2014 NCAA Lacrosse Open Thread

IrishLax

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3-1? Not the worst. Amato has made some sick saves, we've also just really blown a LOT of opportunities.
 

IrishLax

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FWIW our defense is playing absolutely unreal right now.
 

irishrb

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Amato has been amazing. That move by Kavanagh was sweet and then that idiot had to save it.
I still feel very frustrated right now. I want to see them come out in the second half fire away, and ride this team like crazy. Their doing a good job of knocking the rock loose, now go get the loose ball and look for some transition breaks!
 

irishrb

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I do agree with you on the defense. They are sliding and swarming pretty well right now.
 

IrishLax

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1 goal game... best defense we've played in a very long time. Epple getting PT over Buglione has made a big difference, IMO. Only goals we're giving up are from people dodging our midfielders.
 

IrishLax

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Terps dodging bullets... a defender with a body save... unreal.
 

CTHindman

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2014 NCAA Lacrosse Open Thread

I think I might have pick a good LAX game for my first game to watch. Wow! Wish we would have had this in the South when I was in HS.


Sent from my Etch-a-sketch using Tapatalk.
 

NDinL.A.

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OHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

What a game! My baby boy sat in my lap the entire 2nd half (asleep of course...he's 5 days old) and was our good luck charm. With all those unforced errors, the inability to friggin' clear the ball, and going against the greatest face-off winner in the history of organized sports, I don't know how we won that game. Great goaltending (finally!!!) and great defense I guess.

That was a lot of fun...GO IRISH!!!
 
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irishrb

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HUGE WIN! That should lock up an NCAA bid. The defense was amazing and HOPEFULLY ND has found their goalie for the real tournament.
Congrats NDinLA....definitely an amazing feeling.
 

IrishLax

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So. Happy.

I hate Tillman and what he has done to lacrosse. No one in the sport respects him.

That was the best defensive performance we've had in a very long time. I've been very hard on Buglione/Landis at times... and true frosh Epple getting to play in place of Buglione made a BIG difference. He's going to be the truth.

That was our classic shutdown defense against the #4 most efficient offense in the country. We had minimal off-ball breakdowns, played very solid on-ball defense, and forced all the shots to come from the outside (no layups!!!). This ONLY works if the goalie is dialed in... and Kelly played excellent. Only let in one goal he could've possibly saved. Needs to do a better job clearing and catching the ball when he makes saves (almost let in two dribblers) but he actually seemed to see the ball well tonight and reacted much quicker than he has in previous games.

The offense was playing in the slop against the top defense. They shot horribly and turned the ball over WAY too much. They did create some really good chances though even with a big possession deficit.

Biggest scary things were the faceoff game and clearing game. Holy crap. It's lacrosse 101 against a ride like Maryland was employing that you beat it by playing the offside game at midfield and having midfielders come back for the ball (like a receiver not waiting for the ball to get to them).

All in all... this keeps our NCAA leading tourney streak almost certainly alive if there isn't obscene chaos. And we have a chance to win the title of the hardest conference ever assembled. That's a good night :)

PS. Fuck Tillman.
 

irishrb

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Definitely a good night. IF ND can find a way to beat the cuse and then beat a tough Army squad, they should be a seeded team!
 

IrishLax

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Care to expand? (Or point me to the post where you already explained). Thanks!

Basically, it all dates back to when #1 Syracuse lost to Maryland in the 2011 playoffs. 6-5 in OT. Syracuse was so much better than Maryland, but Maryland opted to choke the life out of the game with insanely long possessions. It was the most boring lacrosse game ever, and drew widespread criticism. Maryland literally held the ball behind the goal for minutes at a time making no attempt to score.

Maryland kept the same style of game up throughout the playoffs so everyone got to see it on national television and it was a disgrace. After that year, the governing body started passing rules to try to make sure that crap was taken out of the game.

So what does Tillman do? Tries to scheme around the rules every way possible. He takes the longest time of any team per possession... and tries to avoid stall warnings by calling timeouts right before it's applied... and has his team take what's called "possession shots" to pretend they're trying to run offense (i.e. just fire the ball past the goal with backup)... and just does a bunch of other ridiculous gamesmanship that no one enjoys or respects. It's going to lead to a permanent possession clock most likely or some other device that can't be gamed against.

