Scrimmage vs Brown

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[Subob1]

Did Donahue play? If not, why not?

 

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#7 Syracuse Downs #10 Brown in Final Preseason Test (Cuse)

The No. 7 Syracuse men's lacrosse team wrapped up its preseason with a 12-10 victory over No. 10 Brown on Saturday, with Jordan Evans' six point afternoon leading the charge for the 'Cuse offense.

Evans notched four goals and two assists in the win, with Nick Piroli chipping in two goals and two assists of his own against his former team.

After Brown's Kylor Bellistri scored the opening goal for the Bears, Syracuse went on a 5-1 run later in the quarter to open up a 5-3 lead at the end of the first.

Evans scored the first two for the Orange one on a feed from Piroli, and the second on a pass from Dylan Donahue. After Brown defenseman Jake Miller pulled back to within one, Joe Gillis got into the action with a rifled shot into the top-corner, beating Brown goalie Jack Kelly for the score.

Piroli then scored on a feed from Evans, after Evans found him darting down the alley toward the cage and Piroli finished on the doorstep. Two members of the Orange's top midfield line then found one-another for the fifth 'Cuse goal as Nick Mariano setupSergio Salcido for the tally.

The Bears' Dylan Molloy then netted his first-of-three goals on the day late in the quarter to end the first with 'Cuse leading 5-3.

Senior Derek DeJoe opened the second quarter by taking a pass from Piroli and sending a perfectly-placed shot past Kelly to up Syracuse's lead back to three, but Billistri and Molloy scored back-to-back goals to pull back to within one at 6-5. That was until Piroli finished another Evans pass with 2:24 remaining in the half, to send Syracuse to intermission with a two-goal lead.

The Bears rallied after halftime though, with Molloy and Matt Graham opening the wuarter with two goals in the first 3:18 to knot things at seven apiece. Tim Barberscored on a rocket to give the Orange back the lead before Henry Blynn tied things up again with 1:41 to go in the third to send the teams to the fourth quarter knotted up at eight.

DeJoe and Evans came out firing again for 'Cuse though, scoring two early goals in the fourth putting Syracuse up for good. Brown pulled back within one on two separate occasions later in the quarter, but Evans and Mariano provided the answer each time to give Syracuse the win.

Warren Hill made 10 saves in the game and was lifted for Evan Molloy midway through the fourth quarter, who made a pair of saves of his own during his time in net.

Both teams also played a fifth quarter to get more work in before the regular season. 'Cuse took that period by a score of 3-1, as Nick Weston, Gale Thorpe and Brad McKinney each provided goals for Syracuse.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

Lineup comes into focus as Syracuse men's lacrosse wins final scrimmage (PS: Kramer)


The most important punch-list item for the Syracuse University men's lacrosse team on Saturday was to make sure All-American attack Dylan Donahue was feeling refreshed and ready to go.

That was settled quickly, as Donahue logged nearly a full game's worth of action in a scrimmage against Brown at Ensley Athletic Center.

Beyond that, the Orange tended to some last-minute details in advance of its regular-season opener against Siena on Feb. 13 in the Carrier Dome.

Donahue, who sat out last week's two scrimmages, led an attack that looked crisp in a 12-10 win.

"I thought he really helped us run the offense well. I thought he was a little bit rusty, missed a couple that he could have had. But it was great to get him back out there,'' said SU coach John Desko.

"I feel awesome,'' Donahue said. "I think this week was a big jump from last week. I still have a ton of work to do, but I like the way we're heading. Our team works harder in practice than I've ever seen any team work. Hopefully that just means we're going to keep getting better.''

Donahue ran with Jordan Evans and Nick Piroli in a starting attack group that looked capable of replenishing the offense lost from last year's squad.

Evans notched four goals and two assists, with Piroli chipping in two goals and two assists of his own against his former team. Derek DeJoe also unloaded twice for a pair of goals.

"On the offensive end, I thought spacing was better, off-ball movements were better. We were working together more,'' Donahue said. "Overall, it just ran more smoothly. We're heading in the right direction.''

The scrimmage was closed to the public and the media couldn't watch the first quarter.

