MLAX: Back to the Final Four!

[wandalee]

I went to the game today - my first lacrosse match in person. It was lots of fun. There was a great crowd there, though probably half of them were Syracuse fans. Great win, guys!

[DukieInKansas]

Congratulations on the win. Let's keep it up and win the rest of the games.

[Native]

...the Holes trail by two to Denver with four minutes left in the nightcap. Rivalry aside, it's a great shootout game of lacrosse — really fast-paced and hectic.

[Native]

Down go the Heels, dropping the game 16-14 to Denver in Chapel Hill. Should actually be 15-14, but Denver scored on a fluke full-field heave clear with :01 left.

If Denver can get past Loyola they'll be a tough out.

[Indoor66]

Down go the Heels, dropping the game 16-14 to Denver in Chapel Hill. Should actually be 15-14, but Denver scored on a fluke full-field heave clear with :01 left.

If Denver can get past Loyola they'll be a tough out.

A fitting end for the hated heels.

[burnspbesq]

I imagine the staff is looking at every available scrap of Colgate video today, with an emphasis on limiting the damage Baum does. UMass actually did a good job on him yesterday, holding him to two and one, but the second goal was huge in swinging the game Gate's way.

[greybeard]

I think that a clock is unnecessary and would detract from the game. No one played less run out (fastbreak) offense than Cornell. The two times it made the final four in the past 5 or 6 years, Cornell lost to Duke by a goal by a score o 13-12 or 12-11, with the winning goal I believe coming in the last minute. The second time I believe that the score was in the mid teens, with Syracuse scoring 3 goals to catch up in the last 3 minutes, the last of the three coming with 4 seconds to play.

I think that Army played slow, and had a terrific goalie, in the semis the year Duke won the Championship; if I recall the game was not low scoring (I could be wrong). The UVa-Duke game that year or the year before the scoring was no higher than the Cornell Syracuse game noted above.

None of the six teams in yesterday's game, with the possible exception of the team that played Loyola came close to playing "slow." Duke/Syracuse, however, had plenty of terrific half court play that a shot clock would do away with.

What the clock shot would seem to be aimed at would be making the game more marketable for TV audiences. The pro game belies this. The consequence of a clock, in my view, would simply turn the game over to bigger, stronger, faster players, and certainly shut out the real skill guys who might lack blazing speed and quickness. Strength would more and more become a prerequisite.

The game to me is terrific as it is. To me, passing, catching, two or three man combinations or more leading to a shot that guys might see during the time spent in the half court game is the best thing going in sport. You rarely see a behind the goal attacker go early for a score. It mostly, it seems to me, comes when the out-front help loses contact with what's going on behind him, often because another offensive player has just made a move into the middle that the defender must get to and cannot slide back to help. These things to me are the art of the game.

That's my perspective, but, then again, I liked the game better when the game was played with wooden sticks, which is to say when you could not shoot at 90 plus mph, when protecting and craddling the ball, especially on the inside, took far more skill and was more of a rarity. The game then, I believe, would have more room for the great athletes who were, how should I put this, less "athletic" and therefore their facility for the game is deemed something else. For the life of me, I don't know why, except that people put clocks and deep pockets in a game and make running, strength, jumping, and I would say "quickness" but the guys who are deemed nonathletic have plenty of that.

[chrishoke]

I went to the game today - my first lacrosse match in person. It was lots of fun. There was a great crowd there, though probably half of them were Syracuse fans. Great win, guys!

I was amazed at the numbere of Orange clad fans. As Holden Caufield would have said, "the 751 lot was cummy with cuse fans."

[MCFinARL]

I was amazed at the numbere of Orange clad fans. As Holden Caufield would have said, "the 751 lot was cummy with cuse fans."

