Maryland 2024

[Pork42]

All McNaney had to do was clear it. Instead just chucks it at the goal

I wasn’t watching. Can you tell us what happened here with McNaney, who also had a braindead toss against Notre Dame.

Relax cat he put too much arch on it is all. haha

[keno in reno]

There's 6 games left.

There's 3 games where at the moment they absolutely have the worse offense (Virginia, Hopkins, Penn State.) Two where I'd say they have the better one (Rutgers, Ohio State.) One unclear (Michigan.) With Wierman back and McNaney locked back in, they're favored in 4/6 games I'd say. Without, it might still be the same, but they probably look a lot more like this one and the games their underdogs in probably aren't ones they have chances of pulling upsets in. But it's still March 9th. Erksa had a big game. Malever's getting better. We'll see where they're at in a month. They were a Top 20-30 offense in the first month. Sort of similar so far in March, but two more big games next two weeks to learn more

Malever didn't do much today; barely even tried to get to the goal. This offense can't afford to have another guy out there not looking like a threat. Maybe Brown's d is that great, but they're not gonna win many games with Malever and Spanos getting shut out.

[jrn19]

He doesn't need to get to the goal when Erksa has 5 + 3, but he's got to do what he did today and be the guy running the offense behind X. This was the best ball movement they had along with the most off ball cutting to the crease. When the ball would go behind they'd actually create looks instead of it just sort of dying there. Obviously that has to do with Brown's D; but also because when Malever's back there he can read the defense better than Erksa and find guys.

Of their 14 goals, 9 (65%) were assisted. That's their second highest mark of the season (after last week actually.) That's when this offense is at its best, when the ball moves. And both have coincided with Malever having the ball in his stick more and being an active part of the offense, whereas in February he was basically drifting and more of a passenger. These are things that matter and help the offense.

[AreaLax]

Coach John Tillman said after the game that Wierman got nicked up last week, and not playing him today was the best decision.

[Wheels]

If you're looking at position units, I'd say you'd be pretty happy with an attack unit that has combined for 36 goals and 20 assists through 6 games. It seems like the parts fit pretty well there, and the guys all know how to play together.

For the first midfield unit, it seems like they're up and down each week. Spanos has that great game against Princeton but doesn't really carry it over. Koras plays an all-around game each week but can disappear on offense some times. Siracusa has been pretty steady since getting the starting role. Still, 24 combined goals and 14 assists over 6 games isn't bad, either.

But the second midfield is kinda a mess. They're still rotating sometimes 5 players through there. Coming into the season, I would have thought the 2nd MF line was going to be a strength of offense.

I wonder how much Tills and Phipps trust the offense. They certainly don't play free this year. They do not like to push in transition very often.

Today was odd because of the possession discrepancy with Wierman being out, so it was understandable that Tills wanted to slow things down. The defense had to play so much today, and you could see players pulling the ball out, not taking open shots, and not sending passes into tight windows because it would have risked losing possession.

But they're not getting to transition much at all this year.

Not sure what's up McNaney, but he struggled last week and this week. 4 of Brown's goals were on low angle shots. Things you'd think McNaney would get a piece of. 10 of Brown's goals were unassisted, and this is a team that hasn't shown it can win a lot of match-ups even against teams like Quinnipiac and Providence. Some of Maryland's shorties looked pretty angry after some goals. Pushing guys into low angle shots but seeing shots go in is tough to handle.

Obviously, this type of effort and performance against UVA won't end up well.

[terp talk]

Post Game with Wayne and Bruce

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcn8kq9Cq_Q

[AreaLax]

PC for the game
https://youtu.be/PCTJeNXpRYg?si=OT653LSjCMM-0rNx

[jrn19]

If you don’t trust the offense, you gotta be willing to take risks and create some early offense. This team has the players to push in transition. Alviti was a transition threat at Vermont, Stamos has shown a lot of potential in transition so far, Kolar has 3 goals a year ago. McNaney has really struggled in the clear game the last couple weeks which is not helping. But if you don’t have a lot of faith in your 6v6, you gotta find offense elsewhere. Yes, this team’s strength at its best is how they can tilt the field with Wierman and then suffocate you down the other end with McNaney in net and a great defense. But there’s a shot clock. Gotta always look for more goals.

