Army Game Preview (3/2/22, 4:30pm) | Syracusefan.com

Army Game Preview (3/2/22, 4:30pm)

Powellfan

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After a dissapointing performance against a very good UVA team, Syracuse has little rest before a tough rival comes to town. Army blew out the Orange last year, 18-11. The Orange looked discombobulated on offense and couldn't stop Brendan Nichtern. Syracuse didn't seem to know how to handle their midfield getting double poled (and Chase Scanlan never figured out how to dodge a short stick). The Orange were also coming off a taxing offseason that included potential big name transfers and big suspensions. That won't be the case this year but Syracuse does still have to deal with Nichtern.

The big story line for me this game is the Army star attackman. Last year he went off for 4 goals and 3 assists with Brett Kennedy guarding him. In 2020 Nichtern had 2 and 2 with I beleive Kennedy drawing him. I assume that Kennedy will again draw this matchup - the big question is will the coaches change the assignment if things go the way they went last year? Kennedy drew Connor Shellenberger last year and the star Cavs attackman scored seven points. These weren't all Kennedy's fault as Shellenberger did a good job in unsettled situations, but it's still a bit disconcerting. Nichtern has an absurd 30 points in four games, albeit against not the toughest competition. The next leading scorer on Army has just 12 points. He is the core of the team, and if you stop him you stop Army. But that is really difficult to do. Nick Caccamo was pretty impressive in his first extended playing time, would the coaching staff consider moving him to Black Knight quarterback if things aren't going well? Army brings a lot of size on offense, their top eight scorers are all over six feet or taller. Can the Orange match their physicality?

The Orange looked better on offense last week but still only put up 11 goals. Things still do not look in synch for Syracuse on that end of the field. One storyline to look out for, it does not look like Marcus Hudgins, the Black Knight star defenseman played against NJIT on Saturday. He is a load and would probably erase whoever he is guarding (most likely Dordevic). If he's out that would be a huge sigh of relief for the Orange. But the Knights always play solid defense, and once against they are big on that side of the field. Wyatt Schlupper is once again back stopping the Knights and is saving the ball at a 60% clip. He stopped 13 shots and gave up 11 the last time he was in the Dome. The Orange will have to be patient and work for good shots. Expecting to hit from long ally dodges or from way outside simply won't work. One big worry for me is the first midfield played almost the entire game for the second game in a row and has just three days rest before going against one of the most physical teams in the country. Curry looked gassed at the end of the Virginia game and is struggling mightily. Can he rebound and find his shot? He is shooting 1-20 in his last two games. If he can't can the Orange avoid relying on him so much and find other players to pick up the slack?

The Orange should have the advantage at the face-off x as Phaup typically does well against Army. That said it does look like Army has a freshman, Will Colleti, with a 62% winning percentage, though not sure if most of that is due to weak opponents. Phaup won the face-off battle last year, but that didn't seem to factor in much to the final score. There was talk about a 10-man ride being deployed against Loyola in their scrimmage - they haven't done that so far in the regular season, but might we see it against Army?

I don't want to be too dramatic, but this feels like a huge game for the Orange. Win this and not much is guaranteed as the schedule is still really hard. But lose it, which is a very distinct possibility, and they would be underdogs against all but maybe Stony Brook, Hobart and Albany on their schedule. I hate to call this a must win game when it is still March, but there is not much opportunity for slip ups with the schedule Gait laid out. They have to do well here, and didn't do themselves many favors scheduling this game midweek after a road trip to #2 team in the country. I wouldn't be surprised to see the Orange listed as underdogs in this game. Hopefully they gain a spark in this game.
 
Hudgins and the other Sr defender have been out all year, no idea what's going on with them but seems unlikely they will play. Kennedy did mark Nichtern both years although last year he actually held his own 1 on 1, almost all of Nichterns goals were on switches.
 