He's basically like a Lane Kiffin switching jerseys on people and doing other lame shit to achieve a competitive advantage. He's legitimately a good guy by all reports... just an absolute cancer on the sport. And I cannot stand him.
 

IrishLax

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This play made Sports Center Top 10 at #6:
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/OjV6LBjQCNQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

This combo of plays was #1 on Sports Center:
<object width="560" height="315"><param name="movie" value="//www.youtube.com/v/yfsrvq_kMr8?version=3&hl=en_US&start=92"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="//www.youtube.com/v/yfsrvq_kMr8?version=3&hl=en_US&start=92" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="560" height="315" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object>

Full highlights:
<object width="560" height="315"><param name="movie" value="//www.youtube.com/v/d9YUUZv-_tI?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="//www.youtube.com/v/d9YUUZv-_tI?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="560" height="315" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object>
 
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IrishLax

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ACC championship is at 1 PM today on ESPNU. Looking at the game, without much prep time it comes down to simply hustle/talent/execution. Syracuse should probably be a slight favorite and I'd be surprised if we can hold them under 10 goals, but if we win faceoffs we should have a lot of scoring opportunities.

Looking at the NCAA tournament, the only way we don't get in now is chaos. We're probably 2 spots clear of the chopping block.

So if Penn or Cornell doesn't win the Ivy, one of those spots might be gone. Then it comes down to avoiding upsets in other major conference tournaments... losses by Denver or Loyola would probably put some spots up in the air on the back end. #1 Loyola plays #18 Lehigh today at 1 PM in their conference final for the automatic qualifier, and Denver will be a heavy favorite to win the Big East. If both those teams hold serve, there is no way Notre Dame doesn't make the tournament even with an Ivy upset plus hypothetical losses to Syracuse and Army. So we're big fans of the Greyhounds and Pioneers.

Hofstra played themselves out of an at large birth most likely with that loss to Penn State. They only have 1 quality win (Cornell) and now 4 losses. I think they need to win the CAA now to get in.
 

irishrb

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Super pumped for the game today. I was UTTERLY frustrated in the Maryland game because I totally expected ND to win that game. When they fell behind early I turned negative and got frustrated...teaches me...
Today, I really have no feel for a W or a L. I do want to see O'Connor do a better job. I want to see the D continue to slide/swarm well. I want to see Kelly play 2 consistent games in a row. I want to see ND do a better job clearing and getting some loose balls. Finally, I want to see their offense take advantage of the opportunities that are given to them. That's not asking for much.....
Hopefully we don't have to root for anyone but the Irish...Win today, beat Army, and hope for a seed!
 

IrishLax

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Decent first quarter. Good offense, horrible faceoff play, OK defense.

Our atrocious faceoff play in the second half of the season is really hurting us. You can't get dominated this way and expect to compete with teams that have great offenses.
 

irishrb

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Constantly losing faceoffs is soooooo frustrating. Count me in as someone who wants a shot clock to help neutralize the effect of not being able to get a faceoff...In addition to neutralizing the Maryland effect.
 

IrishLax

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This is going to go from bad to worse in a hurry if we can't win a faceoff. We're getting middies stuck playing defense on attack men.
 

IrishLax

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Syracuse has a really, really great offense. So much talent on attack and both midfield lines. To beat them, you have to keep the ball away from them and expose their weaknesses on defense.
 

IrishLax

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It'd be great if Scioscia could dodge. Great interior finisher, but teams have started guarding him with a short stick because he is no threat with the ball in his stick.
 

IrishLax

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If we keep winning faceoffs we're going to have a very good chance to win this game. Just a lot of high level lacrosse being played right now.
 

irishrb

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This ACC tourney has been phenomenal. These teams are truly playing some good lacrosse. Boy it would be nice to see ND finish the weekend off! Either way, great LAX action!
 

NDdomer2

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so i enjoy watching but admit i don't know much about rules etc.

seems like the goalie is almost a moot player. what is a good save %?

appears no where near what a hockey goalie would be.
 
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