Simmons: Cuse Tops Cornell and Media Poll

Posted By on February 16, 2015

I’ll start off with the most recent game, Cornell vs. Syracuse. After the ‘Cuse took down the Big Red 14-6, we are left with some significant questions about Cornell. Keep in mind a few things. This was Cornell’s first game of the season. Secondly, Cornell just opened practice on the first of this month, and due to the snow totals and the frigid cold in Central New York the Big Red had only been outside for a mere minutes and hadn’t really had an opportunity to practice on a full field. This matchup is usually played as a mid-week game later in the season, but both coaches wanted it scheduled as a weekend game considering the planning that is necessary for both squads. Cornell didn’t look bad on Sunday but the big issue came from its offense.

The only attackman to register a point was Maryland transfer Bradlee Lord. Matt Donovan had 58 points and Dan Lintner had 47 goals last year but both were held without a point on Sunday. Midfielder Connor Buczek led the scoring with three goals as the Syracuse defense absolutely shut down Cornell’s offense with textbook slides and great stick work. This attack line is supposed to be one of the strengths of this team, but without them the Big Red will not be successful. Meanwhile, the Cornell defense had trouble keeping step with some of the faster Syracuse midfielders, like Hakeem Lecky. The zone defense left the center open on several occasions leading to easy goals.

In addition, too much space was given to some of the Syracuse midfielders, giving opportunities for uncontested shots. The two bright spots for Cornell were at the faceoff X and in net. Christian Knight had 13 saves and did his best to ward off the Syracuse attack. Domenic Massimilian went 14-23 against Syracuse’s Ben Williams. The loss of faceoff man Doug Tesoriero left a big hole at the faceoff position, but it appears Massimilian might be a solid answer. Cornell has a couple of easier games coming up against Hobart and Binghamton before taking on #11 Albany in Texas and should improve with more practice time on a full field.

We haven’t had a new media poll since the preseason. This week though, we will get a fresh version. So which teams should fall and which should rise?

Here’s my poll:

  1. Denver – Duke vs. Denver could have been one of the biggest games of the year, but no one could watch because it wasn’t on television. Denver took the game 17-13 and has the best attack group in the country (or maybe second to Syracuse). The Pioneers have games against Air Force and Furman before getting into ACC play.
  2. Syracuse – It was a tough choice to move the Irish out of the second spot in favor of the Orange, but after putting a beat down on its first two opponents, Siena and #8 Cornell, there wasn’t a whole lot of debate. Syracuse looks good all around and is quickly fixing its faceoff issues through Holy Cross transfer Ben Williams. With one of the deepest teams in division I, this is a Championship or bust squad.
  3. North Carolina – Jimmy Bitter and Joey Sankey provide a high-powered one-two punch for the Tar Heels. The Heels have wins over Furman, High Point and UMass so far and will face #6 Johns Hopkins this week followed by another big game against #1 Denver.
  4. Duke – Duke is still the reigning champs. Keep in mind Duke has three players serving suspensions right now, including senior Kyle Keenan. The Blue Devils are strong in just about every aspect of the game, once this team starts clicking, watch out.
  5. Virginia – The Cavaliers picked up a one-goal win over #7 Loyola and a 14-10 victory over #18 Drexel. Top to bottom, the ACC is the toughest conference in college lacrosse and Virginia will begin its ACC schedule on March 1 when it takes on #4 Syracuse. The Cavs have an amazing attackman in James Pannell who is looking to put together another great season in Charlottesville. Still though, the Cavs could be the weakest team in the ACC, as crazy as that might sound.
  6. Notre Dame – A 14-12 win over Georgetown isn’t something to brag about, but the Irish have an excellent attack line led by Matt Kavanaugh. The Irish may soon find themselves in a two-goalie rotation with Shane Doss and Connor Kelly. The Irish will have to put down a rising Michigan team as well as Dartmouth before taking on #1 Denver at the end of the month.
  7. Maryland – Maryland has just one game under its belt, an 8-1 win over Navy. The Terps have a solid defense but are working with a new goalie in Kyle Bernlohr who had 12 saves against Navy.
  8. Johns Hopkins – After an emotional loss to Towson in its second game the Blue Jays followed up with a win over Villanova, improving its record to 2-1. We’ll have to wait until this weekend when Hopkins takes on #3 UNC to get a good handle on this team. Hopkins features three stud attackmen in Ryan Brown, Wells Stanwick and Shack Stanwick. In addition, the defense should get better behind goalie Eric Schneider.
  9. Cornell – The Big Red took a chance playing Syracuse just 14 days after starting practice. The first period finished with Cornell down 1-0 to the ‘Cuse but in the end the Orange beat the Big Red with exceptional defense. The Cornell attack line was held to a total of one point, a serious concern for this Central New York team.
  10. Loyola – That is two years in a row the Greyhounds have lost to Virginia by one goal to start the season. Loyola still put away Penn State 8-6 and will play Towson next.
  11. Harvard – Harvard and Cornell are the two top Ivy League teams. The Crimson has yet to play this year but will take on UMass in its first game, which should be an easy win for Harvard.
  12. Army – The Black Knights began the season unranked, but after three straight wins, and scoring 20+ points in two of those games, it is hard to ignore this team. None of Army’s wins have come against powerhouses but it will get a huge test against #4 Syracuse this week.
  13. Albany – Albany has yet to be tested, but expect the Great Danes to take significant step back after losing 2/3s of its dynamic attack. Albany doesn’t have a great defense and often leaves its goalie out to dry. Albany will play #18 Drexel and #14 Bryant before heading down to Texas to take on #8 Cornell.
  14. Penn – Penn took down UMBC 10-8 this week, a team that also lost significantly to Johns Hopkins. Penn is still a contender in the Ivy but cannot afford any bad losses, that means taking down Saint Josephs on Tuesday.
  15. Yale – The Bulldogs beat first year program UMass Lowell by 15 on Saturday. Yale’s next test will come this weekend against #10 Maryland and it looks like the program will be on the back of senior attackman Conrad Oberbeck.
  16. Towson – Towson had a big win over #6 Johns Hopkins last week and will have another challenge taking on #7 Loyola Wednesday. The CAA is weaker than in years past, giving Towson a big opportunity this year.
  17. Penn State – After an easy win against Vermont, the Nittany Lions had a hard fought loss to #7 Loyola, 8-6. This is the first year of Big Ten lacrosse, and it will be incredibly difficult to unseat Maryland and Johns Hopkins at the top.
  18. Princeton – The Tigers will be relying on a fairly young attack line led by junior Ryan Ambler. The squad beat Manhattan last week in its opener, 14-4. The Tigers will have to improve at the faceoff X after winning just 46% in 2014 if they want to find success this year. After a date with #19 Hofstra, Princeton has a tough three-game test against #6 Johns Hopkins, #10 Maryland and #13 Penn.
  19. Marquette – Marquette started off the season with wins over #16 Lehigh and #19 Hofstra. While both were one-goal wins, the Golden Eagles have had an excellent start to the season. Marquette was picked to finish 3rd in the Big East Coaches’ Poll, but the way things are going this team could find itself in the Big East Championship game against Denver at the end of the season. Marquette’s newest transfer, Jordan Greenfield, looks to be leading the Golden Eagles into a memorable season. Marquette has a bit of a lull in the middle of its season but will have a rough backend to the year, facing Notre Dame, Duke and Denver in a three-week stretch.
  20. Colgate – Colgate has wins over #14 Bryant and Vermont. The Red Raiders most likely won’t remain in the top twenty but right now this team deserve a spot.