“The Owen Show” Must Step up Against Fifth-Seeded Georgetown
By Trey Redfield
CitrusTV’s Men’s Lacrosse Beat Reporter
It took a lot to get Owen Hiltz and Owen Seebold to dominate together for Syracuse men’s lacrosse. Twelve games, two suspensions for Chase Scanlan, one fill-in game against Robert Morris and one opportunity.
Just to remind you how dominant the duo was last Friday, they combined for 16 points–the most by a duo all season. Hiltz had nine of those points, seven of them goals and two of them assists. Seebold added seven points, five of them goals and two of them assists.
“I think the combination is good,” Desko said. “I think they have a good understanding of the offense and they work well together.”
It was enough to get the Orange over the hump, en route to their twelfth NCAA Tournament run. Here’s the thing, though. When you make the NCAA Tournament, “good” is not going to get you anywhere. Furthermore, it is going to get you nowhere when you’re taking on a team like fifth-seeded Georgetown.
If you look up the phrase “Defense wins championships” after Memorial Day Weekend, the Hoyas would be right beside it. GU has the top scoring defense in the league, giving up about 7.9 goals per game. Keep in mind, it is the only squad in the nation that gives up less than eight goals per game.
When I went “Across the Sidelines” with Georgetown head coach Kevin Warne, he told me he hasn’t slept well because of the Syracuse offense.
“They’re so dynamic on the offensive end,” Warne said. “The things that they do, not that we’ve seen it before, but they do it at a high level, they do it at a high speed.”
Playing in the Big East gets you two or three dates with western powerhouse Denver because of the Big East Championship final this year. The Pioneers have scored the most goals this season with a nation’s best 228. Syracuse, on the other hand, has only put up 169, tying for eleventh in the nation.
Also, Seebold and Hiltz have not performed their best when going up against strong defenses in their schedule. Notre Dame, a team Syracuse has played twice, held Hiltz to two points per game and Seebold to a point and a half. The Irish give up a nation’s third best eight and a half goals per game. There’s also Army, a team that just missed out on this year’s field of 16. Hiltz only scored one goal and Seebold was pointless in the season opener against the Black Knights. Army gives up a nation’s fifth best 9.27 goals per game.
So to sum it all up, the best part about a show is an encore. But it only gets tougher for Seebold and Hiltz. A defense like Georgetown is the best they will see all season, and it is a much bigger upgrade in comparison to Robert Morris. The formula is simple. Win, and you won’t have to face a strong defense like the Hoyas again the rest of the way; or lose, and have to look back on what has been a letdown of a season for Syracuse men’s lacrosse.
Syracuse and Georgetown square off Saturday night, May 15. Face-off from Capital One Field in College Park, Maryland is set for 7:30.
dwredfie@syr.edu | @trey_redfield
