ivy league 2024

[bearlaxfan]

I don't dare predict the regular season winner, but I would be surprised if any team goes 5-1, 6-0.
So the 4-2 shuffle, with head-to-head and whatever is next on the tiebreaker list.

The tourney: close-to-locks Yale, Cornell. Faves on past rep: Princeton, Penn. These two have major holes to fill, so I can see a path for at least one of the other three to get in. Harvard, based on recruited talent rep & I think Byrne is a good coach. Brown, based on not being able to judge last year's performance because of the suspensions. Dartmouth- too soon? New coach adjustment process.

It will indeed be difficult to go 6-0, but I think 5-1 is reasonably attainable for one or more Ivy teams.

Byrne mentioned above, Kirwan alluded to, but what about Daly? He was terrific for Tufts, but...

The guys at The Crosse Commission podcast think his seat is- or should be- getting warm. As a 2016 hire he must be on a second contract/extension, but I haven't found any info on line. '23 was the first year under him Brown didn't make the Ivy league tourney, a better record than Lars', but Daly's teams have won an IL tourney game (1), Lars' never did. That was in '17 with the last of '16's FF starters on the team.
That month in '22 when the Bears beat Penn, Yale, & Cornell in succession is doing a lotof lifting on College Hill. Like I said in the Brown thread, "Is just making the IL tourney the target for this program?!?"
Also too, no one is banging at the doors trying to lure away the Bear's OC & DC.

[The Orfling]

I am sure the Big Red will post that prediction in their locker room. They only lose three starters by my read (Coyle, Adler and Ierlan). Adler was a force and will be tough to replace, and Coyle put up a lot of points, but they have a lot of firepower coming back to support the best offensive player in the league (Kirst). I’m going with Cornell as my pick to win the league.

USA Lacrosse Magazine's pre-season predicted rankings had Cornell at #7 and Yale at #10 -- they're both seen as having talent but also having some questions. Normally I think Cornell's transition at goalie would raise the biggest questions, but incoming first year Tully might have superstar potential, and the veteran Knust is also a good option. Seems like losing the best defender in the country might have more impact (but even there, Staub looked quite promising as a third guy on the close D). You have a face-off unit that clicked down the stretch and, most of all, CJ Kirst backed up by plenty of that firepower cbagataway references.

Kinnear's write-up of why Yale is a bit funny -- it boils down to a monster attack (true), a line-up with additional talent (true), and the feeling that Yale can't continue to flounder in team defense as it has the last two seasons. But, what's different? Yale's defense struggled two years ago when they still had Chris Fake and struggled more last year. Maybe they're doing something differently this year. But if not, seems like Yale will be vulnerable in games where a hot goalie or an effective zone defense or both can slow down the Yale attack and open up opportunities for an opponent to jump out to a big lead and get the knockout blow. (Like both Princeton games last year and the regular season Cornell game.)

Ultimately, it seems like mostly something unusual happens every year in the Ivy league. One thing of note is that there are at least three goalies who can proverbially stand on their head to steal a game: Gianforcaro of Princeton; Carroll of Penn; and the People's Goalie, Connor Theriault, at Brown. And that's no knock on other quality veteran goalies like Yale's Jared Paquette or a highly touted newcomer like Tully at Cornell -- Gianforcaro/Carroll/Theriault are just 3 known potential game-changers. (And yes, it's absolutely true that it can be hard to really quantify the impact of goalie play since what type of shot quality they face is so important.). Nevertheless, I think that ups the ante for the usually Ivy slate upset potential.

[faircornell]

Nice post, Orfling! I do think that you are being a bit modest when it comes to Jared Paquette. While the Yale defense might have occasionally been challenged last year, this Bulldog certainly had his day a few times. In three Ivy games: Brown, Harvard and Cornell (Ivy Tournament) Paquette had over 15 saves and was between 56 and 60% in save percentage. I recall in the first round of the Ivy Tournament that he played quite well,and shut down a Cornell come back attempt with saves that stymied Cornel's game momentum. Also, Yale and Coach Shay seem to have a special knack for doing well in the Ivy Tournament. Best of luck to the Bulldogs this year.

[The Orfling]

Nice post, Orfling! I do think that you are being a bit modest when it comes to Jared Paquette. While the Yale defense might have occasionally been challenged last year, this Bulldog certainly had his day a few times. In three Ivy games: Brown, Harvard and Cornell (Ivy Tournament) Paquette had over 15 saves and was between 56 and 60% in save percentage. I recall in the first round of the Ivy Tournament that he played quite well,and shut down a Cornell come back attempt with saves that stymied Cornel's game momentum. Also, Yale and Coach Shay seem to have a special knack for doing well in the Ivy Tournament. Best of luck to the Bulldogs this year.

Thanks and a very good point, faircornell! Good luck to the Big Red. I know as a league fan I'm very excited to see Firth play with Kirst so the Big Red faithful must be chomping at the bit.

