Cornell 2023

[joewillie78]

Great game and great weather at the Kopf.
You almost want to warn the other team to watch out when Cornell is coming off a loss. After the PSU loss, they came out on fire and hung like 21 on Yale and after the Harvard loss, they come out today on fire and hang 21 on a team that beat PSU and a team that beat Md.

Adler was simply amazing today, all over the field and what struck me about him today were his incredible instincts on when to double. One play where the player he wasn't covering was up top pretty well covered, and Adler just in a split second recognized a great chance for a double team, checked the Marquette player in the double, caused the turnover, scooped up the GB and hit a great outlet pass. The guy never ceases to amaze me.
Micheal Long is such a presence and makes this offense tick. Coaches did a great job spotting him but his last play before he permanently came out tells me he's getting healthier, as he was on an invert up top, cut towards the net, took a pass from I believe Coyle and in one motion fired a rocket, while taking a hit, that the goalie made a great save on.

Kirst showed off his complete repertoire including a rocket, behind the back shot as the clock was winding down that again, the goalie made a great save , but the amazing part is just how hard he can shoot that shot.

Really important game Saturday that it looks like Long will be available. If they just play sound Cornell Lax. They should have a great shot against a superb Army team.

Great COACHING by Connor and Jordan.

Gobigred
Joewillie78

[ICGrad]

I'm not sure how significant it is at this point, or how exactly his RPI ratings mirror the formula used by the NCAA, but according to the updated RPI ratings on the LaxReference site, Cornell jumped ahead of PSU to the #6 slot with the win this afternoon. What's more, they're within a hair's breadth of Maryland for the #5 slot, trailing the Terrapins by .0005.

[10stone5]

Should be close,

laf / LaxPower’s RPI explanation,

https://laxmath.com/ex_rpi.php

[VeryRustyRed]

'An interesting game to think about and comment on - but in the context of prior games.
Here's my list of salient observations:
Offense
-Michael Long - he's played two games. Cornell has scored 20 and 21 in those two (following games in which they scored 6 and 8 goals). Obviously, he makes a difference. My intuition is that besides his skill set (he provides more options for the offense), it's part psychological lift as well.
-The aforementioned two games were against much better Penn State and Harvard defenses (than Yale and Marquette), but the offense, to paraphrase Tom LaFalce, looked so much more in sync today. But not just more in sync - as I observed against Yale, they seemed to play with so much more energy than against Harvard. Perhaps this observation is just coincidental, because when a better team let's another team (i.e., Harvard) hang around, they start to play tight and momentum changes.
-Some great highlight goals today: as Leonard called it - "the Garden City Connection," a Kirst goal through the 5-hole, and two others by Kirst where he was just so creative with his stickwork when he needed to. Nothing but instinct.
-Cornell's middies beat Marquette out of the substitution box throughout the game. I don't think they capitalized, but it was great work.
-It seems as if Cornell gives up "ballpark" 10 goals/game. They've lost twice his season, scoring 6 and 8. My conclusion is they better score more than 10 in the remaining games.
-Real tough start for Blake today. In the first 4 minutes, 2 turnovers, 1 high to high shot easily saved by the goalie, and his man ran by him for a goal when caught playing defense.
Defense
-Very important to have Box back. Playing two (previously) untested freshmen shorties was tough last week. Though I thought Rayhill (in place of Bozzi) more than held his own again today.
-For the most part, solid effort by the close guys.
-I thought Chris Davis played well - on ball. Very aggressive. HOWEVER, too much of a good thing is no longer a good thing. In the 1st half, he went to either help or double Adler's man. Totally unnecessary. He didn't get back and his man scored. In the 2nd half, he went to help Adler again. Unnecessary - his man scored again. In the 4th quarter, Marquette ran a big-little - he and Adler miscommunicated and the ball carrier had a free run for a goal. I'd like to see Coach Stevens institute a "cardinal rule": No one looks to double or slide to Adler's man. Period.
Other
Face-off
-A big advantage to Cornell in the 1st half. Marquette dominated in the 2nd. Beware of runs. Also, I know it's FO by committee, but I'd like to see Cascadden's share of the pie increase somewhat.
-One has to love watching Mark Psyllos play. I'll take multiple players like him on my team any day.
Going Forward:
-Army will be really tough, especially at Michie. I've attended many games there over the years. They are always tough at home. And their D is coached by Kyle Georgealis, who while a Cornell man at heart, will be looking to make it two in a row against the Big Red. The boys better be ready for a figurative war.
-Brown - they're improved at full strength again. And as always, a tough out at Stevenson Field. Making matters worse is that listeners will have to endure probably the most egregious "homer" play by play guy out there. And he's obnoxious.

[10stone5]

Terry Foy observations, IL article today,

Willem Firth '23, A, Hill Academy (Ont.) | Cornell
Probably the most significant stock rising player when he committed to the Big Red in June after his junior season, Firth has drawn comparisons to Jeff Teat (a Hill Academy alum who’s now roaming the sidelines of his alma mater) for his ability to move the ball. He demonstrates a simple philosophy — “throw the ball to the open guy” — very well. Not overly impressive athletically, he uses deception to get to his spots and delivers accurately through passing lanes that other guys wouldn’t challenge.

