Thoughts on Hopkins and the Offense moving forward

[JeremyCuse]

Another game another one goal escape for the Orange. This is another one of those classic games where SU snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. I thought Petro's end of game strategy was horrific and we were able to take advantage.

I thought the defense was again excellent. While not as bad as the previous week the offense put the D in some bad spots and the D bailed them out on nearly all of them. Firman continues to be a revelation as the #1 defender and completely shut down Stanwick which ground the Jays offense to a halt. Another good game for Bomberry and Cunningham is progressing nicely. I thought the SSDM's got beat on a few occasions but all in all they played fairly well. A great goal by Ciferri when SU was really struggling and needed a score desperately. Hutchings and the other frosh continue to impress and Schwasnick was back on the wings. Molloy was excellent, probably his best game since UNC in last years ACC tourney. That one save on that Tinney low rocket was outstanding. Does need to be more careful about leaving the crease to chase, costs himself a goal when he did that forcing SU to slide and a guy came open on the crease for Stanwicks only point of the day. I thought both LSM's were again excellent. Tinney had 1 goal on the day and that check by Helmer when he had a free path was unbelievable. I hope this unit can keep it up over the next few weeks as they will need to carry this team to victory.

I thought Ben was OK, he has struggled against Moreland in his career so I wasn't shocked he did poorly against him. Faceoff guys always have 1 or 2 players they struggle against. He found a way to win that big draw in overtime which was enormous. He has won a few big faceoffs this year which is a great trend after the last few years where he seemed to struggle in those moments.

Now we get to the offense. Despite the 5-1 record its hard to believe this is a Syracuse offense at times. When Quint said this might be the worst attack unit at Syracuse in 20 some years he wasn't far off. The lack of elite offensive talent on the staring 6 is glaring. It's hard to know where to start with this unit but I will do what I can. For me the Evans and Lane are the two biggest issues right now. Evans has played within himself for most of the year and outside of the St. Johns game (where he was awful) he hasn't turned the ball over much which is a nice development from last year. That being said he is absolutely no threat to score in 6 on 6 and has 2 pts in the last two games against less then stellar defenses. Evans cannot create his own shot and appears to have one dodge (the roll back) move and if that doesn't work he just passes the ball. At some point Desko has to make a move to Rehfuss or Voight and roll with them because were essentially playing with 2 attackmen when he is out there. I know that sounds harsh but the stats don't lie and be it ineffectiveness due to injury or lack of speed Evans is simply not getting it done.

As for Lane his lack of aggressiveness continues to haunt him and his time on the 1st line may have run out. I was hesitant to put to much stock into his UVA performance due to how bad UVA's defense is and unfortunately Lane has reverted back into his shell after a great performance against the Hoos. After dodging hard and aggressively against a short stick in the UVA game Lane again appears unsure of himself and after a quick attempt at a bull dodge he looks to pass. Teams also seem to be shading to him on the man up unit as he has struggled to get a clean look there the last few games and when he does he is usually high on his shot. At this point you wonder if Dekso will move Trimboli to the 1st mid line permanently or at least for the Duke and ND games. Its' disappointing because SU desperately needs some scoring and Lane has shown some flashes but like Evans time is running out on waiting for him to put it all together.

So where does the offense go from here? Unfortunately the options are few and far between. Thorpe, Forkin and Westin all being out for the year is a big blow as each of them could be making an impact at this point especially Thorpe. Grass and Shewell were buried on the depth chart but again two more highly rated guys who are no longer with the program. The biggest issue is that SU is getting next to nothing offensively from the 2013, 2014 and 2015 recruiting classes which is unfathomable. Lane and Evans are the only major players from 2013, no one from the 2014 class is playing outside of Carlin who appears to have lost his spot on the second mid line and only Solomon and Voigt are seeing regular PT from the 2015 class. Mindbogging that SU is somehow 5-1 despite that lack of offensive production from 3 recruiting classes. Scary to think where we would be without transfers.

So what can Desko and the staff do to help the offense? Honestly probably not much until the fall when they get next years class on campus and welcome back Thorpe, Forkin and hopefully Westin.
In the meantime there are a few options.
1. Give more PT to Voigt and Rehfuss - At this point I would sit Evans more and give some run to Rehfuss and or Voigt, both have shown the ability to score which is what SU desperately needs.

2. Push Solomon to continue to be aggressive. SU doesn't have an elite level dodger or X attackmen so they need Solomon to continue to dodge from X to create scoring opportunities and draw slides to free up Bomberry and others for good looks an step down shots.

3. Push the ball -All of our SSDMs are former middies who played offense extensively. On turnovers and quick outlets these gusy should be given the green light to push the ball and look for scoring opportunities ala Virginia. Sullivan, Schwasnick and Hutchings especially should be pushing the ball as they aren't as well known to opposing staffs as Gillis and Ciferri.

4. Settle on positions for players. - Not a fan of moving Bomberry to attack and moving Mariano around and running him through the box. Teams are wise to it and Bomberry hasn't played attack since high school. Let's keep those guys at middie and attack respectively and look to get them the ball as much as possible.

