Potential 2023 Roster

[nyclax]

Spallina will start because he's a freak of nature and generational prospect but I think talk of the other freshmen starting or making big contributions immediately is a tad optimistic. It's really hard to start as a freshman, even on a roster that lacks talent. Getting used to college classes, workout regimens, the intense schedule, speed of the game, conditioning, it's an enormous adjustment. I would expect guys like Thomson and Kempney to make some noise as the season goes along but temper expectations for immediate contributions. Spallina is the only one I'd feel comfortable projecting for a major role in game 1.

 

[PhatOrange]

Spallina will start because he's a freak of nature and generational prospect but I think talk of the other freshmen starting or making big contributions immediately is a tad optimistic. It's really hard to start as a freshman, even on a roster that lacks talent. Getting used to college classes, workout regimens, the intense schedule, speed of the game, conditioning, it's an enormous adjustment. I would expect guys like Thomson and Kempney to make some noise as the season goes along but temper expectations for immediate contributions. Spallina is the only one I'd feel comfortable projecting for a major role in game 1.

I agree with you 100%, but I think some hotbeds are better than where many of current kids have played. The NY Catholic League or St Anthony's for example, the top to bottom competition is just so good, the best anywhere and the lacrosse IQ kids naturally possess as a result are just better than somebody coming from Torrey Pines or Dallas or Seattle. If Leo wasn't coming out of St Anthony's I don't think I'd say he's a maybe.

 

[Powellfan]

I imagine we will be having this debate through much of the off-season. I totally get the argument that Dordevic should be moved to midfield. SU will not return a 20 goal scorer to the midfield for the first time in a long time. We’ve seen flashes of good play from some youngsters but that has come from kids who are natural attackmen (Corsi and Birtwistle). That said Doredevic will put up close to 50 goals this year. We haven’t seen that since Dylan Donahue. I can’t for the life of me imagine they will move him back to midfield in what would look very much like a demotion to me. Plus he would fit in really well with the other two starters at attack. Spallina will be playing behind the cage, Hiltz the lefty wing and Dordevic the righty wing. Spallina will be the quarterback, Hiltz the finisher plus complimentary passer and Dordevic the rampaging dodger. I don’t think they should over think this.

To the poster that said Dordevic looked tired and could use some shifts off, I don’t think taking defensive shifts if he gets caught will help his stamina much.

The midfield is a tough puzzle to figure out. Lots of good players but not a lot of production. I think it comes down to matching styles and strengths and weaknesses. Cordes is a lefty (I think) who can pass and shoot but is not a dodger. Like I said Birtwistle and Corsi are natural right handed attackmen. Thomson is a right handed Canadian style finisher. Leo is a kid who looks like he can do it all. Kempney looks to have good speed and can dodge. There are more but the coaches need to find combos that will compliment each other.

I am not a high school recruiting expert by any stretch of the imagination but I am very excited for Leo. He seems to be getting lost in the shuffle but he’s either the leading or second leading scorer for one of the top 2 teams in the country. Can shoot the ball really well and also has really nice vision. Commentators have noted his passing has really improved this season. He’s a lefty which complicate things with Hiltz but I think he could work really well as a middie. He’s not big but is definitely very physical and dodges hard. I have to imagine he’s part of the first two midfield lines next spring.

 

[Powellfan]

You gotta have your best 6 offensive players on the field, does no good having someone in the top 6 sitting on the bench with the 2nd line mids. If that necessitates Dordevic playing (lining up) as a mid so the best 3 kids more suited for attack can be on the field then that's what has to happen.

Hiltz (attack), Dordevic (a/m) , Spallina (attack) are locks to start. I believe Leo (attack) could come in and start.

Corsi (5-11 175) could start at mid. Cordes (5-8 188) could start at mid; he dropped an easy pass on the crease Saturday in the 4th, just can't have that but he's not alone. Birtwistle (6-0 195) I'm guessing will be given every opportunity in the last two games to have a say on that 3rd attack spot.

