JeremyCuse
Renowned lacrosse analyst
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I wasnt able to watch there game vs Siena yesterday but following the updates and reading a few breakdowns this morning a few things are apparent.
Bryant is very turnover prone. I dont have the exact numbers but it seems they turned it over quite a few times yesterday many of them being unforced. Bryant also committs a lot of man up penalties, Siena had at least 4 man up opportunities (I believe they were 1-4 or 1-5). They also appear to have little in the way of depth according to a Siena fan who watched the game (he is rooting for Bryant now so I think the opinion is not biased and he also mentioned how sloppy they looked). Bryant had 18 tunovers last year against Syracuse and based on the results of yesterdays game I would tend to think they are heading for a similar number Sunday.
As I mentioned in a lengthy post earlier in the week Bryant really relies heavily on two players - Massa there faceoff specialist and Waldt there goalie. If those two dont turn in good to great games Bryant isn't winning many games. They have some good O weapons in Dunster and a true frosh who won the NEC rookie of the year but they dont appear to have a star offensive player. (I supsect Mullins will draw Dunster). Waldt was apparently limping very badly by the end of the Siena game yesterday and was clearly injured. I do expect him to start and play the whole game but obviously the injury is something to keep in mind.
Pressler is a really good coach so I assume he will have some tricks up his sleeve but yesterdays game was a great scouting opp for Desko and the staff. I expect Bryant to play a lot of zone sunday. They played a 3-3 Zone last year and I suspect we will see some of that plus some other variations. The Waldt kid is a pretty good goalie so were going to need our shooters to mix up angles and shot locations.
A few things I will be watching closely on Sunday.
Daddio and vs Massa battle - Im not expecting Chris to go 50%+ against Massa but after his unbelievable turnaround from earlier this year I am expecting Syracuse to at least be somewhat competitive at the X. One thing Daddio absolutely has to do is not allow Massa to get into long streaks. As good as he was against Duke a couple of weeks ago Fowler was still able to reel of like 12 straight from late in teh second through the third quarter. We cant afford to give up a streak like that in the playoffs. Even if Massa reels off 3 or 4 straight we need to come back and grab one or two. Also going to be imperative that Daddio tries to scrum it up the best he can even if Massa gets on a streak. Allow it to become a wing battle that even if we lose will result in the D being able to set up. We cant allow fast break opportunities from the X that ND and Duke got at the ACC tourney. This should be the most interesting matchup of the night. I have confidence in Daddio but I have to admit that I am worried that Massa will get in his head and reel off a huge streak of wins.
Syracuse D vs Bryant O - Lost in last years semi close game with Bryant was the fact that the Syracuse D played a great game. They gave up 7 goals the entire game and completely blanked Bryant in the 4th quarter and really much of the game after the 1st quarter. While this years D is clearly not on the level of last years team there is still plenty of talent and even if Bryant pulls in another massive faceoff win total I think we should be able to keep them in check. Stamina and depth should play a key role here especially if Bryant wins a large amount of faceoffs. Also going to need to above average games from Lamo and Bobby. Lamo played pretty well last year against bryant so I am hopeful of a repeat, really hoping for a good D effort overall.
Syracuse role players on O vs the Bryant D - Its clear Bryant has a good and a really good goalie. That said they dont have nearly enough personnel or depth to mach up defensively with Syracuse. I expect them to play a lot of zone and play close attendtion to the Staats, Rice, Donahue, and Lecky. This should creat a lot of opportunities for guys like Loy, Ward, Galasso, Derek Maltz. These guys need to finish there opportunities which with good ball movement should be abundant. When Syracuse gets goal production from there midfield its almost unbeatable which was on display last Saturday vs Colgate. Syracuse simply has to many scorers to play close attention to everyone, when the midfield starts scoring teams can't play as close attention to Staats and Rice and Donahue and that opens them up to do there damage. I am looking for Syracuse to be efficient on offense especially with the potential for Bryant to play stall ball and make it take it with Massa. If Bryant plays a lot of zone and Syracuse seems a bit flustered I hope Desko looks ot Dejoe and Walters to mix things up a bit, let those two start ringing from deep and open things up a bit.
Intangibles - Pressler is a good coach but having played Bryant last year and being able to watch them play an elimination game against Siena yesterday I give the edge to Desko on this one. I anticipate Desko is coming up with some plans of attack as well as some contigency plans if Massa and or Waldt start to dominate. Man up offense - Need to capitalize here, Bryant commits a ton of penalties and I suspect at least 4 or 5 flags on them Sunday. Need Syracuse to be 50% at worst on the man up.
All in all this should be a game Syracuse wins comfortably. Bryant has some impressive wins including Albany and Drexel but overall its clear Syracuse is the better team. Bryant struggled to beat a terrible providence team 6-5 and was dominated by Brown late in the year and only a big 4th quarter comeback made it a two goal game. Even against Siena they were mostly outplayed, Siena was 1 for 4 or 5 on the man up and hit at least 7 pipes. As long as Daddio and the D dont completely fall apart I like Syracuse 14-6.
