Johns Hopkins 2024

[coda]

To single out his last few games feels like missing the forest for the trees in a big way.

look - not trying to be identified as anti Ierlan - nothing would make me happier lacrosse wisethan if he led the Jays to Memorial Day and was the MOP. To be fair however, the forest says he is a 52-53% career at Job #1. That's OK - not off the hook. In both 2022 and 2023 he had 7 games each season with Save % below 50%. I seem to recall some fair players for Cornells D as well. Just thinking the results might be more in line with what we have seen. If Marcille makes 1 more save a game he is above 52%.

That's more than OK. 52-53% on a consistent basis is quite good for today's game, basically All-American caliber (Ierlan was HM this season). When you adjust for level of competition (i.e. Ierlan's 52% is more impressive than the Robert Morris goalie's 52%), then he's been, what, a top 5 goalie in the country over the last few years? Top 10 at worst? What more do you want? Unfortunately Entenmann wasn't in the portal.

He finished 20th in save percentage this year, which is solid. Not All-American caliber. Finished 3rd in the Ivy in Save Percentage just in front of Paquettte of Yale. I would put Paquette above him, because of how God awful the Yale defense was (51% behind that defense is excellent). He is solid goalie, who should give you consistent goalie play. That is good thing

It literally was All-American caliber. He was an All-American.

Also, save percentage is meaningless if you don't take into account the level of competition. Same for faceoff percentage. So "20th in the country" doesn't mean very much without context.

I certainly factored that into the equation, when comparing Ivy goalies. I am sure you going to say he is definitely better than Helm and his .505 save percentage, despite reasonably close save % and Helm playing far better competition. That said the level of your defense in comparison to the offenses you face, is far more important than the overall level of competition. It does mean something when you have one of the better defenses in your league and a top 20 defense overall (#14 on Massey).

The All-American Goalies were:
1st team: G-Liam Entenmann, Notre Dame
2nd Team: G-Jack Fracyon, Penn State
3rd Team: G-Will Mark, Syracuse
Honorable Mention: G-Mike Gianforcaro, Princeton, G-Matt Knote, UMass, G-Knox Dent, Army

that is IL. I would not take him over any of those guys. Someone may, but people are entitled to their wrong opinions.

Ierlan was a USILA AA.

You're putting a lot of emphasis on 2023. That's fine. Let's see if Dent and Gianforcaro can keep it up. They've put one year on tape. Both also play behind good defenses against lesser schedules.

What?? Princeton played a lesser schedule, than Cornell?

Off the top of my head for 2024:
Entenmann, Fraycon, Mark, Dent, Gianforcaro, Nunes. Maryland Goalie is back and arguably #1. Definitely could argue the Loyola guy or Carroll from Penn. Probably missing some players.

[HopFan16]

To single out his last few games feels like missing the forest for the trees in a big way.

look - not trying to be identified as anti Ierlan - nothing would make me happier lacrosse wisethan if he led the Jays to Memorial Day and was the MOP. To be fair however, the forest says he is a 52-53% career at Job #1. That's OK - not off the hook. In both 2022 and 2023 he had 7 games each season with Save % below 50%. I seem to recall some fair players for Cornells D as well. Just thinking the results might be more in line with what we have seen. If Marcille makes 1 more save a game he is above 52%.

That's more than OK. 52-53% on a consistent basis is quite good for today's game, basically All-American caliber (Ierlan was HM this season). When you adjust for level of competition (i.e. Ierlan's 52% is more impressive than the Robert Morris goalie's 52%), then he's been, what, a top 5 goalie in the country over the last few years? Top 10 at worst? What more do you want? Unfortunately Entenmann wasn't in the portal.

He finished 20th in save percentage this year, which is solid. Not All-American caliber. Finished 3rd in the Ivy in Save Percentage just in front of Paquettte of Yale. I would put Paquette above him, because of how God awful the Yale defense was (51% behind that defense is excellent). He is solid goalie, who should give you consistent goalie play. That is good thing

It literally was All-American caliber. He was an All-American.

Also, save percentage is meaningless if you don't take into account the level of competition. Same for faceoff percentage. So "20th in the country" doesn't mean very much without context.

