Loyola Greyhounds 2023

[TheBigIguana]

I’m not exactly sure what’s going on but the offense looks like it’s regressed in terms of spacing and ball movement?

Ball dies in some sticks and it looks like they dodge to just… dodge? Instead of dodging to go to the cage, especially when they try to dodge from up top to go down the alley.

Also noticed that Toomey shortened the freshmen bench. I believe only Haberman, Minicus and Murphy played, but McCullough, and Cote didn’t get runs I think.

While I do see that offense is balanced and that multiple guys are scoring, the downside is that there’s no “GUY” that can takeover a game when things get super super tight. Usually that comes from X attack or from one big midfield guy but if these current players get locked up (which happened multiple times due to the stout Towson D), then people will just defer to eachother.

As the game went on, the 2nd midfield got reduced runs in exchange for poitras James and higgins getting asked to do more. They looked exhausted at the end.

Finally, we gotta really figure out what to do about the faceoff disparity. I think the unit is sub 50% as a whole which puts an immense strain on every other unit to overperform

They need James and Poitras to be better ball movers when they get short stick matchups. They dodge to score well enough but the difference when Higgins is poled all night is the ball movement slows down. I also agree sometimes those alley dodges need to be done with intent to score. That isn't really the intent, you're just trying to move the defense, but if they aren't scared you might turn the corner to score they aren't going to keep moving.

Faceoffs will look a lot better if the clean wins end up in our stick. Ground ball play was very sloppy in general.

[houndace1]

I’m not exactly sure what’s going on but the offense looks like it’s regressed in terms of spacing and ball movement?

Ball dies in some sticks and it looks like they dodge to just… dodge? Instead of dodging to go to the cage, especially when they try to dodge from up top to go down the alley.

Also noticed that Toomey shortened the freshmen bench. I believe only Haberman, Minicus and Murphy played, but McCullough, and Cote didn’t get runs I think.

While I do see that offense is balanced and that multiple guys are scoring, the downside is that there’s no “GUY” that can takeover a game when things get super super tight. Usually that comes from X attack or from one big midfield guy but if these current players get locked up (which happened multiple times due to the stout Towson D), then people will just defer to eachother.

As the game went on, the 2nd midfield got reduced runs in exchange for poitras James and higgins getting asked to do more. They looked exhausted at the end.

Finally, we gotta really figure out what to do about the faceoff disparity. I think the unit is sub 50% as a whole which puts an immense strain on every other unit to overperform

They need James and Poitras to be better ball movers when they get short stick matchups. They dodge to score well enough but the difference when Higgins is poled all night is the ball movement slows down. I also agree sometimes those alley dodges need to be done with intent to score. That isn't really the intent, you're just trying to move the defense, but if they aren't scared you might turn the corner to score they aren't going to keep moving.

Faceoffs will look a lot better if the clean wins end up in our stick. Ground ball play was very sloppy in general.

Going off what you mentioned, what do you think of Davis lindsey when he dodges from behind the goal? He’s the table setter and it seems like to me he dodges but then slows down at the end to see if there’s a slide so he can dish it to the open person or throw a star pass through the other side? Compare it to where Aidan would dodge to try and turn the corner and score with low angle shots.

[Formerhound]

Just a couple of notes from last night’s game. I got there late and missed the first quarter.
1. Higgins hasn’t been the same the last two outings. Two assists and 4 turnovers. He’s someone I was super high on before the season. He started off great with 6 points in the first two wins but has been invisible since.
2. Lindsay made some great feeds yesterday. If he could only score on some of his great chances it would really open up the offense. He got stopped on a breakaway 1v1 with the goalie yesterday which almost cost them the game.
3. Pacheco has been horrible. He won 9/23 of his draws AND had 3 turnovers on draws he won. That makes it 6/23 in reality. We have to improve in that area. Cottons was 0-4 so he’s not the answer either. This is an area that Toomey’s recruiting has failed. There was no one recruited at FOGO in 2020 except for Max McGillicudy who has morphed into a d-middie. 2021 had Dylan Farley, a late decommit from Harvard who left school after a semester. 2022 has no FOGOs at all. Something needs to be addressed here.
4. Staudt has been everything that anyone could have imagined and more. I thought he should have started last year. Big saves week in and week out. Huge one in OT last night to save the game. His outlets have also been great.
5. Binney had a nice goal last night but the rest of the second line middie group did nothing. Murphy, who has played well recently was invisible. Bateman, who for whatever reason continues to get runs at second line middie (same number of points as Mcgorry who hasn’t played this year due to injury and two turnovers). This isn’t an aberration: last year he had one point in 14 games. Would love to see what guys like Cote, West and Brown could do in that spot. Second line middies need to get more time in game to give 1st group a rest. Last year we saw how many games we lost in 4th quarter when middies were gassed. Let the kids play a bit more.
6. Next few games should give us a good barometer on the rest of the season. Lafayette and Bucknell should be easy wins. Duke will be extremely tough. Those three games should give us some great warmup for Army.
7. Go Hounds!!!

