Powellfan
Renowned lacrosse analyst
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Shout out to DMV an AD both were spot on with the schedule info.
Only thing undetermined is where the away UNC game will be played as its listed as TBD. Seems like someplace in Maryland, interested to see how this flushes out.
A couple of quick general thoughts on the schedule itself.
Obviously SU needs to get out to a 3-0 start. Vermont, Albany and Holy Cross are all games SU should win but the first two will be no pushovers to say the least. Vermont game itself will be very interesting as SU will likely have a major issue at the X going against Vermonts AA FOGO. Defense will need to be ready to go from the start. Albany lost almost no one off of last years team but did finish 5-10 (and beat us in one of the worst games I have ever watched) so hard to know what to expect there. They do lose their goalie and appears several players who had the ability to comeback for their COVID year decided to leave. Don't look like a great team on paper but will need to see what their roster looks like before I can comment further. Holy Cross is well Holy Cross, they should be better then last years team but clearly that's a game that should be over by the end of the 1st quarter. Interesting note that Albany on Fri and Holy Cross that Sunday is the first time I can recall SU playing two games on the same weekend. Desko was never a fan and is probably shaking his head somewhere.
The 4 game stretch after that is brutal, Maryland, UNC, Duke and Hop, although 3 of the 4 are at home. Need to be 2-2 out of that stretch. Obviously Maryland is a less then stellar matchup but hopefully we can at least keep it close. Feels like we matchup well with UNC and have always played Duke well. Hop is a bit of a mystery, they should be very solid defensively but offensively they're clearly a work in progress.
Hofstra, Bonnies and Hobart next three. Again needs to be three wins. Only real concern here is probably Hobart and if they couldn't get it done last year its hard to see them doing it this year barring SU having major issues at the X and on defense (with injuries again).
The last 5 games are clearly the gauntlet and will define the season. ND, Princeton, UNC, UVA and Duke. I've given up trying to even be competitive with ND so I won't even comment on that matchup. Overall need to get at least 2 wins out of those 5 games. Ending with UVA and Duke is less then optimal but it is what it is. Good news is we only see ND and UVA once and Princeton late in the year I think gives us a better shot then an early matchup.
Overall a pretty tough schedule that won't really miss Army or Cornell if I am being honest. I like the balance and the fact that there are more "less stressful" type games. Would have liked to have had St. Bonnie or someone else real late to break up the gauntlet but overall this feels like a really good schedule and much more balanced then last years or the last few under Desko. SU should always try and play 15 regular season games.
Good catch regarding the Friday/Sunday turnaround. I think Gait liked to do this with the Women's team so no real surprise he's trying to bring it over to the men's side. Hopkins did this last year and their fans got pretty upset with the results. I would think both games Syracuse should be pretty heavily favored, but I thought that against the Danes last year as well. At least both games are home.
Looks like the early Duke game will be happening at the Dome and not San Diego or another distant locale. Gives the Orange nine of their first 11 games at home, which is pretty favorable. Syracuse gets a lot of grief for not having enough road games, but I think as the calendar inches up closer and closer to January, it's hard to argue with playing games in the Dome. Having the last four games of the season on the road, against some tough competition is not ideal. Will have to make the most of the early home games.
Love that there will be 15 games, the more Orange lacrosse, the better. Makes for a pretty packed calendar but with the early start time (again no issue with weather, see Dome), everything is pretty spaced out for the most part. Only one other game besides the Holy Cross game on short rest, against Hofstra following Hopkins.