Maryland 2022 National Champions

[HopFan16]

It worked out for the Terps obviously but I don't get why you don't put Makar on Dordevic or why the strategy is to allow Cuse's best (only?) good dodger/scorer to just feast on you. If Makar is on Dordevic and limits him then...who else is scoring for the Orange? Rahill still could have won his matchup. So you'd be forcing Seebold to beat you, rather than Dordevic. I'd rather take that bet. If the theory is that Makar will erase whoever he's guarding then he should guard the kid who scores the goals, no? The only real way Cuse was ever going to win that game was if Dordevic had a huge game and he did. It still wasn't enough, but that was Cuse's only real path to a victory and Maryland let them have it.

[AreaLax]

Four of the Terrapins' remaining regular season games will be broadcast on Big Ten Network, including its games vs. Virginia (March 19 – 3 p.m.), at Penn State (March 27 – 7 p.m.), vs. Rutgers (April 10 – 7 p.m.) and vs. Ohio State (April 16 – 4 p.m.).

Additionally, Maryland's matchup at Johns Hopkins on April 23 will be broadcast on ESPNU.

[stupefied]

Seebold is a big and difficult dodger and Makar covered him most of game. Tillman choose the right matchup. Many of the heralded close defenders dont cover the ones but instead used to limit another while providing adjacent help. Harris seldom covered ones nor did Bowen at UNC or Smith of Georgetown. Assigned to make best use and impact. Did wonder why Grill covered Shellenberger instead of Makar in chip but Grill was a fine defender despite that result.

[HopFan16]

Seebold is a big and difficult dodger and Makar covered him most of game. Tillman choose the right matchup. Many of the heralded close defenders dont cover the ones but instead used to limit another while providing adjacent help. Harris seldom covered ones nor did Bowen at UNC or Smith of Georgetown. Assigned to make best use and impact. Did wonder why Grill covered Shellenberger instead of Makar in chip but Grill was a fine defender despite that result.

Harris didn't cover 1s because he was never the best cover defender on the team. I don't think it had much to do with what you're talking about. Duke just had better options. Namely Cade Van Raaphorst in 2018 and 2019 and then Brower after that.

Bowen covered 1s all the time, not always but very often.

I haven't paid enough attention to Gibby Smiths' matchups over the years but he's always struck me as more of a guy who's all over the field (and on wings on FOs) and a GB vacuum rather than as a shutdown 1-on-1 guy so that would make sense. Bowen was on Handley last weekend.

I think not putting your best cover defenseman on the other team's best player is getting too cute. In order to win the big boy games you need to prevent the other team's primary scorer from having huge blowup games. You're not gonna win when Bernhardt or Reeves or Spencer drops 10 pts on you. If your guy can hold them to 3-5 or so (or at least below their average, which is usually around 6) then you have a chance.

In this case, if the strategy was to concede the Dordevic matchup, which resulted in 5 goals, that's weird. They won so it's all fine but if they didn't, a big reason would have been because Dordevic had a monster game.

[BigTom5]

Seebold is a big and difficult dodger and Makar covered him most of game. Tillman choose the right matchup. Many of the heralded close defenders dont cover the ones but instead used to limit another while providing adjacent help. Harris seldom covered ones nor did Bowen at UNC or Smith of Georgetown. Assigned to make best use and impact. Did wonder why Grill covered Shellenberger instead of Makar in chip but Grill was a fine defender despite that result.

Harris didn't cover 1s because he was never the best cover defender on the team. I don't think it had much to do with what you're talking about. Duke just had better options. Namely Cade Van Raaphorst in 2018 and 2019 and then Brower after that.

Bowen covered 1s all the time, not always but very often.

I haven't paid enough attention to Gibby Smiths' matchups over the years but he's always struck me as more of a guy who's all over the field (and on wings on FOs) and a GB vacuum rather than as a shutdown 1-on-1 guy so that would make sense. Bowen was on Handley last weekend.

I think not putting your best cover defenseman on the other team's best player is getting too cute. In order to win the big boy games you need to prevent the other team's primary scorer from having huge blowup games. You're not gonna win when Bernhardt or Reeves or Spencer drops 10 pts on you. If your guy can hold them to 3-5 or so (or at least below their average, which is usually around 6) then you have a chance.

In this case, if the strategy was to concede the Dordevic matchup, which resulted in 5 goals, that's weird. They won so it's all fine but if they didn't, a big reason would have been because Dordevic had a monster game.

Totally agree. Harris was never the top cover defender and Gibson Smith is more of a Larken Kemp type, better in between the lines / off the ground than covering 1 on 1. If you are truly a top defender, you should relish those matchups.

[stupefied]

Macri covered most ones for UNC last year , Bowen does not have the same range as Makar in matchups, the struggles with some. Bowen matching up with big and strong Handley was good decision by Warne.

Tillman assigned his defenders correctly in Cuse game. Maryland has a good team defense that is not overly reliant on anyone to start with .Dordevic was covered fairly well for the most part and doubles came. Credit him for making some great moves and shots including that ground twister. Maryland did hold Cuse to ten goals , hard to second guess despite one individual performance.

