Re: Penn 2/24
Posted: Tue Feb 27, 2024 4:27 pm
All of the hand wringing over this loss to Penn is a little bit much. Hens have been very good at overcoming possession differentials over the last couple of years. They had Tyler Barbarich who was well above .500 and Jake Hervada who battled injuries but finished his career at .500, so it has not been that long since they had studs at FOGO.
I would expect a close game with Michigan this week because the team is really good at limiting turnovers and playing solid defense. The Hens have an awesome offensive unit too. Michigan's Justin Wiedfelt is going to crush the Hens on faceoffs on Saturday, but that doesn't mean the game won't be competitive. The purpose of these out-of-conference games is to make the Hens stronger when they play in the CAA. They have to win the CAA to get in the NCAA tourney anyway, and that is their only goal every year.
If you go back to 2007 the Hens had a ton of tough games and losses (lost to #4 Albany, lost to #7 Georgetown, lost to #5 Duke, lost to #14 Towson, Lost to Drexel) before beating Towson and Drexel easily on their way to the final four (beating Virginia and UMBC) before losing to Hopkins 8-3.
In 2010, the Hens lost to Hopkins, Villanova, Stony Brook, Towson and Hofstra before cruising past Towson and Drexel to win the CAA and get in the tourney, when they nearly beat North Carolina in the first round 14-13.
In 2011, the Hens lost to Hopkins, Albany, Stony Brook, Villanova, Penn State, UMass before beating UMass and Hofstra in the CAAs and nearly beating Duke in the first round of the NCAAs 15-14.
In 2022, the Hens lost to #7 Duke, #16 Michigan, Villanova, UMass, Hofstra before smoking Drexel and Towson in the CAAs and then they went on to beat Robert Morris 20-8 and then beat #2 Georgetown in the first round and then nearly beat #7 Cornell 10-8.
In 2023, the Hens lost by one to Villanova, lost to Michigan, lost to #9 Hopkins before running through the CAA and cruising through the CAA tourney and play in game against Marist 25-10 before succumbing to #1 Duke in the first round of the NCAAs 12-11.
The Hens are going to lose regular season games. Every team does. But if they learn from these losses and overcome the inevitable losses at the faceoff x, they will be just fine. This year the Hens are VERY young, particularly at midfield and defense. They are trotting out Freshmen Ryder Villani (Middie), Ryder Buell (SSDM), Louie Atkinson (Close defense), John McCurry (Attack) and Tyler Owings (Middie). They are also playing a lot of sophomores who didn't play last year including Patrick Gillin (LSM), Hank D'Ambrogi (Middie) and Troon Houlton (SSDM). That is a ton of young players that will get better every game. They should be primed to be competitive in the CAA and go for the three-peat. That is really the only thing they care about. Beating Michigan or Syracuse is going to be tough. But not impossible. You have one of the best coaches in the sport. Have some faith.
I would expect a close game with Michigan this week because the team is really good at limiting turnovers and playing solid defense. The Hens have an awesome offensive unit too. Michigan's Justin Wiedfelt is going to crush the Hens on faceoffs on Saturday, but that doesn't mean the game won't be competitive. The purpose of these out-of-conference games is to make the Hens stronger when they play in the CAA. They have to win the CAA to get in the NCAA tourney anyway, and that is their only goal every year.
If you go back to 2007 the Hens had a ton of tough games and losses (lost to #4 Albany, lost to #7 Georgetown, lost to #5 Duke, lost to #14 Towson, Lost to Drexel) before beating Towson and Drexel easily on their way to the final four (beating Virginia and UMBC) before losing to Hopkins 8-3.
In 2010, the Hens lost to Hopkins, Villanova, Stony Brook, Towson and Hofstra before cruising past Towson and Drexel to win the CAA and get in the tourney, when they nearly beat North Carolina in the first round 14-13.
In 2011, the Hens lost to Hopkins, Albany, Stony Brook, Villanova, Penn State, UMass before beating UMass and Hofstra in the CAAs and nearly beating Duke in the first round of the NCAAs 15-14.
In 2022, the Hens lost to #7 Duke, #16 Michigan, Villanova, UMass, Hofstra before smoking Drexel and Towson in the CAAs and then they went on to beat Robert Morris 20-8 and then beat #2 Georgetown in the first round and then nearly beat #7 Cornell 10-8.
In 2023, the Hens lost by one to Villanova, lost to Michigan, lost to #9 Hopkins before running through the CAA and cruising through the CAA tourney and play in game against Marist 25-10 before succumbing to #1 Duke in the first round of the NCAAs 12-11.
The Hens are going to lose regular season games. Every team does. But if they learn from these losses and overcome the inevitable losses at the faceoff x, they will be just fine. This year the Hens are VERY young, particularly at midfield and defense. They are trotting out Freshmen Ryder Villani (Middie), Ryder Buell (SSDM), Louie Atkinson (Close defense), John McCurry (Attack) and Tyler Owings (Middie). They are also playing a lot of sophomores who didn't play last year including Patrick Gillin (LSM), Hank D'Ambrogi (Middie) and Troon Houlton (SSDM). That is a ton of young players that will get better every game. They should be primed to be competitive in the CAA and go for the three-peat. That is really the only thing they care about. Beating Michigan or Syracuse is going to be tough. But not impossible. You have one of the best coaches in the sport. Have some faith.
