Rutgers Preview

[Powellfan]

Syracuse welcomes former Big East foe Rutgers to the Dome this Saturday in highly anticipated ACC-Big 10 matchup. I don't know a ton about Rutgers (Jeremy had some good thoughts in the tiring schedule thread), so this will be short. The biggest concern for me is the goalie - The Scarlet Knights have two losses but those occurred against two solid teams in Loyola and Army (Edlemann was out against the Black Knights). Since he's been back in the starting lineup he's put up some really nice save numbers. SU has to be patient and work for good shots. Will Buttermore see an increased role (maybe he gets bumped up to EMO?)

Defensively who guards Mullins and who guards Charalambides? Mullins might be the matchup for Mellen size wise. Not sure what to make of Rutgers at the face-off X, they have a rotation of three guys, one of whom has a 70% success rate but has only 35 attempts. Hopefully SU can continue to utilize Varello and Phaup to find the hot hand.

Have to stay focused, this game is huge in terms of giving the team a little bit of breathing room with perhaps the two biggest games of the year coming up (rankings wise at least).

 

[HtownOrange]

This game sets up the first time a team could win two conferences championships outright in the same season. Only half serious, the ACC is tough, as usual.

 

[MD Cuse Fan]

Syracuse welcomes former Big East foe Rutgers to the Dome this Saturday in highly anticipated ACC-Big 10 matchup. I don't know a ton about Rutgers (Jeremy had some good thoughts in the tiring schedule thread), so this will be short. The biggest concern for me is the goalie - The Scarlet Knights have two losses but those occurred against two solid teams in Loyola and Army (Edlemann was out against the Black Knights). Since he's been back in the starting lineup he's put up some really nice save numbers. SU has to be patient and work for good shots. Will Buttermore see an increased role (maybe he gets bumped up to EMO?)

Defensively who guards Mullins and who guards Charalambides? Mullins might be the matchup for Mellen size wise. Not sure what to make of Rutgers at the face-off X, they have a rotation of three guys, one of whom has a 70% success rate but has only 35 attempts. Hopefully SU can continue to utilize Varello and Phaup to find the hot hand.

Have to stay focused, this game is huge in terms of giving the team a little bit of breathing room with perhaps the two biggest games of the year coming up (rankings wise at least).

Yeah looking over Rutgers stats what jumped out to me were Edleman's save % and the fact that they've got 3 guys who have taken a majority of the draws. I watched a decent amount of their game against Loyola a few weeks ago and at least that day they seemed mostly over-matched. I did attend the game last year @ Rutgers and Syracuse got out to an early lead, Rutgers came back and it was mostly an even game until the SK's pulled away in the 4th (man I can still hear that damn train horn they play after every goal).

For those that have access I did see the Rutgers/Lehigh game is on the BTN tonight.

 

[JeremyCuse]

Syracuse welcomes former Big East foe Rutgers to the Dome this Saturday in highly anticipated ACC-Big 10 matchup. I don't know a ton about Rutgers (Jeremy had some good thoughts in the tiring schedule thread), so this will be short. The biggest concern for me is the goalie - The Scarlet Knights have two losses but those occurred against two solid teams in Loyola and Army (Edlemann was out against the Black Knights). Since he's been back in the starting lineup he's put up some really nice save numbers. SU has to be patient and work for good shots. Will Buttermore see an increased role (maybe he gets bumped up to EMO?)

Defensively who guards Mullins and who guards Charalambides? Mullins might be the matchup for Mellen size wise. Not sure what to make of Rutgers at the face-off X, they have a rotation of three guys, one of whom has a 70% success rate but has only 35 attempts. Hopefully SU can continue to utilize Varello and Phaup to find the hot hand.

Have to stay focused, this game is huge in terms of giving the team a little bit of breathing room with perhaps the two biggest games of the year coming up (rankings wise at least).

Good post (again), meant to piggy back off of this last night but was exhausted.

A few things - Harryman is their #1 FOGO who is a transfer from Bellarmine and Towson who had to sit out last year being a 2 time transfer. He's been their best faceoff guy by far but he got hurt vs St. Johns made a cameo appearance vs Fairfield and then got hurt again against Princeton. Seems unlikely he will play Saturday and even if he does he won't be anywhere near 100%. With him out they have our old buddy Alex Schoen and Frosh Michael Ott. Both have struggled for the most part as their both under 50% with Ott being the better of the two coming in at 46%. Assuming Harryman is out, SU should have a sizeable advantage here.

