Vermont Gameday...

[JustSayin]

I must have watched a different game than the naysayers saw. I saw a young SU squad loaded with a bunch of freshmen playing pretty darn well against a Vermont team with more seasoned, older players. We shouldn't be drawing negative conclusions after one game.

So, can they reduce turnovers, improve clears, have better shot selection? Sure, but these will take some time to correct. But, it was so encouraging to see that some of the miscues from last season were corrected. There were no offsides, no bad substituting, only 2 penalties, better defense, more caused turnovers, great goalie play, better wing play ... Let's be patient and support the players and coaches. This edition of 'Cuse Lax is still a work in progress. Is there plenty to work on? You bet, but this young team has talent and played an exciting game to watch.

 

[PhatOrange]

I did the same thing. Better shot placement by him and others and he ends up with 5 goals and 2 assists. If Kirst and Cook hadn’t run into each other, that’s probably another assist.

The goal Spallina did score was dirty. The shot placement was perfect and elite. Don’t be surprised if he’s sitting at 15 points after this weekend.

I said this on Saturday. He could've had a 5 or 6 goal game. It won't be a habit to hit the goalie in the chest from 3 yards out. He had shots he wants back, shots that he'll bury as the season goes.

It's irritating that people expected this kid to be the greatest player to ever play the game when he took the field Saturday. I don't think he ever even really showed that in HS.

 

[Hoo's That]

UVA had multiple down years late under Starsia, didnt win an ACC game for like 2 years etc.

^^^ This ^^^. Between the murder and his poor record, Starsia would have been let go sooner if he hadn't won the natty in 2011.

2009 - 2-1
2010 - 2-1
2011 - 1-2
2012 - 2-1
2013 - 0-3
2014 - 1-4
2015 - 0-4
2016 - 0-4

 

[LaxFactor]

I'm with those with measured responses on the outcome of this game. The truth is Vermont likely would have beaten Cuse a year ago as Albany did.

I'd argue Vermont isn't quite as good as they were last year so I was hoping for a larger spread, but as others have stated, Spallina had a rough game, didn't shoot well mixed with a goalie having a good day and being in the right place at the right time. I don't think we'll see another 1 of 15 stretch for Spallina all season.

And the positives were there to be seen. Much improved goalie play. Defense gave up a lot of shots but were a bit closer to at least "contesting" them. Still not high on the depth of our ssdm's in terms of them actually "playing quality defense", but it's better than a season ago.

Offensively just as people had suggested in the fall, Finn Thomson looks like the best player on the field. I agree that Kirst and Cook didn't look great at midfield, but I'm optimistic that will sort itself out as the attack begins to gel (assuming they do, which I think they will).

Mark and Richieusa (or however you spell it) were both solid surprises. I expected Mark to be an improvement, but I think he won us that game to a degree in the sense, "he stopped a few shots we wouldn't have expected him to" and in a 2 goal win with a young team, that shouldn't go unnoticed. The fact we held our own at the dot against a guy like Burke is a good sign as well after chatter that faceoffs were a problem in the scrimmage.

If that game was played 5 times, I think Syracuse wins 4 of the 5 and by a slightly larger margin on average. We controlled the game and just shot poorly, specifically Spallina shot poorly, but as I said, I don't think that you'll see him go 1 of 15 over a 15 shot stretch again for the rest of the season. I hope not anyway haha.

I'm also with the others, calling Spallina Evans 2.0 after a single game of action is a bit "reactionary". But it is "overreaction Monday" so I guess we have to allow it haha.

 

[Powellfan]

Did anyone think Mike Leveille would win the Tewaaraton based on his performance his first 2-3 games his freshman year?

It's one game. Let's give him a few more before we force him into the portal.

We've spent some time comparing this freshmen class to previously highly ranked freshmen classes. I want to point out that I don't think this group is the John Galloway, Joel White, Stephen Keogh group that won it all as freshmen/sophomores. I think and hope this group could be the Dan Hardy/Pat Perrit and Kenny Nims group that won it all as veterans.

Right now, even with an influx of good transfers and Owen Hiltz, this team is lacking that solid foundation. It's not going to be an overnight success thing and I think we are all going to be better off if we give them time and room to grow and develop. Hardy/Perrit and Nims came off a terrible year before they regrouped and won it all - I don't think this year will be that, but its we never remember the struggles that young group went through before they reached the top of the mountain.

