Alex Capretta, SI alum and former HS AA, has been named the Ivy League player of the week for his five-goal performance in a victory over Cornell that provided Princeton with the outright Men's Lacrosse regular season title for the Ivy League. A nice article about Alex can be read on the Princeton Tigers athletic site:
http://www.goprincetontigers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=10600&ATCLID=205421869
Congratulations!
I believe, though I do not know for a fact, that Alex Capretta is only the second NorCal player to win an Ivy League "Player of the Week" award. Parker Brown, former UHS standout and 2X HS AA, has won the award twice. If you have additions to this list that can be corroborated, send me a message.
Monday, April 30, 2012
Complete Roster for 2012 Adrenaline All-American game
Here is the initial list of invitees to the Adrenaline All-American game:
This roster may change depending on who can attend this game.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
NorCal players named to Adrenaline All-American game
Will McKee
Fifty graduating Seniors from the Western United States have been named to the Adrenaline All-American game on June 2nd, 2012 at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, CA. Divided into two squads of twenty-five, the North team includes six players from NorCal. They are:
Chad Cohan A St. Ignatius Duke
Michael Hernandez M Piedmont Michigan
JW McGovern A St. Ignatius Yale
Will McKee M/FO St. Ignatius Lehigh
Michael Tagliaferri M San Ramon North Carolina
Patrick Worstell M San Ramon Syracuse
The complete list of invited players was sent out this afternoon. Each player will receive Maverik gloves, a Cascade Helment with a custom All-American Head Wrap and Adrenaline Movment will be outfitting each All-American with custom uniforms and apparel packages. GameTime Footage, the offical game film and highlight provider of Adrenaline, will be providing each player with a free copy of the game and the Adrenaline All-American MVP will be awarded a free highlight reel of his performance.
I know that graduation day for the SI players occurs on June 2nd, so that's a conflict for the three of them. I do not know how they will resolve it. In any event, these six are all wonderful players and Adrenaline is, in my opinion, on the money in naming them to their Western All-American team!. Congrats to all these players!
I know that graduation day for the SI players occurs on June 2nd, so that's a conflict for the three of them. I do not know how they will resolve it. In any event, these six are all wonderful players and Adrenaline is, in my opinion, on the money in naming them to their Western All-American team!. Congrats to all these players!
Roy Lang selected as Tewaaraton nominee
Roy Lang
Former SI standout, Roy Lang (2 time HS AA, 1st team NCAA DI AA) has been nominated for the 2012 Tewaaraton award. Considered the nation's most versatile Midfielder, Roy is among only 25 players in the country to be a nominee for the most prestigious award in Lacrosse. You can read a Cornell article on Roy's nomination at:
http://www.cornellbigred.com/news/2012/4/25/MLAX_0425121010.aspx
Interestingly, more than ten percent of the Tewaaraton candidates are from the Western United States, as Peter Baum (former Oregon HS AA) of Colgate, and Pierce Bassett (former AZ HS AA) join Roy on the 2012 Tewaaraton nominee list.
The first-ever Tewaaraton nomination for NorCal and the largest percentage of Western players ever for the Tewaaraton. The Westerly winds of change in the lax world have gone from gentle breezes to near hurricane force!
NorCal lacrosse & the Ivy League Tournament
Alex Capretta
In an earlier post, I've written about the NorCal pipeline to the Ivy League. Without spending much time on that, the summary is that every Ivy League school has at least one NorCal guy playing or committed to it. And they're contributors, sometimes HUGE contributors. This weeks final regular season games, setting the field and the seedings for the Ivy League Tournament, proved that point.
• The Princeton v Cornell regular season ender would determine the #1 and #2 seeds in the Ivy tournament, Recall that the winner of the Ivy tournament – not the regular season champ – gets the automatic bid to the big dance. In that game, Princeton prevailed 14-8, with Alex Capretta, former SI HS AA, had five goals for the Tigers. But, Roy Lang, former SI HS AA and 1st team NCAA AA, scored one for the Big Red and was named to the Tewaaraton candidates list. Connor Hunt, former DLS HS AA, also plays for the Big Red.
• The Harvard v Yale regular season ender would determine whether Yale would be the #3 seed or the #4 seed in the tourney – and whether Harvard would be in the tourney – or not. Yale prevailed, 10-8, and secured the third seed. Harvard was out! Yale recruit JW McGovern, SI HS AA '12, was rooting for the Bulldogs, while Spencer Evans, SI '13, was rooting for the Crimson.
• Both Dartmouth and Brown had a chance to be the #4 seed if Harvard lost. Brown prevailed, defeating Dartmouth 10-8, securing the fourth seed in the Ivy tourney. In this game, Parker Brown, former UHS HS AA, had 2 goal and 1 assist, while Thomas Mattimore, former SI HS AA, had 1 goal and 1 assist. Two Dartmouth recruits, Jack McCormick, DLS '13, and Wiley Osborne, Menlo '13, were rooting for the Big Green! Brown Attackman, Tim Jacob, former Bellarmine HS AA, saw action in this game.
