QF #2 Duke vs #7 Maryland Saturday 2:30

[Finster]

If anyone deserves praise today for Maryland’s win, it’s Weirman. He really dominated plus scored two crucial goals.

#1 Ajax is such a heady player. Incredibly impressive playing from him.

#7 of Maryland is essentially useless. Can barely run.

#50 defenseman started with O’Neil and kept playing O’Neil’s right side. O’Neil uses his weak hand maybe 2% of the time. I think Tillman inserted #27 to take over that job. #50 seemed lost.

Why does Maryland’s attack concede clears? There is zero effort to force a turnover. ZERO. Mind boggling.

I don’t know if Tillman out coached Danowski. I think the Maryland FOGO plus Ajax didn’t want the season to end. I saw plenty wrong with Maryland today outside those two players.

The word is #7 Spanos pulled his hamstring in warmups and Terps kept him out there to eat a pole

I don’t doubt you, but Spanos took 4 shots, 3 gb’s and one very important ct. That’s good for running on a pulled hamstring

Looked completely normal

I promise that Spanos did not ‘look normal’, unless normal is hobbling on one leg and barely running an entire game. One of his GB’s fell basically right at his feet. Maybe he hobbled two steps to it.

I was at the game. At first, I just thought he was a very slow D1 player, until he very noticably hobbled to the one GB that I saw him get.

[tech37]

I'm having a hard time deciding if Terps shot placement in second half was really good or Jameison just had a really bad game? Soft Duke D didn't help him.

[JerrysWorld]

He absolutely wasn’t normal. The trainers were attending to and stretching him out on the sidelines the entire warmup segment. He seemed a little tentative to me and definitely gutted through it.

Good thing is that it wouldn’t appear to be serious if he played through it.

[AreaLax]

He absolutely wasn’t normal. The trainers were attending to and stretching him out on the sidelines the entire warmup segment. He seemed a little tentative to me and definitely gutted through it.

Good thing is that it wouldn’t appear to be serious if he played through it.

Wish I could have been in person at the game. You don’t get to see those sights. At one point the tv coverage decided to show the crowd for several moments. Believe we missed a whole entire clear. I was yelling at ESPN.

Next week I will be in person. Tickets are very expensive

[MDralphie]

Area, I did the same! Cameras rolling through the stands while the game was playing! Haven’t missed attending many Terp games on the east coast in many years and certainly wished I could’ve made this one. A great win! I thought Spanos looked a bit slow but I didn’t notice a limp. Whatever, young bodies and great trainers do their thing and he will be scoring on Saturday!

[Finster]

I'm having a hard time deciding if Terps shot placement in second half was really good or Jameison just had a really bad game? Soft Duke D didn't help him.

It seemed like a little of three things:

Jamison just wasn’t seeing the ball well (between the soft mist for some of the game plus the grey cloud cover, I think the players didn’t see the ball that well)

The Terp shooters started slinging it much harder as they crawled back from a 5-1 deficit

Duke’s defense was really winded by the end; you can blame Weirman for that. Koras’s last goal was not an easy shot given the angle, but really from the stands, he looked like he could have outrun the entire Duke defense for the rest of the game

[JerrysWorld]

I agree the defense looked tired in the 4th. They were pressing out and chasing the whole game. Hard to keep that up for a full 60 minutes. That pressure gave the Terps issues early but they couldn’t sustain it.

[Finster]

I haven’t seen much of Maryland this year (Cuse fan). My basic impressions:

#10 Erksa should be your go to player on offense. That kid has speed to burn. Plus he’s smart. He got separation any time he touched the ball.

I like the shooting from #37 Maltz and #38 Siracusa. They can sling it.

#55 Murphy was frankly not good. Sorry.

#38 Siracusa was one of your only players on offense in the first half creating chances. Running, cutting, trying.

#7 Spanos was not 100%, I promise. He hobbled often.

Weirman imo decided he was not going to lose this game. While your offense was stalled, this kid not only won face offs, he created shooting lanes on his own. On one of his goals, your attack not only didn’t back up the shot, none of them even moved. Unacceptable. C’mon. But you could see that second goal woke the boys up.

