2019 Lineup | Syracusefan.com

2019 Lineup

Powellfan

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Posted this in laxpwer but would appreciate the input of posters on this board!

First off as we kick off another year of Syracuse lacrosse, thank you to the seniors for a fun and exciting four (to five) years. Always grateful to the players for their time and effort they put into Syracuse Lacrosse.

Been a frustrating few years now for fans of the Syracuse Orange. What looked so promising after an unexpected National Title game run in 2013 has led to season after season with not even a Final Four appearance. The 2019 season looks bright however, with the team losing only 2 starters (Bomberry and Maddona), and two additional contributors (Simmons and Lane). The Orange should be in good position to make a deep tournament run, but they will have a tough schedule to contend with. My favorite part of the offseason is trying to predict what next year's starting lineup will look like, so here it goes!

Attack: Solomon, Rhefuss and Voigt
To be honest a pretty underwhelming attack unit. The attack unit has been an issue since Dylan Donahue left, with not one Orange player being name All-American in two years. Doesn't look like this group will produce one either, but, we shall see. Rhefuss is the straw that stirs the drink, and he's put up some very nice games - but you watch him and realize that he relies almost completely on his speed. He needs to develop more moves and not be scared to take on physical contact. I've probably said enough on here about "Trick or Treat" Nate Solomon - he'll have a game where he looks unstoppable followed by a game where he looks like he's playing in quicksand. He needs to be more consistent, but I haven't seen anything in these past three years that makes me think he can elevate his game to All-American status. Voigt is a nice player who would compliment the passing of Rhefuss and dodging of Solomon - but, as a "finisher" he's also the type of player that needs his teammates to succeed. It he were playing with a Ben Reeves/Jeff Teat superstar I think he'd be a lot to contend with. Other players who could step in are sophomore Owen Seebold who played some last year but didn't register a point and freshmen Griffen Cook and Mikey Berkman. Cook's game reminds me a lot of Solomon and Seebold's a lot of Rhefuss. Of course the big question mark is Austin Staats, whose status remains up in the air, but would really be a boon for the program.

First Midfield: Dordevic, Trimboli, Curry
Second Midfield: Carlin, Lipka, Quinn
The strength of the team next year should be the midfield, with all three starters returning. If there were a player you'd pick to be the next "star" of the program you'd have to pick Dordevic - coaches were calling for him late in games when he was just a freshmen. He has a great rollback but needs to diversify his shooting and work on his passing. Curry is not far behind and has legit barn-burning speed. Seemed like he got yo-yoed a lot last year, between second and first midfield and attack. Hopefully he stays in one place this year. Trimboli is the leader of this unit and can't beleive he comes in third - he would have had a very good season last year but he had a tough three game dry spell at the end of it. The second line also looks pretty good on paper - Lipka was the unspoken "super frosh" last year putting up good goal numbers despite missing some games. Carlin has a no-no-no-yes! quality to his game, though I wish he'd take better shots and look for his teammates more. Quinn looks to have all the physical attributes with a big shot, but didn't see much time last year. The wild card would be Jacob Buttermore who had a big game last year against Colgate. They bring in two UA All-Americans in Peter Fiorini and Matt Magnan. Personally I thought they played too many guys last year, and the chemistry never formed. They should be able to put together two very good lines, but I hope they stick with a top six and stop the revolving doors (i.e. McKinney getting regular rotations with the first line).

F/O: Varello, Phaup, Washington, Martin, Garlow.
Face-off was up and down last year with Varello showing up big in some games, and not showing up at all in others. They lose backup Seth Deslise but return a whole host of other guys. Should be interesting competition, would be frustrating to have five FOGOs on the roster and still not have a good face-off %.

SSDM: Dearth, Helmer, Oladunmoye, Hutchings, Murphy
The obvious weak spot of last year's defense. Never seemed in synch and the coaches seemed to play a new rotation every week. For me the good news is they all fit the physical profile needed (all but one are over 6'2), and each have a year under their belts. Dearth I think could be a big x-factor for this team if he can be a threat in transition. Again, I hope the coaches shorten the bench and pick 4 or five and try and develop them instead of throwing things at the wall to see what will stick.

LSM: Kennedy, Fusco
The team has a potential star in Kennedy who came on the scene when Tyson Bomberry was hurt last year. A threat in transition and key on groundballs he took the starting LSM spot from Fusco late in the year when the close defense was healthy. Fusco is still a very good LSM and provides leadership for the team. Fernandez showed really bright promise last year before injurying his knee against UVa. He could also help out on the face-off X. Freshman Jacob Walthor is supposed to be a very offensive minded LSM. This unit is deep.

