QF #4 Syracuse vs #5 Denver Sunday @ noon

[GaitsRightHand]

So, the game is over. What were the biggest factors in Denver coming out on top?

Lack of scoring from Cuse's attack. Spallina and mule with 0 points. 1 goal and 1 assist from Hiltz.

Denver seemed like they wanted it more. D played tough the entire game. Dmids for Denver were dogs.

[pcowlax]

Really? Syracuse is going to the THE favorite going into next year?

[GaitsRightHand]

Really? Syracuse is going to the THE favorite going into next year?

Of course... They bring back Spallina

[Wheels]

So, the game is over. What were the biggest factors in Denver coming out on top?

Cuse's attack, including #22, laying an egg

Denver had a great defensive gameplan that Cuse couldn't exploit. Kleban was locked in

Even so, Pios really tried to choke at the end

Denver's defense is good enough to give ND problems. Their FOGO is good enough to keep the pressure on Notre Dame's defense. Their man-down unit is elite, and they'll have to be against Notre Dame's historically good EMO.

[pcowlax]

Might be time to initiate a new tradition and strip the #22 for services not rendered.

[wgdsr]

missed the 3rd so didn't see how easy it was for denver to get goals then. but i saw how tough it was thru 1h. thought they played the 4th just fine.... for them. make 'cuse show that they could could score enough to challenge their lead. they couldn't.

matt brown in 1st season showing he can take the reins and waiting on tierney was the play. good on denver, now they their old gwll? rival.

[Finster]

Really? Syracuse is going to the THE favorite going into next year?

Of course... They bring back Spallina

Five 20+ goal scorers return including the top 2. An excellent FOGO. Most of the defense.

Yup. Top-5 team for sure.

[Wheels]

Might be time to initiate a new tradition and strip the #22 for services not rendered.

From what I have heard about him, he's a very good teammate and all about being a good teammate. Honestly, it'd be a real baller move for him to say. "I'm giving it up, and if I earn it back, I earn it back."

[random observer]

So, the game is over. What were the biggest factors in Denver coming out on top?

Cuse's attack, including #22, laying an egg

Denver had a great defensive gameplan that Cuse couldn't exploit. Kleban was locked in

Even so, Pios really tried to choke at the end

Denver's defense is good enough to give ND problems. Their FOGO is good enough to keep the pressure on Notre Dame's defense. Their man-down unit is elite, and they'll have to be against Notre Dame's historically good EMO.

They've got a lot of the pieces to run the same game plan Georgetown used to beat the Irish. Most importantly, an elite and durable FOGO (which the Hoyas lacked the second time around). Their offense is not as explosive as Georgetown's though, so they will have to be perfect on offense to execute it.

[DocBarrister]

So, the game is over. What were the biggest factors in Denver coming out on top?

Cuse's attack, including #22, laying an egg

Denver had a great defensive gameplan that Cuse couldn't exploit. Kleban was locked in

Even so, Pios really tried to choke at the end

Denver's defense is good enough to give ND problems. Their FOGO is good enough to keep the pressure on Notre Dame's defense. Their man-down unit is elite, and they'll have to be against Notre Dame's historically good EMO.

Denver is probably the best matchup to end ND’s title run.

Pioneers better not take the foot off the metal if they want to win next week.

DocBarrister

[a fan]

Should we avoid the Christmas rush, and start hating Spallina for next season now?

[LaxPundit07]

Might be time to initiate a new tradition and strip the #22 for services not rendered.

From what I have heard about him, he's a very good teammate and all about being a good teammate. Honestly, it'd be a real baller move for him to say. "I'm giving it up, and if I earn it back, I earn it back."

I am sure he is a great kid. I think most of us are mocking the hype around him, more than we are the person. When you are the chosen one (inside lacrosse was writing full articles about his recruitment process in high school with interviews, etc.) the expectation is you will be “the guy” in big moments. Two years in, he has yet to do that. And for the record, I hope he does become “the guy“. In the future, I am hoping he is in that huddle down two with two minutes left demanding the ball during a timeout.

[masondixonlax]

Might be time to initiate a new tradition and strip the #22 for services not rendered.

From what I have heard about him, he's a very good teammate and all about being a good teammate. Honestly, it'd be a real baller move for him to say. "I'm giving it up, and if I earn it back, I earn it back."

I am sure he is a great kid. I think most of us are mocking the hype around him, more than we are the person. When you are the chosen one (inside lacrosse was writing full articles about his recruitment process in high school with interviews, etc.) the expectation is you will be “the guy” in big moments. Two years in, he has yet to do that.

