2021—The Season in Review

[Dr. Tact]

Where did you find this? I LOVE IT!

I find this very odd, but, I cant stop watching it.....

[LarryGamLax]

Where did you find this? I LOVE IT!

I find this very odd, but, I cant stop watching it.....

If you know Cathy, that is so NOT her.

[Dr. Tact]

Where did you find this? I LOVE IT!

I find this very odd, but, I cant stop watching it.....

If you know Cathy, that is so NOT her.

I don't, except tangentially.....From my experience of watching her from afar, that seems out of character.....the last bit of hair that moves is what keeps me watching....

[laxstan8]

Which teams were you excited to watch play in 2021 and then were disappointed by their play?
For me, it was USC. I was excited for them to be another top contender in the PAC-12, but they really weren’t.

[seacoaster]

Which teams were you excited to watch play in 2021 and then were disappointed by their play?
For me, it was USC. I was excited for them to be another top contender in the PAC-12, but they really weren’t.

Princeton.

[OuttaNowhereWregget]

Which teams were you excited to watch play in 2021 and then were disappointed by their play?
For me, it was USC. I was excited for them to be another top contender in the PAC-12, but they really weren’t.

What a great question! Definitely Louisville for me. I had them figured for more ACC wins. They have some exciting talent on that team. They seem on the way up.

I was disappointed with Virginia Tech too. But I know there were internal difficulties so I'm not surprised. Plus I think there were games when most of their star players were out for covid protocol.

I hear you on USC. Maybe the Huff sisters no longer wearing the same team colors had something to do with it. I remember how listless they seemed on their east coast trip. 15-3 loss to Stony Brook and then the 14-8 loss to BC.

[Dr. Tact]

I was disappointed with Virginia Tech too. But I know there were internal difficulties so I'm not surprised. Plus I think there were games when most of their star players were out for covid protocol.

It was more than internal difficulties. As I hear it, the leaders on the team went to the Athletic Director and demanded Sung be let go. Now, I don't know what was said, but I get this once-removed (kinda like cousin once-removed) from multiple players. Covid hit every team at some point. I think their underperformance was a bad offensive scheme and a terrible chaser defense that only ran down Sung's players. To be successful in that league, you can't be gimmicky.

[OuttaNowhereWregget]

I was disappointed with Virginia Tech too. But I know there were internal difficulties so I'm not surprised. Plus I think there were games when most of their star players were out for covid protocol.

It was more than internal difficulties. As I hear it, the leaders on the team went to the Athletic Director and demanded Sung be let go. Now, I don't know what was said, but I get this once-removed (kinda like cousin once-removed) from multiple players. Covid hit every team at some point. I think their underperformance was a bad offensive scheme and a terrible chaser defense that only ran down Sung's players. To be successful in that league, you can't be gimmicky.

No argument with anything you wrote here. All sounds like it fits under the umbrella of "internal difficulties" except for the chaser defense which at first witness seemed exciting but after a while it became painful to watch players running their guts out for no apparent good. Gimmicky is a good word to describe it in hindsight in light of former Tar Heel and sideline commentator Sydney Holman's comments which come at 37 seconds in the clip. Note: Sketchy field mics until that point.

[wlaxphan20]

Where did you find this? I LOVE IT!

This looks like a spoof on Bravo's Real Housewives introductions they play before each episode

[OuttaNowhereWregget]

Sheehan Stanwick Burch was inducted into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2021.

https://guhoyas.com/news/2021/5/28/wome ... -fame.aspx

A little highlight from her playing days with Janine Tucker on the commentary:

[laxagainsthumanity]

Which teams were you excited to watch play in 2021 and then were disappointed by their play?
For me, it was USC. I was excited for them to be another top contender in the PAC-12, but they really weren’t.

I hear you on USC. Maybe the Huff sisters no longer wearing the same team colors had something to do with it. I remember how listless they seemed on their east coast trip. 15-3 loss to Stony Brook and then the 14-8 loss to BC.

