THE 2019 Hopkins Lacrosse Fallout Shelter (44, we want more!)

[Peter Brown]

Coach gets so little credit on this board--and elsewhere. Holding a team like UMd to 1 second half goal is impressive. Further. making turtle soup 2 games in a row is quite impressive. Let's knock off the lions this w/e! Go Hop!!

I didn't see Petro on the field...?

My guess is the HOP players got sick of the HC's dreadful and debilitating sideline body language, and simply took it upon themselves to play like the season was on the line. That energy will last only so long.

If HOP can beat or even get close to PSU, I'll cheer for the kids to keep it going in the NCAA's. But for this weekend's tilt, HOP will need actual coaching (in addition to the different mindset they brought against the Terps 2x).

If PSU crushes HOP, I don't see HOP getting an invite into the NCAA's. And I see Petro in the HOP rearview mirror.

[51percentcorn]

As far as Petro - this MAY be the best opportunity to get Nadelen if you really want him. If not mistaken - his Towson contract is up this year and I have not seen a renewal announcement - maybe I missed it. Wait for Petro to play out the string - you don't have to buy him out but you might owe Towson a whole bunch of money.

Surprised there were crickets in response to the face-off issue. No way they put Wes out there because they felt comfortable with a 3 goal lead. I can almost guaranty that.

Trying to figure out how to shock the world on Saturday and I just can't get there. But - I was certainly wrong about the semi-final game - I thought we would have to dominate face-offs again - Hopkins didn't - I thought for sure Maryland would not be as sloppy - they were worse - and I thought Darby would have to be alot better - except for a very brief flurry - he really wasn't. To get the AQ I think - strangely enough - they have to do some of the same things they did in the rout at Panzer - limit O'Keefe, make Ament more of a scorer - in addition they need to:
- Win face-offs - Wes N vs Arceri would not be fair - one of the best vs. a kid who face-off opportunities could be counted without taking off your shoes - Prouty or Matt N have to be able to go and get the starting possessions to something in the 40's
- Darby - if I recall correctly - didn't play absolutely horrible (and was not responsible for the loss) but he has to be able to corral some outside shots - if the Lions start out like Maryland - 5-1/6-2 - and virtually 100% SOG% - you are not coming back - have to stay within shouting distance at all times
- Can't have 7 fouls for 6 minutes man down vs 1 30 second EMO - even though the man down was maybe the lone bright spot in that game - I wouldn't recommend it
- Epstein has to figure something out - 0 goals, 3 TOs only 6 shots - he's Hopkins best offensive player
- Can't get out gb'd by 13 and can't allow 33 SOG - even if Darby stood on his head and made 20 saves - they still would have had 13 on the scoreboard
- But most of all - you have to shorten the game and shorten their runs - they scored 3 goals in a minute to turn 1-1 into 4-1 and 5 goals in about 5 minutes to turn semi competitive 4-2 to 9-3 and another 3 goal run in 90 seconds to put any thought of 9-5 becoming competitive into 12-5 turn out the lights

Hopkins gave an incredible effort last night. It will take another one and that may not even be enough - I would like to see a game where they give that effort and at least have PSU paying attention

[xxxxxxx]

Oh how I love the Hopkins thread, never a dull moment, it's great, and congrats on a big win!

[WOMBAT, Mod Emeritus]

Oh how I love the Hopkins thread, never a dull moment, it's great, and congrats on a big win!

New, improved, fewer cats.

[Big Dog]

Ok, Petro can stay

Winning 2 games against an overrated UMd team doesn't change the calculus.

You can't fire the guy after throttling Maryland twice in a week. I doubt there's going to be as much of an appetite for it among the alums/admin now regardless.

Just the opposite. You give him a 3-year extension, with plenty of incentives BlG Title, FF) plus small buyout. Otherwise, recruits will question whether they guy offering them will even be around when they show up on campus.

[viper]

As far as Petro - this MAY be the best opportunity to get Nadelen if you really want him. If not mistaken - his Towson contract is up this year and I have not seen a renewal announcement - maybe I missed it. Wait for Petro to play out the string - you don't have to buy him out but you might owe Towson a whole bunch of money.

