Notre Dame Lacrosse Open thread

[IrishLax]

Even if Pat Kavanagh ends up not being quite as good as his brother, it was quite clear today that he's a do-it-all player who is going to play at good-to-elite level for the next four years. This is the most balanced offense ND has had since probably that 2015 team. That 1st line of midfielders is going to be deadly, and the second line is good enough to start at many D1 schools.

On defense, it's self-explanatory that a goalie saving 80% of the shots he faces is going to allow you to go on runs and dominate teams. Even if Entenmann only saves in the neighborhood of 55% on the season that's going to make a world of difference for Notre Dame.

 

[irishrb]

Nice opener. They have so many options on offense this year. LOVED seeing 2 freshman studs have the opportunity to show what they can do immediately too!
I didn't realize this: Former Harvard head coach Chris Wojcik also joins the staff, taking over the offense.....
Anyone know anything about him? Will Corrigan let him actually take the offense over? If so, is Corrigan doing what it takes to win a championship before he leaves?

 

[FDNYIrish1]

Never understood why ND didn’t recruit Chaminade heavier under GB. Hopefully that changes. Psyched to see the results from yesterday and excited about this season.

 

[FDNYIrish1]

Denver today. Where is everyone? Where my fellow lax addicts been?

 

[irishrb]

Denver today. Where is everyone? Where my fellow lax addicts been?

Agreed....where is everyone....Went to the Maryland game...Really not a good showing...
Face off was absolutely horrid...hate how one player can impact the game that much. I really think they need to bring the wings in closer to increase the chance of turning faceoffs into 50/50 scrums!

The Irish are better than Denver, but they better come to play, as I really think they need this game with the upcoming schedule...

Things I want to see...
1. Better faceoff results than last week.
2. A little more aggressive offense around the crease.
3. Better energy/fight for ground balls. UMD wanted the game more last week and routinely won the small battles.

 

[irishrb]

Don't know what's happened to Leanord, but wow, is he a disappointment right now. Combine that with a slow D that has to slide way too early and this could be a tough year.

 

[irishrb]

How in the world do you not try a change of pace at faceoff. You literally can't do worse in the last 2 games....Instead, you change the goalie...okay...ya makes sense. This looks like a team that might end their tourney run....

 

[IrishLax]

The team is only as good as their faceoff play right now. Don't know if it's an injury or what, but the primary reason why ND was largely non-competitive the past two weeks has been faceoff play and getting killed in the possession game. Quite disappointing.

 

[irishrb]

The team is only as good as their faceoff play right now. Don't know if it's an injury or what, but the primary reason why ND was largely non-competitive the past two weeks has been faceoff play and getting killed in the possession game. Quite disappointing.

Agreed..
I will say, I literally hate the faceoff position. No one person should be able to control the game like that in any team sport. If you have to keep the face, which lacrosse obviously will, you have to move the wings in. Make it more of a scrum/battle!

 

[IrishLax]

Agreed..
I will say, I literally hate the faceoff position. No one person should be able to control the game like that in any team sport. If you have to keep the face, which lacrosse obviously will, you have to move the wings in. Make it more of a scrum/battle!

There are some very creative solutions being floated around, but the simplest is to go to a circle (players can stand wherever they want around the circle versus two wings) and move it in about 50%. Will make it a more athletic contested GB situation most of the time.

 

[irishrb]

There are some very creative solutions being floated around, but the simplest is to go to a circle (players can stand wherever they want around the circle versus two wings) and move it in about 50%. Will make it a more athletic contested GB situation most of the time.

Love the idea, and makes so much more sense to me! Would make the game more interesting/entertaining too. To know the other team is just going to make it/take it, like it was today, just gets stupid....

 

[stpeteirish]

disappointing game. It wasn't just face offs, they were just way more physical than we were. Didn't see that coming; we are usually the more physical team.

 

[irishrb]

disappointing game. It wasn't just face offs, they were just way more physical than we were. Didn't see that coming; we are usually the more physical team.

I just don't think the D is as athletic as we are accustomed to seeing at ND. They were getting beat, routinely. Tough to be physical if you can't recover.
IMO, there are some things that must happen in order for this team to be a true threat...In order of importance:

1. Faceoffs...Goes without saying...HAS to improve...100% pathetic the last 2 games.
2. Goalie Play..Has to be consistent and elite. As I stated, the D just doesn't look up to typical ND style...
3. Offense, as always, needs to be more creative. Too much iso up top....most of their offense has consisted of trying to dodge up top to create a shot. Move the ball...move people..cut......there are way too many capable scorers on offense to limit yourself the way they have been...
4. D might have to pack it in this year and play more zone. I just don't see the athleticism to press out.
Just my opinion....

