NCAA Lacrosse

Central New York Final

Cornell face Syracuse for the National title and bragging rights for the best in Central New York.
Cornell is just about an hours drive down Interstate 81.

Lax geek fact:
The last time Cornell was in the Championship game was in 1988. Which just happened to be against Syracuse. And in 1998 as well as 2009, Cornell defeated Virginia in the tournament to get to the title game. In 1998, Cornel beat UVA 19-6 before losing to Syracuse 8-13.

If Syracuse were to win, the running joke is that they would need the ring to be a toe ring, as they already have 10. If Cornell were to win, it would be the first time in 18 years someone other than UVA/Princeton/Syracuse/Hopkins has won.

These two teams have already faced each other this year. Syracuse won that contest 15-10.
In the previous meeting, Cornell scored early and inside, which happens to be one of my biggest disappointments about Syracuse all year. Cornell stayed with ‘Cuse for the first quarter and was tied 4-4. Then the Syracuse spurt occurred in the second and third quarters. Max Siebald was held to 1 goal and 1 assist, and Jake Myers had 10 saves and 15 goals against. If I were to just look at the last time they played each other, I would feel comfortable picking Cuse by 5 or 6.

However, I have seen Cornell live the past two weeks beat Princeton, and beat UVA. They look flawless. They are not making unforced errors. They are methodical in executing THEIR game plan. I believe in the UVA game, if it weren’t for Ghitelman making like a sieve and letting everything through, Cornell still would have won, but the score would have been at least a little closer.

Syracuse’s defense had been a worry for me, especially with having Sid Smith guard Ned Crotty. Smith performed exceedingly well, as did Galloway as SU clamped down on the defensive side of the field. But as is the MO with ‘Cuse, their aim is just to score as much as possible and hope it is enough.

This game is setting up to be a classic. Cornell is a good team and is playing hot right now. Syracuse is a great team that does make some mistakes. On one hand I would like to see Cornell break the strangle hold of 4. On the other hand, I have always been a Cuse fan as watching a Gait game got me into the sport (minus the Mikey years). I think Cornell has the talent and team play. They also have the momentum. Syracuse has the swagger. They have been here before…many many times.

In this game I am going to say that Cuse with their amazing amount of offensive weaponry proves to much to handle and wins by 2.

Perritt Shines in SU’s win over Duke…

Thoughts from Foxboro

Pat Perritt has been a work horse for the Syracuse Orange all year. His stats (13 Goals / 13 Assists / 14 Ground Balls) might not show a huge offensive threat, or an assist machine, but his play has been consistent and hard.

After coming into Syracuse as the number 4 recruit by Inside Lacrosse, Perritt had a lot to live up to. It was the supposed best recruiting class ever as the Orange had the #2, #3, #4 recruits.

His freshman year, he helped the Orange get to the Final Four where they were stopped by Virginia. His Sophomore year, saw the Orange finish the season with one of their worst records, not even making the NCAA tournament, and faced some personal issues off the field. He worked hard, got his act back together and was readmitted. His Junior season, last year, Perritt helped Syracuse to a redemption National Championship. This year, his senior year, it is time for him to shine.

Coming into this game, Pat Perritt had put up 21 points, 8 points, 13 points in his seasons, and had 26 points this season. All season it had been about the team and winning their second national championship. Today, he stepped up to the challenge. Perritt put up 4 goals and 1 assist. Most coming when Duke was still within reach of the Orange.
Syracuse started the game with John Galloway in goal. As much as I thought Al could have started after his performance against MD last week, John proved why he is the starter. Galloway ended up with 11 saves and 7 goals against.

Syracuse also put Sid Smith on Ned Crotty. A risky call as Sid does not have the footspeed as Crotty. After the first quarter, Crotty had 2 assists (on each of Duke’s goals), but Smith completely shut him out, as Crotty did nothing the rest of the game.

Coach Danowski’s team chokes again.

Once Syracuse started to pull away it was like the floodgates opened. I don’t care if your team is losing by 8 at the start of the 4th quarter. You need to keep your your team’s head and fight in the game. . Syracuse added onto their goal total, and Duke piled up penalties in the 4th as the game slipped through their fingers.
Duke’s biggest hole this game was their defense.

The goals were coming from all over as Syracuse had seven different players score. It was the most goals allowed by Duke since 2004.

Duke’s poles were too trigger happy as four different poles tried to take it coast-to-coast and score. None of them did. Joel White the LSM for Syracuse scored on Duke though.