Surprised there were crickets in response to the face-off issue. No way they put Wes out there because they felt comfortable with a 3 goal lead. I can almost guaranty that.

Trying to figure out how to shock the world on Saturday and I just can't get there. But - I was certainly wrong about the semi-final game - I thought we would have to dominate face-offs again - Hopkins didn't - I thought for sure Maryland would not be as sloppy - they were worse - and I thought Darby would have to be alot better - except for a very brief flurry - he really wasn't. To get the AQ I think - strangely enough - they have to do some of the same things they did in the rout at Panzer - limit O'Keefe, make Ament more of a scorer - in addition they need to:
- Win face-offs - Wes N vs Arceri would not be fair - one of the best vs. a kid who face-off opportunities could be counted without taking off your shoes - Prouty or Matt N have to be able to go and get the starting possessions to something in the 40's
- Darby - if I recall correctly - didn't play absolutely horrible (and was not responsible for the loss) but he has to be able to corral some outside shots - if the Lions start out like Maryland - 5-1/6-2 - and virtually 100% SOG% - you are not coming back - have to stay within shouting distance at all times
- Can't have 7 fouls for 6 minutes man down vs 1 30 second EMO - even though the man down was maybe the lone bright spot in that game - I wouldn't recommend it
- Epstein has to figure something out - 0 goals, 3 TOs only 6 shots - he's Hopkins best offensive player
- Can't get out gb'd by 13 and can't allow 33 SOG - even if Darby stood on his head and made 20 saves - they still would have had 13 on the scoreboard
- But most of all - you have to shorten the game and shorten their runs - they scored 3 goals in a minute to turn 1-1 into 4-1 and 5 goals in about 5 minutes to turn semi competitive 4-2 to 9-3 and another 3 goal run in 90 seconds to put any thought of 9-5 becoming competitive into 12-5 turn out the lights

Hopkins gave an incredible effort last night. It will take another one and that may not even be enough - I would like to see a game where they give that effort and at least have PSU paying attention

Paraphrasing Dan Patrick, "you can't control the Lions, you can only hope to contain them". I put any chance of winning this game squarely on the offense. I don't see any defense being able to shut down or even limit the PSU offense. Only shot as aforementioned is to have the offense really shorten the game and finish their opportunities. NC State was able to do that in 1983 versus Houston when David took down Goliath in the NCAA basketball final four (winning with only 54 points). Of course if the Jays can't battle for face-offs this is even more of an uphill battle.

Just hope to see them continue to play with the same level of energy they have had the last few games. If Hopkins lacks the play makers at midfield, they certainly have proven that the sum of the parts can compensate for the limitations of any one individual.

While I think the Petro calculus has changed a bit from the last two games, I still have reservations that only a competitive run in the tournament could diminish further. Not necessarily a final four appearance, but at least showing that "they belong" when up against first and second round opponents. In my mind another early or embarrassing exit will be a reminder that things really haven't and won't change under the current leadership.

[Hawkeye]

You can't fire the guy after throttling Maryland twice in a week. I doubt there's going to be as much of an appetite for it among the alums/admin now regardless.

Just the opposite. You give him a 3-year extension, with plenty of incentives BlG Title, FF) plus small buyout. Otherwise, recruits will question whether they guy offering them will even be around when they show up on campus.

I actually like this idea a lot. Small buyout being the key.

[tech37]

Hopkins gave an incredible effort last night. It will take another one and that may not even be enough - I would like to see a game where they give that effort and at least have PSU paying attention

Quite true. PSU will certainly not play uninspired and agree HOP will need another big, perhaps bigger effort. Should be a great game and looking forward to watching.

As good as the second half HOP effort was, Terps played uninspired lacrosse once again. Were they overrated all year?

[HopFan16]

Surprised there were crickets in response to the face-off issue. No way they put Wes out there because they felt comfortable with a 3 goal lead. I can almost guaranty that.

Are you saying both Prouty and Younger Narewski were hurt? Prouty took his last faceoff at 9:08 in the 4th quarter and got beat cleanly off the whistle, then ran off the field. At that point Maryland's Shockey had won I believe 7 of the 10 faceoffs in the second half—neither Prouty nor Narewski were doing especially well. It seems more like they went to Narewski the Elder as a change-up at 3:45 in the 4th. He actually won his first draw (ok, it was more of a lucky bounce, and Foley picked up the GB). So it's not shocking he came out for another one, which came with 1:50 left and the Jays up by 4—the game was pretty much over at that point anyway. The final one came at a minute left with the Jays now up by 5. No reason to throw Prouty or Younger Narewski out there then.

