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Message: [QUOTE="JeremyCuse, post: 5006944, member: 43"] It looks like Prentaj was hurt last week which is why he didn't play against Monmouth. Unclear if he will be back for the SU game. They were also missing one of their starting middies Jason Kolar, again unknown his status for Sat. Like Powell I haven't seen a ton of Delaware this year beyond some highlight stuff so It's hard to get a real good feel. I think they are clearly the best non power team SU will see (save for Army) and can clearly beat SU if they don't show up. Clearly as he noted Delaware goes as Robinson and Ward go. If you can limit them pretty good chance your gonna win or be in a godo position to do so. Let them run wild and you'll be in trouble. I am a bit unclear on the matchup. SU has tended to put Figuerias on each teams stop scorer which would put him on Robinson, however, they have also at times wanted Figuerias on the teams top QB type (see him marking Angelus last week) which would put him on Ward. Dwan erased Melendez last week (though Melendez apparenlty is not 100%) and has played very well for much of the season. I think you cudl make a case either way here. To me the bigger concern is SU staying on their matchups. To many times last week versus Hop, the Jays were able to get a shortly on Degnon in a few cases they didn't' even need a pick to do it. Powell correctly points out that SU cannot leave Robinson, whoever is marking him has to be slow to slide much more so then on Sat when Degnon got WAY to many quality looks. Delaware has a lot of young mids and has been rotating them through per this weeks IL update (they were ranked 20). They have a decent amount of canadians out there (Deluca impact no doubt) and SU will need to be careful about ill timed and early slides leaving guys open. My initial thought is that SU really should be slow to slide and force Delaware to dodge and score. Ward can certainly do that along with Robinsion but they aren't Army, with multiple high end dodgers on both the attack and mid lines. SU really needs to stay sharp, they struggled with getting lulled to sleep a bit in the 2nd half vs Hop and have to keep the potential penalties to a minimum. I keep waiting for Mark to have a monster game and he was a wall in the 1st half vs Hop but in the 2nd half felt like his inconsistent play showed up again. A few shots he had no chance but felt like he left a couple out there he probably should have had. Thought the SSDM's were pretty good against Hop all things considered. Delaware has a good offense, Robinson and Ward would start for most schools but SU's already played at least 2 if not 3 offenses who are better overall in Army, Hop and Maryland. Delaware's O is very upper class oriented, only non upperclassmen is the third attackmen who is a frosh as Powell noted. From an O standpoint, SU will again have to earn its points. Delaware has a very solid defnese though it is replacing its top pole in Owen Grant and its goalie. The current goalie Ellington has been pretty good with a 56% save % and has only really struggled against Michigan. He's also a SR so he knows the defense. He's listed at 5'7 so I suspect SU will be shooting high early. Tate Wasson appears to be their #1 cover guy and hell draw Spallina. The other two poles are a Sr and Frosh respectively. Much like their offense most of the starters are Seniors, with 2 of 3 close guys and their LSM Speers all Srs. All are about 6-6'1 so no monsters ala Army or UVA. Short sticks apepar decent but Hops are better and SU attacked them relentlessly on Sat with a decent amount of success. To me the key here is 1 - not turning the ball over and 2 - taking quality shots as Powell noted. Delaware is solid defensively but not as good as last year without Grant and I don't feel like they have a shut down defender. Deluca has been known to double pole, not sure if he will try it against SU as Hop tried and they eventually got forced out of it. Last week SU had not only all 3 middies going but they got big games from Mule and Hiltz, they are very difficult to play with when those guys are on. Would really like to see Hiltz have 2 good game in a row. This should also be a game Leo plays a big role offensively especially if Delaware doesn't double pole. Intangibles are interesting. Delaware is good on teh man up 9 for 15 and solid on the man down allowing only 5 goals on 13 attempts. Their clearing at only 85% though which could be an area SU looks to attack. Opponents are clearing at 88%, something to watch for their on both ends. Turnovers will likely play a big role on Sat. Delaware was pretty good to start but has turned it over 20 and 17 times the last two games against Mich and Monmouth respectively. 17 against Monmouth is particularly troubling. Faceoffs are a bit of a mystery. OJ Morris as noted has real good numbers but only took 5 draws vs Penn and none against Michigan (hurt maybe?). If Prentaj is out again it seems like he will surely take a majority of the draws. Feels like Kohn and Mullen should be 60%+ here, at least on paper. I don't love the schedule having this game righ tafter Hop and right before a mid week matchup with Duke but it is what it is. SU has played fairly well in these games to date save for a quarter + against High Point. Biggest concern here is SU again has one of those quarters early where they seem out of sync and dis-interested and end up in a battle for 4 quarters. Getting the monkey off their back versus top 10 teams last week should help against the ACC foes and Cornell but hard to say how it will impact Sat. First 10 mins should tell a lot, hope they are locked in. [/QUOTE]

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