UPenn was not in the hunt for the tourney this year, but Nick Richards, former DLS AA, saw plenty of action this year.
Quite a testament to the athletic – and academic – prowess of all these guys!
Saturday, April 21, 2012
TP 10 SI 9
Thacher School Lacrosse Field in Ojai, California
Nice victory by the Falcons. SI had an 8-6 lead entering the 4th quarter. Watch the last half of the game at:
SI 14 Foothill OC 8
SI overwhelmed the Foothill - Orange County Knights last evening, despite sloppy play (on both O and D) by the 'Cats. LaxPower had SI favored by 2 in this Intersectional contest, but a couple of runs – one in the first half, one in the second – kept the Foothill Knights at bay. The contest took place at Oak Park High School, in the LA suburbs, where an earlier game between two local teams (Oak Park and Calabassas) provided extra spectators at the main event.
Multiple goal scorers in last night's contest included: Joe Lang, Peter Doyle, Chad Cohan, Matt Emery, and JW McGovern, and these five scored all of SI's goals. In other words, the usual suspects performed well. Will McKee, SI's lauded FO Middie, encountered a terrific young Freshman Knight and roughly split the match at the FO X. Cullen Vincelette continued to impress when asked to perform as "the human clear." Excellent in his role this year as a D middie!
I have come to be a big fan of the SI poles. They gave up eight goals last night – more than any game this season. I attribute this, in part, to a rare sloppy night in clearing and, in part, to the high-speed offensive play of the Knights in unsettled situations.
St. Ignatius is now 18-0 on the season, with only two regular season games and, likely, two conference playoff games remaining. At this point in the season, with this team's record, every game is a big game. This afternoon's game against Torrey Pines is no exception. Torrey Pines comes into the contest with an 11-3 record, with only a single in-state loss (7-9 to traditional defensive juggernaut La Costa Canyon) and two out-of-state losses to big-time east Coast programs, Deerfield Academy and Darien, CT High School. Only LCC was able to hold Torrey Pines high-octane offense to a single digit goal performance. Best of luck to the 'Cats the rest of this season!
In recent memory, the only SI lax team to have an 18-0 record was the magnificent 2007 squad and they played only eighteen games that season. I'm sure the 2007 'Cats are rooting for you!
Multiple goal scorers in last night's contest included: Joe Lang, Peter Doyle, Chad Cohan, Matt Emery, and JW McGovern, and these five scored all of SI's goals. In other words, the usual suspects performed well. Will McKee, SI's lauded FO Middie, encountered a terrific young Freshman Knight and roughly split the match at the FO X. Cullen Vincelette continued to impress when asked to perform as "the human clear." Excellent in his role this year as a D middie!
I have come to be a big fan of the SI poles. They gave up eight goals last night – more than any game this season. I attribute this, in part, to a rare sloppy night in clearing and, in part, to the high-speed offensive play of the Knights in unsettled situations.
St. Ignatius is now 18-0 on the season, with only two regular season games and, likely, two conference playoff games remaining. At this point in the season, with this team's record, every game is a big game. This afternoon's game against Torrey Pines is no exception. Torrey Pines comes into the contest with an 11-3 record, with only a single in-state loss (7-9 to traditional defensive juggernaut La Costa Canyon) and two out-of-state losses to big-time east Coast programs, Deerfield Academy and Darien, CT High School. Only LCC was able to hold Torrey Pines high-octane offense to a single digit goal performance. Best of luck to the 'Cats the rest of this season!
In recent memory, the only SI lax team to have an 18-0 record was the magnificent 2007 squad and they played only eighteen games that season. I'm sure the 2007 'Cats are rooting for you!
Friday, April 20, 2012
The Bayview Bulldogs & St. Ignatius
For Love of the Game
Sunday, April 15, 2012
The provocative question: Will Lacrosse ever go mainstream?
The current issue of The Atlantic has an article entitled, "Will Lacrosse Ever Go Mainstream" You can read it here. It has a nice historical quality and a pretty good analytic component. The Atlantic, a wonderful magazine, is late to the party, in my opinion. Men's DI teams are growing (finally) and NCAA DI Athletic Directors are adding teams at a heady pace. You can be sure that these additions are not because of the desire to provide opportunities for boys seeking an outlet for aggression in college. Let me be very clear about this: Athletic Directors want more revenue and University Administrators want more donations to their schools. Lacrosse is merely the latest vehicle by which those needs can be met.
