Some thoughts and why Gait maybe in major trouble

[JeremyCuse]

First off kudos to Johnny Mullen, just an absolute dominant performance that I haven't' seen since probably Ben Williams. Absurd it was wasted but still a great performance. Sam can be said for Finn, Riley and a few others. Thought Rice played fairly well to though that last sequence to end the game he will want back.

After last year and 5 games this season I think a few things are clear or they are at least to me, lol.

Quint mentioning it in his top 20 today was a nice coincidence but I think the question about whether this attack can win without a significant dodging threat has been answered and it's clear they can't. Finn had a great game on Saturday but I highly doubt SU is moving Joey or Hiltz at this point. It's to move Leo to attack, full stop. Put Thomson back on the 1st midline with English and Rhoa and let the chips fall where they may. As Quint noted, if Joey and Hiltz can't get a goal off (or beat there man) on a switch against a SSDM from that Harvard defense its clear we have a major problem. If they love Thomson at attack move Hiltz at this point, regardless there has to be a bonafide dodging threat on the 1st line and that's Leo despite his own current struggles.

The 2nd midline was a mess prior to Birt's injury and now needs to be completely overhauled. Birt is likely out for the year which is very unfortunate, wish him the best. McCarthy is young and lacks confidence, need him to be better but he is drawing the pole on the 2nd midline so it's gonna be learning experience for him. I would put Hottle out there along with Anderson. Deere is a great lax player, he's not a midfielder and he's getting hung out to dry when he get's stuck on defense. He ends up around the crease most possessions and I think is now like 1 for his last 9 on crease looks. I am sure he won't actually get moved but he needs see some time at attack, he's so out of place at middie it's laughable. Again I would run McCarthy, Hottle and Anderson and instead of a 3rd line you can then you can sub in Cordes and Kellogg as needed. With all of SU's shooting % woes you think we could get Kellogg a few runs with that cannon shot.

I will leave the defensive issues for Powell or DMV as I concentrated a lot on the offense on Saturday but I do have a few thoughts. It wasn't all McCools fault but by midway through the 2nd it was clear it wasn't working. You have to make that move to Ipp. Ipp wasn't light years better but he was better overall. I know Gait said McCool remains the starter but I think this is a mistake. Give Ipp a full game and see what happens. As mentioned SU was a mess with it's secondary slides on Saturday and fell into the trap it did under Petro with hedging or as I call half slides where they didn't need to slide and instead left a guy wide the open. A lax guy online also posted online that SU gave up at least 2 or 3 goals with late subs in the transition game. Not sure if he meant secondary transition goals as I don't recall Harvard scoring a ton in transition but I have no reason to doubt his thoughts. I believe Powell noted the secondary dmid guys really struggled especially Ochoa. Were in a tough spot there, Rice has been really good again and I think Levine has for the most part been solid but the depth is shaky. We have a number of young guys that we may need to give a look to. Frustrating that Kempney can't seem to get on the field.

Grace seemed to have some issues again as well from what i recall. He's a good player but you wonder if the move from D3 to D1 is starting to take its toll. Harvard scoring 15 goals with that kind of possession discrepancy is just unacceptable. Odierna has been really good since he came on but yesterday was not one of his better games. Going zone in the 2nd half was not a good idea and were lucky Harvard guys dropped or misplaced a few passes because they were wide open on at least 2 looks. I wish I had a better answer for the D problems but I honestly don't. At this point I'd almost consider going to an Army or Maryland style, slow to slide unless a guy is clearly beat. It will cost us some goals for sure when guys get beat of the dodge but it would at least stop the secondary slide issues and hedging.


