C2C 2021

[overandback]

Thanks for your informed and very insightful feedback.
Makes sense.
I will keep looking and praying for a weakness to emerge.
Didn’t see one in second half of game today.
(goalie was rock solid.)

[Slim]

4/17/21 - SU @ SMCM game, ppd until April 28, time TBD.

[Laxaholic123]

Looks like COVID is taking a hit on the C2C. SU/SMCM and UMW woman’s game is postponed

[Noz]

UMW vs SMC cancelled today & UMW vs Salisbury Saturday due to Covid outbreak. If one more case between now & next Wednesday then final season game vs CNU cancelled too. Feel bad for all the kids!!! Thank God none of the kids who have it are really sick.

[Slim]

Seagulls -13
Seahawks - 4
5-3 game deep into 3rd then floodgates opened. Great goalie play for SMCM. Salisbury’s Cross Ferrara dials in a casual 5-1, made it look easy. Seagulls dominate faceoff dot. Turnovers continue to plague the Seahawks, 8 games of 20 or more. The struggle on the field is real. Parents or fans in the stands continue to embarrass the program by yelling at opposing players. Bad karma! The coach and AD needs to address it.
Not gonna get an easier as they travel to CNU next weekend for the final regular season game.

[ShoreThingMD]

This game was closer than the final score shows. As Slim mentioned, the floodgates opened in the second half with Salisbury outscoring the Seahawks 9-2 until the buzzer sounded. For those of you who may have tuned it, I think it is safe to say that Salisbury could be in trouble if their offense continues to play at this level. Salisbury showed very little in terms of being able to beat 1v1s, generating a slide or a quality scoring opportunity off their initial dodges, combined with slow ball movement. What we did see was a lot of carrying and standing still. They have one more regular-season game to figure it out before the conference tournament starts. While I was initially jealous to see Tufts and Cabrini snag a D1 game, what the Gulls offense showed me on Saturday would have been not worthy of securing a division 1 opponent. Sounds harsh, but there wasn't much to write home about from an offensive standpoint.

While the offense struggled, the defense was phenomenal. The Gulls defense was physical, fast, and aggressive. This may be in fact, one of the best defensive units to wear the maroon and gold. The Gulls defense only gave up 3 even-strength goals and caused 13 turnovers. Poles liked their matchups allowing SSDMs to lock off and let guys like Murphy, Apgar, and Bork go eat. Freshman LSM DeFazio continues to shine and impress. This could also be the best SSDM unit in the NCAA with Greik, Woodward, and Saulino. Very little in terms of needing to slide and fantastic job recognizing opportunities to double. Sandlin has this unit clicking on all cylinders.

Both goalies were solid. St. Mary's goalie (Walker) recorded 14 saves, while T.J. Ellis was equally impressive notching 10 saves and giving up 4.

Finally, the lack of commentary during the live stream really allowed viewers to enjoy the sights and sounds of the game, especially those in attendance It was good to hear fans again. As someone who loved playing away games and thinks there is no better atmosphere than the old War on the Shore days, I had to laugh at the heckling from a few students who had Gulls, especially Ferrara in their crosshairs. I will say though, to the St. Mary's parents begging for calls and telling the refs that the Gulls are "head-hunting", that's a tough look. I know little Johnny got knocked over, but these aren't always penalties. The Gulls had 4 penalties and the only 1 I'm talking to the player about is Malamphy who had a silly push penalty that's just inexcusable. The others, and yes that includes the 2 illegal body checks (Bromwell & Apgar) I think were soft calls.

Good chance these 2 teams see each other again.

[MrLax2U]

ShoreThingMD;
Excellent analysis, thank you. And thank you for your April 12 analysis on the goalie situation.

Was this a situation where the individual offensive players saw an opportunity to run up their stats against a weaker opponent? If so, where were the coaches and captains? I guess Berkman gave them an earful at halftime. If the attitude doesn't change, this will be the first Gull team to go four years w/o a ring.

