Cornell 2023

[laxfan1313]

Maryland's winning streak ended at 20 today. Loyola beat them 12-7. The NCAA record 42 game winning streak lives on!

[another fan]

Hoping for a report on the Colgate scrimmage. Questions on my mind include:
Who is our third attack or will it be a committee?
Who is our third starting close D?
Is Blake healthy, and if so who will run with Kelleher and him?
What will our second mid line be?
How did Staub look and where did he play?
How did Cascadden look in relief of Petrakis?
Any other new players look like early contributors?
Who is our 4th ssdm?
Any injuries?

Maryland, Georgetown and Duke all lost today and the national picture looks even more wide open than anticipated. We open next week against Albany, who had a very difficult time at Syracuse, and who will be highly motivated to show better.

[Gobigred]

Maryland's winning streak ended at 20 today. Loyola beat them 12-7. The NCAA record 42 game winning streak lives on!

Loyola goalie stopped 73%; Maryland's McNaney, 29%. Wish he'd done that last May.

[henryben]

Hoping for a report on the Colgate scrimmage. Questions on my mind include:
Who is our third attack or will it be a committee?
Who is our third starting close D?
Is Blake healthy, and if so who will run with Kelleher and him?
What will our second mid line be?
How did Staub look and where did he play?
How did Cascadden look in relief of Petrakis?
Any other new players look like early contributors?
Who is our 4th ssdm?
Any injuries?

Maryland, Georgetown and Duke all lost today and the national picture looks even more wide open than anticipated. We open next week against Albany, who had a very difficult time at Syracuse, and who will be highly motivated to show better.

Score was 11-6 Cornell.

[laxjuris]

Score was 11-6 Cornell.

While recognizing it is a scrimmage I would’ve anticipated a margin of at least that much, but would’ve expected we’d score a bit more.

[Matnum PI]

Score was 11-6 Cornell.

Any more details? How did Mike Long look?

[henryben]

Score was 11-6 Cornell.

Any more details? How did Mike Long look?

I have a kid on the other squad and wasn’t there, sorry. And whatever (little) he tells me won’t exactly be objective

[laxjuris]

From a post tonight on the Cornell lacrosse thread at ELynah:

Attended Lacrosse scrimmage against Colgate. Did not see Mike Long playing today and Aiden Blake only saw limited playing time. They played 4 15 minute periods with the backups playing the final period. Score was kept by quarters. Final tally according to poster on Laxpower Forum was 11-6 Cornell. The Colgate Goalie was really dialed in as he made some nice saves. First half was fairly even but Cornell really dominated the 3rd period 5-1. Defense was in "shut down" mode during that time either making Colgate run down the shot clock or turning the ball over. Kirst was his usual self as one of his goals was a "no angle' shot. Final period was 1-1 with Cornell's goal coming off of the Stanford transfer Reeder.

Hopefully Long being held out is just maintenance and not indicative of anything too serious. Have to imagine Blake will be eased in at the beginning of the season.

[Matnum PI]

Didn't know about this forum. Thank you. Cornell Lacrosse 2023.

[PALax11]

Did Ben Abladian play?

[RedIvy]

Anyone know who the third starting defenseman was?

[laxjuris]

There’s seemingly about as much information about yesterday’s scrimmage as there is about the UFO’s being shot down over the Great Lakes

[CU77]

Re the missing Cuse game:

Back in Dec on elynah, poster rss77 wrote "Was told by one of the current players that Syracuse wanted to play Princeton instead of Cornell (Gary Gait's son was on the Princeton team a few years back)."

[henryben]

There’s seemingly about as much information about yesterday’s scrimmage as there is about the UFO’s being shot down over the Great Lakes

One thing I was able to glean from some pics: JJ Lombardi looked to be playing some d-middie (unless he got caught on the field during transition.)

[Velvet.Fog]

Hello Cornell fans - I thought I would give my preview on the upcoming season against the backdrop of the Colgate scrimmage of this past Saturday. Sorry for the long length - but then again this is geared toward the hard core Big Red fans! Others should just stop reading now....

