CORNELL 2025

[VeryRustyRed]

My objective take on Cornell's 2025 prospects...
Cornell will definitely be a formidable team. What does this translate to? I could see them be as high as a '5'ish' or as low as a 12. They could make a (very) deep NCAA run if everything goes right or suffer the '24 team's fate and lose out on an at-large bid.
Specifics:
Attack - one of the best in the country; should be better than '24, if for no reason that Goldstein has one year of experience and hopefully will be healthy (he can be very good, especially if he's cuts down on turnovers). This presupposes that Long stays healthy. Far easier to scheme against 15 and 30 without Long. Much more diversified with him.
I have no idea of anyone else other than Caddigan in the equation, because no one else played.
Mid-Field - 1st line - above average to very good. Assume 27, 16, and 51. As usual, 27 will get a ss & draw a very early slide, 16 will get a pole (big challenge for him), and 51 gets a ss. If he develops as a middie, that's a definite opportunity.
2nd line - and this is important because Coach B, until '24 played the two lines pretty much 50/50. No legit scoring threats on the 2nd line - you don't have to look past the numbers - goals scored, shots taken, shots on goal taken. If nothing improves, I'd run the 1st line disproportionately). I have no idea of help from true sophs because none played nor incoming freshman. Prior posters mentioned Luzzi - unless he was injured, I operate under the assumption that the coaches watch every day and if he could have helped, he would have played. We know from 2023, while not a speed guy, he can create his own shot. As an Another Fan mentioned, Gilmartin is the big opportunity. I say this not because he scored several goals as a ssdm; his aggressiveness and willingness to make things happen are pretty obvious. This kid can play - anywhere. Would be a big plus on offense, but I think he'll remain as a ss because he's needed more there.
LSM - Above average to possibly very good. Last season, Coach S rotated 22, 46, and 50 (and 34). The first three return. This group will be ok but not nearly as strong if Staub goes to Close (think Brandon Salvatore!).
SS & Close - the bottom line is that this group gave up a ton of goals. Will things improve? Another Fan correctly wrote that '24 was an adjustment to life after Adler (a total shut down guy, an "alpha") + key ss injuries. The team loses Follows, an excellent player. I have no idea other than moving Staub who the third pole will be because again, no one else played. All the shorties return. If healthy, the group will be better.
Bottom line - a famous (I believe) football coach said words to the effect "you are what your record is." The group was in the bottom half, maybe the bottom quarter of D1 defensive metrics. This is almost mutually exclusive with being a team that can make an NCAA run.
Goal - Should be very good. I really like Knust and Tully will improve.
FOGO - Big big opportunity. I think Cascadden would have had a breakout year, a dominant player. The problem in '25 is that even IF he returns healthy, FOGO is no longer a one-player position. Far too physical and far too many FOs in the shot clock era. Ricci is a total question mark - only took a few in garbage time. He was good in HS, but that's HS, and if I'm not mistaken, it was against "problematic" opposition. The incoming freshman from LI is just that, a freshman. What he can contribute, if anything, is a total unknown.
***The Ivy competition will be very stiff. And in the portal era, the Lax blue bloods benefit tremendously by filling graduation losses with proven top notch players from the Ivies and even D3.
LGR

[Chousnake]

Michael Long snubbed by USILA lax All-America voters. Not even an HM. How do you leave a player who averaged 5 ppg off the team?

I think this is mostly due to his teammate being recognized as one of the top players in college lacrosse. Most voters don’t watch Cornell games—maybe one or two and some highlights. (Plus, Long missed a couple of games.) My guess is that those voters assume Long has great numbers because of Kirst; not because he is an outstanding player in his own right.

And I do think there is a bias towards the big sports conferences. The ACC and B1G have excellent teams and excellent players. I have not done the math, but I suspect those two conferences are heavily over-represented. Maybe they simply have the majority of the best players…or maybe there is bias in the selection process.

To your point, it's interesting how some things turn on individual games. The ILT first round of Cornell vs Penn would arguably have been won by Cornell if Michael Long had played. Similarly, Brendan Lavelle and Emmet Carroll of Penn had outstanding games, and likely benefitted from that exposure, being First and Second Team AA awardees. Long was absent. Also, the winner of the game benefitted in both RPI and "bubble" standing in NCAA tournament selection. As the awards always show, players are more recognized when their teams do better. The Cornell/ Penn ILT game was a night game with top ESPN coverage.