I certainly factored that into the equation, when comparing Ivy goalies. I am sure you going to say he is definitely better than Helm and his .505 save percentage, despite reasonably close save % and Helm playing far better competition. That said the level of your defense in comparison to the offenses you face, is far more important than the overall level of competition. It does mean something when you have one of the better defenses in your league and a top 20 defense overall (#14 on Massey).

The All-American Goalies were:
1st team: G-Liam Entenmann, Notre Dame
2nd Team: G-Jack Fracyon, Penn State
3rd Team: G-Will Mark, Syracuse
Honorable Mention: G-Mike Gianforcaro, Princeton, G-Matt Knote, UMass, G-Knox Dent, Army

that is IL. I would not take him over any of those guys. Someone may, but people are entitled to their wrong opinions.

Ierlan was a USILA AA.

You're putting a lot of emphasis on 2023. That's fine. Let's see if Dent and Gianforcaro can keep it up. They've put one year on tape. Both also play behind good defenses against lesser schedules.

What?? Princeton played a lesser schedule, than Cornell?

Off the top of my head for 2024:
Entenmann, Fraycon, Mark, Dent, Gianforcaro, Nunes. Maryland Goalie is back and arguably #1. Definitely could argue the Loyola guy or Carroll from Penn. Probably missing some players.

Meant Knox and Knote

[MDlaxfan76]

I certainly factored that into the equation, when comparing Ivy goalies. I am sure you going to say he is definitely better than Helm and his .505 save percentage, despite reasonably close save % and Helm playing far better competition. That said the level of your defense in comparison to the offenses you face, is far more important than the overall level of competition. It does mean something when you have one of the better defenses in your league and a top 20 defense overall (#14 on Massey).

The All-American Goalies were:
1st team: G-Liam Entenmann, Notre Dame
2nd Team: G-Jack Fracyon, Penn State
3rd Team: G-Will Mark, Syracuse
Honorable Mention: G-Mike Gianforcaro, Princeton, G-Matt Knote, UMass, G-Knox Dent, Army

Didn't he take Cornell to the Finals in 2022 and held UMD to 9 goals even though they were averaging like 18?
I think he only let one team, Rutgers, hit double digits in the playoffs last year.
If you're looking for someone to lead your team to the Final Four, this is probably the guy. It seems that other top teams wanted him to.

He faced 18 shots that day. I would say that is more of a testament to the defense overall, than Goalie play

He also got lit up liek a Christmas tree in the IVy Championship and was 42% vs Michigan. So we can all pick a game or 2 that would bolster any argument.

Who in the portal is better than Ierlan,
who in the portal has as much tournament experience,

that’s really the point,
there is nobody else.

I've been reading through these comments and I think this one is probably most on point.

Hopkins needs bolstering in this department and Ierlan was the best option available, experienced and credible.

Yes, there are some tenders who are clearly better (based on play to date) but he's also outperformed many others. He's capable of very big days and also has had some lows.

I'd agree with the concern about 6 games last year under 500, including last 4. But some 66% games as well.

No guarantees. But an excellent pick-up in an area of clear need. Plenty of talent.

It may come down to how hungry he is, how committed he is to improvement, for another year.
If he's committed to improving his game, and works hard at it, he's capable of being a big difference maker.
That doesn't always happen with grad transfers, but it may.

[PulpExposure]

It may come down to how hungry he is, how committed he is to improvement, for another year.
If he's committed to improving his game, and works hard at it, he's capable of being a big difference maker.
That doesn't always happen with grad transfers, but it may.

And how quickly he meshes with the defense in front of him. Defense has to know what shots he wants to see, and which ones he may struggle with. And how he calls out defenses, etc. It's both an individual, but also such a team dependent position if that makes sense.

[jhu06]

3 days in a row now (marcille, narewski, hawley) they've posted farewell type tributes to kids on the jhumenslacrosse instagram. We might get some sort of finality on who is staying/leaving if these continue beyond what HF16 has unofficially posted here.

[Finster]

3 days in a row now (marcille, narewski, hawley) they've posted farewell type tributes to kids on the jhumenslacrosse instagram. We might get some sort of finality on who is staying/leaving if these continue beyond what HF16 has unofficially posted here.

Been away a few days. I expected to come back to this thread seeing 300 pages of posts after new of the goalie transfer. Hopkins fans aren’t bringing their A game.

