The Brebeuf Jesuit Invitational

As we already have had heated conversations about this topic on other threads, I thought it deserved a thread of its own. I will bring my laptop with me and post updates regarding the tournament.

2008 Schedule:

Saturday:
9:30 -- Brebeuf Jesuit vs. SLU Jesuit
11:30 -- St. Ignatius vs. Marquette
--LUNCH--
3:30 -- St. I vs. SLU
5:30 -- Brebeuf vs. Marquette

Sunday:
9:30 -- SLU vs. Marquette
12:00 -- Brebuef vs. St. I

SLUH will most likely take it all. Saw them play Rockhurst a week or two ago. They play very along the lines that a Wisconsin All-State team would probably play, they have some nice depth and their shooters are all very strong.

I actually know two kids from SLUH coming to play at Rockhurst next year.

This year at Brebeuf was full of ups and downs. Following an extremely rocky first day in which we shined in moments but didn't play up to our potential, we came out and played a phenomenal game (our best of the year) against SLUH.

Saturday
11:30 v. St. Ignatius Prep (IL)
We came out expecting the same St. Ignatius team of the past two years, a weaker team that was not well coached -- we were badly mistaken. In the first quarter, both teams came out strong and appeared very equal, as we both set up our offenses and had good, quality possessions. In the second quarter, with us down 2-1, St. I jumped all over us and took advantage of our dumb penalties as we were down 6-1 at half. Knowing that we had to step it up, we played a solid third quarter, capitalizing on our offensive opportunities and shutting them down on D. With an 8-4 going into the fourth quarter, the Wolf Pack managed to hold on to a solid 10-5 victory.
St. Ignatius -- 10
Marquette -- 5


3:30 v. Brebeuf Jesuit (IN)
After a tiring first game, we went into our second game very slow and lackadaisical. Brebeuf, who beat SLUH 7-6 in the morning, came out firing on all cylinders as they jumped out to an early 2-0 lead. We bounced back as Danny Myers put us on the board to cut the lead in half, though a late first quarter goal by Brebuef ended the first quarter with us down 3-1. In the second quarter we picked it up a little bit, though Brebeuf controlled possession for the majority of the time, as they maintained a solid 5-2 lead at half. In the third, Brebeuf came out scoring fast and scoring often, as a 4-0 run pretty much sealed our fate. A lot of lazy play, dropped passes, poor throws, and dumb penalties disallowed us from setting anything up on offense. Going into the fourth down by 9-2, most teams would have given up, though we played hard throughout the entirety of the final quarter, as the game ended with us losing 11-3. While the score looked very bad, the play was actually much closer as we showed some "intestinal fortitude," as our coach put it, by playing hard until the final whistle.
Brebeuf Jesuit -- 11
Marquette -- 3


Sunday
9:30 v. SLUH (MO)
We went into the game with nothing to lose, knowing that SLUH was bigger, faster, and more talented then us. Despite all of that, we came out and played the best game of the season, and gave them all that they could handle. In the first quarter, we controlled possession and set the tempo of the game. A man-up goal by Myers gave us a 1-0 lead at the end of the first. In the second, SLUH picked it up a little bit and went on a 2 goal run, but solid defense led by David Gebhardt and phenomenal goaltending by Alex Gradecki kept us in it, as we went into the half down 3-2. Going into the third, we knew that they were going to come out hard, though we continued to muscle through it, as we rode them hard, pressed on defensive, and peppered their goaltender. We split the possession time about 50-50, and scored a few goals to tie the game 4-4 going into the fourth. In the fourth, SLUH's superior depth became very evident, as they took control of possession and solidified an 8-5 victory.
SLUH -- 8
Marquette -- 5

In Conclusion:
Despite our 0-3 record on the weekend, I believe that our play exemplified the increased quality of play in Wisconsin lacrosse. Many people expected us to go there and just get rolled by everybody, namely SLUH, though if anything, this tournament proved that we are not as far behind as all of us here on the forum originally thought. As I overheard the Brebeuf coach telling one of his assistants, "This Marquette team has really come a long way in the past three years here...They can play." While this was a great statement for our program, I believe it is a positive comment that illustrates the progress of Wisconsin lacrosse as a whole.

2008 Brebeuf Jesuit Invitational:
1. Brebeuf Jesuit (3-0)
2. SLUH (2-1)
3. St. Ignatius (1-2)
4. MUHS (0-3)

Nice write-up, sounds like you guys had a good time.

Warriorlax23 wrote:

Nice write-up, sounds like you guys had a good time.

Yeah it was a really sweet experience (as always!). Although, admittedly, the games on Saturday were a little frustrating, it was enjoyable to play against teams of that caliber and just to hang out with all of the different teams at the tournament dinner.

bravo gentlemen. i cant wait until we start winning games at that tournament haha.

What was the score of the SLUH vs. Brebeuf game? I didnt think Brebeuf was supposed to be that strong this year, but this is biased coming from somone I have talked to that went there last year and was doubting their playing ability with who left.

gfields5 wrote:

Brebeuf, who beat SLUH 7-6 in the morning, came out firing on all cylinders as they jumped out to an early 2-0 lead.

Don't mean to be rude or anything by just quoting this, but didn't want to act like I personally knew...

Sorry, missed that one.