Polls for Apr 14: Media #7 / Coaches #8

[OrangeXtreme]

Cornell is No. 1 for the fourth week in a row.

The Big Red stay in the top spot after a decisive win against their Central New York rival Syracuse. CJ Kirst and Ryan Goldstein led the way, and a defense that had preseason question marks did a solid job against the Orange.


If the Big Red are No. 1 in the KANE Men’s Division I Media Poll for one more week, they will have claimed the top spot as many times as any team this year; Notre Dame spent five weeks atop the rankings, though that included the Preseason and Week 0 polls in which most teams did not play.

Cornell’s Ivy foes Princeton are No. 2, followed by Maryland, Army and North Carolina. Ohio State fell to No. 6 after its 11-game win streak came to an end at the hands of the Terps. Similarly, the Orange’s momentum came to a halt and they fell to No. 7, and Penn State, Notre Dame and Harvard steadily remain to fill out the Top 10.

There are three new teams this week: Denver’s Big East win against Georgetown put them up to No. 16, UMass handled business and is at 19, and Sacred Heart, winners of five-straight games, sits at 20.

Check out the full KANE Men's DI Media Poll here.

Rank	Team	Points	Prev
1	Cornell (10 - 1)	460 (23)	1
2	Princeton (9 - 2)	429	3
3	Maryland (9 - 2)	410	6
4	Army (10 - 1)	379	5
5	North Carolina (9 - 2)	351	7
6	Ohio State (11 - 2)	349	2
7	Syracuse (9 - 3)	327	4

 

[OrangeXtreme]

 

[OrangeXtreme]

 

[OrangeXtreme]

4) Syracuse
Syracuse (9-3) held Notre Dame scoreless for 39:53 last week. RIT transfer Michael Grace effectively covered Jake Taylor in that game, so surrendering 17 goals to Cornell a week later was a massive step in the wrong direction. Shot selection on offense wasn’t up to par. Too often, Syracuse takes the first available shot instead of hunting the best one. Coverage of CJ Kirst and Ryan Goldstein struggled with a slide-happy scheme. Against elite opponents, seven penalties is a losing formula. The Orange seemed to unravel in the cold rain and continue to struggle outside the cozy Dome.

Syracuse is at Duke on Saturday at 2pm (ACCN). I’ll be in Durham with Chris Cotter for this one.

 

[DMVCuseLax]

4) Syracuse
Syracuse (9-3) held Notre Dame scoreless for 39:53 last week. RIT transfer Michael Grace effectively covered Jake Taylor in that game, so surrendering 17 goals to Cornell a week later was a massive step in the wrong direction. Shot selection on offense wasn’t up to par. Too often, Syracuse takes the first available shot instead of hunting the best one. Coverage of CJ Kirst and Ryan Goldstein struggled with a slide-happy scheme. Against elite opponents, seven penalties is a losing formula. The Orange seemed to unravel in the cold rain and continue to struggle outside the cozy Dome.

Syracuse is at Duke on Saturday at 2pm (ACCN). I’ll be in Durham with Chris Cotter for this one.

Should never slide off of Kirst.

 

[upperdeck]

Kirst is 3 goals from #1 all time now. Has between 3 and 8 more games to do it.

 

[DoctahLexus]

4) Syracuse
Syracuse (9-3) held Notre Dame scoreless for 39:53 last week. RIT transfer Michael Grace effectively covered Jake Taylor in that game, so surrendering 17 goals to Cornell a week later was a massive step in the wrong direction. Shot selection on offense wasn’t up to par. Too often, Syracuse takes the first available shot instead of hunting the best one. Coverage of CJ Kirst and Ryan Goldstein struggled with a slide-happy scheme. Against elite opponents, seven penalties is a losing formula. The Orange seemed to unravel in the cold rain and continue to struggle outside the cozy Dome.

Syracuse is at Duke on Saturday at 2pm (ACCN). I’ll be in Durham with Chris Cotter for this one.

Quint doing his usual taking shots at teams he is ranking higher than others. The rain was simply not a factor at all in this one and I have to assume he did not watch the game if he thinks it was. Like literally the thing that mattered the least in this one was that it was raining and a little cold. It's a turf field and there was no excessive slipping and sliding from either team. 40 something is an ideal lacrosse temp. We just had a similar poor clearing and turnover game with penalties in the cozy dome against ND. You know what else was going on in our two games that it was raining? We were playing two of the top three teams in the country. It is an extremely tired line about us.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

7. Syracuse (9-3)​

Syracuse never could catch up to Cornell on Long Island. Joey Spallina was largely a non-factor, the defense couldn’t handle the combo of CJ Kirst and Ryan Goldstein and the Orange could never cut the lead to a manageable number. Luke Rhoa (3G, 2A) and Owen Hiltz (4G, 2A) led the scoring. While they played bully ball vs. Notre Dame, they just never felt on the same level as Cornell — something I think speaks more to the Big Red’s talent than the Orange’s lack. They have a trip to Duke on Saturday.

Unsung Hero: Michael Grace, Gr., Defense
It’s hard for any Syracuse player to be “unsung.” They are the only team with a legion of student reporters that follows them everywhere they go. But Grace’s transfer in has been a steadying presence for the defense. While Billy Dwan III and Riley Figueiras are the homegrown guys who have turned around the Orange D under John Odierna, Grace’s versatility — both where he can play and who/how he can cover — plus championship-level experience, is hard to replicate.
—MK

 

[OrangeXtreme]