Perhaps they're both a little banged up but I didn't see anything on TV to suggest one or both won't be able to go on Saturday. Maybe someone who was at the game can shed some light on this.

[oldjayfan]

Coach gets so little credit on this board--and elsewhere. Holding a team like UMd to 1 second half goal is impressive. Further. making turtle soup 2 games in a row is quite impressive. Let's knock off the lions this w/e! Go Hop!!

I didn't see Petro on the field...?

My guess is the HOP players got sick of the HC's dreadful and debilitating sideline body language, and simply took it upon themselves to play like the season was on the line. That energy will last only so long.

If HOP can beat or even get close to PSU, I'll cheer for the kids to keep it going in the NCAA's. But for this weekend's tilt, HOP will need actual coaching (in addition to the different mindset they brought against the Terps 2x).

If PSU crushes HOP, I don't see HOP getting an invite into the NCAA's. And I see Petro in the HOP rearview mirror.

Is he on the field when they're making bonehead decisions and throwing the ball away? No, but I'm sure you criticize him for those errors! Poor snowflakes having to endure a coach's poor body language! Sorry your son got yelled and not consoled for screwing up!!

[wgdsr]

excellent defensive effort.
1st domino to watch may be tonight in the ivy. if cornell wins, noose'll be tighter and hop might be playing for their playoff lives.
and y'all should be big loyola and maybe towson fans.
i have the jays bubble out right now unless there's chalk in ivy, patriot and caa.
no chalk and you have a host of teams for a couple spots and hopkins' 7 losses and meh wins vs their competitors will weigh on them.

[Peter Brown]

Coach gets so little credit on this board--and elsewhere. Holding a team like UMd to 1 second half goal is impressive. Further. making turtle soup 2 games in a row is quite impressive. Let's knock off the lions this w/e! Go Hop!!

I didn't see Petro on the field...?

My guess is the HOP players got sick of the HC's dreadful and debilitating sideline body language, and simply took it upon themselves to play like the season was on the line. That energy will last only so long.

If HOP can beat or even get close to PSU, I'll cheer for the kids to keep it going in the NCAA's. But for this weekend's tilt, HOP will need actual coaching (in addition to the different mindset they brought against the Terps 2x).

If PSU crushes HOP, I don't see HOP getting an invite into the NCAA's. And I see Petro in the HOP rearview mirror.

Is he on the field when they're making bonehead decisions and throwing the ball away? No, but I'm sure you criticize him for those errors! Poor snowflakes having to endure a coach's poor body language! Sorry your son got yelled and not consoled for screwing up!!

I lay everything on leadership, good and bad, but here's the rub: I think the HOP kids took it upon themselves to wrestle these two games from UMD, not the coaches. These kids are proud warriors, and this season was fast-circling the drain after the PSU game.

If you think Petro's sideline body language this season has been anything short of putrid, you might want to rewatch the tape; this guy looks beyond-dejected any time there's one of those HOP 'boneheaded decisions' (similar decisions made amazingly by every team in D1 including PSU), or he simply watches the game as a bystander. I just think he's due for a coaching sabbatical; almost every coach needs that in their career.

That said, I am pulling for HOP over PSU and hope this is the start of something meaningful, but I am not confident. And no matter what, I think Petro should reflect after this season to determine if he thinks he's the right guy for this program at this stage. He certainly will not have to worry about job prospects, even if he takes a year off.

[oldjayfan]

kudos to Petro & staff for identifying and signing these "warriors" . Any player negatively impacted by a coach's body language should play golf..

PSU is lighting up the scoreboard. Curious how Hop will defend Ament. I'm sure they will have a few surprises for the Lions!

[51percentcorn]

Surprised there were crickets in response to the face-off issue. No way they put Wes out there because they felt comfortable with a 3 goal lead. I can almost guaranty that.