Close Defense: Mellen, Cunningham, Bomberry
I am not sure what happened to this unit last year, but they really struggled in big games. Probably has to do with the weakness of the defensive midfield, but this unit never looked quite right. Mellen has the potential to be a first team All American but sometimes I don't think he trusts his teammates. Cunningham is very solid and doesn't get beat often - nothing spectacular but he is a good compliment to the other two. Bomberry had early season injuries and just never looked like his sophomore self as the season went along. Also had a hard time with penalties. They have some good young backup players in DiPietro and hopefully Jerry Staats. If they put it all together they have huge potential, but they need a kick-start of some sort.

Goalie: Porter, Klan, Strang
The number two last year was Porter, and he looked very strong in his few appearances. Not sure how he is with clearing, or directing a defense for a full 60 minutes, but the little I have seen from him I have liked. Klan comes in with big credentials being a U-19 player, but was a clear number three last year. They'll have two more goalies next year as well to give them a total of five keepers, which seems a little high.

I am sure I left some guys off but I am doing my best not to list every guy on the team. It is very experienced team coming back, but also still very young (only Solomon, Bomberry, Carlin and Cunningham will be seniors this year). So it will be interesting to see how the coaches manage minutes to try and keep everyone happy. With so few players graduating last year, this could be a gigantic roster yet again. I hope the coaches are able to asses and play the best players as quickly as possible. Thankfully they will (hopefully) have a full fall ball session this upcoming season. Probably not enough of that fiasco was made last year, given they were breaking in so many new players and had three scrimmages they had to cancel.

Here's to hoping the Orange can put it all together in 2019!
 
Lot's of food for thought. Thanks for the always thoughtful evaluation. About Solomon, I always think of him as a finisher- garbage man not a dodger. In chaos around the goal, he has a knack for grabbing the ball standing on his head and scooping it with the knob end of his cross off the goalie's nose into the net. He does not dodge well against any long sticks and still runs into doubles. He and Voight won't work. If Voight, then someone else. If Solomon than ...

I am always looking for that little guy who can amaze like Rice. Cook might be that guy. I would not be surprised to see him as the third attack. He is clever and quick from the x. If Voight, then he might even replace Solomon at times. If Solomon then he could replace Voight. Rehfuss ought to slow down and spend a lot of time learning to take the right angles from x, otherwise he'll spend another year in the land of the occasionally effective.

I think ssdms had trouble with slide packages all year, hence the confused defense. Bomberry was nearly crippled, moved slowly, and was late many times to slide. Another cause for breakdowns. I have a feeling there's enough athletic talent among the ssdms to produce a big improvement next year. I still like Ola and Murphy for size and speed. Dearth threatens to move Abbott like up the field at times. I'm optimistic about these guys.

No idea about goalie or FO. I think however that Varallo improved throughout the year in winning the FO and taking the ball off the ground and down the field.

I wonder if the coaches might grab a middie for the attack. Trimboli or Curry or Dordevic, or Lipka, one of them as the third attack. Probably a bad idea. They play well together. Why break them up. I still think that the attack will be a defining weakness like it was this year without the advent of a dangerous x or third attack.

More later
 
Excellent writeup Powell. I believe that many see Voight as more of a specialist off bench more so than a starter, he's a deadly sniper with a quick release who might flourish ie Marr playing with dodgers who draw and dish. Think Refhuss and Solomon are that to varying degrees but fall ball will tell if that trio works well enough for team needs... who fills that 3rd spot also obviously depends on Austin Staats arriving or not and then the readiness of a youngster like Cook or Seebold. Curry could also be dropped in though his speed up top is a weapon and a shift would be net neutral imo. Lipka was productive and should play a larger role whether it be on 1st or 2nd line.. Buttermore and Lynch would seem to complement any of the first four on the second line . I share your thoughts on rs sr Carlin but unsure if he returns or not. Usage of a third line is likely to be sparse unless the play of the youngsters you mention ( might add Lauder and rs jr OSullivan ) force Desko's hand.. As far as ssdm grouping ,moving Dearth was smart move as he has size and speed and is a threat as a former om. Helmer is a solid D first ssdm, he played through foot problems and should be at full health and better next year , most others seemed to improve as the season progressed and likely to continue improvement given year of experience.At cd, not sure if rs sr Cunnigham returns .Mellen is obviously our AA pillar. Kennedy should be on the field f/t, like him more as Mellen's bookend covering 1-2's as he's also a shutdown m2m defender with a unique ability to fly upfield off the ground which combined with a lsm pole could make us more uptempo as well as not limit Fusco. D certainly has depth. Hopefully Tyson returns to form, DiPietro played well on man downs and did well on Navys big when he replaced Bomberry. Not sure on Fernandez timetable for return but he can be big help in certain matchups. Goalie position also has considerable depth and talent, last year we were concerned about who could replace Molloy and Madonna stepped up and surprised.. Expect the same to happen next year. Any of the top three you mentioned seem capable of doing the job. At fogo, Varello had his ups and downs but he's likely to improve over his career as his brother did. Did not see or hear much of/on others but comp tends to raise all so hopefully some step up and challenge.
 