[Fandadof3laxers]

Sorry if this hurts Gulls feelings, but they are extremely overrated. All those 5-6-7 yr players, all Americans, etc and they make a good number of mistakes, throwing the ball way over the head of the other guy, etc. They can't shoot well --- they just shoot A LOT. Possession is 9/10ths of this game and their FO guys get them the ball more than their opponents. They don't deserve their ranking. Cross has no left, so any good and quick defense will slide quickly and double him or maybe even face guard him all game and he will get frustrated like the whole team was for most of 3 quarters yesterday. I say they get knocked out early this year.

Also, very hard to beat a team 3 times in a row, and SMC seems to match up well against them. Not saying they can or will beat them, just saying it has been a fun matchup twice, so why not a third time?

[jusreLaxin]

I'm not able to see a game in person, so it's a computer screen for me. I agree with a lot that's been said. The offense is hard to watch. From a retired coach, they look like a bunch of coaches kids.

[overandback]

I understand the sentiment about the gulls and their potential issues including having too many mouths to feed, but “they can’t shoot well”?
They are capable of putting on a shooting clinic vs anyone.
(See #2’s performance @ Gettysburg last year)
Good luck to a team that game plans vs them thinking Gulls can’t shoot well.

[ShoreThingMD]

Just the distraction I needed after my round of golf. SO everyone buckle up haha

MrLax, thanks for the feedback, and as always, I appreciate the conversation and just providing my perspective as a former player of the program and someone who has coached at the collegiate level. As much as I use statistics to help provide insight on my analysis, I know that it isn't always the best indicator of what is happening on the field.

As for the sentiments of selfish players and too many mouths to feed... From an outsiders perspective, there can certainly be an argument for that with some of the shots that have been taken. Coach has always been a guy that preaches making the extra pass and scoring layups. What we see a lot out of this year's team are guys who like to step down and shoot and are willing to let it fly from +15 yards. Now some of these guys have absolute hammers of a shot, but even with time and space, the shooting % of these shots are undoubtedly lower, especially with a solid net-minder in cage. I have two thoughts on this and I think the truth lies somewhere between. 1.) These guys are confident in their abilities and like their chances from that distance, which to be fair, they find the back of the net often. (season shooting % is over 36%) 2.) The offense isn't generating enough layup opportunities and these guys are forcing these lower % shots. I personally have no issue with some of these guys testing out the goalie's range at the beginning of the game, but some of the shots that I saw vs. St. Mary's after the first quarter were just not good decisions and you can almost count them as turnovers given the result.

Here is a stat line that I think tells a lot… ONLY 4 of yesterday’s 13 goals were assisted. The Gulls’ season assist average is currently sitting at approximately 51% of all goals. Now that 51% isn’t exactly horrible and by most standards, very good. However, when compared to the last 4 SU national championship teams (who arguably had better competition), it is a little worrisome.

(These %s include regular season and tournament)
’17: 62%
’16: 64%
’12: 62%
’11: 57%

My personal opinion is that St. Mary’s did a fantastic job of not sliding to the dodger. Often times you’ll see an unnecessary slide which conversely generates more offense for the Gulls who are able to exploit it. The Seahawks sat back and said we are going to hold until the last minute and force you to beat us man-to-man. Ironically similar to what Salisbury does. This certainly would explain why assists were down, but would also explain why the Salisbury offense struggled. Not to sound like a broken record, but the Gulls are struggling in beating their 1 on 1 matchup. With St. Mary’s playing this style of defense, it doesn’t surprise me that both Harbottle and Thrasher (both recording goals) had similar stat lines to Moroney & Melton (both had a goal + Metlon assist). That’s nothing against Moroney & Melton, but I’ve said for a few years now that I like both Harbottle & Thrasher’s first step and I hoped they would develop into guys that could be a matchup problem and really do a decent job of getting the defense to move. We’ll see if they can generate opportunities more consistently and earn themselves more playing time.

Lastly, I’m not sure if this is the most overrated Gulls team. Honestly, the jury is still out on what they can accomplish. I do know this and that’s every year the Gulls shoot for a national championship and anything less is considered a down year. At the end of the day the Gulls are currently sitting 10-1 (with the only loss coming in their opener to a very good Hornets team) and in a position to make the postseason. We’ll see what happens from there.

