UVA Lookahead

[Powellfan]

Syracuse has had two nice wins in a row following an season opening loss to Colgate. But in comes UVA, who while having two losses already in this young season, has the most talent that SU will face so far this season. What can we expect?

On Defense Syracuse will certainly have trouble dealing with the Cavs big five. They don't have a lot of depth, but they have a lot of skill. Last year Mellen matched up with Kraus, who scored seven points over two games. Not bad considering the type of player Kraus is, but think Mellen can do better. The big question, and difference from last year is how the Orange matches up with Matt Moore who has moved to attack this year and is leading Virginia is scoring. He had only one point in the first meeting, but erupted for five in the ACC Tourny game. Again, he checks in at attack which changes things as he will certainly be guarded by a long pole. If Bomberry is back, you'd think he gets the call, but not sure if he can match his speed. Feel "okay" about other matchups, but slides and recovery will have to be really good, and they seemed off last week against Army.

Offensively, I am hoping Desko utilizes SU's depth more than he did last year against UVA. So far this season it feels like the first midfield is playing an awful lot of defense. Virginia's top players are superior to the Orange, but SU showed last year that they can hang with the Cavs. Hopefully Syracuse's star players (Trimboli, Rhefuss) will emerge this week as I don't think the offense can afford another off game from either two. I hope Curry is more active this week as well as he was quiet last week. Carlin and Buttermore have proven that they can play, don't be afraid to use them.

Last year the Orange showed they could hang with the Cavaliers and their explosiveness - but they will have to continue doing the little things well. The defense missed Bomberry last week in the ground-ball department for sure. The defense can't afford to give UVA second and third chances. I am not sure what to expect from the face-off department, but Phaup has really emerged and looks strong. I think SU should try and play uptempo with UVa and wear them out, run a third midfield line if you have to. I thought not playing uptempo last year was a big mistake. Most importantly of all though, and something SU is still struggling with, take good shots and make possessions count.

 

[CuseAlum87]

I think Porter and Phaup have to have big games. The Orange as a unit need to dominate ground balls. I am wondering if Mellen should play against Moore, he has been the Hoos' top play maker(5 points against Loyola). And, the Orange need to embrace a scrappy, gritty identity-they're not going to win any beauty contests.

 

[DoctahLexus]

I feel surprisingly ok with how we match up to UVA's offense in terms of 1 v1 battles. Mellen can handle Kraus pretty well. In the couple times we played him last year he never blew up the stat sheet. He is also still recovering from some sort of lower body injury and has not looked quite as explosive in their first few games, at least based on the highlights. Aitken also did not seem to be too much of a problem last year. Most if not all of his goals seemed to be long range finishes rather than scoring off the dodge. I trust Kennedy against any midfielder in the country this year and Fusco has also looked solid. Bomberry or Murphy should be fine handling a guy like Laviano who has no real dodging game.

The slight problem areas could be Cunningham on Moore and our shorties going against Conrad. Cunningham has been lights out for us in 1 v 1 situations this year. I think maybe he got beat once against colgate but it was a weird pick situation with bad communication. I would guess he gets the nod over Bomberry but I could be wrong. But he also has never gone up against an attack line with the 1 2 punch of Kraus and Moore. This will be his first real test. I imagine he takes on Moore instead of Kraus despite Moore looking better than him to start the season. Moore is bigger and more physical which is more Cunningham's bread and butter than Mellen's.

I have to say our SSDMs have looked phenomenal the last couple games. Dearth and Helmer looked world class against Army in both 1 v 1 and team defense situations. Also do they ever get tired? I even liked Murphy at SSDM against Albany as a solid third option if Bomberry returns. Conrad is mainly a danger in transition and I think we will do well against him in a set 6 v 6 situation if he dodges against one of our shorties. They have a couple freshman who have potential but are not instantly a major problem the way Kraus was 2 years ago.

 

[JeremyCuse]

Syracuse has had two nice wins in a row following an season opening loss to Colgate. But in comes UVA, who while having two losses already in this young season, has the most talent that SU will face so far this season. What can we expect?

