Preseason Predictions | Syracusefan.com

Preseason Predictions

Orangtiz

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Does anyone know what we are looking at here? Tomorrow will mark one month away from the game and I am stoked. Always excited for the start of the season, but even more so with the recent developments in the basketball team's season. Need lax to show up this season.

But on the offensive side of the ball what can we expect?

Are we going to rely on Ryan Simmons and Matt Lane as first line middies? Hopefully they've improved, but are they ready to make the jump and give us the scoring needed in ACC play? What young guns are going to step up and really see the field? Dordevic, Quinn, Lauder, Oladunmoye?

Would love to hear any knowledge.
 
Starting attack: Bomberry, Solomon, Rehfuss
Mid Line 1: Trimboli, Lane, Dordevic
Mid Line 2: Dearth, Simmons, Carlin
LSM: Fusco, Helmer
Close D: Bomberry, Cunningham, Mellen
Goalie: Madonna but wouldn't be surprised to see a Porter
 
Starting attack: Bomberry, Solomon, Rehfuss
Mid Line 1: Trimboli, Lane, Dordevic
Mid Line 2: Dearth, Simmons, Carlin
LSM: Fusco, Helmer
Close D: Bomberry, Cunningham, Mellen
Goalie: Madonna but wouldn't be surprised to see a Porter
Could it be possible to see bomberry back at midfield if the midfield isn't producing? And who would be put at the other attack do you think? Seebold would be a popular choice?
 
Guesses

A: Solomon, Refhuss, Bomberry, Voight
M: Trimboli, Lane, Dearth
M: Dordevic, Simmons, Carlin
M: Lipka, Hutchings, OSullivan
SSM: Helmer, Oladunmoye, Sullivan
LSM: Fusco, Kennedy, Chavez
CD: Mellen, Bomberry, Cunnigham, DiPietro
FOGO: Varello, Phoup, Martin
G: Madonna, Klan, Porter


Missing fall ball hindered
 
Going to put up a full post as we get closer but just going off of my buest guess with some dark horse/surprise picks sprinkled in:

Attack - Rehfuss, Solomon, Owen Seebold/Voigt/Curry
Midfield - Bomberry, Trimboli, Dordevic/Quinn
Midfield #2 - Lane, Simmons, Dearth, Dordevic/Quinn
Midline #3 - Carlin, O'Sullivan, Hutchings? Lauder?

SSDM - Schwasnick, Sullivan, Helmer, Dani O
LSM: Fusco, Swigart, Fernandez
CD: Mellen, Bomberry, Kennedy, Cunningham Dipietro
Goalie - Your guess is as good as mine.
 
Guesses

A: Solomon, Refhuss, Bomberry, Voight
M: Trimboli, Lane, Dearth
M: Dordevic, Simmons, Carlin
M: Lipka, Hutchings, OSullivan
SSM: Helmer, Oladunmoye, Sullivan
LSM: Fusco, Kennedy, Chavez
CD: Mellen, Bomberry, Cunnigham, DiPietro
FOGO: Varello, Phoup, Martin
G: Madonna, Klan, Porter


Missing fall ball hindered

SU could run a decent 3rd mid line for the first time in a while.
 
Going to put up a full post as we get closer but just going off of my buest guess with some dark horse/surprise picks sprinkled in:

Attack - Rehfuss, Solomon, Owen Seebold/Voigt/Curry
Midfield - Bomberry, Trimboli, Dordevic/Quinn
Midfield #2 - Lane, Simmons, Dearth, Dordevic/Quinn
Midline #3 - Carlin, O'Sullivan, Hutchings? Lauder?