This one feels like a real litmus test for the new staff. The negativity I have seen after the past two games does not take into account that we were playing the top two teams in the nation, literally 1 and 2. With the personnel we lost, while UVA and MD either returned a good deal of their core or immediately replaced losses with transfers and top recruits, it was always going to be a massive task, especially with Gait not hitting the portal hard in year 1. It is damn near impossible to look like a fresh new team/offensive innovator, or a boost to the teams defensive coaching, when you are going up against the absolute best teams at the very beginning of your 1st season. It is hard to pass any sort of judgement.

In Army we have a team that is not loaded with multiple lines of dodging talent, they are looking for replacements on D, they most likely are behind us at the x, and they have already shown signs of weakness this year. It is an extremely winnable game. Main adjustments I would hope to see are new looks at who we put on the wings (Rice will be especially undersized against those army boys) and more faith in our young middie depth. If the O is still getting lost in the hero ball like they did against MD, and the D is blowing off ball assignments etc. like against UVA, there will be some cause for concern, but I expect a far better performance.
 
Have not seen Army this year but impressed by their atheleticsm last year ,Cuse was slow to the ball on Saturday.. Need to get out of the gate better and prepared to play 4q which wasn't the case in last year's opener. Winnable game agaisnt a team ranked ahead. Make or break stretch.
 
After a dissapointing performance against a very good UVA team, Syracuse has little rest before a tough rival comes to town. Army blew out the Orange last year, 18-11. The Orange looked discombobulated on offense and couldn't stop Brendan Nichtern. Syracuse didn't seem to know how to handle their midfield getting double poled (and Chase Scanlan never figured out how to dodge a short stick). The Orange were also coming off a taxing offseason that included potential big name transfers and big suspensions. That won't be the case this year but Syracuse does still have to deal with Nichtern.

The big story line for me this game is the Army star attackman. Last year he went off for 4 goals and 3 assists with Brett Kennedy guarding him. In 2020 Nichtern had 2 and 2 with I beleive Kennedy drawing him. I assume that Kennedy will again draw this matchup - the big question is will the coaches change the assignment if things go the way they went last year? Kennedy drew Connor Shellenberger last year and the star Cavs attackman scored seven points. These weren't all Kennedy's fault as Shellenberger did a good job in unsettled situations, but it's still a bit disconcerting. Nichtern has an absurd 30 points in four games, albeit against not the toughest competition. The next leading scorer on Army has just 12 points. He is the core of the team, and if you stop him you stop Army. But that is really difficult to do. Nick Caccamo was pretty impressive in his first extended playing time, would the coaching staff consider moving him to Black Knight quarterback if things aren't going well? Army brings a lot of size on offense, their top eight scorers are all over six feet or taller. Can the Orange match their physicality?

The Orange looked better on offense last week but still only put up 11 goals. Things still do not look in synch for Syracuse on that end of the field. One storyline to look out for, it does not look like Marcus Hudgins, the Black Knight star defenseman played against NJIT on Saturday. He is a load and would probably erase whoever he is guarding (most likely Dordevic). If he's out that would be a huge sigh of relief for the Orange. But the Knights always play solid defense, and once against they are big on that side of the field. Wyatt Schlupper is once again back stopping the Knights and is saving the ball at a 60% clip. He stopped 13 shots and gave up 11 the last time he was in the Dome. The Orange will have to be patient and work for good shots. Expecting to hit from long ally dodges or from way outside simply won't work. One big worry for me is the first midfield played almost the entire game for the second game in a row and has just three days rest before going against one of the most physical teams in the country. Curry looked gassed at the end of the Virginia game and is struggling mightily. Can he rebound and find his shot? He is shooting 1-20 in his last two games. If he can't can the Orange avoid relying on him so much and find other players to pick up the slack?

The Orange should have the advantage at the face-off x as Phaup typically does well against Army. That said it does look like Army has a freshman, Will Colleti, with a 62% winning percentage, though not sure if most of that is due to weak opponents. Phaup won the face-off battle last year, but that didn't seem to factor in much to the final score. There was talk about a 10-man ride being deployed against Loyola in their scrimmage - they haven't done that so far in the regular season, but might we see it against Army?