Overall my biggest issue is with the coaching staff. They appear to have learned nothing from 2024. This team has the exact same issues. Still haven't conceded we need a dodging threat on attack, still haven't worked out any depth for the D-mid unit, seem to reluctant to play freshmen even when its clear we need help, allow the "free flowing play" to continue deep into games when its clear we need to valuing the ball and instead we're throwing the ball away because we had to throw a BTB pass for no fn reason. Lastly they have not figured out how to get this team to play well in the 2nd half. Watching a replay of Saturday's 2nd half was like watching the second half of last years Cornell, UNC and Denver games or this years Vermont/Maryland games. Taking bad shots or hesitating on great looks (Leo), taking a shot 20 seconds into the shot clock into the goalies chest, way to many turnovers and just a complete inability to score goals despite a huge number of possessions and looks. It's really an issue, again watch the 2nd half of Cornell and UNC last year and then watch last Saturday's second half, carbon copies.

Gait said all the right things in his PC on Saturday but when do we actually see it? This is a loss that never should have happened and I fear this season is on the verge of slipping away. As someone noted he doesn't appear to have any answers and this team has been (for the most part) a bad 2nd half team who rarely makes 2nd half adjustments. Gait needs to take some heat on multiple fronts. Where is the killer instinct as Quint noted to put teams away? Recruiting has been good, where are some of these guys, they can't all be misses? Where is Anderson, or some of the other young middies like White and McIntee and Kellogg etc. If there not ready to run O midfield can they play SSDM? Why it this team constantly struggling with turnovers against any semblance of pressure? 15 turnovers against Harvard most of which were self inflicted. Harvard didn't even run a 10 man and only rode hard and even then at times it became a total adventure clearing, what the hell is gonna happen against Gate in 2 weeks??

I'd love to be wrong but 4 years in and some things are apparent Gait teams are forever going to have issues playing disciplined ball when they need to. It also seems clear to me that he doesn't understand that all the ball movement in the world isn't going to overcome the ability for a guy to beat his man 1 on 1 and draw a slide. SU in year 4 under Gary Gait shouldn't have an attack that can't beat a SSDM on a switch. On Saturday of the three I think only Thomson did it, that's a horrific sign. I also have zero doubt that when we play Gate in two weeks it's going to be a complete and total cluster against that 10 man ride you can see it already. He hasn't been able to address the ability to play against pressure rides or 10 men defenses. We also can't seem to get a quality SSDM in despite it being an issue pretty much Gait's entire time here (beyond Rice who wasn't his recruit). Harvard was a game a final four contender not only wins but wins comfortably. You can't come off that loss to Maryland and then put up a loss like this, period.

I think it's fair to now wonder if Gary Gait is the long term answer and how long before the University reaches the same conclusion. At minimum I suspect March will be the fall guy this offseason.

 

[RoofBeam]

First off kudos to Johnny Mullen, just an absolute dominant performance that I haven't' seen since probably Ben Williams. Absurd it was wasted but still a great performance. Sam can be said for Finn, Riley and a few others. Thought Rice played fairly well to though that last sequence to end the game he will want back.

After last year and 5 games this season I think a few things are clear or they are at least to me, lol.

Quint mentioning it in his top 20 today was a nice coincidence but I think the question about whether this attack can win without a significant dodging threat has been answered and it's clear they can't. Finn had a great game on Saturday but I highly doubt SU is moving Joey or Hiltz at this point. It's to move Leo to attack, full stop. Put Thomson back on the 1st midline with English and Rhoa and let the chips fall where they may. As Quint noted, if Joey and Hiltz can't get a goal off (or beat there man) on a switch against a SSDM from that Harvard defense its clear we have a major problem. If they love Thomson at attack move Hiltz at this point, regardless there has to be a bonafide dodging threat on the 1st line and that's Leo despite his own current struggles.