SSDM - Schwasnick, Sullivan, Helmer, Dani O
LSM: Fusco, Swigart, Fernandez
CD: Mellen, Bomberry, Kennedy, Cunningham Dipietro
Goalie - Your guess is as good as mine.
I know you think Bomberry moves back to middie but from everything we saw last year and what Ive heard this year, its not happening. He is better at finishing on the crease then a majority of the players and he isn't viewed as a dodging threat. If Lane struggles with his dodging, I can see Quinn, Dearth or O'Sullivan getting a crack. If Lane is on the first line with Trimboli and Dordevic then Donahue needs to figure out a way to get him moving into a shooting spot while the other two dodge the alley and then back side frees up a shot/movement for cutters
 
I know you think Bomberry moves back to middie but from everything we saw last year and what Ive heard this year, its not happening. He is better at finishing on the crease then a majority of the players and he isn't viewed as a dodging threat. If Lane struggles with his dodging, I can see Quinn, Dearth or O'Sullivan getting a crack. If Lane is on the first line with Trimboli and Dordevic then Donahue needs to figure out a way to get him moving into a shooting spot while the other two dodge the alley and then back side frees up a shot/movement for cutters

Your probably right about Bomberry, I can see the reasoning behind it but to me personally Bomberry at midfield is a much better player then Bomberry at attack and the numbers and his play last year I think bear that out. It also would give a nice Sr presence to go with Trimboli and whoever the third guy is. Bombery did a lot of damage around the crease when he played midfield last year so I think the lack of a dodging threat while true wasn't to much of an impediment last year. If you assume a starting attack of Rehfuss, Solomon, and Bomberry that puts a lot on Rehfuss's plate as the QB because as you noted Bomberry can't dodge at all and its not really Solomons strong suit though he's better then Bomberr by far.

If Bomberry does play attack that opens up another spot on the 1st line midfield as its essentially Trimboli ? ?. I think Lane would really have to show something in pre-season to get the NOD again after last year. He flashed against UVA and by far had his best game but then started to struggle again and never really got it going again. I think Lane would have made a good attackmen if he was surrounded by 2 high end guys but I think at Lemoyne or lower level D1 he really could have excelled as he just never looks comfortable playing midfield and obviously has struggled tremendously to dodge. That said he does add a nice element to the man up team and I think as you noted if he is on the field with two dodging midfielders he can really take advantage of finding an opening to catch and shoot. If I had to guess at the first mid line without Bomberry I would go with Trimbolie, Dordevic and I guess Simmons because Desko usually likes to give a Sr a shot first. The alternative would be Dordevic, Trimboli, and Dearth which I think would be a very interesting combination. Second line of Lane, Simmons, and Quinn/O'Sullivan would be a nice mix of youth and experience.
 
I have heard that they will be trying to mix and match Quinn, Solomon and Rehfuss at mid and attack. This was the rumor when Quinn and Rehfuss were home playing during the holidays. All speculation until we can see them on the field.
 
I have heard that they will be trying to mix and match Quinn, Solomon and Rehfuss at mid and attack. This was the rumor when Quinn and Rehfuss were home playing during the holidays. All speculation until we can see them on the field.

That would be very interesting. I could see it working with Quinn and maybe Rehfuss but I can't see Solomon playing midfield and with Refuss beign the only high end dodger I think he has to stay at attack full time.
 
Attack - Bomberry, Solomon and Rehfuss

Sounds like that will be the starting group. I would be suprised/shocked if it stayed that way the entire season. To much talent coming up behind with better attack skill sets. Could see Desko rotating Bomberry ala Mariano last year playing him at both spots.
 
Your probably right about Bomberry, I can see the reasoning behind it but to me personally Bomberry at midfield is a much better player then Bomberry at attack and the numbers and his play last year I think bear that out. It also would give a nice Sr presence to go with Trimboli and whoever the third guy is. Bombery did a lot of damage around the crease when he played midfield last year so I think the lack of a dodging threat while true wasn't to much of an impediment last year. If you assume a starting attack of Rehfuss, Solomon, and Bomberry that puts a lot on Rehfuss's plate as the QB because as you noted Bomberry can't dodge at all and its not really Solomons strong suit though he's better then Bomberr by far.

Dodging from attack and dodging from the midfield are 2 entirely different things though. Bomberry is not an alley dodger and his strength is playing in a small area and finishing, so at either position he's confined to the crease. imo, that makes him better suited for attack rather than midfield as you don't really want him on top with the ball when the middies are rotating around in their motion/triangle offense.

If Bomberry is running midfield you'll see the middies in a triangle with Bomberry on the crease. If he's playing attack the attack will be in the triangle with Bombery on the crease, while the middies will be 3 high in an umbrella O or they might run sets out of a hybrid 22. Either way he's on the crease but he'll always be staying on that side of the field as I really don't see any scenario where he's a middie.