On Defense Syracuse will certainly have trouble dealing with the Cavs big five. They don't have a lot of depth, but they have a lot of skill. Last year Mellen matched up with Kraus, who scored seven points over two games. Not bad considering the type of player Kraus is, but think Mellen can do better. The big question, and difference from last year is how the Orange matches up with Matt Moore who has moved to attack this year and is leading Virginia is scoring. He had only one point in the first meeting, but erupted for five in the ACC Tourny game. Again, he checks in at attack which changes things as he will certainly be guarded by a long pole. If Bomberry is back, you'd think he gets the call, but not sure if he can match his speed. Feel "okay" about other matchups, but slides and recovery will have to be really good, and they seemed off last week against Army.

Offensively, I am hoping Desko utilizes SU's depth more than he did last year against UVA. So far this season it feels like the first midfield is playing an awful lot of defense. Virginia's top players are superior to the Orange, but SU showed last year that they can hang with the Cavs. Hopefully Syracuse's star players (Trimboli, Rhefuss) will emerge this week as I don't think the offense can afford another off game from either two. I hope Curry is more active this week as well as he was quiet last week. Carlin and Buttermore have proven that they can play, don't be afraid to use them.

Last year the Orange showed they could hang with the Cavaliers and their explosiveness - but they will have to continue doing the little things well. The defense missed Bomberry last week in the ground-ball department for sure. The defense can't afford to give UVA second and third chances. I am not sure what to expect from the face-off department, but Phaup has really emerged and looks strong. I think SU should try and play uptempo with UVa and wear them out, run a third midfield line if you have to. I thought not playing uptempo last year was a big mistake. Most importantly of all though, and something SU is still struggling with, take good shots and make possessions count.

Good post as always. Going to put something up myself later in the week.

A few points - I suspect Bomberry will be back but I don't see him matching up with Moore. I think that will likely be Cunningham as Laviano has become more of a finisher this year and thats a much better matchup for Bomberry, then him chasing around Moore for a few hours. I think Kennedy could get bumped down as needed to either help out on Moore or give Mellen a break on Kraus as while he didn't do terrible as you noted he didn't dominate the matchup either against him in two games (7pts as you noted). SU's SSDM's have really played well so far this year and hopefully that continues. Aiken will clearly draw the pole and UVA's remaining middies run hot and cold as I think UVA runs the frosh Conner and then a mix between Herring and Conrad and another frosh. Molo over at fans lax did a nice job laying it out. UVA has been trying to run 2 mid lines after running mostly the first unit with some subs last year and the same to start the year which some UVA fans felt was running the 1st mid line into the ground. Per Molo UVA is running Aitken, Conner, and another freshman, 12 as the starting line. The second has been Conrad, Herring, and Quinn, and the late game line up of Conrad, Aitken, and Conner.

UVA is attack heavy this year with Moore being moved and Aiken clearly drawing every teams LSM. Conrads a good player but he's still getting his offensive legs under him after the injury and hasn't scored much. SU needs to really win the matchup at the midfield as UVA's attack unit is going to put up pts one way or another. As you pointed out UVA isn't all that deep offensively which is usually OK as there top 6 is very good but they can get worn down and are running two frosh with a still getting back into game shape Conrad. Key against UVA is to try and keep the damage to 11-12 goals versus 14+, once you get to 14+ your usually going to be in big trouble. UVA has seen a lot of zone this year but that has never really been SU's style so unless were really struggling I don't really see us going that route.

Most of the other stuff about UVA is the same since Lars got there. Good at the X and goalie but not great and they still turn the ball over a ton. Burkinshaw had a hell of a debut against Princeton and he was the #1 goalie recruit in the country this year but it's hard to evaluate off of one performance even if it was pretty good. UVA's D gave up I believe 55 shots to Princeton who but 35 of them on goal (11 goals, 24 saves). You have to think that if SU can get anywhere close to those numbers we have a good shot of winning. Shot placement will likely be an issue as we saw against Baretto and its unlikely we will have such a disparity at the X so we will need to be better shooting % wise. UVA doesn't have an elite defender outside of maybe Conners at LSM who is quite good. Rock causes a bunch of turnovers but hasn't exactly been a lights out defender. SU should be able to generate a lot of good looks especially with whoever is drawing the short sticks as UVA's SSDM's have been bad in the few games I watched. High Point and Loyola torched them repeatedly.

