Duke Preview

[Powellfan]

A lot of energy spent discussing the big venue change, but not yet a lot of talk about the actual game. This is a big one, as a win would give the Orange a top 5 victory and an all important conference feather in their cap.

I'll forgo going through all the different position battles and get to the point. My biggest concern this game is the SU close defense against the Duke attack. Both units are "unconventional" and it's hard to see who will have the upper hand on Sunday. After the Rutgers game I am a bit concerned that SU is unable to match-up its best defender (Mellen) against the opposing team's top threat because of deficiencies elsewhere. I don't know if Cunningham and Bomberry have the speed to match-up with Duke's shiftier attackmen in Robertson and Manown. Mellen will surely take one of them (my guess Robertson) but that means perhaps Duke's best attackman (Smith) will be guarded by I am guessing Cunningham. Will Bomberry have the wheels to keep up with Manown? Is this the game where Desko decides to shake things up and move Kennendy down low?

On the other side of the field Duke has two very good defensemen who I imagine will be guarding Rhefuss and Solomon. That said the strength of the SU offense has been its dexterity and ability to beat the opposing team all over the field. The benefits of having no "go-to-guy" is that anyone can step up at any time. Duke could perhaps move their star defensemen up top (one or both) but I think the attack, while certainly not world beaters, would create big matchup problems if that were to happen. Also, while the Duke defense is quite good, the silver lining is the goalie has a sub 50 save percentage.

SU offense will need to be more consistent as the Duke FOGO's are doing quite well this year - Smyth has an over 60 winning percentage. Syracuse can't count on the same amount of possessions they had against Hopkins and Rutgers and will need to make them count. Also Porter will need to play better than he did last week, I don't think it is a coincidence that the opposing goalie in Duke's one loss this year made 19 saves (hope he doesn't need to make that many!)

Last thought, while I won't be there in person I think the idea of an outdoor game upstate is pretty cool, and the fans can make the atmosphere electric if a good amount show up. I love the Dome but there is something about being outside in a smaller venue that can really get the pulse pounding. Hope the Orange ride that feeling to a victory on Sunday!

 

[JeremyCuse]

A lot of energy spent discussing the big venue change, but not yet a lot of talk about the actual game. This is a big one, as a win would give the Orange a top 5 victory and an all important conference feather in their cap.

I'll forgo going through all the different position battles and get to the point. My biggest concern this game is the SU close defense against the Duke attack. Both units are "unconventional" and it's hard to see who will have the upper hand on Sunday. After the Rutgers game I am a bit concerned that SU is unable to match-up its best defender (Mellen) against the opposing team's top threat because of deficiencies elsewhere. I don't know if Cunningham and Bomberry have the speed to match-up with Duke's shiftier attackmen in Robertson and Manown. Mellen will surely take one of them (my guess Robertson) but that means perhaps Duke's best attackman (Smith) will be guarded by I am guessing Cunningham. Will Bomberry have the wheels to keep up with Manown? Is this the game where Desko decides to shake things up and move Kennendy down low?

On the other side of the field Duke has two very good defensemen who I imagine will be guarding Rhefuss and Solomon. That said the strength of the SU offense has been its dexterity and ability to beat the opposing team all over the field. The benefits of having no "go-to-guy" is that anyone can step up at any time. Duke could perhaps move their star defensemen up top (one or both) but I think the attack, while certainly not world beaters, would create big matchup problems if that were to happen. Also, while the Duke defense is quite good, the silver lining is the goalie has a sub 50 save percentage.

SU offense will need to be more consistent as the Duke FOGO's are doing quite well this year - Smyth has an over 60 winning percentage. Syracuse can't count on the same amount of possessions they had against Hopkins and Rutgers and will need to make them count. Also Porter will need to play better than he did last week, I don't think it is a coincidence that the opposing goalie in Duke's one loss this year made 19 saves (hope he doesn't need to make that many!)