Offensively Rutgers is a lot like Hopkins, good to potentially great attack when everyone is clicking but big question marks at the midfield (at least as of now). Mullins is there #1 guy but he's been out the last few games with an injury but did return at Princeton before suffering a minor injury. I suspect he will play tonight and against SU but not sure he will be at 100%. SU will obviously put Mellen on him. I should note Mellen drew their man guy last year (ivorytower correct me if I am wrong) and has one of the few bad games of his career. I suspect him to be in prime form on Sat. Charlambides is back after missing the last two years with bi-lateral torn ACL's. He was on fire as a frosh in 2016 prior to the back to back lost seasons. He is the team leader with 21 pts which is commendable coming off those two injuries but he he clearly isn't close to getting back to where he was prior to the injuries. I suspect we may try Bomberry on him first but he will need to stay home as he will finish like Marr if left alone.

Rutgers offense overall will try and push transition if they can but they have struggled more this year in the 6 on 6 and are prone to long scoring droughts. For example they were held scoreless last week against Princeton in their 9-8 win and nearly blew the game after being up 9-3. Princeton's defense isnt exactly Maryland or ND. I watched the highlights of that game and majority of the goals appeared to come in transition, SU will need to be watchful there. In an attempt to spark the offense they switched a starting attackmen (Coyne) with a starting middie (Gallagher) against Princeton. Seemed to work as Coyne had 3 pts including 2 goals and Gallagher had 1-1. I could be way off but if SU doesn't allow a bunch of transition goals I think we match up pretty well defensively. Our SSDM's right now are playing on a level we haven't seen in a long time around here and Mellen/Kennedy continue to be lockdown guys. Hopefully we here about Murphy in Desko's PC and he will be available. Like Hopkins Rutgers doesn't have much in the way of depth at midfield though they will run a second line. Again anything can happen but its hard to feel like we match up fairly well here.

From an offensive standpoint things will likely be a bit more challenging. Rutgers group of close defenders is good. Pless/Bullett/Thompson are a formidable trio and obviously Edelman who I think is in his six year is a clearly the main concern being a top 10 goalie. He had 18 saves versus Princeton which is obviously impressive. His save% is something like 65% so were going to be in for another one of "those" games. SU did face Baretto earlier in the year and has run up against some hot goalies so we are at least battle tested. We will need to clean up the little mistakes and turnovers that plagued us against UVA and were again a factor against JHU. Passing and catching sometimes becomes an adventure with this team. No team is going to play a perfect team but the unforced errors have to be cut down big time. From an offensive standpoint SU should again look to attack from the midfield as I think Rutty will have a hard time matching up. I would also like to see us try and throw our depth into the fray but running Cook at attack and hopefully getting a full second line some run as needed especially if Quinn is back. If were winning the majority of the draws we should be able to wear Rutgers down in the 2nd half like we did to Hopkins. I would also like to see us continue to push transition when its there as were still figuring things out 6 on 6. Edelman is a good goalie though so Dearth and others will need to place those transition shots well.

All in all I like SU as a slight favorite here similar to last week. I think Rutty is probably better defensively then Hopkins but if Mullins isn't 100% there probably not as good offensively. Rutgers also turns the ball over A TON. 20 against Army and another 17 against Princeton. When you look at our remaining schedule this is a huge game that we need to find a way to win. If we keep the turnovers and sloppy play to a minimum I like our chances.

 

[MD Cuse Fan]

I should note Mellen drew their man guy last year (ivorytower correct me if I am wrong) and has one of the few bad games of his career.

I will just chime in on this since I was at the game last season and say yes Mellen had a tough day against Jules Heningburg last season. I think he had 4 or 5 goals in that game.