As for SU using its depth, thats a bit tricky. With Dordevice and Quinn out SU can still run 2 really good mid lines but after that things get tricky. McKinney and O'Sullivan are not 100% and the current third line is the all frosh trio of the Kim Twins and Peter Fiorini from Bville. Its tough to send out a third line of all true freshmen against a team like UVA or just about anyone on this schedule unfortunately. I could see them getting a run or two a game as the season progresses but Desko has 4 second mid line options in Magnan, Buttermore, Carlin, and Cook so I am not sure he is going to dig that deep. I do think a good dose of Cook and the second line to keep things fresh and trying to run UVA into the ground as much as possible would be a good idea. Hopefully the team watches some film of that Princeton game and gets familiar with Burkinshaw and his tendencies. having just faced Baretto I think they should be ready.

 

[JeremyCuse]

I feel surprisingly ok with how we match up to UVA's offense in terms of 1 v1 battles. Mellen can handle Kraus pretty well. In the couple times we played him last year he never blew up the stat sheet. He is also still recovering from some sort of lower body injury and has not looked quite as explosive in their first few games, at least based on the highlights. Aitken also did not seem to be too much of a problem last year. Most if not all of his goals seemed to be long range finishes rather than scoring off the dodge. I trust Kennedy against any midfielder in the country this year and Fusco has also looked solid. Bomberry or Murphy should be fine handling a guy like Laviano who has no real dodging game.

The slight problem areas could be Cunningham on Moore and our shorties going against Conrad. Cunningham has been lights out for us in 1 v 1 situations this year. I think maybe he got beat once against colgate but it was a weird pick situation with bad communication. I would guess he gets the nod over Bomberry but I could be wrong. But he also has never gone up against an attack line with the 1 2 punch of Kraus and Moore. This will be his first real test. I imagine he takes on Moore instead of Kraus despite Moore looking better than him to start the season. Moore is bigger and more physical which is more Cunningham's bread and butter than Mellen's.

I have to say our SSDMs have looked phenomenal the last couple games. Dearth and Helmer looked world class against Army in both 1 v 1 and team defense situations. Also do they ever get tired? I even liked Murphy at SSDM against Albany as a solid third option if Bomberry returns. Conrad is mainly a danger in transition and I think we will do well against him in a set 6 v 6 situation if he dodges against one of our shorties. They have a couple freshman who have potential but are not instantly a major problem the way Kraus was 2 years ago.

I think Kraus had some sort of off season surgery and he hasn't been initiating near as much as he used to. Also Laviano was really strugging to shoot up until the Princeton game so he's another one to keep an eye one. I think Desko may choose to go with Mellen on Moore and let Cunningham try and mark Kraus. It's a tough matchup either way but Moore has been the main guy so far this year. I can't see Bomberry on Kraus or Moore under any circumstance, neither is a good matchup for him. Conrad hasn't had a lot of offensive success this year, still very dangerous especially in transition but not as much in the 6 on 6 as you noted. I think if SU can keep turnovers in check again and get another strong game from Porter and the faceoff unit we should be right in this and have a decent chance to win. Can't allow big UVA scoring runs and we need to take advantage of UVA turnoves and man up opportunities.

 

[ivorytower]

Gents, You got your facts wrong.

In regular season meeting, Bomberry was out and Mellen covered Laviano while Kennedy had Krauss . In ACC tourney , it was Bomberry on Laviano and Mellen on Krauss, Cunnigham was on Damario in both games . Moore was being covered by ssdm in playoff which was a mistake as he was blossoming by then.
We got more to handle with Moore dropping to attack and Conrad returning to field next to AA Aiken and improving Laviano. Not sure status of Bomberry status but he's better equipped to bang with a big like Tehoka with help than a speedy Moore in space and that is also not a good matchup for Cunnigham. Cuse might be better in some respects if Murphy plays again rather than Bomberry who we were casting aside for mediocre play before Albany . Assume Dearth and Helmer will be on Conrad and Conner while Kennedy and Fusco mark Aiken. Could drop Kennedy or even Helmer on Krauss and have Mellen take Moore but might be plugging one hole to perhaps open another spigot.

Pick your poison but we aint stopping everyone. What is really comes down to is this : Offense gotta hit double digits (my guess is 12 is needed) , team D is more than any individual matchup and has to play well as a unit and Phaup + Varello and Porter have to continue to have strong showings.

Go Orange.