Solomon is an excellent wing dodger (as well as X dodger) because of his ankle breaking quickness. His quickness translates at the midfield so I'll be interested to see if he gets any run there. If we have a pup attackman that can't be kept off the field (Seebold) then I can see Solomon getting middie runs. He was running some middie against Hopkins last year.
 
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Sounds like that will be the starting group. I would be suprised/shocked if it stayed that way the entire season. To much talent coming up behind with better attack skill sets. Could see Desko rotating Bomberry ala Mariano last year playing him at both spots.

agreed, I just differ in that I think Solomon does the rotating at both spots and not Bomberry.
 
Dodging from attack and dodging from the midfield are 2 entirely different things though. Bomberry is not an alley dodger and his strength is playing in a small area and finishing so at either position he's confined to the crease. imo, that makes him better suited for attack rather than midfield as you don't really want him on top with the ball when the middies are rotating around in their motion/triangle offense.

If Bomberry is running midfield you'll see the middies in a triangle with Bomberry on the crease. If he's playing attack the attack will be in the triangle with Bombery on the crease while the middies will be 3 high in an umbrella O or they might run set out of a hybrid 22. Either way he's on the crease but he'll always be staying on that side of the field as I really don't see any scenario where he's a middie.

Solomon is an excellent wing dodger (as well as X dodger) because of his ankle breaking quickness. His quickness translates at the midfield so I'll be interested to see if he gets any run there. If we have a pup attackman that can't be kept off the field (Seebold) then I can see Solomon getting middie runs. He was running some middie against Hopkins last year.

I agree that Bomberry is definitely best around the crease but he does have an undervalued outside shot. Remember he led the NCAA his Sophmore year on man up goals most of which were from outside albeit probably lightly covered if at all. Bomberry had his best games for SU earlier in the season last year at midfield where I though he did a nice job of moving without the ball and as you noted he spent a lot of time on the crease as Segio ran all over the place.

Your right about Solomon having a good quick burst but I struggle to see him playing middie outside of a change of pace once a quarter or something like that. Solomon isn't a guy who dodges and re-dodges and runs around. He likes to get the ball and make move to the goal and as you noted he has had a good amount of success doding from GLE. He also is comfortable playing on the crease though his game has a more complex nature then a pure crease attackmen like a Keogh. I don't think he would be comfortabl or have much success alley dodging or trying to initiate from up top. I think someone like a Seebold or a Curry could make a push at attack as the season goes on, Curry especially has looked good according to Dekso and a few others. Curry can play Attack or Middie so maybe they do something there. Personally id rather see Rhefuss and Solomon at attack with a rotating third guy depending on the match up and who is having success that game. Voigt is an interesting guy but like Bomberry he doesn't dodge much but he's comfortable off the crease playing that 5-7 yard area like he does on man up and has had a lot of success.
 
Sounds like that will be the starting group. I would be suprised/shocked if it stayed that way the entire season. To much talent coming up behind with better attack skill sets. Could see Desko rotating Bomberry ala Mariano last year playing him at both spots.

Could definitely see this and it makes a lot of sense if, and it's a big if, one of the young uns can step up and quickly play attack with Rehfuss and Solly. Mr Seebold come on down...
Like you, I also don't see Lane sticking on the first line mids but won't be surprised to see him trot out there the first 2-3 games. He can't alley dodge and isn't a consistent scoring threat. I think we will continue to see him on the man up where his size presents match up problems.
 
Could definitely see this and it makes a lot of sense if, and it's a big if, one of the young uns can step up and quickly play attack with Rehfuss and Solly. Mr Seebold come on down...
Like you, I also don't see Lane sticking on the first line mids but won't be surprised to see him trot out there the first 2-3 games. He can't alley dodge and isn't a consistent scoring threat. I think we will continue to see him on the man up where his size presents match up problems.