The 2nd midline was a mess prior to Birt's injury and now needs to be completely overhauled. Birt is likely out for the year which is very unfortunate, wish him the best. McCarthy is young and lacks confidence, need him to be better but he is drawing the pole on the 2nd midline so it's gonna be learning experience for him. I would put Hottle out there along with Anderson. Deere is a great lax player, he's not a midfielder and he's getting hung out to dry when he get's stuck on defense. He ends up around the crease most possessions and I think is now like 1 for his last 9 on crease looks. I am sure he won't actually get moved but he needs see some time at attack, he's so out of place at middie it's laughable. Again I would run McCarthy, Hottle and Anderson and instead of a 3rd line you can then you can sub in Cordes and Kellogg as needed. With all of SU's shooting % woes you think we could get Kellogg a few runs with that cannon shot.

I will leave the defensive issues for Powell or DMV as I concentrated a lot on the offense on Saturday but I do have a few thoughts. It wasn't all McCools fault but by midway through the 2nd it was clear it wasn't working. You have to make that move to Ipp. Ipp wasn't light years better but he was better overall. I know Gait said McCool remains the starter but I think this is a mistake. Give Ipp a full game and see what happens. As mentioned SU was a mess with it's secondary slides on Saturday and fell into the trap it did under Petro with hedging or as I call half slides where they didn't need to slide and instead left a guy wide the open. A lax guy online also posted online that SU gave up at least 2 or 3 goals with late subs in the transition game. Not sure if he meant secondary transition goals as I don't recall Harvard scoring a ton in transition but I have no reason to doubt his thoughts. I believe Powell noted the secondary dmid guys really struggled especially Ochoa. Were in a tough spot there, Rice has been really good again and I think Levine has for the most part been solid but the depth is shaky. We have a number of young guys that we may need to give a look to. Frustrating that Kempney can't seem to get on the field.

Grace seemed to have some issues again as well from what i recall. He's a good player but you wonder if the move from D3 to D1 is starting to take its toll. Harvard scoring 15 goals with that kind of possession discrepancy is just unacceptable. Odierna has been really good since he came on but yesterday was not one of his better games. Going zone in the 2nd half was not a good idea and were lucky Harvard guys dropped or misplaced a few passes because they were wide open on at least 2 looks. I wish I had a better answer for the D problems but I honestly don't. At this point I'd almost consider going to an Army or Maryland style, slow to slide unless a guy is clearly beat. It will cost us some goals for sure when guys get beat of the dodge but it would at least stop the secondary slide issues and hedging.


Overall my biggest issue is with the coaching staff. They appear to have learned nothing from 2024. This team has the exact same issues. Still haven't conceded we need a dodging threat on attack, still haven't worked out any depth for the D-mid unit, seem to reluctant to play freshmen even when its clear we need help, allow the "free flowing play" to continue deep into games when its clear we need to valuing the ball and instead we're throwing the ball away because we had to throw a BTB pass for no fn reason. Lastly they have not figured out how to get this team to play well in the 2nd half. Watching a replay of Saturday's 2nd half was like watching the second half of last years Cornell, UNC and Denver games or this years Vermont/Maryland games. Taking bad shots or hesitating on great looks (Leo), taking a shot 20 seconds into the shot clock into the goalies chest, way to many turnovers and just a complete inability to score goals despite a huge number of possessions and looks. It's really an issue, again watch the 2nd half of Cornell and UNC last year and then watch last Saturday's second half, carbon copies.

Gait said all the right things in his PC on Saturday but when do we actually see it? This is a loss that never should have happened and I fear this season is on the verge of slipping away. As someone noted he doesn't appear to have any answers and this team has been (for the most part) a bad 2nd half team who rarely makes 2nd half adjustments. Gait needs to take some heat on multiple fronts. Where is the killer instinct as Quint noted to put teams away? Recruiting has been good, where are some of these guys, they can't all be misses? Where is Anderson, or some of the other young middies like White and McIntee and Kellogg etc. If there not ready to run O midfield can they play SSDM? Why it this team constantly struggling with turnovers against any semblance of pressure? 15 turnovers against Harvard most of which were self inflicted. Harvard didn't even run a 10 man and only rode hard and even then at times it became a total adventure clearing, what the hell is gonna happen against Gate in 2 weeks??