[houndace1]

Just a couple of notes from last night’s game. I got there late and missed the first quarter.
1. Higgins hasn’t been the same the last two outings. Two assists and 4 turnovers. He’s someone I was super high on before the season. He started off great with 6 points in the first two wins but has been invisible since.
2. Lindsay made some great feeds yesterday. If he could only score on some of his great chances it would really open up the offense. He got stopped on a breakaway 1v1 with the goalie yesterday which almost cost them the game.
3. Pacheco has been horrible. He won 9/23 of his draws AND had 3 turnovers on draws he won. That makes it 6/23 in reality. We have to improve in that area. Cottons was 0-4 so he’s not the answer either. This is an area that Toomey’s recruiting has failed. There was no one recruited at FOGO in 2020 except for Max McGillicudy who has morphed into a d-middie. 2021 had Dylan Farley, a late decommit from Harvard who left school after a semester. 2022 has no FOGOs at all. Something needs to be addressed here.
4. Staudt has been everything that anyone could have imagined and more. I thought he should have started last year. Big saves week in and week out. Huge one in OT last night to save the game. His outlets have also been great.
5. Binney had a nice goal last night but the rest of the second line middie group did nothing. Murphy, who has played well recently was invisible. Bateman, who for whatever reason continues to get runs at second line middie (same number of points as Mcgorry who hasn’t played this year due to injury and two turnovers). This isn’t an aberration: last year he had one point in 14 games. Would love to see what guys like Cote, West and Brown could do in that spot. Second line middies need to get more time in game to give 1st group a rest. Last year we saw how many games we lost in 4th quarter when middies were gassed. Let the kids play a bit more.
6. Next few games should give us a good barometer on the rest of the season. Lafayette and Bucknell should be easy wins. Duke will be extremely tough. Those three games should give us some great warmup for Army.
7. Go Hounds!!!

Points 3 and 5 first.

3. Yes Pacheco hasn’t been great. But one could chalk it up to not as much game experience because he had to sit behind Bailey for the last 3 years. Same thing with Cottone. What I’m wondering is why they haven’t used Sawyer Allen at all when options 1 and 2 are being beat. I believe they’re waiting for the 23 and 24 class to come in because they have some real good kids from the circuit getting in. I don’t think they expected Farley to leave after one semester but it’s college lax, they have to just play with what they have

5. It’s not like they’re running the wrong guys out there, but Murphy has shown promise and Binney can get a couple goals here and there. I do think Bateman does need to get reps as like they’re man up person to spot up and shoot because he does have a nice shot. But in terms of creating, it just doesn’t work IMO. He was brought in to replace drapeau as they had a similar skill set. Cote and McCullough and others do deserve a shot. Perhaps the lafayette game can provide valuable experience for guys to get playing time before Duke

[TheBigIguana]

I’m not exactly sure what’s going on but the offense looks like it’s regressed in terms of spacing and ball movement?

Ball dies in some sticks and it looks like they dodge to just… dodge? Instead of dodging to go to the cage, especially when they try to dodge from up top to go down the alley.

Also noticed that Toomey shortened the freshmen bench. I believe only Haberman, Minicus and Murphy played, but McCullough, and Cote didn’t get runs I think.

While I do see that offense is balanced and that multiple guys are scoring, the downside is that there’s no “GUY” that can takeover a game when things get super super tight. Usually that comes from X attack or from one big midfield guy but if these current players get locked up (which happened multiple times due to the stout Towson D), then people will just defer to eachother.

