Powellfan
Renowned lacrosse analyst
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I know Xtreme posted the predicted roster for next year, and I thought I would put this there, but I thought it deserved it's own thread. Would love to hear other's thoughts about what they think the starting lineup for the Orange will look like next year. SU brings back a ton of talent, but they do have some glaring holes that need to be addressed. This upcoming year has been the season SU has been building toward for the past three years. It all comes down to this. They made incredible progress the last couple of years, but it feels like this year is championship or bust, as so many seniors say goodbye after this year. Will it come together? We saw how this good team can be at times, and also how frustrating they can be. Which version plays on the field in 2026?
Attack: Joey Spallina (sr), Payton Anderson (so), Trey Deere (jr)
Spallina returns to most likely break all of the Syracuse scoring records. He should be ultra motivated to seal his legacy in a Syracuse jersey. I think coaches need to do a better job of putting him in spots where he succeeds best (off ball, not dodging 1v1). Anderson is the huge X factor. Many of us have been hoping for a better dodger on the attack, and he looks to fit the bill. He showed great promise this past year, but also some growing pains. He has huge shoes to fill with the graduation of Owen Hiltz. Trey Deere I have questions about. Not about his talent as he's a great player who can finish the ball very well. But he was benched last year when the Orange opened up ACC play in favor of Anderson. If the Orange move Thomson to midfield, that makes who to short stick pretty easy. He also had trouble finishing some pretty easy shots at the start of the year. If he does get the start at attack, he needs to shoot around 50% to really make an impact.
1st Midfield: Michael Leo (sr), Luke Rhoa (sr), Finn Thomson (sr)
A veteran group gets one last ride together. Leo looks poised to be a First Team American this year, as he's an explosive dodger who shots the ball really well. He probably could stand to pass the ball better as you can tell when he gets tunnel vision, but that feels like nitpicking. Rhoa just needs to work on his consistency. If he gets the ball on goal, it's probably going in. The issue is getting it on goal (just 47% of the time, lowest by far of all starters). He didn't look nearly as aggressive after coming back from injury this year, so I wonder if he was dealing with something. Extremely valuable given his two-handedness. The big question is how they replace Sam English on this line. Thomson can probably match his point totals (38 points as a middie in 2024), but he's not going to do it dodging. Overall this is a very good group, but if teams are able to double pole Rhoa and Leo, that could lead to issues.
2nd Midfield: Tyler McCarthy (jr), Wyatt Hottle (jr), Bogue Hahn (fr)
This is where things get concerning. McCarthy really struggled shooting the ball this year (13%). He is a decent dodger and passer, and you can tell he's athletic, but I can't help but feel he's better suited as a defensive midfielder. Hottle scored some nice goals this past year, but he just looks too small to be an effective middie in a big game. I just don't think he has the shooting range and he's not quite fast enough to make up for his size. Both Hottle and McCarthy can hold their own on defense though, which I think makes the coaching staff more comfortable playing them. Hahn is a five star lefty from McDonogh. They also bring in highly regarded Ted Rawson from Lawrenceville. Syracuse desperately needs to get more production out of their second unit. Perhaps Jackson Birtwistle comes back to use a redshirt year, but that seems unlikely. Koby White and Matt McIntee were highly rated freshmen this year who sat out with injuries, but one or both might be needed on the defensive end.
Face-off: John Mullen (jr), Drew Angelo (so)
Wings: McCarthy, Jayden Kittelberger (fr), Chuck Kucynski (r-jr), Vincent Bolognino (so), Joe Filardi (fr)
Mullen was all we could have asked for and more this season. He finished the year at 63% and broke a bunch of long standing SU records. He did fade a bit down the stretch and was sub 50% for the last two games of the year, but have to imagine he'll come back even better next year. Plus his offensive game grew as the season went along. The issue is his back up, as Angelo struggled last year and was replaced by Johny Richiusa, who didn't fare much better and graduated. Recruiting a transfer to be a backup for two years is going to be a tough sell, but Syracuse cannot go into next year with just two fogos on the roster. Wings take a big hit with English, Carter Rice and Nick Caccamo departing. McCarthy saw a lot of reps last year and finished with 17 grounders - not a lot but the most of any returning middie not named English.
