Great job by Penn State in pretty much every facet of the game. Numerous extended possessions limited our offensive opportunities, and when we did get the ball on offense we had way too many unforced errors and very few open looks. And the rare times we got open looks the PSU goalie made some point-blank saves.
I agree with Another Fan that Blake doesn’t look healthy enough to be effective. I held my breath when Lombardi went down, and was relieved that he was able to get back in.
Overall our defense was sound and Ierlan was fantastic, maybe the best game of his career. I thought Box did a fine job at ssdm, and Staub continues to impress. Psyllos and Cascadden held their own at the X, and a bit surprising that Petrakis (unless hurt) didn’t get any action.
I’m confident our staff will figure things out, and when (hopefully not if) Long gets back we should see our offense come back to life. The lack of production from the 1st line middies continues to be a concern, though.
Doesn’t get easier next week in New Haven.
Cornell 2023
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VeryRustyRed
- Posts: 323
- Joined: Thu Aug 30, 2018 12:22 pm
Re: Cornell 2023
Needless to say, a disappointing loss. However, as always, the boys gave 100%.
Give credit to Penn State. First and foremost, they were incredibly well prepared, they had Cornell so well scouted. I felt it was as if they understood so many nuances of Cornell's offense, the tendencies, and player strengths and weaknesses. And as stated by others, they are very well balanced. For example, while OSU's offense ran thru Myers (period!), with Adler on him, they had big problems. Today, it looked to me as if Malone didn't have the ball in his stick as I expected (given Adler was on him), but while lacking an Ament, O'Keefe, or Kelly, there was plenty of other offensive talent.
Misc. Observations:
-PSU ran a lot of "big-littles" on offense and they caught our D a few times by slipping the player setting the pick. On a number of goals/opportunities, we didn't coordinate who would stay and who would go. But for the most part, the Cornell D did well - especially given that they logged so many minutes. And PSU had them rotating on a carousel so many times.
-Ierlan - 10 goals, but I hope he plays as well every game. Many to most were layups.
-No Rayhill today at LSM backing up Staub. Walker Wallace instead.
-The score was 6-7 PSU after 3 quarters. I thought we'd find a way to pull it out - especially after their FOGO got his 2nd violation I believe at the 3nd of the 3rd. Ironically, after that, he dominated...when we needed possessions.
-When Cornell was on offense, PSU either didn't slide or did so very selectively. This, largely, diminished our ability to get the ball inside. Our offense for the most part consisted of trying to beat your man one-on-one...and see what happens. Not a lot of movement (think the UA game). Also, our north-south dodging - followed by quick ball reversals which was so effective last season has been flat out ineffective.
-Cornell was down 6-7 going into the 4th quarter...and shut out in the 4th.
-IMO, I'd tweak the middie lines - put 44 on the 1st line. He's being asked to do things on the 2nd line that aren't his forte. At the same time, I think Wirtheim playing on the 1st line is being too deferential (move him to 2nd where he will free to be the alpha). Things are exacerbated on the 1st line because Blake, pre-injury, was a "dynamic" player; he's been ineffective so far. The offense, at least against top teams does not look well balanced. That is, in terms of ability to beat one's man, 18, 2, and 26 have been, in effect, placeholders. I love Dalton's lefty sidearm rocket, but to use a BB term, he's more of a "spot up" shooter. Think a Mac O'Keefe with no one to get him the ball where he wants it (often enough).
-No Petrakis at FOGO today. The coaches watch every day. I can only assume they feel that 20 and 3 are better post-clamp at retraining or gaining possession.
-Bottom line - PSU seemingly did everything right today. 'And again, very well balanced.
-Barry Leonard even had a few miscues (i.e., malaprops) today.
*Yale - among other things, get ready for:
-A packed house with stands on 4 sides that are very close to the field
-A very aggressive 10-man ride
-A balanced offense that can move and really shoot the ball
Give credit to Penn State. First and foremost, they were incredibly well prepared, they had Cornell so well scouted. I felt it was as if they understood so many nuances of Cornell's offense, the tendencies, and player strengths and weaknesses. And as stated by others, they are very well balanced. For example, while OSU's offense ran thru Myers (period!), with Adler on him, they had big problems. Today, it looked to me as if Malone didn't have the ball in his stick as I expected (given Adler was on him), but while lacking an Ament, O'Keefe, or Kelly, there was plenty of other offensive talent.
Misc. Observations:
-PSU ran a lot of "big-littles" on offense and they caught our D a few times by slipping the player setting the pick. On a number of goals/opportunities, we didn't coordinate who would stay and who would go. But for the most part, the Cornell D did well - especially given that they logged so many minutes. And PSU had them rotating on a carousel so many times.
