Inside Lacrosse published its top 100 freshman rankings on Tuesday, and numerous Syracuse Orange freshman have made the cut. The SU freshman found on the rankings are listed below and following that I take a gander at how the attack and midfielders may fit in with the current roster and then a quick look at how this list has projected past freshmen.
Your first chance to preview this year's squad will be on Sunday October 18 at Naval Academy where Syracuse will participate in a fallball scrimmage with the Navy Midshipmen and the Towson Tigers.
26. Sam Romano, M, Episcopal Dallas (TX)
30. Nick Mellen, D, West Genesee (NY)
41. Tyson Bomberry, LSM/D, Avon Old Farms (CT)
57. Nathan Solomon, A, Centennial (GA)
63. Andrew Helmer, D, Summit (NJ)
66. Reece Belcher, F/O, T.C. Williams (VA)
73. Riley O'Sullivan, M, Don Bosco Prep (NJ)
84. Bradley Voigt, A, Salisbury (CT)
97. Devin Shewell, A, Boys' Latin (MD)
After losing several key players at attack and midfield to graduation, the Orange are looking to fill some critical roles.
Attack
Key Losses: Kevin Rice, Randy Staats
Key Returners: Dylan Donahue
The biggest loss from 2015 is without a doubt Kevin Rice. The ‘Cuse also lost two year starter Randy Staats but will return senior Dylan Donahue. Rice was the longtime quarterback of the offense with Staats being an incredible inside, box-style player who had an insane ability to make moves on the crease. So the question remains, where do we go from here?
First off, Syracuse is brining in UMass transfer Nick Mariano. The junior out of Yorktown, NY picked up 22 goals and 20 assists in 2015 and had 81 points in his two years with the Minutemen. With only one established attackman on the roster, this was a massive pickup for SU. Next up are senior Tim Barber and junior Jordan Evans, one or both of whom may be placed on the attack line alongside Donahue for the 2016 season, depending on how Mariano pans out with the team. My guess would Mariano takes the second position with Barber in the final starting role given how much SU used him at the position last year. With the midfield somewhat depleted, keeping Evans as a middie will help beef up the first or second line.
Beyond those first two, things get a little murky. There are two sophomores who could see limited time as reserves on the attack position. Sophomore Brennen Ferguson redshirted last year as a freshman, and was a US Lacrosse All-American in high school. Another option is redshirt sophomore Gale Thorpe, who came to SU rated as the #53 recruit in the class of 2013 and was also a US Lacrosse All-American. Other options are J.T. Forkin, Jeff Desko, and Matt Lane. Out of those three, Desko may be the most experienced but Forkin has been the best producer with five goals in seven games and probably has the edge in terms of potential playing time in 2016. Regarding the incoming freshmen, Nate Solomon is easily the most hyped recruit to come out of the state of Georgia. He has been playing with former Syracuse standout Liam Banks' LB3 club program. Obviously there was some concern about his talent considering he played amongst less developed lacrosse competition in Georgia, but he looked solid in the Under Armour All-American game this summer. Nathan's younger brother Nicky has committed to the North Carolina Tar Heels, so obviously the Orange are not the only programs mining the Peach State. Bradley Voigt played at the Salisbury School in Connecticut for his post-grad year, and is from Penn Yan, NY, where he finished high school as the schools all-time leading scorer. From what I've seen of him, Voigt has excellent off-ball movement, a Donahue like ability to get off his defender and find the open area, and is comfortable with the behind the back shot, so he should fit in with this offense. Devin Shewell originally verbally committed to the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays but switched to the ‘Cuse, so he deserves some bonus points given that he is also a Baltimore product. From what I've read of him, he has an excellent dodge and has great passing vision. Nevertheless, I wouldn't be surprised to see any or all of these three guys redshirt as freshman.
Midfield
Key Losses: Nicky Galasso, Hakeem Lecky, Henry Schoonmaker
Key Returners: Ben Williams, Tim Barber, Jordan Evans
Like I mentioned earlier, I expect Barber to be playing attack and Evans to stay at midfield, depending on how that attack competition shakes out. The biggest loss at midfield is easily Nicky Galasso who had an explosive year in 2015, putting up three or more goals in six of the final eight games of the season. Sam Romano out of the Episcopal School in Texas, could see some time this year. Coached by former SU, two-time All-American Pat Kennedy, Romano played in the Under Armour All-American game and was a first-teamer on USA Today's All-USA list, the only player from the south named on the list. Romano will join Brandon Mullins as the only two players from Texas on the SU squad. Kennedy referred to his former player as the "complete package," and he certainly has the requisite toughness considering he played all of his senior season on an injured hip with the help of a cortisone shot and after injuring his shoulder in a 2015 game he came back and immediately scored two goals. That sounds like the type of toughness that Syracuse seemed to be lacking last season. Don Bosco Prep's Riley O'Sullivan switched his commitment from Georgetown to Syracuse. He has some heat on his shot and looks like he has good instincts in unsettled play situations. That being said I'm not sure he's an immediate impact player for the Orange. O'Sullivan looks a little small right now and, from what I've seen of him, will have to improve his outside shooting accuracy. Overall though, he appears to be a good acquisition for the future.
At the faceoff X Ben Williams will continue to dominate, barring an injury which given how banged up he was throughout the season isn't out of the question. Backing up Williams will be Cal Paduda and Zack Vehar. The Orange do have two incoming faceoff guys in Reece Belcher and Nick Martin.
Power 100 Freshmen History
If you are wondering how reliable this list is here is a history of SU players who were named to the list. Numerous players on this list transferred or simply didn't pan out, and on the other hand, SU's two most important players, Dylan Donahue and Ben Williams, did not appear on the list, so be careful not to put too much stock into it.
List Year |
# |
Player |
Position |
2014 |
58 |
Austin Fusco |
D |
2014 |
60 |
Bradley McKinney |
M |
2013 |
1 |
Jordan Evans |
M |
2013 |
17 |
Scott Firman |
LSM |
2013 |
18 |
Dylan Maltz |
A |
2013 |
20 |
J.T. Forkin |
M |
2013 |
33 |
Nick Weston |
M |
2013 |
39 |
Parker Ferrigan |
G |
2013 |
61 |
Hayes McGinley |
M |
2012 |
15 |
Ryan Palasek |
D |
2012 |
62 |
Tyler Avallone |
G |
2012 |
71 |
Derek DeJoe |
M |
2011 |
15 |
Thomas Grimm |
A |
2011 |
18 |
Bobby Wardwell |
G |
2011 |
32 |
Matt Walters |
M |
2011 |
38 |
Brandon Mullins |
D |
2011 |
48 |
Kevin Rice |
A |
2011 |
52 |
Ralph D'Agostino |
D |
2011 |
62 |
Bobby Tait |
D |
2011 |
76 |
Brenny Daly |
M |
2011 |
99 |
Mike Messina |
M |
2010 |
14 |
Billy Ward |
A |
2010 |
15 |
James Cathers |
A |
2010 |
19 |
Jake Bratek |
M |
2010 |
29 |
Pat Powderly |
A |
2010 |
38 |
Matt Harris |
D |
2010 |
45 |
Scott Loy |
M |
2010 |
58 |
Logan Tousaw |
D |
2010 |
70 |
Ricky Buhr |
F/O |
2010 |
71 |
Ryan Burnham |
D |
2010 |
T75 |
Derek Maltz |
A |
2010 |
77 |
Taylor Morgan |
D |