Cornell erased any progress Syracuse made over the weekend. With the Big Red’s tenacity in grabbing loose balls and long, drawn-out offensive possessions, it halted the momentum SU had from last Saturday’s win over Princeton.

After the game, Bobby Eilers felt helpless.

‘They’re just a hardworking team, that’s upstate New York lacrosse for you,’ Eilers, an SU midfielder, said after SU’s 12-6 loss to Cornell on Tuesday. ‘Everyone just gets after it, and we think we’re just like them, we get after it, too, but the ball just fell their way today.’

The minimal chances the Orange had in the attacking zone Tuesday proved detrimental to Syracuse’s chances of emerging victorious over the Big Red. Cornell won 14-of-22 faceoffs and controlled 14 more ground balls to cruise to victory over the Orange.

SU has been plagued by a failure to win the possession battle in games all season. The struggle to hold onto the ball or win the ground ball at the faceoff X has stalled the Orange offense while allowing opposing teams to take advantage of facing a fatigued defense. Syracuse will hope to improve in the possession game when it faces Rutgers at 11 a.m. in the ESPNU Warrior Classic on Saturday in Charlotte, N.C.

‘That’s what Cornell does,’ head coach John Desko said. ‘They’re ferocious on ground balls. They get over defensively to pressure you when they can. They try and double-team you in the open field, and we had to take advantage of those situations to get goals and we didn’t.’

It’s been a struggle all season for Syracuse to try and claim the possession battle, particularly at the faceoff X. When the Orange wins the battle at the X or comes within one faceoff win of the opposing team, it is 4-1 on the season.

The Syracuse attack proved its capabilities against Princeton last Saturday. Faceoff specialist Chris Daddio won the last four faceoffs in the third quarter, and the Orange scored four goals in 92 seconds to turn the tides in its favor.

SU won 11-of-23 draws in that game and made the most of its possessions. The Orange turned the ball over just eight times and rattled off 40 shots against the Tigers to earn a one-goal win over a ranked opponent for the first time all season.

‘We had a number of more possessions and that obviously creates more offensive opportunities,’ SU midfielder Ryan Barber said Monday. ‘… I think winning faceoffs shows right there when we get the ball we can score if we have the ball.’

Against Cornell, the tables turned and the Orange offense had limited opportunities to shine.

With the game tied at 3 to open the second half, the Big Red won the opening faceoff and scored 20 seconds in. Cornell applied pressure to the SU defense throughout the entire third quarter, winning the first three faceoffs of the period and converting them into goals.

SU won just two faceoffs in the quarter, but quickly turned it over both times. After Cornell scored its third goal and pushed its lead to 6-3, SU attack Derek Maltz came away with a ground ball along the left sideline. He fed it to Tommy Palasek, who sprinted toward the net with a three-on-one opportunity. He threw a crisp pass to midfielder Drew Jenkins to the right of the goal, but he stepped in the crease and possession went back to Cornell.

The Big Red forced the Orange into a frenetic game of catch up that resulted in 14 second-half turnovers. The SU offense was ineffective as it looked to force the issue in response to the mounting deficit.

‘We made some bad decisions in where to put the ball after some loose balls in clearing and off the faceoff, and they took advantage of that,’ Desko said.

And a poor performance at the X has Desko rethinking the lineup that will look to dig up the ball and earn possession against the Scarlet Knights.

After the possession game proved to be SU’s downfall against Cornell, he’s considering all of his options.

‘We’ll look at what we’re going to see this weekend with Rutgers and try to evaluate their guys and what they do, figure out what our matchups as far as personnel are best for them and try to go with that person,’ Desko said. ‘Things like using poles and double poles has to be an option for us.’

adtredin@syr.edu

Published on April 11, 2012 at 12:00 pm