Notre Dame Lacrosse Open thread

[IrishLax]

The old Jack Kaley backer zone??

Hah! Not quite the same... but man, solid reference! I love that zone. And it still works! I use it as a wrinkle for the HS team I coach. Especially in short shot clock situations, so many middies get baited into dodging into the teeth of that defense.

 

[stpeteirish]

Irish blew away Cleveland St today 19-5. Team looked good in all areas except a 5 to 1 man up differential. CSU only scored on 1 of the 5 man ups.
A lot more early offense today than what I saw vs Marquette and Bellermine.

It gets serious now as the remaining 6 games are vs the other 4 ACC teams all of whom are rated in the national top 10.

I'm thinking 3-3 in the ACC gets us a bid but its hard to tell. And there's also the ACC tourney which give you 2-3 games to change the narrative.

I think I heard the announcers today say we are #1 nationally in both GK save % and FO win %. So GK and FO are two problems we've had recently that aren't problems now.

 

[IrishLax]

EDIT: St. Pete beat me to it

 

[irishrb]

This team is built for a championship run...Problem is so is the rest of the ACC. It will be interesting to see how things shake out! I will say, you gotta love seeing them dominate at face! I do think they will need to rely on Gallagher more, especially in the postseason, to keep that up.

 

[Picasso]

Tough one today vs UVA: almost pulled it out. The marshmallow pre-Conference schedule didn’t do the Irish any favors. A couple of observations: almost all of the defensive middies including the LSMs were overmatched athletically all over the field. Why wasn’t Dox Aiken poled when he got hot? D played well in spots but missed a ton of second slides. Why are we playing D below GLE when an attackman is deep at X and the Cavaliers are dodging from up top? Hard to make slides when you’re not in the inner circle. Hard to fault the keeper today. Too many quality shots for the Wahoos. The refs (one in particular) were especially weak. Every wrap check in the first half was flagged for holding. Is taking wrap checks out of the game a point of emphasis this year? Offense was inconsistent all day. Too much slow down on O. Kavanagh is a great feeder now but needs to be more assertive establishing himself as a dodger and shooter. York is a very good shooter. The Irish need to run more seal plays (see the past 8 years of Denver game film) to get him great looks. That being said, he should have hitched on his last look and increased his angle. Some great dodges from the middies up top but some of the boys need work on stepping away from pressure and moving the ball more quickly when they draw the slide. Overall, this team has all of the pieces to make the Elite Eight and possibly the Final Four. The youth needs to develop rapidly and the coaching staff need to adjust their schemes to their personnel more.

 

[irishrb]

Tough one today vs UVA: almost pulled it out. The marshmallow pre-Conference schedule didn’t do the Irish any favors. A couple of observations: almost all of the defensive middies including the LSMs were overmatched athletically all over the field. Why wasn’t Dox Aiken poled when he got hot? D played well in spots but missed a ton of second slides. Why are we playing D below GLE when an attackman is deep at X and the Cavaliers are dodging from up top? Hard to make slides when you’re not in the inner circle. Hard to fault the keeper today. Too many quality shots for the Wahoos. The refs (one in particular) were especially weak. Every wrap check in the first half was flagged for holding. Is taking wrap checks out of the game a point of emphasis this year? Offense was inconsistent all day. Too much slow down on O. Kavanagh is a great feeder now but needs to be more assertive establishing himself as a dodger and shooter. York is a very good shooter. The Irish need to run more seal plays (see the past 8 years of Denver game film) to get him great looks. That being said, he should have hitched on his last look and increased his angle. Some great dodges from the middies up top but some of the boys need work on stepping away from pressure and moving the ball more quickly when they draw the slide. Overall, this team has all of the pieces to make the Elite Eight and possibly the Final Four. The youth needs to develop rapidly and the coaching staff need to adjust their schemes to their personnel more.

Great write up! I think there are too many simple things that should be taken care of, and year in and year out, it goes back to one guy. I know it will never happen, and the man has built this program from ground up, but I'm ready for someone to come in and do what it takes to get this program a championship!

