THE 2019 Hopkins Lacrosse Fallout Shelter (44, we want more!)

[seacoaster]

Totally outplayed and out coached in the second half. Seems routine lately. Where was the time out on Hopkins last possession with just over a minute left? Mind numbing. TO and game lost.

I think JHU was out of time-outs on the last possession; I could be wrong but I think Dave had used the last one to try to stop the run.

[WOMBAT, Mod Emeritus]

I doubt it has much to do with early recruiting or halftime adjustments. They can’t seem to find an alpha to take command of the D so communication is sub optimal and they lose their legs as the game progresses. Seems fairly consistent

Agreed but the question is why. outside of Darby the entire defense is coming back. I understand that a goalie is a key to the defense but there is a lot of seniors on that defense with a lot of experience so it is unfathomable that Hopkins defense is the worst it has ever been.

I go back to the 11th OSU goal. OSU middie is driving down the left side of the field. He has step on Hubler. Jones moves to slide in supporting defense but then backs away. Long stick crease defender is forced to slide leaving OSU crease attackman wide open and it is an easy goal. Jones literally ran away from making a slide. He was in no man's land (which happens a ton in Petro's defense) and caused an easy goal for OSU.

Off topic: is it just me or is every getting daily phone calls from Hopkins looking for money. I know because I see the 410/516-xxxx number and don't answer it.

Block the 410 516 numbers.

Or, forward the call to one of Bloomberg’s numbers.

[WOMBAT, Mod Emeritus]

Well, what does happen in the halftime locker room?

I don’t know, but I speculate that there’s some yelling.

One fact is, the clock is causing a faster pace. Which means more energy expended.

The team is clearly running out of gas in the second halves.

Experienced D, yes, but the upperclassmen have been trained for a few years for a slower pace with a lot of substitutions, and this year is entirely different.

Running out of gas means the training and prior experience are not built for stamina.

One way to counter is playing more players, but that doesn’t happen. Starters run into the ground, bench rots and players aren’t developed until next year if ever.

Back to halftime. 30 minutes expended, you’re tired, and then you are told how you screwed up here and there.

I’m serious, that can take the wind out of your sails.

I’ve often wondered how many players leave Hopkins with some form of non-combat PTSD.

And if they’ve really had fun and enjoyed their Hopkins Lacrosse experience.

Yes, coaching involves a certain amount of yelling. But it has to be strategic and mixed in with the right amount of positivity.

Just a few random thoughts that touch the third rail and that I haven’t seen discussed yet.

[51percentcorn]

Totally outplayed and out coached in the second half. Seems routine lately. Where was the time out on Hopkins last possession with just over a minute left? Mind numbing. TO and game lost.

I think JHU was out of time-outs on the last possession; I could be wrong but I think Dave had used the last one to try to stop the run.

According to the Play by Play in the box score - Hopkins called a TO when OSU cut it to 9-7 with still 10 minutes left in the 3rd. I don't see another Hopkins time out - Ohio State took a late time out in the 4th. So it looks like the Jays went to the locker room with one in the pocket.

[steel_hop]

After it became clear after halftime that the defense could not stop anyone from strolling to the middle of the field—why not switch to a zone? Just try it out? The man-down defense was good all day, and quite frankly it's been solid all season (17th in the country in man-down %). At the very least it might have provided a temporary reprieve from all of Ohio State's pick-and-pop action that we had lots of trouble with. Now who knows if it would have worked long term (or at all) but isn't it worth trying something—anything—to throw the other team out of its groove? Instead, it seemed like they just laid down and let the other team assert its will for 30 minutes. That's what I meant by not making the adjustment. When you're up by 5 goals at halftime, obviously, no, you're not just going to change what's been working. But a good staff would have seen the opponent's adjustments coming and planned for them. Whenever another team make an adjustment, we tend to look like a deer in headlights, unsure how to react. That's when you start to see the panic—the horrible, head-scratching clearing passes, the laughably late switches, etc. There's no doubt that the Jays were prepared for this game. They came out with energy and played a great first half. But something changed at halftime. You certainly can't just chalk that up to communication. I didn't see anyone getting tired. Mentally tired, maybe, but not physically. This is virtually the same personnel that gave up just 5 goals against Ohio State last year in the conference semifinals. Granted, Turnbaugh had an epic night. I do think that perhaps this team misses Turnbaugh's leadership in net.