[flalax22]

I certainly factored that into the equation, when comparing Ivy goalies. I am sure you going to say he is definitely better than Helm and his .505 save percentage, despite reasonably close save % and Helm playing far better competition. That said the level of your defense in comparison to the offenses you face, is far more important than the overall level of competition. It does mean something when you have one of the better defenses in your league and a top 20 defense overall (#14 on Massey).

The All-American Goalies were:
1st team: G-Liam Entenmann, Notre Dame
2nd Team: G-Jack Fracyon, Penn State
3rd Team: G-Will Mark, Syracuse
Honorable Mention: G-Mike Gianforcaro, Princeton, G-Matt Knote, UMass, G-Knox Dent, Army

Didn't he take Cornell to the Finals in 2022 and held UMD to 9 goals even though they were averaging like 18?
I think he only let one team, Rutgers, hit double digits in the playoffs last year.
If you're looking for someone to lead your team to the Final Four, this is probably the guy. It seems that other top teams wanted him to.

He faced 18 shots that day. I would say that is more of a testament to the defense overall, than Goalie play

He also got lit up liek a Christmas tree in the IVy Championship and was 42% vs Michigan. So we can all pick a game or 2 that would bolster any argument.

Who in the portal is better than Ierlan,
who in the portal has as much tournament experience,

that’s really the point,
there is nobody else.

I've been reading through these comments and I think this one is probably most on point.

Hopkins needs bolstering in this department and Ierlan was the best option available, experienced and credible.

Yes, there are some tenders who are clearly better (based on play to date) but he's also outperformed many others. He's capable of very big days and also has had some lows.

I'd agree with the concern about 6 games last year under 500, including last 4. But some 66% games as well.

No guarantees. But an excellent pick-up in an area of clear need. Plenty of talent.

It may come down to how hungry he is, how committed he is to improvement, for another year.
If he's committed to improving his game, and works hard at it, he's capable of being a big difference maker.
That doesn't always happen with grad transfers, but it may.

Gerry Logan was my favorite Grad Transfer. Deemed academically ineligible 90 minutes before a playoff game against Duke. It’s one of those Hopkins stories that lives on through the ages.

[MDlaxfan76]

It may come down to how hungry he is, how committed he is to improvement, for another year.
If he's committed to improving his game, and works hard at it, he's capable of being a big difference maker.
That doesn't always happen with grad transfers, but it may.

And how quickly he meshes with the defense in front of him. Defense has to know what shots he wants to see, and which ones he may struggle with. And how he calls out defenses, etc. It's both an individual, but also such a team dependent position if that makes sense.

yup. 3 generations of goalies in my family, coached a lot of tenders as well; you are certainly correct about the team aspects.

I think the more important factor in your emphasis on team meshing is the rapport and trust that can be built... that can actually happen rather quickly when a tender 'saves' some that help out his defenders...if he's encouraging them to take risks, that he has their back, etc, the rapport can happen quickly. It's not so much a 'cocky' attitude as much as it simply becomes clear quickly that respect and trust are deserved between players. Good players recognize one another quickly.

I'm less of a fan of the concept that a tender only does well if the defense in front of him is strong...obviously that helps a ton, but I want a tender who can thrive during chaos, who rises to those occasions. That can actually 'lift' a defense to be whatever its best may be, if only for that series of next plays, minutes, quarters...

A tender should expect defensive breakdowns, not be bothered by them. Those are opportunities for the tender. Obviously the practice objective is to reduce breakdowns by having everyone on the same page tactically, but the reality is that an approach will be wrong, a slide will be missed, or the opponent is just that good... expect that and the tender has an advantage. And has an opportunity to lift his defense.

On the shots a tender 'wants to see' and those 'he may struggle with', it's not really that different tender to tender, or at least shouldn't be (work out any glitch tendencies in practice). But all tenders will agree, Don't give them the middle of the field, don't give them time and room from the middle. Balls will go in from anywhere, but some shots "should" go in more often than not...give me a chance to reduce the range of motion I need to cover. Obviously, the doorstep feeds need to be as few as possible, so the off ball coverage is crucial and disrupting the feeder is important as well. In other words, good, simple schemes that force shots from angles rather than center of field and no easy layups. Team defense.

