John Wright tried his best to be diplomatic. Last year, as a sophomore defenseman, Wright was involved in two lopsided defeats over the Albany men’s lacrosse team. Syracuse won both games by a combined score of 39-21.

‘They’re a lot better this year,’ Wright said. ‘They return most their guys this year.’

True, but both losses came at the Carrier Dome, where the Orange plays Albany again tonight at 7.

‘So they’re familiar with this place,’ he added.

Syracuse and Albany will meet for the first time this season. The Orange (6-4) has already made itself playoff eligible, guaranteeing at least a .500 finish. Even if it loses its last two games against Albany and Massachusetts, players and coaches still think it can sneak into the postseason based on its strength of schedule and RPI standing.

Still, the Orange is gunning for playoff seeding. And tonight, when the Orange celebrates its Senior Day at the Dome, Albany (8-3), and specifically its hot offense, stands in the way.

The Great Danes rank No. 4 in the country in goals per game with 11.73. The Orange ranks No. 11. But whereas the Orange has four players relatively even in goal scoring, Albany receives nearly one third of its goal scoring from sophomore Merrick Thomson.

Thomson, who played one season with SU freshmen Mike Leveille at Albany Academy, leads the Great Danes with 40 goals and 15 assists. Last season, Thomson lit up the Orange for seven goals in the two-game series, six in the last game, a 21-13 Syracuse win in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

On April 12, the Orange relinquished seven goals to Cornell’s Joe Boulukos in SU’s 16-14 loss to the Big Red. But Thomson, who has a similar ability to take over a game, does so in a different manner. Whereas Boulukos bulled through the Syracuse defense, Thomson relies on his teammates to find him in scoring position.

‘He does a lot off the ball,’ said SU head coach John Desko. ‘He’s not a guy that you can just match up with and say ‘we’re going to stop him from dodging and scoring.’ He hurts you off the ball. We really have to know where he is.’

Thomson is excellent at finding holes in the defense, then exploiting them. Wright said Thomson’s shot placement is what makes him stand out.

The problem is, Thomson isn’t the only Great Danes player the Orange needs to look after. Albany has three other players with 20 or more goals. Senior attack Luke Daquino is Albany’s next biggest threat. He’s scored 22 goals, but he’s more dangerous as Albany’s X attackman, working behind the net, feeding teammates. Daquino leads the team with 26 assists.

Chris Martocchia, at 6 feet, 2 inches, 235 pounds, is the second largest player on Albany’s roster. Still, the junior plays attack and uses his size to his advantage.

‘He’s a huge kid,’ Wright said. ‘He put on a lot of weight since last year. He’s a bull dodger.

‘They’ve got a pretty eclectic offense.’

Published on April 21, 2005 at 12:00 pm