Maryland 2024

[JerrysWorld]

Terps played well in second. Agree Fracyon stole some the kept them from opening it up. Best lacrosse I’ve seen from them this year.

Well documented on here but still think Terps have an issue creating in the 6 v. 6. PSU was inexplicably subbing straight off faceoffs and in transition which resulted in ~5 goals. Would not expect other teams to make that mistake.

I think the Terps have been fairly efficient in the 6 on 6 all year. They have just been so methodical, haven’t been dominating possessions, so the goal totals haven’t been high. It’s been frustrating not seeing them push transition.

Was amazing to see Koras on the wings and looks like they finally had the green light to push it and play fast. Continue that, and the 6 on 6 will be good enough. But if we didn’t push the pace - we don’t win. Changed the game. Let’s hope it continues!

[keno in reno]

Let's be thankful that PSU was pretty dumb in how they played lost faceoffs 5 on 6. In totality, including the first half, Maryland was the overall aggressor, but in the first half G
Fracyon was incredible and our d broke down for many reasons.

[BigTurn]

Terps played well in second. Agree Fracyon stole some the kept them from opening it up. Best lacrosse I’ve seen from them this year.

Well documented on here but still think Terps have an issue creating in the 6 v. 6. PSU was inexplicably subbing straight off faceoffs and in transition which resulted in ~5 goals. Would not expect other teams to make that mistake.

I think the Terps have been fairly efficient in the 6 on 6 all year. They have just been so methodical, haven’t been dominating possessions, so the goal totals haven’t been high. It’s been frustrating not seeing them push transition.

Was amazing to see Koras on the wings and looks like they finally had the green light to push it and play fast. Continue that, and the 6 on 6 will be good enough. But if we didn’t push the pace - we don’t win. Changed the game. Let’s hope it continues!

Yea I don’t think they’re necessarily bad in settled sets, but it’s definitely not where it has been in years past. They don’t have a Bernie or Rambo type. Would concern me come playoffs where teams are typically not going to makes as many mistakes in transition / off faceoffs like Penn State did tonight.. frankly they were horrible.

[keno in reno]

Terps played well in second. Agree Fracyon stole some the kept them from opening it up. Best lacrosse I’ve seen from them this year.

Well documented on here but still think Terps have an issue creating in the 6 v. 6. PSU was inexplicably subbing straight off faceoffs and in transition which resulted in ~5 goals. Would not expect other teams to make that mistake.

I think the Terps have been fairly efficient in the 6 on 6 all year. They have just been so methodical, haven’t been dominating possessions, so the goal totals haven’t been high. It’s been frustrating not seeing them push transition.

Was amazing to see Koras on the wings and looks like they finally had the green light to push it and play fast. Continue that, and the 6 on 6 will be good enough. But if we didn’t push the pace - we don’t win. Changed the game. Let’s hope it continues!

Yea I don’t think they’re necessarily bad in settled sets, but it’s definitely not where it has been in years past. They don’t have a Bernie or Rambo type. Would concern me come playoffs where teams are typically not going to makes as many mistakes in transition / off faceoffs like Penn State did tonight.. frankly they were horrible.

Depends on you definition of bad. We get a decent shot off most of the time. But to be the best you have to get multiple dangerous shots off most possessions. All credit to McNaney and the D in the second half, bit most of the first half was a clinic by #23 and #7 on how to win matchups, something we struggle to do. Doesn't matter this week; we beat Penn State. Get better and move on

[jrn19]

Their problem in terms of getting multiple shots off is they play so slow. They don't take their first shot till there's like 20-25 secs left on the clock. By that point, it's really hard to get another quality shot on cage. In 2022, they were 39th in pace. The last two years, they're 60th. A huge part of this is obviously transition; but another factor that I think we haven't spoken of is the clearing. It's taking them so freaking long to clear the ball. The middies are not involved in the clear at all. The ball is passed back and forth between the long poles and McNaney until a shortie maybe gets open past midfield. They need to get some guys who can take the ball upfield. When you clear quickly, you can set up your offense with 60 seconds on the clock. Right now, they are setting up with 40 seconds on the clock. They spin it around for 20 seconds, THEN take a shot. By that point the possession is over.

They have to get this clearing figured out; obviously to maximize possessions, but also because for a team that does need to maximize the possessions they do have and requires more volume, they need longer possessions. Giving yourself 40 second possessions doesn't cut it

[Wheels]

Their problem in terms of getting multiple shots off is they play so slow. They don't take their first shot till there's like 20-25 secs left on the clock. By that point, it's really hard to get another quality shot on cage. In 2022, they were 39th in pace. The last two years, they're 60th. A huge part of this is obviously transition; but another factor that I think we haven't spoken of is the clearing. It's taking them so freaking long to clear the ball. The middies are not involved in the clear at all. The ball is passed back and forth between the long poles and McNaney until a shortie maybe gets open past midfield. They need to get some guys who can take the ball upfield. When you clear quickly, you can set up your offense with 60 seconds on the clock. Right now, they are setting up with 40 seconds on the clock. They spin it around for 20 seconds, THEN take a shot. By that point the possession is over.

