Yale 2023

[FannOLax]

Good come-back effort -- just a bit short. Hats off to Penn State, which came into Reese with a great game plan and blew the doors off with a monster first quarter that Yale couldn't overcome. Back to work on offense on cracking a zone (and EMO) and on defense on man-down defense (PSU 4 for 4 on penalties was just a killer) and playing with some consistency in the 6 v 6 set. The cold weather and snow didn't help (uncharacteristic unforced passing errors) but PSU gave themselves the margin of error with their terrific start to the game.

Next up: an always-tough UMass team. Like last year, Yale goes into the game 1-1 coming off the PSU loss. Yale teams generally get better as the season progresses and I'm sure the team will be fired up to put together a stronger complete game effort next week.

I pretty much agree with this assessment by The Orfling. Lousy weather for outdoor sports, and a disappointing day for Yale... but then, 2016 was the last time the Elis entered conference play undefeated. Yes, "Yale teams generally get better as the season progresses," absolutely yes. The team should learn from this defeat and improve a lot before Cornell comes to town. While League play will likely be a challenging gauntlet again, I really doubt that six Ivies will make the NCAAS again; maybe four, but even that is more than the League was typically getting in the years before the pandemic, with two having been the norm (although Cornell should have been the third Ivy in 2019). Sorry if I'm rambling here.

[Typical Lax Dad]

Good come-back effort -- just a bit short. Hats off to Penn State, which came into Reese with a great game plan and blew the doors off with a monster first quarter that Yale couldn't overcome. Back to work on offense on cracking a zone (and EMO) and on defense on man-down defense (PSU 4 for 4 on penalties was just a killer) and playing with some consistency in the 6 v 6 set. The cold weather and snow didn't help (uncharacteristic unforced passing errors) but PSU gave themselves the margin of error with their terrific start to the game.

Next up: an always-tough UMass team. Like last year, Yale goes into the game 1-1 coming off the PSU loss. Yale teams generally get better as the season progresses and I'm sure the team will be fired up to put together a stronger complete game effort next week.

I pretty much agree with this assessment by The Orfling. Lousy weather for outdoor sports, and a disappointing day for Yale... but then, 2016 was the last time the Elis entered conference play undefeated. Yes, "Yale teams generally get better as the season progresses," absolutely yes. The team should learn from this defeat and improve a lot before Cornell comes to town. While League play will likely be a challenging gauntlet again, I really doubt that six Ivies will make the NCAAS again; maybe four, but even that is more than the League was typically getting in the years before the pandemic, with two having been the norm (although Cornell should have been the third Ivy in 2019). Sorry if I'm rambling here.

Prior to season, I guessed 3 with an outside chance of 4. 6 was an anomaly.

[The Orfling]

Early days yet but my gut is that, much like last season, Yale will have a puncher's chance in most any game by virtue of possessing a potentially high-scoring offense (they'll get better against the zone) and good goaltender, but the ability to defeat strong opponents on a given day will depend a lot on these factors:

• How's the face-off match-up? Can Yale get some extra possessions at the X?

(Depends on the match-up, but sometimes yes, sometimes no, I'd think.)

• Can Yale maximize the possessions it has with good clearing and a limit on turnovers?

(Feeling pretty good about this one -- I like the option of using #47, #18, and #26 on clears.)

• Is the goalie having an average, above-average, or great day in the net?

(Potential for some game-stealing performances.)

• "Special teams": Can Yale keep the penalties in check and avoid man-down situations and convert on EMOs?

(EMO should come along -- #45 is a great weapon from the outside; and hopefully man-down defense will get better and some of the more inexperienced players on the defense will learn to pick their spots a bit more in terms of the type of contact that draws flags).

[Lax3]

The curious aspect of their two games this year is how just horrible they are out of the gates. They were smoked by Nova to start the game and equally so against Penn State. Team was able to overcome the awful start to beat Nova, including some great in-game adjustments defensively, but ran out of time against Penn State in large part due to the zone they went up against. I just don't see how a team comes out like that two games in a row ... but I guess kudos to the coaches for making adjustments and the team for not faltering despite the huge deficits. Yes ... huge.

[The Orfling]

The curious aspect of their two games this year is how just horrible they are out of the gates. They were smoked by Nova to start the game and equally so against Penn State. Team was able to overcome the awful start to beat Nova, including some great in-game adjustments defensively, but ran out of time against Penn State in large part due to the zone they went up against. I just don't see how a team comes out like that two games in a row ... but I guess kudos to the coaches for making adjustments and the team for not faltering despite the huge deficits. Yes ... huge.

Good observations, Lax3. I'm sure trying to even out the performance over 60 minutes will be a point of emphasis as well. On the defensive side of things (which is the area that has started slowest in both games), one of the defenders is new to the close defense role -- in high school and in his Yale career before this year he was an LSM (not sure about club experience) so I think/hope there will be some increased cohesion amongst the close defense unit and 6 on 6 defense as he gets more game reps under his belt.

[Lax3]

I should know this ... who is started at close and LSM right now? I know DeMuth but not sure who the others are. Any insights would be welcome.

[The Orfling]

I should know this ... who is started at close and LSM right now? I know DeMuth but not sure who the others are. Any insights would be welcome.