Isn’t some of the hype and publicity his dads fault tho?

[DocBarrister]

Should we avoid the Christmas rush, and start hating Spallina for next season now?

Come on! I just took my Christmas tree down last week!

DocBarrister

[jhu06]

Really? Syracuse is going to the THE favorite going into next year?

Of course... They bring back Spallina

Five 20+ goal scorers return including the top 2. An excellent FOGO. Most of the defense.

Yup. Top-5 team for sure.

A long time ago someone told me pro sports were a players game and college sports were a coaches game. You can collect all the talent you want in college, particularly at one end of the field, but coaching still counts and Gait didn't seem to have any answers the first 3 quarters to get the cuse offense going.

Credit to the players for gutting it out, they looked absolutely gassed, particularly the cuse guys.

[pcowlax]

Might be time to initiate a new tradition and strip the #22 for services not rendered.

From what I have heard about him, he's a very good teammate and all about being a good teammate. Honestly, it'd be a real baller move for him to say. "I'm giving it up, and if I earn it back, I earn it back."

That would be baller. It was always silly to give it someone I coming rather than as a reward for what you have done for SU. As for Cuse, top 5 pre-season isn’t crazy but the repeated assertion that they will be #1 going into the year is nuts. They won some, lost some vs top teams but didn’t do anything to appear as though the same guys next year will somehow be favored over other top level teams.

[PulpExposure]

Really? Syracuse is going to the THE favorite going into next year?

Of course... They bring back Spallina

Five 20+ goal scorers return including the top 2. An excellent FOGO. Most of the defense.

Yup. Top-5 team for sure.

Top 5 agreed easy. They do have some losses (like all teams do). Will Mark is the big one, it's hard to find goalies of that proven quality. They'll also miss the grit of Stevens and English.

[youthathletics]

Really? Syracuse is going to the THE favorite going into next year?

Of course... They bring back Spallina

Five 20+ goal scorers return including the top 2. An excellent FOGO. Most of the defense.

Yup. Top-5 team for sure.

A long time ago someone told me pro sports were a players game and college sports were a coaches game. You can collect all the talent you want in college, particularly at one end of the field, but coaching still counts and Gait didn't seem to have any answers the first 3 quarters to get the cuse offense going.

Credit to the players for gutting it out, they looked absolutely gassed, particularly the cuse guys.

Someone was saying the OC didn’t matter when March was ejected, and Gait can handle it, was that you and I going back forth?

[random observer]

Might be time to initiate a new tradition and strip the #22 for services not rendered.

From what I have heard about him, he's a very good teammate and all about being a good teammate. Honestly, it'd be a real baller move for him to say. "I'm giving it up, and if I earn it back, I earn it back."

I am sure he is a great kid. I think most of us are mocking the hype around him, more than we are the person. When you are the chosen one (inside lacrosse was writing full articles about his recruitment process in high school with interviews, etc.) the expectation is you will be “the guy” in big moments. Two years in, he has yet to do that.

Isn’t some of the hype and publicity his dads fault tho?

He had an absolutely unbelievable high school career, so I'm not sure it's fair to call the hype purely manufactured. But I think there's a little bit of revisionist history being applied by people that want to get their digs in. He was a hyped #1 recruit, but recruiters did not treat Spallina like he was Brennan O'Neill. There were questions even back then about whether his dodging would translate at the next level; he was the #1 recruit based on production and from the fact that he was so skilled and so smart that he was basically a guarantee to be a high level player in one role or another even if he never developed into an elite dodger.

I think so far his career has played out at his absolute floor, and I think that his current level being the floor for his projections vindicates why he was ranked so highly, because he is still a very good player. I wonder if he would flourish more if he was playing on a team with an elite qb to play off of as a #2 or an off-ball player -- he spent many years thriving as an off-ball player when he was playing two grades up during the summer club circuit, so we know he's not a player who demands to have the ball in his stick to be effective. Think he'd look elite playing off of someone like Shellenberger or PKav.

[Laxitup21]

If Brennan O’niell catches as much heat as he does for being who he is than Spallina shouldn’t even be in the same universe as him.

I agree, nobody hates the kid but all that hype and I just don’t see it. He has surprised me as an excellent passer though.

Honest question, why does he play the way he does? He doesn’t dodge like an attackman. No question mark shots, rockers, etc. just this weird bully dodge.