Maryland 2025

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blue angels
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Re: Maryland 2025

Post by blue angels »

keno in reno wrote: Wed Jun 19, 2024 8:19 pm
Wheels wrote: Wed Jun 19, 2024 5:05 pm
What's really odd is people somehow thinking that Tills is just spraying and praying. Does Tills ever do anything that doesn't involve serious planning and strategizing? Like, the guy who remade the entire Terps' offense before the Princeton game, the guy who completely out-coached Dino in the quarters, and the guy who had Lars spinning on the sidelines in the Final Four is just out there winging it in the portal?

Isn't anyone paying attention?
Tillman is the best, but I think it's reasonable to say that the plan on offense did not work out the last 2 years. Maybe it was out of loyalty to guys who sat during the '22 superteam year. Probably it was just top portal guys who simply chose other schools. But we were overmatched offensively almost every week from February to May. Tills is done with that, and it looks like we should be on par with UVA's offense next year (assuming they're on the schedule) and not punching up just to hang with Michigan.
Agree that Tillman is arguably the best coach and I am not a Terp fan but respect what he has done. Their recruiting is interesting as it is different than the ACC schools, who compete against each other. whatever, it has worked for them.
JerrysWorld
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Re: Maryland 2025

Post by JerrysWorld »

keno in reno wrote: Wed Jun 19, 2024 8:19 pm
Wheels wrote: Wed Jun 19, 2024 5:05 pm
What's really odd is people somehow thinking that Tills is just spraying and praying. Does Tills ever do anything that doesn't involve serious planning and strategizing? Like, the guy who remade the entire Terps' offense before the Princeton game, the guy who completely out-coached Dino in the quarters, and the guy who had Lars spinning on the sidelines in the Final Four is just out there winging it in the portal?

Isn't anyone paying attention?
Tillman is the best, but I think it's reasonable to say that the plan on offense did not work out the last 2 years. Maybe it was out of loyalty to guys who sat during the '22 superteam year. Probably it was just top portal guys who simply chose other schools. But we were overmatched offensively almost every week from February to May. Tills is done with that, and it looks like we should be on par with UVA's offense next year (assuming they're on the schedule) and not punching up just to hang with Michigan.
It’s hard to say it didn’t work. I mean they lost in the title game to a team that no one was beating anyway. With a group that overachieved. I mean yeah they weren’t as good as they’ve been but the goal is to play on Memorial Day. The Terp offense outplayed Princeton Duke and Virginia’s offense 3 games in a row with less talent. I would think doing that in the NCAA tournament is the end goal, which would mean it maybe worked? Could they have been better throughout the course of the season, of course. And I think his portal additions would agree with that. I think the portal additions really show that Tills doesn’t love his bench and young guys. Maybe it wasn’t just too much loyalty to the old guys, maybe it was the young guys are clearly not good enough. Not sure if additions from Fairfield, Holy Cross, Binghamton, Stony Brook, and Salisbury means they’ll be on par with a Virginia talent wise. Hopefully just improved.
MDralphie
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Re: Maryland 2025

Post by MDralphie »

Agree with Jerry. Fantastic year for the Terps. I was very happy sitting in the rain in Philly on Memorial Day. All Terp fans would like more explosive, consistent offense. However, we were better when it mattered, D was as usual, and we had the 2 best players in the country at their position…thank you #52 and #1
I know many have indicated our talent level was down. Maybe it was better than many thought. Whatever the case, Duke, Va, ND, Syracuse, NC got the highest rated offensive recruits the last number of years. So be it. Tillman gets his type of recruits and knows what to do with them. Few freshman ever play regularly at MD. While he brought in some experienced players, we definitely have talent ready to play.
Essexfenwick
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Re: Maryland 2025

Post by Essexfenwick »

MDralphie wrote: Wed Jun 19, 2024 10:52 pm Agree with Jerry. Fantastic year for the Terps. I was very happy sitting in the rain in Philly on Memorial Day. All Terp fans would like more explosive, consistent offense. However, we were better when it mattered, D was as usual, and we had the 2 best players in the country at their position…thank you #52 and #1
I know many have indicated our talent level was down. Maybe it was better than many thought. Whatever the case, Duke, Va, ND, Syracuse, NC got the highest rated offensive recruits the last number of years. So be it. Tillman gets his type of recruits and knows what to do with them. Few freshman ever play regularly at MD. While he brought in some experienced players, we definitely have talent ready to play.