I don't want to be too dramatic, but this feels like a huge game for the Orange. Win this and not much is guaranteed as the schedule is still really hard. But lose it, which is a very distinct possibility, and they would be underdogs against all but maybe Stony Brook, Hobart and Albany on their schedule. I hate to call this a must win game when it is still March, but there is not much opportunity for slip ups with the schedule Gait laid out. They have to do well here, and didn't do themselves many favors scheduling this game midweek after a road trip to #2 team in the country. I wouldn't be surprised to see the Orange listed as underdogs in this game. Hopefully they gain a spark in this game.
There were times in the last two games where Curry seemed useless while he was on the field. Good d's defended him very well. He reacted to tight coverage by reverting to his usual speed rush and forced shots time after time. Still, coaches left him on the field. He exhausted himself in futile efforts. I think he spoke for many of his teammates with his reactions to pressure. Coaches loaded him with responsibility. Quickly, he demonstrated he did not react well to the idea. His movements seemed stereotypical. Here's the coaches' problem.

Curry is a very athletic, very fine player who is flailing on the field. Can they find a method to better use these talents. Like designing stuff to get him the ball when he doesn't carry it. I single him out only because he exemplifies something I see in the whole team. A staleness in patterns on the field, reverted to when the other team punches them in the teeth, which by the way Army will do. SU has gone several years now with generally poor wing play. Everybody sees it. Like ground hog's day, winter comes for each game. Fast crisp passing in the Holy Cross game turned into congealed individual play in the last two games. Kennedy is out of place at close d. He is magnificent at lsm. I know he is probably our best close, but I suggest that aiming to take away the best attack on the other team ignores the problem. SU is not going to win many games playing with a years old playbook. They play this year like they played last year and the year before. The coaches seem ready to play a lot of young guys this year, damn the mistakes. I like that about them. Kennedy can do more damage to the opposition at lsm, than the team will suffer from his close replacement whoever that is. Play him on the wing with some big dude on the other side who can muck up the FO.
Experiment without devastating the team. Tell Curry he's a sniper. Make him pass or shoot every time he get's the ball. No charging. Let him run off a couple picks without the ball for a change. Berkman can pass fairly well. Let's make player development priority number one and a half or associate number one. Make the vets uncomfortable with new demands, positions etc. I know all this should have been part of fall and spring prep.
 
They score/get good looks when they don’t set picks. The picks create (or exacerbate) spacing issues and make it really easy to double the ball. Maryland and Virginia exploited that.
 
Tell Curry he's a sniper. Make him pass or shoot every time he get's the ball. No charging. Let him run off a couple picks without the ball for a change. Berkman can pass fairly well. Let's make player development priority number one and a half or associate number one. Make the vets uncomfortable with new demands, positions etc. I know all this should have been part of fall and spring prep.
Not sure I agree that telling Curry not to dodge solves the problem. I would like to see us invert him more often than we have in the first UVA MD games. Of course a major reason we would invert the guy is because we managed to get him matched up against a short stick, a harder task this year. Still think it is worth it even against a long pole. He had some nice feeds dodging from x last year and in fact his only assist against UVA came off of a move that took him behind the goal.

I think someone does need to get in his ear about these poor angle shots from long range on the run. They are just too low percentage, even with his shooting ability. Thought he had some good cuts offball last year that I am yet to see this year as well, but a part of that is also replacing the dynamic feeding ability of Hiltz Rehfuss and Scanlan.
 
Cuse wins this game by 7+. Army is just not that talented this year. Their relentless hustle wont win them this one. Lets remember Cuse was up 6-1 last year before the wheels came off.
 
Cuse wins this game by 7+. Army is just not that talented this year. Their relentless hustle wont win them this one. Lets remember Cuse was up 6-1 last year before the wheels came off.

Uh I assume there's sarcasm in there somewhere.
 
