2015 NCAA Lacrosse Open Thread

[NDgradstudent]

Can't win a faceoff either.

 

[IrishLax]

5-1 Duke. All unassisted, players making plays. Notre Dame shows absolutely no desire to be there, Duke the opposite. Sloppy, tons of bad turnovers, no faceoff wins, bad clears, no offensive cohesion.

Duke's defense is basically is basically playing no-slide on Will Corrigan with focused defense on Ossello/Perkovic and locking off Wynne inside. So basically it's fast slides to everyone but Wynne is always locked and Corrigan's man is always the two slide... because he is no threat to shoot, the offense doesn't work. It's a great plan.

 

[IrishLax]

Only way to attack what Duke is doing is to invert your midfielders (but we really don't do that, nor do we have the guys to do that) or get Wynne off the field for a dodger and vacated the crease (we don't really do that either).

 

[IrishLax]

The effort difference between the two teams is just disgusting. Got to hope they get it back for the tournament.

 

[NDgradstudent]

Embarrassing. Truly surprised they didn't show up for this game.

 

[IrishLax]

Embarrassing. Truly surprised they didn't show up for this game.

I thought the game was a coin flip given what I know about Duke, but I never thought the offense would be this bad. Nor did I expect an whipping at the faceoff X. Defense is basically playing perpetual defense... they lasted alright in the first quarter but now they're tired which leads to breakdowns which leads to easy goals.

ND hasn't trailed for 60 minutes all year. Their largest deficit prior to this game I believe was 2 goals at any point.

They're currently down 8 in a game that looks like its being played vs Bama in the 2012 title game.

 

[NDgradstudent]

The faceoff situation is pretty hard for me to understand. Maybe they have just given up. If it is this easy to shut down our offense, why can't everyone do it?

 

[IrishLax]

Umm.....

 

[NDgradstudent]

Glad they showed up late...how much of this is fixable, Lax?

 

[IrishLax]

Glad they showed up late...how much of this is fixable, Lax?

100%. The problem is that teams are realizing that when you let ND run and play transition or get early offense it's a doomsday scenario. The team is too good with too many athletes, so Duke watched the film and said "let's not play aggressive defense like last game and instead let's pack it in and early slide to their playmakers." The issue for ND in 6-on-6 is that Mikey Wynne isn't a dodger and Will Corrigan is a facilitator who lacks a shot or athleticism. He is not a threat, he's a piece to help the other 5 work well and maintain spacing. So Syracuse and UNC figured this out in the second half of those games, and Duke figured it out from film watch of the previous game and came in prepared. How you account for this is simple, but it requires effort and energy and the correct game plan, which Notre Dame refused to use for 50 minutes. It's sad watching Kavanagh and Doyle beat their men regularly to have an immediate slide in their face, Perkovic taken by a long stick, and then basically Ossello is the only option who they can also hedge towards or use a second pole. Will Corrigan has to at least try to go to the goal like he did at the end of the game because they were NOT sliding to him.

Here is everything that went wrong in a nut shell:
-Bad faceoffs... relatively unfixable, but the wings can play better.
-Bad groundballs... completely fixable, product of effort.
-Bad goaltending... Duke just got very lucky with some shitty shots.
-Bad shooting... worst shooting of the year, won't happen again.
-Bad 6v6 offensive flow... completely fixable, but I'm not sure it will get fixed. Either the team needs to go fast with energy, or they need to go completely stall-ball. They cannot play the passive game they did today.
-Bad energy... will not happen again, I think the effort and body language was a product of game plan and such.

Notre Dame got to where it is by working harder and playing smarter than other teams, and tonight it was a "oh, well we know we're better than this team" approach which left the team looking almost mopey when the offense wasn't working as planned and then the defense just got worn out.

 

[FDNYIrish1]

Lax I didn't see the game. They were locking Wynne off in the crease? Where was the quick slide coming from, adjacent? Could they offset the lock off by just pulling Wynne out wide? im going to withhold comments on Corrigan, but I find it hard to believe there isn't a younger guy on that bench who can break guys down with the dodge and shoot.

