Cornell 2024

[faircornell]

One wonders if PSU should have taken their foot off the gas at some point vs UMD and saved some energy for their next game.

[Ezra White]

Personally, I'd find it really hard to believe that Coach Murphy would endorse such a targeted attack on a player. However, when serious physical injury could result from a hit, and such hits are repetitive in the course of play, more punitive courses of action by referees are warranted.

A coach does not have to target a particular player in order to encourage their own players taking aim at that player. All the coach would have to say is something like: "Now listen. Kirst, their #15, is their big threat. He may be the best player in the country. So what we have to do is not give him a chance to score. Be extra physical with him. Double-team him. Help your teammates stop him."

From here it's a small step to an over-enthusiastic player taking him out from behind.

Along similar lines, Lavelle's flip of Kelleher in the first half was another outrageous foul like I've never seen before. But Lavelle is listed as 6'0" and 210, while Kelleher lists at 6'3" 220#. So, if I'm Kelleher I wouldn't let Lavelle get away with it. First, I tell my teammates to beware that I'm going to play Lavelle physically and they may have to get a ground ball. Second, the next time I have the ball and Lavelle is covering me, I step back, build up a head of steam, and run through Lavelle.

Now this is easy for me to say, since I'm not Kelleher. And I've never been 6'3" 220# (and I never will be). But I've had opposing forwards run through me. (I don't know, maybe the rules have changed, and this would be a foul today.)

The other thing you could do with Lavelle is to have someone like Kelleher set a pick while Lavelle's guarding someone like Kirst. If Kirst cuts the pick tightly and at high speed, Lavelle would run into Kelleher, which would be like running into a brick wall. Ideally this would be off-ball, so there's no question of losing the ball, and if the pick works, Kirst could get the feed.

The point here is you can't let the other team beat up your best players without repercussions.

[Ezra White]

Meanwhile, Michigan is up 16-4.

Thanks for a great season Big Red. I'm looking forward to next year. Good luck!

[Chousnake]

I'm sorry, but these post season tournaments stink. It's ridiculous that a mediocre team can steal a bid with two good games on a neutral field with no fans that erases an entire season for other teams. It was a very exciting season for Cornell with some of the most memorable games I can remember. Unfortunately, the one goal loss to Denver in a game determined by the referees cost Cornell a bid. I know I keep harping on this, but I felt that travesty of a game would cost Cornell the minute it happened. Then the one goal loss to Notre Dame was tough to take as well. And lastly, they just didn't match up well with Penn and having to play them in the first round was unfortunate. I think Cornell beats Yale or Princeton.

It hurts to watch teams like Denver and JHU and PSU lay complete eggs in the league tourneys with no risk of losing a bid and have those putrid efforts in somewhat meaningless games cost Cornell a bid.

I hope this team comes back next year with a big chip on its shoulder. Virtually everybody is back (except Wirtheim). I also hope that Cornell does everything in its power to hold onto Buczek. He's a special coach and some ACC or B10 school is going to want him at some point.

This Cornell program is a special program and a pleasure to root for. This was just a season when a bunch of things didn't go their way. First, some key injuries. Everybody made a big deal about Yale, but Cornell lost 4 key starters and it cost this team a top 2-5 ranking. The most telling injury was to an emerging star FOGO in Cascadden. I am sure that , had he stayed healthy, they beat Denver, Penn and Notre Dame and are a top 5 team. Then losing Davis and Bozzi put tremendous pressure on the defense. It was clear that teams were targeting the SSDMs in the middle of the season. It took a while, but other players stepped up and the defense improved as the season wore on. Then losing Long just came at the wrong time. If Cascadden, Davis, and Long stay healthy, this is a Memorial Day weekend team.


Second, the Denver loss was ridiculous. The last 18 minutes of that game were a complete joke and an embarrassment to the sport. A blatant cross check to Kirst led to a slew of penalties against Cornell and the loss of a 4 goal lead. The Notre Dame game was a heart breaker. The turnover with 40 seconds left in a tie game and then an unfortunate bounce with 6 seconds left led to a one goal loss in a great game.

Third, Cornell just got no help from other teams. It seemed that every late season game that could have helped Cornell went the other way, The margin for error is just so small this season.


I can't wait for 2025.

[LaxDownUnder]

It hurts to watch teams like Denver and JHU and PSU lay complete eggs in the league tourneys with no risk of losing a bid and have those putrid efforts in somewhat meaningless games cost Cornell a bid.

Couldn't agree more. I understand the NCAA wanting to create some end of season drama but if theres little incentive for a team like JHU to even show up to the B1G tourney, it creates a situation where a league like the B1G can sneak an extra bid to the tourney.

Maybe the committee should leave out UMD in a situation like this, essentially having Michigan take a B1G bid instead of a bid from another conference.

[DocBarrister]

It hurts to watch teams like Denver and JHU and PSU lay complete eggs in the league tourneys with no risk of losing a bid and have those putrid efforts in somewhat meaningless games cost Cornell a bid.

Couldn't agree more. I understand the NCAA wanting to create some end of season drama but if theres little incentive for a team like JHU to even show up to the B1G tourney, it creates a situation where a league like the B1G can sneak an extra bid to the tourney.