Have you ever asked yourself why NCAA DI Schools keep their Football programs when the vast majority of schools lose money at Football? Well, ask yourself! There are two compelling answers. 1) A winning Football team provides an opportunity for University officials to receive alumni donations to the school after a big Football win. Thus, Administrators have a Fall sport that gives them money. A pretty large number of Basketball programs produce significant alumni donations as well. Spring sports? Not a chance! College Administrators know better than anyone that College Baseball produces little, if any, alumni cash. 2) Conference Media Packages. Television Media contracts between TV Networks and major Athletic conferences are soaring. One need look no farther than B1G (the former Big Ten) or the ACC and see how much money is being generated by schools packaging up the sports broadcasting rights for their conference. Think the recent flurry of conference realignments is to keep a school's athletic travel expenses down? Think again! College Presidents LOVE them some Media money. As to the broadcasters, they want more product. They've already got Fall product, and they've got Winter product, and they want SPRING PRODUCT! Prithee, tell me what Spring Product they want. You're right! The Broadcasters want more Lacrosse. It's my bet that college Presidents will find a way to give the Broadcasters what they want – and I've got history and human greed on my side! Update: See my post on the Ivy League Lacrosse contract here.
Lacrosse? It has helmets and hitting like Football. It has sticks like Hockey. It has coordination like Basketball. It has seduced the Administrations of colleges across the country. Yuck. There is no love of the game. There is no understanding of the historic traditions of the Iroquois. It's all about money and it's happening. Que sera, sera. It could be worse. They could have chosen Track and Field as the new anointed sport. That's the one I got my college athletic scholarship in. I liked it, but it has all the drama of a sewing bee!
Men's DI Lacrosse college coaches are getting amazing salary increases. That's because college administrators want results. They want results because they smell money. If you think that college Presidents are primarily interested in student achievement, or academic prowess, or Nobel Prizes - well, think again. They are interested in growing their enterprise, though they have, in my opinion, the strategic sense of Slugs. Still, the collective mind of the academic hive has settled on Lacrosse as their new and future revenue source. It's happening and it's gonna keep on happening.
What does this mean for lacrosse players? Life will be good! A much greater percentage of Lacrosse players will be offered scholarships than Football or Basketball players. That's a good thing, eh? Just don't think it will lead to a high-paying professional career. Administrators don't give a Rat's rear end about Lacrosse players. They're making a bet that alumni will donate based on Lax results. If you've got the skills, grab that offer! Just remember to use them the way they're using you.
Have you ever asked yourself why NCAA DI Schools keep their Football programs when the vast majority of schools lose money at Football? Well, ask yourself! There are two compelling answers. 1) A winning Football team provides an opportunity for University officials to receive alumni donations to the school after a big Football win. Thus, Administrators have a Fall sport that gives them money. A pretty large number of Basketball programs produce significant alumni donations as well. Spring sports? Not a chance! College Administrators know better than anyone that College Baseball produces little, if any, alumni cash. 2) Conference Media Packages. Television Media contracts between TV Networks and major Athletic conferences are soaring. One need look no farther than B1G (the former Big Ten) or the ACC and see how much money is being generated by schools packaging up the sports broadcasting rights for their conference. Think the recent flurry of conference realignments is to keep a school's athletic travel expenses down? Think again! College Presidents LOVE them some Media money. As to the broadcasters, they want more product. They've already got Fall product, and they've got Winter product, and they want SPRING PRODUCT! Prithee, tell me what Spring Product they want. You're right! The Broadcasters want more Lacrosse. It's my bet that college Presidents will find a way to give the Broadcasters what they want – and I've got history and human greed on my side! Update: See my post on the Ivy League Lacrosse contract here.
Lacrosse? It has helmets and hitting like Football. It has sticks like Hockey. It has coordination like Basketball. It has seduced the Administrations of colleges across the country. Yuck. There is no love of the game. There is no understanding of the historic traditions of the Iroquois. It's all about money and it's happening. Que sera, sera. It could be worse. They could have chosen Track and Field as the new anointed sport. That's the one I got my college athletic scholarship in. I liked it, but it has all the drama of a sewing bee!
Men's DI Lacrosse college coaches are getting amazing salary increases. That's because college administrators want results. They want results because they smell money. If you think that college Presidents are primarily interested in student achievement, or academic prowess, or Nobel Prizes - well, think again. They are interested in growing their enterprise, though they have, in my opinion, the strategic sense of Slugs. Still, the collective mind of the academic hive has settled on Lacrosse as their new and future revenue source. It's happening and it's gonna keep on happening.
What does this mean for lacrosse players? Life will be good! A much greater percentage of Lacrosse players will be offered scholarships than Football or Basketball players. That's a good thing, eh? Just don't think it will lead to a high-paying professional career. Administrators don't give a Rat's rear end about Lacrosse players. They're making a bet that alumni will donate based on Lax results. If you've got the skills, grab that offer! Just remember to use them the way they're using you.
Even the refs like the Langkammerer!
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Rankings, Records, and Regional Offset margins
LaxPwower, the statistical source for the sport, recently adjusted their "Regional Offset Margins." What the heck are they, and why do they matter?
LaxPower's ranking algorithms are a mathematical method for comparing teams within regions. Teams who play each other during the season. As the season progresses, the LaxPower rankings are better and better predictors of performance, in my opinion. They use an iterative calculation to create a "good fit" of team rankings within, say, the North Coast Section of California.
