Virginia Gameday...

[MD Cuse Fan]

Just wanted to add after watching the highlights, Cooks goals were really nice including a couple of lasers! I know plenty of you have stated it before but man if he could add some consistency and become a threat, could do wonders for this team.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

Change the wing play. Olexo no good

Clary still hurt.

 

[CuseNHouse]

Curry has been totally figured out. He’s a pretty one dimensional player - speed dodge to shot ..works great against mid level teams, but less often against Top tiers and elite covers ..a pretty big concern

As others have stated - the wings have been terrible ..often just standing around the scrum, getting boxed out ,and/or not crashing the ball on 50/50 …leaving Phaup out to dry as he’s trying come up and out …

think we should have tried to mix in savage at some point - give another look and Maybe disrupt flow - he’s a great athlete

we seem to pull back when we have unsettled situations / fast breaks and not sure what that’s all about unless the coaches just don’t feel confident about the execution there

With all that , Team does show resolve and resiliency during stretches despite huge holes , there are glimmers of hope

 

[OrangeinBoston]

Gait needs better players.

 

[Cuse All-In]

Curry has been totally figured out. He’s a pretty one dimensional player - speed dodge to shot ..works great against mid level teams, but less often against Top tiers and elite covers ..a pretty big concern

As others have stated - the wings have been terrible ..often just standing around the scrum, getting boxed out ,and/or not crashing the ball on 50/50 …leaving Phaup out to dry as he’s trying come up and out …

think we should have tried to mix in savage at some point - give another look and Maybe disrupt flow - he’s a great athlete

we seem to pull back when we have unsettled situations / fast breaks and not sure what that’s all about unless the coaches just don’t feel confident about the execution there

With all that , Team does show resolve and resiliency during stretches despite huge holes , there are glimmers of hope

All excellent points. Curry and Dordevic (and previously Trimboli) have now demonstrated inconsistency in their shooting, mental game and ability to play against the tops teams over their careers.

The team has demonstrated a lot of effort and intensity in my opinion - it's the talent that is lacking (same as last year??). Gait has said as much in his pressers saying that they need to work hard and don't have many stars - translation: we don't have the talent of the big boys.

Defense is a work in progress to say the least. It's hard to know if there is enough talent there to improve over the season.

Gavin has hung tough and played reasonably well but, as The Drake found last year, you can't stop elite shooters from point blank range hitting their spots.

I'm optimistic that the team will improve.

 

[Cuse All-In]

Just wanted to add after watching the highlights, Cooks goals were really nice including a couple of lasers! I know plenty of you have stated it before but man if he could add some consistency and become a threat, could do wonders for this team.

Cook did have some nice goals but his inconsistency and mental errors have been a problem for several years so I really think it's time to have the younger players step in.

 

[Cuse All-In]

To me the issue was both bad shooting and bad shot selection. Also Nunes playing as advertised did not do us any favors there. Dordevic and Curry as good as they are off the dodge, still not getting it done in either shot selection or passing. Not having the elite ball movers of Rehfuss Hiltz and Scanlan hurts us too.

Bad shooting and bad shot selection have been a problem for years. There have been many, many games where the opposing goalies had great stats thanks to our poor shooting. How many times did Desko tip his cap to the opposing goalie??
Nunes played pretty well but he didn't face anywhere near the quality and quantity of shots that Gavin did.

 

[Powellfan]

There were definite signs of life on offense for the Orange, ball movement seemed much better and players spacing was much improved. The expectations after the Maryland game of corse were pretty low, but it was progress. That said, still much work to be done. 1-7 on extra man is a really bad sign. I hate calling out individuals, but that might have been the worst I’ve seen Curry play. Bad shooting and inexplicable turnovers. Just looks like he has too much pressure on his shoulders right now. Cook was better but still some bad turnovers. I’d like to see him get by his defender more consistently, especially if it’s a short stick. Berkman a good day on the stat sheet, but again, Uva covered him with a shorty most of the day. If your going to have that matchup as an x attackman, you have to feast on those. The second line middies weren’t used after the first quarter, that’s just not a winning game plan. Now they are facing a midweek game against a well rested Army team with a first midfield that just ran a marathon. Not good.

On defense it seemed pretty clear the Cavs wanted to take advantage of the shorties. And they did. Just no contact made by SU and allowed Virginia to get to their spots at will. Ground ball play was abysmal. Some of it is luck but a lot is stick skills and instinct. The Orange were lacking in those departments. One bright spot was Nick Caccamo, he didn’t let Moore score when they were matched up and even had a nice takeaway.

