UCSB/CSU updates

[onpoint]

8-6 CSU with one minute left. CSU timeout and they have the ball.

[oaklandlax]

Alex,
I need this for my picks on point.

Hold the ball CSU just hold it!!!!!!!

[onpoint]

CSU 8
UCSB 6

Final

Ryan Brittain was ejected at the end of the game for arguing an out of bounds call at the end of the game. 4:00 minutes in penalties for the senior goalie at the end of the game and apparently some not so favorable reviews from the referrees.

CSU goals: Cunningham (2g, 1a), Stanitz-Harper (2g), Bird (1g), Stevens (1g), Murphy (1g), Schnirel (1g), Chorey (1a)

Jokisch: 23 saves, 6 goals

UCSB scoring: Isaksen (3g - 16 shots), Patton (1a), Shaw (1g), Wilson (1g), Stratton (1g)

Brittain: 6 saves, 8 goals against

Both teams played good defensively. A lot of unsettled goals. Jokisch stuck out in this game and was by far the best player on the field by several accounts. UCSB outshot CSU 43-25 and also outgroundballed 41-31. UCSB defense looked very good, causing a lot of turnovers and keeping the ball in the UCSB sticks. Gauchos had the ball for pretty much the whole fourth quarter, and in general for much of the game. CSU's defense really stepped up, especially short poles. CSU will write a game release tonight for release tomorrow most likely. Good win for the Rams, but they still have to step up and win the next two games on their road trip to make it worthwhile.

[laxfan25]

Ryan Brittain was ejected at the end of the game for arguing an out of bounds call, 4:00 minutes in penalties for the senior goalie at the end of the game and apparently some not so favorable reviews from the referrees.

4 minutes in penalties??? What the heck happened? I can see a minute for unsportsmanlike, must have been one heck of rant! This is not going to make CatLaxMan very happy at all. It will be interesting to get his view on it since he was at the game...
6 saves on 14 shots would tend to get under any goalie's skin however.

[Dulax31]

Jokisch: 23 saves, 6 goals

23 saves against a good shooting team like UCSB, that is rediculously good...

[TrojanLaxman5]

Jokisch stuck out in this game and was by far the best player on the field by several accounts.

Pete played the best game that I have seen, and some of the very best goaltending I have ever witnessed at the USLIA level. It was a truly spectacular thing to watch. There were a lot of people in the stands who could not believe his performance.

I echo that CSU's defense (both longpoles and shorts) played particularly well and applied good pressure to UCSB. In my opinion, UCSB did not play as well as I have seen them in the past and just didn't look like themselves today.

A great game to watch either way, what an awesome day of lacrosse...

[laxmom]

UCSB's first goal of the game was by Granelli #44
(Stratton is #10 this year)
just for the record...

[laxmom]

This game was a wakeup call for UCSB. I agree that they did not play like their usual selves. In my opinion, Luke Wilson didn't seem strong enough yet to make a comeback. We played a bit sloppily today and CSU's goalie was awesome.

[byualum]

Come on...someone say it...Jokisch had a "Smith-like" game.

[Maple Leaf]

brian summed it up best... CSU's goalie was a brick wall, unless he was screened, no shots were going in. Britain on the other hand did not have a good game, he was beat several times stick side high. I have seen him play several times, and this was not one of his better perfomances. I guess he decided to take it out on the refs. WIth about 30 seconds left in the game he tried backing up a shot, and when the refs awarded the ball to csu he argued, and the refs had heard enough.

[TrojanLaxman5]

In my opinion, Luke Wilson didn't seem strong enough yet to make a comeback.

Wilson is a great player and I agree that he was definitely not full strength today. One of my buddies (a former SI teammate of Luke Wilson's) spoke with him last night and he was still unsure even at that point if he would be able to play today due to his hamstring injury. I saw him at the DI games after he played and he was visibly limping. Too bad he wasn't his usual self for today's game, although that still may not have been enough for UCSB given Jokisch's and CSU's overall performance...

[the lax]

Any pictures of the game?

[onpoint]

Come on...someone say it...Jokisch had a "Smith-like" game.

In terms of quickness, there is no comparison between me and Petey. His hands are faster than anyone I've ever coached or played with. I'd like to see him keep improving though and not be satisfied with himself. Seems like it is sometimes tough for goalies at our level to really continue upward evolution of their game between their junior and senior years, especially if they are a multiple year starter. The exception to that is Chris Bluse, who played well pretty much his whole career. We'll see as the year progresses, but I think he has served notice in this league. Plus at CSU, the goalie is ALWAYS the star!

[CATLAX MAN]

Just got back from LA and would be happy to give some observations:

First, CSU deserved to win the game. They earned it. As hard as it was to write that sentence, you cannot dispute the facts. The difference was already noted in earlier posts. Jokisch just plain hoisted his team on his back and carried them. Pure and simple. That's not meant to be a disservice to all the other players' contributions on the field, but he definitely had what must have been the game of his life. To have that type of game on that stage, he must be given his props, because they are deserved.

You have no idea what kind of pressure CSU was under in the first quarter & half of the game. UCSB came out and looked for awhile that they were going to blow the lid off it. CSU had a goal disallowed in the 1st on a dive into the crease. That play would raise its ugly head again later. UCSB had at least 4 on-the-doorstep shots on goal during the 1st quarter, one that missed wide low and the others that Jokisch stoned. They had a couple of other chances early in the 2nd also, some of which they were successful on making the score 3-1.

