Players on the Syracuse men’s lacrosse team popped in Mel Gibson’s ‘Apocalypto.’ The Orange just earned a convincing victory over then-No. 2 Georgetown and watching a movie afterward usually spells relaxation.

Midfielder Steven Brooks noticed the character, ‘Jaguar Paw,’ who continually ran away from invaders from a nearby Mayan village and hid his family from danger. That character reminded him that the Orange has its own animal, its own fast, quick-thinking and quiet ‘Jaguar Paw.’

That nickname belongs to Matt Abbott, Syracuse’s second-line midfielder who usually is doing something on the lacrosse field to help SU. The six goals and four assists don’t make jaws drop. But his presence does. Abbott helps out on clears, groundballs (36, second on SU), on defensive midfield and SU’s man-down unit. Though a non-starter, Abbott won’t stay on the sideline for long when No. 16 Syracuse hosts No. 3 Albany at 7:30 tonight at the Carrier Dome.

Abbott jokes he receives the least amount of water breaks because of his multiple roles.

‘You always feel like you keep going,’ Abbott said. ‘I play offense and defense at some point in the practice. I’ll go down to play offense a little bit, go down and switch jerseys to play defense to learn what offense we’re going against this week. It’s back and forth.’

He does that because Syracuse head coach John Desko knows Abbott serves as an ultimate glue guy. That requires Abbott to play on the field whenever possible.

‘He makes such good decisions on the field,’ Desko said. ‘He’s very composed. That doesn’t come along too often. Most of the times it comes with game experience. I’ve been very happy with how Matt has been playing.’

Tom Abbott, Matt’s father and SU’s seventh-alltime leading scorer as an attackman from 1975-78, sees Abbott wanting to have an even bigger role for SU. He envisions becoming part of that first midfield line and becoming one of the primary options on offense.

But that’s not Matt Abbott’s role right now and he doesn’t try to change it. Abbott knows he’ll do the work no one else wants to do, the work thats prompts teammates to quickly express appreciation. In every game, Abbott shows little hesitation in becoming involved in a scrum for the groundball despite his skinny 6-foot-2 inch, 177 pound frame.

SU goalie Pete Coluccini loves when Abbott is on the field because it alleviates the clearing responsibilities. Abbott often takes clears from out of bounds and his deceptive speed and long legs allow him to march down the field untouched.

In two instances, he fed attackman Greg Niewieroski for a goal against Georgetown and Binghamton after clearing from the end line.

‘You don’t run full speed all the time. You get the ball and size up to find out what the deal is,’ Tom Abbott said. ‘As soon as a player starts to pursue you, you have to take the angle.

‘If you go full speed without taking the proper angle, they can size that up pretty quickly. It’s almost an instinct for Matt. Some guys are shifty and shake and bake. Matt just jogs along until he notices a bad step. Then he’s gone.’

Matt Abbott’s play rings loudly, yet he doesn’t brag about it. Tom Abbott jokes talking to his son is like talking to the CIA – asking Matt Abbott about practice makes his father feel like he is interrogating him. But Abbott’s quiet demeanor and work ethic combine to form the helpless role Abbott embraces.

It stems back to when he and his brother, Mike Abbott, an assistant at Cortland State, only needed a bucket of lacrosse balls to make their evening well spent at Coyne Field during their childhood. It stems back to when Matt and Mike played inside the house, causing Tom Abbott struggling to determine how much of the wood work and how many windows were damaged. It stems back to when Matt and Mike continued the family lacrosse lineage that Tom and father (1951-52), Leslie, set at Syracuse.

It’s what made Matt Abbott become a ‘Jaguar Paw,’ a nickname he appreciates, though he’s never seen the movie. Matt Abbott knows it’s a sign his teammates notice him, even if his mouth doesn’t try to bring attention to the work he’s put on the field.

‘Even when someone else is doing a drill, Matt is watching,’ SU assistant coach Kevin Donahue said. ‘I look around and see people’s faces. I’m trained to do that as a teacher. I know he’s looking.’

Published on April 19, 2007 at 12:00 pm