Spallina vs Zappitello. That will be the match-up to watch during the game.Finster wrote: ↑Sun Feb 11, 2024 8:47 amWheels wrote: ↑Sat Feb 10, 2024 11:31 pm What else can you say about that defensive masterpiece that we saw today? Held Loyola scoreless for 19 minutes to open the game and the 34 minutes between their 3rd and 4th goals. Burlace's on-ball defense against Poitras was excellent. I thought we'd see Schaller inserted into the starting lineup to face Minicus, and that's what happened.
Stoudt still had 16 saves and the Terps hit 6 pipes today. While their overall shooting percentage was poor, some of it was luck (pipes) and some was Stoudt just being a really good goalie. It wasn't like the Terps were hitting him in the chest or body like they did last year. He had several really good saves.
Remember when people worried that Terps didn't have enough guys to win match ups? Seems like Loyola really struggled to win match ups today. The Terps were relentless in the dodging today. They isolated and abused Loyola's rope unit. Conversely, Maryland's rope unit was superb. Nick Redd continues to play at an All-American level. He's not getting enough national attention. Loyola didn't even try to dodge on him today.
Hopefully, Eric Kolar returns soon. He's not out for the year. You can't have Redd running double shifts and McDonald taking shorty runs like they both did today for too many games. Seeing Wicks go down was heart breaking. They guy is a such a program player. Waits hit turn. Plays a role on face-off wings. Finally gets a chance to play significant minutes as a senior and crumples to the ground on a non-contact injury.
Dante Trader watched the game from the Gossett patio. He was also at the tailgate after the game. He's been attending practices and games and clearly loves the sport and the team.
Injuries eventually catch up to any team; you won’t keep winning in D1 if your team hobbles.
This week’s game against Syracuse will reveal a lot about both teams. I’ll be interested to see if Tillman assigns a marker on Spallina to remove him from the offense, or simply goes with the normal defense. The other intriguing matchup will be at the faceoff. D3’s best FOGO from last year against Weirman. Possessions will be critical.
This won’t be too mind blowing, but my only prediction here at all is if one FOGO goes off at 60%+, that team will be the winner. If it’s 50/50, Dome home cooking might win the day.
The two Princeton transfers bring a different dimension to the midfield, and that will be interesting to see how Maryland's defensive midfield holds up with Wicks presumably out for a bit. Jack McDonald took shorty runs, and Nick Redd was double-shifting at times. Don't know how sustainable that is long term.
The last game up in the Dome for the Terps was during their National Title run. That game felt like a playoff game. Both teams really went after each other for the full 60-minutes.
I think you're right about face-offs being the barometer for the game. If Wierman gets 60%, it's going to be really hard for Cuse to feel comfortable. Could force them to press on offense when they do have the ball. If Cuse goes 60%, they're just going to wear down the Terps' defense. They have too many weapons on offense to hold up for that long.