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NCAA MEN'S LACROSSE CHAMPIONSHIPMay 28, 2017Max AllenTom McLaughlinMike MorganTim TowlerBoston, Massachusetts Limestone 11, Merrimack - 9, MIKE MORGAN: Yeah, it's tough. I mean, these guys, especially these three next to me, we talked in the locker room about how they won't appreciate it now. Obviously we were here to win this. We weren't here to just show up. But what they did for our program and where they took us and obviously this being a major step moving forward is something that I'm certainly very proud of these guys and of the group in general. I want to congratulate J.B. and those guys. They're a great program, and they showed up and played really well, and I thought we did, too, at times. A couple bounces went their way. We could have made a couple plays. We'll spend hours looking at the film, I'm sure, but overall it wasn't from lack of desire, it wasn't from lack of effort or heart or anything that coaches will throw around and these guys exuded. So to pick three to come here are the three that deserve to be here. In general, I'm proud of these guys and our effort today. The fan support was great. You see that and you realize how many people we touch with being here. You know, the goal now is to be back here next year. These guys helped us get closer to it, and I wish like hell we could have won it for these guys and for the team, but they're three very special guys for sure. Q. Tim, of course lacrosse is a game of momentum swings and streaks, and you guys are in good shape, and all of a sudden 17 seconds you'd like to get back where they got three early in the second half; what happened during that time frame? TIM TOWLER: I mean, we just couldn't win a face-off. Their face-off guy really played well. I don't know, kind of pushed the momentum towards them. I feel like we kind of stopped them for a second, but then we just couldn't hang on. Kind of had a little momentum in the last couple of minutes of the game. But like I said, their face-off guy is a good player. Q. Aside from the transition, did you feel like defensively you guys did a lot of what you wanted to do against a very capable offense? TOM MCLAUGHLIN: I would say in the first half, yeah, we helped them, and then in the second half it mostly was the transition opportunities that became our problems. We weren't really getting in, and we weren't talking enough defensively, I think, and that kind of led to some breakdowns. I thought we had some pretty good looks. It's hard for any goalie to make those saves, and that's pretty much -- just a lack of communication, I think. It was kind of loud in there, and that definitely factored a little bit, but we should have been a little louder. We weren't really all on the same page defensively in the second half, and that led to some goals. Q. Max, when you guys were able to get a couple of goals there early in the fourth, did it feel like you were starting to get some momentum back? MAX ALLEN: Yeah, we definitely had a little momentum going in. Once you get one, then you can build that confidence and get two and start feeling it a little bit, the crowd starts getting into it, and then a couple pipes here, a couple big saves by their goalie, and we just didn't better the ball when we needed to. Q. Mike, given the face-off play that they do have, did you feel like in the first half just kind of keeping them at bay a little bit, keeping them out of transition, and how much was that kind of a back breaker for them to go boom, boom, boom like that? MIKE MORGAN: Yeah, Blake is all-American. He's a great face-off guy, and we threw Daniel Loprete at him, who's a great face-off guy. We triple poled the midfield, which is the first time we've ever done that in a face-off. He had a special day. He's a special player. He's the Player of the Year for a reason. You know, he's tough. He makes you -- Max said you go on a run, you get one or two, and it's hard if you want runs. You have to keep winning those face-offs. Their wings maybe did a little better job than our wings would do better, too, other than our excellent guy at the X. It's hard to come back and it's hard to build momentum, when we're usually the team that's getting two, three, four wins in a row and it helps us get our offense going and keeps some pressure off the D. But yeah, I mean, certainly a momentum shifter when a kid plays like that the last game, and you kind of saw why he is who he is. Q. Coach, I know you never want to make an excuse for injuries and stuff, but you lost a key defender six seconds into the game, Ryan Burke. How much did that play a role, and what kind of adjustments did you have to make? It looked like you dropped Morin and Coburn back a little bit at times to try to cover up the void. MIKE MORGAN: Yeah, I mean, Ryan Burke is a great player, and he's been starting for us about half the year now, and you know, it hurts losing a defenseman but it also hurts losing a defenseman who I believe matches up with them real well. He's big, he's athletic, he's strong. They've got some big kids at midfield and attack, and Morin, this is his first game back in a few and he was hobbled. So the two guys I think we really needed to help us this game were both not healthy. Does that change the outcome? Maybe, maybe not, but it was certainly something that they navigated the rest of the game pretty tough, because you're moving guys around and the match-ups aren't what you thought they'd be. But in general give credit to them and their offense. But yeah, it definitely hurt and made the adjustments a lot tougher. Q. Coach, just aside from the face offs being able to give them some possession, was there anything you noticed that they changed up with their offense in the third quarter? MIKE MORGAN: No. I mean, they play the way they play, and I think what they did is they started winning more match-ups. Like Tommy said, we needed to get a little momentum, guys get a little organized, communication breaks down a little bit. You know, I just thought we did end a couple possessions that we've got to pick the ball up, too. That's the other part playing D. And I think that was one of the things - we got us stops, but we got to pick the ball up. I thought we did a really good job backing up the end line today, which is something I think is the first time ever said in a press conference, but I think we had like six of them that we beat to the end line. And that's an effort play, and our guys did a good job, but you can't let a team like that get those long possessions and grind you. Like we said, when you're not winning the face offs, that D is taxed like crazy and then you probably push a little bit on offense and take some shots. Their goalie played great, too. I think the first time around we shot real well against them and he made some key saves in key moments, and I think those closed the gaps. We hit them, but like I say, if you're playing deep that long, it's hard to consistently get stops on those guys. That's why they're one of the best if not the best offense in the country. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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