Back from the game. Congrats to Cuse for a tough win.
Read through everything and lots of good points.
Both teams looked sloppy in warmups and it showed especially early in the game, but both teams looked sloppy throughout. Felt like both teams looked at the weather today and thought they'd rather watch Netflix in bed than play a lax game. Great crowd at Homewood. Stadium felt pretty full.
Neither team looked particularly great. Both defenses were pretty locked in and I thought both goalies has some really solid and timely saves throughout.
It evened out a bit but Hop was outshooting Cuse by a lot - just not putting many on cage.
Cuse D did really well matching feet with the Hopkins offense which then allowed them to optimize their clear size advantage. Collison got his yes but only 4 assists for JHU. That's a huge credit to this Orange defense. Hopkins was never going to win by dodging on this unit but Syracuse did an excellent job preventing the Jays from moving the ball around effectively.
The JHU defense plays hard and did well on individual matchups. Thought it could be a big game for Leo, McIntee, and Hahn and, well, lol. Can't always be right. But 8/12 goals were assisted for the Orange. That's a positive sign.
Hopkins plays a very slow, deliberate offense that is usually pretty efficient and it burns a lot of clock. My overall assessment of the offense is more positive than some following that game - they clearly had their eyes up more. There were long stretches when the orange O barely had the ball. Tough to get in a rhythm that way, but this won't be the last time they play a game that way. They'll have to learn to value possession and create efficiencies when they can't sling 50+ shots on cage. They are an excellent team with a time of possession advantage, but they need to learn how to be excellent when that is not the case.
Lastly, great performance by Joey. 4&3 vs a top 15 team. However - this was my first time seeing him play live in 2 years. It's wild to me how much more hot-headed he is in-person than what you can see on the TV. I think he actually cleaned it up and got his head together as the game went on, but man in that first half he's lucky he only got the one or two penalties. Lots of cheap shots away from the ball and very clearly trying to pick fights. I like Joey a lot, and he had a very good game, but Refs are going to get more and more wise to it if they aren't already. He's a senior. Gotta put that side of you away and be a leader.
Overall, this was a solid win. Hop plays a style of game that could've posed serious challenges for the Orange and they fought through it to get the win. Even after last week's epic comeback it never really felt like Syracuse's lead was in danger. Cuse's record is right around where I thought they'd be. Can't take this Colorado road trip lightly.