5. Look to the bench - Obviously none of us are at practice but if some of the young guys are making a name for themselves don't be afraid to burn a shirt or get their feet wet. With attack especially hurting if Burt or Wisnaukas or producing in practice lets give them some run. Ditto for the young middies including Romano, O'Sullivan, Ford, Lipka etc.

6. Cut down on the turnovers. The last two games SU has been abysmal with the ball. Bad passes, drops, inability to back up shots, etc. This team can't have unforced turnovers/errors due to its lack of ability to consistently score, this isn't the SU team of 2 or 3 years ago that could turn it over 15 times and score 17 goals. These turnovers have caused huge scoring droughts the last two weeks that will cost us against ND, Duke and others. This has to be cleaned up immediately.

7. More Mariano - Nick is or best offensive player by far, he needs to have the ball more whether its creating or getting looks for teammates or simply scoring. I know hes' drawing every teams #1 defender but he has to be more active because we just don't have the complimentary pieces.

Hoping to see a much improved offensive performance on Saturday against Duke because the offense we have shown the last two weeks is not going to get it done Saturday I can promise you that.

 

[Whitey23]

I saw the Hopkins headline teaser on the main page. Was afraid it was another basketball post.

 

[Orangello]

I agree we need to get the ball to Bomberry and Mariano on movement. They are our best scoring threats. Likewise, play Trimbo on 1st line mid in place of Lane and let it ride. More Rehfuss. Kid's got game and is shifty which is exactly what we need. I'd let he Bomberry and Solomon get the majority of minutes at A and let them develop some chemistry. Love 22's effort especially on the ride but as you say, he is not putting the ball in the net. Still not sold on Voight as a consistent contributor. He looks very tentative to me and more afraid of making a mistake then pushing the pace of play and crashing the cage. Ditto on the TO's. The sloppy play makes me queasy and there is simply no excuse for it. Tighten it up, look at the person you're passing to and catch the damn ball ! We need to jump out early on Duke and keep it going. These long periods of offensive stall are no good.

 

[OrangeinBoston]

Another game another one goal escape for the Orange. This is another one of those classic games where SU snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. I thought Petro's end of game strategy was horrific and we were able to take advantage.

I thought the defense was again excellent. While not as bad as the previous week the offense put the D in some bad spots and the D bailed them out on nearly all of them. Firman continues to be a revelation as the #1 defender and completely shut down Stanwick which ground the Jays offense to a halt. Another good game for Bomberry and Cunningham is progressing nicely. I thought the SSDM's got beat on a few occasions but all in all they played fairly well. A great goal by Ciferri when SU was really struggling and needed a score desperately. Hutchings and the other frosh continue to impress and Schwasnick was back on the wings. Molloy was excellent, probably his best game since UNC in last years ACC tourney. That one save on that Tinney low rocket was outstanding. Does need to be more careful about leaving the crease to chase, costs himself a goal when he did that forcing SU to slide and a guy came open on the crease for Stanwicks only point of the day. I thought both LSM's were again excellent. Tinney had 1 goal on the day and that check by Helmer when he had a free path was unbelievable. I hope this unit can keep it up over the next few weeks as they will need to carry this team to victory.

I thought Ben was OK, he has struggled against Moreland in his career so I wasn't shocked he did poorly against him. Faceoff guys always have 1 or 2 players they struggle against. He found a way to win that big draw in overtime which was enormous. He has won a few big faceoffs this year which is a great trend after the last few years where he seemed to struggle in those moments.

Now we get to the offense. Despite the 5-1 record its hard to believe this is a Syracuse offense at times. When Quint said this might be the worst attack unit at Syracuse in 20 some years he wasn't far off. The lack of elite offensive talent on the staring 6 is glaring. It's hard to know where to start with this unit but I will do what I can. For me the Evans and Lane are the two biggest issues right now. Evans has played within himself for most of the year and outside of the St. Johns game (where he was awful) he hasn't turned the ball over much which is a nice development from last year. That being said he is absolutely no threat to score in 6 on 6 and has 2 pts in the last two games against less then stellar defenses. Evans cannot create his own shot and appears to have one dodge (the roll back) move and if that doesn't work he just passes the ball. At some point Desko has to make a move to Rehfuss or Voight and roll with them because were essentially playing with 2 attackmen when he is out there. I know that sounds harsh but the stats don't lie and be it ineffectiveness due to injury or lack of speed Evans is simply not getting it done.

As for Lane his lack of aggressiveness continues to haunt him and his time on the 1st line may have run out. I was hesitant to put to much stock into his UVA performance due to how bad UVA's defense is and unfortunately Lane has reverted back into his shell after a great performance against the Hoos. After dodging hard and aggressively against a short stick in the UVA game Lane again appears unsure of himself and after a quick attempt at a bull dodge he looks to pass. Teams also seem to be shading to him on the man up unit as he has struggled to get a clean look there the last few games and when he does he is usually high on his shot. At this point you wonder if Dekso will move Trimboli to the 1st mid line permanently or at least for the Duke and ND games. Its' disappointing because SU desperately needs some scoring and Lane has shown some flashes but like Evans time is running out on waiting for him to put it all together.