One switching to a zone, I sort of implied this issue last week. Rutgers cutters were free all day on the crease. Of course, the issue with the defense this week wasn't that but more two man type game. In short, the defense is a mess and an all time historically bad defense - except for last year when the GAA dropped to 10, the defense since 2013 has be trending upward...remember the time the defense had long streaks of keeping other teams under 10 goals...those were good times.

i also agree that switching to a zone to force OSU to think about it for a possession would be a good idea. Why that doesn't happen, I don't know. I do know that the coaching staff doesn't like to think out of the box and has historically been very poor at in-game adjustments. So the idea of switching to a zone or mixing up defensive assignments on the fly is not something they'll do. The times they've switched to a zone is when the other team jumps to a big lead. I don't think I've ever seen them switch to a zone when up but I could be wrong.

[WOMBAT, Mod Emeritus]

The schedule is shaping up nicely.

This coming Sunday can be the crucifixion and the following Saturday the resurrection against Md.

You all better start praying.

And Notre Dame lost yesterday and burns down today. Sucks.

[HopFan16]

Maybe coach should take a page out of his good friend Bill's playbook and relegate coordinating duties to an assistant, so he can focus more on big picture stuff. I know that's been suggested before. Don't actually see it ever happening though.

Speaking of whom—I'm pretty sure we lose every time Bill is on the sidelines. When I saw him talking to Petro pregame I knew we were in for a heartbreaker.

Anywho...there is still lacrosse left to play. I am not optimistic but I'm also not ready to just give up on them. The keys to beating Penn State are many:

1) Prouty has to battle with Arceri like he did Inacio. If you give Penn State a huge possession advantage, you've already lost.

2) Darby has to play better, period. 51 said it—some of those outside bombs should be saved. I think the kid has a lot of potential but at the end of the day he's still below 50%. Sure, playing behind a bad defense doesn't help your save percentage any, but it's still entirely possible and should be expected that the goalie is saving more than 50% of the shots he sees even in a weak overall defense. Harvard is giving up 13.5 goals per game (a full goal more than us) and yet their guy is at 53%.

3) Foley has to turn Grant Ament into a scorer, not a feeder. That's the opposite of what he's used to doing. But Ament picks teams apart with his vision and precision passing. I might even consider shutting him off. If he beats you himself for a goal or two, fine. But you can't just let him operate with room around GLE to find cutters. Mixing in some zone might not be a bad idea, especially since we seem to have a problem with zany off-ball movement.

4) That means either Colwell or Rapine have to have the game of their lives on O'Keefe, who has showed this year he's more than just a spot-up shooter. He can pass and dodge when he needs to. I thought Colwell played well against Ohio State. But maybe you want the righty Rapine on the lefty O'Keefe.

5) Penn State does not clear the ball particularly well at 82% (worse than us). If they are perfect on clears like Ohio State was, you've already lost. Would love to see a vicious ride win the ball back a couple times.

6) Do not foul. They will score. 60% on EMO is best in the country.

I know, seems pretty obvious. Pretty much boils down to "play very well." Hardly astrophysics. With their season on the line I at least expect the Jays to leave everything out on the field.

[steel_hop]

Totally outplayed and out coached in the second half. Seems routine lately. Where was the time out on Hopkins last possession with just over a minute left? Mind numbing. TO and game lost.

I think JHU was out of time-outs on the last possession; I could be wrong but I think Dave had used the last one to try to stop the run.

According to the Play by Play in the box score - Hopkins called a TO when OSU cut it to 9-7 with still 10 minutes left in the 3rd. I don't see another Hopkins time out - Ohio State took a late time out in the 4th. So it looks like the Jays went to the locker room with one in the pocket.

on the broadcast, it still listed Hopkins with 1 TO and Zim even said that Hopkins would likely call timeout with 30 or seconds to go to call a play. Petro's end game practices have been generally pretty poor.

[WOMBAT, Mod Emeritus]

Maybe coach should take a page out of his good friend Bill's playbook and relegate coordinating duties to an assistant, so he can focus more on big picture stuff. I know that's been suggested before. Don't actually see it ever happening though.

Speaking of whom—I'm pretty sure we lose every time Bill is on the sidelines. When I saw him talking to Petro pregame I knew we were in for a heartbreaker.

Anywho...there is still lacrosse left to play. I am not optimistic but I'm also not ready to just give up on them. The keys to beating Penn State are many:

1) Prouty has to battle with Arceri like he did Inacio. If you give Penn State a huge possession advantage, you've already lost.

2) Darby has to play better, period. 51 said it—some of those outside bombs should be saved. I think the kid has a lot of potential but at the end of the day he's still below 50%. Sure, playing behind a bad defense doesn't help your save percentage any, but it's still entirely possible and should be expected that the goalie is saving more than 50% of the shots he sees even in a weak overall defense. Harvard is giving up 13.5 goals per game (a full goal more than us) and yet their guy is at 53%.

3) Foley has to turn Grant Ament into a scorer, not a feeder. That's the opposite of what he's used to doing. But Ament picks teams apart with his vision and precision passing. I might even consider shutting him off. If he beats you himself for a goal or two, fine. But you can't just let him operate with room around GLE to find cutters. Mixing in some zone might not be a bad idea, especially since we seem to have a problem with zany off-ball movement.