 

[ForCuseSake]

I was a little concerned Spallina was pressing too much on Saturday but I think his experience against Vermont is going to pay huge dividends for him and the team the rest of the year.

He got his first taste of live DI experience, faced some adversity and SU still won - none of his choices cost the team the game.

And some opponent is going to be stupid enough to think they won't have to double or slide to him based on his Vermont performance.

Those teams better have a goalie as dialed in as Schaeffer was on Saturday if that's their strategy.

 

[wgdsr]

^^^ This ^^^. Between the murder and his poor record, Starsia would have been let go sooner if he hadn't won the natty in 2011.

2009 - 2-1
2010 - 2-1
2011 - 1-2
2012 - 2-1
2013 - 0-3
2014 - 1-4
2015 - 0-4
2016 - 0-4

not sure the point of this post, hoodat. they did win the championship, and there's no evidence on his employment status otherwise.

 

[Hoo's That]

not sure the point of this post, hoodat. they did win the championship, and there's no evidence on his employment status otherwise.

There was a lot of agita among the fans regarding the poor ACC record from 2013 on. No one was predicting anything would change if he remained. We had gone through similar fall-offs with Welsh and Ryan, and everyone outside the Athletic Department administration looked at this as the third.

 

[wgdsr]

There was a lot of agita among the fans regarding the poor ACC record from 2013 on. No one was predicting anything would change if he remained. We had gone through similar fall-offs with Welsh and Ryan, and everyone outside the Athletic Department administration looked at this as the third.

well, not everyone. and the fact is he was retained in 2010-11.
i don't think the women's lax team has made the quarters in like almost 15 years, nor done anything in the acc... and the coach remains.

while squeaky wheel fans at some places in some sports "replace" coaches, that's not always the case. in fact, it's notable how rare it is. even if there's an element to it in most that end that way. fans want their teams to win and to win... see: every sports board ever.

 

[SkyTopBus44]

We've spent some time comparing this freshmen class to previously highly ranked freshmen classes. I want to point out that I don't think this group is the John Galloway, Joel White, Stephen Keogh group that won it all as freshmen/sophomores. I think and hope this group could be the Dan Hardy/Pat Perrit and Kenny Nims group that won it all as veterans.

Right now, even with an influx of good transfers and Owen Hiltz, this team is lacking that solid foundation. It's not going to be an overnight success thing and I think we are all going to be better off if we give them time and room to grow and develop. Hardy/Perrit and Nims came off a terrible year before they regrouped and won it all - I don't think this year will be that, but its we never remember the struggles that young group went through before they reached the top of the mountain.

Thank you! This post and others have made me feel better. Appreciate you all listening and responding. I always overreact to game 1. Still recovering from the let down from the Army debacle in 2021. For the record, I know I am a lunatic

 

[OrangeXtreme]

Axe: First impressions of SU lax in 2023? “I’m looking forward to looking forward.”

Brent Axe offers some first impressions of Syracuse men's lacrosse after a 7-5 opening win over Vermont on Saturday.

www.syracuse.com

 

[Troughin']

My amateurish, uninformed take:

If it wasn't for the current transfer pandemic, I wouldn't be worried about this team at all. They're young and inexperienced, but are already showing flashes of Gait-style lacrosse. Last year's team lacked any sort of creativity- the fact that we're already seeing the BTB passes and shots tells me we're going to find innovative ways to score, even against the most smothering of defenses. Give these guys a bit of time together and I think we may be treated to something very special.

That all being said, I do hope that after a few games, we start to see some of that magic come through. I (like everyone else) know that we won't be getting any hardware this year, but as long they show good development and flashes of things to come, the young guys will hopefully be patient and not be tempted to jump to a more established team.

 

[swish7]

Spallina maybe tried too hard to create a big splash. It did not work out. I wish he or coach would have regulated things a bit. Needs to realize he is not shooting against high school goalies.

Finn Thomson made a big splash. I hope there is no notion that he is '2nd best' to anyone.

I would like both / all to focus on team play and long term gains.

Let the game come to you, give to others as opposed to yourself, and see what happens. Some days, Owen Hiltz will be the man, I would expect most days... Other days it might be Spallina, Thomson, or someone else.

 

[DoctahLexus]

Spallina maybe tried too hard to create a big splash. It did not work out. I wish he or coach would have regulated things a bit. Needs to realize he is not shooting against high school goalies.

