The Syracuse Orange enter NCAA Quarterfinal weekend facing the prospect of a third encounter with the North Carolina Tar Heels, who they lost to in the first two meetings.
After losing a game that wasn’t close for long in the regular season, the Orange put together a much improved effort in the ACC Tournament. They were up by two goals early in the fourth quarter, but some late penalties and sloppy play doomed them to the loss there, as well.
If ‘Cuse is going to make the third time the charm, let’s
take a look at the biggest keys to keeping their season going.
Clean and Disciplined
Perhaps the most persistent issue for the Orange has been their undisciplined nature as a team. Whether it’s sloppy turnovers, unnecessary penalties or basic mistakes, they have a way of being their own worst enemy.
And that simply cannot be the case on Saturday, because their actual enemy is talented enough that they don’t need any help from SU shooting themselves in the foot; it will be a difficult enough task as is. Among their top-ranked face-off unit, their loaded offense and their stingy defense, UNC has so many different ways to win a game that committing errors that give them extra possessions or extra-man opportunities put a team in a very difficult spot to say the least.
It’s a simple concept and the kind of thing you want to do every game, but when undisciplined play happens so often that it’s part of your identity, then it becomes the kind of thing worth focusing on. ‘Cuse has to play as clean, smart and disciplined a game as possible if they want to beat UNC for the first time this year.
Keep it close at the dot
In the first game, North Carolina dominated on face-offs, 17-10. Brady Wambach took all but one, going 16-of-26, while Johnny Mullen had a rough game at 7-of-21 while Drew Angelo went 3-of-6.
The second meeting was closer, with Carolina holding a 14-12 advantage. Wambach took every draw in that game, while Mullen improved at 10-of-20 and Angelo went 2-of-6.
A common theme in both games is that SU did better on the first half restarts. In the opening 30 minutes combined, the Orange were ahead 15-12 in the face-off battle. But in the second half, they were dominated, 19-7.
So, clearly, the second half FOs will be something to keep an eye on as fatigue sets in. It’s a long game, and Brady Wambach is one of the most physical FO men in the country. Trying to win any single draw against him is exhausting both mentally and physically, and it takes its toll over the course of a contest.
Somehow and someway, Mullen, Angelo and the wings have to keep it close, because Wambach dominating means heaping additional pressure on top of ‘Cuse’s offense and defense in already-difficult matchups.
Defensive communication
Owen Duffy is hurt. He might play, he might not. But if he does, he’s likely not his normal self, an issue since his game is based on explosiveness.
That being said, even without him the Carolina offense is chock full of speed, quickness and athleticism. Those qualities make them dangerous, and the Orange defense has struggled to keep pace at times, especially recently.
Speaking of recent struggles, the defending of the pick game has been a nightmare as, more often than not, ‘Cuse gets caught in between with communication and/or decision-making issues about how to defend on picks and switches. Sometimes, it looks like the two players involved have never been in such a situation before, and their lack of conviction and delay in execution leads to good scoring chances and goals.
There needs to be a clear understanding of the game plan for defending certain players in these scenarios, which is very basic but appears to be lacking from recent games. They got burned in the first meeting as Dom Pietramala got switched off Billy Dwan all night long and scored five goals in the decisive victory.
If they continue to struggle with their communication, then the Tar Heels will burn them on it. Just ask UAlbany. ‘Cuse may be a step up or two from the Great Danes, but 24 goals is no joke against anyone at anytime.
Spin the ball
The Orange were so stagnant in the first game that it made life easy for the Heels to keep their attention focused fully in front of them, above GLE and at a safe distance from the net. They packed it in and forced shots from the outside that were gobbled up by Josh Marcus in goal.
Since then, Marcus has had his issues and got replaced in the first round against UAlbany by a senior, Kent Goode, making the first start of his career. Goalie play has been a question for UNC as they’ve struggled down the stretch of the season, and in order to test that, the Orange must move their defense around to generate decent looks.
Keep the ball moving at a quick pace to keep them shuffling and get Joey Spallina moving to have him distributing from anywhere. The Orange did a much better job creating good looks for themselves in the second game (it felt like), but still only mustered 10 goals. They’ve scored 19 combined in the two meetings.
Their play on offense goes hand-in-hand with the concepts of discipline and face-off success, because you’re fighting an uphill battle for possession against UNC to begin with, so offensive execution becomes so critical as to not waste opportunities.
What do you guys think are ‘Cuse’s biggest keys for tomorrow? What area of the game or area of the team needs to step up in order to help push them to the win?
