The Syracuse Orange have very high expectations this year. To get an idea of what these expectations are, their seniors are on the record using the phrase “championship or bust.” Nearly every player that goes to play for the Orange does so knowing that they want to compete for a national championship. The Orange were last in a championship game in 2013 when they lost to Duke and last year they lost in the first round of the tournament to Bryant as one of the biggest upsets in NCAA tournament history. They are currently in their longest title drought since their first one in 1983. To outsiders, this may just seem like whining, but for those who follow the program closely, this needs to be corrected immediately. Casual sports fans in Syracuse spend their free time thinking the Orange haven’t won a faceoff since 2011 (some even say 2008), they have lost their ability to attract good players to the program, and that Desko should be on the hot seat and fired if he doesn’t pick up another championship ring soon. These are of course ridiculous ideas to anyone ingrained in the lacrosse world, but the fact remains that when you are wearing Orange, you are expected to be a fixture at Memorial Day weekend, and they haven’t been.
The Orange had some struggles to start last season as they had a very difficult start to ACC play, nearly missing the conference tournament entirely. They were on the wrong side of lopsided losses to Maryland (16-8), Duke (21-7), and Virginia (17-12) before getting one point victories over Notre Dame and North Carolina. After that Duke loss, they won seven of their next eight, the only loss being a one goal defeat in the ACC championship game, including avenging the Duke loss in some of the most dramatic 20 seconds of lacrosse last season. The biggest thing with the Orange was their flair for the dramatic. They had six one goal games and a two point win over Hopkins. Even their loss to Bryant was shaping up like many of their comebacks and close wins in the year. They had the last possession with seven seconds left and a last second shot from their most accurate shooter (Dylan Donahue) which hit the post. It was very similar to their 2013 final four run where every bounce seemed to go their way when it counted, but this time it didn’t.
This year, Syracuse is hoping that luck and good bounces will be much less of a factor when they have the ball. Their offensive unit will be one of the best in the country and have even been called “unstoppable” in one of their preseason scrimmages. It all starts with their attack line. The trio of Kevin Rice, Dylan Donahue and Randy Staats have an entire season and offseason playing together now. The chemistry they had created by the end of last year is going to be tough for any defense to plan against. Not only will you see plenty of goals from this group, but the amount of assists will also be among the tops in the country as all three are always looking for that extra pass. Attack is only half of the offense, but the Orange do not have a big drop off when moving to the middies where they also have plenty of firepower. At midfield, their main losses were Billy Ward, Scott Loy and Derek Maltz who all combined for 45 goals. What they return is a platoon of midfielders who will likely rotate into the game as matchups dictate.
ATTACK
Nicky Galasso and Jordan Evans are both former number one high school recruits who got to that level by playing attack, but are now midfielders. Galasso transferred to Syracuse and has struggled with injuries, so last year was his first season of full playing time, and his first as a midfielder. He was still getting used to things up at the top of the field, but is now much more comfortable in that role in the system. Evans also battled injury in his freshman year, which cost him a spot in the regular lineup. This led to him taking runs at defensive midfield in an attempt to just get him on the field somewhere and create fast break offense opportunities. Galasso will be trying to finish his college career on a high note as he graduates, but Evans is just a sophomore who is looking to make a name for himself in the NCAA.
MIDFIELD
Along with those two are returning first line senior midfielders Henry Schoonmaker and Hakeem Lecky. Both are outstanding athletes with terrific outside shots. Schoonmaker has been asked to play on the wings for faceoffs, run with the first offense, and play defense in his time with the Orange, usually all in the same game. Lecky has often been described as “unguardable” in practices by the coaching staff due to his extremely quick first step which makes him one of the best alley dodgers in the NCAA. He also brings leadership to the team as one of the few players to be named a captain twice.
After those four are Sergio Salcido, Nick Weston, Hayes McGinley and Tim Barber. Barber is a transfer from NJCAA champion OCC where he was an All-American and named NJCAA Offensive Player of the Year. Through the fall and preseason, he has impressed teammates and coaches with not only his skill and athleticism, but how quickly he is learning the new system. Syracuse has had outstanding OCC transfers in the past, but they do not always carry the same offensive success to the next level. Barber is offering some hope that he will. Weston saw action in all but one game as a Freshman, which is rare for Freshman midfielders at Syracuse. He has been in the conversation all offseason with regards to earning some serious minutes on offense. Salcido also played in the majority of games, but helped the team mostly as a model scout team player. He’s the one that spent the year studying upcoming opponents like Jordan Wolf and Joey Sankey to give the defense a workout in practice. Given how rarely you hear about how good someone practices, it offers quite a bit of insight into his versatility and skill level. McGinley is a big midfielder who has also been pleasing the coaching staff with his abilities so far to regularly be brought up in the conversation. He likely would have been pushing for time last year as a freshman, but was injured early in the fall and was given a redshirt year. Fun note: his uncle is John C. McGinley who many people know as one of the Bobs in Office Space or Dr. Cox in Scrubs in addition to several other roles. This doesn’t matter at all for lacrosse, or the Orange’s success at the midfield, but it’s cool. Now you know. OK, now to get back on track.