There are a few freshman middies with tremendous size and we do need to get bigger. Do any of these guys step up?

Borges 6-1 200 (yorktown)
LeVine 6-2 217 (windham NH/ tomahawks)
White 6-2 190
Kelly 6-0 210
Lewis (redshirt) 6-4 219

Except for Corsi/Cordes, I haven't seen much of anything from anyone who played midfield and is returning that would make me think 'that' kid is a starter. Might be the most wide open position in memory.

I think we absolutely look to land an immediate impact transfer starter at midfield.

I believe Borges was hurt this year and that is why he redshirted. LeVine has gotten some playing time on man up as others have said but that due to injury and I don’t think he’s registered a stat of any kind. All others besides Lewis are freshmen who must be redshirting. None came in highly ranked by recruiting services but you never know. I did not have Olexo on my radar as the starting LSM so it just depends. It would be good to see some size on the field.

 

[Cuse All-In]

Spallina will start because he's a freak of nature and generational prospect but I think talk of the other freshmen starting or making big contributions immediately is a tad optimistic. It's really hard to start as a freshman, even on a roster that lacks talent. Getting used to college classes, workout regimens, the intense schedule, speed of the game, conditioning, it's an enormous adjustment. I would expect guys like Thomson and Kempney to make some noise as the season goes along but temper expectations for immediate contributions. Spallina is the only one I'd feel comfortable projecting for a major role in game 1.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Thompson starting next year at either middie or attack. Big time talent a little under the radar.

 

[DoctahLexus]

I wouldn't be surprised to see Thompson starting next year at either middie or attack. Big time talent a little under the radar.

Friendly reminder since I have been corrected on this before: Thomson*

Could be the answer to a lot of our offball finishing concerns. A great feeder too.

 

[Cuse All-In]

Friendly reminder since I have been corrected on this before: Thomson*

Could be the answer to a lot of our offball finishing concerns. A great feeder too.

Ha ha. Thanks. You are correct on the spelling. It's inconsistent on some websites.

 

[ForCuseSake]

I'll take Dwan as my dark horse to get significant PT at close D.

And perhaps start by the end of 2023.

 

[Shrmdougluvr]

Spallina

Dordevic Hiltz

The three most skilled players should always be on the field.

 

[JeremyCuse]

I imagine we will be having this debate through much of the off-season. I totally get the argument that Dordevic should be moved to midfield. SU will not return a 20 goal scorer to the midfield for the first time in a long time. We’ve seen flashes of good play from some youngsters but that has come from kids who are natural attackmen (Corsi and Birtwistle). That said Doredevic will put up close to 50 goals this year. We haven’t seen that since Dylan Donahue. I can’t for the life of me imagine they will move him back to midfield in what would look very much like a demotion to me. Plus he would fit in really well with the other two starters at attack. Spallina will be playing behind the cage, Hiltz the lefty wing and Dordevic the righty wing. Spallina will be the quarterback, Hiltz the finisher plus complimentary passer and Dordevic the rampaging dodger. I don’t think they should over think this.

To the poster that said Dordevic looked tired and could use some shifts off, I don’t think taking defensive shifts if he gets caught will help his stamina much.

The midfield is a tough puzzle to figure out. Lots of good players but not a lot of production. I think it comes down to matching styles and strengths and weaknesses. Cordes is a lefty (I think) who can pass and shoot but is not a dodger. Like I said Birtwistle and Corsi are natural right handed attackmen. Thomson is a right handed Canadian style finisher. Leo is a kid who looks like he can do it all. Kempney looks to have good speed and can dodge. There are more but the coaches need to find combos that will compliment each other.