I'd love to be wrong but 4 years in and some things are apparent Gait teams are forever going to have issues playing disciplined ball when they need to. It also seems clear to me that he doesn't understand that all the ball movement in the world isn't going to overcome the ability for a guy to beat his man 1 on 1 and draw a slide. SU in year 4 under Gary Gait shouldn't have an attack that can't beat a SSDM on a switch. On Saturday of the three I think only Thomson did it, that's a horrific sign. I also have zero doubt that when we play Gate in two weeks it's going to be a complete and total cluster against that 10 man ride you can see it already. He hasn't been able to address the ability to play against pressure rides or 10 men defenses. We also can't seem to get a quality SSDM in despite it being an issue pretty much Gait's entire time here (beyond Rice who wasn't his recruit). Harvard was a game a final four contender not only wins but wins comfortably. You can't come off that loss to Maryland and then put up a loss like this, period.

I think it's fair to now wonder if Gary Gait is the long term answer and how long before the University reaches the same conclusion. At minimum I suspect March will be the fall guy this offseason.

I know Gary was saying last summer that the team desperately needed a dodger on the attack line. I guess identifying the problem and solving the problem are very different things... I wonder if excessive loyalty is playing a role here?

 

[SULAXAHOLIC]

Why would you move Leo to attack he has been one of the biggest problems in the last 2 games. I get he has shown to be a decent dodger in the past but to say he has been off his game would be generous to say the least. As far as clearing goes that is on March he is the one who is in charge of that maybe Gait should find a new assistant ?

 

[JeremyCuse]

Why would you move Leo to attack he has been one of the biggest problems in the last 2 games. I get he has shown to be a decent dodger in the past but to say he has been off his game would be generous to say the least. As far as clearing goes that is on March he is the one who is in charge of that maybe Gait should find a new assistant ?

He's a natural attackmen playing midfield. Ye's he's struggling right now for him but moving him would get your best dodging threat on the field 100% of the time versus essentially every other possession. Leo's struggling on outside shots right now, they won't be a problem if he's moved to attack. Not to mention he's the only logical candidate to move save for maybe Anderson and we all know that isn't happening.

Be it March or whoever, the clearing game is going to be a major concern the next three games. Utah can run a 10 man, Hopkins rides like hell and Gate runs the best 10 man in the country. I don't care if your in charge of it, we better be ready for it.

 

[JeremyCuse]

I know Gary was saying last summer that the team desperately needed a dodger on the attack line. I guess identifying the problem and solving the problem are very different things... I wonder if excessive loyalty is playing a role here?

It's hard to come up with an answer to be honest especially after the O had a lot of success when Leo was moved previously. Maybe they feel they don't want to weaken the 1st mid line or that Anderson isn't ready but again when Quint is calling it out you know its bad.

 

[Powellfan]

He's a natural attackmen playing midfield. Ye's he's struggling right now for him but moving him would get your best dodging threat on the field 100% of the time versus essentially every other possession. Leo's struggling on outside shots right now, they won't be a problem if he's moved to attack. Not to mention he's the only logical candidate to move save for maybe Anderson and we all know that isn't happening.

Be it March or whoever, the clearing game is going to be a major concern the next three games. Utah can run a 10 man, Hopkins rides like hell and Gate runs the best 10 man in the country. I don't care if your in charge of it, we better be ready for it.

I don't know how you tell a guy who just scored a career high five goals he's being moved to midfield, for a guy whose been held scoreless in two games already this season (Leo). Leo needs to start beating shorties and the offense will improve. Moving him to attack won't solve his struggles, you just guarantee he'll be matched up with a long pole. I don't see how that could get him out of this slump he's in.

 

[JeremyCuse]

I don't know how you tell a guy who just scored a career high five goals he's being moved to midfield, for a guy whose been held scoreless in two games already this season (Leo). Leo needs to start beating shorties and the offense will improve. Moving him to attack won't solve his struggles, you just guarantee he'll be matched up with a long pole. I don't see how that could get him out of this slump he's in.

