Cornell 2022

[Chousnake]

I was fortunate to make it back to Ithaca for a great afternoon at the Kopf - sunny, warm, and breezy. A great supportive crowd...and a W.

-At about 12 minutes+ left in the 4th quarter at 12-5, I said to myself that this looks like it will be a great statement win for Cornell. Brandau was well in hand by Adler, and the D was judicious by not overextending with slides or "shows", working really hard, and generally keep their men in front and up on their hands. Yale went scoreless for much of the 2nd, the entire 3rd, and almost 3 minutes of the 4th. Yale's D was tiring and their ride was far less intense. At just over 12 minutes, Coyle inverts and airmails a Dreadful cross-field pass from the wing over the head of a Cornell middie on the other wing. Yale scores - and Cornell's O doesn't touch the ball again until 12-10. Anyone's game...
Yale's FO run left Cornell's poles and shorties exhausted; long and late slides. The coaches tried to give the D some rest - playing 4 shorties and Jason Singer at Close for a bit.
-I never would have believed that with 2 competitive FOGOS, Cornell would win only 7 of 28 draws. This completely changed the game. And 2 of 3 of the wins were off of violations and 2 or 3 off of 50/50 scrums. I can definitely recall only 1 win off of a clamp.
-At 2 minutes+ left at 13-12 and Yale possession, I thought Yale had a good chance to tie, win the next face-off and steal the game. I beleive this was where 2 Yale players played a two-man game on the wing, lost the ball, Cornell gaining possession. A great Cornell clock run until I believe Kellerher passed to Kirst in tight quarters who turned over a short flip (rather than passing further into the attack zone); Yale ball with 16 seconds. Bardwell stayed right on the hip of Yale's inbounding middie who fed Brandau, well-guarded by Adler, followed by a last second shot sailing high. Hmmm.
***Big Issue 1: Yale came out flying with a well-designed 10 man ride: their attackmen quickly fell back to the 38/40'ish yard line (very deep) with their middies at mid-field - leaving a packed 10 yard zone. Cornell kept trying to run through 2, sometimes 3 defenders. Guys - you can't go 6 on 6 in that space (3 of our 6 are poles) without using the goalie. Cornell rode similarly, but Yale's goalie advanced to the 35+ before making his pass (7 on 6); Ierlan never advanced that far - the strategy was to outlet and hit a clearing middie. Cornell appropriately adjusted vs. Lehigh...or Hobart (?). Not today. Please - film review. Penn will take notice.
***Big Issue 2: Face-offs have contributed to long opponent runs vs. Hobart, Penn State, and Yale. Penn and Princeton (and possibly Syracuse) are both step ups in competition. The boys will need to win at 50% against teams ranked 1 - 10.
-Excellent day for Licciardi - he looked very confident. 2 goals off of dodges. Blake as well. Ierlan - lights out. Perhaps his best day. 'Love Adler's quick feet, motor, and competitiveness.
-Penn away - I hope it's at the other field they've used in the past rather than at Franklin. Probably not.

I had the good fortune to be at Cornell on Saturday for another engagement and was able to catch the 2nd half of the game live. I went from a feeling of elation and one where I thought I was watching the makings of a very special team in the midst of a potentially special season to a feeling of both relief and concern as I left Kopf. I'd say my feelings were identical to VRR's. Late in the 3rd/early in the 4th, this game appeared well in hand and looked like an easy win. Then the wheels completely fell off in the 4th quarter. But for some very timely saves from Ireland and some great defense by Adler and others, this game was very close to being a numbing defeat (similar to the Penn loss in 2019).

Four things led to the Yale surge and the nail biting win in a game where Cornell appeared dominant in the 3rd quarter.

First - two untimely turnovers - the Coyle pass mentioned above and a failed clear with about 3 minutes left and a 2 goal lead when a pole (can't remember who) carried the ball across the midfield line and just lost it.

Second, it appeared to me that, in the few times Cornell had possession in the 4th quarter that the offense went a little stagnant because it was more intent on running some clock than putting up another goal. I think the lesson there is to never let your foot off the gas.

