biglidde's Blog

The Syracuse University men's lacrosse team won a 9-8 thriller against St. John's on Saturday  at DaSilva Memorial Field in Jamaica, New York. It was a cold day in southern New York, but that didn't stop both Orange and Red Storm fans from showing up in full force. The game was close throughout, but the Orange had a slight 2-1 advantage after the first quarter. The Red Storm surged in the second and took a 4-3 lead into halftime, thanks in part to two goals from Kevin Cernuto. The game was tied at 5-5 after the third quarter, and then in the fourth, with 1:25 left, Tim Desko found the back of the net and sealed the Orange victory. 

Here's three thoughts from the game:

1. Kevin Drew is officially back.

Before this season started, many weren't sure if Kevin Drew would take the field this season after offseason trouble with the law. He wasn't seen during the preseason scrimmages or the first two home games against Albany and Army. But last weekend against Virginia, Drew took the field and wasn't much of a factor. This week's game against St. John's was a different story. Drew came out and scored two goals on his only two shots. He also helped the Orange clear the ball. If the goalie or one of the close defensemen can get the ball to Drew, he will singlehandedly clear it. Orange fans should be happy that he's back because he will make a big difference this season. After the game, coach John Desko said he is still catching up on his conditioning but helped in a big way today. 

2. Ground balls and face-offs are becoming an issue.

After starting the season with a couple of solid performances at the X, the Orange seem to have lost it. Last week against Virginia, the Orange struggled, and those struggles continued today. Chris Daddio, the go-to face off guy, got just 3-of-12 face-offs. Ricky Buhr, the backup go-to face-off guy, got just 2-of-5. So coach Desko finally acted and put a long stick, Brian Megill, at the X to take face-offs. Megill was able to win 3-of-4 face-offs and kept the Orange in the game in the fourth quarter. His long stick allowed him to reach further than his opponent and pick up the ball before the wings got involved in the play. But I doubt coach Desko wants Megill taking face-offs for the rest of the season, so this needs to get sorted out as soon as possible. 

3. The Orange are still searching for their identity in net.

Will it be Matt Lerman or Dominic Lamolinara? No one really knows. Neither of them shined today, and the race for the starting job is still a dead heat. Each goalie let four goals in today. Lerman had six saves through the first two quarters, and Lamolinara had two saves through his half. Lerman let by some really easy ones, but Lamolinara wasn't challenged like Lerman was. Either way, the Orange's next opponent is their rival Johns Hopkins, and without a solid goalkeeper, the Blue Jays will be tough to beat. 

The Syracuse men’s lacrosse team mounted a comeback in the final minute of the fourth quarter Sunday to beat No. 7 Maryland 11-9 in the first scrimmage of the afternoon. The Orange then fell to Canisius 11-10 after a Golden Griffin goal with one second left on the clock.

The last time Syracuse played against Maryland was during the quarterfinals of last year's NCAA tournament. The Orange lost in overtime in that game.

On Sunday, Maryland came out firing and scored two goals on goalie Matt Lerman, who played in the first half of the Maryland scrimmage. Goals from Orange midfielders Hakeem Lecky and Luke Cometti tied the game before the Terrapins scored two more to take a 4-2 lead after the first quarter. The final goal of the quarter came with a second left on a desperation shot from 30 yards away, and the Orange finished the quarter down by two.

In the second quarter, Maryland scored two more goals to extend the lead to 6-2. The Orange had five shots on goal but couldn’t find the back of the net. At the half, Lerman took a seat and former Terrapin Dominic Lamolinara took over.  The sophomore transferred from Maryland after his freshman season last year and is excited to wear Orange.

 “I wanted to go to Syracuse before going to Maryland.” he said. “I came up here to visit my junior year, and it was a perfect fit for me. It just didn’t work out [before].”

Lamolinara started off strong and only gave up one goal on five shots in the third quarter. That’s when the Orange offense came to life, with two quick goals from Tim Desko and Collin Donahue. Kevin Rice and Tommy Palasek both added unassisted goals to bring the Orange within one.

Syracuse eventually tied the score in the fourth quarter, but then Maryland scored two more goals to retake the lead with three minutes left. Scott Loy scored and cut the Maryland lead to one. With 49 seconds left, Bobby Eilers scored off an assist from JoJo Marasco to tie the game at 9-9. Rice scored the go-ahead goal with 16 seconds left in regulation to win.

The second-half comeback against Maryland can be credited to good goalkeeping, offensive execution and solid play at the X. The Orange won six of eight faceoffs in the fourth. However, the Terps played the final quarter with mostly backups, so the numbers are slightly misleading.

Head coach John Desko played primarily backups against Canisius and gave the starters a break after a hard-fought Maryland game. The Orange led by as many as five goals in the third quarter, but Canisius went on to score six unanswered goals on their way to victory.

“We’re definitely not in midseason form,” Desko said. “But mentally we’re ready to go, and as coaches, we’re going to spend a lot of time the next couple days watching film and evaluating what we saw on the field.”

The Orange will take the field at the Carrier Dome next Sunday at 2 p.m. for its first regular-season matchup against Albany.