Syracuse men’s lacrosse fans escaped the rain and headed inside the Carrier Dome on Saturday afternoon at the program’s fifth annual Alumni Lacrosse Classic.
The varsity team played a very competitive game against its All-Star alumni, with the current Orange squad pulling away to a 13-7 victory. The alumni team included a trio of four-time All-Americans, a Major League Lacrosse Goalie of the Year, a Team USA midfielder and a pair of 2014 MLL All-Stars.
Junior attacker Kevin Rice [10] led the varsity team with six points
“Wins like this matter. We haven’t loss to the alumni yet,” Rice said.
Although wins in the offseason may matter to the players, head coach John Desko [11] said the outcome of Saturday’s game was secondary.
He said the scrimmage is more about how the team plays rather than if they win or lose.
“Part of it is just for some of the young guys to get to know some of our alumni who graduated,” Desko said. “A lot of these guys they’ve seen on television and in the pros, so it’s nice to make a connection there.”
Orange upperclassman Randy Staats was ineligible [12] to compete according to NCAA rules, and Nicky Galasso and Henry Schoonmaker were also unavailable due to injury.
As a result, a lot of newer additions were able to showcase their skills in front of the Dome crowd.
“I think it was rusty at first,” Desko said. “We had some younger players out there that weren’t quite in sync offensively and defensively, but I think it went well. Guys got better as the game went on, as a coach that’s what you want to see.
And again, we’re going against former Orangemen so there’s a fun side to it also.”
This scrimmage is the culmination of the team’s offseason regimen. The Orange has been practicing the past four weeks, five to six times each week.
Desko said scrimmages are great because they don’t count towards the team’s record and now the players can compete against a new group.
The Orange will finish its fall schedule with scrimmages against Bellarmine and Binghamton this Saturday at the HEADstrong Foundation Nicholas Colleluori Fall Lacrosse Classic at Ridley High School in Folsom, Pennsylvania. The action begins at 10 a.m.
