Vermont Gameday...

[Powellfan]

After complaining for years about the defensive deficiencies of Syracuse, we see them hold a defending conference champion and NCAA Tournament Team to just five goals. Can we stop and smell those roses just a little bit!? After having two goalies combine for something like a 40% save percentage last year, Will Mark just posted a 72% mark. That's insane! I know there are a million qualifiers, but I am super happy about that specific performance.

Olexo looks like an honest to goodness ACC level LSM, something this team has lacked for a number of years. Big mean, fast, aggressive and a threat in transition. What a transformation from his freshman year. I thought he was fantastic today. Rest of the defense looked solid overall to me minus a few miscues, but after last year, what an improvement. Also, Vermont finished 0-2 on Man Up, and it wasn't just dumb luck! Opposing teams were almost automatic against the Orange on man-up last year but they looked much better today, getting the ball on the carpet and actually putting pressure on the Catamounts. Might want to think about at least rotating Dwan in a few regular series per game.

Offensively, yes there were issues. I was surprised that the offense looked so disjointed, and I know they are just scrimmage results but it sounds like they did quite well against Loyola and Michigan. I thought the ball would move a lot better and the shooting would be more accurate. Hopefully it was just one game filled with a lot of jitters but there is a lot of work to do. Thing that stood out to me was both Kirst and Cook someone knocking into each other and ending up in the crease earning a violation. Not sure I had seen that before.

Thomson was great today. He's all over social media with his behind the back feed to Simmons, but I thought his twister cross-crease feed to Birtwistle was the real highlight. He just looked so cool, calm and collected out there. Kid is going to be special. Don't mind him at midfield since, as March said, he's an above the goal player. Have to think he, Simmons and Hiltz will start clicking soon.

I'm not going to contribute much to the Spallina discussion. I think he'll be better going forward, and I agree with Lexus, he was getting open and good shots off against a tough UVM defense - his shot was just off today. Wasn't pleased with him taking so many shots, but its the first game of the season. Birtwistle missed a good opportunity for an early goal, Spallina missed a simmilar chance late in the game. Have to imagine those things will start to fall as the season goes on.

As the season goes on I'm curious if the "too many attackman" issue is a real issue. Random thoughts but Kirst did look a little too slow for midfield. Cook had a nice assist and drew a penalty, which counts as progress (and no knee brace which I am stunned by). Birtwistle could have shot better today but he was getting open. Simmons looked good and "active" but like Birtwistle, could have shot better. Both seemed a little "nonchalant" Leo, Rhoa and Kempney just need to be more assertive - just two shots between the three of them.

Face-offs weren't too bad at all, a very pleasant surprise. The student broadcast team gets a hard time, but it was nice that one of them brought up the fact Richiusa was something like 3-11 against Burke last year - made great improvement.

Lots of things to work on, but its the first game of the season. They beat a good team and put together a tremendous defensive performance. Onward to Albany.

 

[Cuseman]

 

[sulax]

After complaining for years about the defensive deficiencies of Syracuse, we see them hold a defending conference champion and NCAA Tournament Team to just five goals. Can we stop and smell those roses just a little bit!? After having two goalies combine for something like a 40% save percentage last year, Will Mark just posted a 72% mark. That's insane! I know there are a million qualifiers, but I am super happy about that specific performance.

Olexo looks like an honest to goodness ACC level LSM, something this team has lacked for a number of years. Big mean, fast, aggressive and a threat in transition. What a transformation from his freshman year. I thought he was fantastic today. Rest of the defense looked solid overall to me minus a few miscues, but after last year, what an improvement. Also, Vermont finished 0-2 on Man Up, and it wasn't just dumb luck! Opposing teams were almost automatic against the Orange on man-up last year but they looked much better today, getting the ball on the carpet and actually putting pressure on the Catamounts. Might want to think about at least rotating Dwan in a few regular series per game.

Offensively, yes there were issues. I was surprised that the offense looked so disjointed, and I know they are just scrimmage results but it sounds like they did quite well against Loyola and Michigan. I thought the ball would move a lot better and the shooting would be more accurate. Hopefully it was just one game filled with a lot of jitters but there is a lot of work to do. Thing that stood out to me was both Kirst and Cook someone knocking into each other and ending up in the crease earning a violation. Not sure I had seen that before.