-Ierlan - 10 goals, but I hope he plays as well every game. Many to most were layups.
-No Rayhill today at LSM backing up Staub. Walker Wallace instead.
-The score was 6-7 PSU after 3 quarters. I thought we'd find a way to pull it out - especially after their FOGO got his 2nd violation I believe at the 3nd of the 3rd. Ironically, after that, he dominated...when we needed possessions.
-When Cornell was on offense, PSU either didn't slide or did so very selectively. This, largely, diminished our ability to get the ball inside. Our offense for the most part consisted of trying to beat your man one-on-one...and see what happens. Not a lot of movement (think the UA game). Also, our north-south dodging - followed by quick ball reversals which was so effective last season has been flat out ineffective.
-Cornell was down 6-7 going into the 4th quarter...and shut out in the 4th.
-IMO, I'd tweak the middie lines - put 44 on the 1st line. He's being asked to do things on the 2nd line that aren't his forte. At the same time, I think Wirtheim playing on the 1st line is being too deferential (move him to 2nd where he will free to be the alpha). Things are exacerbated on the 1st line because Blake, pre-injury, was a "dynamic" player; he's been ineffective so far. The offense, at least against top teams does not look well balanced. That is, in terms of ability to beat one's man, 18, 2, and 26 have been, in effect, placeholders. I love Dalton's lefty sidearm rocket, but to use a BB term, he's more of a "spot up" shooter. Think a Mac O'Keefe with no one to get him the ball where he wants it (often enough).
-No Petrakis at FOGO today. The coaches watch every day. I can only assume they feel that 20 and 3 are better post-clamp at retraining or gaining possession.
-Bottom line - PSU seemingly did everything right today. 'And again, very well balanced.
-Barry Leonard even had a few miscues (i.e., malaprops) today.
*Yale - among other things, get ready for:
-A packed house with stands on 4 sides that are very close to the field
-A very aggressive 10-man ride
-A balanced offense that can move and really shoot the ball
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faircornell
- Posts: 1786
- Joined: Mon Jul 30, 2018 9:23 pm
Re: Cornell 2023
Ouch... Congratulations to the Nittany Lions. At this point, it doesn't look like a "bad loss" for Cornell. Probably a better thing early in the season.
Go Big Red!
Go Big Red!
Re: Cornell 2023
Definitely missed Long. No tempo setter on offense when Penn State disrupted the rhythm and flow of the offense early on. Things just felt very scattered and rushed all game long aside from the 3rd Quarter and even that was to some degree down to being the only part of the game where Fracyon didn't make any saves. And then by the 4th Quarter Penn State looked like they had fresher legs, the pressure and havoc from earlier the game paid off. Lot of stuff Cornell normally does so well to other teams was applied very well to them. Thought it was a super fun game to watch though, especially the way it went from being a defensive struggle to the dam breaking offensively in the 3rd Quarter. Two very good teams. Cornell will be fine with that defense and Ierlan playing the best of his career, but need Long back soon and some help from the midfield for sure
Re: Cornell 2023
Well Long's been out for quite a while now, not at all a given that he will be at last season's form if/when he returns.
Re: Cornell 2023
What a frustrating game. I think it was easy enough to look past the offensive limitations in the previous games where we came out on top, but no more. If we fancy this team as serious contenders in late May, the offense needs to be better and more efficient, period. While I understand the attack is in flux with Long's absence, I do not think Piatelli is bringing enough to that unit currently, and would like to see others get a run. At the midfield, I really think Kelleher and Blake need to be split up. Blake is clearly not the player he was at the beginning of last season, and the manner in which they seem to be engaging the offense is redundant on the first line, and I think we'd be better served if they were split up.
That said, I said in a previous post that all that matters is continuing to improve as the season goes, and that is going to be the measure of our success. Unfortunately, the Ivy is not as strong as last year, so how we navigate league play is going to ultimately determine how this season turns out. A slip up to a tough (but not nationally respected team) is going to be an albatross.
That said, I said in a previous post that all that matters is continuing to improve as the season goes, and that is going to be the measure of our success. Unfortunately, the Ivy is not as strong as last year, so how we navigate league play is going to ultimately determine how this season turns out. A slip up to a tough (but not nationally respected team) is going to be an albatross.
Re: Cornell 2023
this is what they get for covering the spread last week and ruining the BIGDAWG PLAY OF THE DAY. Karma is on my side, not yours, but I will be rooting for them later in the year at some point. so dont be mad at me or nothing, i am just a friendly poster just like you.
Peace and love kemosabes.
Peace and love kemosabes.
