESPN:

On the Thruway Monday night, my family and I paused for a break at a rest stop outside Schenectady. The Syracuse team had pulled over for a break as well on its westward journey back to campus. I stopped and chatted with Hardy, White and goalie John Galloway.

The players still had their new championship hats on, along with the wide grin and giddy demeanor of a newly crowned winner. All agreed with me: they were outplayed. Cornell deserved this championship. Hardy’s final words hit the mark: “They had us, they just couldn’t finish. Cornell is a great team. We were just one goal better. The bottom line? We’ll take it.”

Doesn't make me feel any better. Complete article here: [blogs.insidelacrosse.com]

ugarte

RichH

Field Of Dreams

Ray: So what was that like?

Doc: It was like coming this close to your dreams...and then watching them brush past you, like a stranger in a crowd.

Ray: It would kill some men to get that close to their dream and not touch it. They'd consider it a tragedy.

Doc: Son, if I'd only gotten to be a doctor for five minutes...now that would have been a tragedy.

A lot of those guys better go to medical school.

That's a great quote, Rich H and really applies here. Thanks. Makes me feel better.

ugarte: trust me dude, medical school is over-rated. I've been there. Also, as a lacrosse alum I know about 30+ years of these players, and of course there's a full spectrum of life's successes and failures, but the median on the scale falls far to the right.

For you non-techies out there, that means these guys generally are very successful in their chosen fields.

Doesn't mean that this nightmare won't repeatedly pop into their heads for the rest of their lives, though...

TimV
For you non-techies out there, that means these guys generally are very successful in their chosen fields.

I'm sure that's true ... but would the scene have been as poignant if Moonlight had said "If I had only gotten to be a banker for five minutes..."

Ha! Right- I see your point.

Jacob '06

ugarte
A lot of people have mentioned that Tambroni should have called time out to set up the clear but nobody has asked why nobody called time when Moyer got trapped at the midfield line. Would it have been legal for Siebald (for instance) to call time before Syracuse knocked the ball free, giving Cornell a restart with 15 or so seconds remaining?

No, you have to wait until the ball gets past the top line of the restraining box, either in the alley or the box itself.

Jacob: Almost right:

NCAA 2009 Lacrosse Rule Book Page 57

Team Timeouts
SECTION 27. When the ball is dead, only a member of either team who is on
the field or a team’s head coach may request an official to call timeout.
During play, official team timeouts may be called by a field player of the
team in possession of the ball or by that team’s head coach only when the
player in possession of the ball has contact with the ground with at least one foot in contact with the ground on or across the restraining line in his offensive end of the field.

TimV

Jacob '06

ugarte
A lot of people have mentioned that Tambroni should have called time out to set up the clear but nobody has asked why nobody called time when Moyer got trapped at the midfield line. Would it have been legal for Siebald (for instance) to call time before Syracuse knocked the ball free, giving Cornell a restart with 15 or so seconds remaining?

No, you have to wait until the ball gets past the top line of the restraining box, either in the alley or the box itself.

Jacob: Almost right:

NCAA 2009 Lacrosse Rule Book Page 57

Team Timeouts
SECTION 27. When the ball is dead, only a member of either team who is on
the field or a team’s head coach may request an official to call timeout.
During play, official team timeouts may be called by a field player of the
team in possession of the ball or by that team’s head coach only when the
player in possession of the ball has contact with the ground with at least one foot in contact with the ground on or across the restraining line in his offensive end of the field.

I'm not sure what the distinction you are making is, Tim. I think the rule is ambiguous but I'd give it Jacob's reading. If Jacob's reading was wrong, it would be easier to say "... one foot in contact with the ground inside the restraining box." The phrasing used would appear to include the alleys next to the restraining box.

I didn't specifically say that you had to have possession which I meant to. That is the only real difference between what I said and the rule as written.

You are right in your last post, as was Jacob in his reponse to your initial question: The alleys in the attacking end are OK for calling time out. This actually came up I think in the Brown game. Previously as I read (past tense)those two posts, I was interpreting yours as asking why no time-out when Moyer had not yet crossed the midfield line - and jumped to a wrong conclusion about Jacob's answer, thinking he was talking about the defensive restraining line.

My bad. Sorry Jacob. I'll find an adult ed remedial reading course.

TimV
My bad. Sorry Jacob. I'll find an adult ed remedial reading course.