I am not a high school recruiting expert by any stretch of the imagination but I am very excited for Leo. He seems to be getting lost in the shuffle but he’s either the leading or second leading scorer for one of the top 2 teams in the country. Can shoot the ball really well and also has really nice vision. Commentators have noted his passing has really improved this season. He’s a lefty which complicate things with Hiltz but I think he could work really well as a middie. He’s not big but is definitely very physical and dodges hard. I have to imagine he’s part of the first two midfield lines next spring.

LOL that was me on the rest. I get your point on Spallina and Leo both being Left handed but for the first time in a while (great minds think a like ), I have to disagree. If Leo is as good as he appears and can transition to D1 as a frosh (easier said then done as NYC pointed out) why make him try and play a position he has never really played in midfield versus getting potentially a 4 year starter at attack? We tried that with Cook and Evans and it was a disaster. Dordevic has been an AA at the midfield here and despite his listing as an attackmen he essentially is playing as a mid this year when you look where he initiates and shoots about 85% of the time.

Hiltz and Spallina will automatically be a dynamic duo at attack and between Birtwistle and Leo and Thomson and potentially others I think there is more then enough talent to push Dordevic back to midfield so SU can try and balance out the starting six as midfield clearly has more question marks then attack next year and that's even if you move Dordevic there. Moving Dordevic also gives you a veteran presence at midfield which barring a transfer in will be almost assuredly sophomores and freshmen on both lines. Unless SU gets hit with the injury bug at attack again, moving Dordevic seems like a no brainer.

 

[sholokov2]

I imagine we will be having this debate through much of the off-season. I totally get the argument that Dordevic should be moved to midfield. SU will not return a 20 goal scorer to the midfield for the first time in a long time. We’ve seen flashes of good play from some youngsters but that has come from kids who are natural attackmen (Corsi and Birtwistle). That said Doredevic will put up close to 50 goals this year. We haven’t seen that since Dylan Donahue. I can’t for the life of me imagine they will move him back to midfield in what would look very much like a demotion to me. Plus he would fit in really well with the other two starters at attack. Spallina will be playing behind the cage, Hiltz the lefty wing and Dordevic the righty wing. Spallina will be the quarterback, Hiltz the finisher plus complimentary passer and Dordevic the rampaging dodger. I don’t think they should over think this.

To the poster that said Dordevic looked tired and could use some shifts off, I don’t think taking defensive shifts if he gets caught will help his stamina much.

The midfield is a tough puzzle to figure out. Lots of good players but not a lot of production. I think it comes down to matching styles and strengths and weaknesses. Cordes is a lefty (I think) who can pass and shoot but is not a dodger. Like I said Birtwistle and Corsi are natural right handed attackmen. Thomson is a right handed Canadian style finisher. Leo is a kid who looks like he can do it all. Kempney looks to have good speed and can dodge. There are more but the coaches need to find combos that will compliment each other.

I am not a high school recruiting expert by any stretch of the imagination but I am very excited for Leo. He seems to be getting lost in the shuffle but he’s either the leading or second leading scorer for one of the top 2 teams in the country. Can shoot the ball really well and also has really nice vision. Commentators have noted his passing has really improved this season. He’s a lefty which complicate things with Hiltz but I think he could work really well as a middie. He’s not big but is definitely very physical and dodges hard. I have to imagine he’s part of the first two midfield lines next spring.

Just watched the UNC game for the first time. I was encouraged by the level of effort, the way the kids seem to want to play for Gait and Petro, the deft inclusion of some of the players like Birtwhistle, Florini, who have waited for their chance, by the stellar play of Rice and Cacammo (sic), by the integration of Cordes and Corsi on offense despite their mistakes, by the improvement in some of the defenders like Clary and Olexa, even Dami who never takes a step back, by the closeness of the game itself. Last year even this UNC team would have beaten them by 7 or 8. SU plays with attitude, never gives up. I'll take that any year.

 

[nyclax]

Last year even this UNC team would have beaten them by 7 or 8. SU plays with attitude, never gives up. I'll take that any year.

