Powellfan
Renowned lacrosse analyst
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After a long and eventful offseason, the Syracuse Orange plays its first game of the 2022 season against the Holy Cross Crusaders. A lot has changed for the Orange since last they played, including a new head coach and defensive coordinator. This is the first time for most of us to see the new team in action as most scrimmages have been closed to the public and details have been hard to come by. The expectations for this years team are lower than they have been, but there is still a lot of talent and a lot of experience on this year's team. If reports from the scrimmages are true, it sounds like this will be another up and down year. Let's tackle SU's first opponent, which should be the easiest of the year in Holy Cross.
Holy Cross only played 6 games last year, one against the Orange, which wasn't much of a game. They return their top six scorers form a year ago, but their top scorers only averaged a little over two points a game. The Crusaders come into the game already having a loss on their records as they lost last weekend to Providence 16-9. The Crusaders dominated face-offs 20-28, but they had 20 turnovers and only had one more groundball than the Friars. That's not a winning formula. Their main FOGO had a sub 50% winning percentage last year but fared better in his first game of 2022. AJ Fox is their starting goaltender and he had a 54% save percentage last year but it looks like he only made two saves last weekend and didn't play the whole game. He did have 18 saves against the Orange last year, giving up 14, which is pretty impressive. He has to feel somewhat comfortable playing in the Dome. It also looks like he has his three close defenders with him back from last year. Chris Conlin had 19 caused turnovers and 20 groundballs in just 6 games, that is eye opening.
This should be an easy victory for the Orange, so I'll have my eyes focused more on the following storylines for the Orange, more than their opponent. First, injuries. Obviously we know Owen Hiltz is out for an extended period of time, but there are other players coming back from significant injuries. Key contributors like Nick DiPeitro, Landon Clary and Jacob Buttermore had season ending injuries last year and Nick Caccomo was out for a period of time in Fall Ball. How healthy are these players? As much as I think the Orange can get past this week without them, it's a lot to ask them to come back against a team like Maryland, Virginia or Army. Hopefully the players mentioned can use this week to get their feet wet before a big stretch of games. Second, who is going to emerge from the second unit? Syracuse needs someone to step up on the second line midfield - who will it be? We haven't heard many "so and so has broken out" stories this offseason, which is worrisome. This team has pretty well established starters, but the team needs more than six scorers on offense. If these secondary players cant contribute against a team like Holy Cross, that does not portend well for the rest of the season. Third, the goalie battle. It sounds like things are pretty even between Gavin and Thomson, will the coaches play both against Holy Cross or will they give the starter a lot of rope?
What are other people looking for?
Holy Cross only played 6 games last year, one against the Orange, which wasn't much of a game. They return their top six scorers form a year ago, but their top scorers only averaged a little over two points a game. The Crusaders come into the game already having a loss on their records as they lost last weekend to Providence 16-9. The Crusaders dominated face-offs 20-28, but they had 20 turnovers and only had one more groundball than the Friars. That's not a winning formula. Their main FOGO had a sub 50% winning percentage last year but fared better in his first game of 2022. AJ Fox is their starting goaltender and he had a 54% save percentage last year but it looks like he only made two saves last weekend and didn't play the whole game. He did have 18 saves against the Orange last year, giving up 14, which is pretty impressive. He has to feel somewhat comfortable playing in the Dome. It also looks like he has his three close defenders with him back from last year. Chris Conlin had 19 caused turnovers and 20 groundballs in just 6 games, that is eye opening.
This should be an easy victory for the Orange, so I'll have my eyes focused more on the following storylines for the Orange, more than their opponent. First, injuries. Obviously we know Owen Hiltz is out for an extended period of time, but there are other players coming back from significant injuries. Key contributors like Nick DiPeitro, Landon Clary and Jacob Buttermore had season ending injuries last year and Nick Caccomo was out for a period of time in Fall Ball. How healthy are these players? As much as I think the Orange can get past this week without them, it's a lot to ask them to come back against a team like Maryland, Virginia or Army. Hopefully the players mentioned can use this week to get their feet wet before a big stretch of games. Second, who is going to emerge from the second unit? Syracuse needs someone to step up on the second line midfield - who will it be? We haven't heard many "so and so has broken out" stories this offseason, which is worrisome. This team has pretty well established starters, but the team needs more than six scorers on offense. If these secondary players cant contribute against a team like Holy Cross, that does not portend well for the rest of the season. Third, the goalie battle. It sounds like things are pretty even between Gavin and Thomson, will the coaches play both against Holy Cross or will they give the starter a lot of rope?
What are other people looking for?