4) That means either Colwell or Rapine have to have the game of their lives on O'Keefe, who has showed this year he's more than just a spot-up shooter. He can pass and dodge when he needs to. I thought Colwell played well against Ohio State. But maybe you want the righty Rapine on the lefty O'Keefe.

5) Penn State does not clear the ball particularly well at 82% (worse than us). If they are perfect on clears like Ohio State was, you've already lost. Would love to see a vicious ride win the ball back a couple times.

6) Do not foul. They will score. 60% on EMO is best in the country.

I know, seems pretty obvious. Pretty much boils down to "play very well." Hardly astrophysics. With their season on the line I at least expect the Jays to leave everything out on the field.

What has happened to Narewski on FOs? He bailed Hopkins out in game 3 of the season. Is he hurt?

I’m happy to see Prouty back and dominant, but FOs were up something like 8 to 4 in the first half, then wound up even. That didn’t help the second half downward slope. If Narewski is healthy, he should be spelling Prouty here and there.

[51percentcorn]

I th

What has happened to Narewski on FOs? He bailed Hopkins out in game 3 of the season. Is he hurt?

I’m happy to see Prouty back and dominant, but FOs were up something like 8 to 4 in the first half, then wound up even. That didn’t help the second half downward slope. If Narewski is healthy, he should be spelling Prouty here and there.

I think it might have been wise ultimately to give Matt N a couple takes against a big time player like Ignacio but I think Prouty's 9 for 13 in the first half meant he was always going back out there. He did not hold up well in the 4th. A shame - played well up until that point. The one face-off he won in the 4th Hopkins might have been better served by a pull out but you can't blame the kid. His stick is so offset though accuracy has to be a question mark. Narewski does not look injured - he is out there practicing with Dwan and his brother on every time out and comes out early with the goalies at the half. Of course, that doesn't mean he's injury free but he's not acting injured.

[DougELax]

I th

What has happened to Narewski on FOs? He bailed Hopkins out in game 3 of the season. Is he hurt?

I’m happy to see Prouty back and dominant, but FOs were up something like 8 to 4 in the first half, then wound up even. That didn’t help the second half downward slope. If Narewski is healthy, he should be spelling Prouty here and there.

I think it might have been wise ultimately to give Matt N a couple takes against a big time player like Ignacio but I think Prouty's 9 for 13 in the first half meant he was always going back out there. He did not hold up well in the 4th. A shame - played well up until that point. The one face-off he won in the 4th Hopkins might have been better served by a pull out but you can't blame the kid. His stick is so offset though accuracy has to be a question mark. Narewski does not look injured - he is out there practicing with Dwan and his brother on every time out and comes out early with the goalies at the half. Of course, that doesn't mean he's injury free but he's not acting injured.

I brought this up last week. Prouty is fine, but seems to run out of gas in the latter stages of a game. Really could have used a few more wins in the 4th Q. Is giving someone else a few runs in the first half so we don't die at the end that bad, or does that not help at all?

[oldsportsfan]

Hopkins problems can be summed up in one word.....Middies. D middies can,t guard anyone and O middies can,t beat anyone.

[seacoaster]

Totally outplayed and out coached in the second half. Seems routine lately. Where was the time out on Hopkins last possession with just over a minute left? Mind numbing. TO and game lost.

I think JHU was out of time-outs on the last possession; I could be wrong but I think Dave had used the last one to try to stop the run.

According to the Play by Play in the box score - Hopkins called a TO when OSU cut it to 9-7 with still 10 minutes left in the 3rd. I don't see another Hopkins time out - Ohio State took a late time out in the 4th. So it looks like the Jays went to the locker room with one in the pocket.

Oh well, I stand corrected. I really just remembered the earlier TO and assumed he would have used one if he had one.

[a fan]

Hopkins problems can be summed up in one word.....Middies. D middies can,t guard anyone and O middies can,t beat anyone.

Yep. And they have no depth, which is why they keep losing the game in the 4th.

[Chitown]

Tough Loss.

I don't blame any of the players. The Team played with a lot of energy.

The defense didn't play "team defense" for which JHU is famous. Not enough talking to each other, no smart switches on picks, not playing hip-to-hip on defense on one-on-ones, and not getting in front of cutters. Failure to do that is on the coaches. That needs to be practiced EVERY DAY.


End of the Game was difficult to watch. Remember NCAA basketball. The coaches would call a timely time out. Draw up a play, and have their best players execute that play (Virginia on 3 point basket to send the game into overtime).


