Shutdown in Charlottesville

SU MEN'S LAX FALLS TO UVA 17-12

G Dominic Lamolinara (14 saves) played well in a loss at Virginia

SU goalie Dominic Lamolinara jumped up and down in pure frustration, as Virginia players celebrated just outside of his crease late in the 4th quarter. Cavaliers attackman Mark Cockerton had just fired home his 4th goal of the night to give UVA a commanding 5-goal lead. For Coach John Desko and his squad, an alarming realization was just beginning to set in.

Just two weeks after being voted the #1 team in the nation in the NCAA Coaches' Poll, the Orange was going to fall to 0-2 in ACC Conference play. 

Welp, no one ever said this whole new conference was going to be easy.

WHAT HAPPENNED

The nightcap of the Syracuse/Virginia doubleheader started off well-enough for the Orange. Middie Hakeem Lecky (4G 0A) stormed down the right alley and buried a shot past Virginia goalie Matt Barrett (5 saves) to open the game's scoring. Kevin Rice (2G 0A) and Henry Schoonmaker (2G 1A) would follow with a goal each to give SU an early 3-0 advantage.

But Virginia would respond with a run of its own, scoring 5 straight goals to close out the 1st quarter. The Cavaliers were led on offense by attackman James Pannell (7G 0A). The sophomore, who is the younger brother of former Cornell superstar Rob Pannell, was dialed in throughout the night.

The two teams traded goals throughout the 2nd quarter, and the Wahoos entered half time with an 8-6 lead. 

SU came out strong in the 2nd half, and attackman Randy Staats (2G 2A) ultimately tied the game at 9-9 with 7:39 left in the 3rd quarter. Unfortunately for the Orange, it was all downhill from there. 

Virginia used a dominant run at the face-off X to load up on time of possession and score 8 of the game's last 11 goals, en route to a 17-12 victory.

YOU CAN'T SCORE WITHOUT THE BALL

For the 2nd straight game SU was completely and utterly dominated at the face-off X and in time of possession. It seems as if John Desko is done hiding his frustration with starting face-off specialist Chris Daddio, as the head coach employed 4 different face-off men against the Cavaliers. 

It didn't matter who the Orange went with against UVA - none of them had success. Daddio won just 5 of 22 face-offs, and Mike Iacono, Austin Wentworth and Peter Macartney combined to win just 2 of 9 face-offs.  

That being said, it's beginning to look like another underlying problem for the Orange is its inability to pick up ground balls. Virginia won the ground ball battle with an astounding margin of 51-22. 

If this Syracuse team can't find a way to get its star studded offense more time of possession, the Orange is headed for an under-achieving season. 

NEXT UP

The Orange travels to Atlanta, Georgia to take on St. John's in the Cobb County Classic on Saturday, March 8th. 

Like me, you're probably wondering why Syracuse agreed to travel 7 states south to take on an in-state rival. I would assume it's because it's warm(er) there.

Glad this awful run of SU sports came just in time for midterms *sobs silently*.

~ Kevin Case

The Battle for Central New York

#1 SU Men's Lacrosse Edges #10 Albany 17-16 in OT

Syracuse's Randy Staats fires a shot at Albany goalie Blaze Riordan

On Sunday, there were two NCAA Men's Lacrosse games broadcast on national television. Neither of these games was Syracuse/Albany.

Make better choices NBC Sports.

If you missed this weekend's clash between the Orange and the Great Danes, I'm genuinely upset with you. The entire contest was a living and breathing example as to why lacrosse is one of the fastest growing sports in the world. This game had it all - star players, tons of offense, good goalie play, lots of physicality, a big comeback, and even a pretty raucous crowd.  

Let's get to it shall we. 

THE FRANTIC FINSH

With nearly 11 minutes remaining in the 4th quarter, it looked as if the Orange was finally in control. Transfer Randy Staats had just dumped in his 5th goal of the day after a clever trick play afforded him a wide-open net on the fast break. The finish capped off a 5-goal run for Syracuse, and gave the Orange what seemed to be a commanding 16-11 lead. Albany had hung tough with Cuse all game long, but now it looked like SU was ready to send them packing back down Route 5. 

Except Albany never packed it in; Coach Scott Marr's team didn't quit. The Great Danes scored back to back goals to cut SU's lead to 16-13. Then, as Albany star attackman Lyle Thompson pushed for a another goal, he took a nasty hit to the head from a Syracuse defenseman. A few Albany players took exception to the hit, and a brief scuffle was followed by a few yellow flags from the referees. The incident only worked to further the Great Danes resolve to even the score, as they would go on to score 3 consecutive goals and tie the game with a little over 2 minutes remaining.

With the score now tied at 16-16, Albany earned the best chance to win the game in regulation. SU long stick middie Matt Harris was flagged for a slash with 55 seconds left to go in the game. The Great Danes took advantage, and had a real good look at a game-winning goal with about 30 seconds to go. But SU goalie Bobby Wardwell made a nifty save in net, got the ball downfield, and sent the game to overtime.

