Hopkins Game Thread... | Page 6 | Syracusefan.com

Hopkins Game Thread...

Maybe now we can compare Dearth to Matt Abbott. last time I suggested this, posters scoffed. He may not be as fast, but he clears like him, is better defensively and scores as much. Go ahead and laugh.

Not crazy at all! I'd say Matt Abbott was a little more consistent on offense than Dearth is now, but Dearths defense has been just as impressive as his was if not better. He is stronger than Abbott was and he makes up for having less speed by being able to push his guy off the path he wants to take with his dodge with ease. We also used Abbott a lot more consistently on offense than we are currently using Dearth if my memory is right. Maybe that should change?
 
Not crazy at all! I'd say Matt Abbott was a little more consistent on offense than Dearth is now, but Dearths defense has been just as impressive as his was if not better. He is stronger than Abbott was and he makes up for having less speed by being able to push his guy off the path he wants to take with his dodge with ease. We also used Abbott a lot more consistently on offense than we are currently using Dearth if my memory is right. Maybe that should change?
thanks for the support. I understand the idea of Dearth on offense. He is the proverbial all around player.
 
In my opinion Matt Abbott was a fantastic lacrosse player, could do a little bit of everything and was more of a contributor from day 1. Dearth is having a nice season so far but he's still got a ways to go for that comparison.
 
4 goal win crickets

If they lost, spew city

It's a good win where they found themselves in the 4Q and a win they needed to keep their heads above water. But looking objectively, Hopkins is now 2-3 and out of the top 20. So it's not like this was a top10 win. They're in the same situation we are, struggling.

Syracuse has a lot of work to do and a lot of season left before the neener neener should come out. Even though the game before was a loss, they're starting to show some glimpses and some players are starting to step up.

Thank goodness for the revelation that is Buttermore though. Kid is becoming a stud. It's been a long time since I've seen a kid be able to shoot with either hand. He's a righty, and his catch right and switch to the left where he took a step and buried the lefty fish to the top right corner was a big league play.
 
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Maybe now we can compare Dearth to Matt Abbott. last time I suggested this, posters scoffed. He may not be as fast, but he clears like him, is better defensively and scores as much. Go ahead and laugh.

Matt Abbott was a 2-time All American making 1st Team AA as a senior and Twaaraton finalists. Nobody on this team is near that level.
 
I like the decision to put Kennedy and Fernandez on the wings, though it feels like Varello and Phaup need to communicate more with them before popping the ball out. Probably not something to do every game but they needed ground balls from the scrums today and the two of them did great.
it's the wings' job to communicate with the fogo. wrestling for the ball, in a scrum, once they get the actual clamp the rule is it has to come out basically in one motion. they're not allowed the luxury of looking up, communicating with wings, and then sending the ball where they've directed them.

syracuse's rope unit might be the best in division 1. kennedy and dearth are monsters. syracuse's middies are going to give them an advantage there in most games this year, especially if trimboli has finally acquiesced to shooting in a way that'll give him goals, even if they won't make the highlight reel. buttermore may come back down to earth, but if he doesn't it that is a weapon no one else has.

i wouldn't be surprised if teams start double poling the mids. how many years has it been since rice/donahue? may be an average offense if the attack can't start producing.
 
it's the wings' job to communicate with the fogo. wrestling for the ball, in a scrum, once they get the actual clamp the rule is it has to come out basically in one motion. they're not allowed the luxury of looking up, communicating with wings, and then sending the ball where they've directed them.

syracuse's rope unit might be the best in division 1. kennedy and dearth are monsters. syracuse's middies are going to give them an advantage there in most games this year, especially if trimboli has finally acquiesced to shooting in a way that'll give him goals, even if they won't make the highlight reel. buttermore may come back down to earth, but if he doesn't it that is a weapon no one else has.

i wouldn't be surprised if teams start double poling the mids. how many years has it been since rice/donahue? may be an average offense if the attack can't start producing.
The offensive strength is clearly the midfield, if the attack can keep defenses honest then the offense should be fine. Trimboli shooting overhand seems to be a revelation for him, which has always been his strength could never understand why he would stray from it. Buttermore is shooting at .750, so expect him to come down a bit. However, he's going to get more reps so maybe it kind of evens out.
 
yes the light bulb has seemingly gone off in Trimboli's head about shooting. Somebody maybe finally got through to him.
 
The offensive strength is clearly the midfield, if the attack can keep defenses honest then the offense should be fine. Trimboli shooting overhand seems to be a revelation for him, which has always been his strength could never understand why he would stray from it. Buttermore is shooting at .750, so expect him to come down a bit. However, he's going to get more reps so maybe it kind of evens out.

Buttermore's shot accuracy is ridiculous. He had two shots in the 1st half, one of which was from the fine lot that he just missed putting on cage, the other was a worm burner that Darby made a nice save on. Teams are going to start polling him which will put short sticks on Curry and Trimbo, and create more mismatches.
 
It's a good win where they found themselves in the 4Q and a win they needed to keep their heads above. But looking objectively, Hopkins is now 2-3 and out of the top 20. So it's not like this was a top10 win. They're in the same situation we are, struggling.

Syracuse has a lot of work to do and a lot of season left before the neener neener should come out.

Thank goodness for the revelation that is Buttermore though. Kid is becoming a stud. It's been a long time since I've seen a kid be able to shoot with either hand. He's a righty, and his catch right and switch to the left where he took a step and buried the lefty fish to the top right corner was a big league play.