There were times in the last two games where Curry seemed useless while he was on the field. Good d's defended him very well. He reacted to tight coverage by reverting to his usual speed rush and forced shots time after time. Still, coaches left him on the field. He exhausted himself in futile efforts. I think he spoke for many of his teammates with his reactions to pressure. Coaches loaded him with responsibility. Quickly, he demonstrated he did not react well to the idea. His movements seemed stereotypical. Here's the coaches' problem.

Curry is a very athletic, very fine player who is flailing on the field. Can they find a method to better use these talents. Like designing stuff to get him the ball when he doesn't carry it. I single him out only because he exemplifies something I see in the whole team. A staleness in patterns on the field, reverted to when the other team punches them in the teeth, which by the way Army will do. SU has gone several years now with generally poor wing play. Everybody sees it. Like ground hog's day, winter comes for each game. Fast crisp passing in the Holy Cross game turned into congealed individual play in the last two games. Kennedy is out of place at close d. He is magnificent at lsm. I know he is probably our best close, but I suggest that aiming to take away the best attack on the other team ignores the problem. SU is not going to win many games playing with a years old playbook. They play this year like they played last year and the year before. The coaches seem ready to play a lot of young guys this year, damn the mistakes. I like that about them. Kennedy can do more damage to the opposition at lsm, than the team will suffer from his close replacement whoever that is. Play him on the wing with some big dude on the other side who can muck up the FO.
Experiment without devastating the team. Tell Curry he's a sniper. Make him pass or shoot every time he get's the ball. No charging. Let him run off a couple picks without the ball for a change. Berkman can pass fairly well. Let's make player development priority number one and a half or associate number one. Make the vets uncomfortable with new demands, positions etc. I know all this should have been part of fall and spring prep.

A lot of good points here. I agree that , as the season goes , we need to weight the benefits of keeping Kennedy at close vs. letting him loose on the wings to support phaup /the possession game and to shore up the middle of the field and push transition . Given that almost all of the top
Tier teams have weapons all over the field. I think an argument can be made that we are losing more than we are gaining with him at close ..time will tell …..perhaps all this hangs on the impact of Clary when he returns
 
None actually. I just don't see Army being that competitive of a team this year. Cuse runs away with it.

Your entitled to your opinion but I think SU winning in a blowout is highly unlikely. Army almost always gives SU problems and that was with much better overall teams then what were working with right now. Army potentially being down two close defenders could be huge but the last blowout by SU in this series was a while ago.
 
PeopleCrazy, Army wins at #4 Rutgers if Shupler has his normal game.
If my Aunt had balls she'd be my Uncle.

Army was tied and/or losing to Siena for a lot that game (I understand they ended up doubling them up). Army historically does not do well in mid-week games (something about attending class/workouts in the morning). We'll see. I could be wrong, but hope I'm right.
 
Your entitled to your opinion but I think SU winning in a blowout is highly unlikely. Army almost always gives SU problems and that was with much better overall teams then what were working with right now. Army potentially being down two close defenders could be huge but the last blowout by SU in this series was a while ago.
weigand did make it out probably late in the njit game. it's possible he got beat out, but he didn't play vs siena when a lot of guys did and maybe is working his way back.

even with their close d banged up, moving the ball vs them is a better idea than vs most, as even their shorties are typically good 1 v 1. that's all from past years though, it's possible they're more vulnerable now. umass got what they wanted.
 
Army did struggle against a UMass team that went on to get crushed by BU. They are not looking too strong right now. I would consider a route by us if I was more confident in our play. I think we put the ball in the cage against this team but if our team defense looks like it did against UVA then they will put up some numbers as well. Cuse 15 -12 or something like that.
 
Army did struggle against a UMass team that went on to get crushed by BU. They are not looking too strong right now. I would consider a route by us if I was more confident in our play. I think we put the ball in the cage against this team but if our team defense looks like it did against UVA then they will put up some numbers as well. Cuse 15 -12 or something like that.
I think 15-12 is a good guesstimate. However, if face-offs go against us and Nichtern goes off, look out.
 
I love these game preview threads. Good stuff people.
Keep the breakdowns coming!
 

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