That's a stretch. Last year's UNC team was considerably better than this year's team. They have no one other than Gray who can create. Last year they had a ton of talent and experience at midfield including Cook, Anderson, and Perry, all All-American caliber players. They also lost McCarthy to graduation and Trippi and Cameron to the transfer portal. Losing all of that midfield production and leadership has really hurt them. Gray, as good as he is, can't do it all himself, and it is showing.

 

[Faegan]

JeremyCuse (#60) and Powellfan (#53) make excellent points here. There is a glut at attack next year and it has to be carefully managed by the staff. We could lose high profile talent to another top program a la Logan Wisnauskas to Maryland. Leo is definitely flying under the radar here... he is a really, really good player. The staff needs to be upfront with all of them and make sure they know they are going to be utilized and then get really creative.

 

[MD Cuse Fan]

That's a stretch. Last year's UNC team was considerably better than this year's team. They have no one other than Gray who can create. Last year they had a ton of talent and experience at midfield including Cook, Anderson, and Perry, all All-American caliber players. They also lost McCarthy to graduation and Trippi and Cameron to the transfer portal. Losing all of that midfield production and leadership has really hurt them. Gray, as good as he is, can't do it all himself, and it is showing.

Yeah you really wonder what UNC would be this year without Gray.

 

[ivorytower]

Hope UNC makes tourney over Duke for Gray's sake but cant see UNC making any noise if they did. Breschi switched personnel around and got ss matchups for Kelly as Phat noted but they also executed well in spreading floor n putting ball on cage on the few opportunities they had. Cuse could have mailed it in after being down b

Yeah you really wonder what UNC would be this year without Gray.

y several with nothing to gain. They didnt.

Wonder what Cuse would have been these past 2 1/2 years if Gray joined us rather than Scanlan in 2020. That talent fit in seamlessly gets his while making all better

 

[sholokov2]

That's a stretch. Last year's UNC team was considerably better than this year's team. They have no one other than Gray who can create. Last year they had a ton of talent and experience at midfield including Cook, Anderson, and Perry, all All-American caliber players. They also lost McCarthy to graduation and Trippi and Cameron to the transfer portal. Losing all of that midfield production and leadership has really hurt them. Gray, as good as he is, can't do it all himself, and it is showing.

okay, 5 or 6

 

[Stealth4785]

LOL that was me on the rest. I get your point on Spallina and Leo both being Left handed but for the first time in a while (great minds think a like ), I have to disagree. If Leo is as good as he appears and can transition to D1 as a frosh (easier said then done as NYC pointed out) why make him try and play a position he has never really played in midfield versus getting potentially a 4 year starter at attack? We tried that with Cook and Evans and it was a disaster. Dordevic has been an AA at the midfield here and despite his listing as an attackmen he essentially is playing as a mid this year when you look where he initiates and shoots about 85% of the time.

Hiltz and Spallina will automatically be a dynamic duo at attack and between Birtwistle and Leo and Thomson and potentially others I think there is more then enough talent to push Dordevic back to midfield so SU can try and balance out the starting six as midfield clearly has more question marks then attack next year and that's even if you move Dordevic there. Moving Dordevic also gives you a veteran presence at midfield which barring a transfer in will be almost assuredly sophomores and freshmen on both lines. Unless SU gets hit with the injury bug at attack again, moving Dordevic seems like a no brainer.

Re: Spallina as left handed, confusing him with Hiltz? Regarding converting attack to midfield, we've had some mild success with that as well. See Mariano, Galasso and even JoJo Marasco.

 

[JeremyCuse]

Re: Spallina as left handed, confusing him with Hiltz? Regarding converting attack to midfield, we've had some mild success with that as well. See Mariano, Galasso and even JoJo Marasco.

Yes sorry meant Hiltz. We have had some success with moving attackmen but keep in mind Mariano and Marasco had played midfield in highschool and I think Mariano may have even played some middie at Umass but I could be wrong about that. Galasso is the one that stands out as being able to make the transition pretty much flawlessly but he was a freak of a player who doesn't get the credit for how good he was at SU those 2 years especially his Sr. year.