 

[stpeteirish]

Tough one today vs UVA: almost pulled it out. The marshmallow pre-Conference schedule didn’t do the Irish any favors. A couple of observations: almost all of the defensive middies including the LSMs were overmatched athletically all over the field. Why wasn’t Dox Aiken poled when he got hot? D played well in spots but missed a ton of second slides. Why are we playing D below GLE when an attackman is deep at X and the Cavaliers are dodging from up top? Hard to make slides when you’re not in the inner circle. Hard to fault the keeper today. Too many quality shots for the Wahoos. The refs (one in particular) were especially weak. Every wrap check in the first half was flagged for holding. Is taking wrap checks out of the game a point of emphasis this year? Offense was inconsistent all day. Too much slow down on O. Kavanagh is a great feeder now but needs to be more assertive establishing himself as a dodger and shooter. York is a very good shooter. The Irish need to run more seal plays (see the past 8 years of Denver game film) to get him great looks. That being said, he should have hitched on his last look and increased his angle. Some great dodges from the middies up top but some of the boys need work on stepping away from pressure and moving the ball more quickly when they draw the slide. Overall, this team has all of the pieces to make the Elite Eight and possibly the Final Four. The youth needs to develop rapidly and the coaching staff need to adjust their schemes to their personnel more.

so the Cliff Notes version: we have enough talent to win it all but won't because the coaching isn't top shelf.

 

[IrishLax]

Big win today @ #4 Syracuse. After a slow start with shots not falling, ND absolutely dominated possession and blew out Syracuse. 18-11 final and it would've been more if ND didn't take their foot off the gas for the last 5 minutes of the game. Kavanagh tied a program record with 9 points, including 1 spectacular goal.

 

[irishrb]

Great win today! Having a dominant face-off guy is just broken. Kavanagh's field vision is fun to watch and they were able finish shots pretty well today! The ACC is literally insane.

 

[stpeteirish]

Duke is next. They are #1 but are winning close games, including a one goal win over Syr.

 

[irishrb]

Duke is next. They are #1 but are winning close games, including a one goal win over Syr.

Duke is pretty much a dream team right now..Finishing the season twice against Duke, a loaded UNC team, and a rematch with Syracuse is going to be incredibly difficult.

 

[stpeteirish]

Irish took down previously undefeated Duke today. Duke was 10-0 and pretty much everyone's #1 going in.Puts ND squarely in the hunt for the National title.

ND does have a history of beating Duke in the regular season and losing to them in the NCAA's. I think they said we were 6-4 in the regular season and 0-5 in the NCAA's vs them.

 

[IrishLax]

Big win. Complete team. Going to be a dog fight to win a title, but ND definitely belongs in the top tier.

 

[irishrb]

Great, complete game by ND...minus Gallagher...blah to his performance....But it was also so typical Duke...not quite as sharp, or focused during a few regular season games. Really should be an insane tourney, as the top teams that stole the Ivy League's best, are just stacked.

 

[IrishLax]

Very disappointing loss last night after dominating Duke for 3.5 quarters. Could not clear the ball or pick up a GB for the final five minutes of the game. Usually that's what ND does to other teams when they're in desperation comeback mode. The remaining games against UNC and Syracuse are now vitally important for seeding.

And disallowing the Kavanagh game winner because his shoe fell off was... interesting.

 

[clashmore_mike]

Very disappointing loss last night after dominating Duke for 3.5 quarters. Could not clear the ball or pick up a GB for the final five minutes of the game. Usually that's what ND does to other teams when they're in desperation comeback mode. The remaining games against UNC and Syracuse are now vitally important for seeding.

And disallowing the Kavanagh game winner because his shoe fell off was... interesting.

I watched the first 3 quarters last night and was shocked to wake up this morning to see they lost. That was a dominating performance from what I saw, I think at one point they were up 20 something to 3 on shots?

 

[Picasso]

I watched the first 3 quarters last night and was shocked to wake up this morning to see they lost. That was a dominating performance from what I saw, I think at one point they were up 20 something to 3 on shots?