The tender is crucial to team defense confidence. And confidence breeds trust and cohesion.
How he communicates authoritatively and confidently, as well as his body language throughout matter a ton.
When you see a tender hang his head, turn his back on defense, or harangue his defense in a game...it's too late.

My son used to refuse to dig the ball out of the goal; some refs sometimes were a bit peeved, but he ignored them and went directly to his teammates. I asked him why, as nearly all tenders get the ball for the refs...he said, "it's not my job, my job is to get with my teammates looking forward, not backward"...interesting philosophy. Good refs seemed to understand and respect the attitude, particularly as competition level rose. Fat refs in summer ball, not so much!

Fall practices will begin the trust building, but it's only when the competition with an opponent is fierce that it's secured...and each such opportunity builds that trust and cohesion.

Feeling philosophical here...!

[jhu06]

3 days in a row now (marcille, narewski, hawley) they've posted farewell type tributes to kids on the jhumenslacrosse instagram. We might get some sort of finality on who is staying/leaving if these continue beyond what HF16 has unofficially posted here.

Been away a few days. I expected to come back to this thread seeing 300 pages of posts after new of the goalie transfer. Hopkins fans aren’t bringing their A game.

-Coach "doesn't have a sideline demeanor issue"
-Early recruiting is all but off the roster
-No expected coordinator changes
-The coach isn't being fired
-Daniels isn't taking us d3-for now
-A prominent alum hasn't gone on his podcast after a few beverages to "say that he'd have a hard time still supporting the program because of how his coach was treated".

TBD
-The Season Ticket Holder seats, training bubble and other administrative support that hasn't come through
-A major transfer out, injury, or kid made ineligible for 2024
-A shock hire of Jameson to be HC somewhere or the goalie assistant getting a bigger job somewhere else
-A key home game getting played in the middle of nowhere for reasons unbeknownst and unexplained. Oh wait.

[Sagittarius A*]

It may come down to how hungry he is, how committed he is to improvement, for another year.
If he's committed to improving his game, and works hard at it, he's capable of being a big difference maker.
That doesn't always happen with grad transfers, but it may.

And how quickly he meshes with the defense in front of him. Defense has to know what shots he wants to see, and which ones he may struggle with. And how he calls out defenses, etc. It's both an individual, but also such a team dependent position if that makes sense.

The tender is crucial to team defense confidence. And confidence breeds trust and cohesion.
How he communicates authoritatively and confidently, as well as his body language throughout matter a ton.
When you see a tender hang his head, turn his back on defense, or harangue his defense in a game...it's too late.

My son used to refuse to dig the ball out of the goal; some refs sometimes were a bit peeved, but he ignored them and went directly to his teammates. I asked him why, as nearly all tenders get the ball for the refs...he said, "it's not my job, my job is to get with my teammates looking forward, not backward"...interesting philosophy. Good refs seemed to understand and respect the attitude, particularly as competition level rose. Fat refs in summer ball, not so much!

Fall practices will begin the trust building, but it's only when the competition with an opponent is fierce that it's secured...and each such opportunity builds that trust and cohesion.

Feeling philosophical here...!

I remember Greenberg and Federico, arguably the best D/Goalie combo ever. After every goal, Mike would pace around the goal like "how could this possibly have happened to us?," while Greenberg would pick the ball out of the back of the net. It was like a ritual. They didn't get scored on much.

[HopFan16]

-A key home game getting played in the middle of nowhere for reasons unbeknownst and unexplained. Oh wait.

I'm not so sure the Cuse game was going to be played at Homewood next year if not for the Charlotte thing. That series has been on a weird schedule. Cuse had the Dome renovations a few years back and then we played them twice in a row at Homewood — 2020 pre-Covid, skipped 2021, and then again at home in 2022. So who the hell knows where 2024 was going to be.

Anyway this post is just quintessential 06. An instant classic. Put it in the FanLax Louvre. Brings up a laundry list of things no one is currently talking about or even cares about for the express purpose of drumming of controversy. He needs it like he needs air to breathe. When there's nothing new, you gotta play the hits.