He was 5th in D1 points per game. He missed two games. Having a deep attack didn’t stop ND from placing three attack on the squad. And Cornell’s attack completely outplayed ND’s when they played. It’s ridiculous that Long isn’t on the HM list. Duffy made it and he missed numerous games. It’s a snub

[faircornell]

Michael Long snubbed by USILA lax All-America voters. Not even an HM. How do you leave a player who averaged 5 ppg off the team?

I think this is mostly due to his teammate being recognized as one of the top players in college lacrosse. Most voters don’t watch Cornell games—maybe one or two and some highlights. (Plus, Long missed a couple of games.) My guess is that those voters assume Long has great numbers because of Kirst; not because he is an outstanding player in his own right.

And I do think there is a bias towards the big sports conferences. The ACC and B1G have excellent teams and excellent players. I have not done the math, but I suspect those two conferences are heavily over-represented. Maybe they simply have the majority of the best players…or maybe there is bias in the selection process.

To your point, it's interesting how some things turn on individual games. The ILT first round of Cornell vs Penn would arguably have been won by Cornell if Michael Long had played. Similarly, Brendan Lavelle and Emmet Carroll of Penn had outstanding games, and likely benefitted from that exposure, being First and Second Team AA awardees. Long was absent. Also, the winner of the game benefitted in both RPI and "bubble" standing in NCAA tournament selection. As the awards always show, players are more recognized when their teams do better. The Cornell/ Penn ILT game was a night game with top ESPN coverage.

He was 5th in D1 points per game. He missed two games. Having a deep attack didn’t stop ND from placing three attack on the squad. And Cornell’s attack completely outplayed ND’s when they played. It’s ridiculous that Long isn’t on the HM list. Duffy made it and he missed numerous games. It’s a snub

I agree... and Cornell's SOS was better than many of the other than First Team players.

[Chousnake]

Michael Long snubbed by USILA lax All-America voters. Not even an HM. How do you leave a player who averaged 5 ppg off the team?

I think this is mostly due to his teammate being recognized as one of the top players in college lacrosse. Most voters don’t watch Cornell games—maybe one or two and some highlights. (Plus, Long missed a couple of games.) My guess is that those voters assume Long has great numbers because of Kirst; not because he is an outstanding player in his own right.

And I do think there is a bias towards the big sports conferences. The ACC and B1G have excellent teams and excellent players. I have not done the math, but I suspect those two conferences are heavily over-represented. Maybe they simply have the majority of the best players…or maybe there is bias in the selection process.

To your point, it's interesting how some things turn on individual games. The ILT first round of Cornell vs Penn would arguably have been won by Cornell if Michael Long had played. Similarly, Brendan Lavelle and Emmet Carroll of Penn had outstanding games, and likely benefitted from that exposure, being First and Second Team AA awardees. Long was absent. Also, the winner of the game benefitted in both RPI and "bubble" standing in NCAA tournament selection. As the awards always show, players are more recognized when their teams do better. The Cornell/ Penn ILT game was a night game with top ESPN coverage.

He was 5th in D1 points per game. He missed two games. Having a deep attack didn’t stop ND from placing three attack on the squad. And Cornell’s attack completely outplayed ND’s when they played. It’s ridiculous that Long isn’t on the HM list. Duffy made it and he missed numerous games. It’s a snub

I agree... and Cornell's SOS was better than many of the other than First Team players.

I’m not saying he should have been anything other than HM. Still, as a fan, I’d rather see the team do well than worry about individual awards.

[faircornell]

Michael Long snubbed by USILA lax All-America voters. Not even an HM. How do you leave a player who averaged 5 ppg off the team?

I think this is mostly due to his teammate being recognized as one of the top players in college lacrosse. Most voters don’t watch Cornell games—maybe one or two and some highlights. (Plus, Long missed a couple of games.) My guess is that those voters assume Long has great numbers because of Kirst; not because he is an outstanding player in his own right.