Last thought, while I won't be there in person I think the idea of an outdoor game upstate is pretty cool, and the fans can make the atmosphere electric if a good amount show up. I love the Dome but there is something about being outside in a smaller venue that can really get the pulse pounding. Hope the Orange ride that feeling to a victory on Sunday!

A good read as always. As you noted biggest concern is how does SU mach up defensively and who does the Faceoff% look like. Now that Smith is running at attack Duke is hard to defend as it usually means you have Montgomery and whoever the third midfielder running around with a short stick. Duke doesn't appear to have settled on a starting mid line as only Seau has started every game this year with Montgomery up next with 7 starts. It seems to be those two and then they rotate between Walsh, Quigley and Leadmon. Montgomery hurt us last year but he runs hot and cold so I have to think we will try and short stick him and hope for the best. Seau has finally broken out after a very disappointing career at Duke and I am sure he will draw the pole on the 1st mid line.

As for close defense, SU could go a lot of different ways. You hinted at it but if there was ever a game to bump Kennedy down low I think this is it. Going to be tough for Bomberry to match up with any of the three staring attackmen to be honest. Form a size standpoint Mellen matches up better with Robertson who is listed at 5'11 versus Brad Smith at 6'3. Manown is only 5'7 but his quickness I think rules out Bomberry. Personally I would go Mellen on Smith, bump Kennedy down to mark Robertson and then go Cunningham on Manown. I don't like this game for Bomberry as I don't see a matchup that sticks out and he has a bad tendency to lose his guy off ball which Duke will kill us with. It took us until the 4th quarter to bump Kennedy down last week, I hope the staff has a quicker trigger this week as I assume they will role with the normal 3 starters to begin the game. SSDM's will have there hands full as Duke will rotate a lot of guys and will have Montgomery initiate from up top. As you also noted really going to need Drake and the D overall to step up because giving Duke a 4 or 5 goal early lead will be a death knell. Hope Drake is dialed in like he was earlier in the year.

Van Raaphorst, Giles-Harris, and Fowler are all upperclassmen with everyone but Giles-Harris being a Senior. Offense will need to attack the SSDM's and push transition when possible. As you noted I suspect Van Raaphorst will take Solomon and Giles-Harris on Rehfuss or vice versa. Duke may try and put a short stick on Voigt like Rutty did but they usually play it straight up so I would be somewhat surprised. The good news is that SU has had success the last few years scoring on Duke's defensive so even though its a pretty good unit we should be able to put up some points. I suspect we will see a lot of Cook and Buttermore on Sunday.

Faceoffs will be fascinating as Dukes main guy Smyth has been excellent and is over 60%. He does take a majority of the draws so perhaps SU can wear him down a bit. Duke's been pretty good on gbs this year and they really hurt Loyola there earlier in the year. We need to really be strong here as we can't afford to lose a majority of loose ball scrums against these guys. Wing play especially could be critical on Sunday. Need to minimize the penalties as well on Sunday as a repeat of the UVA game would again be a death knell. Dukes been uncharacteristically bad on the EMO this year but no need to risk it.

Think were going to need close to a complete game to get the W on Sunday as Duke is a good team that is battled tested and already has some impressive wins - Loyola, Towson etc. SU outside of that one blowout game a few years ago when we had no FOGO has played Duke very well since we joined the ACC so I expect a close game but we can't afford a horrible start or a quarter long scoring drought against this type of team.

 

[CuseAlum87]

Robertson is not much of a dodging threat, so they can put Bomberry on him and face guard him. Cunningham on Smith, and then Mellen on Manown. Play slow to go on slides. It might be a bit unconventional but Duke's attackmen not great dodgers--very good finishers.

 

[Powellfan]

Dukes been uncharacteristically bad on the EMO this year but no need to risk it.

Usually when a team is bad in EMO set a good idea is to zone - I think this is why 'Cuse did this last week against Rutgers. Didn't work out well of course in the early going so wonder if they will go back to it. Might help a player like Bomberry stay in front of his man though.

