JeremyCuse
Renowned lacrosse analyst
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Hard to take a ton away from the first game against a clearly inferior opponent but I will do my best.
Thought overall Siena was a better team then last year but they simply didn't have the horses to hang with SU and when the game got away from them late in the 1st quarter it was lights out. I though there faceoff guy did a nice job early against Ben and was close to even through a majority of the 1st until Ben just took over and did what Ben Williams usually does. Ben will absolutely have his hands full the next two weeks so I was surprised he played as long as he did and that it was Varello not Paduda who took most of the backup draws. Interesting.
From an offensive standpoint it was hard not be impressed with the attack unit and Bomberry. Mariano is such a heady player that his move back to his natural attack position has been pretty much seamless. He operated at X, up top like a midfielder and off ball without issue. He clearly is going to be the Kevin Rice/Dylan Donahue of this year squad. Nice game from Evans, played within himself, looked deadly with time and room, and had minimal turnovers. Seemed comfortable for the first time in a while and did a nice job handing out 3 helpers to go along with the 5 goals. Solomon's play was an outstanding development, Had a nice Kevin Rice esque wrap around goal and seemed to have no fear operating with the ball. Certainly can't expect 4 goals a game from him but his continued development will be key for this team moving forward. For the midfield Bomberry is as good as advertised. God help you if he has time and room because its going to be a goal. Thought he did a nice job off ball to making himself available on runs to the goal and obviously that behind the back goal was a thing of beauty. Was disappointed in the remaining starting midfield. Thought Lane and Salcido each had 2 or 3 looks they normally bury that were off cage. Each did have a good look saved as well including a low burner by Salcido that I was shocked the goalie saved. Both looked good in the two scrimmages so I won't read to much into it and they did have 4 assists between them (3Salcido 1 Lane). Would like to see Lane press that size and height advantage on the bull dodge, he started a few times but then broke it off. Liked what I saw form Rehfuss in garbage time, appears to be an adept finisher. Wonder if he would make sense on the man up unit in place of Thorpe.
The second midfield line was also disappointing in that they didn't generate a single point between the 4 main guys rotating. I thought of the four Dearth looked the most active and he did have a shot hit the cross bar. His size and power are going to be huge assets when he adjusts to the D1 level. Carlin and Trimboli got a lot of run but not much in the way of production. First game for Trimboli so he's still getting his feet under him. Was hoping Simmons excellent pre-season would carry over but he looked more like he did last season. Again only first game but the second line has for the most part been black hole the last few years, we really need to get some production from there this year. McKinney and a few others got some run on the third line late, McKinney has really taken a tumble on the depth chart. Was nice to see Sam Romano get some PT in his first game at SU and coming off an injury. Two names to keep an eye on; Nick Weston and JT Forkin. When these two are cleared to play will be interesting to see if they immediately got to the Second mid line.
Thought the D other then the first 10 minutes or so was excellent. Siena struggled to get good looks Molloy made a few nice saves. Thought the clears were very good and the long poles did a nice job of scooping groundballs and maintaining position. The SSDM's all looked good and we appeared to rotate there pretty liberally with Schwasnick, Paduda, and Hutchings I believe seeing sometime. Position should be a strength this year. Siena was only 1-3 on the man up but would like to see us tighten this up a bit if at all possible. Man down D is very difficult but we need an improvement over last year as we really struggled there last year. Sounds as if Mellen is doubtful for Albany, disappointing to say the least. Adding him to this solid D will be a real boost. Dipetro looks like a gamer already as a true Frosh, he is likely to see more PT as the season goes on.
All in all a pretty good start to the year. Main concerns at this point are the depth of the offense ie 2nd and 3rd midfield, injury to Mellen, and the difficulty of SU's schedule this year. This Saturday is going to be a very difficult test. Albany's O looks to be dangerous and there new faceoff guy Ierlan is going to be a thorn in our side for 4 years I am afraid. Will have more on that game later in the week.
Thought overall Siena was a better team then last year but they simply didn't have the horses to hang with SU and when the game got away from them late in the 1st quarter it was lights out. I though there faceoff guy did a nice job early against Ben and was close to even through a majority of the 1st until Ben just took over and did what Ben Williams usually does. Ben will absolutely have his hands full the next two weeks so I was surprised he played as long as he did and that it was Varello not Paduda who took most of the backup draws. Interesting.
From an offensive standpoint it was hard not be impressed with the attack unit and Bomberry. Mariano is such a heady player that his move back to his natural attack position has been pretty much seamless. He operated at X, up top like a midfielder and off ball without issue. He clearly is going to be the Kevin Rice/Dylan Donahue of this year squad. Nice game from Evans, played within himself, looked deadly with time and room, and had minimal turnovers. Seemed comfortable for the first time in a while and did a nice job handing out 3 helpers to go along with the 5 goals. Solomon's play was an outstanding development, Had a nice Kevin Rice esque wrap around goal and seemed to have no fear operating with the ball. Certainly can't expect 4 goals a game from him but his continued development will be key for this team moving forward. For the midfield Bomberry is as good as advertised. God help you if he has time and room because its going to be a goal. Thought he did a nice job off ball to making himself available on runs to the goal and obviously that behind the back goal was a thing of beauty. Was disappointed in the remaining starting midfield. Thought Lane and Salcido each had 2 or 3 looks they normally bury that were off cage. Each did have a good look saved as well including a low burner by Salcido that I was shocked the goalie saved. Both looked good in the two scrimmages so I won't read to much into it and they did have 4 assists between them (3Salcido 1 Lane). Would like to see Lane press that size and height advantage on the bull dodge, he started a few times but then broke it off. Liked what I saw form Rehfuss in garbage time, appears to be an adept finisher. Wonder if he would make sense on the man up unit in place of Thorpe.
The second midfield line was also disappointing in that they didn't generate a single point between the 4 main guys rotating. I thought of the four Dearth looked the most active and he did have a shot hit the cross bar. His size and power are going to be huge assets when he adjusts to the D1 level. Carlin and Trimboli got a lot of run but not much in the way of production. First game for Trimboli so he's still getting his feet under him. Was hoping Simmons excellent pre-season would carry over but he looked more like he did last season. Again only first game but the second line has for the most part been black hole the last few years, we really need to get some production from there this year. McKinney and a few others got some run on the third line late, McKinney has really taken a tumble on the depth chart. Was nice to see Sam Romano get some PT in his first game at SU and coming off an injury. Two names to keep an eye on; Nick Weston and JT Forkin. When these two are cleared to play will be interesting to see if they immediately got to the Second mid line.
Thought the D other then the first 10 minutes or so was excellent. Siena struggled to get good looks Molloy made a few nice saves. Thought the clears were very good and the long poles did a nice job of scooping groundballs and maintaining position. The SSDM's all looked good and we appeared to rotate there pretty liberally with Schwasnick, Paduda, and Hutchings I believe seeing sometime. Position should be a strength this year. Siena was only 1-3 on the man up but would like to see us tighten this up a bit if at all possible. Man down D is very difficult but we need an improvement over last year as we really struggled there last year. Sounds as if Mellen is doubtful for Albany, disappointing to say the least. Adding him to this solid D will be a real boost. Dipetro looks like a gamer already as a true Frosh, he is likely to see more PT as the season goes on.
All in all a pretty good start to the year. Main concerns at this point are the depth of the offense ie 2nd and 3rd midfield, injury to Mellen, and the difficulty of SU's schedule this year. This Saturday is going to be a very difficult test. Albany's O looks to be dangerous and there new faceoff guy Ierlan is going to be a thorn in our side for 4 years I am afraid. Will have more on that game later in the week.
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