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You spent the better part of four months meticulously dissecting the 2013 college lacrosse season. You shouldn't stop now because cold turkey is a bad way to go through life, man. College Crosse is providing decompression snapshots of all 63 teams and their 2013 campaigns, mostly because everything needs a proper burial.
I. VITAL SIGNS
Team: Siena Saints
2013 Record: 8-9 (4-2, MAAC)
2013 Strength of Schedule (Efficiency Margin): -1.94 (48)
2012 Strength of Schedule (Efficiency Margin): -3.02 (56)
Winning Percentage Change from 2012: -21.69%
2013 Efficiency Margin: -3.79 (39)
Efficiency Margin Change from 2012: -7.75
II. "ATTA BOY!" FACT
- The team's adjusted offensive efficiency value -- 29.82, 32nd nationally -- may not indicate that the Saints were a handful for opposing goalkeepers, but when you drill a little deeper into Siena's profile, John Svec's offense did a nice job functionally pantsing opposing netminders:
SIENA'S GOALIE-EMBARRASSING EXPERIENCE METRIC VALUE NATIONAL RANK NATIONAL AVERAGE Shots/Offensive Opportunity 0.99 57 1.09 Raw Offensive Shooting Rate 31.42% 11 27.87% Opponent Saves/100 Offensive Opportunities 26.77 1 34.16 Opponent Save Percentage 46.37% 7 53.02%
III. "YOU'RE GROUNDED UNTIL YOU QUALIFY FOR THE AARP!" FACT
- Siena has now endured consecutive MAAC Tournament championship games in which it should have cruised to the league's automatic invitation to The Big Barbecue but instead ended their season with a weapon-grade level of pathos. In 2012, it was Canisius erasing a three-goal deficit at the half to drop Siena 10-9, holding the Saints scoreless in the final 30 minutes of play (this was a Siena team that was plus-43 in goal differential during the MAAC regular season); in 2013, it was Detroit storming back from a 8-4 halftime deficit (a hole that grew to five goals early in the third period) to eventually defeat the Saints in overtime, 11-10. Svec is still getting his feet underneath him at Siena, but the Saints' performance in the last two conference tournament championships borders on the dramatically tragic -- leads that evaporate due to a loss of performance execution. It's like the Saints devolve when it should be progressing; it's . . . I don't know what it is. All I do know, though, is that Siena has experienced an almost dangerous level of pain in games it should have put away, instead playing square with their opponents (and eventually losing):
Detroit-Siena ('13 MAAC Final): Truncated Tempo-Free Box Score Metric Detroit Siena Offensive Efficiency (per 100 Offensive Opportunities) 33.33 32.26 Offensive Opportunities 33 31 Shots per Offensive Opportunity 1.45 0.87 Offensive Shooting Percentage 22.92% 37.04% Turnovers (per 100 Offensive Opportunities) 33.33 58.06 Team Save Percentage 44.44% 56.00% Saves per 100 Defensive Opportunities 25.81 42.42 Canisius-Siena ('12 MAAC Final): Truncated Tempo-Free Box Score Metric Canisius Siena Offensive Efficiency (per 100 Offensive Opportunities) 32.26 30.00 Offensive Opportunities 31 30 Shots per Offensive Opportunity 0.71 0.93 Offensive Shooting Percentage 45.45% 32.14% Turnovers (per 100 Offensive Opportunities) 45.16 46.67 Team Save Percentage 47.06% 33.33% Saves per 100 Defensive Opportunities 26.67 16.13
IV. MR. FIX-IT HAS A ONE-FIX ENGAGEMENT, AND IT'S . . .
- Siena needs to rediscover its defensive acumen. The Saints built a lot of their success under Brian Brecht as a defensively relevant team; in 2013, Siena ranked just 45th in adjusted defensive efficiency. The Saints lost a bit of that fire this past season, and that's not good for a team that faced a schedule ranked 43rd in opposing offenses faced. Until -- and unless -- the Saints can adequately complement their offense with a comparable defense, Siena is going to exist on the fringe of the national consciousness.