2024 Schedule...

[Zack80]

Multiple pieces including their goalie Ierlan.

Cornell did have a goalie in the NB AA game, Mathew Tully. I thought he looked pretty good, so maybe the drop off won't be too much.

 

[FRANKIEFAN]

Is BU a road game?

Would be awesome went to a game there this year and it was great. BU was up maybe 8 or 9 goals at one point and choked it away to Loyola MD.

 

[JeremyCuse]

Is BU a road game?

Would be awesome went to a game there this year and it was great. BU was up maybe 8 or 9 goals at one point and choked it away to Loyola MD.

I'd be very surprised if that was a road game.

 

[JeremyCuse]

Cornell did have a goalie in the NB AA game, Mathew Tully. I thought he looked pretty good, so maybe the drop off won't be too much.

Certainly possible, I definitely don't expect the goalie play to fall off the map for the Big Red. They still have a lot of experience and talent. Like NYC I expect them to compete for the IVY title.

 

[DoctahLexus]

Certainly possible, I definitely don't expect the goalie play to fall off the map for the Big Red. They still have a lot of experience and talent. Like NYC I expect them to compete for the IVY title.

Yes their losses are way less significant than Princeton and not as bad as I initially thought. I actually assumed Aiden Blake and Michael Long would be out of eligibility, but I guess they both found ways to come back despite the Ivy rules (most likely took a semester off or something). That helps a lot on offense. I think they compete for top of the Ivy League but I wonder if there will be a serious contender out of there next season. They feel like they are at the top by default this year with Yale struggling and Princeton and Penn dealing with personnel setbacks.

 

[Powellfan]

hopkins will be a tough out as well. if ierlan stabilizes their goalie play which was good early on but pretty bad down the stretch last season, then that defense is going to be one of the best in the country. they were a goalie away from that quarterfinal game vs. notre dame being real real interesting.

Hopkins is interesting since they have had a very good, and frankly underrated defense the last few years, but they have struggled in net with various players getting time. Ierlan should be a step up, but he's a pretty streaky player - finished last year with a 52% save percentage, but the last four games of the season he was under 50%, including the Ivy League playoff game against Yale when he was 24%. I'm guessing his familiarity with Milliman will help though.

They also lose Mazzone which I think will be a big loss for them as well. He seems like one of those players who is just very hard to replace. If face-offs don't improve (surprised they haven't brought in Blanchard from OSU), I could see them struggling a bit on defense despite improving in goal.

 

[Hoo's That]

3/19 - Cuse @ Navy

Ew. Tuesday night.

Don't believe what you've read and heard.

Antarctica is not the coldest place on earth. The turf field next to the seawall in Annapolis during a night game is.

 

[OttosDad]

Wow, that's a tough schedule. Looks like 13 games plus ACC Tournament

Albany and Hobart are the two teams that SU should definitely be favored over.

Navy, Vermont, Boston they will be favored against, but these are bit more of a tossup.

Princeton, Cornell and Boston they should be favored over but these will be tough games.

Hopkins and Army I think they would probably not be favored against.

Thanks for sharing!

If Navy Vermont and BU are toss ups, this team is going no where. Those all have to be wins. As well a 3 or 4 wins against Princeton, Cornell, Hopkins, Army

 

[ClvrUsrnm]

Here’s a fun little exercise — what’s everyone’s ideal schedule? You pick the # of games (up to 15, I believe) opponent, place, day of the week, etc., etc.

Feel free to ignore any current real-life agreements for home and homes and such. Let’s assume a 4-game ACC schedule.

 

[JeremyCuse]

Hopkins is interesting since they have had a very good, and frankly underrated defense the last few years, but they have struggled in net with various players getting time. Ierlan should be a step up, but he's a pretty streaky player - finished last year with a 52% save percentage, but the last four games of the season he was under 50%, including the Ivy League playoff game against Yale when he was 24%. I'm guessing his familiarity with Milliman will help though.