I will muse for a second about the lineup. We've already discussed the open lefty attack spot — provided Degnon does not return then your options are to either bump Collison or Grimes up to attack OR keep them at midfield and start one of the highly-ranked freshman, Sorichetti/Chauvette. Seems pretty straightforward. I'm almost more interested in the close D slot vacated by Mazzone and the subsequent wing reps that will be available. Easiest thing is probably to move Carson Brown the lefty into Mazzone's spot and keep Deans and Kaufman at LSM. But you're also bringing in the lefty Kilrain and from what I've been told he's going to be about as ready to play right away as it gets for a defenseman. I'd say sliding Brown in there is the obvious solution but I'm still a bit puzzled about why his playing time cratered in the last few games of the season. Maybe there was a minor injury they were managing or perhaps Kaufman was flat out outplaying him and they rewarded him for it. Will be interesting to see if there's any carry over of that dynamic into 2024 or if it was a blip. Prior to that Brown looked like a legit star in the making.

[nrthcrosslax]

The Princeton transfer would also be in the defensive mix.

[HopFan16]

The Princeton transfer would also be in the defensive mix.

I see him as more of the 4th defenseman/man-down specialist (i.e. the new Ruddy), but maybe it'll be more. Like Ierlan, it helps that he has Final Four experience. There's real value in bringing in guys like that

[jhu06]

-A key home game getting played in the middle of nowhere for reasons unbeknownst and unexplained. Oh wait.

I'm not so sure the Cuse game was going to be played at Homewood next year if not for the Charlotte thing. That series has been on a weird schedule. Cuse had the Dome renovations a few years back and then we played them twice in a row at Homewood — 2020 pre-Covid, skipped 2021, and then again at home in 2022. So who the hell knows where 2024 was going to be.

Anyway this post is just quintessential 06. An instant classic. Put it in the FanLax Louvre. Brings up a laundry list of things no one is currently talking about or even cares about for the express purpose of drumming of controversy. He needs it like he needs air to breathe. When there's nothing new, you gotta play the hits.

I will muse for a second about the lineup. We've already discussed the open lefty attack spot — provided Degnon does not return then your options are to either bump Collison or Grimes up to attack OR keep them at midfield and start one of the highly-ranked freshman, Sorichetti/Chauvette. Seems pretty straightforward. I'm almost more interested in the close D slot vacated by Mazzone and the subsequent wing reps that will be available. Easiest thing is probably to move Carson Brown the lefty into Mazzone's spot and keep Deans and Kaufman at LSM. But you're also bringing in the lefty Kilrain and from what I've been told he's going to be about as ready to play right away as it gets for a defenseman. I'd say sliding Brown in there is the obvious solution but I'm still a bit puzzled about why his playing time cratered in the last few games of the season. Maybe there was a minor injury they were managing or perhaps Kaufman was flat out outplaying him and they rewarded him for it. Will be interesting to see if there's any carry over of that dynamic into 2024 or if it was a blip. Prior to that Brown looked like a legit star in the making.

It was snark, I kept politics out of it, and the administrative stuff/sideline things/early recruiting didn't come from me originally. I also learned last week that the forum admin pretranslates WT (letter after E before G) to What the Heck.

Deans had a nice bounceback year.

So far I'm at OSU/UNC/UVA having coordinator switches from this year, plus denver has a new boss and we'll see if that preseason relationship continues now that Tierney is out.

[Sagittarius A*]

The Princeton transfer would also be in the defensive mix.

Any word on Todaro?
I know he was in a boot this spring, but maybe he's ready to play next spring or possibly this fall.

[MDlaxfan76]

It may come down to how hungry he is, how committed he is to improvement, for another year.
If he's committed to improving his game, and works hard at it, he's capable of being a big difference maker.
That doesn't always happen with grad transfers, but it may.

And how quickly he meshes with the defense in front of him. Defense has to know what shots he wants to see, and which ones he may struggle with. And how he calls out defenses, etc. It's both an individual, but also such a team dependent position if that makes sense.

The tender is crucial to team defense confidence. And confidence breeds trust and cohesion.
How he communicates authoritatively and confidently, as well as his body language throughout matter a ton.
When you see a tender hang his head, turn his back on defense, or harangue his defense in a game...it's too late.

My son used to refuse to dig the ball out of the goal; some refs sometimes were a bit peeved, but he ignored them and went directly to his teammates. I asked him why, as nearly all tenders get the ball for the refs...he said, "it's not my job, my job is to get with my teammates looking forward, not backward"...interesting philosophy. Good refs seemed to understand and respect the attitude, particularly as competition level rose. Fat refs in summer ball, not so much!