In the first two games, close D has been De Muth, Alexander, and Cohen. Starting LSM has been Stuzin, with Garchitorena getting the next most run at LSM? I think in the Villanova game some other guys like Raab, Mallee, and Miklaszewski got some time at LSM (eg as a faceoff wing). Ssdm has been mostly C. Johnson, with Hackler and Monfort taking shifts as 2-way middies, and I thought maybe I caught sight of Ocken on the field against PSU although he didn't show up in the box score? (But not 100% sure on Ocken.)

[10stone5]

Nothing from Dave Anderson this year yet ?

He had a tremendous summer in Ontario, may have been the
top player in that league.

[The Orfling]

Nothing from Dave Anderson this year yet ?

He had a tremendous summer in Ontario, may have been the
top player in that league.

He hasn't shown up in the box score yet and I haven't spied him in the first two games (watched via streaming). In the Penn State game, Yale was trailing throughout and kept their top 3 attack (Brandau/Lyons/L. Johnson) in throughout, and the Villanova game was close for much of the game. Maybe an EMO opportunity could emerge at some point, or maybe if Yale puts away an opponent comfortably we'll see more of a rotation on attack.

[FannOLax]

I'm also a bit surprised that Dave Anderson hasn't seen any playing time yet. He scored in at least one spring (ummm late winter?) scrrimmage, and I like Orfling's idea of putting him on EMO, where I think he'd add something.

[Lax3]

Like most coaches, Shay is not someone who is going to change things up (Anderson) if that unit is having success. The attack last year did get changed up when Lyons was inserted into the lineup after 3-4 mediocre offensive games, but then he stuck with that same threesome that we are seeing now. I was surprised, however, that there wasn't some change up against the zone as the offense was not working very well.

I still think that the defense is a serious work in progress and would not be surprised if that unit is changed up.

[Gorilla Fan]

Date and time change

https://twitter.com/umassmlacrosse/stat ... 79lXTW0DZw

[FannOLax]

Like most coaches, Shay is not someone who is going to change things up (Anderson) if that unit is having success. The attack last year did get changed up when Lyons was inserted into the lineup after 3-4 mediocre offensive games, but then he stuck with that same threesome that we are seeing now. I was surprised, however, that there wasn't some change up against the zone as the offense was not working very well.

I still think that the defense is a serious work in progress and would not be surprised if that unit is changed up.

I agree with everything you say. I also note that Yale is 0 for 5 so far this season on EMO (0 for 2 against Nova and 0 for 3 vs PSU). I think the starting attackman trio plus Bragg makes sense; at the same time, Yale's man-up unit started hitting on all cylinders in 2018 early in Ivy play when Shay introduced a 4th attackman, so the unit was Reeves, Morrill, Gaudet and Rooney plus two middies. Perhaps in 2023 getting the defense sorted out is a higher priority, but I think it's also important that the EMO score some goals; Anderson or another additional attackman could be the answer for EMO.

[The Orfling]

Date and time change

https://twitter.com/umassmlacrosse/stat ... 79lXTW0DZw

Thanks for flagging the date/time change on the Yale thread, Gorilla Fan -- much appreciated.

[The Orfling]

Date and time change

https://twitter.com/umassmlacrosse/stat ... 79lXTW0DZw

Thanks for flagging the date/time change on the Yale thread, Gorilla Fan -- much appreciated.

I doublechecked the ESPN+ listings and they've been updated to reflect the Friday 1 pm game time. I'm glad we won't lose the opportunity to watch the game via streaming, as it should be a good one.

[Lawdawg100]

Safe to say

Matt Brandau > Ben Reeves

No debate on that

[KnowingWizardofODAC]

Safe to say

Matt Brandau > Ben Reeves

No debate on that

I don’t know what’s hotter, your takes or Matt Brandau this year. I mean talk about a field general. Put anyone on him and it’s his game the other team just gets the opportunity to watch. Can’t say the same about Ben Reeves.

[The Orfling]

Looking ahead to tomorrow's game, UMass has beaten an Army team which, in turn, defeated Rutgers. They are coming off a down game against BU (6-goal loss). From looking at the box score, there are some similarities to the Yale-PSU game -- UMass got off to a rough start, going down 6-1 at halftime with four first half penalties resulting in 3 EMO goals for BU, and could never climb back in. Other observations:

• UMass is always very physical and the penalties from the BU game indicate this year is no different, so it would be great to see Yale's EMO get untracked;

• UMass seems solid on face-offs; although they are under 50% on the year, one of the games was against a top FOGO, Calderone of BU, and they seem to have two solid FOGOs including the 2022 CAA rookie-of-the-year at the position;

• I don't know enough about them to know if they are wedded to man-to-man defense or, after watching the PSU game film, Yale will see a heavy diet of zone (but I wouldn't be surprised);

• Excellent and battle-tested goalie: Matt Knote has a 63.5% save percentage this year in three games, two of which are against strong teams (Army and BU) that can score.

Hoping for a great bounce-back game from the Bulldogs!

[Gobigred]

Army doesn't play Cornell until April.

[The Orfling]

Army doesn't play Cornell until April.

Thanks for the correction -- total brain fart. Corrected to reflect that Army, which UMass defeated, then beat Rutgers. No excuse for confusing the two (was typing while distracted).