Powellfan
Renowned lacrosse analyst
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The Orange stair down a pivotal three game stretch against ACC teams to close out the season (open date outstanding). They start with a game against slumping North Carolina, who have suffered back to back defeats to Duke and Virginia. Syracuse has a chance to make a statement and send a conference foe reeling. If they lose, they themselves will be doing some soul searching.
The UNC offense is incredibly formidable, led by potential Tewaaraton Award winner Chris Gray and his 60 points. He is surrounded by a very athletic midfield and sharpshooting attackmen. Gray will most likely be covered by Mitch Wykoff, who has struggled against the shifty attackmen in Michael Sowers and Pat Kavanaugh. This will be a big test. I do think if they can frustrate the BU transfer, they could really stagnate the offense, as he has incredibly high usage rate (he has taken a ridiculous 95 shots, the next closest? Tanner Cook at 56!). Maybe a shut-off strategy is in the cards?
The offense moves through Gray, but the other big question for the defense will be who to pole from the first line midfield? William Perry can shoot the lights out, Cook is a matchup nightmare with his size and Justin Anderson is a really good athlete. Its a tough call. Syracuse doesn't usually double pole, but they might have to think about it, especially since that third attack spot filled by Brian Cameron and Jacob Kelly isn't filled by a strong dodger. I am always really impressed by Perry when I watch the Heels play, and I think Cook needs a pole, unless the coaches think Peter Dearth could handle that matchup (Dearth did well on Casey from Albany who has similar size). UNC also runs a second midfield pretty consistently, Alex Trippi leads the group with eight and seven. The other members of the unit have been pretty quiet this season, but they did have a big game against UVA with Conor McCarthy scoring a hat trick and Henry Schertzinger scoring two goals. The short sticks of SU will be tested and have to play better this game.
We have been a bit obsessed with the face-off position these past few weeks, but the defense also has to play much much better - Notre Dame beat Duke pretty handily this past weekend and they only won 7 of 23 face-offs. I know the defense will not reach Notre Dame heights this year, but I think too much blame has been placed on the face-off (I have been guilty of this). The defense needs to stop ball watching, slide better and communicate. They have a very good keeper in Porter but he needs help, and he'll need it big time this weekend.
Speaking of the face-offs, UNC comes in with two options in Andrew Tyeryar and Zac Tucci. They are both over 50% on the year but have struggled against Duke and UVA. This spot will be closely watched as we wait to see if Jakob Phaup has rebounded from his slump. UNC fogos have been very good scoring from the dot, they have combined for 10 points so far this season, so Syracuse will also have to prepare for that, something that has burned them this year.
On defense the Heels are led by Will Bowen and Colin Kreig. I am also impressed by their LSM Matt Wright who can really fly and seems good on groundballs. Their short sticks are also athletic, and Conor Maher actually leads the team in groundballs with 44. That said, they did just give up 18 goals to UVA. They can be beat, but this isn't a game for singular dodging - Krieg will absolutely eat up shots like that. Syracuse has to move the ball and find the open man. Quint slammed UNC for their off-ball defense this past week. To me, this is a game for Stephen Rhefuss and Brendan Curry in particular. The coaching staff has been bent on exploiting short stick matchups, but I really think they need to start trusting their best players, regardless of matchup. If Jamie Trimboli and Tucker Dordevic are simply dodging and shooting, Syracuse will not win this game, regardless if they are short sticked. Speaking of which, I do think UNC could double pole the midfield, as they did with Duke. Syracuse will have to adjust, and if it is Chase Scanlan getting the shorty, he has shown to be much more comfortable dodging than he was at the start of the year.
Anyways, big game for the Orange as they can really solidify a playoff spot and hopefully get some momentum. It'll be a big test, as UNC seems to have advantages all over the field. But, thats why they play the game and if Syracuse plays up to their capabilities, they can definitely win this game. Go Orange.
The UNC offense is incredibly formidable, led by potential Tewaaraton Award winner Chris Gray and his 60 points. He is surrounded by a very athletic midfield and sharpshooting attackmen. Gray will most likely be covered by Mitch Wykoff, who has struggled against the shifty attackmen in Michael Sowers and Pat Kavanaugh. This will be a big test. I do think if they can frustrate the BU transfer, they could really stagnate the offense, as he has incredibly high usage rate (he has taken a ridiculous 95 shots, the next closest? Tanner Cook at 56!). Maybe a shut-off strategy is in the cards?
The offense moves through Gray, but the other big question for the defense will be who to pole from the first line midfield? William Perry can shoot the lights out, Cook is a matchup nightmare with his size and Justin Anderson is a really good athlete. Its a tough call. Syracuse doesn't usually double pole, but they might have to think about it, especially since that third attack spot filled by Brian Cameron and Jacob Kelly isn't filled by a strong dodger. I am always really impressed by Perry when I watch the Heels play, and I think Cook needs a pole, unless the coaches think Peter Dearth could handle that matchup (Dearth did well on Casey from Albany who has similar size). UNC also runs a second midfield pretty consistently, Alex Trippi leads the group with eight and seven. The other members of the unit have been pretty quiet this season, but they did have a big game against UVA with Conor McCarthy scoring a hat trick and Henry Schertzinger scoring two goals. The short sticks of SU will be tested and have to play better this game.
We have been a bit obsessed with the face-off position these past few weeks, but the defense also has to play much much better - Notre Dame beat Duke pretty handily this past weekend and they only won 7 of 23 face-offs. I know the defense will not reach Notre Dame heights this year, but I think too much blame has been placed on the face-off (I have been guilty of this). The defense needs to stop ball watching, slide better and communicate. They have a very good keeper in Porter but he needs help, and he'll need it big time this weekend.
Speaking of the face-offs, UNC comes in with two options in Andrew Tyeryar and Zac Tucci. They are both over 50% on the year but have struggled against Duke and UVA. This spot will be closely watched as we wait to see if Jakob Phaup has rebounded from his slump. UNC fogos have been very good scoring from the dot, they have combined for 10 points so far this season, so Syracuse will also have to prepare for that, something that has burned them this year.
On defense the Heels are led by Will Bowen and Colin Kreig. I am also impressed by their LSM Matt Wright who can really fly and seems good on groundballs. Their short sticks are also athletic, and Conor Maher actually leads the team in groundballs with 44. That said, they did just give up 18 goals to UVA. They can be beat, but this isn't a game for singular dodging - Krieg will absolutely eat up shots like that. Syracuse has to move the ball and find the open man. Quint slammed UNC for their off-ball defense this past week. To me, this is a game for Stephen Rhefuss and Brendan Curry in particular. The coaching staff has been bent on exploiting short stick matchups, but I really think they need to start trusting their best players, regardless of matchup. If Jamie Trimboli and Tucker Dordevic are simply dodging and shooting, Syracuse will not win this game, regardless if they are short sticked. Speaking of which, I do think UNC could double pole the midfield, as they did with Duke. Syracuse will have to adjust, and if it is Chase Scanlan getting the shorty, he has shown to be much more comfortable dodging than he was at the start of the year.
Anyways, big game for the Orange as they can really solidify a playoff spot and hopefully get some momentum. It'll be a big test, as UNC seems to have advantages all over the field. But, thats why they play the game and if Syracuse plays up to their capabilities, they can definitely win this game. Go Orange.
