The battle for Catholic school supremacy on Long Island has annually been a two-horse race between national powers St. Anthony’s and Chaminade.
This season is no different.
What’s also been an annual ritual is the teams meeting not once, but often three times, with the last meeting, of course, for the championship.
Round 1 is today as the teams meet at 4:15 p.m. at Chaminade. Round 2 will be May 13 at St. Anthony’s. What happens after that is still to be determined, but we have a pretty good feeling as you undoubtedly do as well.
Other Long Island games today include East Islip at Floyd (4 p.m.), Whitman at Northport (4 p.m.), Sachem East at Ward Melville (4:15 p.m.), Patchogue-Medford at West Islip (4:30 p.m.), Hempstead at Baldwin (4:30 p.m.), Freeport at Syosset (4:30 p.m.), North Shore at Manhasset (4:30 p.m.), Copiague at Sachem North (5 p.m.) and Half Hollow Hills East at Smithtown West (6 p.m.).
It didn’t take John Wiseman long to re-establish a winning attitude at Wilton.
The 1986 Wilton graduate, who was a four-year starter at Duke, enjoyed a successful debut season as coach last year that included a big win over Yorktown.
Now, Scott Bulkley is charged with a similar task at Greenwich.
Bulkley, who helped Darien win five straight state titles as an assistant coach, is the new coach of the Cardinals.
If Greenwich can get a win today against Wilton, it will go a long way toward returning the Cardinals to conference contenders. The game is 4:30 p.m. at Greenwich.
Elsewhere in Connecticut today, New Canaan visits St. Joseph (4 p.m.), Newtown is at Joel Barlow (4 p.m.), Ridgefield hosts Stamford (6:30 p.m.), Daniel Hand hosts Fairfield Prep (7 p.m.), Trinity Catholic is at Fairfield Ludlowe (7 p.m.) and Fairfield Warde visits Brien McMahon (7:15 p.m.).
In the Hudson Valley,John Jay and Rye, who have each won four sectional titles the last five years, meet at 5 p.m. at Rye. In 2008, Rye snapped John Jay’s 47-game win streak against Section 1 opponents.
Mahopac, fresh off its big 11-9 win at Somers, visits Hen Hud at 4:30 p.m. Somers looks to bounce back with the first of two regular-season games at Horace Greeley at 4:30 p.m.
In other 4:30 p.m. action, Iona Prep hosts Monsignor Farrell, Westlake visits Fox Lane, North Salem hosts Haldane, Arlington is at Peekskill, Brewster plays at Pleasantville and John F. Kennedy Catholic visits Wappingers.
As always, be sure to post your thoughts on these matchups as well as any info on the scores and game details.
MSGVarsity.com coverage
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* Jared Greenberg looks at the Yorktown-Ward Melville rivalry
* Ward Melville-Yorktown highlights
* John Jay-Manhasset highlights
* Chaminade-Iona Prep highlights
* St. Anthony’s-Fairfield Prep highlights
* Staples Wrecking the Competition
* Staples-Ridgefield video highlights
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Posted In: Scoreboard Central
many thanks !?!!
Heading to the Westlake at Fox Lane game. Never seen either team play so I’m just going to try to give impressions. Enjoy the other games.
Kharas
Would love any info on Westlake, strenghts, weaknesses, etc.
Will do, Rugger. Ironically, I heard that the new Westlake coach was the coach of Kennedy before the coach that brought in the Savs. Not only interested in todays game but should be intriguing matchup this Thursday (Westlake at Kennedy). Plus I’d like a good look at Fox Lane. Anyone going anywhere else?
rye vs jay. assuming traffic cooperates
St A’s 8 Chaminade 7 Rivalry and St A’s appears now to be healthy.
St Anthony’s 12 Chaminade 7
Mahopac needs to come out firing today or Hen Hud may give them a scare. I still think the senior leadership stops this from happening and Pac takes it 15-8
I like Rye 10 JJ 7 because of Cole McCormack and we don’t know how the young guns of JJ are going to respond to their beating from Manhasset
Ill take..