Bryant is very turnover prone. I dont have the exact numbers but it seems they turned it over quite a few times yesterday many of them being unforced. Bryant also committs a lot of man up penalties, Siena had at least 4 man up opportunities (I believe they were 1-4 or 1-5). They also appear to have little in the way of depth according to a Siena fan who watched the game (he is rooting for Bryant now so I think the opinion is not biased and he also mentioned how sloppy they looked). Bryant had 18 tunovers last year against Syracuse and based on the results of yesterdays game I would tend to think they are heading for a similar number Sunday.
As I mentioned in a lengthy post earlier in the week Bryant really relies heavily on two players - Massa there faceoff specialist and Waldt there goalie. If those two dont turn in good to great games Bryant isn't winning many games. They have some good O weapons in Dunster and a true frosh who won the NEC rookie of the year but they dont appear to have a star offensive player. (I supsect Mullins will draw Dunster). Waldt was apparently limping very badly by the end of the Siena game yesterday and was clearly injured. I do expect him to start and play the whole game but obviously the injury is something to keep in mind.
Pressler is a really good coach so I assume he will have some tricks up his sleeve but yesterdays game was a great scouting opp for Desko and the staff. I expect Bryant to play a lot of zone sunday. They played a 3-3 Zone last year and I suspect we will see some of that plus some other variations. The Waldt kid is a pretty good goalie so were going to need our shooters to mix up angles and shot locations.
A few things I will be watching closely on Sunday.
Daddio and vs Massa battle - Im not expecting Chris to go 50%+ against Massa but after his unbelievable turnaround from earlier this year I am expecting Syracuse to at least be somewhat competitive at the X. One thing Daddio absolutely has to do is not allow Massa to get into long streaks. As good as he was against Duke a couple of weeks ago Fowler was still able to reel of like 12 straight from late in teh second through the third quarter. We cant afford to give up a streak like that in the playoffs. Even if Massa reels off 3 or 4 straight we need to come back and grab one or two. Also going to be imperative that Daddio tries to scrum it up the best he can even if Massa gets on a streak. Allow it to become a wing battle that even if we lose will result in the D being able to set up. We cant allow fast break opportunities from the X that ND and Duke got at the ACC tourney. This should be the most interesting matchup of the night. I have confidence in Daddio but I have to admit that I am worried that Massa will get in his head and reel off a huge streak of wins.
Syracuse D vs Bryant O - Lost in last years semi close game with Bryant was the fact that the Syracuse D played a great game. They gave up 7 goals the entire game and completely blanked Bryant in the 4th quarter and really much of the game after the 1st quarter. While this years D is clearly not on the level of last years team there is still plenty of talent and even if Bryant pulls in another massive faceoff win total I think we should be able to keep them in check. Stamina and depth should play a key role here especially if Bryant wins a large amount of faceoffs. Also going to need to above average games from Lamo and Bobby. Lamo played pretty well last year against bryant so I am hopeful of a repeat, really hoping for a good D effort overall.
Syracuse role players on O vs the Bryant D - Its clear Bryant has a good and a really good goalie. That said they dont have nearly enough personnel or depth to mach up defensively with Syracuse. I expect them to play a lot of zone and play close attendtion to the Staats, Rice, Donahue, and Lecky. This should creat a lot of opportunities for guys like Loy, Ward, Galasso, Derek Maltz. These guys need to finish there opportunities which with good ball movement should be abundant. When Syracuse gets goal production from there midfield its almost unbeatable which was on display last Saturday vs Colgate. Syracuse simply has to many scorers to play close attention to everyone, when the midfield starts scoring teams can't play as close attention to Staats and Rice and Donahue and that opens them up to do there damage. I am looking for Syracuse to be efficient on offense especially with the potential for Bryant to play stall ball and make it take it with Massa. If Bryant plays a lot of zone and Syracuse seems a bit flustered I hope Desko looks ot Dejoe and Walters to mix things up a bit, let those two start ringing from deep and open things up a bit.
Intangibles - Pressler is a good coach but having played Bryant last year and being able to watch them play an elimination game against Siena yesterday I give the edge to Desko on this one. I anticipate Desko is coming up with some plans of attack as well as some contigency plans if Massa and or Waldt start to dominate. Man up offense - Need to capitalize here, Bryant commits a ton of penalties and I suspect at least 4 or 5 flags on them Sunday. Need Syracuse to be 50% at worst on the man up.
All in all this should be a game Syracuse wins comfortably. Bryant has some impressive wins including Albany and Drexel but overall its clear Syracuse is the better team. Bryant struggled to beat a terrible providence team 6-5 and was dominated by Brown late in the year and only a big 4th quarter comeback made it a two goal game. Even against Siena they were mostly outplayed, Siena was 1 for 4 or 5 on the man up and hit at least 7 pipes. As long as Daddio and the D dont completely fall apart I like Syracuse 14-6.