North Carolina Game Thread...

[Mareiniss]

Wow - Fabio was at the game!

 

[OrangeXtreme]

10-6 Duke

5:30

 

[longtimefan]

Higgins thinks we're playing UNC, either in the 2/3 game, or the 4/5 game.

A 3-way tie of SU-ND-Duke is likely. How does that tie=breaker work?

 

[orange79]

Higgins thinks we're playing UNC, either in the 2/3 game, or the 4/5 game.

Makes sense. If Duke, ND, and SU all finish 2-2, the mini-conference standings would all be 1-1. Then you go to record against the next highest team, I believe. SU lost to UVa, Duke looks like they will beat UVA today, and ND lost to UVa, so Duke would be the 2 seed, ND the 3. That would put us at the 4 and UNC at 5 if they lose to ND next week.

Now, if UNC beats ND next week, the SU/Duke/UNC mini-conference is SU's (2-0), UNC 1-1, and Duke 0-2. That would put SU at the 2 seed, UNC at the 3, and leave Duke/ND for the 4/5 game.

Looks like UNC it is.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

11-6 Duke

 

[CuseGirl101]

11-7 Duke

 

[IHeartSUFball]

So we be 4 seed and have play at their place again?

 

[Delmar]

I guess we are rooting for UNC over ND next week. I'd be doing that anyway.

But I don't think it is going to make much difference to us in the long run. We'll finish the ACC regular season tied for second. A 4 seed in the ACC tourney won't hurt us.

 

[orange79]

So we be 4 seed and have play at their place again?

Whether we're the 4 seed or the 2 seed, since the 1st round (4/5 game) and the semi-finals are being played in Chapel Hill, we will have to play them at their place again. Title game is played at the higher seed's field.

 

[tbonezone]

Wow - Fabio was at the game!

View attachment 159836

that's fabio's kid brother fabian enjoying the broment . the validation he never received as a sibling.

 

[cuseguy]

The ACC tourney is pretty much meaningless for SU at this point. Having to play Carolina again this soon at Carolina is sort of a joke. Carolina will likely be in a must-win mode. SU is best served to take care of business against Navy and use the Carolina game as a tuneup for the NCAA tourney.

 

[IHeartSUFball]

Don’t like having to play an extra game that means nothing

 

[tbonezone]

Don’t like having to play an extra game that means nothing

we are healthy (despite the dord ) and apparently still need some gel time. bring it on.

 

[WoodyUK]

Dearth really playing at a high level.
Bomberry in the form of his life the last few weeks
Solomon one of the most underrated players in the NCAA

Why isn’t Cook making the jump?
Why hasn’t Quinn emerged
Why do we bother with Carlin I know he scored but!!!

We are struggling to develop very good players this is a concern.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

 

[ctlax]

Dearth really playing at a high level.
Bomberry in the form of his life the last few weeks
Solomon one of the most underrated players in the NCAA

Why isn’t Cook making the jump?
Why hasn’t Quinn emerged
Why do we bother with Carlin I know he scored but!!!

We are struggling to develop very good players this is a concern.

I think Cook is slowly progressing. The first few games he couldn't keep his feet. He had a pipe yesterday. Players develop at their own speed. If one thing Desko is, is patient. Once Cook puts on some weight I think he'll far better. Quinn has seen some spot play but hasn't done much.

 

[orange79]

Does anyone have any insight into why Varello took so many FO's, when Phaup had been doing so well? Did the coaches see something that made them think Danny had an advantage? Or is Phaup dinged up? Just curious. I couldn't be happier for the way it turned out.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

Does anyone have any insight into why Varello took so many FO's, when Phaup had been doing so well? Did the coaches see something that made them think Danny had an advantage? Or is Phaup dinged up? Just curious. I couldn't be happier for the way it turned out.

Better matchup.

Phaup struggled early (2-5).

Danny V was 13-18.

 

[JeremyCuse]

Better matchup.

Phaup struggled early.

This, he was struggling to win it cleanly and when they went Varello he started dominating and they just rode the hot hand

 

[Faegan]

This, he was struggling to win it cleanly and when they went Varello he started dominating and they just rode the hot hand

I was at the game, and had a good vantage point - UNC was winning the clamp every time and it wasn't even close. I'll post more about the game later.

 

[DoctahLexus]

Dearth really playing at a high level.
Bomberry in the form of his life the last few weeks
Solomon one of the most underrated players in the NCAA

Why isn’t Cook making the jump?
Why hasn’t Quinn emerged
Why do we bother with Carlin I know he scored but!!!

We are struggling to develop very good players this is a concern.

