2012 NCAA Lacrosse Open Thread

[IrishLax]

ND up 6-4 at halftime. Interesting game so far, yale doing exactly what i said i would do and playing super slow/attacking from behind. We need to stop sliding from Dempster and we should be OK.

 

[Andy in Sactown]

Lacrosse | Lowe's Senior CLASS Award

VOTE FOR KEVIN RANDALL!

Voted!

 

[IrishLax]

Impressive offensive showing for the 13-7 win.

 

[yankeeND]

Very cool! Love to see the Domers win no matter the sport!

 

[Downinthebend]

Seemed like ND was getting killed on faceoffs, but they did fine. What do the gold jerseyes in pre-game mean?

 

[Sherm Sticky]

Impressive offensive showing for the 13-7 win.

So what's your prediction for the big showdown with Virginia?

 

[FDNYIrish1]

It was great to see the Irish awake from their St. Johns performance in a big way against Yale. Was definitely impressed with the offensive performance.

Now onto the Hoos. Interested to hear Lax's analysis, but I'll give it a go. ND should expect to see a healthy dose of zone defense this week, so patience is going to be important. Outside of Lovejoy, I don't see a true shut down defenseman out there. Fortunato, UVA's goalie, has been pretty damn good this year, so I expect that they will challenge the Irish to beat them from the outside. ND has solid dodgers from both the attack and midfield, and UVA is going to need to keep the scoring down to win.

The main concern I have in this game is Virginia's ability to score on the inside. Stanwick and company can absolutely kill you if you leave the crease open. If you are a casual observer this week, keep an eye on #6 from Virginia. Chances our you won't be blown away by his athleticism, but the guy is just an amazing player who is slick as anything and seems to have eyes everywhere. Stanwick is a pleasure to watch initiating from behind the cage, and is also a dangerous finisher if you decide to make him beat you one on one.

LaPierre is an impressive athlete for UVA, a fun to watch old school do-it-all middie who seems to be in the right place to make plays. More of a defensive and transition guy, but always working hard.

ND has a great shot to knock off the defending champs here. Virginia doesn't score alot of goals and the Irish are the top ranked defensive team in the country. If they control the inside and avoid penalties, a return trip to the Final four is within their grasp. Looking forward to this game next week. Hopefully its on to Foxboro!!!

 

[IrishLax]

So what's your prediction for the big showdown with Virginia?

Here goes nothing....

Virginia is a team that is quite an enigma right now. Much last season where they could’ve lost to Bucknell in the first round, this year they barely squeaked by a very average Princeton team. Virginia only scored one second half goal and won 6-5… quite a stark contrast from the Virginia teams that used to light up the scoreboard but play suspect defense. A quick look at common opponents gives you an idea of just how average-to-bad this Princeton team was… Princeton lost to Yale 15-7 the week before, and ND beat Yale 13-7. Princeton lost to Syracuse 12-6… and ND beat Syracuse 8-6. So to say that Virginia barely escaping 6-5 was unimpressive is an understatement. Virginia has been flat out horrible on offense the past couple weeks and seriously struggles to break 10 goals with regularity. But, with a team like Virginia, they’re capable of turning it on at any second and making a championship run.

What Virginia does well: Steele Stanwick is the best “QB” attackman out there. If you slide to him… you can be in a world of pain very quickly. The reason why is that all of Virginia’s midfielders shoot the ball very well from the outside and Stanwick is a master of both the skip pass and the inside feed. He can also really hurt you 1v1 if you don’t slide… but in this “pick your poison” scenario, that’s the one I’d rather face because Chris Bocklett is darn near automatic when he catches a pass from Stanwick. Colin Briggs is also an absolute stud of a midfielder who is great creating scoring opportunities for himself dodging and also working off the ball. Virginia also plays a phenomenal zone defense and is incredibly athletic. This athleticism leads to a lot of fast break scoring opportunities from guys like Chris LaPierre. The major flaw in Virginia’s zone is that they can only play it when they have a lead… so if you jump on this team it takes them out of their element.