The more difficult task of LaxPower is to rank teams from entirely different geographic regions. How does Texas, say, compare to the Southern Section of California, when no team from either area has played a team from the other area? This is where the regional offset margin comes into play. LaxPower's computers compare, say, Brophy Prep - the top team in Arizona, with San Ramon Valley, the top team from the California North Coast Section. What common opponents have they played. How did those games turn out. Then, they let their computers thrash.
Every so often, and yesterday most recently, they adjust the Regional Offset Margin (ROM) in an effort to compare regions – and by derivation, teams within those regions – with other Regions and the teams within those regions. St. Ignatius, the top team in the Central Coast Section of California and the top team in the State of California (according to LaxPower) moved from a Power ranking of 98.88 to a new ranking of 99.28. SI is still the top team in California, but it has now moved higher in the National rankings. The shift in ROM moved them from 24th in the country to 18th, right behind Loyola Blakefield of MIAA A Division. Heady company indeed!
LaxPower's ranking algorithms are a mathematical method for comparing teams within regions. Teams who play each other during the season. As the season progresses, the LaxPower rankings are better and better predictors of performance, in my opinion. They use an iterative calculation to create a "good fit" of team rankings within, say, the North Coast Section of California.
The more difficult task of LaxPower is to rank teams from entirely different geographic regions. How does Texas, say, compare to the Southern Section of California, when no team from either area has played a team from the other area? This is where the regional offset margin comes into play. LaxPower's computers compare, say, Brophy Prep - the top team in Arizona, with San Ramon Valley, the top team from the California North Coast Section. What common opponents have they played. How did those games turn out. Then, they let their computers thrash.
Every so often, and yesterday most recently, they adjust the Regional Offset Margin (ROM) in an effort to compare regions – and by derivation, teams within those regions – with other Regions and the teams within those regions. St. Ignatius, the top team in the Central Coast Section of California and the top team in the State of California (according to LaxPower) moved from a Power ranking of 98.88 to a new ranking of 99.28. SI is still the top team in California, but it has now moved higher in the National rankings. The shift in ROM moved them from 24th in the country to 18th, right behind Loyola Blakefield of MIAA A Division. Heady company indeed!
Day 3 at the Langkammerer
The final day at the Langkammerer saw three teams trying to protect their undefeated records at the tournament. Brophy Prep, Corona Del Mar, and St. Ignatius entered the third day with 2-0 records. The #1 team in the Southern Section of California, Corona Del Mar, faced a rapidly improving Bellarmine team - perennial power of the Central Coast Section of CA - and St. Ignatius faced the #1 team in Arizona - Brophy Prep in what everyone knew would be quite the battle. The SI vs BP battle was particularly heady, since both teams entered this game undefeated.
Let's get the scores behind us. Corona Del Mar (CDM) defeated Bellarmine 7-4, while St. Ignatius (SI) defeated Brophy Prep, 8-6. Both were sensational games to watch, with speed, skill, and will to win evident on both sides of the field! Bellarmine held the lead 1-0 and 2-1 before CDM went on a big run led by Michael Keasey, but Bellarmine fought every minute of the game and CDM knew they'd been in a big-time battle. SI smoothly pulled out to a 4-1 halftime lead, only to see Brophy close the gap to end the game at 8-6. Brock Ghelfi was one of two "Players of the Game," in my opinion, with 4 goals and an assist in the game with SI. Will McKee, SI's exceptional Face-off guys was the other. Will has been dominant in every game but one this season and yesterday was no exception. All those extra possessions made a big difference in this game.
Two teams ended up undefeated – Corona Del Mar and St. Ignatius – with Brophy Prep hard on the heels of CDM and SI.
In a non-scientific – and alphabetic – way, the teams I most enjoyed watching were:
Bellarmine – most improved team over early season form
Brophy Prep – willful, never-say-die team with a stud carrying them. Very impressive group of young men.
Corona Del Mar – in my opinion the most athletic team at the Langkammerer
Marin Catholic – not the best record in the tourney, but one of two teams with great grit and tenacity. One of two teams I found myself unexpectedly rooting for!
San Clemente – the other team with amazing grit and tenacity that I rooted for through most of the tournament!
St. Ignatius - I liked the Wildcats because their combination of skill, speed, and balance allowed them to make it look easy on numerous occasions. Making it look easy, I've found, is almost always because of near-infinite practice. They were the smoothest team at the Langkammerer.
Let's get the scores behind us. Corona Del Mar (CDM) defeated Bellarmine 7-4, while St. Ignatius (SI) defeated Brophy Prep, 8-6. Both were sensational games to watch, with speed, skill, and will to win evident on both sides of the field! Bellarmine held the lead 1-0 and 2-1 before CDM went on a big run led by Michael Keasey, but Bellarmine fought every minute of the game and CDM knew they'd been in a big-time battle. SI smoothly pulled out to a 4-1 halftime lead, only to see Brophy close the gap to end the game at 8-6. Brock Ghelfi was one of two "Players of the Game," in my opinion, with 4 goals and an assist in the game with SI. Will McKee, SI's exceptional Face-off guys was the other. Will has been dominant in every game but one this season and yesterday was no exception. All those extra possessions made a big difference in this game.
