Duke - UVa Lacrosse

[Maxwell1977]

Apparently Duke has defeated the previously undefeated 'Hoos.

http://blogs.insidelacrosse.com/2009...ginia-at-duke/

I have no idea what to think of the last item in the story.

"0:28: A Duke fan who had been incessantly clapping in order to annoy Virginia fans is thrown out of the game by two police officers."

[johaad]

Yes. I saw the second half of it. Duke played very well. Looks like the acc will be very interesting from here on out.

[DukieInKansas]

Apparently Duke has defeated the previously undefeated 'Hoos.

http://blogs.insidelacrosse.com/2009...ginia-at-duke/

I have no idea what to think of the last item in the story.

"0:28: A Duke fan who had been incessantly clapping in order to annoy Virginia fans is thrown out of the game by two police officers."

At least the fan saw most of the game!

Way to go, Blue Devils.

[Eckster]

Caught this game in person. Great crowd., packed stadium, great action at both ends. Especially great defense by Duke against a previously unbeaten UVA team. Terrific win for the Blue devils. Didn't hear anything about fans being removed but as I said, big crowd today so easy to miss that sort of thing.

[weezie]

"0:28: A Duke fan who had been incessantly clapping in order to annoy Virginia fans is thrown out of the game by two police officers."

Awesome, intimidating clapping! Wow, this clapper gets MVP. Wussie hoos!

[terrih]

Game was on ESPN2 and i was able to catch it. Duke played very well offensively. UVA had what seemed to be a high number of turnovers. Fun game to watch.

[burnspbesq]

Watching the game on television, it didn't feel like an upset. You never had the sense that Duke was playing out of their minds. It felt much more like, ho hum, the better team won.

When you look at the box score, some things jump out. First, Duke shot better than 50 percent (15-for-28). That's 20 percentage points better than the season average. Next, 13 of 15 goals were assisted. That's really remarkable. That's making the extra pass, patiently exploring and exploiting the defense. That's going to get the attention of coaches and players around the country. And then you look at the play-by-play and see that one of the best offenses in the game got one goal over a stretch of almost 30 minutes, from midway through the first quarter to midway through the third. Those kinds of lockdowns win games. And when the Hoos got three goals in 1:12 midway through the third, Duke never lost its poise, and proceeded to put the game away with five unanswered goals.

That may have been Rob Schroeder's best game ever. Most importantly, he made saves early in the game, getting into a rhythm and finding his confidence.

Coach Dano has been saying all along that this year's team was a work in progress. They were better in March than in February, and are better in April than in March. If they are better in May than they were today, look out.

[KenTankerous]

I watched the second half on ESPN2 as well. Fun game, that Lacrosse, I've never watched it before.

Did I hear a "Drive Home Safely" chant as the game was winding down?

[sagegrouse]

I did find the game on ESPN2. Saw that Duke was leading with five minutes left, and then I returned to watching the Masters golf tournament.

I still don't get lacrosse. Unlike basketball, soccer and hockey, if you throw the ball out of bounds in lax, you get it back. And then they have these guys upfield with sticks that are about ten feet long that occasionally rush the goal and shoot straight down on the goal tender in a devastating manner.

Of course, when I showed up at Duke as a freshman, and a group of guys were playing quad ball with sticks, someone had to tell me what they were playing.

I did attend the lax final four in Baltimore in 2007, along with some ex-Duke lacrosse players. It was pretty amazing. Not only were there 55,000-60,000 people in attendance, but every major lax program uses the FF as a reunion. I was in Obrycki's (legendary Ballmer crab and seafood restaurant) waiting for my family to show up after the Duke win over #1 Cornell and chatting with a guy who played at Brown. He said they had 100 alums in attendance plus a tent out in the parking lot. And, of course, Brown wasn't even playing.

[captmojo]

I still don't get lacrosse. Unlike basketball, soccer and hockey, if you throw the ball out of bounds in lax, you get it back.

