Yale 2019

[The Orfling]

Very happy for the team to escape with a win, and, once again, I'm impressed with the mental game to not give up when in a hole. Terrific stretch of lacrosse in the second half when Yale went on an 8-1 run. Nice inside game in the second half. Timely man down defense in overtime. But, as calourie said, lots of work to be done. Pretty dreadful start -- sloppy on offense with unforced errors. Passing for a time was too predictable and easy for UMass to break up. Some uninspired shot selection (not sure #4 should be taking one-fifth of Yale's shots in a given game). #23 in goal looked like he did not see the ball well, and on multiple occasions the defense took poor angles and was slow to slide. Still looking vulnerable on MDD (with the notable exception of OT). Couldn't get a stop in the last two minutes. But . . . down five in the second half with about 20 minutes to play and the team came out with a win. That's a good day.

This is Game #3 and there are things that need to gel. But I think the improvement will come.

[The Orfling]

One other thing to be thankful about from yesterday’s game: that Jack Tigh appears to have emerged uninjured after a brutal blindside hit by UMass. Isaac Paparo, who made the hit, is an All-American caliber close defenseman but he had a similar hit last week against Harvard and could have ended somebody’s season unnecessarily on both occasions. Looking to light somebody up may be a luxury the game can no longer afford.

[FannOLax]

Next up, Michigan, next Sunday in Atlanta, Georgia. Both teams have the full week to prepare. Michigan are 3-1, with wins over Cleveland State, Jacksonville, and most recently a 16-11 win yesterday over St. John's in the lovely NYC borough of Queens. Michigan's only loss was a double OT home setback to Drexel (those CAA teams are tough!). Last year the maize and blue Wolverines gave Yale all they could handle in New Haven; Michigan led 8-6 at halftime, stretched the lead to 9-6, but Conor Mackie dominated FOs the rest of the way and Yale prevailed 15-11. Michigan returns a lot from last year's team, and well, everybody is gunning to knock off the defending national champs.

[calourie]

Season now a month+ for the Bulldogs with the Michigan tilt looming as the last OOC tune-up before conference play starts. The team-wide intensity against Penn State, and the impressive comeback versus UMass give indications that the team is starting to gel in many areas. I'd love to see a full game effort down in Georgia. Wouldn't surprise me to see one of the back-up goalies get a shot in cage, as Shay has shown a willingness to experiment in cage when stops haven't been up to snuff over the past few seasons. No slight to Starr who as we all know has a well earned championship title under his belt, but we also know a 39% save percentage isn't exactly setting a difficult high water mark to improve upon regardless of who gets put out there. I wonder if coach Tom Compitello's (who was an excellent goalie at Stony Brook) departure for a paying position at Lehigh might be one of the reasons for Starr' s medium performance so far. Defense both out front and in close hasn't been the help we hope it can become as well. Anyway, here's hoping we see improvement in all those areas and come back from Atlanta with another win under our belts. Hopefully too the game will be available on ESPN+.

[FannOLax]

Michigan has scored 16 goals in two of its games this year, reached double digits in all of its games, and returns a lot of its top scorers from last year; so this should be a stern test for a Yale defense that was hard-hit (both long poles and SSDMs) by graduation. I'm hoping for improved sliding and coordination as a defensive unit, especially since the game after Michigan is against a Cornell team that appears to have a high-power offense. I'd also love to see improved clearing against Michigan. Yes, there are a number of things the offense can improve upon also; maybe I'm an optimist, but I believe those will work them themselves out... Compared to NYC and Connecticut, the day-time highs in Atlanta look downright balmy.

[The Orfling]

It seems like the Yale-Michigan game will be streamed live on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaEqqGx ... IGxytnW5nr

No way of knowing what the video quality will be but good to have some way to see the game.

[calourie]

Big game for Yale against a good and veteran Michigan team tomorrow. Time for the Bulldogs to show some real cohesion in many fazes of the game in which they have been a bit underwhelming so far this season (which is not meant to denigrate a 2-1 start that includes victories over two very capable opponents [oh how jaded Yale's recent success has left me]). This team has a lot of very good players, but has seemed a bit tentative on many occasions both offensively and defensively, (not quite as positively aggressive as it has manifested in the past when it is hitting on all cylinders) somewhat to be expected as a team works to find itself and blend in new roles and new players as well as a newly implemented shot clock early in the season. A week before conference play starts is obviously a good point in the season for the team to exhibit the type of game to game improvement that Shay and crew have been consistently able to elicit over the past decade. If they do so the Ivy Title could well again be theirs' for the taking though the Ivies clearly contain plenty of teams who could shatter my prognostication should this year's Eli squad fail to evidence that same kind of progress. Here's hoping we see a heavy dose of it tomorrow.

[Ivyman]

Time for the Bulldogs to show some real cohesion in many fazes ...

They weren't as fazed by Penn State as my team was.

[calourie]

Thanks for the spell check Ivyman. I knew something was wrong, but I'm too old to hold myself accountable.