Maybe the committee should leave out UMD in a situation like this, essentially having Michigan take a B1G bid instead of a bid from another conference.

Hopkins did not lose for a lack of effort. Michigan flat out beat the Blue Jays.

DocBarrister

[faircornell]

It hurts to watch teams like Denver and JHU and PSU lay complete eggs in the league tourneys with no risk of losing a bid and have those putrid efforts in somewhat meaningless games cost Cornell a bid.

Couldn't agree more. I understand the NCAA wanting to create some end of season drama but if theres little incentive for a team like JHU to even show up to the B1G tourney, it creates a situation where a league like the B1G can sneak an extra bid to the tourney.

Maybe the committee should leave out UMD in a situation like this, essentially having Michigan take a B1G bid instead of a bid from another conference.

Hopkins did not lose for a lack of effort. Michigan flat out beat the Blue Jays.

DocBarrister

Some teams and some coaches just have a knack for the end of season tournaments ... I sometimes wonder if Cornell's up before dawn type of work ethic makes the team more competitive in the regular Ivy season, but a bit flat around ILT time...

[joewillie78]

OK, my buddy has been harping at me about a MAJOR CONSPIRACY theory he has, (and just not for LAX), but his theory is that when their is a conference championship and let's say it's 4 teams, with 3 that have already LOCKED up bids, that conferences figure they can now get ALL 4 in by allowing the team that is not locked, to win the tournament and thus get ALL 4 in.

He said this past year in the men's basketball tournament, the ACC got NC state in who never would have gotten in, and now he states for the 2nd year in a row that the BIG got Michigan in who would have never gotten a bid.

NOW, I told him his theory will go right in the toilet, if by some miracle, the committee leaves OUT from the BIG, Maryland, or from the ACC Virginia, but if not, then I will have to listen to his whining conspiracy theory for another year.

Gobigred
Joewillie78

[bearlaxfan]

OK, my buddy has been harping at me about a MAJOR CONSPIRACY theory he has, (and just not for LAX), but his theory is that when their is a conference championship and let's say it's 4 teams, with 3 that have already LOCKED up bids, that conferences figure they can now get ALL 4 in by allowing the team that is not locked, to win the tournament and thus get ALL 4 in.

He said this past year in the men's basketball tournament, the ACC got NC state in who never would have gotten in, and now he states for the 2nd year in a row that the BIG got Michigan in who would have never gotten a bid.

NOW, I told him his theory will go right in the toilet, if by some miracle, the committee leaves OUT from the BIG, Maryland, or from the ACC Virginia, but if not, then I will have to listen to his whining conspiracy theory for another year.

Gobigred
Joewillie78

On a smaller, 2-team scale, wasn't this the "Tierney Maneuver" in the Big East?
For this year, I can't (won't) get the B1G network, so I haven't seen the Michigan/PSU final, but anti-conspiracy, it was a game one team HAD to win, and the other team just wanted to finish healthy.

[LaxDownUnder]

OK, my buddy has been harping at me about a MAJOR CONSPIRACY theory he has, (and just not for LAX), but his theory is that when their is a conference championship and let's say it's 4 teams, with 3 that have already LOCKED up bids, that conferences figure they can now get ALL 4 in by allowing the team that is not locked, to win the tournament and thus get ALL 4 in.

He said this past year in the men's basketball tournament, the ACC got NC state in who never would have gotten in, and now he states for the 2nd year in a row that the BIG got Michigan in who would have never gotten a bid.

NOW, I told him his theory will go right in the toilet, if by some miracle, the committee leaves OUT from the BIG, Maryland, or from the ACC Virginia, but if not, then I will have to listen to his whining conspiracy theory for another year.

Gobigred
Joewillie78

On a smaller, 2-team scale, wasn't this the "Tierney Maneuver" in the Big East?
For this year, I can't (won't) get the B1G network, so I haven't seen the Michigan/PSU final, but anti-conspiracy, it was a game one team HAD to win, and the other team just wanted to finish healthy.

This is where the problem lies imo. If a team in Michigan's position is able to play against a bunch of teams who just want to make it to the NCAA's healthy, their path may look good on paper but was much easier in reality.

I wonder what would happen to these conference tournaments if the committee announced how many total bids each league was going to get before the tournaments started up. If the top teams in the B1G knew that there were only three bids to go around, Michigan might have seen their opponents playing with a bit more urgency.

[joewillie78]

OK, my buddy has been harping at me about a MAJOR CONSPIRACY theory he has, (and just not for LAX), but his theory is that when their is a conference championship and let's say it's 4 teams, with 3 that have already LOCKED up bids, that conferences figure they can now get ALL 4 in by allowing the team that is not locked, to win the tournament and thus get ALL 4 in.

He said this past year in the men's basketball tournament, the ACC got NC state in who never would have gotten in, and now he states for the 2nd year in a row that the BIG got Michigan in who would have never gotten a bid.

NOW, I told him his theory will go right in the toilet, if by some miracle, the committee leaves OUT from the BIG, Maryland, or from the ACC Virginia, but if not, then I will have to listen to his whining conspiracy theory for another year.