In OT it was the SU middies who combined to get the game-winning tally. On the Orange's first possession transfer Randy Staats dodged from the top of the box and drew two defenders, before finding a cutting Henry Schoonmaker in the middle of the defense. Schoonmaker fired a side-arm shot past Albany goalie Blaze Riordan to end the game. 

COLLEGE LACROSSE WORLD, MEET RANDY STAATS

On Sunday, the top scorer for Syracuse was a player who has only been with the program for about a month. That's pretty remarkable, and it really speaks to just how talented a lacrosse player junior transfer Randy Staats is. A week after notching 1 goal and 2 assists against Siena, Staats exploded for 5 goals and 2 assists against the Great Danes. 

One of the most incredible things about the transfer from Onondaga Community College is the way he moves off the ball. Staats is constantly in motion and seems like he has a great knack for being in the right place at the right time. 

THOMPSON TRIO GOOD AS ADVERTISED

Albany's Thompson trio is comprised of brothers Miles Thompson and Lyle Thompson, as well as their cousin Ty Thompson. All three hail from the Iroquois nation and play a fantastically unique and entertaining brand of lacrosse. They each seem to glide slowly around the field before quickly snapping into action for a pass, dodge, or shot. 

The trio combined for 7 goals and 7 assists on Sunday, even while attracting an immense amount of attention from the Syracuse defense. If you consider yourself a lacrosse fan, make a concerted effort to watch these guys play. They are that good. 

RIVALRY(?)

This Syracuse/Albany matchup has now given us two overtime thrillers in as many years. Both of these games have been well attended by fans of both teams, and Sunday's matchup included plenty of hard hits, and even a contentious moment between the two teams' benches.

Are we witnessing the birth of a New York Lacrosse Rivalry?

It's hard to say as of now. The birth of a rivalry probably depends on the Great Danes success after the graduation of the Thompson trio. Will Albany be able to stay near the top of the College Lacrosse World, as well as consistently compete with Syracuse in the future? Only time will tell.

UP NEXT

Syracuse opens up ACC Conference play with a matchup against #7 Maryland next weekend.

Should be another close one, so here's to hoping we have a packed house Saturday at 1PM.


~ Kevin Case

Season Opening Slaughter

Randy Staats celebrates a goal with Kevin Rice and Billy Ward

#1 Syracuse Men's Lax Slams Siena 19-7

I'll forgive all you Syracuse fans who have been a bit enamored with the Men's Basketball team lately - they are the number one team in the country. But there are some other top-ranked teams up on the hill.

Last night the Men's Lacrosse team opened its season with a 19-7 beat down of MAAC opponent Siena. I'll save you some of the details and hit on what I thought were the important takeaways from Cuse's season-opening victory.

FIRST QUARTER OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION

This matchup was a mismatch from the opening face-off, as SU sprinted out to an 8-3 lead in the opening frame. Perhaps more shocking than the 8 goals on the scoreboard was the efficiency with which the SU offense scored those goals. The Orange needed just 16 shots to find the back of the net 8 times - good for a shooting percentage of 50%. For some reference, Albany led the NCAA in shooting percentage last year at 36% (SU finished 14th with 31%).

The other interesting part of the 1st quarter offensive barrage was the number of players who took part in it; seven different players scored for the Orange in the opening 15 minutes. 

THE DYNAMIC DUO

The above-mentioned nickname will probably be how I refer to attackmen Dylan Donahue and Kevin Rice for the rest of this season. The two seemed to have some sort of mental telepathic communication in use throughout this game. Donahue finished the game with an astounding 8 goals and 1 assist, including an insane stretch in the 3rd quarter where he scored 4 consecutive goal in a span of 9 minutes.  Rice - just as spectacularly in my opinion - finished with 0 goals and 8 assists. 

 What's crazy is that 6 of Donahue's 8 goals were assisted by Rice, and nearly all of those finishes were shots from right on top of the crease. No doubt opposing teams will have to start planning for the terrific two-man game of these two Cuse attackmen.

THE (NOT SO) DREADED FACOFF X

If you're an SU Men's Lacrosse fan the image of the Duke Blue Devils walking around with the national championship trophy is probably still seared into your brain. You probably also remember how much the Orange's awful play at the face-off X partially (or mostly) led to that Blue Devils victory.  

During its three preseason scrimmages SU struggled a bit at the face-off X. Head Coach John Desko attributed this to his use of too many players - he said he'd stick with one guy against Siena. In the season-opener, Coach Desko's words rang true, as Chris Daddio performed well and SU ultimately won 15 of 28 at the X. 

So does that mean Cuse's face-off problems are over? It's (way) too soon to tell. 

NEXT UP

The Orange welcomes #10 Albany to the Dome next Sunday. I'll try to churn out a game preview and maybe a positional breakdown of the SU roster before then.

Peace, Love, Lax

~ Kevin Case