2024 Preseason Thread

[DoctahLexus]

I am interested in your idea that Thomson, a non dodger, should nevertheless play mid 1 instead of Stevens. Do you think wing responsibilities will tire Stevens? I have watched both Stevens and English for the last few years. Steven's versatility has seemed to relegate him at times to spot appearances. As good as English was when he was healthy, I think Stevens on offense was more dangerous and more athletic. Never seemed to tire. I have not watched Thomson nearly as much as I have watched these two, certainly not enough to judge him, but I think he has not reached the level of competence that either of the grads has achieved. I'm very interested in your comparisons of the three players.

I have not seen every last bit of footage of Stevens and English, but am pretty confident that Thomson can do things as a feeder that neither of them, and very few players in general, can do. We created a lot of looks off the two man game between him and Simmons last season, and he could do similar things with either English or Stevens, since they are both righties. He developed some good chemistry with Spallina as the season went on as well. 6 guys who play like him would not work, but if you have enough guys out there who can dodge and draw slides, a guy like Thomson can maximize the value of the offense.

Would like to see him clean up the shooting a little and save the fancy finishes for when it is a necessity. He could have buried a few more last season if he kept it simple.

 

[DMVCuseLax]

Rhoa breaks out this year. Showed signs of what he can do at the end of last year. Needs to shoot more.

 

[Powellfan]

 

[wgdsr]

I am not too high on IL's midfield rankings.
I expect UVa to be top 5. UVa seems a little short on two-way middies, but is pretty loaded with excess attackmen. IL seems to be just looking at the offensive midfields.
Maybe you have:
M1: Schutz, Terenzi, Boykin
M2: McIntosh, Sunderland, Chizmar or Menke
Terenzi being a 2-way midfielder to replace Connor. Terenzi red-shirted last year, so we really haven't seen what he can do.

One thing we have to do is try to read between the lines of coach Tiffany's comments:
Terenzi:
2024 – “Joey is being asked to handle both offensive and defensive responsibilities, and he is attacking it as if he was a student pursuing a double major. Joey is splitting his time between Kevin and Kip’s offensive meetings and the defensive meetings run by Logan and myself, and then following up later to ensure he does not fall behind in any area. Joey competes with a joyous warrior spirit. He abandons all inhibitions on the field as he hunts the ball and whoever is carrying it. His spirit is infectious, and his teammates love him for it.”
Translation - We should see a lot of Joey.

Millon:
2024 – “McCabe never stops running, and running fast. With our wearable GPS tracking devices, the man with the highest volume and player load at the end of most practices is McCabe. And he is not just a volume guy. McCabe’s acceleration and top-end speed are scintillating. With every drill, McCabe is pouring his own gas on the fire and bringing everything he has. No wonder he was as highly-touted as he was out of high school. McCabe will be an immediate impact player with our program in his first spring in Charlottesville.”
Translation - Sounds like he will be on the field a lot - attack

virginia with all its turnover has been under wraps amplified by shellenberger and cormier taking off a lot (or all in cormier's case) of the fall and not dressing for scrimmages. will know more soon enough.

my own tea leaves are boyden is the primary 3rd attackman. fills dickson's spot almost exactly even if he's pulled to make room for run for either millon or sunderland some. they scored like umd in 2022 last year, it'd be silly to change that up, even with a new coordinator. who supposedly is keeping it all similar.

mcconvey won't be replicated, so pretty much everyone will have to step up a skotch.
m1 i expect to include schutz and also mcintosh. after that is anyone's guess. millon seems to be a more likely midfield candidate than sunderland. colsey supposedly has been v impressive and while an att in h.s. has the build and speed for midfield.
m2 - ??? just questionmarks. 1 of the above. mencke i always think is gonna make the field with yuge fall performances but hasn't yet. terenzi sounds like he'll be taking a bunch of wings and staying on as appropriate. maybe a surprise frosh? cory always seems to sneak his way on to m2 and be ok productive. chizmar is their only returning starting ssdm.

i suspect they'll have a 4 man rotation at attack, and boyden when rotated out gets some burn at mid as well. also likely that a 3-4 man m1 gets 60%- 2/3 of the run. uva has a long history now of taking shorties out of the box and inverting them with their converted attackmen, and i'd expect that to continue.

whitey, i saw channeling roy, jr. as well. barber shops closed with all the snow?