 

[IrishLax]

Cascade/Maverik Media Poll: Syracuse Back on Top | Inside Lacrosse

Notre Dame down to #2 but still holds #1 RPI by a smidge over Syrcause (I believe after next week if both Cuse and ND win that Syracuse will jump ND). Nobody is close to the top 2 in RPI. So the Irish are likely locked in to the #2 overall seed as long as they beat Army this weekend. Who could they play?

Right now the #7 or #8 seed seems a toss-up between Albany and UVA. The #3/#4/#5 seeds should be UNC/Denver/Duke in some order. Maryland should be the #6 seed barring something wacky.

If Notre Dame ends up in the Albany pair, Albany's opposite will likely be Cornell or Colgate. If Notre Dame ends up in the UVA pair, UVA's opposite will likely be any number of teams... possibly Georgetown or an Ivy. Both would be solid draws as Albany's style plays into Notre Dame's hands, UVA is a known quantity, and none of the unseeded teams are big threats should they pull off an upset.

 

[IrishLax]

Lax I didn't see the game. They were locking Wynne off in the crease? Where was the quick slide coming from, adjacent? Could they offset the lock off by just pulling Wynne out wide? im going to withhold comments on Corrigan, but I find it hard to believe there isn't a younger guy on that bench who can break guys down with the dodge and shoot.

I'll have to actually re-watch it with a focus on their slide packages, but it really seemed like they were immediately sliding to Kavanagh or Doyle the minute they started dodging. They also didn't get fooled by Doyle being run out of the box, they picked him up every time and put a D on him.

It seemed that their 2 slide basically was already in place at all times, so when they went from the crease Wynne was never open for even a split second. They kept a pole on Perkovic and didn't slide to him, and they played no slide to Corrigan or Wynne (in the event Wynne carried the ball). Ossello I think they played straight up with Haus who was athletic enough to run with him with little help.

The problem was that when the ball moved to either Corrigan or Perkovic their defense was able to reset. Perkovic because he held the ball too long trying to make a play, and Corrigan because he's not really looking to be a threat. Towards the end of the game he finally started taking his guy to the rack and he got a goal and should've had another.

ND got good enough looks at the beginning of the game and during some possessions to have many more goals than 2 heading into the 4th. The problem was they either got robbed by Fowler or simply missed shots they usually make. It happens... but everything got exacerbated by horrendous faceoff play and an inability to clear the ball.

ND, IMO, needs to start working in some wrinkles where they run their EMO offense against teams that play this way. Pull Corrigan off the field for Lubowicki and possibly run Marlatt for Ossello (or Marlatt for Wynne). Lubowicki isn't a dominant dodger but he's more than enough of a threat to invert a LSM or SSDM and go to work... and it means either he or Perkovic is unlikely to have a pole on them at all. He can do everything Corrigan does in terms of passing/facilitating.

 

[irishrb]

Love the update. Thanks. I was pulling for Army hoping that would help ND's RPI the last week, but they just couldn't pull it off.

 

[IrishLax]

Love the update. Thanks. I was pulling for Army hoping that would help ND's RPI the last week, but they just couldn't pull it off.

If you want to be terrified for this week's game, read this: Swezey: Army 'Not Ready to Say Goodbye' to John Glesener | Inside Lacrosse

We're going to get Army's best shot now that they have nothing left to play for but pride.

Bracketology consensus of minds who would know currently slots Maryland at #8... meaning the #2 seed is infinitely more desirable than the #1. With the Big Ten tourney, it's possible Maryland could move around some... assuming everyone holds serve, 1 through 5 seem pretty set in stone.

There is no doubt that Maryland with a healthy Charlie Raffa is 100x worse of a matchup for ND than UVA or Cornell in the second round. The reason why Maryland is "bad" now and was "good" earlier is that their team only functions when Raffa is winning 65%+ of the faceoffs enabling them to play stall ball.

 

[irishrb]

I did read that article yesterday and totally thought the same thing. They really struggled to contain him last year. It is definitely going to be a tough game. BUT, if ND is going to be a true contender, they need to beat them. The playoffs need to start Saturday for them!

 

[IrishLax]

Here's a good bracketology: Bracketology, Third Edition: Bubble Becomes Clearer (MD1) - Lacrosse Magazine

I wouldn't trade the #2 seed for anything given this current seeding. The 4/5 pod looks like an utter bloodbath. The key is going to be avoiding Maryland if Raffa is healthy... do they get a 6, 7, or 8 seed? I think if they win Big Ten they get a 6, if they don't they end up somewhere in that 7/8 range. That's the one team outside the top 5 that is very scary for ND if they're 100%.