As the game went on, the 2nd midfield got reduced runs in exchange for poitras James and higgins getting asked to do more. They looked exhausted at the end.

Finally, we gotta really figure out what to do about the faceoff disparity. I think the unit is sub 50% as a whole which puts an immense strain on every other unit to overperform

They need James and Poitras to be better ball movers when they get short stick matchups. They dodge to score well enough but the difference when Higgins is poled all night is the ball movement slows down. I also agree sometimes those alley dodges need to be done with intent to score. That isn't really the intent, you're just trying to move the defense, but if they aren't scared you might turn the corner to score they aren't going to keep moving.

Faceoffs will look a lot better if the clean wins end up in our stick. Ground ball play was very sloppy in general.

Going off what you mentioned, what do you think of Davis lindsey when he dodges from behind the goal? He’s the table setter and it seems like to me he dodges but then slows down at the end to see if there’s a slide so he can dish it to the open person or throw a star pass through the other side? Compare it to where Aidan would dodge to try and turn the corner and score with low angle shots.

I prefer what Lindsey does. I'd like to see him turn the corner more or go to the question mark more but if I'm picking between a passive guy who runs the offense from x well and an ultra aggressive one who gets the ball stuck and takes too many iffy shots I'm taking what Lindsey does.

[Houndfan73]

Higgins is battling through a couple nagging injuries.

[kramerica.inc]

Just a couple of notes from last night’s game. I got there late and missed the first quarter.
1. Higgins hasn’t been the same the last two outings. Two assists and 4 turnovers. He’s someone I was super high on before the season. He started off great with 6 points in the first two wins but has been invisible since.
2. Lindsay made some great feeds yesterday. If he could only score on some of his great chances it would really open up the offense. He got stopped on a breakaway 1v1 with the goalie yesterday which almost cost them the game.
3. Pacheco has been horrible. He won 9/23 of his draws AND had 3 turnovers on draws he won. That makes it 6/23 in reality. We have to improve in that area. Cottons was 0-4 so he’s not the answer either. This is an area that Toomey’s recruiting has failed. There was no one recruited at FOGO in 2020 except for Max McGillicudy who has morphed into a d-middie. 2021 had Dylan Farley, a late decommit from Harvard who left school after a semester. 2022 has no FOGOs at all. Something needs to be addressed here.
4. Staudt has been everything that anyone could have imagined and more. I thought he should have started last year. Big saves week in and week out. Huge one in OT last night to save the game. His outlets have also been great.
5. Binney had a nice goal last night but the rest of the second line middie group did nothing. Murphy, who has played well recently was invisible. Bateman, who for whatever reason continues to get runs at second line middie (same number of points as Mcgorry who hasn’t played this year due to injury and two turnovers). This isn’t an aberration: last year he had one point in 14 games. Would love to see what guys like Cote, West and Brown could do in that spot. Second line middies need to get more time in game to give 1st group a rest. Last year we saw how many games we lost in 4th quarter when middies were gassed. Let the kids play a bit more.
6. Next few games should give us a good barometer on the rest of the season. Lafayette and Bucknell should be easy wins. Duke will be extremely tough. Those three games should give us some great warmup for Army.
7. Go Hounds!!!

Points 3 and 5 first.

3. Yes Pacheco hasn’t been great. But one could chalk it up to not as much game experience because he had to sit behind Bailey for the last 3 years. Same thing with Cottone. What I’m wondering is why they haven’t used Sawyer Allen at all when options 1 and 2 are being beat. I believe they’re waiting for the 23 and 24 class to come in because they have some real good kids from the circuit getting in. I don’t think they expected Farley to leave after one semester but it’s college lax, they have to just play with what they have

5. It’s not like they’re running the wrong guys out there, but Murphy has shown promise and Binney can get a couple goals here and there. I do think Bateman does need to get reps as like they’re man up person to spot up and shoot because he does have a nice shot. But in terms of creating, it just doesn’t work IMO. He was brought in to replace drapeau as they had a similar skill set. Cote and McCullough and others do deserve a shot. Perhaps the lafayette game can provide valuable experience for guys to get playing time before Duke

Vaikness is lauded for being a fogo whisperer. Let's hope the boys continue to work and improve.