So many questions marks right and as you noted there a lot of big "If" such and such happens. The good news is that there seems to be a lot new/Freshmen offensive players who look ready to make an impact/get PT right right out of teh gate. Desko mentioned Buttermore, Dordevic, Spencer Small, Curry in his PC yesterday and I think that bodes well especially when you consider that Small and Buttermore weren't really on anyones radar for PT this year. Of course the flip side to this is we only have 9-10 spots for regular PT unless SU is going run a third line consistently and rotate 2 extra attackmen versus 1. There would appear to be a lot of high quality depth right now especially at the midfield. Really interested to hear how these 3 scrimmages turn out.
 
It will be interesting to see if there are any strategy changes with the new shot clock rules. More midfields used or two-way middies.
 
It will be interesting to see if there are any strategy changes with the new shot clock rules. More midfields used or two-way middies.

The changes to the shot clock were an expirement for this past fall ball, don't believe theres anything new for this coming season.
 
Lots of good discussion here ... Desko really seems to be pushing for the youngsters to get more playing time, which I fully support. Seems like this group of freshmen might be special. Some random thoughts -

1. Hopefully, at the very least, Matt Lane can draw longsticks off other players and keep defenses honest. Once a year he has a break out game early in the year (two years ago it was against Albany when he scored 4 points), then seemingly looses all confidence. On man-up he needs to diversify his shot placement - it's going top right corner pretty much every time. I will always wonder what might have been if they had made him an attackman and he didn't lose a ton of weight. Might he have been an Ian Dingman type force? He was 244 his freshman year, played at 222 last year.
2. People aren't mentioning Kevin Hutchings, but I think he will be a good player. Maybe won't be bring the scoring dimension that Ciferri and Gillis did, but he was very solid last season. Plus he has great size at 6'3.
3. Moving Quinn around is an interesting idea. I think Rehfuss is the better bet to be a good midfielder, but I would still want to see him on the field as much as possible. Plus he is very good behind the goal. I am guessing they are doing this so they can get their best dodgers matched up on short sticks.
4. Given that he would be the only senior on the attack, I think they keep Bomberry there as opposed to moving to midfield. Curious how they use Voigt this year. He hasn't gotten a lot of talk here. Not sure how many offenses typically play two "finishers" at the same time. On the flip side for Bomberry, Matt Poskay was a "finisher" who played midfield for UVA, so it's not unheard of. I keep going back and forth on this one. Guess it depends on if Seebold is ready for the big time.
5. My biggest hope (other than the freshmen playing a lot), is for Peter Dearth to see a lot of time on offense. I thought he was great there last year. Felt like they were trying to turn him into Matt Abbott last year - and I don't think he is a natural on defense. Last year he showed he could dodge and play off ball - and most impressively he showed initiative which I always think is difficult for a freshman. He wasn't afraid to go to the goal or take a shot.
6. LSM seems to be a really deep position and SSDM seems pretty unsettled. Do they move Helmer to short stick? Fusco, Kennedy and Swigert sounds like a pretty good unit. Moving Helmer would add more athleticism to the short stick unit, which I think has been exposed physically over the years.
7. Interesting that Syracuse could be relying on a D-II transfer in goal. Especially with an U-19 team player on the roster.
 
The way I see it every year I'm worried going in because of what we lost from the previous year. And every year we seem to field a good team. For the first time in a long time though we have to completely rely on our defense to win us games. This offense has tons of young talent but right now no proven stars. I don't see anyone dropping 80+ points so we needs a bunch of guys to drop 20 and the attack to have around 40-50 apiece. If our defense can step up and lock people down we could have a chance to make a Maryland type run. Their offense (not last year) but in past seasons hasn't been great but their defense Carried them to a final four. My hope is ours can do that this year
 
No matter the level of embarrassing loss Desko won't get fired.
 
I hope I eat my words but realistically I can’t see us making Championship weekend this year! With most of our talent on the defensive end and will look to freshman and inexperienced players to dominate. Trimboli, Solomon and Bomberry being the best we have without any surprises!

We do develop players well and let’s hope we have some players step up, to be honest I love years like this when players have to step up or we look to our freshman class! Looking forward to the year and watching Seebold, Dami, Dordevic and Murphy etc!

We also have question marks at Face-Off and the Goalie position!

We have another great class next year and I think we will be great again soon!
 
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