Two teams ended up undefeated – Corona Del Mar and St. Ignatius – with Brophy Prep hard on the heels of CDM and SI.
In a non-scientific – and alphabetic – way, the teams I most enjoyed watching were:
Bellarmine – most improved team over early season form
Brophy Prep – willful, never-say-die team with a stud carrying them. Very impressive group of young men.
Corona Del Mar – in my opinion the most athletic team at the Langkammerer
Marin Catholic – not the best record in the tourney, but one of two teams with great grit and tenacity. One of two teams I found myself unexpectedly rooting for!
San Clemente – the other team with amazing grit and tenacity that I rooted for through most of the tournament!
St. Ignatius - I liked the Wildcats because their combination of skill, speed, and balance allowed them to make it look easy on numerous occasions. Making it look easy, I've found, is almost always because of near-infinite practice. They were the smoothest team at the Langkammerer.
Friday, April 13, 2012
Day 2 of the Langkammerer
I have only two of the 4 games results and will fill in the others as I get them. First, Corona Del Mar prevailed in a nice match with Marin Catholic, 10-4. The Sea Kings are a strong team, with strength where you like it. That is, strength along the imaginary line drawn between the two cages. That includes: Goalie, Crease sliding Pole, LSM, FO guy, dodging middie up top and an X Attackman. If you have strength along this axis, you'll be tough to beat. The Sea Kings have it! In addition, their skilled O passes as well and as fast as any team I've seen this year. Well, any High School team I've seen this year! For its part, Marin Catholic gave them a heckuva game. I love Marin Catholic! They're gritty, they're well coached and they get the principles of the game. They clear out the crease, they cut to the crease, they feed the crease. As a result, they get open shots on the doorstep. They just didn't get enough of them against Corona Del Mar. My congratulations to Coach McGettigan for getting his boys to this skill level so quickly. Hope he stays at MC for many years!
The second game I watched was a conundrum to me. This game was SI 9 San Clemente 6. SI is a better team than San Clemente – a substantially better team. Yet, San Clemente had a plan and the will to execute it. They would zone SI to death. Well, NEARLY to death. SI's vaunted Attack line was next to impotent against the zone. That impotence was contagious and spread to the defense, which allowed a couple of open shots (and goals) from within INCHES of the crease. Very unlike the parsimonious SI D! This year, SI has been an Attack-led team. The Attack line was mostly fallow today. Middie Spencer Evans had the hat trick, Middie Matt Emery had at least one, Middie Phil Alimam ripped one, Middie David Fleming had another... followers of SI will know that these fine fellows roam the middle of the field! You know, regular guys – salt of the Earth. Unlike those Flo Bros on the Attack line who dazzle with their BTBs and between the legs goals.
Hey! A victory is a victory. One should be happy with victories over good teams – and that's just what San Clemente is, a very good team! Glad to have them at the Langkammerer! They represent the Southern Section well and they have a gritty, blue-collar mentality that always gets me rooting for teams! Way to represent, San Clemente!
Brophy Prep defeated Monte Vista 6-5 in a BIG win for the Arizonans. I don't have details. but I'll try and get them.
As I get more info, I'll report on the remaining game, which was:
Menlo School v Bellarmine
The second game I watched was a conundrum to me. This game was SI 9 San Clemente 6. SI is a better team than San Clemente – a substantially better team. Yet, San Clemente had a plan and the will to execute it. They would zone SI to death. Well, NEARLY to death. SI's vaunted Attack line was next to impotent against the zone. That impotence was contagious and spread to the defense, which allowed a couple of open shots (and goals) from within INCHES of the crease. Very unlike the parsimonious SI D! This year, SI has been an Attack-led team. The Attack line was mostly fallow today. Middie Spencer Evans had the hat trick, Middie Matt Emery had at least one, Middie Phil Alimam ripped one, Middie David Fleming had another... followers of SI will know that these fine fellows roam the middle of the field! You know, regular guys – salt of the Earth. Unlike those Flo Bros on the Attack line who dazzle with their BTBs and between the legs goals.
Hey! A victory is a victory. One should be happy with victories over good teams – and that's just what San Clemente is, a very good team! Glad to have them at the Langkammerer! They represent the Southern Section well and they have a gritty, blue-collar mentality that always gets me rooting for teams! Way to represent, San Clemente!
Brophy Prep defeated Monte Vista 6-5 in a BIG win for the Arizonans. I don't have details. but I'll try and get them.
As I get more info, I'll report on the remaining game, which was:
Menlo School v Bellarmine
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Day 1 of the Langkammerer
Here's an incomplete – and sketchy – report on Day 1 of the Langkammerer.
Brophy Prep (AZ) 6 Bellarmine (CCS CA) 3 Either Bellarmine's getting better or Brophy had an off game. This spread is smaller than I expected.