So where does the offense go from here? Unfortunately the options are few and far between. Thorpe, Forkin and Westin all being out for the year is a big blow as each of them could be making an impact at this point especially Thorpe. Grass and Shewell were buried on the depth chart but again two more highly rated guys who are no longer with the program. The biggest issue is that SU is getting next to nothing offensively from the 2013, 2014 and 2015 recruiting classes which is unfathomable. Lane and Evans are the only major players from 2013, no one from the 2014 class is playing outside of Carlin who appears to have lost his spot on the second mid line and only Solomon and Voigt are seeing regular PT from the 2015 class. Mindbogging that SU is somehow 5-1 despite that lack of offensive production from 3 recruiting classes. Scary to think where we would be without transfers.

So what can Desko and the staff do to help the offense? Honestly probably not much until the fall when they get next years class on campus and welcome back Thorpe, Forkin and hopefully Westin.
In the meantime there are a few options.
1. Give more PT to Voigt and Rehfuss - At this point I would sit Evans more and give some run to Rehfuss and or Voigt, both have shown the ability to score which is what SU desperately needs.

2. Push Solomon to continue to be aggressive. SU doesn't have an elite level dodger or X attackmen so they need Solomon to continue to dodge from X to create scoring opportunities and draw slides to free up Bomberry and others for good looks an step down shots.

3. Push the ball -All of our SSDMs are former middies who played offense extensively. On turnovers and quick outlets these gusy should be given the green light to push the ball and look for scoring opportunities ala Virginia. Sullivan, Schwasnick and Hutchings especially should be pushing the ball as they aren't as well known to opposing staffs as Gillis and Ciferri.

4. Settle on positions for players. - Not a fan of moving Bomberry to attack and moving Mariano around and running him through the box. Teams are wise to it and Bomberry hasn't played attack since high school. Let's keep those guys at middie and attack respectively and look to get them the ball as much as possible.

5. Look to the bench - Obviously none of us are at practice but if some of the young guys are making a name for themselves don't be afraid to burn a shirt or get their feet wet. With attack especially hurting if Burt or Wisnaukas or producing in practice lets give them some run. Ditto for the young middies including Romano, O'Sullivan, Ford, Lipka etc.

6. Cut down on the turnovers. The last two games SU has been abysmal with the ball. Bad passes, drops, inability to back up shots, etc. This team can't have unforced turnovers/errors due to its lack of ability to consistently score, this isn't the SU team of 2 or 3 years ago that could turn it over 15 times and score 17 goals. These turnovers have caused huge scoring droughts the last two weeks that will cost us against ND, Duke and others. This has to be cleaned up immediately.

7. More Mariano - Nick is or best offensive player by far, he needs to have the ball more whether its creating or getting looks for teammates or simply scoring. I know hes' drawing every teams #1 defender but he has to be more active because we just don't have the complimentary pieces.

Hoping to see a much improved offensive performance on Saturday against Duke because the offense we have shown the last two weeks is not going to get it done Saturday I can promise you that.

I don't get it about Shewell. When he was on the field last year (the precious few times Desko let him play) he looked good. What's your take on this? Did he get in Desko's dog house?

 

[OrangeXtreme]

I don't get it about Shewell. When he was on the field last year (the precious few times Desko let him play) he looked good. What's your take on this? Did he get in Desko's dog house?

Played hurt last year. Still hurt this year.

 

[OrangeinBoston]

Played hurt last year. Still hurt this year.

So why transfer?

 

[WoodyUK]

The coaches are being clever on offence, they know as we do, that the offensive threat is our big shooters in Salcido, Lane and Mariano, all the other players are off ball shooters with the exception of Solomon who can dodge and create his own shot, Bomberry in close and Evans cutting off ball.

To get the threats open you need to draw a slide and I think this enforced the decision to put Trimboli in at Homewood as he can draw on an alley dodge or turn back upfield to feed, he dodges with his head up. We couldn't run Lane at that time as we wanted to open up Mariano or Salcido to take a shot or stretch the defence to open up the one more to one of our off ball players.

I think the offence is smart as we share the ball and play to our strengths, we move well off ball in patterns, some comments have been critical of us not coming from X enough and the observations are correct but what should we do play that way and fail? Desko is handing responsibility to the players, Solomon has been given the starting spot and the coaches are backing him, giving him the mins to improve and learn, they have no other option. We could invert more possibly with who?

The offensive sets ensure the midfiield players being guarded by short sticks are dodging from the same areas, usually meaning the pole is furthest away and making a short stick the slide guy. The coaches have implemented the offence they think they will have the most success from. Evans is the true quarter back, he is the organiser, the glue guy and the leader of the offence there is no doubt, he is not playing within himself he is the coach on the field.

