Men's Lax Tournament 2024

Trotsky

mike1960
I like that our offense is spacing things out. Their goalie made a good stop, but if we keep shooting, we'll score some goals tonight.

Their goalie has made two ungodly Drydenesque moves so far. I hope he's not going to have his career night.

He's been good so far. We can't let him get in our heads and think we have to make the perfect shot. If we just keep making good shots, a percentage will go in.

FINALLY!

Have to control these face-offs. 5-3 Penn

Two goals, free hands topside.

We've got to do better.

Unwise outside shot by Kelleher with a man-up.

7-4 Penn at the half. Cornell better get going with the scoring in the 2nd half.

No Red goals from the starting 6 on O. Must do better!

CU77
No Red goals from the starting 6 on O. Must do better!

Caddigan...but the point is valid.

CJ has a great D man on him. We're going to need other guys to step up. I like what we were doing at the end of the half -- intense dodging behind the net and shooting or passing. Without Mikey Long, I think we're going to have to ask RG30 to win this game for us.

We've made mistakes on defense and we've paid for it. At least four Penn goals were just old fashioned dodging and shooting. We got to get there with our slides and make those shots tougher.

Can't give up 7 in the second half, either.

We need to get our shots on goal. 24 shots and 5 saves.

27 did a non-slide slide and gave the Penn guy a free look at the goal.

Good to see that goal. 9-7. Can't allow them to respond.

Bah. That's at least 4 times they have immediately responded.

And now Goldstein, 10-8. Come on, guys.

We need more of those types of goals. Carrol is a good goalie, but he's not a literal wall. Just take shots

We looked a lot better that quarter. Our defense is picking up.

We need RG30 to score.

Gilmartin has really raised the level of his game.

I have seen a cheap shot like that in NCAA I lacrosse in a long time.

Ow.

Forcing that pass in front of the goal with a non-releasable man up. What a mistake.

So many mistakes.

I'm really not ready for this season to end. Even if we can't come back, I will be very upset if we're left out

1:55, down 3.

I think we Need Penn to win sundayto have a shot at getting in now.

That was a tough, tough loss at home.

upprdeck
I think we Need Penn to win sundayto have a shot at getting in now.

Agreed. Only results that seem to matter now are Michigan/PSU (if Michigan wins, that might be a wrap) and Penn/Princeton (root for Penn)

We need Penn, PSU, and Georgetown all to win. If they do, Cornell has a decent shot at the last at-large.

Current RPI:

1. Notre Dame 0.7000
2. Duke 0.6710
3. Johns Hopkins 0.6521
4. Syracuse 0.6440
5. Virginia 0.6364
6. Denver 0.6295
7. Maryland 0.6274
8. Penn State 0.6244
9. Penn 0.6142
10. Georgetown 0.6113
11. Princeton 0.6083
12. Cornell 0.6080
13. Yale 0.6038
14. St Josephs (PA) 0.5913
15. Michigan 0.5898
16. Army West Point 0.5773
17. Boston University 0.5766
18. Villanova 0.5683
19. Towson 0.5668
20. Ohio State 0.5617

Princeton will drop below Cornell with a loss to Penn.

Bleed red but they don’t deserve it at 9-5. That was not a team that deserves a bid to the tourney. Cant believe I’m saying this. But what the heck was that performance.

5 losses to teams in the top 10 is not a bad thing 4 wins vs top 20.

Losing to Penn twice hurts. Long not playing hurt even more.

CU77
We need Penn, PSU, and Georgetown all to win. If they do, Cornell has a decent shot at the last at-large.

Current RPI:

1. Notre Dame 0.7000
2. Duke 0.6710
3. Johns Hopkins 0.6521
4. Syracuse 0.6440
5. Virginia 0.6364
6. Denver 0.6295
7. Maryland 0.6274
8. Penn State 0.6244
9. Penn 0.6142
10. Georgetown 0.6113
11. Princeton 0.6083
12. Cornell 0.6080
13. Yale 0.6038
14. St Josephs (PA) 0.5913
15. Michigan 0.5898
16. Army West Point 0.5773
17. Boston University 0.5766
18. Villanova 0.5683
19. Towson 0.5668
20. Ohio State 0.5617

Princeton will drop below Cornell with a loss to Penn.

