Albany Game Preview (4/8/21, 5pm)

[Powellfan]

Syracuse faces a big must win game, on short rest this week against old rivals/nemesis Albany. There are two major storylines here, 1) the fact that Albany dismissed its best player not even a week ago and 2) all eyes will be on the Syracuse face-off position which has fallen apart these two weeks. I agree with Quint in that its probably good for the Orange to have a Thursday game, and try and get the bad feelings from the Notre Dame beatdown out of their systems. It sounds like Woody has watched a good amount of Albany games this year, hoping he will chime on on this thread.

I think some posters on this board have been a bit dismissive of the Great Danes (even before Tehoka was dismissed from the team), but I think they could certainly give SU a run for their money this week. Especially since the Orange seem to be in a bit of a fragile mindset. Jakob Patterson leads the team in scoring with 28 points on the season, most of them coming on assists with 20. The Albany website seems a little funky, and I am not exactly sure who they replaced Tehoka with on attack, but both Graydon Hogg and Kyle Casey have 19 points. Albany appears to have decent depth of scoring with their top six all having double digit point totals. Albany plays a unique style of lacrosse, they push the tempo and don't mind having their defensive midfielders shooting. They don't have some of the talent as years past, but SU still needs to be wary as they can attack from all sides of the field. I imagine Dami and Aviles will be picked on plenty in this game. Mitch Wykoff has struggled the last two games against high profile attackmen, he'll have to play much better against Patterson in order for the Orange to succeed.

And now the hot-button issue for the Orange. Albany's main FOGO Regan Endres comes in at just over 50%. In normal times, that would be a good indicator for Syracuse. However, as has been much discussed, Jakob Phaup, the owner of the best FO percentage in the ACC last year, has struggled mightily in the last two games, going just 2-16 and both of his wins came on violations. Desko ripped off the redshirt for freshman Jack Savage and used him exclusively in the second half of the Notre Dame game. He did better than Phaup or Danny Varello, but went just 6-17. So the big question is does Desko try and rehabilitate Phaup, or does he try and get Savage ready for an end of season run? I've discussed it before but the issue with Phaup is that he can dominate lesser opponents, but when he does not have a good game, he really struggles. Its not that he's been losing face-offs recently, its that he's been losing them so cleanly. Even in 2019, Phaup would struggle against upper tier FOGOs, so I'm not sure all his struggles this season can be blamed on the new rules. He could certainly have a bounce back game against Albany, but might face the same struggles against UNC a week later. This is a must win game for the Orange, but they also need to think about the rest of the season as well.

Syracuse has shown they can score this year when they are getting the ball. Albany's goalie Liam Donnelly has an impressive 56% save percentage, but was chased from the Stony Brook game after allowing six goals on only one save. The Syracuse offense does have some issues right now, but hard to fault them too much when they aren't seeing the ball. The first midfield has not been as strong as they were last year, Trimboli has half as many points in two extra games, which stands out. Dordevic needs to make better decisions and Curry needs to show an ability to attack and beat a long pole. The attack has played well but I'd still like to see Owen Hiltz get more touches, he seems to go long stretches without getting a touch, and I think he is much more than just a crease finisher. I also am confused as to why Griffin Cook is seeing so much playing time. one assist in seven games is just not going to cut it. SU has a bevy of midfielders, I have to imagine one of them could be more productive. I think he's gotten more than enough chances at this point.

This is a big game for the Orange, a loss would put them up against a wall. With a win they wouldn't really silence the doubters but a win needs to happen. It seems like this would be a good matchup to re-work some things, with the following three games all against ACC foes, but a short week isn't great for implementing new things. This has been a rollercoaster of a season, and at this point nothing would really surprise me in terms of outcome for this game. Think Syracuse should win by a couple of goals, but if face-offs continue to be an issue and the defense lets up more big runs, this game could get away from the Orange. They really need to batten down the hatches.

 

[Gone]

Excellent summary. As far as intangibles, I think they need to return to playing with passion and supporting each other. Shut out the noise of social media and remember how good they can be.

