Princeton / NCAA Week News | Page 3 | Syracusefan.com
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Princeton / NCAA Week News

From Today's Lacrosse Reference's Expected Goals Newsletter:

Game Preview: Syracuse vs Princeton​

As we look ahead to the NCAA quarterfinal matchup between Syracuse and Princeton on May 17th, the stage is set for an intriguing battle with a trip to Championship Weekend on the line. According to the LaxElo model, this game should tilt slightly in favor of Syracuse, but Princeton certainly has the capability to secure a win. If these two teams faced off 100 times, we'd expect Syracuse to come out on top in 57 of those contests, indicating a competitive clash.

Syracuse has a bit of an advantage on offense when facing Princeton's defense. With their offensive efficiency ranked 5th in the nation, Syracuse knows how to score against tough teams. On the other hand, Princeton's defense is strong too, sitting at 10th place, but this means Syracuse might still manage to break through.

On the flip side, Princeton's offense also presents a challenge for the Syracuse defense. Princeton is 3rd in opponent-adjusted offensive efficiency, indicating a robust attacking unit. In contrast, Syracuse's defense ranks 9th, which means Princeton might exploit certain opportunities to score.

The possession game could be a decisive factor, with Syracuse having a significant advantage. Syracuse is currently averaging +8.2 more offensive possessions than their opponents after adjusting for their schedule, placing them 3rd nationally. Conversely, Princeton struggles in this area, with a -2.1 possession margin, ranking 54th. This disparity suggests Syracuse could control the tempo and create more scoring chances.

Faceoffs play a crucial role in determining possession margins, and Syracuse holds the advantage here. With John Mullen ranked 6th in the Faceoff Elo rankings, Syracuse is likely to gain more possessions from the faceoff X compared to Princeton, whose specialist Andrew McMeekin is ranked 34th.

To sum it up, Syracuse has a bit of an advantage, especially in possession and faceoffs. But with Princeton's strong offense and solid defense, this game could really go either way. Both teams are ready to play to their strengths, making this quarterfinal a thrilling and tight battle to watch.
 
That Powell interview is super interesting. A little slight dig when he mentioned that SU didn't recruit him... he then mentions the Thompsons twins as "slipping through the cracks as well..."
 
JeremyCuse said:

Extreme probably posted this already but a fascinating read form other coaches (anonymous of course).
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Agree with a lot, but think in general they still do not give enough credit to Spallina and Hiltz in their ability to draw slides. Yes Spallina won't run by his matchup, but he will draw slides by taking the body and getting above GLE. Teams don't want to deal with a guy posted up like that and send the double. Then he makes you pay with his feeding ability. Meanwhile Hiltz has the speed to either draw a slide while on a longpole, or to force a switch with a pick and run by a short stick (which they do acknowledge he can do). Think initiating with them will be a big part of our offense against Princeton, whose starting short stick defenders scare me more than the guys at close.
 
I think a lot of this game will come down to Princeton's ability to not just expose the non Carter Rice ssdms, but Grace and our LSMs as well. Unfortunately the Harvard tape has a lot of instances of Caccamo and Chuck K needing a slide and feeding the open man for a goal, or just getting beat and scored on 1v1. I worry Wade will be a handul for them. Grace has also been exposed in certain matchups 1v1. He is solid, but is still capable of being beaten in certain matchups. Malone took him to the rack fairly easily. I am hoping we can limit the sliding to our short sticks and not be sliding frequently to long pole matchups. If we get beat early, there is sometimes a tendency for our guys to slide too quickly. Against Duke and ND we did a solid job early 1v1 and guys had the confidence to stay on their matchups and not rush into a slide as the game went on. Need to get back to that.

The final concern is how Dwan will due against Kabiri and/or Mackesy. Quality dodgers have given him some trouble at times too, but he has looked better in recent weeks. I trust Figueras against either of those guys. They do not have the strait line speed that King has, which gave him a little trouble at times.
 
Planning to go tomorrow, anyone know if they’ll be selling beer at the stadium?
 
jr4750 said:
That Powell interview is super interesting. A little slight dig when he mentioned that SU didn't recruit him... he then mentions the Thompsons twins as "slipping through the cracks as well..."
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Wasn't that mainly due to academics?
 
Man it would be really really really nice if syracuse finally decided n actually play their best lacrosse toma. That every spot clicks toma. Offense rolls early n often , defense aggressive calm smart n on point. Johnny doing what he has been doing and more. Mccool being an absolute brick wall. Rhoa , leo , english , spallina , hiltz and thompson all shoot with high percent. Also 2nd midline scores least 3 goals.

Really don’t like this matchup. This team can not come out starting slow n turnover happy. Hope not only have a great game plan but hope it’s executed to perfection. Hard to get reed on how think game will go. Can see it being a close battle game down till the final seconds. But then again sadly can see syracuse getting blown out. No matter what mullen does toma he is a huge huge huge reason why we are where we are. So won’t fault him for anything really. But he may need to be above 65% or better , while starting fast offense right off face for us to take this game.

Both teams have played same few opponents. Princeton beat all them (duke, unc , harvard2x) tho we’re close. Yet we struggled with harvard 2x lost to unc n lost to duke first time. Let’s go orange come out ready and composed. Hated how it ended last year now finish it this year.
 
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