[FannOLax]

Unfazed by being told to set their phasers on stun, the Star Trek crew think that was a pretty good half by Yale. Love the ride. D looking better. Now let's see if we can maintain and even stretch the lead.

[The Orfling]

Nice to have a game that did not result in sustained bouts of high blood pressure -- good win by Yale overall. A few thoughts in no particular order without the benefit of a box score at this point:

• Strong offensive showing by the Elis -- something like 9-10 different goal-scorers for Yale; nice midfield scoring (big day for Tevlin as well as contributions by Daniggelis, Tigh, and Kuttin; some beautiful assisted goals, especially by Morrill; good adjustment by Yale late in the first half to go more up-tempo on offense;

• Good ride in the first half in particular helped Yale take control of the game;

• As usual, great work at the X by Ierlan. I liked that #24 the first-year got a chance to take a number of face-offs in a row. He looked great on the clamp and will be working on maintaining possession after the initial clamp;

• On Yale's clears, it looks like they are either allowing/encouraging Starr to use his athleticism and take the ball further up the field when necessary -- he's fast and athletic and that is a good element to have in the clearing arsenal;

• Good 6 on 6 defense by Yale -- they stayed on the hands of Michigan's stronger shooters.

On the "needs improvement" side of things:

• The man-down defense is still a growth area -- as this defense and #23 in goal are still looking for a "shut-down game" to build identity and confidence, an ineffective MDD and penalties down the stretch are cause for concern in closer games.

• Yale had a huge shot advantage for most of the first half but took a while to generate higher percentage shot opportunities. They did of course do that, so this is a limited criticism, but there are games where letting a team hang around like that could be troublesom.

On the "cranky observer" side of things:

• The video stream and announcing were amateurish (e.g. continually getting names wrong -- "Jake Starr" and "Brandoo" for example 00 and mixing up jersey colors. BUT that's a long-term positive because it makes me more grateful for the ESPN plus coverage.

Next up: a Cornell squad coming off a huge-bounceback take-down of #1 Towson on short rest after getting pummeled by Penn State. This weekend fairly clearly has convinced the Big Red coaching staff that C. Ierlan (who had an excellent day to day) is the choice to start in goal. Lots of story lines for this Ivy opener!

[Mid-Lax]

Agree with Orfling on the blood pressure especially for a rest day Sunday. Nice win. Don't have stats to look at but very impressed with 2nd half up tempo surge, Ielran (of course), Neuman (nice to see him get the 2nd half) and the freshman on their scoring (nice goals too), Gaudet-not sure how he gets lost back there, very nice shots by Tevlin. This is a good way to move into mid season and the start of Ivy play.

Looking for things to pick at here, but, need to be better on clears, improve late slides, get better goal tending on 50-50 shots, plus not take shots right to the goalie's stick side crosse.

I'm going to disagree with Orfling. I liked the lacrossefire commentators. They were knowledgeable, enthusiastic, descriptive and offered good local Atlanta flavor. Do agree that the video was lacking but that was likely the service quality provided by the high school wifi or mobile. The crowd seemed pretty good (I wish the broadcast cameras would always be on the opposite side so it would not always look like lacrosse stands are empty). Looks like the weather was perfect.

[calourie]

As usual, Orfling beat me to the punch with an insightful and thorough analysis of the game, but since I'd already written my post I'm going to submit it anyway despite the obvious redundancies. Complete effort by the Bulldogs today in all "fazes". Breakout game for Tevlin, showing off all the abilities that I imagined he was capable of. FY DeMuth replaced Weitzel on close D and did a nice job, which allowed Will to go back to his more comfortable LSDM role. Ierlan, Morrill, Fake and Tevlin were outstanding, but everyone played with a nice intensity. Hynes seems to be back at full speed on D, and is fun to watch. Gaudet as well as the rest of the O would have had a handfull of additional goals if not for a tremendous effort by Michigan's Heidt in the cage ( as well as the Orfling-mentioned sprinkling of questionable shot selections. Goalie, GB and clearing play was all commendable. Very little to take issue with other than the mechanical shot clock issues that went on almost all game long. Just to nit pick, a few times the D had a hard time staying between their men and the goal which gave the Wolverines a few more open looks than I would have liked, but I think we were spoiled last year by the defensive prowess of Warner, Alessi, Keating and O'Conner. Thought everyone looked like they are starting to settle into their roles. Like seeing more of the newcomers especially Kuttin and Neumann, as well as the effort on the wing and on D of Brian Ward who hadn't seen much playing time until this year. Next up, Cornell. If the Bulldogs play with the composure and intensity they showed today they should do well. Should be a blockbuster of a game. I can't wait to watch.

[The Orfling]

Excellent analysis by both Mid-Lax and calourie.

Calourie, nice and sharp-eyed pickup of DeMuth getting the start at close D. I had heard that the coaches were high on him coming out of fall ball so I wondered if we might see this move. As you say, that puts Weitzel back in his comfort zone as a top-performing LSDM. Great point as well on Hynes -- he had some outstanding on-ball work that was a pleasure to see. We'll need that from him with the high-octane Cornell offense coming up.