The problem with the second midfield construction is that on a team that already has questions about how many dodging threats they have, it routinely runs at least 2 non-dodging threats. Kelly isn’t a midfielder, having him run out of the box at guys isn’t gonna work. Like I said a week ago, play him on the point on some faceoffs, man-up, but how it is right now isn’t working. Then Brennan is also just a minutes eater at the moment. Whittier has some shake but seems low on confidence. Murphy never lacks in confidence and has probably been the most consistent of that group.

They’re just unbalanced groups. Stobaugh needs some more run. And while dropping Siracusa down would be harsh considering how well he’s played; Spanos and Whittier showed chemistry on a line together a year ago. Them and Koras towards the end of the year was the group. Go back to that. Then you can get Siracusa, who can beat a shortie, on the 2nd line to add some punch. Balance it out

[masondixonlax]

If you don’t trust the offense, you gotta be willing to take risks and create some early offense. This team has the players to push in transition. Alviti was a transition threat at Vermont, Stamos has shown a lot of potential in transition so far, Kolar has 3 goals a year ago. McNaney has really struggled in the clear game the last couple weeks which is not helping. But if you don’t have a lot of faith in your 6v6, you gotta find offense elsewhere. Yes, this team’s strength at its best is how they can tilt the field with Wierman and then suffocate you down the other end with McNaney in net and a great defense. But there’s a shot clock. Gotta always look for more goals.

The problem with the second midfield construction is that on a team that already has questions about how many dodging threats they have, it routinely runs at least 2 non-dodging threats. Kelly isn’t a midfielder, having him run out of the box at guys isn’t gonna work. Like I said a week ago, play him on the point on some faceoffs, man-up, but how it is right now isn’t working. Then Brennan is also just a minutes eater at the moment. Whittier has some shake but seems low on confidence. Murphy never lacks in confidence and has probably been the most consistent of that group.

They’re just unbalanced groups. Stobaugh needs some more run. And while dropping Siracusa down would be harsh considering how well he’s played; Spanos and Whittier showed chemistry on a line together a year ago. Them and Koras towards the end of the year was the group. Go back to that. Then you can get Siracusa, who can beat a shortie, on the 2nd line to add some punch. Balance it out

Whittier was definitely a bigger part of the offense last year and he has the athleticism to beat people. I am not entirely sure what Kelly’s role is on the offense but it isn’t working. Just really a Hoch-Poch of players at midfield without a lot of consistency. Maltz has been has been solid which has been nice. I don’t feel like Phipps/ Tills have really tried to mix things up offensively and if our defensive plays like that next week our offense will not be able to keep up

Depending on which Maryland shows up next week it could be ugly. I’m sure Lars is licking his chops, especially since Maryland has won the last couple of years.

[Wheels]

There's 6 games left.

There's 3 games where at the moment they absolutely have the worse offense (Virginia, Hopkins, Penn State.) Two where I'd say they have the better one (Rutgers, Ohio State.) One unclear (Michigan.) With Wierman back and McNaney locked back in, they're favored in 4/6 games I'd say. Without, it might still be the same, but they probably look a lot more like this one and the games their underdogs in probably aren't ones they have chances of pulling upsets in. But it's still March 9th. Erksa had a big game. Malever's getting better. We'll see where they're at in a month. They were a Top 20-30 offense in the first month. Sort of similar so far in March, but two more big games next two weeks to learn more

Malever didn't do much today; barely even tried to get to the goal. This offense can't afford to have another guy out there not looking like a threat. Maybe Brown's d is that great, but they're not gonna win many games with Malever and Spanos getting shut out.