 

[ivorytower]

This could have been a trap game headwise if they had beaten ND but loss will sharpened focus on Albany . Tehoka is a top talent but Danes have played well without . Expecting Phaup to show well but also for Savage to get some reps. Buttermore talented so perplexes , maybe matter of synergies. DMed on other

 

[DoctahLexus]

First of all thank you for doing these even in times of great turmoil!

You unfortunately have me going back and looking at old Phaup faceoff results under the old rules with your comment on his 2019 play. Phaup won 71%(!!!) of the faceoffs agains Leonard in the 2019 ND game. I know Leonard was only one half of the two headed monster on saturday, but he went 8 for 10. And to think that he was considered the ACC fogo of the year in 2019! Phaup was neck and neck with him percentage wise and destroyed him in the head to head matchup. Phaup was clearly the best FOGO in the ACC at the time. Him "struggling" was going 45% at the X, not freaking 10%. Now he is getting destroyed with ease by a variety of fogos and looks to be mentally on edge. For a guy who came in totally under the radar, worked hard as hell, and went through so much in life, to see him breaking down under these arbitrary unnecessary new rules after grinding to become the top dawg... it's sickening to watch.

But here I go again breaking my rule about complaining about faceoff rules. I think Savage being mentally prepared to play vs being thrown in and suddenly breaking his redshirt (which he probably was not expecting since it didn't happen against Duke) will lead to a better day at the X against Albany. Hell he could save our season if he at least contests some faceoffs like he did on Saturday.

 

[CuseAlum87]

Graydon Hogg had been playing midfield prior to Tehoka's dismissal and was moved back to attack where he played last year as a freshman. Albany's attack (even without Tehoka) is talented and can score goals. Albany lacks scoring depth at the midfield, Casey and Ron Jon are it.

 

[MD Cuse Fan]

First of all thank you for doing these even in times of great turmoil!

You unfortunately have me going back and looking at old Phaup faceoff results under the old rules with your comment on his 2019 play. Phaup won 71%(!!!) of the faceoffs agains Leonard in the 2019 ND game. I know Leonard was only one half of the two headed monster on saturday, but he went 8 for 10. And to think that he was considered the ACC fogo of the year in 2019! Phaup was neck and neck with him percentage wise and destroyed him in the head to head matchup. Phaup was clearly the best FOGO in the ACC at the time. Him "struggling" was going 45% at the X, not freaking 10%. Now he is getting destroyed with ease by a variety of fogos and looks to be mentally on edge. For a guy who came in totally under the radar, worked hard as hell, and went through so much in life, to see him breaking down under these arbitrary unnecessary new rules after grinding to become the top dawg... it's sickening to watch.

But here I go again breaking my rule about complaining about faceoff rules. I think Savage being mentally prepared to play vs being thrown in and suddenly breaking his redshirt (which he probably was not expecting since it didn't happen against Duke) will lead to a better day at the X against Albany. Hell he could save our season if he at least contests some faceoffs like he did on Saturday.

Nice research and in fact since I had a few minutes earlier I went back to the 2019 ACC games to look up the stats myself. Yeah Phaup was really good against Leonard that year in a loss and he did the following against the other ACC schools: UVA he was 52%, Duke he was 67% and 2 games against UNC he was 40% (although he only took 5 draws that game don't remember why) and then 47% against them in the conference semi. So yes to most peoples point on here it looks like it just a mental thing right now and hopefully he can get some confidence back against the Danes and get back to closely resembling the guy who dominated against UVA back in Feb.

 

[CuseAlum87]

Regarding FOGOs, Phaup's biggest issue is a lack of hand speed. Back in 2019 Phaup said himself that he wished he had Varello's hand speed. Phaup made up for this by grinding, countering, and digging out the ball even after losing intial clamp under the old rules. The new rules have taken away his major strength. He's not the only FOGO to have this issue, Prouty at Hopkins has seen the same kind drop off in performance. I think the Orange has to go with Varello and Savage as the 2 primaries. I'm a big Jake Phaup fan, love his heart and dedication. You can't teach speed.

