VIRGINIA Lacrosse

[Peter Brown]

I've been meaning to post here since the last round of 'UVA goalie' posts.

I watched the finals ACC tourney game against ND. I don't think I've ever been as impressed with a goalie's upfield vision as I was with Rode. Now I know why Tiffany starts him. This kid pushes the ball in transition and UVA is built for transition offense; Rode and UVA's offense are a perfect fit. How many times did this kid loft the ball toward a sprinting UVA player at midfield, after a save? Even if the ball wasn't ideally placed into the mesh of his teammate, this UVA team knows how to scramble for the ball and their attack typically kept control.

Color me very impressed.

Most goalies, after a save, tend to sit on the ball weighing ten different thoughts, then wheel behind the goal, or conservatively pass off to one of their defenseman in a corner. Rode almost always looks upfield for someone sprinting toward the other end. This is the first full game I have seen of him. I now get it.

[random observer]

Funnily enough that is the facet of goal-tending where Burkinshaw has the clearest edge. I did not watch the full game, but Rode is not typically considered a strong outlet passer, whereas Burkinshaw excels at it.

[stupefied]

Robert Morris gave Maryland a game in the NCAAT. UVA may not make it to Philly, but they will make it past RMU.

Think UVA can not only make Philly but make finals. They are playing very well and there is no opponent in their brackets including nemesis Duke that they cant beat

[Peter Brown]

Funnily enough that is the facet of goal-tending where Burkinshaw has the clearest edge. I did not watch the full game, but Rode is not typically considered a strong outlet passer, whereas Burkinshaw excels at it.

That's the first full game I've seen of either one tbh, so perhaps Rode learned from Burkinshaw!

I'm not sure I saw Rode pass once to his defense (though I am sure he did and I simply can't recall). Rode's post-save instinct was simply to launch the ball toward midfield to a sprinting UVA player. I won't say all the passes were on the mark, but UVA cleaned up any overthrows with their attack who seemed to be waiting for this kind of outlet pass. It was great uptempo lax.

Too often you see a defense get hung up on the 20 second clearing violation, as no one seems to have urgency. I'm guessing Rode won't violate that rule often.

Anyway, he also had a great save day too; I think he was at 70 or 80%.

[random observer]

Robert Morris gave Maryland a game in the NCAAT. UVA may not make it to Philly, but they will make it past RMU.

Think UVA can not only make Philly but make finals. They are playing very well and there is no opponent in their brackets including nemesis Duke that they cant beat

Kraus's health is the key. If he's not close to 100%, I think UVA's relative lack of scoring depth will catch up to them at some point. If he gets back to the form he had towards the middle of the season (and his sophomore year when he was 100%), watch out.

[youthathletics]

Ryan Lamb...sleeper alert.

[HooDat]

Funnily enough that is the facet of goal-tending where Burkinshaw has the clearest edge. I did not watch the full game, but Rode is not typically considered a strong outlet passer, whereas Burkinshaw excels at it.

all of this is true - but Rode had an INCREDIBLE game against ND. If he can maintain that momentum, I really like UVA's chances. Rode certainly seemed none the worse for the wear on the "goalie controversy" in Charlottesville

[MDlaxfan76]

Funnily enough that is the facet of goal-tending where Burkinshaw has the clearest edge. I did not watch the full game, but Rode is not typically considered a strong outlet passer, whereas Burkinshaw excels at it.

That's the first full game I've seen of either one tbh, so perhaps Rode learned from Burkinshaw!

I'm not sure I saw Rode pass once to his defense (though I am sure he did and I simply can't recall). Rode's post-save instinct was simply to launch the ball toward midfield to a sprinting UVA player. I won't say all the passes were on the mark, but UVA cleaned up any overthrows with their attack who seemed to be waiting for this kind of outlet pass. It was great uptempo lax.

Too often you see a defense get hung up on the 20 second clearing violation, as no one seems to have urgency. I'm guessing Rode won't violate that rule often.

Anyway, he also had a great save day too; I think he was at 70 or 80%.

73.3%; certainly no worse for the wear of being pulled in the prior game.
He's absolutely capable of these big days, his issue has been consistency.
IMO that's because of technical issues more than anything else, though it's also Very true that on any given day the ball can look like a beach ball or a golf ball...not really in anyone's control. Which is why I'm in favor of making a switch relatively swiftly if it's a golf ball day.