I don’t think the Georgetown game matters. If they lose, they should fall below Cornell in RPI.

Seems like what matters is Penn State beating Michigan and Penn beating Princeton.

I assume from the above discussion that there will be at minimum six teams who receive an automatic bid and would not have gotten an at-large bid?

Georgetown is the only team to have beaten #1 Notre Dame, that may count for more than a couple of points in RPI.

Cornell misses Long.

Was told fan in stands Long has a hamstring injury

Also great game by the Penn goalie but much to the defense in front of him. Penn is hard to figure-games against Cornell and Duke-they have looked great but in their losses they have not looked like a playoff team. A bit of a roller coaster season.

Georgetown beats Villanova in a wild Big East championship game, 11-10 OT.

Big Red's hopes have dodged the first of 3 bullets.

We're all Pennsylvanians now!

CU77
Georgetown beats Villanova in a wild Big East championship game, 11-10 OT.

Big Red's hopes have dodged the first of 3 bullets.

We're all Pennsylvanians now!

Michigan over PSU 16-4. We're all in mourning now.

Swampy

CU77
Georgetown beats Villanova in a wild Big East championship game, 11-10 OT.

Big Red's hopes have dodged the first of 3 bullets.

We're all Pennsylvanians now!

Michigan over PSU 16-4. We're all in mourning now.

How many ways can Tambroni screw us over this year?

We screwed ourselves over. Unlike hockey at least we blew it by playing a strong schedule. Harder to be too upset about some of the lacrosse losses versus hockey losing to Colgate etc.

Funny that Kirst is the Award candidate when Long is the most important player.

If my math is right is that 100 total seasons between hockey and lacrosse of being national contenders and never winning. Random chance would suggest better. Frustrating.

arugula
We screwed ourselves over. Unlike hockey at least we blew it by playing a strong schedule. Harder to be too upset about some of the lacrosse losses versus hockey losing to Colgate etc.

Funny that Kirst is the Award candidate when Long is the most important player.

If my math is right is that 100 total seasons between hockey and lacrosse of being national contenders and never winning. Random chance would suggest better. Frustrating.

We had an easy clear and likely goal with under a minute to go vs ND, but our player evidently didn’t see it so we blew the game against the #1 team in the country, which ultimately cost us an NCAA bid. But also, the refs blew a late call that game, and also jobbed Cornell in the Denver game. Not to mention all the injuries. Some of it was under our control, a lot of it wasn’t.

Honestly, losing on the field, even if it’s to injuries and the refs, will never be anywhere close to as frustrating as having entire seasons canceled in 2020 and 2021.

Mary getting killed by PSU and then PSU getting killed by Mich

The entirety of Big Ten Lacrosse just disgusts me. Are there really going to be four Big Ten teams (JHU, PSU, U of M and Maryland) in the NCAA tournament?

arugula
We screwed ourselves over. Unlike hockey at least we blew it by playing a strong schedule. Harder to be too upset about some of the lacrosse losses versus hockey losing to Colgate etc.

Funny that Kirst is the Award candidate when Long is the most important player.

If my math is right is that 100 total seasons between hockey and lacrosse of being national contenders and never winning. Random chance would suggest better. Frustrating.

As Bill Parcells used to say, You are what your record says you are.

That's true, except for maybe the Denver game. I didn't see it, but it sounds like we were kind of screwed there. But the bottom line is that we need to beat Penn at least once, maybe twice, and we couldn't get it done. And those are games we have to win. Injuries were a major factor, but we couldn't find a way to score goals when we needed to.

