2012 NCAA Lacrosse Open Thread

[Wolverine1997]

Going to the game tonight. Hopefully Michigan can have a good showing.

If denver doesn't get their act together, I think loyola is gonna win the conference.

ECAC Update: Right now fairfield leads quinnipiac 5-2 at half.

 

[Wolverine1997]

Don't know how close you are to ND's athletic department, but I am hearing that Battle in The Big House II next year will be against either penn state or notre dame.

 

[IrishLax]

0-3 Hartford just blasted Brown 20-6. 20!!!! Man, I have not seen the Ivy League this weak in my lifetime. They're looking like a 1 bid league unless Princeton beats either North Carolina or Cornell.

The ECAC and CAA races are shaping up to be chaos.

 

[Wolverine1997]

One thing I love about Michigan this season is that they never stop fighting.

They lost tonight, 15-8. They were down at one point 10-2 but stormed back to cut it to 10-6.

Loyola looks pretty sharp, I think they can beat denver. If they win that game, they're gonna win the conference.

Next up Michigan has bellarmine at Michigan Stadium, next weekend at 3pm at Michigan Stadium.

 

[IrishLax]

One thing I love about Michigan this season is that they never stop fighting.

They lost tonight, 15-8. They were down at one point 10-2 but stormed back to cut it to 10-6.

Loyola looks pretty sharp, I think they can beat denver. If they win that game, they're gonna win the conference.

Next up Michigan has bellarmine at Michigan Stadium, next weekend at 3pm at Michigan Stadium.

They're overrated every single year. Without fail they beat every team they are supposed to beat and then lose close to the elite teams on their schedule. Very, very good team.... but they're not a true contender.

Wouldn't be surprised to see them beat Denver as Denver has no defense... but I'll be rooting for the Pioneers. ND needs them to be good.

 

[IrishLax]

Ohio State went down to Robert Morris last night... they're now starting to look like a flash in the pan with OK defense and seriously lacking offense. This will really hurt ND's strength of schedule.

 

[IrishLax]

Also, there is a TON of lacrosse on TV today. Multiple games on ESPN/ESPNU at the Faceoff Classic starting soon. On top of that, I'm getting the Georgetown game locally and I know #7 ND vs. #19 Hofstra will be on TV for some Midwest and New York markets at 3 PM. Not sure what network, I think it's Fios 1 for Verizon people.

 

[IrishLax]

UNC beats Princeton 9-8.... Princeton is garbage this year and UNC is equally unimpressive. Fiorito was touted as a pre-season 1st team AA goalie... only makes 2 saves all game and gives up 9 goals. The Ivy League may end up being a 1 bid league if Princeton can't pick up a W against Cornell at some point.

 

[IrishLax]

Duke is getting smoked right now 8-4 by Loyola. ECAC might be the best league in the country this year... except for maybe the Big East... but both have 3 top 10 teams right now. Denver is up 3-1 early on PSU which is a pivotal game in the conference championship race.

ACC seriously might not get 4 bids this year. Either Duke or UNC might miss out if the trend continues.

 

[IrishLax]

#1 Virginia vs. #2 Cornell about to get kicked off on ESPNU. No Rob Pannel for Cornell means Virginia might blow them out. I am not sold on Cornell's defense.... going to predict Virginia 13 Cornell 8.

 

[IrishLax]

Virginia beats Cornell 9-8 in OT. Very impressive showing by the Cornell defense. When Pannell gets healthy they will be clearly the #2 team in the country.

Notre Dame leads #18 Hofstra 3-1 at halftime. Hofstra's lone goal came off a deflected ball. In the words of the announcer covering the game... Hofstra is very fortunate to be down only 3-1. Hopefully ND can close the game out with a big 3rd quarter.

Also, other interesting results are Denver absolutely blasting Penn State, Drexel losing a one goal game to Bryant (giving them 3 losses this year by a combined 3 goals), and Syracuse BARELY escaped St. Johns on a late 4th quarter goal. Big East looks wide open this year if Syracuse can't learn to play better defense.... but they probably will by the time we play them.

 

[IrishLax]

Notre Dame pulls out a big win on the road 6-5 in OT over #18 Hofstra. Notre Dame scored what looked like the game winner with 11 seconds remaining to go up 5-4.... but then they gave up an inexplicable goal off the faceoff with 3 seconds remaining. I have never seen something like that happen.