But for the final three quarters, Donahue, Evans and Piroli got the bulk of the action at attack and were occasionally spelled by Nate Solomon, Gale Thorpe and Nick Mariano.

"It was good that the offense, I think, got some confidence out of it,'' Desko said. "I thought that we ran the offense fairly well. Some of our shots were flat. I didn't think we shot great today. So we want to improve on our shooting going forward, getting some better angles on our shots. Especially early in the game, I thought the offense flowed pretty well.''

Although he got time at attack Mariano seems to be more likely a starter at midfield along with Tim Barber and Sergio Salcido. The second midfield unit looks to be Ryan Simmons, Nick Weston and Matt Lane.

Brandon Mullins, Nick Mellen and Jay McDermott appear to be the first defensive unit in front of goalie Warren Hill. Hill made 10 saves and allowed nine goals.

The man-down defense Saturday was McDermott, Mullins, Scott Firman, Tom Grimm and Bobby Tait.

"Defensively, I thought we had a pretty good day,'' Desko said. "We made some mistakes that we don't want to make going forward, but it was good. We're going into our season, with the players that are returning, defense has to be our strength, and in the goal. Our defense needs to make less mistakes going into the season.''

 

[Delmar]

It sounds like Piroli and Evans have some chemistry going.

This is a very encouraging report.

 

[Whitey23]

Some low quality video surfaces.

Jordan Evans flashed his fancy skills

The junior attack, and former No. 1 recruit in the country, showed off his talent with four goals and two assists, including two highlight-reel finishes in the fourth period. While running from the side of the net toward the top of the restraining box, Evans was smothered by two Brown defenders. He dropped his stick low and shoveled the ball backward into the net as he faced the opposite direction. Evans also drew a Brown penalty on the play.

Just minutes later, he caught a pass 15 yards in front of the goal and charged forward. He pump-faked a lefty shot, spun around while switching hands and buried a right-handed shot. The sequence reflected the potential he has returning to SU’s attack after filling in at midfield the past two seasons.

“As the game went on, I was just having more and more fun I think,” Evans said. “Those are the kinds of plays that just get you excited about playing again. Those were just having fun.”

The offense will again have fluidity

Members of the Orange’s new-look midfield, which features Tim Barber, Sergio Salcido and UMass transfer Nick Mariano, interchanged with players on attack at times on Saturday. Barber subbed in at attack last season when Randy Staats was out due to injury. Salcido often simulated opposing attacks on the scout team previously in his SU career. Mariano has primarily played attack since seventh grade.

The trio gives Syracuse flexibility when the midfielders’ dodges take them behind the cage or near goal-line extended, which occurred several times on Saturday. Evans said that puts an added stress on defenders who may not be used to defending different areas of the field while the Orange’s players have experience from there.

It’s a fluid style of offense that SU used last season and head coach John Desko said it will be part of the offense again in 2016.

“That’s been a strength of ours the past few years,” Desko said. “We seem to have an abundance of attackmen and the ones who have the ability to play the midfield and invert or switch to their natural position. … It’s something we’ve been able to do and we’ll continue doing it.”

Mismatches caused problems for SU’s defense

Dylan Molloy was Brown’s most impressive offensive player on Saturday with three goals and an assist. Molloy scored 62 goals in 2015, the second most in the nation. Desko said his team didn’t do a good enough job identifying Molloy and sticking with him.

Syracuse returns seniors Brandon Mullins and Jay McDermott, making the Orange’s defensive unit its most experienced compared to the attack and midfield. But against Molloy, SU still struggled.

On one play, a midfielder set a pick for Molloy, forcing the SU defenders to switch and allowing a short stick to be matched up with the prolific scorer. Preseason All-American defender Brandon Mullins had been covering Molloy, but with the switch, Molloy got free and took advantage and scored.

“I was disappointed the whole defense wasn’t talking knowing there was a mismatch with (Molloy) on a short stick,” Desko said. “Things like that we need to recognize quickly because we’re going into our season and with the players that are returning, defense has to be our strength.”

http://dailyorange.com/2016/02/3-takeaways-from-no-5-syracuses-scrimmage-against-no-10-brown/

 

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