Some thoughts and why Gait maybe in major trouble

[JeremyCuse]

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...

Thanks, good to get a non orange fan take, appreciate the thoughts and agree.

 

[JYCUSE12]

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.

Well said

 

[Troughin']

Late to the party, non-expert view, and rhetorical question, but does the coaching staff actually study film of our opponents? Going back to Denver last year, it seems like many teams have us completely figured out when they come to play, but we always seem surprised and unprepared, especially against non-ACC opponents. In some cases, the talent delta is too heavily in our favor and we win anyway, but in other cases (last weekend), a less talented team makes up for it by knowing exactly how to play us.

 

[Whitey23]

 

[SULAXAHOLIC]

if you can’t be an athlete be an athletic supporter maybe Mr Hogan should put down the Ben and Jerry’s

 

[cuselaxss26]

Honestly not that want it to be super harsh , but maby little hateing or critic hate will put fire in these guys to prove everyone wrong. He wasn’t wrong bout everything the over hype n falling flat is true. But these players better realize they gotta come out n play the best they can for every second of every min of every qtr in every game.

 

[cuselaxss26]

coaches also

 

[SUlax88-09]

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.

Great stuff!! I’ve been saying literally the same things for a few years now, but I’m a no one on this site, so to have you write it means something. Sounds like we’re seeing the same issues with this team: inability for our attack to beat their man 1v1 and draw a slide, poor SSDM play outside of Rice, and shaky goaltending.

We looked better in the first half today against Utah, but it’s Utah and then we looked bad again in the 2nd half (we scored 2 goals all 2nd half; the 2 empty net goals at the very end because Utah did a 10 man ride can be misleading). To Gait’s credit, he did play Andersen on attack in the 2nd half. Andersen looked ok (he had a good finish and a good pass that should have been an assist), but the offense didn’t look good. I would have liked to have seen Leo play some attack. Hopefully Thomson is ok because I don’t think he played at all in the 2nd half, and we really missed him.

Our attack is loaded with 3 future professional box lacrosse players (actually 4 if you count Deere), which sounds great, but they all kind of do the same things. As box players, they‘re good finishers and passers, but not good dodgers. In box lacrosse, you don’t need to sprint and dodge and beat your defender 1v1 because there’s no room and also because you rely on your teammates to set moving, bone crushing, cross-check picks on your defender‘s back to free you up (box really is vicious). Field lacrosse is just a different game then box lacrosse. I‘ve been critical of Spallina ever since his first game at SU, but after watching him ‘dominate’ in box lacrosse against great players this past summer, I have to give him his flowers as a box player (but still only for box lacrosse). You need SPEED to dominate in field lacrosse, and Spallina, Hiltz, McCarthy, and Deere all look slow to me. Hiltz and Thomson are awesome finishers, so we just need someone who can dodge and create a slide, and that will unlock this offense.

We really only have 2 people who can consistently beat their defenders 1v1 and either score or create a slide, and that is Rhoa and Hottel. I thought Leo was going to be ‘that guy’ for us, like a Pat Perritt, but he’s actually regressed so far this year. Rhoa has been a stud, so it was great to have him back today. If he played against Harvard, then I think we would have won that game. Hottel has been awesome! All 5’7” of him. He runs by his defenders, he shoots on the run with his right and left, and the endurance on this kid! The coaches obviously also saw Ochoa’s struggles last week because Hottel was also playing SSDM again today. Great feet! He’s also like a cheat code in the clear game with his speed. He reminds me of Matt Abbott!! Great recruiting pick up. English has the offensive skills, too, but his shooting has just been too inconsistent.

The defense looked better today, but Utah’s offense wasn’t impressive. We really struggled against a great passing and shooting team like Harvard (props to them), which is surprising because that’s kind of what our defense goes up against in practice everyday (our attack). We’ll see next week if our defense learned its lesson against Harvard.

McCool was better in the 1st half, but then struggled again in the 2nd half. I agree, and I would give Ippoliti a chance because I don’t think McCool is a national championship caliber goalie. Watching Maryland beat ND today made it painfully obvious how important a great goalie is (McNaney was amazing!).

Outside of Manhattan, our schedule is tough the rest of the way, so we’ll find out next week against Hopkins how good we really are. We need a win against a top 5 team to prove that we’re a championship contender. This is the year to do win it all too, because nobody looks unbeatable this year. Maryland is the best team in the country, but even they‘re beatable.

Go SU lax!!!

 

[SUlax88-09]

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...

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 think you nailed it with your above passionate and insightful post from earlier this year after the ugly Harvard loss, and it’s exactly what I’ve been saying for the past few years. My post below is from Feb ‘24! It’s like a bad case of deja vu because we’re now again about to either not make the playoffs or have an early playoff loss.