 

[DoctahLexus]

Nice research and in fact since I had a few minutes earlier I went back to the 2019 ACC games to look up the stats myself. Yeah Phaup was really good against Leonard that year in a loss and he did the following against the other ACC schools: UVA he was 52%, Duke he was 67% and 2 games against UNC he was 40% (although he only took 5 draws that game don't remember why) and then 47% against them in the conference semi. So yes to most peoples point on here it looks like it just a mental thing right now and hopefully he can get some confidence back against the Danes and get back to closely resembling the guy who dominated against UVA back in Feb.

I believe he was banged up for a time in the later stage of the season. But then of course we had Varello as his partner, who was also quite good under the old rules! He went 72% in that first UNC game in 2019! Now they both look horrible! This massive frustration I feel reminds me of when the ACC decided for one year in 2019 to for some reason have a 4 and 5 seed play-in game for the ACC tourney. Of course we end up in that game as the 4 seed and promptly lose to the 5 seed UNC, who was fighting for their tournament lives. It costs us quite a few spots in the tourney and we have to play Loyola with senior Pat Spencer instead of a much easier opponent. Then they immediately announce they are taking away the 4 and 5 play-in game next year. Every fan of a sports team feels this way, but man does it seem like the powers that be are out to get us.

 

[JeremyCuse]

Excellent job as usual, feels like I'm reading my own preview if I wrote it, again great job.

 

[Powellfan]

First of all thank you for doing these even in times of great turmoil!

You unfortunately have me going back and looking at old Phaup faceoff results under the old rules with your comment on his 2019 play. Phaup won 71%(!!!) of the faceoffs agains Leonard in the 2019 ND game. I know Leonard was only one half of the two headed monster on saturday, but he went 8 for 10. And to think that he was considered the ACC fogo of the year in 2019! Phaup was neck and neck with him percentage wise and destroyed him in the head to head matchup. Phaup was clearly the best FOGO in the ACC at the time. Him "struggling" was going 45% at the X, not freaking 10%. Now he is getting destroyed with ease by a variety of fogos and looks to be mentally on edge. For a guy who came in totally under the radar, worked hard as hell, and went through so much in life, to see him breaking down under these arbitrary unnecessary new rules after grinding to become the top dawg... it's sickening to watch.

But here I go again breaking my rule about complaining about faceoff rules. I think Savage being mentally prepared to play vs being thrown in and suddenly breaking his redshirt (which he probably was not expecting since it didn't happen against Duke) will lead to a better day at the X against Albany. Hell he could save our season if he at least contests some faceoffs like he did on Saturday.

Great job looking back at those face-off numbers. When I think of Phaup struggling, I think of the regular season UNC game when Varello came in and the Loyola playoff game, when he went 9-21. In my mind, Phaup was struggling against UNC and Varello went in to relieve him, but seems strange Desko would take him out after five face-offs, so my memory is not as sharp as I thought I guess. But you're right, those stats aren't great but a far cry from what is happening now. If SU wins 50% against Duke this year they winning that game comfortably and the ND game is a lot close than a seven goal margin, especially with how efficient the offense was.

Clearly the new rules are in his head, but again, he did very well against LaSalla who is quite the fogo himself. What changed? I said it before, but it was bizarre to see him argue with the ref as the ND FOGO was running down the field and the Irish almost scored a fast break goal. The mental aspect of face-offs is so pronounced, I am not sure how you fix it when your top guy is battling his own emotions. I think back to Chris Daddio, who caught a lot of flack over his career, but his senior year he turned it around midseason and put up some impressive numbers (until the Bryant game of course). Anyways, it is possible for FOGOs to turn it around, but he doesn't have much time with some tough games coming up. Savage might indeed be really good, and I hope he is, but what happens if he's not? He's the "break glass in case of emergencies" and there isn't anything really behind him.

 

[JeremyCuse]

Graydon Hogg had been playing midfield prior to Tehoka's dismissal and was moved back to attack where he played last year as a freshman. Albany's attack (even without Tehoka) is talented and can score goals. Albany lacks scoring depth at the midfield, Casey and Ron Jon are it.

