Dartmouth 2024

[mdk01]

Alumni bad but not devasting news from New Jersey. Peter Rizzotti, who had started at close D for all Rutgers scrimmages looks to miss a few weeks with a leg injury suffered in today's scrimmage against Villanova. I have no source for specifics.

[Dosadi]

IL has noted a Dartmouth player as one of it's "10 Men's D1 Breakout Players" - Hopper Zappitello https://www.insidelacrosse.com/slidesho ... 45?slide=0

[Dosadi]

Short Video Highlights from the St. Anselm perspective from Saturday's scrimmage. https://youtu.be/_Wah--ErIKs

2 goalies shown by Dartmouth - #1 & #3
On the film, 3 goals scored against #3 and 3 goals scored vs #1.

Only 2 saves shown of Dartmouth shots.

So hard to discern any meaningful thoughts from a short video.

But with that said, the St. A vs Merrimack highlights showed 9 goals, and per another poster, that scrimmage was 10-10 very close to the end, with Merrimack pulling it out 14-13. Here's the quote from the D2 Scrimmages topic on the Merrimack v St A scrimamge,

Heard Saint Anselm scrimmaged D1 Merrimack yesterday and gave them all they could handle. 10-10 after three and 14-13 Mack final. Looks like the hawks are ready for a strong year!

[Sportin' Life]

The curtain goes up on the Kirwan Era tomorrow at noon EDT in Lewisburg, PA where the Big Green will take on 0-2 Bucknell. This first-ever meeting of the two schools presents a great opportunity for Dartmouth to start the season on the right foot. '23 All-Ivy second teamer Mitchell Myers (.561 FO%, 83 GB in '23) should provide a strong advantage at the faceoff dot over the Bison's Brendan Coyle (.401 FO%, 29 GB in '23). Offensively, the Big Green returns key top point scorers Colin McGill (31, 15), Quinn Moore (24, 6) and Nate Davis (20, 9), who it will need to be offensive engines tomorrow and throughout the season. It'll be interesting to see if Emmett Paradine (18, 9) is able to build on of his '23 IL ROY season in game one and beyond. Also worth following is who gets the nod in cage. Sophomore Sam Cooper (.432 '23 save percentage) started 11 games last year and junior Mason Morel (.419 '23 save percentage) started five. Has Kirwan settled on one of them or will freshman Ryan Williamson or transfer Collin Kuester, who had a .569 save percentage in 16 starts as a sophomore at Skidmore in '23, figure into the conversation? Excited to see how the Big Green look after a fall and winter under the new coaching staff!

[b1w7o9y7h]

My goodness, could it be here already? Me in the fraternity TV room as ESPN goes live at noon:

https://giphy.com/gifs/hulu-scared-3ohhwF34cGDoFFhRfy

Go Big Green!

[Voyuer]

I have actually watched Bucknell’s first two games. They have good O talent. GK’s have both been shaky. Bison traditionally play a lot of different D slide packages and utilize a 10 man ride a lot. This group on D is big but has appeared a step slow in their first two games. I don’t know if that is a lack of athletic quickness or they are just thinking too much. They have been really hurt by quick dodges at X. Dartmouth will need to clear efficiently versus pressure. Family bragging, and betting rights on the line as my son played for Bison! Let’s hope the new era gets off to a fast start! GBG

[MDlaxfan76]

The curtain goes up on the Kirwan Era tomorrow at noon EDT in Lewisburg, PA where the Big Green will take on 0-2 Bucknell. This first-ever meeting of the two schools presents a great opportunity for Dartmouth to start the season on the right foot. '23 All-Ivy second teamer Mitchell Myers (.561 FO%, 83 GB in '23) should provide a strong advantage at the faceoff dot over the Bison's Brendan Coyle (.401 FO%, 29 GB in '23). Offensively, the Big Green returns key top point scorers Colin McGill (31, 15), Quinn Moore (24, 6) and Nate Davis (20, 9), who it will need to be offensive engines tomorrow and throughout the season. It'll be interesting to see if Emmett Paradine (18, 9) is able to build on of his '23 IL ROY season in game one and beyond. Also worth following is who gets the nod in cage. Sophomore Sam Cooper (.432 '23 save percentage) started 11 games last year and junior Mason Morel (.419 '23 save percentage) started five. Has Kirwan settled on one of them or will freshman Ryan Williamson or transfer Collin Kuester, who had a .569 save percentage in 16 starts as a sophomore at Skidmore in '23, figure into the conversation? Excited to see how the Big Green look after a fall and winter under the new coaching staff!