Third, some bad luck. Ierlan made 4-5 huge saves down the stretch and there were some defensive checks putting the ball on the ground, but invariably Yale was in position to retain possession. This misfortune and bad luck kept the pressure on and kept possession away from Cornell a few times when they earned the ball but didn't get the bounces. A possession or two on these saves or potential turnovers and this remains a more comfortable 2-3 goal lead or more if Cornell converts a possession into a goal in the final 7-8 minutes.

Lastly, the 800 pound gorilla in the room was the shocking FO dominance by Yale.I cannot explain why Cornell was so dominated in this game at the FO X, but it is a major concern. FOs have not been a concern thus far this season (other than a bizarre stretch of violations in the 2nd quarter vs PSU) and at times have been a strength. Cornell had, up until this game, won 50-60% of draws against some of the best FoGos in the nation. Yesterday was complete domination by Yale and was the largest contributing factor to the lost lead. 1 or 2 face-off wins in the 4th quarter and this is a comfortable win. As I was driving home, I felt as if this was 2018-19 all over again. A talented national championship caliber team limited by a lack of possessions because of an inability to win face-offs putting undue pressure on the offensive to be incredibly efficient and on the defense to both make extended and repeated stops and to force turnovers to balance possessions. That is not sustainable.

I hope this is just a momentary glitch and that Petrakis and Psyllos figure out what is causing this drought and the wing play improves as well. The talent and ability are there.

On a positive note, this all has to be taken in context. If someone had told me that Cornell would be 6-0 at this point with a rookie coach and a 2 year. lay off, I would have been ecstatic. Coach Buczek and the staff have done a phenomenal job with this team. The offense is balanced , efficient, and unselfish as always and is a fun to watch. The defense, let by All-American candidate Adler has been solid as well. The SSDMs have been strong and Ierlan has won some games this season with his timely and clutch saves.

This can be a special team. They just need the ball 50% of the time .

Excellent analyses by both above. Though Chousnake cited the pole's loss of possession under untimely turnovers, I think it is better placed under the other gorilla--clearing difficulties against a 10 man ride. I believe it was Jacobs (who has really stepped up this year) who crossed midfield, saw an impending double or triple team and seemed to freeze. This is the third game that I recall where we saw a 10 man, and it gave us trouble each time, though not as much as against Yale. And from reporting, our improvement in the second half may have been more attributable to Yale's exhaustion from their tenacious effort than by our solving the ride.

Fortunately, clearing with our athleticism ought to be more easily fixed than face offs. I also wondered why we did not see Graham as another look, given the extreme lack of success by Petrakis, Psyllos, and Rothstein. Similarly I wondered whether we could have tried a pole to at least try to create a scrum. Ramsey was winning so cleanly and quickly escaping. Hopefully, we won't have to face these decisions again, as we cannot keep winning against the best teams with such a possession deficit.

There is plenty to love and admire about this team. It seems like everybody except Maryland is still figuring something out, and overall we are off to a great start!

To my defense, I missed the 1st half. I arrived just after halftime. Some plays are magnified if they occur late in the game. The 10 man ride does appear to be giving Cornell trouble, but I have confidence this can be fixed. Cornell has the athletic talent and skill to clear the ball effectively vs a hard ride. The 3rd quarter was almost flawless. Most of my observations concern the 4th quarter. Face offs would, I hope, be curable as well. There does not appear any reason why Cornell can hold its own agains Sisselberger and Shea but be dominated by Ramsey. I'm banking on improvement next week.

One more downside to yesterday was the hit taken to Cornell's SOS. Not a good week for Cornell's opponents. PSU,Hobart, OSU all lost winnable games.

On the other hand, sitting in the Crescent watching Cornell lax live on a sunny day after a 3 year hiatus was just wonderful. The win made it sweeter. I forgot how much I missed it.

[Gobigred]

Possessions: Yale 52; Cornell 38 (37% more). Have to be very efficient on offense to overcome.

