Lax
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That phrase is so tired. And we have a nice thing. #9 in the country.
Never ex. It's like the mob. There is only one way out. And even then you aren't out.
Cali or other guys who have played and/or coached at a high level - is it me or do you feel that we occasionally get into patterns where we do too much 1 on 1 and force shots? There is one player in particular who occasionally muscles his way through traffic for a goal, but I thought he killed the team yesterday with far too much individual play followed by poor shots.
Are you seeing the same thing that I am seeing?
Are you seeing the same thing that I am seeing?
Sometimes the ball gets stuck in sticks a little bit, but also it's about match-ups. When Jules has a shorty on him, you want him taking that guy every time, even if stymied at first. But yea, we are at our best when we are moving the ball and going without hesitation. Like most teams.
There are two ways to start offense. Fast break where you have a numbers advantage or beating someone one on one to create a numbers advantage.
There are two ways to start offense. Fast break where you have a numbers advantage or beating someone one on one to create a numbers advantage.
Cali - thanks and Jules is an amazing player and I'm not talking about him. In my opinion he rarely forces a play or if he does and he gets out of position for a good shot he has the recognition and skill to pass it off / pull it out rather than taking a bad shot for an easy save. My son plays with a kid on our high school team who is nearly a Jules clone (North Carolina commit, unfortunately) so I get to see this twice a week which is great and my son gets to d up against him in practice (this is really good practice for him!).
I know you weren't. I know who you are talking about. It's really a match-up. The kid is a beast. A short stick on him is where our offense needs to initiate from when we start from up top.
Jules is certainly a helluva a player. He has cemented himself in legendary air in our program. In any other year, he is having a first team All American type year. There are so many good attackman this year though it might be tough. We will see. Keep an eye out as Coyne progresses. That kid will be next big thing. He isn't asked to carry the load right now, but every now and then we get glimpse of some real dynamic play. Let's hope AC comes back healthy. It will be fun to watch him in the middle with Mullins pressing the left and Coyne pressing the right, with AC in a natural role of finisher.
But this is Jules' time. He is something else. Great, great kid too.
Jules is certainly a helluva a player. He has cemented himself in legendary air in our program. In any other year, he is having a first team All American type year. There are so many good attackman this year though it might be tough. We will see. Keep an eye out as Coyne progresses. That kid will be next big thing. He isn't asked to carry the load right now, but every now and then we get glimpse of some real dynamic play. Let's hope AC comes back healthy. It will be fun to watch him in the middle with Mullins pressing the left and Coyne pressing the right, with AC in a natural role of finisher.
But this is Jules' time. He is something else. Great, great kid too.
I have to laugh at some of these black cloud people, so being ranked top 10 isn't a nice thing? We should be so lucky in all our other sports. No one is going to win every game. Little by little we are seeing our Olympic sports improving every year, thats all you can ask for. We were underfunded and badly led for so many years in so many sports, it takes time. I think we have the right leadership in place.
It's pretty typical of fandom. If we won that game, which we easily could have, we would have been getting touted as National Champions. It's actually a good sign. Our fan base is upset we didn't defeat a now top 5 storied program like Hopkins. Shows how far we've come and where we are headed.
It's just how it is now. The truth is, it's always somewhere in between. We had our serve broke in the first game of the first set. Plenty of match still left to play. I said it in another thread. There will not be an undefeated team in the league in this conference at the end of the season. Michigan was always an important game- they all are. Now it's even more so. Gotta control the home field.
With the bad taste in the squad's mouths, alumni day where there will be many on the sidelines giving love, those kids are not going to come out and lay down, that much I can guarantee. Too much character in that locker room.
It's just how it is now. The truth is, it's always somewhere in between. We had our serve broke in the first game of the first set. Plenty of match still left to play. I said it in another thread. There will not be an undefeated team in the league in this conference at the end of the season. Michigan was always an important game- they all are. Now it's even more so. Gotta control the home field.
With the bad taste in the squad's mouths, alumni day where there will be many on the sidelines giving love, those kids are not going to come out and lay down, that much I can guarantee. Too much character in that locker room.
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Being ranked in the top 10 is great, but it is a fragile position. There are only 71 D1 lax schools. The NCAA tournament consists of 9 conference autobids plus 8 at-large selections. So being ranked near 10 is really a bubble position. Especially at this time of year, when another loss or two could push the team out of contention.
Michigan is a must win if we want “2004” to go away. There’s no realistic path to the NCAA Tournament with a loss Sunday.
As it is now we have to beat Mich., OSU, and Penn St. We can afford a loss to Maryland, at Maryland. But this is sport. There will be losses in the conference with other teams that people don't expect, changing that calculus.
One game at a time. We control our own destiny. No team in this conference is going undefeated in league. I would be shocked if they do.
Maryland plays Penn St. at Penn St. this weekend. Hopkins has to go there too. I predict they will beat at least one of those teams, maybe both.
One game at a time. We control our own destiny. No team in this conference is going undefeated in league. I would be shocked if they do.
Maryland plays Penn St. at Penn St. this weekend. Hopkins has to go there too. I predict they will beat at least one of those teams, maybe both.
That’s why I said “realistic.”
Sure, the stars could align and RU could win in College Park. But it’s pretty unlikely.
That’s why losing to Hopkins was so huge. Win that and you could’ve split the last 4 and been in pretty good shape. Now if RU goes 2-2 it will have to sweat out just getting into the Big Ten Tournament.
Penn State has never beaten Maryland in lacrosse....ever. That's a stat that boggles my mind considering how frequently the two schools have played over the years. It also boggles my mind that Maryland has been to 9 of the last 15 Final Fours with only one title to show for it, but I digress.
I think the Terps (and Albany) are too good for the rest of the teams around the country are destined to meet again this season, probably in the title game.
That's a crazy stat. It won't last forever. I honestly won't be shocked if it happens Sat.
Penn St. lost arguably their best player. They needed to gel. They spent the first part of the season doing that. I suspect they are looking at the B1G ready to get after it. And that player is coming back. Possibly this weekend.
I agree, those are the two best teams right now. I think Hopkins is getting close. Maryland looks more athletic than last year. I still don't think they will go through this B1G gauntlet undefeated. Neither will Hopkins.
I will say that I have been critical of Jules in the past for letting the ball die in his stick, but in the last several games he has really stepped up and played exceptionally well. attacking the goal and Playing like and AA. i believe that some of that was his own belief that he had to carry more of the load with AC out and Tras not back to full strength but, as Coyne and Gallagher have become more dynamic he it has allowed him to be more aggressive. As for your question, I do believe I know who you are talking about and Cali is right he is an excellent player who has tremendous confidence in his ability to finish so sometime we see that a dodge - redodge but this player only needs a little space to get off his shot and he has added the ability to finish with his weak hand which has made him even harder to guard. I am really starting to like the blend we have on Midfield with all around play of Mazzone, the shiftiness and creativity of Gallagher and the strength and confidence of Rose. You can begin to see how much the opposing teams are respecting Mazzone and they are starting to pole him because they realize that a SSDM can not stay with him and I am beginning to sense that Gallagher feels like he can go on any SSDM.
#9 is nice ... but expectations of a senior laden team are higher ... beating PU is nicer ... beating JHU at home is nicer ... team is capable of a final 4 run ...to me, anything less than #3 in B1G is a disappointment ... not getting in the tourney, is a disappointment. Want to see a few Top 10 wins this year!
Beat Umich and then we have a second chance at an impressive conference win verse UMD
