SU clobbers Colgate, confidently heads into NCAA Tournament

The No. 4 Syracuse men’s lacrosse team showed no signs of any kind of post-ACC Tournament hangover Saturday, as the Orange rolled over Colgate,19-6, at the Carrier Dome. The Orange came out strong early and never looked back, giving their seniors a good memory for their last home game.

“Today was a great game for us,” head coach John Desko said. “I thought we came out and played well in all facets of the game. I was very happy with the way everyone played right from the start.”

Hakeem Lecky got the Orange rolling with his 13^th goal of the year about a minute and a half into the first quarter.  Syracuse jumped out to a 6-0 lead before Colgate scored. Dominic Lamolinara, who started in the net for the Orange, had three saves in the first half and got the win. The goaltender admitted he was not at his best leading up to last weekend’s ACC Championship game, but he felt there had been improvement.

“I had good communication with the defense today. We were talking a lot better,” he said. “It was really nice to get the start on senior day.”

After getting goals from seven different players in the first half the Orange held onto a 10-3 lead after 30 minutes.

“We played well. We were talking in all our defensive packages and the younger guys were able to get into the game today which is always a plus,” Desko said.

In the second half Syracuse was able to give many of its starters a break and get younger players opportunities to see the field. Coaches and players alike recognized the benefit of getting the younger players into the lineup.

“It was good to win today but it was really good to get the younger guys the experience and get them in the game,” Chris Daddio said.

“We have guys who have worked hard on the scout teams for us all year and it was good to get them into the game. They are going to be some pretty good lacrosse players,” Desko said.

Seven unanswered goals in the third quarter pushed the Orange up 17-3 after three quarters. The Raiders outscored the Orange 3-2 in the final frame, but the early onslaught was too much to overcome. 

Syracuse now turns its attention to the NCAA Tournament and where they will be seeded once the field is announced at 9:00 p.m. Sunday night.

“I think we are a top-five group team,” said Desko. “Our body of work speaks for itself. We have a very good team.”