Tommy Palasek posted up on the left side of the crease and let the unsettled sequence run its course.

After the Syracuse defense knocked the ball free in the middle of the field, SU midfielder JoJo Marasco scooped up the ball and darted upfield to lead the fast-break attack.

Three crisp passes later, Palasek bounced the ball between the legs of Providence goaltender Christian Dzwilewski and into the back of the net. Nearly three minutes into the game, Syracuse took control with the first goal.

‘It’s important for us from now on, the rest of the season, to hopefully go out there and dictate the tempo instead of going in and playing the other team’s game,’ Palasek said. ‘Go out there and play our own game and make sure they’re playing up to our level.’

With Palasek’s goal, the No. 8 Orange (4-2, 2-0 Big East) seized the momentum and piled on five more goals in the first half to take a commanding lead into the break. Syracuse cruised after the fast start and earned a 10-6 victory over Providence (1-4, 0-2 Big East) in front of 2,012 in the Carrier Dome on Wednesday.

In the Orange’s first five games, the team has struggled to break out of the gate and failed to control the tempo as a result. SU entered the game having scored the first goal in just one of its first five contests.

But on Wednesday, SU surged out of the gate and carried that energy through the first 30 minutes. The Orange used a torrid run, scoring five consecutive goals from five different players to take the wind out of Providence in the first half.

‘That was probably the first time this season that we got a couple of goals first and that was huge for the game, and it gave us the opportunity to control the tempo,’ Marasco said. ‘If we wanted to push the ball, we were able to push the ball, and if we wanted to hold the ball for a little bit, we were able to do that.’

The Orange defense contributed to the offensive firepower, forcing turnover after turnover to provide the offense with plenty of scoring opportunities.

With SU already leading 4-1, defender Matt Harris stepped in front and intercepted a pass intended for Providence attack Sean Wright. He took it up the field in stride and passed it along the alley on the left. And as the Friars struggled to settle on offense, Palasek found Tim Desko to the right of the goal for an easy score.

Any inclination Providence had to slow the game down was instantly foiled.

‘I think some of the forced turnovers helped us there,’ head coach John Desko. ‘ … I think getting the early lead and getting some of those forced turnovers helped keep them away from that type of game.’

With the help of the defense, the Orange carried its early momentum through the rest of the game. The Syracuse defense yielded just five shots in the first half with only three on net.

And as the Orange kept the Friars on their heels, SU found success in its sets as well. Marasco, attack Derek Maltz and midfielder Luke Cometti all tallied goals as a part of SU’s first-half onslaught.

The Orange held an 18-9 advantage in groundballs to add to Providence’s woes and pile up opportunities in front of the net.

Though Providence came out re-energized in the second half – finding the cage five more times – Syracuse had already done enough to put a stamp on the game and earn a much-needed victory.

The run-and-gun offense helped Syracuse take the early lead and provided enough offense the rest of the way to secure the win.

‘I just feel after a tough loss to Johns Hopkins (last Saturday), we had two days to get back on our feet and hopefully get back on our feet and make a couple quick runs right away and win some faceoffs,’ Marasco said. ‘We were able to push the ball and get a couple shots, and we were finally able to get out in front for once.’

adtredin@syr.edu

Published on March 21, 2012 at 12:00 pm