MLAX NCAA QF: Duke 17, UNC-CH 9

[shoutingncu]

Saturday
2:30 pm
ESPNU

Bracket (http://www.ncaa.com/brackets/2010/ncaa_bracket_DI_lacrosse_men.html)

A trip to the Final Four on the line...

[DukieInKansas]

Let's go, Duke!

And a 9F for good measure!

[Bluedog]

A lot of Duke-UNC matchups in the NCAA tournaments this year. In case you missed it, Duke's 16th ranked men's tennis destroyed UNC in the second round 4-1, while our women's tennis team takes on #2 UNC in the quarterfinals on Saturday. UNC beat us 4-3 in the last meeting. The men's tennis team lost to #1 UVa in the round of 16, by the way.

[Newton_14]

I knew it was getting hot around here for a reason. It's all that heat from the gates of hell opening up....

[CrazyNotCrazie]

Hopefully men's lacrosse will find New Jersey as friendly of a place to play as men's basketball has. Go Duke!

[-bdbd]

Heck, the Daily Tarhole likes to call us "the University of South Jersey." So I think we neeed to show up with some home field advantage folks! Get out there Saturday afternoon to support our Devils Lax squad! It's a little too far for me, but if they win this and make the Final-4 I'll certainly be in Baltimore next weekend! Go Devils!! Fingers crossed.

:D :D :D :D

[heifer]

man. i thought this would be on espn3.com as well as on espnu. can't find it on justin tv. anyone know if i can watch it somewhere online, or at least listen online?

[loran16]

First Quarter:
Duke 2
UNC 2

Carolina is dominating the faceoffs (4-1) but our D has held up....cmon guys.

[loran16]

Halftime: Duke 9, UNC 6.

Duke switched goalies already (the starter let up a really awful soft goal), and really went on a run after a certain point by winning a bunch of faceoffs in a row.

Precarious situation. If Duke can bring back its first quarter defense, they should be better. But otherwise, still anyone's game though we have a 3 goal head start.

[loran16]

End 3rd Quarter, 12-8 Duke...with about 1:20 or so left on a power play to start the 4th quarter.

[Dukefan1.0]

Duke is up 12-8 entering the 4th quarter

[BD80]

I missed the explanation of our goalie situation. Looks like we only have 2 saves in the entire game, and that carolina scored on a pass and on really long shot as the half ended. Our freshman walk on was pulled and the freshman that was yanked earlier in the season is back in.

Did we lose an upperclassman who was a goalie?

[loran16]

16-8 now with 7 to play....should be over.

Re the goalie situation; i think we had a freshman starter all year but switched after a bad ACC Tourny performance to the walk on. He was pulled today after letting them score on what was basically a pass that was really soft.

Just an awful goal. (The goal at the end of the half by Carolina was scored on the freshman goalie, not the walk-on who started the game.)

[loran16]

FINAL SCORE: Duke 17, UNC 9.

Duke advances to the Final Four AGAIN.
UNC.....goes home crying.

Just how i like it.

[BD80]

16-8 now with 7 to play....should be over.

Re the goalie situation; i think we had a freshman starter all year but switched after a bad ACC Tourny performance to the walk on. He was pulled today after letting them score on what was basically a pass that was really soft.

Just an awful goal. (The goal at the end of the half by Carolina was scored on the freshman goalie, not the walk-on who started the game.)

Thanks for the update on the goalies. It is one of the toughest positions, and the easiest to second guess. Still, it is surprising that a team so highly ranked has such a low save percentage.

It is a testament to our defense that carolina can score on every shot and still be down by eight. carolina just can't get shots off. Our defensemen seem FASTER than carolina's attackmen.

Duke is a really well coached team.

[buddy]

Sean Brady was supposed to be the goalie. He was a redshirt sophomore. He was kicked out of school at the start of the spring semester. So instead we went with a freshman (Wigrizer) who is on scholly, but expected to be a backup. He got pulled against UVA in the ACC, replaced by Mike Rock, a junior walkon. Rock started today, got pulled in favor of Wigrizer. Rock looked particularly soft today, not like last week when he played well against Hopkins. Who plays next week is anyone's guess, but whoever it is, had better make saves or we will be toast.

On the other hand, if we can win face-offs as we did the today and last week, we can play anyone in goal. Great offensive and defensive performance today. Hopefully this year's team can get over the hump.

[burnspbesq]

"Right on through to Baltimore,
You got to love me now."

Who's going on Saturday?

