With one week left until No. 5 Syracuse’s season opener, the Orange scrimmaged No. 10 Brown on Saturday. In five 15-minute periods, SU defeated the Bears, 12-10. It was Syracuse’s third preseason scrimmage, coming after a 10-1 win over Le Moyne and a 9-8 loss to Hofstra last weekend.

You can watch the scrimmage on Periscope by clicking on the link in the following tweet:

Here are three takeaways from the Orange’s final dress rehearsal before the 2016 season starts.

Jordan Evans flashed his fancy skills

The junior attack, and former No. 1 recruit in the country, showed off his talent with four goals and two assists, including two highlight-reel finishes in the fourth period. While running from the side of the net toward the top of the restraining box, Evans was smothered by two Brown defenders. He dropped his stick low and shoveled the ball backward into the net as he faced the opposite direction. Evans also drew a Brown penalty on the play.

Just minutes later, he caught a pass 15 yards in front of the goal and charged forward. He pump-faked a lefty shot, spun around while switching hands and buried a right-handed shot. The sequence reflected the potential he has returning to SU’s attack after filling in at midfield the past two seasons.

“As the game went on, I was just having more and more fun I think,” Evans said. “Those are the kinds of plays that just get you excited about playing again. Those were just having fun.”

The offense will again have fluidity

Members of the Orange’s new-look midfield, which features Tim Barber, Sergio Salcido and Massachusetts transfer Nick Mariano, interchanged with players on attack at times on Saturday. Barber subbed in at attack last season when Randy Staats was out due to injury. Salcido often simulated opposing attacks on the scout team previously in his SU career. Mariano has primarily played attack since seventh grade.

The trio gives Syracuse flexibility when the midfielders’ dodges take them behind the cage or near goal-line extended, which occurred several times on Saturday. Evans said that puts an added stress on defenders who may not be used to defending different areas of the field while the Orange’s players have experience from there.

It’s a fluid style of offense that SU used last season and head coach John Desko said it will be part of the offense again in 2016.

“That’s been a strength of ours the past few years,” Desko said. “We seem to have an abundance of attackmen and the ones who have the ability to play the midfield and invert or switch to their natural position. … It’s something we’ve been able to do and we’ll continue doing it.”

Mismatches caused problems for SU’s defense

Dylan Molloy was Brown’s most impressive offensive player on Saturday with three goals and an assist. Molloy scored 62 goals in 2015, the second most in the nation. Desko said his team didn’t do a good enough job identifying Molloy and sticking with him.

Syracuse returns seniors Brandon Mullins and Jay McDermott, making the Orange’s defensive unit its most experienced compared to the attack and midfield. But against Molloy, SU still struggled.

On one play, a midfielder set a pick for Molloy, forcing the SU defenders to switch and allowing a short stick to be matched up with the prolific scorer. Mullins, a preseason All-American defender, had been covering Molloy, but with the switch, Molloy got free and took advantage and scored.

“I was disappointed the whole defense wasn’t talking knowing there was a mismatch with (Molloy) on a short stick,” Desko said. “Things like that we need to recognize quickly because we’re going into our season and with the players that are returning, defense has to be our strength.”

Published on February 6, 2016 at 6:28 pm

Contact Paul: pmschwed@syr.edu | @pschweds