Mid-lax, agree on your thoughts re: areas for improvement. (And nothing wrong with accentuating the positive re: the broadcast!)

[Mid-Lax]

Really enjoy reading The Orfling and calourie's game summaries. Seeing post-game stats, there was nice spread on the scoring including some rockets from the mids. Maybe I was a bit hard on Yale's goal-tending (one save off +50%). I don't think I've ever seen two FOGOs that quick on the SAME team. Just to expand on Devlin, his shot-making and shot-creation were impressive. The attack-like goal by middie Kuttin (glad u spelled his name first) was eye-opening and Brandau had those two nice goals. Yes, I see Cornell beat up on Towson (wonder how they neutralized the excellence of Towson's FOGO?).

Well, big game to start Ivy League play upcoming. Is the Teat-shut-off thing still a consideration (have not seen any of Big Red's games)?

[FannOLax]

Definite improvement, with Bulldog turnovers reduced to 13 (and 6 of those were in the 4th quarter). I've been waiting for, expecting, Tevlin to have a game like that; nice to see him get four goals and two assists, but it was definitely a team effort. Good to see plenty of underclassmen get playing time, especially Neuman. Shay teams tend to improve throughout the season, so that means there is room for improvement, but this win was definitely a step in the right direction. Cornell's visit next Saturday is shaping up to be a titanic battle between two very good teams. Some milder weather is predicted to move into the area, like (dare I say it) actual lacrosse weather.

[Ivyman]

Next up: a Cornell squad coming off a huge-bounceback take-down of #1 Towson on short rest after getting pummeled by Penn State.

Hey! It was only a first quarter pummeling!

[calourie]

It will be interesting to see how the Bulldogs handle Teat this Saturday after being shredded last year in the ILT finals after making no effort to shut Jeff off. My guess is they play him pretty straight up and let the chips fall where they may unless that proves to be a totally futile exercise. Though they looked as strong as they have all season against Michigan, it feels like this year's D is still a work in progress and to my thinking it would be nice to not have to disrupt that progress by radically adjusting for Teat. Looks like Towson made an effort to shut him off Sunday (only 4 assists) which allowed Peterson to go off with an 8 goal performance, so in the case of Cornell's attack it looks like a pick your poison regardless. I expect the game to have a different flavor than the last matchup in at least one respect beyond the score being more evenly matched. Mainly, I expect Yale to have a more dominant edge in the face off department than any team Cornell has faced. The Big Red was able to overcome a marked disparity at FOGO against Towson's stud Woodall by tying him up and causing turnovers with wing play. Ierlan on the other hand, tends to win a majority of his faceoffs to himself by virtue of his quickness and anticipation, resorting to tying up his opponent with his wrestling prowess only as a last resort. If that doesn't lead to an advantage for the Bulldogs, they still have a fleet of tough and capable wingmen who should be able to hold their own against whoever Cornell puts up against them. Obviously this situation will be litigated on the field, but on paper and in my mind at least, considerable advantage Bulldogs.
Even if they do win the face off battle handily, Yale will be facing an offense that I expect to be the equal of Penn State's in terms of efficiency. It pays to remember that, despite losing the FOGO battle 5-26, PSU came within a goal of taking down the Elis, so the Yale defense will have to be more ready than they have ever been to have a good game. I like the way our offense came around against Michigan, with the breadth of scoring and number of shots taken, but against Cornell I suspect an even greater efficiency will be in order. It would be nice to see Jack Tigh emerge from the shooting slump that has seen him only connect on 18% of his shots. He can score in any number of ways, and improving the accuracy of his outside cannon would only enhance that capability.
This should be a barn burner of a game, on national TV no less. I read somewhere that the Bulldogs are taking their time getting back to New Haven, but regardless of where they practice I anticipate Shay, Baxter and Stimmel will have this team fired up and ready to face another in a long history of outstanding Cornell lacrosse teams. Saturday can't come soon enough, at least from a lacrosse stand point.

[FannOLax]

... This should be a barn burner of a game, on national TV no less. I read somewhere that the Bulldogs are taking their time getting back to New Haven, but regardless of where they practice I anticipate Shay, Baxter and Stimmel will have this team fired up and ready to face another in a long history of outstanding Cornell lacrosse teams. Saturday can't come soon enough, at least from a lacrosse stand point.

The webcast announcers said yesterday that Yale planned to spend two days practicing in Atlanta before heading back to New Haven. Ironically, the weather today here in the NYC/CT area feels spring-like, sunny with temperatures hitting 50-something. Yes, barn-burner; I'm really looking forward to this game. I didn't quote calourie's entire post, but I agree with many of his comments, especially about the defense being a work in progress.

[The Orfling]

Great post, calourie. I agree that we will probably will not see a shut-off; not only does Coach Shay seem to be structurally averse to gimmick defenses, so to speak, but as you note the shut-off efforts this year have not paid off. Petterson has been tremendous and sophomore John Piatelli also appears to be having a monster year (averaging almost five points a game). Excellent analysis on all of your other main points.