 

[ivorytower]

I feel surprisingly ok with how we match up to UVA's offense in terms of 1 v1 battles. Mellen can handle Kraus pretty well. In the couple times we played him last year he never blew up the stat sheet. He is also still recovering from some sort of lower body injury and has not looked quite as explosive in their first few games, at least based on the highlights. Aitken also did not seem to be too much of a problem last year. Most if not all of his goals seemed to be long range finishes rather than scoring off the dodge. I trust Kennedy against any midfielder in the country this year and Fusco has also looked solid. Bomberry or Murphy should be fine handling a guy like Laviano who has no real dodging game.

The slight problem areas could be Cunningham on Moore and our shorties going against Conrad. Cunningham has been lights out for us in 1 v 1 situations this year. I think maybe he got beat once against colgate but it was a weird pick situation with bad communication. I would guess he gets the nod over Bomberry but I could be wrong. But he also has never gone up against an attack line with the 1 2 punch of Kraus and Moore. This will be his first real test. I imagine he takes on Moore instead of Kraus despite Moore looking better than him to start the season. Moore is bigger and more physical which is more Cunningham's bread and butter than Mellen's.

I have to say our SSDMs have looked phenomenal the last couple games. Dearth and Helmer looked world class against Army in both 1 v 1 and team defense situations. Also do they ever get tired? I even liked Murphy at SSDM against Albany as a solid third option if Bomberry returns. Conrad is mainly a danger in transition and I think we will do well against him in a set 6 v 6 situation if he dodges against one of our shorties. They have a couple freshman who have potential but are not instantly a major problem the way Kraus was 2 years ago.

Cunnigham is steady Eddie but he only covers threes who tend to be facilitators more than not aggressive 1 or 2 types. Moore initiates from wing and is simply too fast for him, Bomberry , Murphy and most others so no offense intended. Krauss is a AA attackman but Mellen can't cover two at once and probably most needed for Moore who may not be Krauss equal but maybe more mobile at moment.

 

[JeremyCuse]

Gents, You got your facts wrong.

In regular season meeting, Bomberry was out and Mellen covered Laviano while Kennedy had Krauss . In ACC tourney , it was Bomberry on Laviano and Mellen on Krauss, Cunnigham was on Damario in both games . Moore was being covered by ssdm in playoff which was a mistake as he was blossoming by then.
We got more to handle with Moore dropping to attack and Conrad returning to field next to AA Aiken and improving Laviano. Not sure status of Bomberry status but he's better equipped to bang with a big like Tehoka with help than a speedy Moore in space and that is also not a good matchup for Cunnigham. Cuse might be better in some respects if Murphy plays again rather than Bomberry who we were casting aside for mediocre play before Albany . Assume Dearth and Helmer will be on Conrad and Conner while Kennedy and Fusco mark Aiken. Could drop Kennedy or even Helmer on Krauss and have Mellen take Moore but might be plugging one hole to perhaps open another spigot.

Pick your poison but we aint stopping everyone. What is really comes down to is this : Offense gotta hit double digits (my guess is 12 is needed) , team D is more than any individual matchup and has to play well as a unit and Phaup + Varello and Porter have to continue to have strong showings.

Go Orange.

Thats right about the first matchup, forgot about Bomberry being out. Looks like the ACC tourney matchups were pretty much what we forecasted with Bomberry on Laviano and Mellen on Krauss, and Cunnigham on the third guy. I suspect SU may try and run Murphy at whoever they don't put Mellen on if Bomberry is out, but thats asking a lot. Assuming Bomberry plays he will almost for sure take Laviano. Which would force SU to either roll the dice with Cunningham on Kraus/Moore or bump Kennedy down. I thought Murphy played pretty well on Sun night. I know someone over at laxfans thought he was responsible for 2 of Army's goals but what defender doesn't give up a few.

Assuming Helmer is up for it I think SU's best matchup would be to bump Kennedy down and put Mellen on Moore, Kennedy on Kraus, Bomberry/Murphy on Laviano. Fusco/Helmer/Fernandez on Aiken with Dearth/Helmer/Murphy on Conrad and crew.

As we all noted UVA is going to put up goals regardless so the O needs to come to play.

 

[DoctahLexus]

Thats right about the first matchup, forgot about Bomberry being out. Looks like the ACC tourney matchups were pretty much what we forecasted with Bomberry on Laviano and Mellen on Krauss, and Cunnigham on the third guy. I suspect SU may try and run Murphy at whoever they don't put Mellen on if Bomberry is out, but thats asking a lot. Assuming Bomberry plays he will almost for sure take Laviano. Which would force SU to either roll the dice with Cunningham on Kraus/Moore or bump Kennedy down. I thought Murphy played pretty well on Sun night. I know someone over at laxfans thought he was responsible for 2 of Army's goals but what defender doesn't give up a few.