Are you saying both Prouty and Younger Narewski were hurt? Prouty took his last faceoff at 9:08 in the 4th quarter and got beat cleanly off the whistle, then ran off the field. At that point Maryland's Shockey had won I believe 7 of the 10 faceoffs in the second half—neither Prouty nor Narewski were doing especially well. It seems more like they went to Narewski the Elder as a change-up at 3:45 in the 4th. He actually won his first draw (ok, it was more of a lucky bounce, and Foley picked up the GB). So it's not shocking he came out for another one, which came with 1:50 left and the Jays up by 4—the game was pretty much over at that point anyway. The final one came at a minute left with the Jays now up by 5. No reason to throw Prouty or Younger Narewski out there then.

Perhaps they're both a little banged up but I didn't see anything on TV to suggest one or both won't be able to go on Saturday. Maybe someone who was at the game can shed some light on this.

I'm saying it would be extremely out of character for this coaching staff to only be down 3 face-offs- 11-8 - trying to protect a 3 goal lead with their season absolutely on the line to throw a kid out there who has taken 6 draws all year (and lost 4 of them). Kudos to them if they thought an absolute change of pace was required and were willing to try it in that situation. Also from the eye test - the face-offs were very competitive 50-50 gb affairs.

[HopFan16]

Surprised there were crickets in response to the face-off issue. No way they put Wes out there because they felt comfortable with a 3 goal lead. I can almost guaranty that.

Are you saying both Prouty and Younger Narewski were hurt? Prouty took his last faceoff at 9:08 in the 4th quarter and got beat cleanly off the whistle, then ran off the field. At that point Maryland's Shockey had won I believe 7 of the 10 faceoffs in the second half—neither Prouty nor Narewski were doing especially well. It seems more like they went to Narewski the Elder as a change-up at 3:45 in the 4th. He actually won his first draw (ok, it was more of a lucky bounce, and Foley picked up the GB). So it's not shocking he came out for another one, which came with 1:50 left and the Jays up by 4—the game was pretty much over at that point anyway. The final one came at a minute left with the Jays now up by 5. No reason to throw Prouty or Younger Narewski out there then.

Perhaps they're both a little banged up but I didn't see anything on TV to suggest one or both won't be able to go on Saturday. Maybe someone who was at the game can shed some light on this.

I'm saying it would be extremely out of character for this coaching staff to only be down 3 face-offs- 11-8 - trying to protect a 3 goal lead with their season absolutely on the line to throw a kid out there who has taken 6 draws all year (and lost 4 of them). Kudos to them if they thought an absolute change of pace was required and were willing to try it in that situation. Also from the eye test - the face-offs were very competitive 50-50 gb affairs.

That wouldn't be the first puzzling decision they've made this year.

Prouty was wearing some kind of black leg sleeve but I couldn't tell if it was cosmetic or if it was meant to provide some knee/thigh support. He looked fine running around out there. For what it's worth I do believe Narewski was banged up earlier in the season but he looked okay to me. I find it unlikely neither will be able to go on Saturday. Unfortunately I do think it'll require both of them to give good efforts in order to keep Arceri from dominating.

The wings did a nice job last night. Kuhn, Reinson and Zinn all came up with a couple very tough GBs in traffic. Hadn't been seeing much of that this season.

[10stone5]

Oh how I love the Hopkins thread, never a dull moment, it's great, and congrats on a big win!

New, improved, fewer cats.

Whatever kool aid you all are drinking.
Could I have some

[oldjayfan]

At the risk of stating the obvious, Jays need to possess the ball and score early. If they dig a hole tomorrow, like they did in Happy Valley, say good night. Faceoff unit will be key, as will limiting PSU possessions. Not sure what I'm smoking, but I have a good feeling about this one. Winning will do that--confidence should be sky high right now!

[steel_hop]

You can't fire the guy after throttling Maryland twice in a week. I doubt there's going to be as much of an appetite for it among the alums/admin now regardless. And after it looked like a near impossibility a few weeks ago, it doesn't look like we're going to miss the NCAA tournament. At this point I think you let him play out the final year of his contract and then see. Renewing it is another question entirely.

So all it took was 2 wins over an overrated MD team (after getting plastered by PSU) and a decade of awful results is all that it takes for you? You are a cheap date.