They also lose Mazzone which I think will be a big loss for them as well. He seems like one of those players who is just very hard to replace. If face-offs don't improve (surprised they haven't brought in Blanchard from OSU), I could see them struggling a bit on defense despite improving in goal.

Hops an interesting team for next year. Seem to have a solid goalie for the first time in years a a few late flips to add to a good recruiting class. They return almost everyone offensively and with Collison you assume he will take another step as well.

While they don't lose a lot ton they did lose Mazzone, Hawley and by far their most consistent FOGO in Narewski. Hop was inconsistent at the X to begin with losing Mazzone and Hawley will be difficult to replace, to me faceoffs are their biggest question mark as Dunn and Callahan while not bad haven't been consistent and have struggled mightily at times. There's some buzz Degnon is trying to get another year via a waiver for I assume only playing 3 games in 2019 but it seems unlikely he will be back.

My other concern for them would be that a couple of their main O guys have major injury histories but were able to stay pretty healthy in 2023. Unclear if that will happen again in 2024. They have the makings of a final four contender for sure will depend on the X and how the D looks without Mazzone and with Ierlan.

 

[nyclax]

Hopkins is interesting since they have had a very good, and frankly underrated defense the last few years, but they have struggled in net with various players getting time. Ierlan should be a step up, but he's a pretty streaky player - finished last year with a 52% save percentage, but the last four games of the season he was under 50%, including the Ivy League playoff game against Yale when he was 24%. I'm guessing his familiarity with Milliman will help though.

They also lose Mazzone which I think will be a big loss for them as well. He seems like one of those players who is just very hard to replace. If face-offs don't improve (surprised they haven't brought in Blanchard from OSU), I could see them struggling a bit on defense despite improving in goal.

blanchard i've heard is not using his eligibility anywhere. law school. he's already 24 turning 25

no one will mistake ierlan for entenmann but hes been over 52% in every full season he has played. thats better than what hop has had in a decade quite frankly. maybe their rough streak will continue and he'll disappoint but on paper it's a clear upgrade. dont think his struggles late were squarely on him...that defense really fell apart. watch the tape from the ivy semifinal loss to yale. talk about a shooting gallery. behind a top 10 defense he will clear 50% no problem with a much higher ceiling

mazzone is a bigger loss for them on faceoffs than defensively. prob about 2/3 of his GBs came from the faceoff wings. he was good on D but replaceable there. better off ball than on. their top 2 poles and top d-middie group are as solid as anyone. jamison is the best D coaching talent that no one talks about. our paths crossed a few times. kind of a quirky guy but he knows his stuff. if he werent a hop alum, cuse should have gone after him given hes from the area.

yes princeton still has mackesy but they lost just about everyone else on offense...he can't do it alone. they will be very young and talented but at least a year or two away from contending. fringe top 20 team is my guess. in fact they might be similar to the 2023 orange

i am very curious about penn without handley...here's a hot take, they'll be better without him. hated the design of that offense. his absence will force them to be more creative. defense should be solid and they add eldridge on faceoffs...i could talk myself into them being a dark horse. harvard has talent but they always seem like they are a year away. brown is toast, daly on the hot seat. it's still cornell's to lose with yale always a factor

 

[Shrmdougluvr]

Here’s a fun little exercise — what’s everyone’s ideal schedule? You pick the # of games (up to 15, I believe) opponent, place, day of the week, etc., etc.

Feel free to ignore any current real-life agreements for home and homes and such. Let’s assume a 4-game ACC schedule.

One fall scrimmage.
13 games beginning no earlier than March 1 and ending April 30.
Two February scrimmages.