 

[DoctahLexus]

Offensively Rutgers is a lot like Hopkins, good to potentially great attack when everyone is clicking but big question marks at the midfield (at least as of now). Mullins is there #1 guy but he's been out the last few games with an injury but did return at Princeton before suffering a minor injury. I suspect he will play tonight and against SU but not sure he will be at 100%. SU will obviously put Mellen on him. I should note Mellen drew their man guy last year (ivorytower correct me if I am wrong) and has one of the few bad games of his career. I suspect him to be in prime form on Sat. Charlambides is back after missing the last two years with bi-lateral torn ACL's. He was on fire as a frosh in 2016 prior to the back to back lost seasons. He is the team leader with 21 pts which is commendable coming off those two injuries but he he clearly isn't close to getting back to where he was prior to the injuries. I suspect we may try Bomberry on him first but he will need to stay home as he will finish like Marr if left alone.

Mellen was on Jules Henninberg (spelling?) last year and that was the only game I have ever seen Mellen get owned fair and square off the 1 v 1 dodge on multiple occasions. That guy was amazing. At least against us he sort of did the Ben Reeves method of just being so tall and fast that he would run by his man in one direction and act like he wasn't even guarded when he got his shot off. It gave me some traumatizing Reeves v Firman flashbacks. He should have been on some 1st team AA lists if there wasnt so many stud attackmen last year. Rutgers is definitely hurting without him. Mullins should be easy for Mellen as he is much smaller and a little slower by comparison, especially with his injury issues. Still a great player though. The problem will potentially be Charlambides. We know he is godlike off ball but he actually has a decent amount of moves 1 v 1 where he bodies his man and gets a low angle shot. Speed doesn't seem to be his strong suit but he is quite tall so maybe Cunningham will be up to the task. He did a very solid job on Cole Williams. This team put up 8 goals on Fairfield and 9 on Princeton. With our recent faceoff success I like to think we can almost guarantee holding them to under 10

 

[JeremyCuse]

I should note Mellen drew their man guy last year (ivorytower correct me if I am wrong) and has one of the few bad games of his career.

I will just chime in on this since I was at the game last season and say yes Mellen had a tough day against Jules Heningburg last season. I think he had 4 or 5 goals in that game.

Yes Heningburg, couldn't remember his name. I remember watching and was very surprised how much Mellen struggled. Could have been a one off or maybe he was hurt, as he rarely struggles like that.

 

[Powellfan]

Very nice writeup Jeremy, much appreciated. Mellen was guarding Henninberg last year and he struggled (Henninberg scored eight points). Interestingly enough Mullins was held scoreless, can't remember who guarded him last year though. Maybe keep that match-up the same? Schoen also doesn't have a good winning % but he did go 12-23 against SU last year. Hopefully Varello and Phaup have improved enough to make this a big advantage for the Orange.

 

[ivorytower]

JC, Mellen had Henisburg who had six goals, Mellen was ran into picks all day with poor communication and switches by our D. Recall one of our ssdm actually picked Mellen a few times. Kennedy replaced an injured Bomberry and had Mullins who was quiet that day but is a dangerous sniper who has posted huge numbers in several games last year. Their third att Coyne is good while their mids have several contributors led by Rose who stung us with a few goals last year and Mead who has emerged. Not sure Mellen marks Mullin, think he may start on Charmalades with either Cunnigham or Bomberry on Mullins. Rutgers D is solid and their goalie is top tier .
Cuse had a very flat performance last year , even Rutger fans were commenting on our passive play. Cuse better not be looking ahead to Duke or they will beat us again.

 

[JeremyCuse]

Very nice writeup Jeremy, much appreciated. Mellen was guarding Henninberg last year and he struggled (Henninberg scored eight points). Interestingly enough Mullins was held scoreless, can't remember who guarded him last year though. Maybe keep that match-up the same? Schoen also doesn't have a good winning % but he did go 12-23 against SU last year. Hopefully Varello and Phaup have improved enough to make this a big advantage for the Orange.

Ya I remember Schoen had a better day then I expected last year. Seems RU is likely to try Ott first as Schoen has really struggled this season. Phaup and Varello looked real good last week after a slow start, should have an advantage here hopefully.

 

[ivorytower]

Henisburg beat Mellen on three GLE runs as his speed and height were a problem . He got one of his other goals off a terrible Madonna pass right to him. Another was off Kennedy who switched on screen only to get screened himself by Mullins behind cage with no one picking up Hemisburg as he came around free . On another Dami ran right into Mellen near cage and took him out of play freeing up Henisburg. Really crappy team d on screens that day hopefully not to be repeated

I recall that damn train horn sounding each time they scored and the Rutgers bench wildly celebrating as they ran away. Big win for them at time.. They were a good team, had some tough close losses to b10 teams down stretch that cost them playoffs.