[joewillie78]

Terry Foy observations, IL article today,

Willem Firth '23, A, Hill Academy (Ont.) | Cornell
Probably the most significant stock rising player when he committed to the Big Red in June after his junior season, Firth has drawn comparisons to Jeff Teat (a Hill Academy alum who’s now roaming the sidelines of his alma mater) for his ability to move the ball. He demonstrates a simple philosophy — “throw the ball to the open guy” — very well. Not overly impressive athletically, he uses deception to get to his spots and delivers accurately through passing lanes that other guys wouldn’t challenge.

Wow. Comparing anyone to Teat, though high praise is unfair to such a great young player.
Teat was/is a generational talent much in the mold of Pannell and Macaneany.

Can't wait to watch Firth in Cornell Red but no need of Foy to compare him to someone like Teat. Let Firth be Firth.

Gobigred
Joewillie78

[faircornell]

Nice win.

[MoralTerpitude]

Kirst is unreal. If Cornell plays 17 games, he’s on pace to break Miles Thompson’s record for goals in a season. As a sophomore.

EDIT: Technically a junior, not a red-shirt soph, of course.

[joewillie78]

Kirst is unreal. If Cornell plays 17 games, he’s on pace to break Miles Thompson’s record for goals in a season. As a sophomore.

EDIT: Technically a junior, not a red-shirt soph, of course.

They have 3 more regular season, then hopefully, 2 in ILT. That's 15, so they would have to win their opening Ncaa game to get to 17.

Sounds great to me but in reality, I would like to see them get to 19, like last year.
Gobigred
Joewillie78

[MoralTerpitude]

Kirst is unreal. If Cornell plays 17 games, he’s on pace to break Miles Thompson’s record for goals in a season. As a sophomore.

EDIT: Technically a junior, not a red-shirt soph, of course.

They have 3 more regular season, then hopefully, 2 in ILT. That's 15, so they would have to win their opening Ncaa game to get to 17.

Sounds great to me but in reality, I would like to see them get to 19, like last year.
Gobigred
Joewillie78

If Long stays healthy, and they can get a little bit more out of Petrakis, they are going to be tough to beat. They look like the most balanced top-5 team this year - talent all over the field. I could definitely see Kirst getting 9 more games to try to break the record.

[laxfan1313]

I note that Cornell is at RPI 6 while Army is at 19. Also, Cornell's SOS is 16 while Army's is 50 as per Lax Reference. This should be a close game, but it appears the Big Red is more battle-tested than Army. The media poll is close 6 vs. 7. Massey has Cornell at 5 and Army at 11. Massey has SOS: Cornell - 17; Army - 39. Massey predicts a Cornell victory 13-11. It has been a genius move to have Mark Psyllos on the wing when Jack or Angelo is taking the faceoff. Mark is a relentless player who has added significant value to our faceoff unit. Brendan Staub has really progressed and is holding his own. I'm most impressed with Walker Wallace. He has made a great transition from 3rd string goalie to an important factor on defense. I'm remembering the 1971 semifinal game in which Cornell squeaked by Army 17-16. A number of our players from that game will be in West Point on Saturday, no doubt recognizable by their 1971 National Championship hats.

[another fan]

Watching Taft completely dominate Hill-- 11-4 at the half. Firth had an early goal, but Hill rarely had the ball and turned it over constantly. Lost the stream at 8-3, but Yale commit, Peter Moynihan, looks great. Not sure Hill won a faceoff while I was watching, and a comeback seems improbable.

[faircornell]

Watching Taft completely dominate Hill-- 11-4 at the half. Firth had an early goal, but Hill rarely had the ball and turned it over constantly. Lost the stream at 8-3, but Yale commit, Peter Moynihan, looks great. Not sure Hill won a faceoff while I was watching, and a comeback seems improbable.

Final score: 15-13 Taft.

[10stone5]

Watching Taft completely dominate Hill-- 11-4 at the half. Firth had an early goal, but Hill rarely had the ball and turned it over constantly. Lost the stream at 8-3, but Yale commit, Peter Moynihan, looks great. Not sure Hill won a faceoff while I was watching, and a comeback seems improbable.

Final score: 15-13 Taft.

The above is what I briefly saw, that’s too bad and tough to really gauge how good a team is,
they were losing all faceoffs which at the high school / prep level almost always means bad news.
But, at least they came back.
Games up coming against top schools Culver and Brunswick.

[faircornell]

I note that Cornell is at RPI 6 while Army is at 19. Also, Cornell's SOS is 16 while Army's is 50 as per Lax Reference. This should be a close game, but it appears the Big Red is more battle-tested than Army. The media poll is close 6 vs. 7. Massey has Cornell at 5 and Army at 11. Massey has SOS: Cornell - 17; Army - 39. Massey predicts a Cornell victory 13-11. It has been a genius move to have Mark Psyllos on the wing when Jack or Angelo is taking the faceoff. Mark is a relentless player who has added significant value to our faceoff unit. Brendan Staub has really progressed and is holding his own. I'm most impressed with Walker Wallace. He has made a great transition from 3rd string goalie to an important factor on defense. I'm remembering the 1971 semifinal game in which Cornell squeaked by Army 17-16. A number of our players from that game will be in West Point on Saturday, no doubt recognizable by their 1971 National Championship hats.