#1 Ajax is phenomenal. His body positioning on the opponent is flawless. His field awareness is excellent.

#50 Canfield is a big boy, but in that first half, he kept overplaying O’Neil’s right hand, leaving O’Neil free to fire with his lefty. #27 did a much better job on him though I’m not certain that was a temporary thing or permanent. 27 seemed to lock up O’Neil.

Finally, as previously mentioned, the Terps had by far the best tailgate (ND came in second). Duke had no tailgate whatsover nor many fans in the stands.

Gtown had a decent fan showing. But ND was the largest. Mostly I believe because ND has so many local Chaminade players.

[Finster]

If Duke had any lax fans they'd be apoplectic right now

The stands today had maybe two handfuls of Duke fans. Maryland had not simply an entire section of supporters who made the trip, but unquestionably the top parking lot tailgate. Not sure who owns the million dollar RV with Terp flags, but that crowd knew how to party.

(Fwiw, Notre Dame seemed like it had the most Long Island supporters of all teams)

Ajax's dad.

The Terps' families put up the best tailgate in college lacrosse. They're also the most welcoming people. The Final 4 tailgates are more like block parties.

See you all in Philly!

That’s a heckuva party bus. The Terp fans had multiple grills going. Plus music. Good scene.

[fsclax]

The best thing to come from this game, other than being able to move on to next weekend, was confidence. You could see it building and building as the game went on. The team has seemed so nervous and tentative this season. At some point yesterday they decided that they're capable of anything and they played like lions. Belief is a powerful thing.

[LaxPundit07]

I think it's about time for Matt "Nepotism Hire" Danowski and his man breasts to actually go fend for himself for the first time in his life. Daddy hired him right at the end of their 2011-2014 run and we have had to watch him completely waste the undisputed most talented offensive pool of players for the last decade at Duke. The consistent stream of elite blue-chip talent Duke draws every year because they are Duke hides a lot of his ineptitude throughout the year, but six losses and a QF exit in O'Neill's senior season with the most talented roster in college lacrosse around him is a great example of why Nepotism is never a good thing!

There are so many good coaches in all three divisions that will never get the opportunity Dino Jr and his 30 pack on ice are getting. He was brought on to an ACC staff with no coaching experience, and handed the keys to an offense after Gabrieli (sp?) left for Providence. If he ends up taking over Duke when Dino Sr retires, it will be one of the world’s great injustices.

[youthathletics]

I think it's about time for Matt "Nepotism Hire" Danowski and his man breasts to actually go fend for himself for the first time in his life. Daddy hired him right at the end of their 2011-2014 run and we have had to watch him completely waste the undisputed most talented offensive pool of players for the last decade at Duke. The consistent stream of elite blue-chip talent Duke draws every year because they are Duke hides a lot of his ineptitude throughout the year, but six losses and a QF exit in O'Neill's senior season with the most talented roster in college lacrosse around him is a great example of why Nepotism is never a good thing!

There are so many good coaches in all three divisions that will never get the opportunity Dino Jr and his 30 pack on ice are getting. He was brought on to an ACC staff with no coaching experience, and handed the keys to an offense after Gabrieli (sp?) left for Providence. If he ends up taking over Duke when Dino Sr retires, it will be one of the world’s great injustices.

[Wheels]

I think it's about time for Matt "Nepotism Hire" Danowski and his man breasts to actually go fend for himself for the first time in his life. Daddy hired him right at the end of their 2011-2014 run and we have had to watch him completely waste the undisputed most talented offensive pool of players for the last decade at Duke. The consistent stream of elite blue-chip talent Duke draws every year because they are Duke hides a lot of his ineptitude throughout the year, but six losses and a QF exit in O'Neill's senior season with the most talented roster in college lacrosse around him is a great example of why Nepotism is never a good thing!

There are so many good coaches in all three divisions that will never get the opportunity Dino Jr and his 30 pack on ice are getting. He was brought on to an ACC staff with no coaching experience, and handed the keys to an offense after Gabrieli (sp?) left for Providence. If he ends up taking over Duke when Dino Sr retires, it will be one of the world’s great injustices.