I understand they have one at Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

Al DeFlorio

TimV
My bad. Sorry Jacob. I'll find an adult ed remedial reading course.

I understand they have one at Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

Catching up on what I missed on the hockey board.

There's some interesting posts on the Cornell hockey in 2009-2010 thread about Miami's "upset loss" to BU that seem to fit lacrosse as well:

Kyle Rose
I'm not saying BU shouldn't have won; they were clearly the better team going in. Does anyone actually disagree that BU was the strongest team in the nation this year, bar none? They kicked ass and took names and will come back next year and probably do the same thing. Parker got pwned at Lynah in 2002, and probably learned a lot from that experience. Woe to us at MSG.

I'm simply arguing that they should have won handily in regulation, and the fact that they had to and went on to score 3 unanswered goals, at least one of them garbage, with less than 2 minutes left in regulation has to hurt for the Miami players, who almost pulled off a massive upset against such a dominant team. I can't help but admire BU for getting it together, but I also can't help but feel bad for Miami, who after all could have been us in a year in which the chips fell slightly differently.

billhoward
Miami fans have to love that fluke goal because they can fixate on that and ignore the final-minute collapse. The winners just walk around with the 2009 NCAA Champs T-shirts while the losers will spend hours dreaming up scenarios for why they should have won. A bit like we're doing here.

Kyle Rose
The tournament-winning goal, especially, was utter crap. If you're Miami, I've got to believe you are feeling completely robbed losing like that.

djk26
Too bad we're closer to the end of the last hockey season than the beginning of the next one.

I still can't bring myself to watch the recording I made of the game. For the last three days, I keep seeing Seibald with the ball right in front of us (we were in section 101) starting that clear. As much as I want to see all the details of what went wrong, it's just too painful. I think the last time I had this feeling in my gut was when I broke up with my last girlfriend, before meeting my wife. Hmmmm...if that analogy holds, though, maybe we're destined for a NC winning streak.

Killer
I still can't bring myself to watch the recording I made of the game. For the last three days, I keep seeing Seibald with the ball right in front of us (we were in section 101) starting that clear.

I haven't been able to watch either. We were sitting in 133, right where Moyer was dancing around looking for somebody open before Nims checked the ball out of his stick. Nobody was open or moving to get open. It's all still hard to believe...

Al DeFlorio

Killer
I still can't bring myself to watch the recording I made of the game. For the last three days, I keep seeing Seibald with the ball right in front of us (we were in section 101) starting that clear.

I haven't been able to watch either. We were sitting in 133, right where Moyer was dancing around looking for somebody open before Nims checked the ball out of his stick. Nobody was open or moving to get open. It's all still hard to believe...

I saw the highlights on the local news, and even that was too much to stomach. I don't know when (or even if) I'll be able to watch it all again.

Al DeFlorio

Killer
I still can't bring myself to watch the recording I made of the game. For the last three days, I keep seeing Seibald with the ball right in front of us (we were in section 101) starting that clear.

I haven't been able to watch either. We were sitting in 133, right where Moyer was dancing around looking for somebody open before Nims checked the ball out of his stick. Nobody was open or moving to get open. It's all still hard to believe...

Same here: Game is sitting on the DVR. I have to believe that's about as close as you can get without winning it. And to think we lost it on what I considered this team's greatest strength...it just makes the wound that much deeper.

Monday morning I put two things in the fridge: a bottle of bubbly for a win and an orphaned can of Old Milwaukee for a loss. I guess I'll finally get around to downing that Ol' Mil sometime this weekend as I unlock the brain from denial phase.

scoop85

Al DeFlorio

Killer
I still can't bring myself to watch the recording I made of the game. For the last three days, I keep seeing Seibald with the ball right in front of us (we were in section 101) starting that clear.

I haven't been able to watch either. We were sitting in 133, right where Moyer was dancing around looking for somebody open before Nims checked the ball out of his stick. Nobody was open or moving to get open. It's all still hard to believe...

I saw the highlights on the local news, and even that was too much to stomach. I don't know when (or even if) I'll be able to watch it all again.

I came into work at 4am the morning after, and Good Morning Quad Cities surprised me with a highlight of the game-tying goal. Not exactly what I was looking for at that time of day, just hours after watching it live.

Watched the final play one more time, then deleted it from the DVR. No way could I watch again any time soon.