Overall 2023 thoughts: Obviously, hopes are high coming off last year and the returning roster. But games are not won on reputation or past accomplishments. In my view there are three key losses that need to be addressed: right wing attack (J Piatelli spot), LSM (Bartolotto spot) and top SSDM (Bardwell spot). They were fantastic players - and in the case of Bart and Bardwell - very unsung. Tons of minutes and gritty plays that did not show up in the box score. Leaders in the locker room. They are not easy to replace. And in the case of John P - he was a very unique player and dodger. Extremely effective using leverage not speed. Big Red will not just plug someone in there and look to run the same offense. No chance. The offensive scheme and flow will be different. Hopefully our top 8-10 offensive players will give us many ways to do this. Defensively we should be very good. Close D is experienced. SSDMs got a lot of minutes as youngsters. LSM is a key need but we have possibilities. Goalie is very good. Faceoffs will be a constant challenge - good in some cases. Never great. Some games we might get dominated. Must again try to ensure this is not a big weakness and costs games.

Colgate scrimmage: Overall a decent - but not spectacular showing - against a fired up Colgate team. Score was 10-5 Cornell after 3 quarters. Red pulled starters for Q4; Colgate played starters for Q4 and final score was 11-6. Scorers: Kirst (2G), Perfetto (2G), Piatelli (2G), Dalton, Coyle, Wirtheim, Kelleher with one goal. [Duke Reeder with only goal in Q4 in unsettled!!]. Cornell led 5-4 at half and played very good Q3. Defense was very good all day except for some spotty SSDM efforts. Goalie was very good. Faceoffs and offense were average and have a lot of room for improvement. Faceoffs were about 50/50 at best. Still too many TOs and missed GBs after we win the initial draw and spotty wing play. That has to improve. The only missing key starter was Long. In jacket on sideline. Don't know why. Blake and Lombardi played a little but seemed like still getting their legs. Attack was Kirst, B Piatelli and Perfetto (in for Long). No other players seemed to rotate in at attack through Q3. Hard to envision others competing for time at attack based on yesterday although I heard whispers that Graham may get looks at man up with big lefty shot. Middies are listed below. The big 4 will be Kelleher, Coyle, Blake and Wirtheim - with Dalton close behind. Blake is a key - Red will really need him to return to form. If Coyle has to move to attack temporarily - we have some depth at mid that should still make opponents worry. LSM was Staub, Rayhill, Boccafola. SSDM was Davis, Bozzi, Smith, Box, Cook. Close D Adler, Follows, Singer. Faceoffs went Petrakis, Psyllos and Cascadden (in order). Chayse played all of first 3 quarters. Knust was terrific again in Q4.

Midfield: Blake, Kelleher, Coyle and Wirtheim are the big 4. Any combination. Kelleher was ok (for him which is a high bar) - and he will get a ton of attention. His passing must improve as he will get doubled a lot. The charging bull dodge is not going to carry him very far this year as he will be schemed to be driven down the right lane and away from goal. But he is big and strong and skilled and looked good. He can still run through checks up top and get room in tight spaces. Shooting must improve also. Blake as mentioned must return to form. I'm guessing the knee injury from 2022 is just tricky to get back to 100%. Coyle and Wirtheim are shifty lefties that will get shorties all year. They will have to exploit those match ups. Very good players however and they will be key. Dalton is next man up. Not great speed or size but crafty Canadian who can get shots off. Scored a nice goal on funky shot. He will also be needed to be a second line threat. Lombardi also in that mix of top 4-6 - although he is coming off serious knee injury. If he can get moving well it will be a huge plus. After that it is Sheehan, Holmes, Topouzis, Luzzi and Abladian (who also would compete at attack). Good players that can contribute for sure - but as with all of D1, just not many runs after the top 6. Overall a strong and deep group.

Attack: based purely off of Saturday - there is a big 3 and then everyone else. Kirst looked great. Took maybe one or two suspect shots but nothing concerning. Bigger than last year. Quick, decisive, etc. He can do it all. Every type of shot and move. The concern of course is he will get a TON of attention and doubles. Most concerning was the absence of Long. Hopefully nothing. Perfetto played X in his place and did ok. Long is chronically underrated on the national level. He was fantastic in the last 6-8 weeks of last year after his shoulder healed. All America level and he is sorely needed. Let's hope nothing to his absence. B Piatelli looks like the third. Took his brother's spot on right wing but that is were similarities end. He is a different type of player. Smart and skilled - but he flourishes off ball. Moves it well. But he will not dodge much and certainly will not get the volume of shots #41 got last year. But a good player. It's just that the attack will be different and Long must return. Having said that, Perfetto was pretty good. Had two really good goals - and took only what was given him. He can be a short term positive for sure. After those 4 - it is hard to see other real contributors in big spots. Maybe (and hopefully) I am wrong. Caddigan, Graham (see above for prospects for an expanded role), Abladian, Horsman are next level guys. Bottom line: a huge priority in getting and staying healthy here. Top heavy more than any other position group.