Syracuse looks good. If they play like this on Monday, there will be yet another banner hoisted to the rafters.

Motley Crue knows men’s lacrosse

Final Four S.O.S.
“It’s the same ‘ol; the same ol’ situation
It’s the same ‘ol; the same ‘ol ball and chain”

With the exception of Cornell, Motley Crue knows men’s lacrosse.

Making the trek to the no man’s land that is Foxboro Massachusetts is Duke, Cornell, Virginia, and Syracuse.  It makes prognostication fairly easy when you see the same teams year in and year out.  This year at least there were a couple perennials to not make the trip.  Losing last week were Maryland, Princeton, UNC, Johns Hopkins.

To the losers, some final thoughts:

Maryland: Passing drills. NONE of the passes against ‘Cuse last week were crisp. The Cuse D is not known for knocking passes down (except White). Your lack of effort made Syracuse D look better than they are. Also, when distracted by a blown call, don’t hurt yourself jumping around like a House of Pain wannabe.

Hopkins: I told you so. A save percentage below 50% won’t win you any rings.

Princeton: Got beat at your own game. Your offense looked good all season until now. I got no hate…you did better than I thought you would in the preseason.

UNC: The new Hofstra; where hype and promise always have a way of falling short. For a number of years you’ve had talent and fallen short, and this one was probably the best chances at winning a National Championship (choke).  Lastly…Bitter’s inconsistency hurt. He had 4 games with 1 point, and 1 game with 2 assists, yet he put up 7 games with 5 or more points.  Side knowledge nugget…Duke was the only team to hold Bitter to 0 goals in a game…twice.

Now we have talked about last week’s losers, lets look at Saturday’s semis.

Can Syracuse sophomore long stick midfielder Joel White contain Duke's All-American middie Ned Crotty? - Photo by Chris Beavers

Syracuse vs Duke:

Syracuse – This team has me worried. Sure on paper, they look great. In person, while their offense is flying their defense is suspect. I’ve read IL’s analysis, and if you look at goals allowed, they look good. If you watch their games, you’ll see what I mean. Inside they are weak. The unofficial body count is much lower this year than last. Maybe it was that chip on their shoulder or the difference in personnel, but last year, they would lay some lumber and bodies on teams that tried to take the game inside. This left the outside shots for their goalie to save. In many of the games this year, early runs by opponents have been a layup from within 5 feet of the crease. Many times this was due late/slow slides, and just the lack of a beatdown. This will be key against the Dookies who’s offense has lit up opponents this year. I want to see Quinzani planted…please.

On offense, Syracuse needs to have their spurt of goals come before the 3rd quarter. All season they have struggled to find a rhythm early, but then explode around the 3rd quarter. Case in point was the Maryland game last week. In the first half, Cuse only scored 5. SU should have had more, as they did not capitalize on all of the MD errors. It wasn’t until 3:17 left in the 3rd quarter that Syracuse opened up the scoring 5 goals in less than 6 minutes.

Lastly, after last week’s performance by Al Cavalieri, how come there isn’t a goalie controversy? Sure Galloway won the job in preseason and has played respectively all season (7.58Goals Against/Save56.7%). As in hockey, you need to ride the hot player. If Al is hitting his stride during playoffs, and is a legit D1 starter, I would play him over Galloway. Unfortunately, I think Cuse will relinquish Al (5.47GA/68.6%) back to the bench.

Duke – Duke is an offensive force that lives and dies by Ned Crotty (23/53). Last week, Ned had 8 points as the Blue Devils beat UNC 12-11. In Duke’s two wins against UVA, Crotty put up 8 points in EACH game. His motion is smooth enough to be a scoring threat, and his vision and reflexes enable him to be an assist machine when defenses slide. However, in Duke’s 3 losses, Crotty has 5, 2,1 points. His main benefactor is Max Quinzani (43/10).

Max is more of a finisher, always has, always will be. Duke’s only question will be their goalie. Schroeder has a 7.67 GAA, and save51.7%. However against top 10 teams the numbers are worse (9.5GAA/48%). These aren’t poor numbers, but not great. His ability will be tested against a Syracuse team with multiple weapons.

I like the overall team play of Cuse. Their grittiness to fight back, and stay in the games always impresses me. They will need to come out early. I sound like a broken record, but against Duke, you can’t let them get up on you early. Duke’s offense scares me. If I wasn’t pulling for Greer to get the Tewaaraton trophy, I’d pick Crotty. The game will come down to if Ned can be shut-off and how the rest of Duke responds. After watching Joel White play LSM all year, I think he can force Crotty to be a non-factor in this game. Without Crotty, Duke will choke and lose by 4.

