Championship weekend is upon us. The action starts this Saturday:
Lincoln Financial Field
Philadelphia, PA
Saturday May 25
On location – Anish Shroff, Paul Carcaterra & Quint Kessenich
In studio – Chris Cotter & Matt Ward
Championship Semifinal #1
Denver vs Notre Dame
Noon ESPN2
Vegas – ND -4.5 O/U 23
Notre Dame, winners of 12 straight games is looking for a repeat championship. The Irish are without a glaring weakness. They are rolling into Philadelphia.
ESPN’s Paul Carcaterra explains. “It’s gotten to the point where anyone who tells you that Notre Dame isn’t the prohibitive favorite in championship weekend – They’re nuts,” said Paul. “Does that mean they’re guaranteed to win? No, there’s certain things that could happen in the complex of a game.”
I’ve seen strange things.
Denver lost in the Big East semifinals at Villanova and have since rattled off wins against Michigan and Syracuse in the NCAA tourney. They are a defensive based team with excellent specialty groups – FO, EMO and EMD. First year coach Matt Brown runs an offense by committee, but defense is why they are here.
“I think our defense is relentless,” said Brown. “We’re very aggressive, but we’re not reckless. We want to be sticky with you. We want to get our stick on you whether it’s on ball or off ball. We need to be elite communicators.”
The Pios arrived in Philadelphia a day earlier than normal. “We couldn’t get out Thursday. So, we’re actually going to go out on Wednesday night. I just felt like I don’t want to get caught in a mad rush with travel, and if there’s any hiccups with weather. I’d rather just get there. Get boots on the ground, get settled in at the hotel,” said Brown.
When ND has the ball: Pat Kavanagh runs the show, but his group is eating family style. Each player has a different skill set that adds to the potency (G,A).
- Pat Kavanagh 28,41
- Chris Kavanagh 36,36
- Jake Taylor 38,4
- Devon McClane 33,8
- Eric Dobson 15,12
- Jordan Faison 20,8
Coach Kevin Corrigan can roll out a second and third midfield and keep the pressure on opponents.
- Max Busenkill 10,6
- Reilly Gray 12,3
- Will Angrick 7,
Pioneers defense it littered with veterans.
- AJ Mercurio LSM grad
- Jack DIBenedetto D grad
- Adam Hangland D grad
- Malcolm Kleban G senior
- Jake Edinger SSDM grad
When Denver has the ball: The biggest question will be how will Denver score? JJ Sillstrop and Michael Lampert are the catalysts with 17 and 23 assists.
Cody Malawsky is a creative lefty who can make magic in the slot and around the crease. OC Dave Metzbower owns 7 NCAA rings and will have a plan. Midfielders like Ty Hussey, Mic Kelly, Richie Connell, Josh Carlson and Jack Tortolani have good size and can’t be slept on.
What to watch for: How is Denver going to score? How effectively can the Pios clear against the nasty ten man and Kavanagh ride? Will the Irish be able to crack the DU defensive code? Yale and Cornell scored on DU, I’ll watch those games for clues and flaws because DU bottled up SU last week.
Championship Semifinal #2
Maryland vs Virginia
2:30pm ESPN2
Vegas – VA -2.5, O/U 24
Maryland (10-5) destroyed Princeton 16-8 in the round of 16 and upset Duke in the quarters. Face-off athlete Luke Weirman is winning 73% of the draws in the NCAA tournament. He scored twice after winning the ball forward against the Blue Devils. Terps makeover on offense suddenly has the group shooting 30 of 76 (39%) in their two recent wins. Last Saturday on Long Island, Duke had 14 possessions in the second half. They managed just nine shots resulting in three goals. Maryland somehow found a second wind.
“Now we know what we are capable of,” said Ajax Zappitello. “The biggest thing was, we just have to get confidence in these guys. We know what they’re capable of. Coach Tillman’s done such a great job of echoing that all year.”
It’s come together at the right time. “We have all the pieces to the puzzle,” said Ajax. Just when are we going to start putting the puzzle together? We feel that strongly about everybody in our locker room.”
That belief has manifested itself into a Final Four appearance.
Virginia is (13-2) in the NCAA tournament since 2019. Behind a Connor Shellenberger game winner and a relentless ride, they nipped Johns Hopkins on Sunday in sudden death. First year McCabe Millon turned it up a notch, finishing with six points to overcome subpar games from Griffin Schutz and Payton Cormier. Schutz went for (4,2) when the Wahoos beat Maryland in College Park in mid-May.
When Maryland has the ball: Using picks and inverts is the starting point for this offense that lacks alpha dodgers. Eric Spanos moved to attack and Braden Erksa getting shifts at the midfield during the two-game win streak. Let’s see how Virginia adjusts. On ball coverage is not their defensive issue – crease coverage and slides and recoveries have been more troublesome. Repeated face-off wins by Luke Weirman are body shots to the Cav defense that will pay off in the fourth quarter.
Face-off goals, rebounds, extra man and transition strikes can get Maryland to their magic number, which may be 11 or 12 according to my calculus.
When Virginia has the ball: All eyes will be on the Connor Shellenberger (attack UVA) and Ajax Zappitello (defense MD) pairing when the Cavaliers have the ball.
Griffin Schutz (4,2) went off in the Cavs regular season win over Maryland. So, Virginia will need their midfielder’s to produce. The problem here is that UVA doesn’t receive much from their second midfield line.
What to watch for: Virginia’s ten-man ride can be a difference maker. Weirman is a wild card facing off. The goalie contrast is drastic. Righty Kyle Morris (Gilman) could be making his first career start for Virginia while lefty Logan McNaney will be playing in his 54th game. UVA’s Lars Tiffany will try to dictate tempo and pace by being aggressive. UVA has been intent on playing fast and ferocious. Maryland’s John Tillman has a track record of making critical game winning adjustments.
