UCSD 15, Chapman 14 OT FINAL (Sat, 3/18/06)

[WaterBoy]

I apologize that some of the comments have made have become the "rope" in a game of tug of war here- clearly not my intention.

Albert said it well- and if my post didn't seem to give full credit to Chapman, then I was remiss.

As addition to what Chuck said, Marcus Wooden was a powerful force for Chapman, as was the young Farinelli. Wooden is a sophomore and Farinelli is a freshman, as well as the entire attack for Chapman- this is why people feel they will be such a threat.

The one thing I thought that Chapman did amazingly well was find where the slide was coming from- I thought Wooden's greatest strength was as a feed target- when the slide came from him, the ball went to him, and he was quite effective. Farinelli was Chapman's small but potent middie, and just did a good job of finishing or creating when he got the ball.


I know there's a great tendency to talk about the big players on the team- and I understand why with Nick Dean- he's simply always a contributor. He is the definition of a clutch player, and as others have said before me, he is amazing to watch play. I think if you looked at his scoring, it would be high in first quarters and fourth quarters. You can literally see him first shock the defense, then hold back, and he figures out the defense and then tears them apart later in the game- he makes his own adjustments and capitalizes- this is why people talk about him and why he gets the type of notoriety he has. When he's attached to his wingman, Chris McCall, they certainly form a gruesome twosome- McCall is the greatest scoring threat I have seen thus far in the games I've seen this season.

People have it exactly right- Chapman's midfield is very solid and has years to grow and improve. UCSD's attack is debatably the best in the country (yeah, I said it). This game was destined to be a high scorer, and literally could have gone either way.

I've seen UCSD in most of their games, and I've seen Chapman in four of theirs (Chico, Poly, and Utah as well as this one). Chapman has definitely improved over the season and they're headed in the right direction. I think they are fully capable of playing lacrosse in the top ten. UCSD is (in my opinion) certainly top ten material, and played one of the sloppier games I've seen them play against Chapman (which as Chuck pointed out, is also caused by Chapman).

For those who are familiar with statistics, I think Chapman's mean of playing ability is high, but their variance is enormous- on a bad day getting beat by anyone in the top 25, on a good day able to rival anyone in the top 25. My point is that if they can become solid consistent performers, there's no reason they couldn't be making a run at a championship by 2008 (yeah, I went there too).

I went to this game just to watch some lacrosse, and didn't have my roster in front of me, so I'm sure that there are other players very deserving of recognition. All in all, I think this was a great game to watch- nothing will yield excitement more than an OT game thriller.

Thank you to those that provided updates.

[Chaplax23]

Again, a very well balanced report by Waterboy. He didn't sound like he was yelling through his computer like some. That is all I am asking is for those that do everyone a service by reporting live scores keep it fairly apolitical. Nobody was asking for a Pro Chapman or Pro UCSD report, just a balanced one. There is a big difference between saying:

"Farinelli (Chapman freshman middie) has another goal, fast break"

and

" Nick Dean is doing whatever he wants. No one can gaurd him. Not sure of his point total but he is has a few."

If you cannot see the bias in that reporting, then I am not sure what to tell you. As they say in boxing, simply "keep it clean." Thanks for everyone that takes the time to give live action reports. It is a great service to everyone.

[scoot88]

Thanks to all for posting game reports (including Blue Velvet who should continue to post his opinions about Chapman)

I was at the game yesterday and just wanted to throw in my 2 cents. This game was in the bag for Chapman and UCSD stole the bag in the last 5 minutes-a compliment to UCSD. Both teams played a little sloppy, but like Albert said, sloppy play should be attributed to the other team. IMO, the key to UCSD's victory was the extra possessions gained by face-offs and rides.

Chapman needed this victory more than UCSD because Chapman has no realistic chance to make the WCLL playoffs and the only way for them to make it to Texas is through their ranking. A victory yesterday would have capped a five game winning streak (against 4 ranked opponents) with the biggest victory (against UCSD) coming the weekend before the next poll. Another OT loss to a top ten team may not hurt Chapman, but a victory would have made a huge statement to the pollsters. Without the benefit of the WCLL playoffs, Chapman needs to make their move now and part of their plan included a victory yesterday. As disappointing as this loss was for them, they still have plenty of season left including one more top ten opponent near the end of their season when they travel to Florida to play FSU; but in the meantime they must show consistency and not look past anyone on their schedule

Regarding the posts about Nick Dean getting all the attention... I expect that. When you think of UCSD you think Dean and people expect him to be part of a game-changing performance. It will take a while for new stars in the league to garner the attention Dean has earned. Chapman has some amazing young talent that extends beyond Farinelli and Wooden, with at least 5 or 6 other players who are capable of putting the team on their shoulders. Farinelli and Wooden are the first to be discovered, but the beauty of Chapman is that their talent runs deep and they are starting to gel as a team and on any given night you may see a different leader emerge.

I'm excited for Chapman's future and hope they get a chance to play in Texas this year. If they are lucky enough to earn a bid, I think they have a chance to do some damage. There's more parody among the top 20 teams and I predict some major upsets in the playoffs this year.

Thanks to everyone on this forum for keeping me informed. We are all passionate about the game and need to treat each other with dignity and respect. Remember, this is just a game; and yesterday was a great one.

[CyLaxKeeper00]

can we please put an end to this discussion.

[Redwing]

Everyone I know has called me to let me know that my reporting style has sparked a bickering war between two people that I think very highly of so I guess I have to come out of retirement to get in here and make a post to clear things up. I am a huge fan of lacrosse and since my playing days am glad to see people who I have played with and against are giving back to the game and coaching and making a difference. The level of play in the WCLL continues to be very high and yesterday's game proves that.

Chapman looks very impressive to me offensively. They have several players who really impressed me including Faranelli who was playing so well that UCSD had to move Hayes up from close to try to slow him down. Marcus is a very good shooter and when he gets open and gets a good feed he can score lots, but he has trouble creating his own shot. He did play the best game by far I have ever seen him play. The Chapman close defense is very inconsistent but they have a very good goalie and when they get more experience I think this team could be outstanding. That is my take on Chapman from the couple of games I have seen them in action.

UCSD offensively is not strong at midfield. They rely on Dean and McColl a lot. Nick Dean in that game was un-guardable. But I think we all know that he is very good. I thought he had more assists than he did because he was constantly getting quick doubles and hitting wide open guys, a lot of which couldn't finish. Hayes seems to be getting better and more confident every game I see him in. His body positioning, great checks and solid stick handling makes him in my opinion to be the best defender in the WCLL. But besides those two guys UCSD is very inconsistent as well.

The game was very exciting and I hope next game I report I can do so with more ballance so that fans of both teams can get an accurate picture of the game. I hope I don't need to come out of retirement anymore to clear up any other trivial wars over nothing but my own opinion of the game.