Assuming Helmer is up for it I think SU's best matchup would be to bump Kennedy down and put Mellen on Moore, Kennedy on Kraus, Bomberry/Murphy on Laviano. Fusco/Helmer/Fernandez on Aiken with Dearth/Helmer/Murphy on Conrad and crew.

As we all noted UVA is going to put up goals regardless so the O needs to come to play.

I don't know if we should just take Cunningham out of the game because of insecurities about him guarding an initiating attack guy. If we're able to get Kennedy matched up with Moore while he's out there that would be nice but not at the expense of leaving one of our experienced vets on the bench and hurting the cohesion of the unit. I think Cunningham would be up to the task. Moore is an initiator but not in the same way as Kraus where you need blazing speed to guard him or you're toast. He uses his fairly big frame and takes the body a decent amount. Almost like Cole Williams who I believe Cunningham has guarded in the past.

 

[ivorytower]

Murphy may have but he was fine , I thought Helmer would get call but he's too valuable at ssdm right now with Dami out though I think Barlow and Small are developing nicely. UVA attack is obviously stronger 1 thru 3 than Army, Aiken is a beast and Conrad just superb all around.

Krauss had ankle injury but seems recovered and has 14 pts (7, 7) in 4 games . His rips are unreal but conversion % so far is down despite same sog%. Seen some highlight stops on him so might just be that. Refhus could have had three last game if not for Barfetto. Refhus and Dordevic has good games against UVA. Socks that we are missing the latter .

Reality is UVA has 4 to 5 primary scorers and then talents that support. Cant forget that Damario hurt us last year .

Not going to shutdown any one of the 4/5 completely but just dont need anyone dominating a matchup and creating big lines for others.

I agree with Jeremy that we won't win shootout. No matter how staff decides to match up, D can limit damage if they play sync then it be up to the offense to produce.

 

[JeremyCuse]

I don't know if we should just take Cunningham out of the game because of insecurities about him guarding an initiating attack guy. If we're able to get Kennedy matched up with Moore while he's out there that would be nice but not at the expense of leaving one of our experienced vets on the bench and hurting the cohesion of the unit. I think Cunningham would be up to the task. Moore is an initiator but not in the same way as Kraus where you need blazing speed to guard him or you're toast. He uses his fairly big frame and takes the body a decent amount. Almost like Cole Williams who I believe Cunningham has guarded in the past.

Well I think the fact that Kennedy has drawn Kraus before gives them a little more leeway. If Bomberry is out I think the answer is easy, Cunningham on Laviano and then Desko decides if he wants to try Murphy or if he just rolls with Kennedy at close. Moore while probably not as quick as Kraus, when Kraus is at 100%, is a very tough matchup for Cunningham as he has added some more quickness/speed this season. Perhaps Bomberry sits and Cunningham takes Laviano, but I think it would be hard not to bump Kennedy down in this game as he matches up so much better then either Cunningham or Bomberry would on Kraus or Moore.

 

[DoctahLexus]

Well I think the fact that Kennedy has drawn Kraus before gives them a little more leeway. If Bomberry is out I think the answer is easy, Cunningham on Laviano and then Desko decides if he wants to try Murphy or if he just rolls with Kennedy at close. Moore while probably not as quick as Kraus, when Kraus is at 100%, is a very tough matchup for Cunningham as he has added some more quickness/speed this season. Perhaps Bomberry sits and Cunningham takes Laviano, but I think it would be hard not to bump Kennedy down in this game as he matches up so much better then either Cunningham or Bomberry would on Kraus or Moore.

You may be right. I guess it comes down to how good Kennedy is with the team defense aspect of playing close d (sliding properly etc). If he is too weak and inexperienced with how to properly position himself at close D then we should probably still go with Cunningham, who has 2 full years of starter experience under his belt and I would say is without a doubt more skilled in that category. But as ivory tower mentioned we have had Kennedy down at close before so he is not a complete stranger to it. But how valuable is he on the face off wing? Lots to consider.

