Polls for Feb 17: Media #6 / Coaches #7

[OrangeXtreme]

https://www.insidelacrosse.com/article/kane-men-s-di-media-poll-maryland-to-no-2-richmond-s-big-rise-navy-nova-in/64625

Maryland is up to No. 2 in the KANE Men’s DI Media Poll, leaping four spots on the heels of its decisive win against Syracuse. They sit ahead of Johns Hopkins, which has four wins with three of them in the Top 20. Cornell and Princeton fill out the rest of the Top 5 after getting season-opening wins, the Tigers’ being a Top 10 victory.

And of course, Notre Dame sits on top ahead of its first tough stretch visiting Georgetown then playing Maryland in the Atlanta Lacrosse Invitational.

No team made a rise like Richmond, though. The Spiders took down Virginia in a wild Saturday to jump to No. 13 in the poll, just ahead of the Cavaliers. Villanova is back in the Top 20 after taking down Yale (15), and Navy makes its first appearance following a 3-0 start and Sunday’s win over ranked Towson.

Check out the full KANE Men’s Division I Media Poll here.

Rank	Team	Points	Prev
1	Notre Dame (2 - 0)	440 (22)	1
2	Maryland (3 - 0)	402	6
3	Johns Hopkins (4 - 0)	382	4
4	Cornell (1 - 0)	380	3
5	Princeton (1 - 0)	369	5
6	Syracuse (3 - 1)	310	2

 

[OrangeXtreme]

 

[OrangeXtreme]

Rank​	Team​	W-L​	Prev​
1	Notre Dame	2-0	1
2	Princeton	1-0	3
3	Maryland	3-0	7
4	Johns Hopkins	4-0	6
5	Cornell	1-0	4
6	Duke	3-0	8
7	Syracuse	3-1	2

 

[OrangeXtreme]

Quint Kessenich’s Top 20: February 17th, 2025

Lacrosse is just getting started as Quint's Top 20 has already has a ton of movement when compared to his Week 1 standings.

laxallstars.com

5) Syracuse
#HHH steamrolled Towson 18-7 on Monday night, displaying an elite level of passing, shooting, and dizzying stick-work reserved for Championship Weekend participants. Forty-five shots and just 10 turnovers. Orange cleared 20 of 21. They looked the part for sure.

Owen Hiltz had seven points, and Joey Spallina added six. Sam English is playing the Matt Abbott role. My only concerns would be twofold—the lack of bench scoring (2,1) and new goalie Jimmy McCool. He wasn’t bad but needs to tighten up his pipe-to-pipe movement and rebound control.

Otto came up shorthanded at Maryland on Saturday, losing 11-7. This offense is developing a habit of disappearing against blue-chip defenses. Legacy is attached to wins. Not social media hype. Not stats. Not flash goals. This game and last year’s quarterfinal loss to Denver raise serious questions. Why does the offense look so good against mid-tier teams, then sputter against others?

The Orange also needs to do a better job of game management and situational awareness. They seem casual at times with details that make a big difference in quality games. With SU and UVA dropping games on Saturday, it wasn’t a stellar day for the ACC. Harvard makes a rare trip to the Dome on February 22.

 

[JeremyCuse]

Quint Kessenich’s Top 20: February 17th, 2025

Lacrosse is just getting started as Quint's Top 20 has already has a ton of movement when compared to his Week 1 standings.

laxallstars.com

5) Syracuse
#HHH steamrolled Towson 18-7 on Monday night, displaying an elite level of passing, shooting, and dizzying stick-work reserved for Championship Weekend participants. Forty-five shots and just 10 turnovers. Orange cleared 20 of 21. They looked the part for sure.

Owen Hiltz had seven points, and Joey Spallina added six. Sam English is playing the Matt Abbott role. My only concerns would be twofold—the lack of bench scoring (2,1) and new goalie Jimmy McCool. He wasn’t bad but needs to tighten up his pipe-to-pipe movement and rebound control.