 

[irishrb]

Here's a good bracketology: Bracketology, Third Edition: Bubble Becomes Clearer (MD1) - Lacrosse Magazine

I wouldn't trade the #2 seed for anything given this current seeding. The 4/5 pod looks like an utter bloodbath. The key is going to be avoiding Maryland if Raffa is healthy... do they get a 6, 7, or 8 seed? I think if they win Big Ten they get a 6, if they don't they end up somewhere in that 7/8 range. That's the one team outside the top 5 that is very scary for ND if they're 100%.

Ya, but if Maryland ended up as a 7, I think that seeding would totally suck. Maryland, and then a possible rematch with UNC? Yuck.
I know Duke is coming on, and Denver is loaded, but ND just lost to Duke and obviously lost to Denver earlier. It just seems so often, like Duke/ND, that when a team beats you in the regular season, they end up losing to you in the rematch when it counts.

 

[irishrb]

So Maryland loses. There's a good chance that puts them around a 7 seed. Any chance if osu beats hopkins, and ND obviously beats army, that it would help their RPI enough to get the 1?

 

[IrishLax]

So Maryland loses. There's a good chance that puts them around a 7 seed. Any chance if osu beats hopkins, and ND obviously beats army, that it would help their RPI enough to get the 1?

With Hopkins beating Ohio State, Syracuse now owns the #1 RPI by the slightest of margins. They're a lock for the #1 overall seed, Notre Dame is a lock for the #2 seed.

The top 6 seeds seem virtually set in stone... they will be UNC, Denver, Duke, and Virginia likely in that order. This is a bit of a shame, because I think UVA is an easier out than either Albany or a healthy Maryland.

So right now I expect the #3 pod to be the easiest in terms of overall talent of teams, with the #4 pod being a bloodbath because I expect a peaking Hopkins to get sent to Duke + Denver. The #1 and #2 pods will likely both feature one walkover opponent, one decent team (an Ivy or Colgate), and one scary team ("healthy Maryland" or Albany).

 

[IrishLax]

There's some late buzz that the committee could end up hosing Notre Dame and move them to the #3 line in order to not send the Wednesday play-in game to South Bend because it'll cost the NCAA too much money. NCAA rules only allow for two flights for the first round, and moving ND to the #3 line would allow the committee to send the Buckeyes to South Bend and save a flight.

The maximum allowable busing distance is 400 miles. If this ends up happening it'll be utterly criminal. At the same time, if it means getting to play the winner of Virginia/Cornell or Virginia/Princeton instead of a healthy Maryland or hot snails-pace Colgate then it might actually be to our advantage.

 

[irishrb]

I just read that on insidelacrosse and thought how ridiculous that would be. I will say, I agree with what you said earlier, that unc's pod looks the easiest, so maybe it would help in the long run. We'll find out soon enough!

 

[irishrb]

1 seed! Surprised? I am surprised, but think it is deserved...ACC regular season champs, and won head to head over Syracuse. Combine that with how close the RPI was and there you have it......(Obviously they wanted ND out west though.)
Syracuse probably has an easier path but hopefully ND manages to get past, most likely Albany, and gets some revenge, on Duke or Denver!

 

[NDdomer2]

Why Does The Army Care So Much About Women's Lacrosse?

 

[IrishLax]

First round is underway. Albany v Cornell currently airing on ESPNU... winner gets ND.

 

[FDNYIrish1]

Albany is a lot of fun to watch. Love the wide open style. This Yale-Maryland game is boring as hell.

 

[IrishLax]

ND playing like how they did against Duke two weeks ago. Shooting terrible and letting in soft goals.

 

[NDgradstudent]

WTF. I guess we can only play a good game every other week. Hopefully they can turn it around...this can't get out of hand like the Duke game.

 

[IrishLax]

Shane Doss needs to make a freaking save. It's really that simple. Thank God we're winning faceoffs.

 

[FDNYIrish1]

Corrigan better be up in their guts at halftime. You cannot let this team hang around. Better end to the half though, Towson doesn't have the athletes to hang if the Irish play fast. This crap reminds me of that Detroit debacle. Let's go lads.