 

[ivorytower]

I don't know if we should just take Cunningham out of the game because of insecurities about him guarding an initiating attack guy. If we're able to get Kennedy matched up with Moore while he's out there that would be nice but not at the expense of leaving one of our experienced vets on the bench and hurting the cohesion of the unit. I think Cunningham would be up to the task. Moore is an initiator but not in the same way as Kraus where you need blazing speed to guard him or you're toast. He uses his fairly big frame and takes the body a decent amount. Almost like Cole Williams who I believe Cunningham has guarded in the past.

Moore is very athletic and fast, much quicker than Williams who has size and a different strengths. Krauss is a AA for good reason, strong , fast with a laser. Pick your poison. Cunnigham is a solid defender , so is Bomberry , its more about composition of unit more than any individual and how a unit matches up vs opponents. Our starting unit is good against most attack units, not optimal for some . I do agree that experience is important and that it is always easier to know responsibilities when you are set at one position especially against a team that plays fast. Maybe just roll at start and see how it goes. Still have to deal with Aiken up top

 

[ivorytower]

Can we now talk about our O instead of theirs ? Lol. Im with Powell, I love Solomon's grit. See some of the same feistiness in Cook who is settling. Refhus a fav, nobody can expect those acrobatic saves so no problem with anyone's angles. Ref and Voigt were robbed a few times. Trimbo overhand shots are well placed and hard to follow , liked how he was getting the ball coming in and it was comical how he responded with score as Powell was commenting on his need to, Lipka has ripened, think he was pressing but he can let it fly with both hands , last one was Curry like , that speedster is great but can't run him into ground, those three mids played some good D to boot last game . We have depth. Buttermore looks very comfortable out there . Carlin clearly has ability , Magnan came close to get his first on board, he'll settle in Wouldn't mind seeing Kims and Fiorini get some run.

Im optimistic despite the schedule. Wish team had time to enjoy Army victory. Hopefully all healthy come gameday

 

[PAcuse]

Thanks for these look aheads. I’ve been a casual fan for a long time and know enough to really appreciate the game that I’m watching but these give me an extra level I really enjoy.

 

[Laxwizard22]

I think there are a few major keys to this weekend
First off, I think maybe the biggest one is handling the transition. They obviously have big and athletic mids (Aitken, Conrad) but people also tend to forget about LSM Jared Conners. He is very big and athletic, and is maybe even more of an offensive threat than Kennedy. We need to make sure they don’t get unlimited 4v3 situations, otherwise it could be a tough day
Another thing,(this kind of piggybacks off the first point) is that we need to take GOOD shots, with GREAT shot placement. I know Burkinshaw has only played one game, but I am familiar and watched him a lot his senior year in hs. Kid is the REAL deal, maybe the best goalie prospect I’ve seen in awhile (along with maybe Phil Goss/Galloway). I think he’s that special. If we take dumb shots or don’t place it then he will make us pay, as he fits in perfectly with the whole run and gun idea that Lars is trying to install.
Lastly, we have to be smart off ball. There’s been a HUGE improvement recently, but this is a different talent level. These guys can shoot the lights out, and they will make us pay if left open consistently ( although I’m sure porter will continue to be excellent). I like the way we matchup with them, and I expect it to be a great game

 

[ivorytower]

I think there are a few major keys to this weekend
First off, I think maybe the biggest one is handling the transition. They obviously have big and athletic mids (Aitken, Conrad) but people also tend to forget about LSM Jared Conners. He is very big and athletic, and is maybe even more of an offensive threat than Kennedy. We need to make sure they don’t get unlimited 4v3 situations, otherwise it could be a tough day
Another thing,(this kind of piggybacks off the first point) is that we need to take GOOD shots, with GREAT shot placement. I know Burkinshaw has only played one game, but I am familiar and watched him a lot his senior year in hs. Kid is the REAL deal, maybe the best goalie prospect I’ve seen in awhile (along with maybe Phil Goss/Galloway). I think he’s that special. If we take dumb shots or don’t place it then he will make us pay, as he fits in perfectly with the whole run and gun idea that Lars is trying to install.
Lastly, we have to be smart off ball. There’s been a HUGE improvement recently, but this is a different talent level. These guys can shoot the lights out, and they will make us pay if left open consistently ( although I’m sure porter will continue to be excellent). I like the way we matchup with them, and I expect it to be a great game

Good points, UVA looks to transition and pressure and has good size and speed at midfield. Cannot forget that their midline presents problems as well. .
AA Aiken is a handful to deal with and Conners can rip with pole if not picked up. Conrad a do everything who impacts in various ways. Positive is that Cuse has enough depth at om, dm, lsm to keep relatively fresh in midfield if game is uptempo.