Syracuse lacrosse fans always travel well--like Pittsburgh Steelers fans. It's actually a problem for the final four when Syracuse doesn't advance, because they fill a lot of seats in those football stadiums. Duke usually has a loyal but comparatively small group of fans present at the final four--they haven't established enough of a tradition in lacrosse to draw casual fans yet, but 'cuse does.

[roywhite]

Men's LAX was not the only Duke team that had a good weekend:

Women's LAX beat UVA 11-9 to advance to the NCAA quarter-finals
Women's Golf qualified for the NCAA championship despite losing a key player to injury prior to the Regionals
Men's Golf team is competing this coming week in the East Regionals, held in Greensboro
Men's Tennis advanced to the round of 16 with a win over LSU
Women's Tennis advanced in the NCAA with a 2nd round win over South Carolina
Women's Track and Field won the IC4A event

Congrats to all these student-athletes and their coaches.

[Native]

In the last game of the first round, Maryland eked out a nail biter against Lehigh, meaning the quarterfinals are set. Incidentally, Lehigh is coached by Duke alum Kevin Cassese.

Duke takes on Colgate next Sunday at PPL Park in Philadelphia. Colgate took out then-undefeated UMass in the first round; however UMass's perfect record landed them only the 6th seed as they had a very weak schedule. Colgate is led on the attack by Tewaaraton finalist Peter Baum.

Should we beat 'Gate, we'll face the winner of Maryland and Johns Hopkins in the Fnal Four. Lots of history there - JHU and Maryland is one of the most historic lacrosse rivalries, and Duke obviously has a bone to pick with either squad.

(1) Loyola / Denver and (4) Notre Dame / (5) Virginia are the games on the other side of the bracket.

Shaping up to be a great tournament! Go Duke!

[burnspbesq]

Except for, umm, well, you know.

[MCFinARL]

Except for, umm, well, you know.

? Must have taken my stupid pills today, because I don't know. Can you enlighten me?

[burnspbesq]

? Must have taken my stupid pills today, because I don't know. Can you enlighten me?

Baseball. Swept by the forces of evil.

[-bdbd]

Except for, umm, well, you know.

Baseball. Swept by the forces of evil.

As a Redskins fan I am just dumbfounded as to why the Duke baseball team was playing the Cowboys this weekend...
Hmmmmm.

[MCFinARL]

Baseball. Swept by the forces of evil.

Ah, thanks. Too many sports in the spring for me to keep up with them all.

As a Redskins fan I am just dumbfounded as to why the Duke baseball team was playing the Cowboys this weekend...
Hmmmmm.

hahahahahahahahahaha!!

[burnspbesq]

As a Redskins fan I am just dumbfounded as to why the Duke baseball team was playing the Cowboys this weekend...
Hmmmmm.

Actually, they were playing Real Madrid. In terms of pure evil, the Cowboys are pikers by comparison (and I say that as a lifelong Giants fan).

[greybeard]

it will be Duke Maryland, and should be quite a game. I think Maryland will control Hopkins and keep a foot on its neck. Look out for Denver!

[MCFinARL]

it will be Duke Maryland, and should be quite a game. I think Maryland will control Hopkins and keep a foot on its neck. Look out for Denver!

And, presumably, you think Duke will move past Colgate next week? I'm hopeful that will happen, but Colgate looks like a tough out; I don't want to take anything for granted.

I'll be only too happy, though, if your Maryland-Hopkins prediction comes true. A rubber match with Maryland would also be a challenge for Duke, but I'd always rather see an ACC team advance (with the possible exception of UNC, and maybe not even that) than the loathsome Hopkins.

[burnspbesq]

I didn't see anything over the weekend that caused me to change my original view that this is Notre Dame's tournament to lose. Defense wins championships, and nobody has solved theirs yet. I certainly don't think Virginia has the right combination of offensive assets (at least not this year; the 2010 Virginia team, with the Brattons and Carroll dodging up top, would be a very different challenge for the ND defense). ND - Loyola will be interesting, but I still see that as the end of the line for the puppies.