Fall practices will begin the trust building, but it's only when the competition with an opponent is fierce that it's secured...and each such opportunity builds that trust and cohesion.

Feeling philosophical here...!

I remember Greenberg and Federico, arguably the best D/Goalie combo ever. After every goal, Mike would pace around the goal like "how could this possibly have happened to us?," while Greenberg would pick the ball out of the back of the net. It was like a ritual. They didn't get scored on much.

I wouldn't argue about which Hopkins unit was the best, but yes, surely one of the very best, anywhere!
Sounds like they had their ritual, which communicated their intensity in their own way.

I was the same year as Michael, so we grew up playing against one another in summer ball, but I only faced him twice in HS, both senior year. He'd won the starting varsity job at Boy's Latin as a sophomore, winning the MSA, while I didn't get the nod at Gilman until senior year, which we won the MSA. BL won the first contest second game of season, 7-6 with Michael having the better day. We beat them the second time at BL on their alumni day, 11-7. BL had a bunch of excellent midfielders who loved to let it rip on the dirt field back then and I had 21 saves...coincidentally, my son was in the net on alumni day at BL in 2012 in a game won by Gilman in OT 11-10, with him having 18 saves. In net for BL that day was a terrific tender who went on to Cornell. Their attack was led by Stanwick and Heacock. BL dominated at X...wild game with 4 "dive" shots in a row, two each by each team, to create the tie, then saves by each tender in OT with finally a break going to Gilman.

You'll recall perhaps that the tender who shared 1st team AA status with Michael in 1980 was Bobby Clements of W&L, who was also our year out of St. Pauls. Tremendous tender and athlete. One of my classmates, defensemen, Bill Pacy, lost his life in a car crash freshman fall at W&L...I think he would have been an AA, perhaps first teamer as well for them. He had moved from midfield to defense, great stick, long reach and was getting really good fast. His dad had been a great player as well. My other two defensemen were classmate Ted Sotir who was an AA at Princeton and a junior Wingate Pritchett who was AA at Maryland. And yet, the best defense unit was at Calvert Hall!

Jeff Harris, who scored Hop's winner in NC double OT, was our 3rd attack man as a junior...

Memories...

[PulpExposure]

yup. 3 generations of goalies in my family, coached a lot of tenders as well; you are certainly correct about the team aspects.

I think the more important factor in your emphasis on team meshing is the rapport and trust that can be built... that can actually happen rather quickly when a tender 'saves' some that help out his defenders...if he's encouraging them to take risks, that he has their back, etc, the rapport can happen quickly. It's not so much a 'cocky' attitude as much as it simply becomes clear quickly that respect and trust are deserved between players. Good players recognize one another quickly.

I don't have anywhere near the experience you have, but I've watched my oldest play close D for over a decade with multiple goal tenders through club, high school, and travel. And completely understand you here. I also really like the goalies who take charge and act as the general of the defense, because after all...if they make a wrong call on a slide for example, they're the ones ultimately responsible for the resultant shot on goal.

Last season in HS, they had a senior goalie who was a terrific leader, and really demanded that pressure. This year they had a freshman goalie, who didn't. I mean the freshman kids is in reality just a kid, so it's unrealistic to expect him to step into those shoes and replicate that leadership, but it was a notable difference.

I'm less of a fan of the concept that a tender only does well if the defense in front of him is strong...obviously that helps a ton, but I want a tender who can thrive during chaos, who rises to those occasions. That can actually 'lift' a defense to be whatever its best may be, if only for that series of next plays, minutes, quarters...

A tender should expect defensive breakdowns, not be bothered by them. Those are opportunities for the tender. Obviously the practice objective is to reduce breakdowns by having everyone on the same page tactically, but the reality is that an approach will be wrong, a slide will be missed, or the opponent is just that good... expect that and the tender has an advantage. And has an opportunity to lift his defense.

Completely agree, and that's why you play goalie! You're part of the defense, but some days you'll get bailed out by the defense (when you're not seeing the ball) and other days, you're the absolute hero. Tough ass job.

