OuttaNowhereWregget--Redux

[OuttaNowhereWregget]

The Yale Bulldogs. Lots of great moments and First-Time-Since's and First-Time-Ever's during the course of the season:

The Bulldogs aim to build on last year's accomplishments, which included being ranked as high as No. 23 in the nation. Yale set the team records for goals (236), points (323) and draw controls (276). The Bulldogs' 11 overall wins were their most since winning 11 in 2008. They tied the school record for Ivy wins in a season (six), finishing in second place and earning a spot in the Ivy League Tournament for the first time. They went on to beat Cornell in the semifinals for the first Ivy Tournament win in school history.

I hope '22 was just the beginning of an upswing in New Haven.



Yale attacker Olivia Penoyer

[OuttaNowhereWregget]

Maryland's Kali Hartshorn ('20) was very deliberate about her backhand shot. It was apparent watching her shling one of her backhand beauties that she spent hours and hours perfecting that shot. In the same way that the backhander is very difficult for goalies to defend in hockey, it is equally difficult to defend in lacrosse. Where is the shooter aiming? Where are the eyes focused? No way to tell with a backhander. I hope more players are inspired to perfect their backhander than their behind the back.

[DMac]

I hope players don't listen to you as the more shots in the arsenal the better. These are two different shots, both of which require a bit of a different skill set and both of which are used in different situations on the field. Both shots bring a bit of the element of surprise but the BTB shot opens up another 180 degrees for the shooter whereas the back hand shot does not. Don't short yourselves, ladies, practice both of these shots not one rather than the other. Oh, and I realize some just don't have the feel, touch, or wrists to do this (those of us who have picked up a stick realize that) so perfect the weapons you have in your arsenal so as to be able to hit the bullseye every time you shoot.

[Itsallgood]

I can't imagine the women who first played this game and wore full length skirts and leggings back in the late 1800's and early 1900's would deem it ladylike to rip shots like Northwestern's Samantha Smith does here. I don't know the history of women's lacrosse like some of the members here undoubtedly do, but I would guess free position shots are a recent rule change adopted sometime in recent decades. I wonder who the first player was to try this style shot. I remember Nicole Levy generating a lot of buzz when she did it for Syracuse as a rookie back in 2016. Did anyone predate her?

Selena Lasota. I don't know if she was the FIRST, but she was doing it as a freshman at Northwestern in 2015.

Good call--Lasota's first year 2015, Levy showed up in '16.

Cara Mupo who also played for NU and was a senior I believe ( had a red shirt year ) when Lasota was a freshman, also was fond of the "grip it and rip it" approach very under rated player for NU.

[wlaxphan20]

I hope players don't listen to you as the more shots in the arsenal the better. These are two different shots, both of which require a bit of a different skill set and both of which are used in different situations on the field. Both shots bring a bit of the element of surprise but the BTB shot opens up another 180 degrees for the shooter whereas the back hand shot does not. Don't short yourselves, ladies, practice both of these shots not one rather than the other. Oh, and I realize some just don't have the feel, touch, or wrists to do this (those of us who have picked up a stick realize that) so perfect the weapons you have in your arsenal so as to be able to hit the bullseye every time you shoot.

IMO both these shots are entertaining, but very much "only use if the situation requires it". I think you should always try and get a shot off facing the goal first, and angling to get a btb or twizzler shot isn't really "best practice" - kind of like giving up good body position to go for a check on defense. The shots are good to have in your arsenal, but as a last resort. There are a lot of nuances to this and exceptions to every rule, but generally, thats what I think

[DMac]

No disagreement there, the best shot is to find a spot where the GK isn't and put it past her (Ortega was very good at placing shots, Riley Donohue too), no need to be fancy. The BTB does create an angle when there is none for the traditional shot though, there are definitely occasions where that is the right shot.

[njbill]

The shots are good to have in your arsenal.

Or, as Larry would say, your “bag.”

