2014 NCAA Lacrosse Open Thread

[IrishLax]

Great to be back. It's been an absolutely crazy, fun year that's for sure. I am definitely ready for some lacrosse action though.

How did things end up? Is Jacksonville that bad (I know they played okay against Duke) or did ND come out to prove they are for real??

More that ND dominated possession so bad that with the athleticism and depth we ran them ragged. Just very aggressive offense and tenacious ride. If Notre Dame can dominate faceoffs like this all year, this team could be really nasty.

19-7 final. Subs played the entire 4th. Just an absolute ass-kicking.

 

[IrishLax]

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/kigT9w7ZhDI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[irishrb]

Fire away huh. They look very accurate with their shots. Hopefully that aggressive, accurate attitude game approach continues!

 

[FDNYIrish1]

Impressive TOP domination, face off man was awesome. I couldn't hear the game where I was watching but whoever is top right on man up has an absolute cannon. He stuck stick side high from the outside twice if I recall correctly. UMass-OSU was actually a fun game to watch. I can't believe Cannella has been there for 20 years. One of the best guys I met in recruiting process years ago. Things look to be interesting this year. The ACC is going to be brutal. Duke and UNC are going to be tough to beat but I love NDs chances.

 

[IrishLax]

Going to miss the game today while in Colonial Williamsburg (*vomits*)... any and all updates would be appreciated, the game is live streaming on UND.com at 3:00 PM. Penn State is always a very tough out. They have an elite offense this year and the best goalie in the country. Faceoffs and shooting accuracy will be paramount to ND's success.

The other big matchup today are #5 Maryland @ #2 Syracuse... your televised game is Princeton vs. Hofstra which should be a blowout.

 

[irishrb]

Ya, I will miss the game too as one of my basketball teams will be in the playoffs all day. I really hope they beat psu. Kaut actually wasn't that impressive last week and psu looked a little slow on their slides so hopefully that continues and ND stays aggressive on offense. I will be very anxious to see how this game turns out and to see if ND's offense really has taken a step forward from last year.

 

[OrlaNDomer]

End of 1st Period. Penn St 2 - 1 ND

Penn St dominating possession. They won 3/4 face offs.

ND sloppy passing and not getting many shots in.

 

[OrlaNDomer]

ND ties it up with 2 PSU players in the penalty box.

 

[OrlaNDomer]

ND calls timeout with 10:30 to play in the 2nd.

Much improved from 1st quarter. More possession, more shots, and forcing turnovers.

 

[OrlaNDomer]

Penn State score to make it 3-2.

 

[OrlaNDomer]

Cavanaugh comes right back and makes it 3-3. 6:20 to play in the first half.

12-12 total shots.

 

[OrlaNDomer]

Notre Dame wins the faceoff and call their 2nd timeout.

Both teams are playing very slow. Both are very patient working it around to find shots.

 

[OrlaNDomer]

Penn St scores back to back to make it 5-3

 

[OrlaNDomer]

Penn St take their first timeout with under 2 mins in the 2nd quarter.

ND not finding many good shots. Penn St playing solid defense.

 

[OrlaNDomer]

HALF

Penn St 5 - 3 Notre Dame

Very up and down first half. ND will have to find a way to get better looks if they want to pull this one out.

 

[IrishLax]

Just got text that we lost 8-7. Sounds like the midfield didn't do shit. At #3 UNC next.

 

[irishrb]

I didn't get to catch any of this game either but consider me concerned....With the absolute killer schedule they have, they needed to beat psu at home.

 

[IrishLax]

ND is up on UNC 11-10 with 30 seconds to play @ Chapel Hill. UNC has the ball.

 

[IrishLax]

ND wins 11-10 at #2 UNC! Epic second half comeback.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/FlUYGyUDYQY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Streaming Online - WatchESPN

 

[irishrb]

Obviously HUGE win. I really want to see this team in action for myself. I read they went with their freshman goalie most of the game. Let's hope the change pays off!

 

[IrishLax]

At 4 PM EST tomorrow (1 PM local) #6 ND takes on #12 Denver in southern California. It's an event called the Pacific Coast Shootout and will be broadcast live here: The Lacrosse Network | TLN - YouTube

If you're local, it'll probably be a fun game to attend.

Some really good video done by ND from the "Carolina Roadtrip" series they put together:
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I believe MBB, WBB, and MLAX were all at UNC at the same time. Too bad we couldn't quite pull off the three sport sweep.

 

[irishrb]

What do you think about the game today LAX? Also, I saw that it was aired there and signed up. Is that all you have to do to watch it or do you have to pay at some time?

 

[IrishLax]

What do you think about the game today LAX? Also, I saw that it was aired there and signed up. Is that all you have to do to watch it or do you have to pay at some time?

99% sure it is free.

As for the game, if Denver plays how they have in their two losses ND should win. Inconsistent at the faceoff X, lots of mistakes and penalties on defense, average goaltending. If they play that way ND should get to 11 or 12 goals. But if Denver makes some adjustments and maybe plays a zone or something that could hurt us.

Denver has the firepower to score 12+ and win this game, but I'd be surprised if that happens unless our goalies shit the bed. Definitely a game we "should" win but it will be hard fought.

 

[irishrb]

That's what I figured. Thanks for the information.
I look for Denver to play balls to the wall and mix in quite a bit of zone, as ND struggled against it vs. PSU.
I hope they stick with one goalie, whoever that may be, and Kavanaugh continues his dominance to keep Denver off balance.
I can't get much information on that site. I do know that our basketball seasons just ended and this is the first free weekend I've had in months so I'm really hoping to take it easy and catch them in action!
GO IRISH!

 

[IrishLax]

Direct link: College Lacrosse: #8 Notre Dame vs #12 Denver Pioneers Presented by The Lacrosse Network - YouTube

Let's get it.

 

[NDinL.A.]

Thanks for the link.

Down 3-1 after 1.

Edit: 4-1. Sick one on one move, no help defense. Now a penalty on ND. This is getting ugly.

5-1.

 

[Rocket89]

There is a lot of that preview that is inaccurate. I do appreciate and respect the effort that went into it, and there was a very strong effort made at detail.

I missed this from a while ago. What about it was inaccurate?

 

[NDinL.A.]

ND absolutely dominated from down 5-1, and cut it to 5-4. Would've been worse if not for the heroics of the Denver goalie. Now 6-4 with 50 seconds left in the half.

I'm out...hope they pull it off.

 

[IrishLax]

Really poor showing by ND. Lots of opportunities to take this game over, and blew it every time. Off-ball defense is pathetic right now... just leaving guys wide open in the center of the field and on the backside. And the defensive midfield in general is just not nearly good enough.

Settled 6-on-6 offense is also anemic. All goals are individual efforts. EMO offense is fantastic, but you can't play the whole game man-up.

Kavanagh neutralized by attacking him with early slides. Because there is no off ball movement, there's virtually no threat of a pass-pass to an open player on the backside. If this offense doesn't incorporate more motion with more cuts to the crease it's going to continue to not get the job done.

 

[irishrb]

VERY disappointed with the first action I've seen from the Irish this year. LAX hit it on the head. I just thought they were a step too slow on D, didn't move the ball that well on O, and Denver's goalie outshined ND's.
Denver had one goal where they passed it right beside the cage and one of ND's defensive men tried to wrap around the goal instead of just sliding over.
I just wasn't impressed and was very frustrated. They definitely have some adjustments to make against the zone or they just aren't going to be very good.