Over the past couple of games, opponents have schemed Malever in an interesting way; and I haven't noticed opponents using the same scheme against other players. Unless Malever gets the ball at X, if he starts with the ball in the corners or wing, his defender doesn't follow him to X. His defender will purposely hang himself up in front of the net to clog the middle and passing lanes. Opponents will then wait him and the offense out. Again, opponents aren't doing this to other Terps. When the Terps then all get high in the crease and start cutting, there aren't enough finishing opportunities to force defenses out of the scheme. So it slows the offense down and forces them to eat time. I wonder how Phipps and Tills will adjust. It looks like it happens a few times a game.

[jrn19]

If you don’t trust the offense, you gotta be willing to take risks and create some early offense. This team has the players to push in transition. Alviti was a transition threat at Vermont, Stamos has shown a lot of potential in transition so far, Kolar has 3 goals a year ago. McNaney has really struggled in the clear game the last couple weeks which is not helping. But if you don’t have a lot of faith in your 6v6, you gotta find offense elsewhere. Yes, this team’s strength at its best is how they can tilt the field with Wierman and then suffocate you down the other end with McNaney in net and a great defense. But there’s a shot clock. Gotta always look for more goals.

The problem with the second midfield construction is that on a team that already has questions about how many dodging threats they have, it routinely runs at least 2 non-dodging threats. Kelly isn’t a midfielder, having him run out of the box at guys isn’t gonna work. Like I said a week ago, play him on the point on some faceoffs, man-up, but how it is right now isn’t working. Then Brennan is also just a minutes eater at the moment. Whittier has some shake but seems low on confidence. Murphy never lacks in confidence and has probably been the most consistent of that group.

They’re just unbalanced groups. Stobaugh needs some more run. And while dropping Siracusa down would be harsh considering how well he’s played; Spanos and Whittier showed chemistry on a line together a year ago. Them and Koras towards the end of the year was the group. Go back to that. Then you can get Siracusa, who can beat a shortie, on the 2nd line to add some punch. Balance it out

Whittier was definitely a bigger part of the offense last year and he has the athleticism to beat people. I am not entirely sure what Kelly’s role is on the offense but it isn’t working. Just really a Hoch-Poch of players at midfield without a lot of consistency. Maltz has been has been solid which has been nice. I don’t feel like Phipps/ Tills have really tried to mix things up offensively and if our defensive plays like that next week our offense will not be able to keep up

Depending on which Maryland shows up next week it could be ugly. I’m sure Lars is licking his chops, especially since Maryland has won the last couple of years.

Lars might be licking his chops, but his defense has given up 15+ two weeks in a row. They've also been dominated on faceoffs two weeks in a row as well. They're not exactly coming in guns ablazing either. If Wierman is back and the team puts in a locked in performance, they can absolutely win. We haven't seen the best of either team the last few weeks

[PulpExposure]

If you don’t trust the offense, you gotta be willing to take risks and create some early offense. This team has the players to push in transition. Alviti was a transition threat at Vermont, Stamos has shown a lot of potential in transition so far, Kolar has 3 goals a year ago. McNaney has really struggled in the clear game the last couple weeks which is not helping. But if you don’t have a lot of faith in your 6v6, you gotta find offense elsewhere. Yes, this team’s strength at its best is how they can tilt the field with Wierman and then suffocate you down the other end with McNaney in net and a great defense. But there’s a shot clock. Gotta always look for more goals.

The problem with the second midfield construction is that on a team that already has questions about how many dodging threats they have, it routinely runs at least 2 non-dodging threats. Kelly isn’t a midfielder, having him run out of the box at guys isn’t gonna work. Like I said a week ago, play him on the point on some faceoffs, man-up, but how it is right now isn’t working. Then Brennan is also just a minutes eater at the moment. Whittier has some shake but seems low on confidence. Murphy never lacks in confidence and has probably been the most consistent of that group.