Md won the old acc this season .

Beat Uva, Duke and Cuse. ND isn’t really in the acc.
blue angels
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Re: Maryland 2025

Post by blue angels »

Essexfenwick wrote: Thu Jun 20, 2024 5:21 am
MDralphie wrote: Wed Jun 19, 2024 10:52 pm Agree with Jerry. Fantastic year for the Terps. I was very happy sitting in the rain in Philly on Memorial Day. All Terp fans would like more explosive, consistent offense. However, we were better when it mattered, D was as usual, and we had the 2 best players in the country at their position…thank you #52 and #1
I know many have indicated our talent level was down. Maybe it was better than many thought. Whatever the case, Duke, Va, ND, Syracuse, NC got the highest rated offensive recruits the last number of years. So be it. Tillman gets his type of recruits and knows what to do with them. Few freshman ever play regularly at MD. While he brought in some experienced players, we definitely have talent ready to play.

Md won the old acc this season .

Beat Uva, Duke and Cuse. ND isn’t really in the acc.
They did well. If you are going to leave Notre Dame out of the ACC, they did split games with Virginia, although they won the game that counted most.
coda
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Re: Maryland 2025

Post by coda »

Essexfenwick wrote: Thu Jun 20, 2024 5:21 am
MDralphie wrote: Wed Jun 19, 2024 10:52 pm Agree with Jerry. Fantastic year for the Terps. I was very happy sitting in the rain in Philly on Memorial Day. All Terp fans would like more explosive, consistent offense. However, we were better when it mattered, D was as usual, and we had the 2 best players in the country at their position…thank you #52 and #1
I know many have indicated our talent level was down. Maybe it was better than many thought. Whatever the case, Duke, Va, ND, Syracuse, NC got the highest rated offensive recruits the last number of years. So be it. Tillman gets his type of recruits and knows what to do with them. Few freshman ever play regularly at MD. While he brought in some experienced players, we definitely have talent ready to play.

Md won the old acc this season .

Beat Uva, Duke and Cuse. ND isn’t really in the acc.
That was just a testament to Tilman. There just isnt a coach that is better with a week of prep. ACC had more talent, but the coaching in the ACC was highly suspect this year (leaving ND out of the equation)
PulpExposure
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Re: Maryland 2025

Post by PulpExposure »

MDralphie wrote: Wed Jun 19, 2024 10:52 pmWhatever the case, Duke, Va, ND, Syracuse, NC got the highest rated offensive recruits the last number of years. So be it. Tillman gets his type of recruits and knows what to do with them. Few freshman ever play regularly at MD. While he brought in some experienced players, we definitely have talent ready to play.
So I think this portal grab is reflective of the recruitment during the COVID years. Tills didn't recruit big classes - 8 kids in 2021, 8 kids in 2022, 8 in 2023. Recruited 5 5 stars, and only one was an offensive kid (Spanos, who actually committed in 8th grade). 1 Faceoff kid (Creter), and then the remaining 3 were defense (Trader, Schaller, and Larkin). Even counting Spanos, he only recruited 5 attackmen over those 3 years. Mostly middies who always take longer to get to the field at Maryland.

So there was an obvious gap in offense that is being addressed by the portal. But then the 2024 class has 2 5 star attackmen, the 2025 has another, etc. The 2025 class is 11 kids. It's back to normal, and I'd guess next year wouldn't have the same sort of portal movement.
keno in reno
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Re: Maryland 2025

Post by keno in reno »

coda wrote: Thu Jun 20, 2024 8:39 am
Essexfenwick wrote: Thu Jun 20, 2024 5:21 am
MDralphie wrote: Wed Jun 19, 2024 10:52 pm Agree with Jerry. Fantastic year for the Terps. I was very happy sitting in the rain in Philly on Memorial Day. All Terp fans would like more explosive, consistent offense. However, we were better when it mattered, D was as usual, and we had the 2 best players in the country at their position…thank you #52 and #1
I know many have indicated our talent level was down. Maybe it was better than many thought. Whatever the case, Duke, Va, ND, Syracuse, NC got the highest rated offensive recruits the last number of years. So be it. Tillman gets his type of recruits and knows what to do with them. Few freshman ever play regularly at MD. While he brought in some experienced players, we definitely have talent ready to play.