Leo's drawn the pole the last 2 games against Maryland and Harvard, I suspect he will continue to get each teams LSM moving forward. Moving him to attack would force teams to decide who gets their #1 Cover Joey or Leo.

Thomson had a great game no doubt but the team still lost and the O was again a mess in the 2 d half. It needs a dodging threat at attack.

 

[richmondcuse03]

Good insight. Appreciate your takes Jeremy and educating the average lax fans on here like myself.

 

[SULAXAHOLIC]

Leo will definitely draw the pole without Rhoa and why wouldn’t he he hasn’t beaten one all season. I would love for him to prove me wrong Im a fan not a critic but his game is much like Finn’s at this point in the season last year

 

[FloridaCuse]

Maybe Gary will start hearing the "noise" and get his butt in gear and transform himself into a different kind of coach, be more engaged and lay into these guys. Laid back isn't working.

 

[JeremyCuse]

Leo will definitely draw the pole without Rhoa and why wouldn’t he he hasn’t beaten one all season. I would love for him to prove me wrong Im a fan not a critic but his game is much like Finn’s at this point in the season last year

Leo drew the pole vs Maryland with Rhoa on the field. Not excusing Leo's play so far this year but he's gonna draw a pole be it attack or middie the rest of the year. At this point I think he'd be more helpful at attack.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

Maybe Gary will start hearing the "noise" and get his butt in gear and transform himself into a different kind of coach, be more engaged and lay into these guys. Laid back isn't working.

Having an athletic scholarship is a privilege. These kids shouldn't have to be "laid into".

If we're up by 5, screw it, they should be trying to get up by 10. That's on the team captains.

#HHH for 60.

 

[FloridaCuse]

Having an athletic scholarship is a privilege. These kids shouldn't have to be "laid into".

If we're up by 5, screw it, they should be trying to get up by 10. That's on the team captains.

#HHH for 60.

I think it's on the whole team, every player. But also on the coaches in their preparation for the season and the game. But how many are motivated by the 12.7 (or is it 12.6?) scholarships. I didn't notice Joey not motivated.

 

[cuselaxss26]

Problem is also with their dodging. It’s just one speed n try to run by them. There is no change of speed to get defenders off tilt, or rocker dodge or hitches or fakes. It’s simply try to get top side n that’s it. No pushing to topside to spin underneath. Joey great talent but drives me crazy with that left side dodge to the btb that EVERYONE knows it’s coming. If he did a simple btb fake slash rocker step n boost top side he have a step atleast get his hands free. But just pushes up side n tries btb usually way to low with no angle. Get that’s his signature but you set that up in first two years everyone’s knows now use it to bait them. Can use other things same way even to bait a goalie. Keep hearing their Lax IQ is off charts for some of our players but don’t see it in any of that kind of stuff.

 

[JeremyCuse]

Having an athletic scholarship is a privilege. These kids shouldn't have to be "laid into".

If we're up by 5, screw it, they should be trying to get up by 10. That's on the team captains.

#HHH for 60.

Certainly don't need to be laid into but staff definitely needs a change in tactic to get these guys to play more disciplined and as Gait noted "to value possessions." We don't need Gait to be Bear Bryant but clearly the status quo is not working.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

Certainly don't need to be laid into but staff definitely needs a change in tactic to get these guys to play more disciplined and as Gait noted "to value possessions." We don't need Gait to be Bear Bryant but clearly the status quo is not working.

I don’t want them so afraid of making mistakes that they all stand around and hope that somebody else makes a play.

 

[JeremyCuse]

I don’t want them so afraid of making mistakes that they all stand around and hope that somebody else makes a play.

It's certainly a fine line but again the alternative is the status quo which I think we can all agree is gonna lead to no where good and right now it's leading to missing the NCAA tournament. I also think we may have a bit of that already going on. Someone mentioned it it in the game thread but we have a couple of guys who are hesitating on great looks and either allowing the D to get in place before taking the shot or passing it up all together. Leo and Hiltz both passed on great looks in particular in the 2nd half.

