DeSmet Invite

FRIDAY
Chaminade 14 - Parkway West 1
Good start to the tournament. Glauber played very well in goal in the absence of regulars Hoette and Lauber. The 27 steals will be the highest total of the tournament, second highest total of the year.

Goals: Rose - 4, Meara - 3, Spilling - 2, Watkins - 2, Faust - 1, Glauber - 1, Gremp -1
Assists: Meara - 5, Faust - 1, Glauber - 1, Gremp - 1, Schott - 1, Schwartz - 1
Steals: Meara - 7, Entwistle - 5, Glauber - 4, Watkins - 4, Faust - 2, Gremp - 2, Rose - 2, Schwartz - 1
Kickouts: Entwistle - 1, Schwartz - 1
Saves: Glauber - 7, Watkins - 2

POTG: Meara

Lindbergh 8 - Chaminade 4
Could not solve Lindbergh's senior Parker Finlinson who lit us up for 5 goals. 2MD Chris Duncan's absence was sorely missed. Undoubtedly the worst played game of the tournament.

Goals: Meara - 2, Rose - 2
Assists: Entwistle - 1, Lauber - 1, Schott - 1
Steals: Entwistle - 9, Faust - 4, Rose - 2, Watkins - 2, Lauber - 1, Meara - 1, Schott -1
Kickouts: Watkins - 2
Saves: Lauber - 9

POTG: Entwistle

SATURDAY
SLUH 11 - Chaminade 3
Despite the score, a pretty well-played game. The starters were really feeling the absence of a couple key players and fatigue set in a bit. Offense struggled, but SLUH had to keep the starters in for 3 quarters (unusual for them) as our tough defense kept the game within reach until then. Gremp-O makes an appearance on the scoresheet with a strong move in front of the cage.

Goals: Faust - 1, Gremp - 1, Meara - 1
Assists: Watkins - 2, Entwistle - 1
Steals: Entwistle - 6, Meara - 3, Schott - 2, Watkins - 2, Faust - 1, Hoette - 1
Kickouts: Entwistle - 1, Meara - 1, Rose - 1
Saves: Hoette - 8

POTG: Entwistle

Chaminade 6 - Lindbergh 5
Best played game of the tournament. We ran a "non-Parker and Kyle" drop, which meant that we pressed Lindbergh's big two seniors and dropped off their teammates up top. Entwistle had his usual steals from the hole, but Rose and Meara benefited greatly from being the "drop man" tallying a combined 9 steals. The score doesn't show how completely we were in control of the game. A last minute goal from Parker made things interesting, but the Boys in Black dominated the other 27 minutes. Kudos to Lindbergh's goalie, Matt Baumgartner who was a brick wall in both our games against them and earned my vote for goalie of the tournament.

Goals: Meara - 3, Faust - 1, Rose - 1, Schott - 1
Assists: Watkins - 3, Entwistle - 1, Lauber - 1, Meara - 1
Steals: Entwistle - 5, Rose - 5, Meara - 4, Faust - 1, Glauber - 1, Watkins - 1
Kickouts: Entwistle - 1
Saves: Lauber - 5

POTG: Meara

MICDS 9 - Chaminade 8 (2OT)
The boys were upset about this loss, but this was a good game played by two exhausted teams at the end of a long tournament. We played a fantastic game under the circumstances and in only one area were we lacking: fouls outside 5M. I don't have a game tape, but I would guess that 6 of MICDS's goals, including the game winner, came off of shots after a foul outside 5M. I attribute to the fouling to fatigue, but the boys know that when a player is in front of the goal and outside 5M, I would prefer that they press-block and force the opponent to shoot with a hand in their face, rather than fouling and giving them space to shoot. MICDS played their usually tough physical game and they beat us by exploiting our tendency to foul.

Goals: Meara - 4, Watkins - 2, Entwistle - 1, Faust - 1
Assists: Schott - 2, Watkins - 2, Entwistle - 1, Glauber - 1
Steals: Entwistle - 8, Rose - 5, Meara - 4, Duncan - 2, Faust - 2, Lauber - 2, Watkins - 2
Kickouts: Entwistle - 1
Saves: Lauber - 12

