SELC Week 9 (3/23-3/29) Discuss, Predict, Report Scores…

[ncsulacrosse]

bottom line is if you make your schedule too hard, and lose to many games, its going to hurt you, even if they are close losses. you have to prove you can actually beat teams. at the same time, if you go undefeated and beat nobody, that doesn't help either. have to remember too, its so hard to make a schedule in the uslia. you schedule a team you think is an easy win, they get a few new players, new coach maybe, and they are a top 20 team. schedule a game you think will make you look good, a hard opponent, they have injuries, coach leaves, kids that go study abroad, and you end up playing a team you thought would be top 20 that isn't. just part of club sports.

[MackLax]

Does anyone have a firsthand report of the FSU/Post game? FSU's site says 12-3 Post. I am thinking that Post didn't throw their best players at this game as they are definitely in the hunt for the D2 Final Four this year. That last sentence was not intended to detract from FSU whatsoever, just being realistic about a top varsity team playing a non-NCAA team midway through their season. Surprised me to even see them schedule Drexel since that intra-division game will have no bearing on their chances at a playoff berth.

So does anyone have any info on this game?

[Hugh Nunn]

It appeared to me that Post ran their full complement. I could be wrong. They did look good top to bottom. FSU never quit, but was outplayed at every turn. FSU's play of the day IMHO was LSM Chris Cecil taking it all the way in, defenseman draped all over him, scoring through a solid check from point blank. That kid has WHEELS!

As for the Drexel game, I would say it was a gamble, but definitely one that payed off. For D2 team to play a two goal game with a D1 team (and we're not talking VMI here) is something that Post will be able to draw from as long as their season lasts.

[MackLax]

Hey VMI is having a banner year at 3-3! They were in tight games with Air Force and Providence too, so they are no longer the proverbial bottom team. Insert Robert Morris or Hartford.

Drexel is even having a great year so I think it was pretty big Post ran with them. Post lost some players to graduation and Joe Mascaretti, AA faceoff man last year transferred to Hofstra, but the mass exodus of players from Pace after their coach left has definitely helped Post. Not bad to have that fall from the sky after a 4-9 season.

I would be interested to hear more of the FSU/Post game like how many shots each team had, possession, etc. 12-3 is still a respectable showing for FSU against a top team like that and good for that long pole who put a goal in. I am sure that motivated the Seminoles quite a bit.

[Hugh Nunn]

I didn't get a look at the scorebook, but it looked like the Pioneers dominated in pretty much every category; shots, possession time, groundballs, face-offs, clearing %.

The 'Noles had played a conference game at 8:00 the night before in Auburn, AL a couple of hours away. They knew it would be a long day I think, but they never showed signs of giving up.

Post played very physically and showed lots of hustle. They had plenty of quality scoring opportunities, but FSU Goalie Jeff Goren made his now expected number of great saves.

FSU had several good looks inside, but were unable to get the Post Goalie moving on many of them. Even on EMO, FSU seemed generally unable to free their shooters until late in the second half.

[StrykerFSU]

I agree with Hugh, I don't think that Post held anything back as far as personnel. Post jumped out to a big lead with several back door goals that seemed to just appear on the crease. Not surprisingly, their passing skill seemed to overmatch the FSU D. The Post goalie also made several outstanding saves that seemed to frustrate the FSU shooters. I was impressed with the way that FSU continued to battle even after the game was out of reach and also kept their composure in keeping the game clean. I think Coach Harkins deserves a lot of credit for getting this team refocused in beating Auburn and also for having the foresight for scheduling Post. I believe the game experience gained on Saturday will do wonders as this team prepares for Va Tech.

[MackLax]

Back door goals that seem to appear on the crease are the result of good crease attackmen and middies following the 1-slide to open space coupled with a good feed, and perhaps the absence of an adequate 2-slide to match this quality offensive crease play. Good looks to the cage don't drop out of the sky, they are usually the result of ball watching, insufficient sliding, or an offense that is just effectively flashing to open space and shooting spots. Maybe FSU had not yet seen an offense who could move the ball so fluidly and easily make the "one more" pass to the weak side after their D had sloughed.

FSU seems to have had a high-powered offense most of the year. What did Post do to keep this offense at bay other than have a hot goalie? Also, FSU giving up 12 goals to Post seems to be their best defensive output all year. Did Post try to light the scoreboard up or were they keeping away from outside shots and just workingn the ball around until they found a look on the doorstep? I would say that FSU should be pretty happy with how their D played and use that as encouragement for the rest of the season.