The bigger issue is that almost all of these guys are upperclassmen, it shouldn't be this difficult for them to understand that when your up 1 late in the game or were down or even nursing a lead even in the 3rd qtr, we don't need a BTB pass that results in a turnover or a shot between the legs when were down 2 trying to come back. Both of which happened in the 2nd half on Saturday. This team plays offense like their up 11 on Hobart or in a meaningless fall ball game regardless of time and score, its beyond frustrating.

 

[JYCUSE12]

First off kudos to Johnny Mullen, just an absolute dominant performance that I haven't' seen since probably Ben Williams. Absurd it was wasted but still a great performance. Sam can be said for Finn, Riley and a few others. Thought Rice played fairly well to though that last sequence to end the game he will want back.

After last year and 5 games this season I think a few things are clear or they are at least to me, lol.

Quint mentioning it in his top 20 today was a nice coincidence but I think the question about whether this attack can win without a significant dodging threat has been answered and it's clear they can't. Finn had a great game on Saturday but I highly doubt SU is moving Joey or Hiltz at this point. It's to move Leo to attack, full stop. Put Thomson back on the 1st midline with English and Rhoa and let the chips fall where they may. As Quint noted, if Joey and Hiltz can't get a goal off (or beat there man) on a switch against a SSDM from that Harvard defense its clear we have a major problem. If they love Thomson at attack move Hiltz at this point, regardless there has to be a bonafide dodging threat on the 1st line and that's Leo despite his own current struggles.

The 2nd midline was a mess prior to Birt's injury and now needs to be completely overhauled. Birt is likely out for the year which is very unfortunate, wish him the best. McCarthy is young and lacks confidence, need him to be better but he is drawing the pole on the 2nd midline so it's gonna be learning experience for him. I would put Hottle out there along with Anderson. Deere is a great lax player, he's not a midfielder and he's getting hung out to dry when he get's stuck on defense. He ends up around the crease most possessions and I think is now like 1 for his last 9 on crease looks. I am sure he won't actually get moved but he needs see some time at attack, he's so out of place at middie it's laughable. Again I would run McCarthy, Hottle and Anderson and instead of a 3rd line you can then you can sub in Cordes and Kellogg as needed. With all of SU's shooting % woes you think we could get Kellogg a few runs with that cannon shot.

I will leave the defensive issues for Powell or DMV as I concentrated a lot on the offense on Saturday but I do have a few thoughts. It wasn't all McCools fault but by midway through the 2nd it was clear it wasn't working. You have to make that move to Ipp. Ipp wasn't light years better but he was better overall. I know Gait said McCool remains the starter but I think this is a mistake. Give Ipp a full game and see what happens. As mentioned SU was a mess with it's secondary slides on Saturday and fell into the trap it did under Petro with hedging or as I call half slides where they didn't need to slide and instead left a guy wide the open. A lax guy online also posted online that SU gave up at least 2 or 3 goals with late subs in the transition game. Not sure if he meant secondary transition goals as I don't recall Harvard scoring a ton in transition but I have no reason to doubt his thoughts. I believe Powell noted the secondary dmid guys really struggled especially Ochoa. Were in a tough spot there, Rice has been really good again and I think Levine has for the most part been solid but the depth is shaky. We have a number of young guys that we may need to give a look to. Frustrating that Kempney can't seem to get on the field.

Grace seemed to have some issues again as well from what i recall. He's a good player but you wonder if the move from D3 to D1 is starting to take its toll. Harvard scoring 15 goals with that kind of possession discrepancy is just unacceptable. Odierna has been really good since he came on but yesterday was not one of his better games. Going zone in the 2nd half was not a good idea and were lucky Harvard guys dropped or misplaced a few passes because they were wide open on at least 2 looks. I wish I had a better answer for the D problems but I honestly don't. At this point I'd almost consider going to an Army or Maryland style, slow to slide unless a guy is clearly beat. It will cost us some goals for sure when guys get beat of the dodge but it would at least stop the secondary slide issues and hedging.