POTG: Meara

Tournament Highlights:
- Player of the tournament, Jack Meara, had 13 goals, 6 assists and 19 steals in 5 games
- Four different goalies used
- Nine different goal scorers
- Juniors Kevin Glauber and Jake Schott really started to assert themselves. Kevin made stronger and stronger moves in the hole as the tournament went on and Jake touched the ball more than anyone with great outlet cuts and made quite a few strong moves of his own on the perimeter and in front of the cage. Both were very reliable on the defensive end.
- Entwistle kicked out in three straight games
- Participated in double overtime game, the second of the tournament. First time I've ever seen 4 on 4 polo.
- Participated in Oakville coach Dan Schoenfeldt's favorite game of the tournament, the 6-5 win over Lindbergh. Coach Schoenfeldt mentioned that we "played great and were in control the whole game."
- SLUH's legendary winning streak ended in a loss to Miami's Belen Jesuit. It was a great game and I was very impressed by how SLUH played against such a tough and experienced opponent. My favorite non-CCP player of the tournament was SLUH's John Heafner who was playing on a bum knee (he could barely walk) and still stepped up with a big performance in the final game.
- What an exhausting weekend. Referee John O'Sullivan summed it up best: "Nothing like spending all day at the Rec-Plex".

Marquette 6 - Chaminade 4

Marquette brought their defensive "A" game to the second Chaminade-Marquette matchup of the year, this time for 3rd place in the DeSmet Invite. Marquette played smothering press-no-foul defense on the permieter and forced MANY bad passes from the Boys in Red. If we did get passes off, goals were still hard to come by, and I partially blame myself for not substituting more often, not changing strategies when the game plan didn't work and not encouraging patience enough. Marquette's goalie played well and we made him look like an Olympian with 18 shots and only 4 goals. We refused to take the highest percentage shots (near-side low) and our refusal to fake has finally caught up with us and burned us when we needed goals. But, the story of the game is not entirely how our offense played (because again, even though we made bad decisions with the ball, our accuracy was off and if the goals just won't go in, it cannot be forced) but also how the defense played.

Junior Jake Entwistle did a magnificent job against Marquette's big 2M Tim Meyers. Tim only scored one goal all game and it was on a backhand with Jake resting on the bench. The rest of the Red Devils, though, just played OK defensively, which is enough to get by against weaker teams but gets you beat by a good team (and Marquette is a GOOD team). Our defensive woes were entirley comprised of Chaminade defenders having their hips down, not playing in the passing lanes and fouling on the perimeter. By relaxing and playing lazy defense against a good shooting team, you give up high quality shots and do not get as many steals, which results in goals against and a low amount of counter-attack opportunities.

For those of you wondering, "hips up" means getting your suit on the surface of the water. This position is ideal for a few reasons:

• If you are facing the man you are covering, he has nothing to grab onto except your hands, which are easier to wrestle free.
• If your man somehow gets a hold of your suit or leg, everything is close to the surface for the referee to see.
• If you do get beat, or are even with your man, being high in the water allows you to knock down his shooting arm or foul if necessary. If your hips are down he can overpower you.
• If your man drives or you need to help on a drive, it is easier to change directions if your body is on the surface of the water (less resistance)
• In the same vein, if there is a turnover, you can get started quickly to offense because you are already in the ideal swimming position, with your legs behind you instead of underneath you.

Congrats to Marquette for winning third place and playing one of the better defensive games anyone has played against us. Maybe Coach Emde is taping our practices!

Things that went right:

• 2M defense
• 6-on-5 (3 for 6 is pretty good)
• Having high expectations of each other (the boys screaming at each other, although not ideal, shows that they care and have passion...it's better than being indifferent, and it makes them want to work hard in practice to get better)

Things that went not so right:

• Defending the perimeter, fouling too much on the perimeter
• Shot selection and patience on offense (I cannot remember an instance where we took a foul in the hole and looked for a cross-goal pass)
• Screaming at each other (passion is good, rage is not)

Goals: Benage - 2, Kubik - 1
Assists: Duncan - 1, Hoette - 1, Kubik -1, Meara - 1
Steals: Entwistle - 3, Benage - 2, Kubik - 2, Meara - 2, Arnold - 1, Faust - 1, Watkins - 1, Stabler -1
Kickouts: Benage - 1, Hoette - 1, Meara - 1
Saves: Stabler - 8

Player of the Game: Entwistle - 3 steals and fantastic defense throughout the tournament. If we had a team MVP for the tournament, he would have my vote. Now if we could only get him to go on the offensive end of the pool...

Up Next: Wednesday April 16th v. MICDS @ Chaminade. The JV plays against Parkway West at 7:00 PM and the varsity takes on MICDS at 8:00 PM.