Getting close to moving USC into the "chronic underperformers" category alongside UVA and Florida. Seems like a lot of talent dies there.

[OuttaNowhereWregget]

Which teams were you excited to watch play in 2021 and then were disappointed by their play?
For me, it was USC. I was excited for them to be another top contender in the PAC-12, but they really weren’t.

I hear you on USC. Maybe the Huff sisters no longer wearing the same team colors had something to do with it. I remember how listless they seemed on their east coast trip. 15-3 loss to Stony Brook and then the 14-8 loss to BC.

Getting close to moving USC into the "chronic underperformers" category alongside UVA and Florida. Seems like a lot of talent dies there.

Don’t forget Stanford and Notre Dame

[Bart]

Which teams were you excited to watch play in 2021 and then were disappointed by their play?
For me, it was USC. I was excited for them to be another top contender in the PAC-12, but they really weren’t.

I hear you on USC. Maybe the Huff sisters no longer wearing the same team colors had something to do with it. I remember how listless they seemed on their east coast trip. 15-3 loss to Stony Brook and then the 14-8 loss to BC.

Getting close to moving USC into the "chronic underperformers" category alongside UVA and Florida. Seems like a lot of talent dies there.

Curious as to why? they have been in existence for what 8 years? (I don't count 2020 even though they beat then #9, #15 and #25). Made the tournament several times and have a 4-4 record. Overall record is 101-42, seems fairly good for a young program.

[laxagainsthumanity]

Which teams were you excited to watch play in 2021 and then were disappointed by their play?
For me, it was USC. I was excited for them to be another top contender in the PAC-12, but they really weren’t.

I hear you on USC. Maybe the Huff sisters no longer wearing the same team colors had something to do with it. I remember how listless they seemed on their east coast trip. 15-3 loss to Stony Brook and then the 14-8 loss to BC.

Getting close to moving USC into the "chronic underperformers" category alongside UVA and Florida. Seems like a lot of talent dies there.

Curious as to why? they have been in existence for what 8 years? (I don't count 2020 even though they beat then #9, #15 and #25). Made the tournament several times and have a 4-4 record. Overall record is 101-42, seems fairly good for a young program.

USC was SO good in 2016 (undefeated, one of the best defensive units I've ever seen, got screwed out of a top 4 seed and otherwise probably would have made the Final Four), and since then they have continued to get plenty of talent but have never put nearly the same product on the field. Which is eerily similar to Florida, which made the FF in their third year and ever since has been, well, Florida. The last few years, I've just never been impressed with their play; they often look a bit lost, especially on attack. And losing Coach Wills isn't going to help anything. They're not a bad program by any means, and I have nothing against them. But a couple more years of the same trends and I don't see how they'd be that different from Florida: loaded with talent, always Top 20, sometimes Top 10, never a real contender. So we'll see.

[OuttaNowhereWregget]

loaded with talent, always Top 20, sometimes Top 10, never a real contender.

Well put. And not a few teams fit that description.

[Bart]

Which teams were you excited to watch play in 2021 and then were disappointed by their play?
For me, it was USC. I was excited for them to be another top contender in the PAC-12, but they really weren’t.

I hear you on USC. Maybe the Huff sisters no longer wearing the same team colors had something to do with it. I remember how listless they seemed on their east coast trip. 15-3 loss to Stony Brook and then the 14-8 loss to BC.

Getting close to moving USC into the "chronic underperformers" category alongside UVA and Florida. Seems like a lot of talent dies there.

Curious as to why? they have been in existence for what 8 years? (I don't count 2020 even though they beat then #9, #15 and #25). Made the tournament several times and have a 4-4 record. Overall record is 101-42, seems fairly good for a young program.