JJ over Rye .. 11-6
Pac over Hen Hud…16-8
St.A over Chaminade..10-8
Chaminade will take it, 8-7.
8-2 JJ over Rye. I was sooooooooooooooo wrong
Final – John Jay 11, Rye 10
Incredible game. Rye was down 8-2 at the half and had an incredible second half to tie it at 10 with about a minute to go. JJ got the game winner with 15 seconds left.
Pac 12, Hen Hud 6
Brando 5-2
Iona Prep 12, Farrell 2
who scored for jj and who had the game winner?
Wasn’t there but I just got a text that Pickel scored the winning goal (not sure how – prob on a clear) and Daniello had 2-5.
Chaminade 14 St Ants 8. Final
Not surprised about Chaminade and St. A’s. A little concerned about the second half of Rye but who knows? Maybe Jay was just playing extremely well for that first half and then cooled off … its a W though on to Somers.
brilliant game, hats off to Rye for never giving up..last goal from Daniello to Pickel, showed amazing patience, maturity and vision to find Pickel with like 10 seconds left…thought this game was all over at half time, but Rye’s physicality and ride gave J trouble..other fun facts, I could have sworn I saw Daniello come out for a FO toward the end of the game…when they switched sides at half time, the sun does come in at a tricky angle where J was playing, I could “bearly” see..J needs to re-think the two goalie thing if for no other reason is what do you do when goalie 2 is having an off day? tough to bring goalie 1 back in…Daniello played very differently today, much more the playmaker, also saw him invert at times and come down to try to help with the clear…will be a fascinating to watch Rye, a very big and physical team play PV…
Wow… surprised Chaminade won and won so comfortably. Any insights from anyone who was there? What were the keys to the game? Did Chaminade lead the whole way? What players did well?
Indian J- I would be worried too. I am wondering how JJ beat Town. Rye beat North Shore by a goal and today Manhasset had North Shore 9-0 after 1 and pulled the starters. What’s up ?
uh, JJ…perhaps just a tad over-hyped coming into this season? yikes…
at least your fans are classy
BBB- Daniello took a couple FO’s vs Set and was 50 %
Greenwich – Wilton score?
It came down to the fact that Jay played great in the first half, moving the ball well, sticking all their shots and playing great D, racking up an 8-2 lead. Then in the second half they weren’t hitting their shots and moving the ball as well. Their D/goalie didn’t look as good in the last quarter when they gave up at 10-4 lead. Rye’s middies played great, their dodging and shooting on the run looked fantastic.
I also don’t think it helped that out of the 25 face-offs taken, I think Rye won about 23 of them, not letting Jay to touch the ball the last 6 minutes of the game
Heard Dooley had some words for his team at half time. What ever was said sure helped. Rye is much better team than they showed Sat. Todays second half shows they can play.
Somers had to come back to beat Greeley 10-9. I think Greeley had lost 4 straight coming in but was up 4-1 at half.
Wow… Somers and JJ may not even be the best two teams in Class B in Section One let alone the whole section. What happened?
Chaminade won about 95% of the face-offs and St. Anthony’s goalie did not play well. St. Ant’s was up 4-1 after the first Q and then Chaminade ran off 7 or maybe 8 unanswered. Chaminade also got just about every ground ball and played very smooth in Q 2,3,4. Urbank and Earnhart played fantastic D-fense. Himmler was also very solid for Chaminade as was the rest of the attack who displyed good ball control and great discipline. #26 on St. Anthony’s had a few goals and 2 amazing assists. #51 had some great one man clears, he has good speed. St. Anthony’s D #15 played well but as a team the D fell asleep more than once and left players wide open that led to easy goals. The game got a bit rough near the end with some headhunting going on (both teams). Bottom line St. Anthony’s played a great first Q but Chaminade played an almost perfect rest of the game.