I hereby nominate Dino Jr for the next HC job at Duke. May he roam the sidelines forever in Durham! I also express my continued support for Breschi at UNC. May he never leave the sidelines in Chapel Hill. It sucks that they hoard all of those 5-star recruits, but they are some damn fine coaches!

We need these fine coaches in the game, or least fans of other Final 4-type programs need them. They ensure that our teams will move on in the tournament!

Long live the Research Triangle Kings!

[JohnDanowskiisWashed]

I think it's about time for Matt "Nepotism Hire" Danowski and his man breasts to actually go fend for himself for the first time in his life. Daddy hired him right at the end of their 2011-2014 run and we have had to watch him completely waste the undisputed most talented offensive pool of players for the last decade at Duke. The consistent stream of elite blue-chip talent Duke draws every year because they are Duke hides a lot of his ineptitude throughout the year, but six losses and a QF exit in O'Neill's senior season with the most talented roster in college lacrosse around him is a great example of why Nepotism is never a good thing!

There are so many good coaches in all three divisions that will never get the opportunity Dino Jr and his 30 pack on ice are getting. He was brought on to an ACC staff with no coaching experience, and handed the keys to an offense after Gabrieli (sp?) left for Providence. If he ends up taking over Duke when Dino Sr retires, it will be one of the world’s great injustices.

The whole situation is incredibly embarrassing. Daddy Dino didn't even make him go earn his chops or gain experience anywhere else. Just slotted right into an ACC team and quickly soon after OC. People looked the other way because of the run Duke was on for those four years, but the bigger picture is incredibly damning. The 4 goal performance vs. Syracuse in the dome earlier this year was the biggest warning sign of all. I'm pretty confident anyone on this forum could've coached Duke's offense in that game and gotten more than four goals out of the roster. When you watch well coached offenses, everyone on the field knows their role and works together to create scoring opportunities. When the talent level matches that offensive coaching, you get greatness (MD '22 & ND '24). In the first round of the NCAA tournament, you can still see well coached offenses on the mid-major conference winning lower seeds that lacks the overall talent to often break through and score a ton of goals but there is ball movement, wrinkles, and schematics to generate looks. Watching Duke play this year (and frankly for the last decade under Nepotism Boy), there was no cohesion, no player confidence, and clear confusion on almost every possession about what to do. The only way they could score goals was Macadorey using his speed for an alley shot, an O'Neill 1v1 takeover, or a jam to Dyson on the crease.

Yesterday's game feels eerily similar to the 2021 semifinal vs. MD. A far more talented Duke team (Sowers, O'Neill etc.) gets embarrassed by a disciplined and organized MD team run by a far superior staff in every aspect. You can get away with it vs. the Jacksonville's of the world (and even then they sometimes lose those games) due to the talent discrepancy but once the talent is within the same ballpark, the ineptitude of this Duke staff shows itself OVER and OVER again. Will anything be done about it? Probably not. Dino Jr. and his ever growing beer induced body habitus will continue to put out floundering offenses. Daddy Dino will continue to talk about having fun and relationship building to excuse losses. And Duke will continue to underachieve. Usually, great coaching assistants get snapped up by other programs for head coaching positions after a few years. The Nemesis of Natty Lite has been at Duke for over a decade now in the same role. That speaks volumes.

[primitiveskills]

If Duke had any lax fans they'd be apoplectic right now

The stands today had maybe two handfuls of Duke fans. Maryland had not simply an entire section of supporters who made the trip, but unquestionably the top parking lot tailgate. Not sure who owns the million dollar RV with Terp flags, but that crowd knew how to party.

