Cornell 2023

[Chousnake]

Anybody know why Long is out?

[enterprise]

Pretty sure Long is injured although I have no details.

[Chousnake]

Pretty sure Long is injured although I have no details.

It’s unfortunate that he just can’t get healthy.

[CU88]

Whew

[another fan]

Pretty ragged-- lots to clean up. Kirst was Kirst, Ierlan made some big saves and Lombardi looks healthy. Good to see Blake although obviously not 100% and wearing a big knee brace after all this time since his injury. Also got some good GB play on 50/50 balls Attack is a big issue without Long. Faceoffs were inconsistent, although Petrakis and Psyllos won some key draws. However, Albany's top guy apparently is recovering from hip surgery, Short stick d mid play needs work- 9 in particular looks very vulnerable.

[joewillie78]

It's just great to be back watching my favorite team back in action. As usual, this team just guts out wins, even when not at their best and missing their key playmaker in Long.
When the Red really needed a goal, really smart to get it to arguably the top attackman in the country. Kirst can put this team on his back when he has to and without Long, he obviously did. Chase was again solid in net, Angelo and Psyllos were also solid on the X and the Close D led of course by Adler were solid.
Am I in anyway discouraged? NOT 1 BIT, this was their opener on the Road against a team that already had a game under their belt.
Can't wait to watch them live next Saturday against a very good Lehigh team who were dominant in the 2nd half against Hobart.
1-0 and on to Lehigh.
GOBIGRED
Joewillie78

[VeryRustyRed]

Well, we have the answers to some of the questions many posters have been asking.
First and foremost, I'll take the W.
Here are my observations.
Offense:
-1st half - Cornell pretty much played with 2 attackman playing off-ball. Really miss Long, as this leaves Kirst with even greater attention. Great coaching move putting Coyle on attack in the 2nd half.
-Too much isolation in the 1st half. A lot better "Cornell-style" ball movement in the 2nd.
-Blake - clearly not 100%...yet.
-Unlike the last two seasons when the first two middie lines split time evenly, the 1st line took more runs in the 2nd. Very surprised that Alex Holmes did not get the 2nd line nod over Dalton or Sheehan. I really liked his development/play last season after Lombardi was injured, both speed wing dodges and inverts. He was dressed but didn't see the field. No Abladian - ??? Piatelli didn't offer much...
-Yes, it was the first game of the year, but based on today, without Long and a healthy Blake, the team will be an underdog in a number of games.
-Play of the day, Wirthheim's behind the back pass to Kirst in the 3rd quarter run.
Defense:
-Post 2nd half adjustments...not bad. In the 1st half, guys just didn't "stay home." Created lot of UA opportunities by either ball watching of overly aggressive slides.
-One of the ss's (will not say who) seemingly gets beat every time he's on the field.
-Bozzi played well; big jump from last season.
-2 freshman, Staub and Reyhill playing LSM.
-Potentially huge call - Cornell received 2 FO violations in the first 3 minutes of the 2nd half. Big disadvantage, but 28 and 3 held up. Smart coaching move mid way through the 4th qtr - began double polling the FO wings and used Psyllos at FOGO (better countering).
-Follows - rarely heard his name. That's only good for a close defender. Adler - far from his best day. Singer looks fine at close - quicker than I thought.
-Cornell was much better off the ground in the 2nd half. Not good in the first.

Lots of work to do, both on offense and staying connected on D.
Why were the boys late getting back on the field to start the 2nd half?

[RedIvy]

Will take the win..

Clearly trying to replace Piatelli and Long is an uphill battle (hoping best for Long). Better ball movement in the second half but still didn’t look even close to recent years.

Certainly understand it’s early however getting out late for start of second half and getting the late two minute penalty while trying to run down the clock is very concerning and can not be related to early season. Experienced players were off as well, Adler, Blake, Kelleher seemed off with many fundamental errors from seasoned leaders.

Fortunate to come away with the win, I know it’s early but a loss here may have put our backs to the wall early.

The good news is the team will not be over confident…

[WestVillCornell]

Sloppy, which isn’t surprising at this point in season

Shooting was bad

Many Missed, dropped, and bad passes

Early season jitters from a slide perspective

Some hesitancy from the new players

Agree on the attack points - hope Long back soon

We have middie depth

Need to figure depth at the rope after #7 and #5

The D will be fine

Chayse looked sharp

Good to get the early season win and a lot to work on this week!

