Towson Gameday... | Page 16 | Syracusefan.com

Towson Gameday...

Now folks. There is a reason Mule has held on to his spot. Because he has done a lot of good things for us this season. We get a lot of something out of nothing looks with his passing ability. Also we pulled out something similar in the second half against UVA so this is not the first time we are doing this move with Leo. I think in certain match ups you want the extra dodging power. Some games we are dicing up our opponents with passing/ball movement and I think that overall is a better time for Mule.

I would be fine with us permanently keeping this change. Would also be fine with us using it as a wrinkle later in games to throw teams off. We will see what they do.
 
Feel more comfortable talking crap now that we have handled our business, but take a look at the brilliant minds over at college crosse everyone. They really nailed our section of the bracket! It is insane how obsessed they still are with riding the big 10 and hating on the ACC.

 
DoctahLexus said:
Feel more comfortable talking crap now that we have handled our business, but take a look at the brilliant minds over at college crosse everyone. They really nailed our section of the bracket! It is insane how obsessed they still are with riding the big 10 and hating on the ACC.

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Joke lol
 
Gettysbrg10 said:
1) Really happy that Carter Rice was recognized as an All American. I trust him with the ball/clear more than anyone on the team. Great hustle tonight on his part. Need English to carry a lacrosse ball around campus the way running backs do to emphasize ball security. Ball security is job security.
2) Mule seems like a great kid and he's a really good player but Leo needs to be starting in his spot. Mule should do that move in Rudy where he throws his jersey on Gait's desk.
3) Hats off to Mullen and Kohn - if not for them, the poor goalie play in the first half, offsides penalties, and turnovers would've likely cost us. The matchup of Mullen and the Denver fogo has to be a matchup of the thickest legs in the sport.
4) Ryan Broyle is an awesome commentator.
5) Does anyone know what Hiltz's plans are for next year? He sticking around for another tour? He was fantastic tonight.
6) My daughter is 4 and has her first ever ballet recital next Sunday at noon...she's about to learn what it's like to have a parent "not be there for her." (this is a joke for the record lol)
7) Spallina has a lot of critics but he was awesome tonight. Good for him.
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Great takes.

Ryan Boyle was awesome. Favorite non 'Cuse player. He just understands the game better than most if not all IMO.

Carter Rice is a dude. The short stick match ups with Denver are going to keep me up this week.

Joey and Hiltz balled out last night. Jake Stevens oh my.

Heading to Towson this weekend. Should be an awesome environment. Let's get a healthy pre game in the lots or one of the many local watering holes!
 
Some random thoughts about last night -

-Funny that the move to switch Leo to attack is what sparked the 9-0 run and Syracuse running away things. I only say that because Leo himself finished the night with just two goals, one of which was the last of the night. He, himself is not the one who fueled the run. But something about spacing and matchups must have clicked for the Orange.

-Felt like SU just needed to realize they were "bigger/stronger/faster" than Towson. The Jake Stevens and other face-off goals seemed to ignite something. Those were big boy goals with the Orange just steamrolling through the Towson defense. The passing is obviously the bread and butter of the offense, but something you need someone to just slice through the middle of the defense.

-I do feel bad for Mule, it's not like he's had a bad year (he's still the team's third leading scorer). I thought they might try and run him through the box in the second half, but I don't think he saw the field the rest of the way. In fact it looked like SU ran just five middies the rest of the way, with the first line of Thomson, English and Rhoa getting most of the looks. I think it's important for the team to run two midfield lines, especially in warmer weather. If the move to Leo at attack is permanent, do they move Mule to midfield? Roll Kellogg back out? Just rotate five midfielders?

-What a game by Mullen. 78% facing off, a goal and an assist, nine groundballs and no turnovers. Dominant. I was a bit worried that he had hit a freshman wall. Since the first Duke game, he had a winning percentage of just 45% (7 games). Perhaps he just needed a rest. Very encouraging performance.

-Also, what a game from Figuerias. Completely dominated his matchup against Towson's best player (and 80 point scorer), and I can't say enough things about that 2v1 fast break pick off on the crease. What a veteran move. Has to be his best performance in an Orange uniform, and it came at the right time.

-Defense overall has not been great these past few weeks. Outside of the UNC game when they held the Tar Heels to nine goals, since the Notre Dame game, they are surrendering an average of 16.4 goals a game. Not great. Mark has been under 50% for all the games minus the Notre Dame game (though has made double digit saves in each game, except the Duke game). I am curious to see how long of a rope they give Mark against Denver - they will have to get a better performance out of him. Also matchup recognition needs to be better - they took too long to change things up against McAdory two weeks again, and again with Rousell moving to attack last night they just never changed things up.

-Overall, great game last night and I know it must have been difficult with all the distractions. Need to tighten some things up, but this team can be very dangerous when they start clicking.
 
