Recent alumni of Syracuse men’s lacrosse revealed that the 2017 team still has a thing or two to learn before the spring.
Former SU stars Dylan Donahue [9], Derek DeJoe, JoJo Marasco and Matt Abbott returned to the Carrier Dome on Saturday for the annual exhibition game [10]and the Alumni All-Stars defeated the varsity squad 8-4 in three quarters of play.
The day ended with a 25-minute scrimmage between current Orange players, but SU head coach John Desko [11] said the game was more about learning than anything serious. The current team has only been practicing for about a week.
“It’s good to get the guys on the field and in the dome,” Desko said. “Everybody goes home with a smile on their face today.”
The Alumni All-Stars roster boasted multiple former All-Americans and current Major League Lacrosse professionals. Redshirt sophomore defenseman Marcus Cunningham [12] noted the Orange Alumni Classic is viewed as an opportunity for players to get competitive.
“We always go hard [in practice] but it’s always awesome to go against fresh competition,” Cunningham said. “It’s not just a joke game.”
Midfielder Jordan Evans, attackman Devin Shewell and defenseman Nick Mellen are still healing and did not make an appearance on Saturday.
Desko noted that SU is working on improving its defense this fall and that he is looking for someone to fill Donahue’s shoes as a go-to scorer.
