With a minute left and Syracuse down by a goal, 10,536 fans and two benches focused their eyes on the Best College Lacrosse Player in America and wondered what he’d do next.

Some expected him to juke. Others anticipated a spin move. Everyone, though, agreed that he’d grab the ball and somehow create a heroic opportunity for himself or one of his teammates.

That’s when Mike Powell surprised them again: He did nothing.

With the score 15-14 Virginia, the Best College Lacrosse Player in America turned into the Carrier Dome’s most athletic spectator, standing 30 yards from the goal and never touching the ball.

‘It might have been a surprise to people,’ Powell said, ‘but I can’t really take over a game anymore like I used to. I get shut off and I can’t really do anything.’

On Saturday, Powell’s absence lasted longer than the waning few minutes. The Syracuse attackman — who last year led the nation with 84 points — contributed no goals and just two assists in No. 1 Syracuse’s 16-15 loss to No. 4 Virginia. Through two games, Powell has one goal. In SU’s first two games last year, he had nine.

Powell blames his lack of production on a change in opponents’ defensive strategies. Against Virginia, Powell often faced double-teams. In the closing minutes, Virginia devoted one defender entirely to Powell, whether he had possession of the ball or not. It’s a strategy similar to basketball’s box-and-one defense, when one defender covers a man while the rest of the team plays zone.

‘That’s the difference right there,’ Powell said. ‘It’s real frustrating. It takes the fun out of the game for me. They should make it illegal, but I know that’s not going to happen. I just have to find some way to deal with it.’

On the lacrosse field, Powell plans to cope by changing from a scorer to a distributor. Instead of dodging and heading toward the goal, he’ll dodge and look for open teammates. A deft passer who had 42 assists last year, Powell will easily make the change.

He may have more trouble adjusting mentally. He’s used to putting up gaudy numbers. When he doesn’t, he likes to leave the stadium quickly and quietly, often with his head down.

‘It’s tough because I’m used to scoring a lot of goals,’ Powell said. ‘When you’ve got so many guys on you that you have to just stand around and not do anything, it’s frustrating. I’m getting really sick of it.’

He better get used to it.

‘I don’t think Michael’s a secret to anybody,’ SU head coach John Desko said. ‘Defenses are going to focus on him every game.’

‘We shut off Michael today,’ UVa head coach Dom Starsia said. ‘We played him hard and we played him smart. That was our plan. This wasn’t one of his days.’

Powell wonders when — and if — he’ll have one of those days again. Nobody’s going to change the rules, and defenses will continue to employ the same strategy. So how, then, will the Best College Lacrosse Player in America maintain such a title if he’s relegated to doing nothing at the end of games?

‘Good question,’ Powell said. ‘I don’t know. I guess I’ve just got to work on it.’

Published on March 2, 2003 at 12:00 pm