UrbanaOrange said:
Great takes.

Ryan Boyle was awesome. Favorite non 'Cuse player. He just understands the game better than most if not all IMO.

Carter Rice is a dude. The short stick match ups with Denver are going to keep me up this week.

Joey and Hiltz balled out last night. Jake Stevens oh my.

Heading to Towson this weekend. Should be an awesome environment. Let's get a healthy pre game in the lots or one of the many local watering holes!
Expand...
I think Matt Ward does a good job also. Thought he did well for the ACC tournament last week and ND v Albany yesterday. Maybe Ryan Boyle and Matt Ward provide a tad more in-depth analysis than -- horrors -- Quint?
 
Powellfan said:
Some random thoughts about last night -

-Funny that the move to switch Leo to attack is what sparked the 9-0 run and Syracuse running away things. I only say that because Leo himself finished the night with just two goals, one of which was the last of the night. He, himself is not the one who fueled the run. But something about spacing and matchups must have clicked for the Orange.

-Felt like SU just needed to realize they were "bigger/stronger/faster" than Towson. The Jake Stevens and other face-off goals seemed to ignite something. Those were big boy goals with the Orange just steamrolling through the Towson defense. The passing is obviously the bread and butter of the offense, but something you need someone to just slice through the middle of the defense.

-I do feel bad for Mule, it's not like he's had a bad year (he's still the team's third leading scorer). I thought they might try and run him through the box in the second half, but I don't think he saw the field the rest of the way. In fact it looked like SU ran just five middies the rest of the way, with the first line of Thomson, English and Rhoa getting most of the looks. I think it's important for the team to run two midfield lines, especially in warmer weather. If the move to Leo at attack is permanent, do they move Mule to midfield? Roll Kellogg back out? Just rotate five midfielders?

-What a game by Mullen. 78% facing off, a goal and an assist, nine groundballs and no turnovers. Dominant. I was a bit worried that he had hit a freshman wall. Since the first Duke game, he had a winning percentage of just 45% (7 games). Perhaps he just needed a rest. Very encouraging performance.

-Also, what a game from Figuerias. Completely dominated his matchup against Towson's best player (and 80 point scorer), and I can't say enough things about that 2v1 fast break pick off on the crease. What a veteran move. Has to be his best performance in an Orange uniform, and it came at the right time.

-Defense overall has not been great these past few weeks. Outside of the UNC game when they held the Tar Heels to nine goals, since the Notre Dame game, they are surrendering an average of 16.4 goals a game. Not great. Mark has been under 50% for all the games minus the Notre Dame game (though has made double digit saves in each game, except the Duke game). I am curious to see how long of a rope they give Mark against Denver - they will have to get a better performance out of him. Also matchup recognition needs to be better - they took too long to change things up against McAdory two weeks again, and again with Rousell moving to attack last night they just never changed things up.

-Overall, great game last night and I know it must have been difficult with all the distractions. Need to tighten some things up, but this team can be very dangerous when they start clicking.
Expand...

To your point on spacing - I think the offense functions better with Joey at X. Joey driving in tighter spaces, rather than from wing or GLE, and his ability to feed or finish is more dynamic than Mule.

And Mule's inability to consistently make teams pay for shorting him is the other reason why I prefer the third quarter lineup we saw.

Hiltz being dialed in the whole game is 1a for me (1 being the swap of Mule for Leo at attack). This offense rolls when he's engaged; it too frequently goes in the tank when he disappears.
 
Powellfan said:
-I do feel bad for Mule, it's not like he's had a bad year (he's still the team's third leading scorer). I thought they might try and run him through the box in the second half, but I don't think he saw the field the rest of the way. In fact it looked like SU ran just five middies the rest of the way, with the first line of Thomson, English and Rhoa getting most of the looks. I think it's important for the team to run two midfield lines, especially in warmer weather. If the move to Leo at attack is permanent, do they move Mule to midfield? Roll Kellogg back out? Just rotate five midfielders?
Expand...
I have a better idea. Group buy?
IMG_6084.jpg
 
Powellfan said:
I think it's important for the team to run two midfield lines, especially in warmer weather. If the move to Leo at attack is permanent, do they move Mule to midfield? Roll Kellogg back out? Just rotate five midfielders?
Expand...
With the Leo Mule change, it is not just the warm weather and quick turnaround playoff fatigue. We also are so thin at guys we can trust at ssdm that we are using Stevens and English on more ssdm runs. Will they be stretched too thin covering for us there while taking more midfield responsibility? I also think the impact could be felt less if teams are prepping for Leo starting the game at attack rather than having to suddenly switch mid or late game. At least starting the game with Mule at attack could be a solid way to flex our depth, while still having Leo in the back pocket if the offense is slow.