I agree with this analysis. Cornell has the stronger team on paper. With greatest respect to Army, I think that Cornell also has the stronger team, generally. Best of luck to both sides, I assume that it will be a hotly contested game.

With respect to the Harvard game, before Jordan Field was called Jordan Field, I played some club lacrosse there. Between the light, the wind and the location, it's mildly disorienting until you get used to it. Due to Covid, I'm not sure many of the Cornell players had been there before. That challenge of venue, plus a really incredible defensive effort by Harvard, threw the Red's offensive performance off a bit (as seen in turnover statistics). Frankly, it was a good demonstration of how to "rattle" a precision offense in lacrosse. Cornell's defense, allowing 10 goals to Harvard, was not the issue in my view. Toward the end of the game, the Cornell players seemed to regain some of their offensive "Mojo".

Army has the depth and athleticism to try to simulate the same type of defense that Harvard played, but I don't t think that the Cornell players will be as apt to repeat past mistakes, and there's a certain randomness of "personal best" performances by Harvard that Army can't count on.

[ExLax]

Good analysis for Cornell, Army has the home field advantage while the Big Red has the intangibles you mentioned to make it a one goal game. Army will stiffen after a significant "Red Storm Rising' in the first half. How Army regroups will be the tale of the tape.

Taking the upset, Army 12 -11 in OT as both defenses shut down the offenses and that proverbial 'one play' makes a difference.

[Ezra White]

...
-I thought Chris Davis played well - on ball. Very aggressive. HOWEVER, too much of a good thing is no longer a good thing. In the 1st half, he went to either help or double Adler's man. Totally unnecessary. He didn't get back and his man scored. In the 2nd half, he went to help Adler again. Unnecessary - his man scored again. In the 4th quarter, Marquette ran a big-little - he and Adler miscommunicated and the ball carrier had a free run for a goal. I'd like to see Coach Stevens institute a "cardinal rule": No one looks to double or slide to Adler's man. Period.
...

Astute observation.

I'd only make one minor modification. There's a big difference between sliding to back up Adler on the rare instances that he is beaten versus sliding to double-team the man he's covering. There's no need to double-team Adler's man since GA by himself is a one-man double-team.

OTOH, if I'm a long stick marking my own man, I'd much rather have GA slide to help me rather than vice-versa.

[drunkmonkey30]

...
-I thought Chris Davis played well - on ball. Very aggressive. HOWEVER, too much of a good thing is no longer a good thing. In the 1st half, he went to either help or double Adler's man. Totally unnecessary. He didn't get back and his man scored. In the 2nd half, he went to help Adler again. Unnecessary - his man scored again. In the 4th quarter, Marquette ran a big-little - he and Adler miscommunicated and the ball carrier had a free run for a goal. I'd like to see Coach Stevens institute a "cardinal rule": No one looks to double or slide to Adler's man. Period.
...

Astute observation.

I'd only make one minor modification. There's a big difference between sliding to back up Adler on the rare instances that he is beaten versus sliding to double-team the man he's covering. There's no need to double-team Adler's man since GA by himself is a one-man double-team.

OTOH, if I'm a long stick marking my own man, I'd much rather have GA slide to help me rather than vice-versa.

Davis played hard and was great "on-ball" defense and in the clearing/riding game. He has some growing to do "off-ball." Along with the couple of unnecessary first slides mentioned above, he missed a couple second slides, one of which led to a goal.

[joewillie78]

...
-I thought Chris Davis played well - on ball. Very aggressive. HOWEVER, too much of a good thing is no longer a good thing. In the 1st half, he went to either help or double Adler's man. Totally unnecessary. He didn't get back and his man scored. In the 2nd half, he went to help Adler again. Unnecessary - his man scored again. In the 4th quarter, Marquette ran a big-little - he and Adler miscommunicated and the ball carrier had a free run for a goal. I'd like to see Coach Stevens institute a "cardinal rule": No one looks to double or slide to Adler's man. Period.
...

Astute observation.

I'd only make one minor modification. There's a big difference between sliding to back up Adler on the rare instances that he is beaten versus sliding to double-team the man he's covering. There's no need to double-team Adler's man since GA by himself is a one-man double-team.

OTOH, if I'm a long stick marking my own man, I'd much rather have GA slide to help me rather than vice-versa.

Davis played hard and was great "on-ball" defense and in the clearing/riding game. He has some growing to do "off-ball." Along with the couple of unnecessary first slides mentioned above, he missed a couple second slides, one of which led to a goal.

Yeah, I remember that slide he missed and after the goal, I believe Gavin said something to him so I think it may have been some miscommunication between him and Adler.

Gobigred
Joewillie78

[Chousnake]

Is it that hard to get a camera operator that knows the game and can follow the ball? We’re missing half the game. And why can’t we gat the shot clock on the scoreboard?