Thomson was great today. He's all over social media with his behind the back feed to Simmons, but I thought his twister cross-crease feed to Birtwistle was the real highlight. He just looked so cool, calm and collected out there. Kid is going to be special. Don't mind him at midfield since, as March said, he's an above the goal player. Have to think he, Simmons and Hiltz will start clicking soon.

I'm not going to contribute much to the Spallina discussion. I think he'll be better going forward, and I agree with Lexus, he was getting open and good shots off against a tough UVM defense - his shot was just off today. Wasn't pleased with him taking so many shots, but its the first game of the season. Birtwistle missed a good opportunity for an early goal, Spallina missed a simmilar chance late in the game. Have to imagine those things will start to fall as the season goes on.

As the season goes on I'm curious if the "too many attackman" issue is a real issue. Random thoughts but Kirst did look a little too slow for midfield. Cook had a nice assist and drew a penalty, which counts as progress (and no knee brace which I am stunned by). Birtwistle could have shot better today but he was getting open. Simmons looked good and "active" but like Birtwistle, could have shot better. Both seemed a little "nonchalant" Leo, Rhoa and Kempney just need to be more assertive - just two shots between the three of them.

Face-offs weren't too bad at all, a very pleasant surprise. The student broadcast team gets a hard time, but it was nice that one of them brought up the fact Richiusa was something like 3-11 against Burke last year - made great improvement.

Lots of things to work on, but its the first game of the season. They beat a good team and put together a tremendous defensive performance. Onward to Albany.

Great post. I like your positivity, and I guess we should celebrate the victory.

To be honest though, I’m gutted. I had higher hopes for Spallina and our highly touted new middies. From what I saw today, we can’t compete with the big boys of college lacrosse. Our D is better (but we can’t clear), our Goalie is better, but our face-off is going to be worse, and our offense is much worse. At least we lost close games last year. We’re gonna get blown out this year.

Thomson is going to be So good, and Hiltz is such a good passer and finisher, but that’s it?! That’s our whole offense? Spallina is the next Jordan Evans (and Griffin Cook). What a disappointment. The offense would have seriously been better without Spallina on the field…

Gait is gonna wish he stayed on the women’s team. He must be so frustrated, because he must want to suit up and play

 

[bjred]

Lots of H0T Takes in this thread, keeps things entertaining.

First time back in the Dome since before Covid. Was nice to see a game in person again.

My impressions/takeaways from today-

Defense looks better. It didn't seem like it when Vermont went on their run in the third but overall much better. Some of that is definitely from the play of Mark in goal. He made some of those saves that you shouldn't make that we've been missing for a couple years. I personally liked the more aggressive style they played today, going for takeaways and trusting each other to play 1 on 1. Led to some poor shot selection by the Vermont offense.

Face offs I thought went pretty well. Rough patch in the third but Burke was pretty much just picking the ball off the turf and running away with it. Richiusa held his own for most of the game. I'd probably have to rewatch the game but felt there was only a handful of draws that involved the wings getting into the scrum. And agree with others, the coaches need to swap out at some point and not ride your starter into the ground.

Clearing....leaves a lot to be desired. Some already noted that little buddy passes to short sticks in the middle of the field that usually ended as turnovers. They looked a little lost and made some bad choices when Vermont had the chance to set up a ride. Hopefully something that can get cleaned up.

The offense....was offensive for most of the game. Welcome to Division 1 lacrosse Mr Spallina, you'll find it a little harder to back down these defenders than it was in high school. He definitely tried forcing his shots today but you can't blame him when it seemed like no one wanted to shoot the ball. Much like last year, the team seems to be too unselfish. A lot of passed up open shots, maybe Shaffer got in their heads a little because he also made a number of great saves. The other thing as noted by others was off ball movement. We went from like none in the beginning where Hiltz and Spallina were looking for cutters to guys not spacing themselves well enough in the second half to catch and shoot without either running into someone else or running out of an angle. Fixable things but frustrating as a fan because these were problems we saw last year. But hey no offsides today so there's a plus.

Overall the defense looks improved but the offense is young and will unfortunately take time to gel. I didn't come to the game expecting to drop 20-25 but I thought they would put more than 7 up. We'll see what the Albany game brings.

 

[Dcuse]

Great post. I like your positivity, and I guess we should celebrate the victory.

To be honest though, I’m gutted. I had higher hopes for Spallina and our highly touted new middies. From what I saw today, we can’t compete with the big boys of college lacrosse. Our D is better (but we can’t clear), our Goalie is better, but our face-off is going to be worse, and our offense is much worse. At least we lost close games last year. We’re gonna get blown out this year.