Marin Catholic 14 Serra 6 This IS about what I expected. Marin Catholic is a very nice team that seeks to find the open man on the crease. They are successful in this and that's why they're good on offense. They are energetic and relentless on defense and that creates offensive opportunities. This is a team I have grown to like. I like Serra, too. They are just earlier on the development curve than Marin Catholic.
St, Ignatius (CCS) 13 Monte Vista (NCS) 4. This is about what I had expected. Well, it was 1 goal less differential than I expected, and if the refs had not mistakenly excluded a goal by SI I would have been right on the money. SI's Will McKee continues his amazing performance at the foX, The D unit is superbly coordinated and the midfield produced a few nice goals, including a big rip from 10 yards by Phil Alimam. The SI Attack line is the best I have ever seen, in CA – possibly beyond. They are all interchangeable in skills, feeding, and finishing. What that means is when an opponent puts their top pole on, say, JW MCGovern, Poles 2 & 3 face Attackmen who are functionally equivalent. Here's my premise: There is almost always a hierarchy of talent among any Close D unit and in an Attack unit that is good (and equal in skill) the Attackman covered by the weakest Pole will have a BIG day! If you have not seen this Attack line – Chad Cohan, Joe Lang, JW McGovern – you are missing something special. You owe it to yourself to see these three this season. In an earlier post, I suggested this might be – in quotes – "an interesting game." The outcome was about as expected. The Mustangs are a well-coached team, with a number of fine players, but – this year – they were not a strong match for the Wildcats.
Corona Del Mar 15 – Menlo School 5. It was 3-0 CDM when I left things didn't get any better for Menlo. CDM is big, fast, smart, and unselfish. Their offensive QB, Mike Keasey, is smart, fast, and versatile. The Sea Kings are a very good team! The kind of team whose smarts, ball movement, and physicality makes them a WOW team to watch. Menlo is a smart team, with nice stick skills. The kind of team you want to do well. Against many teams the attributes of smart and skilled can carry the day. Today they ran into a team that is also smart and skilled, but has additional attributes of size and speed. Menlo rarely underperforms expectation, and they did not underperform today. The computers said they lose by about 10 goals and that's the way it turned out. I'm a fan of Menlo lacrosse and will watch them again this season!
More tomorrow on a VERY entertaining Langkammerer.
Brophy Prep (AZ) 6 Bellarmine (CCS CA) 3 Either Bellarmine's getting better or Brophy had an off game. This spread is smaller than I expected.
Marin Catholic 14 Serra 6 This IS about what I expected. Marin Catholic is a very nice team that seeks to find the open man on the crease. They are successful in this and that's why they're good on offense. They are energetic and relentless on defense and that creates offensive opportunities. This is a team I have grown to like. I like Serra, too. They are just earlier on the development curve than Marin Catholic.
St, Ignatius (CCS) 13 Monte Vista (NCS) 4. This is about what I had expected. Well, it was 1 goal less differential than I expected, and if the refs had not mistakenly excluded a goal by SI I would have been right on the money. SI's Will McKee continues his amazing performance at the foX, The D unit is superbly coordinated and the midfield produced a few nice goals, including a big rip from 10 yards by Phil Alimam. The SI Attack line is the best I have ever seen, in CA – possibly beyond. They are all interchangeable in skills, feeding, and finishing. What that means is when an opponent puts their top pole on, say, JW MCGovern, Poles 2 & 3 face Attackmen who are functionally equivalent. Here's my premise: There is almost always a hierarchy of talent among any Close D unit and in an Attack unit that is good (and equal in skill) the Attackman covered by the weakest Pole will have a BIG day! If you have not seen this Attack line – Chad Cohan, Joe Lang, JW McGovern – you are missing something special. You owe it to yourself to see these three this season. In an earlier post, I suggested this might be – in quotes – "an interesting game." The outcome was about as expected. The Mustangs are a well-coached team, with a number of fine players, but – this year – they were not a strong match for the Wildcats.
Corona Del Mar 15 – Menlo School 5. It was 3-0 CDM when I left things didn't get any better for Menlo. CDM is big, fast, smart, and unselfish. Their offensive QB, Mike Keasey, is smart, fast, and versatile. The Sea Kings are a very good team! The kind of team whose smarts, ball movement, and physicality makes them a WOW team to watch. Menlo is a smart team, with nice stick skills. The kind of team you want to do well. Against many teams the attributes of smart and skilled can carry the day. Today they ran into a team that is also smart and skilled, but has additional attributes of size and speed. Menlo rarely underperforms expectation, and they did not underperform today. The computers said they lose by about 10 goals and that's the way it turned out. I'm a fan of Menlo lacrosse and will watch them again this season!
More tomorrow on a VERY entertaining Langkammerer.
Another Hat Trick for Casey Hock
Casey Hock
Casey Hock, former NorCal standout and HS All-American, had another hat trick under the lights last night, as NCAA DII Queen's University defeated Coker College, 16-3. Casey has appeared in less than half of Queen's games, yet is fourth in points on his team, and has the highest shooting percentage among players with 4 or more goals. Way to go, Casey!
