A mini collection of thoughts from the weekend.
Duke Doomsday Clock
Last Monday, we wrote, "Duke is about to enter the ACC component of their schedule. Syracuse, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Virginia, North Carolina, and Notre Dame.
No more fooling. No more trying things out. We shouldn’t have questions about your offense. You need to go 4-2 to get an at large bid. Under no circumstances should you struggle to score goals against Syracuse or North Carolina."
Of course, Duke lost 14-10. The Devils managed to score only four goals in the first half.
Everyone wants to talk about Tucker Dordevic's goal, but how do you give up this transition opportunity in the first place?
Dordevic also took 22 shots.
Did Duke not have a scouting report?
Were no adjustments made defensively?
This past week, Duke's Nakeie Montgomery was on Paul Carcaterra's podcast saying he was probably going to be the midfielder of the year. He didn't register a shot. He is credited with two assists, but one of the assists was a result of a lucky bounce after a pass he threw was dropped.
Duke now needs to go at worst 4-1 to make the post season. They have games against North Carolina, Notre Dame, Virginia, North Carolina, and Notre Dame. North Carolina is completely dependent upon Chris Gray. Bad news for Duke is they just allowed Dordevic to shoot 22 times.
Notre Dame doesn't appear to be as imposing defensively as years past. The problem there is that Duke decides they don't like score goals for the first 30 minutes of a game and just allowed Syracuse to score 14 times.
This group is too talented. No one would want to play them in the tournament, but there are far more paths to them not being invited to the post season.
If Syracuse regresses to their mean...
Or, if the Ivy League stays hot against out of conference foes...
Or, if Duke goes 3-2 to end their season...
They aren't getting an invite.
Tufts Bumblebee Kits
The Jumbos debuted brown and tan striped uniforms this weekend.
Lacrosse Twitter was thoroughly confused until Tufts announced they were retro kits.
Confused might be a kind word.
These uniforms are awesome alternates.
More importantly, when you're scoring 20 goals a game, you can wear whatever you want.
When you're Syracuse, you get bullied into putting sleeves back on your jerseys.
If you're someone who is responsible for ordering uniforms for your organization, there is a big difference between the sublimated shorts that everyone sells and this fabric and cut from ZimaGear.
Order from ZimaGear instead.
Don't let ZimaGear's disinterest in social media fool you.
They are very much open for business. And, they are good enough for Tufts.
Penn State's Regression to the Mean
Last evening, Maryland boat raced Penn State on Grant Ament appreciation night.
The program didn't win their first NCAA tournament game until 2019. It took a generational player for Penn State to win their first ever post season game.
Ament is gone. The Lions went 4-7 last year in the Big Ten schedule. They are now 2-6 and riding a four game losing streak.
It would appear the 2019 season was an aberration.
Our Best Tweet from the Weekend
Are You Listening?
We’ve now released six episodes of our podcast, LPG Coach's Companion. Which one is your favorite so far?
Episode 1 – Brian Brecht (Rutgers) & Bryan Kelly (Calvert Hall)
Episode 2 – Robyn Rooney (Wantagh) & Emily Boissonneault (Pitt)
Episode 3 – Lars Tiffany (Virginia) & Casey D’Annolfo (Tufts)
Episode 4 - Jack Kensil (Byram Hills) & Kelly Gallagher (Tampa)
Episode 5 - JB Clarke (Tampa) & Tom West (Bolles)
Episode 6 - Allison Kwolek (Clemson) & Kate Livesay (Middlebury)
If you’re trying to be a better coach, you’re going to listen to every episodes more than once.
Two episodes drop every week.
Really excited for our next coaching series to hit the internet. Very chalky.