[LarumVictoia]

they are extremely overrated. All those 5-6-7 yr players, all Americans, etc and they make a good number of mistakes, throwing the ball way over the head of the other guy, etc. They can't shoot well --- they just shoot A LOT. Possession is 9/10ths of this game and their FO guys get them the ball more than their opponents. They don't deserve their ranking. Cross has no left, so any good and quick defense will slide quickly and double him or maybe even face guard him all game and he will get frustrated like the whole team was for most of 3 quarters yesterday. I say they get knocked out early this year.

Hmmmm.... Hawk-Parent - You have a lot to say after almost getting tripled up through two games 27-10. Keep saying your prayers at night because it looks like they will play a third time... Rest assured, I'll be doing a little dance and singing the Gull's fight song after they kick the crap out of your beloved Hawks team yet again.

Moving on...
I have a slightly different take on what's going on. First, for whatever reason... in recent years SU hasn't played great games against SM. Part of that is certainly due to good coaching. Say what you will, but they are disciplined group and they did limit unnecessary slides like Shore mentioned. Beyond one or two times you could see that they were bleeding that clock down every possession while limiting their own penalties. We should also give SM's goalie his due - He made some saves is probably better than most have given him credit for.

In response to what seems like Mr. Lax's weekly reference to SU's selfish play, word has it that the man in charge is pushing Ferrara to dodge far more than "anyone" including #22 thinks is good for this offensive. I personally don't think any of these young men are selfish. A little padding of stats in less competitive games is nothing new to the Gulls or any other team for that matter. Hell, Berkman himself would tell Coffman to "get yours early, because you're coming out at halftime or third qrt"... What's important, is that they remain close and tight unit of players and trust one another in competitive games. They learned a tough lesson against Lynchburg, but since then no team has finished a game within 7 goals of SU.

Cross is shooting over 40%. There have been some some instances where there could have been better shot selection, but I've seen considerable improvement in his vision and team play since early in the season. Bromwell ?? Shooting over 40% and frankly, he's had a very good season thus far. Moroney ?? No, he's taking about 6 shots per game at 38% shooting and has as many assists right now as he did during the last full season he played in. Melton ?? Again shooting 37% w/ about 6 shots per game and oh yeah, 35 assists. Dowd ?? 2nd on the team in assists - you'd like to see the shooting % a little higher but he's improving noticeably week to week. Armstrong ?? please 5 goals 10 assists and shooting close to 63% (and this is from a kid who has and multiple 60 point seasons and yet kept a good attitude after being moved to 2nd line midfield), Posner ?? 11G-8A shooting over 40%. Doesn't surprise me that Berkman got after them at halftime, but I think you're seeing an offense doing exactly what the coach has asked them to do.

Here's a fact to consider. The team did not set up or practice against a scout defense before either of the SM games this season...Was this a situation where the coaches were comfortable that they would win anyway without having to provide much game-tape for future opponents ?? Before you shrug this notion off as insignificant, consider that current 5th year players stated they could not remember once ever going into a game without practicing against a prepared scout defense. When you consider that this happened twice this season - both times before playing the same team, it should should give you pause... When you take into consideration that York, who has some very close ties to SM, plays a similar style of defense it doesn't take too much to draw some conclusions. And contrary to what Fandad thinks, SU is likely to see the Spartans at some point this season.

The Gulls need to keep working, but if you think for a minute they can't beat "any" Division lll team they face on a given day, you're greatly underestimating this team. Then again, I don't think they really care - probably prefer it that way.

Go Gulls!

[ah23]

the backup goalies faced 5 shots in those three games.
It's not them.

That user has a track record of pulling made up stats/narratives out of thin air to puff up their favorite team. Not worth your time.

[ShoreThingMD]

In an effort to be transparent, I failed to include a sentence that blatantly shares my opinion that I do not think the Gulls are in fact it for their own stats. Instead, I attempted to provide other scenarios to why the Gulls offense struggled on Saturday and at times.