They’re just unbalanced groups. Stobaugh needs some more run. And while dropping Siracusa down would be harsh considering how well he’s played; Spanos and Whittier showed chemistry on a line together a year ago. Them and Koras towards the end of the year was the group. Go back to that. Then you can get Siracusa, who can beat a shortie, on the 2nd line to add some punch. Balance it out

Whittier was definitely a bigger part of the offense last year and he has the athleticism to beat people. I am not entirely sure what Kelly’s role is on the offense but it isn’t working. Just really a Hoch-Poch of players at midfield without a lot of consistency. Maltz has been has been solid which has been nice. I don’t feel like Phipps/ Tills have really tried to mix things up offensively and if our defensive plays like that next week our offense will not be able to keep up

Depending on which Maryland shows up next week it could be ugly. I’m sure Lars is licking his chops, especially since Maryland has won the last couple of years.

The issue with Kelly running out of midfield is he's just not a midfielder. He's an attackman, and with him and Maltz on the field, I feel like they're kind of mirror images of each other. Both good at what they do, but it's sort of the same role (finisher...not a creator). Maltz should start over Kelly as he's better right now though.

I wish they would let Stobaugh play more - they need juice on that second line. They need an outside shooter (he has a monster step down), and athleticism, and he has both. Yeah he needs seasoning as a freshman but...like...the only way he'll get that is to play him.

[stupefied]

Styles matter .Reasonable to expect another tight game similar to last year .UM has a knack for winning tight games and advantaged at goalie with McNaney , va goalie is talented but can be inconsistent. UVA d has size and aggressive approach that cuts both ways depending on opponents execution

[blue angels]

If you don’t trust the offense, you gotta be willing to take risks and create some early offense. This team has the players to push in transition. Alviti was a transition threat at Vermont, Stamos has shown a lot of potential in transition so far, Kolar has 3 goals a year ago. McNaney has really struggled in the clear game the last couple weeks which is not helping. But if you don’t have a lot of faith in your 6v6, you gotta find offense elsewhere. Yes, this team’s strength at its best is how they can tilt the field with Wierman and then suffocate you down the other end with McNaney in net and a great defense. But there’s a shot clock. Gotta always look for more goals.

The problem with the second midfield construction is that on a team that already has questions about how many dodging threats they have, it routinely runs at least 2 non-dodging threats. Kelly isn’t a midfielder, having him run out of the box at guys isn’t gonna work. Like I said a week ago, play him on the point on some faceoffs, man-up, but how it is right now isn’t working. Then Brennan is also just a minutes eater at the moment. Whittier has some shake but seems low on confidence. Murphy never lacks in confidence and has probably been the most consistent of that group.

They’re just unbalanced groups. Stobaugh needs some more run. And while dropping Siracusa down would be harsh considering how well he’s played; Spanos and Whittier showed chemistry on a line together a year ago. Them and Koras towards the end of the year was the group. Go back to that. Then you can get Siracusa, who can beat a shortie, on the 2nd line to add some punch. Balance it out

Whittier was definitely a bigger part of the offense last year and he has the athleticism to beat people. I am not entirely sure what Kelly’s role is on the offense but it isn’t working. Just really a Hoch-Poch of players at midfield without a lot of consistency. Maltz has been has been solid which has been nice. I don’t feel like Phipps/ Tills have really tried to mix things up offensively and if our defensive plays like that next week our offense will not be able to keep up

Depending on which Maryland shows up next week it could be ugly. I’m sure Lars is licking his chops, especially since Maryland has won the last couple of years.