1. UVA
2. Duke
3. UNC
4. Notre Dame
5. Hobart (mid week in Dome)
6. Cornell
7. Hopkins
8. Army
9. Princeton
10. Albany/Binghamton/Colgate (midweek in Dome)
11. Albany/Binghamton/Colgate (midweek in Dome)
12. @ LIU/Stony Brook/Hofstra (a game away on Long Island)
13. whoever, but somebody in the second tier of programs so as to not kill RPI (only game that is not annual - e.g., Loyola, Boston, Navy, Lehigh, Penn, Brown, Harvard)

 

[Powellfan]

If Navy Vermont and BU are toss ups, this team is going no where. Those all have to be wins. As well a 3 or 4 wins against Princeton, Cornell, Hopkins, Army

Oh for sure. I just didn't totally feel comfortable putting them in a guaranteed win column, I guess. If they do lose those games, they are certainly in trouble.

Navy has been recruiting well, and if its a game in March, on the road, on a Tuesday (for the hunter blah blah blah) that has the makings of an upset if SU isn't careful. Navy was a trendy pick to be pretty good last season and then things fell apart for them. I think they do have talent.

I think I clarified my position on Vermont but the more I think about it, that game should be pretty close to a guaranteed win. Never say never, especially since SU only beat the Catamounts by two last year in the Dome, though.

BU is pretty good, I don't know why anyone would discount them. They were 10-4 last year, and should bring back two guys who scored 60+ points last season. And Roy Meyer is a First Team All American . If Calderone comes back they have a legit FOGO who was over 50% last season. Goalkeeping was not good last year as they were under that magical 50% threshold, but they'll have a new goalie next year. On a personal note I really hope this is a home and home deal as I'm less than half an hour away from Nickerson Field (it's also a pretty good place to watch a lacrosse game).

 

[JeremyCuse]

Yes their losses are way less significant than Princeton and not as bad as I initially thought. I actually assumed Aiden Blake and Michael Long would be out of eligibility, but I guess they both found ways to come back despite the Ivy rules (most likely took a semester off or something). That helps a lot on offense. I think they compete for top of the Ivy League but I wonder if there will be a serious contender out of there next season. They feel like they are at the top by default this year with Yale struggling and Princeton and Penn dealing with personnel setbacks.

Cornell returns a bunch of 5th years and even a 6th year which is pretty much unheard of for the ivy league. Almost all of them I assume withdrew for 2021 allowing them to get one more year. Cornell should have a very solid attack line with Kirst, Long and maybe a frosh or Piatelli the younger but I assume they will have to move some like Wirtheim to midfield to go with Blake and I guess Sheehan although his numbers were less then stellar. Lombard the sixth year is back but he seems like a 2nd line guy.

Coyle's a big loss, 58 pts. Their midfield is a bit of a question mark but FOGO should be solid/very good. Not sure what to expect from them defensively a couple of big losses but they return most of the other pieces including I believe the LSM by committee approach and I believe their SSDMS but I could be wrong on that.

 

[Powellfan]

yes princeton still has mackesy but they lost just about everyone else on offense...he can't do it alone. they will be very young and talented but at least a year or two away from contending. fringe top 20 team is my guess. in fact they might be similar to the 2023 orange

i am very curious about penn without handley...here's a hot take, they'll be better without him. hated the design of that offense. his absence will force them to be more creative. defense should be solid and they add eldridge on faceoffs...i could talk myself into them being a dark horse. harvard has talent but they always seem like they are a year away. brown is toast, daly on the hot seat. it's still cornell's to lose with yale always a factor

I think I feel the way about Princeton that you do about Penn, and probably vice versa. The Tigers also bring back Gianforcaro who finished at 58% last season. They should be good to very good at face-off with McMeekan and Sandoval. They have two NB All American's coming in at attack in Kabiri and Burns (high school teammates which should help with chemistry). Two others join the team in Speiss and Krammer.

Offense, yes they do have to replace a ton, but they do get Braedon Saris back from injury, he had 17 points in just 5 games last year. Not saying they are Final Four bound but I think they might surprise some people. Defense might do them in, as they lost a ton to the transfer portal.