 

[ivorytower]

Powell and Jeremy thanks as always .
Cuse played well vs Duke last year and will have to do the same as all their units are above average as noted. Probably our best game as far as limiting turnovers against their full field rides which is a core strength of their overall defense.
Duke cd's are good but do recall B Bomberry, Refhuss and Solomon all having good games . Brendan obviously gone but Voigt has stepped up as Buttermore has done for Dordevic who had relatively quiet game but likely drew much attention . Our mids have been strength of our O and our attack perked up big last week , a diversified offense can present problems to the best of defenses when it is not disrupted by opponent or its own sloppy play.
Duke is seasoned in many spots and Danowski will have squad prepared reminding squad of losses to us the last two years. Cant fall behind this team as we have in last two games. Porter has to be sharp from the go and we need to limit mental mistakes.
Noticed Duke has had big third quarters so important for Cuse to come into half close on scoreboard and be prepared for their energy coming out of half. We won game last year in fourth quarter by sticking around and making some important plays especially on the ground.
Duke has their stars but their offense is more diversified without Guterding as it can sprout from many, seems AA Smith and Manown play all over and former is a willing passer off doubles from anywhere , Duke makes you pay for ball watching and skilled at passing so vet cd need to keep their proverbial heads on swivels. Robertson is a goal scorer but Manown, Montgomery and others can go off and must be attended to..
Assuming staff probably plays it straight from the start but might be quicker to changes, likely view Kennedy as valuable up top but perhaps Murphy if ready can be shifted over if matchups down low are presenting problems. Fusco likely has some cd experience and strong understanding and would be another solid cd alternative if need arises .
Finally, Im a bit wary of change in venue as it is a unknown variable. Duke has played all its games outside and we have not played one yet.
Last year score was 15-14 and see no little reason to expect a low scoring affair.

 

[sholokov2]

A lot of energy spent discussing the big venue change, but not yet a lot of talk about the actual game. This is a big one, as a win would give the Orange a top 5 victory and an all important conference feather in their cap.

I'll forgo going through all the different position battles and get to the point. My biggest concern this game is the SU close defense against the Duke attack. Both units are "unconventional" and it's hard to see who will have the upper hand on Sunday. After the Rutgers game I am a bit concerned that SU is unable to match-up its best defender (Mellen) against the opposing team's top threat because of deficiencies elsewhere. I don't know if Cunningham and Bomberry have the speed to match-up with Duke's shiftier attackmen in Robertson and Manown. Mellen will surely take one of them (my guess Robertson) but that means perhaps Duke's best attackman (Smith) will be guarded by I am guessing Cunningham. Will Bomberry have the wheels to keep up with Manown? Is this the game where Desko decides to shake things up and move Kennendy down low?

On the other side of the field Duke has two very good defensemen who I imagine will be guarding Rhefuss and Solomon. That said the strength of the SU offense has been its dexterity and ability to beat the opposing team all over the field. The benefits of having no "go-to-guy" is that anyone can step up at any time. Duke could perhaps move their star defensemen up top (one or both) but I think the attack, while certainly not world beaters, would create big matchup problems if that were to happen. Also, while the Duke defense is quite good, the silver lining is the goalie has a sub 50 save percentage.

SU offense will need to be more consistent as the Duke FOGO's are doing quite well this year - Smyth has an over 60 winning percentage. Syracuse can't count on the same amount of possessions they had against Hopkins and Rutgers and will need to make them count. Also Porter will need to play better than he did last week, I don't think it is a coincidence that the opposing goalie in Duke's one loss this year made 19 saves (hope he doesn't need to make that many!)

Last thought, while I won't be there in person I think the idea of an outdoor game upstate is pretty cool, and the fans can make the atmosphere electric if a good amount show up. I love the Dome but there is something about being outside in a smaller venue that can really get the pulse pounding. Hope the Orange ride that feeling to a victory on Sunday!