Overall my biggest issue is with the coaching staff. They appear to have learned nothing from 2024. This team has the exact same issues. Still haven't conceded we need a dodging threat on attack, still haven't worked out any depth for the D-mid unit, seem to reluctant to play freshmen even when its clear we need help, allow the "free flowing play" to continue deep into games when its clear we need to valuing the ball and instead we're throwing the ball away because we had to throw a BTB pass for no fn reason. Lastly they have not figured out how to get this team to play well in the 2nd half. Watching a replay of Saturday's 2nd half was like watching the second half of last years Cornell, UNC and Denver games or this years Vermont/Maryland games. Taking bad shots or hesitating on great looks (Leo), taking a shot 20 seconds into the shot clock into the goalies chest, way to many turnovers and just a complete inability to score goals despite a huge number of possessions and looks. It's really an issue, again watch the 2nd half of Cornell and UNC last year and then watch last Saturday's second half, carbon copies.

Gait said all the right things in his PC on Saturday but when do we actually see it? This is a loss that never should have happened and I fear this season is on the verge of slipping away. As someone noted he doesn't appear to have any answers and this team has been (for the most part) a bad 2nd half team who rarely makes 2nd half adjustments. Gait needs to take some heat on multiple fronts. Where is the killer instinct as Quint noted to put teams away? Recruiting has been good, where are some of these guys, they can't all be misses? Where is Anderson, or some of the other young middies like White and McIntee and Kellogg etc. If there not ready to run O midfield can they play SSDM? Why it this team constantly struggling with turnovers against any semblance of pressure? 15 turnovers against Harvard most of which were self inflicted. Harvard didn't even run a 10 man and only rode hard and even then at times it became a total adventure clearing, what the hell is gonna happen against Gate in 2 weeks??

I'd love to be wrong but 4 years in and some things are apparent Gait teams are forever going to have issues playing disciplined ball when they need to. It also seems clear to me that he doesn't understand that all the ball movement in the world isn't going to overcome the ability for a guy to beat his man 1 on 1 and draw a slide. SU in year 4 under Gary Gait shouldn't have an attack that can't beat a SSDM on a switch. On Saturday of the three I think only Thomson did it, that's a horrific sign. I also have zero doubt that when we play Gate in two weeks it's going to be a complete and total cluster against that 10 man ride you can see it already. He hasn't been able to address the ability to play against pressure rides or 10 men defenses. We also can't seem to get a quality SSDM in despite it being an issue pretty much Gait's entire time here (beyond Rice who wasn't his recruit). Harvard was a game a final four contender not only wins but wins comfortably. You can't come off that loss to Maryland and then put up a loss like this, period.

I think it's fair to now wonder if Gary Gait is the long term answer and how long before the University reaches the same conclusion. At minimum I suspect March will be the fall guy this offseason.

It's hard to believe a kid like Kempney can't sniff the field, he was highly rated out of hs and was the best player on his club team that competed with the upper echelon teams in club lax. He's an athletic kid, you think they would give him run at least at ssdm. I believe they had him out there in garbage time with the 3rd line in the first game. Like you said there has to be guys that can be utilized on the bench if what were doing isn't working. Great post Jeremy

 

[JeremyCuse]

It's hard to believe a kid like Kempney can't sniff the field, he was highly rated out of hs and was the best player on his club team that competed with the upper echelon teams in club lax. He's an athletic kid, you think they would give him run at least at ssdm. I believe they had him out there in garbage time with the 3rd line in the first game. Like you said there has to be guys that can be utilized on the bench if what were doing isn't working. Great post Jeremy

With Kempney at mid sometimes guys just don't work out, even 5 stars. I was a big fan of his in HS and he saw some time there early I wanna say third line and some 2nd in 2023 but then fell of the map and then barely played last year at SSDM. He hasn't played at all this year so maybe they are thinking a Red-shirt and have a plan for him so no issue there but it would be nice if we could see some of these young guys especially at SSDM.