What Virginia does poorly: While Virginia has some true all-stars in Stanwick and Briggs and a great transition game… frankly, their settled offense has been downright horrible recently because none of their other players is a “creator.” Their midfielders are all relatively athletic outside shooters who struggle to dodge. So if you force them to be the playmakers, their offense grinds to a halt. This is such a cataclysmic weakness that in their last 4 games they’ve scored a measly 7.5 goals per game… which, compared to statistical averages across the league, would rank 6th to last ahead of only Providence, Mahattan, St. Joseph’s, Wagner and Mercer.

What to watch for: If Notre Dame can win faceoffs and get an early lead, we should be in good shape. If we fall behind, we have an offense that is poorly designed to deal with a zone defense. We don’t shoot the ball particularly well from the outside and have really poor ball handlers/finishers at attack. The more you look at it, this isn’t a great matchup for us because the things Virginia does well are what we struggle to defend. John Kemp is worst against high heat and that’s what Virginia midfielders shoot. Our offense is worst against a zone and our defense is worst against pass-first teams that initiate from behind the goal. So this is truly a nightmarish matchup. For Notre Dame to win we will need to eliminate transition scoring opportunities for Virginia, clear the ball well, and be careful offensively. The winner of this game is likely the team that commits the least amount of mistakes.

Best Case Scenario: Nick Beattie, who had his first goal since week 1 last week against Yale in extremely limited minutes, is healthy enough to play in place of Westy Hopkins... who simply doesn't have the skillset to beat a zone defense. ND wins faceoffs and jumps out to an early lead allowing us to play slow/careful and forcing Virginia out of their zone defense. We don't commit any bad turnovers and give up no transition opportunities... forcing Virginia to play 6-on-6. Virginia's offensive woes continue as Kevin Randall shuts down Steele Stanwick and Kemp gobbles up outside shots from the midfield. Notre Dame prevails 8-3.

Worst Case Scenario: Virginia jumps out to an early lead allowing them to play zone. Our offense - which is built on being a dodge-first team with more athleticism than our opponents - falls apart. Virginia uses a two man game behind the goal to control the pace of play and forces our defense to take chances as the game wears on. Similar to last year where Virginia squeaked through the first round in a game they should've lost and then played an incredible game to stomp the #2 seed Cornell... Virginia becomes the first team to crack 10 goals against Notre Dame on the season and beats the Irish 10-3.

Prediction: Virginia 9 Notre Dame 5. This Notre Dame team is currently overachieving and a year ahead of schedule… Virginia scores a couple quickies to open the game and then goes into a zone defense that stifles our offense which has proven ineffective this year on man-up (aka against a 5-man zone concept). Steele Stanwick shows why he's the best "QB" in the game and does just enough to get Virginia the goals they need. The "rebuilding year" ends with the Irish ranked solidly in the top 10 with the entire team returning next year (seriously, everyone....) besides Max Pfeifer and Kevin Randall ready to make a serious run at a national championship.

 

[IrishLax]

Hopkis vs. Loyola about to faceoff on ESPN2 at noon.... look for Hopkins to roll an inferior Maryland team... but Maryland is more than capable of beating Hopkins if Hopkins decides to play offense how they did against Navy.

 

[IrishLax]

Hopkins getting blasted 8-3 heading into the 4th... was 8-2 before a goal with 3 seconds left in the quarter to close the gap from "near impossible" to "extremely improbable." Hopkins losing the exact same way they lost against Navy really... taking bad shots that get saved, not getting enough possession, and giving high percentage looks at the goal.

I thought for most of this year that Hopkins was incredibly overrated... the win over Loyola caused me to re-evaluate things.... should've stuck with my gut.

 

[FDNYIrish1]

Agreed on the Hopkins opinion Lax. Those rivalry games sometimes go completely against expected, which is probably happened with Loyola. What are your expectations for Loyola-Denver? Should be a lot of fun to watch if you like transition and offense. Looking forward to it.

 

[IrishLax]

Agreed on the Hopkins opinion Lax. Those rivalry games sometimes go completely against expected, which is probably happened with Loyola. What are your expectations for Loyola-Denver? Should be a lot of fun to watch if you like transition and offense. Looking forward to it.