Gonzolax – Excellent info. Thanks. I’m watching the Chaminade FO kid vs Iona Prep right now on MSG Varsity. He’s been dominating. They said he’s going to Duke.
Not sure of the final in Fox Lane vs Westlake but Fox Lane was up 14-2 in the middle of the 3rd when I left. Fox Lane jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the first 8 minutes then played subs the rest of the way. Balanced attack for Fox Lane and solid goalie/clearing game. Westlake has a long way to go as a program, but they gave effort. Major problems clearing the ball and on face off. I heard Kennedy lost 10-5 against a good Wappingers team, so preliminary guess for Westlake/Kennedy is Kennedy 10-6 over Westlake. Stick skills are even but Kennedy is more athletic and better coached. Fox Lane could be interesting team.
Greeley is always a tough game at their place. They’re one of the rare teams that has a grass field and it usually causes problems for teams that are used to turf.
Pville 12, Brewster 11 … Brewster was down 11-6 entering the 4th but came back strong. Conor Fraylick 12 saves for Pville.
heard greeley was up 8-3 with 8 min to go…….Dan leventhal had 4 g 1 a before sitting in 4th with an injury….Greeley had no offense without him. We know who the real leader of this squad is
Prediction for Thursday JJ 12 Somers 4. Nothing without JOJO
JJ has to many athletes for somers to contain.
Wherever the Chaminade kid is going they are getting a good face-off man. He ate up the St. Anthony’s kid like he was a cupcake.
Got a feeling that this season is going to be a long, strange, trip…
Observer, both teams you sighted won their games.
What’s wrong, not enough style points?
Yeah John Jay and Somers might not be the best and we’ll know that at the end of May. Geez.
Yes, laxified, the score of the Manhasset/North Shore game has everything to do with Rye. No style points?
Every week you guys on this blog make these crazy predictions and debate everything you can all based on style points. Then when you get 80% of your predictions wrong, you’re surprised. lol.
Just win, Baby!
Congratulations to Greeley and Rye on your very fashionable losses. Now go talk to the kids on either of those teams and see if they care about style points. lol.
I agree, Fox Lane can be an interesting team. They still match up well against the two teams that beat them and if they get another shot at either could be a different story, plus their schedule is pretty favorable for improvement along the way.
So far this season, John Jay has beaten Yorktown and now Rye and all people want to talk about is what’s wrong with John Jay. Do you experts hear yourselves?
I think because coming in everyone was saying this was 1 of jj best teams in school history so everyone is surprised. When jj had bohlander and the gang they mopped up everyone in the section.
Yo here’s my pick for the Class B championship…
Brewster 11, Greeley 10 DOUBLE OT!!!
Greenwich 11, Wilton 10 in overtime. Congrats Coach Bulkley. Congrats Cardinals!
No_Style_Points,
Well said…..And we don’t really know how good Rye is, do we. I’ll tell you one thing – their FO kid won like 23 out of 25 on one knee. Really good.
Yes this Jay team CAN be good – probably not as good as the state finalist team with all the D1 kids. But they are not that good right now – but finding ways to win. Will have to figure out their goaltending and their middie defense. Couldn’t think of a better guy I’d want to figure that out then the current coach.
I don’t remember people saying that mike B. I just thought people would think JJ would bounce back after a “down” year last year. So far they’re looking like they’re the best team in the section (should be considered until they lose to a section 1 opponent) and they’re 4-1 so there’s nothing to panic about. I’m a little surprised that the margin of victory wasn’t greater, but this is Rye, the same team who stunned a JJ team (with Chris Bocklet) in 2008. I was expecting it to be tough with Cole McCormick taking the faceoffs also. Nice effort by Rye, I didn’t see the game, but must have been an amazing comeback.
I don’t know if JJ will ever have a better team than their 2007 team, at least for a long time. Look at all the current college stars that were on that team: Bohlander (defensive star for Maryland), Bocklet (leading scorer for UVA), Douglass (leading scorer for Yale), Stockel (star for Drexel), Schneidman, Drew, etc.