Recruiting has been going fairly well but not seeing much from any O recruit that we brought in last year or this year is concerning to say the least. Hoping between McCarthy, Hottle and Deere we can see some more involvement, or perhaps one of the frosh middies is given a shot as the year goes on.

 

[nyclax]

anyone know details of gait's contract? when he was first hired i heard 5 years...but dont quote me on that...if true then this being his 4th year is a big one...if they get to a FF then that's an easy extension...if they match last year's quarterfinal exit then my guess would still be an extension but a pretty hot seat...if they regress from last year and lose in the 1st round or fail to make the tournament then all bets are off...again that is assuming that contract length is correct. it may not be im not 100%. could be 6 years. could have been 4 and they've already done the quiet extension but if that were the case someone here prob would have heard about it...(the assumption behind all this thinking is that they wouldnt let him coach as a lame duck..)

 

[JeremyCuse]

anyone know details of gait's contract? when he was first hired i heard 5 years...but dont quote me on that...if true then this being his 4th year is a big one...if they get to a FF then that's an easy extension...if they match last year's quarterfinal exit then my guess would still be an extension but a pretty hot seat...if they regress from last year and lose in the 1st round or fail to make the tournament then all bets are off...again that is assuming that contract length is correct. it may not be im not 100%. could be 6 years. could have been 4 and they've already done the quiet extension but if that were the case someone here prob would have heard about it...(the assumption behind all this thinking is that they wouldnt let him coach as a lame duck..)

From what I heard I believe it was 5 years (I can't say this 100% certainty). Cuse does keep the non fball and bball contracts on the DL for the most part so an extension without leaking out while unlikely is possible.

Curious to get your take on the offense. Is it to much of a free wheeling style of play coming back to haunt them? Is a dodger at attack a move to finally make? Midfield depth a major issue?

 

[FloridaCuse]

From what I heard I believe it was 5 years (I can't say this 100% certainty). Cuse does keep the non fball and bball contracts on the DL for the most part so an extension without leaking out while unlikely is possible.

Curious to get your take on the offense. Is it to much of a free wheeling style of play coming back to haunt them? Is a dodger at attack a move to finally make? Midfield depth a major issue?

I think it's lack of focus & intensity, and failing to view each possession as though the game depends on it. And coaching.

 

[BomberOrange]

I don’t want them so afraid of making mistakes that they all stand around and hope that somebody else makes a play.

That’s on the players if they’re too soft to take constructive criticism…which in sports does involve some expletives, at least in my day, but still…have some freaking pride boys!!

 

[FloridaCuse]

For those with access, check out the article on Syracuse.com about Siena basketball freshman Gavin Doty. I posted it in the Basketball Forum in the Siena/GMac thread. We could use some of what he has. The article says he plays every possession to win that possession. And he played lacrosse in high school.

 

[nyclax]

From what I heard I believe it was 5 years (I can't say this 100% certainty). Cuse does keep the non fball and bball contracts on the DL for the most part so an extension without leaking out while unlikely is possible.

Curious to get your take on the offense. Is it to much of a free wheeling style of play coming back to haunt them? Is a dodger at attack a move to finally make? Midfield depth a major issue?

yes they need a dodger at attack. leo is the obvious option. he gets the pole anyway...

they should not move away from their free wheeling style but like with everything that should not be instead of playing fundamentally sound...u almost always lose to the more fundamental team...i know some of the turnovers are frustrating but if you look at the stats, the orange are actually not turning it over very much compared to other teams... the bigger issue to me is shot selection, placement, and an offense that is getting easier for opponents to scout because of a lack of dodging punch...