Colorado Mesa

[Medicine_Game]

I know people are discussing this in the "Scores" thread but just to separate it, I thought I'd create a new topic here.

I think this is an embarrassment to the sport and I hope it does not go unpunished. Coach Vince Smith should be embarrassed with himself, but the fact that he was okay with putting that many goals on a team that was clearly less talented shows me that he probably won't be. 52-0 is a joke.

There are lots of teams out there playing inferior opponents that find a way to not humiliate them. I don't see why Colorado Mesa couldn't do it. I hope nobody schedules an out-of-conference game with them going forward and they are forced to only play their RMAC opponents. It will be more difficult to recruit if you only have six games on your schedule.

[RedFromMI]

I know people are discussing this in the "Scores" thread but just to separate it, I thought I'd create a new topic here.

I think this is an embarrassment to the sport and I hope it does not go unpunished. Coach Vince Smith should be embarrassed with himself, but the fact that he was okay with putting that many goals on a team that was clearly less talented shows me that he probably won't be. 52-0 is a joke.

There are lots of teams out there playing inferior opponents that find a way to not humiliate them. I don't see why Colorado Mesa couldn't do it. I hope nobody schedules an out-of-conference game with them going forward and they are forced to only play their RMAC opponents. It will be more difficult to recruit if you only have six games on your schedule.

The sports information department had an article describing the (at least three) records achieved during the game, but that article is long gone now. The game is also missing from the score listing at the top of the page. To see the box score you have to find the actual schedule now for the team and find the link for the box score.

It appears from the stats that J&W had somewhere less than a dozen or so offensive possessions (3 faceoff wins out of 53, 6 successful clears, and CMU had 8 turnovers) while recording no shots.

Not sure that there was a point in even playing this one...

[jersey shore lax]

here are their SID's please post if you email and get a reply - I will post reply if I get one

David Jahnke Sports Information [email protected] twitter jahnks24
Chris Day Sports Information Assistant [email protected]

[admin]

J&W is a D3 team and they have 2 wins this season. 39 teams ranked behind them in the Computer Rankings. In other words, Colorado Mesa may be able to break their record.

[sguy9]

And..... J&W (CO) is in their first year of provisional membership for NCAA Div III status.
They have played 10 games with a mix between DII and DIII teams.

Outscored 279-27
Out shot 594-91
Total roster of 18

This is not good for the growth of the game.

[soupsnakes]

0

[dodger29]

So, the response to this as medicine_man says (and I understand the sentiment fully) is

I hope nobody schedules an out-of-conference game with them going forward and they are forced to only play their RMAC opponents.

That has been going on for years and that is why J&W got a game with Mesa. To isolate the RMAC to deal with these jokers isn't right either. I think the more measured response would be for a number of good teams to seek out Mesa and whip their asses and get this coach fired for not winning enough games ... Just a thought...

[topcat430]

Considering it was reported the injured player taken off I a neck brace had just scored the 52nd goal that's on this jackas... Coach who should have been fired on the spot. I agree the school should be isolated by non-conference teams if he is not canned.

[ergit]

I really do understand the dilemma facing the winning team. Toying with a team can be equally as humiliating as laying a beating on them.
Having said that, 52-0 is just plain crazy.
Looking at the box score, you have players scoring in the first couple of minutes in the game appearing on the score sheet half way through the third quarter.
It just looks really bad on the coaching staff, the players, the program and the school as a whole and that probably is enough punishment in and of itself.

[WhiteCarrera]

ergit — I recognize the dilemma you point out. Up to a point, laying off a team and blatantly holding back can be an issue....but I wholeheartedly agree the this became could have (should have been) diminished.

The players who scored the eight 4th quarter goals, have 16 starts between them. One of those players scored twice in the 4th and also scored twice in the 1st.

Goals 47-48-49 were scored in a 41 second span.
Goals 50-51-52 were scored in a 33 second span!

No excuses!