Re: Cornell 2023
On elynah, woodpile wrote
Harsh but not obviously wrong ...The offense today reminded be of the Kerwick years. No strategy, no focus, no concentration of attack. Pointless poor passing around the perimeter with no evidence of a game plan or pre-conceived evidence of any real game management. Buczek needs to regroup this week big time or bad days are ahead. Krist cannot be the only option
Re: Cornell 2023
As others have said Penn State played a very smart game with few turnovers and good goal tending. As we all know they are well coached.
Blake is clearly not at the level of last year, poor shooting, several turnovers, and when caught on defense created an easy mismatch for Penn State. I understand and appreciate loyalty but until/if he can fully recover I’m not sure how much he should be on the field.
The productivity of the offense shows how much John Piatelli is missed. Not only did he produce big numbers himself, he distracted top defenders to create opportunity for others. Then add the loss of Long and under performance of Kelleher (likely in part due to loss of JP). I was hoping Holmes and Abladian would be contributors this year but they don’t see the field. Without the threats of J Piatelli and Long players like Wirrheim, Brian Piatelli and Sheehan just don’t get free like they were able to last year.
On the other hand our base D and long polls are a giant strength with perhaps one of the best short sticks in the country (Davis) and improving other short sticks. A few of Penn States goals were generated when our offensive middies got stuck on the field due to poor offensive turnovers. Offense was not only anemic but created mismatches for Penn States offense.
Irelan had a record game but also gave up a number of rebounds creating second chances with clock resets and loss of offensive opportunities.
I know we only have one loss to a team that will likely be ranked high but we have very little room for error due to what is shaping up to be a much weaker Ivy League this year.
Having said that our strong defense should give us a chance to be in the game with any opponent and we need to find new ways to generate offense. I also think our FO team and overall ground ball work has started ok and will continue to improve.
This loss should shed light on how we need to approach the Ivy League schedule.
Blake is clearly not at the level of last year, poor shooting, several turnovers, and when caught on defense created an easy mismatch for Penn State. I understand and appreciate loyalty but until/if he can fully recover I’m not sure how much he should be on the field.
The productivity of the offense shows how much John Piatelli is missed. Not only did he produce big numbers himself, he distracted top defenders to create opportunity for others. Then add the loss of Long and under performance of Kelleher (likely in part due to loss of JP). I was hoping Holmes and Abladian would be contributors this year but they don’t see the field. Without the threats of J Piatelli and Long players like Wirrheim, Brian Piatelli and Sheehan just don’t get free like they were able to last year.
On the other hand our base D and long polls are a giant strength with perhaps one of the best short sticks in the country (Davis) and improving other short sticks. A few of Penn States goals were generated when our offensive middies got stuck on the field due to poor offensive turnovers. Offense was not only anemic but created mismatches for Penn States offense.
Irelan had a record game but also gave up a number of rebounds creating second chances with clock resets and loss of offensive opportunities.
I know we only have one loss to a team that will likely be ranked high but we have very little room for error due to what is shaping up to be a much weaker Ivy League this year.
Having said that our strong defense should give us a chance to be in the game with any opponent and we need to find new ways to generate offense. I also think our FO team and overall ground ball work has started ok and will continue to improve.
This loss should shed light on how we need to approach the Ivy League schedule.
Re: Cornell 2023
"No Petrakis at FOGO today. The coaches watch every day. I can only assume they feel that 20 and 3 are better post-clamp at retraining or gaining possession".
I thought Cornell had 3 FOGOS that rotated? Is Petrakis injured?
I thought Cornell had 3 FOGOS that rotated? Is Petrakis injured?
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Velvet.Fog
- Posts: 53
- Joined: Wed Aug 29, 2018 12:06 pm
Re: Cornell 2023
As usual, plenty of good comments already on the PSU game - so you can categorize those below as merely cathartic. My form of cheap therapy!
* Congrats to Penn State - the better team yesterday. Excellent play all around - particularly in goal. The true definition of a "motion" offense as the Lions spin it as good as anyone. Chayse was particularly good in goal for Cornell or this score would have been much worse. Lions got some very good looks that Chayse was able to handle.
* Probably the most importantly takeaway is how much we need Mike Long. Aside from the flow he brings to the O - we simply need another scoring threat. 15 and 11 are all we have now on a consistent basis. They were both good yesterday. 27 can still get looks but has to improve his shooting. He is predictable and teams slide to him incredibly early - but he is still strong and fast enough to be effective in some spots. Yesterday highlighted just how ineffective 26, 31 and 2 have become. They are 3 of the top 6 offensive players and they literally did nothing yesterday! Invisible. that is not a winning formula. I would not be surprised to see some shake ups in O personnel. Maybe 44 getting more touches maybe even at attack (although he also was a little shaky yesterday).