Albany's Achilles heal under Marr has been Midfield play on both ends. He has had a lot of trouble recruiting high end middies and Albany has struggled to stop talented midfields.

 

[JeremyCuse]

First of all thank you for doing these even in times of great turmoil!

You unfortunately have me going back and looking at old Phaup faceoff results under the old rules with your comment on his 2019 play. Phaup won 71%(!!!) of the faceoffs agains Leonard in the 2019 ND game. I know Leonard was only one half of the two headed monster on saturday, but he went 8 for 10. And to think that he was considered the ACC fogo of the year in 2019! Phaup was neck and neck with him percentage wise and destroyed him in the head to head matchup. Phaup was clearly the best FOGO in the ACC at the time. Him "struggling" was going 45% at the X, not freaking 10%. Now he is getting destroyed with ease by a variety of fogos and looks to be mentally on edge. For a guy who came in totally under the radar, worked hard as hell, and went through so much in life, to see him breaking down under these arbitrary unnecessary new rules after grinding to become the top dawg... it's sickening to watch.

But here I go again breaking my rule about complaining about faceoff rules. I think Savage being mentally prepared to play vs being thrown in and suddenly breaking his redshirt (which he probably was not expecting since it didn't happen against Duke) will lead to a better day at the X against Albany. Hell he could save our season if he at least contests some faceoffs like he did on Saturday.

At first I thought the new rules had only really affected Varello but its' clear Phaup is now also a victim and looks like a shell of himself. For him to be 2-18 the last two games and the two wins being on violations is absolutely absurd when you look at his numbers from 19 and 20. I wish I had an answer but his confidence is shot and saying he looks lost is the understatement of the young year. It pains me to say this but I am not sure he can salvage his play against elite fogos at least for this season. Varello has battled and did what he could against Duke but he also isn't the same draw man since the rule change and he violates at an alarming rate. He also struggles to maintain possessions on wins which is devastating when your struggling at the X like we are.

I hope we roll with Savage for now sprinkling in Phaup in hopes we can get him back on track. Bizarre that he has fallen off the map after dominating LaSalla one of the best in D1, just really bizarre. I also have some concerns about how SU is handling the fogo positions right now but thats a story for a different thread.

 

[JeremyCuse]

Regarding FOGOs, Phaup's biggest issue is a lack of hand speed. Back in 2019 Phaup said himself that he wished he had Varello's hand speed. Phaup made up for this by grinding, countering, and digging out the ball even after losing intial clamp under the old rules. The new rules have taken away his major strength. He's not the only FOGO to have this issue, Prouty at Hopkins has seen the same kind drop off in performance. I think the Orange has to go with Varello and Savage as the 2 primaries. I'm a big Jake Phaup fan, love his heart and dedication. You can't teach speed.

CA is 100% right, I am not sure its mental versus the idiotic rule changes that have just decimated most of his strengths. Excellent point about Prouty, he was an above average FOGO who has also fallen of the map while the second guy in their combo has adjusted fairly well. I do think some of it is mental but 2-18 goes well beyond that.

 

[JeremyCuse]

I believe he was banged up for a time in the later stage of the season. But then of course we had Varello as his partner, who was also quite good under the old rules! He went 72% in that first UNC game in 2019! Now they both look horrible! This massive frustration I feel reminds me of when the ACC decided for one year in 2019 to for some reason have a 4 and 5 seed play-in game for the ACC tourney. Of course we end up in that game as the 4 seed and promptly lose to the 5 seed UNC, who was fighting for their tournament lives. It costs us quite a few spots in the tourney and we have to play Loyola with senior Pat Spencer instead of a much easier opponent. Then they immediately announce they are taking away the 4 and 5 play-in game next year. Every fan of a sports team feels this way, but man does it seem like the powers that be are out to get us.

What's hurting SU is that Varello is a streaky FOGO and was inconsistent prior to the rule change. That 2019 UNC game is a great example, dominate teh first game and then was a mess the second. The bigger issue is that he has also been affected by the rule change. I don't think nearly as much as Phaup but he looked locked in last year during that 5 game season and now looks uneven at best. He does a good job of hanging in there when he's getting run over and will win a few (Phaup is the opposite unfortunately) but when your main guy is a complete mess you have to get more out of your back up. Desko waited way way way to long to go to Savage.