[CU77]

it appeared to me that, in the few times Cornell had possession in the 4th quarter that the offense went a little stagnant because it was more intent on running some clock than putting up another goal. I think the lesson there is to never let your foot off the gas.

While I agree with the rest of your analysis, I'm quotimg the one part I disagree with. Having the O hold the ball when the D needs some rest is a textbook strategy. If the O was takimg early shots that resulted in a change in posession (via a clean save or a 50/50 rebound ground ball), I think we'd all be complaining about that now.

[Chousnake]

it appeared to me that, in the few times Cornell had possession in the 4th quarter that the offense went a little stagnant because it was more intent on running some clock than putting up another goal. I think the lesson there is to never let your foot off the gas.

While I agree with the rest of your analysis, I'm quotimg the one part I disagree with. Having the O hold the ball when the D needs some rest is a textbook strategy. If the O was takimg early shots that resulted in a change in posession (via a clean save or a 50/50 rebound ground ball), I think we'd all be complaining about that now.

Your comment is fair. It did appear though, that the offense lost some rhythm late in the game. I think Cornell needs to start running its offense late in games before there are 20 seconds left on the shot clock even when ahead.

[mountainred]

it appeared to me that, in the few times Cornell had possession in the 4th quarter that the offense went a little stagnant because it was more intent on running some clock than putting up another goal. I think the lesson there is to never let your foot off the gas.

While I agree with the rest of your analysis, I'm quotimg the one part I disagree with. Having the O hold the ball when the D needs some rest is a textbook strategy. If the O was takimg early shots that resulted in a change in posession (via a clean save or a 50/50 rebound ground ball), I think we'd all be complaining about that now.

Your comment is fair. It did appear though, that the offense lost some rhythm late in the game. I think Cornell needs to start running its offense late in games before there are 20 seconds left on the shot clock even when ahead.

I agree with you in theory -- don't go into a shell too early -- but I think the offense lost rhythm because Yale had the ball. With the benefit of the official box score, here are the 4th Q possessions:

• Cornell wins opening face off, Piatelli scores a minute later
  After two Yale FO wins and a goal, Cornell forces a TO resulting in the Coyle TO after about 40 seconds
  Yale TO, but Cornell failed clear
  Yale with four goals and three FO wins -- offense never touches the ball
  Cornell FO win, Kirst goal a minute later
  Yale wins two FOs, with a Yale goal in between -- offense never touches the ball
  Yale TO, but Cornell failed clear
  Yale goal, FO win, but turnover with 2 minutes to go
  Cornell runs clock until TO with 20 seconds to go.

Basically, Cornell had the ball for about 3 minutes of the first 13 of the 4th quarter and scored two of three times they got into the offensive end. Yale was just dominating on the ride and FO. You want to say Cornell was too conservative on the last possession, I would understand, but what person in red wanted another FO?

[Chousnake]

it appeared to me that, in the few times Cornell had possession in the 4th quarter that the offense went a little stagnant because it was more intent on running some clock than putting up another goal. I think the lesson there is to never let your foot off the gas.

While I agree with the rest of your analysis, I'm quotimg the one part I disagree with. Having the O hold the ball when the D needs some rest is a textbook strategy. If the O was takimg early shots that resulted in a change in posession (via a clean save or a 50/50 rebound ground ball), I think we'd all be complaining about that now.

Your comment is fair. It did appear though, that the offense lost some rhythm late in the game. I think Cornell needs to start running its offense late in games before there are 20 seconds left on the shot clock even when ahead.

I agree with you in theory -- don't go into a shell too early -- but I think the offense lost rhythm because Yale had the ball. With the benefit of the official box score, here are the 4th Q possessions:

• Cornell wins opening face off, Piatelli scores a minute later
  After two Yale FO wins and a goal, Cornell forces a TO resulting in the Coyle TO after about 40 seconds
  Yale TO, but Cornell failed clear
  Yale with four goals and three FO wins -- offense never touches the ball
  Cornell FO win, Kirst goal a minute later
  Yale wins two FOs, with a Yale goal in between -- offense never touches the ball
  Yale TO, but Cornell failed clear
  Yale goal, FO win, but turnover with 2 minutes to go
  Cornell runs clock until TO with 20 seconds to go.