In both Penn games, it seemed to me that Penn figured out a way to neutralize our offense and we didn't a plan B or plan C. There was an exception. In the Ivy tournament, we sent Kelleher to X against a short stick, had him drive to GLE, pass around the top, and then get a good shot on the other side. But we didn't go back to that, or try other things to make the defense scramble. The same is true with the EMO offense. We seem predictable.

But I'm not an expert. I'm sure the coaches know what they are doing. There's a lot more going on during the game that I don't see or understand. It's disappointing. Sport is like that, I guess.

This will be a much different and much younger team next year without seniors in Krist and Long, among the 22 seniors and 5th year players they lose. Other players are going to have to step up, and maybe some freshman can win starting roles.

Kirst rumored to come back. Lets see.

The key part of the game were the 2 TWO min penalties we didnt even really generate shots down 2.

A few bad unforced turnovers in a game like that hurt as well.

upprdeck
Kirst rumored to come back. Lets see.

The key part of the game were the 2 TWO min penalties we didnt even really generate shots down 2.

A few bad unforced turnovers in a game like that hurt as well.

Kirst and Long both coming back

upprdeck
Kirst rumored to come back. Lets see.

The key part of the game were the 2 TWO min penalties we didnt even really generate shots down 2.

A few bad unforced turnovers in a game like that hurt as well.

Yes, those turnovers really hurt. Our guys must have felt the pressure. That happens.

Honestly, I thought we were (are) the better team, and I was certain we were going to win going away because Coach B would scheme out a winning attack. Instead, the game looked a lot like the previous game with us trying the same offense and getting the same results. I don't mean to be too critical. Penn has been a great defense all year, and they deserved to win. I hope they do well in the tournament.

upprdeck
Kirst rumored to come back. Lets see.

The key part of the game were the 2 TWO min penalties we didnt even really generate shots down 2.

A few bad unforced turnovers in a game like that hurt as well.

Additionally, Penn scored 2 goals while our defense was ball-watching instead of sliding. And we let Firth (who's listed as "Attack" but has been playing offensive midfield) get caught downfield and having to play defense, where he was playing short-stick on short-stick and was beaten handily by the Penn player. (IMHO, Knust should have slid to back Firth up, although this may not have worked.) Against a team like Penn, we can't afford to give away 3 goals like this. (OK, maybe Firth being caught on the defensive side might have been unavoidable.)

Injuries hurt our defense all year, and next year we'll have to tighten things up. According to Inside Lacrosse, this year the defense loses Jack Follows, Walker Wallace, Billy Kephart, and Charlie Packard (although some of them didn't see much playing time, and they may have stepped out so they can play next year along with Kirst & Long; I don't know). But we have three defensive players coming in: Cooper Simpson, Beck Mahoney, and Michael Marshall. All are rated as 4-stars (but remember both Firth & Goldstein were only 4-* too). There's not much more information about Simpson and Marshall, except they're 6'0" 175# and 5'10" 180# respectively. But the Analysis of Mahoney says, "Mahoney has a beautiful combination of IQ, size, and athletic ability to play the field at a college ready level. Stretching opponents the full length of the field with perfect approach angles and pressure." Apparently he was also recruited by Notre Dame, Duke, North Carolina, Brown, and Dartmouth.

Still, IMHO, to reach our potential we will have to play better team defense than we did against Penn.

mike1960
In both Penn games, it seemed to me that Penn figured out a way to neutralize our offense and we didn't a plan B or plan C. There was an exception. In the Ivy tournament, we sent Kelleher to X against a short stick, had him drive to GLE, pass around the top, and then get a good shot on the other side. But we didn't go back to that, or try other things to make the defense scramble. The same is true with the EMO offense. We seem predictable.

But I'm not an expert. I'm sure the coaches know what they are doing. There's a lot more going on during the game that I don't see or understand. It's disappointing. Sport is like that, I guess.

Yeah, I also didn't get why the ineffective O in game 1 was seemingly repeated in game 2. I would have had Goldstein dodging from X a lot more, and also more middie inverts from X against shorties (as you describe with Kelleher).

But no one pays me to coach D1 lax, for very good reasons!

