ASU Lacrosse: Grading the Sun Devil midfield

(Photo: Jodi Vosika/ASU Lacrosse)

Arizona State will be losing one of its all-time leaders from the midfield unit with the graduation of Logan Quinn, but star seniors Cooper Pickell and Kyle Denis will look to carry on the winning ways with the rest of this midfielder core .

Losses

Quinn was a centerpiece of this team throughout his career, and especially as a senior captain. As a four-time All American, he was a huge impact player for the Sun Devils, one of the top players to ever don the maroon and gold. In 2014, Quinn had 34 goals and 28 assists leading to a career-high 3.1 point per game average. This capped off a career in which he tallied 201 total points, good for seventh most in SLC history. Quinn was a major contributor in the postseason, helping the Devils get to four Final Fours and two championship games with 53 career postseason points (including both SLC and MCLA tournaments).

One can’t easily look past the loss of Nick Hillier either, as a long-time piece of this ASU roster. From walk-on to team captain, Hillier’s key role was that of a leader and providing the metaphorical glue that holds a team together. He was never more productive than his senior year in 2014, though, when he grabbed a career-high 73 ground balls to go along with his career-high nine points.

Additions

While the ASU coaches are well aware of the absence of Quinn, they are also confident with the new additions to the team. “We have a lot of younger talent this year,” senior Kyle Denis said. “A lot of really good freshmen stepping up that are going to be playing big.”

Denis went on to cite Tommy Carrasco specifically as a talented freshman. Carrasco had 22 goals and 20 assists in his senior season at Novato High School, also recording heavy time in the face-off X.

“He’s probably going to get some good minutes this year,” senior Cooper Pickell said. “I can see him doing some big things.”

Carrasco has the support of the most experienced midfielders on this team and should get some serious opportunities to make a big splash in his debut season as a Sun Devil.

Strengths

Chemistry. Two All-Americans in Denis and Pickell have been playing as a part of this midfield unit since they arrived in their freshman year. Now in their senior year they are completely familiar with how one another plays. They’ve shared extensive time on one another’s midfield line over the course of their careers. Denis felt good about the chemistry, which extends beyond just him and Pickell. There are four other midfielders coming into their third year with the team, with juniors Tyler Buck and Finn Wells leading the way. “For the returners, we haven’t missed a step,” Denis said. The unit’s experience from deep tournament runs will be critical to its success in 2015.

Size. Pickell is 6-foot-3 and Denis is 6-foot-5. Hard to top that. These two are a physically intimidating force to be reckoned with in the midfield and add another asset to this team. Even deeper on the roster are sophomores Connor Ebner  and Henry Archie, both 6-foot-2, and both of whom should be seeing a lot of the field. New ASU head coach Joseph Thon is confident that this midfield’s size will be a key component to the Sun Devils’ success in 2015. When asked about Denis and Pickell, he had just one thing to say: “They are big.”

Versatility. Thon is going with a three-line rotation in the midfield, utilizing different combinations of size and speed to wear down opposing defenses. “We’ve got three pretty solid midfield lines right now that we’re running through,” Thon said. The ability to switch in any unit to give that first unit some rest will be key. This depth is a result of several successful recruiting classes, leading to contributors like Tyler Buck and Finn Wells, both of whom tallied goals in last year’s national tournament.

Weaknesses

Inexperience. With a group of juniors on the cusp of getting some serious playing time this season, the question will be how well they can play over the course of an entire season. This group comes from a coaching style of former head coach Chris Malone, in which time on the field could be hard to come across for younger players due to the sheer mass of talent atop the depth chart. “We’re a very young group with some young guys who haven’t played much in the past,” Pickell said. “So there’s a little bit of a learning curve.”

New leadership. With the losses of Logan Quinn and Nick Hillier, the leadership role in the midfield is up for grabs. Denis and Pickell are obvious candidates for that spot as captains in 2015, but they are tasked with the challenge of filling big shoes from a leadership standpoint. The unit could struggle through the longer stretches of the season if the captains aren’t able to keep the group afloat during what could be a transitional year.

Overall Grade: A-

This midfield unit shouldn’t fall off much from last season even with its losses, but it will change in form. There are still two mega stars on the starting line, and the talent is there among newcomers and breakout candidates. The expectations for this team have not altered in the slightest. “National championship or bust,” Denis said. “You have to set the highest expectation. If you aren’t here to do that, there’s no point in being out here.”

Use Facebook to Comment on this Post