Syracuse men’s lacrosse: Yale preview with Christian De Guzman

TNIAAM: As a young team, Yale doesn’t have a ton of name recognition this year. Who are the names to watch for on offense and what should be SU’s biggest concerns in defending against them?

Christian: The perceived weakness of the Yale team is the offense, but it’s a unit that is quickly growing. The names to watch are Connor Gately and Sean Grogan. Gately is the most experienced player among the starting attack as a sophomore. His partnership with Grogan is key to the Yale offense. Grogan was the Ivy League Rookie of the Year this year, and the flexibility of their two-man game is crucial to the Yale offense. Shut down the passing and ball movement from those two, and Yale will have to rely on dodging from the midfield, which has been an inconsistent form of offense for the Bulldogs this year.

TNIAAM: They’ve got a pretty stingy defense led by a good, young goalie in Ben Friedman and an All-American at close in Patrick Pisano, who I think it’s safe to assume will draw the matchup of the game against Joey Spallina. We’ve seen Cuse get creative in certain matchups for Joey the last couple years. What’s the smartest way to deploy No. 22 in this one and, in the overall sense, for the offense to attack Yale’s D?

Christian: The key will be to get Spallina as many touches at X at possible. Pisano may play against Michael Leo and Konrad Miklaszewski might draw the Spallina matchup, but the ability to move the ball can dissect the Yale defense. Moving the defense through Syracuse’s excellent ball movement is a way to break down the very strong Yale defense. Forcing Friedman to move and adjust will be key. Unsettling him is perhaps the most important factor of the game, and getting Spallina the touches on the ball behind cage so he can survey the field is crucial.

TNIAAM: One of the first things mentioned when this matchup was announced was the battle of SU’s experience versus Yale’s youth, especially in regards to their first visit to the Dome. Do you see that ending up as a storyline at all or do you think Yale has the intangibles/are they just young enough to make that a non-factor on Sunday evening?

Christian: Absolutely it’s a factor. Enough has been said about the differences in Syracuse’s play inside the Dome versus away from the friendly confines of home. In the Ivy League tournament, Yale looked like the better team than Princeton for the first 15-20 minutes of the game. However, once Princeton found a run, Yale couldn’t keep up. How the Bulldogs respond to adversity when Syracuse inevitably goes on a run is key. Yale’s defense will give the visitors a change. But if John Mullen goes on a run at the dot and the Bulldogs offense doesn’t get into a consistent groove, it could be hard to find a spark to keep up with a motivated Orange roster.

Thanks so much to Christian for all of his insights on this Yale team! Follow Christian on Twitter @CTDeGuz for all things ‘Cuse sports.

The Orange take the Dome turf against the Bulldogs tomorrow evening at 5 PM on ESPN U.