LGR

[ICGrad]

... and getting the late two minute penalty while trying to run down the clock is very concerning an

That penalty was as ugly as it was stupid. A stick to the face/head of an unhelmeted opponent is never a good look, and especially following up on a slash to the back of his head. Physical play is one thing but that whole sequence was bush league.

[Laxfanatic2022]

I turned the game on down 6-5 at half and re watched the first half an hour ago.

Thoughts…

Offense: They need to figure out the attack and looked first game sloppy. Kirst needs help, he played flawless today and certainly looked fantastic. Not sure what happened to Long, but him Coyle and Kirst could be lethal going forward. Just costly turnovers was the name of the game. Once Blake and Long are healthy they will be very good. If Cornell was clicking today they would’ve put up 20. No doubt they will improve going forward. Coyle looks like he’s going to have a big year

FO: This was messy and they rolled out Petrakis and Psyllos. Psyllos was a spark today. Not sure what the reffing was but there were a lot of calls on the X, hate to see that.

Defense: Ierlan played well today and overall the defense was solid for game 1. The close D is going to be really really good especially if Ierlan looks like this. They seemed very aggressive at times and need help from their short sticks in those situations. At least five times I saw Adler completely terrorizing someone and there was just an easy outlet for that Albany player to not lose the ball, Follows a couple too. Adler is ridiculous and has a crazy motor he’s everywhere. They got inverted the entire game so it wasn’t very fun to watch. SSDM needs work but the close D looks like it can be top in the nation soon. I like Staub the LSM a lot!

Sloppy game overall, think they’ll improve quick and be very good going forward. Lehigh will be a good test

[faircornell]

I turned the game on down 6-5 at half and re watched the first half an hour ago.

Thoughts…

Offense: They need to figure out the attack and looked first game sloppy. Kirst needs help, he played flawless today and certainly looked fantastic. Not sure what happened to Long, but him Coyle and Kirst could be lethal going forward. Just costly turnovers was the name of the game. Once Blake and Long are healthy they will be very good. If Cornell was clicking today they would’ve put up 20. No doubt they will improve going forward. Coyle looks like he’s going to have a big year

FO: This was messy and they rolled out Petrakis and Psyllos. Psyllos was a spark today. Not sure what the reffing was but there were a lot of calls on the X, hate to see that.

Defense: Ierlan played well today and overall the defense was solid for game 1. The close D is going to be really really good especially if Ierlan looks like this. They seemed very aggressive at times and need help from their short sticks in those situations. At least five times I saw Adler completely terrorizing someone and there was just an easy outlet for that Albany player to not lose the ball, Follows a couple too. Adler is ridiculous and has a crazy motor he’s everywhere. They got inverted the entire game so it wasn’t very fun to watch. SSDM needs work but the close D looks like it can be top in the nation soon. I like Staub the LSM a lot!

Sloppy game overall, think they’ll improve quick and be very good going forward. Lehigh will be a good test

Glad to see that the Lehigh game is at home for the Red. Lehigh is a tough away game for anyone, especially early season. Nice to see the RMM memorial patches on the uniforms.

[Matnum PI]

Anybody know why Long is out?

I have the same question. Any details about when he'll be back?

[Trumansburger]

... and getting the late two minute penalty while trying to run down the clock is very concerning an

That penalty was as ugly as it was stupid. A stick to the face/head of an unhelmeted opponent is never a good look, and especially following up on a slash to the back of his head. Physical play is one thing but that whole sequence was bush league.

Agree. I was having flashback to 2018 when Albany was undefeated and ranked #1. Cornell had a 2 goal lead with 3:30 left to play, took a silly penalty and Albany scored the last 4 goals. TD Ierlan won all 24 face offs in that game.

[MDlaxfan76]

... and getting the late two minute penalty while trying to run down the clock is very concerning an

That penalty was as ugly as it was stupid. A stick to the face/head of an unhelmeted opponent is never a good look, and especially following up on a slash to the back of his head. Physical play is one thing but that whole sequence was bush league.

+1, really ugly.
Dumb too.

[Chousnake]

Yup. The game was essentially over with a three goal lead and and about 1:45 left with Albany needing to go the length of the field after the shot clock apparently expired (unless Cornell was retaining possession because of a loose ball push by the Albany goalie that led to the scrum and the penalty). The penalty gave Albany life when they had none. Hopefully the player who committed the penalty (who I won't name and who is young) learns not to retaliate and learns time and score game situations.