They have to get this clearing figured out; obviously to maximize possessions, but also because for a team that does need to maximize the possessions they do have and requires more volume, they need longer possessions. Giving yourself 40 second possessions doesn't cut it

Part of the pace is by design. Teams eat into the shot clock on our defense. It’s not because the defense is so good a forcing teams to eat into the clock. Teams are intentionally grinding the defense. So when the Terps get the ball on offense, they’re slowing down to give the defense rest.

I do think you’re right, too, about the time to clear the ball. That’s part of the slowdown. But teams are also forcing the Terps to take so long to clear. Aside from UVA and Michigan, most teams sit way back in that soft ride. Penn State did neither tonight. They weren’t aggressive and didn’t sit back and clog lanes. They also didn’t eat a ton into the shot clock tonight, either.

The offense looked a lot better today. Players finally got into dangerous places off ball, and they were rewarded. Good momentum-building win.

I wonder if McNaney’s pretty bad Q1 was the point for him where he just mentally re-set. The defense in Q1 didn’t look like they trusted him. If he, Wierman, and the offense can build on this from a confidence-perspective, look out.

[Pork42]

Their problem in terms of getting multiple shots off is they play so slow. They don't take their first shot till there's like 20-25 secs left on the clock. By that point, it's really hard to get another quality shot on cage. In 2022, they were 39th in pace. The last two years, they're 60th. A huge part of this is obviously transition; but another factor that I think we haven't spoken of is the clearing. It's taking them so freaking long to clear the ball. The middies are not involved in the clear at all. The ball is passed back and forth between the long poles and McNaney until a shortie maybe gets open past midfield. They need to get some guys who can take the ball upfield. When you clear quickly, you can set up your offense with 60 seconds on the clock. Right now, they are setting up with 40 seconds on the clock. They spin it around for 20 seconds, THEN take a shot. By that point the possession is over.

They have to get this clearing figured out; obviously to maximize possessions, but also because for a team that does need to maximize the possessions they do have and requires more volume, they need longer possessions. Giving yourself 40 second possessions doesn't cut it

Part of the pace is by design. Teams eat into the shot clock on our defense. It’s not because the defense is so good a forcing teams to eat into the clock. Teams are intentionally grinding the defense. So when the Terps get the ball on offense, they’re slowing down to give the defense rest.

I do think you’re right, too, about the time to clear the ball. That’s part of the slowdown. But teams are also forcing the Terps to take so long to clear. Aside from UVA and Michigan, most teams sit way back in that soft ride. Penn State did neither tonight. They weren’t aggressive and didn’t sit back and clog lanes. They also didn’t eat a ton into the shot clock tonight, either.

The offense looked a lot better today. Players finally got into dangerous places off ball, and they were rewarded. Good momentum-building win.

I wonder if McNaney’s pretty bad Q1 was the point for him where he just mentally re-set. The defense in Q1 didn’t look like they trusted him. If he, Wierman, and the offense can build on this from a confidence-perspective, look out.

Maybe McNaney was thinking he didn't trust the defense. Or maybe If the defense didn't trust him and they wanted to win why did they let them shoot on McNaney . How does one observe a group of players and determine a lack of trust. Who makes the decision on starting goalies at Maryland? There are several article's written over the years who makes that decision.

[Cno3putts]

McNaney does trust the guys in front of him. Unless you have stood in front of the goal, you have no idea how difficult and stressful it is. Just read somewhere that he is one of four Terp goalies to reach 500 saves. Are you questioning who should be in goal ?

[coda]

Their problem in terms of getting multiple shots off is they play so slow. They don't take their first shot till there's like 20-25 secs left on the clock. By that point, it's really hard to get another quality shot on cage. In 2022, they were 39th in pace. The last two years, they're 60th. A huge part of this is obviously transition; but another factor that I think we haven't spoken of is the clearing. It's taking them so freaking long to clear the ball. The middies are not involved in the clear at all. The ball is passed back and forth between the long poles and McNaney until a shortie maybe gets open past midfield. They need to get some guys who can take the ball upfield. When you clear quickly, you can set up your offense with 60 seconds on the clock. Right now, they are setting up with 40 seconds on the clock. They spin it around for 20 seconds, THEN take a shot. By that point the possession is over.

They have to get this clearing figured out; obviously to maximize possessions, but also because for a team that does need to maximize the possessions they do have and requires more volume, they need longer possessions. Giving yourself 40 second possessions doesn't cut it

They appear to be almost over coached at times. They give up some decent looks and try to work it into the crease for the perfect shot (that was roll of the dice between turnover and great shot opportunity). They were clearly much more comfortable in the unsettled offense. I think that is something the team and staff can latch on to going forward. They need to push the pace more.

[PulpExposure]

The offense looked a lot better today. Players finally got into dangerous places off ball, and they were rewarded.

Seemed like the offense in the second quarter onwards really loosened up and took more shots earlier. They needed to start playing more aggressive, less mechanical, and it really seemed like that was the case. Players were even shooting from distance, and scoring. It's a miracle what that does for an offense....