Otto came up shorthanded at Maryland on Saturday, losing 11-7. This offense is developing a habit of disappearing against blue-chip defenses. Legacy is attached to wins. Not social media hype. Not stats. Not flash goals. This game and last year’s quarterfinal loss to Denver raise serious questions. Why does the offense look so good against mid-tier teams, then sputter against others?

The Orange also needs to do a better job of game management and situational awareness. They seem casual at times with details that make a big difference in quality games. With SU and UVA dropping games on Saturday, it wasn’t a stellar day for the ACC. Harvard makes a rare trip to the Dome on February 22.

Again love or hate Quint, he's spot on here. Both are points we have raised here especially game management and situational awareness ie BTB passes in a rain storm in 39 degree weather down in the 2nd half.....

 

[orangecuse]

Again love or hate Quint, he's spot on here. Both are points we have raised here especially game management and situational awareness ie BTB passes in a rain storm in 39 degree weather down in the 2nd half...

Love Quint. And, as you allude, he's not only spot on here, he is more times than not. To his point of being casual and situational awareness et al, I found it quite frustrating with a few of those nonchalant type behind the back passes in moments when possession and scoring were critical, especially in a tight game and when being down. Honestly, just maddening to watch as a fan.

 

[hoopsupstate]

Gait is all about entertainment and flash. Winning is optional as long as making the game entertaining. He has to realize that basic fundamentals and smart play is essential in making big plays in big moments against really good teams.

 

[DoctahLexus]

I would agree with quint on game management and situational awareness. We had two dumb penalties in the third during a game that was clearly going to be both lower scoring and tight. We could simply not afford to let MD expand their lead off of stuff like that. Then any chance of closing the gap in the 4th was hurt by both a sloppy play in transition and an unnecessary penalty from Dwan. In a tight game like this, the staff has to do more to demand discipline from the players. Our shooting/offense in general also seems to get rushed and impatient when playing from behind. That is also something where the staff has to step in and encourage a slower tempo from the O, and waiting for the right look.

If there was truly a stark difference to how we regularly perform vs elite defense and mediocre defense, I would agree with quint more fully. But there is a reason Denver last year and this game are his only two examples. Every team in the top 10 has had low totals against elite defense in the past year. It is freaking February. The O is elite, and will bounce back without question. They put up good numbers against elite defenses last season on several occasions, including ND with a 30% day at the X, Hop, and this Maryland team with Zappitello. This game does not define our offense and it is not how they usually perform. They will bounce back.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

Men’s Lacrosse Remains in Top 10 - Syracuse University Athletics

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Despite its first setback of the 2025 season, Syracuse University men's lacrosse remained in the top 10 of the major polls this week.

cuse.com

 

[OrangeXtreme]

 

[DomeHolmes]

I posted after the Towson game that as good as that game was, our defense fell asleep too many times. If our defense was as disciplined as Maryland‘s was, we could’ve won a 9 to 8 type game, (even with their goalie being on fire) but we got behind and started to play, sloppy, (including trying to clear the ball twice by running through double teams at mid field and turning it over). I am far more concerned about our defense falling asleep than our offense not scoring enough.

Against Maryland, the second goal was total miscommunication in sliding, allowing a point blank shot.

their fourth goal was when we allowed the Maryland player to basically camp out right at the goal post. Our defender was looking right at him and somehow didn’t perceive him as a threat..

The ninth goal, we had two defenders right in front of the goal, while the Maryland player stood 7 yards from the goal wide open. It was Carter Rice’s man and I have no idea what he was doing standing next to another Syracuse defender while leaving his man wide-open.

My biggest fear is these are the same players as last year. I’m not sure you can coach them to be more aware.

 

[cuselaxss26]

So we have harvard this weekend then utah hopkins colgate manhattan. Curious what people think we do in those 5 games. Hopkins is def big game think they def have to win. Realistically for me feel we have to go 5-0 in these next 5 games n hopes hopkins colgate towson maby even utah n harvard finish in top 20 to give us some good wins. If that happens then last 5 games of (uva, cornell , duke , unc , Nd) if we can pull 2 or 3 out of those we def should be in playoffs n high rank.