[Velvet.Fog]

Many good observations have already been written about the Albany game - but I'll try and add a few more angles and thoughts:

[*] As with any road opener - there were some positives and negatives. Personally, the bottom line is to get the win. Not pretty for sure and we will lose on style points in the rankings and lacrosse media world, but in a few weeks all that will matter is the W. Albany is better than they looked at Syr. That is for sure. Their poles were big, athletic and nasty (more on that below). And the A offense is pretty good - and generated quality looks. Cornell was very tentative at times and missing a key player (Long). I have no direct knowledge, but whispers were that he is game to game with leg issue. So hopefully back on Saturday. Faceoffs were spotty and some weak defensive sets. But enough good O and quality goaltending carried Red. This will not be enough starting as early as next week.

[*] Positives: CJ was electric. He did it all. What a talent. Literally carried the offense. Not much more to say. Others I thought looked good on O were 11 and 44. And 2 Blake moved pretty well. Has to have nor purpose in dodging and finish shots. He will get stronger each game. When Long returns - this is a strong core group of top 6-8. 27 and 31 I thought were average. More on 27 below. 31 in Red had two really good looks and has to bury them. He also has to dodge more north/south and get to the goal or draw slide - must be a threat as he will get a shorty all season. 27 is still a force but getting predictable. The bull dodge looks good but not effective. It slows everything down and defense recovers. Alb strategy was to double every dodge early and drive Red attackers down alleys and away from goal. it worked. This resulted in long passes to X and slow offensive rotation to the back side - giving the Def time to recover. Red is going to see this all year - and must make teams pay for early doubles by getting the ball to back side quickly. Chayse was excellent - esp in second half. And finally Psyllos was great. Incredible energy, key ground balls, beautiful goal. He will see more time for sure.

[*] Negatives: Some offensive pieces looked slow and a little anemic. Specifically 37, 26 and 42. 37 was asked to do a big job at X. Not a bad player, but a big drop off from 1. He will be fine, but the move by Cornell to having 11 at X in the second half was huge. Similar to last year when Long was out. 26 on right wing did not have good day. Again - big assignment to replace 41 from last year. But turnovers, dropped pass on fast break and no real dodging threat. He is a good off ball player for sure - but the right wing in this offense needs to do more as CJ on left side will get overplayed all year. 27 gets a ton of attention now and needs to improve his passing. Still an excellent player. Had very nice goal in a tight offensive set.

Defense: Not a bad showing overall - but a few areas of concern. Our two top SSDMS - 5 and 7 - played very well. They are an area of strength. The problem is beyond the top two. #9 had a tough day. Got isolated on 45 from Albany and it wasn't close. just seems half a step behind a lot. #6 is good but does not look healthy. Hoping he can get his form back. Might see some new faces at SSDM after first two. 33 at LSM was solid. Good between the lines and off the ground. Gave an Alb attacker too much room early in shooting space that resulted in goal. 46 got some limited minutes and was in good position on Alb attacker but again allowed hands to be free which result in a goal at 5x5. Our close D solid. 45 was great. So fundamentally sound. 77 had good day but was beaten cleanly on the crease on Alb player swim move that resulted in goal and penalty on Red. That won't happen much - so not concerned. But fine play by Alb player to beat 77 there.

One really bad sequence: at end of Q2 with under :30 left and Alb ball, Red defense is all out of sorts chasing attackers all over the field in man defense. all stretched out. Skip pass by Alb to back side - then one slide and the Alb attacker is wide open on crease for dip and dunk. Brutal. That cannot happen. Huge momentum swing. Why is Red not in a tight zone at that point? Make then shoot from 12+ yard out on our excellent goalie.
Bad coaching miscue in my opinion - very rare for a J Stevens defense. Hopefully a learning point.

Final point: officiating was pretty even on most everything - slashes, pushes, end lines, etc. The regular calls. No issues there. But Alb defenders were hitting our guys frequently after shots/goals. Even though the hits were a few hard body shots - there is a new approach this year on player safety on those things and this crew did not get the memo. Watch Coyle get hit after the first goal in early Q1. got hammered. That is a penalty nowadays all the time. Also Kirst after a goal in Q4. Also on a loose ball scrum in Q4 where the ball got popped up into the air - Kirst (looking skyward without the ball) gets cross checked and driven into the turf. Ridiculous that there was no call on that. There are 2-3 other examples I'm not even including. Then when an Alb player got hit by Red 43 on the goal mouth where he beat Adler on crease - flag comes out versus Red. That hit was no different than 3-4 hits on Red players detailed above. Either there is the new emphasis on player safety (esp head shots) - or not! And to be clear - Red 26 cross checked the Alb goalie at the end and that was uncalled for in any setting - no doubt. But watch the Alb goalie cross checking the Red player who was on the ground just before this! I hate writing about officiating - but it was marginally dangerous on a few occasions yesterday. Refs lost control of that aspect of the game.