This team as a lot to work on and the schedule doesn’t allow for a lot of experimentation and tinkering. They really need their “star” players to start playing like it.

 

[CrazyPeople]

A saving grace for this team might be the ACC outside of UVA appears to be weaker than normal. ND struggled yesterday, UNC pummeled by Ohio St, Duke losses to Jville and Penn now. The league should be the gauntlet it was last year.

 

[Powellfan]

A saving grace for this team might be the ACC outside of UVA appears to be weaker than normal. ND struggled yesterday, UNC pummeled by Ohio St, Duke losses to Jville and Penn now. The league should be the gauntlet it was last year.

Maybe. But Notre Dame lost to a top three team (that beat SU by 10 last year), Duke lost in overtime to a top 10 teams and Ohio State might be pretty good this year. I’m curious how UNC performs today. I think, unfortunately that SU is still the fifth out of five though.

 

[MD Cuse Fan]

There were definite signs of life on offense for the Orange, ball movement seemed much better and players spacing was much improved. The expectations after the Maryland game of corse were pretty low, but it was progress. That said, still much work to be done. 1-7 on extra man is a really bad sign. I hate calling out individuals, but that might have been the worst I’ve seen Curry play. Bad shooting and inexplicable turnovers. Just looks like he has too much pressure on his shoulders right now. Cook was better but still some bad turnovers. I’d like to see him get by his defender more consistently, especially if it’s a short stick. Berkman a good day on the stat sheet, but again, Uva covered him with a shorty most of the day. If your going to have that matchup as an x attackman, you have to feast on those. The second line middies weren’t used after the first quarter, that’s just not a winning game plan. Now they are facing a midweek game against a well rested Army team with a first midfield that just ran a marathon. Not good.

On defense it seemed pretty clear the Cavs wanted to take advantage of the shorties. And they did. Just no contact made by SU and allowed Virginia to get to their spots at will. Ground ball play was abysmal. Some of it is luck but a lot is stick skills and instinct. The Orange were lacking in those departments. One bright spot was Nick Caccamo, he didn’t let Moore score when they were matched up and even had a nice takeaway.

This team as a lot to work on and the schedule doesn’t allow for a lot of experimentation and tinkering. They really need their “star” players to start playing like it.

Did Caccamo come in because some one else got injured? Just curious if you were able to tell? Wonder if they're contining to ease him back him?

 

[ivorytower]

I should watch the game before commenting but based off team stats ND may have had the better of play besides goaltending. McElroy had 24 saves. Duke is stronger offensively than last with Lulley, their early season struggles are well known, be up to their D if they are back in FF. UNC and Cuse are both works in progress who will both get better as season progresses. UVA is simply at head of class with Maryland . No moral victories but Cuse actually outplayed both in second and third quarters after terrible starts . Matter of playing four quarters

Shouldn't be but surprised Quinn not being talked about . He has been wonderful offensively. Variety of lasers off quick release, moving ball with vision a exceptional skip passes , making good decisions. Another o surprise was Cook, rough start but bounced back with his best offensive performance of career. btb pass broke mo but Gait wanting loose play cuts both ways. Seebold scored both in/ot and could have had a third off a Quinn feed if not for Nunes quick reflexes. Bold is not only a above average crease dodger but strong outside shooter and good feeder. Berkman doing a commendable job, producing agaisnt dm short stick cover shouldn't bee dismissed as position of strength. Curry still getting hands free, shot just off right now, still created some opportunities for others. Do agree frequent paths scouted so perhaps March can introduce some new twists to limit defensive overplay . Dordevic drew attention as expected. This two are focal points playing heavy minutes n drop-offs can be expected if tired legs so tmay need the occasional rest that Cordes and others can afford .Phaup was better than stats, battle with LaScalla and Braun produced a dozen scrums and not one was won by Cuse wings which discolored the fogo numbers. More could have been won, the reason no switch was made.

 

[ivorytower]

Did Caccamo come in because some one else got injured? Just curious if you were able to tell? Wonder if they're contining to ease him back him?

No injuries thankfully . He relieved Frattergio. Uses stick well and will eventually get stronger . Expect him to increasingly play.

 

[PhatOrange]

One of my take aways watching this game was the loose balls; and that we don’t seem to pick up any, especially the tough ones. They are such a huge part of the game. It’s possessions. Your team can score the other team can’t. We’re lacking here. We need grinders. Seems like every time we really need the ball we just can’t pick it up.