Doctah is probably right going with the experienced and leaving players in known roles , the sum is sometimes better than the parts especially if the game is being played fast. Be good to have Bomberry ready as well. ...

24 saves for that young goalie is quite impressive

 

[Powellfan]

Lots of great points being made - I'll just add a few things.

As for defensive matchups, with this not being a post season game, and if Bomberry is healthy I think Desko plays it straight up and goes with the natural starters. He can always change things as the game progresses, I was impressed that he moved Mellen to Cleveland in the Colgate game when it was clear Bomberry was struggling. On paper the match-ups might not look perfect, but at least he will have options (Kennedy being the big x factor I think - Fusco I thought did a great job against Army).

Thought the O did a good job of getting back on defense against Army who was really trying to push pace in transition. That will need to continue.

I am a bit worried about the UVA goalie, though on the plus side I think it helps that it is not the first game he is playing (SU will at least have some tape on him), and the UVA defense still gave up a ton of shots. Syracuse can't get discouraged.

Three games in and the jury is still out for me on Cook - I still maintain that he should be strictly playing attack - that long winding dodge that started near midfield, close the end of the Army game - which led to shot but no goal, showed me his greatest attribute is his shiftiness - too far away from the goal I don't think he has the blazing speed to run by defenders. He has been a bit snake-bitten early this year, so have to think/hope things will fall into place for him soon. I don't think UVA is much of a sliding team so SU will need to dodge to score this game. Cook might be key if others are struggling.

 

[sholokov2]

Lots of great points being made - I'll just add a few things.

As for defensive matchups, with this not being a post season game, and if Bomberry is healthy I think Desko plays it straight up and goes with the natural starters. He can always change things as the game progresses, I was impressed that he moved Mellen to Cleveland in the Colgate game when it was clear Bomberry was struggling. On paper the match-ups might not look perfect, but at least he will have options (Kennedy being the big x factor I think - Fusco I thought did a great job against Army).

Thought the O did a good job of getting back on defense against Army who was really trying to push pace in transition. That will need to continue.

I am a bit worried about the UVA goalie, though on the plus side I think it helps that it is not the first game he is playing (SU will at least have some tape on him), and the UVA defense still gave up a ton of shots. Syracuse can't get discouraged.

Three games in and the jury is still out for me on Cook - I still maintain that he should be strictly playing attack - that long winding dodge that started near midfield, close the end of the Army game - which led to shot but no goal, showed me his greatest attribute is his shiftiness - too far away from the goal I don't think he has the blazing speed to run by defenders. He has been a bit snake-bitten early this year, so have to think/hope things will fall into place for him soon. I don't think UVA is much of a sliding team so SU will need to dodge to score this game. Cook might be key if others are struggling.

For me, it is Laviano who creates the problems for SU. He is very quick around the goal and launches shots from angles that longs have trouble with. Right and left underhand and overhand accurate shooting, athleticism, and lightning release are a few of his assets. He sits around the crease while Krauss dodges and picks up the garbage on offball side. I think Bomberry is the wrong guy to defend against him. He'd clog up the crease area and provide screens for Aitken and all. I might plan to force the other two middies to beat me by sliding forcefully to Aitken, Moore,Krause and Laviano but leaving the other two middies to do the scoring against the shorts.

 

[Orangtiz]

My key will be wing play. Still don't think the wings have been great this year, outside of maybe Dearth Vader. UVA has two of the best in Conrad and Conners. I would like to see a lot of Fernandez on the wing on Saturday. I think the kid has really good stick skills and the wheels as well.

 

[MD Cuse Fan]

My key will be wing play. Still don't think the wings have been great this year, outside of maybe Dearth Vader. UVA has two of the best in Conrad and Conners. I would like to see a lot of Fernandez on the wing on Saturday. I think the kid has really good stick skills and the wheels as well.

I agree about wing play, still think through 3 games it's been ok. That's another reason Phaup is so valuable to me because he seems to be able to win the draw to himself the majority of the time. Fernandez would be an upgrade I would guess coming off of an injury they're easing him back into game action?