Also winning these next 5 games def put pressure off a little specially if those teams mention end up doing well n are ranked. But either way def need to win least 2-3 out of those last 5 games. Def can’t lose any we shouldn’t. But being 8-1 going into uva game would def be best case scenario. Uva cornell n maby unc/duke prob be games we can win. Nd don’t know alot bout them so far this year. But going by our track record against them would lean to Nd winning.

 

[kismet35]

So we have harvard this weekend then utah hopkins colgate manhattan. Curious what people think we do in those 5 games. Hopkins is def big game think they def have to win. Realistically for me feel we have to go 5-0 in these next 5 games n hopes hopkins colgate towson maby even utah n harvard finish in top 20 to give us some good wins. If that happens then last 5 games of (uva, cornell , duke , unc , Nd) if we can pull 2 or 3 out of those we def should be in playoffs n high rank.

Also winning these next 5 games def put pressure off a little specially if those teams mention end up doing well n are ranked. But either way def need to win least 2-3 out of those last 5 games. Def can’t lose any we shouldn’t. But being 8-1 going into uva game would def be best case scenario. Uva cornell n maby unc/duke prob be games we can win. Nd don’t know alot bout them so far this year. But going by our track record against them would lean to Nd winning.

Totally agree with you here! We definitely need to take care of business tomorrow against Harvard (and we should, I think it’s going to be a high-scoring game!). Looking ahead:

1. Utah: I thought this might be a sneaky game, but I think Cuse should take care of them.
2. Hopkins: I feel like Cuse has the upper hand offensively, but it’ll be interesting to see how our D matches up against Russell Melendez and Brooks. They're a solid team, but not great in my opinion—they squeaked by Towson and Loyola.
3. Colgate: They're a streaky, blue-collar type of team. They always play Cuse tough, so we definitely can't overlook them.
4. Manhattan: I could see this being another lopsided game with Cuse pouring it on.
5. 5-0: I really feel like this is a must. If we drop a game or two (ND and Cornell are the ones I fear the most), it could shake things up. Like you said, it’s hard to gauge ND, but from what I’ve seen, they look fast and deep. This weekend will tell us a lot about them. And Cornell? They always bring it against Cuse—it’s going to be a fun one to watch on the Island!

 

[orange79]

Totally agree with you here! We definitely need to take care of business tomorrow against Harvard (and we should, I think it’s going to be a high-scoring game!). Looking ahead:

1. Utah: I thought this might be a sneaky game, but I think Cuse should take care of them.
2. Hopkins: I feel like Cuse has the upper hand offensively, but it’ll be interesting to see how our D matches up against Russell Melendez and Brooks. They're a solid team, but not great in my opinion—they squeaked by Towson and Loyola.
3. Colgate: They're a streaky, blue-collar type of team. They always play Cuse tough, so we definitely can't overlook them.
4. Manhattan: I could see this being another lopsided game with Cuse pouring it on.
5. 5-0: I really feel like this is a must. If we drop a game or two (ND and Cornell are the ones I fear the most), it could shake things up. Like you said, it’s hard to gauge ND, but from what I’ve seen, they look fast and deep. This weekend will tell us a lot about them. And Cornell? They always bring it against Cuse—it’s going to be a fun one to watch on the Island!

From your lips...

 

[cuselaxss26]

They just need to take one week at time. Starting with harvard. Can’t over look them n both times coming off a lost. Cuse needs to come out strong and fast keeping that going for full 60mins. Play smart n with heart. Limit the mistake and turnovers while taking good quality shots. Like to see the defense play physical, and on harvards players hands at all times. No lull to sleep moments.

Also really like to see anderson, hottle(get runs) and mcCarthy (take some shots) step up when given chance. I highly doubt will happen but like to see thompson step his game up being little more assertive specially if short stick. Leo n birt both need to get going. Lastly hope chuck (#26) keeps playing the way he has n gets even better.

Hope donny scott starts getting little time also. He was very regarded n small sample seen him seems be healed from injury. Wonder if be worth it try him at dmid with his box experience. Either way season n thing gonna vamp up quickly and we need be ready to go.

Let’s go orange !!!!