 

[Picasso]

I just don't think the D is as athletic as we are accustomed to seeing at ND. They were getting beat, routinely. Tough to be physical if you can't recover.
IMO, there are some things that must happen in order for this team to be a true threat...In order of importance:

1. Faceoffs...Goes without saying...HAS to improve...100% pathetic the last 2 games.
2. Goalie Play..Has to be consistent and elite. As I stated, the D just doesn't look up to typical ND style...
3. Offense, as always, needs to be more creative. Too much iso up top....most of their offense has consisted of trying to dodge up top to create a shot. Move the ball...move people..cut......there are way too many capable scorers on offense to limit yourself the way they have been...
4. D might have to pack it in this year and play more zone. I just don't see the athleticism to press out.
Just my opinion....

1. Faceoffs: Must have a viable plan B and C at this position. Rock, paper, etc. There's only a couple of programs that can put all their chips on one player.
2. Goalie: Tough for a freshman to star but I would stick with him through thick and thin at this point. The other guy had two full years to get the job done. Enough said.
3. Offense: Agree wholeheartedly.
4. D: How do you explain the drop off? Over the past five years, you've had 3 D POY winners augmented by other strong players. In the last two (counting this year) seasons, the LSM position has dropped off dramatically and the third and fourth pole have been un-athletic with less than optional stick work.

 

[stpeteirish]

Believe it or not we had a game today at Ohio St. Game was on BTN I only caught the last 8 minutes and really really gave one up today. Really bad final 3 minutes.
With a one goal lead we gave it up with a series of errors. First Restic got picked off behind the net and his man hit a teamate in front of the goal who scored. To make matters worse Restic's stick hit the face of the man who picked him resulting in a 60 sec penalty with 1:48 to go and LeClair scored his 4th man up goal of the game with about a minute left. We appeared to have won the scrum after the faceoff only to have Westlin called for offside. We got a steal about 30 seconds later but couldn't stay inbounds. Got called for another penalty on the inbounds play and they scored again man up into an open net.

Man up goals by LeClair really killed us. Also were some horrible unforced turnovers in the part I watched.

Corrigan really needs to shake things up to salvage this season.

Anybody else watch this shitstorm?

 

[IrishLax]

Sloppiest ND team I’ve ever seen. They look completely disinterested out there relative to past ND teams.

 

[irishrb]

Couldn't get faceoffs when they really needed them...
Undisciplined penalties throughout the whole game...
Just plain bad defense against LeClair....
As LAX said, disinterested team....I said it as soon as they came out to play..they don't look like they want to be there...
After they dominated a decent Richmond team, I actually had high hopes for this team...Crazy how bad they look right now. Super annoying/frustrating.

 

[FDNYIrish1]

Shocker out of Baltimore, Dave Pietramala our at JHU. Hated him as a coach, absolutely loved him as a player. Where does he end up?

 

[Picasso]

COVID Developments

COVID Developments

Does anyone know if the two kids who ended up at Denver looked at Notre Dame? Would have been nice to have a true attack centered offensive QB. Losing Constabile at middie is huge but maybe it's addition by subtraction with a more balanced offense: also maybe we'll have the ball more on offense with the new depth at Fogo. Team defense should be stronger with Kielty returning, the new close D transfer and true competition at the keeper spot. SSDM and two way middie slots solidified last year but I still don't believe our LSMs are true CTO generators and stoppers like Sexton. Team D must be cleaned up and 4 quarter ground ball energy needs to be a point of focus. Look for next year's team to make the Elite 8. If this rising sophomore goalie blossoms, the team goes greater than 60% at the X and regains their defensive and ground ball intensity, this team could "sneak" into the Final Four.

 

[stpeteirish]

Irish season starts Sat with a home (indoor) game vs Robert Morris. Wonder what the Lacrosse fans here think about Corrigan's strategy of starting the season 2-3 weeks later than everyone else.

Non conference schedule is way lighter than usual with the likes of Robert Morris, Bellarmine and Cleveland St instead of the usual fare of Ohio St, Maryland and Denver.

But the ACC is absurdly strong on paper. Inside Lacrosse has us 9th nationally, which is 5th and last in the ACC.

Roster appears quite strong to my eye. Light on freshman but 8 Grad students including 5 transfers, most of whom were all conference at their previous schools.

 

[IrishLax]

Team looking really good right now against a decent Robert Morris team. Offense is full of competent dodgers and athletic threats, but the big reason they’re dominating is because their faceoff unit is INSANE right now and that plays right into the style that works for ND and Corrigan.