Thomson is going to be So good, and Hiltz is such a good passer and finisher, but that’s it?! That’s our whole offense? Spallina is the next Jordan Evans (and Griffin Cook). What a disappointment. The offense would have seriously been better without Spallina on the field…

Gait is gonna wish he stayed on the women’s team. He must be so frustrated, because he must want to suit up and play

LOL! Will be hard pressed to find a more moronic post than this. Why do I come here?

 

[JeremyCuse]

LOL! Will be hard pressed to find a more moronic post than this. Why do I come here?

Always a lot of over reaction to one game. I wouldn't take anything to seriously save for the respected posters like powellfan, and 3 or 4 others

 

[315Upstate]

left the game feeling one way and after watching it another time my concerns shift heavily to the offensive coaches. Offense is slow and predictable when I left I was surprised spallina dodged as much as he did but after watching again almost every shot was from a real good spot The game plan is not good. Very slow to develop pick and roll 2/man the wing and when shot clock got below 20 spallina was asked to dodge which also tells you besides him who is capable of dodging Offense was very stagnant as March was barking out orders. even if what he was trying was working (it was not);relying on big little w same two guys what happens next week if Thompson draws a pole. Also had someone suggest a few players the past few years w high volume shots is reflective of what the offensive coordinator is asking as nothing happens first 60 seconds of offense and then they are forced to dodge late in shot clocks
This is a young group coaching is important

 

[OrangeXtreme]

 

[OrangeinBoston]

LOL! Will be hard pressed to find a more moronic post than this. Why do I come here?

Really? There's not much wrong about the observations. Will they improve? One assumes so as this was the first game against a team that is not a creampuff. But, FOR ONE GAME (only) the observations are spot on if you care to take the orange glasses off.

 

[Powellfan]

Lol he spelled it wrong.

 

[CuseNHouse]

Wouldn’t read too much into this after 1 game. Most know this is rebuilding process. This was the first college game for many of the guys on the field. In many ways, flashes of more dynamic passing and potential of what's to come. Hate to say it, but Spallina is not the day 1 savior and we’re very unlikely going to be back in the FF this year. Maybe we'll go 7-8, 8-7 or 9-6 if we're lucky. I think it was a good first step. Expect to see some sort of progress each game. Baby steps. 2-3 year project. Last year was a set back. With that, hoping to get a look at Simmons running with the mids...and Thompson with Hiltz and Joey (Leo as 4th Attack). We need a guy who can dodge downhill and draw. Need to stir the drink in both directions.

 

[Powellfan]

 

[JeremyCuse]

Really? There's not much wrong about the observations. Will they improve? One assumes so as this was the first game against a team that is not a creampuff. But, FOR ONE GAME (only) the observations are spot on if you care to take the orange glasses off.

Sorry but the minute he compared Spallina to Jordan Evans any legit criticism goes by the wayside. There's legit concerns on this team but some of the stuff in that post was absurd. Were playing 5 freshman on offense and a completely retooled 1st and 2 midline, the fact they dont look like Syracuses 2004 offense with Powell Knee and Crockett isnt a huge surprise. Im disappointed in the Os first showing but peope are acting like this the first game of 2025 and these dudes are all Jrs

 

[SULax25]

Great post. I like your positivity, and I guess we should celebrate the victory.

To be honest though, I’m gutted. I had higher hopes for Spallina and our highly touted new middies. From what I saw today, we can’t compete with the big boys of college lacrosse. Our D is better (but we can’t clear), our Goalie is better, but our face-off is going to be worse, and our offense is much worse. At least we lost close games last year. We’re gonna get blown out this year.

Thomson is going to be So good, and Hiltz is such a good passer and finisher, but that’s it?! That’s our whole offense? Spallina is the next Jordan Evans (and Griffin Cook). What a disappointment. The offense would have seriously been better without Spallina on the field…

Gait is gonna wish he stayed on the women’s team. He must be so frustrated, because he must want to suit up and play

You lost me at Spillina is next Jordan Evans; it’s his first game in the Dome; no boneheaded turnovers, made good passes, got to his shooting points, Vermont goalie made some great saves and his positioning stopped some others. Kid had a solid game and will convert at a higher % going on. It’s a W vs. a tough, NCAA tournament team with some big guns on the field.
this is a process and will take a few games to settle into. Try not to be so gutted over a win, this is the world we live in now - EVERYONE has talent and ability to beat anyone. I for one am delighted with the win, very encouraged by the FO play, we have a goalie who’s a stopper for the first time in years, defense held UVM to 5 goals (felt like we spotted most teams 5 goals to start games the past couple of years), and the offense got shots off.
I’d also note that Cook is coming back from ACL surgery after only 8 months, didn’t see a brace on the kid yesterday, can’t imagine how hard he had to work offseason to even be on the field yesterday.