A couple of observations: 1) Staff should have called a "let's calm down and focus" TO 2 or 3 goals into the Duke run (they had 2 left at that point). Secondly, the D was gassed at the end of the game. Using TOs and longer offensive possessions is the smart coaching move there. 2) Body language matters. One staff exudes "I think I can" and the the other HC exudes "Oh crap, here it goes again". A team picks up on the vibe in both cases. Coaching staffs should critique themselves (using the film) as well as players.

Post-mortem: Catching and throwing (not panic passes) on clears after great defensive stands and getting the full 80 seconds on offense is critical to closing a game out. SSDMs need to pick players up further out. Watch the film and see how deep the shorties engage with mitts at times in the fourth quarter. Too shallow for team D to be effective. Letting Sowers use a pick to get his hands free to shoot is not good team D. Keeper played lights out all night. Loved Arden's game, #10 played a great game but fatigue hurt him in the last quarter. Not enough quality depth at the shorties and LSM. #43 struggled (too many TOs and missed lay up shots) all night on offense.

 

[IrishLax]

A couple of observations: 1) Staff should have called a "let's calm down and focus" TO 2 or 3 goals into the Duke run (they had 2 left at that point). Secondly, the D was gassed at the end of the game. Using TOs and longer offensive possessions is the smart coaching move there. 2) Body language matters. One staff exudes "I think I can" and the the other HC exudes "Oh crap, here it goes again". A team picks up on the vibe in both cases. Coaching staffs should critique themselves (using the film) as well as players.

Post-mortem: Catching and throwing (not panic passes) on clears after great defensive stands and getting the full 80 seconds on offense is critical to closing a game out. SSDMs need to pick players up further out. Watch the film and see how deep the shorties engage with mitts at times in the fourth quarter. Too shallow for team D to be effective. Letting Sowers use a pick to get his hands free to shoot is not good team D. Keeper played lights out all night. Loved Arden's game, #10 played a great game but fatigue hurt him in the last quarter. Not enough quality depth at the shorties and LSM. #43 struggled (too many TOs and missed lay up shots) all night on offense.

100% spot on. I have no clue why... especially after the margin was cut to 2... they didn't take a timeout with how clearly gassed the defense is. Part of the reason they were so much less aggressive on approaches and contesting Duke on the perimeter towards the end was tired legs. It's a vicious cycle of losing GBs/failing to clear so you play more defense then lose more GBs then play more defense so you lose more GBs.......

The play that really made me want to pull my hair out though was when ND cleared it with Cassidy and had a shot at an open cage that would've been backed up... but went offsides because they put in a clearing middie and no one was paying attention to their onside responsibility. Just casually waltzed across the midfield line behind the play for no reason. At that point, it was very clear that not only was the team physically gassed but they were mentally gassed. You have to take a timeout there and settle everyone down.

 

[irishandy]

And disallowing the Kavanagh game winner because his shoe fell off was... interesting.

I agree, I just saw the highlights and I thought they would've called ND for an illegal pick. If a running back loses his shoe on a long run at the 15, but scores a touchdown they don't call the play dead do they?

 

[stpeteirish]

Loss is on me, 100%. I refused to watch, sure we were going to lose and turned it on with 9 minutes to go, when it was obvious we would win. Literally did nothing good from that point on.

Penalty on us in the OT was like a mercy killing. We were already on life support after playing nothing but defense the last few minutes and then some more in OT. Playing extremely hard too. Those last few faceoffs were like all out wars. Nothing went our way.

Quick turnaround for NC game is not our friend. And I think I saw Jose Boyer limp off in the OT with what looked like a hammy pull. Stellar broadcast crew made no mention of it.

 

[IrishLax]

I agree, I just saw the highlights and I thought they would've called ND for an illegal pick. If a running back loses his shoe on a long run at the 15, but scores a touchdown they don't call the play dead do they?

Apparently, by letter of the law that was the correct call. But talking with the guys I coach with today literally none of us can ever remember a time when a goal was called back because a guy's shoe fell off. And I also learned today that apparently different stoppage rules apply depending on whether it's the ball carrier or another player that has an equipment issue. Truly crazy stuff.

