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Message: [QUOTE="JDOrange, post: 4171533, member: 1807"] I’ve watched both the HPU and Loyola games. Starved for lax action I drove over to College Park from NOVA for the MD-HPU game on a bitter cold and windy day. Caught the Loyola game on replay this week. What stands out to me on the Tillman squads of the last several years is that they are so solid in all phases. Hard to find any significant weaknesses. From what I’ve seen so far this years team is more of the same. While impossible to replace Bernhardt’s alpha dodging ability on offense, Khan steps right in as a very capable dodger behind the cage. Malever comes down from the midfield and gives them a bit more versatility than what they had with Maltz as primarily a (very productive) finisher the last few years. Wisnauskas is automatic with his hands free and a very good feeder. Loves that top left spot. I was shocked how many times in the first two games he had time and room. He‘s also shifty enough to get to the cage, especially when they’ve got the defense rotating and a slide comes out to him. Donville is a huge addition and has been very productive thus far along with Murphy. Demaio with the shorty will invert behind. Koras stood out to me on the second line. Fantastic ball movement. Very productive with simple and well executed hard cuts to the crease from up top, pick action, give and go, etc. They will get their points against any opponent. Should also note that HPU did not have the horses defensively (outside of the goalie who had a very strong performance). Loyola D is also a total mess right now and quite a few of the goals in the first half were result of poor communication and questionable decisions. Will be interesting to see Petro’s approach here but I wouldn’t be surprised if you see Kennedy on Khan over Wisnauskas. Think you need someone with the foot speed to match Khan and someone with reach that can close out on Wisnauskas, but a lot of unknowns for the Orange D with new personnel, injuries, etc. Defensively for MD not a ton to say. Typical unflashy, fundamental defense that communicates well and doesn’t give up many easy goals. Kind of why I like watching the Whips D in the PLL. Makar is a beast and clear #1. No surprise he’s a Yorktown guy. No doubt he’ll get the Dordevic matchup and will be interesting how he handles Dordevic’s quickness. McNaney is adequate but doesn’t stand out. SSDMs have been solid through 2 despite missing a few due to injury. Wierman off to a real nice start at the X. Against HPU his opponent got a few early violations in the first half leading to penalties and won most of the rest. Seemed to dominate against Loyola. Like others I’d be encouraged if the Orange can keep this one close but would not be at all surprised if this one gets away from them. Critical for Phaup to have a big game and for the defense to keep MD from going on runs. Offensively I’m not sure if they’ll be able to score as consistently as needed, but I was encouraged by the ball movement, activity, and shot placement against HC. Will certainly help prepare them for upcoming ACC play. Looking forward to getting up to the Dome for lax for the first time in a few years. LGO. [/QUOTE]

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