+1

In a call this week, Coach expressed enthusiasm for the goalie crew in full, their play and their support of each other, however he didn't give any inkling as to who the starter would be. Apparently all line-up/depth chart decisions are made based on play through Wednesday each week.

That said, I wouldn't be surprised if we saw the freshman get the nod, assuming he's been playing well and directing the defense, clears etc well. But yes, the transfer who played at Manhasset in HS is intriguing. I haven't heard the story on him as transfers are near non-existent at Dartmouth.

Big takeaway from the call was that Coach considers this crew athletic and tough in the middle of the field, which is a good core attribute to begin with.

[Dosadi]

Interesting game - the snow squall in the middle of the 3rd period added a nice ambience.

Thoughts in no particular order:

1 - Felt the defense/SSDM’s were “thinking” instead of “playing” which is to be expected with a new defensive coordinator.

2 - Did I miss Tommy Rogan on the field today? If he didn’t play, I think that makes a big difference.

3 - I thought the offense looked fluid, and when it looked good, it looked very good.

I think if they play this in middle of season, Big Green wins it.

[Dosadi]

I have actually watched Bucknell’s first two games. They have good O talent. GK’s have both been shaky. Bison traditionally play a lot of different D slide packages and utilize a 10 man ride a lot. This group on D is big but has appeared a step slow in their first two games. I don’t know if that is a lack of athletic quickness or they are just thinking too much. They have been really hurt by quick dodges at X. Dartmouth will need to clear efficiently versus pressure. Family bragging, and betting rights on the line as my son played for Bison! Let’s hope the new era gets off to a fast start! GBG

IMHO, you called it - Bucknell won the clearing/riding game.

[mdk01]

I think if they play this in middle of season, Big Green wins it.

2:30 into the first game of the season against a team playing their third and you are down 4-0 and are 0-4 on faceoffs. You're right.

[Sportin' Life]

The Big Green dug itself an early hole and couldn't get out of it. Certainly looked like a team playing its first game of the season vs one playing its third. Kudos to the Bison. They played with confidence and poise and proved me wrong about Myers providing an edge. Dartmouth's clearing and riding were a mess as were its slides (either too early or not at all). Agree that the D was tentative and unsure of itself at times. Wouldn't be shocked if the starting goalie role may be up for grabs. Cooper had trouble from the get go but Morel provided a steadying influence despite having to enter the game cold (literally). I was surprised that McGill and Moore were basically non-factors (one goal on 6 shots between them) and that Rogan didn't play. On the positive side of the ledger, Dartmouth made adjustments that paid off (replacing Cooper with Morel, spelling Myers with Gandolfo and getting Azelby some key shifts early when LaTorre struggled) battled back to a one goal deficit in Q4, and had some strong offensive sequences. I'm sure Kirwan will iron out a lot of kinks in practice this week in preparation for the home opener vs Holy Cross next Sat.

[mdk01]

The Big Green dug itself an early hole and couldn't get out of it. Certainly looked like a team playing its first game of the season vs one playing its third. Kudos to the Bison. They played with confidence and poise and proved me wrong about Myers providing an edge. Dartmouth's clearing and riding were a mess as were its slides (either too early or not at all). Agree that the D was tentative and unsure of itself at times. Wouldn't be shocked if the starting goalie role may be up for grabs. Cooper had trouble from the get go but Morel provided a steadying influence despite having to enter the game cold (literally). I was surprised that McGill and Moore were basically non-factors (one goal on 6 shots between them) and that Rogan didn't play. On the positive side of the ledger, Dartmouth made adjustments that paid off (replacing Cooper with Morel, spelling Myers with Gandolfo and getting Azelby some key shifts early when LaTorre struggled) battled back to a one goal deficit in Q4, and had some strong offensive sequences. I'm sure Kirwan will iron out a lot of kinks in practice this week in preparation for the home opener vs Holy Cross next Sat.

I liked Morel's passing on clears.

[b1w7o9y7h]

I'm sure Kirwan will iron out a lot of kinks in practice this week in preparation for the home opener vs Holy Cross next Sat.

Good post-game review above, and from the Dartmouth Sports website game summary a Coach Kirwan quote: "The positive in this setback is that a lot of our mistakes were self-inflicted and are things that we can control and correct."

I'm no expert on analysis of in game and halftime adjustments from a coaching standpoint, but after the initial huge hole digging, the Big Green regrouped and tilted the playing field back to level - or slightly in their favor. Rationalizing a L doesn't change an L.

A new era is underway and excited to see what unfolds.

[MDlaxfan76]

Missing Rogan is indeed a big deal, but saw lots to like offensively. Defense was a mess, however, and the hoped for toughness in center of field was not evident or at least not a solid advantage.

