Hofstra / Vermont and Yale Scrimmages

[Powellfan]

Curious, if Kennedy does move up to LSM for a particular game, does Murphy replace him at close? Is Murphy playing SSDM when Kennedy plays close? Is Helmer or Fernandez the starting LSM?

 

[OrangeXtreme]

Curious, if Kennedy does move up to LSM for a particular game, does Murphy replace him at close? Is Murphy playing SSDM when Kennedy plays close? Is Helmer or Fernandez the starting LSM?

All will be revealed in 53 hours.

Or earlier if Desko releases a depth chart.

 

[DoctahLexus]

Curious, if Kennedy does move up to LSM for a particular game, does Murphy replace him at close? Is Murphy playing SSDM when Kennedy plays close? Is Helmer or Fernandez the starting LSM?

Murphy holding a long pole in one of those brief clips FWIW

 

[ivorytower]

Grateful for Ted Hust's LaxF. Kennedy seen on wing in opening sequence, him and Fernandez top wing duo but gotta be careful wearing down any player. Sprinting back to cd position is tiring. Dearth another that immediately comes to mind. Want him on field most of the time but he's gonna need the occasional break and ssdm has numbers assuming Dami good. Barlow is another good athlete there, likely 3rd dm .Murphy is in close rotation, has practiced only with a pole and really no need to jockey him around .He'll be involved. Fernandez will be on faceoffs and then likely share lsm runs with Helmer most times. Matchups might dictate some switches during season but lexpect to see less movement than more.

 

[JeremyCuse]

I believe that is the list yes. Mellen listed off a few ssdm guys and for whatever reason he did not mention Murphy or Bret Barlow, but I wouldn't read into that too much. Just seemed to be listing names off the top of his head. We know Murphy will see the field in some capacity barring injury. And as CuseAlum87 mentioned, Lax Factor guy said Kennedy was playing on the faceoff wing with Fernandez.

Kennedy and Fernandez are Desko' preferred choice when SU double poles the wings. I don't think you will see that regularly though as there are potential issues if you try and run that a lot as Ivory alluded to a bit in his post. Dearth usually sees a lot of time at the wing and I assume we will work in a few other short stick guys as well like Barlow or Aviles.

 

[JeremyCuse]

Curious, if Kennedy does move up to LSM for a particular game, does Murphy replace him at close? Is Murphy playing SSDM when Kennedy plays close? Is Helmer or Fernandez the starting LSM?

From what I am hearing (I could be way off) the move of Kennedy to close is looking more like a semi-permanent one then just a matchup as first reported. If thats the case then you have Fernandez and Helmer at LSM with I believe Fernandez starting but there being a heavy rotation. I believe Murphy may still play some SSDM in that scenario but he is also likely the first long pole off the bench and I think he is on man down as well though don't quote me on that.

 

[ohmilax34]

It sounds kinda confusing for the coaches and players. I hope it's clear for them, at least eventually. DiPietro and Mellen are seniors, so it'd be nice to have a succession plan for 2021, and it seems Murphy and Kennedy are in those plans at close defense.

 

[JeremyCuse]

It sounds kinda confusing for the coaches and players. I hope it's clear for them, at least eventually. DiPietro and Mellen are seniors, so it'd be nice to have a succession plan for 2021, and it seems Murphy and Kennedy are in those plans at close defense.

Dipetro is a Jr. Helmer is a Sr.

 

[MaxFischer]

It sounds kinda confusing for the coaches and players. I hope it's clear for them, at least eventually. DiPietro and Mellen are seniors, so it'd be nice to have a succession plan for 2021, and it seems Murphy and Kennedy are in those plans at close defense.

DiPietro is a RS Junior.

 

[ivorytower]

Years go by fast. Kinda sad. Follow some in pro ball but just not the same

 

[CuseAlum87]

I know the Orange lose something at midfield by moving Kennedy to close defense, but I really like having his athleticism and stick skills down there. I know Yale hasn't had much full team practice time, but I am impressed with the way this close d handled Yale's attack. This unit could be moving from unknown quantity to a team strength.

 

[Powellfan]

Thanks for all the input and clarification. Much appreciated! So as I understand it, the defensive rotation will kind of look like -

Close D - Mellen, Dipietro and Kennedy
LSM - Fernandez and Helmer (maybe a frosh gets a rotation or two)
SSDM - Dearth, Dami, and a host of others (Barlow, Small, Aviles, Dieball)

It sounds like Murphy will rotate in with the close defense, might he split time with DiPietro? If Kennedy is running back and forth between close and the face-off wing it might be good to give him a breather? Though we have seen him more at SSDM, I do think Murphy makes for a better close defender.

Not sure how many defenses employ a solid four man rotation, I would honestly be surprised if they tried this throughout the year. It's great to have a focus on rest and staying fresh, but all these rotations make me kind of nervous to be honest. But as Xtreme pointed out, we just have a few more days to wait. Curious what the Game Notes will say, expect they'll be out on Thursday at some point.