(Fwiw, Notre Dame seemed like it had the most Long Island supporters of all teams)

Of Kevin Plank owns it figure on it being repossessed soon/

Ha. Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's Nike money, not Underarmour money, behind that particular RV/

[primitiveskills]

I think it's about time for Matt "Nepotism Hire" Danowski and his man breasts to actually go fend for himself for the first time in his life. Daddy hired him right at the end of their 2011-2014 run and we have had to watch him completely waste the undisputed most talented offensive pool of players for the last decade at Duke. The consistent stream of elite blue-chip talent Duke draws every year because they are Duke hides a lot of his ineptitude throughout the year, but six losses and a QF exit in O'Neill's senior season with the most talented roster in college lacrosse around him is a great example of why Nepotism is never a good thing!

There are so many good coaches in all three divisions that will never get the opportunity Dino Jr and his 30 pack on ice are getting. He was brought on to an ACC staff with no coaching experience, and handed the keys to an offense after Gabrieli (sp?) left for Providence. If he ends up taking over Duke when Dino Sr retires, it will be one of the world’s great injustices.

Right. Getting a call correct is a terrible look for any sport. A much better look would be for a team to be gifted a place in the finals as result of a bad call.

[Wheels]

Ha. Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's Nike money, not Underarmour money, behind that particular RV/

Indeed it is.

[Chousnake]

I think it's about time for Matt "Nepotism Hire" Danowski and his man breasts to actually go fend for himself for the first time in his life. Daddy hired him right at the end of their 2011-2014 run and we have had to watch him completely waste the undisputed most talented offensive pool of players for the last decade at Duke. The consistent stream of elite blue-chip talent Duke draws every year because they are Duke hides a lot of his ineptitude throughout the year, but six losses and a QF exit in O'Neill's senior season with the most talented roster in college lacrosse around him is a great example of why Nepotism is never a good thing!

There are so many good coaches in all three divisions that will never get the opportunity Dino Jr and his 30 pack on ice are getting. He was brought on to an ACC staff with no coaching experience, and handed the keys to an offense after Gabrieli (sp?) left for Providence. If he ends up taking over Duke when Dino Sr retires, it will be one of the world’s great injustices.

Right. Getting a call correct is a terrible look for any sport. A much better look would be for a team to be gifted a place in the finals as result of a bad call.

Much respect for Danowski, but getting the call right is never wrong and is never a bad look. It was not a big deal for the game to be paused and to check if it was a goal at that point. On the other hand, I was at the game yesterday and don't see why 50 guys have to run on the field to celebrate after every goal. The sideline celebrations for goals have gotten way out of hand. The bench celebrates goals more than the players on the field who score them.

[masondixonlax]

I think it's about time for Matt "Nepotism Hire" Danowski and his man breasts to actually go fend for himself for the first time in his life. Daddy hired him right at the end of their 2011-2014 run and we have had to watch him completely waste the undisputed most talented offensive pool of players for the last decade at Duke. The consistent stream of elite blue-chip talent Duke draws every year because they are Duke hides a lot of his ineptitude throughout the year, but six losses and a QF exit in O'Neill's senior season with the most talented roster in college lacrosse around him is a great example of why Nepotism is never a good thing!

There are so many good coaches in all three divisions that will never get the opportunity Dino Jr and his 30 pack on ice are getting. He was brought on to an ACC staff with no coaching experience, and handed the keys to an offense after Gabrieli (sp?) left for Providence. If he ends up taking over Duke when Dino Sr retires, it will be one of the world’s great injustices.

Right. Getting a call correct is a terrible look for any sport. A much better look would be for a team to be gifted a place in the finals as result of a bad call.

Much respect for Danowski, but getting the call right is never wrong and is never a bad look. It was not a big deal for the game to be paused and to check if it was a goal at that point. On the other hand, I was at the game yesterday and don't see why 50 guys have to run on the field to celebrate after every goal. The sideline celebrations for goals have https://www.jfkairport.com way out of hand. The bench celebrates goals more than the players on the field who score them.

Anti fun guy huh. Joy police. Who cares if they they celebrate. They were excited to come back from down 5 to win the game

[gymman1031]

So do you think Dino Jr will be Duke's next head coach rather that these much more proven fellow Dukies?

Dan Chemotti(Richmond)
Taylor Wray(Saint Joseph's)
Kevin Cassese(former Lehigh HC, current UVA assistant)