 

[CuseAlum87]

What's hurting SU is that Varello is a streaky FOGO and was inconsistent prior to the rule change. That 2019 UNC game is a great example, dominate teh first game and then was a mess the second. The bigger issue is that he has also been affected by the rule change. I don't think nearly as much as Phaup but he looked locked in last year during that 5 game season and now looks uneven at best. He does a good job of hanging in there when he's getting run over and will win a few (Phaup is the opposite unfortunately) but when your main guy is a complete mess you have to get more out of your back up. Desko waited way way way to long to go to Savage.

agreed. Varello has great hands, but his exits are not as clean and he relies on a one handed scoop that costs him more than it helps especially with the new rules. I think the Orange have to go with some combination of Savage/Varello and ride the hot hand. I liked what I saw from Savage (6-17 not withstanding) he had some clean exits and handled the ball well. Don't know if he had any idea he would play against ND and got thrown into the fire--responded pretty well.

 

[JeremyCuse]

Great job looking back at those face-off numbers. When I think of Phaup struggling, I think of the regular season UNC game when Varello came in and the Loyola playoff game, when he went 9-21. In my mind, Phaup was struggling against UNC and Varello went in to relieve him, but seems strange Desko would take him out after five face-offs, so my memory is not as sharp as I thought I guess. But you're right, those stats aren't great but a far cry from what is happening now. If SU wins 50% against Duke this year they winning that game comfortably and the ND game is a lot close than a seven goal margin, especially with how efficient the offense was.

Clearly the new rules are in his head, but again, he did very well against LaSalla who is quite the fogo himself. What changed? I said it before, but it was bizarre to see him argue with the ref as the ND FOGO was running down the field and the Irish almost scored a fast break goal. The mental aspect of face-offs is so pronounced, I am not sure how you fix it when your top guy is battling his own emotions. I think back to Chris Daddio, who caught a lot of flack over his career, but his senior year he turned it around midseason and put up some impressive numbers (until the Bryant game of course). Anyways, it is possible for FOGOs to turn it around, but he doesn't have much time with some tough games coming up. Savage might indeed be really good, and I hope he is, but what happens if he's not? He's the "break glass in case of emergencies" and there isn't anything really behind him.

I was actually thinking that Phaup's current issues remind me a bit of Daddio in his Soph and Jr seasons (although I don't think Daddio had a streak to this extent (2-18) ). Daddio would often be extremely inconsistent or Jekyll and Hyde etc. Would look lost for a few a games and then put up a massive game out of nowhere against a good FOGO. Was very puzzling to say the least. He did put it together his Sr. year and battled Massa that last game even though he lost a good portion of the draws. Phaups current issues apepar to be a combo of things as has pointed out. Some mental, some from the rule change, his lack of hand speed becoming more prominent and facing off against other good FOGO's. I am not sure at this point in the season there is much he or the staff can do to get this turned around. lt maybe that he needs the off-season to get right again or that the new rule changes have caught up and it is what it is. I will say that he did dominate LaSalla and was more then serviceable save for these last two games, so I am not giving up on him but clearly the status quo isn't going to work.

The bigger issue to me is that were not utilizing the depth we have (at least on paper) at X. There are 6 fogos on the roster, the fact that it took this long to get Savage draws is beyond concerning especially when the fanbase has been screaming for him for a month+. Desko has been notoriously slow to pull the trigger on some personnel decisions and has never been a fan of going more then 2 deep at the X which I believe is a mistake. I will never forget watching Albany play Maryland in Ierlan's Soph season when he was just crushing guys. Maryland by the end of the 1st quarter had their #4 FOGO in against him as we he was killing the 1st three guys include Shockey and whoever was the #1 guy that year. Suddenly the 4th guy started having some success and began winning some draws. Eventually ierlan got back on tract but then Tillman started going back to his #1 guy and then rotated in that 4th guy and that eventually wore Ierlan down and Maryland won the game. SU should have been playing Savage a month ago and Talago and Kline should have gotten a draw or two in games we were getting dominated in to see if we could catch lightning in a bottle. Continuously running Phaup and then Varello out there when both are struggling badly makes zero sense. I would roll with Savage for now and see what happens because Phaup is in such a bad state right now and Varello gets to exposed when asked to take a majority of the draws.