Penn could definitely improve from last year, their strategy to wait for Handly to get on the field before doing anything, in this day and age with a shot clock was terribly misguided. That said the offense they bring back isn't super impressive. Their top three scorers who should return this season, Smith, Rubin and Walsh had 34, 31, 24 points. That's ... not great. Shipley, Schain and Furey all join Handly out the door. They bring back a great goalie in Emmet Carrol (55%) but also lose Piper Bond and BJ Farre from the defensive midfield. Perhaps they get a big boost in production from last year's top 10 recruit, Griffin Scane (3 points). They get Leo Hoffman as another top 10 recruit. I think the issues they have are deeper than Handly.

Harvard should have made a leap last year given their unexpected trip the NCAA tourny in '22. Good reminder that having youth doesn't always equal progress the next year.

 

[315Upstate]

Maryland is still on schedule
Manhattan (added ironically prior to coach add)
heard today from good source Navy just dropped us (pressure to win )
heard no Albany

 

[JeremyCuse]

Maryland is still on schedule
Manhattan (added ironically prior to coach add)
heard today from good source Navy just dropped us (pressure to win )
heard no Albany

Huh that would be an interesting schedule modification. No Albany on the schedule would be very surprising.

 

[DMVCuseLax]

Maryland is still on schedule
Manhattan (added ironically prior to coach add)
heard today from good source Navy just dropped us (pressure to win )
heard no Albany

Navy dropped? Interesting
If Maryland is on what’s the word on Cornell?

Scrimmages are set for Oct 21st in Syracuse

 

[OrangeXtreme]

We've already played Maryland twice.

Would this mean we agreed to two more games?

 

[Laxfanshutt]

Navy dropped? Interesting
If Maryland is on what’s the word on Cornell?

Scrimmages are set for Oct 21st in Syracuse

Fans or no fans for scrimmage ?

 

[DMVCuseLax]

Fans or no fans for scrimmage ?

Sounds like they will allow fans but that’s not clear. U Mass and Providence

No football in dome

 

[Powellfan]

Maryland is still on schedule
Manhattan (added ironically prior to coach add)
heard today from good source Navy just dropped us (pressure to win )
heard no Albany

I think having Maryland and Manhattan on the schedule probably makes more sense than having Navy and Albany. Maryland would be a definite boost to the RPI whereas two games against Albany and Navy probably don't move the needle much. RPI last year was Maryland (7), Manhattan (45) vs Albany (37) and Navy (44).

Still would mean Syracuse would play the top five teams in the country next year (ND, Duke, UVA, Maryland, Hopkins). Tough sledding.

 

[JeremyCuse]

We've already played Maryland twice.

Would this mean we agreed to two more games?

Ya I believe the prior deal was just a home and home, would mean they signed a new deal. That said I agree a bit with others that re-upping Maryland and re-adding Cornell and Army seems unlikely.

 

[Zack80]

Ya I believe the prior deal was just a home and home, would mean they signed a new deal. That said I agree a bit with others that re-upping Maryland and re-adding Cornell and Army seems unlikely.

I think with the transfers that Syracuse is there, and playing a competitive schedule seems reasonable.

 

[DoctahLexus]

Was going to say yesterday that I wish we would play 2 patriot and 2 Big10 teams rather than 3 and 1. Dropping Navy and adding Md would be perfect for that. It's a lot more of a gauntlet than last year, but even a record only slightly over .500 could land us in the tourney. We have a fogo transfer, a boatload of other transfers to improve depth, and already had a ton of success on the offensive end. I think we can handle it a lot better than the last two years.

Navy is a kind of scary team in that a loss could be a nightmare but a win does not move the needle much. They lost to a ton of bad teams last season but beat BU and Loyola and kept it fairly close with Hop. Dont think it would be the end of the world to drop them. especially if that Tuesday rumor was true.