I trust our offensive subs more than I do adding extra guys to the ssdm rotation. If we do indeed make the full time switch with Leo, do we just give a guy already getting middie mins like McCarthy some more run on the second line? I still think getting Deere involved out of the box could work (look at our success with Canadian middies running the two man game), but we have not done any experimenting with that so far so unlikely that it starts now. No matter what we decide, I think running 5 middies from now on would be a big mistake. Whether it is McCarthy Kellog Mule Deere or someone else, we need another guy in the middie lines if we start Leo.
 
A few additional interesting notes from post Towson:

  1. Kohn’s tally put him in a first-place tie for most goals by a face-off specialist in Division I this year.
  2. Spallina advanced into fifth on the single-season point list at Syracuse (88). It’s the most points by an SU sophomore.
  3. Owen Hiltz extended his consecutive-game point streak to 44 games. The streak began on Feb. 21, 2021.
 
Pre-game prediction by long-time Baltimore Sun columnist Mike Preston published last Thursday. No post-game article yet on the Baltimore Sun website:

By MIKE PRESTON | epreston@baltsun.com
PUBLISHED: May 9, 2024 at 2:10 p.m. | UPDATED: May 9, 2024 at 3:49 p.m.

No. 4 Syracuse vs. Towson (Sunday, 7:30 p.m.)

The selection committee didn’t do Syracuse any favors.

The Tigers know their identity and how to win. They use a lot of ball movement and hustle on rides and clears, especially in the middle of the field. Towson goalie Luke Downs (8.65 goals-against average) is decent and will hold his own. The Tigers also have Matt Constantinides, who has won 197 of 338 faceoffs (.583) and should be the great equalizer.

Towson has enough offensive talent to rattle the Orange with sophomore midfielder Mikey Weisshaar (39 G, 19 A) and senior attackman Nick DeMaio (32 G, 48 A). The Tigers have some outstanding short-stick midfielders so they don’t have to slide as hard or as much against Syracuse.

The Orange have some outstanding young offensive talent, especially in sophomore attackman Joey Spallina (33 G, 47 A), but this offense can get caught up in too much one-on-one play. The crowd at the Carrier Dome will help Syracuse, but the Tigers will pull off the upset. Prediction: Towson 14, Syracuse 10

[Well he was about right in the number of goals Towson would score. But . . . . ]
 
FloridaCuse said:
Pre-game prediction by long-time Baltimore Sun columnist Mike Preston published last Thursday. No post-game article yet on the Baltimore Sun website:

By MIKE PRESTON | epreston@baltsun.com
PUBLISHED: May 9, 2024 at 2:10 p.m. | UPDATED: May 9, 2024 at 3:49 p.m.

No. 4 Syracuse vs. Towson (Sunday, 7:30 p.m.)

The selection committee didn’t do Syracuse any favors.

The Tigers know their identity and how to win. They use a lot of ball movement and hustle on rides and clears, especially in the middle of the field. Towson goalie Luke Downs (8.65 goals-against average) is decent and will hold his own. The Tigers also have Matt Constantinides, who has won 197 of 338 faceoffs (.583) and should be the great equalizer.

Towson has enough offensive talent to rattle the Orange with sophomore midfielder Mikey Weisshaar (39 G, 19 A) and senior attackman Nick DeMaio (32 G, 48 A). The Tigers have some outstanding short-stick midfielders so they don’t have to slide as hard or as much against Syracuse.

The Orange have some outstanding young offensive talent, especially in sophomore attackman Joey Spallina (33 G, 47 A), but this offense can get caught up in too much one-on-one play. The crowd at the Carrier Dome will help Syracuse, but the Tigers will pull off the upset. Prediction: Towson 14, Syracuse 10

[Well he was about right in the number of goals Towson would score. But . . . . ]
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Mike Preston has been writing for the Sun for decades. But this is the line that gives away that he hasn't watched Cuse play much this year: "but this offense can get caught up in too much one-on-one play." You can take issue with our offense for some things (turnovers), but overreliance on one on one play isn't one of them. Have a Natty Boh and enjoy the quarters Mike!
 
MaxFischer said:
Mike Preston has been writing for the Sun for decades. But this is the line that gives away that he hasn't watched Cuse play much this year: "but this offense can get caught up in too much one-on-one play." You can take issue with our offense for some things (turnovers), but overreliance on one on one play isn't one of them. Have a Natty Boh and enjoy the quarters Mike!
Expand...

I have no issue predicting an upset by Towson but in what world was SU only scoring 10 goals? This isn't 2017
 
I just watched the game again and noticed one thing ( sorry if somebody already brought this up ) but when they ran Leo at attack, they had Finn run just about every run .. almost like they had 4 attack and two 2 man middie lines.. Rhoa with English , Birtwhistle with Stevens
I wonder if they do this again during the Denver game or maybe give a couple of the other guys couple runs and maybe catch Denver by surprise
 
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