 

[irishrb]

Call me crazy, but I am actually okay with that loss. Pretty good chance that ND will have to go through Duke at some point come tourney time. I'm tired of the same old story of beating Duke in the regular season and then crapping their pants to them when it matters. They totally just soiled themselves in that game. Now go change your diapers, put your big boy pants on and knock the livin' snot out of this team when you really need to!

 

[Picasso]

Call me crazy, but I am actually okay with that loss. Pretty good chance that ND will have to go through Duke at some point come tourney time. I'm tired of the same old story of beating Duke in the regular season and then crapping their pants to them when it matters. They totally just soiled themselves in that game. Now go change your diapers, put your big boy pants on and knock the livin' snot out of this team when you really need to!

Ok, as of today you're crazy. The way the Irish lost to Duke will do one of two things: 1) make a team more resilient in the face of adversity or 2) raise serious self doubt. Based on today's second half implosion, I would posit, its 2) as of now. Evidence: How do you shoot a low percentage shot from pretty far out on a hot goalie with no back up when you're man down and mounting a comeback (it resulted in a goal the other way)? Why can't we make (multiple occurances) simple clearing passes/decisions after a long defensive stand. The same weaknesses I've been pointing out all year are still there: less than stellar rope unit play. Aside from #24, the SSDMs are struggling (did you see our shorty effectively seal #10 (he should have doubled hard) from defending Gray when he scored from behind?) and the LSMs are sub par (see back door cut) at best. When your rope unit starts faltering a normally stalwart close D unit starts cheating too far making them ineffective at their primary duty. Thank God the team has the Rock of Gibraltar in the cage. This team is still a work in progress on offense but needs to play with higher lacrosse IQ. To quote BB's pre-game speech to the Midshipmen this past weekend, "its not about emotion, its about execution. Do your job!"

 

[irishrb]

Ya, I was not impressed with them at all today. I caught myself saying I miss players like Sexton multiple times today. And ya, that boneheaded shot by Will Yorke was so frustrating!
Now they really need to regroup and beat Cuse at home. It's a mature group so who knows, maybe they get their ducks in a row.

 

[Picasso]

Ya, I was not impressed with them at all today. I caught myself saying I miss players like Sexton multiple times today. And ya, that boneheaded shot by Will Yorke was so frustrating!
Now they really need to regroup and beat Cuse at home. It's a mature group so who knows, maybe they get their ducks in a row.

Totally doable, but the Cuse played well against the Wahoos. Let's see if the staff can coach them up? Lots of film to review this week. This team could still make the championship but the senior (including transfers) leadership needs to step it up now. We need better games from WY and the Penn pole in particular and marked improvement in ground balls and the clearing game. Good decisions and composure under pressure equals winning lacrosse!

 

[clashmore_mike]

The Irish are putting it on Syracuse currently on ESPNU. 17-6 with about 5 min left in the 3rd.

edit: make that 18-6.

 

[clashmore_mike]

What's going on at Syracuse? I have seen bits and pieces on twitter but haven't really dug into any specifics.

 

[IrishLax]

What's going on at Syracuse? I have seen bits and pieces on twitter but haven't really dug into any specifics.

One of their top players — who wears the famed #22 — allegedly assault a girl and then their coach reinstated him and the team said “if he’s here, then we’re not” and threatened to not show up to practice if he was there. So there’s basically a full on mutiny happening in upstate New York.

 

[Irishize]

One of their top players — who wears the famed #22 — allegedly assault a girl and then their coach reinstated him and the team said “if he’s here, then we’re not” and threatened to not show up to practice if he was there. So there’s basically a full on mutiny happening in upstate New York.

Thanks! I was going to ask the same thing as Mike. Not often you see breaking news in NCAA LAX. Go Irish!

 

[stpeteirish]

Now on to the NCAA's. With the win we'll grab a top 8 seed and host on May 15/16. They've already named us a host for one of the regionals May 22/23. So we could qualify for the final four without leaving South Bend.

Pretty good chance we'll run into one or more of the 3 teams who beat us; Virgina, Duke and N Carolina. Lost those 3 by a total four points so I like our chances.