These eight midfielders all have the ability to start for this team. It’s looking like Lecky, Schoonmaker and Galasso will comprise the first line while Barber, Evans and likely Weston are the primary second line. Much like last year though, these lines will shift regularly based on injuries, who’s playing well, what type of defense they’re playing and performance throughout the season. One thing is for sure. Nobody will be able to tire out the Orange.
DEFENSE
The defensive half of the field is a little more difficult. There are really only three known positions. The close defense is going to be anchored by 1st team All-American Brandon Mullins. In front of him, Tom Grimm and Mike Messina have established themselves as go-to short stick defensive midfielders. The probable starter at the LSM position will likely go to Scott Firman who had an outstanding freshman year, especially on the wings for faceoffs. At close defense, things are getting interesting. Sean Young should be a regular with Mullins in the starting lineup once again. The third spot is what caused the coaches fits last season. Bobby Tait and Jay McDermott both return and saw time there with mixed results. This caused Matt Harris to move down from LSM in the middle of the season, which is where he finished before graduating. Along with Tait and McDermott are Peter Macartney, who has historically been an LSM but is mentioned more and more with the close defense, Ryan Palasek and Ralph D’Agostino. Palasek has played in a few games each year he’s been with the Orange. He has shown great promise in the time he has been given, especially in forcing turnovers. D’Agostino is actually back in Syracuse for the second time. He came in as a freshman and a member of the USA U19 team to see playing time right away in his first season. Unfortunately, he had to transfer to Furman for last season, due to some uncontrollable circumstances. He was able to transfer back to Syracuse this year and has been deemed eligible. Much like the midfielders, the defense will likely change based on who they are playing and what skill set the opposing attack and midfielders are trying to force on the Orange.
GOALIE
The goalie spot is also going to be an interesting battle. Bobby Wardwell spent last year splitting time with the now departed Dom Lamolinara (who is an assistant goalie coach this year). Looking to finally have a firm grasp on the full-time position, Wardwell even changed his jersey number to No. 1 in the fall. Of course, nothing is ever that easy as the Orange had returners Evan Molloy and Parker Ferrigan pushing for time as well, catching the eye of the coaches in the process as legitimate competitors for the spot. They then welcomed Warren Hill to campus in the fall coming off a NJCAA Defensive Player of the Year season with OCC where he also one the national championship. Rather than take the summer off from field lacrosse to just play box goalie in junior leagues, he led the Iroquois Nationals to their first ever medal in the World Championships as the team’s starting goalie. Coach John Desko has given indications to expect Wardwell to be the starter in their opener. After their most recent scrimmages, he didn’t seem so sure. He may wind up splitting time between the two keepers again unless one firmly establishes themselves as the only goalie he needs.
FOGO
Now last, but not least: faceoffs. This has been a dirty word around Syracuse. Their struggles at the X really go back to 2012 where they had their top FOGO dip below 50 percent for just the third time since 1987. This also happened to be their first year adjusting to not having Joel White on the wing, but Chris Daddio is the one who shouldered most of the blame. It came to a head in the 2013 national championship when Duke staged a furious comeback and kept the game out of reach by winning 21 of 30 faceoffs, including all seven in the third quarter alone. This all came just two weeks after they went 1 for 23 against Bryant’s Kevin Massa. Daddio was a different player last year. He kept the starting spot simply by the fact that nobody else on the team could beat him, since he rededicated himself to the craft after the loss to Duke. The big change was that when Syracuse absolutely needed a faceoff, he could win it. This was most clearly evident in their aforementioned last-second goal against Duke in the ACC tournament and winning the final faceoff against Bryant to give Syracuse the final shot trying for a tie to force overtime. They were still very susceptible to losing draws in streaks though and the overall average was the worst in the ACC.
This has led to FOGOs from around the country looking to make a name for themselves wearing Orange. Now after two seasons of accepting transfers and incoming freshman, the Orange have several options at the X. The best option right now seems to be Holy Cross transfer Ben Williams. He has had some great performances in scrimmages so far. Making a name right behind him is Cal Paduda who sat out last season with an injury. They still have several others fighting for the chance which means if someone isn’t performing right away, another option is always available. This spot will be a constant competition.
Syracuse’s calling card in 2015 is going to be an efficient offense. Their question marks are centered around how their defense will be able to communicate against the great offenses they’ll face and how the performance of the face-off unit will fare. They have enough talent to field two complete Division 1 teams, but how Desko gets all those moving parts to play together will be key. If he is able to get the faceoff and have the defense shutting down opponents to get the ball to their offense, this will be arguably the most complete team in the country. If not, they will win several games, lose some close ones and end their season in disappointment. One thing is certain though, this team will be fun to watch all year.