* so many turnovers (a few completely unforced) and bad shooting were the story of the day for Cornell offensively.
*While we limited a very good offense to 10 goals - we were a little fortunate to do so. Very good goaltending and some luck. We still tend to get way out of balance with early slides by multiple players to the same attacker, leaving back side step downs. Also - on three occasions our offensive mids got stuck on D and got smoked. 18 lost a cutter badly on first PSU goal. 2 was beaten badly on an iso in a huge spot in the early Q4 (more below). And 31 got soundly beaten on last goal requiring an lsm slide that left the backside open (BTB for easy goal). This cannot happen at this level. These O mids have to focus and grind hard when they end up on D.
* Faceoffs stats were misleading. I counted maybe two clamps that Cornell won. The rest of the wins were scrambles after a lost clamp and procedures on PSU. Maybe this is enough to survive - but hard to win games. I like the athleticism and grit - but it seems like more "hope" than an actual "plan"
* so even though it was not a great game there were a few key plays worth mentioning that I thought ended up being the difference:
1. we seem to struggle at the end of shot clocks. With 10 seconds left on shot clock on second PSU goal - 6 gets beat from X for goal by 22. With under 10 on the shot clock - we simply cannot let a player get topside through GLE from X. Do anything to prevent him from getting upfield and getting his hands free. Maddening. 6 had a tough day in general - but this play was a killer in my view.
2. in Q3 a quick restart from the sideline off a faceoff resulted in a doorstep layup for PSU. Adler was trying to make a play near the sideline and PSU got the restart. Rest of Cornell D was out of sync and no urgency to get back in the hole. layup for Lions.
3. Finally, at 7-6 in early Q4, Kirst took a rebound shot that went in but bounced out. The game replay doesn't show it at all - but Kirst was adamant it went in and I think he was right. He had the best view of anyone in the stadium, But those things happen and it was hard to see. The killer was the ball went to the other end and 2 quickly got beaten badly on a simple alley dodge by PSU attacker - to make the score 8-6 Lions. That was effectively the game. I realize he is not a defender - but he is very athletic and simply has to be better there. Toughen up, move your feet and ride the attacker away from the goal. None of those things happened. He waved at the attacker as he ran by. To me, that summed up the entire day. Game over after that.
Anyway, there were many other small plays that doomed Cornell - but those stood out to me as plays that can be avoided. Cornell now must regroup quickly for a very good Yale offense this week. Very important game. Let's pray for the return of #1. If not, then an inspired, smart, tough game can still get a W! In other words, good old fashioned Cornell lacrosse.
thanks for allowing me to vent. VF
* Congrats to Penn State - the better team yesterday. Excellent play all around - particularly in goal. The true definition of a "motion" offense as the Lions spin it as good as anyone. Chayse was particularly good in goal for Cornell or this score would have been much worse. Lions got some very good looks that Chayse was able to handle.
* Probably the most importantly takeaway is how much we need Mike Long. Aside from the flow he brings to the O - we simply need another scoring threat. 15 and 11 are all we have now on a consistent basis. They were both good yesterday. 27 can still get looks but has to improve his shooting. He is predictable and teams slide to him incredibly early - but he is still strong and fast enough to be effective in some spots. Yesterday highlighted just how ineffective 26, 31 and 2 have become. They are 3 of the top 6 offensive players and they literally did nothing yesterday! Invisible. that is not a winning formula. I would not be surprised to see some shake ups in O personnel. Maybe 44 getting more touches maybe even at attack (although he also was a little shaky yesterday).
* so many turnovers (a few completely unforced) and bad shooting were the story of the day for Cornell offensively.
*While we limited a very good offense to 10 goals - we were a little fortunate to do so. Very good goaltending and some luck. We still tend to get way out of balance with early slides by multiple players to the same attacker, leaving back side step downs. Also - on three occasions our offensive mids got stuck on D and got smoked. 18 lost a cutter badly on first PSU goal. 2 was beaten badly on an iso in a huge spot in the early Q4 (more below). And 31 got soundly beaten on last goal requiring an lsm slide that left the backside open (BTB for easy goal). This cannot happen at this level. These O mids have to focus and grind hard when they end up on D.
