Photos: Rachel Fus

Bill Tierney had the book on Syracuse.

After watching tape to prepare for the high-powered attack of No. 1 Syracuse, the Princeton head coach knew precisely what to expect: a run-and-gun attack from a deep, experienced offense.

But it didn’t matter.

On Saturday, he stood helpless on the sideline and watched his fate unfold: a 13-6 Syracuse victory in front of 6,501 at the Carrier Dome – a solid, balanced offensive effort.

‘We can anticipate what they were going to do,’ Tierney said after the game. ‘We knew what they were going to do.

‘The trouble is we couldn’t stop it.’

The Orange stayed true to the form that has helped it rise to the top of the lacrosse world with a 60-minute, near-flawless effort from an offensive unit that smothered the defensive-minded Princeton.

With its sixth consecutive win, Syracuse moved to 8-1 on the year with five games left to play until the NCAA tournament, which now seems like a lock. No. 14 Princeton fell to 4-4. Next up for the Orange is a quick turnaround Tuesday night when it travels to No. 8 Cornell.

For Tierney, to shut down one scoring option only meant the emergence of another. Throughout the game, his plan of neutralizing SU leading scorer Mike Leveille worked. The senior attack was held scoreless for the first time all year.

Instead of hampering the SU offense, though, Princeton’s strategy invigorated the midfield. The unit accounted for seven of the team’s first nine goals and boosted the Orange to a lead it wouldn’t relinquish. Against a Princeton defense collapsing around the SU attack close to the goal, the midfielders found space and buried shot after shot from 10-12 yards out.

‘If they shut Mikey off, we have six guys out there that can score a goal,’ SU midfielder Steven Brooks said of Leveille. ‘Mikey’s a big player on our team, but if they shut him off we have other people that can step up, and we did today.’

By the end of the first half, Brooks and fellow midfielder Brendan Loftus had scored two goals apiece, and Pat Perritt had added another as the Orange held a slim two-goal lead, 6-4.

Princeton’s attempts to adjust after halftime were futile. As the game wore on, the Tiger defense moved farther out to respect the shooting capability of the SU midfield.

‘They want to see if you can score from the outside first,’ SU head coach John Desko said. ‘So fortunately I think we did a good job after the first quarter being patient, middies running their offensive plays, getting the ball back up top and scoring on some of the outside shots.’

As Princeton shifted focus to cover outside shooters, the game opened up for the SU attack, a unit which scored three of the last four goals to put the game away and ensure Syracuse another week as the top team in the country.

‘You get a nice one-two punch if you can stretch some people out with your outside shooting, now you force them to come play you a little farther out,’ Desko said. ‘Like having 3-point shooters in a basketball game, that’ll open up stuff for the big guys inside.’

It was one of the most complete games the Orange has played all year. SU committed only 12 turnovers, won the groundball battle, 40-20, and put 22-of-41 shots on goal, marking a significant improvement in shooting percentage.

The well-oiled offense took the pressure off a less-proven defense, which saw only 23 shots all game, the third lowest total of the year.

‘It helps a lot,’ defenseman Evan Brady said of SU controlling the possession. ‘If the ball isn’t down on their offensive side of the ball, they’re not going to score, obviously.’

It was the mark of a No. 1 team: The opposing coach of six-time national champion Princeton knew exactly what would be coming from a Syracuse offense that has now won six straight games, the last four by at least five goals.

But as Tierney watched from the sideline, he was powerless to stop it.

‘The offense that they ran is nothing new,’ Tierney said. ‘It looked good in practice, but you’ve got to give them credit. They shoot the lights out.’

kbaustin@syr.edu

Published on April 6, 2008 at 12:00 pm