2014 NCAA Lacrosse Open Thread

[IrishLax]

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.

40% save percentage is horrific.
45% is very bad and hurting your team (Shane Doss, who was replaced by Conor Kelly who you see in the game today, was saving 48% on the season and was 54th out of 60 goalies in the country).
50% is passable but below average. Not good, but not really bad either. Most goalies save between 50% and 55%).
55% is good but not great.
60% is very good, pushing All-American level.
65% is elite. All-American difference maker.
70% is brick wall. The previous Notre Dame goalies (Joey Kemp, Scott Rodgers, John Kemp) all had seasons saving in the 60% to 65%+ range.

So the single biggest difference for ND this season and why the defense has taken a bit of a step back is that if an opponent takes 24 shots on goal... 66% save percentage means you let in 8, 48% means you let in 12+. That 4 goal margin is absolutely huge and the difference between a NCAA leading defense and one that is below average.

We had all taken for granted how nice it was to have near a decade of 1st team AA level goalie play.

 

[Kaneyoufeelit]

That's a thing of beauty

 

[NDdomer2]

thanks lax. just seems like a majority of true shots on goal go in and you just hope your goalie can make a couple big stops.

Irish came out on fire second half!

 

[gkIrish]

That was beautiful.

 

[IrishLax]

We've now missed 3 wide open 1 on none goals. I don't know how you blow that if you're Doyle. Unreal. Let Syracuse back in this game and they have the confidence.

 

[IrishLax]

Winning no faceoffs or ground balls right now.

 

[IrishLax]

Jesus... we're totally going to blow this... 100% on Doyle not finishing that wide open goal. Syracuse has all the confidence and momentum now.

 

[IrishLax]

Cannot win a faceoff........

 

[IrishLax]

Must have this faceoff.

 

[gkIrish]

Must have this faceoff.

Most surprising faceoff win of all time

 

[NDdomer2]

what a save

 

[Kaneyoufeelit]

........damn

 

[IrishLax]

This is unreal. So many slam dunk goals we've blown. Wow.

 

[IrishLax]

WHAT A SAVE!!!!!!!!!

 

[Kaneyoufeelit]

Meet your masters, ACC!!

 

[gkIrish]

ACC CHAMPS!

 

[NDdomer2]

two huge Kelly saves at the end

 

[IrishLax]

ACC CHAMPS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Sherm Sticky]

Woooooohoooooooo

 

[irishrb]

WOW!!!!! ACC CHAMPS!!!!!!! Awesome lacrosse weekend! GO IRISH!!

 

[Old Man Mike]

Whenever I watch ND sports I seem to be a bad-luck pariah ... but today, the only time I had to tune in was when we blasted them on a dominating run to take an 11-8 lead ...


maybe for once I didn't serve as a lead weight....


seriously though, for those minutes Notre Dame looked like an unbeatable powerhouse.

 

[Monk McGinn]

Wow! NEVER seen this one after a pretty subpar year.
And beating Syracuse to boot. LOL F'n awesome....
Great job boys,you really showed some heart. Congrats!!!!
ACC Champs!!!!

 

[IrishLax]

Time for some highlights...

Game clinching save:
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Full ND-centric highlights:
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Impartial highlights:
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I'm going to try to dig up some film later of the two insane saves Syracuse made to keep the Irish from icing the game in the 4th.

 

[OrlaNDomer]

Missed the game today, but what a result! Hopefully they carry the momentum into the NCAA tourney.

 

[IrishLax]

ND up to #5 in both the coaches and media polls today. So after all the ups and downs and heartburn of the season... we're effectively right back to where we were at the start of the year lol

Going to be really interesting to see how the seeding plays out if we handle Army. Right now I'd imagine the highest seed we're looking at would be #3 with the lowest being #7 if we beat Army... depends a lot on what happens to other teams.

 

[irishrb]

Definitely not too shabby. I would expect a 4-6 seed if they beat Army.
I really wish their regular season was done right now...Go into the tourney on a sky high note and be ready to roll. Army is going to come out blazing trying to take them down....

 

[IrishLax]

Penn just defeated Cornell 11-10 in the Ivy semis. Harvard vs. Yale coming up at 8.

Watching the Penn/Cornell game I was reminded just how big the athleticism gap is between the Ivies and the ACC. Coaches around the country will be praying to play an overrated Ivy paper tiger in the NCAAs.

 

[irishrb]

I just caught the end of that game and told my boys that I hope ND plays Cornell in the first round. Like you said, there is definitely a difference. Either way, that was a good ending. We're totally pumped to see the Irish play tomorrow. Hopefully they continue their momentum and head into the tournament sky high!

 

[IrishLax]

I just caught the end of that game and told my boys that I hope ND plays Cornell in the first round. Like you said, there is definitely a difference. Either way, that was a good ending. We're totally pumped to see the Irish play tomorrow. Hopefully they continue their momentum and head into the tournament sky high!

They've got some elite individual players and offensive talent... but their midfield and defensive athletes are just a full tier below what you see on most elite teams. They're just a step slow and soft which leads to out of control checks which lead to penalties. And I wasn't impressed with the groundball or clearing/transition games of either team.

Best case scenario has to be Harvard or Yale winning the Ivy League tournament and then we get potentially 3 Ivy League teams in the field. The name of the game is going to be avoiding as many ACC teams as possible... Duke is a death sentence, all others are tough outs.

 

[irishrb]

Ya, that's my concern for the tourney....The ACC...It's hard to beat a team 2 times in a row....and ND has beaten Syracuse, Maryland, Virginia, and UNC that last time they played them...Duke obviously they lost...but like you said, that is a death sentence.
I can truthfully say I am at peace with ND's season...as long as they beat Army. Winning the ACC is a major accomplishment that I really didn't think they would be able to do this year. Obviously the farther they go, the more I will want, but it's already been a successful season for the Irish in my eyes....I don't know if that's weak or not but that's where I am at right now...