One things for sure though, JJ imo has one of the best if not the best junior class in the country and next year they have a good chance of being one of the best JJ teams ever. This year they’re pretty good too haha they still however need some adjusting.
I don’t Mike, I didn’t hear anyone say this might be their best team. I must have missed that thread. Besides, if it was being talked about it was probably the overeager dads of the current crop. lol.
I think it has more to do with the battle between the haves and the have nots.
No, Just Sayin’, you can’t put Greeley in the title game. They have to get a real field before we can give them a shot at the title just because. Let’s say, Brewster/Roosevelt because the Roosevelt kids have guts. lol.
Also of note JJ has had no home games so far but has 5 home games in a row starting against Somers on Thursday.
Brewster was home for jj
Laxman and P&G with the perspective.
Look, I understand the season is new and folks all want the best for their teams, but Somers is the defending champion until they are unseated and JJ has beaten two top teams.
This is competitive.
Mahopac is earning respect along the way, but they have to keep winning.
Rye is always well-respected but they have a long way to go and today was a big loss (that they will get over).
Arlington is a nice squad, but their schedule is way too soft ezpecially until they play Yorktown, Panas and Mahopac (and we’ll see how those teams are doing as well).
Bottom line is there is more parity in the section this year, but things are hardly even! LOL!
Excellent point about the lack of home games for Jay.
And no John Jay team has or will compare to the ’07 team. Just look at what those guys are doing now and where they’re doing it. It’s a shame we fell short of a state title, losing to an inferior but better prepared team. I’ll be diplomatic. There’s no way, all things being equal, we shouldn’t have won that game by less than 5-7 goals.
Let’s not forget. John Jay is coming off one of it’s worst seasons in years. I mean we almost had a losing record. And then we lost our top two way middie (Brandon Merlino). Yet we beat Yorktown and L/P and now Rye. So far, so good. VERY good. Quite a turnaround from last year already.
slacrosse – I assume you were at the game today. Unfortunately I couldn’t make it. As always, I would love to hear your take and insights.
Agreed with those above. Wins are Wins, its still very early in the season. The best teams will find there way deep into sections.
However, im still looking forward to some great matchups coming up the next two weeks.
i.e. Jay Vs Somers and Yorktown vs Mahopac
A couple of possible section title matchups should be fun.
no_style_points
you realize how dumb you sound when you say that greeley needs to get a real field, right? because they are the only ones with a real field, not ARTIFICIAL turf.
Jaybird I agree with almost everything you said.
Revisionism about what should have happened to an inferior, but better prepared team doesn’t work, but I understand from where it comes, when you look at where the players from that JJ team wound up. The problem is they weren’t the better team or they would have won by 5-7. Facts are sticky things and it’s a little too convenient to circumvent them by giving a little praise, ‘a better prepared team’ in order to justify that which is not true. The state title always goes to the best team.
As far as this year’s team is concerned I think you got it right on every point. And thanks for pointing out they’ve beaten not two, but three of the top teams in the section. What more do people want?
The thing is, when it comes to JJ, people get the ESPN syndrome and expect JJ, not only to win every game, but to “look good” doing it and if they aren;t perfect, “well they’re not that good!” Uh, yes, they are.
This is a solid team and will improve along the way, in spite of all the breast-beating that was going on after the Savs were ousted, and anyone who thinks otherwise is not paying attention or they lack credibility.
I think a lot of folks here try to beat JJ and the other elites here in the blog instead of having the teams do it on the field! lol.
If people really think this team is not the class of the section we’ll know a lot more by the end of the month and Rye will get their rematch then too. In the meantime, 5 road games in a row is brutal for any team and they have been all but perfect.
Cool.
LOL! ulax, you’re old school!
is mamo class b?
Does anyone have any thoughts on the Greeley v. Somers game? I heard Greeley lead for most of the game.
Tough loss to Chaminade … but St. A’s, this is just Round 1.