This team will continue to jell and IMO has significant upside, looking forward to seeing the progression in the Albany game Friday night!

Let’s Go Orange! #HHH!

 

[MD Cuse Fan]

Another positive that stood out to me on the defensive side of the field was the play of the SSDM's, but specifically how aggressive they were at trying to take the ball away, and how successful it felt like they were doing it. Obviously only 1 game but it does feel like they have nice depth and that position could actually be a strength this year.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

 

[DoctahLexus]

Lol he spelled it wrong.

We can’t put out all the fires. It’s hard enough keeping this place in line with the spelling!

 

[sholokov2]

I mean, the thread is littered with nonsense, but this is among the most absurd.

First, Duke is as talented as anyone, but have underperformed the last couple years. Of course they look nasty- they should.

And Vermont would be a heavy favorite to beat Bellarmine. They were a tourney team last two years. Their kids know how to play and win. Bellarmine would struggle to win the Nescac (liberty or centennial).

Last year does not matter. UVM lost its scorers, all of them. The low score depended as much on time consumed in the SU defensive area by a deliberate UVM offense and the lousy turnover ridden midfield play. Had UVM had those scorers they would have dominated. It's the type of error in both offensive and defensive groups that so resembles last year's play that I am criticizing. I think UVM is a mediocre team that plays in a mediocre league. I hope the next game proves me wrong, but I see little difference in last year's and this year's dynamics.

 

[DoctahLexus]

I encourage folks who feel like there was no ball movement to look at some of our missed opportunities from yesterday again. Just in the first quarter there were multiple pass plays that should have lead to assisted goals if not for a poor finishing shot or good save. That includes at least 2 or 3 very nice feeds from spallina that guys really should have put away. It wasn’t all stagnation. The majority of the stagnation was when spallina entered 1v1 situations as the game progressed.

The one main critique of the o that I agree with is that we did not make an effort to “ride the hot hand” and make a point to go with the weapons that were proving to be successful. Mainly referring to Thomson making things happen against the ssdm. We were getting high percentage opportunities off of nearly every play where he initiated against a short stick. There should have been a concentrated effort to put him in more of those situations.

I also think Hiltz did not have the ball in his stick nearly enough. We all know about his off ball abilities and passing but he was really moving out there yesterday as well. He can be a strong initiator for us as well as an offball threat. I agree with the person who said he has to be more of a leader on the O. Demand the ball and make something happen. Let spallina know when he takes an impatient shot. Get Thomson and Hiltz going more and balance spallina as a guy who both initiates and does damage feeding and shooting off ball.

There are clearly a lot of people who want to see spallina fail. People acting like he doesn’t share the rock are being intentionally misleading or haven’t seen a single speck of footage of the guy before yesterday. I chalk it up to freshman nerves and mental mistakes in game 1. As I said yesterday. He was getting his defender into very vulnerable situations 1v1. When the shots start falling the d will have to respect it and we know he can feed with the best of them when a slide even thinks about coming over. I am not worried. At all.

 

[Dcuse]

Really? There's not much wrong about the observations. Will they improve? One assumes so as this was the first game against a team that is not a creampuff. But, FOR ONE GAME (only) the observations are spot on if you care to take the orange glasses off.

Yeah,OK. My favorite quotes were “ We’re gonna get blown out this year” and “ Gait’s gonna wish he stayed with the women’s team”
Glad to see you’re on board with this thinking…..you sound like one hell of a fan.

 

[OrangeinBoston]

Yeah,OK. My favorite quotes were “ We’re gonna get blown out this year” and “ Gait’s gonna wish he stayed with the women’s team”
Glad to see you’re on board with this thinking…..you sound like one hell of a fan.Yoou're

You're right - the hyperbole is over the top. But, even Gait agreed with most of the observations post game.

 

[DoctahLexus]

Another positive that stood out to me on the defensive side of the field was the play of the SSDM's, but specifically how aggressive they were at trying to take the ball away, and how successful it felt like they were doing it. Obviously only 1 game but it does feel like they have nice depth and that position could actually be a strength this year.

