John Desko knew Syracuse’s ineptitude at the faceoff X severely limited its attacking opportunities. And the head coach was willing to do anything to reverse the Orange’s struggles.

Desko met with assistant coach Kevin Donahue after SU’s 12-6 loss to Cornell on April 10, and the two began to discuss a solution.

Both coaches agreed starting close defender Brian Megill should get the nod at the X.

‘I felt it was time,’ Desko said. ‘As opposed to making it Plan C or Plan D, it’s got to be Plan A so we could evaluate and see how he does.’

The junior has made his mark at the X for the Orange since being inserted into his new role last Saturday at Rutgers. Megill provides Syracuse with another option to help overcome the faceoff woes that have haunted SU all season. He went 11-of-20 on faceoffs in SU’s last two games against the Scarlet Knights and Hobart, and he will look to give the offense a lift when No. 14 Syracuse (7-5, 3-1 Big East) takes on Georgetown (5-6, 1-2 Big East) at 3 p.m. in the Carrier Dome on Saturday.

Megill gave the Orange offense an immediate boost against Rutgers in the ESPNU Warrior Classic in Charlotte, N.C., last Saturday. Up to that point in the season, he had taken just nine faceoffs through SU’s first 10 games. In his first two seasons at Syracuse, Megill never took a faceoff for the Orange.

But despite his limited experience, the 6-foot, 226-pound defender had a monster game at the X. The junior secured 8-of-12 draws in his first major appearance at the position as the Orange trounced RU 19-6.

One of the biggest challenges for Megill is to balance his faceoff role with his preferred position at close defense. Unlike most faceoff specialists, who take the draw and head to the sideline, Megill takes the faceoff and then takes his position on the backline.

It’s a tasking duty – if he loses the draw he must scramble back to cover his man – but Megill said that motivates him even more to get the ball up the field.

‘It’s an incentive to win,’ Megill said. ‘If I win, I’m able to get the ball down and take a breather, whereas if I lose, you got to go down and do double-duty.’

Desko still believed that giving Megill the opportunity outweighed any drawbacks. The head coach needed a chance to assess whether Megill is worthy of regular reps at the position.

If successful, the Orange could have found a valuable piece to spell Chris Daddio and Ricky Buhr if they struggle during a game, or someone who could take start at the X moving forward.

‘No matter what you do, when you do it for the first time there are going to be tweaks and adjustments with him or other players,’ Desko said. ‘… Just decided to go with it and glad we did, and we know more about it, and we’ll know more about it in the next couple games.’

Megill said he’s lifting extra and running more in practice to increase his stamina for late-game situations in his dual role.

Starting close defender Matt Harris, who matches up with Megill along the wing during faceoffs, said Megill’s defensive responsibilities have helped ease him into the position. Megill’s exuberant strength and tenacity picking up ground balls make him a dangerous foe at the X.

‘He’s a great close defenseman, but he’s also good on ground balls,’ Harris said. ‘He’s shown that the last three years, and even if he loses a faceoff, he can still get after the guy, maybe take the ball away and pick it up, and he can push it in transition.’

On Tuesday, Megill and four other SU players had trouble beating Hobart faceoff specialist Bobby Dattilo. The nation’s best faceoff man tormented SU, winning 18-of-28 draws in the contest. Megill tried to hold his own, but he was outdueled in five of his eight attempts.

Megill understands that it may take time to settle into his new role. Every performance might not be as perfect as the one he faced against Rutgers, but he has embraced it so far.

‘Anything I can do to get out there and help this team win and give us the chance to get some extra possessions I’m going to do,’ Megill said.

adtredin@syr.edu 

Published on April 18, 2012 at 12:00 pm