 

[CuseAlum87]

Defensively, I think the Orange should play straight up man to man and be slow to go(almost never slide). PCarc pointed out that Depietro was creating offense for ND with bad slides or hedging(going 1/2 way) which left his man wide open in front for an easy look. Murphy was guilty of this as well. It puzzled me because in Desko's press conf he said the defense would not slide and play it straight up. It was painful to watch. I think they need to make Albany beat them off the dodge and not with passes off bad slides. ND's attack scored 12 goals, 4 each. York and Westlin not known for dodging and close D played right into their strengths.

 

[JeremyCuse]

Defensively, I think the Orange should play straight up man to man and be slow to go(almost never slide). PCarc pointed out that Depietro was creating offense for ND with bad slides or hedging(going 1/2 way) which left his man wide open in front for an easy look. Murphy was guilty of this as well. It puzzled me because in Desko's press conf he said the defense would not slide and play it straight up. It was painful to watch. I think they need to make Albany beat them off the dodge and not with passes off bad slides. ND's attack scored 12 goals, 4 each. York and Westlin not known for dodging and close D played right into their strengths.

D was not good on Saturday. Went back and watched the extended highlights and we created a ton of opporunities for ND with bad slides and poor SSDM play. Dami especially was picked on and was beat 2-3 times for goals. D continues to look out of sorts when it comes to slides and timing, been a recurring problem for the better part of a decade.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

D was not good on Saturday. Went back and watched the extended highlights and we created a ton of opporunities for ND with bad slides and poor SSDM play. Dami especially was picked on and was beat 2-3 times for goals. D continues to look out of sorts when it comes to slides and timing, been a recurring problem for the better part of a decade.

Brian and Kyle noted that ND was going after anyone not named "Dearth".

 

[JeremyCuse]

Brian and Kyle noted that ND was going after anyone not named "Dearth".

Yup, he played well, I think he gave up one goal on a speed move from an attackmen he got stuck on from a switch.

 

[CuseAlum87]

Big middie Dobson beat Death with a sweep to his left up top and beat Porter down low with lefty rip. No shortage of D getting beat on Saturday. But it was the attack that did the terminal damage, 12 goals as I said before. You want to lock down ND's attack and make their middies beat you.

 

[Bigtime]

Let put ND game behind us and look at this next challenge. And be excited to be able to go to the dome on the 17th

 

[JeremyCuse]

Let put ND game behind us and look at this next challenge. And be excited to be able to go to the dome on the 17th

The players definitely need to do that, fortunately or unfortunately (depending on how you look at it) we have the ability to break down and discuss recent games, current issues, positives/negatives etc, its what makes this board what it its. Nothing wrong with looking forward but it's also good to hash out what has already happened and try to determine what went wrong and where.

 

[CuseNHouse]

I am all for running with Savage at this point. One of dangers of going back to Phaup for Albany is he might actually have a good game ...and then get absolutely rolled again by UNC...and then where are we?.

I think Savage has to take 30% or more of the draws, despite how Phaup is doing if he starts. Savage needs game reps and we now have enough history to see what's ahead against elite fogos,,..We can't wait on it and hope anymore.

 

[Bigtime]

The players definitely need to do that, fortunately or unfortunately (depending on how you look at it) we have the ability to break down and discuss recent games, current issues, positives/negatives etc, its what makes this board what it its. Nothing wrong with looking forward but it's also good to hash out what has already happened and try to determine what went wrong and where.

The players definitely need to do that, fortunately or unfortunately (depending on how you look at it) we have the ability to break down and discuss recent games, current issues, positives/negatives etc, its what makes this board what it its. Nothing wrong with looking forward but it's also good to hash out what has already happened and try to determine what went wrong and where.

Understandable but this is albany not Notre dame How do we beat albany and right the ship