What’s your definition of verge?
What’s your definition of resurgence?
Syracuse clumsily fired one of the few coaches to ever win multiple national titles and replaced him with someone who had never coached men’s collegiate lacrosse prior to last spring. The Orange promptly went 4-10.
The injury to Owen Hiltz did not help of course.
People really thought Syracuse was back after they opened the season with a 28-5 win over Holy Cross.
To repeat, a win over Holy Cross got the Orange faithful fired up.
Well, the Orange dropped their next three games by a combined score of 51-34.
They finished the season on a six game losing streak including being obliterated by historically offensively challenge Notre Dame 22-6.
The claim to fame for 2022 Syracuse is Tucker Dordevic goal versus Duke.
That’s it.
First of all, this goal doesn’t occur if Duke has any semblance of organization on defense.
Second of all, Dordevic left town for Georgetown.
If your best player splits town, what does that say about the current state of your program?
Your best player left you for a school that blasted you in the 2021 NCAA tournament.
Your best defender graduated.
Your 2023 starting attack unit has played a combined one season of college lacrosse.
Your face off man graduated.
Perhaps, the best human to coach face off men is no longer on your staff.
You have such damaged confidence you let the internet bully you into removing decals from your helmets. There aren’t any supply chain issues with stickers. They pandered to the internet.
Do you think a Powell brother would have allowed that to happen? Do you think Ric Beardsley would have allowed that to happen?
Replacing Tucker Dordevic with Colin Kirst is an even trade? Kirst is a nice story, but scoring 30 points in 12 games against a Patriot League schedule doesn’t move the needle the in the ACC.
Who is their goalie? Bobby Gavin transferred from Virginia and posted a .422 save percentage with a 3-7 record. Gavin is off the fall roster.
Harrison Thompson returns but he went 1-3 with a .385 save percentage.
Are they going to give freshman Jimmy McCool time because he’s part of their vaunted freshman class?
It isn’t all doom and gloom for the Orange. If not in 2024, they will have a chance of having the best attack group in the nation when Owen Hiltz is a senior, Joey Spallina and Finn Thomson will be juniors, and the trio would have played together for two seasons entering 2025. Any hardships this group faces in 2023 will pay massive dividends down the road.
They may have flipped Thomson from Michigan but they just lost 2023 four star Stevie Finnell to Duke almost a year to the date he made his commitment to the Orange.
Does on the verge mean 2023 or 2024 or 2025?
Does resurgence mean winning five games this spring or competing on Memorial Day Weekend?
Syracuse should recover from their fall from grace faster than fellow fallen blue blood Hopkins due to the benefits of being a D1 athletic department.
That recovery just won’t result in a 2023 Final Four appearance.
