Each week, we will look back at the games that were to see which players had the largest individual performances. I say largest because the contributions that we can measure (from play by play) tend to be things that are easy to count. This includes, goals, shots, assists, turnovers, penalties, etc. We can’t measure a defender who shuts down an opposing player so completely that he doesn’t even touch the ball. Still, it is interesting to be able to identify the players that really filled it up each weekend and give them a shout out here.
For a bit of background, in order to rank single game performances, we needed a way to condense box score stats to a single number for each player. In order to do this, we relied on our expected goal values methodology, which assigns a goal value to each type of play depending on how often it leads to a goal in the next 60 seconds. By adding up all the expected goals added for each player, we can get to that single number and these rankings.
We have also tagged each performance with the opponent’s ELO rating. The higher the number, the stronger the opponent. This should help to give some context for each performance. Did the player feast on the dregs of D1 or did they put up these numbers against a quality opponent?
Click on any player’s name or the PRO logo () and you’ll head straight to the detailed breakdown on their LacrosseReference PRO page. As opposed to last year, all players appearing in the weekly rundown are unlocked and the information on their page is available to all readers.
We love to see player’s light up the scoreboard and do the dirty work required to win games. Young had 4 GBs in the win over St. Bonaventure. When you pair that with 7 points and just a single turnover, you get a slot near the top of this list.
When the Spiders lost Richie Connell, you knew there would be more shots for the rest of the guys that were left. Young hasn’t really been a beneficiary on that front. He’s averaging 6.6 shots per game this year after 5.8 last year. But if he has more games like this, I bet those shots will come.
Naso has been much more aggressive in 2022 so far. He’s averaging 1.4 shots per game, which is up from 0.4 last year. And he’s got 4 goals across 8 games including one against High Point. The trick for him is to be aggressive in the right moments.
While he’s being more aggressive this year, his shooting percentage is down at 36% (43% last year). After a hot start last year, it looked like he might be one of the really dominant faceoff guys. His win rate and faceoff Elo rating are both down a bit this year, but if he’s able to produce offense like he’s done over his past 2 games, he will still be a huge asset for the Blue Devils.
It’s been a tough slog for Syracuse so far in 2022, but Jakob Phaup has not been the cause. Against Army, his 22 wins were the main reason Cuse had a 3-possession advantage. Now, that doesn’t do much when the defense gives up a 42% efficiency mark to the Black Knights, but what can you do?
Through the Army game, Phaup was the #16-rated FOGO in the faceoff Elo Ratings. After dominating Hobart (and Adam Shea) he’s currently up to 5th.
Dodd is an interesting guy because he’s experienced a massive jump in his play share from last year to this year as a result of an injury last season. He only played in 5 games last season, but so far, his shooting has been light years better (29% vs 15% last year).
And it looks like he might be trending up on that front too. In his last two games, he’s shot 33% against JU and 35% against Marist. As they get into ASun play, this is going to be a much more competitive team if he’s going to be on the plus side of 30%.
Labetti’s 2022 is off to a nice start. His win rate is 58% (career high) and his faceoff Elo rating is up 41 points from where he ended 2021. The offense is a nice bonus; through 5 games, he’s shooting 44% and he’s got a goal in the last 4 Stags games.
It wasn’t an issue against Sacred Heart, but in their next game, it looks like Harvard was a bit more aggressive with him after faceoff wins. Three turnovers against the Crimson represents a next challenge for him; he’s been winning more faceoffs this year, but so far, Fairfield is 61st in the country in turning faceoff wins into offensive possessions (just a 93% conversion rate).
No FOGO has made a bigger leap over the off-season than Conlon. He’s currently the 6th rated FOGO in the faceoff Elo Ratings after finishing last year with a below-average rating on that count. He’s winning faceoffs at a 65% rate on the year, after winning just 38% last year.
Circle the match-up between him and Phaup in the 19th. That should be a good one.
Lulley’s game against High Point was the most active he’s been all season. The 8 points is a season-high, but he had 7 points against Delaware, so it’s not out of the ordinary for him. But his play share against High Point was 10.3% (it was just 6.3% against Delaware).
You have a higher play share when you show up in the play-by-play more. Traditionally the guys with the highest play shares are the quarterbacks of an offense. Lulley’s play share over his past 4 games has been roughly double what is whas over his first 5 games with the Blue Devils. He’s a guy whose got the look of a top option settling into his new offense.
You don’t see a lot of 8-6 games anymore. The Wildcats won a slugfest against Hofstra and I don’t think Coach Corrado is going to bank on winning many games with an offensive efficiency of just 18.6%. It was one of those elusive games where the winning team had a worse efficiency mark, but had enough extra possessions (thanks to a 78% FO win rate) to overcome the efficiency gap.
As for Campbell, it took 17 shots to get the 4 goals, and as his season stats show, he’s probably a guy you want creating offense rather than being the one to try and finish possessions. His assists-per-touch rating is a 75 (out of 100) and his shooting mark of 41 (out of 100). Contrast that with Patrick Daly, who is a 66 on shooting.
That’s more like it. Perhaps nothing’s been more shocking than when both Cornell and Hobart managed to end up with a possession advantage against Lehigh. In 2021, Lehigh had the best possession margin advantage in all of Division I Men’s lacrosse. This year? They’ve averaged 3 more possessions than their opponents, which is good for 20th nationally (after making the opponent adjustments).
Navy was more of what we’ve come to expect from Sisselberger. Just 4 faceoffs went the Mids’ way and he put a goal past the Navy keeper too. The good news is that, with the exception of Army, every Patriot League team is looking at an AQ-or-bust season, and if Sisselberger is able to get back to where he was last year, there is no reason that Lehigh can’t be the team to grab it.
It’s interesting to look at Curry’s stats and see that he’s taken 19.6% of the team’s shots and has 15% of their assists, both of which is essentially tied with Tucker Dordevic for the team lead. For his career, Curry is a 47th percentile shooter, but he’s got an 87th percentile assist-to-turnover ratio. This year, his turnover rate, which measures turnover-per-touch, is the lowest of his career and it’s the best on the team among the offensive players. Will be curious to see how his mix of contributions evolves the rest of this season.
Either way, he’s having the most efficient season of his career, after a small dip last year.
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) and you’ll head straight to the detailed breakdown on their LacrosseReference PRO page. As opposed to last year, all players appearing in the weekly rundown are unlocked and the information on their page is available to all readers.