[laxmarmot]

Who is in charge of the group, I agree the search committee should be meeting by now.

[jakester]

A 52-0 lacrosse is disgusting and classless. Full stop. Here is a video review I found on the game - https://www.laxsportsnetwork.com/videos ... wales-52-0

I know a lot of kids including my son that play D2 lax in various conferences and they have all expressed the same view. An interesting point they mentioned was why the players themselves didn't have the balls or enough character on their own to just not score. Where were the Captains on this team? CMU is now viewed by the lax community as a joke and embarrassment to the Creators Game. Pathetic. The whole coaching staff should be fired! What's next, a scheduled game against a top Colorado HS team?

[leeatu]

Has lacrosse ever considered a mercy rule? Just a guess, if the 4th quarter starts with a 10 goal lead the clock does not stop until it hits 0:00.

[Fanlax999]

in HS where I am at, there is a running clock after X goals and x qtrs left I think.

real classy move by Mesa, dodging in to score in last seconds. Karma bites you every time. Remember that players, coaches, parents, fans.

For my own kids, when they are up big (10+ goals), I tell them to get out of the game and let others play. In the back of my mind, I know the game is done and no benefit to him personally. Only bad things happen in blowouts, like fights and cheap shots because the other team is frustrated and humiliated (rightfully so), and take their anger out on the other team, or that is the only thing they have left which is physical play, obviously since they don't have the skill to play in a complete blow out.

My son has been on both sides of the blow outs. Not good either way. I have seen classless coaches whopping it up on scores of 20-1, with kids getting injured, etc. No class dbags. I never want my kid to play for these kinds of coaches. One of his HS coaches was this kind of classless coach unfortunately. Running up the scores and padding his and his players' stats, pure and simple. Selfish and arrogant play.

I put this on the coaches, and secondly on the players. A real baller doesn't pound an out-manned and out-classed team. What do you gain out of it? Seriously, what do you as a player gain out of running up scores 20-1 or 52-0??

Just run the damn clock down or turn the ball over by "accidentally" throwing the ball out. Do something to be sportsman like. But the ugly truth about sports, and lacrosse more times than not, especially with travel teams, is trying to look good at the expense of others. All for the sake of ego and money.

[MPSSAAlaxfan]

Just run the damn clock down or turn the ball over by "accidentally" throwing the ball out. Do something to be sportsman like. But the ugly truth about sports, and lacrosse more times than not, especially with travel teams, is trying to look good at the expense of others. All for the sake of ego and money.

Here is some quick math. 3600 seconds in a game. They played about 3150 due to the game being called. With an 80 second shot clock and assuming that the other team never possessed, that’s about 39 possessions. That’s unreasonable though to take the clock down every time, so say it was a 60 second shot clock and the other team never got the ball, now you are at 52 possessions. They scored 52 goals! Without completely making a mockery of things, they could have possessed and shot the ball at the end of the clock and no doubt won by 20-25 goals less.

[Laxwarrior]

A 52-0 lacrosse is disgusting and classless. Full stop. Here is a video review I found on the game - https://www.laxsportsnetwork.com/videos ... wales-52-0

....... CMU is now viewed by the lax community as a joke and embarrassment to the Creators Game.

[jersey shore lax]

Statement Regarding Colorado Mesa and Johnson and Wales Lacrosse Match
Story Links April 11 2019

[THE FOLLOWING STATEMENT WAS PUBLISHED BY THE COLORADO MESA UNIVERSITY CO-ATHLETIC DIRECTOR BRYAN ROOKS IN RELATION TO THE CONCERNS OVER THE RECENT OUTCOME OF A LACROSSE GAME BETWEEN CMU AND JOHNSON WALES UNIVERSITY.]

BRYAN ROOKS
Colorado Mesa University coaches and student-athletes sustain high expectations for player and coach conduct when it comes to sportsmanship. We believe in training and performance that puts forth the best from players and promotes the legacy of the sports we all love.