But ND rallied together and got the W in OT. The next game will be against ~#8 Denver at ND.... the offense will need to play better for us to win this one as Denver will surely put up some goals. After that, we hit the "easy" part of the schedule where we play some good teams but will be favored in every game.

 

[NDLacrosse]

Just got home from Hofstra. I definitely jinxed the team by saying "Don't pull a Costabile" with 11.8 seconds left after Rodgers scored to go up 5-4. Rodger's game winning goal was gorgeous by the way.

 

[IrishLax]

Just got home from Hofstra. I definitely jinxed the team by saying "Don't pull a Costabile" with 11.8 seconds left after Rodgers scored to go up 5-4. Rodger's game winning goal was gorgeous by the way.

Thanks for the post, I was wondering what the hell happened as I followed the live blog. I couldn't watch the game as we got the Georgetown game instead on TV here.... can you give any more insights from the game? Like what exactly happened on the faceoff? How did the team look overall (offense, defense, etc.)? How did Hofstra get three goals from the same guy coming around the cage?

Appreciate it.

 

[NDLacrosse]

Defense was incredibly solid, sans their one attackman, I think #2, scoring those ridiculous no angle shots from around the cage. If you're familiar with the Question Mark dodge, it was like a blind, no angle version of that. Somehow they got our shorties to defend him behind the cage, and he just repeated the same dodge 3 times! It was incredibly annoying to watch; Hofstra was fairly small, but really, really quick.

Offense looked inept for the majority of the game, but Sean Rodgers saved the day. Middies were pretty inactive, and with Beattie out, the offense is going to have to come from somewhere. Hopkins had one nice finish, but was quiet other than that.

with 11.8 seconds left, the faceoff was won backwards to the Hofstra middie, and he chucked it up to one of their attackmen, he caught it and absolutely ripped from about 15 yards outs. Maybe Kemp should have saved it, but the D shouldn't even have given up a shot at that point.

 

[IrishLax]

Defense was incredibly solid, sans their one attackman, I think #2, scoring those ridiculous no angle shots from around the cage. If you're familiar with the Question Mark dodge, it was like a blind, no angle version of that. Somehow they got our shorties to defend him behind the cage, and he just repeated the same dodge 3 times! It was incredibly annoying to watch; Hofstra was fairly small, but really, really quick.

Offense looked inept for the majority of the game, but Sean Rodgers saved the day. Middies were pretty inactive, and with Beattie out, the offense is going to have to come from somewhere. Hopkins had one nice finish, but was quiet other than that.

with 11.8 seconds left, the faceoff was won backwards to the Hofstra middie, and he chucked it up to one of their attackmen, he caught it and absolutely ripped from about 15 yards outs. Maybe Kemp should have saved it, but the D shouldn't even have given up a shot at that point.

Yeah, the blog said Lance Yapor had 3 goals wrapping around the goal from behind. The defense is designed to switch every pick and we often end up with SSDMs on attackmen. We lost to Penn State in OT on a play like that where Mackrides just drove hard and flung a blind shot at the goal. Wasn't a question mark and he had an OK angle... but still similar style of "wtf..." watching it go in. It's a low percentage shot but you can get it often because of our style of defense. The defense is designed to have people take those ****** no angle or no look shots and the bottom line is that if you have a shortie on you then you can get your hands free.

Honestly, I'm surprised more teams don't settle for that look. Wolf was effective getting that look in the first game and just hit pipes, Mackrides scored that way to win in the second game, and Hofstra got 3 goals that way to day. You rarely beat Kemp on any shot outside of 12 that he expects or gets a good read on.
--------------------------
As for offense, the O is going to struggle until the light comes on for Conor Doyle because I really don't know if Beattie is coming back this year. Beattie was going to be counted on to do so much and while he wasn't a great dodger he was a really good passer and maybe the most accurate shooter on the team when given an open look. Can't replace a senior captain wit ha true frosh.

I think the 1st line of midfielders will continue to come along... I think Marlatt will be a star before he is done at ND. This is only his first season playing missing last year with injury. And Foley has a bright future being a converted attackman. But I'm really disappointed in the second line so far. Pat Cotter, Ty Kimball, Eric Keppeler, Steve Murphy.... show me something! All of these guys have been on the cusp (especially Cotter and Murphy) of being impact players but still haven't stepped up... and now they're upperclassmen. You're even seeing some frosh get PT because of how little they're contributing.