We just need to improve and grow a little more and Desko and co are coaching this in the right way, it won't happen straight away and they are working hard each day to develop the players to make a push in May, the process is everything and they are working with what they have got.

The defence have overachieved and these one goal wins have been down to them, Molloy is leading by example. The Cuse mantra historically is to lean on the offence but this year it is the polar opposite, as fans we have to shift our perspetive a little and have to appreciate the great job they are doing including the SSDMs.

 

[JeremyCuse]

I don't get it about Shewell. When he was on the field last year (the precious few times Desko let him play) he looked good. What's your take on this? Did he get in Desko's dog house?

He and Solomon played a little bit last year and both had some success. I think the problem with Shewell was that he is mostly a finisher not really much of a QB type attackmen or a dodger. SU had that same player in Thorpe and to a lesser extent in Voigt. Also as Extreme noted he was hurt last year which slowed his PT down the stretch and he missed all of fall ball with the injury to. I think if he would have been healthy he could have challenged for some minutes at the third spot with Solomon but with Evans and Mariano entrenched there he needed to be able to make a case for the third spot and he wasn't able to due to injury. I also heard he showed up in January at the start of camp out of shape. I wish he would have stuck around as he showed he could do some damage but in all honesty he's already been recruited over the next two years. I am assuming he saw the writing on the wall.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

So why transfer?

Guessing that he fell so far down the depth chart that he felt he'd hardly ever play?

 

[CuSeLaX]

I disagree with your take on Evans. I actually believe Evans is the best chance Cuse has. I've counted at least 5 assist Evans should have had that weren't finished by his teammates. He isn't a dodger, most of his assists come while he is guarded. He finds the open cutters as well as anyone on SU not named Salcido. Voigt can't dodge and has one singular skill. He can finish. Solomon and Bomberry already handle that role. Rehfuss showed early promiss but has done nothing with his PT since. I know Evans isn't anything special but he hasn't made mistakes and he finds the open man. If your talking production Bomberry has had several games with just 1 point. I think we would all agree he should still start. Evans is tied for third on the team in points. On this team Evans is one of the better offensive players.

 

[W'boro'Cuse315]

I disagree with your take on Evans. I actually believe Evans is the best chance Cuse has. I've counted at least 5 assist Evans should have had that weren't finished by his teammates. He isn't a dodger, most of his assists come while he is guarded. He finds the open cutters as well as anyone on SU not named Salcido. Voight can't dodge and has one singular skill. He can finish. Solomon and Bomberry already handle that role. Rehuss showed early promiss but has done nothing with his PT since. I know Evans isn't anything special but he hasn't made mistakes and he finds the open man. If your talking production Bomberry has had several games with just 1 point. I think we would all agree he should still start. Evans is tied for third on the team in points. On this team Evans is one of the better offensive players.

Evans has definitely had multiple nice would-be assists negated by drops. I recall one by Simmons vs Hopkins where Evans drew the defender & put it right on his stick in rhythm. I like Solomon's potential but he loses his footing far too often while dodging.

 

[W'boro'Cuse315]

He and Solomon played a little bit last year and both had some success. I think the problem with Shewell was that he is mostly a finisher not really much of a QB type attackmen or a dodger. SU had that same player in Thorpe and to a lesser extent in Voigt. Also as Extreme noted he was hurt last year which slowed his PT down the stretch and he missed all of fall ball with the injury to. I think if he would have been healthy he could have challenged for some minutes at the third spot with Solomon but with Evans and Mariano entrenched there he needed to be able to make a case for the third spot and he wasn't able to due to injury. I also heard he showed up in January at the start of camp out of shape. I wish he would have stuck around as he showed he could do some damage but in all honesty he's already been recruited over the next two years. I am assuming he saw the writing on the wall.

Shewell's got a naturally thick build but it was clear that he was 10-15 lbs over playing shape against Siena. He also didn't look to be moving all that well.

 

[HtownOrange]

Another game another one goal escape for the Orange. This is another one of those classic games where SU snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. I thought Petro's end of game strategy was horrific and we were able to take advantage.

I thought the defense was again excellent. While not as bad as the previous week the offense put the D in some bad spots and the D bailed them out on nearly all of them. Firman continues to be a revelation as the #1 defender and completely shut down Stanwick which ground the Jays offense to a halt. Another good game for Bomberry and Cunningham is progressing nicely. I thought the SSDM's got beat on a few occasions but all in all they played fairly well. A great goal by Ciferri when SU was really struggling and needed a score desperately. Hutchings and the other frosh continue to impress and Schwasnick was back on the wings. Molloy was excellent, probably his best game since UNC in last years ACC tourney. That one save on that Tinney low rocket was outstanding. Does need to be more careful about leaving the crease to chase, costs himself a goal when he did that forcing SU to slide and a guy came open on the crease for Stanwicks only point of the day. I thought both LSM's were again excellent. Tinney had 1 goal on the day and that check by Helmer when he had a free path was unbelievable. I hope this unit can keep it up over the next few weeks as they will need to carry this team to victory.