I felt, and continue to feel the pain that you all have described here but I want to put a silver lining on things. Awful as it was, I really believe that what happened last weekend is going to have a hugely positive impact on the Cornell Lacrosse program. I have been amazed by the number of people with non-Cornell backgrounds who came up to me and told me that they and their entire families were rooting hard for Cornell and that they were incredibly impressed by not only the way our team played, but also by the poise and class shown by the entire team and by Coach Tambroni and Max Siebald in particular.
I really believe that these games and the way all the people associated with our program, coaches, players, parents, ex-players and their parents, etc. etc. have always conducted themselves has been noticed and admired by too many people for it not to positively impact Cornell Lacrosse well into the future. What we have always known is now being learnt by many others.
This is going to show up in recruiting and alumni support and I'm confident that we are at the starting point of something great for our program. I firmly believe that things happen for a reason and good things are going to come out of this.
I cant wait for next year.

Redscore
I firmly believe that things happen for a reason and good things are going to come out of this.
I cant wait for next year.

Well, one good thing that will come out of this (Boston fans will understandably disagree) is that the Red Sox won't win the World Series this year.

How do I know that? You see, I was involved in negotiations with the Gods of Sport, and had worked out an arrangement whereby I'd gladly accept a Red Sox victory in the fall, so long as we got a Big Red victory on Monday. Alas, the deal is off.

Sorry, Red Sox Nation.

Killer

Redscore
I firmly believe that things happen for a reason and good things are going to come out of this.
I cant wait for next year.

Well, one good thing that will come out of this (Boston fans will understandably disagree) is that the Red Sox won't win the World Series this year.

How do I know that? You see, I was involved in negotiations with the Gods of Sport, and had worked out an arrangement whereby I'd gladly accept a Red Sox victory in the fall, so long as we got a Big Red victory on Monday. Alas, the deal is off.

Sorry, Red Sox Nation.

How do you get a deal like that? I usually have to sacrifce a win by on favorite team to get a win by another favorite team.

Jeff Hopkins '82

Killer

Redscore
I firmly believe that things happen for a reason and good things are going to come out of this.
I cant wait for next year.

Well, one good thing that will come out of this (Boston fans will understandably disagree) is that the Red Sox won't win the World Series this year.

How do I know that? You see, I was involved in negotiations with the Gods of Sport, and had worked out an arrangement whereby I'd gladly accept a Red Sox victory in the fall, so long as we got a Big Red victory on Monday. Alas, the deal is off.

Sorry, Red Sox Nation.

How do you get a deal like that? I usually have to sacrifce a win by on favorite team to get a win by another favorite team.

This was similar to yours, but with an extra dimension. Not only was I sacrificing the win by the favorite team, in this case the Yankees, but I was sweetening the deal with acceptance of a win by the arch enemy, the Sox. Oh, Gods of Sport, thou hast wronged me. Let there be a new 86-year curse.

Killer
...Let there be a new 86-year curse.

I think there's 77 left in the Yankee's curse first.

Although I suppose they could operate simultaneously... the rest of MLB would probably appreciate that.

I had forgotten how clinical Ivy league students were. Its actually quite sad. My point was more about the groundswell of opinion in Cornell's favor rather than the the "softer" good things will come, part of my post. Im not surprised that the softer part of my quote was pounced upon on this thread. Have fun guys, and now I'm truly sorry I even tried to step in here. Its been a tough week and the last thing I need is a-holes from my own side.

Redscore
I had forgotten how clinical Ivy league students were. Its actually quite sad. My point was more about the groundswell of opinion in Cornell's favor rather than the the "softer" good things will come, part of my post. Im not surprised that the softer part of my quote was pounced upon on this thread. Have fun guys, and now I'm truly sorry I even tried to step in here. Its been a tough week and the last thing I need is a-holes from my own side.

Huh? Why are you sorry? I thought your post was really nice. I don't see anyone acting like a-holes in response to you. Killer only related a personal (and somewhat off-topic) story and Jeff and DeltaOne responded to that. Nobody disrespected you.

We all deal with frustration differently, and I appreciated the positivity to help with my healing process.

Josh '99

Redscore
I had forgotten how clinical Ivy league students were. Its actually quite sad. My point was more about the groundswell of opinion in Cornell's favor rather than the the "softer" good things will come, part of my post. Im not surprised that the softer part of my quote was pounced upon on this thread. Have fun guys, and now I'm truly sorry I even tried to step in here. Its been a tough week and the last thing I need is a-holes from my own side.

