Virginia Gameday...

[JeremyCuse]

Yeah saying he has underwhelmed is pretty harsh. He’s only a freshman and has over 30 points from the midfield. It’s hard to ask for much more than that. As fans we are extremely lucky to get production like that from a first year player. This freshman class came in with huge expectations and has exceeded them. In no way does one of them deserve a lazy comment like that.

Overall Thomson has been very good this year, his point totals for a frosh are excellent. That said as a middie on strictly 6 on 6 he has struggled for extended periods if I am being honest. He's been drawing the pole most of the year but today UVA poled Leo and Thomson finished with I think 1 assist despite drawing a shorty all game and UVas ssdms aren't exactly elite. He really should be playing attack.

 

[Cuse All-In]

Disappointing result. Had hoped for a closer game but the defense just a huge letdown today. The amount of ball watching and happy feet was bad. Sliding early, not matching up, and a good chunk of times just looking lost. Gave Virginia shooters a lot of high quality looks. Mark probably could have had one or two more saves but not much he can do when guys are that wide open.

Who would have thought that we didn't get enough of Richusa taking draws today? He was able to do a good job against Lasalla, though had some trouble at times retaining possession after winning the draw. I see looking over the box score that even Dwan was credited with winning a draw, with Richusa picking up the groundball.

The offense is what it is. They're gonna score when they get possessions, it's just getting and keeping those possessions. Not exactly sure why they kept trying to force passes inside, Virginia was waiting and would quickly collapse forcing the turnover. The second line felt invisible today. Rhoa had a couple shots, Cook didn't register a single stat, and Birtwistle a goal on the EMO.

I still like our chances against Duke, unless we get the same type of defensive play we got today.

I wish I could share your optimism about Duke but our defensive play will not be significantly better and Duke has a great fogo in Naso. Duke, UVA and ND are in a class by themselves and our games against Princeton, UNC etc. were good for building confidence but can be misleading when it comes to how our D can play against the elite teams.

 

[cuselaxss26]

i disagree as we had ball more that when we made our run. Plus we got stops and takeaways. They never really took foot off gas till in 4th after went up 8-9 then was clearly over

 

[cuselaxss26]

Those may be the stats, but you have to remember that UVA played differently with the lead. I think they would have outscored Cuse more in the 2nd half if the game had been closer.

i was disagree with this what ment.

 

[Powellfan]

believe box score was 1st-uva 7 cuse 2
2nd- uva 3 cuse 3
3rd- uva 5 cuse 3
4th- uva 4 cuse 4
so besides first was even in scoring which if didn’t give a 6-0 start to lead might of gone diff if wasn’t digging out of big hole shooting themslves in foot more then uva besting them least one offense side. Plus 3 of their goals came off those unforced poor horrible turnovers on simple pass n catch.

Other than that, how was the play Mrs Lincoln?

The defense definitely had some nice moments (especially Olexo who I thought played really well) but throughout the game they kept making draw dropping mistakes. Leaving guys open on the crease, sliding needlessly, being a step behind in odd man rushes (the LaSalla goal comes to mind). It seems to me this defense might be “overcoached” in the sense that they don’t know how to react when the slightest thing unexpected happens. UVA is really good and I expected them to score a lot of goals today. I just didn’t think they would score them so easily.

 

[MD Cuse Fan]

Other than that, how was the play Mrs Lincoln?

The defense definitely had some nice moments (especially Olexo who I thought played really well) but throughout the game they kept making draw dropping mistakes. Leaving guys open on the crease, sliding needlessly, being a step behind in odd man rushes (the LaSalla goal comes to mind). It seems to me this defense might be “overcoached” in the sense that they don’t know how to react when the slightest thing unexpected happens. UVA is really good and I expected them to score a lot of goals today. I just didn’t think they would score them so easily.

I think "overcoached" is probably a good way to phrase it and honestly feels like the way Petro's defenses at Hopkins the last so many years could be described. Of course talent is part of it, I think we have some pretty good pieces but still lack a true lockdown defender. Olexo is the closest right now, maybe Dwan becomes that one day but it sticks out when playing other ACC teams right now.