I thought Ben was OK, he has struggled against Moreland in his career so I wasn't shocked he did poorly against him. Faceoff guys always have 1 or 2 players they struggle against. He found a way to win that big draw in overtime which was enormous. He has won a few big faceoffs this year which is a great trend after the last few years where he seemed to struggle in those moments.

Now we get to the offense. Despite the 5-1 record its hard to believe this is a Syracuse offense at times. When Quint said this might be the worst attack unit at Syracuse in 20 some years he wasn't far off. The lack of elite offensive talent on the staring 6 is glaring. It's hard to know where to start with this unit but I will do what I can. For me the Evans and Lane are the two biggest issues right now. Evans has played within himself for most of the year and outside of the St. Johns game (where he was awful) he hasn't turned the ball over much which is a nice development from last year. That being said he is absolutely no threat to score in 6 on 6 and has 2 pts in the last two games against less then stellar defenses. Evans cannot create his own shot and appears to have one dodge (the roll back) move and if that doesn't work he just passes the ball. At some point Desko has to make a move to Rehfuss or Voight and roll with them because were essentially playing with 2 attackmen when he is out there. I know that sounds harsh but the stats don't lie and be it ineffectiveness due to injury or lack of speed Evans is simply not getting it done.

As for Lane his lack of aggressiveness continues to haunt him and his time on the 1st line may have run out. I was hesitant to put to much stock into his UVA performance due to how bad UVA's defense is and unfortunately Lane has reverted back into his shell after a great performance against the Hoos. After dodging hard and aggressively against a short stick in the UVA game Lane again appears unsure of himself and after a quick attempt at a bull dodge he looks to pass. Teams also seem to be shading to him on the man up unit as he has struggled to get a clean look there the last few games and when he does he is usually high on his shot. At this point you wonder if Dekso will move Trimboli to the 1st mid line permanently or at least for the Duke and ND games. Its' disappointing because SU desperately needs some scoring and Lane has shown some flashes but like Evans time is running out on waiting for him to put it all together.

So where does the offense go from here? Unfortunately the options are few and far between. Thorpe, Forkin and Westin all being out for the year is a big blow as each of them could be making an impact at this point especially Thorpe. Grass and Shewell were buried on the depth chart but again two more highly rated guys who are no longer with the program. The biggest issue is that SU is getting next to nothing offensively from the 2013, 2014 and 2015 recruiting classes which is unfathomable. Lane and Evans are the only major players from 2013, no one from the 2014 class is playing outside of Carlin who appears to have lost his spot on the second mid line and only Solomon and Voigt are seeing regular PT from the 2015 class. Mindbogging that SU is somehow 5-1 despite that lack of offensive production from 3 recruiting classes. Scary to think where we would be without transfers.

So what can Desko and the staff do to help the offense? Honestly probably not much until the fall when they get next years class on campus and welcome back Thorpe, Forkin and hopefully Westin.
In the meantime there are a few options.
1. Give more PT to Voigt and Rehfuss - At this point I would sit Evans more and give some run to Rehfuss and or Voigt, both have shown the ability to score which is what SU desperately needs.

2. Push Solomon to continue to be aggressive. SU doesn't have an elite level dodger or X attackmen so they need Solomon to continue to dodge from X to create scoring opportunities and draw slides to free up Bomberry and others for good looks an step down shots.

3. Push the ball -All of our SSDMs are former middies who played offense extensively. On turnovers and quick outlets these gusy should be given the green light to push the ball and look for scoring opportunities ala Virginia. Sullivan, Schwasnick and Hutchings especially should be pushing the ball as they aren't as well known to opposing staffs as Gillis and Ciferri.

4. Settle on positions for players. - Not a fan of moving Bomberry to attack and moving Mariano around and running him through the box. Teams are wise to it and Bomberry hasn't played attack since high school. Let's keep those guys at middie and attack respectively and look to get them the ball as much as possible.

5. Look to the bench - Obviously none of us are at practice but if some of the young guys are making a name for themselves don't be afraid to burn a shirt or get their feet wet. With attack especially hurting if Burt or Wisnaukas or producing in practice lets give them some run. Ditto for the young middies including Romano, O'Sullivan, Ford, Lipka etc.

6. Cut down on the turnovers. The last two games SU has been abysmal with the ball. Bad passes, drops, inability to back up shots, etc. This team can't have unforced turnovers/errors due to its lack of ability to consistently score, this isn't the SU team of 2 or 3 years ago that could turn it over 15 times and score 17 goals. These turnovers have caused huge scoring droughts the last two weeks that will cost us against ND, Duke and others. This has to be cleaned up immediately.

7. More Mariano - Nick is or best offensive player by far, he needs to have the ball more whether its creating or getting looks for teammates or simply scoring. I know hes' drawing every teams #1 defender but he has to be more active because we just don't have the complimentary pieces.

Hoping to see a much improved offensive performance on Saturday against Duke because the offense we have shown the last two weeks is not going to get it done Saturday I can promise you that.