Also 2 out of those three were upper class transfers already 2+ years into college. I am not a huge fan of moving freshmen attack guys to midfield who don't have a history of playing there. It screwed up Evans and Cook.

 

[Purple Haze]

Hope UNC makes tourney over Duke for Gray's sake but cant see UNC making any noise if they did. Breschi switched personnel around and got ss matchups for Kelly as Phat noted but they also executed well in spreading floor n putting ball on cage on the few opportunities they had. Cuse could have mailed it in after being down b


y several with nothing to gain. They didnt.

Wonder what Cuse would have been these past 2 1/2 years if Gray joined us rather than Scanlan in 2020. That talent fit in seamlessly gets his while making all better

Speaking of Scanlan - just Googled him to see what he's been up to. A quick glance at his Instagram and YouTube tells me that the kid is lost. Apparently he's given up on lacrosse and is pursuing a career in music. And I'm not busting on the kid - I really feel bad for him because it's obvious he hasn't yet hit rock bottom.

 

[Stealth4785]

Yes sorry meant Hiltz. We have had some success with moving attackmen but keep in mind Mariano and Marasco had played midfield in highschool and I think Mariano may have even played some middie at Umass but I could be wrong about that. Galasso is the one that stands out as being able to make the transition pretty much flawlessly but he was a freak of a player who doesn't get the credit for how good he was at SU those 2 years especially his Sr. year.

Also 2 out of those three were upper class transfers already 2+ years into college. I am not a huge fan of moving freshmen attack guys to midfield who don't have a history of playing there. It screwed up Evans and Cook.

Re: Mariano, played attack in high school, converted to midfielder at Syracuse after transferring from UMass. See your point about primarily upper classmen, but switching both positions AND schemes is more challenging than just position.

Marasco played attack in high school, converted to midfielder at Syracuse freshmen year.

 

[SkyTopBus44]

What do we have in Defensive recruits for next season? Are there any that can step in right away and contribute? I don't follow the recruiting as well as many here do. Seems like that is our biggest weakness that and in the goal. Although, I think that with better defensive play the goalies might be better than they have shown so far.

 

[4evaOrange]

What do we have in Defensive recruits for next season? Are there any that can step in right away and contribute? I don't follow the recruiting as well as many here do. Seems like that is our biggest weakness that and in the goal. Although, I think that with better defensive play the goalies might be better than they have shown so far.

Dwan is a 5 star
Figueiraes 4 star
Sageder 4 star LSM
Kuczynski 4 star

All should fight for minutes and wouldn’t be surprised if one of these get starter like minutes or eventually start.

 

[Shrmdougluvr]

Dwan is a 5 star
Figueiraes 4 star
Sageder 4 star LSM
Kuczynski 4 star

All should fight for minutes and wouldn’t be surprised if one of these get starter like minutes or eventually start.

Beardsley is really high on Dwan. Said he had a growth spurt and now looks more like someone who can cover a "1", then the cerebral type who was projected to cover a "2" or "3."

From one of those Loyola videos on Youtube, he stands out in both size and movement (it didnt seem like Loyola was otherwise that good this year [relatively speaking]).

 

[PhatOrange]

imo it's easier to go from attack to midfield but only if it fits their skill set. Dordevic makes the most sense.

 

[Cuse All-In]

Beardsley is really high on Dwan. Said he had a growth spurt and now looks more like someone who can cover a "1", then the cerebral type who was projected to cover a "2" or "3."

From one of those Loyola videos on Youtube, he stands out in both size and movement (it didnt seem like Loyola was otherwise that good this year [relatively speaking]).

I was down recently and saw Dwan - he is tall now and a dominant presence. I think he has an excellent chance to start next year, particularly given Cuse' current situation . Loyola has a top tier defense with a mediocre O which explains their decent but not great record overall.