Northwestern @ UNC 3/6/2022 @ 12:00

[wlaxphan20]

game thread

[Dr. Tact]

Shouting play by play woman again

[Kleizaster]

awfully quiet in here..well..that was a shlacking. NW had some good moments but the depth UNC has is scary. those UNC middies and attackers just kept coming wave after wave and NW does not have the horses to keep up. Every UNC transfer has hit the ground running. Aldave looking like her pre-injury ND self. Geiersbach has been impressive. No offense to richmond but her talent belongs on the big stage. Dirks has been really good as well. and that's with Tayler Warehime being out. BC showdown can't come fast enough

[8meterPA]

awfully quiet in here..well..that was a shlacking. NW had some good moments but the depth UNC has is scary. those UNC middies and attackers just kept coming wave after wave and NW does not have the horses to keep up. Every UNC transfer has hit the ground running. Aldave looking like her pre-injury ND self. Geiersbach has been impressive. No offense to richmond but her talent belongs on the big stage. Dirks has been really good as well. and that's with Tayler Warehime being out. BC showdown can't come fast enough

I didn't see the game, but watching the highlights it was somewhat shocking how wide open the cutters were for UNC, I mean a good number of those shots were wide open looks.

[laxer12]

awfully quiet in here..well..that was a shlacking. NW had some good moments but the depth UNC has is scary. those UNC middies and attackers just kept coming wave after wave and NW does not have the horses to keep up. Every UNC transfer has hit the ground running. Aldave looking like her pre-injury ND self. Geiersbach has been impressive. No offense to richmond but her talent belongs on the big stage. Dirks has been really good as well. and that's with Tayler Warehime being out. BC showdown can't come fast enough

I didn't see the game, but watching the highlights it was somewhat shocking how wide open the cutters were for UNC, I mean a good number of those shots were wide open looks.

Yeah, so much for NW's defense being so vastly improved this season. Still pains me that Syracuse found a way to lose to that very average NW team.

[Justalaxdad]

awfully quiet in here..well..that was a shlacking. NW had some good moments but the depth UNC has is scary. those UNC middies and attackers just kept coming wave after wave and NW does not have the horses to keep up. Every UNC transfer has hit the ground running. Aldave looking like her pre-injury ND self. Geiersbach has been impressive. No offense to richmond but her talent belongs on the big stage. Dirks has been really good as well. and that's with Tayler Warehime being out. BC showdown can't come fast enough

I didn't see the game, but watching the highlights it was somewhat shocking how wide open the cutters were for UNC, I mean a good number of those shots were wide open looks.

Yeah, so much for NW's defense being so vastly improved this season. Still pains me that Syracuse found a way to lose to that very average NW team.

Maybe ‘Cuse is just as average as NW? Or maybe UNC is just that much better than both of them?

[wlaxphan20]

awfully quiet in here..well..that was a shlacking. NW had some good moments but the depth UNC has is scary. those UNC middies and attackers just kept coming wave after wave and NW does not have the horses to keep up. Every UNC transfer has hit the ground running. Aldave looking like her pre-injury ND self. Geiersbach has been impressive. No offense to richmond but her talent belongs on the big stage. Dirks has been really good as well. and that's with Tayler Warehime being out. BC showdown can't come fast enough

Yes I agree, the transfers stood out in this one. I was also really impressed with UNC's defense. NU was constantly setting picks and screens on and off ball and UNC did a good job communicating switches or staying with their marks when they deemed it appropriate.

[Laxfan500]

awfully quiet in here..well..that was a shlacking. NW had some good moments but the depth UNC has is scary. those UNC middies and attackers just kept coming wave after wave and NW does not have the horses to keep up. Every UNC transfer has hit the ground running. Aldave looking like her pre-injury ND self. Geiersbach has been impressive. No offense to richmond but her talent belongs on the big stage. Dirks has been really good as well. and that's with Tayler Warehime being out. BC showdown can't come fast enough

Yes I agree, the transfers stood out in this one. I was also really impressed with UNC's defense. NU was constantly setting picks and screens on and off ball and UNC did a good job communicating switches or staying with their marks when they deemed it appropriate.