I hate to rain on your already soggy parade, but Duke has three possible AA close defensemen. One is a big viciously talented freshman who makes mistakes but is so athletic that he can compensate for them in the same plays. He was very impressive against Towson. Fast and strong, he caught my eye in his first appearance on the field. And no Bomberry cannot keep up with Manown. Could he take Smith and let Kennedy take Manown? Pick your poison.

 

[JeremyCuse]

Usually when a team is bad in EMO set a good idea is to zone - I think this is why 'Cuse did this last week against Rutgers. Didn't work out well of course in the early going so wonder if they will go back to it. Might help a player like Bomberry stay in front of his man though.

Ya SU's history with zone defenses from what I can recall has not been a good one. We ran it against JHU in the second half and it worked fairly well but I wouldnt use it against Duke, they will pick us apart.

 

[sholokov2]

A good read as always. As you noted biggest concern is how does SU mach up defensively and who does the Faceoff% look like. Now that Smith is running at attack Duke is hard to defend as it usually means you have Montgomery and whoever the third midfielder running around with a short stick. Duke doesn't appear to have settled on a starting mid line as only Seau has started every game this year with Montgomery up next with 7 starts. It seems to be those two and then they rotate between Walsh, Quigley and Leadmon. Montgomery hurt us last year but he runs hot and cold so I have to think we will try and short stick him and hope for the best. Seau has finally broken out after a very disappointing career at Duke and I am sure he will draw the pole on the 1st mid line.

As for close defense, SU could go a lot of different ways. You hinted at it but if there was ever a game to bump Kennedy down low I think this is it. Going to be tough for Bomberry to match up with any of the three staring attackmen to be honest. Form a size standpoint Mellen matches up better with Robertson who is listed at 5'11 versus Brad Smith at 6'3. Manown is only 5'7 but his quickness I think rules out Bomberry. Personally I would go Mellen on Smith, bump Kennedy down to mark Robertson and then go Cunningham on Manown. I don't like this game for Bomberry as I don't see a matchup that sticks out and he has a bad tendency to lose his guy off ball which Duke will kill us with. It took us until the 4th quarter to bump Kennedy down last week, I hope the staff has a quicker trigger this week as I assume they will role with the normal 3 starters to begin the game. SSDM's will have there hands full as Duke will rotate a lot of guys and will have Montgomery initiate from up top. As you also noted really going to need Drake and the D overall to step up because giving Duke a 4 or 5 goal early lead will be a death knell. Hope Drake is dialed in like he was earlier in the year.

Van Raaphorst, Giles-Harris, and Fowler are all upperclassmen with everyone but Giles-Harris being a Senior. Offense will need to attack the SSDM's and push transition when possible. As you noted I suspect Van Raaphorst will take Solomon and Giles-Harris on Rehfuss or vice versa. Duke may try and put a short stick on Voigt like Rutty did but they usually play it straight up so I would be somewhat surprised. The good news is that SU has had success the last few years scoring on Duke's defensive so even though its a pretty good unit we should be able to put up some points. I suspect we will see a lot of Cook and Buttermore on Sunday.

Faceoffs will be fascinating as Dukes main guy Smyth has been excellent and is over 60%. He does take a majority of the draws so perhaps SU can wear him down a bit. Duke's been pretty good on gbs this year and they really hurt Loyola there earlier in the year. We need to really be strong here as we can't afford to lose a majority of loose ball scrums against these guys. Wing play especially could be critical on Sunday. Need to minimize the penalties as well on Sunday as a repeat of the UVA game would again be a death knell. Dukes been uncharacteristically bad on the EMO this year but no need to risk it.

Think were going to need close to a complete game to get the W on Sunday as Duke is a good team that is battled tested and already has some impressive wins - Loyola, Towson etc. SU outside of that one blowout game a few years ago when we had no FOGO has played Duke very well since we joined the ACC so I expect a close game but we can't afford a horrible start or a quarter long scoring drought against this type of team.

Towson's defense was above average, but Duke forced them into a zone with a shortie at the crease. Duke immediately sent the x attack man at that shortie and forced Towson into all sorts of poor adjustments. very good coaching and especially smart implementation.