They will face some better middie lines, but an encouraging performance from the ssdms.

 

[OttosDad]

Not sure if anyone else caught it but I was surprised to see Leo on EMO. Thought maybe we’d see Rhoa given the reputation of his outside shot. This team could be really good if they can figure out who they can rely on at midfield.

 

[DoctahLexus]

Gosh darn y’all I’m telling you after watching the whole replay one of the biggest offensive problems yesterday was Birtwistle and Simmons not pulling their weight as reliable off ball finishers. Several shots they should have buried as well as passes they should have handled. It really does not have me discouraged about things long term overall.

Need some answers at middie still but I like a lot of what I saw from Leo. Could have easily had multiple apples yesterday if not for finishing. Better quickness than I was expecting. Also we need a better spacing plan for when our middies do dodge from up top. Sometimes there were alley dodges where Simmons and Hiltz didn’t do enough to make space for the dodger.

 

[Jmorrow]

Gosh darn y’all I’m telling you after watching the whole replay one of the biggest offensive problems yesterday was Birtwistle and Simmons not pulling their weight as reliable off ball finishers. Several shots they should have buried as well as passes they should have handled. It really does not have me discouraged about things long term overall.

Need some answers at middie still but I like a lot of what I saw from Leo. Could have easily had multiple apples yesterday if not for finishing. Better quickness than I was expecting. Also we need a better spacing plan for when our middies do dodge from up top. Sometimes there were alley dodges where Simmons and Hiltz didn’t do enough to make space for the dodger.

Let’s dig in to the offense and its potential with the top players strengths of excellent, passing, and shooting vs. not having good speed and midfield dodging. At least early in the season they’re five players that clearly possess the passing and shooting strengths and are by far better than the others and need to be on the field as much as possible. Hiltz, Joe S., Simmons, Finn Thomson, and Jackson B.

From the Gait Game presser, It seems the O is based on ball movement, moving with out the ball and superior shooters as well as falling back on Spallina bull dodging creating and passing out of a double. If the above is true, then there really is not much of a traditional distinction of midfield and attackman or a second line midfield much less a third. So who plays and how much beyond the top five? To me the top candidates early in the season are: Leo, since he was the sixth starter, had a lot of fall hype, possess very high end passing and shooting skills, plus is athletic and could be a good dodger from the top. Kirst, I was hoping could bring some traditional down field midfield dodging or maybe bull dodging from x to get the rock moving but based on the first game reports, his poor outside shooting history, not starting, and his lack of play in the fall, his playing time looks limited. Kempney has a great chance with his dodging speed and shot, but can he put it together in time this year? Rhoa is not a dodger but great shooter and certainly should provide a threat and help. Cordes did not play yesterday, looked good last year, but he really is a passer and shooting midfield and cannot dodge, so he is a very poor mans version of Finn, Simmons, Hiltz, Rhoa….That leaves Cook. Now I hear you Jeremey and I do not disagree on your in game comments, but he is experienced at middie for three years, can dodge and cause double teams and until last year did not turn it over. He just cannot score, but he does make the defense move. He did create a critical score
for Hiltz yesterday and he is a Sr. And not a freshmen, which this team needs.

So i think five at the most play beyond the clear top five and they are in order; Leo, Cook, Kirst, Kempney and Rhoa. I think Leo has the biggest upside and is why he is starting and good become a real threat and make shortie pay soldifying very good starting six. Kempney and Rhoa will play and time will tell if the can make meaningful contributions in meaningful games this year. I think Cook play a lot like yesterday for his dodging ability to hit cutters. Kirst is a wild card, can he adjust to this offense with his strengths and weaknesses. If he cannot then do not take development time from Rhoa and Kempney. Are other natural middies like Borges?

Gosh darn y’all I’m telling you after watching the whole replay one of the biggest offensive problems yesterday was Birtwistle and Simmons not pulling their weight as reliable off ball finishers. Several shots they should have buried as well as passes they should have handled. It really does not have me discouraged about things long term overall.

Need some answers at middie still but I like a lot of what I saw from Leo. Could have easily had multiple apples yesterday if not for finishing. Better quickness than I was expecting. Also we need a better spacing plan for when our middies do dodge from up top. Sometimes there were alley dodges where Simmons and Hiltz didn’t do enough to make space for the dodger.