Four days after Syracuse men’s lacrosse suffered its first loss of the season, a 14-13 overtime heartbreaker to No. 3 Virginia in Baltimore, the atmosphere in the moments before Wednesday’s practice was decidedly positive.

The Cavaliers had won their fifth game in a row against the Orange, and in dramatic fashion. Yet the players didn’t wince at the mention of Saturday’s game. The mood among the ranks of the 2-1 Orange was no different than it was among the 2-0 Orange.

By some measures, it was even better.

‘Believe it or not, even after coming out with a loss, there’s a lot more confidence there,’ head coach John Desko said.

Syracuse is looking to build on that confidence in a Sunday matchup against No. 9 Georgetown (2-1) at 3:30 p.m. in the Carrier Dome.

Freshman goalkeeper John Galloway can point to the exact moment last weekend when Syracuse’s confidence hit its apex. Midfielder Steven Brooks scored the game-tying goal with 28 seconds left in regulation, sending the Orange into a frenzy.

‘For Brooksie to come out and hit that shot, I think we all kind of felt, when he scored that, that we’re back,’ Galloway said. ‘We have the ability to be a championship contender, and we’re excited about it.’

For Syracuse, they’re all small steps on the road back from the 5-8 finish last year. A humbled Orange squad will take a close early-season loss to Virginia as a sign of progress. Desko said he knows his team will make mistakes early in the season, and his focus is on how his team responds and not repeating mistakes.

As Syracuse moves through one of the toughest portions of its schedule – facing No. 3 Virginia, No. 9 Georgetown and No. 1 Johns Hopkins in three weekends, two of which are on the road – it was encouraged that it played with Virginia throughout the game in a tough environment.

‘It was good to have a big game experience like that, especially in M&T Bank, which is a great venue,’ defenseman Evan Brady said. ‘A lot of young guys get comfortable, especially in an overtime game. You don’t get many of those, so it’s good to have that experience and know that you can keep coming back because you’re not going to blow every team out.’

Syracuse’s weekend performance did not go unnoticed by the lacrosse world. Despite the loss, the team actually rose in this week’s Nike/Inside Lacrosse Media Poll, from No. 7 to No. 5.

But it was still a loss, and there is plenty to improve on heading into this week’s matchup. The Syracuse defense, after giving up only four goals in a strong first half, gave up 10 in the second half and overtime.

Brady said while it was disappointing, it can be expected, particularly in a matchup of top 10 teams.

‘First half, you kind of feel each other out,’ Brady said. ‘It’s the first time you play each other each year. And then in the second half you kind of get used to what they’re going to do, and usually more goals will take place in the second half.’

Galloway went further, saying his team has yet to string together a complete game in its three outings.

‘I don’t think we’ve played a whole game so far, a whole four quarters,’ Galloway said. ‘We’ll keep working on that, hopefully that will help us out.’

The defense, which ranked 48 out of 57 teams last season and has a freshman goalie, is still a work in progress. But going against Georgetown, which Desko identified as defensive-minded team, the defense may have somewhat of a rest. Georgetown has tallied only 19 goals on the year, compared to 42 goals from Syracuse

‘They’ve got some big guys that shoot the ball really hard,’ Desko said. ‘When you’re shooting from the outside like they do, the percentages are going to be a little less. They’re not taking a lot of layups; they’re taking more 3-pointers.’

Desko feels good about where his team is in the midst of its tough early-season stretch. Syracuse started 2-0 for the first time in two years, and given the context, Desko was happy with a close overtime loss to the 2006 national championship team.

‘I think we’re definitely an improved team,’ Desko said. ‘From effort to what we’re doing offensively to what we’re doing defensively.’

kbaustin@syr.edu

Published on March 5, 2008 at 12:00 pm