 

[315Upstate]

Young team that for the first time all year wasn’t playing with house money looked tight. To be down 6~0 before they could blink is criminal

 

[AckermanAve]

I may get blasted for this, but if you take Will Mark off this team there really isn’t much improvement from last year’s team.

The defense is extremely concerning. The amount of goals given up on the doorstep is eye opening. At the college level a dodger shouldn’t be able to dump it to the crease guy for a goal. There’s no second slide, no helping and recovering. If a defense is working well, when the offense dodges and draws a slide, it should be 2-3 passes before the offense gets a shot, ideally from 10+ yards out (not on the doorstep). This is basic stuff.

The face off teams are getting out worked/out hustled.

Offense shows glimpses of being promising but overall the carelessness and sloppiness has not improved.

I don’t see this team competing for ACC championships without improving these things drastically. The improvement over last year is marginal at best. Will Mark and a weak schedule are the only reason the record looks better than last year. I want them competing for championships as much as anyone here but there’s still a lot of concerns.

 

[FRANKIEFAN]

Dukes just as tough but I think we might be able to put it together and give them a game next week. Its just frustrating how efficient the other ACC teams have been at exploiting our weaknesses every mistake is an automatic goal or Mark has to make a crazy save. All our big time playmakers leave a couple easy goals on the table each game too. Lacrosse D1 rosters are big how do you not have someone good on the team at faceoffs? Its not like they aren't practiced over and over.

 

[wgdsr]

8-15 / End 3rd

I may get blasted for this, but if you take Will Mark off this team there really isn’t much improvement from last year’s team.

The defense is extremely concerning. The amount of goals given up on the doorstep is eye opening. At the college level a dodger shouldn’t be able to dump it to the crease guy for a goal. There’s no second slide, no helping and recovering. If a defense is working well, when the offense dodges and draws a slide, it should be 2-3 passes before the offense gets a shot, ideally from 10+ yards out (not on the doorstep). This is basic stuff.

The face off teams are getting out worked/out hustled.

Offense shows glimpses of being promising but overall the carelessness and sloppiness has not improved.

I don’t see this team competing for ACC championships without improving these things drastically. The improvement over last year is marginal at best. Will Mark and a weak schedule are the only reason the record looks better than last year. I want them competing for championships as much as anyone here but there’s still a lot of concerns.

as a tandem, dickson and cormier are better than anyone at bubbling into the open lane or slot and being open by an additional 2 yards. throw in their dodgers who turn heads and expect d &c will find those spots, it's very difficult to keep them to a manageable # unless you can stand up dodgers and stay in d&c's face. dickson will be gone next year and so might be cormier.

if intellect on d is what's prioritized, dwan and figueras will be back there, and that's young but a good start.

 

[Cuse All-In]

I may get blasted for this, but if you take Will Mark off this team there really isn’t much improvement from last year’s team.

The defense is extremely concerning. The amount of goals given up on the doorstep is eye opening. At the college level a dodger shouldn’t be able to dump it to the crease guy for a goal. There’s no second slide, no helping and recovering. If a defense is working well, when the offense dodges and draws a slide, it should be 2-3 passes before the offense gets a shot, ideally from 10+ yards out (not on the doorstep). This is basic stuff.

The face off teams are getting out worked/out hustled.

Offense shows glimpses of being promising but overall the carelessness and sloppiness has not improved.

I don’t see this team competing for ACC championships without improving these things drastically. The improvement over last year is marginal at best. Will Mark and a weak schedule are the only reason the record looks better than last year. I want them competing for championships as much as anyone here but there’s still a lot of concerns.

You make some very good points. I had to chuckle when I watched the interview at halftime that Carcaterra did with Mark. Mark said that they have the "best coaches in the country". Almost feels like they are trying too hard to convince everyone that the coaches are ok

 

[Cuse All-In]

Other than that, how was the play Mrs Lincoln?