Finn Thomson made a big splash. I hope there is no notion that he is '2nd best' to anyone.

I would like both / all to focus on team play and long term gains.

Let the game come to you, give to others as opposed to yourself, and see what happens. Some days, Owen Hiltz will be the man, I would expect most days... Other days it might be Spallina, Thomson, or someone else.

While I do think 2 or 3 of his shots were impatient or ill advised, I think the impression that he was trying too hard to make a splash or rack up points for himself is coming from UVM sliding to him as little as possible. They were willing to live and die by his iso dodges and in this case it paid off. But the vast majority of his shots could be described as good situations to shoot but a bad shot and/or good save. He still found some opportunities, but there is almost no chance to be a feeder if a team truly will not slide to you.

He is well aware this aint high school any more. He has to go up against our own brick wall in Will Mark every day. Just seemed too overly excited to get the shot off once he got to a good position and didn't think it through at times. Plenty of times where he had time to throw in a fake and instead hastily released the ball. Goalie was able to get away with guessing his shot location at times. On the goal he scored he did a good job of keeping his head up and body posture high. The goalie anticipated a high shot and raised his body as he released the ball. But Joey fooled him and stuck it low. More of that please Mr. Spallina!

 

[swish7]

While I do think 2 or 3 of his shots were impatient or ill advised, I think the impression that he was trying too hard to make a splash or rack up points for himself is coming from UVM sliding to him as little as possible. They were willing to live and die by his iso dodges and in this case it paid off. But the vast majority of his shots could be described as good situations to shoot but a bad shot and/or good save. He still found some opportunities, but there is almost no chance to be a feeder if a team truly will not slide to you.

He is well aware this aint high school any more. He has to go up against our own brick wall in Will Mark every day. Just seemed too overly excited to get the shot off once he got to a good position and didn't think it through at times. Plenty of times where he had time to throw in a fake and instead hastily released the ball. Goalie was able to get away with guessing his shot location at times. On the goal he scored he did a good job of keeping his head up and body posture high. The goalie anticipated a high shot and raised his body as he released the ball. But Joey fooled him and stuck it low. More of that please Mr. Spallina!

It was not working and IMO it was a bit much. The offensive motions & movement slowed to a halt as he executed his move, 15ish times. 3-4 of those times, the ball end up going the other way.

Don't expect him to be Mr Perfect or anything like that. Not sure what he was trying to do, but it could have cost us the game, if our own goalie had not been so outstanding.

I love the kid, the dad, the whole family. I follow them on iG, etc. I anticipate he will get 4-5ish points on a regular basis.

But, team lax wins more often than not, and hope he is part of that.

 

[DoctahLexus]

It was not working and IMO it was a bit much. The offensive motions & movement slowed to a halt as he executed his move, 15ish times. 3-4 of those times, the ball end up going the other way.

Don't expect him to be Mr Perfect or anything like that. Not sure what he was trying to do, but it could have cost us the game, if our own goalie had not been so outstanding.

I love the kid, the dad, the whole family. I follow them on iG, etc. I anticipate he will get 4-5ish points on a regular basis.

But, team lax wins more often than not, and hope he is part of that.

Again, I think you are mistaking 1v1 dodges where the D decides not to slide as selfish play. Not sure what he was trying to do? He was trying to score when given an opportunity. He is not a selfish player. He was playing team lax all day. There were instances where I thought he rushed the shot but never a situation where a guy was open and he was too busy trying to bull dodge and score to notice. He always dodges with his head up. You are framing it in a way I disagree with. The numerous times that other players failed to finish around the cage (Simmons, Birtwistle, Hiltz to a lesser extent) were just as big of a factor in the near loss as him failing to finish in iso situations. I encourage a fresh look at the film with fresh eyes. Tons of misses around the cage that should have been assisted goals. More blame to go around than just Spallina for our lack of insurance goals.

 

[JeremyCuse]

 

[sulax]

Comparing Spallina to Jordan Evans after one game is beyond insane. Im struggling to find the words on how crazy that is. Evans played 2nd line Mid his frosh year and barely saw the field. Spallina is starting as a true frosh. Can we get some perspective here. Again its 1 game, when hes played like that for 2 years then come back and gloat.

Secondly you realize SU has a native player committed in each of the next two classes and will likely make it three in September.