 

[ivorytower]

I hate to rain on your already soggy parade, but Duke has three possible AA close defensemen. One is a big viciously talented freshman who makes mistakes but is so athletic that he can compensate for them in the same plays. He was very impressive against Towson. Fast and strong, he caught my eye in his first appearance on the field. And no Bomberry cannot keep up with Manown. Could he take Smith and let Kennedy take Manown? Pick your poison.

Not sure who you are talking about but third cd is Fowler who is a senior . Manown is very quick and very good

 

[DoctahLexus]

Dukes AA defense will not necessarily be a problem if our middies continue to be the successful initiators they have been. We have put up big numbers as a whole with our attack drawing little to no slides. Hopkins, UVA, Rutgers, very few times if at all did we score off of rehfuss cook or Solomon dodging against a long pole from behind to draw a slide and we put up almost 50 goals in those 3 games. The problem will be with Danowskis inevitable adjustments to get his studs on our more effective middie dodgers with trimboli buttermore and curry. Id imagine at the very least he buts a ssdm on voigt but then again i don't think he did that with bomberry last year. Running Solomon out of the box was very effective against Rutgers. Should definitely continue that with him along with cook. Not sure who they have at ssdm but if they are 2017 Towson level of good then we may have a problem. Fortunately we're not a team where if you solve pat spencer or someone individual like him you beat us. The legitimately good offense by committee will always give us a shot.

 

[Abclaxfan]

One major concern for this game has got to be Joey Manown. He seems to just find the back of the net anyway possible. He is a really gritty player. I think Mullen needs to match up with Brad Smith though and Kennedy on Manown. Robertson is a good player and all, but I would like Syracuse to force him to beat Bomberry.
Duke's midfield can be very dangerous if they all get hot as well, I have no idea who to put the pole on. Montgomery or Seau seem like the obvious choice, but Leadmon has been heating up and guys like Riley Walsh, Kevin Quigley, and Sean Lowrie are all dangerous.

I think this game will come down to how Syracuse's midfield plays. I think that whoever draws a shortstick out of Buttermore, Curry, or Trimboli needs attack the goal every time. Trimboli has played well against Duke in the past so I assume he will get the pole.

Big challenges for Phap, Varello, and Porter this week. Loyola was able to dominate Duke on faceoffs so it isn’t impossible to beat them there. Jordan Ginder is a really solid number two fogo that Duke will go to if they struggle.

 

[Laxwizard22]

Really excited for this matchup as it always comes down to the very end. The weather seems very encouraging so that most likely won’t have a big impact on the game. I think offensively we matchup quite well with that extremely talented Duke defense. I think someone mentioned this already, but if we can continue to successfully initiate w the midfield then we can definitely score goals. I can see this becoming a shootout, because I truly don’t see this defense holding Duke under 10. I think individually we matchup up really well with them, and I’m quite comfortable with Mellen on Smith. But this is probably the most well coached team we’ll see all regular season, and we need to try and eliminate any stupid mistakes off ball. While I loved the grit and intensity from late in the game last week, if we come out like we did we are going to get absolutely buried.

 

[ivorytower]

Agree. Best, most balanced team we will face on schedule. They simply toyed with Loyola, put on a passing and riding exhibition. Cuse has to play with intensity for sixty minutes, not 45, not 55. Be interesting how Cuse matches up, Smith is a taller full size athlete , a bigger Henisburg, who operates from wherever. As good as Mellen is dont see him disturbing Smith much or having the same impact as he would covering Manown . Need that 55% from fogos and Porter and hoping Refhus can duplicate the game he had last year.

 

[sholokov2]

Not sure who you are talking about but third cd is Fowler who is a senior . Manown is very quick and very good

Okay, the freshman defenseman is Wilson Stephenson, 6'4", 210, comes in for Fowler most of his time but also subs for the other two. Fowler is good, but this kid will be much better.