~Loyola University Greyhounds 2024~

[Exlaxbro]

I don’t disagree. The problem was at the x but I’d didn’t see a lot of aggressive wing play trying to help secure the ball when it was out. I admit I didn’t see every game but it seems the wings were not sprinting in and mixing it up. I suspect they are coached that way. McNulty used to get in there when savio didn’t come out clean. That is why I posed the question of the group thought it was the FOGO, wings or both.

[Laxfan01]

With 2023 in the books, my takeaways from seeing all but 3 games:
- beating a dead horse but must get better at the X. Still think we can be capable on a good day but one could argue that we win Sunday if we can manage +50%. Tough to swallow-depth is very much needed as well with only 2 guys coming back and both well under 50%.
- Offense should be better and a strength (on paper). If James can play half as well as he did in PL tournament, an improved Minicus/younger class along with returning veteran talent, they should hit 12 every game. Would like to see Lindsey take a step; he did good things at times but too many forced plays with not much to show for it. Higgins needs to get healthy and get back to being the player he can be. Very capable skill wise and has the frame but again too much of a liability at times.
- Goaltending and rope unit with be strength of defense. Sally mcguilcuddy and Sherwood will be a really solid 3. Definitely unsure on 4 but with the way we develop that position not worried. Not sure what happened to Staudt and the last few games of regular season but would guess it was an injury? He looked healthy and energetic late-I would argue the first 4 and last 3 games of his season he looked like the top goalie in the country
- Now the rest of the defense is a different story. There definitely is a correlation between elite defense and elite goalie play. Bean was great late and is capable-I think Houlihan can be great but hard to replace a wyers. Matt hughes will be missed and no clue on spot 4-maybe Fairey? Regardless we’ll need to make lots of saves and push transition to rope unit.
- All in all plenty of reasons to optimistic. Definitely have needs but if they are addressed then watch out.

[houndace1]

This is mainly a speculative point that I’d like some discussion on. Obviously 2023 is the 2nd year in a row that the team missed the ncaa tournament. This might be the first time coach Toomey has missed the tournament 2 years in a row. That being said, is this a reflection point for the staff to review and tweak some things to get back to the tourney? This could be in terms of schemes, player development, strength and conditioning, recruiting, etc. Any and all thoughts welcome!

[Formerhound]

This is mainly a speculative point that I’d like some discussion on. Obviously 2023 is the 2nd year in a row that the team missed the ncaa tournament. This might be the first time coach Toomey has missed the tournament 2 years in a row. That being said, is this a reflection point for the staff to review and tweak some things to get back to the tourney? This could be in terms of schemes, player development, strength and conditioning, recruiting, etc. Any and all thoughts welcome!

Couldn’t agree more. Fall ball needs to be amped up a bit. Kids need to be held accountable more. I watch a freshman turn the ball over and not play again for games at a time. I watched Higgins and Davis turn the ball over constantly and never have repercussions. I see guys taking bad shots and nothing. I saw Bateman play second line middie for 26 games over two years and not have a goal and have 2 assists yet he was playing over guys like McGorry last year and guys like Haberman and Murphy and Cote and Dixon and many others. It seems like the staff gets enamored with someone and they can do no wrong yet if you are new you can’t make a mistake or else you are benched. I remember my HS Lax coach dealing with these issues. He didn’t want players playing tight. He said have fun. Relax. You’ll be fine. Everyone makes mistakes. That’s how young players learn. It’s the guys that constantly make the same mistakes that are the issue.
I really hope that things change. They have some great young talent. We didn’t get to see High Brown this year and I heard he’s a stud. Same with Brady West. McCulloch barely played. These kids need to get a chance next year. There should be no one in the midfield that has a guaranteed spot next year. Open season and let the best man win.

[Houndfan73]

BD094C46-4FC2-4A7B-B8A3-1AC869BB577B.jpeg

That would be nice. PL doesn’t allow Grad Transfers so it would need to be an underclassmen.

Looks like Poitras, James, Kamish, Sally, Sherwood, Heuston, and Pacheco will be back for 5th years….barring any early summer change of hearts.

[Houndfan73]

Are the faceoff issues more about the FOGO or lack of support from the wings? Combination of the two?

