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DaSilva: Gate Check, Military Secrets and FOGO's Delight

by Matt DaSilva | LaxMagazine.com

The Monday Morning Midfielder, my weekly post-mortem on all things lacrosse, took a dive yesterday thanks to a combination of burnout from working out the kinks of the new-look LaxMagazine.com (I call it Blue Steel) and having to take my dog Loki to the vet. (He's fine. Like me, he's fat, but happy and healthy.)

Yes, Peter King would be disappointed.

Maybe you could call this the Tuesday Late Slide. Or the Missed Assignment. However you brand it, here are some observations from NCAA Division I men's lacrosse.

Regular season attendance

After 14,000-plus packed the Carrier Dome for Saturday's No. 1 vs. No. 1 showdown between Syracuse and Virginia, I wondered where it ranked among all-time, regular season crowds. Luckily, Lacrosse Magazine editor Paul Krome is a geek for two things: tailgating and paid attendance numbers. According to PK's research, the crowd of 14,340 was the 26th-largest in college lacrosse history. The top 20 appear at right.

This weekend's Face-Off Classic at M&T Bank Stadium -- a triple-header featuring Cornell-Virginia, Syracuse-Georgetown and Johns Hopkins-UMBC -- in Baltimore will likely register somewhere on this list. As will Day of Rivals (also at M&T Bank Stadium) and Big City Classic (New Meadowlands in New Jersey), also triple-headers organized by Inside Lacrosse.

While the NFL stadiums vs. college campuses debate continues to surface, you can't help but appreciate the proliferation of these numbers for the sake of the sport.

The undisclosed injury

Why do college lacrosse coaches treat injuries like military secrets?

Over the weekend, Yale's Matt Gibson did not play in games against Presbyterian and Mercer due to an undisclosed injury. Bulldogs head coach Andy Shay did not reply to an e-mail seeking further comment, while Yale publicity director Steve Conn replied, "I've included all that I'm allowed to."

Likewise, neither Hofstra head coach Seth Tierney nor sports information director Jim Sheehan would shed further light on the injury that knocked star midfielder Steve Serling out of the game against Hofstra.

Meantime, we're left guessing when either of these important players will return to their respective teams.

I suppose coaches' reasons for not disclosing this information to the media are both competitive and legal -- competitive in that they might not want to give an upcoming opponent an opportunity to game plan accordingly and legal in that there are privacy laws through the Health Insurance Portablity and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996. Either way, it's annoying.

Faceoff percentages are up

Even with a .667 winning percentage, Syracuse's Jeremy Thompson ranks just eighth in what has been, so far, a prodigious season for faceoff men. © Matt Riley

Each year, it seems, the NCAA men's lacrosse rules committee has some new caveats pertaining to faceoffs. And while Virginia coach Dom Starsia has radically recommended eliminating the faceoff entirely, it seems bringing the "set" call back and limiting a faceoff guy's ability to pin down an opponent's stick after he has won the clamp has helped create some separation among specialists.

As of Tuesday, five players are above 70 percent. Sixteen are above 60 percent. By most standards, 50 percent is OK, 60 percent is preferred and 70 percent is exceptional.

UMBC coach Don Zimmerman, the NCAA committee's secretary-rules editor, said the new mechanics help eliminate "rolling starts" and prevent long stalemates like the one he clocked during last year's NCAA championship game. "Duke-Notre Dame, one faceoff we timed at 35 seconds that the ball was pinned down before it popped out," he said.

Johns Hopkins coach Dave Pietramala said he thought the new faceoff rules would help Matt Dolente -- a former U.S. U19 team player who had yet to find his groove for the Blue Jays -- become more consistent. "You need to be quick, rather than roll into the faceoff," Pietramala said. "We violated about five times a game last year. Here's the ball and here's a 6-on-5 as well."

Dolente has won 29 of 47 faceoffs (61.7 percent) so far this season.

NCAA faceoff leaders through Monday (source: NCAA.com)