I don't think Hopkins is a lock for the tournament. If they get hammered by PSU tomorrow and given what Hopkins has shown over the last 4-5 years that has not shown up in the NCAA tournament, I think the committee is going to look hard very hard at whether a Hopkins team should be in the tournament. Outside of PSU, the B1G is down this year. Outside of MD, Hopkins hasn't beaten a team that is likely to be in the tournament this year (looks like a record of 2-5); MD is 1-4 (if Hopkins makes the tourney); OSU is probably 2-2 (if Hopkins makes it); PSU is 3-1 and I didn't even look at UM's schedule.

As for the contract renewal, that is recruiting suicide. You can't have guys that only have 1 year left on their deal and be able to adequately recruit heading into the 2020 year. The recruiting pitch from opposing coaches writes itself "So Player X, who will be your coach next year at Hopkins in 2020? I guess it could be Petro though he doesn't have a contract. Maybe you should come to School Z because you know you will be playing for me." Yeah, good luck.

[Homer]

excellent defensive effort.
1st domino to watch may be tonight in the ivy. if cornell wins, noose'll be tighter and hop might be playing for their playoff lives.
and y'all should be big loyola and maybe towson fans.
i have the jays bubble out right now unless there's chalk in ivy, patriot and caa.
no chalk and you have a host of teams for a couple spots and hopkins' 7 losses and meh wins vs their competitors will weigh on them.

This is a correct view IMO. The past week was huge, but folks need to pump the brakes on Hopkins being somehow a lock for the tournament at this point. Still need a lot to go right in other conferences to avoid some very sweaty palms on Sunday.

I gather a lot of these comments reflect a growing reliance on what people read on Laxbytes and similar sites. One major drawback to those models is that AFAIK they have no way of accounting for head-to-head. This can really skew things when we're talking about a direct comparison between 2-3 teams for a final bid. If it were to come down to Hopkins and Towson, say, Towson's head-to-head win would be a major factor, probably decisive unless Hop were very far ahead on other metrics. But Laxbytes doesn't "know" any of that, so you have to adjust/discount whatever numbers you see there accordingly.

I think given that Cornell>Towson>Hopkins on the field (and Cornell and Towson have better high-end wins BTW), the best you can say is that it's far from clear that in a direct comparison where you had to take just 1 or 2 of the 3 that Hop would be the one coming out on the right side of that.

[DocBarrister]

excellent defensive effort.
1st domino to watch may be tonight in the ivy. if cornell wins, noose'll be tighter and hop might be playing for their playoff lives.
and y'all should be big loyola and maybe towson fans.
i have the jays bubble out right now unless there's chalk in ivy, patriot and caa.
no chalk and you have a host of teams for a couple spots and hopkins' 7 losses and meh wins vs their competitors will weigh on them.

This is a correct view IMO. The past week was huge, but folks need to pump the brakes on Hopkins being somehow a lock for the tournament at this point. Still need a lot to go right in other conferences to avoid some very sweaty palms on Sunday.

I gather a lot of these comments reflect a growing reliance on what people read on Laxbytes and similar sites. One major drawback to those models is that AFAIK they have no way of accounting for head-to-head. This can really skew things when we're talking about a direct comparison between 2-3 teams for a final bid. If it were to come down to Hopkins and Towson, say, Towson's head-to-head win would be a major factor, probably decisive unless Hop were very far ahead on other metrics. But Laxbytes doesn't "know" any of that, so you have to adjust/discount whatever numbers you see there accordingly.

I think given that Cornell>Towson>Hopkins on the field (and Cornell and Towson have better high-end wins BTW), the best you can say is that it's far from clear that in a direct comparison where you had to take just 1 or 2 of the 3 that Hop would be the one coming out on the right side of that.

There is absolutely no way you can say Cornell and Towson are better than Hopkins “on the field.” Right now, on the field, Hopkins is playing top-tier lacrosse.

Having said that, an at large bid isn’t fully guaranteed for Hopkins. If the B1G winds up being a two-team conference for an NCAA tournament bid (AQ + at large), Blue Jays are in. The likelihood is very high.

Still, Blue Jays should be playing hard to win the AQ on Saturday. Only certain ticket to The Show.

DocBarrister