LSM: Kucynski, Bolognino, Filardi
The Orange need to replace starter Caccamo, but return a few players with experience. Kucynski was the backup last year and there was little drop off from Caccamo. He's very aggressive and throws really hard checks. That said I don't think he'll ever reach AA status. Bologinio had to fill in as a SSDM last year. He's not very big which gives me some pause. He was a highly rated LSM coming in from Long Island and it's probably not entirely fair to judge a player making a position switch as a freshman. Filardi is the wild card. Spent this spring with the football team so if he does play lacrosse next year, he will have had quite a layoff from the sport (assuming he plays football this fall). He put up massive offensive numbers as a junior, something this unit lacked this season. Dylan Sageder also returns as a senior, but it feels like he keeps getting passed over.
SSDM: Kittelberger, Ryder Ochoa (jr), Jake Spallina (jr)
This is the position in greatest need of help. Kittelberger will be just a freshman, but he is a big fast kid who has played the position in prep school, so I have no problem slotting him in as our best option here. Ochoa has great size but struggled to keep up with his man all season. Spallina plays tough, but too often was over powered physically. It felt like most goals that were scored this year came after a shorty was beaten and an early slide needed to come, or the player just scored off the dodge. The Orange lose their best player in Rice, and also have to fill the shifts English took here. Have to hope someone like McIntee or White, who were hurt last year can make an impact here. Still, it feels like a lot to ask for. Maybe Nate LeVine comes back, but he would be missing all of fall ball with his injury. That just seems like a lot to ask for as well. The transfer portal doesn't look to be overflowing with talent at the position here either. Syracuse has a lot of work to do here and is by far my biggest concern.
Defense: Riley Figuerias (r-jr), Billy Dwan (sr), Donny Scott (r-so)
Figuerias and Dwan form a really great duo of defenders. Figuerias can take the shiftier, quicker players while Dwan can handle the bigger ones. That said, Dwan did struggle last year, especially in the clearing game. When he's on, he's one of the better close defenders out there, but he's not invincible. Hopefully he can regain his scoring touch as well as that seemed to affect him last year. The big question is who takes over for Michael Grace. He wasn't the best on individual defending, but he was great off ball, and brought a ton of intangibles to the field (54 grounders, the most of any long pole on the team). We've had years with long poles who couldn't pick up groundballs, and those were rough years. Scott we've been waiting on a couple of years now and he came in with big accolades. Sometimes it's not all about 1v1 defending, especially when you've got guys who can handle the 1st and 2nd matchup. Who can communicate? Grace sounds like he was a big leader of the defense. Dillon Stephens comes off a redshirt year and was a top 100 recruit by IL. After watching Maryland play defense with a bunch of brick (expletive) houses as long poles, Stephens offers solid size at 6'1 205 (Scott is listed as 6 188). Should be an interesting battle for that last spot.
Goalie: Jimmy McCool (r-jr)
Lots of talk about McCool's performance this season, but overall I thought he was really good. A lot of the goals he gave up this year weren't his fault, and he stood on his head a number of games this year, named ACC Goalie of the Year, an All American depending on where you look. Could he stand to play better at times? Yes, but I don't think he's the first thing you fix with this defense (it's the shorties).
Overall this team should once again compete for a national title. Can they cross the finish line? It feels like to catch their nemesis (Maryland), they will have to do some work in the portal. It's been often discussed, but one more offensive players (middie or attack, given Thomson's ability to play both), a backup fogo, ssdm help and maybe a close defender. It sounds like a lot, but they are really refining things rather than trying to rebuild any one spot (okay maybe ssdm). How the offense operates next year I think is the big question I have. Syracuse play a really exciting brand of lacrosse that is super effective against 95% of the teams in the country. But when they come face to face with a defense like Maryland, or any team that can really outmuscle them, things come to a grinding halt. How do they counteract that? They aren't going to reinvent how they play this offseason, so it's more about finding plan B or plan C. If Anderson reaches his potential that will really help. If they can get one more dodging midfielder or attackman that would also be huge.
