Liza Kelly

[LarryGamLax]

She has been successful everywhere she has been. When Lax fans chat about the "best" coaches, her name is hardly ever mentioned.
After today's dominant performance by Denver vs. Boston College 13-8, I think you need to say her name...and put some respeck on it!

Liza Kelly

[Dr. Tact]

Missed the game. Are you telling me that the best team in the country, boston college, lost?

[njbill]

The BC website says the film will be available “later.” Not exactly sure what that means. Would like to see it though. Not exactly a beat down, but pretty close. Not surprised that Denver won, but I am surprised at the margin. Wasn’t really a five goal game. I think BC scored two goals in the last 20 seconds or something like that.

[PhanLax99]

Liza runs one of the best defensive schemes in the country. They scrape by with enough goals and have an incredible work ethic. Just a stud coach overall!

[watcherinthewoods]

I hear ya on scraping up enough goals but putting up 13 on a very experienced and seasoned BC defense is impressive.

[Puck Swami]

Denver's defensive scheme is a zone that is very hard to penetrate. Thacker is the defensive leader, but the addition of former Hopkins player Trinity McPherson has added speed and clearing ability.

[Lax101]

I hear ya on scraping up enough goals but putting up 13 on a very experienced and seasoned BC defense is impressive.

Last two Denver goals were empty net. Just an fyi.

[njbill]

Were you able to find a full game video? I couldn't though I will say I didn't look too hard.

I'll bet it was warmer in Jacksonville than it was in Denver two years ago.

[watcherinthewoods]

I hear ya on scraping up enough goals but putting up 13 on a very experienced and seasoned BC defense is impressive.

Last two Denver goals were empty net. Just an fyi.

Thanks. I would really like to see this game and I hear you on scraping up goals. It is a head scratcher how Colorado managed to hold Denver to 9 goals earlier this season. But as my dad used to say “it’s not how, it’s whether. In my daughter’s final college game, she and the buffs lost to Denver and the DU goalie made ZERO saves. Spring 2021, look it up. True story.

[Puck Swami]

Liza should win National Coach of the Year in a landslide.

What she's has been able to with a small school of 5k undergrads, some 1500 miles from the East Coast and the major recruiting hotbeds is nothing short of amazing. It's taken her 17 years to field a final four threat, but you can see the incremental improvement building, as she has taken the zone defense to new heights, built a nationally competitive roster largely without highly-ranked recruits and done so having to fly to nearly every away game.

[Brownlax]

Liza should win National Coach of the Year in a landslide.

What she's has been able to with a small school of 5k undergrads, some 1500 miles from the East Coast and the major recruiting hotbeds is nothing short of amazing. It's taken her 17 years to field a final four threat, but you can see the incremental improvement building, as she has taken the zone defense to new heights, built a nationally competitive roster largely without highly-ranked recruits and done so having to fly to nearly every away game.

Kudos to Liza and her Pioneers.

[Womenslaxxfan]

She and shelly klaes from JMU are, in my opinion, the two clear candidates for coach of the year. They are the embodiment of coaches who do a lot with relatively little versus other top 10 programs. Klaes has already won a national championship. Kelly may deliver soon.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that they both have built their current squads around a zone defense, which relies much more on a system (ie coaching) than individual talent.

I’m excited to see how they fare in the tournament. I worry about zone defense reliant teams playing elite offenses late in the season (Ie, I think a great zone is a huge advantage early in the season and not so much late in the season once offenses have had a season to develop chemistry over 17 games……)

[totc]

I want to see if Denver is fo'realz. Just reading and hearing about them gives me the same anticipation that I felt that weekend in Annapolis when Northwestern won its first of several championships. I wonder what Coach Kelly has found -- aside from heavy recruitment in the IAAM, of course.

[PhanLax99]

I think their defense is for real! I am not so sure about their offense. Only have scored 15 goals or more in 4 games (Villanova who for some reason is included in predictions for the NCAA tournament, Butler, Xavier, and Niagara. If they get into a shoot out, will the offense produce enough to win?

[Puck Swami]

I want to see if Denver is fo'realz. Just reading and hearing about them gives me the same anticipation that I felt that weekend in Annapolis when Northwestern won its first of several championships. I wonder what Coach Kelly has found -- aside from heavy recruitment in the IAAM, of course.

When a team goes 17-0 and beats Maryland at Maryland, beats BC 13-8 on a neutral field, does not let any team on its schedule score double digits all year, and does it with only three non-league home games and time-zone change flights to 95% of its road schedule, you can be sure Denver is 'for real.'

The fact that Denver continues to penalized in the polls and NCAA tourney projections as a non top-3 team is outrageous, insulting and egregious east-coast snobbery - a true over-reliance on a skewed SOS metric that punishes teams not lucky enough play in the ACC or Big 10.

The argument that Denver 'would not be 17-0 if it played in the ACC or Big 10' is nothing but pure speculation. First, Denver has already beaten teams from both of those leagues this season (Maryland, Michigan, Ohio State, Boston College), so there is empirical evidence of Denver's quality. And I'm sure Denver would be happy to join either conference if invited, to play that full league schedule. This Denver team more than enough 'quality wins' over top level programs to justify a top three seed if it finishes out its schedule at 19-0 as the Big East Champ.

And if the NCAA does not grant them a top three seed then, it will be a heinous theft.

[Womenslaxxfan]

There’s a lot to unpack in that post!
I like and am intrigued by Denver. See my post above.
But they have one top 5 win (bc), one top 10 win (maryland) and one top 20 win (michigan).
That’s simply not deserving of a top 4 seed. If they want to get a top 4 seed, play more top teams.
If they win the ncaa this year, more power to them. And I think they could.
But if they get a top 4 seed, it will be because the committee just felt like it, rather than looking at the data they profess to emphasize.

[njbill]

+1000, swami.

If Denver get seeded below Boston College, that will be the crime of the century. But unfortunately it looks like that may happen.

Just hope they are able to back up all of the support they are getting once the real games in the tournament begin.

[njbill]

There’s a lot to unpack in that post!
I like and am intrigued by Denver. See my post above.
But they have one top 5 win (bc), one top 10 win (maryland) and one top 20 win (michigan).
That’s simply not deserving of a top 4 seed. If they want to get a top 4 seed, play more top teams.
If they win the ncaa this year, more power to them. And I think they could.
But if they get a top 4 seed, it will be because the committee just felt like it, rather than looking at the data they profess to emphasize.

Depends on who is in your top five. You could say Boston has two top five wins and three top five losses. For my money, Denver’s record is better, particularly (and I can’t believe the NCAA apparently is ignoring this) DENVER BEAT BC.

[Womenslaxxfan]

Top 5 and 10 according to RPI
Head to head is interesting. But not even close to dispositive.
Uva beat notre dame. But notre dame beat unc and was ranked higher than uva. A better win.

[Womenslaxxfan]

A much better example is Syracuse getting the two seed. Which they deserve. Even though bc beat them in the last game of the regular season and bc won the acc tourney. But Syracuse clearly has the better resume and their rpi is meaningfully better. Bc won the head to head game. But based on the compete season, cuse should be seeded higher…