Md won the old acc this season .

Beat Uva, Duke and Cuse. ND isn’t really in the acc.
That was just a testament to Tilman. There just isnt a coach that is better with a week of prep. ACC had more talent, but the coaching in the ACC was highly suspect this year (leaving ND out of the equation)
Tillman and the staff executed one of the best, most unlikely tournament runs ever. UNC 2016 takes that crown, but this was incredible and it helped conceal how awful the offense was for most of the season. The national championship game was not an abherration or caused by fatigue, that was reverting to the norm. Opponents with more offensive talent included Princeton, Duke, UVA, ND, PSU, Michigan, Penn State, Hopkins and Cuse. Honestly if this team played Duke 10 times, they probably lose 8 or 9. UVA wins probably 7 or 8. It's gotta kill those teams a little bit inside to see Maryland ranked ahead of them at the end of the season.

Who cares where transfers come from if they're good? The D3 players of the year at their respective positions should find a spot on any D1 roster, or are Bowdoin and Salisbury guys inherently worse than every former 4-5 star player. And 30+ goal scorers anywhere are pretty attractive additions for the roster. Not sure any of the current Terps would score 39 at Fairfield. I wonder where our Terps hall of fame face-off guy was originally committed to?
coda
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Re: Maryland 2025

Post by coda »

keno in reno wrote: Thu Jun 20, 2024 10:37 am
coda wrote: Thu Jun 20, 2024 8:39 am
Essexfenwick wrote: Thu Jun 20, 2024 5:21 am
MDralphie wrote: Wed Jun 19, 2024 10:52 pm Agree with Jerry. Fantastic year for the Terps. I was very happy sitting in the rain in Philly on Memorial Day. All Terp fans would like more explosive, consistent offense. However, we were better when it mattered, D was as usual, and we had the 2 best players in the country at their position…thank you #52 and #1
I know many have indicated our talent level was down. Maybe it was better than many thought. Whatever the case, Duke, Va, ND, Syracuse, NC got the highest rated offensive recruits the last number of years. So be it. Tillman gets his type of recruits and knows what to do with them. Few freshman ever play regularly at MD. While he brought in some experienced players, we definitely have talent ready to play.

Md won the old acc this season .

Beat Uva, Duke and Cuse. ND isn’t really in the acc.
That was just a testament to Tilman. There just isnt a coach that is better with a week of prep. ACC had more talent, but the coaching in the ACC was highly suspect this year (leaving ND out of the equation)
Tillman and the staff executed one of the best, most unlikely tournament runs ever. UNC 2016 takes that crown, but this was incredible and it helped conceal how awful the offense was for most of the season. The national championship game was not an abherration or caused by fatigue, that was reverting to the norm. Opponents with more offensive talent included Princeton, Duke, UVA, ND, PSU, Michigan, Penn State, Hopkins and Cuse. Honestly if this team played Duke 10 times, they probably lose 8 or 9. UVA wins probably 7 or 8. It's gotta kill those teams a little bit inside to see Maryland ranked ahead of them at the end of the season.

Who cares where transfers come from if they're good? The D3 players of the year at their respective positions should find a spot on any D1 roster, or are Bowdoin and Salisbury guys inherently worse than every former 4-5 star player. And 30+ goal scorers anywhere are pretty attractive additions for the roster. Not sure any of the current Terps would score 39 at Fairfield. I wonder where our Terps hall of fame face-off guy was originally committed to?
Fairfield
JerrysWorld
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Joined: Sun Mar 24, 2024 8:51 am

Re: Maryland 2025

Post by JerrysWorld »

I think these transfers could be really good. But I don’t think it elevates us to a talent level of the ACC, as you said. We’ve proven that we don’t need to be at that level though.

The kid Boyden was the Player of the Year from Tufts and he was solid at Virginia, but not spectacular. I think the Fairfield one will be the best.

Looking forward to it.
jrn19
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Re: Maryland 2025

Post by jrn19 »

keno in reno wrote: Wed Jun 19, 2024 8:19 pm
Wheels wrote: Wed Jun 19, 2024 5:05 pm
What's really odd is people somehow thinking that Tills is just spraying and praying. Does Tills ever do anything that doesn't involve serious planning and strategizing? Like, the guy who remade the entire Terps' offense before the Princeton game, the guy who completely out-coached Dino in the quarters, and the guy who had Lars spinning on the sidelines in the Final Four is just out there winging it in the portal?