Huh? Why are you sorry? I thought your post was really nice. I don't see anyone acting like a-holes in response to you. Killer only related a personal (and somewhat off-topic) story and Jeff and DeltaOne responded to that. Nobody disrespected you.

We all deal with frustration differently, and I appreciated the positivity to help with my healing process.

Heh. Know what's funny? When a friend crashes at your place and logs onto eLynah on your computer, and you post a week later without realizing he's still logged in.

In other words, the above post is from me, not Josh.

Just being too sensitive I guess. Man, the what if's keep killing me. When will they go way!

RichH

Josh '99

Redscore
I had forgotten how clinical Ivy league students were. Its actually quite sad. My point was more about the groundswell of opinion in Cornell's favor rather than the the "softer" good things will come, part of my post. Im not surprised that the softer part of my quote was pounced upon on this thread. Have fun guys, and now I'm truly sorry I even tried to step in here. Its been a tough week and the last thing I need is a-holes from my own side.

Huh? Why are you sorry? I thought your post was really nice. I don't see anyone acting like a-holes in response to you. Killer only related a personal (and somewhat off-topic) story and Jeff and DeltaOne responded to that. Nobody disrespected you.

We all deal with frustration differently, and I appreciated the positivity to help with my healing process.

Heh. Know what's funny? When a friend crashes at your place and logs onto eLynah on your computer, and you post a week later without realizing he's still logged in.

In other words, the above post is from me, not Josh.

Like anyone thought Josh wrote that.

Redscore
Just being too sensitive I guess. Man, the what if's keep killing me. When will they go way!

Stay cool. I think everyone here agrees with your original posting. Was it a crushing letdown? You bet. But did the team show it belonged with the so-called "big boys?" You bet.

Chris '03

RichH

Josh '99

Redscore
I had forgotten how clinical Ivy league students were. Its actually quite sad. My point was more about the groundswell of opinion in Cornell's favor rather than the the "softer" good things will come, part of my post. Im not surprised that the softer part of my quote was pounced upon on this thread. Have fun guys, and now I'm truly sorry I even tried to step in here. Its been a tough week and the last thing I need is a-holes from my own side.

Huh? Why are you sorry? I thought your post was really nice. I don't see anyone acting like a-holes in response to you. Killer only related a personal (and somewhat off-topic) story and Jeff and DeltaOne responded to that. Nobody disrespected you.

We all deal with frustration differently, and I appreciated the positivity to help with my healing process.

Heh. Know what's funny? When a friend crashes at your place and logs onto eLynah on your computer, and you post a week later without realizing he's still logged in.

In other words, the above post is from me, not Josh.

Like anyone thought Josh wrote that.

Yeah, me no talk so good most de time.

Josh '99

Redscore
I had forgotten how clinical Ivy league students were. Its actually quite sad. My point was more about the groundswell of opinion in Cornell's favor rather than the the "softer" good things will come, part of my post. Im not surprised that the softer part of my quote was pounced upon on this thread. Have fun guys, and now I'm truly sorry I even tried to step in here. Its been a tough week and the last thing I need is a-holes from my own side.

Huh? Why are you sorry? I thought your post was really nice. I don't see anyone acting like a-holes in response to you. Killer only related a personal (and somewhat off-topic) story and Jeff and DeltaOne responded to that. Nobody disrespected you.

We all deal with frustration differently, and I appreciated the positivity to help with my healing process.

Redscore, Josh/Rich is absolutely right. I took no issue with your post, which I also thought was well stated, and I think it's great that we're getting the kind of response we are. A number of people at my tennis club voiced similar sentiments when they saw me last week.

Meanwhile, as a transplanted Yankee fan, living in the Boston area, I'm wont to go off on a Red Sox-Yankees tangent every now and then, and clearly there are Sox fans on here ready to give it right back. I knew it would get a few chuckles and maybe some "Up yours, Killer". Regardless, keep posting.

Killer

Josh '99

Redscore
I had forgotten how clinical Ivy league students were. Its actually quite sad. My point was more about the groundswell of opinion in Cornell's favor rather than the the "softer" good things will come, part of my post. Im not surprised that the softer part of my quote was pounced upon on this thread. Have fun guys, and now I'm truly sorry I even tried to step in here. Its been a tough week and the last thing I need is a-holes from my own side.