As for the shooting % numbers provided by Larum, there is no doubt those %s are strong. I never had any doubts that the Gulls can shoot, but I have been critical of some of their shot selections, especially those that are 15 yards out and starring down a goalie.

The two CNU games showcased a Gulls team who won their individual match ups and moved the ball quickly and they lit up the scoreboard. Their game vs Cabrini (while still earning a W), could have easily been a loss if it were not the stellar play of the defense and Ellis, who only allowed 4 goals. Cabrini’s keeper recorded 24 saves (some of those in close, but some a good amount from a distance).

The notion of not wanting to provide much game tape for future opponents, I’m not saying you’re wrong, but I’ve never experienced that with Coach. If that’s the case, it’s a bold move from Coach considering they were only up 4-2 at the half on Saturday and up 5-3 at half the previous time vs. the Seahawks. Regardless, it worked out and the Gulls will have another opportunity to get better this Saturday vs. SVU before we find out the C2C bracket.

[LarumVictoia]

As for the shooting % numbers provided by Larum, there is no doubt those %s are strong. I never had any doubts that the Gulls can shoot, but I have been critical of some of their shot selections, especially those that are 15 yards out and starring down a goalie.

The notion of not wanting to provide much game tape for future opponents, I’m not saying you’re wrong, but I’ve never experienced that with Coach. If that’s the case, it’s a bold move from Coach considering they were only up 4-2 at the half on Saturday and up 5-3 at half the previous time vs. the Seahawks. Regardless, it worked out and the Gulls will have another opportunity to get better this Saturday vs. SVU before we find out the C2C bracket.

Agreed & I have no idea why they didn't scout - I just thought it was interesting - Berkman doesn't seem to be a guy who misses details. I'm sure he had his reasons.

I'd like to see the Gulls move Armstrong up the the first line and run a 5-man rotations at midfield - I'd also like to see Harbottle and Thrasher get more time. I think Posner is good for the mix too. Bringing Armstrong up gives you one more legit feeder. Seems to me that these two things would keep the talent on the field and allow for feeds from both sides of the field.

[Fandadof3laxers]

Why in the world won’t Salisbury allow 2 visiting team parents to come into the stadium for the playoffs? This is beyond overreaching if they are hiding behind Covid nonsense. What is the rationale?

[Pinchnpop]

Why in the world won’t Salisbury allow 2 visiting team parents to come into the stadium for the playoffs? This is beyond overreaching if they are hiding behind Covid nonsense. What is the rationale?

Do not believe it's a Salisbury thing as much as it is a C2C guideline. Last I knew St Mary's wasn't allowing anyone in the stadium.

[Dr. Pretorious]

Why in the world won’t Salisbury allow 2 visiting team parents to come into the stadium for the playoffs? This is beyond overreaching if they are hiding behind Covid nonsense. What is the rationale?

Do not believe it's a Salisbury thing as much as it is a C2C guideline. Last I knew St Mary's wasn't allowing anyone in the stadium.

That is correct. None of the C2C teams allowed visiting fans/ parents this year.

Salisbury only allowed two tickets per player for their home games this season, including Saturday’s Senior Day.

[VALaxfan1]

Anyone know who votes for C2C honors? Must be some CNU alum on the voting committee - No disrespect directed toward the CNU players, but this is a joke.


1st Team:
Dylan Rice - 14 games played - 34 goals 17 Assists, Pts. 51
Alex Brendes - 14 games played - 33 Goals 10 Assists, Pts. 43 -

2nd Team
Josh Melton - 12 games played - 28 goals , 38 Assists, 66 Points

[LarumVictoia]

Anyone know who votes for C2C honors? Must be some CNU alum on the voting committee - No disrespect directed toward the CNU players, but this is a joke.


1st Team:
Dylan Rice - 14 games played - 34 goals 17 Assists, Pts. 51
Alex Brendes - 14 games played - 33 Goals 10 Assists, Pts. 43 -

2nd Team
Josh Melton - 12 games played - 28 goals , 38 Assists, 66 Points

WHAT?!?! This took some brass - Line up a 100 coaches and 99 take Melton without think twice... The one who doesn't has the last name Thompson ...