Powellfan
Renowned lacrosse analyst
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Syracuse is coming off a heartbreaking loss to Cornell that all but ended their NCAA Tournament hopes. At 4-7 they have to go undefeated the rest of the way to end the season at .500. The next best thing to making the tournament of course is to make sure your conference rivals don't make it either. SU has a golden opportunity to take down UNC this weekend and all but end their post season dreams.
The Tar Heels are struggling mightily on offense these past two games, scoring just six against Duke and only four against UVA. They also went down to the wire against Bellermine three weeks ago. Of course the UNC ship is driven by Chris Gray, who, with 65 points this year, has more than double than the next highest scoring Tar Heel (Jacob Kelly has 30). Its easy to focus on Gray, quite another to stop him completely. He's a similar sort of player to Chris Kavanagh and of course Syracuse has had no answer for the ND attackman the last three meetings. Gray had two goals and six assists last year against the Orange. Kennedy will most certainly draw the matchup. It looks like UNC has tried to mix things up and moved Lance Tillman to attack and Jacob Kelly to midfield. Tillman is more of a dodger and Kelly a finisher. Kelly has a very similar skill set to the other starting Tar Heel attackman, Nicky Solomon - both can finish and move the ball but neither are much of a dodging threat. On the flip side of the UNC offense coin is the SU defense, which has also struggled. In the last three games SU is allowing 17 goals a game. Yikes. Something will probably have to give. I'm no defensive mastermind but SU does not need to be slide heavy here - adapt to your oppomant, the Tar Heels do not have the dodgers this year that they typically do. Stay man to man and be patient.
One of the biggest storylines of the game is the health of UNC's two headed FOGO monster. Both Tyeyar and Tucci left the UVA game with injuries. Their backup has only taken seven face-offs on the season, and it looks like Five Star freshman and top rated FOGO Chase Mullins is off the roster completely. I have to think at least one of Tyeyar or Tucci will play this weekend. They both have upper 50's winning percentage this season and won 19-34 draws last year against the Orange (Phaup finished just 4-11 that game).
The UNC defense has struggled all season and have been dealing with injuries. They got back Evan Egan for the last two weeks, but played last week without LSM Matt Wright. In watching them it seems as though they have a hard time defending X attackmen. Colin Krieg is a very good goalie, but hes only saving the ball at a little over 50 percent. The SU offense look reenergized on Monday against Cornell and we saw some secondary players step up with nice games. Hopefully that can continue against UNC. If Wright is still out I am not sure UNC can matchup with Curry and Dordevic.
I have been wrong about a lot of games this year and I can't seem to get a good read on this game. UNC has a lot to play for this week and SU very little. I am a little worried about Jakob Phaup who despite winning 57% of his draws the last three weeks, hasn't looked exactly dominant. If SU struggles to get possession I can see UNC, despite their recent struggles, put up points against SU. At the same time I think SU offense can score against UNC. Probably overly simplistic to say, but it really comes down to who has the ball the most.
It would be great for the Orange to get a win here and build some momentum heading into the last few weeks of the season. This has been a frustrating season but a lot of these players are really likable, especially the seniors who we are seeing for the last time these next few weeks. I don't think we stop to appreciate some of these players like we should. Brett Kennedy plays like his hair is on fire at all times. Watching Brendan Curry dodge and sting corners is a gift. Jakob Phaup never gives up and gives the game 110%. I love watching Lucas Quinn and Jacob Buttermore shoot the ball. Let's send these players off in style, the deserve it.
The Tar Heels are struggling mightily on offense these past two games, scoring just six against Duke and only four against UVA. They also went down to the wire against Bellermine three weeks ago. Of course the UNC ship is driven by Chris Gray, who, with 65 points this year, has more than double than the next highest scoring Tar Heel (Jacob Kelly has 30). Its easy to focus on Gray, quite another to stop him completely. He's a similar sort of player to Chris Kavanagh and of course Syracuse has had no answer for the ND attackman the last three meetings. Gray had two goals and six assists last year against the Orange. Kennedy will most certainly draw the matchup. It looks like UNC has tried to mix things up and moved Lance Tillman to attack and Jacob Kelly to midfield. Tillman is more of a dodger and Kelly a finisher. Kelly has a very similar skill set to the other starting Tar Heel attackman, Nicky Solomon - both can finish and move the ball but neither are much of a dodging threat. On the flip side of the UNC offense coin is the SU defense, which has also struggled. In the last three games SU is allowing 17 goals a game. Yikes. Something will probably have to give. I'm no defensive mastermind but SU does not need to be slide heavy here - adapt to your oppomant, the Tar Heels do not have the dodgers this year that they typically do. Stay man to man and be patient.
One of the biggest storylines of the game is the health of UNC's two headed FOGO monster. Both Tyeyar and Tucci left the UVA game with injuries. Their backup has only taken seven face-offs on the season, and it looks like Five Star freshman and top rated FOGO Chase Mullins is off the roster completely. I have to think at least one of Tyeyar or Tucci will play this weekend. They both have upper 50's winning percentage this season and won 19-34 draws last year against the Orange (Phaup finished just 4-11 that game).
The UNC defense has struggled all season and have been dealing with injuries. They got back Evan Egan for the last two weeks, but played last week without LSM Matt Wright. In watching them it seems as though they have a hard time defending X attackmen. Colin Krieg is a very good goalie, but hes only saving the ball at a little over 50 percent. The SU offense look reenergized on Monday against Cornell and we saw some secondary players step up with nice games. Hopefully that can continue against UNC. If Wright is still out I am not sure UNC can matchup with Curry and Dordevic.
I have been wrong about a lot of games this year and I can't seem to get a good read on this game. UNC has a lot to play for this week and SU very little. I am a little worried about Jakob Phaup who despite winning 57% of his draws the last three weeks, hasn't looked exactly dominant. If SU struggles to get possession I can see UNC, despite their recent struggles, put up points against SU. At the same time I think SU offense can score against UNC. Probably overly simplistic to say, but it really comes down to who has the ball the most.
It would be great for the Orange to get a win here and build some momentum heading into the last few weeks of the season. This has been a frustrating season but a lot of these players are really likable, especially the seniors who we are seeing for the last time these next few weeks. I don't think we stop to appreciate some of these players like we should. Brett Kennedy plays like his hair is on fire at all times. Watching Brendan Curry dodge and sting corners is a gift. Jakob Phaup never gives up and gives the game 110%. I love watching Lucas Quinn and Jacob Buttermore shoot the ball. Let's send these players off in style, the deserve it.