And I do think there is a bias towards the big sports conferences. The ACC and B1G have excellent teams and excellent players. I have not done the math, but I suspect those two conferences are heavily over-represented. Maybe they simply have the majority of the best players…or maybe there is bias in the selection process.

To your point, it's interesting how some things turn on individual games. The ILT first round of Cornell vs Penn would arguably have been won by Cornell if Michael Long had played. Similarly, Brendan Lavelle and Emmet Carroll of Penn had outstanding games, and likely benefitted from that exposure, being First and Second Team AA awardees. Long was absent. Also, the winner of the game benefitted in both RPI and "bubble" standing in NCAA tournament selection. As the awards always show, players are more recognized when their teams do better. The Cornell/ Penn ILT game was a night game with top ESPN coverage.

He was 5th in D1 points per game. He missed two games. Having a deep attack didn’t stop ND from placing three attack on the squad. And Cornell’s attack completely outplayed ND’s when they played. It’s ridiculous that Long isn’t on the HM list. Duffy made it and he missed numerous games. It’s a snub

I agree... and Cornell's SOS was better than many of the other than First Team players.

I’m not saying he should have been anything other than HM. Still, as a fan, I’d rather see the team do well than worry about individual awards.

Same here... I know in the old days there used to be a lot of politics and "horse trading" types of negotiations around who was chosen (especially for HM). I have no idea how it works these days, or how much influence Cornell-friendly parties have in the process (or if such influence is even still part of the process).

[WestVillCornell]

Saw this on the LI thread: Melkonian mvp 23 for 24 on faceoffs

Wow

[another fan]

This was against Manhasset in South Side’s 12-10 win for the Nassau class B Championship. Melkonian is over 80% for the year.

[lilax]

Saw this on the LI thread: Melkonian mvp 23 for 24 on faceoffs

Wow

Melkonian was above 94.5% in the Nassau Playoffs. He went 54/57 over 3 playoff games. He can also handle the ball. He’ll need to put some weight on, but could be a nice change of pace guy.

He’s the complete opposite of Casscaden. One is strength, the other is quickness. The Big Red could have some serious Faceoff depth in 2025.

[faircornell]

As we look forward to 2025, and evaluate what was good from 2024... other than the ND loss to Georgetown, Cornell's one goal loss to ND was the closest win by the Irish in 2024. Duke and Virginia lost two goal games to Notre Dame. While a win versus Notre Dame would have been better, the 2024 Cornell team certainly leaves a lot of achievements that point to optimism for 2025.

[Lager]

I think we had a perfect storm this year with our defense because:

1. Loss of a generational defender in Adler.
2. Injuries to two of our best short sticks, leading to other teams regularly attacking our shorties and causing our D to constantly rotate and cover for vulnerabilities.
3. Staub was not 100% early in the season, reportedly from a foot injury.
4. Unsettled goalie play. Knust started well, deserved to be pulled against PSU, but then sat behind Tully, who was inconsistent for several games. w

Others may disagree, but I am optimistic we will be better next year despite losing a very good player in Follows because:

1. Another year of playing together by everybody except the departed Follows.
2. Return to health (hopefully) of Davis and Bozzi, plus additional depth at short stick from new players.
3. Staub was great later in the season when healthy-- aggressive, fast and great off the ground.
4. Knust played great after regaining the job, and we have an abundance of riches at the position with Tully and Piacentini.

Going forward, Staub may need to slide back to close. That would be a loss at lsm but Rayhill and Wallace ought to be fine. Kelly and Lohnes seemed like the next poles up and we have 3 good ones coming in. There are certainly legitimate question marks with this forecast, but I see improved play at the defensive end.

Follows was a good player but not an exceptional athlete in space and ended up being overshadowed by Singer this year. I think Cornell will be able to overcome his loss.

[mfp]

I know that this is a little 2024 (vs. looking ahead to 2025), but, on the other hand, I think this year's results should drive off-season training and, hopefully, lead to a hugely successful 2025 season! (See Notre Dame 2023 and 2024 after a disappointing 2022.)

Inside Lacrosse final media poll: https://www.insidelacrosse.com/league/di/polls/2024

It's frustrating to see Cornell at #14 when I feel we were better than many of the higher-ranked teams. (Aside from Princeton, the Ivy League got ranked much lower than I think they deserved: Penn at #15 and Yale at #17.)