We seem to get stuck in traffic a lot too, just some weird individual play from Saturday with regards to that; carrying the ball into traffic and/or not running out of it.

And I’m not sold on our goalie.

 

[JeremyCuse]

One of my take aways watching this game was the loose balls; and that we don’t seem to pick up any, especially the tough ones. They are such a huge part of the game. It’s possessions. Your team can score the other team can’t. We’re lacking here. We need grinders. Seems like every time we really need the ball we just can’t pick it up.

We seem to get stuck in traffic a lot too, just some weird individual play from Saturday with regards to that; carrying the ball into traffic and/or not running out of it.

And I’m not sold on our goalie.

I like Gavin but agree with everything else, getting outlasted and out muscled consistently. Physicality had been lacking as well, not sure much can be done this year to turn it around either.

 

[Powellfan]

 

[ivorytower]

UVA ride especially tuff if players are not moving to space to present themselves for passes . Very few players can clear on their own by simply running past several . Turnovers that happened high in either end against good comp result in opposing transition into unsettled d where conversion rates are high. Same has also happened on face-offs with Gavin having to face several shots directly off due to being behind gathered ball. Short time to Army to address but moving to space likely being worked on because we have enuff athletes at mf to get open. Despite the critique, might surprise some to know that both UVA (20-12) and Maryland (15-13) had more turnovers than Cuse likely due to them playing faster but also Cuse doing some things right as well which garners little mention in losses. Restate my op that Phaup despite not winning the stat line did well again battling the fogo many pundits consider the best .
Not really discussed was that Cuse had several man up chances unlike first two games but went 1-6 .Missing Hiltz passing hinders but greater focus on moving ball quicker can compensate Cuse once again on pace to commit many more penalties than opponent, some are simply needless which needs to be nipped. No player should have six in three games. Breaks any momentum besides disadvantaging. . Going to have to be aggressive but disciplined agaisnt Army, Nichtern had two man up goals last year masking solid effort on him. Man down d performed better vs UVA holding their man up to 1-5 , Staats to this eye moving better than last on unit to complement a high lax IQ. Maybe a player to consider if ever in a zone. Agree with JC on Gavin, he has done well despite a 46 % .Seen very few goals that thought should have been saved. Last but not least, thought dm's played very good d on Shultz , simply a matter of sheer size and strength round crease. Something that could be considered is adding a bigger body to unit and shifting a smaller quicker one with o capablities to mid.
As far as Army outcome, thought they would be a top ten team given their 3 stars and much return. See tight contest, no sheet Sherlock comment from me is Cuse team will have to execute well in most phases to win.

 

[Powellfan]

UVA ride especially tuff if players are not moving to space to present themselves for passes . Very few players can clear on their own by simply running past several . Turnovers that happened high in either end against good comp result in opposing transition into unsettled d where conversion rates are high. Same has also happened on face-offs with Gavin having to face several shots directly off due to being behind gathered ball. Short time to Army to address but moving to space likely being worked on because we have enuff athletes at mf to get open. Despite the critique, might surprise some to know that both UVA (20-12) and Maryland (15-13) had more turnovers than Cuse likely due to them playing faster but also Cuse doing some things right as well which garners little mention in losses. Restate my op that Phaup despite not winning the stat line did well again battling the fogo many pundits consider the best .
Not really discussed was that Cuse had several man up chances unlike first two games but went 1-6 .Missing Hiltz passing hinders but greater focus on moving ball quicker can compensate Cuse once again on pace to commit many more penalties than opponent, some are simply needless which needs to be nipped. No player should have six in three games. Breaks any momentum besides disadvantaging. . Going to have to be aggressive but disciplined agaisnt Army, Nichtern had two man up goals last year masking solid effort on him. Man down d performed better vs UVA holding their man up to 1-5 , Staats to this eye moving better than last on unit to complement a high lax IQ. Maybe a player to consider if ever in a zone. Agree with JC on Gavin, he has done well despite a 46 % .Seen very few goals that thought should have been saved. Last but not least, thought dm's played very good d on Shultz , simply a matter of sheer size and strength round crease. Something that could be considered is adding a bigger body to unit and shifting a smaller quicker one with o capablities to mid.
As far as Army outcome, thought they would be a top ten team given their 3 stars and much return. See tight contest, no sheet Sherlock comment from me is Cuse team will have to execute well in most phases to win.