Our Coaches were watching the Game in the 4th Q, not coaching to win. They took a TO into the locker room at the end of the game. No excuse for that, and to blame the players for not playing tough is "bad form" and just stupid.

Lack of size and speed? You can coach around some of those limitations.

To the players, keep playing with energy. You have nothing to apologize for.

To the coaches, you are becoming an embarrassment. You are coaching at "Valhalla". Pull it together for the last games of the season.

[tech37]

Team chemistry?

[runrussellrun]

You want to leader why isn’t Jack lynn playing at all

[DocBarrister]

Hopkins problems can be summed up in one word.....Middies. D middies can,t guard anyone and O middies can,t beat anyone.

Yep. And they have no depth, which is why they keep losing the game in the 4th.

Blue Jays have plenty of talent on the bench at all positions, but Coach Pietramala hasn’t invested the playing time to develop the talent on his bench. Agree with those posters who think he’s grinding down some of his starters. Matt Narewski was reportedly banged up earlier this season, but Petro has two Narewskis on the bench. He also has more than a few capable young defensemen and a platoon of 6-foot tall middies waiting for more (any) playing time.

Truth be told, I’m wondering if a “win now” urgency is playing into all of this. Playing more players could mean an additional loss or two now, with the payoff coming later. Petro is working not just to keep his own job, but those of his entire staff. That’s a lot riding on his shoulders. If he already had a five-year contract extension in his hands, would he have given more playing time to his bench?

DocBarrister

[51percentcorn]

You want to leader why isn’t Jack lynn playing at all

As I walked past the Hopkins bench on Sunday there was a player in street clothes with his shooting shirt on (jersey number in the 20;s on the sleeve of the shirt) - looked like Lyne maybe? So hurt again? If true kid has had an unbelievable run of bad luck. Maybe it was someone else - that's entirely possible. He was definitely a big tall young man.

As an aside - my favorite Hopkins fan had one of those shooting/practice shirts on so he's getting all the swag. I wonder if he'll retain the same j sniffing status under a new coaching regime?

Blue Jays have plenty of talent on the bench at all positions, but Coach Pietramala hasn’t invested the playing time to develop the talent on his bench. Agree with those posters who think he’s grinding down some of his starters. Matt Narewski was reportedly banged up earlier this season, but Petro has two Narewskis on the bench. He also has more than a few capable young defensemen and a platoon of 6-foot tall middies waiting for more (any) playing time.

Truth be told, I’m wondering if a “win now” urgency is playing into all of this. Playing more players could mean an additional loss or two now, with the payoff coming later. Petro is working not just to keep his own job, but those of his entire staff. That’s a lot riding on his shoulders. If he already had a five-year contract extension in his hands, would he have given more playing time to his bench?

I'm not sure I agree wholeheartedly with your observation that there's plenty of talent - there's always plenty of bodies - the talent level? Ehh. He gave Lily, Mabbett, Degnon some runs early in the year - they did nothing with them and as a group looked unfortunately slow. I will certainly question his use of Zinn. You put him on the wings of face-offs so you are willing to suffer with him playing defense but you don't like his 4 goals, speed and outside shot on offense? Must be a practice thing. Lyne has been hurt throughout his career - a shame - I had heard great things about him when he was a recruit. When you have a roster with a minimum of 45 guys - often more than 50 - it is always puzzling that you can't find 2 or 3 that will kill themselves to be excellent SSDMs. Jones maximizes his play but I am sorry 5'7" 170 can't cut it in this day and age. Hubler does some really nice things in transition but he gets run by alot. The d-middies are the crux of the problem on defense IMO - the freak outs that the defense illustrates when one of them gets placed on an elite player creates these time and room bombs that Darby can't handle.

I think stubbornness and loyalty are both blessings and a curse for Petro. He's doing nothing different this year than any others.

[flalax22]

Blue Jays have plenty of talent on the bench at all positions, but Coach Pietramala hasn’t invested the playing time to develop the talent on his bench. Agree with those posters who think he’s grinding down some of his starters.

DocBarrister

Either there is depth or there isn't. I am inclined to believe there is some and the play at the midfield is terrible. The Jays are suffering for it because Petro wont make changes. These are the Jays headliners who take the runs.

Concannon - 11 goals (inflated with 4 from the weekend) (shooting percentage of .100 %)
Smith - 11 goals
DeSimone - 2 goals (shooting percentage of .100 %)

Keough - 7 Goals (shooting percentage of .171 %)
Baskin 8 goals
Stagnitta - 2 goals

With the coaching staffs refusal to make changes, if you are a current freshman midfielder or a 2019 commit and with one graduation why would you stay or come to Homewood? Because very clearly if this staff returns we will see Smith, DeSimone, Keough, Baskin, Stagnitta and the other titan Cattoni taking all the runs next year.