[coda]

Nice post, Orfling! I do think that you are being a bit modest when it comes to Jared Paquette. While the Yale defense might have occasionally been challenged last year, this Bulldog certainly had his day a few times. In three Ivy games: Brown, Harvard and Cornell (Ivy Tournament) Paquette had over 15 saves and was between 56 and 60% in save percentage. I recall in the first round of the Ivy Tournament that he played quite well,and shut down a Cornell come back attempt with saves that stymied Cornel's game momentum. Also, Yale and Coach Shay seem to have a special knack for doing well in the Ivy Tournament. Best of luck to the Bulldogs this year.

Paquette's issue has been rebounds control. He is pretty good at making stops. They do tend to get away from him and leave opportunities for the opposition. Having a poor defense in front of him only highlights that flaw.

[FannOLax]

I don't think anyone has yet posted that this year's ILT will be hosted by the #1 seed. I'm fine with this. Glad they tried Columbia, but the results were underwhelming; plus, this makes it more meaningful to be regular-season conference champions.

[ctbagataway]

The wait is almost over. Here is the lineup for Saturday. Is it too much to ask for a league sweep?

Noon:
Brown at Quinnipiac
Dartmouth at Bucknell
Penn hosts Georgetown
Princeton at Monmouth

3:30
Cornell hosts Lehigh
Harvard hosts Providence
Yale hosts Villanova

[FannOLax]

The wait is almost over. Here is the lineup for Saturday. Is it too much to ask for a league sweep?

Noon:
Brown at Quinnipiac
Dartmouth at Bucknell
Penn hosts Georgetown
Princeton at Monmouth

3:30
Cornell hosts Lehigh
Harvard hosts Providence
Yale hosts Villanova

I'd say that it's asking for a lot, but also feasible. Nova spoiled Yale's season openers in 2018 and 2019. In 2018, Quinnipiac beat Brown in CT, and this year Quinni already has a win under its belt. I think it will be especially interesting to see how the Kirwan era at Dartmouth starts. Here's hoping that the Ivies roar out of the gates with fire in their bellies like that memorable 2022 season. Go Ivy!!

[bearlaxfan]

Quinn won at Brown last year, and that was before the suspensions.
Bucknell has not looked good this year; nice opportunity for the Green to start the new regime on a + note.
GTown will be wound up for a win against Penn, but not desperate- no desperation in February. Right?

The rest of the league should be favored in its matchups.
Biggest interest for me (besides Bruno) is Princeton. #1recruiting class incoming & massively talented group having graduated. How will week 1 go, and what level will they reach by, say week 5?

[faircornell]

Quinn won at Brown last year, and that was before the suspensions.
Bucknell has not looked good this year; nice opportunity for the Green to start the new regime on a + note.
GTown will be wound up for a win against Penn, but not desperate- no desperation in February. Right?

The rest of the league should be favored in its matchups.
Biggest interest for me (besides Bruno) is Princeton. #1recruiting class incoming & massively talented group having graduated. How will week 1 go, and what level will they reach by, say week 5?

I'm guessing that Bruno will have last year's game firmly in mind when facing Quinnipiac. I'd be surprised if the Big Green did not handle Bucknell somehow. Penn/GT is a question. GT has not started as strong as last year... it'll be the first look at post-Handley Penn.

In other games, Cornell faces a strong Lehigh. Harvard has a reasonably good Providence to play. Yale has a strong Villanova team on the schedule. It seems like Princeton vs Monmouth is the only clear mismatch.

[Dosadi]

The wait is almost over. Here is the lineup for Saturday. Is it too much to ask for a league sweep?

Noon:
Brown at Quinnipiac
Dartmouth at Bucknell
Penn hosts Georgetown
Princeton at Monmouth

3:30
Cornell hosts Lehigh
Harvard hosts Providence
Yale hosts Villanova

Brown over Quinnipiac by at least 4 - Q made it look easy vs St. Johns. Don't see that happening again, especially as Brown has probably circled this game for a while...
Dartmouth over Bucknell. Bucknell's 2 losses are to Merrimack by 4 and Marist by 7. I think Dartmouth wins by 3
Penn over Georgetown. I feel the least confident about this pick. But I still don't think that Georgetown has their offense figured out. ILPL by 3
Princeton over Monmouth. Tigers by a bunch. Nate Kaberi bursts on the scene.
Cornell over Lehigh. 2 goal loss to Rutgers yet a 1 goal win over Fairfield. The latter negates my positive thoughts of the former. Cornell by 5
Harvard over Providence. I think the Harvard sophomores that endured last year's disappointments are now very focused juniors. Providence has the "played more games" advantage, but they continue to turn over the ball too many times. Harvard by 4
Yale over Villanova. I think 'Nova is down. And even with the uncertainty about the health of Yale's offense, and the fact it's their first game, I'm still going with Eli by 5

For your entertainment purposes only

[The Orfling]

The wait is almost over. Here is the lineup for Saturday. Is it too much to ask for a league sweep?