All things considered.... can't complain with 3-1 against four ranked opponents. The upcoming game against Denver is HUGE. We win that and we should be in good shape for the tourney.

 

[Wolverine1997]

Poll Notes-

ND is #7 in the USILA and #8 in IL.
Loyola is #5 in the USILA and #12 in the IL.

 

[IrishLax]

Villanova Players Break Down Max Hart's Dramatic Last-Second Goal; Watch the Video | InsideLacrosse.com

A must watch end to the game.... Penn and Villanova tied up at 7-7 in a big rivalry game with Penn holding for the last shot and Villanova makes a save with 8 seconds left. Heading to OT right? Wrong. Villanova scores on a shot from midfield to win it with less than a second left.

 

[IrishLax]

Not NCAA lacrosse related but funny article on a Peyton Manning/Brandon Stokley throwing session plan derailed by an 8 A pick-up lacrosse game in Denver.

 

[DomeX2 eNVy]

Sunday's game against #9 Denver will be telecast live on ESPNU at 1:00 (EDT?)

 

[IrishLax]

Sunday's game against #9 Denver will be telecast live on ESPNU at 1:00 (EDT?)

Yeah, I'll also be doing a live blog myself from South Bend for Inside Lacrosse. Will post a link up when we get closer to game time.

This is probably the most important game of the year for us. It's going to be strength vs. strength with Denver's prolific offense and our #1 defense which is on pace to shatter NCAA records. The key to the game will be the play of our second line of midfielders.... if we get production out of them, we should win. If we don't, it can go either way. Denver's defense was seriously suspect to start the year with 3 new starters at close defense but has been playing much better as of late.

 

[IrishLax]

Duke vs. UNC game on ESPNU right now if you're stuck at basketball halftime. Duke up 4 - 1 in what might be a must win game for both teams. Whoever loses cannot afford to go winless in ACC play or they might miss the playoffs.

 

[IrishLax]

Highlights from the win at Hofstra. Still can't believe we gave up a goal with 11 seconds left off a faceoff. Looks like we actually played it correctly and they lucked out to have a long shot sneak in.

Duke picked up a big win today over UNC that helps us and puts UNC's playoff hopes in doubt. They will need to beat one of Maryland, Hopkins or Virginia to make the playoffs. I don't think a 6 loss (or 7 loss with an ACC tournament loss) UNC gets in with the strength of the field this year.

 

[Wolverine1997]

Recorded Michigan's game against bellarmine and watched it when I got back home (was at the Michigan Hockey game).

They were doing good for awhile there in their first home game in their official home, Michigan Stadium. Decent attendance too.

Fell short 13-9. Michigan will get Mount St. Mary's next weekend at home.

 

[IrishLax]

10-9 triple OT victory. Boom.

 

[no.1IrishFan]

Great win, fun game to watch.

 

[Wolverine1997]

If denver slips up one more time in conference, they won't win the ECAC.

 

[IrishLax]

ND bumps up to #6. Next week will be a tough game against Ohio State who took Virginia to the wire this past week in the 'Shoe and is still receiving top 20 votes despite a bunch of tough losses recently. This is a make or break game for the Buckeyes and they will do whatever they think needs to be done to win.

ND has played four Top 20 teams in five games this year and holds wins over #9 Denver, #11 Duke, #19 Hofstra with an overtime loss to #17 Penn State. Still on the schedule are #18 Georgetown, #15 Villanova, #8 Syracuse and "receiving votes" St. Johns and Ohio State. This is an incredibly tough schedule.

Most importantly, ND currently ranks #4 in the RPI and #2 in SOS so we're looking at a very good seed if we can continue our winning ways. The only unranked games that ND will play will be against Rutgers and Providence.... and only Providence could be classified as "easy."

 

[IrishLax]

Denver going into OT against Cornell right now. Had the game won... had the ball with 1 minute left and a lead... and they turned it over with 23 seconds and gave up a goal with 6 seconds to play. Pathetic.

A Denver win will be absolutely huge for ND getting a good seed.

 

[IrishLax]

And Cornell wins. SMH.