The defense definitely had some nice moments (especially Olexo who I thought played really well) but throughout the game they kept making draw dropping mistakes. Leaving guys open on the crease, sliding needlessly, being a step behind in odd man rushes (the LaSalla goal comes to mind). It seems to me this defense might be “overcoached” in the sense that they don’t know how to react when the slightest thing unexpected happens. UVA is really good and I expected them to score a lot of goals today. I just didn’t think they would score them so easily.

I think your comment about the D being overcoached is a critical issue. From 2021 season (Rogers) until now, our defense has struggled mightily against good teams. Having watched a lot of games over that time involving teams ranked below us (with arguably no more and probably less talent), I think coaching has to be the biggest issue. I would argue that our D has been one of the worst in D1 period in the past 3 years. Part of being a good coach is to find a fit between the system and the players. As we all know, players need to have a sense of confidence and "freedom" in order to handle different game situations and use their athleticism and instincts to react. Penetrating our defense is way too easy both in terms of positioning and time given to shoot. To see the best shooters simply toy with our defense, relax and rip it against our good goalie - Mark and previously Porter - is brutal to watch.

If the team doesn't deal with this problem, they will waste Mark and the offensive talent again next year just like the past 2 years.

 

[Cuse All-In]

Other than that, how was the play Mrs Lincoln?

The defense definitely had some nice moments (especially Olexo who I thought played really well) but throughout the game they kept making draw dropping mistakes. Leaving guys open on the crease, sliding needlessly, being a step behind in odd man rushes (the LaSalla goal comes to mind). It seems to me this defense might be “overcoached” in the sense that they don’t know how to react when the slightest thing unexpected happens. UVA is really good and I expected them to score a lot of goals today. I just didn’t think they would score them so easily.

Sorry - one more comment. Your point about scoring easily is bang on - UVA could well have had a few more if Shellenberger wasn't a bit rusty and missed the net several times.

 

[wgdsr]

I think your comment about the D being overcoached is a critical issue. From 2021 season (Rogers) until now, our defense has struggled mightily against good teams. Having watched a lot of games over that time involving teams ranked below us (with arguably no more and probably less talent), I think coaching has to be the biggest issue. I would argue that our D has been one of the worst in D1 period in the past 3 years. Part of being a good coach is to find a fit between the system and the players. As we all know, players need to have a sense of confidence and "freedom" in order to handle different game situations and use their athleticism and instincts to react. Penetrating our defense is way too easy both in terms of positioning and time given to shoot. To see the best shooters simply toy with our defense, relax and rip it against our good goalie - Mark and previously Porter - is brutal to watch.

If the team doesn't deal with this problem, they will waste Mark and the offensive talent again next year just like the past 2 years.

when uva built their lead, it looked to me that about every goal was on a defender or 2. wrong slide, or didn't need it, or can't believe that was coached, fell asleep, didn't recover or just got beat when shouldn't have. cuse d needs to play better.

 

[Shrmdougluvr]

when uva built their lead, it looked to me that about every goal was on a defender or 2. wrong slide, or didn't need it, or can't believe that was coached, fell asleep, didn't recover or just got beat when shouldn't have. cuse d needs to play better.

Yeah ... I'm struggling to believe that Petro has been coaching kol all season to wander half-way towards a UVA player who is running away from the goal while well-covered. There's no possible way that is the scheme. That happened (not just with Kol) quite often.

Having said that, sometimes players stop playing intuitively when "over coached" and it can lead to absentmindedness.

 

[DMVCuseLax]

Yeah ... I'm struggling to believe that Petro has been coaching kol all season to wander half-way towards a UVA player who is running away from the goal while well-covered. There's no possible way that is the scheme. That happened (not just with Kol) quite often.

Having said that, sometimes players stop playing intuitively when "over coached" and it can lead to absentmindedness.

I’m not saying we would have won the game but we needed to start Dwan. He does his job. Doesn’t hedge from his guy and is very calm on clears.

30 is an LSM. Could have just added him to the rotation at LSM and kept Dwan in. They went to Dwan in the 2nd half but they were already in the hole.