On the shots a tender 'wants to see' and those 'he may struggle with', it's not really that different tender to tender, or at least shouldn't be (work out any glitch tendencies in practice). But all tenders will agree, Don't give them the middle of the field, don't give them time and room from the middle. Balls will go in from anywhere, but some shots "should" go in more often than not...give me a chance to reduce the range of motion I need to cover. Obviously, the doorstep feeds need to be as few as possible, so the off ball coverage is crucial and disrupting the feeder is important as well. In other words, good, simple schemes that force shots from angles rather than center of field and no easy layups. Team defense.

Kind of meant like short goalies generally prefer you to shoot low, tall goalies high...and depending on the hand of the goalie, stick side (e.g., left or right handed). Interestingly enough, one of the local teams last year played a straight old zone, daring teams to take outside shots. Because their goalie was so good at tracking them. Generally worked out for them.

The tender is crucial to team defense confidence. And confidence breeds trust and cohesion.
How he communicates authoritatively and confidently, as well as his body language throughout matter a ton.
When you see a tender hang his head, turn his back on defense, or harangue his defense in a game...it's too late.

As a father of a kid who plays close, the goalie is the MOST important part of a defense. A bad goalie can wreck a great defense. A great goalie can save a bad defense.

Well communication is also super important lol....

[molo]

Were the other two attackmen Heubeck and Swerdloff?

[nyjay]

Gerry Logan was my favorite Grad Transfer. Deemed academically ineligible 90 minutes before a playoff game against Duke. It’s one of those Hopkins stories that lives on through the ages.

Logan's game vs. UNC that year was one of the best Hop goalie performances in recent memory.

[MDlaxfan76]

Were the other two attackmen Heubeck and Swerdloff?

Yup.
Bob Thomas was on the sidelines with a broken back due to a car crash...me driving...he'd been the only junior HS AA the year before from Maryland. QB of football team, president of class. He was an AA at Princeton, though never 100%, President of school there, went on to Harvard Law, won Moot Court competition...very successful litigator, whistleblower cases, mostly healthcare. Boston. 2 daughters. Still competes nationally in tennis.

Heubey was a couple time AA at Princeton as well...ROTC, UMD Law, JAG Corps, very successful litigator w/Venable in Balt. 2 daughters.

Swerdloff went to Hopkins and if I understand correctly was "starting" as a freshman, but had to change schools and went to NC State when they were terrific. Accountant in Davidsonville. https://www.instagram.com/p/CgzQZSvrs-h/

Swerd was an exceptional athlete, very intense, the guy all the opponents loved to hate...I enjoyed having him on my team, respected that fire in the belly.

The expected lineup that year had been Thomas and Heubeck and Harris on attack, with Swerdloff at midfield. With Thomas out, we started another junior the first two games, which we lost each by one goal. We had preseason scrimmaged that year's public champ Dulaney and won 16-1, so we were feeling pretty high and mighty...but then we lost to Calvert Hall in the first game 6-5 and then the loss to BL . Coach Dave Allan moved Swerd to attack...and I started playing better, and we ran the table from there, back when the 6 team MSA A played each other twice. We handled St. Pauls 12-8, Loyola, McD, then back to Calvert Hall, who we beat 5-3 in a defensive struggle. I had 15 in that one. Everyone else ended with 3 losses as Calvert Hall, St. Pauls and BL all beat each other and Loyola won a couple too...only McD suffered all losses. After beating BL at their house, to clinch we had to beat St. Pauls which had only 2 losses matching our record. It was quite a barn burner at Homecoming Saturday at Gilman in front of 4,000, 9-8. I had 22 in that one and Clements had a big day as well for them. They had the best midfielder in the league, Peter Eisenbrandt (Penn) who I don't think came off the field, and multiple horses at attack. Excellent team, lots of firepower. Indeed, all 4 of the top teams were really good, could beat each other on any given day.

At the end of the season, a special game was set up with Wroxeter, a now defunct sports academy-like school not dissimilar to IMG or Hill in Anne Arundel County; they pulled the best talent and gave them scholarships, with a few exceptions going to Severna Park which had a really good public team. They had been playing an independent schedule up and down the East Coast, Island trouncing everyone by wide margins. The Sun ran an article predicting a blowout, with Wroxeter having "the best attack" ever seen..they predicted they'd fast break us to death, but we flipped the script and beat them 16-8 with most of our own goals scored on fast break offense. Their attack really was super but we were on fire that day.

PS, had to check some of those scores, my memory's not that good...