mikeg123 wrote:It comes down to goalie play, Teams feed off that
It really comes down to the team play, because goalies feed off that
i'm afraid that the game of lacrosse doesn't boil down that easily, it comes down to a lot of different things. a good goalie with bad team play is a frustrated goalie, and one with supreme team play can end up bored and find it hard to stick out. that said i'm excited to see all the new keepers the lsa has to offer
Mike is right if you look back in the B-Division especially you have a couple of examples to look at. Great teams are defined not by a single unit or goalie, but by all units being good. Back in 2004 everyone thought that Nichols State had the stoutest defense in the league. Their individual defense was pretty good, but their team defense was brought down emensely by their goalie play. Inversely if you look at UTD that same year, they had a bad team at every position but goalie, that guy was tremendous, held teams to lower goal totals despite the play of the guys in front of him.
Now look at the teams that have won the championship in the past few years. Southwestern has had great team defense along with great goalie play. A good defense helps a goalie tremendously, and a good goalie can bail out a defense when breakdowns do occur.
Our defense at UTA in 2004 was similar to that of Southwesterns the past few years. We are striving to get back to that.
Defense isn't just about a goalie, it's not about one great defensive stopper. It's about a unit playing as one and knowing their roles.
Remember that playing goalie isn't just about making saves, it's about leadership, clearing, hustle, desire, heart, mental fortitude. A great goalie exhibits all these things.