Yorktown senior goaltender Derek Koelsch came up big today with 15 saves as the Huskers beat Chaminade 11-9 for their third straight win and fourth in the last six meetings against the Flyers. (Photo by Jim Stout/MaxPreps.com)
The tripleheader that made up the “Lead the Way Lacrosse Day of Heroes” at St. Anthony’s today is accounting for the majority of the 100-plus comments on our our “Scoreboard Central: Saturday/4.24.10” thread.
Yorktown’s 11-9 upset win over Chaminade is naturally the center of most of that discussion.
Wait. Did we say “upset”?
Considering the fact Yorktown has won three straight against Chaminade and this new age of parity, was it really an upset?
Probably not. The fact is, coaches and players throughout the Hudson Valley/Long Island/Connecticut area that I have talked to all say the same thing.
There really isn’t much separating contending teams in this new age of parity and increased participation no matter what region they are from, or how renowned their programs are in terms of tradition or any kind of recognition or rankings are concerned.
Play the hardest, hustle after ground balls, win the majority of faceoffs, limit turnovers, have a hot goaltender, opportunistic offense and limit penalties.
If a team can get most or all of these things to happen in a game, it can win regardless of the disparity in talent because, well, there just isn’t much of a disparity in talent these days.
Hopefully that makes sense. At least as much as anything does in this new world order of lacrosse.
I realize this may frustrate many traditionalists who like to see things in black and white and view their own opinions as fact, but maybe now we’ve all learned that assessments in this new age of lacrosse, blanket statements on teams and regions of supposed superiority are not what they used to be.
With that in mind, in this space, we highlight a reader post on a widely discussed topic.
Today, we check out the thoughts of “John FANagan” on Yorktown’s 11-9 win over Chaminade. Earlier this week, in a comment prior to Saturday’s game, FANagan predicted Yorktown would pull out a 10-9 win. (To view that, check Comment No. 90 on this thread.)
By the way, gang, before we go any further, just a reminder that you can catch the entire “Lead the Way Lacrosse Day of Heroes” tripleheader on Sunday on the MSG Network at the following times: 8 a.m. (New Canaan vs. St. Anthonys); 10 a.m. (Yorktown vs. Chaminade); and noon (Manhasset vs. Darien).
“Scoreboard Central: Saturday/4/24.10”
Comment by “John FANagan”:
“Yorktown wins three in a row in annual competition in Chaminade. And that’s four out of the last six.
Yorktown played great defense today. How else could they win when they lost the faceoff battle 16-4? Great work by (Alex) Poritzky keeping their much bigger players in front of him at all times. Was very impressed by freshman Trevor Koelsch (and brother of senior goaltender, Derek). He made some key stops on the ball and he has a bright future ahead of him. On the other side of the family tree, not enough can be said about the big stops Koelsch made in the clutch, disallowing the Flyers to complete the comeback.
The much smaller Town team kept themselves in the game with quick feet and forced turnovers- and thats how they kept possession of the ball.
In the midfield, great hustle plays were made by (Justin) Mabus. (Eric) McLees speed caused some trouble for Chaminades D-I and big defense. The midfield did a good job of drawing defenders away from the attack and then finding the open man.
Town had players step up and that played an integral role in their win. With contributions from (Frank) Fusco, (Nick) Mariano and (Conor) Gately, KI (Kevin Interlicchio) had help along the way.
The win was branded with Interlicchios performance as he caused too much trouble for the bigger Chaminade team. Mariano and (Remy) Lieberman each contributed some big-time goals at attack, and (Ty) Schuldts goal from 15 yards out was truly a backbreaker.
16-4 in the faceoff circle really wasnt what it seemed to be. Yorktowns (Michael) Sullivan used his strength to prevent the Flyers from getting quick goals right out of the faceoff circle. Nonetheless, the FO issue should be addressed because it will be key in close games down the stretch and can win the Huskers some big games if they get their faceoffs down.
Yorktown has a huge week coming up with Somers on Monday night, Arlington on Thursday night, and the biggest game of the regular season- The Murphy Cup on Saturday. Hopefully the boys can keep up their great play into this week and into the latter end of the season!”
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Posted In: Scoreboard Central
Still a huge upset, considering how the teams have played coming into the game. However, you make a very good point in saying that winning face-offs, groundballs, etc. can mean the difference between winning and losing. Chaminade just didn’t seem to value their possessions, and turned the ball over far more than a team of their caliber should have. That and goalie play were the difference.
On another note, despite fantastic goalie play, Darien’s inability to win FO, groundballs, and clear the ball with any type of consistency are three huge flaws that cost them the W in their games vs. Conestoga and Manhasset. Overall they play better as a team than last year’s squad, but they aren’t as physical (nor as big in stature) on ground balls, and they haven’t cleared as well. Darien looked dangerous (especially at the end of this game) every time they were in transition, but they are wasting chances to initiate that aspect of their offense with the aforementioned flaws.
Yorktown is starting to mesh. Lost a ton, have many young players, but play a schedule that will without doubt have them prepared for sectional play. I had doubts going in but a win against a quality team like Cham shows they have talent. If not for falling apart in that game to JJ, we’d be talking much different about this team. That said, a win is a win for JJ. JJ and Town should never play so early….a waste of an epic matchup in my opinion. Lots of tough teams ahead, so lets see what happens. Town is section 1 lax.
joe do a poll about whose the best lock for aa so far
As of Late-
Mahopac cannot beat Yorktown
L/P cannot beatSomers
Mahopac cannot beat L/P
L/P cannot beat Yorktown
Somers Cannot beat Yorktown
Yorktown and Somers are both Bi-Polar
Yorktown- 12
Somers-10
it all depends on which somers team and which town teams shows up tomorrow
i dont think enough can be said of how well Tyler Fahey played on one of the top attackmen in the nation in princeton-bound Will Himler. the only time he scored was on transition and although he had a few assists he was clearly frustrated by the outstanding physical defense played by Fahey. If Himler got hot during the game i think it would have been a different story but Fahey stepped up and played unbelievable. Alex Poritzky was also outstanding on Rooney and Joey Bonitatibus played well on the junior harvard-bound Sean Mahon. the two shifty attackman Cavanaugh and the other one (sorry the name slipped by mind) were also contained well by steven burke and the combination of trevor Koelsch and Jules zidi. Alex Terry and Danny Donatelli also did well on the third midfielders. The offensive middies also stepped up when they found themselves on the defensive end. All of these efforts were instrumental in aiding Derek Koelsch and his outstanding performance between the pipes. On the other side of the ball, the entire offense was very efficient. Passes were crisp, shots were on cage and smart, and they took advantage of every mistake the chaminade defense made. Kevin Interlicchio’s leadership was important in inspiring the younger players like Conor Gately and Nicky Mariano. The hustle of Mabus, Porcelli, Schuldt, McLee, and Fusco at the midfield was converted into goals. Remy Lieberman also put up some important points namely a man up laser that stung top right. Two things that really need to be addressed are face-offs like “John FANagan” said and clearing. Town struggled in both, and usually when that happens you lose the game especially if it is close. In the clearing game at the end they relied on “cheaping” the ball and that is not going to work every time. After all of that it was an unbelievable game and Town held on to beat the then 16th ranked team in the nation and that is a huge confidence builder going into this week. Lets go Town! bring home the cup boys but don’t look past somers and arlington.
Nice win Town