 

[Zack80]

virginia with all its turnover has been under wraps amplified by shellenberger and cormier taking off a lot (or all in cormier's case) of the fall and not dressing for scrimmages. will know more soon enough.

my own tea leaves are boyden is the primary 3rd attackman. fills dickson's spot almost exactly even if he's pulled to make room for run for either millon or sunderland some. they scored like umd in 2022 last year, it'd be silly to change that up, even with a new coordinator. who supposedly is keeping it all similar.

mcconvey won't be replicated, so pretty much everyone will have to step up a skotch.
m1 i expect to include schutz and also mcintosh. after that is anyone's guess. millon seems to be a more likely midfield candidate than sunderland. colsey supposedly has been v impressive and while an att in h.s. has the build and speed for midfield.
m2 - ??? just questionmarks. 1 of the above. mencke i always think is gonna make the field with yuge fall performances but hasn't yet. terenzi sounds like he'll be taking a bunch of wings and staying on as appropriate. maybe a surprise frosh? cory always seems to sneak his way on to m2 and be ok productive. chizmar is their only returning starting ssdm.

i suspect they'll have a 4 man rotation at attack, and boyden when rotated out gets some burn at mid as well. also likely that a 3-4 man m1 gets 60%- 2/3 of the run. uva has a long history now of taking shorties out of the box and inverting them with their converted attackmen, and i'd expect that to continue.

whitey, i saw channeling roy, jr. as well. barber shops closed with all the snow?

Tiffany says Millon will be an immediate impact player at UVa, which says attack or 1st midfield, doesn't it?
It's nice as a Wahoo fan to believe Boyden can exactly fill Dickson's spot, but it might not be so. Further, UVa has won titles with different types of attack groupings. Reading Tiffany's descriptions of both, I will guess Millon on attack.

I think that you want one midfielder that you are comfortable with on the defensive end, perhaps McIntosh has reached that level, but that is why I am thinking of Terenzi as the 3rd man

 

[wgdsr]

Tiffany says Millon will be an immediate impact player at UVa, which says attack or 1st midfield, doesn't it?
It's nice as a Wahoo fan to believe Boyden can exactly fill Dickson's spot, but it might not be so. Further, UVa has won titles with different types of attack groupings. Reading Tiffany's descriptions of both, I will guess Millon on attack.

I think that you want one midfielder that you are comfortable with on the defensive end, perhaps McIntosh has reached that level, but that is why I am thinking of Terenzi as the 3rd man

ok, we'll see. like i said, just from all i've seen around and heard. no 1st hand. i definitely didn't say anything was set in stone, said it was my guess. and by matching, i did mean in style, boyden's a wild card as well.

tiffany has had similar vernacular on a bunch of guys. he's been there now 7-8 seasons, doesn't mean top 6 necessarily.
could happen your way.

hoo is trotting out at attack for umd?

 

[Powellfan]

What’s it say?

Focus is on the faceoffs and Mason Kohn. He seems to have a good head on his shoulders and talks about how his job is to get the ball to the attackmen. Seems like a lot of good hype surrounding the Tufts transfer.

Will Mark is excited to have Figurias back in action and that the redshirt sophomore is biting at the bit to get back on the field.

The rest is a summation of what we pretty much already know, who’s coming back, who’s going to be relied on. Nothing crazy but still nice to read.

 

[DMVCuseLax]

Focus is on the faceoffs and Mason Kohn. He seems to have a good head on his shoulders and talks about how his job is to get the ball to the attackmen. Seems like a lot of good hype surrounding the Tufts transfer.

Will Mark is excited to have Figurias back in action and that the redshirt sophomore is biting at the bit to get back on the field.

The rest is a summation of what we pretty much already know, who’s coming back, who’s going to be relied on. Nothing crazy but still nice to read.

Ty

 

[DMVCuseLax]

Seems Figueiras is making a difference on D. The addition of Kohn and him could make for a special season.

 

[Zack80]

ok, we'll see. like i said, just from all i've seen around and heard. no 1st hand. i definitely didn't say anything was set in stone, said it was my guess. and by matching, i did mean in style, boyden's a wild card as well.

tiffany has had similar vernacular on a bunch of guys. he's been there now 7-8 seasons, doesn't mean top 6 necessarily.
could happen your way.

hoo is trotting out at attack for umd?

I am expecting Erksa, Malever, and Maltz, but Daniel Kelly could be in the mix. That is, it wouldn't be a surprise to see Kelly starting.