We still lack that vocal leader on defense. It’s tough playing good defense without constant communication.

I’m really baffled by 10s playtime. He has poor footwork and lacks the ability to change directions. He is an offensive player that was converted to DM. Don’t get it.

I believe the close poles feel they need to hedge to help certain DMs which gives their cover more space. Can’t do it at this level.

Offensively we turned the ball over early way too much. They have to play better situational offense. When your defense is working overtime you need to pump the brakes periodically and you have to take care of the BALL.

Lastly, some of these players have a real issue picking up GBs on the first attempt. Looks like youth ball at times.

 

[cuselaxss26]

I think if one person in d system doesn’t play their role or tries to play two roles just trickles down n confused everyone. Clary let his guy get space way to much as he’s getting ready for slide when he wasn’t even first or 2nd slide guy n his dude just back cut him non stop. I agree dwan should of stayed there. I’m not a fan of kol has played decent at times but makes some mind boggling decisions at times also. Honestly like to see dwan olexo cacameo(beck even) at close with clary kol maby lsm n wing. Their sticks were in passing lanes enough they go for sticks not body to much. We slide or halfway slide when absolutely no need or player has no angle or our player isn’t even beat which then cause rest defense to have to go n then ur cooked. Also i never understand why goalie plays dude behind net. Why not just let them sit there waste shot clock b cover dudes. Rarely does it go good for goalie that plays dude behind net. Also i think stated this before and not saying team doesn’t have heart, but when comes to shoots we step out way or duck which opens up for fake b closer shot or open shot. Go out in dude get stuck on his hands or keep it in shot path to maby deflect it for possible gb pick up. To really beat these better teams and win it all these are things that can change the game. Understand ball will hurt but possibly saving a goal or momentum boost be worth it in my eyes. We don’t slide hard or fast always seems like a half job or hesitation. As someone said bout finding which guys are best for system we run whatever that might be times not even sure what our schemes are. Also notice we slide way to much in front of guys they see it coming n make easy pass. Specially doubles got to do it when guys back is turn or anticipate dodge so when does it ur right there for surprise. If guy sees you coming most players at this level to good n smart to not dish ball n now it’s recovery time when can be to late already. Once again need to put pressure on offense non stop making every pass and catch least take effort from offense to get it. Then ur tiring the offense out and offense isn’t just tiring defense out. How many times did uva go out on our guys making them constantly have to look to get rid of it (specially during subbing) where made some bad passes prob cause tired from trying to stay away from defender while other guys get on field.

 

[cuselaxss26]

So sorry kinda rumbled in there

 

[cuselaxss26]

i watch a lot of games and always look at other teams defenses. Then wonder how teams not much more talent then us able to play better defense or make games vs top teams. Also we need some more transition offense. Which kinda hard with olexo playing down low. But our dmids never really push it either. At times yes best to slow it down specially if long defense stretch. But even if not never really push it. We need better ride system as if not gonna win a lot of faceoffs need to cause turnovers on ride,defense and other areas. Ground balls are just baffling at times. Also see how when petey won faceoff he kept our fogo on field to try to take him n use it against us. But our fogos barely can pick up gb or hold ball when do win it. There’s a lot of work to be done. Hopefully they come out vs duke and get a much much needed win.

 

[wgdsr]

Yeah ... I'm struggling to believe that Petro has been coaching kol all season to wander half-way towards a UVA player who is running away from the goal while well-covered. There's no possible way that is the scheme. That happened (not just with Kol) quite often.