Huh? Why are you sorry? I thought your post was really nice. I don't see anyone acting like a-holes in response to you. Killer only related a personal (and somewhat off-topic) story and Jeff and DeltaOne responded to that. Nobody disrespected you.

We all deal with frustration differently, and I appreciated the positivity to help with my healing process.

Redscore, Josh/Rich is absolutely right. I took no issue with your post, which I also thought was well stated, and I think it's great that we're getting the kind of response we are. A number of people at my tennis club voiced similar sentiments when they saw me last week.

Meanwhile, as a transplanted Yankee fan, living in the Boston area, I'm wont to go off on a Red Sox-Yankees tangent every now and then, and clearly there are Sox fans on here ready to give it right back. I knew it would get a few chuckles and maybe some "Up yours, Killer". Regardless, keep posting.

Since you asked: Up yours, Killer.

Killer
Meanwhile, as a transplanted Yankee fan, living in the Boston area, I'm wont to go off on a Red Sox-Yankees tangent every now and then, and clearly there are Sox fans on here ready to give it right back.

As a fellow Yankee fan transplanted to Boston, I have reluctantly concluded that I picked the wrong decade to be a New York sports fan living in Boston.

Al DeFlorio

Killer

Josh '99

Redscore
I had forgotten how clinical Ivy league students were. Its actually quite sad. My point was more about the groundswell of opinion in Cornell's favor rather than the the "softer" good things will come, part of my post. Im not surprised that the softer part of my quote was pounced upon on this thread. Have fun guys, and now I'm truly sorry I even tried to step in here. Its been a tough week and the last thing I need is a-holes from my own side.

Huh? Why are you sorry? I thought your post was really nice. I don't see anyone acting like a-holes in response to you. Killer only related a personal (and somewhat off-topic) story and Jeff and DeltaOne responded to that. Nobody disrespected you.

We all deal with frustration differently, and I appreciated the positivity to help with my healing process.

Redscore, Josh/Rich is absolutely right. I took no issue with your post, which I also thought was well stated, and I think it's great that we're getting the kind of response we are. A number of people at my tennis club voiced similar sentiments when they saw me last week.

Meanwhile, as a transplanted Yankee fan, living in the Boston area, I'm wont to go off on a Red Sox-Yankees tangent every now and then, and clearly there are Sox fans on here ready to give it right back. I knew it would get a few chuckles and maybe some "Up yours, Killer". Regardless, keep posting.

Since you asked: Up yours, Killer.

Thank you, sir. May I have another?

You can always count on your eLynah buddies.

Redscore
I felt, and continue to feel the pain that you all have described here but I want to put a silver lining on things. Awful as it was, I really believe that what happened last weekend is going to have a hugely positive impact on the Cornell Lacrosse program. I have been amazed by the number of people with non-Cornell backgrounds who came up to me and told me that they and their entire families were rooting hard for Cornell and that they were incredibly impressed by not only the way our team played, but also by the poise and class shown by the entire team and by Coach Tambroni and Max Siebald in particular.

Yes, all this is true and a very good thing. But is anyone else sick of having to take away *moral* victories all the time?

Hockey:
2002: tied a rested #1 UHN late in the national QF. The first real "respect" for CU on the national stage in decades.
2003: claims #1 overall NCAA seed, makes FF despite catcalls from the West that our record was inflated as a result of a weak SOS.
2005: Take Minnesota to OT on their home ice.
2006: Unbelievable 3-OT 0-0 goalie-duel vs. Wisconsin in Green Bay. Bucky fans endlessly tell me at FF how that game was the *real* national championship game.

Lax:
2004: Emotional team playing for the memory of their fallen captain, loses a heartbreaker to Navy in the QF.
2007: Remarkable 9-goal 2nd half comeback to tie with 17 seconds left in SF vs notorious opponent. Lose with 4 seconds left.
2009: You know what happened.

So lots of respect-building *moral* victories. Why why why can't we grab a real victory one of these times and leave someone else with the moral part?

OK, venting over. If I were a neutral fan, the game was freaking amazing. I'm sure our run helped make more lax fans. I'll even say that I'm an even bigger lacrosse fan than before after that experience. I'm not too surprised that most neutral fans were pulling for us, given 1) SU's record of success (winning 5 of the last 10 championships) coupled with 2) Our long-suffering 32-year drought. 3) The Cinderella "nobody picked them" card. People love underdogs. 4) CU's blue-collar style, hard-working, team-first persona. 5) I don't understand how anybody can watch Seibald and Glynn and not root for them.

