Powellfan
Renowned lacrosse analyst
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The Orange play in perhaps their biggest game of the year when they travel down to Chapel Hill on Saturday to face the Tar Heels. There are a myriad of story lines for this one, but the most important from an SU perspective is that they can clinch a spot in the ACC tournament with a win. That should be the only focus, though there will be plenty of others (Pat March being out, SU facing old defensive Coordinator Dave Pietramala, etc).
The Tar Heels come into this game with a lot of talent, but also a lot of questions. Owen Duffy leads the offense, and he is a very good player with extremely quick wrists and ankle breaking speed, but he leads the team with an absurd 117 shots. Next closes on the team in Dom Pietramala with 99. Combined they are only shooting 25%. Logan McGovern is their rock on offense, he is second on the team with 43 points, on almost half as many shots (58) as Duffy (49 points). I think it will be interesting to see who covers who in this game - I imagine it will be Figuerias on Duffy, Dwan on McGovern and Kol/Caccamo on Petro. I think SU should have the edge here, but Duffy is tricky. Also McGovern scored 12 points against SU in just two games last year.
I haven't watched a ton of UNC this year, but online criticism has centered on their offense looking like a club team (I think this is reference to Duffy getting so many shots). Their midfield seems to be a bit of a mess, with the highest scorer having just 13 points (James Matan). The group is mostly made up of natural attackmen (Matan, Dewey Egan, Lance Tillman). That said, SU hasn't had a good defensive performance against UNC in a long time, and a lot of these guys have given SU problems in the past. This past weekend it seemed like UVA was sliding quite a bit against UNC, which led to some open looks but the Heels couldn't take advantage of. I think if SU can rattle UNC early with some quick aggressive slides, that might make the Heels jumpy.
Where UNC has the biggest advantage is at the face-off x. Freshman Brady Wambach has been a stud all year long, winning 63% of his draws. The only game he's struggled in was strangely against High Point (UNC loss) when he went 4-13. The Heels have a good backup option as well in Andrew Tyeryar (also 63% with 80 less face-offs). SU will really need a strong game from Mason Kohn and Johhny Mullen. Kohn looked strong against Cornell, but Mullen struggled going just 3-10. 10 days off should help the group, and Wambach is coming off a game vs UVA, which usually leaves one a bit battered.
Obviously the offensive side of the field should be interesting to watch, for SU. They go against Petro, who should have an idea of their tendencies, but Gait should also know his as well. Having March out for this contest is a blow, but Gait will have a week and a half to prepare. Hopefully the offense is motivated and ready to go after their power outage against Cornell in the second half. Good news is Joey Spallina looked back to his old ways against the Big Red after having a little mid season scoring slump. I don't think UNC has a pole that can take him out of the game in the same way other top teams do. Also, other good news for SU is that Colin Krieg seems to be struggling a bit this year, with a save percentage below 50%.
Last bit, but SU did not do a good job on clears against Cornell. Who is in charge of clears for SU? That's Pat March, who is suspended. Hopefully this is something John Odiera can fill in for, but felt the need to point this out.
Wrapping things up, this is a game that SU should of course win. The worries are of course the face-off x, Pat March being out, and this teams mindset after a deflating loss against Cornell. This game should tell us a lot about where this team stands. If they come out lackadaisical and let UNC hang around, then it's time to hit the panic button. Hopefully they come out strong, and frankly put away the Heels early. They need to impose their will here and show everyone who the better team is. Also, they need to keep their heads on straight - body language will be a bit thing for me in this one. Keep the yapping to a minimum and focus on putting the ball in the back of the net. No retreat baby, no surrender. GO SU.
The Tar Heels come into this game with a lot of talent, but also a lot of questions. Owen Duffy leads the offense, and he is a very good player with extremely quick wrists and ankle breaking speed, but he leads the team with an absurd 117 shots. Next closes on the team in Dom Pietramala with 99. Combined they are only shooting 25%. Logan McGovern is their rock on offense, he is second on the team with 43 points, on almost half as many shots (58) as Duffy (49 points). I think it will be interesting to see who covers who in this game - I imagine it will be Figuerias on Duffy, Dwan on McGovern and Kol/Caccamo on Petro. I think SU should have the edge here, but Duffy is tricky. Also McGovern scored 12 points against SU in just two games last year.
I haven't watched a ton of UNC this year, but online criticism has centered on their offense looking like a club team (I think this is reference to Duffy getting so many shots). Their midfield seems to be a bit of a mess, with the highest scorer having just 13 points (James Matan). The group is mostly made up of natural attackmen (Matan, Dewey Egan, Lance Tillman). That said, SU hasn't had a good defensive performance against UNC in a long time, and a lot of these guys have given SU problems in the past. This past weekend it seemed like UVA was sliding quite a bit against UNC, which led to some open looks but the Heels couldn't take advantage of. I think if SU can rattle UNC early with some quick aggressive slides, that might make the Heels jumpy.
Where UNC has the biggest advantage is at the face-off x. Freshman Brady Wambach has been a stud all year long, winning 63% of his draws. The only game he's struggled in was strangely against High Point (UNC loss) when he went 4-13. The Heels have a good backup option as well in Andrew Tyeryar (also 63% with 80 less face-offs). SU will really need a strong game from Mason Kohn and Johhny Mullen. Kohn looked strong against Cornell, but Mullen struggled going just 3-10. 10 days off should help the group, and Wambach is coming off a game vs UVA, which usually leaves one a bit battered.
Obviously the offensive side of the field should be interesting to watch, for SU. They go against Petro, who should have an idea of their tendencies, but Gait should also know his as well. Having March out for this contest is a blow, but Gait will have a week and a half to prepare. Hopefully the offense is motivated and ready to go after their power outage against Cornell in the second half. Good news is Joey Spallina looked back to his old ways against the Big Red after having a little mid season scoring slump. I don't think UNC has a pole that can take him out of the game in the same way other top teams do. Also, other good news for SU is that Colin Krieg seems to be struggling a bit this year, with a save percentage below 50%.
Last bit, but SU did not do a good job on clears against Cornell. Who is in charge of clears for SU? That's Pat March, who is suspended. Hopefully this is something John Odiera can fill in for, but felt the need to point this out.
Wrapping things up, this is a game that SU should of course win. The worries are of course the face-off x, Pat March being out, and this teams mindset after a deflating loss against Cornell. This game should tell us a lot about where this team stands. If they come out lackadaisical and let UNC hang around, then it's time to hit the panic button. Hopefully they come out strong, and frankly put away the Heels early. They need to impose their will here and show everyone who the better team is. Also, they need to keep their heads on straight - body language will be a bit thing for me in this one. Keep the yapping to a minimum and focus on putting the ball in the back of the net. No retreat baby, no surrender. GO SU.