Isn't Fusco Graduating?

Attack: Rehfuss, Soloman, Staats

1st Mid: Trimbo, Curry, Dord
2nd Mid: Lipka, Carlin, Quinn

SSDM: Dearth, Helmer

Pole: Kennedy, Kennedy (Hopefully his younger brother is just as good)

Defense: Mellen, Bomber, Cunningham

Goalie: Porter
 
What do you mean he needs to diversify his shot?

Dordevic almost exclusively shoots low. Carc pointed it out in the UVA game, but it was apparent for most of the season. If you take away his big UVA game he only finished the season with 11 goals, and only twice did he have multi-goal games (against UVA in the ACCT and Cornell in the NCAAT). The UVA game was the only time he had more than 2 points in a game. Not great for a first line midfielder. He obviously showed tremendous promise, it's just really imperative that he puts it all together as a sophomore. I think he has all the tools, the one thing that worries me is the shooting %. He and Curry only had a shooting % of ~25%. In fact the team as a whole really needs to work on their shooting % but that's for another day.
 
Dordevic almost exclusively shoots low. Carc pointed it out in the UVA game, but it was apparent for most of the season. If you take away his big UVA game he only finished the season with 11 goals, and only twice did he have multi-goal games (against UVA in the ACCT and Cornell in the NCAAT). The UVA game was the only time he had more than 2 points in a game. Not great for a first line midfielder. He obviously showed tremendous promise, it's just really imperative that he puts it all together as a sophomore. I think he has all the tools, the one thing that worries me is the shooting %. He and Curry only had a shooting % of ~25%. In fact the team as a whole really needs to work on their shooting % but that's for another day.

You put up a great post by the way. I enjoyed reading.

I do have to disagree on Dordevic though, he finished 15-5 which is outstanding for any freshman middie but especially one from Oregon just getting acclimated to high major D1 lacrosse. I'd be looking for him to get 30 to 35 as as senior; hopefully more.

For me him shooting low is a breath of fresh air, I'm so sick of kids shooting high and either missing cage or just gifting the goalie easy save after easy save. I don't put much stock in % as long as you're taking good quality shots.

Dordevic opened my eyes though when he rolled left in the ACC T and drilled a shot with his left hand that was as hard as his right hand. That's impressive. He's got all the tools and he's going to be a good one.

For comparison, I went over to the Yale roster and took a look at both Sessa and Tigh. Both are juniors. Sessa went 19-9 while Tigh went 35-14 up from soph 17-4 up from frosh 13-13. Tigh is a 3rd Team All-American.

Dordevic went 15-5. Pretty much on par with Tigh's sophomore numbers and Sessa's jr numbers. If he can put up 30-35 goals as a junior he'll be in the All American conversation.
 
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You put up a great post by the way. I enjoyed reading.

I do have to disagree on Dordevic though, he finished 15-5 which is outstanding for any freshman middie but especially one from Oregon just getting acclimated to high major D1 lacrosse. I'd be looking for him to get 30 to 35 as as senior; hopefully more.

For me him shooting low is a breath of fresh air, I'm so sick of kids shooting and missing high or just gifting the goalie easy save after easy save. I don't put much stock in % as long as you're taking good quality shots.

Dordevic opened my eyes though when he rolled left in the ACC T and drilled a shot with his left hand that was as hard as his right hand. That's impressive. He's got all the tools and he's going to be a good one.

For comparison, I went over to the Yale roster and took a look at both Sessa and Tigh. Both are juniors. Sessa went 19-9 while Tigh went 35-14 up from soph 17-4 up from frosh 13-13. Tigh is a 3rd Team All-American.

Dordevic when 15-5. Pretty much on par with Tigh's sophomore numbers. If he can put up 30-35 goals as a junior he'll be in the All American conversation.

