[Jamesy]

BC upset Stanford yesterday evening 11-13 in a back and forth thrilling game.  A b.s. offensive foul call against Stanford star Aliya Polisky late in the 4th ended up making the difference.  The ACC refs took away a goal that would have tied the game and put Ms. Polisky in the penalty box which allowed BC to score with us a man down.

I was pleasantly surprised at the Stanford fan turnout.  A neutral observer laxhead friend that went to MIT and wished he had accepted his spot at Stanford instead said it seemed like there were more Stanford fans there.  We were certainly louder.  Stanford fields a critical mass of players from the northeast (including #2 point scorer Mallory Hesselbeck who grad transferred from BC).  Their friends and family turned out in force.

My semi-trained eye as a lax dad is that Stanford plays too much isolation heroine ball.  It looked like middle school girls lacrosse at times.  Heroine ball is a particularly bad approach with BC's goalie Shae Dolce whose 2024 NCAA championship game performance was the best single game performance of any goalie I've ever seen in any sport with a goalie.  Rivalled only by Connor Hellebuyck during the Olympics.

Stanford plays great defense, but on the offensive side does not pass the ball around to open up better shots.  BC did a much better job at this and UNC is excellent at this especially in their execution of crossing routes.  There were a couple missed passes in give and go transition that I believe involved Miss Hesselbeck that might have led to goals if they have been playing longer together.

The future for Stanford lacrosse looks bright.  No other Stanford team benefits more from joining the ACC which plays the most competitive lacrosse.  Joining the ACC better positioned Stanford in recruiting against the strong academic schools that happen to be lacrosse powerhouses like Northwestern, Duke, Hopkins and BC (Miss Hesselbeck being a notable example).  A national championship in this sport is a matter of time.  Just not this year based on what I saw yesterday.

I am less sanguine about the LAX team's chances of winning a natty this year, but I agree that we benefit a ton from joining the ACC and should be a realistic contender for a title these next few years. It'll be a race between LAX and beach volleyball to be the next Stanford team to win their first NCAA title.

[Jamesy]

BC upset Stanford yesterday evening 11-13 in a back and forth thrilling game.  A b.s. offensive foul call against Stanford star Aliya Polisky late in the 4th ended up making the difference.  The ACC refs took away a goal that would have tied the game and put Ms. Polisky in the penalty box which allowed BC to score with us a man down.

I was pleasantly surprised at the Stanford fan turnout.  A neutral observer laxhead friend that went to MIT and wished he had accepted his spot at Stanford instead said it seemed like there were more Stanford fans there.  We were certainly louder.  Stanford fields a critical mass of players from the northeast (including #2 point scorer Mallory Hesselbeck who grad transferred from BC).  Their friends and family turned out in force.

My semi-trained eye as a lax dad is that Stanford plays too much isolation heroine ball.  It looked like middle school girls lacrosse at times.  Heroine ball is a particularly bad approach with BC's goalie Shae Dolce whose 2024 NCAA championship game performance was the best single game performance of any goalie I've ever seen in any sport with a goalie.  Rivalled only by Connor Hellebuyck during the Olympics.

Stanford plays great defense, but on the offensive side does not pass the ball around to open up better shots.  BC did a much better job at this and UNC is excellent at this especially in their execution of crossing routes.  There were a couple missed passes in give and go transition that I believe involved Miss Hesselbeck that might have led to goals if they have been playing longer together.

The future for Stanford lacrosse looks bright.  No other Stanford team benefits more from joining the ACC which plays the most competitive lacrosse.  Joining the ACC better positioned Stanford in recruiting against the strong academic schools that happen to be lacrosse powerhouses like Northwestern, Duke, Hopkins and BC (Miss Hesselbeck being a notable example).  A national championship in this sport is a matter of time.  Just not this year based on what I saw yesterday.

I am less sanguine about the LAX team's chances of winning a natty this year, but I agree that we benefit a ton from joining the ACC and should be a realistic contender for a title these next few years. It'll be a race between LAX and beach volleyball to be the next Stanford team to win their first NCAA title.