Gobigred
Joewillie78

On a smaller, 2-team scale, wasn't this the "Tierney Maneuver" in the Big East?
For this year, I can't (won't) get the B1G network, so I haven't seen the Michigan/PSU final, but anti-conspiracy, it was a game one team HAD to win, and the other team just wanted to finish healthy.

Also, the anti-conspiracists will say that a team like PSU or JHU by LOSING are now risking a poorer seeding and thus making their 1st round game more difficult, so WINNING and getting a higher seed and "easier" 1st round game blows a hole in allowing a team to win to get in the tournament, and ruining your higher seeding.

Gobigred
Joewillie78

[Chousnake]

If you can get a bid by winning a post season tournament, you should be able to lose a bid by playing like PSU did yesterday. That was ridiculous.

[joewillie78]

If you can get a bid by winning a post season tournament, you should be able to lose a bid by playing like PSU did yesterday. That was ridiculous.

Ahhh, the conspiracy theorists would agree 100% with this post.

Gobigred
Joewillie78

[coda]

OK, my buddy has been harping at me about a MAJOR CONSPIRACY theory he has, (and just not for LAX), but his theory is that when their is a conference championship and let's say it's 4 teams, with 3 that have already LOCKED up bids, that conferences figure they can now get ALL 4 in by allowing the team that is not locked, to win the tournament and thus get ALL 4 in.

He said this past year in the men's basketball tournament, the ACC got NC state in who never would have gotten in, and now he states for the 2nd year in a row that the BIG got Michigan in who would have never gotten a bid.

NOW, I told him his theory will go right in the toilet, if by some miracle, the committee leaves OUT from the BIG, Maryland, or from the ACC Virginia, but if not, then I will have to listen to his whining conspiracy theory for another year.

Gobigred
Joewillie78

You could kind of give this some credence, if it was a tight game where the balance of power was shifted in some calls. Michigan just flat destroyed PSU. The difference in the 2 games was Fraycon. He set a personal record in saves in game 1 and was not himself in n the championship. He just wasn’t seeing the ball well. Michigan, who had struggled at goalie, got a career performance from Taylor.

But one thing that does support this theory is coaching. Michigan defense is actually solid in one vs ones. They have really struggled vs the 2 man game. Didnt see a ton of 2 man game from JHU and PSU

[HopFan16]

It hurts to watch teams like Denver and JHU and PSU lay complete eggs in the league tourneys with no risk of losing a bid and have those putrid efforts in somewhat meaningless games cost Cornell a bid.

Why exactly is losing by three to Michigan on a neutral field more of an egg or a “putrid effort” than losing by four at home to Penn?

[Chousnake]

It hurts to watch teams like Denver and JHU and PSU lay complete eggs in the league tourneys with no risk of losing a bid and have those putrid efforts in somewhat meaningless games cost Cornell a bid.

Why exactly is losing by three to Michigan on a neutral field more of an egg or a “putrid effort” than losing by four at home to Penn?

Because of the RPI and tourney committee rankings, all four Ivy teams were playing for their playoff lives and playing for a bid. The Cornell Penn game was a brutal physical hard fought game. Three Big 10 teams had bids sown up before the tournament and , as a result, it was a snooze fest culminating in yesterday’s embarrassing performance by PSU. Only Michigan had something to play for, and it showed.

[laxfan1313]

How about this idea for the future: the regular season Ivy champ receives the AQ. The tournament is still held for the sole purpose of enhancing the RPI and SOS of the other teams for possible at large bids. The weight should be on who is the best in a 6 game schedule, not who finishes in the top 4 and gets hot during one weekend.

[coda]

How about this idea for the future: the regular season Ivy champ receives the AQ. The tournament is still held for the sole purpose of enhancing the RPI and SOS of the other teams for possible at large bids. The weight should be on who is the best in a 6 game schedule, not who finishes in the top 4 and gets hot during one weekend.

We are all obviously fans of great lacrosse. These tournaments give us that. Win or go home games are far and away the most entertaining. I oppose any idea that takes those games away from me. We can say it was the tournament that cost Cornell, but 1 more regular season win and they would not be on the bubble currently

[ICGrad]

It hurts to watch teams like Denver and JHU and PSU lay complete eggs in the league tourneys with no risk of losing a bid and have those putrid efforts in somewhat meaningless games cost Cornell a bid.

Couldn't agree more. I understand the NCAA wanting to create some end of season drama but if theres little incentive for a team like JHU to even show up to the B1G tourney, it creates a situation where a league like the B1G can sneak an extra bid to the tourney.

Maybe the committee should leave out UMD in a situation like this, essentially having Michigan take a B1G bid instead of a bid from another conference.

I agree too, but...

Cornell controlled their own destiny. Beat a Penn team, at home, and they're in. Very disappointed in the end result in that game; Penn beat Cornell and it wasn't even really all that close. They were in control of that game from the first quarter forward.

[FannOLax]

Cornell will get in or not get in. I hope Cornell gets in. When I was 12, my dad told me life isn't fair; I think he was right.