Isn't anyone paying attention?
Tillman is the best, but I think it's reasonable to say that the plan on offense did not work out the last 2 years. Maybe it was out of loyalty to guys who sat during the '22 superteam year. Probably it was just top portal guys who simply chose other schools. But we were overmatched offensively almost every week from February to May. Tills is done with that, and it looks like we should be on par with UVA's offense next year (assuming they're on the schedule) and not punching up just to hang with Michigan.
It's obvious that Tills knows the plan on offense didn't work. That's why they've made heavy changes in the portal. Wheels point I believe - which I agree with - is that he knows it didn't work, and his plan has been to inject immediate experience and guys who have produced at a high level at their station into the lineup as the solution. Some folks - not you, to be clear - seem to think he's doing this reactively and freaking out and grabbing anyone he can. That's not how he operates. He clearly thinks this is what the team needs to get better. Now will it work, who knows. It didn't work just running back the same offense + Malever in 2024 for 80% of the year. But he has a plan, he always does
1766
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Re: Maryland 2025

Post by 1766 »

JerrysWorld wrote: Thu Jun 20, 2024 1:45 pm I think these transfers could be really good. But I don’t think it elevates us to a talent level of the ACC, as you said. We’ve proven that we don’t need to be at that level though.

The kid Boyden was the Player of the Year from Tufts and he was solid at Virginia, but not spectacular. I think the Fairfield one will be the best.

Looking forward to it.
Talent is one thing. Organized talent is another. This discussion was had during the season when "Big Tom" was espousing the greatness of Acc offenses. He poo poo'd the argument that outside of ND, it's the lack of defense and goaltending in that league leading to such scores. We saw that play out in the tournament. Outside of ND, the lack of organization on the defensive end and bad goalie play lead to a lot of high scoring games.
Wheels
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Re: Maryland 2025

Post by Wheels »

keno in reno wrote: Thu Jun 20, 2024 10:37 am
Honestly if this team played Duke 10 times in the regular season, they probably lose 8 or 9. If this team played Duke 10 times in the NCAA Tournament, they'd win 10 times.
FIFY
Wheels
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Re: Maryland 2025

Post by Wheels »

jrn19 wrote: Thu Jun 20, 2024 1:50 pm
keno in reno wrote: Wed Jun 19, 2024 8:19 pm
Wheels wrote: Wed Jun 19, 2024 5:05 pm
What's really odd is people somehow thinking that Tills is just spraying and praying. Does Tills ever do anything that doesn't involve serious planning and strategizing? Like, the guy who remade the entire Terps' offense before the Princeton game, the guy who completely out-coached Dino in the quarters, and the guy who had Lars spinning on the sidelines in the Final Four is just out there winging it in the portal?

Isn't anyone paying attention?
Tillman is the best, but I think it's reasonable to say that the plan on offense did not work out the last 2 years. Maybe it was out of loyalty to guys who sat during the '22 superteam year. Probably it was just top portal guys who simply chose other schools. But we were overmatched offensively almost every week from February to May. Tills is done with that, and it looks like we should be on par with UVA's offense next year (assuming they're on the schedule) and not punching up just to hang with Michigan.
It's obvious that Tills knows the plan on offense didn't work. That's why they've made heavy changes in the portal. Wheels point I believe - which I agree with - is that he knows it didn't work, and his plan has been to inject immediate experience and guys who have produced at a high level at their station into the lineup as the solution. Some folks - not you, to be clear - seem to think he's doing this reactively and freaking out and grabbing anyone he can. That's not how he operates. He clearly thinks this is what the team needs to get better. Now will it work, who knows. It didn't work just running back the same offense + Malever in 2024 for 80% of the year. But he has a plan, he always does
To take this a step forward, I think he knows when Matt Higgins arrives for the 2026 season, he won't need to rely on a lot of transfers. By then, he will have brought in 3 new 5-star recruits on offense, Spanos and Erksa will be seniors, and he'll still have seniors all over the field on defense. 2025 is a bridge year. Given what he did this season, I also think the portal additions show that he thinks he can get over the hump next year. Otherwise, he'd be content to continue to build depth and experience.