Evans and Spallina are the only #1 recruits in the nation that I can remember SU getting in a long time, so how can a comparison of those two not be done. It’s now hard to believe that Jordan Evans was the #1 high school recruit in the country, but he was. There’s a Lot of hype and pressure that comes with being the #1 recruit, especially for a program like SU, which is looking for a savior to return us to the final four. I was So excited to see Spallina play, but I was really disappointed in what I saw. It’s 1 game. Absolutely, it’s Way too early to make any judgements about him, but that Was the worst 1st game I’ve ever seen for a big name recruit.

It wasn’t just me that felt that way. Gary Gait is such a nice man, but, in his postgame interview, he was about as critical of Spallina as you’ll ever hear him talk about a player, but he still did it in a nice way. I was actually glad to hear Gary speak, because he was as shocked as some of us were with Spallina‘s performance. Apparently the offense we saw, which I think was one of the worst SU offensive performances I can remember, was Not what he coached or wanted. Gary has enough pressure trying to resuscitate a dying program like SU lacrosse, one that he has already given so much to, not to mention the personal issues he must be struggling with due to his twin’s health issues, so to watch that horrid offensive performance must have been very frustrating for him. Gary Gait is a living legend, a lacrosse god, and no matter if SU lax loses every single game he coaches, it still would not tarnish his reputation. Having said that, I do not know, yet, if he’s a great lacrosse coach. Gary is much more of an offensive minded coach, so the offense is where his influence, and ultimately his accountability, will mostly lie. Canadien/box lacrosse is predicated on quick, ball movement and he’s had 1 year to revamp this offense in to that model, so he had to be shocked to see Spallina hijack his offense and play hero ball. I think it’s a good sign to hear that wasn’t the offense he wanted, so hopefully, if Spallina allows it, the offense that he wants us to run will be much better. We’ll find out in the Maryland game!

Great to hear that we’re bringing in some native players in the coming years! The beautiful combination of great coaching, keeping the best local talent, finding the Canadien scorers, and recruiting the talented Native players built this program, and has been missing for too long.

 

[Cuse All-In]

I have enjoyed reading all the Vermont game comments. Great fun for all of us!!

I have one simple comment: the Vermont game hasn't really proved anything to me yet about Spallina, Mark etc. We will all know what this team is by March 5 after MD, UNC and Duke - plain and simple.
Even the Hopkins game may be revealing after seeing Hop take down Jacksonville.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

https://www.insidelacrosse.com/slideshow/mens-di-week-0-takeaways/201?slide=all

There is no denying that Joey Spallina’s stat line of 1 goal on 15 shots, eight of which were on net and two turnovers was a terrible stat line. However, I’m not worried that this game is reflective of his future. His elite skill is his ability to initiate contact to get to the middle of the field, and secondly that he is a very good passer and we saw him do both against Vermont. Being able to create shots from inside of 8 yards between the hashes and feed when the defense sends help is the basis of a promising future, even if those shots didn’t find the back of the net in his first game. — PATRICK MCEWEN

 

[swish7]

The debate is fun, regardless of where you stand.

This did lead me to wonder how Spallina's day compared to other great SU attackmen...

For example, the attackmen with the most 'rope' at SU is either Z or Mikey Powell. Since Z was unselfish to the extreme, I will go with Mikey Powell. Not that he was selfish at all (I do not think he was), but he certainly was unafraid to shoot his shot.

In 2004, how many shot attempts did Powell have per game? I quickly googled and couldn't find this stat.

Not sure if its a fair comparison, it probably is not, but was just wondering.

 

[wgdsr]

The debate is fun, whether people are over-reacting, or on the opposite side glossing things over.

This did lead me to wonder how Spallina's day compared to other great SU attackmen...

For example, the attackmen with the most every 'rope' at SU is either Z or Mikey Powell. Since Z was unselfish to the extreme, I will go with Mikey Powell. Not that he was selfish at all (I do not think he was), but he certainly was unafraid to shoot his shot.

In 2004, how many shot attempts did Powell have per game? I quickly googled and couldn't find this stat.

Not sure if its a fair comparison, it probably is not, but was just wondering.

fwiw, z went 3 and 3 in his cover boy opener vs. hop, an 11-10 w at homewood.

 

[swish7]

fwiw, z went 3 and 3 in his cover boy opener vs. hop, an 11-10 w at homewood.

That is one heck of a splash!

 

[Powellfan]

Macaulay does a nice work with this, hopes he keeps it up throughout the year.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

You're on the Mark, Will...