Taylor's Takes: Impressive Teams, Dynamic Duos and Strategic Decisions

Twitter was ablaze last Saturday night, my own personal feed included, after many witnessed a clear disparity in stream production between the Syracuse-Johns Hopkins men’s game and the rest of the men’s and women’s games played at The Crown Lacrosse Classic.

This all-day lacrosse affair was held in Charlotte, N.C., with the goal to bring the local lacrosse community out to witness high-level games throughout the day. The organizers accomplished this goal despite heavy rainfall, and the atmosphere on site looked awesome from what I could see from home.

What wasn’t as successful, however, was the different streaming quality for the nightcap rivalry men’s game versus the rest of the games played that day. When I tuned into the Johns Hopkins-Stony Brook women’s game — a top 15 battle that I was excited to watch — I saw a production that felt like a high school film crew. There wasn’t any sound, no announcers, the camera struggled to keep up, and there wasn’t an on-screen scoreboard for fans to follow. The two preceding matches were the same.

Not an hour after the final women’s game of the day finished, though, fans were privy to an entirely different experience for the Syracuse-JHU showdown. Paul Carcaterra and Anish Shroff were on site commentating for ESPN, there were multiple camera angles for instant replay, and there was a functioning scoreboard with a shot clock for fans to follow.

To have such a stark contrast in viewing experience for games played back-to-back at the same venue was astounding. All the men’s and women’s teams that played before the nightcap should have had the same level of production as the Hopkins-Cuse match. These players — male and female — deserve far better than the production level they received, and things should have been consistent across the board.

But let’s move to more positive topics now! With so much lacrosse to watch and impressive plays and players, it’s hard to focus on just one topic or theme to cover this week. So instead, we will cover a little bit of everything in this rendition of Taylor’s Takes.

IMPRESSIVE TEAMS

Drexel

Drexel is a team that continues to impress me. The Dragons have earned two solid wins against ranked opponents in Navy and Penn State. In those games, they outshot their opponents, limited turnovers and were efficient on their eight-meter opportunities. Even in their losses, they showed moments of brilliance. Goalkeeper Jenika Cuocco was recently added to the Tewaaraton Award Watch List after her stellar start to the season and continues to be the backbone to a stingy defense that’s limited all opponents to under 14 goals. Offensive star Corinne Bednarik is putting up huge numbers on the attacking end, while redshirt-freshman defender Alexia Louca is back from injury better than ever, making a huge impact defensively. Together, these three could push Drexel toward a successful postseason.

Niagara

Niagara is off to one of its best starts ever under head coach Wendy Stone. With its only loss to Arizona State, the Purple Eagles have found much success on offense thanks to multifaceted weapon Andra Savage. With Savage shooting above 50 percent and securing draws, the Eagles have been able to dominate possession and make the most of their opportunities. A huge win against Marquette has been the highlight victory so far, and I look forward to their games against Columbia and Fairfield. If they can dominate those the way they have other games, the Eagles will be a difficult opponent.

Harvard

Harvard’s performance this season, even after Tuesday’s loss to Duke, has been so outstanding. With the consistent production from attackers Callie Hem, Caroline Mullahy and Riley Campbell, the draw prowess of Maddie Barkate and a 50-plus-percent save rate from Chloe Provenzano, the Crimson have found their winning recipe. The competitive fire that Campbell plays with, combined with the crafty stickwork and feeding capabilities of Mullahy and poise of Hem makes the trio the three-headed monster of opposing defensive coordinators’ nightmares.

Fairfield

Other than a one-goal loss to open the season, Fairfield has had an impressive stretch in February and early March, including victories over Drexel, Albany and UConn. Attackers Libby Rowe and Elizabeth Talluto have been putting up solid numbers for the Stags thanks to their team’s ability to limit turnovers and clear successfully. These simple stats are easily in a team’s control, and their focus on both has helped increase scoring opportunities. I have March 23 circled on my calendar to see how Fairfield fairs against in-conference foe Niagara. 

DYNAMIC DUOS

Ellie Masera and Alex Finn, Stony Brook

Finn was a transfer portal win for the Seawolves in the offseason, and it’s clear that she’s developed on-field chemistry with Ellie Masera (not to mention Kailyn Hart, too). They work incredibly well together, with Finn using her innate feeding ability to find Masera on her well-timed cuts. Whether playing against a zone or man, these two are a lethal pair.

Victoria Goldrick and Cassidy Spilis, Rutgers

This attacker-midfielder pair is difficult to stop. Spilis has been a staple of the Rutgers offense for quite some time and has the ability to beat defenses both off the cut and on the dodge. She’s a favorite target of Goldrick whose soft touch and accurate passes make it easy for Spilis to catch and finish.

Mackenzie Hoeg and Morgan Schwab, Virginia

Hoeg and Schwab are one of the most fun duos to watch. Schwab’s ability to thread the needle under immense on-ball pressure to a cutting Hoeg (who is under just as much pressure) is nothing short of impressive. Hoeg has a light and accurate touch on her quick-stick goals that matches the finesse and vision of Schwab, making this pair so difficult to stop — or even contain.

STRATEGIC TAKES

To run or rip a free position:

There are many strategies when it comes to shooting eight-meter shots, but many questions that come my way about them focus on running it in versus ripping from the hash. Young players often question which technique is better, and honestly, I think both have their advantages depending on game scenarios, player strengths and defensive strategies.

If the defense leaves the hanging hash open with an offensive player on the first inside hash, I say run it in — always. If a player doesn’t have a quick first step but has an accurate cannon of a shot, my gut says to crow hop and rip. If the goalie plays far out on top of her crease, I would run it in and try to shoot around her. Essentially, players need to have both options in their arsenal and know when to use them in order to be as lethal as possible.

Zone offense keys:

With so many zone defenses being played this season, fans have also watched a variety of zone offensive strategies on display. Many teams who find success against zones have a couple of different schemes in their arsenal and do a few simple things consistently well. Some of the keys to success against a zone defense include:

• Cutters on the inside keeping their hips facing the cage. When cutters cut with their back to the goal, it makes finishing infinitely harder. C-cuts that create solid shooting angles and drive a player’s hips downhill are a cutter’s best friend.
• Stepping into the gaps a zone defense creates during a shift. When the ball moves offensively and causes the defense to shift, the offense needs to fill the gaps that their ball movement creates. Attackers don’t want to stand in line with defenders, but rather split them to create passing and cutting lanes.
• Dodging. Dodging against a zone is just as important as ball movement because it causes defensive players to have to shift and slide. There needs to be a balance of ball movement, cutting, and dodging to find success.

End of game stalling:

The stalling strategies of some teams at the end of tight games have surprised me given this year’s new green card rule between the restraining lines. Many squads are electing to stay contained within their offensive zone, which in years past would have been most effective and utilized.

However, with the green card rule and different pressure levels permitted between the 30s versus in the offensive ends, I’m surprised more teams aren’t playing keep away between the restraining lines. The level of on-ball pressure is vastly different in this area of the field and would make playing stall ball a little bit easier at the end of the game.