That said, given the volume of the cheer at the end of the game, I'm impressed by how many SU fans made the trip.

After both semis were blowouts, that final is exactly what the sport needed. Glad we could give it to them, but I wish it could've been us this time.

It's not in the same gut-wrenching class as the games you've listed, but I might add the "well, it was good for the program" Preakness weekend in Baltimore in 2002:
W. Lax: Drop semifinal in OT to Georgetown (loss consoled somewhat by the fact that PU would have probably wiped the floor with the Red for the title)
M. Lax: In the last game for Justin Cynar in goal and Addison Solag at the X, they lose to Johnny Christmas and co. in a great game that was close start to finish.

It's amazing how close Cornell was to final fours in three sports that year...

Still difficult to read about it all, but here's an interesting IJ article about next year and an interview with Coach T about the end of the game.

Picking Up the Pieces


Interview

peterg
Still difficult to read about it all, but here's an interesting IJ article about next year and an interview with Coach T about the end of the game.

Picking Up the Pieces


Interview

Sounds like they discussed the "43 clear" during the 'Cuse time out but maybe they didn't talk about the "Gilman clear" (heave the ball far and high downfield) if someone was about to be trapped. Or maybe Moyer thought he was clear of Nims?

Al DeFlorio
Sounds like they discussed the "43 clear" during the 'Cuse time out but maybe they didn't talk about the "Gilman clear" (heave the ball far and high downfield) if someone was about to be trapped. Or maybe Moyer thought he was clear of Nims?

It definitely sounds like they didn't discuss the "Gilman clear" and it is Coach T's biggest regret about how the game unfolded. In the end, if I can have one guy carrying the ball who needs to make a decision, Moyer is a guy I trust. Thinking about it still hurts a little.

ugarte

Al DeFlorio
Sounds like they discussed the "43 clear" during the 'Cuse time out but maybe they didn't talk about the "Gilman clear" (heave the ball far and high downfield) if someone was about to be trapped. Or maybe Moyer thought he was clear of Nims?

It definitely sounds like they didn't discuss the "Gilman clear" and it is Coach T's biggest regret about how the game unfolded. In the end, if I can have one guy carrying the ball who needs to make a decision, Moyer is a guy I trust. Thinking about it still hurts a little.

From what I could see on my little TV screen, the Syracuse defenders were all lining up at the midfield stripe so that Moyer was hemmed in. Cornell's middies and attackmen should have gotten open in the offensive part of the field so Moyer had a someone to pass to. It wasn't all his fault but rather a general breakdown.

Swampy
From what I could see on my little TV screen, the Syracuse defenders were all lining up at the midfield stripe so that Moyer was hemmed in. Cornell's middies and attackmen should have gotten open in the offensive part of the field so Moyer had a someone to pass to. It wasn't all his fault but rather a general breakdown.

It was all his fault that he did not just flip it downfield. As I said before, physical fatigue leads to mental fatigue.

Jim Hyla

Swampy
From what I could see on my little TV screen, the Syracuse defenders were all lining up at the midfield stripe so that Moyer was hemmed in. Cornell's middies and attackmen should have gotten open in the offensive part of the field so Moyer had a someone to pass to. It wasn't all his fault but rather a general breakdown.

It was all his fault that he did not just flip it downfield. As I said before, physical fatigue leads to mental fatigue.

I agree that in retrospect this was a mistake. However, in an actual game situation players are taught to try to keep possession of the ball rather than toss it to no one in particular and create the likelihood of a turnover. It was a combination of mental fatigue and years of training to do something different. A player coming in fresh off the bench might have done exactly the same thing.

On the other hand, players are also taught to get open and to talk to each other. Moyer should have known a man was coming up behind him ("Man coming behind you", his teammates should have been running into open space, and someone should have been shouting to him that "here's your help." In other words, my point is that teams practice ways of dealing with the situation Moyer was in, but the system broke down. Of course, with the large crowd he might not have heard his teammates. The fact that Syracuse had been there before and played in such conditions also factors in.

A slightly adapted version....

