Lacrosse season begins with two scrimmages

The Orange men's lacrosse team took the field at the Carrier Dome for the first scrimmages of the year on Sunday. The annual exhibition games against both Hofstra and Le Moyne featured a variety of different scorers and gave Orange fans a look at the season to come. In the first scrimmage of the day, the eighth-ranked Orange defeated 14th-ranked Hofstra 7-5. In the second, Syracuse cruised passed Divison II Le Moyne, 11-5.

1. The Orange have a cast of stars waiting in the wings...

After losing so much talent, many expected Syracuse to have a tough time rebuilding this season. But waiting on the sidelines in the shadows of the senior seven last year were a cast of stars that Orange fans will soon know the names of. Sophomore Derek Maltz will be the man on the crease this year. He found the back of the net in both scrimmages today and looks promising as a starting attacker. Another guy to watch out for is redshirt freshman Hakeem Lecky. He scored one goal today in the first scrimmage and it looks like he will be starting on the first midfield line alongside veterans JoJo Marasco and Bobby Eilers. 

2. A fairly solid defensive performance...

The Orange only gave up 10 goals between the two scrimmages today. Starting on close defense this season will be junior Brian Megill, sophomore Matt Harris and redshirt junior David Hamiln. Megill was named All-Big East second team last season and looks to carry that performance into this year. Harris played in 16 of 17 games last season and Hamlin saw time replacing John Lade when he went down with injury. Overall, it's a good defensive line that will get even better as the season progresses. 

3. Goalie Battle Over?

A few different goalies saw action today but Matt Lerman, the front runner for the position, started each game. Lerman recorded two saves in two quarters of action in the first game, and one save in the one quarter he played against Le Moyne. But it was Maryland transfer Dominic Lamolinara who shut down the Hofstra offense in the third quarter of the first scrimmage. He recorded five saves and looked good in his one quarter of action. Last week at practive, coach John Desko seemed pretty set on Lerman as his keeper, but don't be surprised if Lamolinara sees minutes this season.