Basically, Cornell had the ball for about 3 minutes of the first 13 of the 4th quarter and scored two of three times they got into the offensive end. Yale was just dominating on the ride and FO. You want to say Cornell was too conservative on the last possession, I would understand, but what person in red wanted another FO?

The goal of the last possession was to run out the clock, clearly. Thank you for the summary of the 4th quarter possessions. I thought there was a possession or two when Cornell tried to run the clock down some and had to force the offense, but I must have been mistaken.

[semsox]

The best part of being 6-0 is that we still have plenty of room for improvement. While we have had individual units or players have excellent games, I don't think we've come close to our ceiling, which is perfectly fine for late-March. Thinking of this fast start, my mind went to the 2014 team, which having lost a generational talent the previous year, raced out to a 9-0 start before fading in the back half of the year. However, that team did feel like they were maxing out their ceiling early in the year (e.g., a comprehensive effort to down #2 Virginia at home in early March). I'm hopeful this team can continue to grow and build to those types of games later in the year, even if they hit a few road bumps along the way. @Penn looms as a good progress check.

[Chousnake]

The best part of being 6-0 is that we still have plenty of room for improvement. While we have had individual units or players have excellent games, I don't think we've come close to our ceiling, which is perfectly fine for late-March. Thinking of this fast start, my mind went to the 2014 team, which having lost a generational talent the previous year, raced out to a 9-0 start before fading in the back half of the year. However, that team did feel like they were maxing out their ceiling early in the year (e.g., a comprehensive effort to down #2 Virginia at home in early March). I'm hopeful this team can continue to grow and build to those types of games later in the year, even if they hit a few road bumps along the way. @Penn looms as a good progress check.

I don't think Cornell has played a complete 60 minute game. The team has been off for a quarter or more in each of the 6 games so far. You do have to give tremendous credit to Buczek and Stevens and the rest of the coaching staff. Buczek has been impressive in his appearances and press conferences since 2020 and his job with the team this year after the challenges of the past 24 months has been great. We've got half a season to go and a gantlet of Ivy League games upcoming, but the program appears in very good hands.

[tech37]

I don't think Cornell has played a complete 60 minute game.

Oh they're saving that for the SU game

[faircornell]

The best part of being 6-0 is that we still have plenty of room for improvement. While we have had individual units or players have excellent games, I don't think we've come close to our ceiling, which is perfectly fine for late-March. Thinking of this fast start, my mind went to the 2014 team, which having lost a generational talent the previous year, raced out to a 9-0 start before fading in the back half of the year. However, that team did feel like they were maxing out their ceiling early in the year (e.g., a comprehensive effort to down #2 Virginia at home in early March). I'm hopeful this team can continue to grow and build to those types of games later in the year, even if they hit a few road bumps along the way. @Penn looms as a good progress check.

I don't think Cornell has played a complete 60 minute game. The team has been off for a quarter or more in each of the 6 games so far. You do have to give tremendous credit to Buczek and Stevens and the rest of the coaching staff. Buczek has been impressive in his appearances and press conferences since 2020 and his job with the team this year after the challenges of the past 24 months has been great. We've got half a season to go and a gantlet of Ivy League games upcoming, but the program appears in very good hands.

FWIW, I couldn't agree more, Chowsnake. Based on the overall results in the NCAA thus far, there is a lot of early season improvement required for even the best of teams. Cornell's general depth, offensive excellence and coaching have overcome these obstacles. I'm not sure that we are really number two in the country, but when Cornell is at its best, we are clearly top five. Let's hope all stay healthy and injury free.