* Faceoffs stats were misleading. I counted maybe two clamps that Cornell won. The rest of the wins were scrambles after a lost clamp and procedures on PSU. Maybe this is enough to survive - but hard to win games. I like the athleticism and grit - but it seems like more "hope" than an actual "plan"
* so even though it was not a great game there were a few key plays worth mentioning that I thought ended up being the difference:
1. we seem to struggle at the end of shot clocks. With 10 seconds left on shot clock on second PSU goal - 6 gets beat from X for goal by 22. With under 10 on the shot clock - we simply cannot let a player get topside through GLE from X. Do anything to prevent him from getting upfield and getting his hands free. Maddening. 6 had a tough day in general - but this play was a killer in my view.
2. in Q3 a quick restart from the sideline off a faceoff resulted in a doorstep layup for PSU. Adler was trying to make a play near the sideline and PSU got the restart. Rest of Cornell D was out of sync and no urgency to get back in the hole. layup for Lions.
3. Finally, at 7-6 in early Q4, Kirst took a rebound shot that went in but bounced out. The game replay doesn't show it at all - but Kirst was adamant it went in and I think he was right. He had the best view of anyone in the stadium, But those things happen and it was hard to see. The killer was the ball went to the other end and 2 quickly got beaten badly on a simple alley dodge by PSU attacker - to make the score 8-6 Lions. That was effectively the game. I realize he is not a defender - but he is very athletic and simply has to be better there. Toughen up, move your feet and ride the attacker away from the goal. None of those things happened. He waved at the attacker as he ran by. To me, that summed up the entire day. Game over after that.
Anyway, there were many other small plays that doomed Cornell - but those stood out to me as plays that can be avoided. Cornell now must regroup quickly for a very good Yale offense this week. Very important game. Let's pray for the return of #1. If not, then an inspired, smart, tough game can still get a W! In other words, good old fashioned Cornell lacrosse.
thanks for allowing me to vent. VF
Re: Cornell 2023
I always look forward to your analysis/commentary. Thank you...
Re: Cornell 2023
Well, 3 that have seen the field. Against PSU only 2 of the 3 did. Whether injury is involved or not has not been announced, AFAIK. Coaches seem to go with whoever has been having the most success, spelling with one or two of the others.
There is also a 4th FOGO, Tim Graham of the Australian national team, now a senior. Why he has not seen the field (he got some runs last year) is another mystery.
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VeryRustyRed
- Posts: 323
- Joined: Thu Aug 30, 2018 12:22 pm
Re: Cornell 2023
FYI - Graham took 2 or 3 draws in one game, I believe against Hobart. Lost them all.
Good team guy. Not competitive with the top 3.
Good team guy. Not competitive with the top 3.
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another fan
- Posts: 452
- Joined: Wed Aug 29, 2018 9:51 am
Re: Cornell 2023
Still smarting from the PSU game.
Here is some modest nice news: Willem Firth (0 stars from IL) had 4 goals to lead Hill over Calvert Hall, 11-7. Wish we could call him up now.
Here is some modest nice news: Willem Firth (0 stars from IL) had 4 goals to lead Hill over Calvert Hall, 11-7. Wish we could call him up now.
Re: Cornell 2023
Missed that. He was 1-2 v Hobart per box score.VeryRustyRed wrote: ↑Mon Mar 13, 2023 10:31 am FYI - Graham took 2 or 3 draws in one game, I believe against Hobart. Lost them all.
Good team guy. Not competitive with the top 3.
Re: Cornell 2023
I missed that, Firth was unreal this summer.another fan wrote: ↑Mon Mar 13, 2023 7:06 pm Still smarting from the PSU game.
Here is some modest nice news: Willem Firth (0 stars from IL) had 4 goals to lead Hill over Calvert Hall, 11-7. Wish we could call him up now.
Re: Cornell 2023
IL seems to do a poor job evaluating Canadian kids, probably because they don’t generally attend IL’s pay for play events. But it sure looks like Firth is the real deal.10stone5 wrote: ↑Mon Mar 13, 2023 8:12 pmI missed that, Firth was unreal this summer.another fan wrote: ↑Mon Mar 13, 2023 7:06 pm Still smarting from the PSU game.
Here is some modest nice news: Willem Firth (0 stars from IL) had 4 goals to lead Hill over Calvert Hall, 11-7. Wish we could call him up now.
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faircornell
- Posts: 1786
- Joined: Mon Jul 30, 2018 9:23 pm
Re: Cornell 2023
Coach Buczek had kind words for Chayse Ierlan's performance against PSU in his weekly update.
Last edited by faircornell on Tue Mar 14, 2023 8:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Cornell 2023
Well one out of two ain't bad in the spelling sweepstakes ...
https://cornellbigred.com/sports/mens-l ... rlan/71479
https://cornellbigred.com/sports/mens-l ... rlan/71479
Last edited by CU77 on Tue Mar 14, 2023 8:32 pm, edited 2 times in total.