The number of assists given out in the MCLA

by **JerzWB** on Fri Feb 23, 2007 4:37 pm

I find it hard to believe that there are as many assists taken place as recorded. I was looking up a couple of teams who have scored a lot of goals this year (I'm keeping this vague as to not mention any certain teams). I'm taking 10 and 15 plus / game. They have it written down that all the goals or maybe all but one were assisted. I don't see how this is possible. Lets keep in mind the definition of an assist is (from US lacrosse) Any one direct pass by a player to a teammate who then scores a goal WITHOUT HAVING TO DODGE OR EVADE AN OPPONENT, other than the goalkeeper who is IN THE CREASE, is recorded as an assist.

Someone please help me understand. Agree or Disagree.

**Sponsor**

by **Sonny** on Fri Feb 23, 2007 4:39 pm

agree.

by **sohotrightnow** on Fri Feb 23, 2007 4:45 pm

You have to understand that a lot of scorekeepers are volunteers who do not understand the rules, thus may not be sure how an assist is defined. Perhaps part of their training should be to learn what defines an assist.

by **Beta** on Fri Feb 23, 2007 4:51 pm

Most of the games I have seen, the scorekeepers ask one of the coaches who scored and if there was an assist.

Not that all coaches know what's goin on anywho :mrgreen:

by **laxfan25** on Fri Feb 23, 2007 4:57 pm

Who really cares? Did you win the game? Are you a team player or a T.O. type? In your heart you know if you deserve an assist, as do your teammates.
This argument seems to surface every year - with the same result.

by **CATLAX MAN** on Fri Feb 23, 2007 5:06 pm

It's also the same story for saves.......a shot not scored = save. Like others have said, what difference does it make?

by **Beta** on Fri Feb 23, 2007 5:08 pm

CATLAX MAN wrote:It's also the same story for saves.......a shot not scored = save. Like others have said, what difference does it make?

Well a goalie making 20 saves per game as opposed to 5 sure looks nicer when it comes to all-conference, all-american, etc...I assume. I am not a voter so I am just guessing on that one.

by **bste_lax** on Fri Feb 23, 2007 5:46 pm

I have learned to take saves and assists and basically divide the number by 2, this is also known as the "Texas Tech Rule". :lol:

by **TexOle** on Fri Feb 23, 2007 6:01 pm

Sometimes it is best to tell volunteers assists in lacrosse are like assists in basketball. Most volunteers understand that definition.

by **batman** on Fri Feb 23, 2007 6:01 pm

http://wcll.com/statistics-uslmdia.cfm?seasonid=3&divisionid=1&uslmdia=1

Any shot is not a save. Again, it's not the goalies fault but the table's fault. 50+ more saves than any other team? :roll:

by **PNWLaxer** on Fri Feb 23, 2007 6:06 pm

I recently saw a goalie that had recorded over 40 saves in a game report. To me that is definately not possible. Robbie Warner used to stand on his head for Cal at Nationals and I think the tops he got to was 35 and that was against the top teams in the country. Its very rare that a team takes 30 shots that hit the net let alone 40+.

Last year I saw a report that had one guy get 20 assists. The team did not even have 20 goals so that was obviously a typo.

A lot of conferences vote based on stats for AA teams at the end of the year so inflating stats is one way to get more notice for players.

by **CATLAX MAN** on Fri Feb 23, 2007 7:00 pm

I was at a game earlier this year and an attackman attempted to throw a pass to a cutter. The defender hit his stick in mid-throw. The ball hit the ground and bounced twice. Another player picked it up and scored the goal.

The P.A. announcer says: "Goal by player X, assisted by player Y."

by **PigPen** on Fri Feb 23, 2007 8:01 pm

The ball hit the ground and bounced twice. Another player picked it up and scored the goal.

Sounds like a bounce pass-it's all good

by **sohotrightnow** on Fri Feb 23, 2007 8:09 pm

http://wcll.com/statistics-uslmdia.cfm?seasonid=3&divisionid=1&uslmdia=1

Any shot is not a save. Again, it's not the goalies fault but the table's fault. 50+ more saves than any other team?

Good point, but you did see that they have played 2 of the best offensive teams in the country, right?

~18 saves a game and 8+ GAA, equals around 26 shots on goal per game. Now, factor in what his offense is generating per game, and it makes sense that he has this many saves. In addition, maybe his team has never had a comfortable lead in any game so is forced to play the entire game, a luxury that other teams can afford.

by **John Paul** on Fri Feb 23, 2007 8:44 pm

Right about Warner. He had 37 against us once in a double overtime game at Cal that they one, and it rates as one of the most amazing performances I've ever seen by a goalie. We've put up over 60 shots many times against some pretty mediocre teams, sometimes with good goalies, but I've never seen anyone else get into the upper 30s.

The other stat that's screwed up a lot - ground balls. GB's are only counted if they are picked up under pressure. If the player picks up a loose ball without pressure on him, no GB. Also, according to the rule book, an intercepted pass is a ground ball.

Does it matter in the whole scheme of things? No. Laxfan is right about that, although I agree that poor stat keeping can effect post-season award voting if the voters don't take the time to do some research.

Doing it well is a function of organization. Teams that are organized enough to have good stats people are also generally more competitive. Doing it correctly also reflects well on the MCLA as a whole.