[Wheels]

It worked out for the Terps obviously but I don't get why you don't put Makar on Dordevic or why the strategy is to allow Cuse's best (only?) good dodger/scorer to just feast on you. If Makar is on Dordevic and limits him then...who else is scoring for the Orange? Rahill still could have won his matchup. So you'd be forcing Seebold to beat you, rather than Dordevic. I'd rather take that bet. If the theory is that Makar will erase whoever he's guarding then he should guard the kid who scores the goals, no? The only real way Cuse was ever going to win that game was if Dordevic had a huge game and he did. It still wasn't enough, but that was Cuse's only real path to a victory and Maryland let them have it.

Tills was asked about this post game. They apparently didn't decide on it until late. They thought Doredevic would get his but could bog down Cuse's offense if Curry and the midfield couldn't get going. Quinn didn't play in Week 1, so they weren't sure if he'd play. Cuse scored 4 combined goals in the last minute of quarters 2 and 3. A couple of those were aided by the offense carelessly turning the ball over. So on the whole, it looks like their defensive strategy worked. Dordevic got his but the lack of distributors made Cuse's offense predictable and easy to guard. Dordevic is just that good. But the ball does die in his stick. A lot.

EDIT: Zappitello had played against Dordevic in the past...they know each other from Oregon...think that also factored in to Tills' and Bernhardt's decision making.

[BigTom5]

It worked out for the Terps obviously but I don't get why you don't put Makar on Dordevic or why the strategy is to allow Cuse's best (only?) good dodger/scorer to just feast on you. If Makar is on Dordevic and limits him then...who else is scoring for the Orange? Rahill still could have won his matchup. So you'd be forcing Seebold to beat you, rather than Dordevic. I'd rather take that bet. If the theory is that Makar will erase whoever he's guarding then he should guard the kid who scores the goals, no? The only real way Cuse was ever going to win that game was if Dordevic had a huge game and he did. It still wasn't enough, but that was Cuse's only real path to a victory and Maryland let them have it.

Tills was asked about this post game. They apparently didn't decide on it until late. They thought Doredevic would get his but could bog down Cuse's offense if Curry and the midfield couldn't get going. Quinn didn't play in Week 1, so they weren't sure if he'd play. Cuse scored 4 combined goals in the last minute of quarters 2 and 3. A couple of those were aided by the offense carelessly turning the ball over. So on the whole, it looks like their defensive strategy worked. Dordevic got his but the lack of distributors made Cuse's offense predictable and easy to guard. Dordevic is just that good. But the ball does die in his stick. A lot.

EDIT: Zappitello had played against Dordevic in the past...they know each other from Oregon...think that also factored in to Tills' and Bernhardt's decision making.

So what I get from this is that UMD figured Dordevic was going it win his matchup no matter who was covering him, so they decided to put their lesser pole on him and give help, while locking up all other matchups. Obviously it worked (since Cuse doesn’t have a ton of weapons to make them pay). If Makar is in fact the best in college lacrosse, he should be able to handle Dordevic, it’s not Mikey Powell.

[jrn19]

I can’t recall on other matchups, but Bowen definitely did not cover Michael Sowers last year in either matchup; Macri did. If he’s so good why didn’t he cover one of the best attackmen in the country? See how silly that is? 1 defenders don’t always cover the #1 opposing guy.

[BigTom5]

Maybe my opinion is tainted by how bad he played in the NCAA finals last year. And I still don’t get how you don’t utilize your lockdown defender against a team with only 2 legitimate dodging threats. Makar’s a very very good player, I just don’t think he’s at Bowen’s level. But not many are.

[jrn19]

Aside from Saustad on Bernhardt; no one had a good game defensively in the championship. And even he still got beat a time or two.

[AreaLax]

For Maryland men’s lacrosse’s Jack Brennan, a triumphant return was more than a year in the making

[AreaLax]

No. 1 Maryland men’s lacrosse vs. No. 20 Princeton preview

Playing by committee and having two lines going out there and scoring is big for us,” graduate midfielder Jonathan Donville said. “I think it shows late in games when we’ve been able to roll a lot of guys throughout the game and our legs are a little fresher by the fourth quarter.

[Typical Lax Dad]

No. 1 Maryland men’s lacrosse vs. No. 20 Princeton preview

Playing by committee and having two lines going out there and scoring is big for us,” graduate midfielder Jonathan Donville said. “I think it shows late in games when we’ve been able to roll a lot of guys throughout the game and our legs are a little fresher by the fourth quarter.

Thanks for posting that. Good overview. I like the Maryland team. Fairman going to SSDM is a big boost. He and Pugliese are dangerous in transition. The analysis on lack of experience is wrong. The writer made an assumption.

[AreaLax]

Announcing the Capitol Classic Lacrosse Tournament featuring -

* 12pm ET: #17 Catholic University vs #16 Hampden-Sydney College
* 3pm ET: #1 University of Maryland vs #2 University of Virginia
* 6pm ET: #7 Duke University vs Towson University

Ticket sales begin March 3, 2022

https://twitter.com/cclaxdc/status/1497 ... 77891?s=21

[Typical Lax Dad]

Announcing the Capitol Classic Lacrosse Tournament featuring -

* 12pm ET: #17 Catholic University vs #16 Hampden-Sydney College
* 3pm ET: #1 University of Maryland vs #2 University of Virginia
* 6pm ET: #7 Duke University vs Towson University

Ticket sales begin March 3, 2022

https://twitter.com/cclaxdc/status/1497 ... 77891?s=21

That’s excellent!