 

[ivorytower]

Mellen was on Jules Henninberg (spelling?) last year and that was the only game I have ever seen Mellen get owned fair and square off the 1 v 1 dodge on multiple occasions. That guy was amazing. At least against us he sort of did the Ben Reeves method of just being so tall and fast that he would run by his man in one direction and act like he wasn't even guarded when he got his shot off. It gave me some traumatizing Reeves v Firman flashbacks. He should have been on some 1st team AA lists if there wasnt so many stud attackmen last year. Rutgers is definitely hurting without him. Mullins should be easy for Mellen as he is much smaller and a little slower by comparison, especially with his injury issues. Still a great player though. The problem will potentially be Charlambides. We know he is godlike off ball but he actually has a decent amount of moves 1 v 1 where he bodies his man and gets a low angle shot. Speed doesn't seem to be his strong suit but he is quite tall so maybe Cunningham will be up to the task. He did a very solid job on Cole Williams. This team put up 8 goals on Fairfield and 9 on Princeton. With our recent faceoff success I like to think we can almost guarantee holding them to under 10

Noooooooooooo, Guarantees are almost always the kiss of death. Watch us now get dominated at X

 

[DoctahLexus]

Noooooooooooo, Guarantees are almost always the kiss of death. Watch us now get dominated at X

That's why I went with the "I like to think we can almost guarantee" safety modification!

 

[JeremyCuse]

Noooooooooooo, Guarantees are almost always the kiss of death. Watch us now get dominated at X

Agreed no guarantees for sure, sometimes a guy just matches up well with another FOGO so nothing is for sure. However, if Harryman is out SU at least on paper has at least a moderate advantage at the X.

 

[sholokov2]

Syracuse welcomes former Big East foe Rutgers to the Dome this Saturday in highly anticipated ACC-Big 10 matchup. I don't know a ton about Rutgers (Jeremy had some good thoughts in the tiring schedule thread), so this will be short. The biggest concern for me is the goalie - The Scarlet Knights have two losses but those occurred against two solid teams in Loyola and Army (Edlemann was out against the Black Knights). Since he's been back in the starting lineup he's put up some really nice save numbers. SU has to be patient and work for good shots. Will Buttermore see an increased role (maybe he gets bumped up to EMO?)

Defensively who guards Mullins and who guards Charalambides? Mullins might be the matchup for Mellen size wise. Not sure what to make of Rutgers at the face-off X, they have a rotation of three guys, one of whom has a 70% success rate but has only 35 attempts. Hopefully SU can continue to utilize Varello and Phaup to find the hot hand.

Have to stay focused, this game is huge in terms of giving the team a little bit of breathing room with perhaps the two biggest games of the year coming up (rankings wise at least).

Rutgers is very solid offensively attack and midfield. Move the ball and players very fast and sharply. I think they are the equal of anyone SU will play this season. All six can score in and out. Not sure about FO and goal. SU defense will be tested.

 

[JeremyCuse]

Rutgers is very solid offensively attack and midfield. Move the ball and players very fast and sharply. I think they are the equal of anyone SU will play this season. All six can score in and out. Not sure about FO and goal. SU defense will be tested.

Rutgers attack is good potentially very good if everyone is healthy but I disagree big time on their midfield and offense as a whole Their offense last year was better then what I have seen so far in the few games I was able to watch and UVA's offense is far and away the best SU has seen this year and Rutgers is no where close to that. They scored 8 goals against Fairfield and were shut out in the 2nd half last week vs Princeton. Their midfield has also struggled to the point they had to move a starting attackmen to the 1st line. All of this doesn't mean they can't beat SU, they certainly can but I would put their offense well behind UVA, Duke, Cornell etc.

 

[Laxwizard22]

No too familiar w this Rutgers team. Edelman is obviously a very good goalie, although we have faced just as good if not better this year, and he tends to be a little jumpy and guess at times (right most of the time however). Did see them sparingly against Loyola and I agree they did look over-matched both physically and skill wise, but I will say they did a nice job getting off pretty decent shots (granted Stover just ate them up). However they definitely struggled shooting the ball and i’d expect Porter to have a nice day