 

[AD31]

I am not too high on IL's midfield rankings.
I expect UVa to be top 5. UVa seems a little short on two-way middies, but is pretty loaded with excess attackmen. IL seems to be just looking at the offensive midfields.
Maybe you have:
M1: Schutz, Terenzi, Boykin
M2: McIntosh, Sunderland, Chizmar or Menke
Terenzi being a 2-way midfielder to replace Connor. Terenzi red-shirted last year, so we really haven't seen what he can do.

One thing we have to do is try to read between the lines of coach Tiffany's comments:
Terenzi:
2024 – “Joey is being asked to handle both offensive and defensive responsibilities, and he is attacking it as if he was a student pursuing a double major. Joey is splitting his time between Kevin and Kip’s offensive meetings and the defensive meetings run by Logan and myself, and then following up later to ensure he does not fall behind in any area. Joey competes with a joyous warrior spirit. He abandons all inhibitions on the field as he hunts the ball and whoever is carrying it. His spirit is infectious, and his teammates love him for it.”
Translation - We should see a lot of Joey.

Millon:
2024 – “McCabe never stops running, and running fast. With our wearable GPS tracking devices, the man with the highest volume and player load at the end of most practices is McCabe. And he is not just a volume guy. McCabe’s acceleration and top-end speed are scintillating. With every drill, McCabe is pouring his own gas on the fire and bringing everything he has. No wonder he was as highly-touted as he was out of high school. McCabe will be an immediate impact player with our program in his first spring in Charlottesville.”
Translation - Sounds like he will be on the field a lot - attack

Idk I think being Boyden has 2 yrs of eligibility left I can see him playing attack this yr replacing Dickson as he has those fast hands like him. McCabe with his speed at midfield then next yr slides to attack. I mean McCabe could be on the 1st midfield line and will play a lot. Boyden is really talented and a great finisher. Not saying he puts up stays as well as Dickson but he can definitely fill that role and be very productive.

 

[AD31]

I noticed Gait call Stevens and English two ways and can play some D.

 

[Zack80]

Idk I think being Boyden has 2 yrs of eligibility left I can see him playing attack this yr replacing Dickson as he has those fast hands like him. McCabe with his speed at midfield then next yr slides to attack. I mean McCabe could be on the 1st midfield line and will play a lot. Boyden is really talented and a great finisher. Not saying he puts up stays as well as Dickson but he can definitely fill that role and be very productive.

That is not the feeling I get from what Tiffany is saying.
I see from UVa's roster that Matsui and Bowers did not return for a fifth year.

 

[Powellfan]

 

[JDOrange]

I am not too high on IL's midfield rankings.
I expect UVa to be top 5. UVa seems a little short on two-way middies, but is pretty loaded with excess attackmen. IL seems to be just looking at the offensive midfields.
Maybe you have:
M1: Schutz, Terenzi, Boykin
M2: McIntosh, Sunderland, Chizmar or Menke
Terenzi being a 2-way midfielder to replace Connor. Terenzi red-shirted last year, so we really haven't seen what he can do.

One thing we have to do is try to read between the lines of coach Tiffany's comments:
Terenzi:
2024 – “Joey is being asked to handle both offensive and defensive responsibilities, and he is attacking it as if he was a student pursuing a double major. Joey is splitting his time between Kevin and Kip’s offensive meetings and the defensive meetings run by Logan and myself, and then following up later to ensure he does not fall behind in any area. Joey competes with a joyous warrior spirit. He abandons all inhibitions on the field as he hunts the ball and whoever is carrying it. His spirit is infectious, and his teammates love him for it.”
Translation - We should see a lot of Joey.

Millon:
2024 – “McCabe never stops running, and running fast. With our wearable GPS tracking devices, the man with the highest volume and player load at the end of most practices is McCabe. And he is not just a volume guy. McCabe’s acceleration and top-end speed are scintillating. With every drill, McCabe is pouring his own gas on the fire and bringing everything he has. No wonder he was as highly-touted as he was out of high school. McCabe will be an immediate impact player with our program in his first spring in Charlottesville.”
Translation - Sounds like he will be on the field a lot - attack

Sounds like Lars is leaning on ChatGPT for his player comments.

 

[JeremyCuse]

Haha some of those answers were great. The guys listing Joey to bust his chops gave me a chuckle.

 

[Zack80]

Looking at Tiffany's comment on Boyden:
2024 – “Jack has the flair for the dramatic. The artistic creativity with both his passing and shooting makes him both dangerous and unpredictable. Playing an aggressive, player-friendly system at Tufts has allowed Jack to explore and push boundaries, the result of which has promoted his exceptional development. Jack hunts points, and his teammates have learned to always pay attention to him because a ball may be flying their way when it is least expected. There is a joy to be experienced when witnessing Jack playing this game.”

