Lacrosse Forums

All:

I’m interested in some specifics on the implementation of the triangle defense. I’ve also heard this referred to as the Princeton D, for obvious reasons. Anyone have specifics on this D package they would be willing to pass along? Alternatively, any thoughts on the system would be appreciated as well.

Thanks in advance for your consideration., and have a great season.
~Jack of All

Are you refering to triangle zone D? If so, it's an inverted triangle of middies. 1 on each side up top, and one sort of in the center of the box, perhaps a little lower. the defense is in a regular triangle, 1 on each side of the goal, and one in the middle a little lower the the middie in the middle. The 2 people in the middle, the middie and the pole, are the guys that slide when players are pressuring out. So, say the top left middie was pressuring someone, the middie that's low and in the middle slides up and gets ready to double or help out if needed. once the ball moves away from that area, both middies go back to where they were. The same happens with the poles down low. The outter box, which clockwise from top left to bottom left should be : Middie, middie, pole, pole, are the people that attack on the zone. The middie and pole in the middle watch the creaseman(men) and cheat up and help out when players are pressuring. Pretty easy system. If you want to flip your middie triangle so the point is at the top and you have one guy in the center, and 2 guys low in the middle, that's cool too, just makes it harder for everyone as that middle D pole is doing A LOT of work and every needs to slough in to make up for the lack of an extra body in the middle.

Was that what you were looking for?

CT:

Thanks for the reply. That was quite helpful. If I've interpreted your outline of the Triangle Zone D (TZD) correctly, this package is specifically designed to counter a 1-3-2 attack set. It also appears to display particular vulnerabilities when matched up against a 1-4-1 attack set. (This weakness against the 1-4-1 appears evident even if the middie triangle is inverted as you mentioned, as the D slide to cover here leaves a crease attack open or clearly wide spread middie.)

Alternatively, it appears that the TZD remains effective against a 3-3 spread or wheel attack with minor wrinkles. The wrinkle facing a 3-3 being that the crease positions of the triangle initiate a rotation of their unit as offensive ball movement forces them to 'step-out' and pickup an undefended player. (This is clearly more complex that a sagging 3-3 zone, but it's nice to have options)

Am I interpreting these nuances correctly?
Thanks again for your feedback and discussion.
Anyone else with thoughts on the Triangle Zone D?

Best,
JackofAll

We can run a triangle D against 1-4-1, 2-2-2 (ideal), 3-3, or 2-3-1 (1 being X). It all depends on what the other team has to offer. If they are very good driving, but can't shoot from outside, we run the D. If they are better shooters, but can't typically drive, pressure man to man.

Against the 1-4-1, the top right and top left middies can dictate which direction the ball is moved. Once that happens, the entire zone can shift to be heavy on one side, preventing the pass to X or back up top. I'd draw it out, and see what you can come up with for your own strengths. We have solid poles, and a great group of middies, so man to man is our specialty, but some teams have a few guys that are too athletic, and the zone prevents them from taking over the game.

this zone package covers a 1-4-1 just fine, even lends itself to doubling the ball up top, though you gotta be careful. The only difference is that it's hard to pressure at X if you run this zone against a 1-4-1, but it can be done. Leaves the middle middie splitting the 2 guys on the crease, which if your goalie is worth his salt, shouldn't be too tough. If the creasemen can get away from both your goalie and the middie covering, then chances are they're in another persons zone which should render them covered. It's hard to see with just X's and O's, but this is a very effective zone D against almost all offenses, special situations not prevailing.

It's really easy to install, can be done in a practice, perhaps two. Try it out and give it a spin, you might find you like it. It can be adjusted to fit any needs, especially if your guys keep getting beat man to man.

I play lp Dmiddie and we play a man-man defensee, but because of a lack of experience of the D-poles my coach tried an inverted zone, which sounds a lot like what this TZD is.. the reg dmids on the outsides switch and play down low and the D-poles play up top.... i stay in the middle with the crease defensmen.. the coach emphasized the importance of my position, but he just introduced this a couple of days ago and i need some pointers on how exactly to play my position in this formaiton.. can anyone help?