Jaybird,
J easily dominated the 1st half in all phases of the game (except FO). In particular Rye seemed not to have any answer on D to good set O play by Jay. Nice cutting, movement, distribution by MD, etc. Given J’s strength I would not have been surprised at all if Rye had been down by a decent margin end of 1st half but not by this type of domination in terms of J’s O play and the scoreboard.
Although Rye only scored twice in the first half I did feel they had the potential to score on Jay if they could get their strong middies penetrating the top of J’s D (even though I thought Maher played well), shooting, creating plays.
In the second half, surprisingly to me, Jay changed goalies as I ‘d seen them do so in the past?
All I can say is that Jay seemed to lose its edge in all aspects they dominated in the 1st half. In turn Rye started playing much better in all aspects (inc. goalie play). Rye’s middies started breaking past their counterparts and started shelling Jay’s goalie.
1 question and 1 observation that jumped out at me and I’m sure others:
Question:
Why does Jay continue to switch goalies each half???? I just dont get it. Jay’s 1st goalie was doing well. As good as a new goalie might be, he comes in COLD, has no rhythm of the game, etc., etc.
Observation:
Cole McCormack, Rye’s senior, Cornell bound FO/M kid won something like 23 out of 25 FO , got key ground balls , contributed as much as he could on O, and all on an obviously badly bruised knee sustained in the previous game. Aside from his ability, he’s got the heart of a lion and his perseverance must have been a great motivation to the Rye kids to step it up.
Good luck to Jay on Th.
yup Mamo is class B. early buzz around them…but not playing with the big boys, so we don’t know.
Slacrosse –
Thank you for your superb, objective analysis. Excellent points.
I don’t get the goalie platoon. If you’re winning and the starting goalie is playing well, he stays in. Period. End of story. That’s just common sense and basic coaching.
Wow. I had Somers ranked at the top of Sect 1 given their personnel, close game with St, A. Then the loss to an albeit strong and gelling Pac team.
Now having to come from behind to win by a goal over Greeley. Wait, no Dis meant to HG. They’ve got at least one real offensive weapon in Leventhal. Bastian on d and others.
But objectively Somers has so many more experienced , quality players that they should have handled HG w/o a struggle.
I just dont know how to call Class B anymore. Jay and Somers are on top but I am at a loss to say who would win. HG would be #3 but the way things are going why is it not feasible for an upset to occur between HG and the others??
slacrosse –
Didn’t know his name but Cole McCormack was incredible…If he’s going to Cornell – I congratulate him and wish him the best of luck….What he did was incredible. Jay doesn’t have great F/O men – but Cole crushed them on one leg. Truly kept them in the game.
I assume the Jay coaches will figure out the goalie situation….All I will say is that its not that simple. Both going to D3 schools (Springfield and Kenyon), and who’s hot is often more easily answered AFTER the game.
But I give Rye credit – fought hard contstantly (would expect nothing less from a Dooley coached squad). They will win “C” easily, as PV is down from last year, and Bronxville doesn’t look like a complete team.
Judging by the way the Jay vs Rye and Somers vs Greeley games played out, I would have to think that both Somers and Jay were looking ahead to their match up on Thursday. Jay probably started looking ahead at half when they were up 8 – 2 and let Rye back in the game, while Somers probably was looking ahead right from the start and then realized at halftime, “oh wait, we still have to take care of Greeley first.” I wasn’t at either game as I’m at school, but I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case for both.
Jaybird,
Couldn’t agree with you more. I guess I’d say I would be shocked if he continues to platoon on Th! Hey, what do I know? Not much.
