Powellfan
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Given that Syracuse will hold its first open to the public scrimmage this Sunday against Loyola, I thought now would be a good time to try and predict what the opening day lineup for the Orange will be in 2023. I try and do this once a year, and should say I am usually way off. There are always players that will be locks to start, like Owen Hiltz this year, but there will always be players that improved since last year, surprise freshmen, and injuries. I am also no insider so these really are just my best guesses (outside of the defense where I'm stealing from DMV). Hopefully others will chime in with their own predictions and disagreements. With the influx of highly rated freshmen and transfers, this team will look a lot different than last season, and that makes predictions especially difficult. I will start with the offense and do the defense in a separate post.
Attack: Owen Hiltz, Joey Spallina and Alex Simmons
I really am struggling with who to put in the third spot on this line. Some days I think it will be Simmons, others it's Cole Kirst, and recently it's been Finn Thomson. I am giving Simmons the edge here given his past experience with Hiltz in high school. I do like the idea of Thomson, Spallina and Hiltz potentially having three years of playing time together, so there is a chance that the staff goes young here. Having Hiltz back will be huge. He is a tremendous passer and shooter, and it looks like he has improved his dodging game. I don't think they would have been a playoff team with him in the lineup last year, but they certainly would have won more games with him. Obviously a lot has been written and said about Spallina, he will be coming in with a ton of hype. He will be unit's best dodger and he's a great passer as well as shooter. I think he and Hiltz will make beautiful music together. He is used to having the ball in his stick A LOT, so it will be interesting to see how he adapts. Simmons should compliment the other two well with his shooting. He's also an accomplished passer as he had 24 assists as a junior in 2021. Last years attack unit had a lot of issues as they struggled to move the ball effectively. This SHOULD NOT be the issue this year with Hiltz and Spallina directing things. I see lots of skip passes coming from Hiltz to Spallina and Simmons in the future. Dordevic, Seebold, Berkman and Birtwistle combined for just 30 assist last year. It's a not a stretch to say Hiltz or Spallina could have that many by themselves next year.
First Midfield: Cole Kirst, Finn Thomson, Michael Leo
This unit could easily be called the leftover attackmen, which is good and bad. Good because I think this group could cause a lot of headaches for defensive midfields. Bad because it's always risky when attackmen, or former attackmen get stuck playing defense. It is risky having an entire group of attackmen who might be liabilities on the other end of the field. SU was really bad last year in transition defense. That said, as an attacking group this trio could put up a lot of points. Kirst I have to imagine would invert a lot, which would work well with Simmons who has midfield experience. He will probably draw the pole. Thomson is a gifted passer and scorer who would have good chemistry with Hiltz and Simmons given their Canadian backgrounds. He could very easily be mixed and matched with Simmons as well. Leo brings a dodging ability and can move the ball as well. Plus he's a lefty which gives the offense some balance.
Second Midfield: Jackson Birtwistle, Tyler Cordes, Griffin Cook
This was a tough call. There are lots of potential midfielders who could see time here, and if any of the top six are struggling, there should be plenty of players waiting in the wings to take over. I feel most bad about placing Birtwistle here. I do think he could see time anywhere from starting attack to the second midfield. He's a talented player, but it says something about the depth of the team that he ended up here. Cordes saw a lot of time last season (eight starts), but was perhaps a bit underwhelming with 4 goals and eight assist on 20% shooting. As a lefty though I think he'll get playing time. He has a big shot, just needs to work on accuracy. Not much of a dodger though. Cook has received a lot of criticism on here but he was a starting first line midfielder last year, so I think he gets time, at least to start next season as long as he's healthy (he said he would be ready for the start of the season recently). I see Luke Rhoa, Carter Kempney, Peter Fiorini and Blake Borges as "next man up" who have a real shot at playing time if players like Cordes and Cook struggle.
Man Up: Owen Hiltz, Alex Simmons, Finn Thomson, Joey Spallina, Cole Kirst, Luke Rhoa
Basically get all the Canadians on the field with whoever fits what they want to do. I'm not sure if Spallina is a sure thing for this unit but his passing should help. Rhoa if he's not seeing regular midfield minutes should definitely be on man-up with his big shot. I could also see Cordes or Birtwistle on this unit as well. This unit was really bad last year at only 34%. A batch of new faces is probably a good thing.