USC was SO good in 2016 (undefeated, one of the best defensive units I've ever seen, got screwed out of a top 4 seed and otherwise probably would have made the Final Four), and since then they have continued to get plenty of talent but have never put nearly the same product on the field. Which is eerily similar to Florida, which made the FF in their third year and ever since has been, well, Florida. The last few years, I've just never been impressed with their play; they often look a bit lost, especially on attack. And losing Coach Wills isn't going to help anything. They're not a bad program by any means, and I have nothing against them. But a couple more years of the same trends and I don't see how they'd be that different from Florida: loaded with talent, always Top 20, sometimes Top 10, never a real contender. So we'll see.

Thanks. Those are fair points, not that I necessarily agree, but I think there are lots of teams/programs that fall into this category. In the last 8 years of USC's existence you cold lump what 4-5 teams into the top contender role? IDK but I think it just takes time and 8 years for me is not quite enough. How long did it take UNC to break through? What about BC? I agree however, we will see.

That 2016 was a special team.

[OuttaNowhereWregget]

And several more teams scattered around the country have momentum to build off of or a chip on their shoulder.

Vanderbilt, Jacksonville, UConn, Drexel, Hofstra, Temple, ASU... A lot of teams are hoping for 2021 to be the start of a new chapter. Denver quietly had a great season. USC and Colorado want to get back to where they were.

Some of these teams had some very impressive wins in the regular season. They made 2021 even more interesting.

Temple made a little noise in the regular season with a win over Towson, and knocking UMass from the first round of the NCAA's was also impressive.

Hofstra had some some very nice regular season wins and gave Loyola all they could handle in the first round of the NCAA's. Losing Parrella will be an adjustment for 2022 but it's good to have another team competing with JMU in the CAA.

Drexel was a great story. It will be interesting to see if they can keep progressing with a new coach. Seems like a tough interruption in the midst of what they accomplished last year. I'm not sure how many seniors will be returning:

[OuttaNowhereWregget]

Which teams were you excited to watch play in 2021 and then were disappointed by their play?
For me, it was USC. I was excited for them to be another top contender in the PAC-12, but they really weren’t.

I hear you on USC. Maybe the Huff sisters no longer wearing the same team colors had something to do with it. I remember how listless they seemed on their east coast trip. 15-3 loss to Stony Brook and then the 14-8 loss to BC.

Getting close to moving USC into the "chronic underperformers" category alongside UVA and Florida. Seems like a lot of talent dies there.

I'm thinking Duke fits here too. And Penn State.

[MDlaxfan76]

I'm sorry, this "underperformer" stuff is amazingly tired, as was the "choker" nonsense. Being dismissive of youngsters and teams playing very high caliber ball, yet not winning a NC is the opposite of the spirit of the game.

Over on the men's side, would we have said that Yale was a chronic underperformer (decade after decade of not making it into the top 10)...until they weren't? Or Loyola? or...

Were their players in those non championship seasons deserving of dismissal?

Note, I made the same statement about those who diss the UNC men's program...pointing out that 2016 was simply the year that they caught that final run magic instead of some other team...but often in the mix, often beating very, very good teams

Sure, marvel at the terrific play of specific kids, admire a given program's steady maintenance of a winning culture, etc...but don't diss kids, nor programs which haven't broken through...

[OuttaNowhereWregget]

I'm sorry, this "underperformer" stuff is amazingly tired, as was the "choker" nonsense. Being dismissive of youngsters and teams playing very high caliber ball, yet not winning a NC is the opposite of the spirit of the game.

Over on the men's side, would we have said that Yale was a chronic underperformer (decade after decade of not making it into the top 10)...until they weren't? Or Loyola? or...

Were their players in those non championship seasons deserving of dismissal?

Note, I made the same statement about those who diss the UNC men's program...pointing out that 2016 was simply the year that they caught that final run magic instead of some other team...but often in the mix, often beating very, very good teams

Sure, marvel at the terrific play of specific kids, admire a given program's steady maintenance of a winning culture, etc...but don't diss kids, nor programs which haven't broken through...

I'll tell you what MDlaxfan76--if you don't like my posts, don't read them--or go pound sand. Either suits me just fine. I'm coming to see that Mr. Mauer is an astute observer.