Fans and observers have rightly expressed frustration over the lopsided scoring from a recent game between Colorado Mesa and Johnson and Wales lacrosse teams.

CMU Athletics takes full responsibility for our role in the game's outcome and the unsportsmanlike nature of the final score. We must have protocols in place to address these issues in the future as games unfold in real-time. Allowing scores and outcomes to unfold that do not enhance the sport or contribute to the growth of student-athletes works at cross purposes to our mission. We are working closely with our coaching staff to identify, specific to the sport of lacrosse, triggers and thresholds that in the future will be in place to keep something like this from happening.

Importantly, leadership from the athletic departments of both universities have been in close contact regarding the matter. We are working collaboratively to take responsibly for our respective roles in the game's outcome and are coordinating to improve both programs in the future when it comes to sportsmanship and protocols. These conversations have been constructive, instructive and will continue in the coming days and weeks.

CMU athletics wants to be clear on two fronts.

First, we apologize to our fans and the people who love the game of Lacrosse. We also offer our apologies to the players –both Mavericks and Wildcats. They deserve better.

Second, we are committed to learning from this mistake and will take these learnings forward to make our programs better. In the coming weeks we will establish a plan for how we will make good on this commitment.

Finally, full responsibility is accepted by our administration and we believe our coaches understand the gravity of the outcome involving their actions. Our coaches highly regret many of the game-time decisions that contributed to the outcome.

Sometimes programs confront challenges by turning to those with experience and wisdom. In conversations with CMU President Tim Foster, he conveyed a belief that while good sportsmanship is one of the hallmarks of Colorado Mesa University that we failed to uphold our standard in this instance. President Foster asked that all coaches, players and the athletic department personnel take time to be introspective, and to learn from this situation, and to get better as competitors and as people. In addition to discussions with CMU's President, our staff has spoken with many members of the lacrosse community at multiple levels, including the NCAA. Their wisdom and insight was instructive. Many communicated that winning by unsportsmanlike margins isn't good sportsmanship; but neither is playing with less than your all and thereby disrespecting the game through patronizing play. These conversations pinpointed the difficulty in finding the right balance. However, finding that balance is our commitment to our players and fans in the future.

[sm2321]

At halftime, Mesa's coach asked Johnson Wales coach if he wanted to stop the game, and he said no. This is college. You don't just lay down and quit so you don't hurt the other players feelings. It's not just on CMU coach to stop play, if they didn't want to quit, then it's on them at that point. It's an insult to the game if you stop trying and to the other team as well. From the article the AD released: "In addition to discussions with CMU's President, our staff has spoken with many members of the lacrosse community at multiple levels, including the NCAA. Their wisdom and insight was instructive. Many communicated that winning by unsportsmanlike margins isn't good sportsmanship; but neither is playing with less than your all and thereby disrespecting the game through patronizing play."

[palaxoff]

here is the local newspaper report.

https://www.gjsentinel.com/sports/cmu/c ... 06c14.html

Kind of speak volumes that Vince Smith hasn't issued a statement.

[MPSSAAlaxfan]

At halftime, Mesa's coach asked Johnson Wales coach if he wanted to stop the game, and he said no. This is college. You don't just lay down and quit so you don't hurt the other players feelings. If they didn't want to quit, then it's on them at that point. It's an insult to the game if you stop trying and to the other team as well.

Mesa is a mediocre DII team at best, per their schedule and record. Much better teams have faced much larger talent gaps and have come off looking dominant and yet respectable and decent. I'm certainly not one for participation trophies, but the leadership at Mesa is lacking. Complete clown show and no respectable parent would send their kid off to play for that coach. The silver lining is the program has been exposed to those not in the know. Apparently, this boorish behavior didn't surprise those who actually had heard of this program before. Nice attempt at spin though. It's an insult to the game and the other team if you take your foot off the gas just a bit? Give me a break...