Combination. Losing McNulty from the wing didn’t help. He was a fantastic LSM

[Exlaxbro]

Agreed. I don’t think he and other get as much credit in helping Savio become as good as he was. Don’t get me wrong, Savio was very good but there were some great wing play during his time and I didn’t see a ton of it this year.

[laxbro11]

BD094C46-4FC2-4A7B-B8A3-1AC869BB577B.jpeg

That would be nice. PL doesn’t allow Grad Transfers so it would need to be an underclassmen.

Looks like Poitras, James, Kamish, Sally, Sherwood, Heuston, and Pacheco will be back for 5th years….barring any early summer change of hearts.

Here is my take These are the same players that went into a huge slump in the middle of the season that culminated with the Georgetown massacre at Ridley they started strong and finished strong What happened in the middle? The offense staff needs to do some serious self reflection The talent is there What are you doing to extract it? This is a coaching problem Not a player problem doing the same thing and hoping for better Results, but getting the same results is insanity

[houndace1]

BD094C46-4FC2-4A7B-B8A3-1AC869BB577B.jpeg

That would be nice. PL doesn’t allow Grad Transfers so it would need to be an underclassmen.

Looks like Poitras, James, Kamish, Sally, Sherwood, Heuston, and Pacheco will be back for 5th years….barring any early summer change of hearts.

Here is my take These are the same players that went into a huge slump in the middle of the season that culminated with the Georgetown massacre at Ridley they started strong and finished strong What happened in the middle? The offense staff needs to do some serious self reflection The talent is there What are you doing to extract it? This is a coaching problem Not a player problem doing the same thing and hoping for better Results, but getting the same results is insanity

You and I at times don’t necessarily agree on points and it’s all on good discussion but did we not see the same games sometimes?

They tried different lineups when things weren’t working on both offense and defense. They threw in different guys for midfield shifts and runs. Their idea of putting James and poitras on attack with minicus towards the end of the season yielded good results!

I think at the time when the games were must win at the end of the season, they needed to go with what they knew, got them goals and results. Bateman, Haberman, Cote, McCullough got less PT in these tight tight games.

They also had some injuries to guys so they can’t just pluck one guy from the bench/depth chart to organically replace the starters injury and to get that similar level of production

[houndace1]

After watching the first round games of the tournament I jotted down some points and how it could compare to Loyola:
- number 1 is faceoffs and wings. Every team here has either a really good faceoff guy, or their wings help scrum loose balls off the whistle. Obviously this year FO and wings were a struggle, but just elevating this even a little bit will reduce the pressure on the offense and defense immensely.
- #2 hyper speed ball movement with constant motion. I think this is the tournament where you have nearly every team play with “positionless offense”. The ball doesn’t die in one stick, and the supporting cast is constantly moving into space. There were a couple games where one guy for us has the ball, and then every other person watches them to see what they do, and just stands there. Perhaps more of a free flow in a less confined offensive role system could provide benefits
-#3 defense has ERASERS. On both short sticks and poles. Loyola had that with Razanka and Wyers but there just needs to be a lot of cohesion. This is currently an unknown for 2024
-#4 they need some sort of game breaking attackman/midfielder that can pop when needed. Also an unknown for right now

[laxbro11]

After watching the first round games of the tournament I jotted down some points and how it could compare to Loyola:
- number 1 is faceoffs and wings. Every team here has either a really good faceoff guy, or their wings help scrum loose balls off the whistle. Obviously this year FO and wings were a struggle, but just elevating this even a little bit will reduce the pressure on the offense and defense immensely.
- #2 hyper speed ball movement with constant motion. I think this is the tournament where you have nearly every team play with “positionless offense”. The ball doesn’t die in one stick, and the supporting cast is constantly moving into space. There were a couple games where one guy for us has the ball, and then every other person watches them to see what they do, and just stands there. Perhaps more of a free flow in a less confined offensive role system could provide benefits
-#3 defense has ERASERS. On both short sticks and poles. Loyola had that with Razanka and Wyers but there just needs to be a lot of cohesion. This is currently an unknown for 2024
-#4 they need some sort of game breaking attackman/midfielder that can pop when needed. Also an unknown for right now

1. Absolutely correct
2. Been saying that for years, our ball movement is slow compared to other, passes at ankles not at the head. When we do move it it looks great. In addition, off ball movement, we tend to stand and watch, players need to be constantly moving and creating
3. +1, Not sure we have two that can replace Rezanka and Wyers
4. I think Minicus could be that person. He has shown he can do it.