[VeryRustyRed]

Cornell's need to stay healthy is critical (as it is for most teams*).
Prior to the season, I would have thought the front half of the schedule was the tough part (i.e., well-regarded Lehigh, OSU, PSU, Yale). Six games in...and looking at track records, I think the back half will be more difficult - think Penn (away), greatly improved Harvard, Syracuse (1 day rest), "pesky" Brown (thank God the game is not at Stevenson Field), and a clearly terrific Princeton team (at Class of '52). Penn and Princeton, both on the road, being the two toughest opponents on the schedule.
faircornell - you referenced "general depth." Again, pre-season, I thought we would be very strong at attack, two strong middie lines, a very strong close D, goal and FO group, with the glaring weakness at short stick. The good news is that the shorties have more than held their own.
But...the team has what I call horizontal depth - other than face-offs, all units are playing well (though without Lombardi, the 2nd line mids are not (really) a threat, and have had to be augmented by mixing and matching a 1st line middie there through much of the game since the Lombardi injury). My point is that beyond the front line players, experientially, the team is not deep "vertically." Definitely need to stay healthy.

*A close friend watched the Maryland-UVA game on Saturday and reported back that Maryland is scary good (20+ on a very good UVA team) - and very very deep. They've got guys on their 2nd middie line that definitely start elsewhere. He said that Bubba Fairman no longer play soffense - he's playing short stick. Anecdotally, Fall Ball or not, the Big Red were able to run with Maryland at Delbarton during FallBall.

[joewillie78]

I think it speaks volumes about this coaching staff when many of us keep bringing up things this wonderful Cornell team can improve on, yet we are 6-0 (which none of us imagined).
Sure, we have struggled at times to win faceoffs, clear etc. But when it comes to the "dirty work" stats that mentally tough teams win games by excelling in like Ground balls, clearing % allowed, caused turnovers etc. This team is awesome at, and that to me is all coaching.
I watch every minute of every game, and these players NEVER take a play off.
It is scary to think how even better they could be if they clean up some of their so called weaknesses, but EFFORT and giving 100% is this teams best attribute and we should all be proud of that.
GOBIGRED
Joewillie78

[dp68]

I had the pleasure of attending Saturday's game vs. Yale. This was easily the most enjoyable day of lacrosse I've experienced in several years - beautiful, mild weather, an energetic crowd (both sides), the band, and two great teams playing a game that came down to the final seconds.

Cornell leaves the game with difficult questions to answer at the F/O X. I did not see that dominance coming, and I doubt anyone else could have anticipated face offs would favor Yale to that degree, even if TD Ierlan was still in blue.

The Yale ride, particularly when they implemented the 10-man, caused multiple turnovers. For Cornell, 15 of 25 on clears is unacceptable no matter how well the other team rides. It will be interesting to see how future opponents (beginning with Penn) attack Cornell's clear after viewing Saturday's footage.

As others have stated, a win is a win, and this was a great win against a strong opponent.

[drunkmonkey30]

Anyone else notice the the start of the the Yale run in Q4 Cornell as in a zone? Gave up a couple of easy goals quickly.

[VeryRustyRed]

Yep - great point. After the Coyle pass, on the Yale possession at about 12:00, I noticed that Cornell had gone zone. And that Yale attacked it (and scored) well.
At the time I thought, why switch? My guess is - Yale kept winning face-offs, possession time had tipped, and our guys on D we're probably gassed.
Also, and I hate to second guess (20/20 hindsight is very easy), but again, at the time, I kept saying that Buczek should call a time out to stop Yale's momentum and let the guys regroup. Rather, he waited for the official's time out which came between 7 and 8 minutes. 'Damage already done.

[another fan]

For between games diversion, I watched a replay of Spalding (ranked 8) vs. Hill Academy. With covid and border restrictions, the announcers said that Hill had not played a competitive game since 2019!

I've previously noted that our next class is very strong, but it is somewhat top heavy with defensive talent. An exception is Bowie Horsman, a very good looking, lanky attack who I think was 3/2 for the game-- won on a last minute goal by Hill. A 2023 midfield recruit, Ciapiara, also had a goal. Hill plays Calvert Hall on Wednesday, when Horsman will probably be matched up with JK Kelly, one of our top D recruits for 2022.