[NovaHound]

Here's what I know so far.

Hounds are 3-1. This time last year they were still looking for that first win and sitting at 0-4.

Got behind early against a "psyched up" Towson Team and crowd, but kept composure and fought back. They kept battling.

Yeah, face offs are the Achilles heel right now and you knew Hounds would likely loose F/O in OT. It happened. Defense held and Staudt made good stop and clear.

And then it clicked when it was most needed...Poitras gets feed from James, shoots, and Hounds win game.

It was an ugly game full of mistakes and it seemed like most of unforced errors etc came from the Hounds. And they still won. In O/T. I'll take it.

[kramerica.inc]

In any of these neighborhood rivalry games, its gonna be a brawl more often than not. A WIN IS A WIN. Enjoy it and move on.
We see the issues. so I am positive the staff sees what they need to work on too.
And hopefully we can start to get a little healthy.
Good start to the year. Keep grinding boys. It's a marathon, not a sprint.

[GreyingHound]

I watched the Towson game in the air via United wi-fi. Not an ideal viewing experience, but at least it made the flight go quickly. The stream glitched when Loyola got possession in OT, and the next thing I saw was the bench celebrating.

For those who missed it, the full game is now available here: https://youtu.be/71Gyaa4THFE

Tough game, but Towson is always a gritty opponent. Others have already cited our weak spots, so I won't dwell there other than to mention that we've been mitigating the f/o losses by making saves and limiting turnovers. While it's not a comfortable place to be, it has been pretty effective so far. As we improve at the X, we will get even better overall. What concerns me most is our struggles in the clearing game. As far back as I can remember, Loyola has always been a strong clearing team. I'm sure this will improve too as the new faces get more accustomed to seeing the 10-man ride.

I'm looking forward to the start of PL play tomorrow, and while I expect a W, I'm not taking Lafayette as lightly as some others are. This is a vastly improved team, who likely will win a few PL games this season. We need to be careful, and avoid the temptation to look ahead to Duke.

On the injury front, it was great finally seeing Kamish on the field, but it seemed his runs were very limited. I'm hoping to see more of him soon. And does anyone know the story with Matt Dixon? I believe I heard he had a broken jaw, but I don't remember when that was. I would love to see him in action.

Go Hounds!

[houndace1]

I watched the Towson game in the air via United wi-fi. Not an ideal viewing experience, but at least it made the flight go quickly. The stream glitched when Loyola got possession in OT, and the next thing I saw was the bench celebrating.

For those who missed it, the full game is now available here: https://youtu.be/71Gyaa4THFE

Tough game, but Towson is always a gritty opponent. Others have already cited our weak spots, so I won't dwell there other than to mention that we've been mitigating the f/o losses by making saves and limiting turnovers. While it's not a comfortable place to be, it has been pretty effective so far. As we improve at the X, we will get even better overall. What concerns me most is our struggles in the clearing game. As far back as I can remember, Loyola has always been a strong clearing team. I'm sure this will improve too as the new faces get more accustomed to seeing the 10-man ride.

I'm looking forward to the start of PL play tomorrow, and while I expect a W, I'm not taking Lafayette as lightly as some others are. This is a vastly improved team, who likely will win a few PL games this season. We need to be careful, and avoid the temptation to look ahead to Duke.

On the injury front, it was great finally seeing Kamish on the field, but it seemed his runs were very limited. I'm hoping to see more of him soon. And does anyone know the story with Matt Dixon? I believe I heard he had a broken jaw, but I don't remember when that was. I would love to see him in action.

Go Hounds!

Welcome back!!!

Matt Dixon got a couple line shifts against Maryland and hopkins in the 4th quarter! Was involved in some sort of circle set and some passing.

He did have a broken jaw in fall ball after he got hit by a shot in practice

[Formerhound]

Yep. Matt Dixon had broken jaw in fall but is fine now. Missed all of last year due to injury/sickness so he’s been redshirted. Losing that year appears to have hurt his development as he’s only gotten garbage time and seems to be behind a bunch of freshmen.

[GreyingHound]

Thanks for the update on Dixon. Glad to hear he's on the mend, and I hope he gets back to his prior form.