[Exlaxbro]

Had there been any word on anyone entering the portal?

[Laxfan01]

Brian minicus arguably the best player on the field for both teams at the moment in the UVA game. See a lot of our current #7 in him. If you told me they weren’t related I would still tell you that one looks like an older version of the other. I’m excited about the potential there.

[NovaHound]

True. Brian is really good.
Matt Minicus can be even better. His potential is unlimited.

[Crease Crank]

Nice pick up, Hounds!

https://scarletknights.com/sports/mens- ... olds/12051

[Formerhound]

Nice pick up, Hounds!

https://scarletknights.com/sports/mens- ... olds/12051

Very nice pick up. Now have two very capable LSMs in Roman and Reynolds. I remember watching him play in HS and was very impressed. Lean and fast. Could use a few Lbs but I’m sure Charlie’s crew will take care of that. Any idea why he transferred? Seems like he may not have liked getting moved from LSM to SSDM after what appeared to be a very good freshman season.

[Exlaxbro]

Nice pick up, Hounds!

https://scarletknights.com/sports/mens- ... olds/12051

Very nice pick up. Now have two very capable LSMs in Roman and Reynolds. I remember watching him play in HS and was very impressed. Lean and fast. Could use a few Lbs but I’m sure Charlie’s crew will take care of that. Any idea why he transferred? Seems like he may not have liked getting moved from LSM to SSDM after what appeared to be a very good freshman season.

Does this mean Fairey will be close now and maybe LeBlanc moving close too?

[Formerhound]

Nice pick up, Hounds!

https://scarletknights.com/sports/mens- ... olds/12051

Very nice pick up. Now have two very capable LSMs in Roman and Reynolds. I remember watching him play in HS and was very impressed. Lean and fast. Could use a few Lbs but I’m sure Charlie’s crew will take care of that. Any idea why he transferred? Seems like he may not have liked getting moved from LSM to SSDM after what appeared to be a very good freshman season.

Does this mean Fairey will be close now and maybe LeBlanc moving close too?

That is possible. Houlihan and Bean return and they clearly are in need of one or two close D. It’s also possible that Reynolds steps in as a SSDM given the loss of Peyton Rezanka. Lots of moving parts here on defense whereas offense seems pretty set with Minicus, Poitras and James at attack and Heuston, Higgins, Lindsay and Kamish at midfield.

[lorin]

Nice pick up, Hounds!

https://scarletknights.com/sports/mens- ... olds/12051

Very nice pick up. Now have two very capable LSMs in Roman and Reynolds. I remember watching him play in HS and was very impressed. Lean and fast. Could use a few Lbs but I’m sure Charlie’s crew will take care of that. Any idea why he transferred? Seems like he may not have liked getting moved from LSM to SSDM after what appeared to be a very good freshman season.

Does this mean Fairey will be close now and maybe LeBlanc moving close too?

That is possible. Houlihan and Bean return and they clearly are in need of one or two close D. It’s also possible that Reynolds steps in as a SSDM given the loss of Peyton Rezanka. Lots of moving parts here on defense whereas offense seems pretty set with Minicus, Poitras and James at attack and Heuston, Higgins, Lindsay and Kamish at midfield.

Lol u guys are becoming Rutgers counting on transfers

[Crease Crank]

Nice pick up, Hounds!

https://scarletknights.com/sports/mens- ... olds/12051

Very nice pick up. Now have two very capable LSMs in Roman and Reynolds. I remember watching him play in HS and was very impressed. Lean and fast. Could use a few Lbs but I’m sure Charlie’s crew will take care of that. Any idea why he transferred? Seems like he may not have liked getting moved from LSM to SSDM after what appeared to be a very good freshman season.

Does this mean Fairey will be close now and maybe LeBlanc moving close too?

That is possible. Houlihan and Bean return and they clearly are in need of one or two close D. It’s also possible that Reynolds steps in as a SSDM given the loss of Peyton Rezanka. Lots of moving parts here on defense whereas offense seems pretty set with Minicus, Poitras and James at attack and Heuston, Higgins, Lindsay and Kamish at midfield.