This poll and the results of the NCAA tournament highlight the very fine line between "success" and "failure". Cornell lost one-goal games to two final four teams who ended ranked #1 and #3. But a loss is a loss regardless of score and Cornell didn't even make the tourney. A few more positive plays and it might have been a great season like in 2022. It's a fine line, but it's not an easy line to cross...and, often, takes some luck too.

[Ezra White]

I know that this is a little 2024 (vs. looking ahead to 2025), but, on the other hand, I think this year's results should drive off-season training and, hopefully, lead to a hugely successful 2025 season! (See Notre Dame 2023 and 2024 after a disappointing 2022.)

Inside Lacrosse final media poll: https://www.insidelacrosse.com/league/di/polls/2024

It's frustrating to see Cornell at #14 when I feel we were better than many of the higher-ranked teams. (Aside from Princeton, the Ivy League got ranked much lower than I think they deserved: Penn at #15 and Yale at #17.)

This poll and the results of the NCAA tournament highlight the very fine line between "success" and "failure". Cornell lost one-goal games to two final four teams who ended ranked #1 and #3. But a loss is a loss regardless of score and Cornell didn't even make the tourney. A few more positive plays and it might have been a great season like in 2022. It's a fine line, but it's not an easy line to cross...and, often, takes some luck too.

A crucial element is injuries & the depth we have to fill in when people are injured. The talent we have is evident in the way faceoffs & defense improved over the season as players stepped up and became more experienced. Maybe spending more time on development, or playing a couple more early season games (Princeton played 2 more games than we did) against teams which we might hope to be able to give some players more game time would help. I dunno.

[Chousnake]

Cornell '24 recruit Michael Melkonian won 21 of 24 face offs to lead South Side to the LI Class B title yesterday. He was named game MVP.

[another fan]

Melkonian has had a great season, and I believe he has been over 90% for the playoffs to date. Although he dominated against East Islip, I think East Islip faced off with a pole.

[CU88a]

https://cornellbigred.com/news/2024/5/3 ... -team.aspx

[wahoomurf]

Saw this on the LI thread: Melkonian mvp 23 for 24 on faceoffs

Wow

Melkonian was above 94.5% in the Nassau Playoffs. He went 54/57 over 3 playoff games. He can also handle the ball. He’ll need to put some weight on, but could be a nice change of pace guy.

He’s the complete opposite of Casscaden. One is strength, the other is quickness. The Big Red could have some serious Faceoff depth in 2025.

Cascadden,Psyllos and Melkonian. A three headed monster

[10stone5]

Willem Firth, back in Ontario doing the usual, lighting up that summer box league.

You can’t help but think this will help his game for next season, teaming up with some real talents, Matt Collison and also 2025 recruit Peyton Booth who has moved up to Junior A box.

[TimmyTimmyTurner]

Saw this on the LI thread: Melkonian mvp 23 for 24 on faceoffs

Wow

Melkonian was above 94.5% in the Nassau Playoffs. He went 54/57 over 3 playoff games. He can also handle the ball. He’ll need to put some weight on, but could be a nice change of pace guy.

He’s the complete opposite of Casscaden. One is strength, the other is quickness. The Big Red could have some serious Faceoff depth in 2025.

Cascadden,Psyllos and Melkonian. A three headed monster

Psyllos graduated. Will not be back next year.

[mfp]

From Player to Head Coach: Alum Leads Big Red Men’s Lacrosse
https://alumni.cornell.edu/cornellians/buczek-lacrosse/

[laxfan1313]

Saw this on the LI thread: Melkonian mvp 23 for 24 on faceoffs

Wow

Melkonian was above 94.5% in the Nassau Playoffs. He went 54/57 over 3 playoff games. He can also handle the ball. He’ll need to put some weight on, but could be a nice change of pace guy.

He’s the complete opposite of Casscaden. One is strength, the other is quickness. The Big Red could have some serious Faceoff depth in 2025.

Cascadden,Psyllos and Melkonian. A three headed monster

Unfortunately for the team but great for him, I understand Psyllos has graduated.