There is never a garauntee that you are going to come in as a freshman and be one of the top offensive players. Cook has also looked pretty solid recently and is drawing slides and getting about a point a game which is perfectly fine for a true freshman. As for Carlin and Quinn, seeing as they are the only players on offense who are having underwhelming seasons, I wouldn't say "developing very good players" is really a concern we have across the board. Everyone else on offense has been extremely impressive, with guys like Buttermore, Curry, and Lipka showing some serious improvement from their freshman years, and veterans like Solomon and voigt continuing to improve.

 

[tbonezone]

Offensive really needs to feel and recognize the slides better cuz somebody is wide open.

 

[Powellfan]

Sorry for the lateness of this post, but just had some quick thoughts on the UNC game.

After the Cornell and Hobart games I thought Syracuse had figured out a way to stop their slow starts to games, and was perturbed to see "bad" Syracuse rear it's head again. That said it seemed like SU responded quicker than they did in the past and slowly chipped away at the big lead. By the start of the fourth quarter the game was secured. Really impressive performance.

Offense looked a bit sloppy all game long but just seemed to wear down the Heels. Poor passing and some poor stickwork led to some bad turnovers, but they just never gave up. Have been really impressed with Solomon these last few weeks. I have been hard on him these last four years, but he really has embraced his strengths this year and has shown a grit and determination I haven't witnessed in many players. Hope he keeps it up for the rest of the season.

A bit worried about Phaup's performance, just because we've never seen him struggle like that before (and UNC didn't come into the game with great numbers). But have to imagine he will bounce back. Also great to see Varello play so well. It seems like minus the Colgate and UVA games, one of the two has been able to figure out the Face-off X. Hats off to both guys for handling things so professionally as well.

As many have pointed out its hard to pick "most improved" position since last year between face-off, goalie and short stick defense, but the fact that all three have improved so much is a big reason for the success in 2019.

 

[JeremyCuse]

Sorry for the lateness of this post, but just had some quick thoughts on the UNC game.

After the Cornell and Hobart games I thought Syracuse had figured out a way to stop their slow starts to games, and was perturbed to see "bad" Syracuse rear it's head again. That said it seemed like SU responded quicker than they did in the past and slowly chipped away at the big lead. By the start of the fourth quarter the game was secured. Really impressive performance.

Offense looked a bit sloppy all game long but just seemed to wear down the Heels. Poor passing and some poor stickwork led to some bad turnovers, but they just never gave up. Have been really impressed with Solomon these last few weeks. I have been hard on him these last four years, but he really has embraced his strengths this year and has shown a grit and determination I haven't witnessed in many players. Hope he keeps it up for the rest of the season.

A bit worried about Phaup's performance, just because we've never seen him struggle like that before (and UNC didn't come into the game with great numbers). But have to imagine he will bounce back. Also great to see Varello play so well. It seems like minus the Colgate and UVA games, one of the two has been able to figure out the Face-off X. Hats off to both guys for handling things so professionally as well.

As many have pointed out its hard to pick "most improved" position since last year between face-off, goalie and short stick defense, but the fact that all three have improved so much is a big reason for the success in 2019.

Good points. The O got off to a nice start with the 2 quick goals but then we started turning it over a bit and UNC had some nice offensive possessions. Thought we caught a bad break on a couple of the UNC first half goals but thats how it goes. Still would have liked to have seen the D stop the bleeding a little quicker but we eventually got the ship righted and UNC didn't score for a quarter +. I wouldn't worry to much about Phaup, every FOGO just has a matchup or game they struggle with. Even a guy like Ierlan runs into a matchup they just struggle with for some reason. Daddio used to own the ND FOGO when he was here despite his own struggles, it happens. That said if he doesn't get back on tract against Navy then I think you have to raise an eyebrow.

Interested to get your take on Navy.

 

[ivorytower]

Yep, different fogo matchups result in different outcomes. Face-off game has been a huge plus so far. Phaup and Varello have done the job against a number of good fogos to date but have yet to face the prime. Yale, Penn, Maryland, Penn State going to be in NCCA and maybe Towson as well . Could face any in NCAA, have faith they'll hold their own.. Do recall Varello giving Ierlan a good battle in winter scrimmage

Believe this team is unselfish despite the low assist totals. I always liken lax to hoops, many good b-ball offenses try to exploit mismatches if their players have one on one skills. Cuse has several and believe that is why assists are lower than most. Like to hear thoughts from others on this.

Man down % are not as high as last year while man up has been very efficient. The former is probably some reversion to mean off high number. It is still a good unit. Attack sticks really shine on man up