[Chousnake]

QK throwing shade on the Big Red while ranking them 5th


The Big Red took down Yale 13-12 on Saturday, surviving a late run by the Eli’s. Up 12-5 early in the fourth quarter, they desperately held on. Big games aren’t played between snow plowed piles of snow. Face-off wins were sold separately, so Chayse Ierlan’s 18 saves were essential. CJ Kirst scored four times. Cornell only got one goal and two points total from non-starters. They don’t look deep on tape and on paper. This must be remedied before late April. Lack of depth is a ticking time bomb.

[laxfan1313]

QK throwing shade on the Big Red while ranking them 5th


The Big Red took down Yale 13-12 on Saturday, surviving a late run by the Eli’s. Up 12-5 early in the fourth quarter, they desperately held on. Big games aren’t played between snow plowed piles of snow. Face-off wins were sold separately, so Chayse Ierlan’s 18 saves were essential. CJ Kirst scored four times. Cornell only got one goal and two points total from non-starters. They don’t look deep on tape and on paper. This must be remedied before late April. Lack of depth is a ticking time bomb.

QK covered the NCAA wrestling playoffs. He interviewed Cornell's Yianni Diakomihalis after he won the National Championship at 149 pounds for his 3rd consecutive NC. I was hoping Yianni would flip QK over & pin him. No such luck. Meanwhile Chayse Irelan was named Ivy Player of the Week. https://cornellbigred.com/news/2022/3/2 ... -week.aspx

[faircornell]

To Quint's credit, he does point out possible areas of improvement from last game, which is fair. What he obscures is that "young coaches, no Teat" Cornell just beat everyone's #1 Ivy pre-season pick, Yale. Cornell did not make Quint's pre-season top twenty. Yale is a really talented squad, and I don't think that they are done for the season. Personally, my view is that if Cornell is a consensus top five team, that is a great honor. The trick is to keep in that ranking range consistently. Penn will be a significant test of the Big Red, and possibly the biggest test until Princeton at the end of the season.

After Penn, we simply need to worry about Army, Brown, Harvard and Syracuse before the Princeton match-up .

[faircornell]

Cornell's need to stay healthy is critical (as it is for most teams*).
Prior to the season, I would have thought the front half of the schedule was the tough part (i.e., well-regarded Lehigh, OSU, PSU, Yale). Six games in...and looking at track records, I think the back half will be more difficult - think Penn (away), greatly improved Harvard, Syracuse (1 day rest), "pesky" Brown (thank God the game is not at Stevenson Field), and a clearly terrific Princeton team (at Class of '52). Penn and Princeton, both on the road, being the two toughest opponents on the schedule.
faircornell - you referenced "general depth." Again, pre-season, I thought we would be very strong at attack, two strong middie lines, a very strong close D, goal and FO group, with the glaring weakness at short stick. The good news is that the shorties have more than held their own.
But...the team has what I call horizontal depth - other than face-offs, all units are playing well (though without Lombardi, the 2nd line mids are not (really) a threat, and have had to be augmented by mixing and matching a 1st line middie there through much of the game since the Lombardi injury). My point is that beyond the front line players, experientially, the team is not deep "vertically." Definitely need to stay healthy.

*A close friend watched the Maryland-UVA game on Saturday and reported back that Maryland is scary good (20+ on a very good UVA team) - and very very deep. They've got guys on their 2nd middie line that definitely start elsewhere. He said that Bubba Fairman no longer play soffense - he's playing short stick. Anecdotally, Fall Ball or not, the Big Red were able to run with Maryland at Delbarton during FallBall.

Thanks, VRR. I guess that I meant "horizontal depth" as you put it, in that when a particular aspect of the game isn't working ideally that other talent and skill can compensate for that weakness. Also, I was referring to the depth of talent on offense, where if one player doesn't have a great production day, other talented players can step up. In terms of "vertical" depth, I'm not in a position to judge. However, I do believe that our coaching staff has a particular skill in player development, and has players of great potential to work with.

As far as Maryland goes, I think that this (to some extent) is a post-Covid phenomenon. Any team who can say that they have Jonathan Donville as a "nice to have" addition is playing at a semi-pro level.