Nice write up, Jeremy. I don't fully know the sport like you and others but I enjoy watching it, especially as an Orange can.

I agree, the D looks good. The offense is not far from being respectable (not elite, but very good). If the players could stabilize into set roles instead of switching positions continually, that alone is likely to produce more scoring based on efficiencies. I can't say I fully understand the other points you make, I never played so I lack that innate understanding and am still learning the subtleties of the game. I can say that the adjustments you recommend do not appear difficult and it seems they would increase scoring g, too. If so, the team could be elite and nearly impossible to beat by season's end...a stingy defense and a potential offense.

 

[JeremyCuse]

I disagree with your take on Evans. I actually believe Evans is the best chance Cuse has. I've counted at least 5 assist Evans should have had that weren't finished by his teammates. He isn't a dodger, most of his assists come while he is guarded. He finds the open cutters as well as anyone on SU not named Salcido. Voigt can't dodge and has one singular skill. He can finish. Solomon and Bomberry already handle that role. Rehfuss showed early promiss but has done nothing with his PT since. I know Evans isn't anything special but he hasn't made mistakes and he finds the open man. If your talking production Bomberry has had several games with just 1 point. I think we would all agree he should still start. Evans is tied for third on the team in points. On this team Evans is one of the better offensive players.

Your certainly entitled to your opinion and I think you outlined some good points but I couldn't disagree more with your thought that Evans is the best chance Cuse has. If this team had its normal amount of offensive talent its hard to see how Evans gets on the field at attack less starts. Kid definitely plays hard and has cut down on the turnovers form last year but he simply isn't a scoring threat in 6 on 6 play at this point. The fact that as you noted "Evans is one of the better offensive players" on this team is really the core issue/problem because he isn't much of a threat offensively. Right now Evans has 7 goals in 6 games three of which came in the opener at Siena and over the last three games he has 2 goals and 2 assists. For a starting attackmen at Syracuse that is bad, really bad. Again I am not trying to knock the kid but at some point you have to call a spade a spade. SU is struggling to put points on the board and they need to put more scorers on the field. I was hoping Evans would make that Senior leap this year but his numbers are trending worse then last season save for assists. At this point you need to see what Rehfuss or Voigt can do with extended minutes, I know neither of them are playing like Mikey Powell re-incarnated but we have to get more scoring out of our top six.

 

[CreaseRat]

Your certainly entitled to your opinion and I think you outlined some good points but I couldn't disagree more with your thought that Evans is the best chance Cuse has. If this team had its normal amount of offensive talent its hard to see how Evans gets on the field at attack less starts. Kid definitely plays hard and has cut down on the turnovers form last year but he simply isn't a scoring threat in 6 on 6 play at this point. The fact that as you noted "Evans is one of the better offensive players" on this team is really the core issue/problem because he isn't much of a threat offensively. Right now Evans has 7 goals in 6 games three of which came in the opener at Siena and over the last three games he has 2 goals and 2 assists. For a starting attackmen at Syracuse that is bad, really bad. Again I am not trying to knock the kid but at some point you have to call a spade a spade. SU is struggling to put points on the board and they need to put more scorers on the field. I was hoping Evans would make that Senior leap this year but his numbers are trending worse then last season save for assists. At this point you need to see what Rehfuss or Voigt can do with extended minutes, I know neither of them are playing like Mikey Powell re-incarnated but we have to get more scoring out of our top six.

Getting more production from the top 6 involves getting more shots for others, not deferring to Salcido & Mariano. Cuse is averaging 40 shots/game. Salcido 44, Mariano 38, Bomberry 28. Half the offensive shots per game are from 2 players. Lane has 22 (10 vs UVa and he had 3/2) Evans and Solomon with 20. Now it could be designed this way to have Mariano and Salcido shooting the most or sometimes shots are forced. There needs to be more balance on offense and it has nothing to do with lack of skill from certain players. Yes, it's good to get Voight and Rehfuss time and they provide a spark. But Desko made his bed with Evans years ago and now is trying to get out of it. Put the kid in a position to succeed. I find it hard to believe these kids aren't capable of getting a step and shooting. Maybe some players are gun shy. As I said in my Hopkins post, too many alley dodges and not enough dodging from X. Invert your middies and attack from behind. Bomberry is your crease man, so he's not going to be asked to play that role. I think Lane, who was recruited as an attackman should be able to do this. Or play the big/little game game at X with, Lane/Mariano/Salcido. The offense is stuck in a rut and Donahue should be smart enough to adjust the scheme

 

[JeremyCuse]

