Travel- Over the summer, the Rochester Lancers tragically folded, leaving the Silver Knights the only MASL team in New York State. As I discussed in past articles, the Knights will no longer have the luxury of having a opponent just an hour away, which was also a huge money and travel saver. Now, the Knights road games will be true road games, all outside New York state. When looking at the schedule, the team has blocks of road games throughout the season. This was a smart move by the MASL. Instead of having the constantly travel back and forth, the Knights will able to stay on the road for a number of games and then come back to Syracuse for a stretch of home games. This will save them and the other 20 teams from crazy travel demands. However, the Knights will have to stay strong on these road trips and play hard away from the Old Barn.
Single Point Scoring- Since their beginning, the Silver Knights have played with a multi-point system where there were two and three point goals. This year, the MASL announced that there will be a single point scoring system, where each goal will only count as one point. The Knights may find this change both positive and negative. It will be positive because no longer will teams have to worry about mutli-point goals changing the outcome of games. But at the same time, teams will no longer have the ability to make significant comebacks by using mutli-point goals. If examples are needed, take a look at the Rochester-Syracuse rivalry last year. The Knights used a three point goal to beat the Lancers late on January, but then suffered a cruel twist of fate when Rochester used a three point goal to beat the Knights in Game #3 of their playoff series. Don't expect any more of those games.
Experience- The MASL welcomed four new teams into the league over the summer, including two teams which face off against the Silver Knights this season. As a new member of the East Division, Hartford City FC will face Syracuse four times this season, hopefully creating a new rivalry in the process. Syracuse will also host the Cedar Rapids Rampage, an expansion team from the Central Division, late in the season. These expansion teams will not be pushovers. In fact, Hartford City picked up Joey Tavernese, Joey Kapinos, and Jayme Kapinos from the Lancers fold, who are proven tough players to beat. The Baltimore Blast, who already was jam packed with talent, also picked up former Lancers Andrew Hoxie and Jeremy Ortiz.
Here's where the Silver Knights have an edge. Over the summer, several members of the team played with teams in several different leagues. Kenardo Forbes and Nate Bourdeau are heading to the USL Eastern Conference Finals with the Rochester Rhinos. Ubiparipovic has been excelling with Ottawa in the NASL. Anthony Grant won the MVP award playing Seacoast United in the USL PDL while Bo Jelovac, Domenico Vitale, and Antonio Manfut had terrific summers in the NPSL. This gives Syracuse momentum going into the season. The players have had plenty of game time to improve their skills and prepare for top competition in the MASL. Hopefully, the success the players on the outdoor pitch will follow them into the indoor game.
Predictions- The Silver Knights still have about a month to go before the start of the season. However, this won't stop me from making some predictions about what is to come. I think the Knights will indeed stay hot from last season and be a leader in the East Division. Forbes, Manfut, and Neto will be a force in front of the goal for sure. However, Chantel and the rest of the backfield will have to stand stronger this season. With the single point scoring, the Knights cannot afford to fall behind early and try to make late game pushes. Bryan O'Quinn and Rick Pflasterer are solid goalies, but any help they can get from the defense is always beneficial.
For the season outlook, I believe the Knights will finish second in the division once again. Why not first? It hurts to say this, but Baltimore is a brick wall. They have always been a thorn in the Knight's side and in the sides of most MASL squads. With the addition of Hoxie and Ortiz, they are only going to be tougher. I don't see them slipping from the top anytime soon. However, this doesn't mean the Knights cannot take them down. The two teams meet up four time in the regular season. I think they will split that series, but every game will be decided by a goal or two. The Knights will have an easy time with Harrisburg while Detroit, Cedar Rapids and Hartford City will offer new challenges. Outside the division, I think the Knights will do just fine. I think the biggest threat comes from Milwaukee, while Chicago and St. Louis stay low threats. When it comes to the MASL, the Central Division is not as strong as the East. Syracuse's main competition will be in division rivals. Here's the results I see for the Knight's this season.
November 14 at Baltimore- Loss
Nov. 20 vs. Detroit- Win