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Message: [QUOTE="Powellfan, post: 3079679, member: 4819"] With Fall Ball a few weeks away I thought it would be a good time to try and put together a starting lineup prediction. Apologies if this runs a little long, I will break it up in two parts, Offense first, then Defense. Ohiomilax wrote a good prediction post on Fanlax (pre-Scanlan transfer, but still good), I really recommend reading it. It's an exciting year for the Orange, they have a lot of returning players, but also have some big shoes to fill. An added wrinkle is having a big roster with lots of exciting young talent, but only so much playing time to go around. It will be up to Desko to make some tough choices. [B]Attack: Cook, Rhefuss, Scanlan[/B] This position has been discussed a ton already so I'll try and keep this short. Scanlan is obviously the most exciting addition to Syracuse this year, and he will bring a lot of attention. He is a very good shooter but can also dodge. Scanlan did not have high assist totals, but that could change this season as SU doesn't have a dominate ball handler on the team. I think his goal totals from last might come down, but his assist totals might rise. He will match up well with Rhefuss who, despite staring the year off slowly with injuries and illness still had a productive year. My hope for Rhefuss is he can get a little stronger and fend off the physical defenders a bit better than he did last year. When he is "on" he is really good. The question mark of course is the third spot. Personally I think they will start games off with Cook as the starter, but give shifts to Dordevic as the game goes along. This will allow the team to develop a younger player in Cook and also get the best six players on the field as well (more on that below). Cook is quick and I think he'll make a better attackman than midfielder. He still has things to work on obviously (he wont grow five inches but needs to leverage his size better, shooting could improve) but I think he's the leader in the clubhouse among the other attackmen. I'd think Berkman, Donnelly and Seebold might next in the pecking order. If Desko decides not to bump a midfielder down to attack, he might still platoon Cook with another attackman. We might see a lot of mixing and matching with this spot to start the year. [B]1st Line Midfield: Curry, Dordevic, Trimboli [/B]- The second most exciting addition to the team would of course be the return of Dordevic who had a very solid freshmen season for the Orange, but was out last year with injury. He's a good strong player who can do a lot of different things. I hope he works on the diversity of his shot placement (always seems to go low), but he can swing the outcome of games with his skill set. If he ends up playing some attack, I think Buttermore gets bumped to the first unit. That would really cause headaches for defenses as I'm really not sure who you end up putting short sticks on. Curry, I think, is the most talented offensive player on the team. He has tremendous speed and very hard shot. His problem at the end of last year was he lost his accuracy. If he gains that back, he could very well be a first teamer. He also helps balance the playmaking/distributor role between midfield and attack. Trimboli has started for four years now and has been super consistent. I think he might be more effective this year with less attention. He made big strides last year changing up his shooting motion. Either way he'll be a good veteran presence. [B]2nd Line Midfield: Buttermore, Lipka, Quinn[/B] - The unit with the most intrigue might just be the second midfield. Lipka is a former first liner who has been productive for two seasons. He is a good glue guy who can do a little bit of everything. Like a lot of different players, he needs to work on his accuracy. I think he had a lot of open looks last year that he should have cashed in on. Hope he doesn't let the demotion to the second line hurt his production. Buttermore is a player who could very well be a starter and I wouldn't be surprised if he's on the field for crunch time. A fearless shooter, Buttermore can also dodge. He would easily draw the long stick on the second line but has shown no trepidation when drawing that matchup in the past. I think Quinn gets first crack at the last spot, but competition should be fierce, with a number of young players chomping at the bit - Kim twins, Magnan, Lewandowski, Peter Fiorini, Owen Hill, etc.. Quinn has shown flashes during his two years, but he also has injury history and can be very inconsistent. Much like the third attack spot, Dekso might choose to rotate a few player in with Buttermore and Lipka. The team has enough talent to probably run a third midfield line, but this is rarely done and it would mean less time of the field for perhaps the best first line in the country. Next I'll do my best to predict the starters on defense. Please feel free to disagree and share why, I myself have gone back and forth on a number of predictions! [/QUOTE]

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