Princeton versus Maryland

[DMac]

Very difficult to find any real flaw in Princeton's game plan. They certainly made an honorable effort. The reason why the Terps won was because they were the better team. Great lineup stacked with players on the bench who could be starters on other teams, great coaching. An awesome squad.

Over the years I've always loved the 1990 Cuse team above all. I felt it was the greatest team I ever saw and that there would never be a team with a lineup as strong as theirs. Now I'm wondering - could the Terps be the greatest team of all?

A victory on Monday would likely insure that this is so.

Let's hope it'll be a great match.

Agree on the '90 Cuse team.
Disagree with the win would likely insure that.
Puts 'em in the discussion but doesn't separate 'em.

[Gatsby]

First time this season I saw Terps play some discombobulated lacrosse. Princeton brought energy, caused a little disruption. I also thought Syracuse played Maryland with energy earlier in the year and they also had a fairly close game.

[masondixonlax]

Very difficult to find any real flaw in Princeton's game plan. They certainly made an honorable effort. The reason why the Terps won was because they were the better team. Great lineup stacked with players on the bench who could be starters on other teams, great coaching. An awesome squad.

Over the years I've always loved the 1990 Cuse team above all. I felt it was the greatest team I ever saw and that there would never be a team with a lineup as strong as theirs. Now I'm wondering - could the Terps be the greatest team of all?

A victory on Monday would likely insure that this is so.

Let's hope it'll be a great match.

Agreed. If the terps pull it off monday they should be considered one of the greatest teams ever. Talent, skill level, and competition has increased so much these last 20 years it makes it that much harder to stand out these days

[Doid23]

Man Princeton was told to go out and be dirty. Look they may not win but if they take out enough guys they will help the ivy league for Cornells sake.

Rightttttt…
Careful, your bias is showing

[Wheels]

That was a really physical game. While the Terps said Puglise's injury was a shoulder, after the game, he had an ice bag on his hand. Makar was also cramping up as he was getting up from the illegal body check. Bubba has to be feeling it from the shot to the head he took. Once Puglise went down, the Terps ran only 3 shorties for the 2nd and 3rd quarters. With how much defense they were playing (19 turnovers!), they were wearing down. Geppert had to play shorty in the 4th quarter, and the Sherrer still injured, that meant that seldom used Jack McDonald had to play.

How this all affects the team on Monday is unknown.

At first, I thought that Cornell would have a tougher recovery. Playing a half, sitting for 4 hours, and playing another half can't be an easy recovery. But after the physicality of the Princeton game, they definitely took a pound of Terp flesh.

Cornell's not a deep team at all. If Wierman can win 60+% at the face-off, the defensive depth issues for the Terps won't really matter. If it's 50-50, it's gonna be a game.

For the past 2 games, teams have specifically game planned to make Matt Rahill cover dodgers. He's acquitted himself quite nicely. The Terps' close D vs. Cornell's attack...for the title...that's gonna be it.

[terp talk]

Maryland's Post Game Presser after Victory over Princeton

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1VbdV8QZP4

[terp talk]

Princeton's Post Game Presser after Maryland game

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0p7uYlP91Ng

[Farfromgeneva]

Maryland got beat up physically and played till 8;30pm.
Cornell has a real shot.
Those ref's should never see another NCAA playoff game again.

It was weird that they seemed over involved from the first pre-whistle, giving the ball to UMD w/o a draw, then to PU without a draw, then UMD again w/o a draw...

Bunch of calls seemed missed, others seemed questionable, but I don't think there was any favoritism or imbalance...just a hot mess...

Solid points.
I've seen it while coaching youth, ref's let one team play physical and when the other team plays physical the flags come out.
It's almost as if the ref's decided pre game one team plays a finesse style and the other physical and they hold them to it during the game.
Credit Tillman for staying calm and cool

I feel like my sons team got the reverse all season when I was helping coach. He got called 3-4x for cross checks (I’ve taught him to keep his hands close and below the shoulders but never let a kid get a open look at his goalie) and we’re the less experienced, in town from not easy to access for all neighborhoods and played a bunch of exurb teams with the insane 300lb parents who treat it like their only way in life is to be a Walk on at UGA would hack the living a**t out of our kids like they’re taking down trees with an axe and I’m spending half my time with kids with busted up forearms and lower legs.

Like the screaming parents make a difference to the refs.

[Farfromgeneva]

Man Princeton was told to go out and be dirty. Look they may not win but if they take out enough guys they will help the ivy league for Cornells sake.

Rightttttt…
Careful, your bias is showing

Can’t even be true if you recall one chucklenut here a few pages back insisting in his culture war idiocy that Princeton was a bunch of effete Exeter, Andover and Chaote kids while UMD was all kids from the mean steeets of downtown Rochester, Baltimore and Huntington plus some South Bronx.