Okay, hoping all facets of the team improve this offseason and they come back ready to compete for a title next year. I think it's within their grasps.
Go 'Cuse!
Attack: Joey Spallina (sr), Payton Anderson (so), Trey Deere (jr)
Spallina returns to most likely break all of the Syracuse scoring records. He should be ultra motivated to seal his legacy in a Syracuse jersey. I think coaches need to do a better job of putting him in spots where he succeeds best (off ball, not dodging 1v1). Anderson is the huge X factor. Many of us have been hoping for a better dodger on the attack, and he looks to fit the bill. He showed great promise this past year, but also some growing pains. He has huge shoes to fill with the graduation of Owen Hiltz. Trey Deere I have questions about. Not about his talent as he's a great player who can finish the ball very well. But he was benched last year when the Orange opened up ACC play in favor of Anderson. If the Orange move Thomson to midfield, that makes who to short stick pretty easy. He also had trouble finishing some pretty easy shots at the start of the year. If he does get the start at attack, he needs to shoot around 50% to really make an impact.
1st Midfield: Michael Leo (sr), Luke Rhoa (sr), Finn Thomson (sr)
A veteran group gets one last ride together. Leo looks poised to be a First Team American this year, as he's an explosive dodger who shots the ball really well. He probably could stand to pass the ball better as you can tell when he gets tunnel vision, but that feels like nitpicking. Rhoa just needs to work on his consistency. If he gets the ball on goal, it's probably going in. The issue is getting it on goal (just 47% of the time, lowest by far of all starters). He didn't look nearly as aggressive after coming back from injury this year, so I wonder if he was dealing with something. Extremely valuable given his two-handedness. The big question is how they replace Sam English on this line. Thomson can probably match his point totals (38 points as a middie in 2024), but he's not going to do it dodging. Overall this is a very good group, but if teams are able to double pole Rhoa and Leo, that could lead to issues.
2nd Midfield: Tyler McCarthy (jr), Wyatt Hottle (jr), Bogue Hahn (fr)
This is where things get concerning. McCarthy really struggled shooting the ball this year (13%). He is a decent dodger and passer, and you can tell he's athletic, but I can't help but feel he's better suited as a defensive midfielder. Hottle scored some nice goals this past year, but he just looks too small to be an effective middie in a big game. I just don't think he has the shooting range and he's not quite fast enough to make up for his size. Both Hottle and McCarthy can hold their own on defense though, which I think makes the coaching staff more comfortable playing them. Hahn is a five star lefty from McDonogh. They also bring in highly regarded Ted Rawson from Lawrenceville. Syracuse desperately needs to get more production out of their second unit. Perhaps Jackson Birtwistle comes back to use a redshirt year, but that seems unlikely. Koby White and Matt McIntee were highly rated freshmen this year who sat out with injuries, but one or both might be needed on the defensive end.
Face-off: John Mullen (jr), Drew Angelo (so)
Wings: McCarthy, Jayden Kittelberger (fr), Chuck Kucynski (r-jr), Vincent Bolognino (so), Joe Filardi (fr)
Mullen was all we could have asked for and more this season. He finished the year at 63% and broke a bunch of long standing SU records. He did fade a bit down the stretch and was sub 50% for the last two games of the year, but have to imagine he'll come back even better next year. Plus his offensive game grew as the season went along. The issue is his back up, as Angelo struggled last year and was replaced by Johny Richiusa, who didn't fare much better and graduated. Recruiting a transfer to be a backup for two years is going to be a tough sell, but Syracuse cannot go into next year with just two fogos on the roster. Wings take a big hit with English, Carter Rice and Nick Caccamo departing. McCarthy saw a lot of reps last year and finished with 17 grounders - not a lot but the most of any returning middie not named English.
