Syracuse Lacrosse: Previewing the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays

Opponent

School: Johns Hopkins

Mascot: Blue Jays

Coach: Dave Pietramala

Location: Baltimore, MD

Conference: B10

Game Location: Homewood Field

Game Time: 4 PM

Television/Radio: ESPN3/TK99/105

Weather: 50 Degrees, Rain

All-Time Syracuse Record Vs. Opponent: 25-29-1

First Matchup: 1921, 4-4 Tie

Previous Matchup: 11-10 Hopkins Win in OT

Opponent Ranking: #14

Quick Facts

2017 Record: 4-2

2017 Conference Record: 0-0

2016 Conference Postseason Results: Lost to Rutgers 14-12 in first round of B10 Tournament

2016 NCAA Tournament Postseason Results: Lost to Brown 17-8 in the First Round of NCAAT

2016 Team Statistics

Total Goals– Shot Attempts: 72-222

Totoal Opponent Goals– Shot Attempts: 62-218

EMO Goals (Percentage): 9 (.500)

EMO Goals Against (Percentage): 5 (.385)

Team Shooting Percentage: .324

Opponent Shooting Percentage: .284

Shots on Goal Percentage: .631

Opponent Shots on Goal Percentage: .546

Groundballs: 152

Opponent Groundballs: 174

Turnovers: 57

Caused Turnovers: 41

Faceoffs: 62-155 (.400)

Clearing Percentage: .912

Opponent Clearing Percentage: .792

Penalties: 13:30 PIM

Welcome to Hopkins Weekend! The only weekend that really matters.

Last year’s game sucked. Up 10-8 with six minutes left in the game, the Orange gave up two straight goals to the Blue Jays to force an overtime period in which Wilkins Dismuke scored the game winner. It was not a very pretty game and the cold rain/snow did not help. Warren Hill made just five saves in the match while Ben Williams took 13 of 24 in the game and six of 12 against returning FOGO Craig Madarasz.

The Johns Hopkins Blue Jays come into the game on a two game losing streak. To put that in perspective, the Jays haven’t faced the Syracuse Orange following a loss since 2010 and have never played SU coming off of two consecutive losses.

While Syracuse is not the best groundball team by any stretch, Hopkins comes into the game 51^st in groundballs per game in the nation. The Jays give up a ton of shots, and put a lot of pressure on its goalie. SU takes an average of 41 shots per game and should be able to get some heat on the JHU net.

The Syracuse Orange played an up-tempo game against Virginia two weeks ago and then turned around and played a horrible offensive game against St. John’s last week. The Orange have either been forced to make big comebacks after getting down early, or allowed opponents to overcome big deficits. Neither situation is optimal. SU has played four, one-goal games this year. Most concerning for me were the unforced turnovers last week in Queens, NY. The offense needs to get going early and be consistent.

As Ryan said on the College Crossecast podcast, the Syracuse offense needs to put together a complete game for once.

ATTACK

Hopkins is first in turnovers per game in the country, giving up an average of 9.5 per game. The man-up is usually pretty good, but Princeton was able to hold Hopkins to zero goals on four opportunities.

Shack Stanwick is the leading the Jays in points and assists this year. He is the primary feeder amongst a team that does not have a ton of assists. In fact, JHU is 30^th amongst all D1 teams in assists per game and only 51.4% of its goals have been assisted. Compare that to Syracuse which has had 73.8% of its goals assisted and sits third in the NCAA in assists per game. Along with Stanwick, Wilkins Dismuke has started each game this year at attack. Dismuke is fourth in the nation and first in the Big Ten in shooting percentage.

It is unclear who will be the third starter on Saturday at attack. John Crawley is leading the Blue Jays in goals scored with 11 and has 61 goals in his four years at JHU. He has started four games at attack and two at midfield. Crawley is a dodger and likes to shoot on the run, look for him attacking from behind cage. In addition, Kyle Marr has picked up two starts at attack. You may be familiar with Kyle Marr’s last name, he is the son of Albany Great Danes’ coach Scott Marr.

MIDFIELD

The John’s Hopkins midfield is very deep. Expect to see a lot of guys get runs on Saturday. Joel Tinney who has eight goals and four assists, is maybe the most dangerous midfielder on this team and the most complete offensive player on the Hopkins roster. He is technically a junior, but missed his sophomore year with an off field issue after a 38 point freshman season. The junior has been part of two hidden ball goals this year including the overtime winner versus Loyola.

Tinney will be saddled with Patrick Fraser at the midfield, the only other player to start each game at midfield. Fraser has six goals on 23 shots. If John Crawley starts at attack, look for Cody Radziewicz to take the third spot at the midfield.

FACE-OFF

Craig Madarasz is the primary faceoff guy for Hopkins having gone 45-114 with a .395 faceoff winning percentage. As a team, the Blue Jays have a .400 winning percentage, tied with the Siena Saints for the worst faceoff team that Syracuse will have faced this year. The graduate student had a career high .511 winning percentage in his sophomore year and this season went .524. 9-21 against Towson and 10-22 versus Princeton.

DEFENSE

The Hopkins defense gave up 51 shots in its 18-7 loss to Princeton. The defense is 37^th in scoring defense but 10^th in clearing percentage. Of note, however, JHU is 41^st in man-down defense giving up five goals in 13 man-down situations.

Nick Fields was an honorable mention USILA All-American in 2016 and has now started 39 consecutive games. Fields is a natural LSM but made the switch to close defense early in his Hopkins career. Coming into the year, Fields was the stud at defense but freshman Jack Rapine has definitely had his impact felt with 15 groundballs and a team leading seven caused turnovers. Terry Foy of Inside Lacrosse named Rapine 13^th in his early freshman rankings.

Johns Hopkins is without Patrick Foley this season as he is not enrolled in the University due to academic issues. Foley started 15 games last season at close defense and led the Jays in caused turnovers. In his place is Trevor Koelsch, who did not start a game until this season. The senior has had six groundballs and two caused turnovers thus far.

GOAL

Gerald Logan came to Hopkins after playing three years with the Michigan Wolverines. During his three, injury free years at Michigan, Logan started every game and was the defensive and team MVP each year while being ranked in the top 10 each year in saves per game. Currently he is 60^th in the NCAA in saves per game, 34^th in GAA and 50^th in save percentage. He seems like he is quick to go down putting him out of position; look for the high shots. Rebounds around the cage could be huge in this game.

Keep in mind, Logan has been pulled in each of the last two games. His statistics are not great and I think we could see Brock Turnbaugh in net at some point during this game.

The Syracuse Orange and Johns Hopkins Blue Jays will play at Homewood Field on Saturday at 4 pm. The game can be seen on ESPN3 and heard on TK99/105 and of course you can also follow me for updates @Orangelax.