John Jay 11 Rye 10
Sorry, took a little time to go through the numbers. First you gotta thank Rye for making it more than interesting! Was my prediction blown (14- 4 Jay) . Through 2 it was 7 -3 Jay. Linehan the Rye Goalie then made 4 point blank saves that should have been Jay Goals. That seemed to give Rye their second wind and they hung in, only giving up 2 for 1 in the third. At the end of 3 it was 9-4 Jay. It was then Jay almost totally disappeared to allow Rye to tie it 10 – 10 with 1:37 to go. What a run. It could be argued that most of the final Rye goals should have been saves. However the reality was 5 of 6 scored were unanswered and hit the back of the Jay goal in less than a 10 minute run, with but a single reply from Jay. Finally, Pickel, playing LSM, hit on a Jay fast break, assisted from behind the goal and back out front to make it 11 10 with 13 seconds on the clock and give them the W. Ugly, but a W in section never the less.
The big guns for Jay were Daniello, 2, 3 asst, Walter 4, 0, Pray, Weil, Morris, ODonnell, and Pickel 1 goal each. For Rye it was Garrett 4, Briggs 4, OCallahan, Stewart 1 each McCormack of Rye owned the FO particularly in the 4th quarter when Rye got 8 out of 10. Jay had 6 FOs to 20 for Rye in the game. As for saves, Maher had 7 in the first half and Franklyn had 5 for the second as Jay continued to share the goalie duties. For Rye Linehan had 5. Rye had 34 total shots and Jay 25. The big difference were shots off goal. Jay had 9 to 17 for Rye, and much greater productivity through 3 periods in hitting the back of the goal.
In my opinion The biggest difference was McCormack’s ownership of FO in the fourth and the fact that most of Rye’s shots were outside of 15 yards and should have been saves. Still it’s not easy for a goalie to sit on the bench for a half and then perform at a high level. Just about all of the Rye 4th period tallies came unassisted on sweeps to the right and a high shot past the goalies sweeping stick. When the same shot works 5-6 times you need to adjust on D. All 4 of Garrettss goals, 3 in the 4th were carbon copies! Again great comeback Rye.
P&G
I think the only “certainty” about Section 1 lacrosse this season is “uncertainty”.
Jay Fans,
Hey some good news. Chris Daniello scored the winning goal tonite with 1 second left in Cuse’s 8-7 win over Cornell.
Jay continues to “collapse” in the second half. 3 games in a row now. I’m sure it is not by design, but I don’t understand the strategy of going with 2 goalies. My recommendation, pick one or the other to start and if he is doing the job, ride with him for the entire game. Alternate goalies if they are truly equally good. Give them an entire game though. On the other hand, if Jay continues to win and this strategy ultimately leads deep into the State tournament (at least beat LI) I will be the first one to declare Coach Schurr a genius! But for the life of me, I am clueless… :confusion-shrug: It’s always easier to prognosticate than to coach! Praying for a huge turnaround Thursday night at Somers
Benlaxman,
Great analysis and details as usual.
For Rye, “Garrett” is Garett Chapman (jr), ” Briggs” is Briggs Barton (jr), and “Stewart” is Greg Stern (soph).
Keep up the good work.
Benlaxman,
Your comment “Ryes shots were outside of 15 yards and should have been saves” is becoming a consistant theme of how teams rack up points against JJ in the second half of games.
In yesterday’s game I heared that the sun may have played a significant factor with the goalie not seeing many of those shots. (but thats no excuse)
If this is a fact, it may be highlighting a weakness on the current JJ team, it seems as thoough they are a running a 6 middie rotation ( they miss Merlino) and they appear tired aand sliggish come the 4th quater. Would you agreee?
Hey with all the back and forth about what happened in the rye/jay game with the “comeback” I very wrongly neglected to state the obvious.
Jay, great for you guys to ultimately hang in there at the end and get the WIN!! No give up in your effort either!
Super end of play by Daniello and Pickel to get the winning goal. Lots of real talent on the Jay team for sure.
that side of the field is tough to play. whoever was shooting on it scored a bunch…however, some of Rye’s goals were a bit on the soft side, I do remember specifically a bounce from about 15 feet in front of the net that looked like it went in slow motion…just at the point I was saying to myself that Rye’s offense looked predicitable (alley dodge once, shoot)..they rattled off a bunch in a row..but it does seem to me when one kid scores four in a row, you need to do something to get the ball out of his stick sooner..
for what it is worth, I do think J has the most skilled players on the field…this is all mental, they just need experience..one last random thought, neither team could clear at all in the second half
Another point that seems to be missed is that not only has J changed their goalies but also seems to change thier D when they get a lead. Looks like a whole different D was in there when Rye mounted there comeback. Same as when they L/P. I also agree that J’s middies are not as fast but they need to be in better position when the opposition is shooting.