Getting more production from the top 6 involves getting more shots for others, not deferring to Salcido & Mariano. Cuse is averaging 40 shots/game. Salcido 44, Mariano 38, Bomberry 28. Half the offensive shots per game are from 2 players. Lane has 22 (10 vs UVa and he had 3/2) Evans and Solomon with 20. Now it could be designed this way to have Mariano and Salcido shooting the most or sometimes shots are forced. There needs to be more balance on offense and it has nothing to do with lack of skill from certain players. Yes, it's good to get Voight and Rehfuss time and they provide a spark. But Desko made his bed with Evans years ago and now is trying to get out of it. Put the kid in a position to succeed. I find it hard to believe these kids aren't capable of getting a step and shooting. Maybe some players are gun shy. As I said in my Hopkins post, too many alley dodges and not enough dodging from X. Invert your middies and attack from behind. Bomberry is your crease man, so he's not going to be asked to play that role. I think Lane, who was recruited as an attackman should be able to do this. Or play the big/little game game at X with, Lane/Mariano/Salcido. The offense is stuck in a rut and Donahue should be smart enough to adjust the scheme

Excellent post, agree about doing some scheme changes to put the players in better spots. This could really help guys like Lane and Evans who are struggling to create their own looks (Lane's performance vs UVA not withstanding). I think some of the shot disparity comes down to the fact that often times SU gets deep into an offensive set and needs to shoot to either avoid the shot clock or as was the case a few times against Hopkins the shot clock was on so they had to shoot. I also think that while Salcido's shot selection has been far from stellar he and Mariano along with Bomberry are the top 3 scoring options so them having the most shots isn't surprising. Salcido is also leading the team in assists and had 2 more against Hopkins. I do think Desko has given Evans opportunities to create and the green light to shoot but Evans hasn't been able to get free against a long pole the whole season save for the Siena game. He usually uses that roll dodge from X and after that looks to pass the ball. I think Evans is hurt by the fact that he is an off ball guy and we don't have a QB type attackmen but perhaps inverting salcido or lane or even Mariano/Solomon could help with that as those guys should be able to draw slides. Either way SU is going to need to get production from Evans and Lane because even if they get less PT there both still going to be on the field a fair amount and when they play well SU usually wins.

I am all for scheme changes but I also think that you need to review for changing up the personnel when your not getting results. I think Dekso has a longer leash then normal due to the lack of options behind Lane and Evans but he pulled Lane last game and you have to wonder if Evans is far behind.

 

[Orangtiz]

Unfortunately we are running out of options on offense. Lane and Evans are what they are. I've said it before and I'll say it again. The staff screwed up Lane's development. They had a 6'6" 240-pound crease attackmen when he came here and now he is a much lighter middie, who hasn't developed the foot speed. He should be just backing his defender down, turning around and shooting. We've seen it work countless times with big guys, just have them play attack and back them down. Thule, Dingman, evan Dylan Molloy does this sometimes. Lane is not Myles Jones, few players are that talented with the speed and athleticism at such a tall height. If I recall K wanted Jones to play basketball at Duke. That is a special athlete, I feel like Desko and the staff tried turning him into that, but it just won't work.

 

[Orangtiz]

Unfortunately we are running out of options on offense. Lane and Evans are what they are. I've said it before and I'll say it again. The staff screwed up Lane's development. They had a 6'6" 240-pound crease attackmen when he came here and now he is a much lighter middie, who hasn't developed the foot speed. He should be just backing his defender down, turning around and shooting. We've seen it work countless times with big guys, just have them play attack and back them down. Thule, Dingman, evan Dylan Molloy does this sometimes. Lane is not Myles Jones, few players are that talented with the speed and athleticism at such a tall height. If I recall K wanted Jones to play basketball at Duke. That is a special athlete, I feel like Desko and the staff tried turning him into that, but it just won't work.

IMO Lane should be on the attack over Evans and then Trimbo on the first line mid. Again, its a lot of player shuffling, but I think Lane played attack his first year here, not that long ago.

OR

Since we think Evans is a capable feeder, you take Solomon out and insert Lane Evans Mariano, Bomber, Trimbo, Salcido. Im pretty sold on Trimboli from what we've seen so far, he's been really good along with Dearth. Second line mid has produced well.

 

[JeremyCuse]

Unfortunately we are running out of options on offense. Lane and Evans are what they are. I've said it before and I'll say it again. The staff screwed up Lane's development. They had a 6'6" 240-pound crease attackmen when he came here and now he is a much lighter middie, who hasn't developed the foot speed. He should be just backing his defender down, turning around and shooting. We've seen it work countless times with big guys, just have them play attack and back them down. Thule, Dingman, evan Dylan Molloy does this sometimes. Lane is not Myles Jones, few players are that talented with the speed and athleticism at such a tall height. If I recall K wanted Jones to play basketball at Duke. That is a special athlete, I feel like Desko and the staff tried turning him into that, but it just won't work.

Lane was a natural attackmen coming out of highschool but if he can't back down a SSDM 8 inches shorter then him how he is going to back down a long pole defender like Garret Epple, Nick Fields, or Tanner Scales. Also when he got here Rice, Donahue, Maltz, Staats, Forkin, were all ahead of him at attack not to mention the attack recruits that were on the horizon at that point. As I posted before Lane is a guy who doesn't appear to have a home at the elite Div 1 level. Kid would probably be an All-American in Div 2 or a high end player at a lower end Div 1. He doesn't have the speed or aggressiveness to play attack and the D1 level and he struggles to create his own shot/dodge effectively as a first line middie. He's a homerun on man up but hasn't been able to put any sort of consistency together at middie in a 6 on 6 situation.

