Miscellaneous questions, thoughts, impressions, etc.

[DMac]

Yeah, as soon as I started getting old.

[seacoaster]

Yeah, as soon as I started getting old.

Agreed; you sit in the stands, bundled up, drinking coffee or chocolate, and do nothing physical except for trying to generate enough warmth to stay alive, and at the end of it you go to dinner, have a meal and a drink, and...kaput.

[Dr. Tact]

She didn't play today...

https://gopsusports.com/sports/womens-l ... core/14031

Is she still suffering from the knee?

This is one of the scores that interested me...Towson lost to them by 6 last year, halved that this year...Is that Towson getting better or a lessor "We are" without Carter?

The other game of interest for me was the Dukes playing UNC right out of the chute.....I am still thinking that UNC may have one bad game and lose one over the season, but they are the favorites in my book to win it all.

[NYstateofmind]

Not a fan of NU coach who basically gifted her freshman class a free trip to Canada this summer.

[Matnum PI]

UMass beats BC...

[njbill]

Although I never felt the bitter cold at the game yesterday due to the many layers I wore, I felt wiped out after getting something to eat and getting back to the hotel. Any one else ever experience this?

This may be my favorite post of the season so far. Hits very close to home. I know EXACTLY what you mean.

[laxorangebookworm]

Stat that stands out to me is 14 goals unassisted. These coaches know exactly what is coming when scheduling, some handle it with more class than others.

Half of those were after the starters were pulled. Reserves want to show their coach what they've got. It is what it is.

One thing people seem to forget is that players on the bench want more playing time. They're going to push hard to try to move higher up on the chart. Not sure why this is so surprising to people.

[wlaxnut]

Stat that stands out to me is 14 goals unassisted. These coaches know exactly what is coming when scheduling, some handle it with more class than others.

Half of those were after the starters were pulled. Reserves want to show their coach what they've got. It is what it is.

One thing people seem to forget is that players on the bench want more playing time. They're going to push hard to try to move higher up on the chart. Not sure why this is so surprising to people.

Well said, Book!

[laxorangebookworm]

So I guess everyone cheers for the football team that is winning 52-0 to keep throwing the ball downfield instead of taking a knee to run out the clock. It’s called grace & humility which is why I love the women’s game and why it’s different. None of that on display by dropping 30 and winning by 27.

I would be willing to bet that NW lost more respect than they gained today.

By the way, goal #30 was scored with 9 seconds left, are you all proud of that? If so you’ve never coached or had a kid play the game.

Depends on what kind of offense you run. Pass oriented teams might very well do that. Depends on how much time is left on the clock. Not sure the football analogy is the best since you have to move the ball downfield on every play. Lacrosse is much faster with regards to ball movement.

I would agree that scoring with 9 seconds left is overkill, but maybe Girardi wanted to get the hat trick. I don't know. She did come off of a yellow card shortly before and maybe she wanted to make up for it. There are tons of reasons why players do what they do in games. I'm not sure what you're implying about "the women's game." Are you saying they shouldn't be as competitive as they can get? I'm not trying to show LarryGameLax attitude, but I'm genuinely curious about what you mean by that.

If I may, I'll give an example from another sport. UConn women's basketball, until just the last year or two, has been super dominant for quite some time. A lot of people couldn't/can't stand the fact that they win all the time. Coach Geno Auriemma's response to that criticism was basically (and I'm paraphrasing) "then get better." I honestly can't stand the guy, but he's right. And that applies to women's lacrosse as well. People don't like certain teams winning all the time? Then you need to improve.

Now, having said that, I will say that NU can take that attitude to extremes, and I get the impression that KAH is definitely a "no quarter" kind of coach (have thought that for a while). Players and coaches know what they're getting into when they schedule those games.

[LaxDad23]

First off, I agree with the 9 second thing.

But looking at the box score... NU got to a running clock 10 minutes into the game. They scored 20 in the first half and 10 in the second. She emptied the bench in the second half. To the earlier point, kids 18-35 on the roster want to play, and these are the few that that can happen.

If you asked each kid would you rather keep playing or play 'keep away' for 30 minutes, I am guessing on both the winning and losing ends they would say 'keep playing'. I saw an interview with a player(can't remember who), who said something to the effect of our goal as a team is to get everyone on the field, every game. Can't do that without a blow-out on either side.

BTW they put up 24 on Duke today -- not in any way analogous, but I think her coaching style to score as many as possible, irrespective of the level of the opponent.

As for scheduling the game... maybe they both had an open date to fill as simple as that.

[DMac]

If you asked each kid would you rather keep playing or play 'keep away' for 30 minutes, I am guessing on both the winning and losing ends they would say 'keep playing'.

Exactly, and while some parents and fans will lament about it for days, the players have moved on and aren't shattered and destroyed by the defeat. They get it. This same discussion happens every year, nothing new here.
Had this kind of discussion with my son who coaches youth lacrosse. Two-three days later he's still on a play, hit, missed pass, missed call, etc. Meanwhile the kids are on to whatever it is they do next and have forgotten about it all. It just aint no big deal.