Oh what a circus, oh what a show
ELynah has gone to town
Over the loss of a game for NCAA
We've all gone crazy
Mourning all day and mourning all night
Falling over ourselves to get all of the misery right.......

Who did you beat lose to yesterday?

Swampy

Jim Hyla

Swampy
From what I could see on my little TV screen, the Syracuse defenders were all lining up at the midfield stripe so that Moyer was hemmed in. Cornell's middies and attackmen should have gotten open in the offensive part of the field so Moyer had a someone to pass to. It wasn't all his fault but rather a general breakdown.

It was all his fault that he did not just flip it downfield. As I said before, physical fatigue leads to mental fatigue.

I agree that in retrospect this was a mistake. However, in an actual game situation players are taught to try to keep possession of the ball rather than toss it to no one in particular and create the likelihood of a turnover.

Actually, some are taught to throw it downfield in situations just like this. Who cares about a turnover with 10 seconds to go, in a period or end of game.

The way this has happened in 07 and 09, I propose a new drill for the defense: in end game situations such as these, with the ball in the air going in the general direction of a lone shooter in scoring position, the first option is: TACKLE THE SUCKER BEFORE THE BALL ARRIVES! The result is a loose ball hold call with possession awarded to the fouled team, but at least you get a whistle and can a) settle up the defense before the ensuing whistle or b)call a time out. Please.

Got this email from AD Noel:

Friends of the Big Red.....

This thoughtful letter was sent to the Ivy League office from a mother who had no affiliation with any team in the Final Four.
Thought you may be interested in her comments.

Andy
------------------------------------------------------------------------
*From*: Liz Krukowski
*Date*: Tue, 09 Jun 2009 14:15:20 -0400
*To*: <wesley@ivyleaguesports.com>
*Subject*: NCAA Lacrosse Championships
Dear Mr. Wesley,

I am writing to congratulate your men's lacrosse team on their outstanding display of sportmanship that they displayed in Foxboro, Massachusetts during the 2009 NCAA lacrosse championships. I was part of a small group of parents from Binghamton, N.Y who brought our teenage boys to watch the three days of playoff games. The Cornell men's team left a big impression on all of us, even though we were not particularly cheering for any one team.
I was thoroughly impressed with their composure, camaraderie, respect, and well regimented behaviors displayed throughout the entire game. Our sons were impressed with how the team, even after their heartbreaking loss, approached the stadium crowd and honored their fans and pep bands with their 'lacrosse stick' salutes.
Needless to say the following week, as their own high school lacrosse team suffered a play- off loss to a rival team, our sons followed the example of the Cornell men by saluting their parents and
friends with their sticks after the game. We have all quickly
become Cornell Lacrosse fans. There are very few good role models in sports programs today. This Lacrosse team is by far, the most outstanding group of young men I have seen. Congratulations to all the players on their outstanding season.

Liz Krukowski

Killer

Redscore
I firmly believe that things happen for a reason and good things are going to come out of this.
I cant wait for next year.

Well, one good thing that will come out of this (Boston fans will understandably disagree) is that the Red Sox won't win the World Series this year.

How do I know that? You see, I was involved in negotiations with the Gods of Sport, and had worked out an arrangement whereby I'd gladly accept a Red Sox victory in the fall, so long as we got a Big Red victory on Monday. Alas, the deal is off.

Sorry, Red Sox Nation.

Good to see that the Gods have honor and did not renege by trying to pull a fast one and slip the Red Sox in. And though, comparatively, this is but a bucket of solace in a sea of despair, it's damn good to see the Commissioner's Trophy back where it belongs. And yes, Pedro, your daddy sure as hell does have a new house.

Killer

Killer

Redscore
I firmly believe that things happen for a reason and good things are going to come out of this.
I cant wait for next year.

Well, one good thing that will come out of this (Boston fans will understandably disagree) is that the Red Sox won't win the World Series this year.

How do I know that? You see, I was involved in negotiations with the Gods of Sport, and had worked out an arrangement whereby I'd gladly accept a Red Sox victory in the fall, so long as we got a Big Red victory on Monday. Alas, the deal is off.

Sorry, Red Sox Nation.

Good to see that the Gods have honor and did not renege by trying to pull a fast one and slip the Red Sox in. And though, comparatively, this is but a bucket of solace in a sea of despair, it's damn good to see the Commissioner's Trophy back where it belongs. And yes, Pedro, your daddy sure as hell does have a new house.

Amen.