[random observer]

McNaney sure picked a good time to have the best game of his career. Going into the game goaltending was probably the one position you'd think Princeton might have the edge, and that ended up being the facet that cost them the game (which is not an indictment of how Peters played). Really game effort from the Tigers, who showed that the Terps are mortal.

Cornell is on a roll and gets a physically beat up Maryland team on short rest. This is about as close as you could get to having Maryland right where you want them. I think they can be competitive with the Terps, but I still don't think they'll get much closer than Princeton did. They need to play their A game, hope Maryland plays their B game, and win the goalie battle to have a chance. Two of the three won't cut it.

[Farfromgeneva]

I got Maryland in a blowout though I think its more like a comfortable 4-7 goals

[terp talk]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pq1-yOoe3sI

[MDlaxfan76]

Maryland got beat up physically and played till 8;30pm.
Cornell has a real shot.
Those ref's should never see another NCAA playoff game again.

It was weird that they seemed over involved from the first pre-whistle, giving the ball to UMD w/o a draw, then to PU without a draw, then UMD again w/o a draw...

Bunch of calls seemed missed, others seemed questionable, but I don't think there was any favoritism or imbalance...just a hot mess...

Favoritism? No. Imbalance? Are you effing kidding? 3 minute non-releasable penalty for a guy dropping into Geppert's body, spanning the half could have changed the game. Then compared to the hit on Makar, that's the ideal picture of imbalance.

I saw the hits as indeed similar; what we don't know is whether and why the malicious intent was seen with one, though not the other. Both looked to me like 2 mins unreleasable would have made sense. Both looked intentionally hard and both late; both made contact with the head. Perhaps there was indeed taunting or related indication...I doubt we'll ever know.

But no, lots and lots of penalties and/or calls went both ways. UMD had 4 EMO's, PU 3, though time was indeed different due to that one penalty.

[keno in reno]

Maryland got beat up physically and played till 8;30pm.
Cornell has a real shot.
Those ref's should never see another NCAA playoff game again.

It was weird that they seemed over involved from the first pre-whistle, giving the ball to UMD w/o a draw, then to PU without a draw, then UMD again w/o a draw...

Bunch of calls seemed missed, others seemed questionable, but I don't think there was any favoritism or imbalance...just a hot mess...

Favoritism? No. Imbalance? Are you effing kidding? 3 minute non-releasable penalty for a guy dropping into Geppert's body, spanning the half could have changed the game. Then compared to the hit on Makar, that's the ideal picture of imbalance.

I saw the hits as indeed similar; what we don't know is whether and why the malicious intent was seen with one, though not the other. Both looked to me like 2 mins unreleasable would have made sense. Both looked intentionally hard and both late; both made contact with the head. Perhaps there was indeed taunting or related indication...I doubt we'll ever know.

But no, lots and lots of penalties and/or calls went both ways. UMD had 4 EMO's, PU 3, though time was indeed different due to that one penalty.

Interesting in Tillman's press conference he very diplomatically said Princeton basically blew the 3 minute advantage by doing nothing in the last minute of the half, just for possession. By then it was down to a manageable 1 minute situation, of course until they got another 30 second penalty, but I don't think they even got a shot during that advantage.

[Farfromgeneva]

I thought sitting in the ball at the end of the half was a mistake as well. 7-5 and having to face off man up is better than 7-4 w the ball. That seems obvious.

[pcowlax]

Agree

[Hoya]

I thought sitting in the ball at the end of the half was a mistake as well. 7-5 and having to face off man up is better than 7-4 w the ball. That seems obvious.

I thought so too. You can’t get 1 goal out of 2 straight minutes of penalty time in a game like that.

[MoralTerpitude]

I thought sitting in the ball at the end of the half was a mistake as well. 7-5 and having to face off man up is better than 7-4 w the ball. That seems obvious.

Guessing the thought process was that they assumed Wierman would win the FO, in which case they lost an extra minute (at least) of keeping Maryland’s D on the field, and had to add another minute of their D on the field. And that’s if they score; the way McNaney was playing, maybe he saves it, and Princeton loses the opportunity to wear down Maryland’s D, and don’t even get a goal out of it.

With Puglise injured, Madalon was probably playing the long game.

[Typical Lax Dad]

I thought sitting in the ball at the end of the half was a mistake as well. 7-5 and having to face off man up is better than 7-4 w the ball. That seems obvious.

7-4 with the ball is better than 7-4 without the ball. Princeton man up was flat during the tournament.

[Farfromgeneva]

To me it’s similar to prevent defense or grinding out a clock in any sport that’s timed. Don’t lose not going down swinging. That’s part of what extending out and being physical is attempting to accomplish with the risk that a man flat out beats you with one limber so it seems incongruous. If you’re behind you’re going to have to deal with the face off situation anyways and more faceoffs with an extra player seems better.