As usual, wlaxphan, your post is right on the money with the added benefit of giving ONW a vocabulary lesson.

[OuttaNowhereWregget]

[OuttaNowhereWregget]

Selena Lasota. I don't know if she was the FIRST, but she was doing it as a freshman at Northwestern in 2015.

Good call--Lasota's first year 2015, Levy showed up in '16.

No windup for Lasota on the shot. Remarkable. She sets for the shot for like what, a sixteenth of a second? LOL She was always a favorite. A little bit badass, a nice goal scorer. She tended to work a little long at finding a shot when isolated, but she was an electric player. Always dangerous. And back then she ripped quite a few of those high hard ones by goalies on free position.

[njbill]

Lasota lead Canada to the U19 crown in 2015, beating the US.

Had she played for Canada last summer, would the Canadians have beaten the Americans? We will never know. The final was 11–8. What if she had had an all time game that day?

[OuttaNowhereWregget]

Lasota lead Canada to the U19 crown in 2015, beating the US.

Had she played for Canada last summer, would the Canadians have beaten the Americans? We will never know. The final was 11–8. What if she had had an all time game that day?

Perhaps Team USA would find another gear to eventually pull out the win. That's how I would see the game anyway. When I compare the talent on each team, the USA would take it.

[njbill]

Maybe. No thanks to Miss 2-9. Gotta play better in a huge game like that, or stop shooting.

[OuttaNowhereWregget]

Perusing the list, selected players in the 20s can easily be ranked in the top 10 or in the teens. And vice versa. These few players may not have played for top 10 teams. They may not have been surrounded by superstars last season who graduated and drew the top defenders and left them to be marked by a 3rd or 4th defender. These few may have played less games yet had similar or even better scoring stats. These players may have drawn the best defenders game in and game out and been face guarded and doubled or early slide most games. These players may not have benefitted from playing with top feeders and top finishers or been the beneficiaries of effective fast break offenses which produce easy goals. They play with a less talented supporting cast. The media and selectors of this list do not consider this level of detail. Rather players get labeled. Furthermore, the attacker category is a far more competitive group over mid fielders and defenders when considering All American, this list and Tewaaraton, All Region honors.

Your main point is well stated. Great post. Learned a lot about what each players does. Enhances my understanding of the game and makes me better able to appreciate it.

Looking back, if you were to assess yourself as a player, where would you say you fit in the descriptions you listed? What kind of player were you? Big win/loss memories? Anything at all would be intriguing as you once played NCAA lacrosse. Interesting to hear a players perspective on their college career as they get further away from it in time.

Sunnylax--feel free to weigh in also.

[DMac]

Lasota lead Canada to the U19 crown in 2015, beating the US.

Had she played for Canada last summer, would the Canadians have beaten the Americans? We will never know. The final was 11–8. What if she had had an all time game that day?

Funny you mention this. It's probably this thread several posts back where there was chatter of the UNC-NU game and the collapse, or the insurgence of will, depending on how you look at it/see it. I pulled it up on YouTube and watched it again, just incredible. UNC ratchets up the intensity level to max+ coming down the stretch, a real display of will to win. A fantastic game and I wanted the Heels girls to win.
Of course when I pulled that up other games popped up too. Watched the Eng-Aussie Bronze Medal game of the World Games, forgot who had won it and how. Game goes to 3OT , Hompe with the winner on a FPS. One step and fire from the line. What a game.
Watched some of the Jap-USA game, to say there was a period of that game that was played in an absolute downpour with sheets of rain falling would be understating. Wow, did it rain hard in that game.
Watched the USA-Can championship game too. Not the USA's best day/game, but that team was just too good for anybody, I don't see them getting beat. That's a team full of mighty good lacrosse players from end to end, darn tough to deal with.

[OuttaNowhereWregget]

Cara Mupo who also played for NU and was a senior I believe ( had a red shirt year ) when Lasota was a freshman, also was fond of the "grip it and rip it" approach very underrated player for NU.