SI Alum Billy Mattimore scores in Bucknell win against Penn
Billy Mattimore
SI alum and former HS All-American, Billy Mattimore scored an EMO goal today. The Bucknell game report describes it as, "The EMO unit converted when David Dickson fed Billy Mattimore for a 20-yard laser that beat Brian Feeney."
You can read the article and see the Box score at:
http://www.bucknellbison.com/sports/m-lacros/recaps/041012aab.html
Alex Capretta nets 4 against Rutgers
Alex Capretta
http://www.goprincetontigers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=46871&SPID=4265&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=205411571&DB_OEM_ID=10600
Way to go, Alex!
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
SI Alum Roy Lang has hat trick against Syracuse
Former SI standout and 2x HS All-American, Roy Lang had a hat trick yesterday in a 12-6 Cornell victory over Syracuse. Significantly, it was Cornell's 700th victory in Men's lacrosse. Roy is on a roll lately and Cornell is very dangerous when Roy is feelin' it! You can read a game report and see the box score at:
http://www.cornellbigred.com/news/2012/4/10/MLAX_0410122710.aspx
It's worth noting that the NCAA DI 1st team All-American was also named to the Academic All-Ivy team last year!
Monday, April 09, 2012
Casey Hock dazzles!
In a big game this past Saturday, NCAA DII Queen's University defeated conference rival Lees- McRae, 18-2. Former NorCal standout and HS AA, Casey Hock, tallied 5 points on 3 G and 2A in the win. As expected, when coaches figured out Casey's unique skill set, he's become a big contributor at Queens! Pretty exciting to all Monte Vista Mustang fans! You can read the story at:
http://www.queensathletics.com/news/2012/4/7/MLAX_0407124756.aspx?path=mlax
http://www.queensathletics.com/news/2012/4/7/MLAX_0407124756.aspx?path=mlax
SI preps for the Langkammerer
The Langkammerer is a big deal at St. Ignatius, as can be seen in the pic below. Comin' up Thursday, guys!
Sunday, April 08, 2012
Happy Birthday to You, Roy Lang!
In yesterday's 14-10 victory by the Cornell Big Red over the Harvard Crimson, SI Alum Roy Lang demonstrated why people call him the best two-way player in the college game. Here's his Coach, Ben DeLuca, on Roy:
Eleven players scored goals, with senior midfielder Roy Lang acting as the main catalyst and embodying perfectly what DeLuca calls a "two-way mentality in the midfield." The 6-foot-3 200-pound Lang -- on his birthday -- scored five points on three goals and two assists, adding four ground balls and causing two turnovers on his way to bullying Harvard's midfield players for the better part of 48 minutes.
"I told the guys after the game, I don't think anyone plays more than Roy Lang," DeLuca said. "He plays in the defensive end, on man-down, on face-off, on offense ... He does just about everything for us. And that's a pretty scary thought if I'm on the other side of that and see Roy Lang with the skill set that he possesses with the ball in his stick coming at you in an unsettled situation with guys that maybe aren't so used to playing defense."
Tuesday, April 03, 2012
SI pounds Rancho Bernardo, 17-6
One of the top teams in Southern California came calling at J. B. Murphy field at St. Ignatius Monday. Rancho Bernardo, sporting a gaudy 96.2 LaxPower rating and a record of 9-1, had lost only to the top team in San Diego, Torrey Pines. In seven of its nine wins, Rancho Bernardo had put up double digit goals. The Broncos are a very good team.
For their part, the St. Ignatius Wildcats entered the contest with an unblemished 9-0 record and notable victories over San Ramon Valley – the top team in the North Coast Section – and Dallas Jesuit – the top team in the State of Texas. I've been looking forward to this game between the Equines and the Felines since the SI schedule was announced!
Both teams have beautiful ball movement and off-ball player movement, with the Broncos primarily running a 1-3-2 and a 2-2-2 bow-tie offense, with lots of picking and re-picking in front of the crease to free up a finisher on the doorstep. The Wildcats have several offensive sets, but the ones I enjoy watching the most involve initiating via a pick and roll below GLE or a pick and roll up top. Very Canadian, eh?
In a flurry of early scoring, the Broncos drew first blood, SI responded with two quick tallies, then the Broncos tied it up at deuces. That would be the last time the game was tied, as all parts of SI's vaunted game were on display, from FO and wing play, to great speed in transition, to wonderful D middie athleticism, to effective EMO play, to a big-time goalie, and a defense that – while not huge – is agile, mobile, and hostile! The Broncos determined early on that they couldn't run with the 'cats and went to a slowdown game in their settled O. Slowed down so much that they were called for stalling in the second quarter when they were down by, I believe, three goals.
Things didn't improve much for the Broncos and, on this day at least, they were no match for the 'cats. I have only a casual grasp on the stats but, by my count, middies Peter Doyle (2G) and Spencer Evans (1G) had the only scores other than SI's starting Attack, which collectively tallied 14G with numerous assists. Assists by middies included beautiful feeds from Matt Emery, Chad Bell, and David Fleming.
