Boston College 19 Louisville 6

D1 Womens Lacrosse
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wlaxnut
Posts: 1939
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Boston College 19 Louisville 6

Post by wlaxnut »

Louisville played some aggressive defense but it got them in trouble because it involved too much stickwork which caused two BC players bloody noses. After the first one coach Acacia was heard to yell from the sidelines something like, "That's what happens when we don't call it the whole game!" She was ticked. This was when BC’s Maggie Casey got a vicious cross check to the face from Shay Clevenger which earned her a yellow card. Casey left the field crying. Then later in the 1st half Tessa Chad clocked Dempsey Arsenault in the face with a wayward stick and bloodied her nose for another yellow card and Arsenault had to leave the field. The Eagles would not be intimidated however and in the end made Louisville pay on the scoreboard. Obviously that kind of aggressive physical play won’t work against a team as talented and tough as BC. I can see why Badlands gets passionate about the refs/league being indifferent to fouls and illegal stickwork. Louisville got their 4th yellow card (non-releasable) 8:29 into the 2nd half and got scored on twice and once more 7 seconds after the release for good measure. That pretty much took all the air out of the Cardinals for the rest of the way. BC scored the 1st 10 goals of the 2nd half.

In other items, Sam Apuzzo went something like 21 of 25 on the draw. Insane numbers. No benchwarming for Sam on senior day until right near the end. She looked her usual dominant self—smooth on the draw, hustling for ground balls, hustling on the ride (the few that there were.)

Abbey Ngai was understandably on the bench as Lauren Daly got a full game in goal on Senior Day. BC had the ball so much she got limited work, especially in the 2nd half.

There were elements of the broadcast production that irritated/aggravated me:

- like when they chose to show replays or focus on players who weren’t involved in the play, during game action, when BC was on the ride, or one memorable moment when Dempsey Arsenault had a fast break and set up Kent for a nice goal, which the viewers didn’t see in its entirety because they were watching Lauren Daly watch the fast break.

- Then, a little later, the play-by-play guy incorrectly stated that Sam Apuzzo scored her NCAA leading 71st goal. Hofstra’s Alyssa Parrella has 72.

- At another point the play-by-play announcer says Louisville clears successfully 10 yards before they make it over the line only to have BC cause a turnover before they get there.

- No player advantage clock on screen during yellow cards.

BC looks sharp going into the tournament where they will have a rematch against these same Cardinals on Wednesday morning. It will be interesting to see what the strategy will be for Louisville next time. First draw times set for 11am, 2pm, 5pm and 8pm. Already have the day off to stay home for this televised ACC quarterfinal marathon.
Last edited by wlaxnut on Sun Apr 21, 2019 6:24 am, edited 1 time in total.
seacoaster
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Re: Boston College 19 Louisville 6

Post by seacoaster »

The thing that bugged me was when one of the announcers -- two men who know something between very little and nothing about the game -- suggested that helmets are inevitable. Well, gee, one of the first things I do when I first watch a sport, which I don't understand much, is suggest massive, serious rule changes that will invariably change the character of the sport. Sure. What a putz.

Arsenault is just about the best athlete on the field, whenever she takes the field. She's really something.
wlaxnut
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Re: Boston College 19 Louisville 6

Post by wlaxnut »

seacoaster wrote: Sat Apr 20, 2019 4:47 pm The thing that bugged me was when one of the announcers -- two men who know something between very little and nothing about the game -- suggested that helmets are inevitable. Well, gee, one of the first things I do when I first watch a sport, which I don't understand much, is suggest massive, serious rule changes that will invariably change the character of the sport. Sure. What a putz.

:lol: You got me cracking up on that one!

PLUS--helmets wouldn't have prevented either player from a bloody nose, unless they also had cages covering the face. (Oh PLEASE tell me we won't end up there.)


Arsenault is just about the best athlete on the field, whenever she takes the field. She's really something.

Yeah--she is something indeed. She runs like a deer. Graceful and strong.
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holmes435
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Re: Boston College 19 Louisville 6

Post by holmes435 »

wlaxnut wrote: Sat Apr 20, 2019 4:39 pmBC looks sharp going into the tournament where they will have a rematch against these same thugs…I mean Cardinals, on Wednesday morning.
Louisville averages 1.9 yellows per game. Boston College averages 1.4 yellows per game. Not a huge difference.

I'm not defending Louisville's aggression, but we're not comparing apples and oranges here in terms of aggression. The rules and lenient calls award aggressive play in D1 and do not punish players as much as they should IMO. You also see rules forgiveness for winning teams for a wide variety of reasons across many sports.

I'm not that worried about college as it's not a big deal except for a few outliers like here: https://deadspin.com/womens-lacrosse-pl ... 1761376238

One frustrating game and two extra yellows do not warrant a total condemnation. Repeated issues do.

Additionally, women's lacrosse has always pulled a lot of terrible announcers as players do not stay in the sport like they do on the men's side for a variety of reasons. We need to provide better incentives for kids to stay involved after they graduate. But that's a very, very big issue with many causes.

I've also been on the record for at least a decade on laxpower as being adamantly against helmets.
Badlands
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Re: Boston College 19 Louisville 6

Post by Badlands »

Observation: seems we often speak of teams coached by men as being more aggressive/physical than teams coached by women.
wlaxnut
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Re: Boston College 19 Louisville 6

Post by wlaxnut »

holmes435 wrote: Sat Apr 20, 2019 11:41 pm
wlaxnut wrote: Sat Apr 20, 2019 4:39 pmBC looks sharp going into the tournament where they will have a rematch against these same thugs…I mean Cardinals, on Wednesday morning.
Louisville averages 1.9 yellows per game. Boston College averages 1.4 yellows per game. Not a huge difference.

I'm not defending Louisville's aggression, but we're not comparing apples and oranges here in terms of aggression. The rules and lenient calls award aggressive play in D1 and do not punish players as much as they should IMO. You also see rules forgiveness for winning teams for a wide variety of reasons across many sports.

One frustrating game and two extra yellows do not warrant a total condemnation. Repeated issues do.
Admittedly I was still upset in the moment when I wrote the post and I overstated the physical aggression by Louisville. I have since edited the thug comments out of my original post. In the morning light of the day after I know those hits weren't necessarily intended so much as the players weren't being careful with their sticks. I would attribute both bloody noses to carelessness rather than intent. Thanks for being the voice of reason.

One tweak on one of your points. The 1.4 yellows that BC averages are not of the variety that draws blood from shots to the face. They are of the hard crosscheck to the body with extended arms variety. BC's middie Brooke Troy can definitely get chippy at times, but she never gets near her opponents face. And again, just so I'm clear, I don't think Louisville intended those injuries to Casey and Arsenault, they were a result of being aggressive while being careless with their sticks.

Also--the refs deserve a degree of criticism too. Coach Acacia certainly thought so. If the refs don't keep a lid on things early they naturally escalate.
wlaxphan20
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Re: Boston College 19 Louisville 6

Post by wlaxphan20 »

Badlands wrote: Sun Apr 21, 2019 12:05 am Observation: seems we often speak of teams coached by men as being more aggressive/physical than teams coached by women.
Can't forget Florida and Northwestern, though!
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