Scrimmage Jan 26 / Hofstra - Vermont

[ClvrUsrnm]

Vermont is an up and coming team. Ian MacKay was awesome but he wasn’t their only good player last year on a 12-4 team. They’re going to give Albany a run for the America East title.

P-S story said that Varello controlled his exits. Doubt it was that. Could have been dumb turnovers on clears. Could have been the coaches trying different combos of guys, trying to find cohesion. Could just be Vermont is that good

 

[CuSeLaX]

Interesting to note from these scrimmage point totals it appears to me that Rehfuss and Voigt should be locks to start with Cook, Seebold, and Solomon fighting for that last spot. I’ve always been a believer that Voigt and Solomon essentially both are crease guys. Kinda seems like Voigt is out creasing Solomon. Now the question is who is a better dodger Solomon, Seebold, or Cook? My guess Solomon gets the first crack to start but I would always prefer if best players play. Buttermore #6 middy ? Until Tucker’s back I guess the debate of him and Quinn rages on ! Always my favorite time of year when we start to get some answers

 

[ctlax]

Vermont is an up and coming team. Ian MacKay was awesome but he wasn’t their only good player last year on a 12-4 team. They’re going to give Albany a run for the America East title.

P-S story said that Varello controlled his exits. Doubt it was that. Could have been dumb turnovers on clears. Could have been the coaches trying different combos of guys, trying to find cohesion. Could just be Vermont is that good

Vermont was ranked #24 by Inside Lacrosse. Hofstra wasn't in the top 25.

 

[ivorytower]

Wouldn't read too much into early closed scrimmage. Tough to extract the play of some from a boxscore, Desko saw enough that pleased him.

Besides Dordevic and Lipka being absent, several youngsters hindered by minor bumps but some returning. Good to see mention of Magnan and Fiorini. Mid ranks are deep but be nice to have all in fold.

Team will watch film and work, staff will begin narrowing rotations.

Never sure of approach and usage. Vermont does have good talent, better than #24 imo but lost to Hofstra 9-6 in their scrimmage.


Very glad that Yale is final scrimmage. Be good gauge, expect cores to play heavily for both teams to prepare for season start.

Decisions on ssdm rotation still to be made. Dearth appears the only given but good options known with Helmer, Schwas, Murphy but also with several other candidates vying with good vibe.. Wonder who was used and how they fared in scrimmages.

Always unpleasant to hear about losses and injuries . Dami was improving but believe his role can be filled. Staats was one of reserves behind DiPietro so affects depth some but should be ok . Best wishes to him for full recovery.

Have to be encouraged by fogo results . Closed scrimmage so do not certain which fogos faced but Hofstra returns a very good fogo while returning Vermont fogos were competent with good wing players. Obviously the ultimate test for Varello and Phaup is next week vs Ierlan.

Not worried about goal tending. Talent is there.

 

[creatorsgam]

Love seeing new blood posting on the lax board. Bringing some good takes and insight to this thread and others.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

 

[JeremyCuse]

Love seeing new blood posting on the lax board. Bringing some good takes and insight to this thread and others.

Agreed, always good to get quality posters and takes on the lax board. Nice breath of fresh air.

 

[Bigmancuse]

Sounds like it was a good day. No tucker sucks. Attack is gonna be good. Middies should be good. Interested to see where they play cook. Defense can’t give up 11 goals to Vermont. That is just terrible. We will wait till the game start and see if they perform better. Gonna need a lot of goals from offense if that’s the case like last year. Not sure we have enough fire power tho. Refhus, trimboli, Lipka, curry and dordevic will put up big numbers but the others worry me.

 

[CuseNHouse]

Sounds like it was a good day. No tucker sucks. Attack is gonna be good. Middies should be good. Interested to see where they play cook. Defense can’t give up 11 goals to Vermont. That is just terrible. We will wait till the game start and see if they perform better. Gonna need a lot of goals from offense if that’s the case like last year. Not sure we have enough fire power tho. Refhus, trimboli, Lipka, curry and dordevic will put up big numbers but the others worry me.

Have to agree with you re: 11 goals to VT - a definite concern. Granted it was a scrimmage and lots of guys getting time etc ..but still not good. Defense needs to finally come together. If not, I think we’ve got to push aside some of the expected poles and mix it up. Can’t get caught in the trap of what’s known/been together as a unit /seniors etc

 

[ClvrUsrnm]

At least two voters in the IL.com Top 20 poll think Vermont is a Top 20 team (scroll down a bit in the link):

College Crosse Prospectus - January 28, 2019: Weekend Scrimmage Round-Up

 

[OrangeXtreme]

 

[Powellfan]

Going through photos, it looks like both Murphy and Helmer can be seen playing with long sticks. Not sure if they also played with short sticks at some point.

Other notable things I saw - It looks like Barlow was playing with a short stick, and there is a photo of Small playing defense with a shorty as well. Also looked like Lauder was playing the face-off wing.

 

[Orangelax]

Going through photos, it looks like both Murphy and Helmer can be seen playing with long sticks. Not sure if they also played with short sticks at some point.

Other notable things I saw - It looks like Barlow was playing with a short stick, and there is a photo of Small playing defense with a shorty as well. Also looked like Lauder was playing the face-off wing.