Chaminade 15 - Oakville 3

...redemption was had! The story of this game was opposite of the Ladue game. The starters struggled early, ending the first quarter tied with Oakville 3-3. The intensity picked up in the second quarter as 4 Red Devil goals went unanswered by the Tigers. The reserves came in the second half and redeemed the previous nights defensive woes by shutting out Oakville the rest of the way. Jake Entwistle and Chris Duncan led the defensive charge and wouldn't let Oakville's top scorer Tom Diekemper build on his two first quarter goals.

Everyone got in the water in this one and played up to the Chaminade standard of excellence. Sophomore Jake Schott and Freshman Aaron Gremp recorded the first of what will be many varsity goals. Sophomore Chris Lauber played brilliantly, allowing zero goals and making great passes in what is the longest pool he will ever play in.

Goals: Kubik - 4, Hoette - 3, Meara - 3, Fernandez - 2, Benage - 1, Gremp - 1, Schott - 1
Assists: Watkins - 3, Entwistle - 2, Meara - 2, Duncan - 1, Kubik - 1, Rejko - 1, Schott -1, Stabler - 1
Steals: Hoette - 4, Watkins - 4, Duncan - 3, Benage - 2, Kubik - 2, Meara -2, Stabler - 2, Entwistle -1, Fernandez - 1, Lauber - 1, Gremp - 1
Kickouts: Fernandez - 1
Saves: Stabler - 4, Lauber - 1

Player of the Game: Hoette - 3 goals on 6 shots, 4 steals and a never-seen-before offensive aggressiveness that I hope he brings to every game going forward.

Chaminade 12 - Ladue 8

In their second meeting with Ladue this season, the Chamimade Red Devils took care of business by netting 12 goals, all from starters Arnold, Benage, Kubik and Meara. The story from this game was the dominance by these four and the other top players whenever they touched the water. Scoring came at will and the defense was smothering. The reserves, on the other hand, did not display the same determination on the defensive end and let Ladue back into the game multiple times. Since the score was 1-0, Ladue was never within 1 goal of the Red Devils, but the lead was only two at multiple times during the game (2-0, 3-1, 4-2, 9-7). This demonstrates both the Rams refusal to quit and the Red Devils refusal to play defense for 28 minutes. 7 of the Rams 8 goals came from their big 2M's Zach Varwig (5) and Hayden Yancey (2). The reserves did get their chance at redemption though...

Goals: Kubik - 5, Arnold - 3, Benage - 3, Meara - 1
Assists: Benage - 5, Entwistle - 1, Kubik - 1
Steals: Benage - 5, Entwistle - 3, Kubik - 3, Arnold - 2, Watkins - 2, Duncan - 1, Glauber - 1, Meara - 1
Kickouts: Entwistle - 1
Saves: Stabler - 10, Lauber - 3

Player of the Game: Benage - 3 goals on 4 shots, 5 assists and 5 steals

SLUH 8 - Chaminade 4

Chaminade again played top-ranked SLUH very tough for most of the game. We doubled our previous offensive output from the last meeting, mostly through aggressive drives and sharp shooting. What was lacking was the defensive discipline and refusal to learn from mistakes, combined with an absence of the mental toughness needed to protect open water and fight for position and for 50-50 balls.

SLUH's Junior Will Page netted 4 goals, most of which came from leaving for offense early and beating the Chaminade defenders down the pool. I didn't keep track, but at least 3 of SLUH's goals would have been prevented by not watching offense and going early to defense at the first sign of trouble. Their anticipation of turnovers was fantastic and ours was lousy, on both ends of the pool.

Another SLUH goal came from our 2M guard swimming around the 2M on the front side instead of goal-side, leaving the SLUH 2M (John Heafner I believe) plenty of open water. There was another instance where John Heafner again overpowered his defender whose hips were down. And for the first time this season, we lost the kickout battle and SLUH made us pay with 2 man-advantage goals.

Should we meet SLUH again, our boys need to be prepared to play defense for 28 minutes. The SLUH boys work constantly for position, are relentless and always take advantage of mistakes. I still believe we are the only team with the defensive capability to beat SLUH this year, but it takes an enormous amount of focus and awareness and will require the same relentlessness and determination that SLUH brings to every game.

Goals: Kubik - 3, Meara -1
Assists: Benage - 1, Hoette - 1
Steals: Meara - 2, Benage - 1, Entwistle -1, Fernandez - 1, Kubik - 1, Stabler - 1
Kickouts: Arnold - 1, Faust - 1, Meara -1
Saves: Stabler - 13
Player of the Game: Kubik - 3 goals and 1 steal

Today v. SLUH, Tonight v. Ladue

Today we have two games out at the Rec-Plex for the round robin stage or the DeSmet Invite.