Glad to see Gilbert get called out on constant charging. They really miss Scane (understatement). UNC depth looking good and still gelling. Although keep in mind these teams all scout each other . Ortega prob gets best D on her then SRG or KW…by the time they get to Aldave and Geiabach the level of D has dropped. This enables these players to prob get less defensive pressure on them and the ability to get a clearer lane to shoot .

[Laxfan500]

awfully quiet in here..well..that was a shlacking. NW had some good moments but the depth UNC has is scary. those UNC middies and attackers just kept coming wave after wave and NW does not have the horses to keep up. Every UNC transfer has hit the ground running. Aldave looking like her pre-injury ND self. Geiersbach has been impressive. No offense to richmond but her talent belongs on the big stage. Dirks has been really good as well. and that's with Tayler Warehime being out. BC showdown can't come fast enough

Yes I agree, the transfers stood out in this one. I was also really impressed with UNC's defense. NU was constantly setting picks and screens on and off ball and UNC did a good job communicating switches or staying with their marks when they deemed it appropriate.

Glad to see Gilbert get called out on constant charging. They really miss Scane (understatement). UNC depth looking good and still gelling. Although keep in mind these teams all scout each other . Ortega prob gets best D on her then SRG or KW…by the time they get to Aldave and Geiabach the level of D has dropped. This enables these players to prob get less defensive pressure on them and the ability to get a clearer lane to shoot .

[laxer12]

awfully quiet in here..well..that was a shlacking. NW had some good moments but the depth UNC has is scary. those UNC middies and attackers just kept coming wave after wave and NW does not have the horses to keep up. Every UNC transfer has hit the ground running. Aldave looking like her pre-injury ND self. Geiersbach has been impressive. No offense to richmond but her talent belongs on the big stage. Dirks has been really good as well. and that's with Tayler Warehime being out. BC showdown can't come fast enough

I didn't see the game, but watching the highlights it was somewhat shocking how wide open the cutters were for UNC, I mean a good number of those shots were wide open looks.

Yeah, so much for NW's defense being so vastly improved this season. Still pains me that Syracuse found a way to lose to that very average NW team.

Maybe ‘Cuse is just as average as NW? Or maybe UNC is just that much better than both of them?

Right now, UNC is definitely that much better than both of them. Syracuse's main problem is their defense and their offense still hasn't reached their potential but they are getting there. But to answer your question... no, I do not believe Cuse is just as average as NW is. NW has two game-changing players in Gilbert and Girardi along with a bad defense. Whereas Cuse has 4, 5, possibly more, game-changing players on its side. The potential of Cuse is much higher based on what I've seen from both teams. But yeah BC and UNC are definitely in a league of their own at the moment.

[Lax101]

The issue for Cuse is that all their game changing players are on the offensive side of the field and they are game changers. Even the younger Tyrrell plays attack now. Their once reliable zone defense was torn to threads by Duke and their goalie player is average at best. Defense wins championships and I just can't see them getting there. They switched to a man defense out of necessity vs Duke but they don't have the players to match up 1v1 with UNC and BC.

[laxer12]

The issue for Cuse is that all their game changing players are on the offensive side of the field and they are game changers. Even the younger Tyrrell plays attack now. Their once reliable zone defense was torn to threads by Duke and their goalie player is average at best. Defense wins championships and I just can't see them getting there. They switched to a man defense out of necessity vs Duke but they don't have the players to match up 1v1 with UNC and BC.