If the ball is passed and goes out, it's a turnover. If the action is a shot on goal and goes out, it is retained by the team on offense.

[bdh21]

If the ball is passed and goes out, it's a turnover. If the action is a shot on goal and goes out, it is retained by the team on offense.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought the possession is retained by the team with a player closest to where the ball goes out. After a shot it's almost always the offense because an offensive player is usually stationed behind the net.

[captmojo]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought the possession is retained by the team with a player closest to where the ball goes out. After a shot it's almost always the offense because an offensive player is usually stationed behind the net.

You may be correct. I'm no expert.

[sagegrouse]

If the ball is passed and goes out, it's a turnover. If the action is a shot on goal and goes out, it is retained by the team on offense.

See what I mean. That's like giving the ball back to the team that shoots an airball and saying, "Here. You have to keep shooting until you get it right." Or awarding a corner kick to the soccer team that kicks it over the goal.

I am not criticizing -- I just don't understand.

sagegrouse

[burnspbesq]

See what I mean. That's like giving the ball back to the team that shoots an airball and saying, "Here. You have to keep shooting until you get it right." Or awarding a corner kick to the soccer team that kicks it over the goal.

I am not criticizing -- I just don't understand.

sagegrouse

The rule about backing up shots leading to getting or keeping possession is what it is, and it's always been that way. You might as well ask "why four balls and three strikes?"

[Native]

See what I mean. That's like giving the ball back to the team that shoots an airball and saying, "Here. You have to keep shooting until you get it right." Or awarding a corner kick to the soccer team that kicks it over the goal.

I am not criticizing -- I just don't understand.

sagegrouse

The rule is such because teams would be so afraid to shoot if they knew that missing would be a turnover; the game would become incredibly boring. Think if that rule applied in basketball: no one would shoot the ball! Basketball games would end with final scores of 6 to 2 and 4 to 2. Imagine if they shot an airball in basketball and it was an automatic turnover. It's the same concept as rebounding. The team that gets to the ball first gets it.

Shooting in lacrosse is very hard. There is usually such little room for error. Sure, the goal is a six foot square, but add in a 5' 11" goalie and it becomes a lot harder. Players today have to pick corners or bounce the ball, which usually results in missed shots. Add in a 6' 4" defenseman like Duke's Mike Manley or UVA's Kent Clausen and it gets no easier to take a shot. This rule allows gives offenses a break by allowing them to retain possession across a shot. Defenses also get a break, because the offense usually has to put a player behind the goal to backup shots, which makes that player a reduced scoring threat.

[Exiled_Devil]

See what I mean. That's like giving the ball back to the team that shoots an airball and saying, "Here. You have to keep shooting until you get it right." Or awarding a corner kick to the soccer team that kicks it over the goal.

I am not criticizing -- I just don't understand.

sagegrouse

Lacrosse was originally played without boundary lines. When a ball went past the goal and everyone else, the person to run it down first was the one to get it. Modern lacrosse modifies that, because they play in a bounded area. So the team with the closest person to the ball gets the ball.**

The challenge you are having is thinking that 'out of bounds' is a natural state in all games, when it is just common in the games that are professionally played in the US.

Is it any odder than a game where the defense always has the ball? (Baseball, anyone?)


**Actually, this is only for after shots. From US Lacrosse

If the ball or a player in possession of the ball goes out of bounds, the other team is awarded possession. If the ball goes out of bounds after an unsuccessful shot, the player nearest to the ball when and where it goes out of bounds is awarded possession.

[4decadedukie]

GREAT GAME. Watched every minute on ESPN-2. Duke ties (with UVa and UMd) for regular season ACC championship, which means that Duke and UVa will meet again, in two weeks, in the ACC Tournament in Chapel Hill. This victory, in my opinion, also assures Duke's place in the NCAA Division I's field of sixteen. Our team has made significant progress throughout the last two months. Congratulations on this splendid victory to the team, coaches, and the substantial Duke fan-base (including the Pep Band) who supported our Blue Devils.