 

[Orangello]

As Woody noted above, the offensive scheme right now appears to be geared to using the alley dodges to try and set up the mids as the outside shooters (Lane, Mariano and Salcido). I think we would all agree that for whatever reason, this is not proving optimal in terms of creating opportunities and scoring goals. Not for lack of trying as others have noted, as we have had a fair number of drops/misses on solid feeds. I think the only first line mid that can successfully invert is Mariano and I would like to see him used more in that role. Let er rip versus Duke.

 

[JeremyCuse]

As Woody noted above, the offensive scheme right now appears to be geared to using the alley dodges to try and set up the mids as the outside shooters (Lane, Mariano and Salcido). I think we would all agree that for whatever reason, this is not proving optimal in terms of creating opportunities and scoring goals. Not for lack of trying as others have noted, as we have had a fair number of drops/misses on solid feeds. I think the only first line mid that can successfully invert is Mariano and I would like to see him used more in that role. Let er rip versus Duke.

The personnel changes aren't helping either. Mariano is starting attack most games then being moved to middie then coming through the box late etc. At this point I think you have to leave Mariano at attack, the unit needs him to draw the #1 defender. We just don't have the depth or talent at attack to not play him there. Reinforcements are on the way but they won't be here until the fall.

 

[CreaseRat]

Lane was a natural attackmen coming out of highschool but if he can't back down a SSDM 8 inches shorter then him how he is going to back down a long pole defender like Garret Epple, Nick Fields, or Tanner Scales. Also when he got here Rice, Donahue, Maltz, Staats, Forkin, were all ahead of him at attack not to mention the attack recruits that were on the horizon at that point. As I posted before Lane is a guy who doesn't appear to have a home at the elite Div 1 level. Kid would probably be an All-American in Div 2 or a high end player at a lower end Div 1. He doesn't have the speed or aggressiveness to play attack and the D1 level and he struggles to create his own shot/dodge effectively as a first line middie. He's a homerun on man up but hasn't been able to put any sort of consistency together at middie in a 6 on 6 situation.

There's a difference dodging and backing down a defender from the low wing/X vs as trying to bull dodge and run by him from up top. What's the harm in asking the big guy to dodge from behind? Only conclusion I come up with is, it's not the offensive set they run. It's not a fault to be behind 4 AA attackman when you enter college as a freshman. Staats bumped Maltz (2x capt) from his starting attack spot to 2nd line mid. Don't under sell those players.

I agree with Orangtiz on his attack and first middie line. They've tried every other combination but that one

 

[CuSeLaX]

Your certainly entitled to your opinion and I think you outlined some good points but I couldn't disagree more with your thought that Evans is the best chance Cuse has. If this team had its normal amount of offensive talent its hard to see how Evans gets on the field at attack less starts. Kid definitely plays hard and has cut down on the turnovers form last year but he simply isn't a scoring threat in 6 on 6 play at this point. The fact that as you noted "Evans is one of the better offensive players" on this team is really the core issue/problem because he isn't much of a threat offensively. Right now Evans has 7 goals in 6 games three of which came in the opener at Siena and over the last three games he has 2 goals and 2 assists. For a starting attackmen at Syracuse that is bad, really bad. Again I am not trying to knock the kid but at some point you have to call a spade a spade. SU is struggling to put points on the board and they need to put more scorers on the field. I was hoping Evans would make that Senior leap this year but his numbers are trending worse then last season save for assists. At this point you need to see what Rehfuss or Voigt can do with extended minutes, I know neither of them are playing like Mikey Powell re-incarnated but we have to get more scoring out of our top six.

I agree with you, I don't think Evans starts on many syracuse attack lines of years past. I guess I just don't see any other solution on this team. To me he is one of the three best players syracuse has at attack. He's always been a kid who plays better when he scores early. I think he suffers from a lack of confidence. When Desko subs him out all the time I think it hurts his game. I'd just like to see one game where we don't change the lineup so frequently. Maybe Rehfuss would bring a spark but I'd rather see him start then come in and be expected to produce.

 

[Orangello]

I agree with Orangtiz on his attack and first middie line. They've tried every other combination but that one

I'd be willing to give that a shot for a possession or two but don't see it happening (Desko seems to want Evans as the director). If nothing else it creates a match up nightmare for the close defender given Lane's height and size. Still don't think he has the speed for attack but right now, he's not using that height or size at mid. I like Trimbo. Sees the field well and can dish.

 

[Orangello]

The personnel changes aren't helping either. Mariano is starting attack most games then being moved to middie then coming through the box late etc. At this point I think you have to leave Mariano at attack, the unit needs him to draw the #1 defender. We just don't have the depth or talent at attack to not play him there. Reinforcements are on the way but they won't be here until the fall.

Agreed.