[blueprofessor]

Sean Brady was supposed to be the goalie. He was a redshirt sophomore. He was kicked out of school at the start of the spring semester. So instead we went with a freshman (Wigrizer) who is on scholly, but expected to be a backup. He got pulled against UVA in the ACC, replaced by Mike Rock, a junior walkon. Rock started today, got pulled in favor of Wigrizer. Rock looked particularly soft today, not like last week when he played well against Hopkins. Who plays next week is anyone's guess, but whoever it is, had better make saves or we will be toast.

On the other hand, if we can win face-offs as we did the today and last week, we can play anyone in goal. Great offensive and defensive performance today. Hopefully this year's team can get over the hump.

A high face-off percentage helps; however, UVA and StoneyB have great penetrators (UNC did not) who will beat our defenders. We had 3 saves against Hop and 5 today. That will not cut it in the semi-game--unless we max out possessions and shoot lights out. If we can get 45%-50% saves ,we can dominate.
Our goalies need to step up because we can win the damned trophy this year!

Best regards and congrats, Devils! Blueprofessor:)

[-bdbd]

ESPN has a nice video recap up of the Duke and ND wins.

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=5210963

We looked good. This teamm seems to be surging at the right time. Let's keep the mo rolling Sat in Baltimore. Terrific to see them playing with such confidence. No reason we can't win it all... Rooting for the underdogs tomorrow, as I'd rather not have to play the 1-seed team again. Interestingly, if the Wahoos go down, then Duke enters the Final Four as the highest seeded team rermaining. :D



P.S. Was pretty surprised to see MD lose to an inferior ND squad. Not bummed, but just surprised for them not to show up better in the NCAA quarters...

[greybeard]

Crotty is the Tewaartan winner this year. You read it here first sportsfans. He does so much for this team, and does them exceptionally well.

Duke's ground ball play was exceptional; not just the long sticks near the mid field and in the defensive end, but the shorts to maintain possession. Very impressive.

Duke likes you to shoot alot. Virginia I'm sure will oblige. Assuming it gets by Virginia, yes I'm assuming a win here against Stoneybrook, whomever Duke gets after that will not oblige. They, either Army, Notre Dame or Cornell, will play in the half court, will shoot on goal only when the chances are good and there is no chance of transition, and will defend in the half court in a manner that Duke is not accustomed to. Should be very interesting, but even if Duke goes out next game, Crotty, in my mind, has earned the highest award in the game.

[OldPhiKap]

Great win, guys! 9F, Carolina!

[chrishoke]

Trouncing the heels to earn a trip to the final four - Awesome!

This duke team is loads of fun to watch - great teamwork, passing, fast breaks - very unselfish play.:D

[burnspbesq]

This is the men's lax team's fourth consecutive trip to Championship Weekend.

I seem to remember another coach whose name ends in "ski" winning his first national championship in a fourth consecutive trip to the Final Four.

[MCFinARL]

Crotty is the Tewaartan winner this year. You read it here first sportsfans. He does so much for this team, and does them exceptionally well.

Duke's ground ball play was exceptional; not just the long sticks near the mid field and in the defensive end, but the shorts to maintain possession. Very impressive.

Duke likes you to shoot alot. Virginia I'm sure will oblige. Assuming it gets by Virginia, yes I'm assuming a win here against Stoneybrook, whomever Duke gets after that will not oblige. They, either Army, Notre Dame or Cornell, will play in the half court, will shoot on goal only when the chances are good and there is no chance of transition, and will defend in the half court in a manner that Duke is not accustomed to. Should be very interesting, but even if Duke goes out next game, Crotty, in my mind, has earned the highest award in the game.

Well, yes, Duke likes to play in transition, and so I guess you could say Duke likes you to shoot a lot. But it's also true, as noted above, that we are vulnerable at goalie this year, and Virginia has lots of shooters who can (and will) score. So the faceoffs are crucial. The big difference between the Virginia game we won and the one we lost was that we won most of the faceoffs in the first and possessed the ball most of the time, but we lost most of the faceoffs in the second and really couldn't prevent Virginia from scoring. So--the first step for Duke will be to figure out a way to get by Virginia (assuming Virginia beats Stony Brook). Then we can worry about how to cope with the half court defense.

As for the Tewaaraton, I think you are probably right. The winner is almost always (maybe always?) still playing on Memorial Day weekend, which lets out Dickson and White and either Crowley or Clausen. Assuming Clausen advances, the odds are against him because a defenseman doesn't usually win. That being said, if Clausen can control Crotty and Virginia goes on to win the championship, he may make a case for an exception. Crotty definitely got the best of Clausen in the first Duke-Va game but not as much in the second.