I know that you’re a believer in Spallina, but I think Gait made his mistake by giving the keys to the offense to Spallina as a freshman, never taking them away, and now it’s going to cost him his job. I love Gary Gait as a player, but I wasn’t a fan of his hire as a coach and if we don‘t make it to the Final Four next year, then it’s time to get a new coach. It’s so sad how far we’ve fallen and how long it’s been since we’ve been the top lax program. We’re now like the ‘old’ dominant UCLA basketball program. Just a memory

 

[Comstock44]

This team is so full of themselves. It’s high time to take the names off the back of jerseys. Time to play for the name on the front, not on the back.

 

[JeremyCuse]

I think you nailed it with your above passionate and insightful post from earlier this year after the ugly Harvard loss, and it’s exactly what I’ve been saying for the past few years. My post below is from Feb ‘24! It’s like a bad case of deja vu because we’re now again about to either not make the playoffs or have an early playoff loss.

I know that you’re a believer in Spallina, but I think Gait made his mistake by giving the keys to the offense to Spallina as a freshman, never taking them away, and now it’s going to cost him his job. I love Gary Gait as a player, but I wasn’t a fan of his hire as a coach and if we don‘t make it to the Final Four next year, then it’s time to get a new coach. It’s so sad how far we’ve fallen and how long it’s been since we’ve been the top lax program. We’re now like the ‘old’ dominant UCLA basketball program. Just a memory

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I've had concerns on Gait since his first year as I saw some things I didnt love. The Harvard loss for me though was the first Time I had a major concern not only for this year but moving forward under Gait. That's not a game you can lose, full stop.

Spallina is a very good player but I also recognized after his rookie year he had limitations and his lack of speed/dodging ability was always going to be a problem against elite poles. March and Gait should be playing him like they did vs ND, off ball and freelancing. He needs to play of an above average dodger which is why I've been clamoring for Anderson

 

[DoctahLexus]

This blame for this game does not revolve around our offensive concepts. I do not see a team that is trying to play box lacrosse during a field game. Dodging is a crucial part of our offense. I also think some of you are also focused too much on Anderson's upside, and not the player he actually is in the present. While I think he has the potential to surpass a lot of guys in our lineup as an initiator against long poles, he is not a guy who is dependable enough CURRENTLY to get it done there. He has been prone to sloppy play and not moving the ball fast enough when he draws attention. He also is struggling to get the upper hand off the dodge if a defender is able to match his physicality.

Clearly the staff wants to get a threat like Anderson working. They put him out there at attack for Deere even after a 4 goal game. They did not immediately go back to Thomson at attack against Duke. They still had him running out of the box against UNC. It is not a case of us thinking he is too dodging oriented and not a player who matches our style of play, it is that he is not currently reliable enough in that dodging role. Third quarter he is going up against a short stick at X and throws a horrible pass into traffic that gets knocked down. We are lucky to get the ensuing gb. He gets shut down by a short stick on the following possession too.

Unfortunately his story is similar to that of a lot of the younger guys we have needed to step up all across the field. 2nd middie line, which last year featured Rhoa and Jake Stevens, has not done enough in their runs on offense, including some sloppy play and poor shooting from guys like McCarthy. We have not replaced them with our slower more indoor oriented players like Deere or Elijah-Brown.

This game was lost due to similar things that have plagued us in all our losses. Lack of midfield athletes on both sides of the ball leading to fatigue, sloppy undisciplined play on both sides of the ball, poor clearing, bonehead penalties at crucial moments, impatient shooting on offense, etc. Don't worry, Gait is implicated in most if not all of that. But I do not think he or March deserve blame for how they are using our options on offense. Thomson over Anderson at attack was not the reason we lost on Saturday. Spallina and how we use him sure as hell is not the reason.

 

[cuselaxss26]

We don’t invert enough. Think with second line middie we should invert using hottles speed also cordes from behind. But also we are not setting offball picks enough. Guys arnt moving enough during dodges to cause confusion on defense. We stay up top to much with guys not going inside and out allowing defense to just stay in tight not having to move or waste much energy.

Think should drop english down to second line to give them some upperclassmen experience. Balance it out little bit. Send anderson with leo and rhoa or throw thompson up there. Ball is dying in guys stick little to much at times. spallina should be moving inside and out n just all over same with hiltz. Also seems when we are dodging our spacing is bad. Guys arnt clearing out enough to give dodger room or making the slide have to go far which then can’t move ball and get D on carousel.

There not moving there feet on some passes nor are they moving to ball on passes. Giving the D chance to knock it down or get on their hands.