It doesn't seem quite as superlative as that for Millon.

Looking at Boyden, I think you can get by with being a step slower or not having the most powerful shot at the DIII level and still do well.

Boyden's totals of 66g-88a, 157 pts is impressive. It was over 23 games though, which leads to an average of 6.83 points per game. When one looks at Boyden's game by game stats

Jack Boyden - 2023 - Men's Lacrosse - Tufts University

Jack Boyden (28) M - 2022 (Junior): Named as USILA Dynamic All-American Honorable Mention...Named NEILA Division III All-New England First Team..Named NESCAC Player

gotuftsjumbos.com

(click on the <season> link.)
There were a number of games where Boyden was held in check. Most notable might be the final game against Salisbury where Boyden had 1g and 2a. Typically, fans feel Salisbury would be comparable to a team around #20 in D1. In Tufts two games against Lynchburg, he is listed with 0g, 4a and 1g, 1a. In games were Tufts really got it going offensively, Boyden often did really well - Boyden had 10+ points 7 times. On the other hand, Boyden had 9 games where he had 4 points or less. It does lead to feeling that Boyden would be defendable by a good D1 long stick defenseman, and that Tiffany might be looking to get Boyden matched up on ssdms.

 

[Powellfan]

I agree, I have a hard time seeing English on the 2nd line. I definitely could see Stevens getting some run with the 1's at time but a first line of Thomson, English and Leo makes the most sense to me.

I've wondered if because the Orange will roll out two lefties on attack, whether it be Trey Deere or Christian Mule with Owen Hiltz, if they couldn't afford to have three righties on the first midfield line? That would allow Thomson, Stevens and English all to play together. Given their Canadian chemistry that might be the best collection of players. I don't know if it would work, but should it make a difference if you need two lefties to balance the field if they are at attack or midfield?

I think having a player with Michael Leo's dodging ability might help the second unit more than having Stevens paired with Jackson Birtwistle and Luke Rhoa. I'm not sure Leo's an elite dodger but I see Stevens as more of a finisher. On the second line he would undoubtedly draw a pole, but on the first I would be surprised if he didn't have the defenses second SSDM on him. Leo would technically be demoted, but you could probably sell him on "leading the unit". And given the way they will rotate the two lines, I don't think there would be much of a drop off in playing time. And if Stevens needs a rest, Leo could always take a few first line reps.

 

[nyclax]

the distribution of the midfield lines will prob not be the same the whole season. you go in with a plan and eventually pivot when guys get hurt or they show chemistry with certain others that maybe you didnt foresee. or someone ends up playing much better or worse than you expected. it will evolve...it's nice to have options

its fun to talk about but ultimately the configuration of offensive personnel is not one of the major questions for this team. they are going to score goals no matter who is where. the question is.....can the defense do anything to stop virginia, duke, and notre dame

 

[ClvrUsrnm]

the distribution of the midfield lines will prob not be the same the whole season. you go in with a plan and eventually pivot when guys get hurt or they show chemistry with certain others that maybe you didnt foresee. or someone ends up playing much better or worse than you expected. it will evolve...it's nice to have options

its fun to talk about but ultimately the configuration of offensive personnel is not one of the major questions for this team. they are going to score goals no matter who is where. the question is...can the defense do anything to stop virginia, duke, and notre dame

Only have to hold ’em to 19 if the O is popping in 20!

 

[Faegan]

8 Days. LFG!

 

[CuseAlum87]

the distribution of the midfield lines will prob not be the same the whole season. you go in with a plan and eventually pivot when guys get hurt or they show chemistry with certain others that maybe you didnt foresee. or someone ends up playing much better or worse than you expected. it will evolve...it's nice to have options

its fun to talk about but ultimately the configuration of offensive personnel is not one of the major questions for this team. they are going to score goals no matter who is where. the question is...can the defense do anything to stop virginia, duke, and notre dame

This and face offs

 

[Orangtiz]

Does anyone know if Kohn is full-go? Would love for him and Mullen to jump in ready to take over from the opening whistle of the year.

 

[JeremyCuse]

Does anyone know if Kohn is full-go? Would love for him and Mullen to jump in ready to take over from the opening whistle of the year.

Full go

 

[DoctahLexus]

I noticed Gait call Stevens and English two ways and can play some D.

Where did you see that? Would be a very interesting move