Noon:
Brown at Quinnipiac
Dartmouth at Bucknell
Penn hosts Georgetown
Princeton at Monmouth

3:30
Cornell hosts Lehigh
Harvard hosts Providence
Yale hosts Villanova

Brown over Quinnipiac by at least 4 - Q made it look easy vs St. Johns. Don't see that happening again, especially as Brown has probably circled this game for a while...
Dartmouth over Bucknell. Bucknell's 2 losses are to Merrimack by 4 and Marist by 7. I think Dartmouth wins by 3
Penn over Georgetown. I feel the least confident about this pick. But I still don't think that Georgetown has their offense figured out. ILPL by 3
Princeton over Monmouth. Tigers by a bunch. Nate Kaberi bursts on the scene.
Cornell over Lehigh. 2 goal loss to Rutgers yet a 1 goal win over Fairfield. The latter negates my positive thoughts of the former. Cornell by 5
Harvard over Providence. I think the Harvard sophomores that endured last year's disappointments are now very focused juniors. Providence has the "played more games" advantage, but they continue to turn over the ball too many times. Harvard by 4
Yale over Villanova. I think 'Nova is down. And even with the uncertainty about the health of Yale's offense, and the fact it's their first game, I'm still going with Eli by 5

For your entertainment purposes only

Enjoyed the predictions, Dosadi. Good luck to all of the Ivy teams this weekend -- it's always a pleasure to see the returning veterans joined by talented new players -- and to all of my fellow Ivy lax fans in the FanLax Cinematic Universe. Let's go Yale! (And Brown, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Penn, and Princeton)

[bearlaxfan]

Best luck to all the Ivies... until league comp begins of course. Let's make this year more '22 than '23!


Hey Ho, Let's Go!

[joewillie78]

Best luck to all the Ivies... until league comp begins of course. Let's make this year more '22 than '23!


Hey Ho, Let's Go!

I'm not sure where most of the ivy games are being played today but here in Ithaca, the weather is awful. It is snowing, blowing and cold. Maybe they can get Schoellkopf cleared of the snow by 330, but the conditions will be terrible.

Any games here in the Northeast outdoors, will not be fun for the players or the fans.

Gobigred
Joewillie78

[Henpecked]

Best luck to all the Ivies... until league comp begins of course. Let's make this year more '22 than '23!


Hey Ho, Let's Go!

I'm not sure where most of the ivy games are being played today but here in Ithaca, the weather is awful. It is snowing, blowing and cold. Maybe they can get Schoellkopf cleared of the snow by 330, but the conditions will be terrible.

Any games here in the Northeast outdoors, will not be fun for the players or the fans.

Gobigred
Joewillie78

Penn vs Georgetown in Philly should be absolutely balmy. Snow was wet and fairly minimal last night. The sun is expected to shine on the west stands of Franklin Field by noon. 36 degrees with light wind. Bring a blanket. Play ball.

[joewillie78]

Best luck to all the Ivies... until league comp begins of course. Let's make this year more '22 than '23!


Hey Ho, Let's Go!

I'm not sure where most of the ivy games are being played today but here in Ithaca, the weather is awful. It is snowing, blowing and cold. Maybe they can get Schoellkopf cleared of the snow by 330, but the conditions will be terrible.

Any games here in the Northeast outdoors, will not be fun for the players or the fans.

Gobigred
Joewillie78

Penn vs Georgetown in Philly should be absolutely balmy. Snow was wet and fairly minimal last night. The sun is expected to shine on the west stands of Franklin Field by noon. 36 degrees with light wind. Bring a blanket. Play ball.

Good luck to Penn and all the ivies today. Here in ithaca, you will need way more than a blanket:
1. 4 wheel drive to get to the game
2. Snow shovel to clear your seat
3. Portable battery operated heater to keep your coffee from freezing
4. And most importantly, an appointment with your doctor to try to figure out why I would be crazy enough to subject myself to these conditions.

Gobigred
Joewillie78

[ctbagataway]

Wave to the camera, Joe Willie! https://www.cornell.edu/live-view/

[ctbagataway]

Princeton at Monmouth postponed

[joewillie78]

Wave to the camera, Joe Willie! https://www.cornell.edu/live-view/

Lol, they need to pan over to Schoellkopf so you can see some idiot about 3/4 of the way up the crescent at about the 50 yard line, shoveling his seat, and building a make shift lean-to, complete with heat and and a direct line to Door Dash , to bring in some hot food.

Gobigred
Joewillie78

[Ezra White]

Princeton at Monmouth postponed

Of course, the "hairy chested men of Cornell" would never do that, would they?