I also didn't see any photos of Fernandez. Has anyone heard anything about his recovery?

 

[OrangeXtreme]

Vermont: The Gritty Gang from the Green Mountain State Returns

 

[OrangeXtreme]

Going through photos, it looks like both Murphy and Helmer can be seen playing with long sticks. Not sure if they also played with short sticks at some point.

Other notable things I saw - It looks like Barlow was playing with a short stick, and there is a photo of Small playing defense with a shorty as well. Also looked like Lauder was playing the face-off wing.

Small and Barlow are now listed as SSDM's.

 

[PhatOrange]

Vermont was pretty good last year - 2 of 4 losses to Albany, Stony Brook by 1 in double OT and a 10-9 loss to UVA late in the season. They're a solid a ball club but I wouldn't read into much from a first day out scrimmage.

 

[JeremyCuse]

Going through photos, it looks like both Murphy and Helmer can be seen playing with long sticks. Not sure if they also played with short sticks at some point.

Other notable things I saw - It looks like Barlow was playing with a short stick, and there is a photo of Small playing defense with a shorty as well. Also looked like Lauder was playing the face-off wing.

Barlow got moved to SSDM last year. I would expect Helmer to split time between both positions depending on the health of Fernandez.

 

[PhatOrange]

I’ve always been a believer that Voigt and Solomon essentially both are crease guys. Kinda seems like Voigt is out creasing Solomon.

Solomon isn't a crease guy. His strength is dodging from the wing. He'll play crease when it's his turn to rotate through.

 

[PhatOrange]

I'd imagine the season starting attack is Refhuss, Voigt and Solomon but Cook will be too good to keep off the field. His quickness is unmatched, a lot like that kid from Yale.

 

[ClvrUsrnm]

Cook will also rotate through the midfield — both he and Desko have said so.

My guess is he’ll do more of that early on as Dordevic and Lipka work their way back from injury. But he’ll be on the field a lot this year. Perhaps he’ll prove to be a 22.

 

[JeremyCuse]

Cook will also rotate through the midfield — both he and Desko have said so.

My guess is he’ll do more of that early on as Dordevic and Lipka work their way back from injury. But he’ll be on the field a lot this year. Perhaps he’ll prove to be a 22.

He did that a lot last year for JD as well. Would allow us to run Solomon, Voigt, and Rehfuss at attack and get Cook on the field.

 

[CreaseRat]

Cook will also rotate through the midfield — both he and Desko have said so.

My guess is he’ll do more of that early on as Dordevic and Lipka work their way back from injury. But he’ll be on the field a lot this year. Perhaps he’ll prove to be a 22.

They could potentially do that but Ive heard they prefer Cook at attack and run Solomon through the box. Obviously wont have an answer till middle of the year. But with Tucker sidelined indefinitely, Cook will certainly get a lot of chances

 

[Powellfan]

They could potentially do that but Ive heard they prefer Cook at attack and run Solomon through the box. Obviously wont have an answer till middle of the year. But with Tucker sidelined indefinitely, Cook will certainly get a lot of chances

I can't find the article now, but Desko did state that they were comfortable with Solomon playing up top, which I took to mean coming through the box. I agree, until Dordovic is fully fit it seems like that would be a smart choice. Defenses, I imagine, would have a tough time deciding who to short stick if Solomon, Trimboli and Curry are all on the same mid line. Would also add a different dimension to the second midfield if they played him there.

Meant to mention Fernadez, it would be great to have him back soon. Still pretty deep at that position, but Fernandez looked to bring something extra to the face-off position. I am a little nervous that the coaches will yo-yo Helmer and Murphy back and forth - think they would develop more quickly if they just chose to play short stick. But I guess you have to weigh need vs skill, and they might just be better players with a long stick in their hands.

 

[ivorytower]

A few tidbits being heard, Trimboli, Curry ,Kennedy and Dearth were impressive, Fusco also looked good. Onto newer faces, Cook appears to be everything that Jeremy said and perhaps more. Not sure where he gets positioned on the field but he'll likely see good time as everyone is saying . Phaup is stepping up as needed, has very quick hands and a burst out. He's going to support/complement an improved Varello very well. Hearing this allays concerns a great deal and results against Ierlan the goat is not going to quickly change that. Barlow has been a pleasant surprise at ssdm in camp, his length and speed is working well there and he may be working his way into that rotation. Small has some similar attributes.

 

[DoctahLexus]

Solomon isn't a crease guy. His strength is dodging from the wing. He'll play crease when it's his turn to rotate through.

I'd say Solomon safely has both dodging and off ball crease play in his arsenal. Quite a few of his goals the past couple years have come in finishing scenarios with Rehfuss or Evans/the middies taking the main dodging roles, especially in 2017. Desko even said at one of the press conferences a year or two ago that he likes Solomon as a finisher and has to keep encouraging him to use his skills there instead of dodging all the time.
That being said he has some excellent ability as a dodger. It was nice to see him jump from 8 to 17 assists last year. He has some nice moves that he clearly practices and he keeps his head up. I think he is also deceptively strong despite not being the biggest guy. Doesn't seem to get knocked over a lot. The one major weakness as a dodger is that he is not the fastest. He won't be breaking ankles like Rehfuss or Dordevic. In short I like him for both and wouldn't call him one but not the other.