Saturday is a big one on the Hill with a triple-header of men’s and women’s lacrosse ahead of the football spring game for a full day of action in the JMA Dome.
The centerpiece of the day is the No. 5/6 Syracuse men’s annual matchup with the No. 13/9 Virginia Cavaliers for a Top 10 battle, at least according to the Inside Lacrosse media.
Coming off their lackluster performance down in Chapel Hill, the Orange are in need of a bounce-back effort if they are going to beat a surging Virginia team that’s
won four straight games the past few weeks.
Let’s take a look at what needs to improve this weekend:
Shoot your shots and hit your spots
North Carolina packed their defense in tightly, swarmed Joey Spallina and forced SU to try and beat them from the outside. Goalie Josh Marcus made 15 saves, and the Orange shot their second-lowest percentage of the season (.250) while taking their third-fewest shots (36).
UVA’s defense has been on the rise during their four-game winning streak, holding opponents to 9.3 goals per game after surrendering 12.3 goals per in their first seven. Goalie Jake Marek has upped his save percentage from 46 percent before all the way to 59 percent during the streak. The improvement from Marek and the defense has been the biggest single difference maker in them getting hot as a team.
While the Orange need to hit their spots better than they did last weekend, it’s also a matter of improving their work with the ball before they launch their shots at Marek. They have to do a better job of creating from behind the cage than they did last weekend, if only to change UVA’s perspective on defending through something like the two-man game with Joey and Finn Thomson, or inverting some dodgers like Payton Anderson and Wyatt Hottle to initiate offense.
It might also be a good idea to not let the ball rest for too long. Utilize some of that expert ball movement that this group has become so known for in recent years to keep the Cavaliers spinning and chasing. Then, nail your shots with some hopefully improved looks off last weekend.
Stickin’ like glue
‘Cuse was all discombobulated as the Tar Heels screened them to death to free up Dom Pietramala and co. in the half field and attacked them in unsettled situations when they got the chance. The Orange looked disorganized and unsure of how they wanted to defend the picks; their switches were often sloppy and their slides were often late. In the end, they ceded way too much open space and UNC made them pay for it.
They need to get their game plan solidified, because UVA’s offense has lots of talent coupled with solid versatility that allows them to move their attackers — McCabe Millon, Brendan Millon, Truitt Sunderland and Ryan Colsey — around to switch who and where they’re being defended.
The Millon brothers are elite passers, having combined for 65 assists this season, which is 61 percent of the Cavaliers’ assists as a team. The offense runs through them, meaning the defense needs to be all over them, giving them as little space to operate as possible.
This is an interesting game from a lineup standpoint, because Virginia doesn’t have a ton of size on offense. Could this be a game, like earlier in the season, in which Jordan Beck gets taken out and Chuck Kuczynski moves down to close, with Vincent Bolognino slotting into the starting LSM spot? It wouldn’t surprise me at all, because it feels like Beck may have trouble keeping up with the quick, diminutive players the Cavs have.
But regardless of who’s in the lineup, ‘Cuse will need to be much more organized and ready for the potential of a preponderance of two-man games and other various screens. And, they need to make the Millon’s uncomfortable, whether that means sticking to them like glue or even putting them on the turf once or twice early to set a tone. The Orange are at their best when they use their strength and physicality to send a message, frustrate and take control. It would be nice to see them come out with that in their return home on Saturday.
Gettin’ on the ground
By the numbers, the Cavs have a good but not great face-off unit. On the season, they’re winning .535 percent of their restarts, a number that they’ve upped to .569 in the last four games.
They use three different FOGOs, and during the streak, Andrew Greenspan has moved to the forefront to become their starter after he was a backup earlier in the season. He’s taken over for Griff Meyer, who still factors in alongside Henry Metz to complete the trio.
The bigger issue for the Orange may be in the ground ball game in general. Like most years under Lars Tiffany, UVA finds themselves among the national leaders in GB numbers, currently ranked fourth at over 37 per game. ‘Cuse is 41st at just under 30 per.
While the face-off unit has work to do in terms of consistency, even when they’re not facing Brady Wambach, a game against Virginia puts the onus on the entire team to scrap for as much loose change as possible in the all-important battle to give each elite offense all the possession you can.
After the North Carolina game, Gary Gait cited the slippery grass field as a reason for many of his team’s struggles, including on face-offs. Back home on the JMA Dome turf, there’ll be added pressure to keep their feet underneath them and at least keep the GB numbers close against the always-aggressive Wahoos.
Mc-Cool
‘Cuse needs Jimmy McCool to be the best version of himself to win these tough matchups, and he usually is. Coming off his benching last weekend when he was off-balance and not reading the ball well, the team needs an immediate bounce-back against another difficult assignment.
The season has actually trending in the wrong direction for Jimmy, who was over 50 percent saves in the first seven games of the year (including over 60 percent in four of them). However, he’s been under 50 percent in four of the last five games.
Jimmy’s got all the talent combined with the disposition to get the job done in big games, and he’s proven his ability to do so. This game may well be decided by the goalies if either one of them is able to have a difference-making game between the pipes.
What do you guys think as far as keys to the game? Is there something that stands out as the X-factor in this one? What else are we looking for as these teams get ready to face-off tomorrow?