That's why you have defenders sliding to help when there's an unfavorable one on one matchup for the defense. It's about knowing when to slide and being able to recover defensively once that slide is made. This is why UNC's defense is so good -- because they really don't allow enough space (most of the time) for one on one isolation plays and thus risk the chance for their defense to become unorganized when a slide is made. The opposing offense has to really stretch them out and then quickly move the ball to find the open player once that double team comes. BC was successful against UNC last year because they did this very effectively.

[Lax101]

Agree completely but easier said than done especially when you have played nothing but a zone the last 5 plus years. You need elite defenders to execute as you have outlined, especially when you play teams like UNC and BC who will move the ball, spread you out and find what they see as the most vulnerable defender. Last year in the ACC tournament they jumped into a man defense for a short time against BC and BC tore them apart. I just think Cuse is in a tough spot. Stick with the zone and work to perfect it or play man to man. I personally think their best bet is zone. They will beat 90 percent of the team's with either, but which one gives them the best chance to beat UNC and BC.

[hmmm]

Agree completely but easier said than done especially when you have played nothing but a zone the last 5 plus years. You need elite defenders to execute as you have outlined, especially when you play teams like UNC and BC who will move the ball, spread you out and find what they see as the most vulnerable defender. Last year in the ACC tournament they jumped into a man defense for a short time against BC and BC tore them apart. I just think Cuse is in a tough spot. Stick with the zone and work to perfect it or play man to man. I personally think their best bet is zone. They will beat 90 percent of the team's with either, but which one gives them the best chance to beat UNC and BC.

The Cuse defense is young. It takes a while to get the team playing zone defense the way it needs to be played to be successful against good teams. The cohesion and communication isn't there yet. No reason to believe it won't be at the end of the season. It happens quite regularly that teams that play zone start seasons slowly. It would be helpful to decide on a goalie as well as having a goalie directing traffic helps a ton and neither of them are getting enough time to settle in.

[LarryGamLax]

awfully quiet in here..well..that was a shlacking. NW had some good moments but the depth UNC has is scary. those UNC middies and attackers just kept coming wave after wave and NW does not have the horses to keep up. Every UNC transfer has hit the ground running. Aldave looking like her pre-injury ND self. Geiersbach has been impressive. No offense to richmond but her talent belongs on the big stage. Dirks has been really good as well. and that's with Tayler Warehime being out. BC showdown can't come fast enough

Not really impressed by UNC, but their victory was solid. I didn't feel that UNC's depth was the issue as, once again, NU's weak Goalies. Duocette just isn't that good and cannot make enough saves. She just gives up too many routine goals. I didn't think UNC did anything flashy or otherworldly on offense. Stepping sideways is NOT stepping to the ball. Doing a split to make a low save is NOT great technique. Jumping in the air at 5' 6" to contest a High shot is NOT the way to get it done. You cannot win NCs with that level of inconsistency.
Lauren Gilbert has a lot of speed, but she needs more moves and skills and offensive variety. She relies way too much on her speed.
I was impressed with 2 of Jamie Ortega's scores. Both shots were successful because she 'placed' the shots as opposed to 'ripping' the shots. That's smart Lacrosse.

[Can Opener]

awfully quiet in here..well..that was a shlacking. NW had some good moments but the depth UNC has is scary. those UNC middies and attackers just kept coming wave after wave and NW does not have the horses to keep up. Every UNC transfer has hit the ground running. Aldave looking like her pre-injury ND self. Geiersbach has been impressive. No offense to richmond but her talent belongs on the big stage. Dirks has been really good as well. and that's with Tayler Warehime being out. BC showdown can't come fast enough

Not really impressed by UNC, but their victory was solid. I didn't feel that UNC's depth was the issue as, once again, NU's weak Goalies. Duocette just isn't that good and cannot make enough saves. She just gives up too many routine goals. I didn't think UNC did anything flashy or otherworldly on offense. Stepping sideways is NOT stepping to the ball. Doing a split to make a low save is NOT great technique. Jumping in the air at 5' 6" to contest a High shot is NOT the way to get it done. You cannot win NCs with that level of inconsistency.
Lauren Gilbert has a lot of speed, but she needs more moves and skills and offensive variety. She relies way too much on her speed.
I was impressed with 2 of Jamie Ortega's scores. Both shots were successful because she 'placed' the shots as opposed to 'ripping' the shots. That's smart Lacrosse.