Having said that, sometimes players stop playing intuitively when "over coached" and it can lead to absentmindedness.

here are the first 6 goals:
1) incredibly unnecessary aj slide to shellenberger as he is dummy dodging and there is no 2 on the entire half of the field to cover.
-2) ditto to garno as he's bottled up going to his left except off dickson on the crease
3) garno speed dodges a short from x. u can maybe have a slide ready, but this is one where u live with garno making a play he almost never does from behind.
4) mcconvey bobbles a pass and somehow splits 2 guys in a phone booth. rosa u can excuse a bit as he was reaching probably for the gb at 1st. the pole not only whiffing the slide but allowing mcconvey to get top side to his strong hand is just crazy bad.
5) mid alley dodge shouldnt draw anything but eyes, but dickson loses himself in the backside wash and the 2 crease d guys don't feel like picking up w enough urgency.
6) no words for simply leaving dickson backside, not supporting anything.
we could go on.

except for #3, to me there's no
confusion here. these were just terrible/nowhere near good enough plays, hustle and/or decisions.

 

[AD31]

i watch a lot of games and always look at other teams defenses. Then wonder how teams not much more talent then us able to play better defense or make games vs top teams. Also we need some more transition offense. Which kinda hard with olexo playing down low. But our dmids never really push it either. At times yes best to slow it down specially if long defense stretch. But even if not never really push it. We need better ride system as if not gonna win a lot of faceoffs need to cause turnovers on ride,defense and other areas. Ground balls are just baffling at times. Also see how when petey won faceoff he kept our fogo on field to try to take him n use it against us. But our fogos barely can pick up gb or hold ball when do win it. There’s a lot of work to be done. Hopefully they come out vs duke and get a much much needed win.

Drives me nuts we never push transitions but I know for a fact Dmids are not allowed and told to dump off and get off.

 

[DMVCuseLax]

I think if one person in d system doesn’t play their role or tries to play two roles just trickles down n confused everyone. Clary let his guy get space way to much as he’s getting ready for slide when he wasn’t even first or 2nd slide guy n his dude just back cut him non stop. I agree dwan should of stayed there. I’m not a fan of kol has played decent at times but makes some mind boggling decisions at times also. Honestly like to see dwan olexo cacameo(beck even) at close with clary kol maby lsm n wing. Their sticks were in passing lanes enough they go for sticks not body to much. We slide or halfway slide when absolutely no need or player has no angle or our player isn’t even beat which then cause rest defense to have to go n then ur cooked. Also i never understand why goalie plays dude behind net. Why not just let them sit there waste shot clock b cover dudes. Rarely does it go good for goalie that plays dude behind net. Also i think stated this before and not saying team doesn’t have heart, but when comes to shoots we step out way or duck which opens up for fake b closer shot or open shot. Go out in dude get stuck on his hands or keep it in shot path to maby deflect it for possible gb pick up. To really beat these better teams and win it all these are things that can change the game. Understand ball will hurt but possibly saving a goal or momentum boost be worth it in my eyes. We don’t slide hard or fast always seems like a half job or hesitation. As someone said bout finding which guys are best for system we run whatever that might be times not even sure what our schemes are. Also notice we slide way to much in front of guys they see it coming n make easy pass. Specially doubles got to do it when guys back is turn or anticipate dodge so when does it ur right there for surprise. If guy sees you coming most players at this level to good n smart to not dish ball n now it’s recovery time when can be to late already. Once again need to put pressure on offense non stop making every pass and catch least take effort from offense to get it. Then ur tiring the offense out and offense isn’t just tiring defense out. How many times did uva go out on our guys making them constantly have to look to get rid of it (specially during subbing) where made some bad passes prob cause tired from trying to stay away from defender while other guys get on field.

on the goalie coming out of the cage when they are hung. Apparently thats based on how much time is left on the clock. They don’t think they can stay with their guy if there is a lot of time left on the clock.

 

[cuselaxss26]

here are the first 6 goals:
1) incredibly unnecessary aj slide to shellenberger as he is dummy dodging and there is no 2 on the entire half of the field to cover.
-2) ditto to garno as he's bottled up going to his left except off dickson on the crease
3) garno speed dodges a short from x. u can maybe have a slide ready, but this is one where u live with garno making a play he almost never does from behind.
4) mcconvey bobbles a pass and somehow splits 2 guys in a phone booth. rosa u can excuse a bit as he was reaching probably for the gb at 1st. the pole not only whiffing the slide but allowing mcconvey to get top side to his strong hand is just crazy bad.
5) mid alley dodge shouldnt draw anything but eyes, but dickson loses himself in the backside wash and the 2 crease d guys don't feel like picking up w enough urgency.
6) no words for simply leaving dickson backside, not supporting anything.
we could go on.

except for #3, to me there's no
confusion here. these were just terrible/nowhere near good enough plays, hustle and/or decisions.