Powell is correct about tendencies and low %'s but he also sees the same promise if they realize their potential. 3 frosh were a bit raw at times and had some growing pains but that has to be expected when so many youngsters are thrust into action all at once. Dord tendency is to go low, Trimboli's is to shoot high while Curry shots are a bit more varied. Lipka had the lowest sog% but the highest sh% with a outstanding 40%. All four have shown ability to separate and get their shot off and all have shown glimpses at times of how dangerous and good they can become. Now they just have to expand on their skillsets and become more consistent, both tends to occur over the course of a career. Believe Ryan Powell pointed out that it's better to be missing a pipe on a good shot than getting a shot on goal that is easily saveable. Enjoy watching offenses in any sport that pressure and buzz around and this grouping has that potential. Not sure they will ever register high efficiency rates ie Cornell given but expect the production and conversion %s of this foursome to rise with greater familiarity, coordination and skill refinement. Confined my remarks to those four but good talent right behind and more coming in , mid lines should be position of strength
 
Lot's of food for thought. Thanks for the always thoughtful evaluation. About Solomon, I always think of him as a finisher- garbage man not a dodger. In chaos around the goal, he has a knack for grabbing the ball standing on his head and scooping it with the knob end of his cross off the goalie's nose into the net. He does not dodge well against any long sticks and still runs into doubles. He and Voight won't work. If Voight, then someone else. If Solomon than ...

I am always looking for that little guy who can amaze like Rice. Cook might be that guy. I would not be surprised to see him as the third attack. He is clever and quick from the x. If Voight, then he might even replace Solomon at times. If Solomon then he could replace Voight. Rehfuss ought to slow down and spend a lot of time learning to take the right angles from x, otherwise he'll spend another year in the land of the occasionally effective.

I think ssdms had trouble with slide packages all year, hence the confused defense. Bomberry was nearly crippled, moved slowly, and was late many times to slide. Another cause for breakdowns. I have a feeling there's enough athletic talent among the ssdms to produce a big improvement next year. I still like Ola and Murphy for size and speed. Dearth threatens to move Abbott like up the field at times. I'm optimistic about these guys.

No idea about goalie or FO. I think however that Varallo improved throughout the year in winning the FO and taking the ball off the ground and down the field.

I wonder if the coaches might grab a middie for the attack. Trimboli or Curry or Dordevic, or Lipka, one of them as the third attack. Probably a bad idea. They play well together. Why break them up. I still think that the attack will be a defining weakness like it was this year without the advent of a dangerous x or third attack.

More later
I agree with this. Our assessments of Solomon are a little different. I think he added some more dodging to his game and even some feeding off his dodges. I hope we see a little more improvement and production from him. His numbers increased a little and he had more attention paid to him without Salcido and Mariano this season.

I think there's a better chance for a jump in production from Rehfuss, but like you said, he needs to put himself in more dangerous positions when he dodges. He's still a little thin. Maybe another year in the weight room will help.

I agree on the SSDMs. There is a variety of skills there and the athleticism is certainly there. They were young, so another year should really help.

Let's hope the mumps don't resurface. If this team stays healthy they could really contend next season. I think the expectations should be high.
 
Powell is correct about tendencies and low %'s but he also sees the same promise if they realize their potential. 3 frosh were a bit raw at times and had some growing pains but that has to be expected when so many youngsters are thrust into action all at once. Dord tendency is to go low, Trimboli's is to shoot high while Curry shots are a bit more varied. Lipka had the lowest sog% but the highest sh% with a outstanding 40%. All four have shown ability to separate and get their shot off and all have shown glimpses at times of how dangerous and good they can become. Now they just have to expand on their skillsets and become more consistent, both tends to occur over the course of a career. Believe Ryan Powell pointed out that it's better to be missing a pipe on a good shot than getting a shot on goal that is easily saveable. Enjoy watching offenses in any sport that pressure and buzz around and this grouping has that potential. Not sure they will ever register high efficiency rates ie Cornell given but expect the production and conversion %s of this foursome to rise with greater familiarity, coordination and skill refinement. Confined my remarks to those four but good talent right behind and more coming in , mid lines should be position of strength

imo shooting % in lacrosse is meaningless especially with midfielders. They will have a lower % since they shoot further away from the cage. (Tigh's SH% is terrible but he nearly doubles our top shot guy with a 116 shots which he turned into 35 goals.)

You could do everything right and the goalie just makes a great save or you hit pipe, so I want to know if it was a good shot and on cage. The SOG% at least measures the accuracy better.

You will also have a higher % chance of scoring if you bounce the shot as well as the accuracy goes up b/c they tend to be more on cage. I wish they measured this for shooters; high vs bounce and placement. Thats something I chart for goalies; high vs bounce and location (stick side high, off hip etc).

But imo, the problem isn't SH% it's the number of shots we're taking. Not many. 513 or 34 per game. Our SH% and accuracy percentages actually match Yale's EXCEPT Yale takes 42 shots per game. They had over 800 shots. 800.