One thing I forgot to mention that I really enjoy seeing this year is the effectiveness of the EMO.I feel like it has been a very long time, including throughout the Spencer years, since the man-up unit has been so lethal. I see it as a good indicator of the strength of the offense overall.

[GreyingHound]

We're quiet today.

Today's game was about what I expected. A decent win on short rest against a good and hungry opponent. A few observations:

• Houlihan played well in place of Wyers. Not sure why Wyers was out, and I hope we have him back against Duke, but it was nice to see Houlihan step up.
• Staudt continues to be super human.
• The Lafayette goalie had a great game (14 saves). A good look was far from an automatic conversion in this game.
• Our freshman class is loaded! Minicus, Haberman, Murphy, Cote, McColloch, Marlatt, and West all got quality minutes, along with a bunch of other non-starters who contributed - Taylor, Dixon, Callahan, Saffin, Fairey, Cheuvront, Erickson, et al.
• Pacheco found his groove in the 3rd quarter. Man, when this team wins faceoffs, they are unstoppable.
• The Hounds committed zero penalties!
• EMO continues to roll - 1 for 1 today.
• Our SSDMs are fantastic. I was critical of McGillicuddy last year. This year, I think he might be the most improved player on the team, and is a huge asset. He had an assist today.

Go Hounds!

[Formerhound]

We're quiet today.

Today's game was about what I expected. A decent win on short rest against a good and hungry opponent. A few observations:

• Houlihan played well in place of Wyers. Not sure why Wyers was out, and I hope we have him back against Duke, but it was nice to see Houlihan step up.
• Staudt continues to be super human.
• The Lafayette goalie had a great game (14 saves). A good look was far from an automatic conversion in this game.
• Our freshman class is loaded! Minicus, Haberman, Murphy, Cote, McColloch, Marlatt, and West all got quality minutes, along with a bunch of other non-starters who contributed - Taylor, Dixon, Callahan, Saffin, Fairey, Cheuvront, Erickson, et al.
• Pacheco found his groove in the 3rd quarter. Man, when this team wins faceoffs, they are unstoppable.
• The Hounds committed zero penalties!
• EMO continues to roll - 1 for 1 today.
• Our SSDMs are fantastic. I was critical of McGillicuddy last year. This year, I think he might be the most improved player on the team, and is a huge asset. He had an assist today.

Go Hounds!

Great post. 100% on target. Best game I’ve ever seen Lindsay play. After I criticized him after Rutgers loss he has really played great Lear two games. Minicus is a stud. Was nice to see Higgins get back to his old self. Big one Friday night at Duke. Need Wyers back and team playing at 100%. Kamish needs to get healthy enough to play more. Love this team.

[Formerhound]

Anyone have any word on Cam Wyers status for Friday’s game v Duke? Houlihan played well but we really need Wyers in this matchup with O’Neill. Huge game heading into Patriot league play. A win v Duke goes a long way in showing what these kids can do.

[TheBigIguana]

Anyone have any word on Cam Wyers status for Friday’s game v Duke? Houlihan played well but we really need Wyers in this matchup with O’Neill. Huge game heading into Patriot league play. A win v Duke goes a long way in showing what these kids can do.

Hughes will probably guard O'Neill either way

[houndace1]

So what realistically has to occur for the team to have success against Duke on Friday night?

Dukes offense is a bear to cover with O’Neill as the engine. He’s just enormous to defend.

Staudt needs to have another great game for this to turn into a win.

There is a very high chance the team gets dominated at the faceoff with Naso playing as well as he is right now. Gonna need coach vaikness to conjure up some magic in order to counter

[kramerica.inc]

Another tough game this week.
Duke looks like the favorite by a good margin.
My hope is the Hounds can compete for all 4 Qtrs. Between our injuries and youth, the goal here is to just play hard and get better.

[laxbro11]

Anyone have any word on Cam Wyers status for Friday’s game v Duke? Houlihan played well but we really need Wyers in this matchup with O’Neill. Huge game heading into Patriot league play. A win v Duke goes a long way in showing what these kids can do.

They sat Wyers due to his knee and to be honest was not really needed for Lafayette. Will be back for Duke.

Duke will be tough, but they are beatable.