 

[stpeteirish]

face off guy is a transfer from Penn. Looks awesome.

 

[IrishLax]

face off guy is a transfer from Penn. Looks awesome.

Yeah, all of the transfers were impressive impact players today. The team has GREAT balance and athleticism. The way they won today is how they used to win when they were regularly making final fours and competing for championships -- dominate possession, get great goalie play, create transition opportunities. Every single person on offense is a threat to dodge and get their own goal, which means you can't cheat towards any matchups or tendencies. The one thing they lack is an "alpha" like Costabile, or like Duke has with Sowers this year... a guy that you can give the ball to in a low time or pressure situation and know that they can't be guarded 1v1. I'm not sure anyone has the horses to compete with Duke this year, but ND has a unique blend of strengths to be competitive with anyone.

 

[stpeteirish]

amusing side note..currently top 3 teams nationally are Duke Virginia and North Carolina. Syracuse was also rated ahead of us but they lost a game and are now slightly below us. We ccould go .500 and be a top 10 team.

I'm trying to remember what went wrong last year. If it was faceoffs and goalkeeping we appear to have fixed both.

 

[stpeteirish]

Yeah, all of the transfers were impressive impact players today. The team has GREAT balance and athleticism. The way they won today is how they used to win when they were regularly making final fours and competing for championships -- dominate possession, get great goalie play, create transition opportunities. Every single person on offense is a threat to dodge and get their own goal, which means you can't cheat towards any matchups or tendencies. The one thing they lack is an "alpha" like Costabile, or like Duke has with Sowers this year... a guy that you can give the ball to in a low time or pressure situation and know that they can't be guarded 1v1. I'm not sure anyone has the horses to compete with Duke this year, but ND has a unique blend of strengths to be competitive with anyone.

could Will Yorke, the transfer from Bucknell, be the alpha? Scored 59 goals in the last two years at Bucknell, including 9 in one game (Marist).
didn't even start today but looks like a guy who can be a major factor. Our other attackmen are pretty small and Yorke is 6-4 215 and can move.

 

[Picasso]

In lacrosse as in other team sports, sometimes less ballyhooed talent is more. So far this team has that feel. Love the depth and excellence at the X, the top 5 keeper and the unselfishness of the young/new attack. Don't like the fact that we're not playing anyone in the top 10 before the ACC season starts? I'm cautiously optimistic but we'll know a lot more 3 games into the juggernaut ACC schedule.

 

[stpeteirish]

Bellamine game was a bit of a downer. Never in doubt but never should have been, they lost to Robert Morris. Offense was very conservative. Held the ball deep into the shot clock, even had multiple shot clock violations. Why would you do that vs an obviously inferior team?

Bellamine only won 4 faceoffs, two in the last 2 minutes of the game. We should have totally crushed those guys.

 

[Picasso]

Bellamine game was a bit of a downer. Never in doubt but never should have been, they lost to Robert Morris. Offense was very conservative. Held the ball deep into the shot clock, even had multiple shot clock violations. Why would you do that vs an obviously inferior team?

Bellamine only won 4 faceoffs, two in the last 2 minutes of the game. We should have totally crushed those guys.

Fighting the last war is a familiar theme in South Bend. This is not the early days when you needed to slow down the game to maintain possessions and keep the score close. You finally have a top FOGO team, a top 5 tender and a crazy pandemic year where everything is a little crazy. Let the boys press out, run a super aggressive transition game and play a fast paced settled O. Let the chips fall where they may! IMHO, its the only way this staff wins the SHIP.

 

[IrishLax]

Fighting the last war is a familiar theme in South Bend. This is not the early days when you needed to slow down the game to maintain possessions and keep the score close. You finally have a top FOGO team, a top 5 tender and a crazy pandemic year where everything is a little crazy. Let the boys press out, run a super aggressive transition game and play a fast paced settled O. Let the chips fall where they may! IMHO, its the only way this staff wins the SHIP.

The biggest issue with that game was that Bellarmine zoned ND (almost a carbon copy of the star backer zone that RMU ran with some success against ND, but just more active and better executed) and ND had literally no answer. None. They stood around flat footed with very little deception or movement. They only had one goal that I would consider "good" zone offense.

Getting caught with your pants down once.... fine. But when the next opponent rungs the *exact same thing* you struggled with the week before and you have no answer? Pretty indefensible. Every team should have a zone buster set and/or a couple plays in their back pocket.

 

[FDNYIrish1]

The old Jack Kaley backer zone??