Paging Mr. Doucette. Spill in aisle 6. Will Mr. Doucette please pick up the nearest courtesy phone?

[Kleizaster]

awfully quiet in here..well..that was a shlacking. NW had some good moments but the depth UNC has is scary. those UNC middies and attackers just kept coming wave after wave and NW does not have the horses to keep up. Every UNC transfer has hit the ground running. Aldave looking like her pre-injury ND self. Geiersbach has been impressive. No offense to richmond but her talent belongs on the big stage. Dirks has been really good as well. and that's with Tayler Warehime being out. BC showdown can't come fast enough

Not really impressed by UNC, but their victory was solid. I didn't feel that UNC's depth was the issue as, once again, NU's weak Goalies. Duocette just isn't that good and cannot make enough saves. She just gives up too many routine goals. I didn't think UNC did anything flashy or otherworldly on offense. Stepping sideways is NOT stepping to the ball. Doing a split to make a low save is NOT great technique. Jumping in the air at 5' 6" to contest a High shot is NOT the way to get it done. You cannot win NCs with that level of inconsistency.
Lauren Gilbert has a lot of speed, but she needs more moves and skills and offensive variety. She relies way too much on her speed.
I was impressed with 2 of Jamie Ortega's scores. Both shots were successful because she 'placed' the shots as opposed to 'ripping' the shots. That's smart Lacrosse.

Calling out specific players and using them as an excuse for a team losing is honestly ridiculous. especially in women's lacrosse. I can also argue that UNC could have have 5 or 6 more goals had it not been for some pipe shots. or Jaimie Ortega being more selfish and taking more shots. See how ridiculous that sounds? NW was a top 6 ranked team coming off a win against the number 3 ranked team. and they got obliterated. How can you NOT think this is an impressive win? NW is a good team that would beat most teams in D1 lacrosse. I remember when BC beat NW everyone was amazed and ready to crown BC as champs. Any team outside the top 10 who can say they have a win against NW on their resume would be a major plus. The fact that you view this as just "solid" win does more to validate the class of UNC as opposed to knocking them down.

[OuttaNowhereWregget]

awfully quiet in here..well..that was a shlacking. NW had some good moments but the depth UNC has is scary. those UNC middies and attackers just kept coming wave after wave and NW does not have the horses to keep up. Every UNC transfer has hit the ground running. Aldave looking like her pre-injury ND self. Geiersbach has been impressive. No offense to richmond but her talent belongs on the big stage. Dirks has been really good as well. and that's with Tayler Warehime being out. BC showdown can't come fast enough

Not really impressed by UNC, but their victory was solid. I didn't feel that UNC's depth was the issue as, once again, NU's weak Goalies. Duocette just isn't that good and cannot make enough saves. She just gives up too many routine goals. I didn't think UNC did anything flashy or otherworldly on offense. Stepping sideways is NOT stepping to the ball. Doing a split to make a low save is NOT great technique. Jumping in the air at 5' 6" to contest a High shot is NOT the way to get it done. You cannot win NCs with that level of inconsistency.
Lauren Gilbert has a lot of speed, but she needs more moves and skills and offensive variety. She relies way too much on her speed.
I was impressed with 2 of Jamie Ortega's scores. Both shots were successful because she 'placed' the shots as opposed to 'ripping' the shots. That's smart Lacrosse.