CU77

mike1960
In both Penn games, it seemed to me that Penn figured out a way to neutralize our offense and we didn't a plan B or plan C. There was an exception. In the Ivy tournament, we sent Kelleher to X against a short stick, had him drive to GLE, pass around the top, and then get a good shot on the other side. But we didn't go back to that, or try other things to make the defense scramble. The same is true with the EMO offense. We seem predictable.

But I'm not an expert. I'm sure the coaches know what they are doing. There's a lot more going on during the game that I don't see or understand. It's disappointing. Sport is like that, I guess.

Yeah, I also didn't get why the ineffective O in game 1 was seemingly repeated in game 2. I would have had Goldstein dodging from X a lot more, and also more middie inverts from X against shorties (as you describe with Kelleher).

But no one pays me to coach D1 lax, for very good reasons!

Same here!

I still love the team. We'll be tough next year!

Just saw the Princeton-Penn score. 18-11 Cats.

I will definitely watch this one to see how Princeton scored 18 on that defense. Earlier in the year, they scored 15 on them, the highest total until today against Penn.

scoop85

upprdeck
Kirst rumored to come back. Lets see.

The key part of the game were the 2 TWO min penalties we didnt even really generate shots down 2.

A few bad unforced turnovers in a game like that hurt as well.

Kirst and Long both coming back

How is Long coming back? Is the line on his 6th year?

arugula

scoop85

upprdeck
Kirst rumored to come back. Lets see.

The key part of the game were the 2 TWO min penalties we didnt even really generate shots down 2.

A few bad unforced turnovers in a game like that hurt as well.

Kirst and Long both coming back

How is Long coming back? Is the line on his 6th year?

Sorry too quick-isn’t he like in his sixth year?

arugula

arugula

scoop85

upprdeck
Kirst rumored to come back. Lets see.

The key part of the game were the 2 TWO min penalties we didnt even really generate shots down 2.

A few bad unforced turnovers in a game like that hurt as well.

Kirst and Long both coming back

How is Long coming back? Is the line on his 6th year?

Sorry too quick-isn’t he like in his sixth year?

During peak COVID a bunch of guys withdrew in order to extend their eligibility. It's conceivable that Long somehow did this too. Also, because he has been injured so much, it may be that he's able to petition for what's sometime erroneously called a "medical redshirt."

arugula

scoop85

upprdeck
Kirst rumored to come back. Lets see.

The key part of the game were the 2 TWO min penalties we didnt even really generate shots down 2.

A few bad unforced turnovers in a game like that hurt as well.

Kirst and Long both coming back

How is Long coming back? Is the line on his 6th year?

Lombardi was a 6th year this year.

My bad.

14 Seniors gone

Key losses: Boccafola, Petraeus, Wirtheim, Blake, Psyllos, and Follows

Surprised that Follows is leaving-my guess is that he did not take a semester break. In one of his interviews Kirst said he was granted a 9th semester. I am sure in the off-season Coach Stevens will be focused on how to improve the defense. Given that the injuries to Davis and Bozzi hurt the ssm defense-the close defense was by Cornell standards below par. I think Knust bailed them out a bit in the latter part of the season on some key stops.

We were the highest ranked school not in the tournament because of course we were.

mike1960
That was a tough, tough loss at home.

It was a fabulous evening in terms of the weather, if that's any consolation on Friday. I had the full monsoon suit ready for Sunday just in case.

If only:
* We got the last goal versus Notre Dame out in Bethpage
* We didn't let Penn get the OT goal in the RS
* there isn't any one if-only that would have turned around the game versus Penn State
* and let's ignore how lucky we were against Syracuse and Princeton

Probably worth noting that Cornell would almost certainly have made the NCAAs if it were allowed to have grad students. Losses to Penn State, Denver, Notre Dame feel more frustrating given all the grad students and transfers on those teams. Cornell had a pretty nice season to finish 12 in RPI despite being at a massive disadvantage to almost every other team in the country.