Lacrosse Message Board
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| Subject: Under Armour games - seniors and underclassmen |
| Posted by: 1moreUVAfan on Mon Jul 2 2012 10:29:18 AM |
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Message:
OUR SENIORS - not a great deal to be said, especially since 2 of
our 6 guys did not play. Here are my observations: Tanner Scales, close D, about 6’2” 210, was the best of our guys; apparently strong, and with good feet. He didn’t let the smaller, quick guys go around him, always a good sign. I expect this guy to be excellent. I left after Q3 and didn’t see much of James Pannell and Zach Wood. Their team rallied late so both may have contributed after I left. I only saw Pennell for one quarter. He was behind the net and missed on a couple of passes. Wood hardly played at all (??) when I was there. He did thread the needle with a pass to the crease for a score. That’s a useful trait for a middie. Based on what I saw last year, he is going to an excellent addition for us. Dan Marino had a bad night, as mentioned elsewhere here, giving up 9 goals in the first half. To be fair, his defense was AWOL much of the time. Matt Florence and Will McNamara are both middies and did not play. Matt was with the U-19 team heading for the world games in Finland. Will was injured but was on the sidelines, very active, chatting with the guys a lot. I think most of these guys will see a fair amount of playing time next season. They will be fun to watch. OUR GUYS IN THE UNDERCLASSMEN GAMES – a ten team tournament, each team played at least 3 games over 3 days. Philadelphia beat new England (last year’s winner) in the final. The hot beds did not do well – another sign of parity? Players were either 2013 or 2014 commits, meaning the year they graduate and arrive on grounds. The best of our guys was Tyler Breen, a 2014 attackman from Ct. You can see why Dom offered very early. Small and extremely quick; gets his shot off in no time; scored with worm burners and around the net. He had 4 or 5 goals in one game before he cramped up late in Q3 or early in Q4; had 3 goals in another game. On one play he dodged past 3 guys to score; on another he easily ran past the defender and scored. Matt Barrett (2014), the goalie from the Philly area, was excellent. Stopped a wide variety of shots, including a few that were perfectly placed, off hand and right at the lower corner. Big and kinda chuncky, very patient on clears and passed well. I don’t think we are going to see him running around outside the net often. In contrast to Marino his defenders were excellent, but he stopped almost everything that went by them. Jeff Kratky (seems to be called JK), a 2013 face off specialist from Ct. This guy looked very good and will be an upgrade at the FO X. Had one excellent game, one good game and one bad game. In the latter, he and his two subs, hardly ever won a face off against the Philly guy in the final. Frankly, JK was overworked; he took almost all of the FO’s in their first 4 games. Can pop the ball back to a teammate or push it forward toward the goal. Moves well, his passing was fairly good. He is athletic, went back on d if he lost the draw and looked comfortable. Could use a bit of work on gbs. Took up wrestling on the recommendation of his coach, a smart move I’d say. We are going to like this guy – a lot. Ryan Lukacovic (2013) an attackman (I think he is lefty but is said to play well with both hands) from Chaminade on LI. He is extremely fast around the net and gets his shot off quickly. He didn’t play a lot because he was ill. He directed traffic on the field a few times and seemed to be some sort of captain. Perhaps there is some leadership potential there. Considering what I saw last year as well, he should be another great UVA attackman. Jack Falk (2014) a middie from Landon, was on and off when I saw him. He was better when another poster here saw him. His very first shot whistled, it sounded like an Emery shot. But I saw him for about 4 quarters in two games and he did not score. Played some d and stripped a guy at least once. Was fast going up field in transition and had several shifts at the FO wing. Needs to work on the accuracy of his shot and being consistent. Townsend Brown (2014) from Georgetown Prep, played mostly behind the net, which I suspect was out of position for him, also played a little d, at school I think he plays both attack and as an offensive middie. Didn’t do a lot but appears to have the physical tools to be very good/excellent. Cooper Fersen (2014).a very tall, rangy defender from Vt. Played both close d and LSM. He didn’t play a lot but he seems like a guy who could be very good. The two guys I did not see were Matt Emery (2013) and Nick Wood (2014); missing Wood was a disappointment. I saw Emery last year and he will be at least as good as his brother. Wood is breaking his brother’s records in Illinois. (Zach starts here in Sept.) In summary, I like this group a great deal. Even the guys who did not do a lot seem to have excellent potential and several should develop quite a bit in their remaining two years of high school. As usual, our coaches picked athletes and several guys who appear to be versatile. OTHER COMMENTS - With respect to the underclassmen games as a whole, very subjectively I’d say the talent was even better than last year. There was great ground ball by many players at all positions, and defenders stripped the ball from their men often. (Are pockets different in high school?) Compared to last year, I'm pretty sure there were a lot more guys who are 2 years away from starting college; a product of earlier recruiting I assume since they were more publicized than previous players at that stage. Two guys who are going to give us a lot of trouble when they get to UMD are Matt Rambo (2013), an incredible attackman, and Austin Pifani (2013), a big, aggressive defender with a great stick. Both are from the Philly area. That's all folks! |
| Current Thread: |
Under Armour games - seniors and underclassmen -- 1moreUVAfan Mon Jul 2 2012 10:29:18 AM |
Re: Under Armour games - seniors and underclassmen -- rocket Thu Jul 5 2012 10:52:20 AM |
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I like that alot, thanks. ** -- 1moreUVAfan Fri Jul 6 2012 2:23:50 PM |
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Re: Under Armour games - seniors and underclassmen -- maddog9718 Mon Jul 2 2012 10:05:30 PM |
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PLB should be able to address that point. In either case he will be a force. ** -- 1moreUVAfan Tue Jul 3 2012 12:33:02 AM |
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Pifani is UNC -- PLB Tue Jul 3 2012 2:11:18 PM |
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Pannell had a chance to tie it in the last second ** -- HOOfan_1 Mon Jul 2 2012 8:51:24 PM |
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Re: Under Armour games - seniors and underclassmen -- PLB Mon Jul 2 2012 3:43:46 PM |
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That's interesting. Last year when I saw him I thought he was already taller -- 1moreUVAfan Mon Jul 2 2012 4:22:48 PM |
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Re: That's interesting. Last year when I saw him I thought he was already taller -- PLB Mon Jul 2 2012 4:35:14 PM |
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Re: Under Armour games - seniors and underclassmen -- dek Mon Jul 2 2012 3:18:14 PM |
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Great report, 1more. Much appreciated. Agree about Rambo; he's sick. ** -- D Mon Jul 2 2012 12:51:31 PM |
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