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UVA vs Cornell:

Will senior Max Seibald and the rest of the Big Red be able to pull the upset over top ranked UVA? - Phot from ivyleaguesports.com

In an earlier match this year, UVA took the game by a score of 14-10. I hate to rest the loss on one player, but there is no denying that Cornell’s Kyle Harer had something to do with it as he allowed 14 goals and made 4 saves (22%save). Even if he eeeked out a slightly less wretched game of 44%, Cornell would have at least made it to OT. The other factor in that game was Faceoffs. A few more in the second half could have helped Kyle. In the first half, Cornell won 9 of 15 FO. The Red also had 26 shots and 7 goals. Compare that to the second half numbers (2 of 13 FO, 13 shots, 3 goals). Key fact – UVA’s midfield scored 10 of 14 goals.

UVA – If you asked me in the beginning of the year, I would have said UVA could run the table. Now…not so much. UVA’s offense is excellent, when everyone contributes. Their defense is average. UVA has only lost two games this year, and both were to Duke. These losses exposed a weakness. In their losses, UVA’s midfield only put up 5 goals combined. The other important stat is that their EMO only scored 2 out of 10 chances. Ghitelman was only able to make 16 saves and let in 29 goals in these games (35.6%). Whether this was due to poor UVA defense/goalie, or Duke’s snipers is debatable.

Overall, UVA’s attack is sick with Gladding (30/30), Billings (37/20), and Stanwick (34/21). Their two top midfielders top out the top 5 with Shamel Bratton (30/11), and Brian Carroll (29/10). In goal, Ghitelman has a 7.96GA/56%.

Cornell – I was at the Hofstra games, and from the stands, Cornell looked to play the best game of the four teams that were there. Cornell came out ready to play Princeton’s style of game, and they executed it perfectly. Cornell won the FO war (14 of 23), and rolled to a 5-1 lead at the half. Their defense clamped down holding Princeton’s EMO to only 1 goal on 7 attempts (too many penalties). Jake Myers was in goal for the Red and was barely tested. He had 4GA, and 5 saves.

Cornell needs to do many things in order to pull out an upset. Theywill need to shut down UVA’s midfield if they want to win. Control FO, and shut down Shamel and Brian Carroll. They also need consistent play from their goalie. I have no doubt Cornell will be able to score, the question will be can they stop UVA from scoring.

UVA doesn’t need to do much, except to get their midfield involved. While UVA has a great attack, they can’t win it alone.
I’d love to pick Cornell, but my head won’t let me. I am going with UVA by 2.

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This week there is a double header at M&T Stadium that is billed as a great day of lacrosse. However, Maryland vs. Duke, and Princeton vs. Hopkins just is not as exciting as it once was. A Maryland vs. Hopkins game would have been better.

Maryland plays Duke at 2:30 at M&T Stadium.

Maryland is 2-1. No wins over ranked teams, and 1 loss to #5 Georgetown.

Maryland’s scoring against Georgetown was a big surprise. Their attack which I think so highly of, did not produce (3goals). It was their midfield that showed up. Not only did their midfield unit score most of the goals, they also won 17 of 26 face offs. Maryland is still a team to be reckoned with.

Duke is 2-1. They beat #17 Colgate by just 1 goal, and lost to #14 Harvard. Duke is not waiting until the post season to choke. The Blue Devils just can’t seem to find a rhythm either on offense or defense. The once feared Duke scoring machine only got off 29 shots against Harvard. Their EMO is 2 for 7 on the whole year. Duke is relying too heavily on their midfield lines as their top three scorers are Ned Crotty (4G, 8A), Brad Ross (6G, 2A), and Steve Schoeffel (5G, 0A). Max Quinzani (4G, 1A) has not been able to do much without Greer or Danowski by his side.

On the other side of the field, goalie Rob Schroeder is letting in more than 50% of the shots he faces (24 Goals Against, 22 Saves).

Duke is also below 50% on face-offs.

The Blue Devils should fear the turtle. Maryland should be able to get their midfield and attack firing on Schroeder. Couple that with winning most of the face-offs, Duke will lose and fall into lacrosse mediocrity…Just like Hofstra used to be.

Princeton faces Johns Hopkins at 6:00pm at M&T Stadium.