I wonder if he will also extend what he did in the playoffs with the blender midfield rotation to next year. He was one of the first to go position-less on offense. He brought it a level of near perfection in 2022. Now most high end teams are doing the same thing. Scrambling match-ups through the substitution game could be the next level. When you don't have a clear top midfield line but really don't have a massive drop-off between line 1 and 2, you can scramble the 6 players to make life a little bit harder on defenses. Duke and UVA had breakdowns all over the field because of how Tills and Phipps were rotating midfielders and even attack. It also forces defenses to go more vanilla.

I wonder if that's what we'll see. He has probably 7-9 players that could rotate in no set order. I think only Spanos and Kelly will stay at one position next year. The offense will still be position-less, so they could be anywhere on the field at any given point. The rest of the players, though? Put 'em in a string on the sideline like club ball and whoever goes in is whoever goes in now matter who is with them.
coda
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Re: Maryland 2025

Post by coda »

1766 wrote: Thu Jun 20, 2024 2:12 pm
JerrysWorld wrote: Thu Jun 20, 2024 1:45 pm I think these transfers could be really good. But I don’t think it elevates us to a talent level of the ACC, as you said. We’ve proven that we don’t need to be at that level though.

The kid Boyden was the Player of the Year from Tufts and he was solid at Virginia, but not spectacular. I think the Fairfield one will be the best.

Looking forward to it.
Talent is one thing. Organized talent is another. This discussion was had during the season when "Big Tom" was espousing the greatness of Acc offenses. He poo poo'd the argument that outside of ND, it's the lack of defense and goaltending in that league leading to such scores. We saw that play out in the tournament. Outside of ND, the lack of organization on the defensive end and bad goalie play lead to a lot of high scoring games.
I think this is a bit of an over-reaction to the finish. Keep in mind Maryland won those games behind 70% faceoff advantage. I didnt think the ACC had goaltending issues. Virginia did. Everyone else got solid play all year. The Duke kid picked the worst possible moment to look like a freshman, but that isnt shocking. Not bringing in the senior Goalie was shocking. That loss to Maryland was about faceoffs and just a complete lack of adjustments by the Duke staff. Defensively the ACC was solid. UVA has some great athletes and cover guys, but they were and have been undisciplined. That got highlighted, when the goalie situation fell apart. Even then they gave up 34 goals in 3 tournament games, that isnt a bad number. UVa lost that game due to faceoffs and having 0 offensive answers..
keno in reno
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Re: Maryland 2025

Post by keno in reno »

Wheels wrote: Thu Jun 20, 2024 3:36 pm
keno in reno wrote: Thu Jun 20, 2024 10:37 am
Honestly if this team played Duke 10 times in the regular season, they probably lose 8 or 9. If this team played Duke 10 times in the NCAA Tournament, they'd win 10 times.
FIFY
Perfect. I'll take it one step in the same direction; if Zappitello played close D in 2021 instead of backup LSM, we would have gone 34-0 in those 2 years
jrn19
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Re: Maryland 2025

Post by jrn19 »

coda wrote: Thu Jun 20, 2024 5:01 pm
1766 wrote: Thu Jun 20, 2024 2:12 pm
JerrysWorld wrote: Thu Jun 20, 2024 1:45 pm I think these transfers could be really good. But I don’t think it elevates us to a talent level of the ACC, as you said. We’ve proven that we don’t need to be at that level though.

The kid Boyden was the Player of the Year from Tufts and he was solid at Virginia, but not spectacular. I think the Fairfield one will be the best.

Looking forward to it.
Talent is one thing. Organized talent is another. This discussion was had during the season when "Big Tom" was espousing the greatness of Acc offenses. He poo poo'd the argument that outside of ND, it's the lack of defense and goaltending in that league leading to such scores. We saw that play out in the tournament. Outside of ND, the lack of organization on the defensive end and bad goalie play lead to a lot of high scoring games.
I think this is a bit of an over-reaction to the finish. Keep in mind Maryland won those games behind 70% faceoff advantage. I didnt think the ACC had goaltending issues. Virginia did. Everyone else got solid play all year. The Duke kid picked the worst possible moment to look like a freshman, but that isnt shocking. Not bringing in the senior Goalie was shocking. That loss to Maryland was about faceoffs and just a complete lack of adjustments by the Duke staff. Defensively the ACC was solid. UVA has some great athletes and cover guys, but they were and have been undisciplined. That got highlighted, when the goalie situation fell apart. Even then they gave up 34 goals in 3 tournament games, that isnt a bad number. UVa lost that game due to faceoffs and having 0 offensive answers..
The 70% faceoff advantage was, obviously, an advantage.