But, yes, the accuracy of upfield outlet passes has actually been an advantage of Burkinshaw, on a relative basis.

Clearly the fast push upfield is the result of coaching strategy and emphasis. These guys are being told to push with tempo, take the risks. I remember that being an emphasis with Kelly, right from his freshman year at Brown. He wasn't nearly as good at it at first (though not bad), as he (and the team) were later in his career. Doing it again and again and again led to improvement. It became a weapon.

But it begins with a risk-taking attitude by the coaches and is made possible by full team buy-in. When teams get good at it, it's a really fun way to play the game.

Lots of coaches eschew this fast push, preferring fewer errors. It's not that goalies don't want to push, it's that they get critiqued if they do and it fails.

Fortunately for UVA fans (and the players) Tiffany and crew have green-lit the fast outlet and push upfield.

[rasheed]

Ryan Lamb...sleeper alert.

Is he playing much?

[youthathletics]

Ryan Lamb...sleeper alert.

Is he playing much?

Not nearly enough.

[Peter Brown]

Ryan Lamb...sleeper alert.

Is he playing much?

Not nearly enough.

Have him transfer to Loyola; we'll take him.

[johnnyonthegunpowder]

https://www.laxsportsnetwork.com/videos ... tournament

Tiffany interview

[seacoaster]

PB wrote: “I watched the finals ACC tourney game against ND. I don't think I've ever been as impressed with a goalie's upfield vision as I was with Rode.”

John Galloway? Jack Kelly?

Good to see UVA win the ACC championship. Its starting six or seven on the offensive end are fun to watch. Hope Kraus is healthy. Good luck from this Syracuse fan.

[DALaxDad]

Kelly was best I’ve ever seen at forcing outlet passes. It didn’t hurt that he had Kemp and others to track them down.

[MDlaxfan76]

Kelly was best I’ve ever seen at forcing outlet passes. It didn’t hurt that he had Kemp and others to track them down.

It all begins with getting the green light to push, not chewed out when it fails. It requires a full team attitude, beginning with the coaches.

[molo]

To cap off a day when all the home teams won, UVA swam to a blowout win. The announcers were slow to notice LaSalla’s absence. Apparently, he was sick, not hurt.
In a couple of hours I’ll be walking over to the U to see next week’s opponent. UVA showed that rain doesn’t affect their scorers. Looks like Maryland and Towson will be playing in cool rain this afternoon.
After the Malloy fiasco, I was a little surprised at how long Lars kept the starters in last night. Fortunately, no one got hurt.

[molo]

To cap off a day when all the home teams won, UVA swam to a blowout win. The announcers were slow to notice LaSalla’s absence. Apparently, he was sick, not hurt.
In a couple of hours I’ll be walking over to the U to see next week’s opponent. UVA showed that rain doesn’t affect their scorers. Looks like Maryland and Towson will be playing in cool rain this afternoon.
After the Malloy fiasco, I was a little surprised at how long Lars kept the starters in last night. Fortunately, no one got hurt.

[johnnyonthegunpowder]

The Cavs looked unreal yesterday. It's like watching a season's worth of puzzle pieces slowly move closer together. The poles have been flirting with getting in on the offensive side of things all year, and now there's a real effort to let 'em hang around. Conrad, who seemed very timid about shooting early on in the season, then started letting em fly, then inverting, now is putting it all together. On top of it, Schwenk had a huge day. Despite the 25-10 blasting that PSU gave UMBC, this UVA team looked absolutely lethal and like they've grown into an even more sophisticated team. Scary stuff; I love it.

On a different note, despite the drumming they gave RMU, I was really impressed with the Colonial six on six. They could sling it. There was certainly no shortage of talent on their part.

[MDlaxfan76]

Great, athletic dominance win.

However, I'm back to being disturbed with reversion to 37.5% goaltending.
Gonna likely need 50+ % every game going forward.

UMD's tender is 52% on the year, PSU's is 53%, Loyola's is 59%, Penn 54%, Duke 52%, ND 49%, Yale 48%.

[blue angels]

Holding our own on Face offs will be critical against Maryland. We can't get dominated as their crew are quite good. Is Bernhardt playing midfield or attack? Thinking that he and Conners would make a great battle if he is in the midfield. It is a nostalgic, natural old rivalry and am glad to have the opportunity to see them play it again. It's too bad big money got in the way of continuing it in all sports. I am expecting a good game from both sides. Hope it's clean, well played and the best team wins.