Powellfan
Renowned lacrosse analyst
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The Syracuse Orange look to bounce back from their first of the season, against a conference rival attempting to do the same. I don't want to call this a must win game, but when looking at the SU schedule, this matchup against UNC looks to present itself as the best opportunity for a quality win. It's a home game and the Tar Heels look to be struggling mightily on offense. That doesn't mean this will be easy, but Syracuse has to try and chaptalize here.
In watching their game with OSU, I would say that UNC currently lacks dynamic dodgers. Logan McGovern I'd describe as lively, and he is the Tar Heels most aggressive player as he leads the team in shots with 22 (next closest player is Sean Goldsmith with 13). I think Caccamo matches up with the Bryant transfer. I think the Heels want Lance Tillman to be the offensive quarterback, but he was held scoress against the Buck Eyes had has just six points in three games. He's the only mainstay holdover from last year's offense and it looks like UNC is still having trouble incorporating all pieces. Expect Clary on him. Sean Goldsmith rounds out the attack. He's very big at 6'4 but to me looks more like a stationary shooter. The Heels play a lot of players from the midfield but seem to be struggling to find a consistent group. No midfielder has more than four points.
I think the goal for Syracuse has to be to limit open shots for the Tar Heels. It's imperative that the SU middies not slide and create offense for the Tar Heels. UNC might be struggling but they still have guys who can absolutely sling it. They also have some behemoths on offense with players like Harry Wellford, James Mattan, Griffin Gallagher and Dewey Egan (who was out against OSU) along with Goldsmith who all stand over 6'3. The SU d-middies are not big as none of them are over 6 feet. They cannot panic if one of the big guys gets matched up with a shorty. Syracuse did a really poor job of allowing wide open looks for Maryland shooters (another team that lacks dynamic dodgers). I think it's really important for SU to shut the Tar Heels down early, the more they struggle, the less confidence they'll have and the more mistakes they'll make (they did this against OSU and let the game slip through their fingers).
On the other side of the field, the Tar Heels are very, very good. They have a goalie who looks back to his freshman year self (saving the ball at 67%), and a defensive group that doesn't look to have a weak spot. Paul Barton is very good and held Jack Myers to just a goal and an assist. The rest of the unit is big and athletic, including the short sticks. Syracuse probably won't score many goals off the dodge this week and will need to move the ball and create scoring chances with their passing. I imagine Barton will be on Spallina. I'd personally like to see Hiltz show a little more initiative this season, he's been a little passive so far. The Orange had success last week against Maryland short sticks, but UNC's duo of Conor Maher and Alex Breshci are very good. Again, we need to see the ball movement and passing that has been, I'd say, "teased" so far this season. Also SU had way too many turnovers and bad penalties from their offensive players against Maryland, that can't happen again.
The big question of course will be the face-offs. Andrew Tyerar is winning at a 63% clip and he's won the matchup in each three Tar Heel games. What will Syracuse do if Richiusa struggles the same way he did against Maryland? Will Gait and Co have a backup plan? This is clearly the biggest question mark this team has right now and while UNC might not have Weriman, but Tyerar is a very good FOGO. Will they try a long pole? It feels like SU needs to win somewhere in the range of 40-45%. Lastly, it kind of goes without saying but SU can't afford to give up seven penalties again.
I think SU has a good chance of winning this game (they are favorites) but will need to play better against UNC than they did against Maryland. I see a lot of similarities in these two games which makes me nervous. Maryland was a team incorporating a lot of new players on offense with a strong defense, with a good fogo, coming off a poor loss. I think Maryland is a better coached team, and their shooters are probably better than UNC, but SU can't leave UNC shooters open the way they did against the Terps, and expect that they will only score 5 goals again. Offense has to play smart, defense has to be patient and calm and the face-off group has to fight like heck to get possession.
In watching their game with OSU, I would say that UNC currently lacks dynamic dodgers. Logan McGovern I'd describe as lively, and he is the Tar Heels most aggressive player as he leads the team in shots with 22 (next closest player is Sean Goldsmith with 13). I think Caccamo matches up with the Bryant transfer. I think the Heels want Lance Tillman to be the offensive quarterback, but he was held scoress against the Buck Eyes had has just six points in three games. He's the only mainstay holdover from last year's offense and it looks like UNC is still having trouble incorporating all pieces. Expect Clary on him. Sean Goldsmith rounds out the attack. He's very big at 6'4 but to me looks more like a stationary shooter. The Heels play a lot of players from the midfield but seem to be struggling to find a consistent group. No midfielder has more than four points.
I think the goal for Syracuse has to be to limit open shots for the Tar Heels. It's imperative that the SU middies not slide and create offense for the Tar Heels. UNC might be struggling but they still have guys who can absolutely sling it. They also have some behemoths on offense with players like Harry Wellford, James Mattan, Griffin Gallagher and Dewey Egan (who was out against OSU) along with Goldsmith who all stand over 6'3. The SU d-middies are not big as none of them are over 6 feet. They cannot panic if one of the big guys gets matched up with a shorty. Syracuse did a really poor job of allowing wide open looks for Maryland shooters (another team that lacks dynamic dodgers). I think it's really important for SU to shut the Tar Heels down early, the more they struggle, the less confidence they'll have and the more mistakes they'll make (they did this against OSU and let the game slip through their fingers).
On the other side of the field, the Tar Heels are very, very good. They have a goalie who looks back to his freshman year self (saving the ball at 67%), and a defensive group that doesn't look to have a weak spot. Paul Barton is very good and held Jack Myers to just a goal and an assist. The rest of the unit is big and athletic, including the short sticks. Syracuse probably won't score many goals off the dodge this week and will need to move the ball and create scoring chances with their passing. I imagine Barton will be on Spallina. I'd personally like to see Hiltz show a little more initiative this season, he's been a little passive so far. The Orange had success last week against Maryland short sticks, but UNC's duo of Conor Maher and Alex Breshci are very good. Again, we need to see the ball movement and passing that has been, I'd say, "teased" so far this season. Also SU had way too many turnovers and bad penalties from their offensive players against Maryland, that can't happen again.
The big question of course will be the face-offs. Andrew Tyerar is winning at a 63% clip and he's won the matchup in each three Tar Heel games. What will Syracuse do if Richiusa struggles the same way he did against Maryland? Will Gait and Co have a backup plan? This is clearly the biggest question mark this team has right now and while UNC might not have Weriman, but Tyerar is a very good FOGO. Will they try a long pole? It feels like SU needs to win somewhere in the range of 40-45%. Lastly, it kind of goes without saying but SU can't afford to give up seven penalties again.
I think SU has a good chance of winning this game (they are favorites) but will need to play better against UNC than they did against Maryland. I see a lot of similarities in these two games which makes me nervous. Maryland was a team incorporating a lot of new players on offense with a strong defense, with a good fogo, coming off a poor loss. I think Maryland is a better coached team, and their shooters are probably better than UNC, but SU can't leave UNC shooters open the way they did against the Terps, and expect that they will only score 5 goals again. Offense has to play smart, defense has to be patient and calm and the face-off group has to fight like heck to get possession.