The first game is at 5:25 PM against top-ranked SLUH. Our first meeting was a defensive battle that I thought would have been closer had there been no shallow end. Now we get the chance to prove my theory correct. We match up with SLUH very well because we have the defenders in quantity and quality to match up with their high-powered scorers Tim Dale, John Heafner and Will Page. They are smart, aggressive and good shooters. If we keep them in front of us and don't foul, we will have success at shutting them down. On our offensive end, we have been struggling since the Marquette game to get into a rhythm. Forcing passes, forcing shots and being impatient are the symptoms of our illness. The cure is patience and staying high in the water when we are pressured and when we are passing.

The second game of the day will be against Ladue at 9:35 PM. I'm worried about this game because a) it's the second game and we might be tired and out of focus by game time and b) Ladue started to figure out how to attack us at the end of our first meeting. Zach Varwig and Hayden Yancy are still very dangerous 2M's and if we don't take them seriously, we could find ourselves down early.

Starters against SLUH:
#1 Blake Stabler
#2 Jack Benage (c)
#3 Michael Kubik
#4 Jack Meara
#5 Kevin Arnold (c)
#8 Danny Faust
#9 Peter Hoette

Chaminade 7 - Lindbergh 4

The most telling stat from this game was 7 goals on 30 shots. THIRTY SHOTS! And not too many were high percentage either. Shooting thru traffic, shooting with a man hanging on your arm and taking backhands when you aren't directly in front of the goal at 3M (the only time I won't get mad at a backhand) are the definitions of bad shots. The Boys in Red again played stifling defense against the Flyers of Lindbergh, but the story of the game was 5 minutes of good offense to start the 3rd quarter (including two goals in 30 seconds) and 23 minutes of pretty crummy offense.

Don't get me wrong, I still believe offense is something you cannot force and if the shots don't go in, then they just don't go in. But it is something entirley different to take shots with a guy hanging on your arm or shooting when the goalie and other defenders have locked on to you. The manner in which we played offense was troubling in that EVERYTHING was forced. Forced shots, forced passes and widespread impatience. We were very low in the water and whether we were passing or shooting, we always had our chins in the water and never created separation from the Flyer defenders as we attempted our passes/shots.

The good news is

1. Most of our offense woes are an easy fix. The boys just need to decide that they are going to play at a higher level. If they get their shoulders out of the water everytime they come in contact with the ball, eveything gets easier. Protecting the ball, passing and shooting all become very simple when you get out of the water.
2. We still play great defense when we want to. If everyone is focused, communicating and aware of what is going on, then we are REALLY HARD to score upon.

Goals: Faust - 2, Kubik - 2, Meara - 2, Arnold - 1

Assists: Faust - 2, Stabler - 2, Arnold - 1, Kubik - 1, Meara -1

Steals: Kubik - 4, Meara - 4, Benage - 2, Entwistle - 2, Hoette - 2, Arnold - 1

Kickouts: Stabler - 1

Saves: Stabler - 12

Player of the Game: Faust - 2 goals on 2 shots, 2 assists and the usual defensive excellence

Up Next: Two games on Friday April 11th. 5:25 PM v. SLUH @ Rec-Plex and 9:35 PM v. Ladue @ Rec-Plex. This is still the round robin stage of the DeSmet Invite

Tonight v. Lindbergh

Tonight the Chaminade Red Devils will take on the Lindbergh Flyers in the round robin stage of the DeSmet Invite. It is a varsity-only tournament, so there is only one Chaminade game at 7:00 PM at Lindbergh High School. We will have all of our varsity players dressed as well as 4 JV players. I asked Junior Andrew Spilling, Sophomores Jake Schott and Chris Lauber and Freshman Aaron Gremp to dress for these games in order to help keep our top players rested for later in the tournament. But, the top players won't rest until we take care of business.

What I knew of Lindbergh graduated last year, so I'm in the dark as to who their top guys are. I do know, however, how they play. Coach Lombardo always has a lot of good swimmers who play good defense. Offensively, they always have a good 2M who is the focus, so we need to identify him quickly and get Fausty, Entwistle and Dunc on the case.

This is going to be a TOUGH tournament. Our bracket is especially hard with Lindbergh, SLUH, Oakville and Ladue. We need to come out to each game focused because teams play differently in the all deep pools, and we need to be able to adapt. See you tonight.

Starters for Varsity:
#1 Blake Stabler
#2 Jack Benage (c)
#3 Michael Kubik
#4 Jack Meara
#5 Kevin Arnold (c)
#8 Danny Faust
#9 Peter Hoette