Calling out specific players and using them as an excuse for a team losing is honestly ridiculous. especially in women's lacrosse. I can also argue that UNC could have have 5 or 6 more goals had it not been for some pipe shots. or Jaimie Ortega being more selfish and taking more shots. See how ridiculous that sounds? NW was a top 6 ranked team coming off a win against the number 3 ranked team. and they got obliterated. How can you NOT think this is an impressive win? NW is a good team that would beat most teams in D1 lacrosse. I remember when BC beat NW everyone was amazed and ready to crown BC as champs. Any team outside the top 10 who can say they have a win against NW on their resume would be a major plus. The fact that you view this as just "solid" win does more to validate the class of UNC as opposed to knocking them down.

I beg to differ with you on general principle. Sometimes a loss can easily be traced to a particular player or players. That’s sports. I didn’t watch this game but there have been plenty of games, in this sport and others, that I have watched where it was clear who cost a team a game. Why would women’s lacrosse “especially” be exempt?

[Itsallgood]

awfully quiet in here..well..that was a shlacking. NW had some good moments but the depth UNC has is scary. those UNC middies and attackers just kept coming wave after wave and NW does not have the horses to keep up. Every UNC transfer has hit the ground running. Aldave looking like her pre-injury ND self. Geiersbach has been impressive. No offense to richmond but her talent belongs on the big stage. Dirks has been really good as well. and that's with Tayler Warehime being out. BC showdown can't come fast enough

Yes I agree, the transfers stood out in this one. I was also really impressed with UNC's defense. NU was constantly setting picks and screens on and off ball and UNC did a good job communicating switches or staying with their marks when they deemed it appropriate.

Has anyone else noticed the way that NU offensive players without the ball , for some time now , literally run into the opposing on ball defender. I have been watching this for years and have to admit they rarely get called for it. UNC has big ,strong and athletic defenders who communicate very well so it wasn’t as much trouble for them as most teams. BC has dealt well with this in the past , but I can’t think of another defense capable of defending this tactic. If it were Mens Lacrosse it would be a moving pick every time. Have to believe that Mr Hiller has some input in this strategy. If it’s legal I can’t see why more teams don’t employ it.

[cltlax]

awfully quiet in here..well..that was a shlacking. NW had some good moments but the depth UNC has is scary. those UNC middies and attackers just kept coming wave after wave and NW does not have the horses to keep up. Every UNC transfer has hit the ground running. Aldave looking like her pre-injury ND self. Geiersbach has been impressive. No offense to richmond but her talent belongs on the big stage. Dirks has been really good as well. and that's with Tayler Warehime being out. BC showdown can't come fast enough

Yes I agree, the transfers stood out in this one. I was also really impressed with UNC's defense. NU was constantly setting picks and screens on and off ball and UNC did a good job communicating switches or staying with their marks when they deemed it appropriate.

Has anyone else noticed the way that NU offensive players without the ball , for some time now , literally run into the opposing on ball defender. I have been watching this for years and have to admit they rarely get called for it. UNC has big ,strong and athletic defenders who communicate very well so it wasn’t as much trouble for them as most teams. BC has dealt well with this in the past , but I can’t think of another defense capable of defending this tactic. If it were Mens Lacrosse it would be a moving pick every time. Have to believe that Mr Hiller has some input in this strategy. If it’s legal I can’t see why more teams don’t employ it.

From the NCAA rulebook:

a. Blocking/Illegal Pick:
1. Moving into the path of an opponent without giving the opponent a chance to stop or change direction, and causing contact.
2. Setting a moving pick that causes contact and delays an opponent from reaching a desired position. For legal picking tactics see the definition for “pick” in Rule 7.
3. When an opponent is running to receive the ball and the “blind-side” defensive player does not give the opponent a chance to stop or change direction.

Pick
This is a technique in which a player without the ball, by their positioning, forces the opponent to take another route. To be legal, the picker shall stay within their vertical plane with a stance not wider than shoulder width apart, and shall not lean into the path of an opponent or extend the hips into that path, even though the feet are stationary. The picker is not required to face any particular direction at any time. The picker must give their opponent a chance to stop or change direction.