On defense, what fueled PSU's initial run was simple switches to the Maryland short sticks. The poles are so good (shoutout to Canfield for his on-ball defense later in the game, just absolutely shut down the attackman who was trying to dodge on him) that the obvious weak spots are the shorties.

Also loved Spanos's hustle in following those two out of bounds shots late in the game. Those are pure effort plays that really matter. His pass to Koras for one of his goals was also something special.

[Essexfenwick]

The way they’ve been playing recently with no shots on so many possessions I guess Tillman has given the green light. Even a potentially mediocre shot is better than no shot. And they definitely moved the ball faster and didn’t have drops. Maybe the speed is forcing concentration and curing the sloppyness.

[JerrysWorld]

https://x.com/coachpughlax/status/17747 ... RMKi0_ZaFg

This is pretty good stuff. Can’t remember us doing this before.

[Terpsfan17]

Aj Larkin get many runs after first quarter this last week? Can't remember? Was so excited to see some transition and solid wing play on the x this past week.

[AreaLax]

Aj Larkin get many runs after first quarter this last week? Can't remember? Was so excited to see some transition and solid wing play on the x this past week.

He is getting more time. They sat McDonald during the Brown game so he had a opportunity and has been taking the opportunity

[AreaLax]

Boys Latin vs Spaulding @4

Maryland’s recruits
Boys' Latin (Md.)
‘24 Spencer Ford A #18
‘25 Matthew Higgins A #5

https://www.youtube.com/live/WxwCuJcO6F ... Kl53gHBWEH

[camping20]

McNaney does trust the guys in front of him. Unless you have stood in front of the goal, you have no idea how difficult and stressful it is. Just read somewhere that he is one of four Terp goalies to reach 500 saves. Are you questioning who should be in goal ?

I don’t get the pessimism around Logan. I don’t recall anyone mentioning the 30% and lower last year….
Logan is trusted and trusts completely.

[Cno3putts]

Pretty obvious where it is coming from

[PulpExposure]

Spanos has tried and they have seemingly figured him out. Only double when he's about to do the Moses Malone pivot in front of the goal. Otherwise so far, the defenses have adjusted to his game. He has plenty of other weapons to counter that stuff, so others could get some great looks

So...I don't know why you'd say this. In the 9 games, he has 22 points. It's nicely split; first 3 games he had 6 points, second 3 he had 9, last 3 he has had 7. He's been pretty consistently productive and he's tied with Maltz for third in points on the team. He's also playing out of position - he's a natural attackman and seems most comfortable at X/closer to the crease. He's a strong passer - an example is that pass to Koras for his second goal was sick (https://x.com/TerpsMLax/status/1774590697162617096?s=20). Not to mention he's giving huge effort (those two dives out of bounds to maintain possession were just pure hustle plays).

Dunno - to me, there's a lot to like about how he plays.

[keno in reno]

Spanos has tried and they have seemingly figured him out. Only double when he's about to do the Moses Malone pivot in front of the goal. Otherwise so far, the defenses have adjusted to his game. He has plenty of other weapons to counter that stuff, so others could get some great looks

So...I don't know why you'd say this. In the 9 games, he has 22 points. It's nicely split; first 3 games he had 6 points, second 3 he had 9, last 3 he has had 7. He's been pretty consistently productive and he's tied with Maltz for third in points on the team. He's also playing out of position - he's a natural attackman and seems most comfortable at X/closer to the crease. He's a strong passer - an example is that pass to Koras for his second goal was sick (https://x.com/TerpsMLax/status/1774590697162617096?s=20). Not to mention he's giving huge effort (those two dives out of bounds to maintain possession were just pure hustle plays).

Dunno - to me, there's a lot to like about how he plays.

He's playing well and is a huge positive for the offense. The only point was that he's not getting the post-up move to the goal as much any more because defenses recognize it and slide. PSU did cover him with a shorty and got away with it because of the double team support. He's done an excellent job of finding the open guy from that post move, he's just not getting the shot for himself as much. For the opponents, it is a win to be able to free up a pole on someone else, when he really should be one of the guys drawing a pole.

[Wheels]

Spanos has tried and they have seemingly figured him out. Only double when he's about to do the Moses Malone pivot in front of the goal. Otherwise so far, the defenses have adjusted to his game. He has plenty of other weapons to counter that stuff, so others could get some great looks

So...I don't know why you'd say this. In the 9 games, he has 22 points. It's nicely split; first 3 games he had 6 points, second 3 he had 9, last 3 he has had 7. He's been pretty consistently productive and he's tied with Maltz for third in points on the team. He's also playing out of position - he's a natural attackman and seems most comfortable at X/closer to the crease. He's a strong passer - an example is that pass to Koras for his second goal was sick (https://x.com/TerpsMLax/status/1774590697162617096?s=20). Not to mention he's giving huge effort (those two dives out of bounds to maintain possession were just pure hustle plays).

Dunno - to me, there's a lot to like about how he plays.

If you're looking for a candidate to become "the alpha," it's probably him. Saw him during the Georgetown scrimmage in huddles, and he was one of the more vocal guys. Tills has talked about this team having a lot of players who are by nature just more quiet guys. Not a lot of "rah-rah, follow me" personalities. So someone is going to have to develop more in that.