[wlaxnut]

Although I never felt the bitter cold at the game yesterday due to the many layers I wore, I felt wiped out after getting something to eat and getting back to the hotel. Any one else ever experience this?

:lol: This may be my favorite post of the season so far. Hits very close to home. I know EXACTLY what you mean.

Haha--good to know there are others in the old geezer brigade! Did you see DMac's and seacoaster's responses above? Too funny.

[wlaxnut]

She didn't play today...

https://gopsusports.com/sports/womens-l ... core/14031

Is she still suffering from the knee?

I'm guessing so. Information is held closely in lacrosse I'm finding.

This is one of the scores that interested me...Towson lost to them by 6 last year, halved that this year...Is that Towson getting better or a lessor "We are" without Carter?

I would guess the former, although they did graduate Brisolari last year.

The other game of interest for me was the Dukes playing UNC right out of the chute.....I am still thinking that UNC may have one bad game and lose one over the season, but they are the favorites in my book to win it all.

They always seem to slip one in. I wouldn't be surprised at either prediction. I'm beginning to start hoping Northwestern wins it all. They are an exciting team to watch, and blessed with talent from one end of the field to the other. Wouldn't it be something if they are the team to end Maryland's interminable home win streak this year? We'll have to wait until March 26th to find out...

[njbill]

I'm not trying to show LarryGameLax attitude, but I'm genuinely curious about what you mean by that.

Just spoke to Larry. He told me he has trademarked “LarryGamLax Attitude” so you owe him 100 bucks.

[LaxGuy17]

What a great start to the 2020 season! So what did we learn about the Top 20 or so that we didn’t already know?....not that much as it turns out. Carolina’s good and JMU is still rebuilding. Syracuse is scary. Northwestern will ring the cash register against everyone, but their D may not stop anyone. Notre Dame needed a better tuneup for NU...see above. Don’t sleep on Duke...they may be better without North? Maryland hasn’t gone anywhere, but still don’t know if they’re elite yet...they get the benefit of the doubt. BC has some growing up to do...fast! UVA shouldn’t schedule Navy first every year...oh and Navy can play! Not ready to judge UM yet, but that game made me go...hmmm. Denver may be the class of the West! Colorado and Florida are both Top 15ish. Ok that’s all for now!

[wlaxnut]

UMass beats BC... :shock:

I wasn’t shocked at this. I noticed how much bigger on the whole UMass is than BC during the course of the game. They employed a ferocious and tenacious ride, taking a page from how BC Used to ride during the Apuzzo era. Gave BC problems All Game Long. And when their aggressive attackers went at the goal with their size, determination and skillful plays/schemes, it was no surprise to me that the Minutewomen took BC to the woodshed.

I think a lot of teams are going to figure out that if they faceguard North (which UMass did to perfection), there aren’t a whole lot of options left for the Eagles in spite of the fact that they do have some scorers left over from last year. They really miss the big three at this point. Urbank really misses Kent. She used to set her up on a regular basis as they had good chemistry. The defense lost a ton of good players so they will be hard-pressed to learn quickly. Maybe it will take a while for Rietano to hit her stride but she was pretty much invisible the whole game. As for UMass, we know that it wasn’t too long ago that they made some noise in The Tournament. This is a good big strong talented team. The fight for the top spot in the A10 will be fierce.

[Matnum PI]

I thought of Kent multiple times during preseason. She brought something unique to the squad last season.

[totc]

A couple of things through the weekend:

1. Yeah, Boston College is down a couple of pegs this season.
2. The number of freshmen who have contributed in a major fashion this season is amazing -- especially from the U-19 national side.
3. Duke scored 20 goals on Sunday!
4. Northwestern scored 24. Add that to the 30 from Saturday. They're a physical juggernaut but can they play defense?
5. The amount of time that umpires are taking to explain everything to the benches and to the scorer's tables is doing everything from giving a defense time to transition all the way down to the other end (see: Jacksonville-Michigan) to giving everyone, effectively, a free timeout.
6. Had the Duke-Northwestern game been 70 minutes instead of 60, I think Duke might have won it. It took a while for the Blue Devils to figure everything out.

[LaxGuy17]

One positive takeaway from the officiating this weekend...from the Navy game. There were three yellow cards called for excessive or high cross checks. Given that was supposed to be a Point of emphasis, I will take that as a positive.

[wlaxnut]

One positive takeaway from the officiating this weekend...from the Navy game. There were three yellow cards called for excessive or high cross checks. Given that was supposed to be a Point of emphasis, I will take that as a positive.

Then again--take a gander at the Northwestern/Duke game and you'll see rampant stickwork. No yellow card was issued until 8 minutes into the 2nd half.

https://www.espn.com/watch/schedule?cat ... ype=replay