Think Hop still in top twenty , strong comeback especially down the stretch reflects the upside potential of this team. We have some playmakers scattered across . Much room for improvement still, have to clean up some sloppiness and still waiting on a few to pop but team trajectory is up.. Should be on four game win streak, yes Im still whining about refs assisting an otherwise worthy Va comeback.

Buttermore well schooled and instinctive player with guile. His rollback reminds me of Dordevic . Hard to pick up shot because they hide ball well behind hip. His crazy shooting percentages will likely revert some, conversely there are some low shooting % on team that should rise. Appears we now have four lead mids again (Dord will make that five next year with more developing in pipeline) ) all five have the ability to shoot with either hand off a move. Curry lefty rip last game was amazing from that far angle , he just keeps adding to his repertoire , Lipka's also rips off move with either hand , he separated nicely from Foley for his blast off far right. Trimboli left handed shot off alley dodge has been very effective and he's totally immersed. What I have noticed is that the mids are moving the ball better even when being aggressive and poles and dms ability to handle handle and transition add to potency from midfield

Attack and O would have been potent with a Staats or Winaukaus but still has enough inherent ability to be very productive once they hit on all cylinders. Voigt pent up goods, Solomon underrated . Just need Refhus to hit his stride as facilitator and threat , last year was not an illusion
 
Buttermore changes planes better than anyone on the team.

The first two shots of the second half were Trimboli overhand high to high and Voigt low to low (both easily saved).

Buttermore is great at switching hands (lefty/righty), and changing planes and placement combinations. He makes it look like goalies are constantly guessing.

Really a fun player to watch.
 
Buttermore changes planes better than anyone on the team.

The first two shots of the second half were Trimboli overhand high to high and Voigt low to low (both easily saved).

Buttermore is great at switching hands (lefty/righty), and changing planes and placement combinations. He makes it look like goalies are constantly guessing.

Really a fun player to watch.
Yes indeed, very complimentary of buttery's game but I doubt that ten foot bouncer off turf for goal was intended. Sometimes hot is hot . Trimboli and Voigt have played so well of recent that hard to question any of shot. Trimboli getting away from sidearm low to high shot has paid dividends, not easy to adjust mid career after so many years of that being successful with it so gotta tip cap,. Voigt's placements have been superb , even that ball scratcher lol
 
Matt Abbott was a 2-time All American making 1st Team AA as a senior and Twaaraton finalists. Nobody on this team is near that level.
Think it is fair to say that Dearth is a damn good two way mid who fares well in comparison to most dm's today. Kid is going to have a nice career here and in the pros if he pursues.
 
Buttermore changes planes better than anyone on the team.

The first two shots of the second half were Trimboli overhand high to high and Voigt low to low (both easily saved).

Buttermore is great at switching hands (lefty/righty), and changing planes and placement combinations. He makes it look like goalies are constantly guessing.

Really a fun player to watch.

yup. The big righty bounce shot and then the lefty fish top corner. When you're that diverse there's no book on you. The scouting report for the goalie is just a guess.
 
Matt Abbott was a 2-time All American making 1st Team AA as a senior and Twaaraton finalists. Nobody on this team is near that level.

Would not be surprised if Kennedy ends his career as a 1st team AA as a junior or senior and I would say he is almost a lock for at least 3rd team this year. Will most likely end his career with 3 AAs. I hope he is remembered with an Abbott level of respect after he graduates, especially if we have a good tourney somewhere in there. Same goes for Mellen who already has a 3rd team AA under his belt as a sophomore and will most likely end his career with 3 AAs. No Twaarton awards do to their position, but maybe some finalist accolades out of respect when they are seniors. Would also not be surprised if Curry Buttermore and Dordevic (if he bounces back from injury) were at least two time AAs with potential for 1st team picks by the end of their careers. Trimboli already has an honorable mention and could crack the 3rd team this year and 3rd or higher as a senior if the team doesn't tank or something. Probably no Tek awards as we seem to be kind of offense by committee/depth and they like guys who blow up the stat sheet, but who knows. Maybe one middie makes a finalist list when they are seniors if we have a good season. If Dearth keeps playing the way he is he will be at least 3rd team AA as a senior and may even crack the list this year. 2 SSDMs they gave the award to last year have since graduated.

(EDIT: Actually scratch the part about Kennedy and Mellen receiving finalist awards. Looks like they don't even give finalist recognition to D guys)
 
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Late to this party, had to work so I missed the game. Watched the replay and was surprised with how sloppy the Orange were in the first quarter. Pleased that they regained some composure in the second, all but erasing their poor 1st quarter performance, the strong defensive show in the third quarter (with almost no offense), and the powerful fourth quarter where the Orange abused the Blue Jays.

Great win and bounceback. I hope Desko keeps the tempo very high, these kids respond to the transition and fast paced game. With our depth, there is no reason to slow the game down, just run other teams into the ground. Only a few teams (OK, the ACC, JH and a couple others) can stay in a game that goes deep on the bench.

A faster pace also allows the players to push themselves. My take is that the slow down, deliberate half field set offense allows kids to get "lazy" (not like us fans sitting in the easy chairs and cushy sofas lazy, but elite level lacrosse lazy). The kids play better while pushing, running, taking advantage of numbers (a.k.a. Syracuse lacrosse!). I saw too many times where transition was called short when we still had numbers and we pulled up short, waited for the middies switch. Middies need to play both ways (like the used to). Making changes on ever possession as the ball crosses midfield disrupts the flow, it also allows an opponent to do the same, instead of taking advantage of the natural weaknesses of the players on the field at the time of transition.

Anyway, just my opinion.
 
Maybe Kevin Drew is a good comparison for Dearth in terms of on ball coverage and transition skills
 

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