Lots of really good points made in this post IT - I was hoping to expand on a few things.

It looks like the man up unit is Dordevic, Curry, Seebold, Cordes, Quinn and Ferris. Ferris is a bit of a surprise but I think he is there since he is a lefty. He's trying to fill in for Hiltz which is a tall task. Against UVA I didn't think they looked horrible, they moved the ball well and with purpose, but they didn't threaten the goalie too much and the shots they did take seemed pretty easy for Nunes to save. They were trying to bang the ball down low to Seebold which worked for one goal. What can be done with the group? It would be nice to see Berkman get into the lineup here but they must feel like they need a true lefty. Also it seems like Buttermore should be considered but I have to imagine he's still not 100%.

I am a bit confused as to why they put the long pole on Zinn when the UVA second line was out and not on Schutz. Petro maybe a bit biased against his former player? It would be good if we could find a bigger player on the roster to play D-middie as almost all of our guys are under six feet. Not Petro's fault but he was notorious at Hopkins for having very small d-middies. Having Dearth for a number of years really masked things there.

Further to that point, Gait talked a lot about pushing the ball in transition this year and getting back to fast break lacrosse. But minus a few instances against Holy Cross we really haven't seen any transition play. Part of the benefit of playing guys like Aviles, Rice, Dami and Rosa at d-mid is supposed to be their offensive ability, but none of them have registered a point this year. In fact they've combined to shoot the ball just three times. Obviously playing two top two teams is a tall task, but I'm a bit surprised they haven't tried to push the tempo at all (especially against UVA). Doesn't seem like Gait quite trusts this team very much.

 

[CrazyPeople]

Further to that point, Gait talked a lot about pushing the ball in transition this year and getting back to fast break lacrosse. But minus a few instances against Holy Cross we really haven't seen any transition play. Part of the benefit of playing guys like Aviles, Rice, Dami and Rosa at d-mid is supposed to be their offensive ability, but none of them have registered a point this year. In fact they've combined to shoot the ball just three times. Obviously playing two top two teams is a tall task, but I'm a bit surprised they haven't tried to push the tempo at all (especially against UVA). Doesn't seem like Gait quite trusts this team very much.

The playing fast is all grand and well in theory but its all about # of possessions in d1 lacrosse. If your winning face offs or riding the ball back at a significant clip, then you can take chances and "play fast." If your losing face offs and clearing the ball poorly (which they have been), then you have to value possessions much more. I forget the twitter handle, but the lacrosse statistics guy will basically push these statistics as why certain teams win more than others and a lot of it is hard to argue.

Point being: win face offs, ride hard = ability to play fast break lacrosse.

Otherwise, the tables can turn fast.

 

[wgdsr]

The playing fast is all grand and well in theory but its all about # of possessions in d1 lacrosse. If your winning face offs or riding the ball back at a significant clip, then you can take chances and "play fast." If your losing face offs and clearing the ball poorly (which they have been), then you have to value possessions much more. I forget the twitter handle, but the lacrosse statistics guy will basically push these statistics as why certain teams win more than others and a lot of it is hard to argue.

Point being: win face offs, ride hard = ability to play fast break lacrosse.

Otherwise, the tables can turn fast.

if he has stats on scoring more frequently in 6 v 6 vs fast break/unsettled, i'd love to see them.

 

[CrazyPeople]

if he has stats on scoring more frequently in 6 v 6 vs fast break/unsettled, i'd love to see them.

Good point, but I think the other part of it is with f/o & clearing is it gives you less opportunities to play fast or unsettled.

 

[Cuse All-In]

The playing fast is all grand and well in theory but its all about # of possessions in d1 lacrosse. If your winning face offs or riding the ball back at a significant clip, then you can take chances and "play fast." If your losing face offs and clearing the ball poorly (which they have been), then you have to value possessions much more. I forget the twitter handle, but the lacrosse statistics guy will basically push these statistics as why certain teams win more than others and a lot of it is hard to argue.

Point being: win face offs, ride hard = ability to play fast break lacrosse.

Otherwise, the tables can turn fast.

Gait may very well have decided to play more conservatively given the talent issues and what he is seeing in the practices and games. It is noticeable in his pressers that he has not talked about any of our players as stars possessing great talent - his tone has been subdued and he talks about the extra effort required to play more talented teams. Of course, he has also talked about poor execution on transition so he may want more there but players just haven't executed.

 

[OrangeXtreme]