Overall Assessment: The offense should be very good next year despite losing two very good players in Tucker Dordevic and Brendan Curry from last year. This grouping of players just seems to "fit" a lot better. There has been a lot of talk about this being a "position-less" offense this year, similar to what other top teams have done in recent years (UVA comes to mind). So who plays midfield and who plays attack doesn't matter that much, it comes down more to pairings. I think a big question for the coaches, is it better to mix and match classes so the freshmen have older players in their grouping, or could they build more chemistry by having them all together, say an all freshmen midfield line? This is a really exciting group of players, and not just because they are bringing in a top freshmen group. Question for me is will they have the ball enough to reach their full potential?
Attack: Owen Hiltz, Joey Spallina and Alex Simmons
I really am struggling with who to put in the third spot on this line. Some days I think it will be Simmons, others it's Cole Kirst, and recently it's been Finn Thomson. I am giving Simmons the edge here given his past experience with Hiltz in high school. I do like the idea of Thomson, Spallina and Hiltz potentially having three years of playing time together, so there is a chance that the staff goes young here. Having Hiltz back will be huge. He is a tremendous passer and shooter, and it looks like he has improved his dodging game. I don't think they would have been a playoff team with him in the lineup last year, but they certainly would have won more games with him. Obviously a lot has been written and said about Spallina, he will be coming in with a ton of hype. He will be unit's best dodger and he's a great passer as well as shooter. I think he and Hiltz will make beautiful music together. He is used to having the ball in his stick A LOT, so it will be interesting to see how he adapts. Simmons should compliment the other two well with his shooting. He's also an accomplished passer as he had 24 assists as a junior in 2021. Last years attack unit had a lot of issues as they struggled to move the ball effectively. This SHOULD NOT be the issue this year with Hiltz and Spallina directing things. I see lots of skip passes coming from Hiltz to Spallina and Simmons in the future. Dordevic, Seebold, Berkman and Birtwistle combined for just 30 assist last year. It's a not a stretch to say Hiltz or Spallina could have that many by themselves next year.
First Midfield: Cole Kirst, Finn Thomson, Michael Leo
This unit could easily be called the leftover attackmen, which is good and bad. Good because I think this group could cause a lot of headaches for defensive midfields. Bad because it's always risky when attackmen, or former attackmen get stuck playing defense. It is risky having an entire group of attackmen who might be liabilities on the other end of the field. SU was really bad last year in transition defense. That said, as an attacking group this trio could put up a lot of points. Kirst I have to imagine would invert a lot, which would work well with Simmons who has midfield experience. He will probably draw the pole. Thomson is a gifted passer and scorer who would have good chemistry with Hiltz and Simmons given their Canadian backgrounds. He could very easily be mixed and matched with Simmons as well. Leo brings a dodging ability and can move the ball as well. Plus he's a lefty which gives the offense some balance.
Second Midfield: Jackson Birtwistle, Tyler Cordes, Griffin Cook
This was a tough call. There are lots of potential midfielders who could see time here, and if any of the top six are struggling, there should be plenty of players waiting in the wings to take over. I feel most bad about placing Birtwistle here. I do think he could see time anywhere from starting attack to the second midfield. He's a talented player, but it says something about the depth of the team that he ended up here. Cordes saw a lot of time last season (eight starts), but was perhaps a bit underwhelming with 4 goals and eight assist on 20% shooting. As a lefty though I think he'll get playing time. He has a big shot, just needs to work on accuracy. Not much of a dodger though. Cook has received a lot of criticism on here but he was a starting first line midfielder last year, so I think he gets time, at least to start next season as long as he's healthy (he said he would be ready for the start of the season recently). I see Luke Rhoa, Carter Kempney, Peter Fiorini and Blake Borges as "next man up" who have a real shot at playing time if players like Cordes and Cook struggle.
Man Up: Owen Hiltz, Alex Simmons, Finn Thomson, Joey Spallina, Cole Kirst, Luke Rhoa
Basically get all the Canadians on the field with whoever fits what they want to do. I'm not sure if Spallina is a sure thing for this unit but his passing should help. Rhoa if he's not seeing regular midfield minutes should definitely be on man-up with his big shot. I could also see Cordes or Birtwistle on this unit as well. This unit was really bad last year at only 34%. A batch of new faces is probably a good thing.
Overall Assessment: The offense should be very good next year despite losing two very good players in Tucker Dordevic and Brendan Curry from last year. This grouping of players just seems to "fit" a lot better. There has been a lot of talk about this being a "position-less" offense this year, similar to what other top teams have done in recent years (UVA comes to mind). So who plays midfield and who plays attack doesn't matter that much, it comes down more to pairings. I think a big question for the coaches, is it better to mix and match classes so the freshmen have older players in their grouping, or could they build more chemistry by having them all together, say an all freshmen midfield line? This is a really exciting group of players, and not just because they are bringing in a top freshmen group. Question for me is will they have the ball enough to reach their full potential?