[blueprofessor]

This is the men's lax team's fourth consecutive trip to Championship Weekend.

I seem to remember another coach whose name ends in "ski" winning his first national championship in a fourth consecutive trip to the Final Four.

It is 5 straight for Duke,counting years we completed the season. Quite an accomplishment.
As far as the Tewaaraton, the voting is by coaches ,not media, unfortunately.

Performance in the NCAA championship tourney is very important.
Only Clausen (UVA defense), Crowley (middie, Stony Brook), and Crotty (attack ,Duke) remain in the tourney.
Crotty's stats in the 2 games (14 assisists/goals) are very impressive.

However, the intense,irrational resentment of important fan bases of leading programs like Syracuse, Princeton, G'town, Hop, UVA, MD, and UNC regarding the NCAA's dispensation of 5th year (actually 4 years and change) eligibility to Duke players affected by the hoax has an influence on the coaches' voting for a Duke player. Crotty may be able to overcome that prejudice, but it will probably require a solid championship appearance and ,perhaps, a championship.

Danowski won in 2007, but sympathy for the Duke team was the dominant sentiment then and Matt was clearly the best that year.
Go, Duke!
Best--Blueprofessor:)

[sandinmyshoes]

NCAA games don't count in the Carlyle Cup points system, do they?

[-bdbd]

Well, yes, Duke likes to play in transition, and so I guess you could say Duke likes you to shoot a lot. But it's also true, as noted above, that we are vulnerable at goalie this year, and Virginia has lots of shooters who can (and will) score. So the faceoffs are crucial. The big difference between the Virginia game we won and the one we lost was that we won most of the faceoffs in the first and possessed the ball most of the time, but we lost most of the faceoffs in the second and really couldn't prevent Virginia from scoring. So--the first step for Duke will be to figure out a way to get by Virginia (assuming Virginia beats Stony Brook). Then we can worry about how to cope with the half court defense.

As for the Tewaaraton, I think you are probably right. The winner is almost always (maybe always?) still playing on Memorial Day weekend, which lets out Dickson and White and either Crowley or Clausen. Assuming Clausen advances, the odds are against him because a defenseman doesn't usually win. That being said, if Clausen can control Crotty and Virginia goes on to win the championship, he may make a case for an exception. Crotty definitely got the best of Clausen in the first Duke-Va game but not as much in the second.

Let's go Ston-y Brook! (clap clap clap-clap-clap) Let's go Ston-y Brook! (clap clap clap-clap-clap).... (Repeat)

[devildeac]

NCAA games don't count in the Carlyle Cup points system, do they?

IIRC, the "rules" are that if we lose to the evil empire in any sport and play them again, we have the opportunity to win that 1/2 point or one point back. I think we also get a 1/2 point or point if we finish above them in multi-team events if we do not "play" them in that sport during the year.

[Indoor66]

NCAA games don't count in the Carlyle Cup points system, do they?

A question about the Carlyle Cup: Hasn't the Carlyle Jewelers chain closed? If so, what is the status of the cup? Is the competition continuing? Has someone else picked up sponsorship? Anyone know?

[sagegrouse]

Looks like we'll see those guys again in the Final Four, according to the scores on ESPN's web site. I look for Duke to win the rubber match.

sagegrouse

[MCFinARL]

Danowski won in 2007, but sympathy for the Duke team was the dominant sentiment then and Matt was clearly the best that year.
Go, Duke!
Best--Blueprofessor:)
Yes--and he was also a true senior--that was just before the eligibility decision that gave the Duke players an extra year. In 2008, Danowski was a finalist as a 5th-year (and Zack Greer, a true senior, was also a finalist), but his having already won it and Duke's unexpected loss to Hopkins in the semis (caused in part by a crucial nonreleasable 3-minute penalty on Danowski for an illegal stick) may have had as much to do with his not winning it in 2008 as his 5th year status.
Of course you are right, though, that Crotty's 5th-year status could hurt him here.

[blueprofessor]

Faceoffs (unofficial): SB 16 -- UVA 5.

Clausen made 3 very bad plays in the last 4:22.

Let's win this for the Duke teams of the last 5 years....and, yes, shut-up that obnoxious hypocrite Dom "Don" Starsia!:mad:

Go, Duke! Best--Blueprofessor