Lars might be licking his chops, but his defense has given up 15+ two weeks in a row. They've also been dominated on faceoffs two weeks in a row as well. They're not exactly coming in guns ablazing either. If Wierman is back and the team puts in a locked in performance, they can absolutely win. We haven't seen the best of either team the last few weeks

Really doubt Lars is licking his chops as he has a lot of respect for Tillman and Maryland's capabilities. Virginia absolutely struggled at face off without Ghobriel available at HOP. They were pretty close on FOs at Towson so not a major impact in that game. Virginia cleared their bench in the 4th up 9, but Towson did not. Towson's starters had their way with Virginia's reserves late but the game had already been decided and only closed to within a margin of 4. I completely agree that we haven't seen the best of either team yet and fully expect Wierman and Maryland to play their best game. These are 2 teams that could be there Memorial Day weekend, regardless of who wins. It should be a great contest.

[AreaLax]

If you don’t trust the offense, you gotta be willing to take risks and create some early offense. This team has the players to push in transition. Alviti was a transition threat at Vermont, Stamos has shown a lot of potential in transition so far, Kolar has 3 goals a year ago. McNaney has really struggled in the clear game the last couple weeks which is not helping. But if you don’t have a lot of faith in your 6v6, you gotta find offense elsewhere. Yes, this team’s strength at its best is how they can tilt the field with Wierman and then suffocate you down the other end with McNaney in net and a great defense. But there’s a shot clock. Gotta always look for more goals.

The problem with the second midfield construction is that on a team that already has questions about how many dodging threats they have, it routinely runs at least 2 non-dodging threats. Kelly isn’t a midfielder, having him run out of the box at guys isn’t gonna work. Like I said a week ago, play him on the point on some faceoffs, man-up, but how it is right now isn’t working. Then Brennan is also just a minutes eater at the moment. Whittier has some shake but seems low on confidence. Murphy never lacks in confidence and has probably been the most consistent of that group.

They’re just unbalanced groups. Stobaugh needs some more run. And while dropping Siracusa down would be harsh considering how well he’s played; Spanos and Whittier showed chemistry on a line together a year ago. Them and Koras towards the end of the year was the group. Go back to that. Then you can get Siracusa, who can beat a shortie, on the 2nd line to add some punch. Balance it out

Whittier was definitely a bigger part of the offense last year and he has the athleticism to beat people. I am not entirely sure what Kelly’s role is on the offense but it isn’t working. Just really a Hoch-Poch of players at midfield without a lot of consistency. Maltz has been has been solid which has been nice. I don’t feel like Phipps/ Tills have really tried to mix things up offensively and if our defensive plays like that next week our offense will not be able to keep up

Depending on which Maryland shows up next week it could be ugly. I’m sure Lars is licking his chops, especially since Maryland has won the last couple of years.

The issue with Kelly running out of midfield is he's just not a midfielder. He's an attackman, and with him and Maltz on the field, I feel like they're kind of mirror images of each other. Both good at what they do, but it's sort of the same role (finisher...not a creator). Maltz should start over Kelly as he's better right now though.

I wish they would let Stobaugh play more - they need juice on that second line. They need an outside shooter (he has a monster step down), and athleticism, and he has both. Yeah he needs seasoning as a freshman but...like...the only way he'll get that is to play him.

Would like to see Stobaugh and Whittier gets some more runs. 2nd midfield just seemed to not be clicking

[AreaLax]

Tills and Phipps are the guests on this week’s Maryland’s lacrosse show
https://x.com/umterps/status/1768306006 ... EO2hFStaxg

[keno in reno]

Tills and Phipps are the guests on this week’s Maryland’s lacrosse show
https://x.com/umterps/status/1768306006 ... EO2hFStaxg

I know this is just essentially a zoom call, but the show is very well done. Brendan has a great future in media, and it's very cool of Tillman and Reese to do this.

[Gorilla Fan]

Listened to the Dixon IL podcast, he said the reason why games are filmed at Maryland with the awful TV angle, and not from the opposite field side, is because Maryland Administration does not want the UM logo filmed upside down.

Either way, as a neutral fan, looking forward to a great game

[jff97]

Anyone else concerned about McNaney? Virginia just beating him low time and time again.

[[email protected]]

Unfortunately there is a lot to be concerned about.