This game should be better than the beating Duke will take.

Hopkins is 1-0 after a thorough thrashing of Siena last week. While this was expected, there were two key stats in the game that should be examined before this game. The 1^st is that Hopkins EMO unit was blanked (0 for 3). The 2^nd is that Hopkins was thoroughly beat on face-offs (7 of 18). The Jays need to shore these parts of their game up before facing Princeton. The main highlight was the play of Mike Gvozden and the defense. Yes, I was a hater in the first half of last year, as Gvozden looked like a black hole, but then he turned his season around and was saving everything that was thrown at him. It was nice to see the defense only let Siena take 26 shots on cage, and Gvozden start off with a 73% save percentage (3GA, 23SV).

Hopkins has enough depth that if Princeton can shut down leader Steve Boyle (4G, 2A), Kyle Wharton (3G, 0A), Brian Christopher (1G, 2A), or Mike Kimmel (1G, 1A) can step it up.

Princeton is 1-0 after beating Canisius 14-6.

Interesting to point out, at the half, Princeton was actually losing by 1 to Canisius. That changed in the 3^rd quarter, as the Tigers unleashed a barrage of shots and netted 8 goals. Jack McBride led the way (4G, 1A), followed by Tommy Davis (3G, 0A), Chris McBride (2G, 0A), and Rob Engelke (2G, 0A). Key stats for this game were that of the 14 Princeton goals, only 5 were assisted. The Tigers had 6 chances on EMO and converted on half of them. Princeton only allowed 22 shots on goal.

While Princeton’s style of play should guarantee Hopkins doesn’t run away with it, Hopkins defense should smother the Tigers’ attack. This should be a low scoring game with Hopkins winning it on their defense/goalie and midfield scoring.

Photo by Getty Images North America

The game of the week, if not year is UVA at Syracuse on Friday at 7pm.

This should be a great rematch of last year’s quarterfinal game. Both teams have similar styles of hard defense, and lots of firepower.

Syracuse is 2-0 with no wins against ranked teams.

Their offense is averaging 53 shots per game and 19.5 goals per game. Their main threats are Kenny Nims (6G, 8A), Steve Keogh (8G, 3A), Dan hardy (3G, 3A), Chris Daniello (5G, 0A), and Tim Desko (3G, 2A). Between Nims and Keogh they have picked up any slack left by Leveille’s graduation. The third attack spot has seen Daniello, Desko, and Niewieroski round out the 1-2 punch. The Midfield is led by Hardy, and transfer Kahoe, however Abbott needs to contribute more.

Their defense keeping opponents to 18 shots per game, 4.5 goals per game. Even though they lost Evan Brady and Kyle Guadagnolo, Sid “Vicious” Smith is back, bringing back the physical style of play. He is joined by Matt Tierney and John Lade at close D. In net for Syracuse is John Galloway who has started this season off with a 56% save percentage.

Where Syracuse really excels is their special teams. Their EMO is 8 of 9 (89%), and their man-down unit is a perfect 100% (0-10).

UVA is 4-0 with no wins over ranked teams. Their offense is averaging 53.5 shots per game and 13.25 goals per game. The top guns for UVA are Garrett Billings (14G, 8A), Steele Stanwick (7G, 6A), Brian Carroll (10G, 1A), and Danny Glading (2G, 8A).

Their defense is allowing 5.75 goals per game and 23.5 shots per game. Close D is led by Ken Clausen who plays a fun style of D to watch. His flashiness is complemented by the physical play of Matt Kelly. In between the pipes is Sophomore Adam Ghitelman, a solid goalie who has put up a 62% save percentage this season.

UVA’s special teams is a possible weakness. Their EMO is only 25% (3 for 12), and their man-down unit is 58% (5-12).

I think both attack units will witn the battles against their opponents’ defenses. Glading, and Bilings proved it in last year’s game, and their attack unit only got better with the addition of Steele Stanwick. For Syracuse, while Leveille put on a one-man show against Virginia’s D, I think both Nims and Keogh have stepped it up, and now Syracuse actually has more threats on attack than UVA can cover.

At midfield Syracuse’s defensive middies should be able to hold Carroll from having a huge game, although no one can stop him completely. The question will be can UVA stop Hardy. I think Hardy is one possible deciding factor. The other as stated before will be special teams. If UVA racks up penalties (averaging 3 per game), Syracuse can, and will take advantage. In a close 1 or at the max 2 goal game, Syracuse edges out UVA.