Chaminade played a great team game yesterday, their faceoffs were dominating, and they held the ball most of the game with long possesions. The season is just only beginning, do not count out the Friars yet, this was only round 1………………………
J Alum, BenLax
Would like to hear more about using 6 middies, I thought they were going with 6 offensive middies and 3 defensive middies? If it is just 6 they are not going very far in playoffs. They have depth of skill on that team they need to use it (may not have depth of speed, which especially in transition can kill).
Somers Alum, I don’t think you can say looking ahead was the problem as it sounds like Greeley and Rye also had something to do with the close scores, I would not want to take anything away from their strong efforts.
TS pick a goalie for a whole game please.
We have to wait and see what happens with Somers tomorrow. If Jay is still coming out the same way( either on fire first and then non-existent or Non-existent and then on fire) they will probably drop a game to a frustrated Somers squad. Maybe Jay will find itself at the right moment. We should be watching the new coach to see what he does.
I’m sure we are forgetting that this team started off the season with Brewster, Yorktown, L/P, Manhasset and Rye and is 4-1. Somers will be tough, lets see what happens …
Wow, some great games and puzzling results considering tradition this week.
I think with Jay and Somers two factors have to be considered.
Jay: Transition to a new coach and philosophy.
No matter how much talent and depth the Indians have how they adapt to an entirely different coaching method will take time. They “can’t complete Schurr’s sentences yet.”
Give that time. They will. Defense is too good and they have too many talented kids on offense for this team to play down to the level of their Section 1 opponents. Outside the section, all bets are off, as usual.
Somers: Transition from JoJo to no JoJo.
Regardless of the Tuskers’ athleticism and obvious talent at all positions they appear to not be finishing games, which could be attested to the fact that their security blanket, arguably the best player the school ever had, is no longer there. A few weeks of practice and a handful of games is not enough time for this type of team to develop its own identity on offense. No matter how you slice it, Marasco set everything up. Petre was the finisher. Somers needs to find that guy they can turn to to add stability and take control of the offense when times are tight.
Some could argue the other teams in Section 1 have taken a step up while Jay and Somers continue to find themselves, but I think with time the usual cream will rise to the top.
As for Class A, Mahopac had nowhere to go but up and has some nice skill players, L/P hasn’t made that ascension yet despite having good coaching and solid skill players and Yorktown is getting used to life without their version of Marasco in the departure of Ranagan and is working with an entirely new defense and goaltender.
I suspect the powers that usually are will get their acts in order by the end of April and we’ll see more of what we’re used to by May 1.
If recollection serves me, only two of the last 6 goals came from the left (looking) at the goal. On this side the sun is in the eyes of the goalie in the 4th quarter. The others were from sweeps to the right. 9 of Rye’s 17 missed shots on goal came in the 4th quarter. Quite a number of them were from the left and went wide right or over the goal. This might be what some saw as being more goals associated with shots out of the sun.
I really don’t like to criticize HS players as for performance, but a continuing weakness for the past 3 games, particularly in the second half has been the high outside shot. My best advice is that for these the goalie needs to step toward the stick as the ball is fired (following the ball out of the stick) and “put his head” on the ball and make the save with the center of his stick right between his eyes (from just above his waste and up! Do this rather than trying to catch the ball off body with the stick alone. If it comes as a bounce stepping out at the stick will cut down the open goal to either side. If he fakes and gets closer, then there isn’t much you can do anyway.