Defense: Looked as expected - a big source of strength this year. Gave up some unsettled goals and a few too many good looks - but after a couple of quarters they were locked down. Adler, Follows and Singer look to be starters at close. They played most of the 3 quarters. The 3-4 Colgate goals in first half were from up top or on broken FBs and a rebound that went right to a Colgate player. So not on the close D. Can't say much about the 3 as Colgate really didn't attack any of them. But there really is no concern. I could go on and on about Adler and Follows but this is already too long of a post. Up top - Staub looks to be the top LSM with Rayhill and Boccafola as the next two. Staub will log a ton of minutes but seems and looks the part. Moves well. Good size. Can be a real star. Rayhill is sneaky good with good speed and range. Boccafola has a lot of experience. The SSDMs looked just ok. Davis was a beast and looks great. No doubt the alpha here and is an athletic specimen. He will play as much as possible. Bozzi and Smith had a few spotty TOs and got beat once or twice in settled sets. That is mildly concerning. But they rebounded last year late and should be fine. Chabot and Box and Cook are next men up. Another deep group - but just need to be a little sharper here in my view considering the experience level. Very few teams will attack us from X or low wings with our close D. So the action will be up top and through inverts. This group must respond.

Faceoffs: Again - maybe 50/50 at best in the scrimmage. This is an area of concern - since while Staub and Davis are good on wings - our overall wing play is not great. Angelo got the bulk of the early work. Draws were about even. But the concern is after the winning draw and the resulting TOs. Just can't have that at this level and we had 3-4 TOs after clean wins. Those plays can decide games. Psyllos got 4-5 draws and did ok. He scraps like heck and if gets the ball will run forever until he can dump it. Cascadden got at least two draws. One he won cleanly and looked very fast and big. took it down close to the goal. He can really move. But the other he get smoked and was a nonfactor. Hopefully he will get more chances as he looks to be a huge improvement athletically for us. He's got a bright future.

Goal: Chayse was predictably very strong. A few went in early - no fault of his. Then he was rock solid for two quarters. No concerns. Knust played Q4 and was very very good. The experience he got last year at Cuse and a few other games will pay big dividends. He is a solid #2 option.

That's it - I'm sure you are gassed from reading all of that. Sorry for length but Big Red lacrosse is a passion for many and deserves attention. Send follow up questions and I can attempt to give thoughts. Bottom line: a new season starts on Saturday and the boys will be ready!! LGR!!!

VF

[Gobigred]

Yes, a passion. Thanks much.

[laxjuris]

Thanks VF—that is the content we’ve been waiting for!

As you stated, so much of the season seems to hinge on Long being healthy; hopefully he’s ready to go on Saturday. I saw some of Perfetto’s HS games and he has some real talent, but I doubt he’s ready to play a major role on a team with great aspirations.

It will be interesting if the younger Piatelli grabs hold of the 3rd attack spot. Certainly a different player than John, but in limited looks last year he seemed reasonably capable. The program has some history of attackmen making a mark only as upperclassmen (David Mitchell and Henry Bartlett come to mind), so maybe this will be another instance of that phenomenon.

No great surprises with the rest of your report. Staub always seemed destined to get on the field from day 1, and our SSDM’s will need to emerge. We’ll have some capable depth at faceoff, and hopefully can find the right matchups and wing play to win at least 50% consistently.

We know the team we see Saturday will almost certainly be different from the one playing in April and (hopefully) May. I have great confidence in the coaches’ ability to get the best talent on the field and change things around as players emerge over the course of the season.

[laxfan1313]

Let's get back on the first page! The team reacts to seeing the re-imagined home locker room for the first time! https://cornell.app.box.com/s/s3ohgbhfe ... 3p074h6oea

[another fan]

Nothing really new or insightful, but from IL;
https://www.insidelacrosse.com/article/ ... 2023/60712

[ICGrad]

Is today's game being radio-broadcast? I don't see anything on the game notes posted above.

Nevermind; I see it listed on the schedule.