Thought the win was solid but also not crisp and somewhat disappointing at this stage of the season.
D stepped up and a bit of improvement at the X, but still sloppy at times and feel issues remain in both departments... that effort won’t do down the stretch.
Another major concern is ...whatever happened to this vaunted first midfield “the best in the country”?
Other than Curry, both Dordevic and trimbo seem to have taken steps back this season ...Trimbo the worst of the trio for sure ...from bad decision making to poor passing and trying to run through 5 guys with the ball and not dishing/losing it. It has now happened in several meetings . I just don’t understand his game at all this season other than the UVA performance.
Many are pointing to lack of run...Too much from the second group ...not getting In a groove etc but there’s been plenty of run and the problems persist.
Is it spacing,? Feel like there was a lot less alley dodging last year and more from dodging From the wings? Did the hype/mission get to their heads ? Doesn’t feel like the group is playing loose ?
Curious what others see here...
I feel like with Trimboli, he just hasn't been able to get into a groove this season. He really just hasn't been getting that many touches. In the first four games of the year he had 12 shots. For comparison, Dordevic had 27, more than double. Looking back I think they probably could have done more to get him involved in the offense, and now it looks like he is pressing. I think the Albany game was the first I thought he actually didn't play well, the others it just didn't look like he was seeing much of the ball. Curry has only one more shot than he has taken this year (29 to 28) but Curry can effect the game in different ways. Trimboli did have good assist numbers in 2018 and 2019, but he only has 2 this year. Its hard to make everyone happy with this offense since you have so many options.
Overall I think the offense is better with things more balanced between the attack and the midfield, but I think it would be better if there was more balance in the first midfield - not to make Dordevic the bad guy but maybe he takes less shots and the second midfield sees less time. Maybe with ACC games coming up they'll run the 1s more. Lucas Quinn has more shots than either Curry or Dordevic with 31, which is probably not something you want.
As for Dordevic, his stats don't look that bad, but he has taken a lot of shots (third on the team with 42) but more concerning is his turnovers at 14 - already a career high. His issues are a bit harder to diagnose than Trimboli's. I think defenses have been quick to slide on him, and he's struggling a bit with his decision making. He's a shoot first midfielder and I think he just needs to be quicker about reading a defense and moving the ball. Plus his rollback is becoming a bit predictable. And a few times he's let the ball fall out of the back of his stick while winding up for a shot, which is weird to see. Obviously he's very talented, and if he puts it all together he'll be unstoppable, but he's not quite there yet.
I don't think the offseason press got to the midfielders' heads, but other coaches had a whole Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter to hear about how good these guys are, and how to game plan around them. Again, the attack has also stepped up which makes the team more dangerous. Lastly, I do think in some of these games against non-ACC teams Syracuse is trying to play things straight up, as to not let too much tape get out about things they may try. Desko said this about their invert strategy. Since the last three games of the season are all against ACC opponents (who the offense has performed well against, minus the fourth quarter of the ND game), they probably won't hold back anymore.