It didn’t seem to me that there was wholesale substitution of the 3rd middies/2nd team. Jay pretty much goes with their 3 first string attackmen 7- 9 middies depending on the situation (FO, O, D) 4 defensemen and their platoon goalie system. I have no qualms with the general “alignment” of the team. My major comment remains the 2nd half goalie change. It worked against Town but has failed for L/P, Set and Rye. We all know of their weakness at FO. If you keep giving the other team the ball, it will get you into trouble. I agree with Indian J, “We have to wait and see what happens with Somers tomorrow.” As I have said, “much easier to criticize, than to coach.
Benlaxman
You not only do stats but know that goalie position–must have played it!!
Anyone feel comfortable predicting a Jay-Somers score? Me neither.
Agree with Cuse, this transition will take time. Let’s see where the teams are at the end of the season.
The goalie thing confuses me though. If you’re going to play two goalies (I’m going to give Tim Schurr the benefit of the doubt, he certainly knows his kids better than us), why not alternate games rather than halfs?
Doid23
Yeah, after what’s gone on this season, how could anyone feel at all comfortable predicting a score these days?
Hahaha very true Doid23..
Ill take Somers-12 Jay-10…uncomfortably of course
Somers 10 – JJ 8
only if Somers D is 100% healthy, they also need an offensive guy to be a playmaker. They need to stop thinking JoJo is going to pop-up from somewhere and get them a quick 2 goals. those times are over.
eliminate the penalties and play with confidence!
J 8 4, first half, 4 7 second half, which hopefully adds up to j 12 -11
Somers 13 JJ 11
Let’s not forget Coach Schurr knows the defensive packages Somers runs and how to attack its weaknesses.
This game may come down to coaching and I think Schurr wins hands down.
Big Bad Bear,
Man ,after all the uncertainty with scores, results, etc , here I am totally gun shy about venturing even a guess and you come in breaking it down by halves!!
Hey wouldn’t have expected less from a lacrosse pro like you!!
Benlaxmen, Daniello actually went 2 and 6, and Walter only had 2 goals
I guess it took some time for the Pac to get used to not having their all time leader in goals Ty Perrelle as well. Excuses excuses!!!!!!!!
sla, you brown nose you, was meant to be a joke, as to the bi-polar nature of the J team…my view, if they can play the whole game, they beat every team in the section…sorta of an if statement at the moment
BigBad Bear
Hey, I’m a “bread and potatoes” guy and can’t pick up the subtleties sometimes (ha,ha) .
JJ Lax alum – Schurr knows what Somers used to run under him. They no longer run the same defensive packages anymore. Chances are that Somers knows what he runs more than he knows what Somers and Lew run. Playing under Tim for 3 years as a LSM, I could tell you every little thing about his zone defense and how to beat it (not that it was easy). The seniors and some of the juniors on the team played for Tim as well and I know a lot of them still remember his defense.
I doubt that Somers will beat JJ. Somers has too many injuries. They aren’t in groove yet, although this is the game to turn things around. Jay offense will be too strong. JJ 13- Somers 6
i will need a good report on Somers J, have to head over and see Bears P’Ville today.,.
I’ve been a lot better at picking my nose than picking games so far. FO may hurt JJ but penalties against Somers will make up the difference. Strong goalie play by Somers keeps this game close. JJ 10 Somers 9 in a very even match, JJ has more depth at attack, Somers Middies faster and more physical. Who ever wins the battle between JJ defense and Somers attack will win the game.
BigBadBear,
Big game for the Bears. How bout a little upset action out there!!
indeed…we will need to find a way to get inside P’ville’s fine defense and goalie…we need to try to get an early lead…while not like Rye J, I am sure the atmosphere will be electric, playing at P’ville’s turf, which I think also gives them an edge, our field is grass and is unusually soggy these days…
I’m not even going to guess a score for JJ-Somers, but I think Longo will be the main factor, and finds a way to lead Somers to a win. Or not, who the heck knows.
Speaking of goalies, I’m reminded of the old saying about 2 QB’s:”If you have two QB’s, you don’t have any”.