It was at this point that the game completely changed. This sequence may be out of order but as I remember it, CSU picked up a goal on an unsettled situation right in front of the SB goal, not unlike the goal scored by SB late in last year's championship game, where a shot was made, was blocked, a scrum ensued to the left of the goal, the ball popped up to a CSU player and he buried it. 3-2 SB. The next score came on a change of possession in SBs end when Schnirel picked up a loose ball and began to carry it down field. For some reason SB kept backpedaling and no one picked up the the ball, so he kept going and shot unchallenged from about 12 feet. 3-3.

THe ensuing faceoff was won by Patton who raked it behind to his wing. The middie picked it up and threw a lollipop to the SB goalie to start the clear, but not seeing that Stanitz-Harper (I think) was lurking right behind him. He picked off the pass and buried the goal from about 2 feet. 4-3 CSU. All of that happened in the space of about 5 minutes or so. When that goal when in, you could see the negative body language in some of the SB players. Definitely the turning point of the game.

The rest of the game was more of the same. Back & forth pretty close play, but UCSB not letting up on the pressure but Jokisch answering the bell. The difference in the 2nd half was that SB was getting more impatient with their shots, shooting from farther away and from bad angles, making many of the saves that Jokish made pretty easy. Nevertheless, he answered the bell many times.

Having said all this, I think if you put these 2 teams on the field 10 times I would put my money on the 5-5 split. These are just 2 very good teams. I'll say it again, CSU was better yesterday. You've got to tip your hats to them and move on. Don't put your money against these 2 teams meeting in the championship game again this year.

SB definitely was not at full strength, with the 3 attackmen who they planned to start at the beginning of the season with out or hurt. Wilson played, but quite frankly, should not have. You have to give him credit for trying to be a warrior, but he was clearly not moving real well and after the game was limping badly. I hope he gets himself healthy soon.

The game did end on an ugly note and that was unfortunate. CSU's 8th goal was Stanitz-Harper from the left side (again, I only think as my memory is fading) out on the wing getting by the defender and having a one-on-on-one with the goalie. From my vantage point, he left his feet, buried the shot and clearly was lying in the crease. No call. The referee coming in from the right seemed to be signalling that he was in the crease, but the trail official seemed to overrule him, despite the fact that he was still on the ground with his head shoulders & hands in the crease. I say seem in both of these situations because from the stands, you cannot tell what was was being said. The SB defenders and goalie could not believe it and neither could the sideline. The frustration from not getting that call was the trigger for the conduct foul on the out-of-bounds call, not the out-of-bounds call itself. In any case, emotion & frustration took over and poise was lost. Nobody felt worse about it afterwards than the involved party. Enough said.

I am going to go for JP's length-of-post record here to say that the First Four event was great. If the MDIA doesn't strongly consider moving the National Tourney to this venue in the future, they are making a mistake. Beautiful facilities helped make this a great day of lacrosse. Between the high school games going on all day and followed up by CSU v. UCSB and then the unbelievable D1 matchups in the main stadium, this was a lacrosse junkies' nirvana.

What a show the 2 D1 games were! Both were closely contested, well played games of lacrosse at a pace of play that was just mind boggling. Notre Dame beat UNC by 2 goals and Georgetown beat Syracuse by a score of 10-7.

A few more obsevations:

Attendance was announced at 7,128 and I sure hope the organizers made money, because I'd like to see this again. If it happens a second time, don't let the opportunity pass you by next time.

Notre Dame's freshman goalie was outstanding. Keep your eye on this guy.

UNC attack #2 made the most unbelievable goal of the night. Driving from the right side to the cage, he was sandwiched between 2 defenders, and while almost completely prone, fired a laser about 1 foot off the ground into the net. You had to see it to believe it.

Georgetown's pole Brodie Merrill was the most impressive player on any of the 4 teams out there. He was everywhere on the field causing havoc for Syracuse and also managed to score a goal.

The officials for the D1 games must have been imported, because they officiated the game the way games should be officiated. They let the players decide the outcome. There were many instances where slashes or pushes could have been called (and in the MDIA are generally called) that weren't because they did not result in a team gaining an advantage. They swallow their whistles and bury their flags and use them only when necessary. Also, they know how to deal with controversy in highly charged emotional games. One call went against Syracuse (I think an offsides) and Desko was all over the referee. The play moved down the field and Desko chased him down the sidelines to the end of the coaching box. As soon as he moved out of range Desko moved up to the trail official at midfield and starting working him over. Judging from the veins popping out of his neck which were visible from 20 rows back, I don't think he was inviting these guys to dinner. They both handled this by nodding that they heard him, holding up a hand to let him know that was enough, and then moved away. Lessons could be learned from these guys.

I'm sure there's more, but my fingers are tired. JP, your title has been wrested away.

[John Paul]

I think someone else beat me last year. You'll notice my posts are generally abridged this year. Once beaten...

We have seriously considered the Home Depot Center. Cost is prohibitive, and scheduling is difficult. If you've got a sports promoter in mind to foot the bill as Pantheon and AEG did for the D1 guys, or a major, major sponsor, we'll have a shot at moving. (Ironic isn't it that the D1 programs, with their big budgets, don't have to spend anything on their cross-country travel? Even when Syracuse and Virginia have traveled to Denver the past couple of years, their costs were covered by Denver.)