Score by quarter:
Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Total
RB 2 2 1 1 6
SI 6 1 4 6 17
SI Offensive production:
Player Pos G A P
Joe Lang A 6 2 8
Chad Cohan A 3 3 6
JW McGovern A 5 0 5
Peter Doyle M 2 2 4
Matt Emery M 0 2 2
Chad Bell M 0 2 2
Spencer Evans M 1 0 1
David Fleming M 0 1 1
Totals: 17 12 29 71% of goals assisted
Great win by the SI boys, but it doesn't get any easier. Archbishop Mitty Wednesday, De La Salle on Thursday, the SI Alumni game on Saturday and the Langkammerer next week, where the 'cats will take on Monte Vista from the North Coast Section, San Clemente from the Southern Section, and Brophy Prep from Arizona.
I encourage all lax fans with flexible schedules to take in some of the matches at the Jerry Langkammerer Invitational on April 12, 13, and 14. High level HS lacrosse for your viewing pleasure!
Question: I'm hearing noises that yet another SI laxer has committed to a DI school. If you can confirm this, add an anonymous comment.
For their part, the St. Ignatius Wildcats entered the contest with an unblemished 9-0 record and notable victories over San Ramon Valley – the top team in the North Coast Section – and Dallas Jesuit – the top team in the State of Texas. I've been looking forward to this game between the Equines and the Felines since the SI schedule was announced!
Both teams have beautiful ball movement and off-ball player movement, with the Broncos primarily running a 1-3-2 and a 2-2-2 bow-tie offense, with lots of picking and re-picking in front of the crease to free up a finisher on the doorstep. The Wildcats have several offensive sets, but the ones I enjoy watching the most involve initiating via a pick and roll below GLE or a pick and roll up top. Very Canadian, eh?
In a flurry of early scoring, the Broncos drew first blood, SI responded with two quick tallies, then the Broncos tied it up at deuces. That would be the last time the game was tied, as all parts of SI's vaunted game were on display, from FO and wing play, to great speed in transition, to wonderful D middie athleticism, to effective EMO play, to a big-time goalie, and a defense that – while not huge – is agile, mobile, and hostile! The Broncos determined early on that they couldn't run with the 'cats and went to a slowdown game in their settled O. Slowed down so much that they were called for stalling in the second quarter when they were down by, I believe, three goals.
Things didn't improve much for the Broncos and, on this day at least, they were no match for the 'cats. I have only a casual grasp on the stats but, by my count, middies Peter Doyle (2G) and Spencer Evans (1G) had the only scores other than SI's starting Attack, which collectively tallied 14G with numerous assists. Assists by middies included beautiful feeds from Matt Emery, Chad Bell, and David Fleming.
Score by quarter:
Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Total
RB 2 2 1 1 6
SI 6 1 4 6 17
SI Offensive production:
Player Pos G A P
Joe Lang A 6 2 8
Chad Cohan A 3 3 6
JW McGovern A 5 0 5
Peter Doyle M 2 2 4
Matt Emery M 0 2 2
Chad Bell M 0 2 2
Spencer Evans M 1 0 1
David Fleming M 0 1 1
Totals: 17 12 29 71% of goals assisted
Great win by the SI boys, but it doesn't get any easier. Archbishop Mitty Wednesday, De La Salle on Thursday, the SI Alumni game on Saturday and the Langkammerer next week, where the 'cats will take on Monte Vista from the North Coast Section, San Clemente from the Southern Section, and Brophy Prep from Arizona.
I encourage all lax fans with flexible schedules to take in some of the matches at the Jerry Langkammerer Invitational on April 12, 13, and 14. High level HS lacrosse for your viewing pleasure!
Question: I'm hearing noises that yet another SI laxer has committed to a DI school. If you can confirm this, add an anonymous comment.
Sunday, April 01, 2012
Rob Emery nets 2 in UVA win over Maryland
SI alum – and two-time HS All American – Rob Emery netted 2 goals yesterday in the Cavaliers 12-8 victory over the Maryland Terrapins. Emery, older brother of current SI midfielder, Matt, is a crucial contributor to Virginia lacrosse. Known by his nickname, the "California Cannon" ranks 4th on the team in points and second in goals. He was a pre-season NCAA DI All-American and has lived up to that expectation.
Doin' NorCal proud, Mr. Emery!
Doin' NorCal proud, Mr. Emery!
SI alum Alex Capretta nets 2 against Brown
Former SI All-American Alex Capretta, has been on a roll for Princeton this year. A starter for the Tigers in all eight of their games, Capretta ranks third in points for Princeton with 17 and is tied for second in assists for the highly-rated squad. Princeton overwhelmed the Brown Bears, 13-2. Former NorCal HS All-Americans Parker Brown and Tim Jacob both played in this game for the Bears, but were held without points by the stingy Tiger defense.
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