[jrn19]

Odd game at times but 2-3 more saves on our end and 2-3 less from Princeton and it's a blowout. Don't think Princeton ever got to within 2.

Pros
- Long had his best game. No one on Princeton's D could keep up with him, even when he wasn't outright beating his man his speed meant he was able to get a good pass off and draw attention on the D. Such a strong initiator from the wing
- Donville might wind up being only behind Logan as best transfer add under Tills. Just such a weapon. Can shoot, can dodge from the wing, invert and dodge from behind, stick stills from box are so good. You might have to put your 2nd best pole on him which means a teams 3rd/4th best pole is going to be on Khan or Malever, which they can weaponize.
- Wierman obviously had good match-up with Princeton down a couple FOGOs but he continues to look good and what a weapon in transition. 4 goals this year! Should have shot on that one he passed to the doorstep, he's got auto green light if he gets a look
- Thought defense played well all things considered. Shorties didn't get beat underneath in tight like we've seen a few times so far, active on the ground and forcing turnovers. Princeton has some guys who can make things happen on that offense and held em to 27% off. eff.
- Having 8 goal scorers in a game where it felt like lot of guys didn't play great is a show of strength

Cons
- I thought offense let Peters get in their heads too much. They were creating tons of great looks in the 1Q, he was just making saves. After that, until the 4Q, felt like they got antsy and took some bad shots. Forcing outside looks that weren't there, rushing things a bit. Needed to just stick at it. But got back to it in the 4Q and had some great looks
- I know it's heresy to criticize McNaney at times, but there's just 2-3 goals a game that he needs to stop and he's not doing it. Cuse game was good, and he is good out of the cage, but he's below 50% for the year now and he's got a defense in front of him that doesn't ask him to make a lot of tough stops. He's the only option, not saying bench him or anything, but he's gotta be better. The standard of goalie play at MD is just frankly higher than what he's bringing to the table. With Wierman being great at FOs it's the only weakness right now
- Wing play could have been better. Got better 2H, but 1H Princeton was grabbing some even when Wierman was winning clamp every time.

All in all, can't complain much about 5 goal W's. Haven't trailed yet this year. Onto ND.

[BigTom5]

UVA put Saustad on Dordevic today. Held him to 1 goal 0 assist. I guess you can put your top defender on him and have success on defense. Weird.

[jrn19]

Okay

[Typical Lax Dad]

Odd game at times but 2-3 more saves on our end and 2-3 less from Princeton and it's a blowout. Don't think Princeton ever got to within 2.

Pros
- Long had his best game. No one on Princeton's D could keep up with him, even when he wasn't outright beating his man his speed meant he was able to get a good pass off and draw attention on the D. Such a strong initiator from the wing
- Donville might wind up being only behind Logan as best transfer add under Tills. Just such a weapon. Can shoot, can dodge from the wing, invert and dodge from behind, stick stills from box are so good. You might have to put your 2nd best pole on him which means a teams 3rd/4th best pole is going to be on Khan or Malever, which they can weaponize.
- Wierman obviously had good match-up with Princeton down a couple FOGOs but he continues to look good and what a weapon in transition. 4 goals this year! Should have shot on that one he passed to the doorstep, he's got auto green light if he gets a look
- Thought defense played well all things considered. Shorties didn't get beat underneath in tight like we've seen a few times so far, active on the ground and forcing turnovers. Princeton has some guys who can make things happen on that offense and held em to 27% off. eff.
- Having 8 goal scorers in a game where it felt like lot of guys didn't play great is a show of strength

Cons
- I thought offense let Peters get in their heads too much. They were creating tons of great looks in the 1Q, he was just making saves. After that, until the 4Q, felt like they got antsy and took some bad shots. Forcing outside looks that weren't there, rushing things a bit. Needed to just stick at it. But got back to it in the 4Q and had some great looks
- I know it's heresy to criticize McNaney at times, but there's just 2-3 goals a game that he needs to stop and he's not doing it. Cuse game was good, and he is good out of the cage, but he's below 50% for the year now and he's got a defense in front of him that doesn't ask him to make a lot of tough stops. He's the only option, not saying bench him or anything, but he's gotta be better. The standard of goalie play at MD is just frankly higher than what he's bringing to the table. With Wierman being great at FOs it's the only weakness right now
- Wing play could have been better. Got better 2H, but 1H Princeton was grabbing some even when Wierman was winning clamp every time.

All in all, can't complain much about 5 goal W's. Haven't trailed yet this year. Onto ND.

Good game. Maryland looks good. FOGOs and senior middie out for Tigers didn’t help but Maryland is definitely a final four caliber team. Game far more competitive than 2015 and 2016 games. Donville definitely a difference maker. Good luck the rest of the way. Tillman has built quite the program.