The Denver vs. Loyola game went as expected... close game fought to the end.... can't believe how the officials basically handed the game to Loyola though. Denver really played well enough to win and I'm starting to believe Loyola is a bit of a paper tiger. Their defense looks quite average and if you don't let them run transition/go on EMO/let Lusby spot up to shoot they are not very scary on offense. Sawyer is completely overrated.

If Notre Dame gets past Virginia tomorrow at noon, which I don't think we will, I think you're looking at a finals rematch between ND and Duke. Colgate could certainly make a run though... they've already beaten Maryland and have the offense to beat Duke if they can possess the ball.

 

[Downinthebend]

This is televised on espn3 as far as I can tell (that and espnu). Would a youtube version of the first nd-duke game be helpful? Or should I do this game, or both? or none?

 

[IrishLax]

This is televised on espn3 as far as I can tell (that and espnu). Would a youtube version of the first nd-duke game be helpful? Or should I do this game, or both? or none?

This game is on espn3. T-minus 1 hour until faceoff. Not quite sure what you're asking about youtube; you mean doing like a highlights cut up of the game?

 

[IrishLax]

Game time! Buckle up and cross your fingers.

 

[IrishLax]

All even at 3. If we can't win faceoffs, we are screwed. Offense has scored on a great percentage of our possessions so far and our D is being asked to cover for too long.

 

[Downinthebend]

We killed them on faceoffs in the second qrt.

 

[IrishLax]

ND 6 UVA 4 at halftime. Offense and defense are both playing well enough to win.... we'll see if we can keep it up. UVA is definitely getting some chances. Westy Hopkins has had some really, really good scoring opportunities and missed quite a few... but also made a couple. Had a great chance just before halftime that was kick-saved by Fortunato.

 

[yankeeND]

Fun half. Hope they can keep it up!

 

[peoriairish]

ND 6 UVA 4 at halftime. Offense and defense are both playing well enough to win.... we'll see if we can keep it up. UVA is definitely getting some chances. Westy Hopkins has had some really, really good scoring opportunities and missed quite a few... but also made a couple. Had a great chance just before halftime that was kick-saved by Fortunato.

Could we say... Fortunato was... fortunate?

Kemp has been making some pretty solid saves back there as well.

 

[peoriairish]

Really, this game is a win-win for me. But for those only rooting for the Irish, Stanwick has to have you biting your nails with the game this close.

And as I type this, he gets a solid assist. Just waiting for his moment of individual brilliance.

 

[Downinthebend]

Nd got killed on faceoffs in the third, its tied 6-6

 

[IrishLax]

Virginia comes out aggressive, dominates possession and forces turnovers.... ND needs to win faceoffs this quarter to have any chance.

 

[Irish Insanity]

Nice start to the quarter.

Edit: Nevermind. All tied again

 

[peoriairish]

This is one face paced, offensive quarter. It's going to be a great finish.

 

[Irish2015]

Don't know much but looks like a dirty shot to me.

 

[peoriairish]

Yeah. It was definitely shoulder to head. A penalty for sure. Keep the kid in your prayers. There was a story on ESPN a few weeks ago about a kid who took a similar hit and wanted to stay in the game but his AT made him go to the hospital where they found a fractured C1-C2 vertebrae. Scary looking hit but unintentional.

 

[peoriairish]

IrishLAX, can you explain when a stan warning is called? Just a simple explanation would suffice.

 

[Irish Insanity]

I have an 11 year old who's been asking to get involved in Lax. Is there maybe a suggested website I can visit to learn more about the sport, and him as well? I've watched it some, but some explanation if the rules and such. Thanks in advance.

Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk 2

 

[peoriairish]

I have an 11 year old who's been asking to get involved in Lax. Is there maybe a suggested website I can visit to learn more about the sport, and him as well? I've watched it some, but some explanation if the rules and such. Thanks in advance.

Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk 2

Back around page 7, IrishLax does a pretty good explanation on rules and basic strategy. Might be a good place to start.

Also, there is some good info here. US Lacrosse | National Men’s, Women’s and Youth Lacrosse