MLAX : SU still unable to play full game, outscored 8-2 in 1st, 4th
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Clichs are too general. They’re interchangeable – one can be said against Hobart and still apply against Rutgers. But they’re often true.
For the Syracuse men’s lacrosse team this season, the clich has been ‘playing 60 minutes of lacrosse.’ Orange head coach John Desko and the players all spout the importance of it. In Saturday’s 13-12 win over Rutgers, the clich held true.
The Orange was dominated in the first quarter and fourth quarter, when it was outscored, 8-2. It forced SU into overtime against the Scarlet Knights – a good team, but a team SU should beat, said midfielder Nate Kenney.
‘We just let them into the game the whole time; we should have blown a team like that out,’ Kenney said. ‘We’re bigger, stronger and faster, but I guess it was the factor of how many games we had in eight days … that game was way too close than it should have been.’
The team refused to make excuses, although Desko and his players cited how tired the team was after playing three games in eight days. It also didn’t help that it was a humid day in Piscataway. It was also SU’s first time on grass since it visited Virginia on March 4.
‘We were a little slow with the weather and everything, but that’s no excuse,’ Kenney said. ‘It was also our first time playing on grass in a pretty long team. And we’ve just changed, what, three different surfaces? We just came out pretty lethargic.’
Faceoffs
Rutgers was without its leading faceoff man, Ted Melanson, who will miss the season because of ‘personal issues,’ said Rutgers head coach Jim Stagnitta.
SU ended up winning the faceoff battle, taking 18-of-29 and six of the first seven. Jon Jerome and John Carrozza split the duties for SU. Jerome finished 11-of-20. Carrozza won 7-of-9.
Rutgers used a combination of Matt Gaines, Nick Filippone and Chris Doctor. Gaines was 10-of-22 while the other two were 1-of-7.
‘We threw a kid out there who hasn’t faced off all year, and he battled,’ Stagnitta said.
This and that …
Rutgers received a goal and an assist from Jeff Rommel, brother of SU captain Greg Rommel. … SU broke a four-game overtime losing streak with the win. Desko advanced to 4-7 in overtime in his head coaching career.
Published on April 17, 2006 at 12:00 pm