We scored 169 goals. Yale scored 278 goals shooting 30%.

My mantra has always been to shoot and shoot a lot. (but they have to be good shots). Yale bears it out that volume is good. It's sort of like Dino Babers of lacrosse, play fast and take a lot of shots. The less shots you take the higher % you need to be so I don't want to rely on shooting %, I'd rather rely on the volume. But that's me.
 
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Some interesting stats to think about going into next year were posted on our board.

ACC losses to graduation:
read % goals / % assists/ % points, material personnel losses

Duke: 39.3%/48.7%/42.7%, Fowler (G), Guterding
UNC: 31.4%/13.3%/25.0%, Cloutier
ND: 29.1%/28.2%/28.1%, FOGO, Wynne
Cuse: 21.9%/15.5%/19.5% Madonna (G), Bomberry
UVA: 18.5%/7.9%/14.5% D'Amario
 
I'm worried that this won't happen but I would like to see Austin Fusco take a back seat to Kennedy and Fernandez at LSM. Fusco appears to be a really good kid who bleeds orange but these young guys are very talented. Kennedy matches up well with big strong midfielders and Fernandez was an absolute pest. Number 11 takes too many bad penalties and does not cause turnovers. Outside of Mellen Kennedy was our best defender last year. To me every position on our defense should be open bedsides Mellens spot. Cunningham, Bomberry, and Fusco have been starting for 2 years together and I don't think they have been particularly impressive. I look at Mellen, Kennedy at close, and Fernandez at LSM they will cause a lot of turnovers. This coaching staff last year for the first time showed me they would move away from the seniors on offense. Will they do the same on defense? Three LSMs would be one too many IMO. Fernandez and Kennedy looked too good to not play big minutes.
 
I'm worried that this won't happen but I would like to see Austin Fusco take a back seat to Kennedy and Fernandez at LSM. Fusco appears to be a really good kid who bleeds orange but these young guys are very talented. Kennedy matches up well with big strong midfielders and Fernandez was an absolute pest. Number 11 takes too many bad penalties and does not cause turnovers. Outside of Mellen Kennedy was our best defender last year. To me every position on our defense should be open bedsides Mellens spot. Cunningham, Bomberry, and Fusco have been starting for 2 years together and I don't think they have been particularly impressive. I look at Mellen, Kennedy at close, and Fernandez at LSM they will cause a lot of turnovers. This coaching staff last year for the first time showed me they would move away from the seniors on offense. Will they do the same on defense? Three LSMs would be one too many IMO. Fernandez and Kennedy looked too good to not play big minutes.
Couldn't agree more with Kennedy & Fernandez (if healthy) playing over Fusco but I'd be shocked if a senior captain #11 didn't start. With our offensive struggles, we can't afford to miss out on those 2 creating transition opportunities. IMO there should never be a FO taken without a healthy Fernandez on the wing, the kid was born for that role.
 
Couldn't agree more with Kennedy & Fernandez (if healthy) playing over Fusco but I'd be shocked if a senior captain #11 didn't start. With our offensive struggles, we can't afford to miss out on those 2 creating transition opportunities. IMO there should never be a FO taken without a healthy Fernandez on the wing, the kid was born for that role.

Absolutely ! He is the perfect wing he has the speed and ground ball ability. I think with him on the wing that is 2-3 faceoff wins a game. I just want to see the best players play regardless of jersey number or class.
 
Cuselax - I think you underestimate Cunningham. He was rarely out of position until he tried to back up an ssdm who lost his man. The whole defense suffered from youthful ssdms and Bomber's lack of mobility.
 
Cuselax - I think you underestimate Cunningham. He was rarely out of position until he tried to back up an ssdm who lost his man. The whole defense suffered from youthful ssdms and Bomber's lack of mobility.
I think your right the SSDM hurt the defense as a whole. I really never heard Cunninghams name last year. That for a defender is a good thing. My beef lies more with Bomberry and Fusco who take too many penalties and aren't very fleet of foot. If the team website is accurate Bomberry led the team in penalty minutes and didn't even play in all the games. Second was Fusco for D poles, while Cunningham only had two. It appears I have underestimate his worth I agree with you.
 
I think they played pretty even minutes last year, but by the end of the season, the guy out there for the first face-off was Brett Kennedy. I too hope that continues into next year, I think he is a future All-American for sure. And I too would like to see Kennedy and Fernandez as the two main poles on the face-off. Fusco has never wowed me with his groundball ability. But I don't want to discount or disregard Fusco, him having the 11 jersey means he is an important piece of the team. I think it is important he get a couple runs a game.
 
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