Red should tip their hats to Albany for a very tough and good game. They came to play and Red was a little flat footed. Red must improve or Lehigh will likely get a W next week.

Just happy to be 1-0. So many upsets. Good teams everywhere.

VF

[VeryRustyRed]

Excellent post. Double excellent.
Agree with all of your observations/insights. A few reactions.
-I also thought Staub did pretty well considering it was first time out. Lots of upside. We'll be fine, but I still miss Bartolotto.
-'Great to see Blake back, but he looked tentative to me when dodging. My hope is that the issue is not the soundness of his knee, but a function of confidence and finding his rhythm and "game legs." Wirtheim did have two good looks. You are correct, the team will need both to be legit goal scorers. Other than Lombardi (who I thought moved really well) the other guys are not goal scoring threats. Dalton does not exactly look fleet afoot and I believe is one-handed. Haven't seen much out of Sheehan last season or yesterday.
-Key point which I observed as well --- the first line (when Kelleher) dodged north south on the right side or left to right was late on the ball reversals all day. That was absolute bread and butter all last season, especially with Licciardi. While small and didn't shoot much off of his dodge, he had great early acceleration and was very quick and accurate with ball reversals.
-If Long isn't back, I would would leave Perfetto on attack with Coyle. He has lots of upside. Understandably, he was not particularly aggressive yesterday and it was his first game. Remember last year when Wirtheim started the first few games in place of Long. He did not appear aggressive or a take-charge guy. He was a completely different player by the end of the season.
-Follows - not the biggest guy in the world. But he is so fundamentally sound. Wow. I don't think it was an accident that in last season's late run, the defense definitely improved when he returned from injury.
-Stevens did go zone on late-in-the-quarter defensive sets multiple times last season. Good point questioning why he didn't yesterday. Perhaps it was because he's got at least 2 new guys on the field + it's early in the season. Stevens has always impressed me with game-day/real time decision making + game prep.
-Late hits by Albany - again, I can't agree more. The hits on Kirst and Coyle were egregious. As was the cross-check by the Albany goalie.
*Wing play - I'd like to see Reeder (the former linebacker!) get a shot as a FO wing..if he has wheels.

[Chousnake]

Great posts. A couple of more observations.

Ball movement was lacking on offense. Only 3 assisted goals out of 12. That is not Cornell lacrosse. I expect playing a game after only 2+ weeks of practice doesn't lend itself to crisp offense and they miss Long.

I think Cornell had 5 faceoff violations, continuing a trend from last season. I rewatched some of the game today on ESPN+ and I could not see any movement on some of them (the horrible camera work missed some of the other face offs). Can anybody tell what the issue is? This started in the 2nd half of the PSU game last season. Has he been labeled by the officials or is there an issue I'm not seeing? Most of these look like phantom calls to me.

Petrakis was one of the top FoGos coming out of Massapequa high school, but didn't play for two years when COVID hit 5 games into his freshman season and then he had to adjust to the rule changes. His win percentage is significantly impacted by violations. He also turns the ball over too often after winning the draw. Phyllos won some big draws yesterday.

Cascadden was a 5 star recruit as a FoGo for Garden City. When does he get a shot?

[another fan]

With regard to faceoff violations where we see no early motion, I believe there are non motion violations that can result in procedure calls. See below:


How a FOGO Must Legally Position Themselves for a Face-Off

Every FOGO that takes a lacrosse face-off has their own individual preferences and tendencies when it comes to positioning. However, there are a couple of core principles that every FOGO must follow to properly adhere to legal face-off procedure. These fundamental concepts are listed below:

The FOGO must hold the lacrosse stick in a right hand dominant fashion. In other words, the right hand must be placed near the top of the lacrosse shaft just below the plastic of the lacrosse head. The left hand must be placed near the bottom of the shaft.
The back of the lacrosse head must face toward the lacrosse ball. The front of the lacrosse head must face toward the FOGO.
Both feet must be positioned behind the center line.
The FOGO must be positioned behind and to the left (from the FOGO’s perspective) of the neutral zone. The neutral zone is an imaginary plane that originates where the metal material of the lacrosse shaft meets the plastic material of the lacrosse head.
The lacrosse stick must lie parallel with the center line.
The lacrosse stick cannot touch any part of the center line.
The lacrosse head must be positioned so that its center plane aligns perfectly with the ball.
The entire lacrosse stick must make full contact with the ground. Both hands of the FOGO must also make full contact with the ground.