2015 NCAA Lacrosse Open Thread

[IrishLax]

ND has 3 total clear attempts in the half, meaning a bad Towson team is operating at 67% on offense which is insane and cannot be sustained. Shane Doss has let in 5 softies which is just inexcusable.

 

[IrishLax]

How man stick side high shots is Doss going to let in before they go to Kelly?

 

[NDgradstudent]

How man stick side high shots is Doss going to let in before they go to Kelly?

Yeah, it does seem like Doss' performance has gotten worse recently. Not sure why that is.

 

[IrishLax]

Well, it wasn't pretty, but Notre Dame advances to play Albany. Albany is stylistically a better matchup for ND than Towson. In terms of talent, Albany is 100x worse of a matchup.

The game is likely to go one of two ways... either stuff is going to go right and ND is going to get saves, transition offense, and possession to win a close one; or ND is going to not win enough faceoffs and Doss will turn in another performance where he can't catch up to high heat and get blown out.

I really think goaltending will be the difference in the game... Albany's got a decided edge there. Additionally, it's quite clear that Kavanagh has not been healthy for weeks. He does not have nearly the same explosion dodging as he has in the past.

 

[IrishLax]

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QvfRxVzA_M0?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Lacrosse goalie stops giving any craps, sprints and spins through entire defense, scores goal - SBNation.com

 

[Ultimate Penn St. Hater]

Close one today, but a win is a win. Go Irish!

 

[Kaneyoufeelit]

Oh hey Ohio State


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[IrishLax]

Oh hey Ohio State


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GWLL represent!

 

[irishrb]

A win is a win but that definitely didn't look like a championship team. If I would have just looked at the game stats and saw how ND dominated faceoffs and doubled them up on ground balls, I would have thought ND won this game by 10. Unfortunately, they really just didn't shoot well, especially in the beginning. Hopefully this motivates them to focus in on their shots and put a string of 3 games together!
And ya, screw duke....although I was hoping ND would face them again and kick them to the curb.

 

[Sherm Sticky]

How big of an upset is OSU beating Duke? Is that like the biggest upset in tournament history?


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[Kaneyoufeelit]

Hopkins is embarrassing UVA. 9-1 with 9:28 left in the second


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[SaltyND24]

Hopkins is straight smacking Virginia right now, 19-5...good lord

 

[IrishLax]

That Hopkins game was absurd. Most complete game I've seen them play in at least five years.

It's too bad Duke didn't win or the quarterfinals next week would be crazy good. OSU beat Denver before so they could definitely do it again, but I think they probably shot their load against Duke.

Albany vs. ND will be nuts... Lyle talking today about "revenge" should terrify all Irish fans. Syracuse vs. Hopkins in Annapolis should be equally or more crazy. And then the other game is Maryland vs. UNC in the lone game where both teams are seeded... the ultimate contrast of styles and coaching.

Both quarterfinal venues will be 100% sold out standing room only and should be great. Got to hope ND circles the wagons but I just feel Albany is a team of destiny.

 

[irishrb]

Hopefully the games live up to the hype because almost all of the games this weekend sucked. As for ND/Albany, I don't think ND played overly well on Saturday so I expect to see them click in Denver. I look for another classic game like last year with the Irish prevailing again at the end!

 

[FDNYIrish1]

Expecting some major fireworks this week against Albany. The key is depth. Albany has front line talent but not the depth to match the Irish. That being said, I definitely do not want to see a repeat of last year.

I really hate to see Hopkins peaking right now. I just don't like that program for some reason. But damn if they didn't look sharp yesterday. Though I do think UVA was overrated all year.
Denver once again lethal on offense. Dreadful performances by the Ivies in the tournament. Surprised by the Duke loss but not shocked, they were erratic this year. Usually slow starters and peak for tournament but didn't get that this year.
Should be a wild ride next weekend lads.

 

[irishrb]

Where's the LAX talk?
Irish 14 to 10 over Albany....earning themselves another trip to championship weekend! I thought ND played a great, balanced game. The D looked solid, holding albany to their second lowest goal total of the season. The offense continued to show their diversity as Sergio took the bull by the horns, and Doss looked a little better. I also thought Near was exceptional in the clear game and getting things moving on O a few times.

 

[NDgradstudent]

Would have preferred to play Ohio State again...but we basically matched Denver, on the road, given the unique air conditions, with some tough calls late, etc., and if we play our best we can definitely win. Doss played pretty well against Albany, as far as I could tell, and he needs to have a big game next week.

 

[IrishLax]

Would have preferred to play Ohio State again...but we basically matched Denver, on the road, given the unique air conditions, with some tough calls late, etc., and if we play our best we can definitely win. Doss played pretty well against Albany, as far as I could tell, and he needs to have a big game next week.

Agreed. Even with Kavanagh being limited the team is playing well as a TEAM and should have a good chance to get by Denver.

UNC and Cuse going down means Denver is the most talent team left ND might have to face.

 

[irishrb]

What is wrong with Kavanagh? He definitely doesn't look like himself to me either.

 

[FDNYIrish1]

Id like to see the Irish jump out to a lead againstDenver next week. That offense is real patient. As much as I hate to admit it, I really enjoy the way they play. They always seem to find the matchup and attack it when the time is right. Shutting down Cannizarro is going to be big, but ND plays such great team defense I think they'll be fine.
The other side of the bracket surprised me. I wasn't expecting the Hop to get through, but they got hot at the right time. Maryland smacking UNC wasn't such a shock. No one does les with more than Breschi.

 

[irishrb]

I was still surprised maryland beat unc. I was shocked the way they manhandled them. I wasn't overly surprised about hopkins, as they really have hit their stride at the right time. I want to see ND/hopkins in the title game, obviously with ND smacking them in the mouth.

 

[Sherm Sticky]

All you Lax heads...you pumped up for tomorrow?! Who has a preview?


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[OchoShayneO]

I think Defense prevails tomorrow and ND and UMD meet on memorial day. Coach Byrne comes out with a high pressure D frequently switching against Denver's two man game and the Irish push transition. ND won't have the same kind of offensive drought that OSU had. ND 13-11

In the second game, I think UMD is able to dictate with their style. Not betting against Tills in this one. First to 9 wins.

 

[IrishLax]

Good game so far. Probably going to be a nail biter.

 

[irishrb]

Wow, I thought ND looked like garbage in the first half. As expected, getting dominated at face, but they aren't getting any loose balls. They can't clear. They can't hold on to simple passes. The only good thing right now is that they are only down one. But their defense is going to be gassed. There's a lot of game left to be played but I'm not overly optimistic at this point.

 

[IrishLax]

Man, that was horrible. Don't really see ND pulling this one out. Inexcusable by Riccardi to not be dropping back to cover the break with that little time on the clock.

 

[irishrb]

Ya, this game just doesn't look like it's meant to be. Between the face, denver's long possessions, and ND's inability to convert, it's definitely a long shot.

 

[FDNYIrish1]

This inability to dodge without losing the ball and airmail passing is going to need to stop.

 

[IrishLax]

Sucks to see ND go down with a poor showing but Denver also just got an absurd amount of bounces. And their goalie has like a 75% save percentage.

 

[FDNYIrish1]

I haven't seen an individual effort like this since Rabil. That mans a friggin beast!