LSM: Kucynski, Bolognino, Filardi
The Orange need to replace starter Caccamo, but return a few players with experience. Kucynski was the backup last year and there was little drop off from Caccamo. He's very aggressive and throws really hard checks. That said I don't think he'll ever reach AA status. Bologinio had to fill in as a SSDM last year. He's not very big which gives me some pause. He was a highly rated LSM coming in from Long Island and it's probably not entirely fair to judge a player making a position switch as a freshman. Filardi is the wild card. Spent this spring with the football team so if he does play lacrosse next year, he will have had quite a layoff from the sport (assuming he plays football this fall). He put up massive offensive numbers as a junior, something this unit lacked this season. Dylan Sageder also returns as a senior, but it feels like he keeps getting passed over.
SSDM: Kittelberger, Ryder Ochoa (jr), Jake Spallina (jr)
This is the position in greatest need of help. Kittelberger will be just a freshman, but he is a big fast kid who has played the position in prep school, so I have no problem slotting him in as our best option here. Ochoa has great size but struggled to keep up with his man all season. Spallina plays tough, but too often was over powered physically. It felt like most goals that were scored this year came after a shorty was beaten and an early slide needed to come, or the player just scored off the dodge. The Orange lose their best player in Rice, and also have to fill the shifts English took here. Have to hope someone like McIntee or White, who were hurt last year can make an impact here. Still, it feels like a lot to ask for. Maybe Nate LeVine comes back, but he would be missing all of fall ball with his injury. That just seems like a lot to ask for as well. The transfer portal doesn't look to be overflowing with talent at the position here either. Syracuse has a lot of work to do here and is by far my biggest concern.
Defense: Riley Figuerias (r-jr), Billy Dwan (sr), Donny Scott (r-so)
Figuerias and Dwan form a really great duo of defenders. Figuerias can take the shiftier, quicker players while Dwan can handle the bigger ones. That said, Dwan did struggle last year, especially in the clearing game. When he's on, he's one of the better close defenders out there, but he's not invincible. Hopefully he can regain his scoring touch as well as that seemed to affect him last year. The big question is who takes over for Michael Grace. He wasn't the best on individual defending, but he was great off ball, and brought a ton of intangibles to the field (54 grounders, the most of any long pole on the team). We've had years with long poles who couldn't pick up groundballs, and those were rough years. Scott we've been waiting on a couple of years now and he came in with big accolades. Sometimes it's not all about 1v1 defending, especially when you've got guys who can handle the 1st and 2nd matchup. Who can communicate? Grace sounds like he was a big leader of the defense. Dillon Stephens comes off a redshirt year and was a top 100 recruit by IL. After watching Maryland play defense with a bunch of brick (expletive) houses as long poles, Stephens offers solid size at 6'1 205 (Scott is listed as 6 188). Should be an interesting battle for that last spot.
Goalie: Jimmy McCool (r-jr)
Lots of talk about McCool's performance this season, but overall I thought he was really good. A lot of the goals he gave up this year weren't his fault, and he stood on his head a number of games this year, named ACC Goalie of the Year, an All American depending on where you look. Could he stand to play better at times? Yes, but I don't think he's the first thing you fix with this defense (it's the shorties).
Overall this team should once again compete for a national title. Can they cross the finish line? It feels like to catch their nemesis (Maryland), they will have to do some work in the portal. It's been often discussed, but one more offensive players (middie or attack, given Thomson's ability to play both), a backup fogo, ssdm help and maybe a close defender. It sounds like a lot, but they are really refining things rather than trying to rebuild any one spot (okay maybe ssdm). How the offense operates next year I think is the big question I have. Syracuse play a really exciting brand of lacrosse that is super effective against 95% of the teams in the country. But when they come face to face with a defense like Maryland, or any team that can really outmuscle them, things come to a grinding halt. How do they counteract that? They aren't going to reinvent how they play this offseason, so it's more about finding plan B or plan C. If Anderson reaches his potential that will really help. If they can get one more dodging midfielder or attackman that would also be huge.
Okay, hoping all facets of the team improve this offseason and they come back ready to compete for a title next year. I think it's within their grasps.
Go 'Cuse!