Maryland's offensive efficiency in all 3 of their tournament wins was also very good, and a key part of why they won. Here's the adjusted efficiency numbers in all games

MD v Princeton: 33% MD-22% Princeton
MD v Duke: 34% MD-34% Duke
MD v UVA: 31% MD-18% UVA

The Duke game in particular *was* about MD's offense in addition to the other factors. Maryland scored 7 goals on 13 possessions in the 4Q against Duke. Obviously, having 7 more possessions in the quarter was a huge benefit. But they had to take advantage of it, and did. There were plenty of games this year where Maryland had a decisive FO adv and the offense didn't come along with it. They scored 42 goals in their first 3 NCAA games, that's either down to some good offense or less than stellar defense from the opponent
jrn19
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Joined: Wed May 15, 2019 10:41 pm

Re: Maryland 2025

Post by jrn19 »

Wheels wrote: Thu Jun 20, 2024 3:50 pm
jrn19 wrote: Thu Jun 20, 2024 1:50 pm
keno in reno wrote: Wed Jun 19, 2024 8:19 pm
Wheels wrote: Wed Jun 19, 2024 5:05 pm
What's really odd is people somehow thinking that Tills is just spraying and praying. Does Tills ever do anything that doesn't involve serious planning and strategizing? Like, the guy who remade the entire Terps' offense before the Princeton game, the guy who completely out-coached Dino in the quarters, and the guy who had Lars spinning on the sidelines in the Final Four is just out there winging it in the portal?

Isn't anyone paying attention?
Tillman is the best, but I think it's reasonable to say that the plan on offense did not work out the last 2 years. Maybe it was out of loyalty to guys who sat during the '22 superteam year. Probably it was just top portal guys who simply chose other schools. But we were overmatched offensively almost every week from February to May. Tills is done with that, and it looks like we should be on par with UVA's offense next year (assuming they're on the schedule) and not punching up just to hang with Michigan.
It's obvious that Tills knows the plan on offense didn't work. That's why they've made heavy changes in the portal. Wheels point I believe - which I agree with - is that he knows it didn't work, and his plan has been to inject immediate experience and guys who have produced at a high level at their station into the lineup as the solution. Some folks - not you, to be clear - seem to think he's doing this reactively and freaking out and grabbing anyone he can. That's not how he operates. He clearly thinks this is what the team needs to get better. Now will it work, who knows. It didn't work just running back the same offense + Malever in 2024 for 80% of the year. But he has a plan, he always does
To take this a step forward, I think he knows when Matt Higgins arrives for the 2026 season, he won't need to rely on a lot of transfers. By then, he will have brought in 3 new 5-star recruits on offense, Spanos and Erksa will be seniors, and he'll still have seniors all over the field on defense. 2025 is a bridge year. Given what he did this season, I also think the portal additions show that he thinks he can get over the hump next year. Otherwise, he'd be content to continue to build depth and experience.

I wonder if he will also extend what he did in the playoffs with the blender midfield rotation to next year. He was one of the first to go position-less on offense. He brought it a level of near perfection in 2022. Now most high end teams are doing the same thing. Scrambling match-ups through the substitution game could be the next level. When you don't have a clear top midfield line but really don't have a massive drop-off between line 1 and 2, you can scramble the 6 players to make life a little bit harder on defenses. Duke and UVA had breakdowns all over the field because of how Tills and Phipps were rotating midfielders and even attack. It also forces defenses to go more vanilla.

I wonder if that's what we'll see. He has probably 7-9 players that could rotate in no set order. I think only Spanos and Kelly will stay at one position next year. The offense will still be position-less, so they could be anywhere on the field at any given point. The rest of the players, though? Put 'em in a string on the sideline like club ball and whoever goes in is whoever goes in now matter who is with them.
The positionless offense pays incredible dividends when you have the personnel that's built for it, but I think the last two years they could have used a bit more positional discipline. I think the offense got better when they moved more towards that by the end of the year - Spanos as the defined, clear X guy; Kelly as the lefty wing shooter, Malever inverting - and I think some of that should continue next year. I think they'll also be better equipped to do it. Spanos will stay as the X guy. Kelly probably stays on the wing. Armitage is a clear middie shooter. Erksa could feature as a downhill speed dodger. One of Ford or Keegan as the 3rd attackman. Long-term with the guys they're bringing in, they could get back to that positionless offense and I think a lot of the principles will remain, but some more guys who can have a defined role will work better.