I liked the resilience, the continued battling, but too many frustrating errors. Perfect quote by coach…

But I’m not sure there can be much success if can’t get tending above 50%. This isn’t the best shooting opponent we will face.

Brutal playing conditions for a tender, feel for those guys, but gotta wonder whether there’s an answer for this issue. Hope so!

[mdk01]

Missing Rogan is indeed a big deal, but saw lots to like offensively. Defense was a mess, however, and the hoped for toughness in center of field was not evident or at least not a solid advantage.

I liked the resilience, the continued battling, but too many frustrating errors. Perfect quote by coach…

But I’m not sure there can be much success if can’t get tending above 50%. This isn’t the best shooting opponent we will face.

Brutal playing conditions for a tender, feel for those guys, but gotta wonder whether there’s an answer for this issue. Hope so!

Part of the problem was the doorstep feeds the close D gave up, especially in the 1st half. That's not on the goalie..

[MDlaxfan76]

Missing Rogan is indeed a big deal, but saw lots to like offensively. Defense was a mess, however, and the hoped for toughness in center of field was not evident or at least not a solid advantage.

I liked the resilience, the continued battling, but too many frustrating errors. Perfect quote by coach…

But I’m not sure there can be much success if can’t get tending above 50%. This isn’t the best shooting opponent we will face.

Brutal playing conditions for a tender, feel for those guys, but gotta wonder whether there’s an answer for this issue. Hope so!

Part of the problem was the doorstep feeds the close D gave up, especially in the 1st half. That's not on the goalie..

yes, tough to stop, of course. Defense matters...and it was too often a mess. My point is that last season neither of our tenders were over 50%, indeed both under 45%, and I saw nothing to suggest that they will be above 50% this season without improvement. Which we'll need to win... Morel did of course have the much better day, but we needed particularly strong tending to make that comeback effort stick and that simply didn't happen, though Morel did have a solid 3rd Q with 4 saves, 3GA. But all shots on goal went in in the 4th.

Brutal weather...my worst day ever in net was in an unexpected snowstorm, froze my tail off after warming up and couldn't seem to move at all...so, certainly not tailor made for goalies...white backgrounds and all...fortunately, the opposing tenders weren't strong either...

We've had quite good goaltending this past decade, last year was a big drop off...just hoping this year the goalie corps will do better.

But you're absolutely right, we need to reduce the defensive breakdowns that result in doorstep layups.

[Dosadi]

Numerous positives:

1 - Goalie play - First year Williamson made saves he should make and made a bunch that were challenging for a total of 15 saves. Also was outstanding out of the cage and leading the clear.

2 - Will Cohen (#8) was a force. And Coaches were really effectively moving him between close and LSM to maximize his impact.

3 - Hopper - who IL predicted would breakout this year - created, and had great vision (2/6 for 8) I’ll be watching how he does against Lehigh and other strong/physically elite defenders. But he looked great today

4 - Clearing the ball was dramatically improved.

5 - Dartmouth won dramatically more 50/50 balls in the middle of the field.

6 - Quinn Moore with a couple. Good to see and important moving forward.

7 - Cameron Brown abused his SS mismatch on the Big/Little behind in the second half. More scoring options from the midfield is important.

8 - Team played intelligently down the stretch - had the lead, didn’t rush, made generally good decisions with ball/when to shoot etc. Perfect? No. But notably improved.

Concerns:

1 - SSDM play is still a concern to me. I don’t think the auditions are over.

2 - Third Attack Spot - thought 16 and 7 make a great pair. No Rogan for second straight game. Any word on his status? Davis has been scoring/wining matchups in space - and I love that. But I feel like he’d do even better if he came in through the box? And maybe he will if Rogan returns? The more I write on this, I’m less sure of this concern.

3 - F/O if “12 for 18” Mitchell Myers has to sit out any time due to injury.

4 - Penalty imbalance. Cornell lost to Denver in no small part due to penalties. Today, it didn’t impact Dartmouth, but i think the penalty count was 6-0 against Dartmouth. That could be deadly in games down the road.

But overall, a good win!

[MDlaxfan76]

Good first win for Coach!

Hope the freshman netminder keeps it up…was not surprised to see coaches make this move. Promising potential.

Great to see Zappitello breakout.

[Sportin' Life]

Agree with Dosadi's detailed assessment. Would add to the positives that McGill was a huge factor. He's a bell cow for the Big Green and they need to ensure that he (and Moore) are involved in the offense early in each game. In addition to Rogan, LaTorre's absence was notable.

[FannOLax]

Congratulations to Coach Kirwan and the Dartmouth lacrosse community on the first win of the Kirwan era! I'm thinking there will be many more Dartmouth wins under Kirwan.