U ending lines are on point. Also what ment kinda when say they have heart but not even sure how to put it just say not enough heart. Almost like there is no care or hoping someone else makes a play while i sit back. Everything is half assd at times kinda. Watch other games and i see kids just full out going leaving everything on field. Not sure if coaching thing a player mentality thing or what. Just at times i don’t see as said urgency or hustle. Like oh we are d1 athletes n cuse giving it 75% is enough to get it done. Also as said choices made arnt good. I think have talent but maby the iq aspects and full on gritty toughness(heart) isn’t there. Really noticed it in unc game on that poor play by murphy where threw pass n unc guy got it started fast break. He and aviles just jogged back on d n unc scored. Totally get ur tired but have to fight thru it and literally give it everything. Not sure if any teams actually do this but know one of my coaches did. He would run us a bit(defense mostly) n then try to play defense after just running so playing tired and vs somewhat fresh guys. When ur tired and work harder that’s how build stamina n muscle plus endurance n ability to get thru it. Also when tired gotta try to keep mind calm and player smarter which harder then said. But once we get tired we get extremely lazy. Even before that see a lot of careless hustle. Someone said it once during a game think was carc vs unc bout hiltz n him hustling for shots. Which i notice last game shots go out he does kinda trot to end line. A lot of guys do. There’s alot of jogging on plays kinda gets little frustrating to watch. I also feel on defense there isn’t enough talking or least don’t seem to be. Someone whoever is captain usually should be mark calling it out telling guys what to do or who goes or what not. Overall the whole team needs to play better hustle more and give it everything, while being smarter. The one scrum for gb we had 3guys to 1 think n got it close to one of our guys n other 2 just stopped but unc guy never gave up n ended up with ball. Almost like everyone waits for someone else to make a play instead of trying to do it together or themslves. Rosa sadly isn’t fastest n not good footwork but i can’t denied kid doesn’t try or give it everything he can. Yes isn’t great but he does give it his all to point. We need more guys specially the better ones play like that.

 

[cuselaxss26]

Another thing that bugs me like no other. Is when guys get ball n dudes on them and they just stop running and try a juke or deke move and falls right into double. Just run as fast as can run. Don’t stop running till in space or give ball up to someone in space or whatever. Johnny did this once off faceoff. Won it ran stopped unc came n he ended up in trouble instead just running it down. Which think coaches need to teach our fogos and d mids to carry ball a lot better. Not sure how so many d1 guys are afraid to carry better or handle ball in their stick so much they panic. Never stop moving ur feet and will be harder for people get ball off ya. To many guys also just watch others instead of going to help or moving themslves. If someone is double teamed then someone is most likely open go to them.

 

[cuselaxss26]

so i went back and watched game again n stopped n slowed it down for each uva goal. If anyone watches just keep eye on clary and kol for most of them. Ball watching and poor decisions and positioning. Not trying to pick on them but they were big cause of a lot of goals. Clary coming back after 5games missed prob shouldn’t of been inserted so quickly. Only couple where mids were to blame n two goals were had offense guys back n no idea what to do which left guys open. But please watch clary and kol during game specially on the uva goals. Tell me what you see. One kol points to cacameo pick up guy on wing to which he making his way to him n cacameo points to kol saying stay on guy behind net. Yet kol creeps out to wing guy n behind net guy cuts to front for quick dump. Guy on wing didn’t make move so no need for kol to push out toward him as if dude did try if kol stayed at gle dude would ran into double as cacameo was right there also but went out to wing guy n simple cut for guy behind net. If even watch goal highlights keep eye on 30 n 33 for cuse tell me what yous see.