Agree that Tills sees this as a bridge year and I also think that with so many teams replacing key pieces and probably getting a lot younger, he thinks having a ton of experience could give the team a real edge. The guys gotta wind up being players up a competition level, but I see the process
coda
Posts: 1427
Joined: Wed May 10, 2023 11:30 am

Re: Maryland 2025

Post by coda »

jrn19 wrote: Thu Jun 20, 2024 10:10 pm
coda wrote: Thu Jun 20, 2024 5:01 pm
1766 wrote: Thu Jun 20, 2024 2:12 pm
JerrysWorld wrote: Thu Jun 20, 2024 1:45 pm I think these transfers could be really good. But I don’t think it elevates us to a talent level of the ACC, as you said. We’ve proven that we don’t need to be at that level though.

The kid Boyden was the Player of the Year from Tufts and he was solid at Virginia, but not spectacular. I think the Fairfield one will be the best.

Looking forward to it.
Talent is one thing. Organized talent is another. This discussion was had during the season when "Big Tom" was espousing the greatness of Acc offenses. He poo poo'd the argument that outside of ND, it's the lack of defense and goaltending in that league leading to such scores. We saw that play out in the tournament. Outside of ND, the lack of organization on the defensive end and bad goalie play lead to a lot of high scoring games.
I think this is a bit of an over-reaction to the finish. Keep in mind Maryland won those games behind 70% faceoff advantage. I didnt think the ACC had goaltending issues. Virginia did. Everyone else got solid play all year. The Duke kid picked the worst possible moment to look like a freshman, but that isnt shocking. Not bringing in the senior Goalie was shocking. That loss to Maryland was about faceoffs and just a complete lack of adjustments by the Duke staff. Defensively the ACC was solid. UVA has some great athletes and cover guys, but they were and have been undisciplined. That got highlighted, when the goalie situation fell apart. Even then they gave up 34 goals in 3 tournament games, that isnt a bad number. UVa lost that game due to faceoffs and having 0 offensive answers..
The 70% faceoff advantage was, obviously, an advantage.

Maryland's offensive efficiency in all 3 of their tournament wins was also very good, and a key part of why they won. Here's the adjusted efficiency numbers in all games

MD v Princeton: 33% MD-22% Princeton
MD v Duke: 34% MD-34% Duke
MD v UVA: 31% MD-18% UVA

The Duke game in particular *was* about MD's offense in addition to the other factors. Maryland scored 7 goals on 13 possessions in the 4Q against Duke. Obviously, having 7 more possessions in the quarter was a huge benefit. But they had to take advantage of it, and did. There were plenty of games this year where Maryland had a decisive FO adv and the offense didn't come along with it. They scored 42 goals in their first 3 NCAA games, that's either down to some good offense or less than stellar defense from the opponent
I dont think it surprising that the Maryland offense had a high efficiency in the 4q in a game where they dominated possession. Fatigue is not calculated in efficiency. That Duke game was about Defense and Weirman. Duke's offense struggled all day in 6 v 6. If the offense wasnt turning the ball over the entire 1st half, Duke doesnt probably scores 8 or less. Offense gave Duke multiple goals. Duke had 10 caused turnovers, at least 3-4 of those turned into fast break goals. Not all empty possessions are equal. Those numbers were boosted with Jamieson having 1 of his worst games. Efficiency is a useful metric, but it doesnt tell the whole story. If we are talking about Duke's biggest issue over the course of the season, it was maddening ability of one the most talented offenses in the country to completely disappear at times.
AreaLax
Posts: 2980
Joined: Wed Aug 29, 2018 10:12 am

Re: Maryland 2025

Post by AreaLax »

Ford, Laake and Draley are playing tonight in the 2024 Sr ALL AMERICAN GAME
There supposed to be a stream on YouTube but haven’t found it yet

https://x.com/natlaxfed/status/18041763 ... EO2hFStaxg
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