You know what would be another question--when were the 8 and 12 meter arcs established?

[OuttaNowhereWregget]

Interesting to note--they teams have played each other once--a game where Duke eked out a 9-8 win over the Seawolves back in March of 2012.

Second Half Comeback Sends Duke Past Stony Brook

STONY BROOK, N.Y. - After leading by one at the half, the fifth-ranked Duke women's lacrosse team found itself down by two with 16:53 to play, but the Blue Devils put together 4-1 run to close out the game for a 9-8 victory over Stony Brook Monday evening at LaValle Stadium.

Redshirt senior Emma Hamm (2g, 1a) and freshman Kerrin Maurer (1g, 2a) led Duke (6-2, 1-0 ACC) with three points each, while rookie Taylor Trimble also added two goals for the Blue Devils.

After Duke dominated the draw in the first half, Stony Brook turned the tables on the Blue Devils and put together a 7-4 advantage in draw controls for the second half. The Seawolves utilized the possessions to build a 7-5 lead by the midway point of the second half. Stony Brook's Janine Hillier scored three of her four goals during the span as the junior led all scorers on the day.

Trailing by two, senior Kim Wenger netted a free position goal with 16:19 to go to pull Duke within one before finding Hamm for the game-tying goal four minutes later. Sophomore Maddy Morrissey picked up her 12th goal of the year on a free position shot to give Duke an 8-7 lead heading into the final 10 minutes of play. Hillier struck for the fourth time to time the game at 8-8, however, Maurer zipped a pass to Hommel and the junior put away the game winner with 5:31 to play. Duke won the following draw and took time off the clock, but Stony Brook regained possession with 1:50 left. The Blue Devil defense proved up to the task as Duke did not allow Stony Brook a solid look and junior Lauren Martin drew a charge with eight seconds left to seal the victory.

[OuttaNowhereWregget]

In the beginning years (late 1970's) of the collegiate national championship for women's lacrosse, the Penn State Nittany Lions were the First Dynasty. Founded way back in 1965, State College predated Maryland as Lacrosse Royalty. In the first 12 years of crowning a national champion, Penn State went to the final game seven times and won five, including the first three. From 1986 through 1989 the Lions played in the final game four straight years winning two. During those first twelve years Penn State never missed the postseason and was a formidable 166-23-3. Next was Temple who made 5 trips to the final winning three. During that same period, Maryland went to the final game 6 times but came away with only 2 wins, twice losing to Penn State. Maryland lost 4 more finals before turning the tide in a big way and ripping off seven straight national titles. Up through that point (1994) they were 3-8 in final games.



PSU Team Photo 1978 National Champions

[OuttaNowhereWregget]

212,396 - Politics
110,440 - D1 Men’s Lacrosse
33,549 - D1 Women’s Lacrosse
18,332 - D3 Men’s Lacrosse

The top 4 most trafficked boards on the site. 3rd place ain't too shabby.

[OuttaNowhereWregget]

Twitter goes really well with women's lacrosse. Because this is still a small community sport, as it were--one can send a tweet to a member of the broadcasting crew during a game who will sometimes respond on air. Here's one instance: I was watching the Hop at Maryland game back in April of 2021 when Dixon states that Maryland has a current 87 game home win streak going. I was surprised at the time that color analyst and former Princeton great Rachael DeCecco didn't correct him. Florida ending The Streak in February of 2020 was only one of the greatest moments in women's lacrosse history and neither one of the broadcasting duo was aware of it--which was a pretty sad commentary on their state of the sport awareness.



In any event--off goes the tweet. Then, later in the broadcast...



Not much chance that would happen with any other sport. I'm glad this sport is still small enough where fans can interact on social media with members of the lacrosse community--broadcasters, coaches, players, etc.

[OuttaNowhereWregget]

This was opening draw back on March 20th, 2016. One of the great rule changes over the years--to limit the number of players at the draw circle/midfield area.